Wednesday, January 30, 2008

New Orleans Brass Season Preview

1. Jackie Wagner 2nd 22 yr, one of the Brass ROY favorites. The Brass are looking for .320 AVG, .400 OBP, 20 homers and 40 steals. His glove is a little weak, but his bat will more then make up for it. Originally slated to be in AAA the Pablo Morales deal pushed his arrival date to this season rather then next.
2. Wallace Ojeda 3rd 26 yr, Wally is just in his 2nd major league season but will be looked upon to hit in the important number 2 spot. Good speed, good eye and decent pop will open up things for Wagner on the bases. .280 AVg, 370 OBP, 18 homers 20 steals…possible Gold Glove at 3rd.
3. Rabbit Patrick LF 23 yr, another ROY possibility. He is going to hit for great average and solid power. Has good speed and his defense is about average for LF’ers. .330 AVG 25 Homers, 12 steals.
4. Jumbo Morales RF 25 yr, his name is perfect for the bat that he carries. The Brass are counting on him to hit homers and hit them often. .320 AVG 40 Homers, 10 Steals.
5. Curt Snyder CF 26 yr, A seasoned Vet as far as this lineup goes. Starting his 3rd season in the bigs. Curt is a well rounded player that will be counted on for big numbers and to help set the table for some of the big mashers further down in the order. .280 AVG, 35 Homers 10 steals.
6. Peter Takahasi DH 29 yr, signed late to bring some extra pop to the lineup. Peter will hit his fair share of homers and gather an equal amount of strikeouts and base on balls. .270 AVG .365 OBP, 30 homers.
7. James Gong 1st 35 yr, The bargain basement signing of Gong should add even more umph to this lineup. A smart player who wont hit for high avg but is very adept at moving runners any way possible. .260 avg, 30 homers.
8. Hideo Meng C 25 yrs/ Oleg Cassidy C 27 yrs, A solid one two punch. Meng is more of the bats man and Cassidy the glove man. Meng will play against righties and Cassidy will play lefties and come in as a late inning defensive replacement. .275 AVG, .350 OBP, 15 homers.
9. Sandy Allen SS 27 yr, Sandy is a flashing SS with some solid pop and great speed. He may be the best all around number 9 hitter in the league. .255 AVG, 25 Homers, 20 Steals.


Bench

Lefty Harding CF/2nd 25 Yr, The kid from Dearborn will be 2nd baseman defensive sub and pinch runner.

Kent Hefner 3rd/RF/LF 32 Yr, Just here to pinch hit when a homer is needed and to rest the COF and CIF.

Ozzie Parker 2nd/3rd 22 Yr, picked up in the waiver draft. The Brass will give him a few months and see if he is able to perform as part time player.



Pitchers

SP1. Crash Shirley 31 yr, the big lanky rightie was dealt for in the Terry Torres deal. With this offense behind him he should be a front runner for the Cy Young. 20-8 220 inning 3.40 ERA 190 K’s.

SP2. Albert Davey 28 yr, another pitcher acquired in a trade. Davey is a more then capable number two. 18-10 230 innings, 3.80 ERA, 170 k’s.

SP3. Jerry White 32 yr, White is a crafty vet who will be counted on to win more then he losses. 15-12, 190 innings, 4.25 ERA, 110 k’s

SP4. Geoff Guerrero 24 yr, Wild Workhorse??? That is how Geoff is described. He will hopefully eat innings and not get roughed up to much. 12-12 200innings, 4.95 ERA 120 k’s.

SP5. Kenneth Knight 31 yr, Ken has some great pitches but has trouble finishing batters. Look for him to not pitch in big games. 8-12 165 innings 5.25 ERA 100 k’s.

MOP: David Thielman 24 yr, David is battling hard for the last spot in the rotation. If Knight should stumble he will be first in line for a shot at starting.

LRA: Ben Person 33 yr, One of 4 lefties in the pen. Ben should be good for a couple of innings every time out. He has three years on his contract and is playing to prove he deserves them.

LRB: Eduardo Baez 36 yr, Baez is going to be counted on to eat innings and keep games close. He has great control and a whole lot of experience.

SUA: Tomas Henriquez 30 yr, One of the big contract guys from old management. Tomas has excellent stuff and could go back into the closers role is needed.

SUB: Midre Decker 33 yr, hard throwing leftie is a little wild but can still be counte don to get a few outs when needed.

SUB: Merv Jacobs 27 yr, Jacobs will be pitching for more playing time has great stuff and is one of the few righties in the pen.

Closer: Archie Carroll 24 yr, The young pup has two great pitches and excellent control and is tough on righties. If he struggles early look for Henriquez to take back the job

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