Rumor Mill Part II - Sioux to Part Ways with Franchise Stalwart

Burlington, VT

Superstorm (is that a thing now?) Nemo will not stand in the way of NASBL news. Despite being pounded by more than a foot of snow, the VFS rumor mill keeps chugging along. To spare you the preamble, you can go here to see how we got to this point.

This time we honor Ervin Santana; a Sioux front line hurler for the past seven seasons. While his star never shone as bright as Ubaldo's, it did shine longer. In his Vermont tenure, Ervin went 59-58 and was part of the rotation for three playoff teams (2007, 2009, 2011), including his best season when he went 16-8 with a 2.85 ERA in 2009 and was the staff ace of a team that SOMEHOW BLEW A 3-0 LCS SERIES LEAD. "NO, I'M NOT STILL BITTER", said an enraged GM Justin Rabidoux.

Ervin leaves Vermont with a full trophy case of accolades.

His 182 games are tops in franchise history and he is also the career Sioux leader in IP (1,130) and Ks (872). His 59 wins were second only behind Ubaldo's 62 as were his 36 CGs, again, trailing only Ubaldo's 45. He also occupies prominent locations on the career leader board in ERA, Ks/9, H/9 and shutouts.

On a single season basis, Ervin's 17 CGs in 2009 is a franchise record and in a recurring theme his single season marks of 237 Ks and a 2.85 ERA are second only to Ubaldo.

Ultimately Santana's increasing proclivity to surrendering the long ball (his HRs allowed have increased in each of the past five MLB seasons, including a ghastly league high 39 in 2012) paved the way for his exit.

"Ervin will always hold a special place in our fans' heart for his competitive spirit and all the great memories he gave us. Unfortunately for him, his name is most linked in a Buckneresque manner with the great LCS collapse of '09 when he had two chances (Ed. note: Ervin started and won Game 1, but started and lost Games 4 & 7 of the series) to close out the series and win a title for what many consider the best Vermont team of all time", continues Rabidoux. "That team, while only finishing 91-71, made many end of the year trades and come playoff time had a murderous roster with all the parts necessary, and then some, to win the title. Who knows, if we had won, Albert Pujols would likely still be on the roster." (Ed. : He was traded to LVI that off-season in an attempt to get younger. Unfortunately for Rabidoux, younger has meant primarily Tommy Hanson and his career 24-36 record)

Sioux fans, as you're stumbling up and down Church Street tonight, pour one out for old Ervin.

This is how we'll choose to remember the great warrior that was Ervin Santana

Rumor Mill Part I - Sioux to Part Ways with Franchise Stalwart

Burlington, VT

Coming off a 72 win season, it's no shock that changes were in the air for the Vermont Fighting Sioux. The depth of the changes, however, may have some longtime loyal Sioux fans questioning the franchise's loyalty.

Leaks have been pouring out of the VFS front office, presumably from disgruntled employees. The latest leaks, if true, will be a hard pill to swallow. While NASBL nation awaits the formal announcement of cuts on February 16, some Sioux rumored casualties are making their way to the blogosphere and the talk radio air waves.

Ubaldo Jimenez is one such casualty. His advancing age and reduced production have exposed him to the waiver wire if rumors are to be believed. His MLB ERA have increased in each of the past five years, and his transition to a DH league resulted in a spike in homers allowed. Putting the ball over the plate and general wildness have always been issues for Ubaldo, but were seen as minor flaws on an otherwise excellent resume. Now these bad habits are just more reasons he's no longer welcome in the Wigwam.

Looking back at his stellar, but brief VFS career (4 years of service) highlights just how good he was in his prime. Ubaldo is the owner of the most impressive pitching season in Sioux history, posting a 23-5 record with a 2.58 ERA in 2011. Additionally, if you check the record books, his name is everywhere.

                                                     VFS Lifetime Leaders:

Jimenez - Celebrating another victory in 2011

Unfortunately Time Caught up with the Former Sioux Ace

#2 in Win %, .626
#1 in ERA, 3.58
#1 in CG, 45
#3 in IP, 905
#2 in Ks, 786
#1 in H/9, 7.83
#4 in K/9, 7.82
#1 in shutouts, 9
#1 in wins, 62 (to go with 37 losses)
#9 in games, 122



Single Season VFS Leaders:

Ubaldo produced the best individual seasons in wins (23), starts (33), win % (.821), shutouts (4), ERA (2.58) and IP (269). He also recorded top 5 seasons in every pitching category excepting the obvious one, saves.

