2009 Season Review: Bridgewater Weasels

They've been there before and tasted the bitter taste of defeat. Finally, after 9 seasons, 221 weeks of play, 18 playoff series, 5 championship series, it is now time for Bridgewater to celebrate.











2009 Season Review: Bridgewater Weasels
By: Mike Claffey; Bridgewater Weasels' Owner


There were no duckboats available at the time, so they used the B.A.T. buses from the local college for their parade, which upset a lot of the fat slobs who complained that they had to walk around the “ginormous” Bridgewater State campus that day. The parade went all over Bridgewater: Emma’s Pizza, Bogarts, O’Brien’s Pub, um…well that’s about it in Bridgewater but it was a good time had by all. The parade didn’t stop there though - they took it to some other towns. They stop in at Bellingham to pay respect to the fans and the town where the team first started years ago. The team was also honored at a Bridgewater Phenoms game where they raised the plaque to a roaring crowd of fans who left soon after the game got started because, well, the Phenoms are terrible. They also dropped by Rakeville to rub it in their faces. “I don’t expect anything less from a bunch of classless pieces of scum that the Weasels are,” said Rakeville GM Jack Reed.

“We may be scum, but I make millions and have a ring now, so suck it Reed” said Ryan Howard. Suck it indeed as the Bridgewater Weasels celebrate their first EHCC Championship in team history. “It's been a long road but all that hard work and dedication to not sucking has finally paid off” said Alex “Douchebag” Rodriguez, who has the longest tenure on the team. Not being one of their best seasons (a .555 winning percentage, 2nd worst in team history) the Weasels seemed as though they would not make the playoffs for the first time ever. But after making an implausible run at the end of the season, the team found themselves in a very familiar situation.

Being no strangers to the championship series (5th series), the Weasels found themselves matched up against a very tough Golden Gryphons team. After jumping out to a big lead with dominating performances by Aaron Hill, Wandy Rodriguez, Ryan Howard, rookie call-up Wade Davis, the team began to slow down, and the Gryphons began to catch up. As the week went on, the lead began to shrink and the Weasels got nervous. “I’ve seen this quite a few times in the past, so you bet your ass I was scared,” said manager Kenny Beltram. With the confidence beginning to slip away, Bridgewater tried a new strategy they have never done before - not to suck and blow the championship again. The strategy worked and they finally took home the plaque.

With a roller coaster ride of a season that ended in a championship, the Weasels have plenty of Highlights and Lowlights. We know players like Ryan Howard, Andre Either, Alex Rodriguez, and Wandy Rodriguez had incredible seasons, but here are some other spotlights on the team that went all the way in 2009.

Great Signings
Here is a list of get pickups made by the Weasels this year that were key in their first Championship season:

Aaron Hill – Talk about finding a diamond in the rough. The signing of Hill in 2009 could arguable go down as one of the best pickups in EHCC history. With a stat line of R-103, HR-36, RBI-108, AVG-.286, WS should really be kicking themselves for letting this guy go. After a couple of disappointing season, it seemed that Hill just needed a change in scenery and got back to his ‘07 form. Luckily for Bridgewater they were getting subpar play from Placido Polanco and made the move to pick up the 2^nd baseman. Hopefully Hill can keep this type of play going for years to come.

Rajai Davis – After the halfway point, the Weasels were struggling to find a reliable 3^rd OF, until they stumbled upon Davis. Acquired mostly for his speed, Davis signed with the team after the break and it was love at first sight. Turned out Davis just needed some PT to show he can be an everyday player, giving the Weasel not only plenty of SBs but also scored a lot of runs and hit for average. Not only that but he gave the team the boast they needed to get to and during the playoffs, carrying the team most of the way.

JA Happ – W-12, K-119, ERA-2.93, WHIP-1.23, not bad for a rookie. Happ signed with the team early in the season and never looked back. Speaking of rookie pickups, Randy Wells didn’t do so bad himself pulling in 12 wins as well, with 104 Ks and an ERA of 3.05. Fernando Rodney may not be a rookie, but the wily veteran reliever came up big in the saves department (37 saves), where the team was lacking after BJ Ryan turned into a 5 year old girl. Rodney was signed immediately after FA signings began, which turned out to be a good move in the end.

