Herkimer Magicians
From Lp2 Wiki
- Owned by Tim Farmer.
- Formerly the Santa Clarita Saints.
- Formerly the Seattle Rainiers.
- Renamed November 18, 2007.
TRANSACTIONS:
11/20/07: Traded OF Adam Jones to Ybor City Rollers for 2B Jeff Kent
12/6/07: Traded P Joe Blanton, RF Brad Hawpe, #3 overall pick, 2nd and 8th round picks in 2008 (2007 stats), 4th round pick in 2009 (2008 stats) to Finger Lakes Flashes for SP Carlos Zambrano, LF Manny Ramirez, and RP Jon Rauch
12/12/07: Traded 1st, 3rd and 5th round picks in 2009 (2008 stats) to Bristol Academicals for RF Gary Sheffield and 1st and 8th round picks in 2009.
4/12/08: Traded Jon Lester, Mike Pelfrey and a 2nd round pick in 2009 to Florida Christians for Francisco Rodriguez, Jose Capellan and a 4th round pick in 2009.
5/23/08: Traded SS Troy Tulowitski, 2B Jeff Kent and a 6th round pick to Philadelphia Liberty for SS J.J. Hardy and 2B Dan Uggla.
6/30/08: Traded SS J.J. Hardy, SP John Lackey and SP C.C. Sabathia to Bristol Academicals for SS Rafael Furcal, SP Javier Vazquez, SP Jon Garland, SP Matt Garza and C Chris Iannetta
7/21/08: Traded SP Matt Garza back to Bristol Academicals for SP Jesse Litsch and New York's 2nd round pick.
7/25/08: Traded RP David Weathers to Finger Lakes Flashes for RP Brendan Donnelly and Birmingham's 9th round pick.
7/28/08: Traded CF Aaron Rowand to Florida Christians for UT Wilson Betemit and Ybor City's 3rd round pick.
7/31/08: Traded 1B Daric Barton and Florida's 4th round pick to Florida Christians for SS Edgar Renteria and Florida's 8th round pick.
7/31/08: Traded SP Jon Garland and RP Henry Owens to Finger Lakes Flashes for RP Brian Fuentes and Finger Lakes' 9th round pick.
7/31/08: Traded SP Javier Vazquez and LF Manny Ramirez to Ybor City Rollers for SP Kevin Slowey, OF Luke Scott and Ybor City's 8th round pick.
Magicians Draft Review
The Herkimer Magicians today have announced the signings of every single draft pick from the 2008 draft. Signed were pitchers Kerry Wood, Jair Jurrjens, Doug Davis, Justin Germano, Ryan Madson and David Weathers, first baseman Daric Barton, and outfielders Nate McLouth and Carlos Gomez. Considering the Magicians didn't have a first round pick, it is believed that the franchise has improved their pitching depth and added some much needed youth both in the pitching staff and on offense. GM/Owner Timothy Farmer commented, "We have drafted two players who have high expectations in Jurrjens (acquired by Atlanta in the Edgar Renteria deal), and Carlos Gomez (acquired by Minnesota in the Johan Santana trade). We acquired a fifth starter in Doug Davis to go along with the big three (Zambrano, Lackey and Sabathia). We improved the depth of our bullpen by drafting Kerry Wood, Ryan Madson and David Weathers, and added young help in Justin Germano, Nate McLouth and young prospect Daric Barton. It shouldn't be forgotten that we used our #3 overall pick to acquire Carlos Zambrano and Manny Ramirez, so it wasn't like we dumped the higher picks off. We would like to think we have a great chance of contending in the division in our return to the league, but we will see."
Magicians Announce Opening Day Plans
The Herkimer Magicians have become the latest team to announce their new logo and uniforms. In addition to this announcement, the Magicians front office has announced that on Opening Day 2008, every fan who enters the stadium will receive an official uniform, including the Magicians hat. "We believe that being the first franchise in baseball history to move away from the traditional baseball cap and wear a magician's hat should be commemmorated in historical fashion, and what better way to do that and be interactive with the fans than to give away our uniforms," GM/Owner Tim Farmer stated in his press conference. "Also, we are proud to announce that after the opening day game, there will be a fireworks display for fans to enjoy, AND we will be giving away to 25 lucky fans autographed jerseys and hats signed by the players and coaching staff. We look forward to many more promotions with the fans in our return to the league and look to be the highest attended games in LP2 history."
Magicians Announce 20 Protected Players
The Herkimer Magicians have submitted their list of 20 players protected. In addition to 3B/Hitting Coach Paul Molitor, the Magicians have decided to keep catchers Mike Napoli, Javier Valentin, and Jason Kendall, first baseman Justin Morneau, second baseman Jeff Kent, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, outfielders Aaron Rowand, Eric Byrnes, Manny Ramirez, and Gary Sheffield, starting pitchers Jason Bergmann, C.C. Sabathia, John Lackey, Carlos Zambrano, Jon Lester, Mike Pelfrey, Chris Sampson, and Boof Bonser, and relievers Jon Rauch and Zach Miner. Notable players not protected include CF Mike Cameron and DH Frank Thomas. "We tried in earnest to trade Mike someplace where he could have value next season, but we were unable to come to an agreement in time with anyone. As far as the Big Hurt, the fact that he is strictly a DH significantly lowers his value in this league, so while we could have used his 25 HR power, he would have been severely limited as a pinch hitter and only a pinch hitter, and it doesn't make sense to protect a pinch hitter," GM/Owner Tim Farmer stated.
