Montreal Expositions

by ttjackson@yahoo.com 10:29 PM 0 comments

For thirty-five glorious years, the Expos called Montreal home, but the fans stopped coming, and the team traded away their best players over and over and over again, from Gary Carter to Andre Dawson to Vladimir Guerrero to Pedro Martinez. So the Expos packed their bags and headed to DC, where the team has been on top of the world ever since. But into the void came the Montreal Expositions of the Plumpy league. It is a rebuilding job, to be sure, but the hockey fans of Montreal are nothing if not patient when it comes to their baseball, so there is real hope for this franchise.

The franchise's minor leagues are stocked with talent like James Rooney, Wally Rollins, Roger Robinson, and Zephyr Evans. The major leagues are a bit thinner, but the pitching staff is headed by one of the best young arms in the league: Keith Campbell. Lawrence Brooks , Miguel Tapias, and Pascual Alfonseca are all decent ML starters as well, as is Adam Ford. The bullpen is not as strong, with Dave Beam and Mike Mitchell the best Montreal has to offer. Unless there are changes, the bullpen will cost the starters more than a few wins this season.

Offensively, the team was anemic at best last season. The best power threat, Rafael Mendez, has trouble making consistent contact. David Pichardo and Julio Moreno are decent hitters, but nothing to worry opposing pitchers. The team lacks the offense to truly strike fear into opposing pitchers. Don't expect too much improvement in Montreal this season, unless they decide to promote a few of their promising young hitters. Absent that, the battle in Montreal will once again be against the threat of another 100 loss season.