Team Review: Blue Ridge Bombers

Hey we're back from a nice long vacations...let's pick up where we left off:

Tom Zagenczyk took over for Paul Barbosa and moved the South Boston Gang over to Blue Ridge. Zagenczyk knew that this would be a rebuilding year, so it was not much of a surprise that the team ended up in 13th place overall when the dust had settled. However, Blue Ridge was in wild card contention for about half the season, until the team made the decision to forego an unlikely playoff run in order to get in a better position for the 2009 season. So the Bombers got rid of Eric Byrnes, Dustin McGowan, Aaron Harang, and the biggest producer, Vlad Guerrero.

What went right: Amazingly the team was in contention, though barely, at the All-Star Break, behind players like Guerrero, Prince Fielder, Harang, and McGowan. Of course most of the top producers were sold off, so that explains the drop right there. The team did well to sell high on Dan Uggla and cash in on his MLB first-half success.

What went wrong: It's hard to point the finger at some of the replacement players that were brought in after the purge, since there was an expected dropoff. However, it is still up in the air if Blue Ridge really got enough value for their players. The Josh Beckett trade in particular was maligned in the press, and the Guerrero deal also seemed somewhat underwhelming.

2009 Outlook: It looks like another rebuilding year for the Bombers (or is that a "building year"?), as the club doesn't look to have a good enough core to compete with the top players. The draft will be the key for this club's success in 2010.