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    Comets Hit 100-Game Mark Just below .500 Mark

       Pant, pant.  OK, the California Comets reached the 100-game mark August 12, with 63 road games played at home and 37 home games played on the road.  Except for the Ashes, which were all played at home.  Don’t ask me to explain it, just accept it.  I recall discussing why we should play our road games instead of our home games a few years back, but I can’t remember the logic to save my life. 

          Actually, the Comets are a bit surprised and satisfied to be that close to even-steven this far into the season.  But there are still a lot of results from opposing managers not yet reported, and road series to be played at home (there we go again) include some tough opponents in the Grays, Mitts, Rogues, and Mavericks.  The team is looking at a victory total in the 70’s.

          The team’s ERA at least temporarily has dropped below the five mark to 4.96.  The staff continues to be spurred by Mariano Rivera and Eric Milton, though Milton’s quick 7-2 start has floundered.  Rivera has 27 saves with an ERA of 1.32.  Four of the five team’s primary relievers sport ERAs under 3.00, the lone exception being Graeme Lloyd, whose 5.89 has still left him with a 5-2 record.  Milton, in 19 starts, now has an 11-8 record with a 5.58 ERA and is no longer looking like a 20-game winner.  Mark Mulder has lowered his ERA to 4.78 and is 6-8.  Hideo Nomo continues to labor at 6-12 with a 5.83 ERA. 

          The offense remains woefully average.  The major sore spot has been Magglio Ordonez, who has picked up his early pace only slightly to .243-12-48.  .  Taking up the slack have been Preston Wilson, Eric Chavez, and Ben Grieve.  Wilson has led the way at .274-22-58 and is 12 of 13 in steals.  Chavez leads the team with 65 RBI and 31 doubles and has 17 homers.  Grieve has done well hitting out of the two slot, with a .407 OBA. 

          Except for thridbaseman Chavez, the infield has been weak.  With Damian Jackson at second and Rafael Furcal and Mike Bordick sharing short, their combined BA is just under .230 and OBA is right at .300.  Their fielding (22 errors to date) has been as good as expected, but gold glove Chavez has offset his bat somewhat with 12 errors.  Firstbaseman Tony Clark is stumbling at .251-12-38 with 9 another errors.  The Comets have been fortunate that their 74 errors have resulted in only 19 unearned runs.

          Rickey Henderson, who was picked up in a late waiver draft move to play DH, has been a bust, as many predicted.  He is hitting .186 with an OBA of .281 and has scored just 29 runs.  David Eckstein is seeing more and more time at DH, batting .279 with an OBA of .321 and four more runs that Henderson, despite 40 fewer ABs.

          Of interest, the Comets catching trio of Toby Hall, Jason Varitek, and Raul Casanova have  combined for a .288 BA with 32 doubles, 11 homers, and 62 RBI.  They have, however, committed 10 errors and allowed 102 stolen bases, throwing out only 25% of would-be stealers.

          Both of the Comet’s waiver draft moves look questionable at best.  The team dropped Jack Wilson for Hiram Bocachica.  Wilson is playing a solid SS for the Pirates, while Bocacchica faded from Dodger plans, was traded to Detroit, and has done little but ride the bench all year.  The team also dropped hot left-handed pitching prospect Chris George for Rickey Henderson.  As noted already, Henderson has done nothing for the 2002 Comets and has been up and down with the Red Sox this year; George has a 6.43 ERA at AAA this year, but remains a solid prospect.  To make matters worse, the Comets at include the Twins’ Bobby Kielty in their pre-season cuts, and the switching-hitting outfielder has posted a .301 BA and .428 OBP for the Twins this year.

     Will the Comets Lose 100 Games in 2003?

        Well, maybe not.  Things have looked a bit better for them in the Major Leagues since the last report, but contention is still years away.  The team continues to suffer with bally-hooed young players not yet reaching their potential and a rash of injuries to starting pitchers that have left gaping holes in the starting rotation, at first base, and in left field.  Meanwhile, team management continues to express concerns about centerfield.         

