Manager: Dave Outcalt (Cleveland, OH - Manager since 1992)

Notable: 1995 Runner-up.

2002 Outlook

Two years removed from being swept in the World Series, and one year from a painful first round loss to the Rebels, the Convicts prepare to take the field again- bringing with them both the old and the new!

Opening on the road with three against Florida, Warden O. will hand the ball to veteran Convict hurler Kevin Appier. Appier holds most Convict career pitching marks... despite a two year hiatus to Jersey and Denver. Appier rejoined the Cons in 2001 in trade for a 1st round draft pick from Danville. Kevin tossed a key shutout in the last week of the season that allowed Columbus to force a one game playoff with Jersey for the last playoff spot (a 'shoot out' that Columbus would go on to win).

Appier will be followed by Javier Vazquez, one of the few Convicts actually drafted by Columbus. Javier begins his 4th season with the Cons.

Toeing the rubber in game three will be Chan Ho Park. A new comer to the Columbus squad, but no stranger to the GABL, Chan Ho joined Columbus in the offseason in a blockbuster trade that saw 'fat thighs' Colon move on to Cleveland.

@ FLORIDA: 2001 GABL 4/1 KEVIN APPIER 12-8 (4.75) 4/2 JAVIER VAZQUEZ 13-8 (5.76) 4/3 CHAN HO PARK 21-9 (3.51)

Columbus' home opener rounds out week one, with the boys in horizontal stripes taking on the Sterling Gas House Gang. Warden O. has selected Jamie Moyer to take the mound in game one. Moyer, who missed most of last year due to injury, has been the stalwart of the Columbus rotation for most of the past five years.

Moyer will be followed by Appier and Vazquez, each on three days rest, then Denny Neagle will launch himself into the mix. Neagle, a relative new comer, was the Convict 'ACE' in 2001, and the shining star in their 2000 World Series run (including a no hitter in the regular season(11-3, 1.94 ERA, 111 innings pitched)).

HOME VERSUS STERLING: 2001 GABL 4/4 JAMIE MOYER 0-0 (3.12) in only 9 innings 4/1 KEVIN APPIER 12-8 (4.75) 4/2 JAVIER VAZQUEZ 13-8 (5.76) 4/3 DENNY NEAGLE 14-10(4.33)

CONVICT OUTLOOK:

Despite having what Warden O. thought was a top notch offense in 2001, the Convicts struggled at the plate all year. This problem was exacerbated by the inability of its starters to survive much past 5 innings. The Columbus team's depth and ability to pull off numerous mid-season trades allowed the ballclub to make the playoffs, but just barely.

Following the thrashing at the hands of the eventual World Champion Rebels, Columbus management continued to dismantle the 2000 World Series runners up. Concocting over 20 trades, management will send forth a dramatically different looking club in 2002.

The 2002 Convicts will boast a strong rotation, a deep bullpen (to include its first bonefide closer since Mike Jackson's 1998 performance) and lots of defense. The squad can put "1's" in the field in LF, SS, 2B and C. These glovemen are supported by a cast of "2's".

Here's hoping the Pitching and Defense come through, because the offense is built around marginal switch hitters and lots of platooning. The projected opening day lineup looks like this: 

2001 Performance 2001 Team 
CF Johnny Damon .286, 11HR, 64 SB COLS 
2B Luis Castillo .347, 1HR, 111 SB COLS 
1B Dimitri Young .335, 10HR, 0 SB COLS
RF Carl Everett .296, 43HR, 18 SB COLS 
3B Mike Lowell .293, 21HR, 1 SB CLE/DEN 
SS Orlando Cabrera .189, 2HR, 2 SB COLS 
LF Raul Ibanez DNP MGG/RCG 
C Damian Miller .299, 10HR, 4 SB DEN 
P Kevin Appier .213, 0HR, 0 SB COLS

Noticeable changes to the lineup include the following:

1) Mike Sweeney traded, following a critical error in the playoffs... replaced by D. Young, a three year Convict who will finally be given a starting role.

2) Travis Fryman, holder of a significant number of Convict offensive records was sent packing to IFA. Having hit only .272 (card was .321), he'll be replaced by the younger Mike Lowell.

3) Orlando Cabrera has finally come into his own and claimed the SS position as his own. He'll replace the revolving door of Womack, Bordick, Castro and Cabrera from 2001. He'll be backed up by gone-and- back-again Convict Pokey Reese, who will also be used to spell Castillo @ 2B.

4) LF has been given to a platoon of players, but Raul Ibanez will garner the lion's share of the playtime early on in the campaign. Ibanez is expected to share time with Melvin Mora and Dimitri Young. These three replace the Buhner, Henderson, Ochoa, Palmeiro, Young gang that patrolled left for Columbus last season.

5) The catching position returns Fabregas and Ausmus, but these two will supplement the daily catcher, Damian Miller, acquired from Denver in the off season. Although he can't match the offense the Cons got behind the plate from Sweeney and Stinnett in 2000, he should be an improvement over the Fabregas-Ausmus tandem in 2001.

