The dust has finally settled (well, almost) on the travesty that was the 2009 Less Filling League Championship Series. For the first time since they blew a 3-0 series lead against Pennylegion's game Pilots squad, Vermont Fighting Sioux management and players have been seen in actual daylight. The hangover and hibernation were long and wrought with grief and Dewars.
But it's the dawn of a new day (/keeps telling himself that). Sioux GM Justin Rabidoux is proud to announce that he recently received his Stage 6 Merit Badge from the local chapter of Brotherhood of the 7 Stages of Grief. Stage 6 is Reconstruction and Working Through. And gosh darnit, that's just what we'll do. Stages 1 to 3 were so hard on the Sioux front office, that rumors of a possible liquidation of all assets, including Albert Pujols himself, were being considered. However, as they made "The Upward Turn", or Stage 5 to you fellow Merit Badge holders, the Sioux soon realized the folly of such thinking.
With that out of the way, it's time for the Sioux to evaluate their roster and off-season options. Vermont certainly has 17 worthy keepers, but they also have a need come draft day. That need is mainly picks. In the mad race for the (elusive) NASBL World Series trophy, the Sioux traded picks 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 away. 'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, eh Mr. Tennyson?
The following players are hereby available for trade in return for draft picks.
RHRP - Ramon Ramirez - RR put together another great season out of the pen. Posting 69.2 IP with a great 0.623 OPS vs. RHB. Has proven himself a valuable SOM commodity. For the Sioux in '09 he posted a 2.89 ERA and held RHB to a sick .180 avg. and only 1 HR in 133 ABs. Perfect fit for a contender. I want to keep him, but he may be worth more to you than to the rebuilding Sioux.
LHRP - Hideki Okajima - Very productive 61 IP at your disposable. But did you know this, he held LHB to a 0.467 OPS. That's not a misprint, 0.467 OPS. Even the Royals think that sucks. Hideki continues to be a dependable workhorse into his 30s, posting his 3rd straight 60+ IP MLB season. Once. Again. 0.467 OPS. Same story as Ramon, I'll gladly keep him, but you should want him more than I do.
1b/DH - Aubrey Huff - He continues to hit and hit. The Sioux have Lyle Overbay locked into the backup 1b/DH slot, making Huff expendable.
2b/3b - Akinori Iwamura - An injury cut his season short, but he did return and play in the last 25 MLB games, and did so well enough to get acquired by the Pirates as their everyday 2b. Only one year removed from his season as a "1" at 2b, all signs point to a solid rebound for Aki. Only available due to Robinson Cano's great '09 MLB season. And don't look at Aki simply as a down the road chip, he still has 231 ABs for you with a 2 range at 2b and a sick 0.942 OPS vs. LHP. Perfect platoon player at 2b, and with that OPS even good enough to be a DH vs. LHP.
SP/RP - Francisco Liriano - Now a full two years removed from Tommy John surgery, he's a great low risk/high reward candidate for a team with excess picks or the gambling jones. Don't forget how good he was his rookie season, no reason to think that given adequate recovery time, which he's had, he can't produce for you in the future. Liriano had his troubles last year, but he still produced a 8.0 K/9 ratio, good stuff indeed. Had 5 relief appearance, so could be a decent 140 IP reliever to fill in for usage issues also.
