The Planetary Extreme Baseball Alliance

Third round –

“OK, just WV and then we have the guy we want, come one Gonzalez,” Cobb murmured to himself.

WV chooses 3B Ricardo Gonzalez. Cobb fell over backwards in the chair he was leaning in sending papers and lap tops flying. “NO!NO!NO!NO!,” he yelled at no one in particular.

Flores scanned his list of third basemen, “what about Brad Benjamin or Heath?”

Cobb just shook his head, “I hate it when it’s the pick right before yours. Who do we have listed as the best hitter?”

Tanner replied, “RF Salars…not much power, but only 7 k’s in 170 ab’s. And he has some speed. Needs a bit of seasoning in the OF, but not a bad pick altogether.”

Cobb nodded, “make the call.”

Trendsetters wrote:
“OK, just WV and then we have the guy we want, come one Gonzalez,” Cobb murmured to himself.

WV chooses 3B Ricardo Gonzalez. Cobb fell over backwards in the chair he was leaning in sending papers and lap tops flying. “NO!NO!NO!NO!,” he yelled at no one in particular.

Haunted by the last team he ever played for. :)

You have to be careful...Cobb has been coming unhinged lately

I love your commentary Paul... this is awesome!

Trendsetters wrote:Shortly, following Yuma selects second baseman Jim Klein.

“I thought it would be Klein or the Hitman, kind of surprised it wasn’t Burton. But maybe Yuma is thinking they will get a quicker return on Klein considering he is more seasoned, and Burton has a lot of growing to do,” Tanner wondered aloud.

Tell Tanner to stop trying to read the Yuman mind. Our scout never gave the Hitman a second thought. Expects he will be a bust. Klein, he says, may be an all-star infielder. And we need infielders. Or we will, as soon as the talented Mr. Goode retires out of boredom.

thanks Mike!

Concluding thoughts from day one:

While we kind of fell into picking up Salars, he looks like he could turn out to be a solid player for us. He will need some seasoning in right but Flores thinks he has the contribute at the very least as a bench player. If he puts it all together, he could be a high obp guy with speed, that patrols right field with a vengeance.

McKinney is a short stop and could go either way on the scale, useful or minor league scrub. Lately, our luck has produced minor league scrubs.

Ditto on Larkin (except he plays LF).

There are a couple of names that remain within the organization top 100 position player, including one in the top 50. Those couple of guys will be targeted early, but from there its just about finding arms to fill out the pitching squad.

Don't worry Bob, I would not try to understand the complexities of the Yuman Mind...it more or less yuman musings

Good luck with Salars. He was at the top of our list for that round when you took him. I think he may just work out fine!

Good job with the blog, Paul. I enjoyed reading it! I was only kidding about the only good thing coming out of New Orleans is this blog I do hope the Trendsetters can revive their glory days again. With Charleston faltering this season and uncertainty of the future, it certainly opens the Dixie door a little bit.

No offense taking, from me

of course...can't really speak for Cobb....

sometimes the truth hurts

With the exit of Cooper Scott, and the return of Paul Tanner, the roster is seeing quite a bit of upheaval. And not jut in the minor leagues...Jose Moran was sent to AAA and Patrick Swanson, Chris York, and Lester Colcheeper were waived and designated for assignment. Taking over for the struggling Jason Brooks in RF is newly acquired Martin Martinez. Martin hit 15 home runs, 38 doubles and stole 31 bases in 2013 for Omaha. Three years later after playing last year in the minors, he gets another chance at redemption in New Orleans. "Let's be honest," Cobb commented, "he can't do much worse. His speed makes up for the loss of Moran's, and he avoids striking out. Love seeing guys that will put the ball in play...and he will do that. Even if he doesn't have a career year, he is the best option we have at this time." Brooks hit .221 in April, .118 in May, and has busted out with a .233 for the first half of June. Cobb words sound ominous in regards to his future.

Taking over in center is Kentucky cast off Rich Cunningham. The Trendsetters are desperately searching for offense and so they are exchanging top defense for adequate. Cunningham has never played in more than 71 games in the past four seasons. Scouts seem to think he should produce plenty of power, though he hasn't shown much yet. It's a move that reeks of desperation, but with Pablo Cabrera out for another month plus rehab time, something has to be done. When Cabrera comes back whoever has played the best between Martinez and Cunningham will get RF duties.

Errol Grey is fresh off his AAA all-star selection...Grey has less speed, but should be able to generate a little more power than Moran without a drop off in defense. That's if he can adjust to PEBA pitching.

Robert Ortiz makes his way back to the bench as the infield utility player. Might sound familiar, but he offers a bit more power than Swanson or Dunn, with a good approach to the plate. Ortiz will be playing third and short regularly.

The minors got turned upside down with HIA changing as many as 90 percent of its roster.

Draft Watch:
Thomas Bidder is getting a quick ticket to AA. He will be DH for the near future, though sources inside the organization say that Dave Nash offer has been met penny for penny and should also be seeing time in Delaware within the next few weeks.

SS Lewis McKinney will start in HI-A.

Everyone else will take their knocks in SSA. Negotiations continue with Nash, Munoz, and Salars...though the front office is confident all three will be logging bus hours before they know it.

Welcome back, Mr. Tanner! Even if it is a power-sharing arrangement with Jack Cobb, it's good to have the big man back in a position of authority.

Heads are gonna roll....not necessarily written on the wall, but definitely the feeling around the Trendsetter organization. Looking across the offensive landscape, New Orleans may be one of the worst offensive teams in PEBA history. Cooper Scott took a lot of gambles, hoping to get guys who hit for average or who walked, but that has backfired. The most telling stats...halfway through June the team has 23 wins and 25 home runs. Teams around the league are having power surges, and New Orleans is having a power outage. Changes are coming down the pipe as sources inside the organization say that Tanner has wasted no time in reaching out for possible trading partners. Several scenarios have Lambert moving to 2B, Wilson to SS and either having Pex or a new first basemen. Other rumors are swirling that Gordon is on a short leash at catcher, and Konishi is all but out the door, wether that means back to the minors or free agency no one is clear.

Sources surrounding original Trendsetter Cal Edwards, say that Tanner has made some contact with the former slugger as well...Is Tanner reaching out to old players in some kind of nostalgic bid?

Jose Moran is dumbfounded. The hero (after launching a 3 run homer) of last night's game against Arlington found a ticket to Fayetteville in his locker following the game. Manager David Parks shrugged his shoulders, "The management is trying to put the best players they can, put this team in a place to win. Tanner's no fool, and maybe a little shake up will wake some of these guys up." Moran has been one of the more consistent players, but the Trendsetters feel like Grey has more upside and is ready now, with the season slipping further and further away from any competitiveness moves are necessary.

Coming across the wire now is a rumor that the Trendsetters have acquired Florida Featherhead catcher Brock Brett. Brett has struggled recently will injuries, but when healthy is a proven all-star caliber catcher. Not sure what Tanner gave up to bring him in, but impressions are that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Inside sources have just indicated that a deal to rectify the power issues in the Trendsetter lineup has just been reached. Early indications are that Brett will not be the only player with connections to the Featherheads who will be joining Tanner's Trendsetter retool....

Trendsetters wrote:Inside sources have just indicated that a deal to rectify the power issues in the Trendsetter lineup has just been reached. Early indications are that Brett will not be the only player with connections to the Featherheads who will be joining Tanner's Trendsetter retool....

Don't tell me that Morimoto is heading back to the Dixie! I was happy to see him bounce back in Manchester but I hope he doesn't bounce around too much to end his career.