The 2017 season was a
tough one for the Sex Panthers, missing the playoffs by 2.5 games.
That’s a missed lineup change here or there during the season that could have been the
difference.
A near-miss like that
stresses the importance of daily maintenance and the research in streaming free
agents during the week.
If there is one reason the
Sex Panthers have been competitive, it’s because of the free agent moves that
stick, like picking up Khris Davis early in the season in 2016 and Avisail Garcia
early in 2017.
Jose Ramirez also was a
wire acquisition for the Panthers.
“I remember that I picked
him up off the waivers because he had eligibility for like three positions and
I think I had some injuries or something at the time,” she said. “I just
figured, ‘Hey, he'll do.’ And that he has.”
With a .318 average, 29
HRs, 83 RBIs, 107 runs scored and 17 stolen bases, he is very Jose Altuve-like.
Add him with Robinson
Cano, Christian Yelich, Kendrys Morales, Miguel Sano, Garcia and Davis, the
Panthers have a strong lineup.
I didn’t mention Byron
Buxton there because I wanted to talk about him alone. He batted .253 last year
with 16 HRs, 51 RBIs and 69 runs scored in 140 games. It was by far his best
season in the majors, and the majority of the production came after a
horrendous first half that saw him struggle with a .216 average, 5 HRs, 16 RBIs
in 75 games — something we had become accustom to seeing from this once-No. 1
prospect in baseball.
In the second half, he
batted .300 with 11 HRs, 35 RBIs and 40 runs scored in 56 games.
A clear difference, and
for the Panthers, it looks like years of patience has paid off for the player
who is only 24 years old.
“I don't think it was
frustrating at all to wait for Buxton to come up, that's the point of prospects,
right?” she asked, rhetorically. “You have to let them grow? The more
frustrating thing was everyone always trying to get Buxton from me in a trade.
That’s how I know he was good. So now I just wait and hope he continues to
excel!”
A similar waiting game was
played with top starter Luis Severino, who struggled big time in 2016 with a
5.83 ERA and a 3-8 record. The fans were calling to move him to the bullpen.
Good thing they did do
that.
In 2017, Severino was an
All-Star and finished third in the Cy Young voting after going 14-6 with a 2.98
ERA in 31 starts. He struck out 230.
“Obvi, I love Sevy and
plan on rooting for him for the Sex Panthers,” she said, “but even better, for
the Yankees!”
For the Panthers, he
headlines a pitching staff that could be sneaky good. Marcus Stroman just needs
to get healthy and Trevor Bauer is on the breakout list of many this year. He
struck out a career-best 196 last season with an ERA that was close to a
career-best at 4.19.
Obviously, Gina would like
to see that ERA lower, but at the end of the day, Bauer went 17-9 in 31 starts.
J.A. Happ was the Panthers
first round pick a year ago — he went 10-11 with a 3.53 ERA and 142 strikeouts
in 25 starts — and she went ex-Phillies again with this year’s first-round pick, grabbing
Cole Hamels who struggled with injuries last season.
Hamels, who Gina used to
make fun of, went 11-6 with a 4.20 ERA in just 24 starts.
His spring training
numbers haven’t been good either, so one has to wonder why didn’t the Sex
Panthers go elsewhere with that No. 4 overall pick.
Despite that fact,
Reynaldo Lopez and Mike Foltynewicz are interesting young pitchers, and I still
think there’s sometthing more with Taijuan Walker.
Could this come together
and form a competitive pitching staff that gets the Panthers back to the playoffs
for the first time since 2015?
I think so, and I think
the key to Gina posting her second straight winning season is going to be the
four-man outfield.
Does Yelich have another
level in his game now that he’s in Milwaukee in a good lineup? Does Garcia
duplicate his .330 season he had a year ago? And does Davis hit 40 bombs and
drive in 100-plus runs for the third straight season?
“I don't have to tell you
why it COULD be the best outfield,” Gina said. “I can just tell you that it IS
the best outfield in the JLB. Davis is the vet with power, Yelich is still
young and now he has a new team to be awesome with. Garcia had a breakout year
last year and will continue that this year in Chi-town.
“Watch out boys, I'm
coming for ya.”
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