          Four of the team’s six starting pitchers for 2002 have spent time on the disabled list, and a fifth may soon be added to the group.  Of the six starters the team has, one is now on the DL (Eric Milton), and two are just recently off (Brad Radke and Blake Stein).  Mark Mulder has done well since coming off, lowering his ERA from 5.44 to 3.87 and with 140 IP looks like he will reach the magic 175 IP mark.  Hideo Nomo has been reasonably consistent for the year posting a 3.61 ERA in 160 innings, though still looking at a big hold number with 23 SBs allowed.    David Wells, however, is in a downswing with an aching back since starting the season well; his ERA has increased to 4.19, and he may join the DL soon. 

          The Comets’ bullpen started the season well, but has taken a downswing of late.  Perennial ace closer Mariano Rivera spent several days on the DL; need we say more?  Hopefully his stay will be short, as he has done well despite a slightly high ERA of  3.00 with 25 saves.  Pirate Mike Williams, with a 1.75 ERA and 34 saves, has joined Rivera in the ace closer category for at least one season and looks like he might be solid trade bait.  That odd Comet 4^th round draft pick of Luis Vizcaino may be paying off, as he has posted a 2.56 ERA in 63 IP with 3 saves for the Brewers, and lefty specialist Buddy Groom has continued doing his thing at 1.76.  It looked like the bullpen might be rounded out by Justin Speier, but a nice ERA has recently shot up to 3.86 with the help of a Sammy Sosa grandslam, and pitching in Coors Stadium just does not help.

          Then we get to the fielding positions, and most need help:

          Catcher.  Jason Varitek is adequate at .275 with 8 homers, but has allowed 73% of stolen base attempts.  Raul Casanova is expected to come off the DL and hopes to improve his .184 BA and hit the 150-AB mark.  Would-be rookie of the year Toby Hall is back from the minors and has since upped his .187 BA to .222, but will not be any help next year unless he gets real hot fast.  Hall has thrown out a respectable 64% of basestealers

          First base.  No one?  This is not a hole; it is a bottomless pit.  Tony Clark is batting .220 with two (3) homers in 241 ABs, and just 15 walks!  Can anyone spell c-u-t?  Supposed rookie phenom Carlos Pena has been traded from the Rangers to the A’s to the Tigers since the CBL draft, hitting .218 and a whiff every three ABs before being shipped to the minors by the A’s.  He has done better since coming up with the Tigers and has upped his stats to a .237 BA with 12 homers, but will still be nothing more than a part-time role player for next year.  Switch-hitting Scott Spiezio, despite playing firstbase regularly for the surging Angels, is really a bench player, not a firstbaseman.  Hitting .278 with a .367 OBA, he has only 6 homers and his lefty-righty split is an awful .350/.246.  Angel Manager Mike Scioscia has even instructed Spiezio to not hit home runs!  Spiezio has played five positions this year and should be a decent bench player.

          Second base.  This could turn out to be adequate with a Adam Kennedy-Mike Young platoon.  Kennedy has recently improved to a .298 BA and .330 OBA, but has done so by sitting when lefties pitch.  Young’s OBA barely clears the .300 mark.  Their fielding stats look stupendous, as they have committed a combined 12 errors.  Damian Jackson is hitting .260 with 10 steals in part-time play for the Tigers and looks like a good utility infielder who also can play outfield.

          Third base.  Eric Chavez is hanging in there at .270 with 25 homers, but is still hurting against lefties. 

          Shortstop.  A big question mark here.  The Angels’ David Eckstein might get the call -- .361 OBA, 7 homers, 16 steals, 10 CSs, 10 errors.  Would-be superstar Rafael Furcal has a .333 OBA, 7 triples, 19 steals and 14 CSs, and a whopping 20 errors (can you say e35?).  Another infield platoon is possible.  Of interest, Mike Bordick (now on the DL) is hitting just .242, but has made one (1) error and turned 65 IPs in 80 games.  Decisions, decisions. 

          Leftfield.  Ben Grieve appears to be disintegrating from his off-year in 2001.  Sitting out more and more games for the lowly Devil Rays, he is hitting .240 with 11 homers and a .343 OBA, far too weak for a 4 or 5 fielder.  Boston part-timer Rickey Henderson has been adequate in 148 ABs, with a .372 OBA, 7 steals, and 4 homers.  Carlos Lee has shown little improvement and is threatening to peak well below his believed potential, having posted a so-so .260 BA, .342 OBA, and 18 homers.  Very weak for a 5 LFer, but on the up side, his .299 BA versus lefties suggests his splits might give him a much better SOM card than he got this year.