Asked to sum up Jimenez's impact to the franchise, GM/Owner Justin Rabidoux said, "Ubaldo will be remembered for his contributions to the franchise as a whole, and especially during our special playoff run of 2009 (ed. note: Ubaldo was also the NASBL LF Rookie of the Year in 2009), as well as his outstanding 2011 Cy Young season. In fact, you could make a strong case he should've been the MVP in 2011 as he dragged an otherwise pedestrian team single-handedly into the playoffs; I mean, the team's most productive offensive player that year was Supplemental Draft pick Casey f'in McGehee. Ubaldo finished 18 games over .500 as a pitcher and the Sioux finished 18 games over .500 as a team. You do the math." Tell us how you really feel. Rabidoux continued, "We wish Ubaldo all the continued success and hope he finds a comfortable landing place, and who knows, maybe we'll see him back here on day soon."

The former Honolulu Hawaiians franchise has new leadership...

The former Honolulu Hawaiians franchise has new leadership;

EdCouch New Potatoes GM says that he thinks he can compete right away as well as build a good young nucleus for the future at the same time. After the acquisition of Eric Aybar to sure up shortstop, EdCouch was able to trade for some draft picks, that in part, will be used to acquire some pitching help. He also adds that the team is open to trading some of it's veteran players to reshape it's roster.

EdCouch inherited the first pick in the 2013 draft and will use that to  build a good young nucleus for the future. The team looks forward to the 2013 draft as a means to build the current roster for both being competitive in 2013 and beyond. This means that when EdCouch is on the clock for their picks, fellow GM's feel free to make offers and exchange trading idea's as the New Potatoes will be reshaping it's roster for today and beyond.

Outlaw Career RBI Leaders

Twenty-two years of Outlaw All-Time
 RBI leaders from 1991 to 2012 including
the predecessor NASBL Cleveland Indians
and San Diego Padres:

1. 1604, Manny Ramirez, 1995 - 2011
2. 1156, Albert Belle, 1992 - 2001
3.  634, Omar Vizquel, 1996 - 2011
4.  553, Kenny Lofton, 1993 - 2001
5.  527, Adrian Gonzalez, 2007 - 2012

Adrian Gonzalez passes Tony Gwynn for the fifth spot.  Adrian only needs 11 100 RBI seasons to pass Manny for the top spot.

Outlaw Career Saves Leaders

Twenty-two years of Outlaw All-Time
saves leaders from 1991 to 2012 including
the predecessor NASBL Cleveland Indians
and San Diego Padres:

1. 128, Keith Foulke, 1999 -2005
2. 117, Trevor Hoffman, 1994 - 1999
3. 104, Joakim Soria, 2008 - 2011
4.  74, Armando Benitez, 1998 - 2005
5.  71, Jeff Russell, 1993 - 1996

The throw-in in the Trevor Hoffman for Mark McGwire and Raul Mondesi trade remains Outlaw's save king for the foreseeable future.

New Centerfielder Comes to Town

Troy, NY:  The Haymakers thought they were in trouble when their centerfielder for the past two years Brett Gardner wound up with an elbow injury and is expected to be out for all of 2013.  Instead, Troy moved the young SS Ruben Tejada with an ILL# 4 pick to the Grizzlies for Dexter Fowler.
  Fowler, a 6'4" lanky player who has tools to spare, will take over the job of CF for Troy with a career batting average of .216 with a .315 on-base and 53 stolen bases.  He'll have big shoes to fill as Gardner has been consistent, hitting .270 with a .360 on base and averaged 50 stolen bases over the past two seasons.
  "We feel Fowler has shown exceptional ability and have no doubts that he can handle centerfield in Troy," said the Haymakers GM, "he may not steal as many bases as Gardner, but I'm confident that he will fit in nicely as our leadoff hitter in 2013."
   The move allows slugger Josh Hamilton to stay in left field where he is more comfortable while Corey Hart moves back to right field after splitting time at DH and RF in 2012.
   The addition of Fowler and Carlos Beltran leaves 2012 second round pick Peter Bourjos out in the cold, who is most likely looking to be released.

Chows add Another Pick, Lose OF Depth

Illinois Times - The Chows entered the offseason with a plethora of OF.  Keepers included Upton, Bourn, Beltran, Ross, DeJesus, Pierre and possible Morse.  Today the Chows dealt DeJesus for the Shawnee 5th Round Pick.

"We had a situation where we had a full OF and then made the deal for Upton.  There was no way we could keep all these guys close to happy if we kept them all.  While we expect both Beltran and DeJesus to have fine seasons, there just weren't enough bats to go around."

Illinois could still trade one more OF before they are done, but no longer feel they have to make a deal. Rumor has the Chows listening to offers on Ross and Pierre.