Talking Trends - Team Blog (short thoughts)

[Reg]

With all of the frenzy over Mike Wallace, the 16 year old, who may or may not pitch in the PEBA, but whom at one time scouts predicted to be the second coming of Markus Hancock, another international player slipped into free agency and into the midst of a bidding war. Florida eventually won out, but how did he get there, where did he come from? A story in unfolding in New Orleans that likely will not see it's conclusion for many years to come.

Cantu was actually discovered by Trendsetter scouting director Tomas Flores on a yearly trip to Cuba. "The kid looked good, strong arm..healthy body, mind...good spirit. I talked with him for a little bit and told him about coming to New Orleans and playing. Cantu was eager to play baseball in the states," remembers Flores. Flores then proceeded to fill out the paperwork required to alert the Commissioner's office that he had found a new prospect that would soon become a Trendsetter. "I mailed it off," stated Flores with a smoldering fire in his eyes, "and then I called Cooper to tell him. It was a good day."

According to the Commissioner's office the first time they heard of Cantu was when his recently acquired agent requested info on the progression of the processing of the Trendsetters paperwork. The agent was apparently told there was no such paperwork, and Cantu's agent put in the proper papers and he was a free agent. According to the office the paperwork simply never arrived. Cantu proceeded to sign a hefty contract with the Featherheads.

"I don't blame the kid," Flores slowly said, "if you got the chance for big money, and by all accounts he didn't do nothing wrong, then take it. It's a golder opportunity for him and I think he will do fine."

Cobb on the other hand had this to say, "The league has it out for me. They don't like that I am not all stodgy and reserved like all the other owners. I am, who I am. And it's not at the spinach eating level yet but it's getting close, I tell ya!! Apparently, they frown on my derogatory attitude toward Ollie, on account of him being so loved by the PEBA fans, but you know what...I know the truth, and I am not gonna just smile and nod about it, I am going yell it from the roof tops. These guys...they can't keep me down....I...I will survive...."

Scott, who has suddenly become the level headed one in the organization had this to say, "Flores has already gone out and found us another young arm similar to Cantu. We got the paperwork triple checked and almost had delivered this time, so it's no biggie. Sure I would have loved to have both arms in AAA getting ready to spring them on the rest of the league with Dixon, Solis, McCallister, and Alvarez...but those are the breaks, you gotta role with them or you will get broken by them."

In ironies of all ironies, Cantu faced the Trendsetters as his first PEBA opponent. While it was just spring training, the fact that they put up nine hits and 2 runs on him over his four innings pitched, probably assuaged the wounds a little.

"No use crying over spilled milk," said Cooper, shrugging his shoulders.

[Matt]

Why did I just imagine Cobb belting out a Gloria Gaynor song? Damn you Paul.

[Reg]

Why did I just imagine Cobb belting out a Gloria Gaynor song? Damn you Paul.

Welcome to the scary parts of my mind!! Have a seat...Jack Cobb will be singing all you favorites....oh and don't forget to tip your waitresses.

Oh and this is more what I think it looks like for Cobb http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpCZzycMhPk

[Reg]

Perhaps one of the roughest starts to any PEBA career was suffered by rule V pick up Mark Tucker. Mark took the mound in front of a near capacity crowd against a very good offensive team in Arlington. Here is the series: single, single, wild pitch, single (1 run), wild pitch (1 run), walk -- he put it together after that with a K and two fly outs. Over the next six innings he allowed just five base runners and no runs. Of course in the top of the 8th the wheels came off once again after letting a run score and loading the bases, the bull pen came on the scene and made sure every runner scored, leaving Tucker with a final line of 7.0 innings, 9 hits, 6 runs, 4 walks, 2 strikeouts.

