[Westheim]

We weren’t going to do much in the last two months before the season. Vince would see Miguel Lopez and Jose Rivera pitch in simulated games as they came off the DL, make another trip to Santa Banana, and I would toss and turn each and every night over the question whether to start Scott Wade or use him in relief – which would make one domino piece or the other fall along with him.

I was actually mostly looking forward to see Vince combing through the Caribbean once more. He had already been there after the winter meetings and had come back with a 17-year old right hander from Venezuela, Salvadaro Soure, he was very keen about. That kind was blonde. I’ve never seen a blond Venezuelan before…

But Vince knows best, I guess.

Vince also looked at Miguel Lopez for quite some time in late February and early March. His scouting report came back rather grim. The 31-yr old Lopez, after three major injuries in six years, appears to have lost it for good. Good thing he’s under contract for another three years and due another $1,875,000.

His report on Rivera was even worse. While usually throwing 95-97 mph, Rivera failed to hit that during workouts with Vince – by a country mile. As he did with the zone. While there was still well over a month to get warmed up for the season, the outlook was most grim.

When Jason Kent came off the DL, he was immediately designated for assignment, since the 40-man roster was full. Nobody claimed him, a failed prospect with a crippled knee.

During March, I was surprised to find no catcher at our AAA level squad for the soon-to-begin season. We promoted non-prospect Jorge Defrese from AA there, but still needed another glove. Everybody seemed to hold out for a major league deal this season, though.

Well, I did *some* wheeling in late March. I don’t know whether it will have been for the better, though…

February 3 – The Pacifics agree with 27-yr old ex-NYC 2B/SS Jeffrey Nielsen (.276, 16 HR, 286 RBI) to a 1-yr, $432k contract.
February 4 – The Wolves add two starting pitchers, with a 2-yr, $1.52M deal for ex-ATL Scott Murphy (119-142, 4.33 ERA), who is 33, and a 2-yr, $1.34M contract for 30-yr old ex-RIC Edgar Rey (97-85, 4.00 ERA).
February 4 – Meanwhile, the Knights snatch up ex-Condor SP Harry Griggs (172-120, 3.51 ERA) at a 4-yr, $3.28M prize point.
February 13 – Well-travelled CL Javier Navarro (44-49, 2.43 ERA, 272 SV) hooks up with the Thunder for a princely 1-yr, $1.3M contract.
February 16 – 30-yr old MR Raymond Léger (20-20, 3.20 ERA, 8 SV) continues a tour of the CL North that saw him pitch for the Loggers and Titans in 1999, by hooking up for 2-yr, $1.46M with the Canadiens.
March 21 – The Raccoons announce a 1-yr, $230k contract for 37-yr old INF Nuno Andresen (.264, 56 HR, 938 RBI). Andresen has been with the Capitals from 1983 to 1999, amassing 2,191 base hits.
April 2 – The Rebels will bury their deceased owner, Antonio Fuentes, on the morning of Opening Day, before playing in Topeka the same night, it was announced. Fuentes had passed away on Saturday, April 1. His son Eric has inherited the team and has always said that he would be willing to spend more money than his father did.

Andresen takes Crowe’s spot on the roster. Batting-wise, they should not give or take each other much. Both batted in the .220 region (or below) last year. But Andresen adds a glove for all four infield spots. He’s a placeholder as we are having a keen look at our AAA team, where we have a pair of promising young infielders in Miguel Ramirez (all positions, but best at third), and Matt Love (1B/2B with the glove, but his makeup says leadoff-batting second baseman).

We also re-added C Brad Gray on March 27 on a minor league deal with major league option worth $200k. Now we have to take care of Mata and Fifield so they don’t get hurt, while we are looking for a replacement in April.