OSWALT RELEASED

Due a $16,000,000 payday if he was on the spring training roster, veteran RHP Roy Oswalt was non-tendered by the Friars for the purpose of cutting the club's "franchise player."

Oswalt had been with the club since 2010, after being acquired in a trade along with prospects from the Brooklyn Moabs, a trade that in retrospect seems to be key step in a series of moves that laid the ground work for last season's playoff run. Oswalt was effective at points in the season, going 9-4 with a 2.78 ERA, but was often dinged up. Observers speculated at times as to whether or not Oswalt would retire in mid-season, not just after the campaign. But, despite all the doubts, Oswalt pitched credibly in the playoffs and talked up his desire to return for another season of BARB baseball.

Management, however, looked at the tea leaves and decided that $16 M was too much to risk for a 34-year-old who had made only 17 regular-season starts for the Friars, who signaled their intention to go in another direction in the last week, dealing away veterans Paul Konerko, Kevin Youkilis and Heath Bell. The move lowered the Friars payroll to $126 million prior to the Draft.

Oswalt can now be signed by any team other than St. Francis through this year's impending Draft.

WILD DAY FOR FRIARS

In what is likely his final month on the job, GM "Trader" Jack McKeon made the "fire sale" rhetoric in St. Francis a reality, trading away three high-priced veterans from last season's playoff club: 1B Paul Konerko, 3B Kevin Youkilis and stretch-drive closer Heath Bell in separate deals with (respectively) Pottsylvania, Los Angeles and Casselton.


That all of these deals were with divisional rivals far better-positioned to make a run at a playoff spot did not escape the media's attention, nor the nearly $23 million sliced from the salary cap. Of all the deals, McKeon seemed most depressed by the loss of Konerko, a team leader who had been with the club since the middle of the 2011 season. "The guy is a leader," sighed a groggy McKeon over breakfast at a local diner that the Friars GM evidently preferred over the hotel buffet. "He led by example, never got too high, too low. A great influence on our younger players, and a solid hitter. Pottsylvania will be happy to have him."

To get Paul Konerko, the Creepers parted with three prospects not expected to be impact players in 2012: LHP Sean West (who missed all of last season with injury), RHP Jason Knapp (returning to A ball after surgery) and 3B Tommy Mendoca, an original draft pick of the Friars. Mendoca, who was hitting .347 in AA at mid-season, tumbled back to Earth after a tragic car accident claimed the lives of two of his best friends from high school.

To get Heath Bell, the Casselton Horned Toads sent a veteran reliever (Mike Adams), along with a pair of former prospects on hard times (1B Matt LaPorta and SS Reid Brignac) who are no longer seen as sure things to become big-league regulars. LaPorta will face intense competition in spring to make the roster, McKeon confirmed, while Brignac seems assured of a backup role.

To get Kevin Youkilis, the Los Angeles Isotopes dealt veteran starter Aaron Harang, along with a Grade B pitching prospect (RHP Zach Stewart) and highly-touted minor-league IF Hak-Ju Lee. The Isotopes also picked up an extra seventh-round pick in this year's Draft while sending their eighth-rounder to the Friars. Stewart could conceivably get some starts this season and gives the club some minor-league insurance against injury, but Lee is unlikely to appear in a Friars uniform until 2013, at the earliest.

The acquisitions of Brignac, Harang and Adams were believed likely to trigger other decisions on players deemed too expensive for the club's future plans, but McKeon (signing baseballs for fans with a somber expression) refused to comment further. "Look, pal," McKeon said gruffly to one reporter, "It's like when you're sending your kid away to college. You know that they've got a good future ahead of them, but they're moving away, and they won't be living with you anymore, and that's just all you can say about it. We have high hopes about the players we're getting, but how that affects everything else right now, just to soon to say, OK?"

