The Pats are set and ready
for season #2 of the BrassWorld League and hoping to improve upon our first
season of 90-72. Some retooling occurred
during the off-season with free agency and trades. This article is an update to our article a
few months ago on the Pats plan for 2004.
PreSeason Team Look:
Catcher
Jorge Posada is solid at
catcher at .281/.405/.518. Jorge can
play most games with Geronimo Gil as the backup when needed. Javier Valentin and Pete LaForest
waiting in the minors. LaForest
is interesting in that he could be a decent hitter for
First Base
The Pats big man is Carlos
Delgado. The big guy played 161 games
with .302/.426/.593 including 43 HRs and is the heart and soul of the Pats
offense. Delgado is signed for one more
year.
Second Base
The Pats traded both of their
second baseman in the off season for pitching.
Placido Polanco was traded for BH Kim and Todd Walker was traded for CC
Sabathia.
This year the Pats will use a
4 way platoon at 2b. Carlos Febles will
play vs lhp, while Willie Bloomquist, Jamie Carroll, and Frank Menechino will
share the 2b job vs rhp. This set up is
not the best, but I guess, it is the price of trading for improved pitching. If anyone has some second base help, the Pats
would listen to any offers.
ShortStop
Nomar is the 6 million dollar
man here. Nomar’s numbers were
.301/.345/.524. Nomar plays every day.
Third Base
Rookie Ty Wigginton played
the entire season for the Mets and finished up with .255/.318/.396 in 156
games; he doesn’t fair as well vs rhp, so Willie Bloomquist will play some
games at 3b.
Left Field
Jay Payton had a good season
with the
Center Field
Another trade brought
newcomer Milton Bradley to
Right Field
Lefty, Jay Gibbons Y3 will
play rf everyday.
Gibby played 160 games with the O’s at .277/.330/.456. The Pats are hoping that Gibby might have a
breakout season soon.
Starting Pitching:
The Pats believe their
strength is in their starting pitching, and with some offseason trades, Pat’s
management believes that this should continue:
Greg Maddux, 36 starts
Tim Hudson, 35 starts
Bartolo Colon, 35 starts
CC Sabathia, 31 starts
(acquired in trade)
Solomon Torres 19 starts
(recent FA sign)
Eric Milton, returning from a
knee injury hopefully will return to form next season and youngster Aaron Cook
is hoping for a brighter future as well in
Bullpen:
BH Kim is the big off-season
pick up here. With 122 IPs he will see a
lot of late inning action and possibly a few starts as well. The new bullpen includes Will Cunnane, Danny Patterson,
Gabe White, Ron Mahay and Rick White.
Jorge Julio returns from last season and hopes to find his rookie season
success. Youngsters Grant Balfour and
Jon Adkins hope to find a roster spot in the near future.
The Pats look good on paper, can this team perform well on the field? Time will tell, we are looking forward to some good NL
competition this season especially in the Aaron Division of the NL.