KEVIN TOWERS MAKES THE FIRST MOVE

ADVISOR'S FIRST MOVE WITH CLUB IS A BIG ONE

A hastily-called press conference in the dead of night, in a filled press room, began with a stunning announcement that brought the room to a hush.

"Let's begin with the toughest nut in this piece," said Kevin Towers, special assistant to the St. Francis Kansans.  "We are trading Shin Soo-Choo.   He's a fan favorite who has always given his all. He was in this club's founding draft.   He's probably the best player from South Korea to ever appear in the big leagues...but, for a variety of reasons, some financial, some about this year, some about the next....we see an opportunity...and that means trading away this special player, when we are a month away from a possible post-season berth."

A reporter cleared his throat and leaned forward, question in hand.

"The actual trade," Towers continued with a rush, "is as follows:  St. Francis trades OF Shin Shoo Choo, RHP Brad Ziegler, OF Ryan Sweeney and a player to be named to the Brownsville  Cutters. In return, the Kansans receive OF Adam Dunn and reliever Matt Thornton.   Thanks for coming...and no more questions at this time."

Towers literally bolted behind a curtain and the press room roared its disapproval.  "Kevin!" one shouted, "Dunn has talked about retirement!   Can you comment on that?"   Another scribe simply screeched, in disbelief, "THORNTON?!?!"   Bedlam ensued, but it was no use:  Towers was gone, and the full story was obviously not going to be told any time soon.

Choo was unavailable for comment, but probably has to feel abandoned to be cut loose with a month to go in the regular season, after being a tremendous contributor in the first half to the club's success.

Team owner Scott Hatfield seemed sad, but defended the abrupt termination of Choo's time with the big league club.  "Nothing lasts forever," said the Head Kansan.  "We understand what Kevin is trying to do and we wish 'Big League' Choo the very best."

TOWERS TAKES THE REINS

COMMISSIONER HAYNES:

  

  

We haven't spoken before, but you may be aware of the fact that I have been engaged as a special assistant to the St. Francis Kansans in player acquisition, and I am authorized to conduct TRADES on behalf of the organization, effective August 20th of this year, following our stockholder's weekend conclave.

KANSANS: WOULD TOTO RECOGNIZE US?

The Monastery---In 2013, the St. Francis Friars overcame long odds to reach their first-ever BARB World Series a year after finishing in the second division.  Now, in 2014, they are almost unrecognizable from the 2012 club in terms of makeup...and outlook.

Having never won as many as 90 games, last year's club needed a big final push from veteran OF Carlos Beltran in the final week to pass the Casselton Horned Toads. They drew the Worcester Eliminators in the 2013 playoffs, a club which led all of BARB in runs scored and posted a league record 111 wins, but somehow managed to turn it into a short series when their Koji Uehara-led bullpen outperformed the loop’s best relief corps. And, while they fell in six games in the 2013 Series, helping Frostbite Falls to its sixth title, they flexed impressive muscle at the plate in part due to the clutch hitting of new 1B Chris Davis.

Now, in the off-season, they have put another controversy behind them after charges of impiety and anti-Catholic bigotry was laid against the ball club in light of the franchise’s name and its past association with a renegade monastic order that thought Vatican II was a liberal mistake. Rechristened the Kansans and with its controlling interests no longer dominated by theological disputes, the St. Francis club has emerged in recent weeks as the club to watch in 2014, both in terms of player development and on the field.

2014 DRAFT:

 No club ended up exercising more picks in this year’s Draft or moving more big-name talent in the off-season than St. Francis. The Kansans were concerned that they had emptied their cupboard somewhat in order to reach the post-season, a concern that grew in some quarters as off-season deals saw the ballclub trade promising young SS Xander Bogaerts to New England.

 But, thanks in part to packaging away a potential future ace in Michael Wacha to Worcester, St. Francis accumulated plenty of extra picks in this year’s Draft. As a result, they pulled off an absolute haul that easily rivaled this year’s amateur draft in MLB:

LHP Brady Aiken (1st overall selection) 
C Kyle Schwarber (4th overall, first college bat taken) 
SS Nick Gordon (5th overall, first high school player taken) 
RHP Aaron Nola (7th overall, first college RHP taken) 
SS Trea Turner (13th overall, first college SS taken) 
RHP Touki Toussaint (16th overall) 
LHP Brandon Finnegan (17th overall) 
RHP Nick Burdi (46th overall)

The club also added veteran OF Coco Crisp and Jayson Werth, backup C Dionner Navarro, veteran 3B Aramis Ramirez and a potential ace, RHP Steven Strasburg, to go with the club’s core: C Salvador Perez, 1B Davis, 3B Pedro Alvarez. OF Shin-Soo Choo and Jose Bautista.

