83 - 71, .538 pct. 3rd in Bill James Division, 6 games behind. Lost in Wild Card Round to Baltimore
Overall
The House of David caught fire in June and never looked back. That coincided, unsurprisingly, with Pete Browning‘s return from the DL (and a late season slump coincided with Browning’s cooling off at the tail end of the season). This team revolved around 3 players: Browning, Elrod Hendricks, and Jack Taylor.
On the one hand, it’s an example of how far a few well placed stars can carry you; on the other, it reveals an overall lack of quality that needs to be addressed.
What Went Right
Elrod Hendricks and Pete Browning finished with identical .961 OPS. Browning’s performance, at least, is expected to continue although his health remains a concern.
Jim Edmonds emerged as a legitimate potential star in the league with both his glove and his bat, and Anthony Rizzo did the same, minus the bit about the glove. George Stone was perhaps the most underrated offensive player in the league.
Top to bottom, the House of David were excellent offensively: Ryne Sandberg was very good at 2B and Dan Ford, quite surprisingly, hit well enough to legitimately claim the RF spot. Their worst everyday player–SS Ernie Banks–still posted a .736 OPS with 25 homeruns.
Jack Taylor was excellent, Bob Rush quite good, and both Frank Sullivan and CC Sabathia serviceable in the rotation. The bullpen trio of Tom Niedenfuer, Lee Smith, and Bruce Sutter was above average, although both Smith and Sutter faded a bit at the end of the season.
ALL STARS C Elrod Hendricks; OF George Stone
What Went Wrong
Many of the players who were expected to fill roles struggled: Sammy Sosa (who was traded), Mark McGwire, Mark Grace, Frank Grant, and Fred Lynn were all given significant chances to impress, and all failed. That is what opened the door for Edmonds and Rizzo, so in the end it worked out.
Browning’s injury was horribly impactful and Hendricks’ performance is most likely a career year. Neither of these things went wrong, technically, but both speak volumes to the House of David’s future.
The rest of the pitching staff struggled, with Frank Sullivan being thoroughly average and Ferguson Jenkins horrible in his 80+ innings. The middle relief was so weak it warranted the acquisition of Ed Bauta–Bauta was good, but when Ed Bauta rescues your bullpen …
Transactions
March
None
June
OF Sammy Sosa & 5th Round Pick to Memphis for OF Tony Conigliaro, OF Fred Lynn & 2nd Round Pick {Bill Lee}
Sosa was terrible for the House of David, so getting anything for him seemed a steal at the time. Given his performance for Memphis, it’s not as clear.
July
IF Bert Campaneris, P Jeff Heathcock & 3rd Round Pick to Miami for P Ed Bauta, 6th Round Pick {Ad Gumbert} & 7th Round Pick {Dave Malarcher}
See above: Bauta was very much needed.
P Dick Tidrow & 7th Round Pick to New York Black Yankees for P Jim Clinton, 3B Chris Brown & 2nd Round Pick {Darren Daulton}
Seems fine: Clinton has some potential.
Looking Forward
SP
Taylor and Rush look quite good, and the House of David still believe in Ferguson Jenkins. There is some other talent here as well: Rick Reuschel, Kerry Wood and, although they are still teenagers at this point, Larry Dierker and Joe Nuxhall.
RP
Assuming Bruce Sutter and Lee Smith recover from their late season slumps, this looks good with support from Don Aase, and Rollie Fingers.
C
Something has to give here: Elrod Hendricks is clearly the starter heading into next year, with both Gabby Hartnett and Frank Chance behind him, although Chance’s future is likely not behind the plate.
1B
Anthony Rizzo looks very solid here, although the House of David remain optimistic that, someday, Mark McGwire will start connecting with more pitches. This may get even more crowded as both Chance and Cap Anson are expected to drift across the diamond to first eventually.
2B
Ryne Sandberg has this locked down, but young Billy Herman is turning some heads.
3B
Ron Santo is the starter here, although Anson should see some time over the next few years as well.
SS
Ernie Banks, although his performance this year really needs to be his floor for him to maintain his roster spot.
LF
George Stone now, Billy Williams later.
CF
Browning for as long as he stays healthy. There is a need for a better long term solution here.
RF
If Dan Ford cannot hold this down, Tony Conigliaro looks decent at AAA, and George Gore was among the better 4th OFers in the league.
The Rookie Draft
Rounds 1-4
With 3 picks in the first two rounds, the House of David is looking to add a fair bit of high end talent. It starts in the 1st round with P Zack Greinke and continues in the 2nd with franchise P Bill Lee. Greinke is a great talent; Lee has a lower ceiling, but could help sooner.
The House of David had back-to-back picks later in the second round. With one, they hope to have solved a long term need at catcher: there are whispers that Hendricks’ year was a fluke and that Frank Chance‘s future may be at 1B . So, while he’s clearly a few years away, they picked up teenager Darren Daulton as a long-term project, and with their final pick of the round, they picked up the highest rated franchise player remaining, Cody Bellinger, who looks eventually to further complicate the CF question, but that’s a challenge for another day.
In the 4th round, the House of David picked up Frank Dwyer, probably the best remaining arm in the draft.
Rounds 5-8
Corner OF, 1B, and pitching should be the focus with these picks for the House of David, starting with a franchise selection, 19 year old pitcher Ad Gumbert. That was followed by their final exemption, P Al Brazle. Their 2 picks in the 7th round were Dave Malarcher and John Peters, both of whom offer some infield depth, but neither of whom have much power potential.
Rounds 9-12
P Justin Steele; OF Mitch Webster; IF Charlie Deal; P Hal Mauck.
13th overall pick Zack Greinke refused the House of David’s offer, and will re-enter the draft next year.