After a typical season for
Hotel California in 2009 that saw them in the thick of the money race, owner Randall Mussman embarked on his 2010 campaign – little realizing at the start of the season what a monumental task his team would be facing by the time the season unfolded. Mussman would shake things up from the outset, dealing starter James Shields to
Half Cajun for outfielder Hunter Pence ($18) – who along with returning offensive threats Andre Ethier ($11), Nelson Cruz ($11), and Evan Longoria ($11), would give the
Hotel the beginnings of one of the league’s best offenses. That offense would also be powered by big draft day investments Carl Crawford ($50) and Joey Votto ($36) and finish as the league’s 2 nd-best , but the
Hotel’s pitching would be another story. While C.C. Sabathia ($36) would be his usual dominant self, Josh Beckett ($31) would be atrocious, and an atypical veteran-laden staff (with journeyman Joe Saunders and Aaron Cook at the back end) would struggle all season. But what would be the backbreaker for
Hotel California would be the ridiculous number of injuries that they would have to contend with – an all-time record 31 DL trips on the roster, almost twice as many as the 2nd-highest total in league history – that left Mussman having to fill holes all season. In what may have been his best maneuvering of his long tenure in the HCBB, Mussman still managed to steer his patchwork squad into contention despite all of the issues. The acquisitions of Adam Wainwright and Ricky Nolasco mid-season would make the pitching staff respectable enough for the team to contend, and
Hotel California would hold off a late September charge from his former partner’s
Tazmanian Devils to finish in the money for a record 14th time and a remarkable 10th time in the past 11 seasons.
Even though he already owned ace pitcher C.C. Sabathia on his staff, owner Mussman remembered his pitching issues from the year before and decided to drop big bucks -- $31 to be exact – on Red Sox ace Josh Beckett, in the belief that a second ace would only be better. But Beckett – after getting an off-season extension of his contract from the Red Sox – from opening night would look disinterested in repeating his great past performances, instead mailing in his 2010 campaign en route to winning the HCBB’s Ro-Sham-Bo Award and destroying any chances Hotel California had of winning a title. Beckett would battle – if you want to call it that – through a host of injuries all year when he wasn’t getting lit up on the mound – and the moment he was remotely healthy, Mussman was happy to ship his albatross off – but not before Beckett’s “rewarded” his owner’s investment with an embarrassing 1 win and a 7.27 ERA.