6) The Convict bench will round out with Alex Ochoa, returning Con's Jose Canseco and David Segui. They'll be supported by the aged minor league squad that includes Rickey Henderson, Mike Bordick and new comer, and youngster Donnie Sadler.

7) The bullpen returns the likes of Percival, Kline, Graves, Urbina, Mecir and Acevedo. They'll be supplemented by Nunez (from Denver), Rocker (from Jersey) and Beck (from GHR). They'll be backed by new additions Tomko, Parque, Cordova and returning reclamation projects De Los Santo and Antonio Osuna.

OUTLOOK:

Columbus should have the pitching, defense and just enough offense to make a run at a playoff spot. The redesigned ballpark favors a scrappy team that hits from the left side- and that's what Columbus brings to the party in 2002.

HR: 2/1 1B: 16/5 COMERICA PART, no weather effects

With enough support from 'away manager's,' and the expected home field performance, Columbus is shooting for its third straight playoff berth. This year however, the Cons have a legitimate pitching staff that could make them a more formidable opponent once the playoffs start.

Here's hoping our pitching doesn't become the 'bust' that our offense turned into in 2001.

2000 Season Recap

CONVICT REFLECTIONS: With the 162nd game in the books the Convicts stand at 96-66. Interesting Convict 2000 Season tidbits noted below:

The "pitching park" Convicts certainly didn't post the type of numbers that the Independence Threat boasted:

Top Con HR Hitters: GM AB HR C.Everett 148 459 22 M.Sweeney 132 432 19 R.Henderson 139 433 16 H. Baines 104 203 15

No Convict hitter topped the century mark in RBI's- Everett had a chance, but The Warden saved 5 AB's for a potential playoff with SGG

RBI "Machines": GM AB RBI C. Everett 148 459 99 M. Grace 157 575 83 M.Sweeney 132 432 78 M. Bordick 151 479 76

The Warden used hundreds of lineups this season. The Convicts are best described as a "Platoon Team." Mid season trades further disbursed playtime. Check out my top AB players:

At Bats: GM AB M. Grace 157 575 P. Reese 158 574 M. Bordick 151 479 C.Everett 148 459

With platooning came a "National League" leading .294 team batting average. Platoon players provided timely clutch hitting, and more importantly, RBI's:

                      BAVG GM AB   R  H  2B 3B HR RBI BB 
G.Hill            . 353     38   85 19  30   0  1     7    31 6 
S.Dunston    .358     86  226 45 81 12  1     8    50 19 
H.Baines      .340    104 203 39 69   8  0 15      58 31

TOTALS       .350  162  514 103 180 20 2 30 139 56

*NOTE: Baines led all PH's with a .463 AVG!

CARL EVERETT PACED THE REGULARS, AND GRABBED A "TOP 5" BATTING AVERAGE, POSTING A .357 SEASON. Mark Grace led the team with 180 hits, followed by Everett's 164.

Always associate with "steals," the Convicts base stealing game again contributed. Unfortunately Columbus lost the "Stolen Base" title to the dominant base stealers of Sterling:

GM AB SB CS R.Henderson 139 433 44 15 C.Everett 148 459 41 7 P.Reese 158 574 30 7 Totals 178 58

GABL TRIVIA QUESTION: WHEN WAS THE LAST YEAR THAT THE STOLEN BASE TITLE WAS HELD BY A TEAM OTHER THAN THE COLUMBUS CONVICTS?? AND, WHAT WAS THE TEAM?

Steals can lead to runs, and runs were scored aplenty as the Cons totalled 931. Only the ancient "Hondo" reached the century mark for Warden O:

BAVG GM AB R R.Henderson .339 139 433 112 M.Grace .313 157 575 98

In rounding out the comments on the position players, Columbus had two all star position player starters: Everett (CF) and Sweeney (C).

DEFENSE:

Defense was a strong point for Columbus- as the team had fewest error (77), highest fielding % (.987) and the highest "X-%" (.755). They were led by position best fielding percentages from 1B-Grace (.860), 2B-Reese (.945), and C-Brad Ausmus (.824).

PITCHING:

LHP's were a key driver in taking the Convicts to their 96-66 record. Starters and relievers both pitched effectively, and silenced pundits who've indicated that you can't win in the GABL with LHP:

ERA W L PCT G GS CG SH SV IP D.Neagle 1.94 11 3 .786 18 18 2 2 0 111.1 J.Moyer 3.42 18 6 .750 35 35 3 1 0 221.0 Nitkwski 3.58 6 4 .600 42 4 1 0 4 75.1 S.Kline 2.37 7 2 .778 49 0 0 0 4 64.2 Schenwis 0.00 0 0 ---- 3 0 0 0 0 1.0 Total 42 15 57 8

LHP Moyer led the team in wins (18), while LHP Neagle led the team in ERA (1.94) and tossed a no-hitter to boot!

Overall the Convicts posted a league low ERA 3.91, and a low 4.14 runs per game. A bevy of pitchers contributed.

SUMMARY:

Good season given the state of the team two years ago. Let's see where it takes us.