Pastime Baseball League
June Review (cont.)
Trade-season Starts Early
Big names move during June
There was no waiting for the July 31 trade deadline rush this year. With all four divisions within six games, lots of people feel they are in the race. And, as such, it's time to tweak the roster and try and make that surge. We'll look at the deals that went down this month:
The Sacramento Stingers trade OF George Hall (.276-11-37) to the Los Angeles Idols for 1B Justin Morneau (.265-12-52). Morneau will walk into the first base job with Sacramento, which tired of waiting for Travis Hafner to develop. Hall, meanwhile, seems to be set to platoon at DH with rookie Eddie Murray, who has been called up to the big club.
Sacramento also trades 1B Adam Laroche (.270-6-27) to the Charlotte Cougars for P Mark Mulder (2-0, 4.05).
The New Orleans Knights trade C Jack Rowe (.305-1-25) to the Philadelphia Ringers for CF John O'Rourke (.265-20-55). The deal sends shockwaves through Philadelphia, which can't believe the team dealt the Northern League's #2 homerun bat for a powerless catcher whose defense is suspect. Rowe hits for a good average, but one must think they could have gotten more for O'Rourke, who is 4th on the PBL's Alltime home run list.
The San Antonio Sheriffs trade P Brandon Webb (3-8, 5.68) to the Indianapolis Engines for OF Gabe Gross (.260-2-9). If San Antonio can think of a benefit here, I hope they let us know. Sure, Webb's struggled this year and been a bit injury prone, but he's also posted a sub-4.00 ERA in each of his three years. Gabe Gross is not an impact player.
The Orlando Orcas traded 3B Claude Ritchey (.215-1-20) to the Alabama Airmen for P Barry Zito (8-3, 4.35).
Also of note is San Antonio's hiring of Charlie Manuel to replace the fired Bobby Cox.