TEAM EVALUATIONS: FURS

Team: Furs

Conference: Liberty

Division: Northeast

2009 Record: 69-93, 5th Place

Typical Lineup:

1B Nick Swisher/Daric Barton

2B Clint Barmes

SS Marco Scutaro/Jose Reyes

3B Pedro Feliz

LF Carlos Lee

CF Franklin Gutierrez/Cody Ross

RF Juan Rivera/Jay Bruce

C Rod Barajas/Omir Santos

DH Travis Hafner/Rickie Weeks

They have two of the best fielding CF in the league, but they both can't play at the same time.  Feliz is a gaping hole offensively at 3B, and Swisher is out of position at 1B.  Barmes is a decent defender at 2B, but he didn't hit much.  Scutaro is a little better at SS.  Lee and Rivera should hit well, but they are liabilities in the field.  The DH and C positions aren't very strong offensively relative to the rest of the league.  As a whole, the lineup has possibilities, but is maybe only average or slightly below, with an uneven defense.

Starting Rotation:

Adam Wainwright

Ubaldo Jimenez

Barry Zito

Trevor Cahill

Carl Pavano

The rotation starts out very strong with a couple of genuine aces, but then peters out at the end.  Wainwright and Jimenez should win a ton of games and keep the Furs above water.  Cahill and Pavano will be trying to sink them every fifth day, though.

Bullpen:

Alfredo Aceves

Phil Coke

Lance Cormier

Jeff Fulchino

Fernando Rodney

Not bad.  Aceves, Fulchino and Cormier will do the bulk of the setting up, and Rodney can also close.

Closer:

Bobby Jenks

The big man is still pretty effective.

Minors:

Carlos Carrasco

Freddie Freeman

Austin Jackson

Mike Leake

Josh Vitters

Either Freeman or Vitters should solve the 1B problem pretty soon, and Jackson is yet another fleet-footed CF that could be used as trade bait.  Leake will probably start as a rookie for the Reds coming out of Spring Training in 2010, and Carrasco looks ready to step into an important role in the Indians rotation.  It's a small but talented collection that fills some needs.

The Furs look very much improved from 2009, and should be in the mix for a playoff spot behind OshKosh in the competitive Liberty Northeast.  I think they will battle the Senators to the wire, and possibly lose out at the end, mostly because of the relatively weak offense.

Predicted Record: 88-74