2008 New Orleans Crawdads Preview

[bigmike13]

As the 2007 season hurtles farther into the rear view mirror, it's time to take a quick lap around the New Orleans Crawdads for their 2008 preview.

The Crawdads come into the 2008 season with alot of promise after making a solid 12 game gain over 2006 and finishing second in the division. A solid offense that produced 136 Home Runs, a team average of .271 and a nice team OBP of .339 should again be the gasoline in the Crawdads engine. The 2007 pitching staff seemed to struggle with finding a rhythm with only Mike Williams producing an ERA under 4 coupled with 18 wins. Let's take a look at the team breakdown;

Key Losses: 2B Melvin Bradshaw
Key Additions: 1B Alberto Rivera

OFFENSE:
CF Tipper Kengos - The speedy lead off hitter, and 2007 All Star, was definitely the spark plug at the top of the order. A solid .320 AVG to go with his spectacular .421 OBP says it all, he got on base and he scored.... A LOT. New Orleans should expect another year of the same.
C Gustavo Maldonado - The 33 year old backstop is in the business of collecting hits, and it sure looks like business has been good. .324 Avg/53 RBI/56 Runs is a pleasant line to see form the offensive half of your platoon.
RF All Jones - The first leg of the Crawdads Triple Crown of destruction, Jones is an elite player at the top of his game. 23 HR/87 Runs/102 RBI's is something every team could use.
1B Marcus Moore - Moore had the breakout year of all breakout years for the Crawdads in 2007. The 2007 MBBA FL Joe Gillstrom Newcomer of the Year Award winner only had 88 Runs/108 RBI's on the year. Oh yes, he also had 44 HR's and had one shot measured at 5279 feet, just short of a mile.
LF Felipe Arroyo - It is scary to think, but Arroyo still isn't playing his best ball. The 27 year old outfielder was a steadying force on the club and his line shows why, .265 Avg/93 Runs/106 RBI's and 22 dingers help make the New Orleans lineup one to be feared.
3B Bill Carver - Carver had his year cut short by Post Concussion Syndrome and lost four months of the season, but was able to have a positive impact while he was on the field. 13 HR's/57 RBI's and 53 Runs in only 326 AB's. He also proved to be great in the field with only 3 errors at the hot corner.
2B Paco Torres - Torres came over to the Crawdads right before the trading deadline in '06, and the slick fielding IF didn't disappoint. 41 SB's put's Torres squarely into the top tier base stealers in FL.
SS David Chaney - Chaney is one of the team leaders for the Crawdads, and while he may not have the offensive accolades of his teammates, he is one of the most important players on the team. David made only 3 errors all year while playing all three infield positions. A very valuable commodity.

ROTATION:
Mike Williams - Easily the Ace of the staff, Williams is a force on the mound and gives New Orleans as close to a sure thing when he's pitching.
Jessie Wright - The elder statesman of the staff came to the Crawdads by way of trade from Louisville and gave New Orleans a respectable 6-2 4.68 ERA mark in 14 games.
Daniel Richie - Richie was the second best pitcher for the Crawdads in 2007, compiling a 14-12 record with a 4.11 ERA. What makes this so remarkable is that Richie tore his rotator cuff half way through 2006 and spent 9 months rehabbing from the surgery. We should see an even better Richie in 2008.
Charlie Lindquist - Lindquist was another acquisition during the 2007 season coming over from Phoenix. Charlie struggled with his new surroundings and went 3-6 with a 4.77 ERA for the Crawdads. Bigger things are expected of Charlie or his time in the rotation for New Olreans may be short lived.
Jose Chavez - Chavez is the baby of the group at 23 years old. A decent pitcher that should get better with coaching, Chavez looked like your typical power pitcher, good stuff and not so good control. A year in the Crawdads offseason workouts should help him with his control.

BULLPEN:
CL Gary Wilson - Wilson is the anchor of the bullpen and a damn good one at that. 36 Saves and a 3.84 ERA shows just how valuable he is to this team.
Andy Nebraska, Robert Durst, Juan German, Antonio Andrade, and Dave Jones make up the Crawdads relief corp and are expected to have another solid season.

In short, the future looks bright for the team from the Crescent City. If the pitching staff can get solid play from everyone behind Williams and Wright and stay away from the injury bug, i am predicting the New Orleans Crawdads making a serious run at a playoff berth and possibly the FL Midwest division title and have Bourbon Street rocking come October.

[felipe]

fuck me, that was quick!

[Al-Hoot]

5279 feet, eh?

Nice!

[bigmike13]

I was in the mood to write

[recte44]

I was in the mood to write

[recte44]

I still can't get used to Jessie Wright not being in Madison.