ST. FRANCIS’S AMAZING SWING THROUGH THE EAST 

While the draft harvest was rich, most of it was unlikely to have any impact on this year’s campaign. But, as the previous list of core players shows, the 2014 edition of the St. Francis franchise is a veteran-laden club that is truly built to ‘win now’. Thus, a wave of early injuries or slow starts in the regular lineup could be psychologically damaging to the entire organization. But, for the first time in many seasons, St. Francis has avoided any serious injuries in the first two months of the season, and in the last few weeks, they finally hit their stride.

Already leading all of BARB with 76 round-trippers, the club began a torrid road trip through the Eastern Division. Widely-considered the most challenging of BARB’s pennant races, the ‘Division of Death’ has produced eight championships and represented the first real test of whether or not the 2014 Kansans could hang with the league’s top clubs.

The road trip began with St. Francis scoring 18 runs in Brooklyn, sweeping three games from the Mother Of All Ballclubs in their own park. The Kansans then held the newly-rechristened NorCal Pirates to only four runs in three games for their second straight series sweep. A great beginning---but now came the real challenge: two games against the defending world champion Squirrels, in their own home park of Rocky Top.

The last time they had met, Frostbite Falls had ridden the hot bat of Austin Jackson and exploited some shaky left-handed relief from, among others, Craig Breslow. In the 2013 World Series, St. Francis had been unable to counter with much in the way of right-handed pop, with both Jose Bautista and the (since-released) Carlos Quentin out with injuries.

What a difference a new year makes! Strasburg (5-2, 2.93) fanned six (including Jackson) in outlasting Cole Hamels (1-3, 4.54) as the visitors rallied to bat around in the seventh after trailing 1-0 through six, winning the opener, 4-1. In the second game, Davis and Alvarez both homered off Joulys Chacin (2-1, 2.71) to chase the Squirrels starter in the third, giving R.A. Dickey (5-3, 5.43) all the runs he would need early, in a 9-2 triumph! Eight straight on the road against Eastern Division clubs, eight wins! As this went to press, St. Francis had extended that winning streak to ten games by taking two more at home from Brooklyn, bringing their mark to a BARB-best 36-10. “It’s a thrill to see the pieces falling together in some ways,” said club owner Scott Hatfield. “Now we just need to keep our bullpen fresh and our veterans in one piece. No one wins a pennant in May, but we are going to try to build off this run and return to the post-season.”

SECOND-PLACE FRIARS RECHRISTENED

After losing 4-2 in the 2013 BARB World Series, you might think the only controversy for the St. Francis Friars would be how to get back to the Series, and win it all.   

But, in a surprising development, the club is ending its long-time arrangement with the increasingly-unorthodox Tridentine monastic order which originally founded the franchise with seed money from a lucrative Belgian beer brewing business.


"For a variety of reasons," admitted acting CEO Scott Hatfield, "the business of baseball, while compatible with the business of beer, became less compatible with the business...or perhaps I should say, the organization of belief.  For some time, operating out of the great Midwest, our fans showed a friendly appreciation for the connection with the priests.   Even non-believers seemed to enjoy our lovable Friars mascot, and we have certainly not had any protests about the nature of the majority owners."

But, as Hatfield admitted under questioning from the press, the truth was that the Head Friar (the rather stern Brother Gregor) has a lot of problems with baseball players, who aren't always angels.  And the Head Friar had hinted during the club's most recent pennant race that they were concerned about the club's financial prospects.

The new Pope, Francis.  No word
yet on whether he follows BARB.

A further problem, and probably the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back:  the election of Cardinal Bergoglio from Argentina to the Papacy.


This event has, to put it mildly, had unintended consequences.   Despite a reputation as a traditional Jesuit with conservative views, the new Pope has (to the surprise of many) adopted attitudes toward those outside the Faith that have alienated many conservative Catholics, including the monks of Brother Gregor's order.   As a result, the order has liquidated some of its stock in the enterprise, and the majority ownership has reverted to acting CEO Hatfield and a group of other investors.

That isn't so earth-shaking.  Corporate holdings change from time to time.  But Cardinal Bergoglio's unprecedented decision to adopt the name Francis had the uncomfortable effect of making the name "St. Francis Friars" come across as an impious way to refer to the reigning Pope.  "We haven't been in conversation with anyone higher than the local Bishop," a weary Hatfield said, "but if we're not getting it from the conservatives who don't appreciate the Holy Father's friendly disposition towards non-Catholics, we are receiving angry emails from liberal members of the Church who think Francis can do no wrong, and who think we are mocking him."

