May 27, 2011: SEATTLE
Nearly going into withdrawal after several days without making a trade, Seattle Monarchs Owner/GM Mack Shultz today announced a deal with the Covington "Cleveland" Steamers. Seattle sent away prospects Jeff Flory and Clarence Horta in exchange for shortstop Lincoln Rossetti and first baseman Stanley Raabe.
"I had to do something," Shultz explained. "I had the shakes, real bad. So, I started contacting people, hoping that someone, anyone, would make a deal with me. Luckily, Jeremy answered."
Flory was a seventh-round pick this year who has shown flashes of ability as a closer for the A-ball Kent Kings. Horta was acquired in an off-season trade with Los Angeles and had killed the ball for the Kings, hitting .301 with a .888 OPS. "Man, I just signed a lease here too," grumbled Horta.
"We were looking to add a little depth to the roster and some pop off of the bench," explained Seattle manager John Willer. "Linc and this new guy, Raabe, may be able to help us there. God knows, Bill Johnson hasn't been doing the job."
Rossetti, carrying a hefty $9.4 million contract, has hit a miserable .208 this year. His trip out of town may have been foreshadowed when he suddenly was hit with a giant pay cut by the Commissioner, a shadowy figure known only as "The Man."
"The Man just came and cut me down," Rossetti complained last week in a ten minute rant to reporters that required this scribe to delete several words in order to make the quote fit a family-friendly newspaper. "What did I ever do to him? Nothin', that's what. I mean, my collection of Ferraris requires some upkeep. So, if he's gonna cut my salary, then maybe I'll cut my production. Know what I mean?"
Raabe is a mysterious figure who suddenly appeared out of nowhere for Covington's AAA affiliate a few weeks ago. The 34-year-old has refused to discuss details of his past. Rumors of connections to the criminal underworld persist, despite the lack of hard evidence. His teammates have taken to calling him "The Silencer," a name Raabe has not discouraged.
"What the heck is he doing," complained an anonymous Monarchs player about Shultz. "I mean, haven't we won enough games? Why disrupt the clubhouse chemistry? The man's a lunatic. We need to take away his blackberry, for God's sake."
I've made so many trades this season, I had to look at his stats page to remember when/why I traded Horta.
ReplyDeleteAnd, I can't believe Rossetti is still around. He was an original on my franchise, and waybackwhen, I traded him away in a move that helped get my first Cup. So, Mack, you may want to trade him later this season, or, well, not at all. :)
I'll note for the record that I did correctly predict that Bill Johnson would hit better in Seattle than he did in LA. He improved from .125/.160/.125 all the way to .167/.211/.167.
ReplyDeleteJust goes to show what a wily judge of talent I am. (laugh)