[Westheim]

In late November, there was quite some interest into pieces of our rotation from other teams, as the Indians, Scorpions, and Pacifics all tried to trade for either Jose Rivera or Miguel Lopez. Unfortunately, they were only willing to give high-prized post-peak players away (and the Pacifics offered C Lance Branch, but I have other plans), so I didn’t bite. Nobody could muster the money for David Brewer at that time, since everybody was totally fixated on those juicy free agents (half of them ex-Coons…). Besides, we are a man short in the rotation, and I can’t send certified starters away.

It turned out to be very hard to move David Brewer, mainly because of a lack of teams with budget space, and I wasn’t willing to take on any old warrior, either.

Well, the Canadiens had space. And a desire to have Brewer back.

Yeah. I’d rather saw off both of my arms!

November 23 – The Canadiens deal 28-yr old SP Lucio Munoz (16-27, 4.73 ERA) to the Warriors for 25-yr old RF/LF Henry Givens (.257, 13 HR, 123 RBI).
November 25 – The Aces divest themselves of rapidly aging, 38-yr old outfielder Xiao-Wei Li (.287, 44 HR, 798 RBI) and send him along with a non-prospect to the Stars, receiving 28-yr old 3B/SS George Waller (.286, 41 HR, 401 RBI) and a minor leaguer in return.
November 29 – The Aces move quick on their former player and now free agent OF Royce Green (.289, 125 HR, 462 RBI) and sign him to a 4-yr, $4.56M deal. The Raccoons receive a supplemental round draft pick.
December 1 – Rule 5 draft: 23 players are taken over three rounds. The Raccoons lose AAA MR Kokei Kondo to the Wolves.
December 1 – The Warriors add ex-SAC 2B/SS Jim Stein (.315, 48 HR, 628 RBI) for 5-yr, $5.69M.
December 5 – The Scorpions sign 34-yr old ex-SAL MR Tim Hess (54-57, 2.36 ERA, 122 SV) to a 3-yr, $1.56M contract.
December 7 – Three titles later, ex-WAS LF Jeffery Brown (.330, 243 HR, 1,350 RBI) signs a 3-yr, $3.48M contract with the division rival Miners. Brown, who spent his whole 17-year career with the Capitals, voices his desire to win three more rings.
December 8 – At age 39, SP Craig Hansen (260-190, 3.30 ERA) signs another contract, 2-yr, $2.12M, to play for the Knights. Hansen, who spent his career with the Miners and Rebels, hopes to make a launch at becoming a 300-game winner.
December 10 – Ex-SFW MR Raúl Vargas (55-59, 2.26 ERA, 334 SV) signs a 2-yr, $1.12M contract with the Bayhawks.
December 10 – In addition to that, the Bayhawks add 32-yr old 1B Carlos Guzmán (.301, 38 HR, 258 RBI) in a trade with the Condors. 32-yr old OF Antonio Rodriguez (.291, 92 HR, 940 RBI) is heading to Tijuana, and minor leaguers are also exchanged.
December 10 – Coveted 27-yr old ex-LAP SP Angel Romero (76-66, 3.45 ERA) inks with the Falcons for 5-yr, $5.17M.
December 10 – The Crusaders acquire C Antonio Clemente (.265, 17 HR, 231 RBI) from the Warriors, and send over MR Ivan Lopez (44-42, 2.65 ERA, 154 SV) and a minor leaguer.
December 10 – The Canadiens trade for the Pacifics’ 25-yr old 3B Raymond Sutton (.270, 4 HR, 34 RBI) and a non-prospect, sending MR Jose Torres (5-9, 5.34 ERA, 4 SV) and a minor leaguer to California.

That was also the day the winter meetings in Cincinnati kicked off. It was certainly a busy day, and I was talking, too.

The rotation issue is a problem. Right now, we have Saito, Lopez, Rivera, … Flores?? … and then it ends completely. Lara didn’t re-sign, Ramos didn’t re-sign, and De La Rosa is only a stop gap solution. You might argue that we can put Scott Wade back into the rotation. We’re not gonna win anyway next season, why bother? By the way, next season will also be the final year in Scott Wade’s contract, besides Saito’s.

In AAA, there’s Kelly Fairchild. Well. He was spanked even in AAA last season (7-14, 5.12 ERA). Putting Fairchild into your rotation is like conceding defeat … before the gates have even opened on the 1998 season.

There’s Anthony Mosher, whom we got from the Bayhawks a year ago (for the dismal Tim Mallandain), but who also struggled to a 6-8 record with a 4.72 ERA in AAA. Apart from these two, there’s Ralph Ford, our blue chip SP, and he’s off limits, just starting AAA this year.