[Reg]

Replacing Lambert for now will be 3B Anastasio Días, who most recently played for Ciudad Acuña, after a stint with Kure in the LRS. He didn't do well in the LRS though he did jack 24 homeruns in 92 games in Mexico, and has added another 4 this year while playing third base for Fayetteville. "Never played first, but when the call comes, you don't exactly say no," he recently stated. Días last played in the PEBA for Kalamazoo playing in 22 games and putting up an OPS of over 1000. Flores, the Trendsetter scouting director, told us, "We keep an eye for certain types of players and when they will agree to play in the minors for a bit, it makes the deal even sweeter. If Lambert and Rose don't get hurt, he doesn't get the call. Hope he makes the most of the time he is getting." Días will be batting ninth over the next week, in order for coaches to get an extended look at him with less pressure. "Hey, there is no where to go but up from here," he shrugged and smiled.

Not often can you drop your ERA from 7.11 to 3.97 in one game, but that is what Mark Tucker did in his fine performance versus the Calzones. His game score was rated an 86 placing him second, only behind Floyd Davis' no hitter on the season. Trent threw an average of 3.3 pitches per batter faced and allowed only 5 batters to touch base over ten innings. "Coach just kept telling me to throw my pitches and let the defense take care of me, and they did that. Finally avoided getting lost in the big inning and staying steady, I feel like I could have thrown a couple of more innings to boot," said the exhausted Tucker. The Calzones eventually won, but that fact doesn't diminish what Tucker was able to accomplish in only his third PEBA start. "Yeah, I feel a bit sheepish now. We knew we wanted to shake up the rotation a bit and we debated on whether to keep going with the experience of Kirby or the talent we think we have in Mark. Eventually, Mark won out, but it was close," indicated Trendsetter manager Parks.

[Reg]

The minor injury train continues to roll through New Orleans as both Poirier and Wright find themselves out of action for about five days. Rose and Cabrera are both serving 14 day dl stints although Cabrera should be back sooner than Rose. Replacing Lambert in the lineup long term is newly acquired Jude Pew, a long time Bear, who has been an all-star and winner of the coveted Royal Raker award in the SL. Amazingly, he did it playing in one of the worst hittter's ball parks in the PEBA. Pew's lefty power is tailor made to send moon shots out into the right field bleachers at New Frontier Park. Pew is strictly here to play DH, which means that Poirier will return to the field once he returns from his injury. In the meantime, Dias will continue to play at first base.

Through the month of April its hard not to fell as though the Trendsetters have been a mix of over achievement and extreme under achievement. Their offense has remained consistently middle of the pack, which is a big improvement. Their pitching remains some of the worst. Perhaps the most heart breaking number is the record of 1-5 in one run games. Some of that blame can be laid at the feet of second year closer Danny Williams, amidst what the team hopes is a sophomore slump. But good teams find ways to win in close games and New Orleans has yet to figure that out. If they can get their starters back and healthy for a good stretch, maybe they can start putting that together.

[Bill]

Replacing Lambert in the lineup long term is newly acquired Jude Pew, a long time Bear, who has been an all-star and winner of the coveted Royal Raker award in the SL. Amazingly, he did it playing in one of the worst hittter's ball parks in the PEBA. Pew's lefty power is tailor made to send moon shots out into the right field bleachers at New Frontier Park. Pew is strictly here to play DH, which means that Poirier will return to the field once he returns from his injury...

I'm sure a few people will be watching to see how trendy Pew can be in orange and brown. Hopefully he can find his swing again for you guys. Everybody likes a legend-rekindles-glory story.

[Reg]

After getting the W last night, Mark Tucker has now recorded 8 victories. Last season, no starter had more than eight wins, so fans are looking forward to his next start. However, it is against the Bureaucrats in Arlington and most likely versus Ex-Trendsetter Pedro Cruz. That matchup would be a rematch and mirror of his very first PEBA start. Tucker is tied for second in wins in the IL thanks most in part to an average run support of 4.07.

