| Feature News |
What’s Wrong with the Piglets?
A stacked Quebec City roster still waiting to break out
By Alexander Marquez Alejandro / Quebec Freeze Press
Quebec City, Canada eh?— Jim Thome. Gary Sheffield. Jason Schmidt. Mark Mulder. Tim Hudson. Francisco Rodriguez. Jake Peavy. Jeff Kent. The roster of an all-star team? Far from it, this season. Those players are just a handful of the stars aligned on the Quebec City Piglets of the EHCC baseball league. So why, then, do the Piglets find themselves in a dog-fight for fourth place, 7.5 games back of first?
Simply put, the Piglets have been the very definition of mediocre in 2005, playing to the level of nearly every opponent they have faced this year while averaging just over 5 categories won per game. With two ties, a blowout win and a blowout loss, and a handful of slight victories and one close loss, the Piglets have not lived up to expectations.
In an off-season where the Piglets acquired marquee names like Andruw Jones, Jim Thome, Jake Peavy, and Bobby Crosby to go along with veteran Piglet stars like Scott Rolen and Tim Hudson, General Manager Pat Renaud had visions of an EHCC title dancing in his head. But the Piglets have yet to show that they are ready to become that team.
“I really can’t explain it.” said a deflated Renaud. “It’s like, you work hard, you improve your team both in the short-term and for the future, and they come out and just don’t live up to expectations. I don’t know what else to do…”
Renaud has certainly tried to make the moves to continue improving his team, picking up budding stars Derek Lee and Morgan Ensberg from Free Agency while trading for Francisco Rodriguez and Adam Eaton early in the season, as well as drafting up and coming youngster Nick Swisher. But the moves have equaled little more than just enough to keep the Piglets in playoff contention.
“Derek Lee was a real coup for us. He’s having a career year,” Renaud added. “But imagine if we didn’t have him? Our offense is doing just enough with a guy who is leading the NL in the triple crown leading the way. I can’t figure it out.”
Injuries haven’t helped. The still-young season has seen Piglet superstars Scott Rolen and Bobby Crosby go down for extended periods of time, as well Kelvim Escobar bouncing back and forth from the rotation to the DL. But the fact remains that even when Piglet stars do play, they have been largely ineffective.
A Cy Young contender last year, Jason Schmidt has spent part of the season on the DL and the rest of it pitching poorly. Things have gotten so bad on the field for Schmidt that management reportedly seriously considered trading their best pitcher from a year ago.
When asked for comment on the story, Renaud indicated that a trade for “a young, power-hitting third-baseman was explored,” but that, in the end, the Piglets preferred to wait it out. Meanwhile, the Piglets have found offense in unexpected places, such as Lee and new third-baseman Morgan Ensberg, whose sudden hot bat has contributed to rumors of Piglet Captain Scott Rolen possibly being on the trading block, rumors Renaud steadfastly denies.
“Scott Rolen is our captain. He is the heart and soul of this team, and no one works harder in that clubhouse. Scott Rolen is a part of the Piglets past, present, and future.”
Still, with the emergence of Ensberg while Rolen has been down, trade rumors involving the Piglet captain have continued to swirl, as have rumors that, essentially, no one in the Piglet clubhouse is safe if Renaud can find the right value.
Renaud doesn’t sound like a man ready to jettison his stars, though, and seems to think that the best is yet to come for the franchise.
“This team can compete with the best this league has to offer. I think we are the best this league has to offer,” Renaud said. “We just have to gel. I’m not ready to give up on the season just yet.”
But when will he be ready?
Alexander Marquez Alejandro is a freelance reporter covering all things Piglet. He is a mouse that lives in General Manager Pat Renaud’s apartment, and has a serious problem leaving turds on the oven.
