Bautista-gate!

Troy, NY: Haymaker fans made a unified, "Wha, Wha, What?!?" this past week when news surfaced that the slugging Jose Bautista was traded for Edwin Encarnacion and a VFS round 1 pick. "He just didn't fit into our long term plans," said GM Ken Anderson, "We want to build our team around Josh (Hamilton), Pablo (Sandoval) and Madison Bumgarner. We also want to build a long term competitive team and we thought this was the best way to keep that plan in action." Troy fans have been livid, who thought the team was a playoff lock before the trade. Even Bautista himself was quoted in another news source as saying that the Haymaker GM did not have faith in him. "Bautista is a grown man and knows how this game works," said the GM, "He was productive when he was here, and if he is worried about who has faith in him them maybe it was best that he was moved on." There have been other fairly public hints (Here) that Bautista was on the market from as early as January; when news surfaced that he was being shopped. It seemed the GM has had his doubts for some time, maybe he was worried about the personalities of Hamilton and Bautista over the long term. We may never know. Now Troy fans will have to finish out the season without one of the most exciting bats in the game. Jose Bautista, who helped bring the Haymakers their first championship appearance in 2011, was drafted in the 6th round of the 2010 draft. After a season playing part time, a hitch was fixed in his swing and Bautista exploded with 44 homeruns and 123 RBI's in 2011. He was hitting .313 with 15 homeruns and 36 RBI's at the time of the trade.

DFW BK-1 Report

Heading out of Spring Training DFW had high hopes on the direction the team.  Well it didn't take long for reality to set in when the season started.   The Spurs finished BK-1 with a 15-31 record.  The bad news is just what the Spurs dreaded, a sophomore jink by their young guns.  Jason Heyward is batting .230 with 5hr & 11rbi.  Andrew McCutchen & Logan Morrison are hitting under the 'Mendoza Line', at .198 and .168.  McCutchen is leading team with 21r,  22rbi, & 8hr. 

 

Last year staff ace Colby Lewis (14-10, 3.65era),  is 1-7, with a 7.21era.  Tim Stauffer is 1-6, 5.91era, & Dustin Moseley is 0-4, 6.42era have 17 of the team's 31 loses.  The pitching staff is suffering a severe case of 'Gopheritis'.  In 46 games the staff has given up 64 homeruns.  Lewis has given up 14, Stauffer 13, and Jeff Karstens 9.  When asked how long has the staff has had 'Gopheritis', skipper Red Robbins said 'the last 6 years!'

Outlaw Nation Happy with Block I

Outlaw fans and management have no complaints after a successful road-heavy 2012 NASBL block I.  A 9 game division lead, a .654 road winning percentage, out-homering opponents 3-1 at Wreckin' So Field, Justin Masterson's 6-1, 2.48 record, Adrian Beltre's 13 HR, 33 RBI start, Kimbrel and Venter's 14 saves, Adrian Gonzalez's .342 BA and 31 RBI, and NASBL league leading .824 X-percentage and 3.08 ERA are all putting smiles on the Outlaw Pond faithful.

Disappointments are minor.  Matt Kemp's .254 batting average fails to wow, although his 30 runs, 10 HR, 30 RBI and 14 SB are excellent production.  More was expected of Tim Hudson than a 3-3 record, but his 3.90 ERA is solid and suggests some hard-luck, and Alfredo Aceves' 4.15 ERA is a disappointment, but his 3-1 record is good.

Questions remain.  Why hasn't management pulled the string an a trade to bring a big gun playoff weapon to Outlaw?  A strong starting pitcher card or another big left-handed hitting card could help to shorten those unpredictable NASBL playoff series.  The brass does hint that they are still working the phones, but say that improving on the team we already have on the field isn't easy.  

Why hasn't fireballing rookie Craig Kimbrel been handed the closer job outright?  Well, management is very happy with Jonny Venter's 6 out of 7 save conversion and miniscule 1.14 ERA, and this bullpen is easily deep enough to micro-manage duties, so the unconventional lefty-righty closer platoon just might continue.

Rivera and Bautista First Press Conference as a Bulldog

For the first time since being traded to the Bulldogs, Jose Bautista and Mariano Rivera talked to reporters about their respective trades.

Jose seemed a little confused about the trade. "I was told that we were playing for a championship" said a confused Jose. "I'm happy to be on the Bulldogs and part of this lineup either way. Maybe Mr. Anderson didn't have enough faith in me. I don't know. All I do know is that I will be playing my heart out for that championship ring no matter who it is for."







