MERRY-GO-ROUND THE CENTRAL DIVISION

It’s that time of year again. As the dog days of August dawn on the BARB-iverse, a team deep in the hole makes a (crazy?) decision to attempt to contend for the 2012 Central Division title.

At the beginning of play on August 11, the Casselton Horned Toads held a two-game lead over the resurgent Pottsylvania Creepers. Another eight games back of the Soviet Bloc remnant (and 10 games off the overall pace) were the Arizona Rattlesnakes, winners of seven of their last 10 and—all of a sudden—“contenders” (at least in their own minds) in the division.

It all started August 4. With the team 11 games back of Casselton at 43-56, “Trader” Ron Melkonian felt a massive shakeup was needed, so he released five tenured pitchers, four of which had combined for a 16-17 record and 4.36 ERA in 312 innings (about 1/3 of the team total): Carlos Zambrano, Jair Jurrjens, Jonathon Broxton, Ricky Nolasco and Ryan Madson (who is on the disabled list for the year after Tommy John surgery).

In their stead, the Rattlesnakes added an outfielder (Ryan Ludwick) and four other pitchers (Brett Myers, Kyle Farnsworth, Joba Chamberlain—recently released by the Worcester Eliminators, and Chris R. Young). Early returns looked good for the newcomers: three excellent starts and a 2.05 ERA for Myers and Young; seven relief appearances and three saves with only one run allowed in 10 innings between Farnsworth and Chamberlain. In addition, Ludwick has a .267 average and .768 OPS in his seven games.

With those free agency moves, Melkonian called out the teams far above him in the “inferior division.”

“Today we are changing our sails and are going to try to make some noise in the weak Central Division,” Melkonian said. “Around this time last year, our team was (about) 10 games out of the Central before we made some moves and vaulted our team to the top.” (Editor’s note—the Philadelphia Rebels were 6.5 games back of St. Francis and tied with Casselton on August 4, 2011.) “The Central is still ripe for the taking. With no strong team in the division, we think we can pull this off. The Creepers lack the talent to maintain their position in second and the Toads are showing cracks.”

But, of course, Ron wasn’t done.

About the same time as the signings, he swung a deal with East-leading Brooklyn for big-armed RHP Yovani Gallardo. In return, under-performing (but promising) outfielder Colby Rasmus and righty Max Scherzer headed east to the Moabs.

While no immediate release was available from Eric Caskey, Melkonian made it clear his team was ecstatic to find a young ace to anchor the staff.

A few days later, Scott Hatfield’s St. Francis Friars, just a matter of games behind Arizona, sent second baseman Kelly Johnson and injured right-handed starter Shawn Marcum to the desert in exchange for another second-sacker (Aaron Hill), a left-handed pitcher (Zach Britton—a former Friar) and two players to be named.

Hatfield made it clear Jose Bautista’s injury signaled the time for a fire sale. “With Bautista, we are an elite team in terms of scoring runs. Without him, we move back to the middle of the pack, offense-wise…and despite improvements to our bullpen, our starting pitching has not been good enough to keep us competitive with Jose out.”

Melkonian: “With a 1-2 punch, along with a strong supporting cast behind Gallardo and Marcum, we feel our rotation can lead us back to the top.”

(More on that deal—as well as Arizona’s other trades, at each team’s blog site.)

…Aaaaaaand then Melkonian swapped young hitters Paul Goldschmidt and Logan Morrison, along with relievers Jeremy Affeldt and Jose Valverde, to Casselton—THE TEAM AT THE TOP OF ARIZONA’S OWN DIVISION. In return, yet ANOTHER pitcher joined Arizona’s rotation: lefty John Danks. In addition, a top young outfielder, Justin Upton, donned a Rattlesnake uniform. Finally, young third baseman Josh Vitters was thrown in the deal.

“This move speaks for itself,” Melkonian said. “We are determined to reach the top, and our offense is taken to a new level with Upton in the heart of it…All in all, acquiring Upton is huge.”

So ends Melkonian’s trades this month.

But the Central STILL wasn’t finished dealing within itself. Second-place Pottsylvania, consistently looking to upgrade their offense and catch Casselton, finally found middle ground with St. Francis. Catcher A.J. Pierzynski, hitting .263 for the Friars, was picked up to replace hapless John Jaso (.190, three HR) in the Creeper lineup. The price, however, was high. Top prospect Danny Hultzen—a left-handed pitcher—and former #1 overall pick Tim Beckham were added to the St. Francis farm system.

Keep an eye out for their respective press releases.

How will the Central turn out? Can Casselton stay healthy enough to fend off Pottsylvania? Will Arizona make a late push? It’s not likely the runner-up in this division will take the wild card, so it will be a two-or-three team race for one spot.