2003 Portland Sea Dogs

From SoSH

1 2003 Portland Sea Dogs Season Ending Report

2003 Portland Sea Dogs Season Ending Report

Final Record: 72-70

How did Portland do?

Wow... that is a really difficult question to answer. So, let me answer that a couple of different ways. But first, some Numbers...

Portland finished the year above .500, at 72-70. They were 3rd in the 6 team Northern Division, and tied for 5th (of 12) overall. They missed the playoffs by 1 1/2 games.

Now... to the answer to the question:

Well, based upon the previous year (as the Trenton Thunder), finishing above .500 has to be considered a nice accomplishment. Last year's AA team finished last in the Northern Division, and 14 games under .500
Based upon the first 2/3rds of the season, Very well. They were not only in the position to make the playoff, they were in position to have the best record in the league.
Based upon August, awful. They completely fell apart, and was lucky to end the season above .500.

So, the question is... did anything happen to account for the sudden reversal? I think the answer is yes... but not just one thing.

The Seadogs were to start their season at home with 7 consecutive games to start the season. All 7 games were postponed. The majority of these games were postponed until August... so the Seadogs ended up playing two games a lot in August (They played 3 doubleheaders in one 7 day period). Additionally, during that streak, they played a number of extra inning games.
Kevin Youkilis was promoted to Pawtucket. Promotions are part of the game of Minor League baseball... so it is hard to use this as an excuse. However, When you lose a player who gets on base as well as he did (.487 OBP), it is difficult to replace him. Soon after, they lost their second best (at the time) OBP player (Trace Coquillette) to a promotion... and the offense fell flat.
Jorge De La Rosa was promoted to Pawtucket, which made a dent in the starting staff (although not nearly as great of a dent, as he was replaced with Charlie Zink who had a couple of very notable games), and the bullpen lost the services of Anastacio Martinez (who was traded to Pittsburgh. He was subsequently traded back to the Sox, but was placed in Pawtucket).

Additionally, there were minor injuries (Carlos Leon and Kelly Shoppach) and slumps (Justin Sherrod, Jeremy Owens) which also hindered the offense.

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Notable Moments

Well, Kevin Youkilis tied the Modern Minor League Record for consecutive games getting on base at 71... the first 62 of those games occured in a Portland Uniform.

Charlie Zink, in his final start of the season, went 8 2/3 innings without giving up a hit. Earlier in August he went into the 7th with a No hitter.

5 Players (Youkilis, De La Rosa, Shoppach, Owens, Chapman) played in the EL All-Star game. Youkilis played ALL 9 innings at SECOND base.

Kevin Youkilis was named to the Eastern League Post-Season All-Star Team, as a utility player.

Kelly Shoppach and Jorge De la Rosa were named the Portland Player/Pitcher of the Year by the Red Sox.

On one negative note... the Seadogs were No Hit in early August by the Binghamton Mets.

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Players

Like Augusta, I'm going to split this up a bit... first, the 4 players who could be considered the Big 4 in Portland.

Kevin Youkilis - Got a promotion late last season to AA, where he put up .344/.475/.500 (OBP Approximate, missing HBP Numbers) in 160 At Bats. He added 312 ABs before his promotion to Pawtucket... and had a line of .327/.487/.465... and a 62 game consecutive On Base streak. His OBP led the league... and his Slugging was third on the team to Kelly Shoppach and Jeremy Owens.

There are three concerns that people seem to have about Kevin.

1) Will his OBP follow him to the majors. Now, I can't expect anyone to jump to the Majors and continue having a .470+ OBP. However, there is no reason to think he will all of a sudden lose his eye. He walked 86 times for Portland, while only striking out 40 times. 2) His Slugging is weak. Yes, his slugging is weak IF you want him to be a HR Hitting corner infielder. I am personally not that concerned with this, if he can get on base at the clip he currently does. He has some power, with 30 Extra Base Hits, and seems built in the Boggsian mold in so far that his primary concern is to get on base, not to hit for power. I think if he wanted to hit for more power, he could... but how that would affect his great OBP skill is difficult to ascertain. 3) His defense. It's weird. By numbers, he isn't too great (20 errors in 93 games at 3rd Base). But, everytime I see him, he doesn't look bad. He is not gold glove caliber, but he seems to get to the balls he is supposed to get to, has some quickness... and in his one game at 2nd Base (in the All-Star game), he made a couple of nice plays there as well.