Mariano was a little more upset about his trade. "Stan always told me that I was going to be a Hawaiian for life." Rivera said. "I guess those words were just meant until I got a little old. I have a lot of life left in my arm."
 
On a side note. When Brandon League was asked about the Rivera trade he had this to say. "This is bull. I guess leading the league in saves isn't enough. They have to bring in someone else for the ninth inning and make me a set-up man. I have already told my agent that I want to be traded. I want to close not be a set-up man." Lets hope this doesn't bring any kind of problems to the Bulldog's locker room. I guess we will just have to watch the Tradewire to see if League gets his wish.

Down Goes Feliz!

The ink was barely dry on the new 3 year contract with future ace Neftali Feliz when the Roadkill front office announced that he would be immediately be assigned to the 15 day DL. The GRK front office was in damage control when GM Miller stated "We noticed something in his delivery that could cause some long-term issues & we just want to make sure NeFe can join YoGo & Volquez on the '13 staff". When the AJC questioned how thorough the GRK front office evaluated Feliz before commiting a #1 pick GM Miller shot back "Look with our playoff run this year who could we get with the #1...Goldschmidt, Minor? Doubtful anyone will be trading down next draft. Feliz can help us in a key setup role & fully expect him to compete for a rotation spot next season." When asked if the club expected compensation from last season champ LVI, GM Miller was interrupted by an urgent call from a Dr Andrews.

IronPig Hot Stove (May Edition)

Attention playoff teams (and non playoff teams)!  IronPigs are considering the future and decided to field offers for quality players.  I offer the following nice pieces for your consideration.....

Uber 2b Robinson Cano, lefthanded, 1e11 with fantastic power middle infielder in the prime of his career.  Am looking for upcoming quality and high pick or multiple high picks.

Jayson Werth, corner outfielder with nice on base and great defense.  Need replacement at bats and a moderate pick.

Josh Willingham, power outfielder that is having a terrific season in the NASBL feeder program known as MLB.  Need replacement at bats and a high pick.

Jim Thome, reverse LH goon with 44.4 on base vsL, 7 natural HR and 8 BPHR vsL.  Power numbers vsR are nice too.  Looking for mid round pick.

Eric Young Jr, switch hitting speed demon.  His get lead numbers are 2-6&11 with 19-15 running numbers.  Very valuable for the late inning tie game scenario.   V-Mart, Napoli, McCann and Hernandez are scared of this guy.  Better act quickly before the competition grabs him.  Looking for mid round pick.

Neftali Feliz, young, hard throwing RH closer who turned starter.  He is doing very well in MLB.  Need replacement innings and high pick(s).

Josh Johnson, RH low inning stud.  This card could be the difference in a playoff series.  Nothing vsR and very low vsL.   Need upcoming quality and high pick or replacement innings and high picks (see also Cano).  Please note that for many years in MLB and the NBA, the team with the biggest Johnson was very successful (Randy and Magic).  Josh is a strapping 6'7" and is not finished growing yet. 

Joaquin Soria, closer with a great track record.  He will be on the DL this season, so he can fill the slot on your inactive roster if it is not covered already.  Looking for moderate pick.

Matt Thornton, very nice LH reliever card with lots of innings.  Looking for high mid round pick.

Jordan Zimmerman, very nice RH starting pitcher who is off to a great start in MLB.  Looking for upcoming quality and high pick, or multiple high picks (see also, Cano and/or Johnson).

Other players could be had as well.  Inquire within....

 Chipper Jones is traded to the Shawnee Crows.
The Georgia Roadkill sends 3rd baseman Chipper Jones to the Shawnee Crows for Rafael Perez and Shawnee's #4 pick in 2013. The 22 -19 Crows are currently being carried by it's very solid pitching staff  (3.44 ERA) this year but the Crows rank near the bottom of the league in slugging and run production. The switch-hitting Jones will give the Crows much needed power in the number three slot of the line-up. Crows manager believes the team's pitching will get them to the playoffs but run support will be need to win it all.  

Bautista trade adds power to an already powerful Bulldog lineup

The Bulldog faithful were ecstatic when they found out that ownership added another huge bat to the lineup. Others were wondering why the attention was give to the lineup when the Bulldogs were already at or near the top of every offensive category in the league. When asked about this Bulldogs owner Adam Leickel had this to say. "We have tried hard to work on the rotation, but we just found that as strange as it seems trading for a hitter like Bautista was easier than trading for a pitcher of similar quality. Other owners are just keeping a tight grip on their quality pitchers. We are still working on that area of our team though." Sounds like other trades may be on the horizon for the Bulldogs. In the meantime we will just have to enjoy the barrage of homeruns that will be flying out of Bulldog stadium.