German Bundesliga – 2008 in Review – Bonn Capitals

In our series to review the 2008 season in the German Baseball-Bundesliga, Dirk Fries is going to look at the four northern teams in the play-downs this week.

by Dirk Fries

Bonn Capitals

Seeing the Bonn Capitals miss the playoffs was quite a surprise. Most people had envisioned the perennial playoff team finish a solid third, possibly even challenging Paderborn for second place.

Bonn wasn´t expected to be quite as strong as the last couple of years, when the Capitals were one of the top clubs in the country, but expectations were still high for 2008 because the talent level in the league was believed to not be that high overall. Bonn contributed to that when deciding not to sign a foreign arm to solidify their pitching staff.

Because catcher Joel Rodriguez left the club and no catcher in the organization was ready to step in, Bonn did sign American Jonathan Marshall to strap on the gear. Last year´s offense already wasn´t the most productive, but it was further depleted when slugger Ernie Nsien left the club and signed with the Solingen Alligators during the winter.

That left Coach Mathias Winterrath with a team almost entirely lacking accomplished hitters. After developing the Alligators for a few years and laying the groundwork for their current success, he found himself in yet another (re-)building phase. With an average age of 23,2 years the Capitals fielded the second-youngest club in the division. Only Solingen´s team was younger, but already more experienced compared to Bonn´s.

What the stats say:

The leading hitters this year were Simon Falke and Lennart Weller. Falke, not yet a household name in the league, finished at .330. U-21 infielder Lennart Weller had exactly the same average. Third-best was Thomas Hoffmann at .316. Veteran Marc Marsch was the best of the rest.

Youngsters Jan Jacob (.232), US-Import Jonathan Marshall (.250), Adrian Stommel (.207) and Michael Ulrich (.209) all saw significant playing time despite their offensive struggles. Due to the lack of experienced hitters, coach Matze Winterrath was forced to go with the young guys, giving them on-the job training.

Under these circumstances Bonn only managed the division´s fifth best-offense (.252). Overall, the Capitals ranked sixth in hits. A negative run-differential is the best proof that this year´s Caps weren´t quite ready for the playoffs. Opponents scored 215 runs against the Bonn defense, while they themselves managed only 175 runs. Sporting a young club, lack of power didn’t come as a surprise. Bonn only had four dingers all year, with nobody hitting more than one.

Acknowledging the lack of consistent hitting, Winterrath´s club did try to make things happen as best as possible. Capitals batters led the North in both walks and hit-by-pitches. Not sitting back and waiting for big innings to happen, Bonn played small ball almost exclusively. Ranking second in the sac bunt category with 22 proves the point.

Pitching on the other hand was believed to be the stronghold of this young club. With national team standout Tim Henkenjohann and veteran Mirko Heid at the top of the staff, the Capitals believed they could go without a real pitching import in 2008. Dominican and permanent Bonn-resident Martin Amparo, already with the club last year, stayed on board. Marcel Penger made the jump to the Bundesliga from low-level Hagen. He had proven himself with the NRW junior team, which is also led by Winterrath. Homegrown Marko Lambertz and Rene Wolf, along with Thomas Rubis, rounded up the bullpen.

Capitals pitchers worked a 6.11 team ERA, only sixth in the league, only in front of Neunkirchen and Hanover. Starters actually performed a bit worse than relievers (6.29 compared to 5.66). Reason for this unconventional drop-off compared to 2007 (3.64 team ERA) was, without doubt, an injury. With ace Tim Henkenjohann suffering a broken hand just three days before opening day, things got shaken up quite a bit. The right-hander missed almost the whole season and only contributed 21.1 innings late in the year. This loss, together with Mirko Heid´s uncharacteristic ineffectiveness, Amparo and the young arms were forced into action more than expected. Amparo´s 80 innings pitched led the staff. His 5-5 record also was tops on the team. Henkenjohann had the best ERA (2.24), while youngster Penger finished a distant second at 4.96. Amparo, Rubis, Lambertz and Wolf could not live up to expectations or weren´t yet able to showcase their skills on a consistent basis.

Expect Bonn´s 2009 team to look quite similar. The lineup should be more productive with the young guys having a full season under their belts. Still, one or two established hitters would suit the team well. With a healthy Henkenjohann, less pressure will be put on the up-and coming pitchers. With a better defense (66 errors, ranking fifth), Bonn should have a good chance of making the playoffs.

Tomorrow: HSV Stealers

Previous:
Solingen Alligators
Paderborn Untouchables
Cologne Cardinals
Dortmund Wanderers
Mainz Athletics
Heidenheim Heidekoepfe
Mannheim Tornados
Buchbinder Legionaere Regensburg