CFBL Team Preview: Greco

(team was known as Konichiwa Bitches during the 07 season)


OVERVIEW:
2007 Record: 89-122-9
Standings: 9th place, 26 games out of the playoffs

Dave's team finished in second to last place in 2007, but there is certainly hope for a quick turnaround. This team was picked by many to have the best pitching staff but a number of injuries and underachievers sabotaged his season.


PROJECTED LINEUP:
C Pierzynski
1B Overbay
2B Kinsler
3B M Cabrera
SS Lugo
OF Sheffield
OF Catalanotto
OF
DH Mora

SP J Santana
SP Contreras
SP Harden
SP E Santana
SP N Robertson
SP Igawa

RP
RP

DL Zumaya

The roster above would sit at ~$88 million.


NEEDS:
-Outfielders, especially power hitters
-Upgrade DH?
-Relief pitching
-Upgrade Rotation


STRENGTHS:
-Has an Ace in Johan
-Good cornerstone player in Miggy Cabrera
-Has decent back of the rotation depth
-Solid, reasonably priced offensive pieces


WEAKNESSES:
-Offense could be a problem if Sheff regresses or gets hurt
-Lugo is an albatross contract (15.5 through 2011)
-Lots of average-ish offensive players locked in at key positions
-Uncertainty surrounding Santana - if he goes to the Mets for young OF prospects Dave is fucked in 08


PREDICTION:
I think with a few good moves and a couple lucky breaks Dave will be in playoff contention until the end. He could certainly be the 5 or 6 seed if things break right. A lot hinges on what happens with Santana of course.

It shouldnt be too hard to fill his OF spots, but he has to judicious with his money in order to address all his needs. He clearly needs one or more front of the rotation pitchers, #2 or 3 starter types, but those are going to be very expensive. The question is does he go the value route and bargain shop? Or does he overpay to get one or two premium targets and hope to fill out his roster on the cheap?


FARM SYSTEM:
Dave has an extremely top heavy system with Clay Buchholz and Adam Jones headlining. He then has some other interesting pitchers like Tillman, Marek, Liz and Morrow. That's about it though. There's not a lot of depth and there's not a lot of high end players after Buchholz and Jones - though admittedly those two are as high ceiling as they come. Huge draft coming up for Dave. He needs to fill in everywhere, getting quality, depth and upside. This is not one of the better farms sytems despite the two stars at the top.


OFFENSE: C+
PITCHING: C+
FARM SYSTEM: C+
OVERALL: C+

PREDICTED FINISH: 9th