Ann-Arbor & New Orleans strike a deal
June 11, 2001
Vampires trade 4 of their picks, but solidify the future of pitching staff and the outfield
New Orleans, LA (AP)- The rumors were confirmed today when New Orleans Vampires GM Peter Gammons made the following announcement:
"The New Orleans Vampires are please to announce the acquisition of24-yr-old pitcher Frank Callahan and veteran utility man Orlando Merced. Ann-Arbor will receive the Vampires' 2001 #2 Ammy, 2002 #1 Ammy, 2002 #1 FA and 2002 #2 FA in return."
When asked to assess the deal, Gammons replied, "It's exactly what we were looking for. We wanted another young arm for our staff and we got it. We also wanted a veteran who could give us aspark offensively and we got it. Although both players have struggled to open this season, we're confident they'll fit in perfectly in our system--a winning system."
When questioned as to what roles each player would play, Gammons responded, "Frank (Callahan) will go straight into the bullpen and hopefully provide some much needed stability there. Merced, meanwhile, should help us when Singleton or Lawton struggle. His career numbers are solid. He's a career .285 hitter. We had had some talks regarding some primarily DH-type veterans on other clubs. However, we felt Merced provided us with some tremendous intangibles in his defensive abilities at a number of positions."
Cornered about the team's sudden dumping of 4 draft picks, Gammons stated, "Well, if things keep going our way, they won't be very good, high picks. If Ann-Arbor is lucky, we'll start playing worse. If we're lucky, those picks will be worth next to nothing. It'll be interesting for both sides to watch and see what happens. Nonetheless, we felt our team was young and deep enough to make such a move. Only time will tell which club got the better end of the stick on this one."
Callahan joins a tremendously talented pitching staff that already includes such young upstarts as Matt Clement, Justin Thompson, Jackson Pride, Fred Bass and Ben Hamlin. Merced joins an outfield that just hasn't meshed despite Glanville's return and Byrne's consistent offensive production. The corner positions have been suspect with Chris Singleton, Matt Lawton and Tony Gumbert rotating in and out of the outfield throughout the season.
