Evil Dead trades for veteran Catcher

(China)- the Chinese Evil Dead have announced the acquisition of catcher Carlos Ruiz and left-handed pitcher Jeremy Sowers from Missouri for OF Juan Pierre and a 9th round pick. The Evil Dead have been looking for another catcher to pair with John Buck for some time now. "Carlos Ruiz will be given around 350 ABS and will be expected to play in a lot of games over here, we like his hitting ability", said Mark Ewing. "Jeremy Sowers is a prospect of sorts, but he is left-handed."

OF Juan Pierre, has many records for Chinese, including all-time games played, hits and stolen bases. His defense had slipped and he had lost his starting position to Chris Young. "Juan was a good guy for us, 4 years of leading off, but he will now help the Missouri Fightin' Farmers."

Round 1: (Yes, Alex!) Alex Gordon!!!!

15Feb08: Evil Dead take Third baseman Alex Gordon with the 4th pick in the 2008 PTBL draft.

When the Chinese Evil Dead had made the short list of top prospects coveted, Thirdbaseman Alex Gordon stood at the top of the list. There was no player Ewing wanted more than Alex Gordon. The Dead figured Gordon would never slide to the 4th slot, but then the day became a 'Festivus Miracle'! Manager Mark Ewing likes his left-handed bat, his fielding ability. "He has power and speeed, always an Evil Dead requirement", said Ewing. Frank Lalonde already had his nickname waiting for him: The Base Dong.

Alex was happy to go to China. They are a terrible team, and I knew I would end up going to some rotten team. "I remember watching them on the TV and they were getting crushed, but I like those red hats with the stars on them."

Right now Gordon is on his way to Ludington to play A-ball. He is expected to go through the minors relatively quickly, and perhaps even get up to China by the year end. Fans will be waiting.

Round 2- Kevin "Honor Boy" Slowey

Round Two for the Evil Dead was definitely going to be a pitcher said manager Mark Ewing. The Evil Dead settled on Right-handed pitcher Kevin Slowey. Slowey attended Winthrop University. Kevin scored very high on his SATs, but the Evil Dead could care less. Slowey has excellent control and is often compared to Brad Radke. Bert Blyleven, the Dead pitching coach said, "His fastball is slow, but I guess it works for him, since he doesn't walk too many guys. I think he might give up a ton of homers though. " The Evil Dead want Slowey to eventually become a starter, but he may have to go out of the bullpen this year. Slowey is predicted to pitch around 67 innings this year.

Round 3A- Andy 'the Android' Sonnanstine

The Evil Dead used their 3rd Round pick on Right-handed pitcher Andy Sonnanstine. Pitching coach Bert Blyleven was elated. "Sonnanstine had some great minor league numbers, helped by his great control. This Android is a strike-throwing machine. He has a great change-up pitch. Sometimes he throws too many strikes though, and those pitches are belted out of the park, "
said Blyleven.

"He has some learning to do, but he is only 25, we can program the android. We expect to give him abut 24 starts this year," said Mark Ewing

Round 3B- Jesse Litsch Rty Pitcher

Jesse Litsch, age 23, throws R, a surprise pick by the Evil Dead by Manager Mark Ewing. His numbers last year in Tibet were not good, and his strikeout ratios are awful, but Litsch keeps the ball on the ground and the Evil Dead think he may be a good guy for this year.

Round 4- Brandon Morrow- Right-handed Pitcher

Brandon Morrow, age 23, throws R, (SEA), Relies heavily on his mid-90's fastball at the expense of developing secondary pitches, throwing the heater on 80 per cent of pitches. Don't be surprised if the Dead sends him to Tibet before they hand him a spot on the roster. Highly recommended by A-ball coach Bob Cebelak. He may get in around 60 innings in relief for the Evil Dead this year.

Later Round picks

Rnd5: Sean Gallagher (Cubs) Starting pitching prospect.

Rnd6: Jonathan Meloan(Dodgers): Hard-throwing closer prospect.

Rnd 8: Gary Glover(TBay): Not much of a future, but an reliever who can give the Dead some innings.

Rnd 10: Eric Patterson (Cubs) is 24 and had a good year in AAA. He gets on base, runs well, and has pop in his bat. He misses team meetings and probably has a bad attitude, but Ewing thought it was worth it to sign him to Chinese and see if he can turn it around. This draft of a non-pitcher here stops the streak of China taking right-handed pitchers 7 consecutive times!

