Hops pre-season
and NEW UPDATE with Bonus Poem Fragment and Illustration
and Brimstone
slurvers slop
inside outside
flipside
slip
inside strike
zone
devil wings
for arms
demon twists
nail corners
sledeption
destruption
then
triple digits
written August 19, and September 9, 2017, drawn, on the same days
(Salah Bin Atif, you can look it up, he hits 100 on the gun, has a changeup and splitter, and maybe more given their ridiculous rating)
San Diego made headlines by dealing its best player and a
minor league throw in, for a pack of bodies, most of whom will toil in the
minors this year. Jean-Claude Petit and Bobby Criss, went to South Carolina,
trading coasts for two major league pitchers, Prince Papenfuss and Gerardo
Vela, with a handful of minor-leaguers thrown in. This is an early indication
that SD will be shedding salaries (Kato? Cassidy?) for very little in return as
it earnestly attempts to rebuild.
* News Flash, Dong-soo Bruce, SP has been dealt to Bloomington for a passel of youngsters:
P Ronaldo Teves
P Gabe Loza
OF Pete Bauer
SS Jamie DeWoody
The deal came down the morning after Bruce twirled a dominating KO against Dallas. San Diego management, under pressure, says that this may not be the end of dealing and wheezing, er, wheeling.
Lineup:
Martin Arias leads off playing CF, and in his third big year
season is still only 21.
Robbie Colwill, also early in his career will bat second and
play LF.
Tokuhei Taniguchi has established himself as a genuine power
threat at 1b.
Veteran, Nadir Rizvi hits cleanup and will be the full time
DH
Akira Kato, as long as he’s a Hop, will bat fifth and try to
take Petit’s place at 2b.
An-yi Bian moves into a full time position at the hot
corner.
Addy de Zeeuw catches with John Watt in the wings (deepest
decent position on the team)
Manuel Rios is the only real SS on the opening day roster
with Rosas on the DL
The bench is a bit thin, with Hayakawa on the IF and Trude
in the OF supplying the best options.
Rotation:
Salah bin Atif fronts the rotation
Newcomer, Gerardo Vela will move into the two slot after his
tenure in South Carolina
Prince Percival Papenfuss and Robinson Pedercini are solid
back of the rotation arms
John Curnew and Jim Phillips are options here
Bullpen:
Juan Vázquez is the closer du jour
Zong Sang and Kenny Allen are a right handed dual setup crew
Phillips (update, now moved to the rotation) and Nick Henneberry are the middle men while Abdul
Fattah Arfan and Naomi Kobayashi are going long to start the season
Prospects:
London Carmichael, Jimmy Wynn and Mario Yescas are the big
names amongst position players, with former one pick, Carmichael destined to be
on the big league roster soon. Jon Bender, Rick Byrnes and Jose Rios are an
intriguing trio on the mound in the minor league system.
Overall:
70 wins is asking a lot, but what else is new?
