[mikev]

Small Deadline Deal For Crusaders, McKain Flourishes in California

It was a relatively quiet trade deadline for the Crusaders, as California only struck one deal - and it wasn't much in the way of a blockbuster.

Here's the deal:

Buffalo gets:

Cal 2nd round pick

California gets:

CF Edgar Herrera

Herrera, 28, is a spectacular defensive outfielder at all three positions, and most scouts think he's a "The-Sky-Is-The-Limit" type of hitting talent. The problem is, he's yet to translate his immense talent into actual production at the plate. He'll be slotted in as the 4th outfielder and the primary backup at all three outfield positions. The move bumps former prospect Nick Cox into a defensive replacement role, and likely signifies the end of the Shuji Suzuki era.

"A lot of teams went crazy making moves, that's for sure." said Crusaders GM Mike Voelker. "We had several negotiations going on ourselves, but none of them panned out. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though, I'm pretty confident with the team we've got now. Sure, everybody wants to add a front line starter or a big bat in the middle of the lineup, but there are times when the cost of trying to improve marginally right now can end up crippling your team for years down the road. That's just not something I've been willing to do."

Speaking of the Crusaders, they are currently 66-47, a solid 4 games ahead of Los Angeles in the MBBA Pacific. They opened August on a good note, starting 7-2 on the month via a win over Vancouver, 2 of 3 from New York (!), 2 of 3 from Jackson, and then splitting a 2 game set with LA.

Sake-Bomb continues to give JQ the proverbial "**** off" after he questioned the signing last offseason. All Sasaki is doing so far is leading the team in home runs, RBI, and slugging percentage. Take that, Lurk!

In other news, starter Ken McKain, who was aquired from Manhattan towards the end of June, has been pitching out of his mind since being put into the Crusaders rotation. In 8 starts, he is 6-1 with a 2.78 ERA, 61 strikeouts, only 7 walks, and 4 complete games in 63 total innings. He's lowered his ERA on the season over a full run, and seems to be flourishing.

"I was just glad to get back into the bigs," McKain said. "I'm not sure what was going on in Manhattan, but it's not like I wasn't out there giving it everything I had every time. It's just the way it goes sometimes, but I'm happy to be here in California and in the thick of a pennant race."