(AP) "I can't even tell the truth right." Those were the heart-ridden
words by General Manager Aaron Weiner as he made yet ANOTHER deal with
Anchorage, right before the deadline.
Washington traded away reliever Nigel Fernandez tonight for the #26 and
#37 picks in the amateur draft.
"We decided to get back into the draft. No, don't ask me why. I'm too
tired to think about it," Weiner said.
Washington expects to try and draft young pitching in the draft.
"After dealing Buddy Moisan, we realized there might not be as deep a
draft as this for a long time," Weiner said. "So we got on the
bandwagon."
The move puts Fred Smith, traditionally the Sea Dogs' most dependable
reliver, back into the middle role in which he thrived in 1997. Smith had
been serving as the long man for the Sea Dogs.
"I'm happy to be back in a role where I'll be helping the team a lot,"
Smith said. "I know I can do the job."
Washington manager Aaron Weiner said that it was Nigel's endurance that
forced the hand of the GM.
"Well, Nigel had a few bad games in the hitters' parks, but I could tell
he was having problems in his second inning of work," said the manager.
"We're thinking that he'll be better over in Anchorage, where he can be in
a setup role."
Washington enters the draft at 45-19. They will be unable to attend the
draft, but will send in a list anyhow.
"We're gonna drop in a 'staggered list', which means we'll start at the
player we'd want at the #23 spot and go to the #37 spot, where we pick,"
Weiner said. "That way we get two guys we want."
