By Scott Plack
6/1/08

Transaction News: MR José Ortíz was sent to Tempe in exchange for 1B prospect John Greene.  Ortíz suffered through spring and then had a poor first couple of weeks of the season on his way to being sent down to AAA.  Greene stands at 6’5” and has a sweet swing, though he has yet to hit with much power.  Part of the problem could be the fact that he was playing in a cavernous stadium while in Tempe.  Greene made himself at home in a game versus Kentucky, hitting a 3-2 pitch over the right field wall.

In other news, Manager Fernando Escalante was given the pink slip after leading the Trendsetters to a 32-19 record, including a red-hot May.  Rumor has it that David Parks is the frontrunner for the position.  “Parks and others that we are considering are summarily better in all skills,” wrote Tanner in a reply to an email.  “The team is doing great, but we are moving forward in a new direction.  I am sure that Escalante will hit the ground running.”

Weekly Results: New Orleans went five and two, including two convincing wins over New Jersey.  The Trendsetters hit at least one home run in six out of the seven games.  John Deschamps went 15-for-25 with 1 homerun and seven RBIs, and in doing so he raised his average by 40 points to .348.

In pitching news, SP Chris Nicholson won pitcher of the month for May.  Nicholson is tied for the team lead in wins and put a cherry on top with a complete game shutout over the Hitmen.  Joaquín Hernández continues dominance bringing his earned run average down to 1.06 over 34 innings.

Minor League News: 1^st round draft pick SP Felipe Rodríguez has pitched extremely well in Hi-A ball, although his record doesn’t portray it very well.  Rodríguez has pitched in eight games and allowed only 13 runs.  Unfortunately, his teammates haven’t provided much run support.

One teammate of Rodríguez who has been providing offense is LF Jerry Crowder, who went undrafted out of the University of Louisville.  Crowder was picked up for his glove but has been impressive with his bat.  He is hitting .386 so far this year.

Quote of the week: “Playing for Tempe was great.  But I am also excited to be a part of New Orleans, to go from last place to first place and to be around great players like Cline, Conard and the others.” – Newly acquired 1B John Greene.