One step forward....and two steps back
The story of the Arvada Anteaters inaugural season
By G. M. Haas
Assistant Bullpen Coach Arvada Anteaters
Stumbling out of the blocks
I wasn't sure how good my team was coming out of the blocks, but 2-18.
Never. Well it happened. Needless to say, the Anteaters didn't get off
to the start that I'd hoped. Where did it all go wrong? The first thing
I tried to blame was under perform ance. Although, that was the case with
a few, Glavine and Thome especially, it was definitely not the rule. Was
it the managing? Although not a wiley veteran, I was not a complete
greenhorn, and refused to believe that my team sucked solely because I w
as a shitty manager. I therefore began to look at my draft. As I was
drafting my team I made a lot of picks that I really thought were good
picks at the time. However, as I look back, it was a nightmare. Maybe
the best thing for me would have been to
trade my third and fourth round picks to Steve for his third and fourth
round picks as he offered. Then he could have had the Big Unit and I
might have had some power. Arod, Bagwell, Ramirez, Juan Gone, Delgado,
etc. were all still available and would have helped my team immensely. I
do believe that this was partially due to the fact that I did not get to
even look at the data disks until somewhere around round 5 or 6. I
believe the first five rounds of the draft CAN make or break a team. In
my case, we were in trouble after the first five rounds. The final
consideration in the poor start was plain and simple bad luck. For as
much good luck as Keith and Chris had, I had double the bad luck. Some
of this corresponds with under performance, but the breaks were going
against the boys. As I look back, all of the above contributed to the
Anteaters slow start, a hole from which they would not recover.
Games 41-141
This was the long grind of the season. Every time I thought that I got
something going I'd lose a couple in a row and end up losing more ground.
It seemed like for every one thing that went right, at least two would go
wrong. Thome and Glavine continued to struggle and frustrate me
immensely. Not to mention Rivera. No matter the moves I'd make, it
always came back to bite me on the ass. Over this stretch of games the
Anteaters were 51-70 for a .421 winning percentage. Definitely not in
contention, a slowly sinking ship.
7-0 Saturday
I do not recall the exact date, but it really doesn't matter. It was a
Saturday morning late in the season, the Anteaters stood at 53-88, easily
the leagues worst record and vying for worst all time. I called the club
to get in some games with whoever might be around. Chris and the Red
Rangers were up first. I was 5-12 vs. Chris and was hoping to take one
of three (lets be realistic, my team wasn't very good) with an outside
chance of two. When I swept all three, I was riding high and ready for
my next victim. Only I was sure that the roof was about to cave in as it
had so many times already. Doug was up next for four games and after
winning game one I was ecstatic that at worst I would be 4-3 on the
morning. But it didn't stop there, after a four
game sweep of the Slugs I was 7-0 on the morning and on top of the
world. For one glorious morning as the sun rose over the plains of
eastern CO I was unblemished over a seven game span. The Arvada nine
would tack on one more for an eight game winning
streak before succumbing to the Tearers in game 150. A disappointing 2-5
finish against the P.L.O. left the Anteaters at 66-96, tied with the
Slugs for the worst record in the league. With more time to prepare for
the draft, and access to the data disk
before the draft actually starts, there will be high hopes in Arvada
when next season rolls around. The draft is where most teams are made or
lost, and that was definitely the case with the 1999 Arvada Anteaters.
The club did finish the season 13-8 over the last 21 games, more than
enough to fill my sails with wind as I begin scouting for SL2K. For as
we all know, hope springs eternal in the minds and hearts of Cubs fans
everywhere because there's always next year!
Gratefully Dead,
Graham Haas
Beer Vendor, Sections 225-231
1999 Arvada Anteaters