Minor-League Affiliates
Moline's affiliates have been fairly constant over the years. The last new affiliate, New Boston, has been a Greens' farm team for a decade now. Such franchise stability is rare in organized ball, where new markets meet the shifting needs of aggressive capital, dilapidated facilities, and moribund attendance.
A distinctive feature of the Greens' farm system is the presence of player managers for all teams above rookie ball. For the players, the player manager position is a perk earned by prospect status and acumen, though it's no guarantee of major-league success. It's fair to say, in fact, that managing the team's AAA affiliate has killed the prospect status of a series of players. Outfielder Chad Hermansen was player manager at Winnipeg for two straight years, and it didn't help him cut down his strikeouts. Which is why Hermansen repeated his tour in Winnipeg before being lost in expansion. The since-traded Brent Abernathy held player manager reins in 2001, succeed in 2002 by top prospect Wilson Betemit. Betemit has made it Moline, but he is not the player there that he looked like as a teenager. Andy Marte stalled as player manager at AAA in both 2003 and 2004. Marte is now working on stagnating at 3B in the SJL.
Hoping to solve the problem, Moline relied on a AAAA-player, failed first-round pick Jack Cust, to guide the Pelters' fortunes in 2005. Cust, whose prospect status plummeted as his minor-league OBP rose, was released in spring, 2006, succeeded by Jody Gerut, who had been coaching in Moline and whose year-long injuries precluded any playing time with the Greens. Gerut was released in April, 2007. Into the AAA player-manager maelstrom that is Winnipeg swims hard-throwing righthander J.D. Durbin, who is already earning a reputation as more tools than skills, a fine choice for the prospect-sucking status of Winnipeg player manager, where April cools prospect status as well as a dip into liquid hydrogen. True to the Winnipeg legacy in 2007 Durbin lost the plate, his sense, and his prospect status. In a concession, the Greens front office has installed lapsed prospect Chad Orvella as Winnipeg's 2008 skipper. How much further can a fallen prospect fall?
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LEVEL |
LEAGUE |
TEAM |
MANAGER |
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AAA |
Chad Orvella |
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AA |
Lou Marson |
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A |
Adrian Cardenas |
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A |
Oscar Tejeda |
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A (Short Season) |
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R |
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