9/25/2008: Kalamazoo, MI – A selective broom will be sweeping through the Badgers’ clubhouse.  Reports from people close to David Ellison indicate there is a desire to jettison some of their payroll.  This has culminated in trade waivers being placed on P Kenny Williams and RF Arthur Myers.  This will come as a shock to the Kalamazoo faithful, as Kenny Williams has been one of the Badgers’ most consistent performers with an ERA of 3.30 over 376 innings pitched the last two seasons.  There is evidence that the turnover of the roster will not stop there, as there are indications of a market forming for 1B John Collins.

Reactions from the players has been rather docile, as they assumed this was coming.  With star outfielders George Crocker and Gregory Arnold both demanding over $20 million per season, the players knew management would be challenged with tough decisions to keep the team competitive.  Brett Hurst says he is echoing the views from the front office when he says, "Management is trying to keep the middle of our lineup strong while keeping a potent rotation."

“My main desire is to trim our budget, and set ourselves up to be competitive in the near future,” said new GM Ellison.  If Myers leaves town, the Kalamazoo Badgers will have only one outfielder under contract from this year’s major league club.  So it has become apparent that the team is ready to give their two AAA studs, OF Bernard Phillips and OF Dave Bates, their chance at the big league level.

But this isn’t the news that really has the community buzzing.  Ellison has made no secret of the desire to put his mark on the club, and he sees no better way then changing how the team is identified.  Through further investigation, it has been discovered that the name “Starships” might have been trademarked through the league office.

Howard Rourke, Badgers beat writer

9/25/08: Kalamazoo, MI – Knights GM Christopher Van Hauter is looking forward to the offseason after a dramatic turnaround from last year’s "lost season".  Van Hauter stated, “We played really well at times this year and we were 100% more competitive then last year."  Next year he argues that Tempe should be around .500.  However, Van Hauter believes that Tempe is one or two players away from contending next year, which is why they are looking for a power-hitting first basemen and a left-handed stating pitcher.

In other news, Tempe announced that Patrick Hunter and Markus Hancock will remain with the Knights and will start next year in the rotation.  Van Hauter stated, "Hancock and Hunter will join Collins and Taylor in the rotation next year, which gives Tempe one of the better rotations in the league."  Van Hauter also announced that Tempe is pretty set at other positions.  For example, Farris, Montés, Douglass, Román and Cuna will remain in the bullpen while Carney will catch.  Rivera will be at second, Allen at short, Price at third.  The outfield will be Martínez, Mora and Grymes.  Van Hauter believes that Tempe's lineup will be potent next year and will have a lot more power.  What Tempe needs, according to Van Hauter, is a great-fielding first basemen or second basemen and a power-hitting DH.  If Tempe can get these players, Van Hauter argues, "We will be in the hunt for the wild card next year."

Tempe also announced that ticket prices will only be raised to $16.50 next year which is still among the lowest in baseball.  As for the ticket price of $7.00 for September, Van Hauter considered it a success because people who bought the cheap tickets bought a lot of merchandise.  Among the most popular item are Markus Hancock and Patrick Hunter jerseys, which are selling at an incredible rate.

9/17/2008: Fargo, ND – As the season winds down and thousands of Fargo fans make their way in any direction leading away from Jurassic Park, I’m going to look at some of the highlights amongst the organization’s minor league teams.  Despite the poor performance of the major league team, Fargo's minor league teams have done quite well this year.

The AAA playoffs began on Tuesday, as Sioux Falls took the first game in its playoff series against Evansville Tri-Staters.  The Sioux Falls Lakota were led by starting pitcher Vince Freake, whose 7.1 innings giving up only one earned run while striking out seven held the Tri-Staters in check.  Freake was matched well by Evansville's Shawn Burris, who held Sioux Falls to one run through 8.1 innings and in fact had a shutout going into the ninth inning before allowing the tying run to score.  Sioux Falls won it in the tenth inning with a two-run HR by third baseman Shou-xin Zang.  Zang has had a disappointing year, as he was unable to build on last season's promising numbers in Sioux Falls.  Zang was thought to be a contender for the rumored 3B opening in Fargo next season, but will have to show more power in Spring Training.

9/17/2008: Arlington, VA – After a tremendous start, the month of September has your beloved Bureaucrats with just 5 wins and 9 losses.  Even going farther back, the team has only won 9 out of the last 25 games.  After building a 3-game division lead in August, the bumbling Bureaucrats are only 3 games up on the last wild card spot in the Imperial League standings.

What has gone wrong?  It’s hard to say.  Could it be the season-ending injury of centerfielder and leadoff hitter Mario Hernández to a fractured wrist injury on September 13^th?  The catalyst of the team is gone and someone must step up.  Could it be the tailspin that starting pitcher Armando Pineda has been in all season?  His earned run average is almost 2 runs higher than last year (5.82 versus 4.08).  Could it be part-time outfielder Jesús Suárez’s disappointing season?  Slated as the breakout hitter on team, Suárez has bumbled and stumbled all season long, batting .199 with 39 RBIs in 311 at bats.

Prized off-season first base acquisition Cipriano López has been a mild disappointment.  Brought López to the team in a trade with Charleston involving Rod Borrell might have been the biggest mistake in a long time.  Borrell has incredibly outperformed López by a wide margin (a VORP of 58.0 versus 27.2).

What can be done?  Hope for the solid playoff runs by Gloucester and Charleston to fall short.  The odds of this are not good since the teams only have 2 more games against each other.  Still, these challengers will need to play better than the .500 ball they have both played this month.