Our “2008 in review” series about the German Baseball-Bundesliga goes into the last leg. This week Dirk Fries is looking at the four southern teams in the play-downs. The other European leagues will follow.
by Dirk Fries
Haar Disciples
Haar went into the season with a revamped roster. The club from suburban Munich lost its best pitcher. Eddie Aucoin moved on to Mannheim in order to play for a contender. David Selsemeyer, a talented young catcher, went right with him. On top of that, several older players retired from the first team, leaving the second year club with a few open spots to be filled. Martin Almstetter was brought back to the club to coach and decide what players to use to fill those vacancies. Former Heidekoepfe member Christian Haas was brought in to assist Almstetter.
New personnel were also welcomed. American Nate Fish and Dominican Adalberto Paulino, who both played in the Israel Baseball League (IBL) in 2007, occupied the foreign position player spots. Dirk Fries came to Munich and joined Haar, as did young but already experienced Tony Younis. Younis, who currently is attending a Junior College in the United States, came late. Another foreigner, pitcher Esequier Pie (of IBL fame as well), was brought over in the middle of the season. Haar, at the time of making the roster move, was still in possible contention for a playoff spot, and wanted to increase its chances but adding some more pitching. Even with these acquisitions, Haar lacked depth. Especially on offense coach Almstetter had few options. Contrary to that he had four pitchers of similar talent and performance available throughout most of the year.
Bringing in Pie to make a run at the playoffs did not pay off, as Pie showed little consistency finding the strike zone. He did showcase his talent, which is a strong arm and plus secondary pitches. He had a hard time finding the zone with any of them. In combination with a phase were the team had even greater trouble scoring runs, instead of inching closer to the playoffs, Almstetter´s squad actually was eliminated from playoff contention pretty soon after Pie arrived. What the team really needed was an offensive boost. Near the bottom of the league in team batting, Haar struggled to score runs all year long.
What the stats say:
Haar´s .219 team batting average gives a solid indication of where things went wrong. The low number of hits (197) is only one factor. A weak-hitting ball club with almost no power, Haar´s on-base percentage stood at .292, meaning that only Haar and last-place Neuenburg did not reach base at least 30 percent of the time. The Disciples finished sixth in doubles (33), seventh in runs scored (104). While Pitchers did a decent job, limiting opponents to 165 runs, Haar was outscored by a 61 runs margin.
But most alarming about Haar´s offensive showing was the number of strikeouts (211), even though they did not lead the league in that category. The amount of K´s needs to be considered also against the low number of walks (86). Eight players reached double figures in strikeouts (team high was 32). Another interesting detail: Haar had by far the fewest steal attempts in the league (22). 19 of those were successful.
Haar had four batters finish above .300. Adalberto Paulino led the team at .375. American Nate Fish was second at .320, while Tony Younis (.305) and Gregor Klinc (.301) were a solid supporting cast. Behind those four, there was a considerable drop-off in production. Bernard Radovic was the only other regular with an average above even .200. He finished at .228, while other regulars like Lars Baerenfaenger (.089), Marc Lengenfelder (.029), Clemens Cichocki (.159) and Moritz Polixa (.147) struggled mightily.
The bench and part-time players had very limited success also: Dirk Fries (.189 in 11 at bats), Peter Klinc (.063 in 16 at bats) and Hendrik Koch (.161 in 31 at bats) fit right in. Younis and Fish shared the lead in homeruns (2), while Paulino only started hitting homeruns in the play-downs (three compared to one in the regular season). Bernd Radovic, despite his low average, was also very valuable. He led the team in RBIs with 17, meaning he almost always came up in clutch situations.
On the other hand Haar´s pitching staff performed more like a playoff team. A solid 4.61 team ERA was good enough for sixth just behind Saarlouis. Starters (4.29) fared better than relievers (5.26). Still, Haar´s bullpen was fourth best in the south, ahead of Mainz and Saarlouis. Disciples’ pitchers did not strike out a ton of batters (158), but on the other hand also only issued 92 free passes.
Youngster Ted Gieschen was Haar´s most stellar arm in 2008. The left-hander led the staff in ERA with a superb 1.71. He also struck out a team-high 47 batters in only 56 Innings. Gieschen was used mainly as a starter, but occasionally was forced into a reliever role to rest his arm a little bit. Dirk Fries was the other Starter. After coming over from Cologne the veteran had a solid year. He posted adequate overall numbers in his first year in the south. He led the staff in innings pitched (80.1) and wins (5-5 record).
Number one man in the bullpen was Gregor Klinc. A 3.40 ERA, three saves and a 2-4 record in over 45 innings proved Klinc to be a very valuable player. Former ABL MVP Clemens Cichocki had as rough a time adjusting to the new league and surroundings on the mound as at the plate. The dedicated and hard working Austrian battled control issues from the outset, which he was unable to overcome. Dominican Esequier Pie, who performed so well in Israel the year before, never really settled in. After beating Mannheim in his first ever appearance on German soil, he battled inconsistency and wildness with ten wild pitches and 19 walks in just 22 innings. His 3.68 ERA despite his troubles lets one guess what he could be capable of when he finds the zone on a regular basis.
In retrospect Haar´s chances for making the playoffs were slim to none. The young team was too inexperienced and lacked the necessary leadership in order to overcome its deficiencies. On top of that, the team just wasn’t ready yet talent wise. Two foreigners weren’t enough to boost an anemic offense consisting mostly of Gregor Klinc´s and Tony Younis´ bats. What the club, which will be handled by Chris Dresel next year, needs, is a better offensive game plan and execution. Also, the club needs to expand the roster. In order to do so, players from outside need to be brought in, because the clubs young talent is not yet ready to contribute.
Tomorrow: Gauting Indians
Previous:
Solingen Alligators
Paderborn Untouchables
Cologne Cardinals
Dortmund Wanderers
Mainz Athletics
Heidenheim Heidekoepfe
Mannheim Tornados
Buchbinder Legionaere Regensburg
Bonn Capitals
HSV Stealers
Hanover Regents
Neunkirchen Nightmares
Saarlouis Hornets
1 thought on “German Bundesliga – 2008 in Review – Haar Disciples”
Comments are closed.