Topic: Front Page
SEPTEMBER 30 - The New Jersey Bandits already own a lion's share of the NYLISL records but GM Yoda set an unprecedented record by trading 21 players in three separate blockbuster trades in one night. The Bandits had not made a trade since before the winter draft back in early 2007 but knew something needed to be done. The Bandits were contenders in several trades during he season but always seemed to be the odd man out when it came to trade talks with the other teams in the league. Chris Forster, team owner, called an emergency meeting after a devastating 3-11 road trip and decided that it was time to throw in the towel and focus on 2009.
The first trade took over two weeks to finalize but the Bandits were able to add Jose Reyes from the Hitmen in exchange for Aaron Harang, Manny Corpas, Freddy Sanchez, Jhonny Peralta and the supplemental pick in next year's draft. Jason Boland gets an arm for the playoff run in Harang, adds a competent arm to the pen in Corpas, and fills out his bench with Sanchez with Peralta backing up Jeter next season. The trade also gives the Bandits some much needed breathing room on a team that went into the night facing the possibility of returning 35 players.
With the Reyes trade out of the way, Yoda turned to the Flesheaters who had previously expressed interest in several of the Bandits journeyman. The trade talks went on for over an hour and when the dust settled, Matt Holliday, Stephen Drew, Dennys Reyes, and Chad Billingsley were added to the team for Jason Bay, Russell Martin, Gary Sheffield, Justin Upton, Huston Street, and Yovanni Gallardo. Holliday was the key to the trade for the Bandits but have had their eyes on Stephen Drew for some time and Chad Billingsley will compete for the 4th spot in next years rotation.
Tim Walsh had asked to be included in any trade talks for Vlad Guererro so he received the next phone call. In one of the more open trade dialogues in team history, the Riffs and Bandits quickly got down to business and landed Ryan Doumit and Adam Wainwright for Vlad, Kevin Correia, Billy Wagner, and Bob Howry. Doumit was highly regarded and would likely start on most teams next year but will be delegated to backup catcher behind Joe Mauer. Wainwright has the been penned in to the starting rotation depending on what is available in next year's draft.
Posted by nylistratleague
at 4:16 PM EST
