|
Binghamton Senators
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personnel History The early history of the team featured four seasons hovering around 70 wins, though Barry Bonds, Bernie Williams, John Smoltz, and Edgar Martinez all passed through the franchise. Steve Spoulos rescued a team badly adrift in 1997 and after steady improvement finally landed a World Series Championship in 2003. After a poor trade that cost them Edgar Martinez and Bernie Williams, the franchise landed Alex Rodriguez in the next trade. Todd Helton joined on the 1st pick in the second round, and the heart of the Antioch offense for the next decade was formed. World Series appearances ensued in 2000 and 2001, but Antioch never had Rosehaven's number. The Wizards never signed more than the minimum 12 over the Spoulos era, and consistent performances meant that there were always numerous picks available to staff a strong bullpen, an Antioch trait. With the exception of Russ Ortiz, the team has not been able to develop too many retainable players in the draft, but was able to pick up Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens in trades to solidify the rotation. In 2004, Spoulos resigned on top, bringing in new management. Out went Russ Ortiz, Clemens, Pettitte, A-Rod, and Helton, though Manny Ramirez, David Wells, and Keith Foulke spearheaded a new-look (lots of Red Sox) RiverWolf team which nearly made the playoffs. One of the by-products of this dealing was Ryan Howard. However, a number of draft picks were mortgaged for the future, and new manager Avery Gardner is picking up the pieces of a franchise needing new talent. |
2005 The start of the Ryan Howard era provided hope in Binghamton, but surrounding Manny and Howard there was far too much mediocrity. Centerfield and the left side of the infield was particularly weak, as a revolving group of players offered little stability and not much offense. The same could be said for the pitching staff: Bronson Arroyo and Andy Pettitte were solid (27-14 between them) but the rest of the starting rotation went 15-41. (That said, Bruce Chen and Zach Day did play spoiler against Dresden.) The expected lights out bullpen of F-Rod and Zumaya (first round pick) was only mortal, as each posted ERAs in the high threes, blowing 16 combined leads. In mid-June, the Senators got to within one game of .500 at 33-34, then went 10-26 following. They were never a factor in the race. 2005 Manny had MVP type stats (.319/41/139); Ryan Howard shone, at least when he replaced Mike Sweeney; and Ramon Hernandez continued to perform well in IIBL. But two players with the most negative value were Scott Podsednik (31 CS) and Neifi Perez (161G, .287 OB%). Andy Pettitte led the staff with a 13-12, 3.08 season, although David Wells managed to pip him for the team win crown with 14. F-Rod had a decent year, if not F-Roddish; however, overall the Senators were slightly below average in batting, pitching, and, as a result W-L record. The team started poorly, winning only 16 times in their first 46 games, but after that rallied to poke over .500 after winning 9 in a row on the road in July-August. A weak finish left them at 78-84, good for 4th place. 2004 Swanee got off to a great start at 31-15, and maintained momentum into June at 50-31, but then it all fell apart. A 2-12 spell against teams mostly on the south side of .500 meant they would chase Dresden for the final playoff spot all year, but the RiverWolves never got within 2.5 games the rest of the way. Manny Ramirez was essentially a one man band: .314 - 63 - 140. Jose Valentin managed 37 homers, but did not have an OB% of .300, nor did he drive in 100 runs. Ramon Hernandez had a great year with 31 HR and 86 RBI. After that, it was pretty sparse. On the pitching side, the team led the division in ERA. Keith Foulke and Francisco Rodriguez were lights out in the bullpen, but the rotation after David Wells and Brandon Arroyo (and Andy Pettitte, when available) was weak. 2003 While it always seemed like division rival Nashua and conference rival Sycamore had better teams, Antioch went wire to wire to win the division and won key playoff series and emerged with their first World Series Championship. To be precise, Nashua twice rallied to tie the Wizards in the standings, at the 110 game mark and the 146 game mark, but the Wizards won 14 of their last 16 to leave little doubt to the division championship. As usual, the offense was keyed around A-Rod and Helton, but Ramon Hernandez, Mark Grudzielanek, and Tim Salmon also turned in useful years. Russ Ortiz, Andy Pettitte, and Roger Clemens each won 20+ games, the first time that was done in IIBL history. The Wizards also led the league in fielding, committing only 63 errors all season, 17 less than anyone else. It added up to 114 wins and home field advantage. Antioch had to go seven games against Pocono and then Sycamore, but dispatched Rio Salado in five games for the whole ball of wax. 2002 The 2001 edition got to the World Series with a two person offense of A-Rod and Helton, but Helton’s 2002 stats were rather pedestrian (.280/15/75). While A-Rod had an MVP calibre year, and satellites like Tim Salmon, Ben Grieve, and Edgardo Alfonzo all had better years, the offense slumped to a middle of the pack 782 runs. A bigger problem was pitching. Roger Clemens went from 23-5, 2.87 to 12-11, 4.38 and Andy Pettitte from 16-8 to 4-9. As such, the Wizards were never more or less than a .500 team, and operated within a 10 game band of breakeven all season. While a playoff spot was up for grabs as late as the all star break, with Antioch 2 out, the team never managed a wake-up call. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