FRIARS: UNCERTAINTY ACCOMPANIES RELEASES

The St. Francis Friars appear to be in an organizational shakeup, with neither GM "Trader" Jack McKeon or any of the largely-invisible members of the Celestine Order publicly commenting on any aspect of team activity during the 2012 off-season.

The 2009 expansion club made it all the way to the top of the BARB roost in 2012, with one of the loop's top offenses scoring runs at a club-record pace until around August. After that, an injury epidemic to both left-handed starters (Braden, Delarosa, Richard) and left-handed hitting (Choo, Youkilis) transformed the 2011 Friars into a more average club. They faded badly in September, limping into the playoffs as a wild card while the surprising (and, frankly, left-for-dead) Philadelphia franchise caught them for the Central Division title. Yuma made short shrift of St. Francis in the playoffs, sending the Friars home, their mission unaccomplished.

Now, with the news that the league may expand again circulating through its front offices, McKeon and the rest of his management team are playing their cards close to their vest: they will have relatively poor draft position and moved significant young talent to make their playoff run last season, and a press release confirms that the club's chief priority at this time is simply to cut salary, as the following brief snippet details:

"Feb. 4th---For immediate distribution----The St. Francis Friars announced that they were releasing the following players:

C Taylor Teagarden
OF Vernon Wells
OF Felix Pie
RHP Jason Frasor
RHP Brandon Lyon

-30-"


Not exactly a wealth of information! The moves will save the club nearly $30 million next season, but with $185 million still committed on paper, this is an organization on a collision with fiscal reality, that will need to trim $60 million simply to meet the league's cap.

FRIARS EXTREMELY BUSY AT TRADING DEADLINE

Added by trade.....RHP Shawn Marcum, RHP Jason Motte, OF Johnny Damon

Traded away.....LHP Mike Montgomery, 3B Josh Vitters

Designated for assignment....OF Aaron Cunningham and Donovan Tate

Granted their immediate release.....RHP Jason Frasor, OF Felix Pie

Signed as a free agent....1B/3B Mark Reynolds

Returned to the minors....RHP Matt Guerrier, LHP Zach Britton

Likely future promotions....rookies Randall Delgado, Todd Frazier and Jesus Montero


The possibilities for any playoff roster, at a glance (but this could still change if Kevin Youkilis is unable to play in the final weeks):

ST. FRANCIS FRIARS

C AJ Pierzynski 3.38
C Jason Varitek 1.50
C Jesus Montero 1.20

1B Paul Konerko 12.00
1B/3B Kevin Youkilis 9.13
3B Jose Bautista 2.40

2B Kelly Johnson 2.35
SS Alexei Ramirez 0.88 FP
2B/3B Neil Walker 0.40
IF/OF Todd Frazier 1.20

OF Vernon Wells 5.25
OF Chris B. Young 3.25
OF Johnny Damon 2.00
U Mark Reynolds 0.40

RHP Roy Oswalt 12.00 FP
RHP Bronson Arroyo 8.80 K
RHP Brett Myers 6.20R
HP Heath Bell 4.00
RHP Rickey Nolasco 1.90
RHP Joaquin Benoit 1.50
RHP Matt Guerrier 0.79
RHP Rafael Betancourt 0.40
RHP Randall Delgado 1.20

LHP Scott Downs 4.00
LHP Joe Saunders 0.93
LHP Franklin Morales 1.20

"In case anyone has forgotten," growled GM "Trader" Jack McKeon, "This is what we started with, all those years ago:

C Ronnie Paulino
C/IF Brandon Inge
IF Felipe Lopez
IF Nick Punto
SS Cesar Izturis
IF/OF Ryan Freel
IF/OF Casey Blake
IF/OF Ben Zobrist
OF Johnny Damon
RHP Kyle Davies
RHP Gavin Floyd
RHP Frank Francisco
RHP Freddy Garcia
RHP Edwin Jackson
RHP Yusmeiro Petit
RHP Chris Ray
RHP Juan Salas
LHP Jamie Moyer
LHP George Sherrill
LHP Jason Vargas

