[jamus23]

The Little Moves
3/2/2078
Al Vincent
Staff Writer

Denver GM John Mounts made a series of small moves today. First, he sent a pitching prospect to Tucson in exchange for young centerfielder Javier Segarra, who hit extremely well splitting between A and AA last season, but may actually be ready for the major leagues. His bat is still a little raw, but he has tremendous range in the outfield. He is expected to provide some measure of replacement for veteran outfielder Samuel Mendosa, who was allowed to leave as a free agent. Next, backup catcher David Jaggar was traded to Washington for slick fielding infielder Tim Glasgow. Glasgow is expected to play a utility role at the major league level, while organizational favorite Eric Fudge is expected to replace Jaggar as the backup catcher.

Finally, with veteran starting pitcher Kenneth Retzlaff also leaving as a free agent, Mounts was looking for a starting pitcher. He found that pitcher in Nashville’s Kenny Pillsbury. Pillsbury compiled over 300 K’s at AA last season, and made one appearance at the big league level. In return, Mounts gave up veteran reliever Joseph Kline and highly touted pitching prospect William Bergan. Mounts said that while he liked Bergan, he wasn’t sure how well he would fit pitching for Denver as he tended to be vulnerable to home runs. Mounts also said that Pillsbury was a guy who was ready to break out in a big way, in his opinion.




It's #600 For John Dear!
4/12/2078
Al Vincent
Staff Writer

Denver slugger John Dear entered his name among the most elite sluggers to ever play the game by belting his 600th career HR against Knoxville. Dear is the 10th player to reach 600 homers, joining Donald Murillo, Christopher Bohanon, James Paras, Hector Abad, Kenneth Bryant, Antwan Leanos, Bill Bolden(who is still active), Emmanuel Maxon, and Earl Quon. “Wow,” an amazed Dear stammered, “To have your name mentioned in the same breath as those guys is unbelievable. Murillo hit nearly 700, and a bunch of those guys managed to hit 60 in a single season- Maxon even hit 70! I don't think I'll ever touch those numbers, but just being mentioned with them is an honor."





The Fort Has Fallen
4/30/2078
Al Vincent
Staff Writer

Disheartening news for the Denver organization today. It was learned that pitcher Carmelo Fort has bone chips in his throwing shoulder, and that it is very serious. There are severe doubts about Fort even being able to play ever again. Tony Rivera, who was brought up just a week ago to replace injured reliever Chad Helton (who himself had been a replacement for the injured Florian Blanco), is expected to move into the rotation. Helton will be activated from the DL and will take Fort’s roster spot.



When It Rains It Pours
7/21/2078
Al Vincent
Staff Writer

Only a couple of months after Carmelo Fort’s likely career-ending injury, another Denver player has succumbed to injury. Second year outfielder Zankuro Maresuke, in the midst of a promising season, has a broken foot, and is expected to miss the rest of the season. In response to the injury, GM John Mounts traded SS Antonio Sequeiros and a minor leaguer to Charlotte in exchange for outfielder Norman Cadet and infielder Patrick Chason. Cadet will replace Maresuke on the roster, and Chason will replace Sequeiros. Although some may be surprised that Mounts was willing to deal his starting shortstop for what will likely just be a one year stop gap in Cadet, Mounts simply made the comment that Sequeiros “wasn’t really contributing much at all this year, both at the plate and in the field” and if Denver is to have a weak bat at SS, it should at least be coming from a guy who can field well. On that note, manager John Wilkerson announced that light-hitting but slick-fielding utility infielder Tim Glasgow would become the starting shortstop for the rest of the year.

With two serious injuries in the last few months, the Denver clubhouse was much more sedate than normal, even in the midst of another winning season. John Dear quietly said, "It's hard news to take. Any one of us can go down to injury at any time, of course, but when it actually happens.... And a guy like Zankuro- he's just trying to establish himself as a major-leaguer. How much will an injury like this set him back?"







Running Into a Brick Wall
11/3/2078
Al Vincent
Staff Writer

One can’t complain too much about the latest Denver playoff defeat. When you go up against a 117 win powerhouse like Miami, you are lucky if you can just avoid getting swept. Denver did manage that, falling to Miami in 6 games. Manager John Wilkerson, a man very familiar with the superbly run Miami organization, was almost in awe: “A team like that, they just have no weaknesses. Sure, we might be stronger at a position or two. But Miami, they simply don’t have a weak spot anywhere. Nine quality hitters in the lineup, an excellent bench, a rotation that features Nelson Manzanares, as old as he is now, as their fifth starter, and a superb bullpen. Yeah, I might be somewhat of a biased observer, but that is just a consistently great ballclub. That is where I want Denver to be. Of course, to even come close to Miami, we got to win it all...”

Of course, as great a team as Miami is, someone was able to find their weaknesses. Memphis, a fine team in their own right- winners of 109 games this season- manhandled Miami in 5 games in the ALCS. And then Memphis fell flat on their faces against 94 win Rochester in the World Series. Regarding this, Denver GM John Mounts made the comment: “Ultimately, any team can beat any other team on any given day. And if we keep working to consistently reach the playoffs, eventually, we will win it all one of these years. We have the players here to do it. We keep adding players. The championship will come.”