ATL Team Preview: Jigger Bushes

The Jigger Bushes, managed by Seth Thompson, had the advantage of having the #1 overall draft pick, and thus could stake claim to The Sultan of Swat, Babe Ruth. Evidently, Jigger is a town in Louisiana, and will be easily the southernmost city ATL teams will play in this season. If you're unsure how Seth came up with this name for his team, then you're probably not from western Pennsylvania.








Putting a vintage picture of Donnie Iris in a black background may have been my favorite part of constructing any of the teams.
Colors: Black and Gold
Home Stadium: Fair Grounds Field (Shreveport, LA)

The position players: (click on picture to enlarge)(Note: if you didn't read the team preview for my own team, please disregard the stars on the right side; they're part of the game's internal "scouting" and should have no in-game effects)
In a funny coincidence, A-Rod can't wear #3 on this team either because Babe Ruth occupies it.
There's power to spare in this lineup, and there's a very good chance multiple players on this team will be up near the top of a number of power hitting categories. Even with the obvious power, there's some sneaky good average hitters on this team such as Babe Ruth and Jimmie Foxx, as well as some good fielding throughout the regular lineup in the form of Mike Schmidt and Ryne Sandberg. Although I don't consider Thurman Munson and Pudge Rodriguez to be the most premier duo of catchers in the ATL, they should be a serviceable offensive and defensive pair for this team. There's no major terrors on the basepaths on this team, but players like Sandberg and A-Rod should get their share of stolen bases. The Bushes' home stadium of Fair Grounds Field is a classic pitcher's park, so despite the glut of power on this team, don't expect their power numbers to be too overwhelming. Perhaps the power will travel to other parks well.

The pitchers:
Projected Rotation: Koufax, Mathewson, Hubbell, Marichal, Palmer
Seth constructed his pitching staff a bit differently compared with the rest of the managers, going with a vast majority of closers to shut down teams late in games. His 6th starter, Curt Schilling, should serve a long relief and spot starter role on his team. The rotation features plenty of power arms, but his best pitcher may be a finesse pitcher and a first employer of the screwball, Christy Mathewson. If Seth's starters can regularly get to the 6th or 7th inning with leads, teams will likely have a great deal of difficulty recovering; Gossage, Fingers, and Rivera compose probably the best back end of a bullpen in the ATL. This team should be a good test of whether the total reliever route is favorable over having other starters serve most of the relief roles.