ATL Team Preview: Funkstown Funk

We've reached the last but not least, though the standings could prove otherwise, ATL team preview. The Funkstown Funk, managed by Andy Barlow, had the final pick of the first round, and thus the first pick of the next round. This is the only team from a fictional city, so they'll be playing in Hagerstown, MD, where Mr. Barlow spent plenty of time this summer. I have to give major kudos to him for making all of his own picks throughout the very long draft process.








A Google image search succeeded greatly here. You may recognize this lovable creature as Woolie, the Hagerstown Suns' mascot.
Team Colors: Purple Mountain Majesty, Gold, and Silver. Though it's listed as the 3rd color, I had plenty of difficulty trying to work in silver to the team's color scheme.
Home Stadium: Hagerstown Municipal Stadium. Why yes, I did just link to my own blog post! It's as good as any at showing what the stadium looks like.

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)
Between the pitchers & fielders, I had to rearrange a bunch of these guys' uniform numbers.
Now that's a stable of outfielders. It's one of two bold moves Andy made that perhaps the rest of us were afraid to attempt. Stargell and Musial should split some time with McCovey at first so a big-time left-handed bat is always there. In general, the Funk should have constant lineup/position rotation based on matchups and the team's own needs. A power-centric lineup would feature Jackson, Williams, DiMaggio, & Stargell/McCovey. Musial, Boggs, & Lajoie are certainly no hitting slouches either. However, Andy can trot out Rickey Henderson at any time to dominate the basepaths. Glove masters like Reese, Alomar, Rolen, & Puckett can also be sent out with confidence. If healthy, Bench will get the vast majority of starts at catcher and be a dominating force hitting & receiving. Even in a pitcher-friendly ballpark like Hagerstown Municipal, if this team were to fail at being a hitting monster, it would lead to a disastrous season.

The pitchers:
Projected Rotation: Seaver, Ryan, Maddux, Niekro, Blyleven
Here's bold move number two. In older eras of the game, your manhood was questioned when you couldn't finish a game you started on the mound. This may come back into play with this staff of more modern hurlers being supported by a very shallow bullpen. There's major heat and big curveballs surrounding a legendary precision pitcher and a knuckleballer; an intriguing test for the opposition. With how often he pitched for the Bucs, Tekulve should be very prepared for the small bullpen challenge. Wagner & Eckersley form a good 1-2 punch at the back end of the 'pen that will be tough to overcome. But will the small pitching staff be able to hold up for the entire 154-game schedule, or will the Funk soon be on the free agent market looking for more arms?