Disappointments:

Chien-Ming Wang – The usual reliable middle of the rotation guy, Wang was just awful this year. Coming off an injury, Wang was expected to come back to form and he was far from it, with an ERA of 9.64 in just 42 innings before getting injured for the season. Some say the injury was no accident and that Catcher Jorge Posada is the one who caused it. One inside source said he overheard Posada saying that he had to do it because he could not catch his crappy pitching anymore. I think that we all believe it was a good decision.

B(low)J(ob) Ryan- Kept on the 20 man roster even after Tommy John Surgery, Ryan was suppose to be part of a pretty good relief core. Instead he threw as hard as my little brother and he has no arms. I know what you are asking, how can BJ not throw harder than someone with no arms? Well that’s the same question the Weasels were trying to answer and they couldn’t. Luckily for them there were able to pickup Rodney.

Jermaine Dye – Being the Weasels first round draft pick at 11, Dye was expected to be a very productive 3^rd outfielder. “We expected him to make an impact quickly here, unfortunately it just never unfolded” said Owner Nastra Diggus. Dye was not putting up the numbers we were accustomed to seeing the last few years out of him. But when god closes a door, he opens up a window when he’s shitting and the Weasels received Rajai Davis.

Berkman, McLouth, Saunders – These 3 stars didn’t have bad seasons, just disappointing ones. Berkman, after putting up a monster season last season, saw his numbers diminish this year possible due to injury. McLouth scored the usual amount of runs and home runs but saw a decline in RBIs and more importantly Steals and AVG. (19;.256). Those numbers are extremely low for the type of player he is. Saunders, after a breakout season last year, gave the team wins, but with an ERA much higher than the norm. You just weren’t sure what type a pitcher you would get from start to start.

Most Surprised:

Derrek Lee – With Berkman not being able to play the OF due to be so fat, the team was stuck with 3 good 1^st basemen. Lee seemed to be the odd man out and the team tried to ship him away and was unsuccessful. Boy did other teams miss out on a possible steal. When Berkman got injured, Lee stepped up bigtime, putting up numbers (R-91; HR-35; RBI-111; AVG-.306) that haven’t been seen since his MVP type season in 05. “With the team struggling I knew I had to do more than just hit for average, so I decided to stopped being a pussy and started to hit the ball over the wall and it worked out” said Lee. If it wasn’t for Howard, Lee would have had a good fight for the team’s Jeff Bagwell Award with Aaron Hill.

Another big surprise was 92 year old Trevor Hoffman. I’m kidding, he’s only 54, but pitching like a 24 year old. Hoffman produced 37 saves this year, which isn’t too shocking since he has been doing that for years now. The reason why he is in the surprising section is because of other categories, ERA and WHIP. The Hoff always got the team saves but that was accompanied with a high ERA and WHIP, this year there was a big change (ERA-1.83; WHIP-0.91). Bridgewater at the beginning of the season questioned if he still had anything left in the tank, but with these number they are now hoping he sticks around for a little bit longer.

Chris Carpenter – After Tommy John Surgery and not pitching in almost 2 years, there were many questions swirling around carpenter. Will he return to Cy Young form? Will he stay healthy? Can he build me a house and overcharge me for it? Well the answer is yes, yes, and maybe? Carpenter came back for the last few weeks of last season giving some hope to the Weasels of having an ace. That hope was fulfilled as carpenter put up dominating numbers (IP-192.2; W-17; K-144; ERA-2.24; WHIP-1.01). “We knew he would come back and pitch pretty well, but we had no idea he would be this good, and thank god because everyone else sucked at the beginning of the season” said manager Kenny Beltram.

With the 2009 season at an end, the 2010 season is around the corner. When trying to reach GM Nastra Diggus for comments on any strategy or ideas for the upcoming season, we were informed that he and most of the team were past out drunk from celebrating the championship….still…two months later. Nothing sweeter than the first one.