Rnd 11: The Evil Dead pick up a dead person in Joe Kennedy(Heaven). Kennedy died last year, and Ewing stupidly signed him to a two-year contract yesterday. He is a lefty who will pitch out of the bullpen

Rnd 12: Evil Dead pick up 1b prospect Joe Koshansky (Rockies). Koshansky hit for good power in the minors and the Evil Dead are glad to see him still available in Rnd 12

Rnd 13: Dennis Sarfate(Orioles) is drafted, a hard-throwing closer type guy.

Rnd 14: Richard Thompson (Angels) future closer type

Rnd 15: Anderson Hernandez SS (Mets): The Dead finally take a back-up to Khalil Greene.

Evil Dead Draft slots

R1 pick 4: Alex Gordon 3b KC
R2 pck 3: Kevin Slowey RHP Minn
R3 pck 3: Andy Sonnestine RHP TB
R3 pck 3: Jesse Litsch RHP Tor
R4 pck 3: Brandon Morrow RHP Sea
R5 pck 3: Sean Gallagher RHP ChiCubs
R6 pck 3: Jonathan Meleon RHP LA
R7 pck 3: *Traded away*
R8 pck 3: 9:30AM Sat 23FEB
R9 pck 3: 9:30PM Sat 23FEB
R10pck 3: 7:30PM Sun 24FEB
R11..and later TBA.

Evil Dead announces pre-draft cuts

The Chinese Evil Dead announced several cuts today to get the roster down to 25 heading into the 10 round draft. Veterans 1b/C Phil Nevin, OF Craig Wilson, and LHP Cassey Fossum were let go. Rookie pitcher Hong-Chi Kuo survived the cut, much to the shock of most experts. "It was a bit hard, since Nevin and Wilson had been here all 4 years, but they were older and getting hurt, and they couldn't hit anymore," said Ewing. "Hong-Chih Kuo still has some potential, so we will give him another year."

Possible Breakout player in 2008?

Jeremy 'The Grazed Ham' Hermida
There's an expectation that comes with being a first-round Draft pick, a tag slapped on a player from his first days as a pro. If nothing else, these guys are supposed to be good. Real good.

So when Hermida struggled through each of his first two seasons in the big leagues, the criticism was inevitable. Forgotten were the injuries or the fact that he was just 21 years old when he broke into the Majors. All that mattered were results.

"It definitely didn't turn out like everybody expected it to," Hermida said last spring. "But all that stuff ... it's in one ear and out the other in my book."

He was right. Though still hobbled by a knee injury in the early part of 2007, Hermida rebounded with a .340 average and 10 home runs after the All-Star break. And with all those expectations now rekindled, there's little reason to believe he can't do it again. "The 'Grazed Ham' could be our DH this year", clucked Ewing.

Dustin Pedroia: New Second Baseman for 2008?

It is early yet, but Dustin Pedroia (2e8) looks to be the new starting second baseman for the new 2008 season. Pedroia, 24, hit .119 in 59ABs for the Dead in 2007. He attended Arizona State in college, and was a 3rd round pick by the Evil Dead in 2007. Joe Inglett (.247 3HRs)had 231 ABs last year as the primary starter, but has been released. Kevin Frandsen had 29 starts at 2B last year. Abraham Nunez (.174 1 HR) played some at 2b last year too,but will probably move back to backup third baseman. The youngster Pedroia looked good last year when he played at AAA Tibet. "I think he could really fit right in now", said Manager Mark Ewing. Pedroia picked up his new nickname from Frank Lalonde: The Creeping Penguin. "I don't like the name so please do not call me that", said Pedroia.

"With a good spring, the 'Creeping Penguin' could crack the starting line-up", said Ewing.

In other news, Chris Young, 2(-1) e7, could see some playing time in CF. He was the Evil Dead's 2nd round pick in 2007, Juan Pierre has been the CF for the last 4 years, but his Defense(from a 2 to a 3) has slipped and he may be traded. Shane Victorino,1(-3)e5, could take over for Michael Cuddyer, 3(-2)e5, in RF. "Victorino has looked extremely good on D, and I may move Cuddy over to DH/1b," said Ewing. LF may have Franklin Guttierez 2(-1)e7. Keep checking here for more exciting moves. Tune in to listen to Evil Dead games on the radio on WFRT.

Chinese Evil Dead to pick 4th overall in 2008 draft

The Chinese Evil Dead will go 4th in the 2008 Baseball Draft. Mark Ewing will, as usual, take the 'best available prospect' with the pick.

The lottery for the rookie draft was also held with a double-random draw. The order for round 1 is as follows:

1. The Blaze: Daisuke Matsuzaka Pitcher
2. Pennsylvania Road Warriors: Ryan Braun 3B
3. Crawford Corsairs
4. Chinese Evil Dead