2016 Santa Fe Fuego Season Recap - A First-Week Managerial Change and the Toughest Season in Fuego History

The 2016 Santa Fe Fuego season became the most difficult season in franchise history. Only two years removed from winning the 2014 Pecos League Championship under Bill Moore, the Fuego entered 2016 hoping to remain one of the established teams in the league. Instead, the season unraveled almost immediately. Santa Fe faced one of the toughest schedules the franchise had ever played, new manager Keith Wood couldn't win a game and quit during the first week, and T.J. Zarewicz unexpectedly emerged from the roster to take over as player-manager. What followed was a summer filled with managerial instability, tremendous offensive performances, overwhelming pitching problems and more losses than the Fuego had ever experienced.

The difficult season began on the road, where Santa Fe immediately fell behind. The Fuego lost their first four games by scores of 11-4, 11-6, 3-1 and 3-2. The final two losses were competitive, but the result was the same. Santa Fe was winless and already searching for answers before the season had even reached Fort Marcy.

Keith Wood had been hired to take over the Fuego, but his tenure barely had an opportunity to begin. Wood couldn't win a game and quit during the first week of the season. It was an extraordinary development for a franchise that had entered the year expecting to compete. Instead of allowing a new manager time to establish his team, Santa Fe suddenly found itself without a manager almost immediately after Opening Day.

The Fuego returned to Fort Marcy still searching for their first victory and lost 17-7 before finally breaking through with a wild 14-13 win. Santa Fe had finally won a game, but by that point the direction of the season had already changed dramatically. The team needed someone to take control, stabilize the roster and somehow guide the Fuego through the remainder of a schedule that offered very few easy stretches.

T.J. Zarewicz emerged as the answer. Rather than bringing in another outside manager and attempting to completely restart the season, Zarewicz stepped forward from the roster and assumed the responsibility of player-manager. He suddenly had to balance the responsibilities of being a player with managing an entire professional baseball team. He had to handle the lineup, pitching staff, roster movement and daily problems of a Pecos League club while also trying to keep a struggling team together.

It was an enormous assignment, particularly considering the schedule Santa Fe faced. The Pecos League had continued expanding and improving, and the arrival of the Tucson Saguaros added another powerful team to a group that already included established clubs such as the Roswell Invaders, Alpine Cowboys and Trinidad Triggers. Santa Fe wasn't going to have many opportunities to recover against weak competition. Almost every series presented another difficult opponent.

The Fuego weren't completely without talent. In fact, Santa Fe had several outstanding offensive players and remained capable of producing enormous run totals throughout the season. The problem wasn't whether the Fuego could score. The problem was whether they could prevent opponents from scoring even more.

Eric Maria became one of the biggest bright spots of the season. Maria played 55 games and collected 100 hits in 223 at-bats, finishing with a remarkable .448 batting average. He scored 52 runs, hit 10 doubles and 12 home runs and drove in 49. Reaching 100 hits in only 55 games represented an extraordinary offensive accomplishment and gave the Fuego one of the most consistent hitters in the Pecos League.

Matt Haskins provided tremendous power in the lineup. Haskins played 64 games, collected 80 hits and scored 80 runs while blasting 22 home runs and driving in 65. He also stole 16 bases, giving Santa Fe a player capable of affecting games with both power and speed. Chris Tavares gave the Fuego another major home-run threat, hitting 20 home runs and driving in 67 runs in 63 games.

Daniel Aldrich provided one of the most explosive stretches of the entire season. Aldrich appeared in only 23 games but collected 40 hits in 95 at-bats. He scored 37 runs, hit five doubles and blasted an incredible 17 home runs while driving in 36. His home-run pace was remarkable even by the offensive standards of Fort Marcy.

Omar Artsen, one of the important players from Santa Fe's championship era, remained productive as well. Artsen appeared in 36 games and collected 43 hits while scoring 31 runs. He hit seven home runs and drove in 31, providing the Fuego with an experienced player who understood the unique challenges of playing in Santa Fe and competing in the Pecos League.

Joey LaCugna hit 10 home runs and drove in 37 runs in 40 games, while Bradley Thomas collected 60 hits, hit eight home runs and stole 22 bases. Kevin Alvarez added 13 home runs and 36 RBIs. Steven Taft was outstanding during a shorter stint, collecting 30 hits in only 62 at-bats while hitting five home runs.

There was clearly enough offense for Santa Fe to win baseball games. The lineup could hit for average, hit home runs and produce huge innings. At Fort Marcy, where the elevation and short fences already favored hitters, the Fuego remained capable of overwhelming an opposing pitching staff on almost any night.

The pitching staff was another story. The 2016 Fuego had tremendous difficulty finding pitchers capable of consistently keeping opponents off the scoreboard. Luis Ortega became one of the more effective and durable pitchers on the staff, finishing 2-3 with a 7.51 ERA over 50.1 innings. He struck out 47 hitters while walking only 15, but the fact that an ERA above seven represented one of the stronger extended performances on the staff demonstrated how difficult the season became.

