Position Players Preivew

Tampa Bay Seminoles retooled the offense this off season and we will break down the starter at each position.

Greg Wallace C

Hitting: Wallace was a late season acquisition and hit .231 in 156 AB. Wallace wasn't acquired for his bat and depending on how the team is playing may determine how many at bats Wallace sees.

Fielding: Wallace was acquired to help the pitching staff and is solid behind the plate and is known for his defensive prowess.

Consensus: Wallace has another season left on his contract and it is hard to imagine the Seminoles keeping him past that. Wallace is at best a stop gap until the team finds a catcher of the future but if you ask the front office they are more than happy to have Wallace on the team and aren't looking for a replacement.

Willie Guapo 1B

Hitting: Guapo finished last season batting .310 even after a late slump lowered his batting average almost 15 points. His greatest asset is his ability to draw walks as he was walked 86 times and only struck out 83 times.

Fielding: What more can you say after Gold Glove. Guapo committed a paltry 2 errors last season and is looking to improve on that figure to try and capture his second straight Gold Glove Award.

Consensus: Guapo is only 24 entering this season and should only improve as a hitter. The front office considers a cornerstone of the franchise for years to come. The only thing he needs to worry about is living up to his own expectations.

Willie Sodowsky 2B

Hitting: last season Sodowsky finished the season batting .284 as the Seminoles lead off man. His most impressive stat though was the 125 Stolen Bases he racked up during the course of a 162 games. The biggest knock on Sodowsky's hitting was he only had 16 doubles on the season but when you hear the front office talk that is not a concern to them. Sodowsky will once again be the lead off man for the Seminoles.

Fielding: Sodowsky finished the season with 14 errors last season for a .983 fielding percentage. At age 30 fans may wonder if his play is going to start diminishing as a fielder but the front office is confident he will play at the same high level he did last season.

Consensus: Sodowsky enters the final year of his contract and has expressed interest in wanting to stay with the Seminoles. The Seminoles would also like to keep him on the team but in order to justify the expected cash demands he will have to keep his production levels strong and prove his fielding isn't declining.

Glenn Sabel 3B

Hitting: Sabel hit .281 last season and was a solid contributor considering he hits in the bottom portion of the line up.

Fielding: Sabel was moved over to 3B after he committed 37 errors at SS last season. The front office felt that he was better suited for 3B and Sabel agreed saying he would do "Whatever is in the best interest of the team."

Consensus: Sabel's move to 3B was the only way many saw him being able to stay on the team. The move should also help his hitting since he seemed to bat poorly when he played poorly and at 24 he has plenty of room to grow into his new position.

Steven Walsh SS

Hitting: Walsh hit .270 while playing for the Dukes last season and was a late waiver wire pick up. He's not much of a power threat but should hit as well if not better than last season here in Tampa Bay and is a much needed Switch hitter.

Fielding: Walsh is a much improved defensive upgrade over Glenn Sabel (who moved to 3B) and turns a major weakness into a major strength for the Seminoles. Walsh has the potential to be a legitimate threat for a Gold Glove.

Consensus: Walsh might not bring a lot of excitement to the batting line up but he is a solid hitter. Hid fielding skills should help the pitching staff win more games and he is in the last year of his contract so if he doesn't work out the Seminoles do not lose much making Walsh a low risk, high reward player.

Mariano Guerrero LF

Hitting: The Seminoles were more than excited when they acquired Guerrero this offseason. He brings much needed pop to the line up and even though he is a rookie the front office has high hopes and he has big shoes to fill in replacing Fernandez.

Fielding: Guerro should be an adequate fielder and should not play any worse than Fernandez. Being a rookie he will have to learn how different parks play.

Consensus: The Seminoles showed a lot of faith in this 21 year old rookie and have high hopes he can become a cornerstone of the franchise. If his bat gets hot that will over shadow any fielding short comings that fans may see.

Jocko Sexson CF

Hitting: Sexson hit .358 in limited action last season with Colorado and when the front office of the Seminoles got a chance to get him from Montreal they took it because of the pop he could give the line up.

Fielding: Sexson has the tools to be a solid CF and while he may not be an upgrade over Jose Martin, he is not going to hurt the team either.

Consensus: Sexson appears to be the long term answer that the Seminoles were looking for at CF solidifying another position with a young player who as long as he can stay healthy should be around for a long time to come.

Pat Brantley RF

Hitting: Brantley spent time with three teams last season the last of which was Tampa Bay where he hit .326 in 135 AB with 10 HR and 27 RBIs. He should only improve this season now that he will be spending a full season here in Tampa Bay.

