Serenity Summers: News & Notes
Weekly Edition of 7-12-09

* Whew!  It's been awhile, but I'm back for another edition of News & Notes.  A lot of things have been happening since my last edition.  First, I want to give a good, “Happy belated birthday!” to the good 'ol US-of-A.  Second, I want to congratulate the IL for another victory in the All-Star Game.  All-Star MVP Tsumemasa Morimoto and Florida captain Mark Richardson both smashed homers in the game.

Since it's been awhile since my last edition, I'll be sure to make this edition juicy-full of gossip!

* Hot off the presses, I've just learned that Florida has reached principle deals with San Antonio and Reno.  From San Antonio, Florida acquires SP Bill Taylor in exchange for SP Armando Pérez (AAA), 2B Pablo Salmarán (SS-A) and a third round draft pick.  Florida also agreed to trade 3B Keith Goslin and CF Roberto Aragón for Reno's 3B Lawrence Wilson.

Here's another juicy tidbit: It looks like the long-awaited debut of Dan Jamison is imminent.  He will be called up to replace Aragón.  The #54 rated prospect according to Baseball America will get his opportunity to prove his worth.  The 20^th pick of the 2007 amateur draft, Jamison plays a fluid outfield and is one of the league's fastest players.

If that's not enough, I got more tidbits for you folks!  Word on the street is that Florida may not be done.  The Featherheads plan to send their scouts up to Connecticut to evaluate the 3-game series between the Nutmeggers and Coal Sox.  Both of these teams have expressed that they are in the seller's market.  Wouldn't Tom Kirkland look good in a Featherheads uniform playing 1B while moving Morimoto to the DH spot?  Or how about José Cortéz shagging fly balls in right field for Florida?  That's not just all.  I've got word that GM Kevin Lewis has been leaving voicemails on London's phone about being potential trade partners.

* Okay, now time for some big and exciting news.  I got a chance to sit down with Florida owner Drew Streets over the All-Star break.  The cruise ship entrepreneur and showman is quite an interesting character.  This is what I can tell you from our meeting: Mr.  Streets is very passionate about his Florida baseball team.  His goal is to make the state of Florida “baseball country”.  College football reigns supreme in this area but Mr.  Streets is looking to change that.  Despite being in a below average market, Streets is proud to call Jacksonville and the state of Florida home for his baseball team.  The fans are loyal and passionate.  2009 has been a transition year for Drew Streets and the Featherheads.  The front office is filled with new faces and a refreshing attitude has been instilled throughout the organization.  Streets has told me that he expects 2010 to be an exciting year.  Expect Florida marketing to pump it up a notch in order to convert this into a baseball town.  Streets wants to see the fan interest reach a fervor the likes of division rivals New Orleans and Charleston.  Streets winked at me when he told me this.  I think the best way to let Featherheads fans know Streets's sincerity is by reciting Streets' quote to me.

"Talk is just talk.  You need to walk the walk.  That's what I intend to do.  I'm not gonna do some PR job just to get fans to come to the game.  I'm gonna put my money where my mouth is and deliver first-class entertainment to the fans."

With a twinkle in his eye and putting money where his mouth is, Streets gleefully explained to me his preliminary plans to construct a new ballpark in Jacksonville.  Yes!  You read that right folks!  Although this is just preliminary and no deal has been struck yet, Florida fans can expect a new ballpark in the not too far future!  Streets did not reveal to me how the funds will be generated yet.  Maybe he won a poker tournament?  He did tell me his reasons for building a ballpark.  The first thing he told me was he that he was sick of ballpark name.  According to him, what does "Farmer Field" have to do with Featherheads?  Florida is rich with Native American history and Streets hopes a new ballpark enriched with Native American history will bring some historical pride to the proud state of Florida.  A new ballpark will also help generate new jobs and fuel the economy in the area.  Aside from jumpstarting the economy, a new ballpark will ignite fan interest and make Florida more of a baseball market.

A creation of a new ballpark will also help dispel rumors that Streets purchased the team in hopes of somehow transplanting the team from Florida to Las Vegas.  It is not a secret that Drew Streets has a strong affinity towards gambling, bright lights and the Vegas Strip.  But Streets has reassured me the Featherheads will stay in Florida.  Can you imagine the Las Vegas Featherheads?  Besides, Florida is a prime location for Streets to operate his cruise ship venture and I highly doubt Streets would forsake that for Las Vegas.

* How was that for juicy gossip folks?  Well, I got more!  I got a chance to talk to GM Kevin Lewis an hour ago about the baseball side of things.  He explained his reasoning for the recent trades.  Bill Taylor was acquired to bolster the backend of the rotation.  Poor performances from Franklin Browne and Alfonso Contreras made it a glaring need to improve the rotation.  Being a middle market team, Taylor is a perfect fit for Florida.  He is young and signed cheaply for two more seasons.  Taylor has shown flashes of being a solid pitcher.  Lewis is hopeful that playing in one of the league's friendliest pitcher parks will enhance Taylor's strengths and hide his weaknesses.  Solid hitting 2B Pablo Salmarán was expendable when you consider the middle infield depth of Mark Richardson, Miguel Soto, Kevin McNeill, Nick Rose and David Goode.  Similarly, SP Armando Pérez was expendable due to the likes of Douglas Bonsink and Félix Ortega.

3B Lawrence Wilson fills an immediate need.  Wilson provides infield depth and, more importantly, stellar defense at the hot corner.  He has shown to be a decent run producer too.  Third base has been a revolving door for Florida with Richardson, Goode, Pérez and Goslin all having played there.  Another reason for the trade was to alleviate Florida's crowded outfield situation.  CF Aragón wanted more playing time, which he was not getting here.  Aragón's departure also opens the door for promising prospect Dan Jamison to show the Florida front office that belongs in Florida's long-term winning plan.  3B Keith Goslin has underachieved in Florida and Lewis hopes he'll be able to reach his potential in Reno.  It is of note that Wilson is a free agent after this season.  Lewis is debating whether Wilson fits with the team’s long-term plan but it should be noted that Wilson's hometown is Brooksville, Florida.  So we may see a hometown discount if Lewis chooses to resign Wilson.

I asked GM Lewis if there were more trades in the works.  He was tight-lipped on the situation, but it is known that he is keeping his options open and particularly spending some extra time review teams like division rival West Virginia and London.  The name of SS-A RF Martín Martínez has been brought up quite a few times recently around different front offices.  SS Kevin McNeill is stuck behind fan favorite Miguel Soto.  It is known Lewis is salivating over the prospect of bringing in another 100 RBI slugger to the team to help provide a punch to the Richardson-Morimoto combo.  Another popular face will also give a shot in the arm to Florida's so-so fan interest.

An unnoticed transaction may have been the 4-year contract extension of Manager Jaime Sánchez.  A holdover from the last regime, Sánchez was extended to provide stability to this new-look Florida team.  Sánchez has 18 years of experience and provides excellent teaching.  Lewis believes stability starts at the top and the extension of Sánchez will provide that.

* My last gossip of the week is that rumor has it that Mark Richardson finally went on his date stemming back from the charity date auction event.  Our camera crew was there to capture it!  Expect another week before we will post the video on the website.  Some fine tune editing still needs to be done!

Closing Comments: Well that's it for now.  I hope you all enjoyed this edition of News & Notes.  We had a lot of juicy news and gossip in this edition.  I, for one, cannot wait to hear more about this ballpark development in the future.  I'm curious to see if Streets intends to keep some of that Farmer Field charm.  Farmer Field is the epitome of a pitcher's ballpark.

Featherheads.com