Changes in New Jersey : Bandits React To Injuries By Demoting Darling And Promoting Sabes; Yoda Concerned With Slow Start
After the worst start in New Jersey Bandits franchise history, Bandits GM Yoda announced on May 1 that the team would undergo a thorough overhaul in an attempt to get back on the winning track.

The first victim of the restructuring was long-time pitching coach Ron Darling, who had been with the team since its inaugural season in 2000. Darling has been the source of much criticism the last few weeks, when several of the Bandits relievers started complaining about their roles in the pen. Darling seemed to have calmed some of the concerns last week when he held a closed-door meeting with his pitching staff after losing three straight to the division-leading Demons. The staff responded by winning the next three from the Demons, including two incredibly fortuitous extra-inning games. But things went from bad to worse when three of the Bandits' starting pitchers were injured early in the game and sources confirmed that the pitchers blamed Darling and the new exercise regimen he introduced during the pre-season.

In response, the Bandits announced that Darling had been reassigned to the team's minor-league affiliate in New Orleans, where he will finish out the season as the pitching coach there. Bret Saberhagen, who played the second half of the 2000 season and helped the team win their first World Series title, has been named the new pitching coach for the Bandits. Details of his contract were not disclosed.

Yoda confirmed that he had no intention of replacing either manager Tom Seaver or hitting coach Lenny Dykstra. He also denied rumors that first appeared last weekend that the team would be holding a fire sale in the near future. "It's way too early to start thinking about next year. We are only four games behind Forest Hills and we feel we have enough pieces to bring home another championship," the dimunitive Jedi master said.

Don't Mess With Tex! Demons First Baseman Sets League Record By Smacking Homers in Five Straight Games
Mark Teixeira barely made the St. Jack's Demons' roster out of spring training, holding off a late charge from Paul Konerko to start the season with the big club. Now that he's in the NYLISL and manning first base for the Demons, it doesn't look like he'll be leaving any time soon.

Teixeira launched eight home runs in his first five games, setting an NYLISL record and spurring St. Jack's to a 5-1 record against the Wellwood Scribes of Lindenhurst on Monday. The switch-hitting slugger is batting .565 on the young season (13-23), with a ridiculous 1.609 slugging percentage.

The home runs didn't come easy, either - Wellwood's ballpark is 1-8 for home runs and several of Teixeira's shots were ballpark-dependent. Amazingly, a missed ballpark homerun actually kept Teixeira from adding another bomb to his total. Owner/GM/Manager Jack Flynn wasn't complaining, however.

"It was perhaps the most amazing offensive display this league has ever seen," Flynn said. "Although I'm sure (Floral Park Flesheaters GM Jason) Varvaro will claim that he once had someone homer in 14 straight games or something ridiculous like that, I think it's safe to say the NYLISL has never seen such an extended run of power."

St. Jack's played five games on the road Monday, winning four largely on the strength of Teixeira's amazing feats of strength. Ironically, the home run streak was snapped when the series moved to the Forest Hills Coliseum, where the Demons won a 4-3 nailbiter to improve to 5-1 on the young season. Teixeira remained hot, however, rapping two hits in a winning cause.

Cornering the CF Market: Not Enough Room In The Outfield For Sizemore, DeJesus, Wells & Pierre; What Does St. Jack's Do?
Unless baseball is implementing a radical new rule change for the 2006 season, Jack Flynn has a numbers problem – too many center fielders! Less than a month after signing David DeJesus to a five-year contract extension, St. Jack's completed a long-term deal with Grady Sizemore on March 29 that will keep the rising star in a Demons uniform at least through 2011. If you're keeping score at home, that's two center fielders locked up for at least the next five years – and only room for one in the outfield!

As if the DeJesus/Sizemore conundrum wasn't enough, St. Jack's also has Vernon Wells signed through 2007 and Juan Pierre signed through 2006. What does this all mean? "Run the numbers, stupid!" Flynn churlishly snapped at inquiring reporter earlier today. "Someone's got to go!"

Team insiders believe that Pierre is the most likely to be traded, given his flexible contract status. However, a down year at the plate and in the field has left the fleet footed center fielder with a 39/33 and a 3e4 in the field. Pierre will likely be marketed as a pinch runner with no injury who is a prime candidate for a comeback in 2006. It is believed St. Jack's will be so happy to relieve some of the
current center field logjam that they will accept just about anything to be rid of Pierre, even if it's just a mid-round draft pick.

Still, that won't solve the two-headed monster of DeJesus and Sizemore. Both are left-handed singles hitters, although Sizemore is generally considered to have more potential, speed and power than DeJesus. Wells is not likely to be affected, as he is the right-handed and the best defender among the three – making him the perfect platoon partner and defensive replacement. Sizemore will start the season with the big club while DeJesus will be plying his trade in Pearl River, hoping for a call-up or a trade to a team struggling for help in center.

NYLISL Site Launches: Venerable Strat League Set To Expand In Seventh Year; Features Two Divisions, Unbalanced Schedule
The seventh season of the New York Long Island Strat League got underway on Sunday, March 19, as the New Jersey Bandits and the Floral Park Flesheaters squared off in divisional play. The defending champion Bandits face a tough challenge in 2006, as an unbalanced schedule against two of the league's most experienced franchises (the Flesheaters and St. Jack's Demons) will make surviving the Stanner Division a difficult proposition.

It's one of the many changes the NYLISL has undergone in the off-season. The league has added a seventh member, Newark Star Ledger baseball writer Ed Price, while officially saying goodbye to two charter members, Tim Walsh and Joe Falzarano. Expansion came late in the 2006 Draft, so Price will be fielding a team of ineligibles and replacement players as he looks forward to full membership status in 2007. The league will feature two divisions of three teams each: the Stanner Division and the Redmen Division (featuring Jason Boland's Lindenhurst Hitmen, Jim Baumbach's Wellwood Scribes of Lindenhurst and Kevin Baumbach's perpetually unnamed franchise). The six established franchises will play 20 games against divisional foes and 10 against the adversaries from the opposite division. Price will play as an independent, with a 14 game schedule against each of the league's six members.

Jack Flynn, Jason Varvaro and Chris Forster pose for pictures during the Stanner Division Winter Meetings (aka Jay's wedding) in Long Island last month.

Jumpin' Josh-osaphat!! Beckett Back in Bethpage as Baumbach Brings Back Hurler in Seven-Man Deal: Floral Park Gets Mussina
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Jumpin' Josh-osaphat!! Beckett Back in Bethpage as Baumbach Brings Back Hurler in Seven-Man Deal: Floral Park Gets Mussina
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Long Island State of Mind: Playoff Matchups Set; Three Teams Will Compete to Succeed New Jersey Bandits as NYLISL Champs
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