[Reg]

With the minor injury to Mark Tucker, slated to miss about a month, former first round draft pick Dave "Monk" McAllister will get his first chance to show case his talents on the PEBA level. He is slated to start the second game of the Kentucky series, which is a pretty tough assignment for the rookie as Kentucky has quietly become one of the better offensive teams in the Dixie this year. Monk was acquired in a trade with Duluth when the Trendsetters sent Robert Holguin to the Warriors. Monk had struggled in A ball, despite being a fairly dominant college pitcher, and had actually spent most of the previous season back in short season A. The Trendsetters decided to take an aggressive approach and tossed him into the waters at AA. He spent six weeks on the DL with some injury problems but really progressed at AA enough so that he was promoted to the AAA team where he has continued to improve. McAllister is the second AAA starter to be called on this year. After trading Ono, recent find, Carlos Pena, was called up. Pena was just announced as pitcher of the month for June. Waiting in the wings are two more promising pitchers super-prospect Glenn Dixon and marginal prospect Gabriel Alvarez.

AA pitchers are breathing a sigh of relief after the Trendsetter organization decided that highly regarded prospect, 1B Rob McGrath, had punished the AA league enough. McGrath hit .396 in June with 7 home runs. In the first 12 games of July he is hitting an even .500 with 3 dingers. If McGrath continues to show an aptitude for hitting at AAA, fans could see him facing off against PEBA competition in September. Look for him to be a fixture in the Trendsetter offense in the next couple of years.

[Reg]

Are the Trendsetters for real...or just pretenders about to be wakened rudely from their dreams? Discuss

[Reg]

From opening day to the end of May, the Trendsetter were quite simply the worst team n the IL. Or maybe it is not so simple. The Trendsetters projected record was actually five games more on the W side, making them the second best record in the Dixie in imaginary land. Still the actual record, the one that counts, placed the Trendsetters in the cellar 16 games under .500 and no hope in sight, other than the fact that in the bizarre Dixie they were only 6.5 games out of first place. It’s right where people thought they would be, comfortably holding down the back end of the Dixie. Same story, another year wasted for Trendsetter fans.

June started off without suspicion, though the first week the Trendsetters actually won one more game than they lost. Week two of June, they won 6 of 7. Fans were starting to buy tickets at the stadium again, when a year ago June games were setting new lows in attendance. Week three they took 5 of 7 and it was becoming clear that in June the Trendsetters were playing as good of baseball as anyone in the Imperial League. They finished out the month winning five of six games. Total number of wins in April and May: 18. Total number of wins in June:19.

So it seems to beg the question, which team is the real Trendsetters? One thing to note is that as of July 1st the Trendsetters only have 2 starting pitchers and 2 relief pitchers that were on the roster on opening day.

[Reg]

The all-star break seemed to break any remaining momentum the Trendsetters where riding from June. Six games so far in August and five losses. So dreams of finishing close to the top of the division are slowly fading and seem to be dim. Scott has announced that Jim Owens is headed back to the DL for a second stint this year, and that the team will be pushing players forward who have the possibility of remaining with the team next season. That being the case old timers Jude Pew and John Gustafson will be taken much smaller chunks of playing time, primarily coming off the bench. Taking their place is recent waiver wire addition 1B Ryosei Kichikawa and CF Chris York. York has predominantly been splitting time with Cabrera, but will move to LF for the majority of August. This change should make pitchers happy as they will have plus defenders in center and left. Kichikawa needs to show that he has the ability to produce the power numbers scouts think he should if he wants to remain on the roster.

On the pitching side, Wilbur Garland has certainly not been turning heads in the way that he had in the first of the season. If he can't put it back together in August look for him to be pushed to the bullpen in September when arms from AAA come to fill out the squad. Niether Monk nor Caylor made a huge impression, but both have plenty of time and will spend the next month preparing in in AAA for the next call up. Tucker makes his return after taking a month off, still the leader in wins for the team with 8. Hopefully, August will increase that number.

[Reg]

Pizza gets a cup of coffee

Fans who may be experiencing season drag as the Trendsetters continue to fall from great heights, get a boost of interest as future starting pitcher prospect Glenn "Pizza" Dixon will be getting his first cup of coffee in the next week. Glenn got his first action in AAA this past season, and struggled at times. July was a particularly bad month a stretch during which he posted a 6.95 ERA. August was total different story, in which he posted a 0.94 ERA and earned him the benefit of the doubt on being ready to test the PEBA waters. Dixon struggled early in the season with his control, and is still the core of the question as to whether or not he is ready for the big leagues. But in July and August Dixon fanned fifty eight while only walking twelve.

