Trade Deadline Approaching

With the trade deadline quickly approaching, will the Tampa Bay Seminoles get a deal done? The front office has been pretty tight lipped about what, if anything they are looking for. Rumor has it that Steven Hollandsworth in AAA might be available for the right package of players. The Seminoles could use another big bat since they settled the SP with the addition of Bernie Alvarez. Rumor has it that a trade with Louisville was in the works but appears to have broken down at the current moment.

Bernie Alvarez is now a Seminoles!

In a surprising move the Tampa Bay Seminoles have acquired Bernie Alvarez from Boston in a huge deal that sent CF Sexson and two minor league players to Boston. Alvarez has not been playing well in Boston with an 11-7 record and a 4.67 ERA. Seminoles management believed that the opportunity to acquire Alvarez was too good to pass up. So what does this mean for the Starting Pitching rotation? At the moment it appears that Mike Zerbe will be moved back to the bullpen for Long Relief. Losing Sexson was the hardest part of the deal for the front office as Sexson will be a future CF for many years to come. Sexson’s spot on the roster will not be replaced with another position player and taking over in CF will be Jose Martin who in 195 At Bats this season is hitting .272 with 9 HRs and 38 RBIs.

All-Star Team Announced

Four Tampa Bay Seminoles will be appearing in the All-Star game this season doubling the number of All-Stars the team had last season. The following players will be representing the Seminoles:

Ben Neal - Coming fresh off his Pitcher of the Week Award, Neal is leading the team in wins. With an impressive 12-2 record, 2.61 ERA, OAV of .239, and a WHIP of 1.10, Neal has been sensational since joining the Seminoles. The front office has been so impressed with Neal they just gave him a 3 year $15 million dollar extension.

Scott Raines - As the full time closer this season Raines has converted 26 of 29 save opportunities. His 26 saves are best for 3rd in the ML. Recently Raines has seen his ERA climb to 4.13 but when asked the front office thinks it is simply due to him having to pitch in so many save situations and are not worried.

Steven Walsh - Making his first All-Star appearance, this selection is not a surprise considering he is leading all Short Stops in batting average at .342 and even though he bats seventh in the line up he still has 5 HRs and 28 RBIs. Walsh has also been impressive on the defensive side of the things with a .982 fielding percentage. Walsh was just recently signed to a 3 year, $15 million contract extension.

Willie Sodowsky - Sodowsky maks his first All-Star appearance as the back up 2B. Sodowsky is having another solid season as the lead off man for the Seminoles hitting .300 with 59 stolen bases. Sodowsky has already hit 14 doubles almost matching his total of 15 last season and has hit 5 triples almost matching his total of 6 last season. Sodowsky is in the final year of his contract and management is in negotiations on a possible contract extension considering Sodowsky stole 125 bases last season and is on pace to steal over 100 bases this season.

All-Star selections of note:

Vic Silva - now playing for the Atlanta Black Crackers, this former Seminoles is hitting .276 with 28 HRs and 66 RBIs.

Steven Doughtery - now playing for the Boston Beaneaters, this former Seminoles in his first full season in the ML is hitting .282 with 20 HRs and 63 RBIs.

Ben Neal Earns Pitcher of the Week

Tampa Bay Seminoles pitcher Sammy Campos earned a Pitch of the Week award (10/16/2008-10/23/2008). He gave up 4 earned run(s) in 22 innings for an ERA of 1.64. He went 4-0 over a span of 4 games. Neal struck out 15 while only walking 4.

Sammy Campos Earns Pitcher of the Week

Tampa Bay Seminoles pitcher Sammy Campos earned a Pitch of the Week award (9/30/2008-10/07/2008). He gave up 6 earned run(s) in 30 innings for an ERA of 1.80. He went 4-0 over a span of 4 games. Campos struck out 30 while only walking 7.

Seminoles stumble out of the blocks

The Tampa Bay Seminoles have started the season off playing below expectations. With the season being 21 games in, the Seminoles are only 11-10. So why are our beloved Seminoles playing .500 ball? The obvious answer is hitting. As team the Seminoles are only hitting .241, which is 5th worse in the Major Leagues. Leading the way in the hitting poorly section is Glenn Sabel who is hitting an abysmal .135 and when asked why he is hitting so poorly Sabel said "Right now every time I hit the ball it seems to find a defender. I'm getting no luck but I'm going to keep working at it and things should come around." The team has started to come around and the team batting average has actually improved if you can imagine that.

The bright spot so far has been the pitching. The team ERA is currently 3.44 and the starting pitching has been dynamite with the exception of Ray Hamelin who is 1-2 with a 5.85 ERA. Hamelin has been moved to the bullpen for now and the team is going with Zerbe as the 5th starter.

Is the front office worried? Early indications are they are not worried since the season is so young. The general feeling is that when the hitting comes around the team should be ok but they are keeping a close eye on the situation and will make moves if they deem it necessary.