Texas Black Lightening

by ttjackson@yahoo.com 9:07 PM 0 comments

The St. Louis Crazy Horses miss the playoffs by 2 lousy games, and the team is sold and the franchise moves down to Texas! Add this move to the sell off of Budwieser to Belgium InBev and the makers of Stella Artois, and the St. Louis faithful are shouting "Stella" with more anger and bravado than Marlon Brando could ever muster (streetcar named desire reference for those confused).

So what remains of the 83 win team from a year ago? Well, aside from jettisoning a few nice bullpen arms to Montgomery for nice prospects, Texas has stood pat, with a nice array of offensive talent as a foundation, including Ray Meyers, Phil Spiers, Max Jacquez, Matt Koloff, Ed Walker, and Tris Tatum. These bats should "warm up" with the move from pitching friendly Busch Stadium to slugging friendly Arlington ballpark, and the power numbers should go up significantly.

The pitching staff features several serviceable starters, including Juilo Arias, Marvin Belinda, and Stump Baker. The bullpen is paced by Lonny Arroyo and Yuniesky Lopez. The pitching staff on the ML level is thin right now, but there is time during spring training to deepen the bullpen.

This Texas team looks to rebound offensively but take some knocks in the pitching department. A 500 winning percentage this year would be a major accomplishment unless some pitching reinforcements are brought in. Rumor has it Jerry Jones has controlling interest in this new club in Texas, so anything is possible to boost ticket sales. Did I hear T.O. may be the next big black lightening free agent signing?