"Let's get this straight," Hatfield concluded the press conference. "This club has gone by the name St. Francis Friars for a long time, and it never was seen as a problem before.   But, rather than create a controversy within the church, our new Executive Board has petitioned the BARB Commissioner, and we have been granted permission to change the club's name from 'St. Francis Friars' to 'St. Francis Kansans.'   This will affirm our host city, and embed our identity solidly in the Quad-State region of northwest Kansas.  At the same time, however, we will continue to use the emblem and mascot of the St. Francis Friar to maintain continuity.  We hope this change will be seen as an affectionate, but not necessarily religious commitment to our club's tradition.   And now, if you'll excuse me, I have a Series to win."

FRIARS BOLD? DESPERATE? PACKAGE FARM FOR DAVIS

Burdened with payroll, underperforming on offense and in danger of falling out of the Central Division race, the St. Francis Friars today boldly (some say desperately) "rolled the dice" with their biggest asset (a deep farm system) and packaged four prospects and a player-to-be-named to acquire Brownsville Cutters 1B/DH Chris Davis.

Davis (.276, 18 HR, 49 RBI) joins Jose Bautista, Pedro Alvarez, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Quentin to form a powerful middle of the order for the Friars, who will make a big play to get back into the Central race.   But the cost was high:   a slugging SS prospect in Javier Baez, two promising pitchers at AAA (Danny Hulten, Casey Kelly) and former first-rounder Bubba Starling (along with $4.8 million in salary) are the property of the Cutters.   A player to be named from St. Francis's farm system will be added to the mix following the conclusion of the 2013 post-season.

"This trade is pretty simple," said owner Scott Hatfield.  "If we catch Casselton and win the division outright, it will be considered a success.   If we miss the playoffs, even if we end up with an improved record, it will probably be seen as the straw that broke the camel's back, and trigger an organizational shakeup.  None of this might've been necessary if management had not stupidly spent much of their cap on now-sidelined 1B Mark Teixeira.    I signed off on that decision, so what can you do?   You can't fire the owner."

The powerhouse move also frees up salary for the Friars, which may or may not play a role in other moves.   The privately-owned property of a renegade Tridentine monastic order may have finally left a sour taste in the mouths in the brotherhood's Abbot, Brother Gregor.  "Scripture tells us," the Head Friar intoned ominously, "that for everything there is a season.   A time to be born, a time to die, a time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones for casting.  And, in this baseball season, it seems that it is time for the brotherhood's investment in this secular business to yield some performance, so that our order might derive some profitability from sales of merchandise.   If we can't increase the club's profits, we may have no choice but to cut payroll and place the club on the open market this off-season."

PITCHING ROUNDING INTO FORM?

The Friars have been a decent offensive club for the last two seasons, nearly leading all BARB clubs in runs scored in their sole playoff season (2011).   But the rotation?   Ever since the Finches traded away Justin Verlander in their inaugural season, they've lacked a true #1 starter, the kind who can take over a short series and turn a .500 club into a winner.

Instead, the Finches have run through a series of middle-of-the-rotation starters and journeymen, many drawn from free agency.   Attempts to flesh out the rotation by drafting established big league starters haven't been too successful, either:  in just one year, three lefties in their twenties (Jorge De La Rosa, Dallas Braden and Clayton Richard) were all lost to season-ending injuries. "It makes you appreciate the beauty of a horse like Bronson Arroyo," admitted team president Scott Hatfield. "Never misses a start, usually gives you at least five innings, even if he gets hit around."   And, indeed, the 37-year-old Arroyo is not only better-conditioned than many pitchers ten years his junior, he's been the one constant on Darwin's staff since joining the club in 2009.

But is that about to change?   Finally, after some frustrating stalled picks (Mike Montgomery, Tyler Matzek, Matt Hobgood, Randall Delgado) the Friars are finally reaping the benefit of deep drafts from the last three seasons.   For the first time ever, the system seems stocked with legitimate #1 and #2 starting prospects, some of whom appear ready to finally contribute to the big-league club:

Clay Buchholz, added as a free agent, is again showing why he has legitimate strikeout potential.  Young lefty Derek Holland, added in a 2012 trade, seems to be flashing the form that made him a top-20 starter in 2011 again.   2010 draftee Shelby Miller's three-pitch repertoire has improved by leaps-and-bounds since this time last year, when he was struggling in AAA.   He is now clearly ready to contend for a spot in St. Francis's rotation.   Travis Wood, a castoff free agent signed off the waiver wire in mid-2012, has given six or more innings in each of his first four starts this year.   2013 draftee Wade Miley provides Wood and veteran Cliff Richard heavy competition from the southpaw side.   Most importantly, 2012 draftee Matt Harvey probably has improved more than any other minor-league arm in the last year, moving from someone thought to be bidding for a fifth rotation spot to ace-like status, as his average fastball has ticked up nearly two miles an hour since being acquired by the Friars.