The only player still remaining from that original roster is Cesar Izturis, and that after only signing him as a minor-league free agent as insurance. Wecashed in Inge, Zobrist, Floyd, Jackson and Vargas in trades that were favorable and allowed me to accumulate prospects. In our first draft, we added Shin Soo-Choo and Alexei Ramirez. We turned Carlos Quentin and some prospect depth into the draft pick that was Jose Bautista, easily our best move. We signed a lot of unwanted players off the scrap heap, including the eventually-expensive Paul Konerko. Throw-in players in some deals (Kelly Johnson, Neil Walker, Jason Varitek) and another major trade on draft day (Kevin Youkilis) rounded out our lineup, and about a month back the club finally got the legitimate closer, Heath Bell.

CAN FRIARS STAND SUCCESS?

With the recent announcement of capitulation by the Philadelphia Rebels, the St. Francis Friars (with 71 wins, second in BARB) now find themselves in an unfamiliar position: not merely contending, not merely leading their division, but with at least ten games between themselves and both the Rebels and the Casselton Horned Toads, who lost 11 of 13 to fall out of the race.

In other words, barring an historic collapse, the Friars will finally achieve the goal of every expansion team, win a division and make the playoffs.

But problems remain on the horizon. Despite acquiring Heath Bell to close, and adding LHP Joe Saunders off the free-agent scrap heap, there can be no doubt that St. Francis's pitching staff is a notch behind the other major contenders for the playoffs. While each starter is capable of winning on any given day, and all but Roy Oswalt can be counted on as inning-eaters, the fact remains that Brooklyn, Frostbite Falls and Yuma have better rotations, with comparable (or superior) bullpens. That puts a great deal of pressure on the Friars lineup to score early and often.

Further, the avenue to trade for pitching is closing, and good starting pitching appears to be all but impossible to pick up, given the limits imposed by the salary cap, unless St. Francis is willing to completely gut their farm system.

"TRADER" JACK...ALL THE WAY BACK!

There is an amusing benediction of sorts, for which any real baseball fan can appreciate the irony: "May you live in interesting times."

So it was that in late June, the St. Francis Friars confirmed that Jack McKeon, who had been serving as defacto GM for the organization, was named not only acting GM, but (in an interesting arrangement) the club's "co-field manager". As part of his increased responsibilities, McKeon will receive no additional salary but, as he assured reporters, "I will be getting an allowance for any additional Havanas I have to light up."


McKeon wasted no time in shaking things up, engaging in the rare 'Challenge Trade' with a team in his own division. Frustrated with the slow learning curve of Pedro Alvarez, "Trader" Jack dealt the second player selected in the 2008 amateur draft to division rival Philadelphia, along with minor-league OF Blake Smith.

In return, the Rebels somewhat curiously parted with a starting pitcher, RHP Ricky Nolasco (2-5, 5.60 in nine starts with the Rebels). Alvarez, attempting to earn playing time with the Friars, had found his route blocked by a pair of versatile (and productive) new starters, 3B/1B Kevin Youkilis and 3B/OF Jose Bautista.

With Youkilis hitting .335 with a league-leading 60 runs scored, and Bautista lead all of BARB with 19 HR, Alvarez found himself riding the bench. The rookie had gone 3-for-12 in brief duty before being sidelined by a minor injury.

"We don't think the kid's ready," said McKeon bluntly. "He's still a work in progress, swings at too many pitcher's pitches when he doesn't have to, still airmails throws on routine plays. He's got a guaranteed major-league contract ready to kick in, though, and it would be hard on the kid to have him up here and basically warm the pine. So, we think this is the best thing for him. He'll go to an organization where the player in front of him---A-Rod----is getting long in the tooth and will likely spend a lot of time in the future as a DH. We think a lot of him, and he's obviously the most talented player in this deal. But you can't make an egg without breaking a few omelettes."

