Stinging Heat Bites Ace Bandit in the Capital

The Deep in the Hole inbox has taken an absolute pounding over the past few weeks with things like this

“One post per week – wow you must be busy”

“I thought you were meant to be Australia’s biggest baseball brain, can’t you come up with something?”

“Can you speak with some of your contacts and get some information on the ABL?”

“Defensive Specialist what are you wearing right now?”

Ok, so one of the above emails may in fact be spam. Anyway, no matter which of the notes you believe to be true, the underlying theme is that people are A) hungry for more information and B) starting to doubt the Defensive Specialist’s chops when it comes to delivering information. Believe it or not, the Defensive Specialist takes his role as national baseball icon very seriously, so the Deep in the Hole scouting team was dragged into the Deep in the Hole boardroom with the implicit instruction to come up with a topic or topics that the Defensive Specialist could freestyle on.

A couple of less experienced scouts coughed up things like; “hey you had good success with the Bryce Harper post, why don’t you pick another draft phenom and write 1500 words on them?” or “how about a post on the schedule”. It’s moments like that when the Defensive Specialist’s brow furrows and he has to remind himself that not every individual is able to walk in his shoes and deliver above average performances at all times – especially when a little heat is applied to them. It’s what separates the Hall of Famers from the run of the mill guys, the ability to deliver under pressure.

Anyway, with nothing even remotely interesting being delivered to the table, the Defensive Specialist ended the session and demanded that the group reconvene in 24 hours. The scouting team was to pump their contacts for any slice of information that the Defensive Specialist could fashion into a solid post for the loyal Deep in the Hole readers.

24 hours later, the usually buoyant group was back in the Deep in the Hole conference room looking decidedly downcast. The Defensive Specialist went around the room, stopping at some of the most experienced members of the team. Not a single nugget to be found amongst the group. As the Defensive Specialist began rolling up his sleeves and figuring out how he was going to go this alone, Debbie the office administrator looked up from her note book and said “Hey DS, I found a link on a message board that may be interesting?”

Members of the room scoffed at the audacity of an office administrator trying to contribute to Deep in the Hole but the Defensive Specialist hadn’t just hired Debbie for her amazing ability to haggle down stationary suppliers’ prices.

The Defensive Specialist dismissed the room and had Debbie find the link. Debbie brought up her ‘favourites’ list and led the Defensive Specialist to the Baseball National Radio message board. From there she jumped onto a SA Baseball thread and straight to a post dated June 21, 11.01pm. The Defensive Specialist took one look at the post, dialed up a few trusted advisors for their opinion and came away fairly satisfied that the information in front of him was pretty damn accurate.

The Defensive Specialist looked at Debbie, extended his hand and immediately promoted her to Chief Operations Officer of Deep in the Hole.

So what did Debbie stumble across? How about a random post identifying a number of the new team names?

Now with any message board, there has to be an element of scepticism because there is no way to qualify who is saying what and how accurate the information is – hence the Defensive Specialist seeking some form of clarification from reasonably trusted sources.

Here’s the link to the board:

http://baseballradio.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=southaus&action=display&thread=1185&page=2

Anyway, the post supplied the following information regarding team names: 

• Perth HEAT (this must surely be a no-brainer)
• Adelaide BITE
• Melbourne ACES
• Sydney STING
• Canberra (I have nothing)
• Brisbane BANDITS (heard 1st hand from a few sources) 

The Defensive Specialist has also learned that we’re about 2 weeks away from this information being made official but isn’t it so much better when you find out earlier? It’s like sneaking a look at your Christmas presents!

So what are the Defensive Specialist’s thoughts on the names above? Well let’s assume that they are fairly close to the mark. First off, the only team that has cranked out something a little left of field is Sydney with ‘Sting’. The Defensive Specialist is assuming that some form of insect will be the mascot. The name isn’t too bad unless of course the team turns in a warm turd of a performance and all of a sudden you see fine publications (or websites like this one) referring to them as the Sydney Stink. The Defensive Specialist would probably prefer to see them call the ‘Stingers’. The Sting also sounds a bit like a netball team. At least the Stingers are an actual thing whereas ‘Sting’ is an act.

A name that could easily be applied to the Canberra franchise is the ‘Capitals’ obviously because they’re located in the nation’s capital. It is a little boring of course, but then again so are a lot of the people who live there (excluding all firework and porn manufacturers and distributors!).

The Adelaide Bite is weird, especially when you consider that their logo could very easily be a large set of teeth. Additionally any poor performance could see them being referred to as the Adelaide Shite (Although this is unlikely to occur in mainstream press, the Defensive Specialist pledges to use it liberally). Once again, ‘Bite’ is more of an action than a thing so the Defensive Specialist is assuming that some sort of fierce looking shark will be the mascot.