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2009 Season Review: South Carolina Fighting Wrens

The Wrens took over a disheveled franchise and they didn't help themselves by trading away soon to be star Tulo Tulowitzki and former MVP Dustin Pedroia without ever allowing them to make the trip to South Carolina, but management is confident they can turn this franchise around.



2009 Season Review: South Carolina Fighting Wrens
By: Matt Austin; South Carolina Fighting Wrens Owner



The South Carolina Fighting Wrens limped to an 11th place finish in their inaugural season. The Wrens made a big splash in the pre-season, trading away Troy Tulowitzki and Dustin Pedroia for Clayton Kershaw and Cameron Maybin. Maybin flopped in his first season in South Carolina, but Kershaw really shined. Along with free agent acquisition Kendry Morales, the duo led a young, energetic team. Old re-tread Kevin Millwood sported a solid season, as well as 2009 2nd round pick Jose Lopez. When their third basemen wasn’t on the DL with a bruised left testicle (Adrian Beltre), the team really struggled to hit for power, average, drive in runs, steal bases, and score. They also struggled mightily in K’s, WHIP and ERA.

The biggest news of the year came at the Minor League draft, were GM Matt Austin selected Justin Smoak and Brian Matusz with the first 2 picks of Round 1. The team also added OF Aaron Hicks and SS/P Casey Kelly. Once Austin saw how awful his staff was, he designated Kelly as a pitcher full-time. With several high draft picks, the team will look to continue to build on a young core.

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2009 Season Review: Tokyo Omyoujis

In the standings the year was rather uneventful for the Tokyo Omyoujis, who sat steadily between third and fifth place in the EHCC all season long. On the field, however, it was a different story. Ultimately, the 2009 season for the Tokyo Omyoujis can be summed up in a single word, "PLAYOFFS".



2009 Season Review: Tokyo Omyoujis
By: Matt Ryder; Tokyo Omyoujis Owner



"We didn't advance in the playoffs, but just making it to them was a great success," said star pitcher C.C. Sabathia after experiencing his first playoff season.

The Omyoujis' success this season can be attributed to a number of individual breakout seasons from position players and the usual, steady, above-average effort from the pitching staff. Mark Reynolds, taking over for the departed Garrett Atkins, turned in a 50 home run campaign in his first full season at third base, combining with Prince Fielder to power the Omyoujis offense. Adam Jones helped to keep the Omyoujis offense running early in the season, finally bringing an end to Jeff Francoeur's disappointing Tokyo career. Later in the season the offense was buoyed by the acquisition of Derek Jeter, brought on to help stabilize an offense that seemed to be slowing down. Jeter went on to fill the stat sheet for the rest of the season bringing power to a position previously inhabited by the young, currently powerless, Elvis Andrus. Offensive cornerstones Brian McCann and Brandon Phillips contributed average years for themselves.

Jeff Francoeur, Alexis Rios, and Billy Butler were again disappointments for Tokyo. Francoeur was cut from the team after the discovery of Adam Jones. Alexis Rios ended the year on the bench, after hopes of a 20/20 season were dashed by inconsistent play. Billy Butler's inability to turn his constantly growing doubles totals into home runs seems to be a trend with no end in sight. Tokyo has been unable to get consistently excellent play from their outfield for the past three seasons, after the career seasons of Francoeur and Rios, the trade of Curtis Granderson to Arlington, and Shane Victorino's exit via free agency.

Early injuries to the Omyoujis' pitching staff threatened to derail Tokyo's season. Brandon Webb was lost after only two starts, out for the season. Joakim Soria experienced shoulder soreness intermittently for the first two months of the season. In addition to the injury problems C.C. Sabathia started the season slowly, rendering the top three pitchers from the 2008 team ineffective. Brandon McCarthy missed the first half of the season recuperating from an arm injury and Jeremy Guthrie experienced a season long slump.

The staff recovered from the early season problems with John Danks and Edwin Jackson pitching superbly from the start to the end of the season. Brandon McCarthy returned at mid-season and C.C. Sabathia shook off some early season inefficiency to turn in above average seasons for Tokyo. Mid-season acquisition Ross Ohlendorf pitched excellently down the stretch, turning in win after win with his crafty pitching approach.

