Haymakers Trade Announcement

Troy: The Haymakers made a major trade today picking up pheonom pitcher Jered Weaver, slugger Matt Holliday and slick fielder Mark Ellis for Chase Utley, Carl Crawford, and Matt Capps. "We're trying to improve on our successful first season while building a strong foundation for the franchise," GM Ken Anderson said, "We really needed another arm in the rotation and although Weaver still has some growing up to do, he should fill in nicely as our 3rd starter."
Matt Holliday will fill in nicely replacing Utley's bat in the lineup, but there are some questions about his attitude. "I've heard his comments about the Iron Pigs new park, and I'm sure he's going to work hard here," manager Davey Johnson said, "I mean we have a big outfield here too." When Holliday was asked about what he said about the Pig Pen, "I'm sure I won't have anything to worry about. I mean I'll be roaming out there with Andrew Jones and Vernon Wells. I could practically sleep out there, they cover so much ground."
Weaver moves into a rotation already lead by Brad Penny and young Fausto Carmona. "We have a few young arms with good stuff, our plan is to build our rotation around Carmona and Weaver," the GM said, "And if Scott (Olsen) can keep hit attitude in line he should be able to turn it around" That's a lot of pressure for Weaver, who had some shoulder issues and wore down last year after a long season. Plus he is the brother of one of the biggest head cases in the game. "A lot has been said about me and my brother Jeff," Weaver said, "I'm here to work as hard as I can and bring this franchise a championship."
So overall, is the team better? We will have to wait to find out. Bring on the regular season!

GCG is Peeking Out of the Cellar - Maybe

GCG has had its butt kicked by NASBL managers for years, we pulled out of the NASBL basement once and were rudely pushed back in by your mighty teams. We have been there so long that we redecorated the place. Once known for our pitching - we won't be thought of as a good pitching team for some time to come.

1st round decisions have been are downfall - or more truthfully have kept us down. Oswalt and Rollins have been traded, and picking a SS the last 2 years hasn't paid off - /Drew needs time, Peralta needs a glove and someone who loves him. Before that Prior and Greinke looked to dominate for years. Prior has dominated the DL and Greinke is looking to find his way. Both were kept this year in hopes they may some day fulfill the role of Ace instead of Joker.

Poor management has been my fault. I would have been fired in MLB years ago.

What does 2008 hold in store for the bears of Grundy County? Well things are looking up. We declare we have the best infield in NASBL history. Youkilis anchors 1b 1e0, Phillips 2b-1e8, Martin CA-1(-2)e1, Lowell 3B-1e16, and Betancourt SS-2e25. Several of you have recognized that and made some offers. Miggy and Morneau will play a lot on the road at 3B/1B/DH, and Drew will take a few swings while relieving Yuniesky at SS.

Where do we go from here. The last 2 years we passed on 2 of the most powerful bats because of Morneau/Youkilis/and Nick "The Stick" Johnson all ready were 1B roster invitees. Will we pass this years power bat - not likely? Braun can DH all he wants.

Shall we make it 3 years in a row of drafting a SS 1st. Tool-time is a better hitter and fielder than our returning roster invitees and he is thought of as highly as any young player in baseball.

What about drafting players/pitcher who would fill our needs? Wouldn't that be prudent? Need Pitching/Outfielders. Outfiled names like Young, Pence, Upton come to mind. All sound good to me. Pitching won't be as good this year as last - at least for ACE quality starters. Maybe I should fill my needs there.

We have a pretty nice early group of players to chose from - at least 1 round of really good players so if you own a 1st round draft pick or 3 - you have a good chance of adding a quality player(s). I don't know what I am going to do at his point and would be willing to trade the 1st pick if a offered a nice premium. I think Tulowitzki and Braun are the elite of the group. Tehy would help any and all of us if we had them.

Best wishes to all for the coming season - i hope to start returning the butt-kicking favor to each of you.

Roadkill part ways with two vets

In an obvious

cost-cutting move the Roadkill front office waived long-time fan fav's Ray Durham & Jim Edmonds. Durham has spent all but 1/2 season with GRK while Edmonds his entire career.

Durham leaves the Roadkill with a career .272 BA and just finished the 2007 season with a personal record of 28 HR's. Ray was never known as a slick fielder but was a clubhouse leader and a dual threat on the bases with J-Roll the last couple of seasons.

Edmonds was the human highlight film patrolling CF and winning numerous GG awards. His glovework was outstanding and the pinnacle was during the 2006 post-season leading the Roadkill to their first NASBL title. He leaves GRK matching Durham's .272 career BA, 298 HR's & 837 RBI's.

With the acquistion of Alex Rios via trade and Nick Markakis the draft the Roadkill are obviously trying to rebuild the organization after the disastrous 2007 season. Aaron Hill has solidified his position at 2B allowing Durham to pursue free agency.

