Chows Release 1st Pick in Franchise History

19-31

That's the lifetime record of Chris Capuano, the young southpaw the Chows brass saw fit to make the first selection in franchise history. Flashback to the 2006 draft -- the Chows were selecting 13th overall and did not have a second round pick. Their next selection wasn't until #48 in the draft.

New GM/Owner Brad Sherlag needed innings and he needed them badly. "We had a staff that was overworked the previous season to try to win it all. We were also left without a 2nd a 5th or a 6th as Yorktown had mortgaged this draft to win in '05. Going into the season we had Shilling, Gagne, Halladay and Harden all hurting. We only protected 14 players -- four of which had limited use. That first draft was a draft of necessity -- we had to carefully make our picks to ensure that we could play 162 games with our 30 players."

Capuano did provide innings for the Chows -- perhaps too many for a young arm. That first season Capuano logged 246 innings and posted a respectable 4.57 ERA. Perhaps already hurting last season Chris manged only 203 innings and the ERA was slightly over 5 runs a game. The 19-31 record was more a function of the Chow's inept offense than it was of Capuano's pitching. He took the ball every fifth day (and occasionally every fourth) racking an impressive 69 starts in his two seasons - leading the Chows both seasons in that category.

Now Capuano is going under the knife. Although expected to recover, the Chows are not willing to hold a spot. "We thanked Chris for his hard work and really still like the kid. It is possible he returns as a late round flier." Unfortunately for both the Chows and Capuano, he was drafted to eat innings - he did what he was asked and now the high dollar life of a first round draft pick is a distant memory.

Keepers and Cuts

Illinois will not be participating in the Supplemental Draft for the first time keeping 17 players this season. Illinois considered going with 15 players, but then decided to keep Vidro and Teahen. Vidro was kept as a pinch hitter and emergency 2B or 1B. Teahen was kept as a potential bounceback guy. The other questionable keepers included Olivo (who was kept for his arm and at bats) and Kearns (who will play RF vs. lefties and serve as a defensive replacement in RF).

The Chows have said goodbye to Tadahito Iguchi -- drafted with the last pick in the 3rd round of that same 2006 draft "The Gooch" posted a .262 batting average while manning second base for the Chows. He was a fan favorite among the Illinois Japanese community.

Eric Gagne never really found it as a Chow. After years of dominance in Yorktown, Gagne manged only 10 IP over two seasons. He spent all last season on IR and was ineffective (8.10 ERA) before being shut down in 2006. The writing was on the wall for Gagne when Illinois went out and got Nathan.

Michael Barrett is best known for causing Morandini to platoon catchers based on how well his pitchers held baserunners (instead of what side the opposing pitcher threw from). In two seasons catching primarily Capuano and Glavine, Barrett batted .276 hitting 22 Home Runs and driving in 86.