Holy Cow!

Pelicans are in 1st place at the 40 game mark!! New Orleans finds itself in the very unusual spot of being in 1st place with a record of 23-17. The Pelicans have opened up a 5 game lead on 2nd place Louisville. They have been able to build their lead even with Dan Franco not living up to expectations. Franco is hitting under .300 and only has 4 HR but has stolen 18 bases. The biggest surprises so far on offense has been Javier Servet who is on pace for a career type year. Servet is crushing the ball to the tune of .351 with 9 HR and 34 RBI.

Don Lee Update

International superstar Don Lee is getting his hacks in down in Low A. Lee is off to a fast start hitting .380 with 7 HR and 24 RBI. However, he still has a ways to go with his glove work and has made 7 errors in 20 games.

Don Lee!!!!!

Don Lee is a Pelican! Not since Reggie Bush was drafted #2 overall by the New Orleans Saints has a player generated this much buzz in the Crescent City. The Pelicans dug deep into the banking account but it looked like they were not going to have enough cash to win the Lee sweepstakes. However, management sent one last ditch offer and before you could say, "how much money!?" Lee was on his way to New Orleans.

Another Season in the Dirty

The Pelicans won't be making the playoffs this season but there is reason to believe that things are about to take off in the positive direction. There are four reasons things are starting to look up in New Orleans: Wil Hollins, Craig Bowen, Victor Torres and Julio Izquierdo. All four will make their ML debut at some point this season. Management has a history of playing it overly safe with players but all four will get the call this season depending on how the Pelicans do. A fast start could see Torres and Hollins coming up relatively quickly followed by Bowen and then Izquierdo. Hollins will slide into the primary setup role allowing Rodrigo Seanez to move to the primary long relief role. Seanez was a workhorse out of the pen last season. Torres could factor into the starting rotation or be a useful arm out of the pen. Hope springs eternal on opening day!

A Season in Review

More of the same in New Orleans but reason for optimism... The Pelicans avoided another NL South last place finish and won 70 games - a one game improvement over last season. Season 6 waiver wire claim Michael Woo was the offensive MVP for the Pelicans posting a .310 Avg with 36 HR and 102 RBI. Offensive ROY honors go to Dan "the Franchise" Franco who played in only 62 games but was very impressive posting a .332 Avg with 10 HR, 48 RBI, 27 SB and a .437 OBP.

New Orleans Catches a Break

Local fans and talk radio questioned the judgment of Pelicans management not too long ago when they made it known they were willing to trade Cliff York and pick up most of his remaining contract. Management also let it be known they were not looking for much in return but were just looking to get "something" for the star slugger that never produced in New Orleans. It was rumored that New Orleans was close to a deal with St. Louis earlier in the season but the two clubs could never come to an agreement. One team insider called the deal, "nothing more than rearranging chairs on the Titanic" due to the players and contracts involved.

The final straw for York and the Pelicans came in the series against Ottawa when York only produced 1 RBI and allowed 9 SBs while only throwing out 1 runner. York was designated for assignment and Craig Bowen was promoted to AAA. Then the Pelicans finally caught a break when York was claimed off waivers by San Antonio. The move opened up nearly $4 million in contract space that the Pelicans plan to use to sign another international player or two.

Winning?

New Orleans has surged into 2nd place in the NL South by winning 7 or their last 8 games. Before you stop the presses it should be noted that the Pelicans are still 17 games out of 1st!