The bullpen was one of the best, if not the best, in the league. Mainstays Jonathan Broxton and Joakim Soria pitched like All-Stars when healthy. 2009 acquisitions Heath Bell and David Aardsma turned in outstanding performances of their own. With four excellent relief pitchers all the Tokyo starters had to do was get to the sixth or seventh inning and the game was sealed. "The Ohlendorf and Aardsma acquisitions were made at the suggestion of our pitching coach, Hideo Nomo," said GM Enkidu Ishtar. "Nomo thought he saw a hitch in each of those free agent pitchers' pitching motions that he could fix, he was right."

Some in Tokyo were disappointed to see that GM Enkidu Ishtar traded out of the 2009 minor league draft in favor of picking up all of Peoria's picks in the 2010 draft. "In this poor economic environment we wanted to reduce expenses," said Ishtar. "We thought we'd make cuts in the costs of our Vermont affiliate before moving onto the major league team's expenses. Luckily, with the insurance money from Webb's injury we didn't have to make any additional cuts." Tokyo also ended up trading a minor leaguer, Mike Moustakas, and put pitcher Fautino De Los Santos on injured reserve for the year, allowing them to collect insurance money on his contract. All of the minor league cuts left Chris Tillman as the only player on Vermont's roster that counted toward Tokyo's minor league expenses for the full season. "No one is buying robot dogs, Pokemon, or sake this year," said manager Sadaharu Oh, summing up the problem by naming Japan's three biggest exports. "We might have to start cutting back on the number of geishas in the dressing room, and maybe even on the post-game buffets."

"They better not cut back on that buffet," said Prince Fielder, "or I'm going to start eating Pokemon and robot dogs."

After being told about the possible buffet cuts, C.C. Sabathia apparently agreed with Fielder as he huddled in the corner muttering to himself, "Gotta catch 'em all, gotta catch 'em all."

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2009 Season Review: Las Vegas Doggs

The defending champs didn't even get the chance to defend their title in 2009, failing to make the playoffs for the first time in team history. The season was more than just a disappointment to their fans, it was also a wake up call to team management. As fans grieve over the lost season, management now need to figure out where the team is going next.





Wasn't Meant To Be (The Story of the 2009 Las Vegas Doggs)
By: Max Power

On that opening day, no one could quiet any piece of the crowd. The Vegas fans cheered louder with every anticipating moment. They've been here before but it never gets old. The crowd never sat down as each ring was awarded to the 2008 championship squad. Some say it was the highlight of the 2009 season. Others agree. The fact remains, the team has never won back to back championships, and 2009 would be no different. This scene was ultimately the beginning of the end of the Las Vegas Doggs' 2009 season.

The 2009 season for the Doggs can easily be broken up into the 5 stages of grief. The first 5 weeks the team was in denial that fate had knocked them out of contention for the 2009 championship. They went on to to dominate their opponents, receiving stellar outings from the likes of Chris Young, David Wright, and Aramis Ramirez. They felt they still had a shot, that they could break fate's will.

The next few weeks showed a side of the Doggs no fan wanted to see. They were angry with themselves after losing to Weymouth in Week 6 and ended up losing the next two weeks. They should have been undefeated going into their match up against the Piglets in Week 9. It should have been the match up of the season.

Over the course of the next 8 weeks the team, and its fans bounced around, winning a majority of their games and feeling as though they could elongate the season, just a little bit. If they could just win the next match up, things would be better and they'd be OK, They went on to win 7 out of their next 8 match ups.

Then the inevitable happened. The Doggs went on to the lose their next 5 match ups, slowly but surely dropping closer and closer to the rest of the Eastern Conference. It was depressing. Players didn't even seem to care anymore. Even powerhouse Albert Pujols seemed lifeless at the plate at times. It was a sad time as a Vegas fan.

By the time the final week came the Doggs had already been knocked out of the playoff contention as they faced off against the Rockets of Rakeville. They held their heads up high as they had finally accepted their fate. It would be their first time looking upon the EHCC playoffs from the outside. A bitter pill to swallow, but one they had been anticipating all season, whether they knew it or not.

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2009 Season Review: Peoria Cardinals

SURPRISE! 2009 was the official coming out party for the 2009 Eastern Division Champion Peoria Cardinals launch into relevancy.


