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Fresno Raisin Bears Offseason Round Up The Fresno Bee - February 14th

Because it's Valentines Day, we couldn't resist the urge to talk about the team we love (most of us actually hate it). The Raisin Bears certainly had a busy offseason, and delivered on the team revamp that they clearly needed. The first order of business for former owner Rich Goode and his cabinet was to sign a new General Manager. Team insiders suggested Goode wanted to go for an older GM, thinking a young one wouldn't adhere to his financial restraints. After signing 23-year-old Chicago native Michael De Luca, he was proven right, but more on that later. Being by far the youngest GLB GM ever, De Luca was offered the position fresh out of University of Florida after earning a sports management degree. Goode's cabinet stated "his passion for the game stood out to us. He was also the only guy out of 50 candidates who accepted the offer."

De Luca would get right to work, firing incompetent manager Jonathan Janes after he went 50-112 with the team in 1970. Janes was picked up by Baltimore, who assigned him to a managing position with their Rookie League Laredo Inferno. He chose to meet with former Rogues Closer Dustin Malone, who debuted when De Luca was just 2 years old. Malone, who made 3 All Star Games with Chicago and 7 in total, had no previous managerial experience but expressed a lot of interest in guiding a minor league team to the playoffs and then working his way up through a GLB farm system. When Fresno went straight up to him and offered him the Raisin Bears spot, Malone said there was hardly a decision to make. "No offer came close. I was ecstatic to be given the opportunity to manage a GLB team". "And we were ecstatic to give him that opportunity," De Luca followed up. Malone told us he had big plans for the team, but that even ownership and the team's GM were not to be told about what he had in store. "When you see it in Spring Training, you'll know it" chuckled Malone, who is 43-years-old.

In addition to signing a new manager, De Luca brought in Fresno's new Hitting Coach, Pitching Coach and Scouting Director. He decided not to sign himself an Assistant GM, stating he needed to save some money for the Free Agents. He also kept 58-year-old Bench Coach Steve Brooks, who was kept on board for his "extreme passion for the game and incredible work-ethic." De Luca suggests that should rub off well on young players, and that the team hasn't had any success with Brooks because they haven't had any decent young players in the GLB lately. Wow, hopefully Grabenstein didn't hear that!

Luis Dominguez, a 51-year-old Mexican, was chosen to be Fresno's new Pitching Coach. He worked with New York from 1960-1965, and, considering the team's ERA was only over 3.60 once, he did a very good job. Dominguez, who made 3 GLB appearances for Buffalo in 1945 (De Luca hadn't been born yet), works very well with groundball pitchers, which the Raisin Bears have an abundance of. 60-year-old Helespontico Lopez was brought on board to be the team's Hitting Coach. Helespontico last coached in 1963, when he won 109 games with Dallas. De Luca loves his all-around hitting approach, but admits his awesome name also played a part in the decision to bring him on board. "When you find a guy named Helespontico, you gotta sign him." Uh oh, sounds like something the past Fresno GM would say... Maybe that's why Grabenstein's here? Now I wonder if the Unknown Player had a cool name... Anyway, yeah, solid signing.

We all know scouting is central toward acquiring quality youngsters to build a team around. Actually, most of us know that, with Raisin Bear GMs over the past 40 years being the exception. That's why us over at The Fresno Bee were very pleased when De Luca picked up exceptional Scouting Director Nate Derrough, who brought San Diego countless good players during the 4 years he was there. He's reportedly been extremely busy with helping De Luca find prospects to trade for and the player they want to take with the #1 overall pick in June.

Jonathan Janes got the last laugh after he was fired just before the Derrough signing, destroying the locker room. Team officials say this was a legitimate setback and may have cost them a few Free Agents. Darn you, Janes!

With a full set of staff (if you ignore the fact that Michael De Luca has no Assistant GM and is "basically winging it"), the Raisin Bears executed their 1st of 4 trades this offseason. Fresno brought in Juan Sanchez, a swift-fielding CF with a sweet swing, who was ranked as the #36 prospect when the trade was made. 19-year-old 2B prospect Ben Bitto would also join the organization. Just a few days into Free Agency, Fresno pulled the trigger on their 2nd trade, when they dealt ace Danny Fuentes to Washington for highly-touted Catcher Michelangelo Martinez, who they expect to start behind the dish on Opening Day. This deal also net them 3B Ryan Hartman, SP Bobby Long and SP Alex Martinez, all of whom should be regulars.

De Luca took a quick break from trading when he signed 36-year-old SP Jonathan Ellis to a 1 year deal during Winter Meetings. We suspect Ellis, who went 14-12 with a 3.32 ERA last year, will be Malone's Opening Day SP. Just a day after signing Ellis, Fresno traded for 2B Jonathan Gary, a 29 year old who Malone says he plans to start. The Raisin Bears also picked up 23-year-old RF Nick Morrison, who is raw but should contend for an outfield spot in the future, 29-year-old SP Alex Torres, who probably won't crack the Opening Day rotation but may fill in for an injured player, and 19-year-old 2B prospect Alejandro Martinez. They gave up a 4 player package of their own that was headlined by middle-infielder Fernando Nunez.

De Luca orchestrated his 4th and final trade on December, getting strong RP candidate Juan Aguilar and 1B prospect Thomas Ammann for 2 players that were left without a spot on the team, young OFer Derrick Reed and Catcher Jon Pimentel.

This is when SS Nate Stone, RP Lupe Salas and 2B Brady Weinstein accepted offers outstretched by the Raisin Bears. We can't find a better candidate for the starting SS spot than Stone, so we're suspecting that's where Malone will play unless Fresno's trying to lose 112 games again. Salas is certainly one of the most talented players in Malone's bullpen, so again, expect to see him there. While Weinstein does have talent, he'll probably have to fill in for an injured player if he wants to be a starter.

Shortly after, Rich Goode shockingly sliced $200K from De Luca's budget and decided to sell the team to their own long-time announcer. We'll tell you his name once we learn it. Goode declined to comment on the matter, while De Luca said he felt sabotaged and wanted to get back at the old mean for screwing him over. The Raisin Bears now find themselves over $300K over their new budget, even with the league's lowest payroll by around $500K. It remains to be seen whether or not De Luca will feel forced to dump Catcher Teodoro Ceraolo, who's making $160K this year, which is $100K more than any other Raisin Bear is earning.

With an option that had it's ups and downs, the Raisin Bears Front Office is probably exhausted heading into Spring Training, where they'll get to sit back and watch their youngsters play under their new manager. All in all, the Fresno Raisin Bears got a new GM, new Manager, new Hitting Coach, new Pitching Coach, new Scouting Director, were sold to a new Team Owner, made 4 trades, made 4 signings, made countless scouting trips, went over countless player evaluation scouting reports, had to repair a clubhouse in ruins, were
scrutinized by Old Bill, and, finally, most important of all, were written about by The Fresno Bee!