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
Hamburg HSV Stealers
For a few years now the Stealers have repeatedly set their sights on reaching the playoffs. And every year they ended up missing them. This year was no different. In fact, the gap between the Stealers and the playoffs was far bigger than anticipated. Hamburg managed only an 8-20 record. That was only good enough for sixth place. Fourth place, the last playoff spot, was occupied by Dortmund, which posted a 14-14 record. It was already too late, but in the playdown-round Hamburg started winning on a more regular basis. They only lost two more games the rest of the way, finishing with a respectable 18-22 overall record.
What the stats say:
The HSV Stealers offense ranked sixth (.251), finishing just behind Bonn (.252), staying well below the top-four in the batting average department. Dortmund, the weakest-hitting playoff team, hit .272 for the season. A .300 slugging percentage is a testament of an offense without much punch. Sure, the Stealers did hit more homeruns than Paderborn, Bonn and Cologne. Yet five of the six came of the bat of one person: Peter Frates. In fact, almost half of the extra-base-hits came courtesy of him (12 of 30). The teams´ lack of doubles power (only 20) meant that they were almost exclusively a single-hitting ballclub. Surprisingly enough, the Stealers did not play for one run a lot. Possibly because they were down early and often, they did not attempt a lot of sac-bunts. Only 13 sacrifices for a team struggling to score must have a deeper reason. Overall, the offensive production was a problem. With only 145 runs in their 28 games, the Stealers were easily outscored by their opponents (145-203).
Leading hitter was former national team player Thomas Riedner (.402). After not playing regularly for a while, the player formerly known as “Captain Zange” is available again, and it obviously makes a difference. His 35 hits and 23 runs scored led the team. Foreigners Peter Frates (.298, 20 RBI), Thommy Haugh (.324, .479 on-base percentage) and Brehan Murphy (.262) were next-best. Hamburg´s other German hitters did not fare all that well. Philipp Von Soosten would have been almost a lock to do well, but he only played in two games all year due to an injury.
Defensively, the Stealers need to upgrade. 88 errors are by far too many for an aspiring team. Their 88 misplays not only ranked them only seventh, but meant that the Stealers ranked more than 20 errors above the league average of 67. Hamburg did turn 22 double plays, but repeatedly allowing batters to reach increases the number of base runners, and therefore the chances of turning two.
Hamburg´s German pitching ace Marcel Brede had a down year. After posting a 4.31 ERA in 2007, his numbers for 2008 were considerably worse at 7.43. Last year´s most consistent German pitcher only managed to go 2-9. Still, the club apparently lacked alternatives, putting Brede out there for a team-leading 80 Innings. Hamburg´s foreign pitchers fared a lot better. Thomas Haugh and Andrew White shared time on the hill. While the 2-5 (4.08) record Haugh posted was not quite as good as last year, he still threw well and ate a lot of innings. White fared a bit better at 2-3 (3.40) in a similar number of innings (Haugh 46.1, White 42.1). While Christoph Ehlers and Florian Riedel were the only other pitchers in double-digit IP, the Stealers had six more guys who each worked less than ten frames. Thomas Riedner fared well, while Frank Roepke, formerly of Elmshorn, had a rather rough time on the mound.
Mostly due to their foreigners the Stealers managed to post the fifth-best ERA in the division, at 5.96. Starters were a lot more successful, at 5.53. When their starters could not go the distance, Hamburg was in trouble Their 7.26 ERA from relief pitchers was not the best recipe to keep them in the game.
Being the best club in the Hamburg area, the Stealers are the best option for talented players in the area. With their farm club playing in the second division, young players can get a good deal of playing time at the highest level possible. The club tries to give young players opportunities in the Bundesliga, as is evident by the fact that the HSV used the most players in the league (28).
While depth seems to be no problem, talent still is. The team´s performance in every category (hitting, pitching, defense) right now is more comparable to that of the bottom teams than the playoff clubs. It seems to be an educated guess that the envisioned transition towards the top half of the standings is still just beginning. Even with top foreign talent the development of a core of young German players will take its time. Unless one of the top-clubs falls apart over the winter, the Stealers making the playoffs in 2009 would be a surprise.
Tomorrow: Hanover Regents
Previous:
Solingen Alligators
Paderborn Untouchables
Cologne Cardinals
Dortmund Wanderers
Mainz Athletics
Heidenheim Heidekoepfe
Mannheim Tornados
Buchbinder Legionaere Regensburg
Bonn Capitals
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