"The big question is," McKeon continued, "is whether getting Nolasco, who has struggled, is going to help us. The sense I get is that Philadelphia thinks he won't help us all that much, because he's underachieved with them, and they would like to clear a roster spot for some talent that they see over the horizon. It's an unusual situation, dealing with a division rival. I asked GM Melkonian whether or not he understood that I was trying to steal his lunch money---which I am----and whether or not it made sense to basically sit down in the cafeteria and have lunch with me. Well, he has a different perspective, in which his organization has the pitching depth to make this deal. So, you know, don't look a gift horse in the mouth. We think having Nolasco helps us, even if he doesn't put up especially good numbers, because he is a young, affordable starting pitcher who can pile up K's in short stretches. If it doesn't work out with him in the rotation, perhaps he can fill a long relief role and we can give Correia more work. The bottom line is that we've had a lot of injuries to our pitching staff, and getting any arm at this point gives us a little breathing room. We'll know more about this trade by August."

PATIENT FRIARS STILL LOOKING TO UPGRADE

Finding themselves four games above .500 (17-13) as May wound to a close, the St. Francis Friars mulled various possible moves as they attempt to make the transition from division doormat to contender!

Offense is not an issue: new additions like 1B Paul Konerko, 1B/3B Kevin Youkilis and 3B/OF Jose Bautista had provided improved pop, the team is strong up-the-middle defensively, and the bench (Neil Walker, Felix Pie, Jason Varitek, Juan Uribe) has already contributed.

Pitching, on the other hand, shows signs of strain. Season-ending injuries (Jorge De La Rosa, Joel Zumaya, Dallas Braden) to several hurlers have put pressures on the entire pitching staff, but especially on a rotation that was already regarded as more workmanlike than stellar.

"Every club needs pitching, even if they say they don't," claimed acting GM "Trader Jack" McKeon. "The question is, do we want to make a deal now, or should we wait until there are more 'sellers' on the market, and hope the price for a veteran starter comes down? There are arguments to be made on both sides of that equation."

Part of the caution stems from the realization that LHP Zach Britton appears ready to contribute to the rotation now, while another pair of prospects (Randall Delgado, Mike Montgomery) seem likely to earn callups in August, potentially bolstering the roster again. There is also the versatile Kevin Correia, back at AAA, but available to make a spot start or even move into the rotation should St. Francis lose another veteran to injury.

The recent actions of division rivals may be urging against caution, however. On the one hand, the willingness of division rival Philadelphia to make a bold move to acquire another starter (Shawn Marcum) from last year's Central Division winner (Casselton) further leverages that club's perceived advantage in the starting rotation....but at the cost of helping the Horned Toads pick up some quality bats (Carlos Beltran, Curtis Granderson, Asdrubal Cabrera, Scott Rolen) who will presumably bring Landon Bolt's underachieving club back to the middle of the pack, offensively.

"Bottom line: our rivals in the division aren't sitting on their hands," said a cigar-chomping McKeon. They aren't going to let us run away with anything. So we are open to dealing prospects to acquire pitching."

CLUB RELEASES ZUMAYA, DORRELL

In a surprising move, the Friars have released oft-injured RHP Joel Zumaya and stymied minor-league batting prospect Wes Dorrell, moves that will cost them nearly $2 million on the open market.

Zumaya has an electric arm that can touch triple digits when healthy, but has always been more of a thrower than a pitcher. His latest bout on the disabled list convinced management that even if healthy sometime this season, he was unlikely to do much of anything other than take up a roster spot for a more durable hurler.

As for Dorrell, once a coveted college bat, insiders speculate that he may have lost the desire to compete at a higher level. "We've heard retirement talk," said one family member, "and we don't see anything about his recent performance to lead us he was going to do anything but quit chasing the dream. We thought the organization should know."

Management hinted that the struggles of the injured Brandon Lyon could also mean that the club's "franchise pitcher" tag was premature, and that the versatile swing man could face release rather than guaranteeing a $4 million salary in 2012.