Pastime Baseball League Memphis Deals Anson in Stunner
MEMPHIS - A week ago, Cap Anson (.309-13-40)was an All-Star in front of his hometown fans in Memphis. Today, he is a member of the Orlando Orcas, sitting in the visitors dugout at Hard Rock Stadium after the biggest trade of the July deadline, dealt for starter Tim Keefe (8-8, 3.93).
"I'm stunned," Anson said of the deal. "I wanted to bring a championship to Memphis. But now I get to try and hope Orlando repeat."
That will be a tall order, as the Orcas trail by 8 games.
Anson received a standing ovation from the Memphis crowd before the finale of the series between the teams. He would go on to homer in his second at-bat, a three-run shot off Tim Lincecum.
The deal itself makes sense for Memphis, which has seen
Kevin Youkilis develop and a week ago acquired
Nick Johnson from Indianapolis. The chance to raise their pitching was too much to pass up.
As for Orlando, the deal makes less sense for them, unless they feel
Buck Freeman's struggles (.222-5-41) are going to last. Particularly with ace
Bill Hoffer on the shelf, likely for the rest of the season. Dealing a strong starter doesn't seem to make sense, as the offense has been doing its part.
"We're middle of pack in each (4th in offense, 3rd in pitching)," Orcas GM Paul Johnson said. "We felt there were better opportunities to build the offense than the pitching, so that's where we went."
Time will tell if it works out.