Texans' Pitchers Turn It On
Dallas and What you Thought you Knew
by Jeff Gurganus
DALLAS (May 16) -- After the expansion draft, everyone knew that Dallas was going to hit homeruns.  The big question was whether they could do anything else.  Turns out they can and that can is pitch.  We all knew about Bob Miller but the likes of Donovan, Brewer, Ceccarelli and Crone, talent aside, had made more trips between the majors and the minors more than Crash Davis.  Nevertheless, Manager DeGrass took a chance on all of them and, to date, they have delivered a record that is four games above .500.  For while the boys down in Texas have hit their homeruns (tied for fourth), they have hit little else (tenth in batting average).  So, it has been Miller and his band of merry misfits who have kept the Texans within a shot of division leading Chicago in the highly competitive West.  [Three Dallas starting pitchers have ERAs under 2.00 in May.  Art Ceccarelli (3-1, 1.32), Bob Miller (3-0, 1.57), and Tom Brewer (1-1, 1.88)]  However, any chance of overtaking Chicago will be dependant on the Texans' hitters coming into form and its staff pitching even better.  DeGrass put his faith in a group of pitchers that many had given up on.  The question now is whether that faith will be rewarded over the long haul.

Charging Moose Leads Bluegrassers Over .500
by Mark Allen
LOUISVILLE (May 16) -- This is NOT from an anonymous source who if you will notice is now in AAA making lots of $. This was a total team effort by a lot of guys but deserving are special praise are Don "Grandpa" Mueller who while "reported" to be 38 has an official age of 34 (Fan favorite Ed Bailey has taken his demotion to part time/backup well), "Moose" who what else is there to say about his May so far (.420-4-13, 1.240 OPS in 14 games) but "Awesome Baby!!", the absolute best pitcher in this league MR. Antonelli help opponents to a less than .180 avg so far (a minor concern is he already has pitched over 100 innings this season, though he does have a track record of going 300+ innings in a season), Roy Face is doing a great job so far as CL and Ken Johnson is filling the holes left by the non-performing Roberts and Gorman by going 3-0 in 4 starts since stepping into the rotation.  We still need Ashburn and Kaline to get hot and Brissie to keep repeating somewhere close to his last performance, a 9 inning shutout vs. Detroit (who I still think we will meet and beat in the World Series).
     I'd love to make some deals but honestly I did put all my eggs in one basket, a high priced one and one that I still holding out on deciding if I blew it or not.  Time will tell.

Unilateral Disarmament
Southern California Declared Pitching-Free Zone
by Charlie Qualls
“Look at that bum over there, man, he’s down on his knees!” – Randy Newman, “I Love L.A.”
     It should surprise some that the first five players to join the LA Outlaws via expansion draft were pitchers:  Four starters and one reliever.  The Outlaws were seemingly rewarded with a .500 record in their inaugural season.  So why has it been a downward spiral since then?

Do You Feel A Draft?
Let's see if the drafts can be blamed.  In eight rookie drafts since their inception, the Outlaws have had three number one picks and three number two picks.  But GM Peter Vays rightfully eschewed names like Ramos, Tsitouris, Gibbon and Drysdale when Clemente, Pinson, Robinson, and McCovey were dangling.   That’s not to say pitching was ignored during rookie drafts, as LA pinned their future hopes on the promising arms of Kucks, Bunning, Ellsworth and Terry.  The Outlaws were mindful of pitching in Reentry
drafts, but since the introduction of Free Agent bidding, players have been reluctant to board a
schooner with no sail.

Now What?
So what’s been the problem?  Sad to say it's been mostly bad luck.  Can we blame the lack of trades?
Not really.  LA has been quite active in the trade community.  In fact, almost every single trade in
Outlaw history has involved them attempting to improve either their immediate pitching or their pitching
prospects.  But those trades bore little or no fruit.  In other words, despite the much ballyhooed build up of young bats, the Outlaws have paid no less attention to their pitching staff than most.  They even pulled off a trade for highly touted righty Art Mahaffey.  So, can the fact that the Outlaws currently boast the league’s least effective pitching staff really just be due to bad luck?  Not entirely. Aside from the addition of Mahaffey, the last couple seasons have not brought around much in the way of future arm love.  But this team is not sunk by a long shot; the nurturing of wood cannot be ignored.  It’s been said before and it’s being said yet again:  This is going to be a frightening line-up in a few years, top to bottom.  And now that the Colts seem to have a stranglehold in the West for the time being, the Outlaws seem content to continue the waiting game.

Perry Proves Reed Still Has the Midas Touch
by Jeff Gurganus
BROOKLYN (May 16) --  long time ago, in a land far, far away, Manhattan’s talent scouts identified Jim Perry as a key player to target in the off season.  Management agreed and entered into discussion with Louisville to acquire the young right hander full of potential but short on results.  After a long courtship, the two teams finally began to make headway on trade when it happened.  An email came in from Louisville, urrr, a message had come across the teletype.  Perry had been traded to another team.  No more negotiations, no chance, no fairytale endings.  Tears filled the Gray Sox front office and hearts were broken that day.  Compounding the misery was the news that Perry had been shipped to cross-borough rival Brooklyn.  And, now, we know the rest of the story.  Tears have turned to sobs in Manhattan as Perry has gone 6-0 in his new surroundings and is now part of both Brooklyn’s today and their tomorrow –- proving once again that Midas is still king.  What can’t Manager Reed turn to gold?  Perhaps, one day when gray in the hair, he will even be able to take something as lowly as a small chain of muffler repair shops national, making billions in doing so.  A wise man once told me that Glen Reed was the devil.  And, now I am starting to believe…