It all means that St. Francis is on the verge of having a respectable, affordable, young cadre of starters ready to contribute to the parent club, able to give their teammates quality innings and reduce the heavy workload soldiered by the Friars pen the last two seasons. "This is the best pitching we've ever had, and we think it's going to get better as the year goes on," enthused obviously-unobjective team president Scott Hatfield. "Our offense, if healthy, is improved as well compared to 2011, so this is going to be our best club yet on paper.   Can we compete with Pottsylvania, that just won a world championship, or with Casselton, which has the best record in the division overall the last five years?   We think we can, and hopefully by the second half we'll have the depth and payroll flexibility to make moves to push us forward."

OPENING DAY ROSTER NEWS

Friars closer Jason Motte has been sidelined by a serious elbow injury and is attempting to rehab his arm without having surgery.   It is believed that if Motte is forced to have surgery, he will be lost for the season.   The Friars had rather prudently obtained some veteran insurance, signing RHP Fernando Rodney through the 2013 Draft and adding former Yuma setup man Rafael Soriano as a free agent.  Still, Motte's departure (even if only temporary) means that St. Francis will continue to pursue bullpen arms on the trade market.

One arm not making its way to opening day:   former Brooklyn prospect Daniel Schlereth.   The journeyman left-hander did not pitch well enough this spring to earn a roster spot, despite openings in the pen, and he has been optioned to AAA St. Michel after agreeing to a minor-league split contract that raises his salary $250,000.   "We can afford this penalty to obtain some insurance," remarked team president Scott Hatfield.

Veteran Bronson Arroyo, despite a mediocre 2012 BARB campaign (10-10, 6.75), has earned the nod for Opening Day starter.   He will be followed in the rotation by 2013 Draftee Wade Miley, veteran LHP Clayton Richard, rookie hurler Matt Harvey and last year's #2 starter, LHP Derek Holland .   Waiting in the wings: RHP Shelby Miller (who had a great spring and will being the year at AAA St. Michel) and former Brooklyn RHP Clay Buchholz, signed off the scrap heap as a free agent.  RHP Henderson Alvarez, who showed flashes at times in 2012, will begin the year on the disabled list, while prized prospects Danny Hultzen and Dylan Bundy are returning to AA Georgetown for more seasoning.   All three could eventually play a role with the parent club, or serve as trade bait.

The glut of young pitching meant that neither RHP Edinson Volquez or LHP Travis Wood would get a rotation spot, but instead would begin the year in the St. Francis pen, while veteran RHP Aaron Harang (actively shopped by management) would be the club's spot starter and primary long man for now.  "We are in an unusual position for any club, much less St. Francis, " Hatfield mused.  "Virtually all of our starters are healthy and had decent springs, and we have as a result tremendous depth in the rotation.   We expect to be active in the trade market precisely for that reason."

In other news:   C Jesus Montero will go north again despite a disappointing spring, and the Friars will (for now) carry three catchers.   Montero's main role, however, will be as a DH against left-handers and veteran Kelly Shoppach is expected to get most of the playing time off the bench to back up starting catcher Salvador Perez.

During the spring, observers were surprised to see slugging RF Jose Bautista play occasional innings at both 1B and 3B, as Bautista is still dealing with injuries from last season and hasn't played regularly in the infield since 2010.   "I thought it would be good for my workout to make sure I was using all my skills," Bautista said, "and maybe it will come in handy for the team, as well." Bench strength is a concern for the club, with no left-handed hitters available and only one player (IF Todd Frazier) likely to play a utility role, so perhaps Bautista's unusual prep will in fact become part of the club's style of play in 2013.

Meanwhile, three other infielders (Aaron Hill, Pedro Alvarez and Ike Davis) are expected to get most of the playing time at 2B, 3B and 1B.   All three run-producers came over last August as part of a blockbuster trade with the Arizona franchise in a swap for Shawn Marcum, which is now looking like one of the most one-sided exchanges in league history.   Marcum, who battled injuries last season, is now once again sidelined to start the year and when he returns he is expected to be no better than a #3 starter.