Jimmy Daley appeared in 30 games and threw 50.1 innings, finishing 1-3 with an 11.00 ERA while allowing 98 hits and 74 runs. Harold Rosario went 0-5 with a 10.86 ERA, while several other pitchers finished with ERAs above 10. The Fuego simply couldn't find enough dependable innings to support their productive offense.

That imbalance became the defining problem of the season. Santa Fe could score six, eight, ten or even fifteen runs and still have no guarantee of winning. Opponents repeatedly reached double digits, and the Fuego often found themselves attempting to overcome enormous deficits before games had reached the later innings.

After finally earning their first victory, Santa Fe lost 6-5 and 5-2 before winning 13-8. The Fuego then allowed 17 runs in another loss and suffered a staggering 32-9 defeat. They followed that with a 17-9 loss before earning a 10-5 road victory. The pattern was already becoming clear. Santa Fe could score plenty of runs, but the pitching staff was regularly being overwhelmed.

The Fuego lost 13-6 and 17-12 before winning 5-2. Santa Fe then allowed 18 runs in another defeat and followed that with losses of 16-11 and 11-7. A wild 16-15 victory temporarily stopped the slide, but the Fuego immediately suffered consecutive 4-3 road losses.

Those close losses were especially frustrating because they demonstrated that Santa Fe could compete when the pitching staff kept the score under control. During a season filled with games where opponents scored 15, 20 or even 30 runs, losing consecutive 4-3 games represented missed opportunities that a struggling team desperately needed to convert into victories.

The losses continued to accumulate. Santa Fe lost 10-7 and 7-6 before returning home and dropping games by scores of 16-8, 10-4, 15-10 and 14-10. The Fuego finally broke through with a 13-5 victory, but immediately followed it with losses of 15-6 and 12-7.

By the middle of June, the season had become less about competing for the playoffs and more about surviving the schedule. Zarewicz was attempting to manage a roster that could score runs but couldn't find consistent pitching. Players came and went, the staff had difficulty covering innings and the Fuego had to continue finding enough arms to complete the schedule regardless of what had happened the previous night.

Santa Fe eventually produced one of its best stretches late in June. After losing 5-1, the Fuego won three consecutive games by scores of 13-6, 3-2 and 10-8. The 3-2 victory was especially unusual for a Santa Fe team accustomed to high-scoring games and demonstrated that when the Fuego received quality pitching, their offense gave them an excellent opportunity to win.

For a brief period, Santa Fe appeared to be finding some stability. It didn't last. The Fuego lost 17-11, responded with a 5-4 victory and then suffered another one-run defeat, 4-3. Santa Fe opened July with a heartbreaking 10-9 loss and followed with defeats of 16-7, 18-7 and 8-3.

Even during the worst season in franchise history, however, the Fuego remained capable of suddenly becoming one of the most dangerous offensive teams in the Pecos League. Beginning in early July, Santa Fe put together its best stretch of the summer. The Fuego won 8-5, exploded for a 24-11 victory and followed with wins of 14-3 and 11-6. Santa Fe later won another wild game 17-16. For a short period, the offense was finally scoring runs faster than the pitching staff could give them back.

That stretch demonstrated what the Fuego could have been with more consistent pitching. Maria was hitting at an extraordinary rate. Haskins and Tavares were legitimate home-run threats. Aldrich was producing power at an almost unbelievable pace, while Artsen, LaCugna, Thomas and Alvarez gave Santa Fe additional depth throughout the lineup.

The problems on the mound eventually returned. Santa Fe lost 13-12 and then allowed 24 runs in a 24-13 defeat. The Fuego followed with losses of 22-16, 16-9 and 15-5. On July 18, Santa Fe scored 17 runs and still lost 20-17. The Fuego then lost 20-5 and 15-7.

Few games better summarized the 2016 Santa Fe Fuego than a 20-17 loss. Scoring 17 runs would normally be more than enough to win a professional baseball game. For the 2016 Fuego, even that wasn't always enough.

Fort Marcy had always been known as a place where no lead was completely safe. Its short fences and approximately 7,000-foot elevation created one of the most extreme offensive environments in professional baseball. In previous seasons, Santa Fe had learned how to use those conditions to its advantage. In 2016, those same conditions magnified every weakness in the pitching staff.

The pitching situation became so difficult that position players occasionally had to help cover innings. Maria, Haskins, Alvarez, Thomas, Aldrich and others appeared on the pitching side of the statistical ledger during the season. It was another indication of the challenge Zarewicz faced while trying to hold the roster together and get the Fuego through the schedule.