          Centerfield.  Nagging injuries have hurt Preston Wilson and forced him to sit out of several games this year.  His BA continues to flounder at .246.  He has walked more, so has a .340 OBA.  He has 18 homers and 19 steals.  SOM will need to move him up to a “2” fielder to make Wilson a decent CFer, and with Florida dead last in the NL East, it is doubtful that will happen this year.  Luis Mota is on the DL, as usual.

          Rightfield.  Magglio Ordonez is turning in another stellar year at .323 with 27 homers and 96 RBI. 

          It could be another long year in 2003 for the Comets.  And they unfortunately are doing well enough in the CBL this year so that their draft placement will be in the middle of the pack.  Anybody out there have a bargain top draft choice to give up?  Or want a mid-round pick in the first round in return for a solid body?

    The Comets' 7-Eleven Stadium 

        The Comets will again play their home games at 7-Eleven Stadium in 2003.  With a short fence in right field, righty homers are 1-7, and lefty homers are 1-11.  Singles are 1-11 both ways.  There has been discussion of raising the rightfield fence in 2004 to even out homer at 1-7 both ways.

The Comet Roster (2002 Major League stats to 8/12)
 

The 2001 Season

        The Demons/Comets finished the 2001 season at 75-85 for a fourth-place finish in the North Division.  The team sported a strong offense with 893 runs and 225 home runs, but sufferred on pitching and defense, giving up 978 runs and 244 homers.  The defense made 140 errors.

        The Comets batted .279, led by Magglio Ordonez with .297.  Greg Colbrunn hit .363 and Carlos Lee .351 in part-time roles.  Category leaders included Bobby Higginson with 33 homers, Ordonez 120 RBIs, and Rafael Furcal 116 runs and 39 stolen bases.  Preston Wilson turned in a nice display of power and speed with 32 homers and 37 steals.

        On the mound, Bryan Rekar (14-11) and Chuck Smith (9-5) were the only starters to turn in winning records.  The team ERA was a hefty 5.53, with individual performances ranging from Rekar's 4.51 to a whopping 7.73 by Eric Milton.  Reliever Mariano Rivera saved 32 games, but lost 10 with a so-so ERA of 3.16.  Milton gave up 51 longballs, and Hideo Nomo was only one behind.  Defensively, half of the Comets' errors were the result of the keystone combo of Furcal (38) and Damian Jackson (32).

        Other stats of note:

          *  Furcal walked 100 times, sacrified 24 times, and hit into a double play only once in
              626 at bats.
          *  Besides leading the team with 33 home runs, Higginson had 112 runs scored, 112
              RBIs, and a team-leading 49 doubles.
          *  Reliever Buddy Groom appeared in a team-high 70 games, winning 7 of 10 decisions.
          *  Stats chalked up by "ace" starting pitcher Milton were astonishingly awful.  In 200.1
              innings, he gave up 282 hits, 188 runs, and 51 homers.  In 32 starts, he managed to
              to win 6 games and lose 17.  His 7.73 ERA was higher even than the 7.39 mark
              of Valerio del los Santos, who surrendered 25 homers in 84 innings.

The Duncan Demons -- 13 Years to King of the Hill

        Prior to managing the California Comets, Eric Johns was manager of the CBL's Duncan Demons from 1985 to 1997.  Eric selected seconbaseman Juan Samuel as the Demons' first draft choice in November 1984.  Despite 169 bombs by Barfield and some solid defense by both him and Guillen in the franchise's early years, the Demons got off to a poor start, losing more than 100 games in three of their first four years.  Their cause was not helped by a team ERA that exceeded five in each of those years.

        A slow turn-around began in 1986, when Eric drafted centerfielder Barry Bonds with the second pick in the draft.  Bonds became the heart of the team, belting 438 home runs in his 11 years with the team.  Bonds holds numerous Demon batting records, including 1,212 RBIs, 1,241 runs scored, and 311 stolen bases.  In 1995, he hit 60 home runs.  The team's efforts paid off in 1997, when the Demons won the league championship in a pair of tough 7-game playoff series against the Titans and the Dream, winning the final game on a 3-run homer by shortstop Alex Gonzalez in the 10th inning.

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