AllKnighters Welcome Some New Faces March 12, 1999
Ann Arbor(AP) - The Ann Arbor AllKnighters brought in some new blood
this past weekend, welcoming two new players and a managerial change.
In a move the came as no surprise to thoose inside the organization,
Buddy Bell was named the new manager for the upcoming season.
"We hope his proffesional attitude toward the game will rub off on
our young ballplayers," said GM Michael Kennedy. "Buddy was brought in
too not only take care of the tactical approach to the game, but also
help our younger players mature and get the most out of their talent. We
have a lot of youth on this team and his leadership will be
immeasurable."
Two other acquisitions highlited the weekend. The first involved
Kennedy's first trade as GM, sending Michael Tucker to Duluth for young
fireballer, Sterling Hitchcock.
"At our first press conference, we pointed out two weaknesses we felt
the team needed to address, fist and foremost, solidifying our bullpen",
said Kenendy. " We gave up too many runs late in the game last year, so
we went out and got Sterling. Doing this will let us to move Scottie
(Sanders) into our stopper role. Veras, who pitched very well last year,
will bounce to set-up. We think both players can excell in their new
environment and give us one of the best 1-2 punches in the league."
"Our second need was a shortstop who could bring something to the
table offensively. We think we did that this weekend with Desi Relafofd.
We traded down in the draft, hoping he would drop down to us. We had
him rated second on our draft board and we were ecstatic when he was
still available."
When asked if he was done making moves before the onset of the
season, Kennedy had this to say, "We are all set in our rotation and
bullpen and have our stariting position players in place. We could use a
solid bat to strengthen our bench, hopefully in the outfield. We have a
fair amount of offensive talent, but it's spread pretty thin. Injuries
could be devasting. So Yes, we are still looking to pick up some cheap
help in that area."
