It was fun while it lasted. Our 2023 season unofficially came to an end this chapter, as it has become crystal clear that the Florida Mulligans will never reach the potential we have this season. This season reminds me in so many ways of the 2021 season, when we had the best pitching staff (by far) in the entire BDBL and somehow managed to avoid the playoffs. On paper, this year's team should be good enough to win a spot in the playoffs -- if not a division title. Instead, we're barely scraping by.
We finished Chapter Four with an abysmal 10-14 record. Set aside our bizarre Chapter Two, in which we went 21-7, and we're a .500 team (38-38) the rest of this season. I believe .500 is the true representatation of this team's ability. That second chapter was a drastic outlier.
This team's under-performance can be blamed squarely on three factors:
1. Shohei Ohtani may win the OL Cy Young award this year. He may even win the league MVP. But he has been an abysmal failure at the plate for us this year. Through 102 games and 382 at-bats, he has managed to hit just 12 homers. He is on pace to hit just 18 this year, which is nowhere near the 34 homers he hit in MLB a year ago. What is the point of having Shohei Ohtani in your lineup if he doesn't hit like the actual, real, Shohei Ohtani? I have no idea who this imposter is, but he's nothing like the real deal.
2. Rafael Devers is the absolute worst, most disappointing player, I have ever managed in my 25-year career. His BDBL numbers (.232/.308/.381, 10 HR) are nowhere near his MLB numbers (.295/.358/.521, 27 HR.) We expected him to be useless against left-handers, and yet he's been better than expected. His problem is right-handed pitching, bizarrely enough. In MLB, he hit .304/.375/.557 against righties. This year, he's hitting just .215/.291/.354. Again, what is the point of having a top-30 hitter in our lineup if he performs like a bottom-30?
3. We have seen many, many, many teams in the BDBL's recent past who have had no-name, no-nothing, bullpens that performed extraordinarily well in the BDBL. We have a bullpen filled with no-name no-nothings, and yet we can't catch a break with any of them. They all suck. Carl Edwards (6.46) and Chase De Jong (6.49) have pitched worse than any position player in baseball. On the starting side, Ranger Suarez (6.49) and J.P. Sears (6.57) have been worse than useless. Before the game even begins, I know we're going to lose when those two are on the mound. Automatic losses. All four pitchers own ERA's over three runs higher than their MLB ERA's. Again, what is the point of having pitchers with good MLB numbers if they don't translate to the BDBL?
I am officially done trying to compete this year. Especially in this environment with the Undertakers running away with yet another BDBL title, there is no point in trying to improve this shit sandwich of a team. I have tried, and continue to try, to trade whatever I can for future value, but the trade market is abysmal this year.
We're now tied with the Ravenswood Infidels in the OL wildcard. The Infidels gave up on the season a few weeks ago, but then turned around and added a pitcher for this year. So who the hell knows what Skizm is up to. The direction of his team depends on the direction the wind is blowing. I know which direction we are heading: DOWN.
No comments:
Post a Comment