Yesterday the Mississauga MapleDogs got pretty much what they wanted,
position players who are young and have room to grow.
In the first round of the draft the M-Dogs selected 19-year old catcher
Sparrow Hostetler. Then they probably made quite a big mistake by
trading him to Kamloops for not too much.
"Yeah, Glass (Blazer GM) planned on taking him and immediately inquired
about him. We agreed on Johnny Schauer but I thought he'd be a lot
better, I trusted my scouts on this one but he's got a bad attitude and
refuses to take advice. He might even leave the team to train for the
100-metre dash. It will probably turn out to be a mistake trading
Hostetler, I kinda regret it now." Mississauga GM Jesse Gouldson said
after talking to Schauer after the draft.
In the second round Gouldson selected 22-year old 1B Jim Collins. He
looks like a AAA player right now and management is hoping that he has
quite a bit of room for improvement. In the third round Gouldson
selected 20-year old lefty Don Brett and was quite proud of it. "Brett's
got some great pitches. His arm strength isn't that great but if he
improves a bit with those pitches, he'll be pretty effective."
As the ammy draft break the M-Dogs are also at the top of the PVBL with
a 47-18 record. And most of this was done without Curt Schilling, who
was injured after 7 starts, going 7-0 with a 1.92 ERA.
"What can I say? I'm extremely happy with the team right now. We lead
the EL in batting and in pitching, despite some really bad bullpen work.
I'm always trying to improve the bullpen, so if anyone is trading some
relief, just ask me. What I really want is a top notch closer. We
haven't had one since John Wetteland, and that seems soooo long ago."
Gouldson said.
He was refering to the days when he took over the team and moved them
to Thunder Bay to become the Storm. The team was in dead last place and
didn't have much of a need for a closer so he was dealt in what was one
of Gouldson's earliest and probably one of his worst deals, for Tony
Gwynn. "I look back at some of my trades and cringe. I've learned a lot
in the two season's I've been in the PVBL." Gouldson said.
In the 3 and a bit year history of the franchise, it's been one huge
roller coaster of success, failure and instability.
1997: Brooklyn Flaming Skulls, finished with the wildcard, owned by Ryan
George. Many big trades...
1998: Brooklyn Flaming Skulls/Thunder Bay Storm, finished dead last,
owned by Jesse Gouldson after April. Yet again many big trades...
1999: Thunder Bay Storm/Mississauga MapleDogs, finished 4 games out of
wilcard, owned by Jesse Gouldson. Once again, several big deals...
2000: (At ammy draft) Mississauga MapleDogs, best team in the PVBL. Not
many big deals.
What else will come the M-Dogs way? No one really knows, but for the
first time in a while people are starting to feel safe in this
organization.