2009 Season Review: Peoria Cardinals
By: Dave Grubb; Peoria Cardinals Owner


From Day 1 back in the winter of 2005/06, the Peoria Ownership made the vow that if they were to invest in a professional baseball franchise that they would not be content for that team to be mediocre. Through several long, losing seasons that saw publicly questioned draft picks and trades completed by this team’s Front Office it all paid dividends in 2009. From the very day that the 2008 Peoria Cardinals cleaned out their lockers for the last time, finishing just 4th in the league in wins, GM Dave Grubb caught many by surprise when he claimed his team a 2009 Playoff Contender, and believed that the team was just a tweak away from competing with the big boys.

“If we aren’t one of those final six teams playing meaningful ball through September, I will personally go door-to-door and apologize to every resident in the great city of Peoria, Illinois”, said Peoria Cardinals GM Dave Grubb at a recent charity sledding event hosted by 2008 Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee. –An excerpt taken from the Christmas, 2008 Edition of Peoria Free Press – “A Look Ahead To 2009”

This focus only gained momentum as the team scored big twice in the 2009 EHCC Major League Draft. While most ‘experts’ still seeing Peoria as a team still in ‘rebuild’ mode mocked the selection of a 36 year-old corner OF, Raul Ibanez, with its first pick (and 33 year-old SP Randy Wolf with its R3, P7). The nay-sayers did nothing to bother GM Dave Grubb who had the last laugh, watching Ibanez absolutely destroy EHCC pitching in the first half of the season; launching 22 HR, driving in 69 and hitting right around .310! Ibanez was slowed in the second half with injuries, but still went on to post career highs in power numbers. Randy Wolf went on to post well over 200 IP, with his numbers actually gaining momentum all the way through the season (posting a sub-3, 1.02 WHIP throughout the second half of 09). These veteran presences implanted into the young Peoria lineup was invaluable in getting the Cardinals player’s minds ready to believe that they were indeed ready to be winners.

Throughout the season, much like with every other quality EHCC team; Peoria faced tough decisions, trade opportunities, and a rash of injuries that could have easily derailed their season. SP Edinson Volquez came into the season as one of Peoria’s blue-chippers, but never could get consistent before blowing his arm off and being lost for much of 2009 and most likely all of 2010. C Geovany Soto, coming off of an All-Star Rookie season, had a little problem giving up the weed, and then mixed in some injuries to have an absolutely forgettable season. SP Chad Billingsley, arguably the hottest pitcher in the EHCC in the first half, ran completely out of gas at the turn of the season, conditioning questions that will surely need to be addressed with this 25 year-old, 250 pounder.

As quickly as chips started falling apart in Peoria however, the front office stayed on top of its business; working the phone lines, burning the midnight oil on AIM and constantly scouting talent around the league. The Cardinals were able to make several Free Agent pickups throughout the season that proved to be intrical to their run at the Eastern Division title. One of these huge additions was two-thirds of the entire bullpen. JP Howell and Rafael Soriano were brought in via Free Agency and instantly brought in much needed closer mentalities, and most importantly closer stats. Both men would finish the season with well over a K per Inning, ERA’s under 3 and solid save numbers. SP Bronson Arroyo, an original draft pick in 09 of the Cardinals but later released, was brought back halfway through the year and performed wonders. Posting a league-best ERA in the second half (2.24, 1.04 WHIP). Arguably one of the team’s MVPs in 2009 was also a Free Agent pick-up, Super-Utility Man and best nickname in the EHCC, Ben “Zorilla” Zobrist. Zobrist burst onto the scene immediately and never slowed. Zobrist saved the day once Ibanez went down, picking up exactly where Ibanez left off; finishing the season with a line of .297/.405/.543, 27, 91, 91, 17 and at still 28 the Cardinals hope they have caught lightning in a bottle. Time will tell, but for one season he was a total beast!

