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Elendil · 01-23-2008, 06:49 PM

Major Gains

* Signed reliever Trevor Quinton to be their new closer. Quinton, 36, will make $38,000 over two years. He has a career ERA of 3.79 with 89 saves and is known as an extreme groundball pitcher.

Major Losses

* Third baseman A.J. Brisebois became a free agent. He would later sign with the Yukoners in the offseason, be traded to the Grizzlies, be released by the Grizzlies in training camp, and then sign with the Oilers. Good with the glove, his career batting line is a mediocre .258/.309/.422. Replaced at 3B by the terrible Adam Cote.

* Shortstop Wilfred McRae, age 23, became a free agent. This is a tough loss. McRae is a subpar fielder but hit .296/.349/.395 with 46 stolen bases last year and can play any infield position. He would sign with Kodiak. Replaced at SS by the marginal Aaron Boudreau.

2018 Forecast

The Mushers are slowly but surely putting together a young core to help them contend in the future. Adrian Albert and Shane Kodo should eventually be fantastic pitchers. Ken Talley and Dave Langille (now 38) are both great hitters now.

With fan interest dropping in this small, isolated market, however, it's unclear whether this franchise will survive that long. Prediction: 6th (last) in the Seward Division.

Major Gains

* Slugging catcher Karl Morrisey has come over from Kodiak in a trade for relief pitcher Jason Hilton and a decent second base prospect, Scott Bayles. Big Morrey hit .335/.397/.489 last year and also won the Glove Wizard award, although some say he didn't deserve it. He may actually move to first base for the Jets, since catcher Dave Lepine is an All-Star in his own right and generally has a significantly better arm. This was a great trade for the Jets and a bad but not terrible one for the Grizzlies, who have an amazing young talent coming up to fill the catcher slot.

* Starting pitcher Jeremy House, 27, and rookie center fielder Rowan MacIndoe came over from the Glacier Pilots in another solid trade. MacIndoe will start coming out of training camp and has decent upside. House is basically league average, with a pretty cheap salary ($25K over the next two years). The Jets gave up 2B-OF Anthony Garant, who had just been claimed off waivers from Fairbanks (see analysis above).

* Acquiring shortstop Brett Small from Fairbanks was the biggest coup of the offseason - for any team. Small, 27, has a career line of .295/.362/.486, is a decent fielder, and will make $65,000 a year over the next three years. The Jets only gave up washed-up 42-year-old former superstar pitcher Monzaemon Mihashi (career 77-52, 3.50 ERA), who will be a free agent after 2018 and will make $63,000! New GM Kent Linkletter is starting to look like a genius.

* 33-year-old right fielder Bill O'Farrell was signed as a free agent to a 1-year, $21K deal. He has never started regularly before but always hit well in the Training League. Last year, in 217 AB's, he hit a pretty poor .240/.344/.341 with Sitka. He could be a waste of money or he could be a spectacular find.

Major Losses

* 1B-2B Johnny Ledlow was traded to the Fairbanks Goldpanners for two marginal prospects. Ledlow, 29, has a career line of .286/.360/.458 and is not a good fielder. He's set to make $50,000 a year over the next three years. This is not a bad trade for the rebuilding Jets, despite the little return, and is one of the few sensible deals that Fairbanks made this offseason.

* Mihashi, mentioned above.

* Garant - but he wasn't on the team at all last year, so not a real loss.

* Hilton, mentioned above.

Forecast

The Jets could be the most improved team in 2018. I doubt it's enough to contend for the pennant, given their cellar-dwelling status in 2017. But with a lineup that features Morrisey, Logan, Small, Ikarashi, and O'Farrell, and a starting rotation with an aging Gagnon and an up-and-coming Howatt, the Jets should be much stronger. Prediction: 4th in the Seward.

01-23-2008, 06:49 PM	#201 (permalink)
Elendil Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: the dynasty forum Posts: 2,176 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0x in 0 posts	2018 previews (cont.) Major Gains * Signed reliever Trevor Quinton to be their new closer. Quinton, 36, will make $38,000 over two years. He has a career ERA of 3.79 with 89 saves and is known as an extreme groundball pitcher. Major Losses * Third baseman A.J. Brisebois became a free agent. He would later sign with the Yukoners in the offseason, be traded to the Grizzlies, be released by the Grizzlies in training camp, and then sign with the Oilers. Good with the glove, his career batting line is a mediocre .258/.309/.422. Replaced at 3B by the terrible Adam Cote. * Shortstop Wilfred McRae, age 23, became a free agent. This is a tough loss. McRae is a subpar fielder but hit .296/.349/.395 with 46 stolen bases last year and can play any infield position. He would sign with Kodiak. Replaced at SS by the marginal Aaron Boudreau. 2018 Forecast The Mushers are slowly but surely putting together a young core to help them contend in the future. Adrian Albert and Shane Kodo should eventually be fantastic pitchers. Ken Talley and Dave Langille (now 38) are both great hitters now. With fan interest dropping in this small, isolated market, however, it's unclear whether this franchise will survive that long. Prediction: 6th (last) in the Seward Division. Major Gains * Slugging catcher Karl Morrisey has come over from Kodiak in a trade for relief pitcher Jason Hilton and a decent second base prospect, Scott Bayles. Big Morrey hit .335/.397/.489 last year and also won the Glove Wizard award, although some say he didn't deserve it. He may actually move to first base for the Jets, since catcher Dave Lepine is an All-Star in his own right and generally has a significantly better arm. This was a great trade for the Jets and a bad but not terrible one for the Grizzlies, who have an amazing young talent coming up to fill the catcher slot. * Starting pitcher Jeremy House, 27, and rookie center fielder Rowan MacIndoe came over from the Glacier Pilots in another solid trade. MacIndoe will start coming out of training camp and has decent upside. House is basically league average, with a pretty cheap salary ($25K over the next two years). The Jets gave up 2B-OF Anthony Garant, who had just been claimed off waivers from Fairbanks (see analysis above). * Acquiring shortstop Brett Small from Fairbanks was the biggest coup of the offseason - for any team. Small, 27, has a career line of .295/.362/.486, is a decent fielder, and will make $65,000 a year over the next three years. The Jets only gave up washed-up 42-year-old former superstar pitcher Monzaemon Mihashi (career 77-52, 3.50 ERA), who will be a free agent after 2018 and will make $63,000! New GM Kent Linkletter is starting to look like a genius. * 33-year-old right fielder Bill O'Farrell was signed as a free agent to a 1-year, $21K deal. He has never started regularly before but always hit well in the Training League. Last year, in 217 AB's, he hit a pretty poor .240/.344/.341 with Sitka. He could be a waste of money or he could be a spectacular find. Major Losses * 1B-2B Johnny Ledlow was traded to the Fairbanks Goldpanners for two marginal prospects. Ledlow, 29, has a career line of .286/.360/.458 and is not a good fielder. He's set to make $50,000 a year over the next three years. This is not a bad trade for the rebuilding Jets, despite the little return, and is one of the few sensible deals that Fairbanks made this offseason. * Mihashi, mentioned above. * Garant - but he wasn't on the team at all last year, so not a real loss. * Hilton, mentioned above. Forecast The Jets could be the most improved team in 2018. I doubt it's enough to contend for the pennant, given their cellar-dwelling status in 2017. But with a lineup that features Morrisey, Logan, Small, Ikarashi, and O'Farrell, and a starting rotation with an aging Gagnon and an up-and-coming Howatt, the Jets should be much stronger. Prediction: 4th in the Seward.