2009 Year in Review

Shortstop Jose Reyes (.309/15/71) emerged as a potential MVP candidate. His 101 runs scored were 5^th in the league, and his 205 hits, 64 SB, and 23 triples all led the league. Reyes' triples total was a new league record, relegating 2004 Nomar Garciaparra and 2008 Curtis Granderson (both with 19) to 2^nd place. In-season acquisition Jonathan Papelbon (1-1, 1.99, 11 saves in 31.2 ip) was extremely good at slamming the door. Was it his fault the horse (Pig?) had already escaped?


What went wrong?

The Sophomore Jinx was in full force, as Lehigh Valley dropped from an impressive 96 wins in their first year to a disastrous 51 in year 2. The deadball-era method of starting pitching management (a league-record 95 CG's, eclipsing the previous high of 71 by 2005 NJT) led to a new league all-time high of 1299.1 IP by starting pitchers, leaving only 142.2 IP in the hands of relief pitchers – this even though the most effective Pigs were in the pen (Papelbon, Matt Capps, and Sean Marshall were the only LVI pitchers with a sub-4 ERA). Jon Garland (5-18, 7.07, 16 CG's in 24 starts) extended his amazing NASBL streak of 7 consecutive seasons with double-digit losses, and failed to reach double-digit wins for the 6^th time in that streak. 2^nd round pick Johnny Cueto (5-19, 5.46, 14 CG's in 24 starts) suffered the Verducci Effect, but thankfully missed enough time to avoid having his name formally appear on the NASBL single-season losses leaderboard in his first campaign.


In retrospect, the critical decisions were:
1. Dismantling the Iron Pig pen early (and often). A draft-day trade sent fireballer Jose Valverde (4-4, 3.58, 24 saves with LCC) and LVI's #1 pick to Lake Champlain in exchange for coveted RF Justin Upton (.236/11/35). Shortly after the draft, another trade sent 2009 LF Fireman of the Year Brian Fuentes (5-3, 1.65, 31 saves with MSU) away in a deal netting a 2010 1^st round pick. Then in Block 1, Lehigh Valley pumped up yet another bullpen, this time sending 2008 LVI saves leader Matt Capps (0.00 ERA, 5 saves with LVI / 2-3, 3.59, 23 saves with SPR) plus outfielder Josh Hamilton (.318/26/99) to Springfield in a deal netting Papelbon and SPR#1. While Papelbon was undoubtedly an upgrade over Capps, he could not replace the losses in the LVI bullpen.

2. The draft-day trade of incumbent 3b Mark Reynolds (.277/21/59) to TRY for the pick used to select Johnny Cueto. With 1^st rounder (3^rd overall) Evan Longoria on board, it appeared Reynolds was expendable. And while Longoria played superior defense to Reynolds, the rookie's moderate .249/12/51 line saw him ultimately enter a time-share at the hot corner with NASBL journeyman Mark DeRosa (.236/5/27).

3. Acquiring a superior draft position for 2010. LVI will draft 3 times in the first round (including 2^nd overall), twice in the 2^nd round, and twice in the 3^rd round. While 2009 was a lost season, perhaps it will be a successful mucking out of the stalls, leading to a brighter future for the Iron Pigs.

Looking ahead to 2010

Three key questions

1. How will GM Kevin Burns put his outstanding draft position to good use? 7 picks in the first 3 rounds offer myriad opportunities. But the critical selection is going to be the 2^nd pick overall. With only 1 player off the board (GRK's selection), it might be a while before Lehigh Valley has such a golden chance as this to bring on board the next Iron Pig franchise player.

2. To borrow a phrase from Dennis Green, are the young Iron Pigs who we thought they were? While Jose Reyes has been crowned atop several leaderboards, Johnny Cueto, Evan Longoria, Justin Upton, Lastings Milledge (.211/0/18) and Adam Lind (.232/0/20) need to show a little more before we let 'em off the hook.

3. Will LVI field a bullpen in 2010? If so, will it contain more than 3 men? The record CG numbers drew attention on the NASBL News Blog as early as April 22nd, when an article entitled “Lehigh Starters Early Favorites for 2009 Balls of Iron Award” pointed out an absurd total of 35 CG's in 41 starts. From that point forward, a somewhat more moderate approach seemed to prevail. In the end, while the LVI “Season of Dusty Baker's Dreams” did prompt 2 rules proposals limiting SP overusage, a general belief that the 2009 season was an outlier not likely to be repeated prevailed, and both proposals were defeated. Nevertheless Dr's Jobe and Andrews, as well as the NASBL free press, voting populace, and a large flock of vultures hoping for an errant piece of overused arm-gristle to fall off, will be avidly watching events on the Lehigh Valley mound this summer.

Projected lineup
c – Russell Martin

1b – Hank Blalock

2b – Chase Utley

3b – Evan Longoria

ss – Jose Reyes

lf – Carl Crawford

cf – Lastings Milledge

rf – Justin Upton

dh – Adam Lind

Rotation

John Garland

Gil Meche

Joe Blanton

Aaron Harang

Chad Gaudin

Johnny Cueto

Closer

Jonathan Papelbon