Byline: Max Offen Sichtlich
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Tough Season Yields Small Hope?
August 15, 2055
When we last left off with the Berkeley Golden Bears, the Mad Pope’s Rookie Ball team was a squad that, um, let’s say, leaned toward the offense. Meaning they literally had no pitchers on the roster for what amounted to about two weeks. Even then it took some time before the club fielded something like a full team.
Needless to say, the results were not stellar.
The Bears lost their first nine baseball games and eighteen of their first twenty.
The statement “you’ve got to be pretty good to lose that many games,” does not apply.
Eventually, though, the ship righted, and to be blunt, the Golden Bears became something of a thing in and around Berkeley. The team went 14-13 in July, and then—stung by an injury or two to their actual players, faltered to just 4-6 to close the season.
Along the way the Mad Pope baseball folks saw some interesting progress, or at least things to make them do some dreaming in the middle of their inevitable Collins-inflicted October swoon, something for which there is, apparently not a vaccine in sight for, and which it’s also clear ivermectin simple quivers at. Let’s take a look at those progressions, shall we?
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The baseball Gods demand that we start with 16-year-old Ánibal Torres, and who are we to argue against them? The kid hit four homers in a game and took command of the league’s All-Star tilt. He killed rookie-ball pitching to the turn of 11 homers, and a .371/.422/.785 slash. 25 RBI. All in 44 games before being shut down due to an inflamed shoulder. Torres will almost certainly be at Philipsbug Short-A for his second season. Keep your eye out.
Lost in the shuffle due to a mid-June hamstring injury is the case of Torres’ fellow outfielder, Naif Abdul-Latif, who had only five games, but showed a propensity to destroy right-handed pitching. His .357 average and .500 slugging percentage are probably inflated due to sample size, but baseball people in the organization are silently buzzing about his potential for improvement.
Another bat who drew some attention was third baseman Pat Smothers. The kid came to the tam in last year’s 7th round, and to many he was considered to be filler because his bat doesn’t project well at the hot corner. But the team began toying with him at shortstop, and the results were intriguing enough that the experiment might stick into 2056. Given that his bat did make a nice move (74 OPS+ to 106), team insiders are wondering if they’ve got a diamond in the rough.
One bat who did not wow was that of the team’s big name at that level: first baseman Fareeq bin Su’ud. Su’ud’s numbers (.291/.310/.412, two homers, 48 games), were tepid water against a bored face. Overall, it was a stagnant year for the kid. Clearly he’s got the ability in there somewhere, and the whole package still says “future impact player,” but these are the finds of numbers that set GMs on the path to ulcers.
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On the pitching side of the mound, there were a few bits of intrigue, too.
I need to start with Eduardo López, bit because the 17-year-old righthander threw 25 innings of 2.13 baseball (88 FIP-), went 2-1 and managed 7 saves, and because that name -- Eduardo López, will always make me happy.
Look it up, newcomers. Good times.
Anyway, there’s a decent chance the kid will be in Philipsburg next season even though the scouts are not convinced of his (as they call them) “components.”
Go figure.
Ana Sritharan, once a bigtime name of an IFA, also managed to arrive on the scene and throw, while not blindingly, at least well. Perhaps that wasn’t $8.5M down the drain? The club likes his stamina, and Sritharan allowed only one homer in his 32 innings of work. At 19, he’s pretty much certain to pitch in Short A in 2056, though, baseball folks would probably be happier if he was in Hollywood (A) by the end of that season.
Fellow International Complex hurler Salim Zafir impressed with a 3.34 ERA. Well … I dunno about him. Some folks are getting excited, but when I see that FIP- sitting up there at 130 because of 21 walks and 4 homers … well, it makes me wonder just how long the kid can manage a BABIP of .254. Whatever, expect him to be finding out in Short A next year.
SP Sameh Fakih came in during that wave of minor league FA signings, and while the record was crummy (1-3), his 3.86 ERA before a strained oblique sidelined him, was intriguing.
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Bottom line: it was a tough year in Berkeley, with the team finishing it s68-game slate at 24-44. But it’s clear there was more going on here than the record indicated, and at the end of the day I suppose that if the club salvaged anything at all from this level going forward, that should be considered a small miracle in itself.