Delgado, Manny and Chipper Traded in Blockbuster
From Lp2 Wiki
August 29th, 2001 - Press Release:
Jo Jo’s Make 2 Moves; One Blockbuster
Tallahassee, FL (AP) - It must have been a full moon, or a full glass of moonshine; something was in the air (or in the glass). Tonight, two trades rocked the Lp2 landscape, both involving last year’s runner up, the MoJo JoJo's. “It was just one of those nights,” stated Mo Jo GM JC, “everything just fell into place; the stars were aligned, so to speak.” Early Tuesday evening, the Jo Jo’s and the Evansville Pimps hooked up in a 3-player deal. In the deal, the Jo’s sent lefty reliever Steve Kline (1-2; 8.71 era) and 3B Mike Lowell (AAA) to the Pimps, in exchange for right-handed starter Jeff D'Amico and an "undisclosed 2nd round draft pick." D’Amico (6-6; 4.40 era), who is rumored to be going “under the knife” next season, should help bolster a struggling Jo Jo staff. “We think Jeff is a big acquisition,” stated player-manager Cal Ripken Jr. , “We think he will be able to give us some quality innings down the stretch.” Said Kline when hearing about the trade, “I’ve sucked all year, I don’t blame them. But I guarantee, I’ll be back next year; better than ever.” D’Amico and Lowell were unavailable for comment. As if that wasn’t enough, later that evening, the Jo Jo’s pulled off an even bigger deal.
Article by Joe Chapman.
The following was taken from the South Side Press:
The South Side Soldiers called a last minute press conference early Wednesday morning where they announced that they had just agreed to a huge blockbuster trade with LP2 powerhouse MoJo JoJo's. "It didn't happen overnight," says Matt Bracken, GM of the Soldiers. "But actually, it only took about 2 months of ongoing talks about different scenarios and if you know the history between Joe and I, you would understand that that really isn't that long at all. I think both sides are very happy with the trade, we know we are happy on our end."
In the deal, it sees the South Side Soldiers sending superstar 3B Chipper Jones (.251, 10 HR, 37 RBI), slugger 1B Carlos Delgado (.245, 8 HR, 30 RBI) and a 2nd Round Rookie pick to the Mo Jo Jo Jo's for one of the best hitters in the league in RF Manny Ramirez (.288, 19 HR, 60 RBI), young stud Freddy Garcia AAA - for his second tour with the Soldiers) and Canadian 3B Corey Koskie (.277, 4 HR, 40 RBI).
The Soldiers had their eye on the 28 year old Ramirez "for about 10 years" joked Bracken. "No, seriously though, we are totally excited about the arrival of Manny to the South Side, we really feel we have improved our offense immediately, and we absolutely love Manny Ramirez around here. We haven't gotten much sleep lately [in trying to work out a trade with the Jo Jo's] but we all feel it was well worth it in the end, and I was actually too excited last night to even get to sleep to be honest,"
On the other end, the Soldiers did give up two huge superstars and two guys that have been more than good to the South Side faithful in Chipper Jones and Carlos Delgado. "In order to get good players, you have to trade good ones, and well, damn, we traded two of the best," a suddenly solemn Matt Bracken stated.
The first place Jo Jo's are getting two solid players, but did have to part with stud 22 year old Freddy Garcia, who figures to play a prominent role in the resurgent Soldiers pitching staff next season and for years to come with other young studs Kerry Wood, Russ Ortiz and ace Pedro Martinez. Joe Chapman had this short statement concerning the trade, "Corey Koskie has been solid, but we need more pop from that position. We thought Chipper would fit the bill. Also, with Will Clark retiring, we thought Jeff Bagwell and Delgado would be a nice combination."
Article by Matt Bracken.