Veterans say Aloha

Aloha means goodbye, or in NASBL speak, you've been released or traded. Trader Stan was at it again this offseason as he shipped Kenny Lofton to LCC, Milton Bradley and Ian Snell to DFW and Bobby Abreu to Miami. Not content with that bit of bloodletting, heads rooled at cutdown time. Among the cuts were former 1st round pick Anibal Sanchez as well as veteran Hawaiians Danny Cabrera (also a former #1), Lyle Overbay, Jose Castillo and others. GM Pietruska has pointed the ship in a new direction as defense seems to be the order of the day. Among the new Hawaiians will be RF-1 Shane Victorino and 2B-2 Placido Polanco. The team expects to rebuild through the draft and may move star slugger Pat Burrell. There were several rumors which had Burrell going to another team and the on again/off again trade rumors seem to be back.

As always it should be another interesting spring for the Island Boys.

Chows Release 1st Pick in Franchise History

19-31

That's the lifetime record of Chris Capuano, the young southpaw the Chows brass saw fit to make the first selection in franchise history. Flashback to the 2006 draft -- the Chows were selecting 13th overall and did not have a second round pick. Their next selection wasn't until #48 in the draft.

New GM/Owner Brad Sherlag needed innings and he needed them badly. "We had a staff that was overworked the previous season to try to win it all. We were also left without a 2nd a 5th or a 6th as Yorktown had mortgaged this draft to win in '05. Going into the season we had Shilling, Gagne, Halladay and Harden all hurting. We only protected 14 players -- four of which had limited use. That first draft was a draft of necessity -- we had to carefully make our picks to ensure that we could play 162 games with our 30 players."

Capuano did provide innings for the Chows -- perhaps too many for a young arm. That first season Capuano logged 246 innings and posted a respectable 4.57 ERA. Perhaps already hurting last season Chris manged only 203 innings and the ERA was slightly over 5 runs a game. The 19-31 record was more a function of the Chow's inept offense than it was of Capuano's pitching. He took the ball every fifth day (and occasionally every fourth) racking an impressive 69 starts in his two seasons - leading the Chows both seasons in that category.

Now Capuano is going under the knife. Although expected to recover, the Chows are not willing to hold a spot. "We thanked Chris for his hard work and really still like the kid. It is possible he returns as a late round flier." Unfortunately for both the Chows and Capuano, he was drafted to eat innings - he did what he was asked and now the high dollar life of a first round draft pick is a distant memory.

Keepers and Cuts

Illinois will not be participating in the Supplemental Draft for the first time keeping 17 players this season. Illinois considered going with 15 players, but then decided to keep Vidro and Teahen. Vidro was kept as a pinch hitter and emergency 2B or 1B. Teahen was kept as a potential bounceback guy. The other questionable keepers included Olivo (who was kept for his arm and at bats) and Kearns (who will play RF vs. lefties and serve as a defensive replacement in RF).

The Chows have said goodbye to Tadahito Iguchi -- drafted with the last pick in the 3rd round of that same 2006 draft "The Gooch" posted a .262 batting average while manning second base for the Chows. He was a fan favorite among the Illinois Japanese community.

Eric Gagne never really found it as a Chow. After years of dominance in Yorktown, Gagne manged only 10 IP over two seasons. He spent all last season on IR and was ineffective (8.10 ERA) before being shut down in 2006. The writing was on the wall for Gagne when Illinois went out and got Nathan.

Michael Barrett is best known for causing Morandini to platoon catchers based on how well his pitchers held baserunners (instead of what side the opposing pitcher threw from). In two seasons catching primarily Capuano and Glavine, Barrett batted .276 hitting 22 Home Runs and driving in 86.

KNIGHTS PRE-SEASON CUTS RUN DEEP

(New York Daily Mirror – January 22, 2008)

NEW YORK – Knights officials have submitted their list of league-mandated roster cuts in preparation for the 2008 draft. Some of the cuts were obvious and expected, but others raised eyebrows and still others were downright surprising.

The most prominent Knight to be cut was 2B Mark Loretta. Loretta came to the Knights via a low-key trade with Grundy County in mid-2004. He paid immediate dividends to the Knights during the second half of that season, batting a robust .351 and posting an .851 OPS in 46 games. Loretta became a fixture at second for the next three seasons and was known for his consistency at the plate, batting .300 with 15 homers in 2005 and .319 in 2006, while playing excellent defense. With age perhaps starting to catch up to him, Loretta slumped to .265 and a .641 OPS in 2007 with just 2 home runs, although he did have 150 hits and 55 RBI. The Knights always liked Loretta for his glove and were expected to retain him in 2008. Unless Mitch Pak can draft a big-time second baseman, look for Ty Wigginton to be positioned there in 2008.

