Vero Beach, FL (AP) -- In the PVBL Free Agent draft held last Saturday
night, the DL Champion Vero Beach Bums drafted Cuban national team ace
Orlando Hernandez in the first round. The 27-year-old, who arrived in the
US in Miami, arrived today at the Vero Beach Bums complex. Hernandez'
half-brother, Livan, was drafted by the PVBL Champion Hartford Whalers.
"We got a steal picking twenty-fifth," said team owner J. Lee Gohlke.
"I'm very pleased to be the one welcoming Orlando to this country and to
the fine city of Vero Beach. Frankly, I didn't expect a pitcher with this
much talent to drop down to 25th. We expected virtually everyone we
wanted to be gone before we picked, but, well, luckily for us, some teams
chose not to pick." Hernandez is expected to join the Vero Beach lineup
immediately. "It looks like we'll be starting Albie Lopez, Ismael Valdes,
Orlando, Kevin Ritz, and Willie Adams," said manager Phil Garner.
The Bums are essentially the same team that won the DL crown a year ago,
with the only changes being the addition of Hernandez and the recovery of
all their injured players. They now find themselves a team with better
than average depth and a large number of players that can contribute.
The Bums are especially deep in pitching talent, in both the rotation and
the bullpen. Valdes, Lopez, and Adams improved greatly in the off-season,
working on their control. Ritz has remained a solid pitcher. With the
addition of Hernandez, Kurt Hardie and lefty John Cummings will pitch in
long relief. This leaves veterans Dennis Springer and Bill Goldsmith,
both reliable in the pen or starting, looking for jobs. Mike Bottenfield,
last year's amateur draft pick, doesn't quite look ready to join the major
league club yet, so will continue to toil in AA ball for the Los Angeles
Dodgers, a Vero Beach farm team.
The bullpen is also stocked with talent. Returning from last year are
closer Trevor Hoffman, setup men Mark Guthrie and Kent Bottenfield, and
middle relievers Barney Berres, Dave Weathers, and Angel Miranda. Terrell
Wade, who might be a closer on another team, is sitting in AAA waiting for
the call.
Team sources speculate that one or more relievers might still be dealt as
part of a package for a young power hitter. Currently, however, talks
have stalled with other PVBL teams.
"It seems power is more expensive than I thought it might be," said Bums
owner J. Lee Gohlke. "Everyone wants to break up my rotation or take away
my future. That's fine with me, I'll just build up my team through free
agency and the draft, the way I've done it so far. The trades I made last
season I thought were fairly transacted. I haven't seen a lot of fairness
this off-season, just a lot of weak offers for talent and potential.
We'll see whose strategy pays off at the end of the season."
