Individual Awards Consolation to Disappointing Season

Illinois Times - When the NASBL awards were announced, for the first time in franchise history the Chows had multiple award winners. Joe Nathan was named the NASBL fireman of the year and Brett Anderson was named Rookie of the Year. Both Nathan and Anderson flew in to Illinois and joined each other for a press conference in the dated press room in the bowls of Seventies stadium.

Nathan went first and called the relief award "a team award. The Chows put me in a position to save a lot of games this year and hopefully I did not disappoint." Nathan answered all the questions and then dropped a bombshell - "I recently underwent an MRI and learned that I will be going under the knife. Unfortunately, I will miss the entire 2011 season. I am told that I should have a full recovery and be ready for 2012."

Brett Anderson then took the podium, but the atmosphere in the press room was subdued after Nathan's bombshell. "I am proud to be the Chows first Rookie of the Year and the franchise's first 20 game winner. I want to thank the vets on the team for all the help they gave. Roy and Chris really know how to teach a guy to be a member of the NASBL."

Chows GM Brad Sherlag went next. After talking abut how proud he was of Nathan and Anderson he fielded questions. When asked about the Chows chances for 2011, Sherlag was pretty honest. "I do not think we have enough to win in the TGE next year. With Nathan out, and no pick until the 3rd round, we really do not have the ability to shore up our offense. Our staff should be fine next year with Roy, Chris and Brett as anchors. Duensing may move into the rotation and we still have Zambrano and Volquez coming back for sure. However, we project to score even less runs than last year. We really went all in last season and will regroup a little bit in 2011. Like Nathan - we expect to come back strong in 2012."

This waiting routine is getting old for Chows fans. Sherlag has yet to get the Chows into the postseason and the call for Sherlag to hire a real GM is getting louder. Maybe Sherlag can make a deal or two this offseason to help curtail criticism.