Magicians Add Yet Another Big Bat
The Herkimer Magicians added another big bat in what has become a strong offseason, acquiring All-Star right fielder Gary Sheffield from Bristol. The two teams end up swapping draft picks in the 2009 draft. "After acquiring Manny Ramirez earlier in the offseason, we needed another corner outfielder to complement Manny for when he goes down for the season to pair up with Eric Byrnes. Who better to add than another all-star in Gary Sheffield?" Owner/GM Tim Farmer remarked in a press release. "We now believe we have the depth in our offense, getting another 25 plus home run bat, not to mention a little more speed (22 steals) to compete with just about any other team in the league this year, and with the three aces we believe we can contend to win the title this season." There are still players to be had, and the team would like to acquire one or two more starting pitchers before the draft.
Magicians Add Third Ace, All-Star Left Fielder
The Herkimer Magicians have pulled off a blockbuster trade, dealing SP Joe Blanton, RF Brad Hawpe and a bunch of draft picks including the #3 overall pick to minor league partner Finger Lakes for All-Star starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano, All-Star left fielder Manny Ramirez, and top setup man Jon Rauch. "Along with the acquisition of Jeff Kent earlier this winter, we believe that gaining a couple more stars in Zambrano and Manny will deepen our lineup and rotation and give us arguably one of the two best one-two-three starters in the league, and putting Manny's bat in the middle of this lineup with Jeff will make it difficult to pitch around the middle of our lineup," Owner/GM Tim Farmer said in a press release. "With CC (Sabathia), John (Lackey), and Carlos anchoring our rotation, this gives us three extremely talented young starting pitchers to build around."
Magicians Acquire All-Star Second Baseman
The Herkimer Magicians have quickly entered the trading fray, acquiring All-star second baseman Jeff Kent from the defending champion Ybor City Rollers for OF prospect Adam "Don't Call me Pac-Man" Jones. "We have a lot of depth in the outfield and decided that we could part with a good young prospect in Jones. We had the ability to acquire a star player at a position of need in Jeff and we are continuing to try to improve our roster for next season," Owner/GM Tim Farmer said in a press statement. The fact that the Magicians were able to add to their roster without having to cut into their 20 man protected list should not go unnoticed, and allows them to drop one of their outfielders or relievers.
Herkimer Magicians Moving Into Shea
The Herkimer Magicians have announced that starting with the upcoming 2008 season the Magicians will no longer be playing its games at Chavez Ravine, instead moving east with the team and moving into Shea Stadium. "Why would we play in a park out west if we're playing in the east?" starter C.C. Sabathia quipped while eating his plateful of hamburgers. Look for more Magicians news soon.
Breaking News: Seattle Rainiers moving East...
For the second consecutive year, the Seattle Rainiers, formerly known as the Santa Clarita Saints, have re-located due to attendance problems in the Seattle area. It seems the new ownership group hates the rain and cold, which makes no sense as to why they are moving the team just outside of Cooperstown, New York, in the tiny hamlet of Herkimer. New Owner and General Manager Tim Farmer, who used to be an owner in LP2, has returned to prominence in the financial market and has purchased the Rainiers franchise for the cold sum of 5 magic beans and a bag of Starbucks coffee. "We figured that the beans might be coffee, and since Seattle was home of Starbucks, we could easily entice the old ownership with some coffee. Who knew they were so gullible to take such a soft offer as that?" Mr. Farmer laughed as he spoke to an audience of 1500 people near the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. "Seriously though, after taking some time off from the game to clear my head, and gain some experience in the minor leagues, I've decided that the timing is right to come back to the big leagues of the LP2, and make an immediate impact on the league. We are changing the team name from the Seattle Rainiers to the Herkimer Magicians. I believe that within two years the Magicians franchise will be ready to contend for a playoff spot, and bring Central New York some excitement in the baseball community. Our first order of business is to find a partner to collaborate with the minors that is worthy of the magic of the Magicians." The Magicians have some solid pieces in place with reigning MLB American League Cy Young winner C.C. Sabathia, MLB AL Cy third place finisher John Lackey, and the should have been National League rookie of the year in Troy Tulowitzki. "With CC, John and Troy anchoring this franchise for the next ten years, there's no reason we can't build a winning atmosphere and franchise for a very long time." Mr. Farmer said.
The Magicians have added hitting coach to Paul Molitor's duties, Rickey Henderson as first base coach and speed consultant, Dennis Eckersley as pitching coach, and Marty Barrett as third base coach.
