Mustangs End Season, Look To The Future October 6, 1999
Medina (AP)- When the last out was recorded at Vet's Park the fans did
something that might have surprised an outsider, but not to any of the
players, they gave them a standing ovation.
"You might think that would be strange, especially since we have the worst
record in the history of PVBL baseball, but that goes to show what kind of
support we receive here in Medina." said outfielder John Wojick.
Indeed, every home game was close to capacity, with 48 games being a sellout.
"The reasoning is simple, "said owner Randy Reese, "Its not like we got rid of
all our players for payroll considerations. We traded for the future, and
although we have an inexperienced team now......this team will only get better
with each passing year."
Gone are the players that could have made them respectable this year,
including franchise originals Robin Ventura, John Olerud, Rob Nen and Pudge
Rodriguez.
"It was tough to see them go, especially Robb and Pudge," says Reese, "They
were part of our rebuilding program. The offer we got was just too good to
pass up."
Nen and Rodriguez went to Phoenix, a team that needed players now to help them
through the playoffs. In return came third baseman Amaris Ramirez, outfielders
James Brosius and Oort Cloud, and the biggest surprise of all, and the
Mustangs MVP of the season, catcher Miestro Maxwell.
"Miestro wasn't even going to be our starting catcher, " says manager Dick
Chudnow, "we got him in the trade as insurance, figuring either Chris Widger
or Craig Sorrento would catch."
Maxwell took over the catching duties, and batted .265 with 17 HRs and 66
RBIs. Although those numbers dont seem real impressive, they were good enough
to lead the Mustangs in homeruns and RBIs, and place third in batting average.
Maxwell also committed only 5 errors, sporting a .994 fielding percentage.
Maxwell was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dismal offense. The
Mustangs were last in both leagues in batting average and RBI's, and second to
last in homeruns. Yet there is no sense of urgency among the team.
"The average age of this team is around 24. We had a great draft, we have a
potent farm system. We have some great players coming through the system."
says Chudnow.
Trades brought the Mustangs top two rated prospects, shortstop Dennis Abreu
and third baseman Amaris Ramirez.
"We have every hope that Dennis will become the best leadoff hitter in the
game," says Director of Player Development Pat Battistini, "He finished his
double A ball season at Kuckville with a .389 average. We thought about
bringing him up, but decided to let him develop a bit more in the minors."
Abreu is a multi-tooled player with great contact, good power and speed, and
almost phenomenal defensive skills.
Ramirez has the organization buzzing about his bat and his power. " Look at
him, " says Battistini, "You can hear the bat whistle and the ball scream
whenever he hits that sucker!"
As the team waits patiently for the hitters to develop, the are holding their
breath on the pitching staff.
"We were a bit disappointed with our pitching staff, "says Chudnow, "We didn't
expect them to rack up many wins, how can you with no run support? We didn't
want to see them end up near the bottom of the league in ERA."
Perhaps the biggest trade of the season was sending ace Alex Fernandez to
Washington for pitchers Ben Hamlin and Chad Ogea. "We didn't chew on that one
too much, "says Reese, "Although Fernandez is an exceptional pitcher, he was
struggling here. We felt that we got two really good pitchers in return."
Other trades brought in Scott Karl, Jason Schmidt, and Brett Tomko to the
Mustangs pitching staff.
"Just like our position players, are pitchers are young, and they can only get
better, " says Chudnow, "We think we will have a pretty good rotation with the
likes of Ogea, Rick Helling, David Hess, Karl, Tomko, and Schmidt to choose
from."
If there is a plus to this season, its the fact that the Mustangs have the
first overall pick in the FA plan, the FA draft, and next years Ammy draft.
"I know there is a lot of controversy surrounding the FA plan, but its there,
and we have every intention of taking advantage of it." says Reese, "and I
have let it be known that I will either keep a player we take, or be willing
to trade an unprotected player to another team for some more prospects."
An unspecified source close to the team has said that the Mustangs are looking
for either a closer or a staff ace in the upcoming drafts. The source also
said that Reese is anxiously awaiting the end of the World Series to began
talking to other teams about a trade to bring more pitching to the Mustangs.
They are reported ready with a lot of ammunition to make the deal happen,
including the aforementioned high picks and FA plan players.
