Season in Review - Position Players

Though the Tampa Bay Seminoles season ended sooner than fans had hoped there is reason to believe the success can be duplicated next season.

The Catcher position saw split duty between two players, but overall was more productive than last season. Between Harrison and Fernandez the C position hit 26 HRs and had 114 RBIs. Fernandez hits for better average but Harrison provides more pop. Defensively the two players are about the same. There are no changes anticipated at this position for the coming season.

C - Sean Harrison - Hit 17 HRs, 67 RBIs and hit .245
C - Jimmie Fernandez - Hit 9 HRs, 47 RBIs and hit .353

The 1B position was once again manned by Willie Guapo. The second year pro didn't win the gold glove this season but only committed 4 errors during the course of the season. Guapo's numbers were comparable to last season and in most categories he improved. There are no changes anticipated at this position for the coming season. The thing to keep in mind is that Guapo is arbitration eligible this coming season.

1B - Willie Guapo - Hit 7 HRs, 72 RBIs, and hit .314

The 2B position was once again manned by Willie Sodowsky. Sodowsky was having a terrific season and was on pace to steal another 100 bases this season until he broke his leg late in the season. While Sodowsky made it back for part of the series with Durham in the play offs his long term health and recovery are question marks. The has caused Tampa Bay to take a wait and see approach before resigning the first year All-Start since he is a FA this coming season. This is a position that could change in the offseason.

2B - Willie Sodowsky - Hit .289, 89 Stolen Bases

The 3B position saw Glenn Sabel move over from short stop before the season started. He showed a marked improvement in fielding at 3B as he only committed 8 errors during the course of the season. Sabel saw his batting average drop almost 30 points between last season and this season. The question the front office has to ask themselves is whether or not Sabel is the future of this position. At this point Sabel will be back unless the front office comes up with an alternative via Free Agency or Trade.

3B - Glenn Sabel - Hit .256, 8 HR, 45 RBIs.

The SS position saw a last minute change when the Seminoles picked up Steven Walsh off the waiver wire before the season started. Walsh started off the season on fire at one point hitting over .350, which helped him make the All-Start team, before coming back down to Earth and finishing with a respectable .316 average due to a late season slump. The Seminoles gave Walsh a 3 year contract extension so there is no reason to think he will not be back next season as the starting SS. The one thing the team needs to ensure is that they have an able back up for the days Walsh needs to be rested.

SS - Steven Walsh - Hit .316, 8 HR, 44 RBIs.

The LF position saw Mariano Guerrero take over. The first year MLer played well in his first full season though he had the misfortune of hitting behind Pat Brantley but Guerrero provided great insurance for Brantley. Guerrero appears to be a fixture out in LF for years to come so we see no change at this position.

LF - Mariano Guerrero - Hit .283, 26 HRs, 71 RBIs, SLG% .515

The CF position was manned by Jose Martin, the man who keeps finding a way to be valuable to the team. This is the 2nd year in a row that Martin did not start out as the starter in CF but the team had enough faith in him to trade away the starter. Martin appears to be the front runner to start in CF this coming season though this is the last season of his contract so depending on his demands may determine if this is the last season we see him in a Seminoles uniform.

CF - Jose Martin - Hit .279, 23 HRs, 83 RBIs

The RF position was manned by Pat Brantley. If there was a franchise player, Brantley would be it. How he didn't make the All-Star team is still a mystery but that will only serve to fuel his fire to become an even better player. RF is not a position that the Seminoles will have to worry about for years. The only worry the front office has is whether or not to give him a long term contract this season or next season since he is arbitration eligible again this coming offseason.

RF - Pat Brantley - Hit .295, 30 HRs, 119 RBIs

Players to keep an eye on:

Chuck Wall - 1B AAA - the man can hit the ball a long way and hit a little over .300 but can he translate that success at the ML level? At 23 the Seminoles can afford to wait and see but don't be surprised when he's at Spring Training which could determine his future since the position is currently manned by Willie Guapo.

Anthony Hughes - RF AA - Hit an impressive .338 in lead off duty for the AA team club. He has all the tools to be an everyday RF but lacks the speed to be a consistently good lead off man at the ML level and doesn't have a lot of power. So as the team moves forward it will have to see what other positions he can play since Pat Brantley has the RF position locked up at the ML level.

Ralph Bravo - 2B High A - Hit .336 leading off for the High A club. The club is still considering whether or not he can play 2B well enough to play it at the ML level but he could be a viable replacement for Sodowsky down the road, assuming Sodowsky resigns wwith the team this coming offseason.

Pete Maddox - LF Low A - Only had 94 ABs at the Low A level but earned a promotion after hitting .327 in Rookie league. Maddox was the 1st round draft pick and the team has high hopes for Maddox. While he may be a few seasons away from playing at the ML level he does give the team some options going down the road.

Season Ends for Tampa Bay

The Seminoles lost 6-5 in a game that saw starting pitcher Ben Neal get hurt with what appeared to be a serious injury. In a game that went back and forth, the Seminoles came up short in their bid to try and knock off the Number 1 seeded team in the NL to move onto the NLCS. Management was quoted as saying

"We had a great season and accomplished our two main goals. The first goal was to improve on our record from last year, which we did by 5 games. Our second goal was to make the play offs which we did. Making the second round and taking Durham to game 5 is more than we could of asked for at the beginning of the season."

