Thursday, March 29, 2001
This has been a Spring Training from Hell....
We lost one of our 2 good pitchers for the season to injury and our cleanup hitter, SS Bill Crystal (26-S), has now developed an attitude and has begun causing problems.... When confronted about his antics, he just said everything is "Mahvelous" and shrugged his shoulders... So he was traded...
Trade #11
SS Bill Crystal (26-S) to Syracuse for CF Danny Stewart (30-L)
Crystal was our only real power hitter.... Stewart has no power at all, but hits for a decent average and will take a walk every now and then. He likes to steal bases, but is not very good at it. He is, however, a very hard worker and a stand-up guy and will be one of the leaders on the team once he settles in.
Editor's Note: There were much better players offered, but the dice were not kind to us....
We ended our exhibition schedule with a 5 to 4 win in 11 innings at Ottawa's training complex. The win raised our dismal record to 9-21, tied with Rochester for the worst in the Grapefruit League. We scored a Grand Total of 83 runs, an average of 2.77 per game and a pace to score 448 over a full season. And that was before we traded our only home run threat! Charlotte and Orlando tied for top honors at 19-11. RF Ivan Moreno (29-L) of Buffalo led all players with 6 HR and RF Ed Yeager (25-L) of Ottawa led with 21 RBI. RP Ray Hayes (25-R) of Orlando pitched 35.1 innings! And he did not allow a run! Only 13 hits and 8 walks allowed with 40 strikeouts! He was 3-0 with 8 Saves.
Next Up: Meet the Jays!