Brisbane Bandits? Not too bad, although it does hark back to the old days of the ABL and the name may in fact be a direct reference to the state’s longest serving premier – Joh Bjelke-Peterson who’s government was fairly corrupt. The Defensive Specialist doesn’t really have a problem with the team name as long as they don’t have a caricature of Joh on their caps.

The Melbourne franchise going with the “Aces” is kind of boring unless they have the players wearing dealers hats in which case it becomes quirky. It’s a safe choice and ties into the Victorian Aces name that they have been using for the Claxton Shield in recent years.

Perth have led the charge with nothing names. ‘Heat’ is just a weird team name and by that rationale, it is feasible to assume that Brisbane could go with ‘Humidity’ or Canberra ‘Cold’. The name has been around for nearly 20 years now so the Defensive Specialist is prepared to let it slide due to the historical significance. The Defensive Specialist will provide even more leniency if the logo can be updated to something a little less pre school and the team promises never to wear black vests with red sleeves again.

The Defensive Specialist is eagerly awaiting the official unveiling of team names (especially to see how accurate the message board poster was) and even more excited to see uniforms and logos. We’re not too far way from November so hopefully we can see some more information start to trickle out, or at least for Debbie to stumble across a couple more nuggets!

A special shout out to Liam Hendriks who was named to the World Roster for the Futures Game to be held over the All Star Weekend in July.

Is there a draft in here?

Ok, so there still isn’t too much happening on the ABL front and quite frankly the Defensive Specialist is scrambling for ideas and information to present to the loyal readers. The Defensive Specialist has the Deep in the Hole scouting staff out on the streets desperately searching for threads to pull and recently convened a meeting with the Deep in the Hole Board of Directors in the hope that someone could spit out a half-baked idea worth talking about in this forum. Alas that came to naught and had the Defensive Specialist considering withdrawing their retainers.

It got to the stage where the Defensive Specialist was considering hitting the Minor League Baseball website and searching for another prospect who’s tyres he could pump up in order to give the people something to read. Then it hit the Defensive Specialist! As is often the case, inspiration struck at the oddest time – on the toilet.

With information so scarce at the moment, the Defensive Specialist thought that today was the day to get radical and turn things on their head a little bit. We all know that local guys will play for their local teams but what if every player got tossed into a pot and general managers could draft their team fantasy style? It has kind of happened in recent years when teams were able to snap up players out of Canberra (with the Heat and South Australia hitting pay dirt by scooping up the likes of Nick Kimpton and Michael Collins who have been major contributors to both franchises).

So today the Defensive Specialist is going to try and determine the top 10 players in the league and the order in which they would likely be selected if a draft were to be held. The ultimate goal here is to figure out which player general managers would select to be the cornerstone of a team.

It’s important to set a few parameters and rules. 

• The Defensive Specialist is assuming that each player is available for 100% of the ABL season. Often professional pitchers will be shut down for part of the off-season. For this exercise, we are assuming that all players are free to play the entire season.
• The likes of Ryan Rowland-Smith, Grant Balfour and Peter Moylan will not commit to a full season (if at all).
• The Defensive Specialist is only going to count down from 10 (although would be more than happy to open this up to building a full team if 4 other suitably knowledgeable pseudo General Managers would be interested and available to sit at the Deep in the Hole conference table and bang out a full draft) since the project could take about 3 weeks if the Defensive Specialist tried to assemble an entire squad.
• The Defensive Specialist is evaluating overall value to the team based on past performance and projected output in the coming season.
• Players do not have to be professionals. 

So lets get the draft started. The Defensive Specialist is going to work in reverse order from 10 – 1 with rationale to follow.

Narrowly missing the top 10 – Joel Naughton, Stefan Welch, Josh Spence, Brendan Wise, Travis Blackley, Drew Naylor.

The Defensive Specialist asked Mrs Defensive Specialist her thoughts and her unequivocal response – Techno Tim Auty.

Moving right along.

10 – With the 10^th selection in the inaugural Deep in the Hole talent draft, the Defensive Specialist selects….. Paul Mildren. With Mildren you get a left-handed staff ace with a proven track record at the Claxton Shield and professional level. Mildren gobbles up innings and provides his team with a genuine opportunity at a win. Unfortunately, you can only use him once per series, which in the Defensive Specialist’s opinion lessens his value. Would you prefer one quality outing per series or an impact bat? The Defensive Specialist knew you’d see his point of view.