The other issue was David Brewer, whose flipping huge contract was hard to frigg. Or so. In a perfect world, we would combine the two issues.

The pitcher I really really really wanted was San Fran’s Tony Hamlyn. He had gone 13-12 with a 3.15 ERA in his rookie season now. A 22-year old Canadian southpaw with killjoy stuff, Hamlyn fit right into what I needed badly, and wanted even worse-ly…?

But the Bayhawks were unable to squeeze Brewer’s contract into their budget. How much of that was due to them having free agent contracts on the table? No one knew. Hamlyn was to make the minimum, so we were trying to cover up $1.4M for a team that was barely even with its budget. It was impossible. By the time I had enough players to come to Portland in the deal, their GM Al Johnson thought I was completely nuts. It was not working out.

The other team I was talking to were the Condors. Here I was after 23-year old right-hander Randy Farley (who admittedly was one level of excellence below Hamlyn, but we couldn’t get Hamlyn, so we’d better stop crying now). Farley had not yet appeared in the majors but was basically ready, posting a 16-7 record with a 2.65 ERA in AAA this season. Vince Guerra rated him a POT 12/15/14, one to two points below Hamlyn across the board, but the soft skills, stamina, GB% and so were great. Randy was a bright kid, who forewent an extended academic career for playing baseball. I love guys like that.

The problem was that I was trying to milk the Condors for all they had. We had no catcher for next season, so I was after their 32-yr old veteran Freddy Jackson to fill the spot. The Condors had no blue chip prospects to go after, unfortunately, at least according to Vince. To be honest, Farley was their top prospect.

The Condors wouldn’t trade Jackson and Farley for just Brewer. And here we tried to strip each other of our underpants, and it didn’t lead anywhere nice. I went to bed at 2am, without a trade.

I didn’t meet with the Condors the next day, and when we regrouped on the 12th, the Condors had made some shady moves and were overbudget.

Whatever the issue was, it cleared by Sunday, the last day of the meetings. GM Carlos Aguila called me back in the early afternoon to meet again. We started again with Brewer for Farley (scrapping the convoluted 7-player deal we had worked out a few days earlier), but I was not happy with just that. In the end, I squeezed not only the current #20 ABL prospect (Farley) out of the Condors, but also the #80, LF/RF Chris Parker.

December 11 – The Condors send 32-yr old OF/1B Erwin Hooper (.269, 61 HR, 394 RBI) to the Capitals for 27-yr old MR Shane Sweet (0-4, 3.42 ERA, 3 SV).
December 12 – The Indians grab 32-yr old RF/LF Eneas Spinelli (.263, 81 HR, 442 RBI) from the Condors, and trade 27-yr old OF Luis Maldonado (.245, 40 HR, 182 RBI) to them.
December 14 – The Raccoons trade the ABL’s top earner, 30-yr old 1B/2B David Brewer (.342, 63 HR, 647 RBI) to the Condors for 23-yr old AAA SP Randy Farley, 22-yr old AA LF/RF Chris Parker, and 21-yr old AAA RF/LF Clyde Brady.
December 14 – The Miners acquire 25-yr old 1B/2B Hector Ramirez (.294, 12 HR, 201 RBI) from the Thunder for 30-yr old MR Luis Herrera (24-54, 4.56 ERA, 4 SV). Both teams also exchange minor leaguers.
December 16 – 37-year old ex-CIN 2B/SS Paul Connolly (.272, 130 HR, 1,257 RBI) signs a 2-yr, $1.7M contract with the Aces. Connolly is 23 hits removed from breaking into the 3,000 base knocks club.
December 17 – The Aces keep adding, inking 33-yr old 2B Germán Roldán (.263, 33 HR, 464 RBI) to a 2-yr, $1.42M contract.
December 17 – 1996 POTY SP Dennis Fried (98-71, 3.66 ERA) signs a 5-yr, 5.66M extension with the Blue Sox.
December 19 – Former Crusader C Ruben Melendez (.232, 111 HR, 496 RBI) decides to join the Warriors on a huge 6-yr, $6.72M deal.
December 21 – The Raccoons and Warriors strike a deal that sends 26-yr old 3B Gabriel Rodriguez (.284, 2 HR, 26 RBI in 141 AB) to Sioux Falls for 29-yr old C Werner Turner (.272, 16 HR, 190 RBI) and 22-yr old AAA MR Bob Joly.
December 22 – The Scorpions take on former Canadien 1B/LF Salvador Mendez (.346, 9 HR, 381 RBI). The 29-yr old receives a 4-yr, $4.72M contract.
December 22 – The Pacifics land ex-CHA CL Alex Byrd (43-29, 2.51 ERA, 139 SV) at a 2-yr, $1.13M price point.
December 23 – The Cyclones stock up on pitching with the signing of ex-PIT SP Marc Padgett (76-69, 4.27 ERA) to a 3-yr, $2.31M deal.
December 25 – The Miners find a replacement for Padgett in ex-CHA SP Luis Guzmán (135-98, 3.38 ERA). The 35-yr old gets a 3-yr, $2.13M deal.
December 25 – Former Pacific SP Bastyao Caixinha (182-156, 3.42 ERA) returns to the CL South by signing a 3-yr, $3.6M contract with the Condors.
December 27 – 36-year old LF/RF Michael Root (.293, 338 HR, 1,465 RBI) squeezes a 2-yr, $2.08M contract out of the Stars. Root, last with the Cyclones, has become a defensive liability that about negates his still potent bat. He is the career home run leader in the ABL.
December 31 – The Raccoons sign 31-yr old ex-LVA C Mario Guerrero (.263, 10 HR, 221 RBI) to a 1-yr, $200k contract.

