Brooklyn Deals with Los Angeles PF Flyers

The Brooklyn Moabs have acquired flamethrower Daniel Bard (1.2) and 2B Mark Ellis (2.50) in exchange for Lastings Milledge (.4) and Chris Coghlan (1.20).

Ellis was added for salary dump by the PF's. The heart of the deal for the Moabs was getting young stopper Bard, who can hit the high 90s with ease. He has excellent K to BB ratio and will be utilized in the near future. Ellis will provide some help off the bench with Wigginton, Teahen, Upton, Saltalamacchia, and Lowrie. The bench will be versatile and ready to step in if an injury. On the other hand, the deal led to speculation. For instance, Bob Uecker, color man for the organization, has stated that Jeremy Affeldt, Tony Pena, Matt Guerrier, as well as Wigginton and Teahen might need new apartments come deadline time.

On the otherside, Coghlan was a well-thought of member of the team who will be missed. The organization was unsure where he would end up as a regular, which led certain unnamed members of the front office to feel that he was expendable. And for Milledge, who was a throw-in a season ago at the deadline, there is no denying his talent. At this point the Flyers coveted the prospects of Milledge, and the Moabs simply had an excess of young OFs. He presented much upside, but was more than expendable.

Abrupt End to Gonzo-era

The Brooklyn Moabs have announced that the organization needs some changes. Brooklyn is under-.500, which ownership has sought to make a thing of the past. Yet to make matters worse, the Moabs are ten games behind sibling rival Worcester entering game day 37. So changes are justified.

What has changed is the manager. Fredi Gonzalez simply could not get the lineup going in Brooklyn. The pitching has been horrid and inconsistent. "Rarely have I seen my teams lose so many games by double-digits, while only scoring two runs," stated GM Eric Caskey. "The way we are losing isn't customary. In the past, the hitting has been there and its been a struggle to get through middle innings. As it appears, the starting pitching has been pathetic." Roy Oswalt has been anything but an ace. While young lefty hurler Jon Lester has looked good, the club is troubled by the number of walks. Three Moabs rank in the top 10 in walks, Lester, Ubaldo Jimenez, and Chris Volstad. The stat is interesting considering that Jimenez is a spot starter and a fill-in starter for Scott Baker. As a result, Caskey has hinted that Scott Baker, James Shields and Roy Oswalt need to step-up their games if they expect to stay in the rotation.

To replace Gonzalez, the Moabs have hired from outside the organization. Although the contract was expensive, as hinted by management but not disclosed, Mike Scioscia was hired to jumpstart the offense while patching together the pitching staff. Scioscia is known for his small ball approach to a designated hitter's league, which should fit the bill with the Moabs, which have desired to run more to put greater pressure on the defense.

Other changes include shuffling the lineup completely. In an attempt to help the defensive play behind the pitching staff, the organization has announced that Ty Wigginton's contract has been purchased from Triple A Flint Stones. Wigginton will serve a defensive replacement for 3B Miguel Cabrera as well as starting 3B when Howard or Cabrera is at 1B and DH.

Draft Day 2009: A Coup

"Simply a coup," stated GM Eric J. Caskey. "Our draft effort was tremendous. Scouting Director Dan Evans found what the Brooklyn Mobas have lacked as an organization since our BARB Championship that being power relievers." 

With seven of Brooklyn's thirteen selections, the Moabs selected power arms. Justin Masterson was selected with the 19th pick, followed by the 26th B supplemental selection of Ryan Perry. Both figure to aid the bullpen this season with Masterson in competition with Matthew Lindstrom for the primary setup man. But the Moabs did not stop there. In addition to Masterson and Perry, Brooklyn drafted southpaws Daniel Schlereth, Nick Hagadone, Jose Mijares and Jeremy Affeldt. Again, Schlereth, Mijares and Affeldt figure to serve the bullpen prominently. Schlereth and Mijares will open in Triple A Flint and serve as a disastrous one-two punch in the Stone's pen. Hagadone had Tommy John surgery in the off-season; yet, the club deemed fit to select him in the latter rounds. He has made tremendous progress and could be ready at full strength by June. Affeldt will battle Manny Parra to become the primary lefty specialist, however, club insiders have hinted at the fact that Affeldt could do much more. "We see Affeldt getting everyone out. He might start, get lefties out, and also close ballgames. he was a superb selection by Evans and Caskey," stated Manager Fredi Gonzalez.

Brooklyn selected an additional reliever, future closer Joshua Fields. Fields has a rocket for an arm with an absolutely wicked slider. He could be in Brooklyn in September, if not earlier. The team has the highest expectations.

Relievers were not the only position selected by the Moabs. The club's first selection was flamethrower Neftali Feliz. Like Fields, Feliz has a devastating slider. But what makes the slider so devastating is the 100 mph fastball that is thrown with absolute effortless arm action. Although Feliz is not expected to contribue in Brooklyn this season, but is certainly a shining star in the system. Additionally Aaron Poreda was selected as a power lefty starter to help add the system's lack of southpaws. Poreda, who can hit 100 mph with ease, has had issues with his command. For that reason, the organization has discussed the possibility of turning Poreda into a BJ Ryan like closer. But, for the foreseeable future, Poreda will continue as a starter developing his off-speed pitches.

Position players were also selected. Shortstop Jed Lowrie will make the most impact this season. He will start situationally at thirdbase and around the infield, especially to spell the recooperating Chase Utley. Also, the Moabs gave up compensation to acquire speedster Shane Victorino. Victorino will fill in for the departed Jay Bruce (a story for another day). While BJ Upton is on the disabled list following off-season surgery on his shoulder, Victorino will play centerfield and leftfield with Jacoby Ellsbury, Jermaine Dye, Lastings Milledge, and Cameron Maybin all contributing. Lowrie and Victorino were selected among Nick Noonan and Brett Wallace. Both of whom have bright futures with the ballclub but are not expected to contribute this season in BARB. 

Perhaps what GM Caskey is most thrilled about was Evan's efforts behind the plate. Although the team has hardly a weakness behind the plate with All-Star Brian McCann and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, the team wanted to add catching depth. "Every championship caliber ballclub has catching depth," stated Caskey, "And if we are meant to be a contender, then we needed to be no different." The team added prospects JP Arencibia and Jason Castro. Although at this stage, neither will contribute to the Moabs this season, Arencibia is far more advanced. He will be the everyday catcher in Flint and should be able to get promoted in September. Castro, on the other hand, whose game resembles that of a lefthanded Russell Martin, will be one of the team's highest ceiling players.

Overall, the Moabs effort addressed the team's lack of depth in the bullpen. It added two potential aces and several potential closers. The hole, known as thirdbase, was also addressed with Jed Lowrie and Brett Wallace. Catching depth is no longer the team's concern. Ultimately, the team's effort will depend on the organizations progression back to the playoffs and in a deep run.