Q&A With Lake Champlain GM Steve Beard

Burlington, VT

Here's the actual transcript between a new Burlington Free Press blogger and GM Beard.


Hello Steve. My name is Dinosaur Jib Tux, I am the NASBL Blogger for the Burlington Free Press. My (a-hole) editor asked I get an official comment from you regarding the upcoming season and the recent trades made by the perennial Taste Great East Cellar Dweller Illinois Chow Chows. So:
Q: Mr. Beard, in light of the aggressive moves made by Brad "The New Elder" Sherlag, do you feel your three-year stranglehold on 3rd place in the TG East is in jeopardy? Have the fans expressed anxiety?

As I said prior to this year's draft, I'm supremely confident LCC can return to its rightful 90+ win / 3rd place spot in the TGE. At the risk of angering a sleeping giant, I'm pretty sure 4th place in our division will once again be nailed down by a Sherlag with a good record. Have the fans expressed anxiety? Not in the least. Sales of giant LCC foam souvenir "thringers" (a slip-on sponge hand with three fingers proudly extended) have never been higher.


Q: In case the rumors from FireSteveBeard.com, a rabid LCC fan site, are true and your head has actually been in the sand, here are the deals for your review:

• GRK sends Carlos Zambrano and GRK #4 to ILL for James Shields and ILL #1

• LVI sends Angel Pagan to ILL for Chad Gaudin and ILL #2

  
  

Your comment?

I was surprised to see former Cannibal James Shields go. Just a few months ago, Brad had told me he was a believer in Shields. I actually was wondering who got the better end of the deal on this one just in terms of 2010 pitcher performance, but that was only until GRK GM Johnny Miller cued me in that Shields was getting consistently shelled in spring training action. We've seen Big Z before, in a Hawaiian cerulean wave shirt. But he may be a bit tougher on this year's Cannibal squad, as we've gone more RHB-heavy than normal.

Angel Pagan doesn't raise too many concerns in a strictly head-to-head sense. He's very tough against right-handed pitchers, but here at Lake Champlain we teach all our pitchers to throw with the left hand (except for the intransigent Edwin Jackson, who makes up for his right-handedness by having a left-hander's stuff: in an effort to fit in he gives up more bombs to RHB).

Q: LCC GM Steve Beard used to have the handle Trader Beard. But in recent years LCC has taken a more passive approach to the trade market. Should the CanniFans, as they call themselves, expect a swift and decisive response to ILL's statement moves?

I intend to act with a swift and decisive level of passiveness. Inaction, after all, is a form of action. I took the long view on this year's team, and had a plan for it almost from the day the 2009 season ended (for us that day was August 1st). Despite one somewhat more than casual flirtation with "that really hot girl who you know just wouldn't be good for you, but still" (Albert Pujols), I've been sticking with that plan pretty much straight through.

Q: It used to be hard enough to keep up with HHA and SPR. Now ILL is nipping at your heels. Will the realization that the TG East is getting even stronger rekindle the long-rumored realignment talks at the NASBL Head Offices in St. Albans, VT? Is it true that you commissioned a Blue Ribbon Panel of experts to examine how to broaden NASBL's appeal and one of their suggestions was a radical floating realignment plan?

Only one team in the TGE has ever proposed realignment, and it wasn't LCC. The proposal was several years ago, and the NASBL's annual Blue Ribbon Panel rightfully responded to the suggestion with much the same revulsion as Joe Buck responding to Randy Moss's moondance at Lambeau field several years ago. (Editor's Note: Ironic that GM Beard would drop a mooning reference, many in the FSB.com camp think that's exactly what he's been doing to his fanbase for the last 4 years)

Q: Additionally, a recent addition to ILL's rotation was 1st round pick Brett Anderson. Anderson was acquired with LCC's former #1 round pick and is seen by scouts as someone with a great future who also possesses a quality card for the upcoming season. We know how LCC historically adores 'backward cards', and Anderson certainly is a backward lefty. How do you feel now that in hindsight it's obvious LCC let a prototypical LCC-style player get through the cracks?

