Illinois Times -- The Chows DH position is no longer vacant. It will be occupied by either Todd Helton or Carlos Pena with the other guy playing 1B. Both Helton and Pena are regarded as good glovemen and will probably share time in both roles.
GM Brad Sherlag said, "We are very excited to add a premium bat to the Illinois line-up. Helton will be a middle of the order guy for us and should help us generate more runs. Any time you can add a guy to your team that appears all over the NASBL career leader boards - well that's a guy you love to add. Chows fans should be able to see Todd drive in his thousandth run this year -- that is an amazing number considering the struggles we have had offensively over the years. His career batting average of .309 is just shy of the Chows single season record of .312."
A player like Helton does not come cheap. Illinois gave up Joe Blanton which leaves a hold in the rotation that Illinois expects to address in the draft. The Chows also gave up their 2nd round draft pick. Does this mean Illinois is going for it this season? "Yeah - well at least for Block I -- we went for it last year too, but started flat in our tough division and ended up holding a fire sale. We will still be taking the best players available in our eyes in Round 1 -- but those guys should also be able to fill in our holes. We have a lot more depth and flexibility going into this draft after getting Helton and Counsell. "
After spending the majority of his career with the Roadkill, Helton is now joining his 3rd team in as many years. "I am surprised, but not as much as last time. Once you get dealt you learn how to deal with it."
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