Topic: Front Page
OCTOBER 28 - It’s been a wild week in the NYLISL, with three big trades involving a total of 17 players that will have a big impact on the 2007 pennant race.
The Floral Park Flesheaters were in the middle of all three deals, radically remaking their roster and putting themselves in a position to challenge for a playoff berth in 2008. Floral Park swapped nearly 25 percent of its roster in a five-day span and although the first two deals were clearly made with an eye for 2008, the third trade was made just in case the fifth-place Flesheaters make a last-minute playoff run.
The first of those trades was struck on October 21. Floral Park, sitting on a 30-29 record and staring at the very real possibility of missing the playoffs, decided to set its sights on 2008. At the same time, West Side Stories Owner/GM Ed Price was coming to the conclusion that an unreliable bullpen which had already blown 14 saves to date was putting his franchise in danger of missing the playoffs as well.
Both sides talked and Price was able to wrangle Joel Zumaya from the Flesheaters in exchange for Bobby Jenks. The Stories also received a fourth-round draft pick in 2008. Floral Park gets a top-flight reliever for 2008 in Jenks, but surrendered a lot to do so. The draft pick in particular seems a high price to play, but with Zumaya ineligible for 2008 and Jenks expected to be among the elite relievers in the NYLISL, it was a fair price to pay.
Although Dennys Reyes (9/22) or Rafael Betancourt (4/23) might’ve been better options in 2007 for the Stories, Zumaya (23/20) certainly has a higher upside for the future. He replaced David Aardsma on the 25-man roster. Unfortunately for the Stories, Zumaya’s arrival did not immediately stem the Stories’ bullpen woes. In a five-game series against the Flesheaters immediately following the deal, Zumaya was lit up in two appearances and even blew a save.
As Floral Park was consummating its deal with the West Siders, Owner/GM Jason Varvaro was in extended negotiations with St. Jack’s over what was turning into a blockbuster deal. The Demons, staring down the barrel of its first NYLISL rebuilding season in 2008, were willing to make a big splash in order to make a furious run at the 2007 championship.
The initial list of players Owner/GM Jack Flynn requested was breathtaking – Manny Ramirez and Mike Mussina (both recently acquired from the Wellwood Scribes of Lindenhurst when they threw in the towel last month), as well as Esteban German and Frank Thomas. A match seemed extremely unlikely, until Flynn told Varvaro he would be willing to include Miguel Cabrera in any deal.
Varvaro later said that the only player that could get him to part with Ramirez was the 24-year-old slugging third baseman from Venezuela. With a key part of the deal in place, negotiations began to take shape. After four days of haggling, both sides agreed on a deal that would include the four players on Flynn’s initial wish list, as well as budding superstar Delmon Young, in exchange for Cabrera, Placido Polanco, Mark Teixeira and Pat Burrell.
For the Demons, adding a #1 starter as well as three significant offensive weapons was worth mortgaging the future for. Mussina will anchor the rotation down the stretch and will allow the Demons to employ a three-man rotation if they make it to the playoffs. Ramirez will bat cleanup in Cabrera’s spot and, along with German, significantly strengthens the Demons’ pop-gun attack against lefties. German, meanwhile, will replace Orlando Hudson at second base. Thomas will platoon with Chris Duncan at the DH slot and adds huge right-handed power to a lineup that was lacking in such.
The Demons may have the most talent in the NYLISL now, but it was achieved at a tremendous price. If St. Jack’s doesn’t make the playoffs in 2007, they will regret the deleterious effect this trade will have on its 2008 prospects. The Flesheaters not only add Cabrera, but also add a .340-hitting 2B who went an entire season without an error in Polanco. Teixeira will likely platoon with David Ortiz at first and Pat Burrell will challenge Matt Holliday with time in left field. Floral Park now has six star players at four positions (1B, 3B, LF and DH), so you can bet that Varvaro will be soliciting offers to fill other needs in the offseason.
Just when it seemed that the trading was over, Varvaro made one last deal just in case the Flesheaters had a little life left in 2007. With their trade deadline looming, the Flesheaters added Luke Scott, Brandon League, Chris Sampson and Ian Kinsler from the Gramercy Riffs in exchange for Cole Hamels and Adam Wainwright.
Scott will add another big bat to the Flesheaters’ offense and both League and Sampson can make great contributions to the bullpen, but none of them will be eligible for a playoff roster if Floral Park somehow makes it there. None are appreciably useful for 2008, although Scott could conceivably make the team as a backup outfielder in 2008.
It was a no-lose deal for the Riffs, although one could debate the wisdom of trading a budding star in Kinsler as part of a deal to import two more starting pitchers, an area where Gramercy already has a lot of options. However, Hamels will be ready to step into the Riffs’ rotation next season and should be one of the better left-handed starters in the NYLISL. Wainwright started slowly but was terrific after June 1 in MLB – he’s a guy more likely to make an impact in 2009.
The only two teams left with trading privileges still intact are the Demons and the Riffs. Will there be one final deal before the clock strikes 12 on both teams? Sources say that Demons scouts have been at The Big Coney for each of the Riffs’ last two series and are preparing a dossier for Flynn’s consideration.