One other note which is interesting... Kevin was 7 for 7 in Stolen Base attempts!

Kelly Shoppach - Has to be considered the catcher of the Red Sox future... Jumped up from A+ Sarasota (.271/.362/.432) and and did very well... with a small decrease in OBP and a very nice bump in SLG (.282/.353/.488). More importantly, he decreased his strikeout rate, going from 112 last season (27% of ABs) to 83 (24% of ABs). His reputation as a catcher seems to be solid, although he had 11 errors in 82 games. He did have some injuries (in particular, a shoulder injury on a poor slide), but the injuries do not seem to major. He was promoted to Pawtucket for the playoffs, where he managed to get a couple of hits (including his first AAA hit).

Jorge De La Rosa - Made the jump from A+ Sarasota (with a brief late season appearance in Portland) last year (7-7, 3.65 ERA in Sarasota), and continued his progression as a starter in Portland. He threw 99 2/3 innings for Portland prior to his promotion to Pawtucket, going 6-3 with 1 save and a 2.80 ERA. He had a 1.23 WHIP, a 2.83 K/BB and a 9.21 K/9. As a 22-year old lefty, he has to be considered the best pitching prospect in the minor league system. He only gave up 6 HRs in Portland... but he did lead the team with 8 Wild Pitches. The only thing he lacks is Innings per start... as he averaged about 5 innings per appearance.

Anastacio Martinez - Started the season as the Closer for the Seadogs, and did fairly well in that role... He ended the season with a 3-1 record and 14 saves with a 2.25 ERA in 34 games. However, he only pitched 40 innings. He struck out nearly 1 batter per inning (37 in 40), but was a bit wild (24 walks, 4 HBP, 5 WPs). He only gave up 3 HRs. I don't know if he projects to a lights out Major League Closer yet... but it will be interesting to watch. He was traded away to Pittsburgh, but traded back in the Suppan deal, and ended the season in Pawtucket.

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Minor Prospects

The following player due to age have to be considered in the prospects category, rather than filler. None of the players can be considered HOT prospects, but all still have a chance to do something.

Carlos Leon - Carlos spent another year in AA, and put up slightly better offensive numbers. Unfortunately, injuries caused him to play only 75 games. He ended the season with a line of .301/.368/.394.

Raul Nieves - Another repeater... played only 71 games, putting up the following line: .249/.317/.289

Josh Stevens - This 24 Year old pitched the second most inning of anyone on the Portland roster... ending the season with a 10-9 record with a 3.85 ERA. His value is in his lack of walks, as he walked only 19 in 154 1/3 innings. On the other hand, he is not a strikeout pitcher, striking out only 96. He gave up 11 HRs. He may be back in Portland next year, or he may have a chance to start in Pawtucket.

These players were either late callups or had limited time in Portland:

Zachary Borowiak - The first of the 2003 Draft Picks to make it to AA (due to injuries), played 3 games and got 2 singles.

John Hattig - Our Man from Guam, played 8 games in the last 2 weeks of the season for Portland... had a 3 hit game in his 4th game. Did have 11 Ks in 32 ABs. Will likely be in Portland next year.

Jerome Gamble - Pitched 2 games at the end of the year. Picked up wins in both games, but with a mediocre 4.91 ERA. Did have a 1.00 WHIP, 9.00 K/9, and an 11K/BB ratio in limited time. Will likely be a starter here next year.

Rene Miniel - Pitched in 15 games in relief later in the season for Portland with decent results. Was traded to San Diego in Late August for Lou Merloni.

Greg Montalbano - Another injury plauged year for Greg... pitched 6 games but only 15 innings for Portland. It is very hard to evaluate him because of his injury... he ended with a 2-1 record but with a 9.39 ERA. His WHIP was above 2.00 (25 hits, 13 walks), he gave up more walks than strikeouts... and only stuck out 8. Hopefully he will be healthy next year and come back to what he was 2 years ago.

David Pahucki - A 2002 Draft Pick... pitched in 2 games during the streak of doubleheaders, pitching 11 innings with a 3.27 ERA. He did give up more walks (5) than Ks (3). Should be considered a possibility for the Portland Starting Rotation next year.

Brett Rudrude - Pitched in 6 games intermittently for Portland, ending with a 1-2 record and a 4.26 ERA. He pitched 31 2/3 innings, giving up 39 hits and 10 walks, striking out only 16. He is another possibility for the Portland rotation next year.