The trade market had mixed results for the Cardinals in 2009. The brightest trade GM Dave Grubb was able to swing, and arguably the most controversial in EHCC History, was a match made with the fire-sale minded, rebuild driven, now defunct, Winston-Salem Green Monsters. The deal centered around former top-prospects Jay Bruce, Chris Davis and Andrew Miller departing Peoria in return of OF Grady Sizemore and SP Rich Harden. At the time of the trade, the Cardinals were sitting just outside the playoff picture and knew that in order to make a legit run this trade was the only way to send the message that they were serious about winning! This trade long-term is sure to benefit both teams. One trade that I’m sure the Cardinals would love to do over if they could would be the deal that sent Ubaldo Jimenez (15-12, 3.47 ERA, 198K) for SS Rafael Furcal. Of course, with the emergence of Zorilla through the year, it is easy to second-guess the teams decision to acquire the SS, and the team was starting to lose hope that Jimenez would gain the control he showed once he arrived in Quebec City. Overall, Furcal looked pretty flat during his time with Peoria in 09, but the fans hope that with a year removed from back injuries Furcal can provide the flash at the top of the lineup they were looking for.

Everything else for the 2009 Peoria Cardinals went as close to ‘according to planned’ as plans go in Fantasy Baseball. The team expected great strides from C/3B Pablo Sandoval, 3B Ryan Zimmerman, 2B Robinson Cano, OF Matt Kemp, SP Adam Wainwright; as well as continuing to get all-star performances from 1B Mark Teixeira and SP Cliff Lee.

2009 Eastern Division Champions. Enjoy it Cardinals fans, with perennial powerhouses like Las Vegas, Weymouth and Bridgewater it is sure to be another dog fight in 2010.

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2009 Season Review: Weymouth Shaddupu

The self appointed "team of the decade" has not fared well the past few seasons. For a franchise that is used to winning championships, anything else is failure.


2009 Season Review: Weymouth Shaddupu
By: Nick Bruce; Owner Weymouth Shaddupu


With a post-season berth every year, to include four championships thank you very much, hard times have fallen on the team from the Island and 2008 was no different. GM Yukon Cornelius tried to spark the franchise back to the winning ways by trading away a cornerstone OF in Bobby Abreu (for Homer Baily) and an elite relief pitcher (Joe Nathan for OF Nelson Cruz and draft picks) and punting saves.

Analyzing the team on paper leading up to Opening Day, the natives were excited. They looked like a favorite to get back to the promised land. The offense was loaded with slugging Ryan Braun, Josh Hamilton and up and coming prospect Nelson Cruz, making up a formidable outfield. They were hoping for a bounce back year from the best catcher in the EHCC, Victor Martinez, as well as SS Stephen Drew to draw from his 2008 coming out party. Filling out the roster with speedster and run machine 2B Chone Figgins, one can see why Weymouth was excited about this offense.

From a pitching standpoint, they were top heavy with starters. That’s the way they were built going into the season while throwing saves out the window. With aces Johan Santana and Dan Haren front and center, anybody would be scared to face this 1-2 punch. Jered Weaver and Ervin Santana were prepared to take off and land in the upper echelon of pitchers after coming off of promising 2008 campaigns. Jeremy Bonderman, coming back from off-season surgery, and new-comer Homer Bailey figured to round out a pretty decent rotation heading into Spring Training.

So, what happened you ask? Well injuries and poor performances happened. It seems like the injury bug is in the water in Weymouth, as I wrote a similar article this time last year. Bonderman never came back to form, Hamilton was in and out (mostly out) of the lineup and never got going, Johan was never himself and shut it down in early August, Drew crapped the bed and E. Santana took a step, but it was not forward.

I’m not here to talk about the past…I’m here to be positive about this subject. Heading into the winter, GM Yukon Cornelius has vowed to get this franchise back to continuing its legacy of winning, and winning championships! They have several chips they are looking to move, including ace Johan Santana and elite closer Huston Street. His top priority is to improve the first base position as that has never been a cornerstone of this proud franchise. With a full and extremely talented roster of uber-prospects in Nantucket, this team could be major players in the trading carousel.

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2009 Season Review: Arlington Warriors

Finishing dead last in the EHCC, the Arlington Warriors season might well be characterized as an embarrassment. Speaking with General Manager Matt Skinner, however, finds a strong overtone of pride and a great deal of optimism about the club’s future.

