Release the Dogs

"There are three types of baseball players: those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happens." (Tommy Lasorda)

St. Charles GM Glenn Polyn comments on the offseason.

Ownership:
"Yah, that was a crazy thing. First the team is purchased by Manny Lopez a real estate mogul from the Dominican Republic. He gets the ball rolling, relocating the team and getting us set up in our offices and the stadiums. Then one morning I get a call that he's been busted by the Feds on some drug trafficking charge. So we're ownerless. But, lucky for us, in stepped Roberto Moreno, a Wall Street investor who made his fortune during the Dot Com boom. The guy's very demanding but he promised that he's here to be the owner of a winning team. And he wants the Sheens to make the playoffs this season."

Trades:
1. In the franchise's first trade, the Sheens sent OF Xing-fu Loong and OF Randolph Evans to the New Orleans Looters, in exchange for reliever Vanni Frangilli, 2B Eijiro Yamasaki and SS Alejandro Cortez.
"One thing I've noticed is we've had an overabundance of talented outfielders, and sadly Loong and Evans weren't likely going to get a chance to play for us in the big leagues. The trade enabled us to acquire two young, talented infielders in Yamasaki and Cortez, plus Frangilli is going to be someone who can bolster our bullpen this season."

2. The Sheens sent OF Manuel Vazquez and $1.2M to the Jersey Shore D-Bags in return for 3B Derek Spurr.
"This was another case where we had an outfielder, Vazquez, who we didn't have room for in our outfield to give him the playing time he deserves, and we really like what Spurr can offer us in the future. We really think he can be special."

3. Selected SS Ben Johnson in the Rule 5 draft.
"We really like him. He's a guy who can make a difference with his legs and hig glove. He's even more valuable because he can play second base as well as shortstop."

4. Free agents: reliever Bob Burton, reliever Mike Cunningham, reliever George Dickinson, reliever Paul McKee, reliever Felipe Ventura, reliever Marcos Montoya, catcher Ramon Garcia, 2B Tony Herrera, OF Santiago Valentin, OF Marcus Cantu, 3B Sterling Winsor.

"You can never have enough pitching depth, and some of these guys can be spot starters for us. Garcia is going to compete for the starting catching duties this season. Herrera, Valentin, Cantu and Winsor are kids who we want to give a chance in our minor leagues to see what they've got."