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2010 Charlestown Chiefs Team Capsule |
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| 8th PLACE - 78.5 PTS
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 The Charlestown Chiefs entered the 2010 with high hopes, barely missing the money in 2009 with a 6th place finish, and carrying a top 5 keeper base going into the season. Slugger Ryan Braun returned for a 5th season, joined on the offensive side by catching stud Joe Mauer and free-agent pickups Carlos Gonzalez and Julio Borbon. In addition, the bullpen was in good shape, with closers Heath Bell and Ryan Franklin. Unfortunately for Chiefs owner Billy Stouder, the 2010 draft day would not prove to be a successful one. Although the team was able to roster some top talent in the form of Victor Martinez ($24) and Jay Bruce ($26), many of the Chiefs' draft day buys were unmitigated disasters. Scott Sizemore was overmatched in his rookie campaign before finally being sent to AAA. Lastings Milledge and Travis Hafner were statistically challenged. A $46 Jimmy Rollins spent two stints on the DL and suffered through the worst year of his career. But the Chiefs true Achilles heel was their starting pitching staff, as somehow, in the “Year of the Pitcher”, Stouder was unable to compile even a middle of the pack pitching staff. Keeper Chad Billingsley performed to pre-season expectations and draft day additions Max Scherzer and Hiroki Kuroda were also good. But the back end of the rotation was a debacle as Kevin Slowey was inadequate, Aaron Harang was inferior and Brandon Webb was imperceptible. And with Webb missing the whole season with injury, Bud Norris was summoned from the reserve roster and was the worst pitcher of all (6.80 ERA, 1.76 WHIP). The team ended up finishing 11th in ERA, 14th in WHIP and 15th in innings pitched, as no pitcher threw more than 190 innings for the club and only three starters even reached 150 innings. No starter on the team had more than 13 wins, and if it wasn’t for their stellar bullpen that racked up 23 wins, the team would have been buried in that category as well. Once it was clear that the team had no chance to compete, Stouder made the decision not to activate his free keepers and instead looked to add more talent for the future. In 10th place in the beginning of July, the Chiefs acquired Colby Rasmus in a dump deal. The team played much better down the stretch, and even though they dumped, the Chiefs actually moved up in the standings, both in points and position, finishing on the left hand side of the standings in 8th place. |
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| TEAM MVP - CARLOS GONZALEZ |
When the Tee Timers bought out Gonzalez’s contract at the 2009, no one was floored as CarGo was starting the year in AAA. By the beginning of June, he was back in the majors and two weeks later, once open free agency started, the Charlestown Chiefs pounced on the top prospect. No one other the Chiefs and Tee Timers even placed a bid on him. The true stunner came when the Chiefs turned in their keeper list for 2010, as Stouder signed Gonzalez not just for the 2010 season but through 2012. Stouder’s confidence in CarGo was warranted as he put up an MVP-caliber season, hitting 34 dingers, driving in 117, scoring 111, swiping 26 bases while hitting a league-leading .336, making him the top-rated keeper in 2010 and the #1 ranked keeper entering 2011.
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| TEAM RO-SHAM-BO - JIMMY ROLLINS |
 With the current dearth of talent in the middle infield, top flight players at 2B and SS usually go for very high dollar amounts on draft day. And with top shortstops Hanley Ramirez, Troy Tulowitzki and Jose Reyes already under contract, Rollins was by far the top ranked player on the board at his position. The fact that the Chiefsrostered him at $46 just 10 minutes into the draft was not a surprise – the surprise came when Rollins failed to show up for the 2010 season. Two early trips to the DL for a calf injury put a ceiling on what Rollins might produce. Another injury, a late season quad strain, erased most of the month of September. All the injuries made him invisible for almost half of the season.Even when he was playing, it was apparent that he wasn’t even close to 100%. When all was said and done, Rollins had posted the worst year of his career, with 8 HR, 41 RBI, 48 runs, 17 steals and a paltry .243 average in just 350 at bats. Although Stouder had a lack of offensive production at other positions, none of those players cost $46, making Rollins a true Ro Sham Bo in every sense.
The Charlestown Chiefs were looking for Rollins to be the baserunning terror that he had been in the past - instead he was the Invisible Man for much of the season. |
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| OUTLOOK FOR 2011 |
The Charlestown Chiefs are looking to regain the form that won them the 2006 league title, and are currently the prohibitive Las Vegas favorite with the top-rated keeper base entering the 2011 season. Their last two MVPs, Braun and Gonzalez, return and both are two of the top three keepers in the whole league. Dump trade target Rasmus will be returning and an off-season trade netted speedster Rajai Davis. In addition, Stouder will be looking for a rebound season from Mauer and after a three year wait, the team needs free keepers Pedro Alvarez and Justin Smoak to finally contribute. The Chiefs spent the latter half of the season making waiver wire pickups looking for the next Carlos Gonzales or Ryan Franklin, but the search was fruitless. Undoubtedly, they start the season with a huge offensive base, but just how far the Chiefs can go in 2011 comes down to one thing – pitching. With no pitchers under contract, the Chiefs will have to assemble a pitching staff that is formidable from top to bottom or they risk the same ignominious ending they experienced in 2010.
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