Fielding: Brantley is a solid fielder who committed no errors in his 33 games with Tampa Bay. Seeing how he plays over the course of a full season will tell the front office how consistent of a player he will be for the team.

Consensus: The Seminoles have another young solid player in Brantley to build around. Brantley has the potential to be an All Star and does not have to carry the burden of being the lone sole power hitter on the team. While the team chose to arbitrate Brantley this year they have plans to sign him long term once they get some other contracts off the books.

Seminoles retool Defense

In a surprising move the Tampa Bay Seminoles claimed off waivers SS Steven Walsh who played last season with the Dukes. Walsh is an excellent defensive SS who hit a solid .270 last. What made him so attractive to the font office is that he is in the last year of his contract and his play could determine if he will be back after this season or he will hit the Free Agent Market.

The move also allows the team to move players to more natural positions. Glenn Sabel has been moved from SS to 3B after committing a 37 errors last season at SS. Team officials feel that 3B is a more natural position for Glenn and should help improve his confidence that at times least season appeared to be shaky. Gold Glove winner Jose Martin, who was thought to be moving back into the in field, will stay in CF with the recent aquisition of Walsh.

Seminoles Trade for a C

The Seminoles continued to try and improve the team by trading for Boston C Rod Saunders. Saunders hit .270 last season and should provide an offensive improvement over Greg Wallace. Team officials indicated that Wallace and Saunders would likely share duties at Catcher unless a trade can be brokered. The odd man out appears to be Jimmy Fernandez a solid hitting catcher who most see as a better option at DH.

In other news and rumors, apparently the Seminoles were reportedly shopping around All Star, Silver Slugger Vic Fernandez. When asked about it, front office officials simply said they were exploring all options to improve the club and that they have had many discussions with many clubs regarding many players. So what does that mean in plain english? Your guess is as good as mine but it would appear that if the club received offers for Fernandez none were attractive enough for them to move him.

Major Trade Brokered!

The Tampa Bay front office has just confirmed that SP Mark Post and 3B Vic Silva have been traded to Atlanta for LF J.D. Krivda and minor league SP Steven Hollandsworth assuming that all players involved in the trade pass their physicals.

Fans may remember that Mark Post came over in a late season trade and went 6-5 with an ERA of 2.94 in 13 games with Tampa. Vic Silva played well last year with the Seminoles playing 160 games and during that time hit .269 and had 39 HR and 112 RBIs. The main question mark with Silva was his defense as he has a fielding percentage of .946 which many believe kept him out of the running for any player awards.

In picking up J.D. Krivda, the Seminoles addressed a pressing need in team speed. Last season Krivda hit .284 in 121 games. Minor league pitcher Steven Hollandsworth appears to be a season or two away from being ML ready. A team scout was quoted as saying "Hollandsworth is a rare talent and when you get a chance to get a pitcher like that you are foolish to pass on it."

When asked where Krivda was likely to play, team officals indicated that a position change is probably in order but will not confirm at this time where that might be to.

Rebuilding?

Sources within the Tampa Bay front office have said the team may be contemplating a rebuilding project. Apparently there is concern about the lack of talent in the minors and concern how far the team can go into the play offs. So the question becomes should the team trade off the talent they have and build for the future or should they play out the season and how things go? As we get more information we will keep fans updated.

BREAKING NEWS - Julian Julio Traded

Sources in the Tampa Bay front offices have silently confirmed reports that Julian Julio has been traded to Louisville for three minor league players, pending all players passing physicals. The key component in the trade for Tampa Bay is minor league player Mariano Guerrero.

Fans may remember that last season was a contentious one with Julio as the slugger slumped late in the season. It was felt that a demotion to AAA might help him find his swing again. Julio at that time requested a trade saying that "management has no idea what they are doing with my kind of talent" and though he was brought back up later in the season he was not the same player. Julio ended up hitting an abysmal .236 but had 34 HRs and had 105 RBIs on the season.

Guerro looks to be a future star at LF which may prove a problem since All-Star and Silver Slugger Vic Fernandez currently mans that position. One front office manager was quoted as saying "Guerro has a rare combination of hitting skills and power that we were looking for."

The other two players involved in the trade deal are minor league players CF Murray Adcock and minor league P Jim Service.

Offical Name Change

The Tampa Front Office is proud to announce that the Tampa Bay Alligators are now officially called the Tampa Bay Seminoles. The front office felt that "Seminoles" is a more classic name and is readily identifiable to the State of Florida.