ATL Team Preview: Worcester Ruby Legs

The Worcester Ruby Legs, managed by Phil George, had the 5th pick in the draft. Phil's the only manager to go with a full vintage baseball team name, based on this team that played in the National League in the early 1880s. I caught Phil off-guard when the draft got underway. He was not in a position to do a little research on his first pick, so he selected Frank Robinson, a phenomenal player, but a player he probably could have selected a round or two later. Nevertheless, I think he made out all right.








Originally blue, I put in a little work on this old logo and made it very fitting for Phil's team.
Team Colors: Ruby and White
Home Stadium: Worcester Driving Park Grounds. Obviously, because of its age, I had to take some educated guesses as to its dimensions and park factors.

The position players: (click on picture to enlarge)(Note: if you didn't read the team preview for any of the other teams, please disregard the stars on the right side; they're part of the game's internal "scouting" and should have no in-game effects)
Phil came out of the draft with quite the stable of position players. He has as many left-handed hitters as he does righties, so he should be well-prepared for all sorts of pitchers. This isn't the best power-hitting team in the league, despite having some big-time sluggers like McGwire and Robinson. However, with premier hitters like Cobb and Shoeless Joe joining other players who can get on base often, Phil might be able to produce some quality runs without having to lean on the long ball. Behind the plate, Dickey and Campanella form a good hitting platoon; Campanella should still get the majority of games played due to being a little better at handling pitchers. With Ty Cobb and Joe Morgan leading a full cast of players, getting that extra base on a hit or via the stolen base is definitely not an issue with the Ruby Legs. The Driving Park Grounds is not conducive to home runs at all, so hopefully the speed will help give Phil an extra built-in home field advantage.

The pitchers:
Projected Rotation: Grove, Gibson, Brown, Sabathia, Bunning
It should be interesting to see if this rotation will hold up for Phil to make a run to the championship series. Undoubtedly, well-known legends like Grove & Gibson should be effective for the Ruby Legs, but plenty of question marks remain in the back end of the rotation and in the bullpen. As the only lefty in the bullpen, Santana has a very important role to play, and he does have plenty have of actual experience pitching in relief. The closer should be another pitcher with mostly starting experience but major success finishing games: John Smoltz. Overall, there's a good blend of both historical flamethrowing strikeout artists and finesse out-makers that ought to make for a decent staff.