WILD DOINGS IN ARIZONA!

WILD DOINGS IN ARIZONA!
On the road against his traditional rival in Yuma, Texas GM Ronald Melkonian pulled out all the stops on his publicity organ, trading away hot-blooded (but still injured) RHP Carlos Zambrano, then getting shellacked in a one-sided bloodbath to further bruise his club’s league-worst 10-26 record as the Firebirds cruised after three frames to a 12-6 victory.

Zambrano, as astute BARB readers may recall, came over in a trade to Texas less than two weeks ago right after going on the disabled list, a curiousity in and of itself. But ‘Big Z’ will never pitch an inning in a Texas uni, because the flea market that is Texas baseball made another of its GM’s characteristic swaps. Texas sent Zambrano to the surprising Casselton Horned Toads, who were eager to pick up another established starter. In return, the Tornadoes acquired another injured hurler (RHP Kelvim Escobar), 1B James Loney and a pair of prospects (OF Fernando Martinez and RHP Tim Alderson).

Zambrano's reaction was wordless, but clearly heartfelt:



Zambrano's feelings aside, this was clearly quite a haul for Texas, but Casselton GM Landon Bolt had this to say: “"Bottom line is, we aren't giving anything up in this trade. Loney is currently underachieving, and with the reemergence of Derrek Lee and Kendry Morales, there wasn't a spot for him anymore. Martinez and Alderson are great young players, but both are two or three years away from having any value."

"And," continued Bolt, "when Escobar returned to the DL with a plan to return in the bullpen, well---our bullpen is clicking just fine right now. So we inherit a ace in the hole behind Johan. Carlos should work well with fellow countryman Geovany Soto on the roster and we hope his attitude on the mound carries over to some of our players, we could use it to stay ahead in the tight Central Division."

One thing’s for sure: none of that talent lifted from the Toads played a part in Texas’s most recent outing. Javier Vasquez couldn’t hold on to an early 2-0 lead, and reliever Jason Hammel (1-2, 4.98) paid the price in the fourth, where the host Firebirds scored seven runs against him and Vasquez, making the rest of his day’s work a walk in the park for long man Jon Rauch, who worked five innings of scoreless relief after starter Matt Cain twisted a knee on a pickoff play. Cain’s injury was not believed to be anywhere as serious as the damage done to Texas pitching by the Yuma lineup: Brian Roberts, A.J. Pierzynski, Lance Berkman, Ryan Braun and Nick Markakis ALL homered! Quite a power surge, good enough for the Firebirds’ fourth straight win, and it allowed GM Chris Melkonian’s club to move into a tie with Black Mesa for second place in the West, just three games behind division-leading Darwin.

But Texas was not deterred by the long day at the ballpark or their bleak first five weeks of baseball. GM Ronald Melkonian expects to have All-World 3B Alex Rodriguez on all cylinders soon, and his take on the trade is entertaining, if difficult to pick out in the gray haze of his club’s blog. Here’s the money quote, straight from the horse (trader’s) mouth: “When you’re rebuilding a team, nobody should expect that team to hurry up and contend immediately. We have problems in our bullpen and our depth; but we believe this will all be fixed in time. We are taking small steps within the organization to build something that will stand for years; not just for a one-night stand. We believe that if our franchise-type prospects continue to develop and blossom into stars, and our established talent continues to improve, we are looking at a team that will make a serious run in two years... perhaps even as fast as next!"


In other BARB action:

BROOKLYN 7, FRESNO 3
WP: Jon Lester (4-4, 2.78)
LP: Mike Pelfrey (2-3, 5.13)

Jon Lester’s first start in the Mike Scioscia Era was his best of the year, a route-going performance backed in the first by Jermaine Dye’s team-leading 16th boundary belt of the year, as the Moabs (19-23) continued to make up ground in the competitive East. The Finches activated Josh Hamilton prior to the game, but the big outfielder only appeared as a pinch-hitter, striking out against DelCarmen.

POTTSYLVANIA 9, DARWIN 5
WP: Manny DelCarmen (2-0, 1.38)
LP: Scott Kazmir (2-4, 6.75)

Scott Kazmir’s woes for the Finches continued when he allowed a second-inning grand slam to the rabbit named Carlos Gomez, and the Creepers (18-16) kept up the pace with Casselton in the mediocre Central Division. The Finches managed to knock out Mark Buerhle with a big fifth inning, denying him the win, but Ryan Ludwick sealed the win with his team-leading 14th HR of the season.

WORCESTER 8, FROSTBITE FALLS 6
WP: Chris Young (2-0, 6.04)
LP: Cole Hamels (2-3, 5.50)

Ineffective coming out of the Eliminators pen, Chris Young made the most of his first spot start of the year, getting the win despite some control issues (6 BB) as his teammates made short work of disappointing Cole Hamels. Former Squirrel Jason Bay took Hamels deep, as did new Elims 3B Adrian Beltre in salary drive mode. With the win, Worcester snapped a three-game losing streak and their 28-14 mark leads the majors.

http://barb-texas-tornadoes-2009-10.blogspot.com/2009/06/texas-continues-upgrading-lands-big-z.html