Joining Dixon in the rotation is an old face in a new place. Danny Williams the two-time all-star is reportedly being given a shot at the starting rotation one more time before he becomes arbitration eligible this off-season. Talks stalled before they started as Williams was reportedly looking for somewhere around ten million for the next year. Arby estimates are also pretty high for a closer who has been good, but not without his struggles. Williams seven losses have given Trendsetter fans reason to be concerned about his ability to close the door. The front office has stated that they weren't willing to offer a deal in that range for a reliever. So Williams gets a month to showcase his starting pitching talents, if it is a bad month, Williams may be headed for a trade or free agency.

Perhaps making the above transition easier for the Trendsetters is the arrival of Edgardo Rodriguez. Rodriguez is the heir apparent to Williams and at 23 appears ready to jump in head first. He has pitched in three innings this first week of September and will apparently get thrown into the fire as the closer for the rest of the season. If things go as as expected, he will be next years finisher.

Will the real Wilbur Garland please stand up? He was lights out in a shortened April, and again in August, but particularly poor in between. This is not his first year in the bigs, but his hot August has probably convinced the team to continue to give him the ball every five days for the near future. Tucker was missed when he sprained his ankle and the rookie has far outplayed everyone's expectations.

[Reg]

As arbitration looms the Trendsetters have made a few quick and easy one year deals with 90 percent of this years players. Most notably expensive was Maestas who will recieve 4 mil for pitching next year. Insiders are saying that this doesn't guarantee him a spot in next years rotation. "If the Trendsetters got offered some value for him, they would probably go ahead and pull the trigger, " quoted one scout. John Gustafson did not get his option year picked up by the team, and sources as saying that the Trendsetters are not even going to take the chance on offering him arbitration. It's a calculated risk as the left field would likely command at least 12 mil in arby although they would be missing out on a type A deal if some team was to sign the 35 year old to a deal. "He's going to be 36 by May, maybe he can learn to speak Japanese for a couple of seasons, " wrote Scott in a tweet. The other player who will likely be testing free agency is CL Danny Williams. Williams is eligible for arbitration, but is estimated to earn 8 - 10 mil dollars is is asking the same for an extension. Williams is a two time all-star who has performed well out of the bull pen but is not likely to get that amount of money from a team that is still working on cutting its payroll. Right now the highest paid player is Orlando Ramos at 5.4 mil next year. Williams wants twice that, and more than many of the games elite closers, which he has yet proven to be. It's an amount the Trendsetters aren't really committed to giving any player. So Williams will likely find himself as a player in the free agent market this season rather than three years down the road.

In other news, rumors abound that Ryosei Kichikawa may be headed to his homeland as team officials hammer out a transfer deal.

[Reg]

I one fell swoop the position of first base became much clearer for the Trendsetters. Poirier, a management favorite, has reportedly been shipped to Connecticut in exchange for Octavio Pexego. Pexego does have a bit of history with now team owner Jack Cobb, although Cobb is out of the country on vacation and has not been able to be reached for comment. Management seems to have a consistent approach to having one aging over priced slugger every season and this year it looks like it will be Pex. Critics responded with comments like, "Yeah that really worked out for Morris and Gustafson, huh?" Pex though is a year younger than Poirier and still has power, his 29 home runs doubles the amount of team leader Gustafson. The team loss 24 one run games last season and so its not hard to look for a reason for adding extra power this next year. Those 15 plus extra runs could have made a huge impact...possibly helping the team make it to .500. Pex batted second last year but the Trendsetters are reassuring him he will be the middle of the line up in 2016. And there are unconfirmed reports that the Trendsetters are not done on the trade front, but will look to make a move at the Winter meetings that will ensure a career .300 hitter will be batting second for the Trendies. When asked Scott responded by saying, " Personal issues have to be left outside the business of baseball. Pex is a great hitter one of the best, and we believe he will continue to be one of the best over the next few years. I will be notifying Cobb as soon as he comes into technology range and I am sure we will be able to move on from there. This is about making the Trendsetters a better team and this deal makes that happen."