2007 Team by Team Preview - Drillers

O.U. Drillers

Starting Pitching:
Contreras, Bush, Beckett - good start

Bullpen:
Nathan, M.Gonzalez, R.Soriano, F.Cordero, Benoit - one of the best bullpens in the league; Nathan is unhittable

Catcher:
Posada - excellent vs rhp; no power vs lhp; should have a better arm than Molina
B.Molina - excellent vs lhp; nice platoon partner for Posada

Infield:
Konerko (1b-3) - balanced with power and on base
Garciaparra (1b-3) - he's merely good vs rhp... he's great vs lhp
Weeks (2b-4) - good, balanced OB; not much power vs rhp
Loretta (1b/2b-3) - no power; is average to below average as a hitter
Vizquel (ss-1) - great BA & OB vs lhp; not bad vs rhp; great defense
Rolen (3b-1) - much better vs rhp; will lose some in the clutch
Marte (3b-3) - no help this year, but very young

Outfield:
Ca.Lee (lf-5) - good power and speed; balanced; no defense
Bonds (lf-5) - only 367 AB; BA is down, but nothing else is; even better in the clutch
A.Jones (cf-1) - lots of homers and walks; balanced; great defense
Matthews (cf/rf-2) - career year; extremely balanced with .300+ BA and .370 OB
Guerrero (rf-4) - murders lhp

Designated Hitter:
Lots of candidates - Bonds and Lee are both LF-5's; Garciaparra and Konerko both play only 1b; some combination of these 4 guys is the best bet. They are all excellent hitters, but only three of them can play at one time. Even Guerrero might DH some to get his 4 out of the field.

Uncarded Guys:
Justin Upton - didn't do very well last year, but is still a prospect to be reckoned with. B.J.'s little brother, but don't hold that against him.

Draft Status:
The Drillers pick 8th; their 10th round pick is gone, but everything else is there; no extras

Outlook:
In the uber-scary NERDD, this is the team to beat. The starters need some depth, but the bullpen is outstanding. The defense is weird: 1's at ss/3b/cf, but 3's, 4's, and even 5's everywhere else. Lots of big hitters everywhere except 2b. As the roster stands right now, there will always be 2 big hitters left out of the lineup - it's that deep. Expect a trade or two before Draft day, and that will only make them better. This team has been together awhile and has gotten old. The window of opportunity for this group is closing, but this year's team could put an exclamation mark on the Bonds Era.

Last three teams to go: Warpigs, Tweeners, and Nads