Filling the Holes will take a team-by-team look at what each team needs to address in the off-season. We'll look at this by division. This episode of Filling The Holes is brought to you by Great Stuff insulating foam sealant.
BOSTON (84-78, AL East Champ): The Minutemen were let down by a combination of unreliable pitching and a lack of run support in their divisional playoff series. Now, you can't predict when a hit is going to come and offensively, this is a balanced squad. But, their 5.62 team ERA is the worst among playoff teams. Their most dependable starter was Groucho Hunter and he was 11-11 with a 4.80 ERA and a team-best 144 strikeouts. 10 different pitchers recorded a save and they didn't have a go-to closer. NEEDS: The Chinese takeout approach to pitching. A little from some from column A (starters), some from column B (middle relief) and something from column C (a bona fide closer).
NEW YORK (72-90, 2nd place): Another team with some pitching needs. Only one starter -- Woodie Daniels (11-8) -- finished with a record above .500. Three of their starters have ERAs above 5.50. Their closer, Trever Young, had 18 saves but a robust 5.72 ERA. Offensively, they do well. It's the pitching that undermines them. NEEDS: Starting pitchers.
AUGUSTA (65-97, 3rd place): The eight-digit signing of Jamie Rollins in the off-season gave hope to the Black Bears faithful. He delivered (.351-36-100). But, not much else happened. Offensively, Augusta was plagued by a lack of consistency, run production (813) and depth. The pitching was no great shakes either. Only two pitchers had less than a 5.50 ERA -- starter Max Lemon and reliever Willie Kingland. It took 21 pitchers to chew through 1,428.2 innings and only one of them pitched more than 150 innings (Lemon).
PITTSBURGH (31-131, 4th): New owner? Check. Healthy and rested pitchers? Check. Needs: For bentschnride to be patient and develop his stacked farm system.
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