Charlie Zink - Pitched 6 games at the end of the year, and ended with a 3-2 record and a 3.43 ERA. He had very interesting peripherals, allowing only 21 hits in 39 1/3 innings, but also allowing 14 walks and 7 HBPs in those 6 games. He struck out only 18. This knuckleballer is very likely to be in the Portland starting rotation next year.

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Filler

I'm not going to detail every player that played on the Seadogs this year... but I will take a look at some of the more interesting of the "Filler". I don't want people to consider the term filler as a derogative term nor a term which would indicate a lack of ability to make the majors. It is possible that any of these players may eventually make the majors... and I root for all of them to do so.

Greg Catalanotte - Played the final month of the season for Portland... but showed very little to suspect he will be anything more than minor league Filler. His whole game is based on power, as 7 of his 13 hits went for extra bases. He ended with a line of .200/.278/.338

Trace Coquillette - Trace split his time between Portland and Pawtucket, and was a jack of all trades in Portland. He played middle infield, 1st base and Outfield for the Seadogs, while showing some power (7 HRs), some patience (22 walks), the amazing ability to get hit (9 in 158 ABs)... and overall, a very useful jack of all trades. Ended with a line of: .247/.365/.437

Justin Headley - Justin made another tour of AA, and essentially matched his 2002 season in Trenton. He is a player who is useful to have around as long as he is not blocking any prospects. Final line: .258/.324/.376

Brian Loyd - Played 29 games at catcher for Portland. Considering the lack of catching prospects for the Sox in the FSL/SAL, he would be useful to have back next year. Finished at .290/.343/.380

Sean McGowan - A BC alumni, started the season in Sarasota but showed good stuff once promoted to the EL. Probably deserves a shot at Pawtucket next year, perhaps playing the role of Andy Abad. Finished the season at .311/.351/.441.

Jeremy Owens - The Red Sox seem to like Jeremy a lot... and there are some good reasons for this. He plays, by all accounts, an excellent Centerfield, and he hits for quite a bit of power (a team high 21 HRs and 8 Triples). He also stole a team high 15 bases (but with 7 CSs). However, he is not perfect. His walk number is OK (41), but his strikeout number is atrocious (161). He likely will be bumped to Pawtucket... final stats: .263/.326/.484

Justin Sherrod - I wanted to follow Owens with his doppleganger, Justin Sherrod. Justin doesn't quite have the speed of Jeremy, but has similar power (15 HRs, 28 Doubles), slightly better at getting on base (47 walks, 14 HBPs), a similar defensive reputation (with many, many outfield assists), but with a similar ability in striking out (143). Final stats: .259/.346/.431

Tony Schrager - Utility Infielder du jour, Playing 37 games in 2B and 3B and 43 games at SS. Has double power, decent walk rate (57). Final Stats: .252/.347/.391

Scott Aldred - This former Major Leaguer spent the final month of the season with Portland, replacing Anastacio Martinez as the closer. Ended with dominant stats... but is 30+ years old.

Jake Chapman - Had a very good year in relief, pitching 35 games with a 6-1 record and a 3.45 ERA. His peripherals are not that great, allowing 13 unearned runs and having a 1.5 WHIP.

Junior Herndon - Pitched 25 games for Portland... 23 of them starts and had 2 Complete Games. However, his final numbers were pedestrian or worse... finished with a 9-8 record and a 4.85 ERA. He only struck out 69 Ks in 133 2/3 Innings... and allowed 17 HRs.

James Johnson - This Lefty had a decent year out of the Portland pen... He finished with a 3-5 record with 5 saves and a 3.74 ERA. His WHIP was just over 1.00, and he struck out 66 in 55 1/3 Innings. He gave up 7 HRs.

Tim Kester - A Butch Hobson Elbo Chips special, as he asked in last years report for the Sox to sign this Atlantic League veteran. And, he did exactly what BHEC thought he would do, eat up innings. He ended with a 10-10 record, with a 3.78 ERA and 3 CGs and 2 Shutouts. He had a team leading 164 1/3 innings, and in that time only gave up 21 walks and struck out 128. He did have a small HR problem, giving up a team high 18. If he is willing to stay in the organization, the Sox would certainly welcome him back.

Andy Shibilo - Pitched most of the year in Pawtucket, but did play the last month or so in Portland. He ended with a record of 1-2 with 1 Save, and a 1.33 ERA. His WHIP was just over 1, his K/9 was just under 9... and he otherwise showed himself to be fine at this level.

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