By Aron Rocke writing for the Yuma Times

7/19/2009: TEMPE, AZ – Here in Tempe, things went well last night for the Yuma Bulldozers as they dozed over the Knights in a 9-1 victory.  Said GM Jared Dobney, "We might be straight crappy, but we are still better in record than the Duluth Warriors.  As for last night's game, we got in a lucky jab while our overall season is going down.  This does show that when we do choose to put some [stinking] hits and mother[goose]ing defense together, we can pull something out of our […].”  At this point, Dobney's face turned a curious shade of red, and he took a few moments to gather himself.

When we were allowed back in, Dobney began talking of the preparations the team was making for the upcoming series that Yuma will be playing.  "Well, we lost 5 of our last 7 games, so we all are looking forward to finishing in Tempe, hosting Palm Springs and then going to Duluth.  We will keep practicing and preparing for, you know, anything interesting that may happen."

Duluth, the other last place team in the Sovereign League, is 5-5 in their last 10 while Yuma is 2-8.  Yuma has won their most recent game, while Duluth went down to Fargo in their last game.  Dobney said, "These stats are just that: numbers based on things that happened…  uh, right.  What I mean is, we can still lose all of our best players to West Nile before then, or Duluth could all die in a tragic natural event.  You never know, but we are going to prepare the best we can."

The main buzz around Yuma is the offseason changes that Dobney wants to make.  "We are going to be trying to deal out some of the salary and replace it with a lot of young talent.  We need to cut the payroll and bring in some new faces to spruce things up on the diamond.  Beyond that, we will just keep building until we can make a playoff run or decide that we need to rebuild again."

The upcoming Yuma vs. Duluth series is certainly the focus for the team.  None of the players were available for comment, as their 6 PM curfew was already in effect for the night.

From Tempe and with the team, Aron Rocke.