About a week ago, the new WashingtonGlory.com went live. It is still incomplete, but it is already a huge improvement over the previous one. I like the blogs, and I hope they get updated regularly. The FanZone is kinda empty. I could find no message board, but the Community section is still missing, so perhaps they will be there.
The part I find most intriguing is the Team Roster section, including a Depth Chart. The thing that jumped out at me right away was some of our missing players from last year.
Nicole Barber and Catalina Morris will not be returning to the team this season. Sources tell me that Nicole has moved on to the real world, meaning a real-world job. Catalina has actually been teaching for over a year now. Both will be missed by the fans.
Also missing from last year are little-used utility player Cambria Miranda, pitcher Lisa Ferguson, and catchers Leah English and Callista Balko. Callista is the only slight surprise of the group, but with the addition of Mackenzie Vandergeest, her playing time would have gone way down anyway. And we all knew Leah wasn't coming back, after the coaches stopped allowing her to run the bases after her mental lapse on July 18th. Ferguson was a victim of a numbers game, with Abbott coming back. (How much time we actually get Abbott will likely determine the playing time for draftee Stacey Nelson.) Miranda was tied for second in stolen bases, so she too will be missed.
The depth chart shows how short-handed we are in the outfield with the disappearance of Barber and Morris. (You know you're short-handed when a catcher is your second-string left-fielder!) We currently have 11 players to cover 8 positions, which doesn't leave a lot of room for injuries or in-game strategy. Perhaps we will add one or two from our open tryouts. Only 2 of our 3 draftees help this situation, since the third is a pitcher. Maybe Mowatt will get some time in the outfield this season?
The depth chart doesn't show it, but I would say that our third string catcher is once again my UVa girl Sara Larquier. It will be interesting to see if the chart gets updated during the season. For instance, if Jackson starts off slowly again, perhaps Bures takes over at SS, but will the chart be updated? We shall see.