C'mon, this is a Barbara Walters style softball of a question. The pick with which we could've gotten Brett Anderson was the same pick that yielded us Troy Tulowitzki. As much as I would've like to have added a 7th left-handed starter to our rotation (seriously - we already have 6), it was definitely past time to replace Edgar Renteria at short. While Tulo didn't add much last year other than defense and occasional power (6hr in 204 ab with LCC), that's 2 more things than Edgar was bringing to the table. Okay, maybe that's not fair. Edgar was bringing several things to the table, not least of which were a fork, a knife, and a beer gut. But none of that was really translating as well on the field as we had hoped.

Q: Another LCC-mantra is to not value corner OFers and 1b-men too much. Players at these positions are easy to obtain and should not have too much invested in them in terms of salary, draft position, etc. Yet, with LCC's first 2 picks in the 2010 NASBL Rookie/Free Agent Draft, GM Beard pulled the trigger on Garrett Jones and Nick Johnson. Both of whom are defensive liability, 1b/OF/DH types. The exact type of player that has littered the Cannibals roster in the past. Fans were promised a shift away from this beer league softball roster management, but here we go again. Can you please explain why a) you seemingly reverted to the old beer league school and b) you used valuable draft picks on otherwise easy to obtain skill sets.

This in part goes back to the Tulowitzki deal - we actually spent our 1st round pick on defense at a critical up the middle position. Combined with the other big LCC in-season trade in 2009 where offensive and defensive OBA machine Chipper Jones went south (about 30 minutes south) for defensive whiz Ryan Zimmerman, and the defensive skills of incumbent flycatchers Curtis Granderson, JD Drew, and Chris Young, this could be one of the better defensive LCC teams ever. With regard to why GI Jones and Nick Johnson are now on board, they as well as fellow defensive liability Luis Castillo represented what we like to think of as singularities in the Strat world: The best at one phase of the game at one position. In the case of Jones, we looked at him as the best power-hitting corner guy in the deck. We looked at Johnson as the best OBA guy in the deck. And while Castillo isn't the best OBA guy in the deck, he's the best at one of those "add a bunch of categories together" comparisons that Bill James abhors so much: Best OBA guy vsR at 2b. Johnson and Castillo were 2 of the guys that were in The Plan for quite some time. Johnson since last fall, and Castillo after we were unable to pull of a Felipe Lopez trade with NJT prior to the roster cutbacks.

So while it's true LCC doesn't like to spend big on easy to obtain skill sets, on draft day the thought in the War Room was that "highest OBA card in the deck" wasn't so much an easy to obtain skillset as a unique skillset we only had one chance at grabbing. It could certainly be argued that we overpaid for that skillset, but I looked at it like it was a planned expense that was in the budget.

As far as old-school beer league softball is concerned, I guess ultimately I'm guilty as charged. I'm genuinely interested in seeing how close the LCC offensive plan of "two OBA guys followed by seven 20+ HR guys" can come to the annual Cannibal goal of 1,000 runs scored.

Chows add to Outfield Depth

Illinois Times -- The Chows will now be sitting out both the 1st and 2nd round in next year's draft. Following up the big trade to bring in Zambrano, Illinois addressed their shortage of quality OF by trading Gaudin and a 2nd for Angel Pagan.

GM Brad Sherlag described the move as follows "Morandini now has a lot of choices in mixing and matching. The Chows could go with an OF of Pagan, Bourn and Beltran most of the time or could decide to play Beltran in CF vs. Lefties and go with Pagan, Bourn and Fukudome as their primary OF rotation. He might even do something crazy like play Beltran in all divisional games regardless of what side the pitcher throws from. Without stashing Shields away for next year, Gaudin was really an extra part for us. Instead of having a pitcher we would hardly ever use, we now have an outfielder who can play all three positions and give us some quality ABs."

When asked if this trade was in response to an article that appeared in a Burlington, VT newspaper that gave Springfield an 8 Sherlag lead in the OF, Sherlag said "Of course not - what the heck is a Sherlag? I am not familiar with the article you are talking about, but if it said our OF was a little short, we know that was the case. That is why we pursued Pagan. We had him fairly high on our draft board and were not able to get him in the draft."