The one area of worry for the team is Ben Neal who looks to require surgery on his elbow. How he recovers from the injury could have a large impact on the pitching rotation next season. Neal was unavailable for comment after the game. The front office still has confidence in Neal and feels that his contract isn't prohibitive so should he fall off some he isn't a large burden on team finances.

Yet to be decided though is whether or not the team can get a contract worked out with Willie Sodowsky who hits the Free Agent market this coming off season. Rumors are that both sides are in serious talks but any new contract won't come till the winter meetings.

Tampa advances to 2nd Round

The Tampa Bay Seminoles beat Ottawa in a dramatic game 5 and will now take on division winner Durham, who won 119 games this season to lead the majors. Tampa Bay will continue to use their 3 pitcher starting rotation in hopes of trying to tame Durham's hitters. The biggest challenge facing the Seminoles is trying to put together enough hits to win the game against Durham's pitching line up.

Regular Season Ends

The Tampa Bay Seminoles regular season ended today as they beat Durham on the road. Tampa Bay won a record setting 92nd game in the process. The play off picture is now set and Tampa Bay will be taking on Ottawa in the first round of the play offs. Ottawa struggled to win their division and finished under .500 but the Seminoles are not taking their opponent lightly. Pat Brantley was asked and said "Ottawa played us tough during the regular season and in the play offs records mean nothing. The only records that count for anything are those in the series." The first round schedule has yet to be released but the first game will take place in Ottawa and either Sammy Campos or Bernie Alvarez appear to be the likely starters.

Of Note:

Ben Neal - Finished the 16-5 and is in the running for his first Cy Young Award. Neal is not the hands on favorite to win the award but said this "After finishing last season 8-10 with the Dukes I'm glad to be able to come to Tampa and turn it around and even be considered for the Award is reward enough." As fans may remember the front office was so impressed with Neal's efforts this season they gave him a contract extension and consider Neal a solid part of the future.

Willie Sodowsky - Came off the DL today even though he is listed as day to day. The front office is holding out hope that while he may not play in the first round of the play offs, he may be avialable in the second round assuming the Seminoles make it that far. Sodowsky is scheduled to be a free agent after this season and even though he prefers to stay and the front office would like him to stay his recovery will directly affect his contract status.

Erik Lawrence - was moved to the bull pen for the first round of the play offs. When asked about the move Lawrence said "I'll do what is best for the team and of late I haven't played especially well." The front office also noted that Ottawa is pitching 20 points higher against lefties than righties and Lawrence in his last outing completely imploded so they feel giving him some bullpen duty will help rebuild his confidence.

Pat Brantley - In his first full season with Tampa Brantley finished the season with 30 HRs and 119 RBIs. Last season Brantley was bounced between 3 teams and finished with an impressive 27 HRs and 100 RBIs. Brantely credited his ability to stay with the same team all season to his improved numbers. Brantley is arbitration eligible again this coming season and the front office said that will work hard to get a long term deal done but if not then the following season will get a long term contract completed with Brantely. "Pat Brantley is too valuable a player to not sign term but this coming offseason may not be the right time to do it. We have some contracts we need to get off the books and when we do that will give us a lot of flexibility to sign key players to long term contracts."

Seminoles Make Play Offs

Tampa Bay made the play offs tonight though not in the way they'd hoped. The Seminoles playing division rival Toledo lost tonight 5-3 but locked up a play off spot when Honolulu lost. While the Seminoles have made the play offs they are still fighting to see who they will play in the first round. This could prove pivotal as the top Wild Card team would play the winner of the NL North which would be either Chicago or Ottawa, two teams that at best will finish .500. So as the Seminoles take on Durham in the final series of the season they control their own fate.

Willie Sodowsky IInjured!

Tampa Bay Seminoles 2B Willie Sodowsky was injured during tonight's game. The exact extent of the injury is unknown but early speculation is that it is a leg fracture and will be out the rest of the regular season. Should the Tampa Bay Seminoles make the play offs it is expected that Sodowsky would probably miss the first round. The front office has not decided who will be promoted to fill the roster spot nor if it will be a fielder or another pitcher. The timing of Sodowsky's injury couldn't have come at a worse time with Tampa trying to make a push at the play offs and Sodowsky being a Free Agent at seasons end. Sodowsky was hitting .289 with 89 stolen bases and was on pace to once again swipe 100 or more stolen bases. We will keep you updated as we get more information.

Transaction Deadline Passes

The official transaction deadline passed last night and the Tampa Bay Seminoles made no moves. There were talks with several teams as the deadline approached but in the end the Seminoles appear content to play out the season with the team as it is. Most of the trade activity appeared to be centered around Steven Hollandsworth in AAA who the Seminoles value highly. Though several tempting offers came in, the front office in the end decided that the return wasn't worth giving up Hollandsworth who is the best pitcher in the Seminoles farm system.