2060.43 Sparks Fly (to Yellow Springs)

[Trebro]

Sparks Fly (to Yellow Springs)

by Valerie Davies, for the Yellow Springs World

While there's two more months to go in the season, it's pretty clear that the Yellow Springs Nine aren't going to make a push for the playoffs. Any trade at this point will be to sell off players for prospects.

Well, normally that's how it goes, but this is GM Rob McMonigal, and you never know what he's going to try.

Enter the trade he just made, sending out one of his marquis free agent signings, Micheal Dixon, to the Austin Shredders, recently relocated from Edmonton, in exchange for Austin's own disappointing newcomer, Bryce Sparks. In an ironic twist, both players were on the Rocky Mountain Oysters just last year.

While Dixon has been anything but as advertised, crashing from a 6-4, 18 saves, 1.14 WHIP and 3.64 ERA to 4-6, 11 saves, 11 blown saves, 1.77 WHIP and 7.11, Sparks is no great shakes, either. He's struggling through a 5-5, 4 saves, 1.97 WHIP and 6.57 ERA season so far. Both players are on expiring contracts with similar salaries. Neither team is going to be helped by this move, so why make it?

"Sometimes you just can't stand looking at a guy anymore, Valerie," was what GM Rob McMonigal told me. "I don't expect Sparks to be any better than Dixon. But he's unlikely to be worse. It's a classic change of scenery deal. Neither team wins, but each GM can stop wanting to jab their eyes out with a spike cleaner each time they go out there."

Fair enough.