That's What Cheesehead - 00.09 - Nice!

[7teen]

I may have to do a lot of revisiting with my first "real" trade with Madison. While my most recent transaction wasn't my first in the MBBA (we'll try to forget all of those Long Beach deals. At least I can forget them, Moonie has to live them) this most recent move is already proving to pay some huge dividends and will likely play a huge role in setting the future of this franchise.

For starters, let's not ignore the salary cap ramifications the deal will have. With big name players like Bopper Kengos, John Catron, and Charles Puckett approaching monumental paydays, the Wolves had to look to cut ways with some other highly paid players or risk losing some of their young corps of players. With all 3 of these players approaching, or having already reached arbitration, it won't be too far into the future that these three men will be tying up over 30% of the Wolves payroll.

But now lets look at the NOW. In my last TN, I highlighted how Kinard had defeated Greeneville in his first start for the Wolves and how the Wolves beat Steadman. Kinard has continued that torrid pace. He made 2 starts in this most recent sim and has a perfect 3-0 record with the Wolves. In those 3 starts, he has posted a microscopic 1.73 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. He has gone at least 8 innings in all 3 starts, two of which he posted a complete game 1 run performance. Kinard hadn't had a complete game since 1997, as we mentioned before, which makes this three game stretch even more amazing by Kinard.

"I fell rejuvenated" said Kinard. "Expectations are high here in Madison. Failure isn't an option. I know that if I don't get things done, I'll be on my way out. I'm just trying to stay alive in the rotation, win some ballgames, and help get this team to the playoffs."

While Kinard continues to surprise the Wolves fans, the front office received a nice boost with the trade as well. Terry Dumont, a young pitching prospect acquired by Madison in the trade, got a nice bump in his stuff rating last sim. Prior to the sim and and the time of the trade, Dumont was projected as a 7-6-6 pitcher. He is now projected as a 9-6-6 pitcher, which would look real nice in the Wolves rotation or bullpen in a few seasons. Dumont is now expected to see time as a starter in the Wolves Single-A affiliate rotation.

Another nice part of the deal has been John Rhoades. While 4.1 innings is obviously a small sample size, the fact that Rhoades hasn't allowed a run thus far and has struck out 6 and walked just 1 in that span, bodes real well for the Wolves bullpen, which was a little weak going into the season.

[recte44]

With Dumont developing the trade is looking even better for Madison.