Outlaw management has been working the phones since the latter part of Block I in an attempt to improve the team's chances of winning NASBL's short playoff series, and hopefully, World Series. We found that it's hard to improve on a really good team when you don't have any good expendable prospects and your trading partners think that your draft position will be low.
Management had no trouble zeroing in on our two biggest playoff needs:
1) A dominant starting pitching card, and
2) A dominant left-handed bat
Number one proved elusive, as usual in NASBL, seeing that dominant starting pitching cards are usually associated with dominant starting pitchers whose price is higher than a late first-round draft pick.
Need number two isn't much easier to fill given the lack of dominant left-handed bats this year, and the fact that many of them are young and promising, and most of them already reside in the hands of contenders.
Outlaw management was really miffed that their hand-picked Kemp-Napoli-Gonzalez-Pedroia-Ortiz-Beltre-Cruz offensive juggernaut was out-homered and out-scored by Slatington in block I. Then the Bulldogs had the nerve to add insult to injury by trading for Jose Bautista!
So when Seattle decided to go for a youth movement we jumped right on the chance to negotiate for the one player we had considered the best fit for the Wales playoff run all along:
Outlaw is honored to welcome Lance Berkman, professional hitter extroidanaire, to the Outlaw family. We gave up a first round draft pick for an aging hitter with health issues, but the Big Puma adds a dominant bat to team up with Adrian Gonzalez and Big Papi Ortiz against any right-handed pitcher that can be thrown at us.
The trade also strengthens Outlaw's right-handed setup role as Steve Cishek's outstanding card was also packaged for underrated Rafael Betancourt, who is on track to provide Seattle one of the more dominant 2013 closer cards.
Outlaw is confident that this is the right trade at the right time for both Seattle and the Wales.
Bring on the playoffs!
3 comments:
Great write up Mark! I especially enjoyed the trash talk against Slatington. Keeping up with the Jonses. As you say, bring on the playoffs.
I'm the one trying to keep up with the Jonses. I had to get Bautista just to try to compete with your lineup. You just had to go out and one up me didn't you. If only I could get a good SP to give myself some semblance of a rotation after Cain. The quest continues.
Adam, I don't think you can one up Bautista, but after you outhit me in block I, swept me in my house in block II, and traded for Jose, I had to do something!
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