CATALINA KITCHEN PASS WESTERN DIVISION FENWAY PARK TOM GYEPES (84-76) FRANCHISE RECORD (158-112) PLAYOFF RECORD 3 World Series Trips and 73 WWC
RANKINGS Hitting 8 Pitching 4 Defense 9
ROSTER
HITTERS
Belanger D5 Blair C+4 Bumbry F3 Burroughs AA1 Etchebarren F4 Fosse F3 Goodson C2 De. Johnson F1 Melendez F4 B. Oliver F+2 Da. Rader C3 B. Robertson A3 Soderholm C4 Stennett C4 Wynn AA 4
PITCHING
Billingham B- Bird B Carlton B Clyde C- Curtiss C Gossage B Hall C- Kison B Moffitt C Morton B Osteen C Stone C- Todd C-
NOTES
The feedback on these season team previews has been very helpful. The Commish has been an excellent editor and several owners have insightful questions about why and how teams are rated.
I have added range ratings for all players so you not only have an idea about how well they hit but also how well they field. Also, I have slightly adjusted the grading curve for pitchers and made the grades about a half grade higher. So if Claude Osteen would have received a C- under the old grading system now he receives a C. Changing the grading curve does not change the underlying data used to rank the teams so the team rankings remain the same.
The CKP franchise has a very rich history much like the Fenway Park it calls home. The franchise fka the Boston Brewers made 3 consecutive World Series appearances in the first 3 years of the league's existence. John Brewer was a master at Inside Pitch given he actually rewrote the rulebook to make it easier to comprehend. He also was a master at contract and talent evaluations. Nevertheless, he never was able to take home a World Series championship.
Tom Gyepes took over the franchise in 2022 and added a 1973 Western conference Wild Card appearance to the franchise playoff history. Gyepes has a good chance to build on the 73 momentum.
The pitching staff ranks 4th in the league thanks to the solid depth throughout the staff. While teams like Arizona signed aces like Blyleven and Phil Niekro to lead their staffs, the CKP brain trust has assembled a starting rotation which will keep them in any game throughout the season. Carlton, Morton, Billingham and others have the experience to shut down rallies while Gossage and Bird should pile up the saves. It is an interesting case study on how to build a pitching staff for the regular season. How it will fare in the playoffs is a different question given A pitchers usually dominate the playoffs.
CKP ranks 8th in hitting and 9th in defense.
Jim Wynn aka "The Toy Cannon", the All Star centerfielder leads this team not only with his AA hitting rating but also with a 4 fielding range in centerfield. It is amazing a man who stands at 5'10" hit 32 home runs to go along with 18 steals. How many bombs he will hit in Fenway will be fun to watch.
Jeff Burroughs (AA1) is another power bat who would be a great DH given his iron glove but since we do not use the DH rule Cyepes will have to use his managerial skills to take advantage of Burroughs' power and somehow hide his glove.
Bob Robertson (A3) is the last member of the power trio who can hold down the 1B position while taking advantage of the Green Monster. The rest of the lineup provides several average hitters.
Belanger (5), Blair (4), Etchebarren (4), Wynn (4) and Soderholm (4) lead an underrated defense mainly because the best defenders man the key defensive positions. This is another indication the CKP front office knows how to construct a roster.
CKP has a solid team but it's path to the playoffs runs through Southern Cal and Gotham which creates a rocky road to the playoffs. Nevertheless, never ignore this franchise with Cyepes at the helm.
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