Pastime Baseball League
July Review (cont.)
Orcas Shock PBL By Dealing Howard
ORLANDO -- Three days after being named to the Southern League All-Star team for the first time after having led the Orlando Orcas in homers with 22, Ryan Howard was sent packing, dealt to the Arizona Sandmen for pitcher Webster McDonald.
"I'm stunned," Howard said of the deal. "I thought I was a big part of our success this season, closing the gap. And now to be gone..." he said before trailing off.
The deal came a little more than a week after the surprising Orcas lost rookie first baseman Buck Freeman for the season. Freeman (.309-17-54) enabled the team to put Howard at designated hitter, where he did what anyone would expect from a DH, leading the team in homers and on pace to drive in more than 100 runs.
Defense and the need to improve the pitching staff were cited as the reason. Many feel Carlos Pena, who will replace Howard, can match him with the stick and certainly better him with the glove. But Howard should have netted more than McDonald, a swing-man who posted a 1.29 ERA out of the pen for Arizona this year. Arizona's Bronson Arroyo (4-7 despite a solid 3.87 ERA) would've been more help for a staff ranked 6th out of 8 in ERA in the Southern League at 4.71.
As for Arizona, they have underachieved this year, sitting 14 games out, and will slot Howard in at DH to boost what stands at the Southern League's #6 offense.