New Oakland owner Evan Wetstone broke his self-imposed silence this weekend. "I didn't want to make any comments about the team until I had a chance to look into all aspects of the organization. Now that I've done that, I wanted to let the fans know what to expect. While we're going to try to compete, I expect the next few years to be very tough. We've got good players, but many of them have confided to me that they have not been able to concentrate on their game due to the roster instability of the past year. Adding to that, the previous management pretty much wiped out the farm system. We're going to have to rebuild, and we're going to have to do it primarily through the draft. That means it's going to take some time, and I hope the Oakland fans will understand that."
When pressed, the new owner didn't rule out the possibility of trading some of his current veterans, stating that he was always willing to consider opportunities that would improve the franchise.
It's springtime in Canada, and you can't tell the players without a scorecard. Here's the Scoop's look at the ten new Jays.
SP Bob Knepper is an alltime favorite of GM Steve Ritter, known to several of our owners as the former St. Louis Cardinals GM. He was acquired in a trade that sent top prospect Floyd Youmans to the St. Louis Cardinals essentially in exchange for four veterans. Knepper has posted a career record of 101-125 with a 3.40 ERA on some horrible St. Louis teams. He is very skilled at avoiding the walk and keeping the ball in the park, but can occasionally be easy to get a hit off of.
MR Juan Berenguer is another product of that trade, a veteran middle reliever who can spot start if necessary. He has given up fewer hits than innings pitched in each of the last five seasons and can be called upon to pitch 100 innings with an ERA on the better side of three and a half. Another former student of the new GM, he will slide into the role of top middle reliever and spot starter.
CL Tom Henke is flat-out one of the best players in baseball, and was acquired in exchange for the Blue Jays' first round pick a year from now. His career ERA is a miniscule 1.80 and over the course of his career, batters have hit a robust .156 and gotten on base at a .227 rate. He will be able to toss 70-80 innings from the closer spot in 1986 and might approach his career average of 42 saves, although one never knows the future. He is probably the best player on the team, and has a great future in the CDL no matter where he plays it out.
LF Ron Kittle is one of three outfielders that were acquired in trades. He was traded for because of one thing and one thing only -- to provide a right handed bat off the bench. He hit .263 and had an OPS of .713 against lefties last year and is now the first man off the bench against southpaws.
LF Lee Mazzilli was acquired, along with Kittle, Knepper, and Berenguer, in the Youmans deal. He is one of the most fundamentally sound players in baseball and a top leadoff hitter in the league. He can post a .350 OBP and proceed to steal a good 50 bases in a season if asked to. He is also one of the best in the league defensively, with superb range and a great arm.
RF Mickey Hatcher came to Toronto in the Henke trade after six years in the hitting hell that is the Astrodome. Last year was his first playing full time and he did make the all star team, but he was brought to Toronto for a different reason -- to spell Ken Phelps against lefties. Where Phelps hit .179 last year, Hatcher posted a robust .330 clip and a .825 OPS. He is no slouch against righties, however, with his .286 average, and will be a top man off the bench.
C Bob Brenly was signed in free agency as a platoon player, much for the same reason that Hatcher came to town. He cannot hit a right handed pitcher for his life, much like how current backstop Jerry Narron seems unable to hit a lefty. They are a perfect match with Narron's .204/.300/.391 numbers against righties and Brenly's .313/.403/.507 stats against the lefthanders.
SP Luis Leal was called up to the majors for the first time after five years in the minors and got hammered hard core, especially by the lefties, who seem to have figured out his stuff. He will pitch in situations where he may get two starts per sim against righty-heavy lineups, as he held them to a .150 average last year.
1B Rex Hudler had the most prolific of the three callups last September, spending 47 games in the majors and starting in 28 of them. The versatile utility man will back up at seven positions and pinch run. Last season he hit .301 in 113 at bats, a very valuable player in the pinch, named to the all rookie team although he is still technically a rookie with only 121 plate appearances under his belt.
RF Jesse Barfield is the last but not the least of the three players who came up for a cup of coffee last year and managed to stay on this year's roster. His raw power is among the best you will find, and he hits left handed pitching like nobody else. Last year in 37 at bats he hit 5 home runs, and posted a 1.086 OPS against the southpaws in limited action. He is ready to start in the majors, and should produce when given the chance.
Introducing the first of what I hope will be the annual "Talent Hits Awards" or better known as THA"s. We will also be introducing shortly the "Talent Bumps Awards" or TBA"s.
First, an explanation of the awards. We will list the top five players who during the 1985 season suffered the biggest blows to their ability via the ootp Gods. The player must be under 35 and must have some ability to begin with. For example, a 37 year old superstar will naturely see a talent drop. As well, a 30 year career minor leaguer who suffers a talent drop from fair at hitting to poor will not be eligible. The award will take into consideration how many tears the drop brings to a particular owner's eyes. Little drops, such as suffering a talent loss in preventing walks, will not be considered.
The THA committe welcomes rebuttals or discussion as well as perhaps even personal testimony regarding that great player they once had who made them wonder whether fantasy baseball wasn't just a little too real sometimes. With that said, here are the top five including this years winner of the THA.
1. Bruce Hurst (Toronto) wins this years award. The 27 year old star pitcher took a hit in both hits allowed and home runs allowed. On a team as talentless as the Blue Jays, this was not kind.
2. Atlee Hammaker (Expos) finishes a close second. The 28 year old pitcher suffered an injury that dropped him from good to average in several categories.
3. Brian Harper (Reds) is the first everyday player to make the list. The 26 year old catcher saw the dreaded hits/homers talent drop from good to average.
4. Ken Phelps (Toronto) is the second Blue Jay to join the list. 31 year old Ken retains his brilliant talent rating but drops to a pathetic poor in hitting, thus making him almost useless.
5. Tim Burke (Braves) saw his talent in hits allowed drop to average. The 26 year old closer looked to have a great deal of promise but may end up looking to just making the big league team.
Honourable mentions go to..
Giants reliever Manny Sarmiento
Seattle's Teddy Higuera
Montreal's Doug Sisk
Next up are the TBA's. Several teams were particular blessed by the gods of ootp.
The THA Committee