Cooperstown undergoes major overhaul.

 

Cooperstown -- While most GM's were finishing holliday shopping and arranging holiday travel arrangents, Bob Fidler and Jon Stamets were hammering out the details on a blockbuster trade that will reshape the present and future of each of their teams.

 

It has been a whirlwind of an offseason for the Iron Horses, and now that the dust has settled, Cooperstown fans are struggling to find familiar names in the newly revamped roster.  Gone are anchors of the rotation Adam Wainright, Jon Lester and Kiroki Kuroda.  Onto greener pastures are hitters Justin Morneau, Travis Hafner, Raul Ibanez and Magglio Ordonez along with closer Francisco Cordero. 

 

Without the offensive firepower needed to hang in the tough Parker division, the Iron Horses acknowledged a change was neccesary.  "Considering the age of the veterans on the team, we needed to go for it now, or step back, retool and come back strong in 2012," Jon said, "We've made the team younger and added players who should be cornerstones of the team for years to come."

 

The rebuild began with help from the newly relocated Skoakie.  GM Josh "Wolfman" Shapiro wants to kick of the rebirth of his storied CBA franchise with a championship sesaon.  Skoakie added a veteran presense and middle of the order bat to the lineup in Magglio Ordonez.  Cooperstown was able to add young speedster Eric Young Jr. as well as a solid young backstop Nick Hundley. 

 

Next came a deal with Joe Wallace and his San Diego team.  "We needed a big left handed bat and a lefty in the rotation," Joe explained.  They certainly solved that need adding perenial MVP candidate Justin Morneau as well as young ace Jon Lester and catcher Nick Hundley.  Cooperstown added established youngsters Delmon Young and Jhoullys Chacin and also filled their closer need with Francisco "KRod" Rodriguez as well as oft-injured, but ace calibur SP Jake Peavy.  "We were hoping to focus a deal around Harden and Peavy, but we knew that in order to obtain a pitcher like Lester, either Daniel Hudson or Jhoullys would need to be included," Joe said.  In the end it was Chacin heading to Cooperstown.

 

Cooperstown and Stirling came together in a couple small deals sending utility man Jerry Hairston Jr. and young OF Lasting Milledge to the Iron Horses.  Stirling added picks to the deal in exchange for picks a round higher.  "When it came time to establish our 24 man roster, we just didn't have the room for those two guys," Stirling GM Malachi Nellum said, "We were just happy to see them go somewhere they could be better used and wish both of them the best."

 

When the Wolfmen of Skoakie needed to add some offense from the left side prior to the cut deadline, he knew where he could find it.  "We contacted Cooperstown since names had been thrown around before and a deal came together quickly," Josh said.  Cooperstown sent lefties Raul Ibanez and Travis Hafner for right hander Alfonso Soriano and a late pick.

 

After dealing Soriano and Hafner, the Cooperstown lineup needed some pop.  Corey Light had a different need for his Bashers.  "Speed was something the Bashers hadn't had in quite some time, and Brett gives us that plus great OBP and defense in the OF," Corey said.  He was referring to Brett Gardner, who Bryan acquired from Cooperstown for 1B/3B Casey McGehee.  With the departure of Morneau, the Iron Horses not only filled the void he left at 1B, but added some extra punch to a lineup that's seen many of its best hitters depart the team.

 

It was clear no player was untouchable on the Cooperstown roster, and rumors were flying as to who could possibly be dealt next.  Could KRod or Delmon Young be sent packing before even suiting up in an Iron Horse uniform just like Hundley?  Could ace pitcher Jered Weaver be moved?  What about the team leader Brian McCann and others?  For now at least, these players will still call Cooperstown home, but the same can't be said for Adam Wainright, Hiroki Kuroda, newly acquired Alfonso Soriano and Jerry Hairston Jr. as well as long time closer Francisco Cordero. 

 

These players were traded to Bob Fidler's Indiana Redbirds.  At first, it didn't appear a trade was possible.  "I knew we didn't have the ammunition to pull off a deal for Wainright," Bob said.  Things changed, however, when the Redbirds acquired a pair of young phemoms, Madison Bumgarner and Bud Norris, in seperate deals with Kennesaw and Joilet.  "After those deals were made, the Cooperstown front office contacted us and let us know a deal might be possible."

 

For two weeks, through nearly daily corrospondance, the two sides negotiated, fine tuned and tweaked the deal, at one point erasing and starting over before coming to an agreement.  "This is the type of deal that I love.  Careful deliberation by both sides, evaluating not only the needs of our own team, but of the other team as well to help create a realistic agreement," Jon said. 

 

It was established that in order to let go of Wainright, Cooperstown was going to have to receive a young trio of starters including Norris and Bumgarner, as well as Tommy Hunter.  "We knew we'd need the 3 of them, but also acknowledged that price was too high for Wainright alone," Jon said.  With a premium on young pitching these days, the Iron Horses were willing to add aging, but still effective starter Hiroki Kuroda to the deal, along with Alfonso Soriano, Hairston Jr. and Francisco Cordero.  Indiana added young shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera as well as their 1st and 3rd round picks in this years draft.  "We have always been high on Cabrera, but with Jose Reyes as our starter, we were able to include him without hurting ourselves too much in the short term." Bob continued, "Wagner will be taking the ball in the 9th inning for us, but Cordero will be a reliable guy to go to in setup situations and spell Billy if needed.  Soriano's power is a welcome addition to the lineup and Hairston Jr.'s ability to play anywhere on the field gives us a lot of flexibility. 

 

The 2009 CBA champion Redbirds are certainly built to win.  Their rotation of Wainright, Oswalt, Kuroda and Garland give them one of the best big 4 in CBA.  "Right now Figueroa and Kazmir are penciled in to compete for the 5th starter spot, but we're still looking at options outside the organization."  Wainright now becomes a candidate likely to win 20 games or more, pitching for a team who's lineup contains Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton as well as three other players who should hit 20 or more HRs.  This deal makes the Redbirds a favorite for a playoff spot with the possibility of yet another CBA championship.

 

As for the Iron Horses, their eyes are set on 2012.  With a young quintet of starting pitchers consisting of Jered Weaver, Madison Bumgarner, Bud Norris, Jhoullys Chacin and Tommy Hunter and led by vets Javier Vazquez and Jake Peavy, 2011 will be used to evaluate their best options for a rotation going forward from 2012.  "We'll probably be limiting most guys to 100-150 innings with the exception of Weaver, even Javy and Jake will be given extra time off."

 

When asked if offseason dealings were over for the Iron Horses, Jon smirked and responded, "Never say never."  When asked about his draft plans, he was more specific.  "We plan to bring in a player or 2 to compete with Milledge in RF.  We will also be looking for a left handed bat to help out at 1B/3B and maybe in the OF as well.  There are a couple pen spots that need to be filled and you can never have too much starting pitching.  We're willing to fill these spots through trades though... I much prefer a bird in the hand, but now that we have 5 picks in the first 3 rounds, we should be able to find players who suit our needs."

 

Though most of the Iron Horse veterans have been traded, one thing is clear.  The Iron Horse's front office phone lines will always be open for incoming calls from other GM's for a trade, no matter how big or small.