Topic: Front Page
SEPTEMBER 7 - The Wellwood Avenue Scribes of Lindenhurst continued to overhaul the look of their roster Friday night, with a seven-player deal that landed impressive young righthanders Josh Beckett and John Lackey and a star centerfielder in Andruw Jones.
The Scribes sent Mike Mussina, Jim Edmonds and Michael Young to the Floral Park Flesheaters, and also received shortstop Khalil Greene. The deal, reached late Friday night just before the doors to Marillac Cafeteria were locked, marked the second Wellwood-Floral Park trade this season. In July, the Scribes sent Joel Zumaya, Beckett and Eric Chavez to Floral Park for J.J. Putz and Mike Lowell.
Wellwood Owner/GM Jim Baumbach insisted this should not be perceived as a dump, insisting his team has as good a chance to succeed in 2007 as they did before the trade, while also better positioning them for the future. "Yes, we lose Mussina, who gave us a great presence at the top of the rotation," Baumbach said, "but we really feel the players we got back in return will offset his loss this year."
Lackey is a step down from Mussina, but Baumbach thinks the upgrade of Jones over Edmonds, both offensively and defensively, will more than offset the Mussina-Lackey difference. The addition of Beckett, expected to be a top-of-the-rotation starter in 2008, made the trade a no-brainer, he said.
Scribes Make Two More Deals: The mid-season makeover continues for the Wellwood Scribes of Lindenhurst, who acquired Orlando Cabrera from the Gramercy Riffs on September 30 in exchange for Troy Glaus and Kerry Wood.
Cabrera (31/40) will split time at shortstop with Adam Everett for the rest of the season and will challenge for the starting job in 2008. Glaus (51/39) will add another bat to Riffs' lineup and has the inside track on the third base job next season. Wood is ineligible this year and didn't pitch enough MLB innings to be on a 2008 roster either, but Gramercy might be willing to take a chance on the one-time phenom as the franchise goes through its growing pains.
Just one day later, Wellwood parted ways with mercurial slugger Manny Ramirez, shipping him to Floral Park for first baseman Ryan Howard. Although perhaps an official concession by the Scribes that the 2007 season was lost, this deal has the potential to be a win-win for both teams. Ramirez is the superior hitter for this season, but his down year in MLB means that Howard will be the better player next season.
Howard (44/53) with play first base for the rest of the season and, with Travis Hafner's struggles likely having a deleterious effect on his card next year, will likely be the starter in 2008. He'll play first the rest of the way, while Hideki Matsui (32/57) getting the bulk of time in left after the trade deadline. Ramirez (63/59), meanwhile, steps into the DH spot for the Flesheaters and creates a devastating middle of the lineup for Floral Park. Manny will likely bat third, followed by David Ortiz and Matt Holliday.