Santa Fe continued fighting through the final weeks. The Fuego won another wild 16-15 game, suffered losses of 22-4 and 11-4 and then responded with an 11-9 victory. Late in July, the offense exploded one more time in a 29-8 victory. Santa Fe lost 18-6 in the following game before closing the listed schedule with a 9-6 victory.

The individual offensive numbers provided some memorable accomplishments during an otherwise difficult summer. Maria's 100 hits and .448 batting average were extraordinary. Haskins scored 80 runs and hit 22 home runs. Tavares added 20 home runs and 67 RBIs. Aldrich hit 17 home runs in only 95 at-bats. Alvarez hit 13 home runs, LaCugna added 10 and Artsen continued to produce as one of the familiar names from the Fuego's earlier successful teams.

Unfortunately, nearly every offensive accomplishment was accompanied by an equally startling pitching problem. Opponents repeatedly reached double digits. Santa Fe allowed 32 runs in one game, 24 in another and 20 or more on several other occasions. The Fuego lost games despite scoring 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16 and 17 runs. There simply wasn't enough pitching to turn one of the league's most productive offenses into a winning baseball team.

The season also demonstrated how dramatically the franchise had changed in only two years. In 2014, Bill Moore had found the right combination of offense, pitching and roster depth to lead Santa Fe to the Pecos League Championship. That team went to Alpine, Texas, and won the final two games of the championship series on the road. By 2016, the balance that had made the championship possible was gone.

The managerial instability at the beginning of the year made the situation even more difficult. Keith Wood never had an opportunity to establish himself. The Fuego started the season with consecutive losses, Wood couldn't win a game and his tenure ended during the first week. Santa Fe was forced to change direction almost immediately.

That was when T.J. Zarewicz stepped forward. Taking over as a player-manager under those circumstances was one of the most difficult assignments anyone could have inherited. Zarewicz wasn't taking over a championship contender in the middle of a winning streak. He inherited a club already struggling, facing an extremely difficult schedule and searching desperately for enough pitching to remain competitive.

Zarewicz had to manage players who were also his teammates. He had to make roster decisions while continuing to function as a player. He had to deal with pitching shortages, difficult road trips and one high-scoring loss after another. There was no easy solution available. His primary responsibility became keeping the Fuego together and getting the club through the season.

The final results weren't what anyone in Santa Fe wanted, but the team continued playing. The Fuego didn't quit after the disastrous beginning. They didn't quit when opponents scored 20 or 30 runs. They continued competing through July and still produced stretches where their offense made them dangerous against anyone in the league.

The 2016 schedule offered very little relief. Santa Fe had to contend with a Pecos League that had become deeper and more competitive. The arrival of Tucson added another powerful opponent, while Roswell, Alpine and Trinidad remained difficult teams to face. Tucson ultimately became the dominant team of the 2016 season and won the Pecos League Championship, adding another major obstacle to Santa Fe's already demanding schedule.

Two years earlier, the Fuego had been celebrating a championship in Alpine. In 2016, Santa Fe found itself at the opposite end of the Pecos League standings. It became the worst season in Fuego history and a reminder of how quickly things could change in independent professional baseball.

Yet even during that difficult year, Fort Marcy remained one of the wildest environments in the league. Fans saw Maria collect 100 hits, Haskins and Tavares combine for 42 home runs and Aldrich hit 17 home runs in only 23 games. They saw Santa Fe score 24 runs in one victory and 29 in another. They also saw games where 15 or 17 runs weren't enough to win.

Nothing about the 2016 Santa Fe Fuego was predictable. The season began with a losing streak. Keith Wood couldn't win a game and quit during the first week. T.J. Zarewicz unexpectedly became player-manager. The pitching staff was overwhelmed, the schedule was brutal and the losses accumulated faster than they ever had before in Fuego history.

For Zarewicz, the season became an unexpected introduction to managing professional baseball. He hadn't entered the summer expecting to become the man responsible for holding the Santa Fe Fuego together. Circumstances forced him into the position, and he accepted the challenge during one of the most difficult seasons any Fuego manager had faced.

The 2016 Fuego weren't champions. They weren't playoff contenders. They weren't close to the team that had celebrated the greatest moment in franchise history two summers earlier. They were a team attempting to survive a difficult season while searching for pitching and trying to compete against one of the toughest schedules the franchise had ever faced.

Keith Wood's tenure ended almost as soon as it began. T.J. Zarewicz emerged as the player-manager who carried the club through the remainder of the summer. The hitters continued producing tremendous numbers, but the pitching problems were simply too great to overcome.

It all added up to the worst season the Santa Fe Fuego had experienced.

But even at their lowest point, the Fuego remained unmistakably the Fuego. Fort Marcy continued producing outrageous offensive baseball. Home runs kept flying over the fences, enormous run totals continued appearing on the scoreboard and almost no game felt completely decided until the final out.

The 2014 season had demonstrated how high the Santa Fe Fuego could climb.

The 2016 season demonstrated how unforgiving the Pecos League could be.