Baseball Tri-Weekly: June Cover

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Quebec Freeze Press: Cooked Canadian Bacon?

Halfway through the season, the Quebec City Piglets have struggled to a sub .500 record and 9th place in the EHCC. After once again being viewed as an early favorite to contend for the title, the Piglets are off to their worst start in franchise history. Is there hope for the 2007 season?

Cooked Canadian Bacon?
By Alexander Marquez Alejandro, Quebec Freeze Press

Are the Piglets cursed? Brian Fantana leans back in his seat and smiles a wry, bemused smile while he ponders the question. "You know," he says slowly. "When I first got here, I heard all the cursed nonsense, and I laughed it off. They'd had some tough times, sure, some disappointing finishes, I guess so, but that's nothing you can't overcome. Now?" He pauses, letting it hang in the air. "I'm not sure."

It's been a tough season for the Piglets so far. On the heels of last year's surprise playoff run, the Piglets made some high-profile moves to capitalize on their sudden window of opportunity. However, so far anyway, these moves have failed to make a positive impact, and the Piglets find themselves among the dregs of the EHCC.

"I can't explain it," said long-time Piglet GM Pat Renaud. "You want answers? I don't have any. As far as I could tell, every single move we made this off-season was the right one. If I could go back and do it all again, I wouldn't change anything. But, for one reason or another, it just hasn't worked out like we hoped." Talk about an understatement. Despite the acquisitions of power bats like Vladimir Guerrero and Justin Morneau, the Piglets have sputtered in the first half of the season. The Piglets have found themselves in the middle of the pack in every offensive category save RBIs, and the once-vaunted pitching staff has fallen to pieces, as only Jake Peavy has emerged as a reliable ace for the Hogs of the North.

It's been a long second season at the reigns for Fantana, who has found that the role of the favorite can be much harder than the underdog. "Last year, as you know, was a rebuilding year. No expectations, just a bunch of kicking ass and taking names. This year..." Fantana trails off, looking towards the ceiling and stroking his sweet stache. "This year has been different. Teams are gunning for us hard. Look at last week," Fantana says, referring to the team's 6-4 loss to Tokyo. "Those losers hadn't won a game in something like 2 full years. And they beat us. And you know what the worst part is? They're better than us," Fantana says sipping some scotch. "They're better than us." When it was pointed out that the times are changing, and Japanese baseball teams can do stuff now, Fantana appeared to not be paying attention, and pointed out he didn't speak Japanese.

With the seemingly good moves Renaud made in the off-season working out disasterously for the Swines East of Saskatchewan, some have wondered if the team will become sellers at the deadline. While only weeks ago it seemed that the Piglets would make a deal to improve the pitching and climb back into contention, last week's disaster combined with the emergence of super-prospects Justin Upton and Cameron Maybin in the minors, some have started to call for a complete facelift for the franchise--which could include moving fan favorites Vlad Guerrero and Carlos Beltran.

"We've certainly had inquiries," Renaud said responding to the rumors. "I can't say we'll make a move at this time. But as the season goes on, and the disappointments continue, I can't rule anything out."

This year is already eerily reminiscient of the failed 2005 campaign, after which Renaud famously blew up the team after a lackluster campaign that ended in a 1st round playoff exit--again. Whispers of a curse still seem to haunt many in the Piglet clubhouse, who can't come up with an answer to why the team sucks so badly--again. Are the Piglets cursed? That's not for this reporter to decide. But if pressed, I'd have to say yes. Definitely. Plus, they suck. So that's a tough double whammy.

Alexander Marquez Alejandro is a the beat writer for the Quebec Freeze Press. He is a mouse that used to live in Pat Renaud's kitchen, but moved out because he was sick of eating ramen.

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