Anchorage AK (AP) - In a move that dates back to last season, when Brett Tomko
was benched due to his inconsistency, owner Nick Tulach and GM "the Man"
dealt the 25 year-old righthander to Medina in exchange for rightfielder
Alex Ochoa and Medina's first round amateur draft pick, the 14th overall.
"Brett has continued to show inconsistency and a lack of motivation. We
felt that though he was a huge talent to give up, we needed to make a change.
Alex Ochoa puts us a step in the right direction as far as building our solid
outfield. The draft pick will hopefully yield a solid prospect for our
pitching staff." commented owner Nick Tulach in an afternoon press conference.
Ochoa is currently batting .312 with 7 doubles, 3 homeruns and 8 RBIs. He
helps Anchorage to solidify it rightfield position that was left vacant by the
departure of Gary Sheffield.
The loss of Tomko leaves a big hole in the 'Boms rotation. "We'll go with a
four man rotation and bring in a number of guys to fill in at five until someone
steps up. We feel comfortable with Bottenfield as our #1 and Lira and
VanLandingham behind him. Our bullpen is still intact, which is a plus, so
we should be in good shape."
