The Slugger Sentinel 01.06

[ryankcollins]

LOUISVILLE, KY (AP) With the season underway, the Louisville Sluggers currently sit at 7-10 where their away record continues to be abysmal. This season has definitely had its moments of surprise, especially with the trade that sended Wings Hauser to Des Moines. Well, GM Ryan Collins is at it again. It has been reported that starting pitcher, Luke Nastay will be shipping out to division rival, Baltimore. GM Ryan Collins sat down with the press after a heartbreaking loss to the Madison Wolves in extra innings at home.

"I'm not going to be taking any questions tonight, but I will be addressing several topics of interest.

SP, Rich Delucia
It is confirmed that Rich is having some calf problems. As of right now, it does not look to be serious which is positive for our rotation. Thus far, in the games he has pitched, he's been great. He's 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 6 K's. There is nothing negative that could be said about Rich at this moment. We just hope for a speedy recovery and he'll be implemented into the rotation as soon as he's healthy. Right now, we are looking at about 3 weeks rehab time. Our pitchers and bullpen understand that arms will be a little tight for the next three weeks as we try to maneuver around the injury without much damage, and I am sure they are up to the task.

SP, Luke Nastay/1B Terry Franciscen Moves
The Slugger organization has made some moves. First off, we released Franciscen. I thought he was tremendously overpaid for a role player that would hardly see any time in our lineup. I'm not going to sugarcoat my words. We really did not need him. I inherited him and tried to find a use for him, but for the plans that Louisville has for the future, it was just not a correct fit. Secondly, we did in fact receive confirmation of a trade for Nastay. While this was difficult to do because he was popular locally and has given the Sluggers some consistent years, there were multiple factors that went into my decision. First, salary cap. We had to make move to get under the salary cap, and with Nastay being in his last year with $9.5M, it was logically the only contract we could get rid of, or would be willing to get rid of, to get under cap. Second, his contract status. Nastay expressed disinterest in signing an extension prior to Opening Day so it has been our initiative to find a team suitable for him. He's been having a rough year thus far at 0-3, with an 8.66 ERA, 21 hits against and 17 earned runs. Nastay has definitely helped Louisville in the past, but I think his best is behind him. As a result, we made it a priority to fill the gaps in our organization and find some youth.

Acquisition of MR, Ramon Baca and 1B/3B Billy "Goat" Gauthreaux
After receiving multiple offers for Nastay and coming quite close to sealing the deal with numerous teams, Baltimore came in late and talks escalated quickly. I was hesitant to trade in-division, as always, but I was comfortable trading Nastay for what Baltimore offered. Baca will be utilized in the bullpen which is desperately needed right now. He's young, only 20 years old, he's appeared in 6 games this season pitching 4.2 innings with an ERA of 3.86 and 5 K's. He's a young arm that can be utilized in the bullpen, or even the possibility of starting. Also, I wanted to address the problems that we had at third base. We are currently ranked 22nd out of 24 at third base. While Michael Reeve has had a great bat for us thus far, his defense is lacking and needs to be worked on. Consequently, we brought in Billy Goat, a young 24 year old first and third baseman with great hitting abilities to offer some support at the corners. I am really pleased with this pick-up as it gives us some more offense and a slight upgrade defensively at third. Why not trade a 33 year old pitcher in his last contract year for the player who was named the #7 prospect this time last year? This trade has been confirmed and is in the process of being finalized, and I do expect both Goat and Baca to dress up for the Sluggers for our home finale in our series with the Madison Wolves, who has proven themselves to be a competitor.

Overall Season Performance
So far, even though the team sits at 7-10 and last place in the division, I am confident that things will turn around. It's still so early in the season and many of the guys are still working out the kinks from the off-season. I am sure the next time that we sit down and talk the record will be different, our standing in the division will be different, and the opinion of other teams in the MBBA will be different."

[lynchy34]

I can't fault you for taking that deal for Nastay over mine.

[LambeauLeap]

I can't fault you for taking that deal for Nastay over mine.

...and I'm glad he did. Any trade that occurs that doesn't help you is good for me

[recte44]

I gotta tell you, I love this trade for Louisville. Baltimore had a glut of talented young players, and you will enjoy having Goat in your lineup for years to come.

[ryankcollins]

I gotta tell you, I love this trade for Louisville. Baltimore had a glut of talented young players, and you will enjoy having Goat in your lineup for years to come.

Me too. I am really happy this came about. Goat will be an every day starter and I think he's going to put up some great numbers. I needed youth and I'm happy with what I got for Nastay.

[scottsdale_joe]

I like the trade for your side as well.
I guess everyone likes the Goat.

[ryankcollins]

I may have to revise this if the trade gets overturned, though. Haha.

[aaronweiner]

Trade's a go.

[ryankcollins]

Trade's a go.

[Washington9]

Here's to hoping Nastay continues to suck out the house the rest of the way. On pace for an 0-19 season with a 7.69 ERA ... that's what I'd like to see in Baltimore!