2009 Year in Review

The Roadkill continued their recent Saberhagen Pattern ™ of one up season, followed by one down season. And much like Saberhagen's career, this down year was directly the result of a sore arm. Or in this case, two: the right arms of IR pitchers Kelvim Escobar and Yovani Gallardo. The loss of Escobar, who had logged at least 30 starts and 190 innings for the Roadkill in 3 of the past 4 seasons had enough of an impact on it's own. But when future ace Gallardo (10-2, 2.78 in 14 starts in his 2008 debut season) also pulled up lame, the ramifications were enormous. Not only was Georgia down 40% of its once solid rotation, but with two injured keepers and only one IR slot, the 'Kill would also be forced to play the entire season down 1 man. And while youngsters such as 5^th round pick Manny Parra (2-10, 8.77) and bullpen transplant Kyle Davies (3-10, 6.20) willingly took the hill, their best efforts simply weren't up to the standards of the pitchers they had been pressed into service to replace. Nor was the bullpen there to pick up their fragile fortunes. Roadkill relievers combined to lock down a mere 27 of 47 save opportunities (57.4%), and co-saves leaders Chris Perez (2-5, 3.60 in 40 ip) and Brad Lidge (0-2, 2.63 in 13.2 ip prior to being traded) were only able to compile 7 saves each.


In retrospect, the critical decisions were:
1. Loyalty to veteran players runs deep in the NASBL, particularly among the most veteran GM's. Barry Bonds played his entire career for DFW and Red Robbins. Manny Ramirez and Omar Vizquel may do the same for OJW and Mark Hildebrandt. So when Johnny Miller dealt 3 of the top 4 GRK all-time leaders in virtually every offensive category (Vladimir Guerrero, Todd Helton, and Magglio Ordonez) all within a matter of months, league news organizations were stunned. All three players had spent their entire careers (11 seasons for Ordonez, 12 for Guerrero and Helton) in Georgia. But with a 100-loss season looming, GM Miller made the difficult decision to part with his franchise players while they still held value in trade.

2. Besides the 3 earth-shaking deals that left Roadkill fans scrambling for their programs, GRK pulled off another major move: Trading shortstop Jimmy Rollins (.256/7/48 in 410 GRK ab's) and a #2 pick to the Honolulu Hawaiians for locally popular player Nate McLouth (.229/8/21 in 210 ab's with The 'Kill). The move accomplished two things for Georgia: adding a 3^rd amigo to the excellent Markakis / Rios outfield, and opening up the shortstop position for 2009 3^rd round pick Alexei “The Cuban Missile” Ramirez.

3. Acquiring a second #1 pick. Historically, the Roadkill has traded away their 1^st round draft pick more often than any other franchise. But in 2010, the 'Kill will pick not once, but twice in the first 16 selections. The cost for this honor was high, Magglio Ordonez and #2 all-time GRK saves leader Brad Lidge (85 saves as a Roadkill). But if GM Miller can add 2 players with the impact value of 2008 1^st rounder Yovanni “Yo-Go” Gallardo, then the greatest in-season purge since the Cultural Revolution may well have similar effects – laying the groundwork for a new, yet radically different empire.

Looking ahead to 2010

Three key questions

1. Who will GRK select with the #1 pick in the 2010 draft? Information coming from Roadkill headquarters has been sparse, but be assured Georgia GM Miller is crunching numbers and consulting scouts to determine who the next generation of Roadkill fans will hail as their franchise player...
   
   2. How is Yovanni Gallardo's health? Can he bounce back to pitch like he did in 2008? Besides Georgia's two 2010 first-rounders, a return of recent 1^st rounder (2^nd overall in '08) Yo-Go could potentially have the next most impact on reversing Georgia's fortunes. Could Georgia end up with not one, not two, but three top-quality young impact players on Opening Day 2010?
   
   3. What is the next number in this series? Going back to 2004, the Roadkill's regular-season win totals have looked like this: 90-79-94-57-91-46. Longtime Roadkill fans hope the obvious answer (a number beginning in “9”) is once again the correct one.
   
   Projected lineup
   c – AJ Pierzynski

1b – Ryan Garko

2b – Aaron Hill

3b – Chase Headley

ss – Aramis Ramirez

lf – Alex Rios

cf – Nate McLouth

rf – Nick Markakis

dh - ?

Rotation

Adam Wainwright

Yovanni Gallardo

John Lackey

Ricky Nolasco

Brad Penny

Closer

Chris Perez