With the last individual player preview completed, it's time we look at this team as a whole. Is this team ready to contend for another trophy? They have the pitching... McArdle and Moser will get their starts each week, no doubt about that. But what about after the two aces? Who is going to pitch that third game in the week? Dobkowski? Fauvell? Wanderlingh? When Dobkowski pitches, who plays second? When Schmidt moves to second for Dobkowski, who plays center field? Let's not stop there... When Wanderlingh pitches, who plays shortstop? These are questions that will have to be answered in May when practices start up, because there are no answers at the moment. The biggest problem of them all is going to arise after Prinzivalli throws his bullpen sessions in preseason. If Coach Wanderlingh likes what he sees, Prinzivalli can play a huge role as a left handed pitcher, the only one on the roster. When Prinzivalli comes in to pitch, who the hell is going to play first base?
The lineup is a little bit less complicated but not by much. Wanderlingh has his spot at the leadoff position, but what about after him? Who hits in the 2 spot? Schmidt? Dobkowski? Prinzivalli? Fauvell? Gambardella? Is Morin poised to be the everyday cleanup hitter? Where does Fauvell fit in the lineup? Where does the new kid, Steven Krauth fit in? It seems the starting nine are established, but in no particular order at the moment. It seems Steinberg will be the DH for the starting pitchers, and then Morin will be the DH when Steinberg catches, but can McArdle make his presence known that he can hit for himself?
Defense is a lot simpler. Gambardella, Schmidt, and Krauth seem to be the starting three in the outfield at the moment, with Schmidt roaming in center, Krauth in left, Gambardella in right. Three of the core four in the infield are back and know where they belong. Prinzivalli at first, with Wanderlingh and Dobkowski manning the middle of the infield. Who is the starting third baseman on opening day? Right now, it looks like a two man race between Fauvell and Steinberg, with the loser poised to be the DH for the starting pitcher. Can Morin make things a little more complicated by being a third name in the mix for the starting job? Brian Coffey was the biggest loss for this team during the offseason, returning back to his former team, the Smithtown Bulls, a team that the Jays are going to see quite often this summer.
With everything that has been said so far, keep in mind that Coach Wanderlingh lost two of his assistants this offseason as well. He and Ed Morin are the only two coaches on the staff. Is that going to become problematic, especially during practices? Coach Wanderlingh has an eleven man roster, one small enough to raise questions about being able to put a team on the field every night, especially in the early goings when players have finals and regents and graduations still going on.
This team has a lot of questions that have to be answered in a short amount of time, with opening day less than six weeks away. Preseason begins in just three weeks. The talent is there, without question. The core of this team is going into year two together, and they could not have set the bar anyhigher for themselves, finishing last summer 22-3-1 and a championship trophy to show for it, a trophy that is sitting proudly at Marist College with Coach Wanderlingh. The Jays are not going to stop there, they are hungry for another one.
You don't think they can repeat a 22-3-1 season? You're right. They can't repeat it... Because they are going to top it! Come down and see for yourselves... June 3rd can't come soon enough!
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