Adducci under fire in Louisville

It's been a decade since the Louisville Sluggers had a winning record.  The fan base has mostly been patient with the rebuilding effort under long time general manager Jim Adducci.  That patience could be coming to an end.

It's not so much the performance of the team.  The Sluggers are currently 31-42, which is an improvement on last season's pace.  They are not in last place, slightly ahead of the Orlando Rugrats.  What grieves their fans the most is single completely inexplicable roster decision.

In January Adducci signed free agent Jeff Powell to a 3 year, 21 million dollar contract.  Powell had won 32 games over the previous two seasons for the Chicago Winds, but his ERA in 2017 was 5.12.  Seven million dollars per season is not a huge contract in this day and age, and seemed about right for a guy who could have been projected as a slightly below average starter.

The problem is Adducci gave up on Powell after only two starts.  True, Powell was awful, allowing 17 hits and 9 runs in 8.1 innings.  He was given his release, forcing the Sluggers to pay him the entire 21 million dollars.  As bad as those starts were, almost every pitcher will struggle at some point in the season, and there is no reason for two bad starts to change your opinion of the pitcher to such an extent.  If he was worth 21 million in January, it's hard to see how his value falls to zero that quickly.

It was already an awful decision by Adducci, but what really has gotten the fans angry is what happened next.  If Powell had retired, or gone somewhere else to get hit around, the Slugger fans could be mad at their GM for wasting 21 million, but that's it.  Powell however has done nothing of the sort.  After his release he signed with the Utah Utes and has been a complete sensation so far.

In 9 starts with Utah Powell is 8-0 with an ERA of 1.76.  He has allowed only 32 hits in 56 innings, with only a single baseball leaving the park.  Every time they look at the Ute highlights the Louisville fans have one more reason to think "what a moron".  It is likely that the 61 year old Adducci has limited time left in his job, and the Sluggers will soon be looking for a new GM.