Chows go with 16 Plus One

Who’s In:

The Chows are keeping enough players to fill every position on the diamond – a first for the franchise. GM/Owner Brad Sherlag discussed the roster as follows: “Our line-up vs. RH pitchers is pretty well set. We may be able to improve a little at 2b – but other than that – our team is pretty much set in stone. We expect to score a lot of runs this season and we do see ourselves as a contender.”

Here is the projected Illinois starting line-up:

1B Carlos Pena
2B Kelly Johnson
SS Hanley Ramirez
3B Chone Figgins
C Kurt Suzuki
RF David DeJesus
CF Carlos Beltran
LF Josh Willingham
DH Aubrey Huff

Bench – Troy Tulowitzki

Rotation

Roy Halladay
James Shields
John Maine
Joe Blanton

Bullpen

Joe Nathan
Carlos Marmol

IR

Chris Capuano

Who’s Out:

Notable players not retained by the Chows were 15 game winner Micah Owings and 3B Josh Fields. Also gone is Jose Vidro and Tadahito Iguchi who were members of the original Chows each of their three seasons.

Owings blasted Sherlag for the cut, “I don’t know what it takes to stick with this team. I really put together a nice season last year . I don’t want to make any accusations – but it is strange that my overuse resulted in the Chows slipping a spot in the draft and now I am on the chopping block. Dmitri Young and I are sources of embarrassment for the Chows GM and now we are both looking for work.”

Sherlag discussed the cuts as follows: “Josh Fields was our toughest decision. We really wanted to keep him, but flexibility proved more important to us. We wish Josh luck and still believe he will be a starting 3B in the NASBL. We would like to thank Micah, Tadahito and Jose for their contributions. They really did a lot for us and our fans will miss them. Iguchi has opted to play in Japan, Jose is contemplating retirement and we wish Micah luck in landing with another ballclub. We did discuss letting Blanton go, but with losing Glavine and Capuano, someone has to fill our innings eating starting pitcher role.”

Supplemental Strategy

The Chows could go with just about anything with their lone supplemental pick. They could get a platoon partner for one of their LH hitters or could solidify the bullpen.