Another Knight whose departure is surprising is outfielder Mike Cuddyer. Cuddyer came to the Knights via a six-player trade in mid-2006. After struggling in New York for the remainder of that season (.197, .610 OPS in 39 games), Cuddyer won a starting outfielder’s spot during spring training of 2007 and went on to have a productive season for New York, hitting 20 homers and posting an .810 OPS. While Cuddyer most likely became expendable with the full-time return of Hideki Matsui to the Knights lineup, Knights observers believe that GM Mitch Pak liked Cuddyer and thought he had a future in New York.

Another player who came over in that 2006 trade was Jacque Jones, who also was let go. Jones (.253 with 12 homers in 65 games) had a better ’06 for the Knights than Cuddyer but he turned it up a notch in 2007, batting .292 with 24 homers, 73 RBI and an .832 OPS. Rumors are that Jones was one of the last players to be cut, as he was instrumental in the team’s playoff run in 2007.

The Knights also apparently have decided to cut their losses and released catcher Jason Kendall. Kendall’s .311 average in 105 games in 2007 was a pleasant surprise but Knights brass, not believing that he had another season like that left in his bat, decided to let him go. Kendall’s light-hitting backup, Gerry Laird (.241, 7 homers) was also let go. The club apparently never forgave Kendall for not being Bengie Molina.

Other Knights to be released included journeyman infielder (and 2007 superstar) Olmedo Saenz, outfielder Kevin Mench, an aging Bernie Williams, and seldom-used but talented first baseman Mike Jacobs. With the LaRoche-Saenz tandem providing the Knights with 37 homers and a .338 batting average in 2007, Jacobs was reduced to third on the 1B depth chart and had just 8 at bats all season. Upon learning that he was released, Jacobs quipped “I’m surprised they even knew I was on the club in the first place."

On the pitching side, the most surprising cut was Chad Qualls. Qualls, a 2006 draft pick, struggled through a dreadful 2006 but rebounded to have a solid 2007, posting a 2.55 ERA and 5 wins out of the bullpen. Brian Tallet, a forced 2007 pick, was also let go, after posting a 3-0 record and a 4.37 ERA in middle relief.

To no one’s surprise, malcontent Kyle Farnsworth was given his walking papers. Originally seen as a set-up man for Takashi Saito, Farnsworth was a brutal flop, posting an 8.59 ERA and complained all season that his poor showing was due to a lack of use (just 10 appearances).

Remaining with the team for 2008 are all five starting pitchers, closer and LF Rookie of the Year Takashi Saito and middle relievers Kevin Gregg and Scott Linebrink. On the hitting side, the Knights obviously retained their keystone trio of Michael Young, Garret Atkins and Grady Sizemore, as well as 1B Adam LaRoche and infielder Ty Wigginton. Also returning for the Knights is 1B Scott Hatteberg, who also played for the club in 2003, when he batted .308 in 75 games while backing up Jim Thome.

DFW Magic Carpet Ride

2007 was a magical year for DFW. They were lead by the 2-headed platoon at catcher of V. Martinez and J. Bard. V-Mart hit .361, 312b,10hr, 62rbi, while Bard .302, 232b, 7hr, 41rbi. Freddy Sanchez came over in a trade with VFS during the 2007 Draft, lead the team with a .333ba, and was outstanding at 3B. It was also no coincidence that the return of Barry Bonds didn't hurt one bit either. Bonds who missed just about all of 2006 season returned to hit .276ba, 28hr, 81rbi, 90bb with a .419obp in 366ab. It wasn't the Bonds of yesterday but hey he's 40 something too!! Dave Bush lead the starting pitching with a record of 18-8, and a 4.04era. Closer K-Rod had another great year going 6-2, with 39 saves and a 2.69era.

The ability to win on the road was the biggest factor for DFW success. At home their record was 47-34. On the road they were 51-30. This also showed up in the Play-offs winning both games vs VFS, and winning 2 out of 3 in the WS. vs SPR. Well it's time to put the 2007 season behind us, it was great Winning the World Series, however I realize 15 other managers have the Rhet Butler approach towards it, "Frankly my dear they don't give a d#$m"!!

Corrections--
In the wonderful write-up our leader did on Game 4 between DFW at VFS in LF Championship Series, F-Rod did not enter the game in the 9th, Dave Bush stayed in and and got the Complete game victory.

The winner pitcher of this year All-Star Game was Dave Bush instead of Rick Lackey as reported eariler.

Barry Bonds All-Star selection wasn't due to Ballot stuffing, that event doesn't happened till next year! On a scale of importance 1-10, these 3 corections are a (-5)! lol :)