So, let’s have another look at those prospects!

#20 ABL prospect Randy Farley, 23, was the Condors’ first round (5th overall) draft pick last season. He started out at AA and pitched a full season in AAA last year, going 16-7 with a 2.65 ERA and 175 K in 210 IP. He could be a workhorse with high stamina and tends to keep the ball on the ground, too. This young right-hander will start the season in our rotation.

#80 ABL prospect Chris Parker, 22, was the Falcons’ seventh round pick in 1994. He struggled his first year and was released, to be picked up by the Condors. His left-handed bat swung for a .906 OPS in AA last year, where he was an All Star. He batted only .196 in 11 games in AAA, but he will surely correct that this year. A solid defender, Parker has great speed and range, and can be as much of a threat on the bases as at the plate. He is not yet on the 40-man roster.

Unranked RF/LF Clyde Brady, 21, got a callup late September and thus is on the 40-man roster already. A natural left-hander and corner infielder, Brady tore up both AA and (to a lesser extent) AAA last season, hitting a combined 22 dingers. His corner outfield defense is very good and nothing to complain about, although he is a bit less agile than Parker.

Both Parker and Brady will start at AAA next season. Given that we have close to zero outfield depth, Brady is up there along with Miranda and Kent when it comes to getting an injury callup.

With winter meetings over, we still had no catcher – well, we had two, but I didn’t want a part of either one – and backup outfield was wonky as all hell. Same for the bullpen.

Then I got a call from Sioux Falls. The Warriors wanted to have Gabriel Rodriguez and offered C Werner Turner, who was expendable after they had signed Ruben Melendez a few days earlier. Turner fit well into my needs and was bound to be a free agent at year’s end. They initially offered a different pitcher, but I wanted either Bob Joly or Nolan Hill, another right-hander. They would only give up Joly, and that’s fine. He will start in AAA. An international discovery from Canada, Joly was ranked as high as #47 on the prospect list a few years ago but had since faded.

The starting outfield of Buell – Reece – Newton was set. There was no reason to sign some expensive slack or trade for it. We trade only for prospects or by-catch. After that, we only had Roberto Miranda (who managed to have a sub-.400 OPS last year) and Jason Kent. Kent had been quite good last year, but had never even played at AAA. One of them was going to have a shot at a backup spot anyway, and Kent certainly had his nose ahead of Miranda. We might add a free agent for cheap as the fourth man in the new year, or we might just keep truckin’ with Miranda, and don’t give a heck. Both play all three outfield spots capably. Kent had a better bat, Miranda was a qualified pinch-runner… besides, we still have Jai Utting on the roster as super utility man. We don’t HAVE to carry five outfielders!

We don’t even have to carry 25 players. The Willamette Institute for the Limbless and the Blind has this 17-year old outfielder on the school team, Davey. He’s only got two fingers and can’t swing a bat for his life, but I gotta tell you, he can tell the funniest jokes all day long. Might lighten up the mood in the dugout during those 8-game losing streaks we’re gonna be having.

By the way, 1997 is history, and Vern Kinnear, David Vinson, Sidney Aycock, Hector Lara, and Jose Ramos are all still unsigned. We may not have eight first and supplemental round picks after all…

The mood, it is very dark and hopeless…

I don’t have to mention that nobody will come to the park next year? Fan interest was in the high 90s last November. It is 68 now. Quite bitchy, these fans. I suspect another Agitator campaign, I need to arrange for a dead skunk shoved into their overnight mailbox. Right now, we have successfully shed some 15 WAR in the offseason. If I can find a way to send Reece and Saito to Siberia, we will reach replacement level, huzzah!

Could be lonely at the park. Well, I still hope you lot will show up…