When asked if the Chows were done, Sherlag said "I don't know - if the right deal came along we would listen. We would still like to get a CF vs. LHP or a top LF vs. RHP (which would allow Beltran to play CF vs. L), but frankly I am not sure what we have to give up. Our entire roster now has a role. For the right player we could "

The Chows OF now consists of:

Bourn, Beltran, Willingham, Raburn, Fukudome, Pagan & Gomes (though Gomes will likely DH vs. LHP)

Did Z Best Wieters? Look at the Photo

Illinois Times -- More details of the Zambrano, Wieters fight are coming to light. In this grainy cell-phone photograph provided by an unnamed Georgia player, you can see the extent of Matt's injuries. Apparently, the Roadkill trainer had to rub an extremely strong salve all over Wieters face to try to heal the damage inflicted by a raging Z.

The fight appears to have originated when Wieters refused to try to catch Zambrano's out pitch (a slider) with a speedy runner on first. According to the Georgia player who provided this photograph, when Zambrano went to talk to Weiters about pitch selection, Wieters said, "I have a lot of money to be made in this sport and I do not want to be regarded as a Piazza. I will throw guys out, and if high heat is what it takes to make my arm appear a little better, high heat is what the 'Kill staff will throw."

Zambrano and Wieters have yet to comment on the incident. But from the photo above, it appears that Matt had more injuries than the slight swelling above Zambrano's eye.

THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO GEORGIA!

Carlos Zambrano's career with the Georgia Roadkill was cut short after a reported fight broke out in the dugout at the club's Spring Training complex at Lake Buena Vista, FL.

Details are sketchy at this point as the initial report had "Big Z" involved with A.J. Pierzynski but now it seems that "NBT" (Next Big Thing) top prospect Matt Wieters had to be seperated by several teammates including AJP & Jeff Francoeur. Zambrano was sporting a large welt over his left eye & shouted "I'll be throwing heat for The 'Kill long after that punk is finished".

GM Miller was overheard saying "MY NAME IS JOHNNY & IT MIGHT BE A SIN BUT I'LL TAKE YOUR BET, YOU'RE GONNA REGRET, 'COS I'M THE BEST THAT'S EVER BEEN". He then immediately contacted Chow Chows GM Brad Sherlag & sent "Big Z" packing (with GRK's 2011 #4 pick) for James Shields & ILL's 2011 #1 draft pick.

Big Z gives Chows a Big 3

Illinois Times - Today Chows GM Brad Sherlag cashed in his biggest two chips and declared the Chows as "all in". Illinois agreed to send its 2011 #1 pick and James Shields for Carlos Zambrano and Georgia's #4 pick.

"We were a starting pitcher short this season and in our division and league, that was probably going to keep us on the outside looking in for the play-offs. Backing up Carpenter and Halladay with Zambrano gives us the depth we need this year. It was really tough to part with James Shields, we were willing to carry 15 pitchers this season to minimize his use in a down year since we believe in him for the long term. Shields was a critical piece in this trade and we could not find a way to work a deal for Z if he was not part of it. We are sure that James will have years of success for Georgia."

The Chows rotation now looks solid for this season and pencils in as follows:

1) Carpenter

2) Halladay

3) Zambrano

4) Anderson

5) Wells/Maine

Swingman - Volquez

Duensing will now be part of the Chows bullpen instead of the rotation.

Now that the Chows are going for it this year, Illinois will be looking to add either an outfielder, a catcher or a shutdown middle reliever during the post Block 1 trading frenzy.

A Tale of Two Sherlags

Sherlag v Sherlag - Part I Offense
Burlington, VT

Easter is around the corner, and it's time to rev up America's favorite tradition - unwanted forced time with family members. Nothing says "Get this damn thing over with" more than another holiday get-together involving Aunt Midge having one too many and pinching your rosy cheeks.

A little known fact is that in the Sherlag household the annual argument is not over who gets the last piece of ham. Rather, it is about whether or not this is FINALLY the year little Brad can compete with Doug's Springfield 9.

