The New York Knights…
Joe Jackson and Manny Ramirez. Two disappearing left-fielders playing for the 2009 Knights. Joe disappeared into a corn field in Field of Dreams. Manny “disappeared” into the Green Monster during a game in 2005. During a visit to the mound by Dave Wallace, the Boston pitching coach, Manny exited the field through a door in the Green Monster. He got back just in time to field a hit by a Tampa Bay’s Joey Gathright. Manny said he had to pee.
What could work: The first five picks for this squad were all $10 million-plus hitters. Jimmy Foxx, Joe Jackson, Nap Lajoie, Tris Speaker, Manny Ramirez. Add to that the bargain shortstop Lou Boudreau and you have a darn good hitting squad. The squad has probably the best pair of million-dollar catchers out there in Kendall and McCarver. The squad could lead the league in batting average, and Manny and Jimmy could lead the league in RBIs. Glavine brings versatility as a starter or a closer. Luis Tiant should do well.
What could fail: The Knights picked a great park (Jacob’s Field). It generally plays as a pitchers park, which may help since the squad (except for Glavine) is fairly average. Sam McDowell is a great strikeout pitcher, but he also will walk a hundred men. Josh Beckett is untested in the ML, and Jim Abbott has an ERA that approaches 4.00. The drawback to this pitchers park is the amount of money invested in hitters. Then again, it worked pretty well for the Knights last season.
Result: 82-80. A winning record, but the pitching will let this squad down, but they’ll sure be fun to watch.
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