2009 Season Review: Arlington Warriors
By: Matt Skinner; Owner Arlington Warriors

"This franchise embarked on its current course early in 2008. I’ve already established for the record exactly where this team is heading and I readily acknowledged that the journey might be a rough one. A couple months into 2008, we realized that despite coming off a league championship in 2007 that our team as it was constructed not only held little hope to repeat but was ill equipped to consistently contend. With that realization, we established a three year plan for rebuilding the franchise from the minor league system up. If you look at the league history those teams that consistently contend started with a strong young base of talent and sustained that tradition through strong drafts and a strong minor league system. We set out to copy that model, and as a result we fielded a very young inexperienced team this past season." - GM Matt Skinner.

Arlington’s front office backed their word in 2009 with the youth movement driving their every roster consideration and strongly encroaching upon every facet of their game. Their fans certainly saw this as trade after trade brought in fresh baby faces.

· On December 9, 2008, closer Jose Valverde was shipped to the Golden Gryphons (GLD) for Michael Bowden, Quebec City’s (QC) 3^rd Round Major Draft Pick (MaDP), and Golden’s 2^nd Round Minor Draft Pick (MiDP). The 2^nd Round MiDP received from Golden would eventually be used to draft the promising power bat of C Derek Norris.

· Arlington later packed that QC 3^rd Round MaDP, along with it’s own 2^nd Round MiDP in a Februrary 12, 2009 trade with the Tijuana Hispanics (TIJ) that would bring a new closer to town, Mike Gonzalez along with young starter Sean Marshall.

· Arlington was not a silent participant in the 2009 Major Draft, connecting with Tijuana once again to exchange a bevy of draft picks. Trading their own 1^st Round MaDP, along with a 1^st Round MiDP obtained from QC, Arlington brought home QC’s 1^st Round MaDP, TIJ’s 1^st Rd Supplemental MaDP, and TIJ’s 2010 1^st Rd. MiDP. The slew of new picks brought in SP Derek Holland, OF Jordan Schafer, and secured additional lottery chips for this upcoming year’s minor league draft.

· April 9, 2009 saw Arlington ship recently drafted OF Ryan Spilborghs to QC in exchange for a 2010 6^th round MaDP.

· It was with great regret, on July 2, 2009, that Arlington parted ways with SS Derek Jeter. The star had been a rock up the middle for Arlington since it’s championship season of 2007, but fell far outside the organization’s youth movement. Shipped to the Tokyo Omyoujis (TKO), Jeter netted the Warriors OF Jeff Francoeur, minor league SS/3B Mike Moustakas, and TKO’s 2009 2^nd Round MiDP. Exciting young SP Jake Arrieta was selected with that pick, and hopes to break camp with the big league club this spring.

· Parting paths with familiar faces became a trend when old timers SP John Smoltz and utility man Mark DeRosa were moved to the Las Vegas Doggs (LV) at the trade deadline, July 30, 2009 for OF Michael Saunders, SP Vin Mazzaro and LV’s 2010 2^nd Round MaDP.

While Arlington made moves with their various trades, Skinner turns most profuse about the team’s drafts and especially regarding its minor leaguers. Arlington’s Major Draft brought to the franchise multiple players Skinner sees as key to the team’s youth movement and future success. Arguably, the most immediate success found by a 2009 Arlington draftee was by SP Derek Holland, chosen 10^th overall. Success may be a relative term, as his surface numbers profile as 7 Wins, 12 Losses, 6.12 ERA and 107K’s in 138IP. A closer examination however, reveals peripheral numbers that bespeak a brighter future with BB/9 of 3.12 and K/9 of 7.16.

Splitting time at 1B and LF, Kyle Blanks saw limited action with the Warriors but in stretches flashed the powerful bat and keen batting eye that prompted his selection. In only 148AB, Blanks mashed ten homeruns, compiling a .514SLG. His 10.4% walk rate drew rave reviews from Skinner, who also admitted “his strikeout rate was disappointingly high, but the expectation is that those numbers will fall back much closer to his past performance of 18%-25%.”

