Huntington Preview

Huntington Thundering Herd

After finishing last season with an 87-75 record which was good for 3rd in the South, Huntington’s management once again did not rest on their laurels. 5.0 games out of a playoff spot will do that to a person. The offense was 4th in the NL in runs scored, and the defense was tied for 1st…but it came down to pitching which finished 10th in the NL in ERA.

Key Losses:

3B Bernie Ortiz, 1B Michael Maddux, RF Marc Everhart, 2B Julian Cortes, C Matty Johnson, SPs Artie Hinch, Frank Tamura, Mel Reed, Terry Simmons, RPs Pinky Matheson, David Cox, Allen Guerrero

Key Additions:

RF Clay Lavarnway, C Ron Montgomery, SS Anthony Myers, 2B Rich Perry, LF Eddie Sandford, 3B Buster Wiggins, SPs Julio Johnson, Don Martin, Don Holt, Daniel Mullens, RPs Hector Uribe, Austin Byrne, Ronald Berger, Bartolo Lugo

Outlook:

Enough is enough and management made a huge investment in improving the team pitching this season. 4 pitchers return from last season, while 4 position players return as well. It isn’t often that a team loses 166 HRs from their offense, but actually feels better about their team going into the season. This is due to the fact that the pitching staff went from a collection of #3 and #4 pitchers, to a true staff, with an ace and a group of #2’s. While the team may not be as strong defensively this season, offensively we should not suffer too terribly much. The excitement is building for phenom Jeremy Livingstone’s debut as the full-time closer. For the first time in a long time Huntington presents a true ace in Julio Johnson. This team is still built for power as 10 players topped double-digits in HRs while 9 players knocked in 50+ runs. This is a do-or-die season for this team as only 6 players are signed past this season.