9. With the 9^th selection in the inaugural Deep in the Hole talent draft, the Defensive Specialist selects…..Liam Hendriks. Once again, the Defensive Specialist is loathe to put a pitcher so high on the list but Hendriks has a live arm and has shown that he has what it takes to deal on the Claxton Shield level. Hendriks possesses a fastball that jumps at hitters and has shown plus control which keeps runners off base and reduces the risk of damage. Hendriks also scores points for his elaborate entrances on and off the field with a convoluted hop, skip and a jump technique for getting over the base lines.

8. With the 8^th selection in the inaugural Deep in the Hole talent draft, the Defensive Specialist selects…..Tim Cox. Arguably the most dominant starter in the league over the past couple of seasons, Cox provides a staff ace who can be relied upon to keep his ballclub in the contest. Cox’s repertoire includes a sneaky fastball and a dirty change up that enables him to keep line ups off balance. 

7. With the 7^th selection in the inaugural Deep in the Hole talent draft, the Defensive Specialist selects…..Mitch Denning. Readers of Deep in the Hole will be well aware of the Defensive Specialist’s man crush with Denning’s swing. It’s just very pretty. Denning had a monster year in 2009/2010 hitting .391 while hitting in the middle of the NSW lineup. His value lies in what is to come – to the Defensive Specialist astute eye he is continuing to develop and with more experience his power should blossom and he will grow into a feared slugger.

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6. With the 6^th selection in the inaugural Deep in the Hole talent draft, the Defensive Specialist selects….. Nick Kimpton. Kimpton set the league on fire during the 2008/2009 season putting up ridiculous numbers while winning the Helms Award as the most valuable player. Kimpton’s game has been unbelievably consistent over the past 2 seasons both offensively and defensively although his numbers did drop somewhat in 2010. His ability to hit high in the order and man centrefield makes him all the more appealing to the Defensive Specialist.

5. With the 5^th selection in the inaugural Deep in the Hole talent draft, the Defensive Specialist selects….. Tim Kennelly. The Perth Heat slugger blossomed into a legitimate run producer in 2009 / 2010, anchoring the heart of the Perth order and providing a presence. Kennelly played most of his Australian baseball in rightfield where he demonstrated an above average arm. In the professional ranks he spends time behind the dish which in the Defensive Specialist’s mind makes him extremely valuable with the flexibility he provides and puts him ahead of his team mate Kimpton.

4. With the 4^th selection in the inaugural Deep in the Hole talent draft, the Defensive Specialist selects…..Michael Collins. Collins took the Claxton Shield by storm last season, featuring amongst the league leaders in most offensive categories. Collins hit .417, while drilling 6 homeruns (admittedly 3 of those came in one game) and driving in 19. Collins established himself as a middle of the order masher and continued his red hot form in the professional ranks where he tore apart A ball pitching before being promoted. Offensive minded catchers are a rare commodity and much like gold, when you have a chance to get it, you don’t think twice.

3. With the 3rd selection in the inaugural Deep in the Hole talent draft, the Defensive Specialist selects…..Justin Huber. First basemen with power don’t grow on trees, so when you find one, you grab a hold with both hands. There have been some questions regarding Huber’s health and availability this season, but if he plays he is a valuable commodity in that he provides an intimidating presence in the 3 or 4 hole. Currently playing in Japan and earning about 40 million yen, Huber would be a huge pickup for any ABL franchise.

2. With the 2^nd selection in the inaugural Deep in the Hole talent draft, the Defensive Specialist selects…..Trent Oeltjen. A speedy table setter at the top of your lineup can often set the tone for your ball club and Oeltjen would be a major pick up for any franchise. Oeltjen didn’t play in the 2009/ 2010 Claxton Shield competition, but fans of the game will remember the difference he can make when his game is on as the 2007 World Cup demonstrated when he went nuclear and hit .523 to lead the tournament. The Defensive Specialist puts great weight in spinal defence – meaning catcher, second, short and centrefield. Oeltjen plays a solid centrefield, which enhances his Deep in the Hole value.

1. With the 1^st overall selection in the inaugural Deep in the Hole talent draft, the Defensive Specialist selects…..Luke Hughes. As the Defensive Specialist sees it, any time you can find a legitimate 3 hole hitter, who commands the strike zone and has power to spare, you snap that guy up and build your team around him. Hughes has demonstrated legitimate pop and the ability to handle being the focal point of a lineup. Additional upside includes his ability to play both third and second base and to run a little bit.

So that’s the Defensive Specialist’s top 10 list and lets be honest, it’s a dandy. Of course it’s extremely subjective and the Defensive Specialist is more than happy to hear from the readers with their opinions. Hit up the inbox or the comments section with your take on the most franchise building worthy candidates. Lets just hope that something starts to happen on the ABL front so that the Defensive Specialist can stop amusing himself with these activities.