Starting pitcher Ross Detwiler may have been the biggest disappoint of them all, but even in the greyest of clouds Skinner manages to find a silver lining. “Certainly Ross floundered, we would have liked to have seen stronger peripherals in the K/9 and BB/9 (5.11 and 3.93 respectively), but his FIP was substantially lower than his actual ERA, indicating that with some better defensive player and maybe a little better luck, we could see some improved performances from him in the future.”

Also drafted were outfielders Jordan Schafer and Ryan Spilborghs. When questioned about the failure of the draft with these two selections, Skinner remained evasive. “Failure is a strong word. Schafer, after his injury, became expendable; the necessity of rostering players who could actually play and develop was a top priority for the team. As for Spilborghs, we faced roster decisions and had the opportunity to move him for a pick in this upcoming Major draft. We always have an eye on the future, and the extra draft pick gives our team the flexibility we want to improve our team.”

In July’s Minor Draft, Arlington flashed that flexibility, making not only its own draft picks but two additional picks it had accumulated through trade. Arlington’s picks drew a degree of criticism, as several draftees were seen as high risk prospects. Skinner would say,

"We honestly picked players we thought were the best available, defining that as players with high upside and who have performed to some degree. Carlos (Santana), Jake (Arrieta), and Jhoulys (Chacin) all have the pedigree demanded by their draft slots. If I had to be completely honest however, Derek (Norris) was a bit of a gamble. I really liked the brilliance he’d flash, and realizing his inconsistent performance I still thought the high upside he’d shown warranted a late draft pick, so shoot me."

The team’s assessment of catcher Carlos Santana appears to be spot on. Highly touted, and ranked by many to be one of the top five prospects in the game, Santana’s bat loudly sang his praises. A glimpse at his numbers shows a stat line of 428AB, 23HR, 91RBI, and a triple slash of .290/.413/.530. Santana may quickly rise through the Arlington farm system, but questions of where he’ll fit on the big club are raised considering young blue chip prospect Matt Weiters currently mans the dish.

Jake Arrieta flashed a season of mixed results, dominating early in the season, but struggling later on as more advanced hitters seem to figure out his stuff. Over his first 59IP, Arrieta flashed a 2.59ERA (3.08FIP) while striking out seventy and walking only twenty-three. The final 91.2IP saw those numbers slip, slightly, with a 3.93ERA (4.15FIP) and only 78K’s and 33BB. Regardless, Arlington sees him as a strong middle of the rotation starter with his mid-90’s fastball, slider, curve and changeup.

Jhoulys Chacin continued to make strides exhibiting the strong propensity to lure groundballs that has been characteristic of his success in the minor leagues. At 59.6% Chacin really sets himself apart from other prospects.

Praise shouldn’t be reserved for the Warriors moves or drafts alone. Several young stars made headway for the big league club. Especially encouraging for fans was the promotion and successes of 2008 draftees SP Brett Anderson, SP Brett Cecil and C Matt Weiters. Brett Anderson proved, by far, to be the most consistent of the trio and provided the Warriors with a strong 175 innings pitches. Winning eleven games, Anderson’s ERA and WHIP were 4.06 and 1.28 respectively and he managed to whiff 150 opponents. Anderson’s success was widely recognized, culminating in being awarded the EHCC Rookie of the Year award. Cecil’s success came in spurts, spurts that must increase in duration and frequency if he is to endure as a member of the big club. Catcher Matt Weiters came into the 2009 season touted as the best prospect in the game. It’s a valid question whether or not those expectations were realistic and just how Weiters could have been expected to live up to them. Weiters inaugural season realistically shouldn’t be described as a failure however, as the young receiver managed to cobble together a .288 batting average with 9 homers and 43RBI in only 354 at-bats.

When asked to sum the organizations thoughts on the past season, GM Skinner thoughtfully opined,

"I’m very proud of this team, we saw a number o f players take big steps forward, and flashes of brilliance from others; we’re excited about the future. Regarding that future, in the short term we’ll continue to build a strong youthful base this off-season with an eye to contend no later than 2011. Optimistically, we think this team can make a strong showing this coming season and depending on how things develop, possibly make a run of it."

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