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EHCC Fact or Fiction: Week 19
Big disappointments and high hopes as the playoffs approach
By Pedro Gammo and Jayson Snark / EHSPN.com
Fact or Fiction: No one can stop Rakeville.
Snark: Fiction
The fact of the matter is that Rakeville can be stopped, hard as though that may have been to believe from week 9-17. But they struggled to a 4-3 win over borderline-playoff contender Winston-Salem last week, and have looked vulnerable at times this season (though, admittedly, not lately). This is a deep league and any given week a team could simply catch fire and knock off the bulldozing Rakeville squad.
But something worth mentioning again is the horrific trade that Tijuana made earlier this season, sending top 5 slugger David Ortiz to Rakeville (with a 1st round minor league pick, no less) for a struggling Justin Morneau and sell-high Chris Young, who has been nothing short of a disaster since he left spacious Reed Field, a trade on par with Heathcliff Slocumb for Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe. Since the trade Rakeville is a perfect 6-0 with blowout wins against Las Vegas, Tijuana, Weymouth, Golden, and Bridgewater, all playoff contenders. These are teams that Rakeville barely snuck by in the first half of the season, or even lost to (a 5-4 loss at the hands of Tijuana in week 3, an 8-2 defeat at the hands of Bridgewater in week 6), yet they were DESTROYING them post-trade. Just a horrible, horrible trade that will likely be a deciding factor in the championship. If and when Rakeville claims the EHCC crown they should send Peter Kantor a thank you note. (On a side note: what the hell is Tijuana doing this year? Do they even know? I have never seen so much haphazard trading in all my years covering the EHCC. There needs to be major changes in the Hispanic front office before they completely destroy a franchise that was in the final four just a year ago. Get a game plan and stick to it—youth or contention, you can’t have it both ways.)
Gammo: Fact
Maybe someone CAN stop Rakeville, but I don't know that anyone WILL stop them this year, not if they keep up what they've been doing for the past 3 months. Rakeville has been planning this coup of the EHCC for 4 years now and it's finally paying off. Their pitching has always been tops in the EHCC and now their bats have also come alive to make their offense a formidable threat. There are a few teams that could push the Rockets out of the playoffs, especially with their recent history in the first and second rounds, but as of recently no one has been able to hang with them, nevermind compete with them for league superiority.
Fact or Fiction: Plymouth will not be home to an EHCC team in 2006.
Snark: Fact
Direct quote from acting Plymouth GM Bustin’ Jellio: “Man, we suck. They should just contract us.”
I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say they probably won’t be around next season.
Gammo: Fact
The fact of the matter is that the Bells aren't the type of team that belongs in such a competitive league. Management of the Plymouth franchise has even been quoted as saying, "We suck. They should just contract us." I think that says it all.
Fact or Fiction: The Rockets should bring up Felix Hernandez this year.
Snark: Fact
Word is this kid is pretty good. Even better than Sidney Ponson.
Gammo: Fact
The way the team is playing they don't need him but none the less, yes, they should bring him up. With the scheduled death of Sir Sidney Ponson they'll have an open roster spot. Hernandez could use the time with the Rockets to solidify himself as a quality starter in the EHCC.
Some say it was a mistake for the Doggs to trade him away last season but those people forget that the Doggs won a championship in large part thanks to that trade. And to think, there were rumors that the Rockets almost traded him earlier this year for Gary Sheffield. The Piglets, who didn't want to give up on their season by abandoning their most consistent offensive threat and also playing a little defense, didn't want to help an already solid competitor for the EHCC title, declined the trade and stuck with their already young and formidable pitching staff with Sheffield at the helm of their offense.
Hernandez, whether brought up now or next year, should be a great pitcher, barring any future injuries like those that have plagued Doggs’ phenom Mark Prior throughout his career. He shouldn't be wasted in the ESSEC.
Fact or Fiction: The Doggs won’t reach the second round of the playoffs without a Bye.
Snark: Fiction
I feel like there is a lot of self-pity out there for teams like Las Vegas, Weymouth, and Quebec City. Each was picked by prognosticators to have their way with the league and that the race for the EHCC crown would be settled between the three of them. Au Contraire. All three have struggled to some degree this season, and the Doggs’ now infamous line about enjoying first place and staying there awhile (only to be dethroned shortly thereafter) coupled with their 2004 title must have made it especially painful for them to be just another above-average team this season. But that’s where they sit.
Now, with this mediocrity does come a slight benefit, and that is that any given team can beat any other team in a given week (with the exception of Tokyo, who can’t beat anyone). While the drawback to this is obvious, the benefit is that the Doggs can beat anybody they face in the first round, perhaps even handily. They are not slaves to a bye. Who would they face in the first round? Winston-Salem? Bizton? Golden? None poses a huge threat to the Doggs advancing to the second round, though each is capable of beating the Doggs (the Markies especially—watch out for this dangerous team if they sneak into the playoffs).
Gammo: Fact
They CAN make it to the final round, but with the way they have played against good teams, they can't make it out of the first round without not having to play anyone. They can't seem to put anything together when playing a top 5 team, and the only reason they are as far above the rest of the EHCC as they are is because their team puts it ALL together when playing lower teams, thereby accumulating more win-categories despite a mediocre won-loss record. That won't help them in the playoffs where only the strongest survive.
Fact or Fiction: All things considered, Quebec City has been the year’s biggest disappointment.
Snark: Fact
Quebec City has had a tough year, especially given the expectations that preceded them. It’s true that GM Pat Renaud has been dealt a tough hand. Key injuries to Jim Thome, Scott Rolen, Kelvim Escobar, and Keith Foulke, as well as the inexplicable ineffectiveness of these players when they were not injured (in addition to spotty work from Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Jason Schmidt) have left the Piglets battling all year. Without breakout seasons from Andruw Jones and Derrek Lee the Piglets could be in considerably worse shape, which is a scary thought.
Renaud is not without fault, however. One of the worst trades of the season came when he panicked and traded away emerging star Morgan Ensberg, and his off-season trade for Jim Thome has been a complete bust. Time will tell if his trade of Barry Zito for the number one overall pick in the minor league draft was worthwhile (the pick was used on Adam Miller), but, as Zito has re-discovered his Cy Young form, the initial returns are not positive. The silver lining has been in player development, as the Piglets have acquired a number of young players who have not only been crucial in their success this year, but should contribute for years to come, such as former minor league draft pick Scott Kazmir and mid-season pick-ups Ervin Santana and Brian McCann.
I think it’s fairly safe to say that Quebec City has been the year’s biggest disappointment. They might be best served by following Rakeville’s lead and just blowing up the entire organization and starting over. It seems to be working out pretty well for Jack Reed.
Gammo: Fiction
It's a tie between Shaddupu and the Piglets. The Piglets because they were thought by many to have a very superior team and were supposed to make the jump from good to the best this year. The Rockets stole that position from them.
Shaddupu has been the biggest disappointment because their management hyped up their team so much in the off season that one couldn't expect anything less than a regular season championship from them this year. But with both teams jumping aboard the youth movement and with one manager deserting their team during the playoff push [Yukon Cornelius], both teams are lower in the standings than anyone, themselves included, expected them to be at this stage of the year. Expect them both to make the playoffs however and to make it to the second round (unless they play each other).
Pedro Gammo and Jayson Snark write for EHSPN.com. Their recent wolverine-hunting expedition through Alaska was cut short when Snark fell in a puddle of penguin droppings, and Gammo refused to lend him an extra pair of snow pants.
