Miami Palms Blog

Ryan Henning is certainly not known for his fielding. Before making several acquisitions to shore up the outfield, Henning was a DH two seasons ago. Trusting Henning's bat more than that of Rico Gomez, he was given the role of every day second baseman last season. For the first half of the year, he didn't disappoint, even earning himself an all-star appearance. As he fell off in the second half of the year, however, Gomez straightened things out, and was well on his way to reclaiming his job, especially as Henning fell off, only hitting one home run in the second half. Of course, with Gomez leaving to go to the Cubs, the job remains Henning's. If Henning can be consistent, he will be a constant threat, owing to his ability to hit from either side of the plate. Jaspero Gonzalez will see plenty of time in late innings and when Henning earns a day off.

Jaspero is one of the two unrelated Venezuelan Gonzalezes on the team (the first being Felix Gonsales). Jaspero is regarded as a middle infield prospect, though he has played most of his career in the minors and in Venezuela at second. This more than anything has been what has kept the youngster in the minors for so long, with Ryan Henning and Rico Gomez blocking his path, as well as other infielders Scott Henninger, Cole Abernathy and Matt Webster. With so many players finding new teams in the past couple of years, Gonzalez is finally getting his shot, and will be a back up middle and right infielder. Gonzalez is known more for his glove and speed off the plate, but what this team needs is as reliable bat, which Henning has and Gonzalez does not. The rookie will still see plenty of playing time, nevertheless.

Gonsales was a highly sought after young pitcher coming out of Venezuela with a good fastball and a live, if mercurial slider. In his first two years in the league Gonsales has been a disappointment, falling back on his fastball in tough spots and all too often giving up clutch base hits. If he can learn to mix his pitches a little bit better, Felix could be a feared set up man. If not, he will once again be left to mop up duty.

Billy Dupont for the past two seasons has been a spare outfielder. Last season, after both Aaron Rogers and Ray Berger departed, Scott Hatteberg was brought in. Dupont, without a suitable backup, learned the position and filled in at first at times and kept his fourth outfielder role. In his brief appearances, his defense was adequate, but his bat gained some attention as well. In his limited appearances, he posted strong stats and had the best home run/at bat ratio in what was, admittedly, a small sample size. Whatever the case, it was enough for the Palms management to name him the opening day starter at first base this season, without trying to hunt down a replacement.

One of four rookies on this team, all on the offensive side of the ball, Drysdale is simply an average hitter. He likely won't be plugged in as a deft alternative in the field, as all three outfielders are strong (to the point that Randy Winn was relegated to a designated hitter role). Instead, he falls into the awkward role of a fourth outfielder, though he is capable of taking over at first on days Billy Dupont needs off. It's unlikely that Drysdale will be a dissapointment, as the bar hasn't been set very high.

Coco Crisp is going into his second season with the Palms. Last season's offseason acquisition from the Boston Red Sox was a pleasant surprise, settling in nicely in the 3 spot in the batting order, taking over in center for Frank Sohn who was relegated to the bench. Crisp was thought to be an improved version of Sohn, and in Palms uniform, that assesment proved accurate, as he hit for a .284 average, knocking out 15 homers, one off his career high, which he attained in Cleveland in 2005. Additionally, he provides a reliable fielding option with good speed in center. The Palms, obviously, are hoping that Crisp can replicate his surprising '08 campaign, or, at the very least, something close.

Chastanet was a long reliever for te Palms, filling in as a spot starter a couple of times. while his stuff isn't where a top prospect's should be, he is a durable pitcher who throws strikes. Out of the bullpen, he logged the most innings, earned the most wins, tallied the most strikeouts and gave up the most home runs. He's definitely not a top flight starter, but the Palms don't need him to be. He should do an excellent job as the fifth man in the rotation, taking Buddy Carlyle's former spot.

Buddy Carlyle was a starter two years ago in Atlanta before coming to Miami to fill the same role in the stead. One of the major problems for the Palms in 2008 was the Bullpen, and with the signing of Manny Parra and Javier Vazquez, as well as the departure of former closer Luis Montgomery (and Victor Love the year before) the team decided to move Carlyle to the closer's role for some stability, while bringing former long reliever Dallas Chastanet into the rotation. Carlyle didn't seem equipped to start, failing to make it through more than 5 innings on most occasions, leaving it to guys like Chastanet or other members of the bullpen to clean up after him. His high strikeout rate and low walk rate should translate better into the bullpen than it did in the starting role.

In his brief time with the Palms last year, Eddie Black proved that scouts were exactly right about him. He was always known to be a solid hitting prospect, but not much behind the plate. With Gerald Laird and Kyle Vic behind the plate before him, Black was blocked by better game managers if worse hitters. Vic is in St. Louis, Jon Bogaard, at the time Vic's backup was traded as part of a deal with the Rangers for Laird. Of course, now Laird has also been allowed to move on. Part of this was to make way for Eddie both because he is likely to be the long term answer behind the plate, and because he could be part of the short term solution for the offense, which lost a lot in the offseason. In just a few at bats last year, he showed good plate presence and the ability to hit a home run when needed.

Dave Balierough, a right handed starter was the number 5 starter for the Palms in 2008, but with the departure of Forrest Davis and Rich Fischer, as well as Buddy Carlyle's new role in the bullpen, Balierough (pronounced BA lehr o) looks to move up to the fourth spot in the rotation. It was a common theme among the starters, and one followed by Balierough, with a low batting average against, and a very low ERA combined with a low strikeout rate and a league average in terms of home runs allowed. It suggests a solid defense behind him. Balierough isn't anything all that special in terms of stuff, but he does try to mix in a knuckleball, which is often just enough of a change to take care of a hitter, but every once in a while becomes a meatball. If he can work out that out pitch, his K total should increase, and he will continue to be a reliable starter.

Hi everyone, welcome to the Miami Palms baseball blog. It's based on a fictitious game, played using simulations of real players and invented. This is going to be the third full season for the squad. They play a reversed schedule of the Tampa Bay Rays, although they don't replace them (they play each other instead of the Marlins during home games) and as such are members of the American League East. In the first year, the Palms went 91-71. Last year, (the first year they added 'real' players) they tied the Rays atop the division, winning on a tiebreaker, but eventually lost to those same Rays in the ALCS. The additions and subtractions have already been made from last years roster to the 2009 season. Gone are Gerald Laird (to the Yankees), Scott Hatteberg (retired), Rico Gomez (Cubs), Scott Henninger (Mets), Darren Jones (Dodgers), Matt Webster (Marlins), Joe Gras (Royals), Forrest Davis (Mets), Rich Fischer (Diamondbacks), Luis Montgomery (Indians), Jared Burton (Red S...