Well, all you Sherlags and Sherlagettes out there, this is your opportunity to grab the Cliff Notes and dominate the conversation. Follow along as the Burlington Free Press, who has been disturbingly quiet on the Albert Pujols front, dives into the debate and looks at each team's primary players position-by-position. Along the way, a new metric is introduced, the Sherlag. Based on a scale of 1-5, a Sherlag indicates how much of an edge one team holds over the other in the given category. 5 Sherlags shows a wide gap (think Pujols vs. Overbay) and 0 Sherlags is a virtual dead heat (think Beard's bladder vs. that icy cold rack of Canadian ale).

Catchers

ILL - Kurt Suzuki & Pudge
SPR - Zaun, Ryan Hanigan & Teagarden

Ahh, the old quantity vs. quality debate on two fronts. On one hand ILL gets almost 1000 ABs out of their duo, while SPR has under 700 ABs to spread across their 3 catchers. The good news for ILL is they won't have to worry about usage, the bad news is that Pudge can't hit a lick. SPR gets the edge here, a Zaun and Hanigan platoon will produce better results than the competition. EDGE - SPR 2 Sherlags.

First Base/DH

ILL - Helton & Pena
SPR - Berkman & Dunn

The prototypical case of a dead heat. Each team has quality bats at these power positions, almost equal in production. The only tiebreaker? Defense. The Chows will get to and hold onto balls just a little better than the 'Topes twosome. EDGE - ILL 0.5 Sherlags.

Second Base

ILL - Prado & Counsell
SPR - Roberts

Middle infield, home to countless scrappy SOBs. And we all know how valuable scrappy, dirty-uniform guy is, don't we? Each team is represented by a significant amount of grittiness at 2b. All three glove the ball decent enough, but a Ecksteinianly-small edge is awarded to ILL for depth of quality players at this position. EDGE - ILL 1 Sherlag.

Third Base

ILL - Chone & Beckham
SPR - A Ramirez & Stewart

ILL takes both the quantity and quality awards in this category. If only Aramis gathered more at bats, SPR could've contended. Chone is a top-flite 3b and Beckham more than capable of producing in his rookie season. That is not to totally dismiss the valued production SPR will get out of their 3rd-sackers, merely to demonstrate the relative strength the Chows have. EDGE - ILL 3 SHERLAGS

Shortstop

ILL - Hanley
SPR - Furcal & Ryan

No need to waste ink, Hanley is a top 10 NASBL talent. The others are serviceable, but by no definition elite. EDGE - ILL 4 SHERLAGS

Outfield (Grouped together given NASBLs rules)

ILL - Beltran, Bourn, Willingham, Radburn & Fukudome
SPR - Cuddyer, C Gonzalez, Choo, Nyjer, Ellsbury & J Hamilton

Finally, SPR steps up to the plate and hits a long ball. ILL's best OFers, Beltran and Radburn, are limited to a half season's worth of ABs, and the rest of the Chowtfielders are better suited for platoon duty and/or possess only a few of the requisite 5 tools (Bourn, Michael). Sherlag the Elder's SPR OF contingent is formidable. They can, and do, do everything. Catch a screaming line drive, check. Throw out a baserunner, check. Hit for power, check. Stretch the BB into a double, check. SPR's OFers stack up very favorably against the entire league, and certainly stand head and sherlags above ILL's. EDGE - SPR 8 SHERLAGS (larger scale w/3 positions in play).

SUMMARY - ILL has definitely closed the talent gap and is ready to challenge SPR for Sherlag supremacy. My sketchy math skills reveal a one-half Sherlag advantage for SPR in the hitting and fielding categories. Stay tuned for Part II - Pitching, to see if Doug can hold onto his scant lead. Coming soon ...

Chows Were Interested in Cain

Illinois Times -- A source in the Chows front office confirmed that Illinois was one of the teams that contacted New York about Cain. The Chows are in the market for a front-line starting pitcher and were prepared to give up a substantial offer if Cain was available. The rumor had Illinois dangling Shields plus their first round pick in next year's draft. Illinois has always treated their first-round draft picks as sacred in the past. Of course in the rumor mill, one can never be sure if this information was accurate or not.