Chasing talent?

Utley should see a lot more trophies now that he's with a winner.

The off-season. For most CWFLB teams, it's a time for re-birth, re-tooling lineups and re-inforcing pitching staffs. For AC's Gun Show, however, the off-season is a time to blow up your roster and completely abandon any strategy that may have been working.

For the second time in as many off-seasons, John Breig and A.C. Slater have decided to completely revamp their roster. In their last off-season -- arguably the worst by an owner in league history -- they shipped a roster full of some of baseball's best young players out of town for what they believed was MLB-ready talent ready to help the expansion team win now.

The roster of players to leave reads like a who's who of baseball's best young players. A pitching staff of 2008 Cy Young Award-winner Tim Lincecum (24 years old), Chad Billingsley (24), Clayton Kershaw (21) and Johnny Cueto (23). Offensively, SS Stephen Drew (26), DH Billy Butler (23) and OF uberprospect Jay Bruce (22) were dealt. In return, the Gun Show got two players of real value -- 2B Chase Utley and 1B Carlos Pena. The rest -- OF Andruw Jones, 3B Mike Lowell, SS Edgar Renteria and SPs Dontrelle Willis, Tim Hudson and Shaun Marcum -- effectively bombed or were significantly injured.

Monday, the team dealt one of those players of value, shipping Utley, 30, (.291/.380/.535, 33-104-13) back to the MattroStars -- the team they got Utley and Marcum from just last off-season for Bruce, Kershaw and 2B Dan Uggla. In return, the Gun Show aim to restock their bare cupboards with SP Scott Kazmir, 24, (152.1 IP, 12-8, 3.29 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 9.8 K/9), SP Javier Vazquez, 32, (12-16, 4.67/1.32, 8.6 K/9) and OF Travis Snider (21). In all, the Gun Show have received Kazmir, Vazquez, Marcum & Snider for Utley, Uggla, Bruce, Kershaw & Fuentes.

"He obviously made a very significant offer," said MattroStars owner Matt Grisafi. "I'm sure JB can tell better than anyone the risk involved in parting with a guy that has Kazmir's upside, especially when you don't believe he's peaked. We might have been better served using him to upgrade another spot, but anytime you have a chance to bring on an MVP-type player, especially one that's a 2008 World Phucking Champion Phillie, well, you always find room for guys like that. All in all, we're happy with the way things have turned out with the Utley deals. Hopefully JB and AC have better luck with their acquisitions this year than they did last."

The Utley deal turned out to be just the start of the fire sale, as the Gun Show pulled the trigger on two more deals. A second deal with the 'Stars netted 3B Mark Reynolds, 25, (.239/.320/.458, 28-97-11) for Lowell and SP Hiroki Kuroda, 34, (183.1 IP, 9-10, 3.74/1.22, 5.7 K/9). The Gun Show also dealt 28-year-old closer Bobby Jenks (60.1 IP, 3-1-30, 2.65/1.11, 5.5 K/9) infamous for being selected as the first overall pick in the first expansion draft, for SP Ian Snell (164.1 IP, 7-12, 5.44/1.77, 7.4 K/9), who struggled immensely through 2008.

Earlier Monday the Gun Show released a statement saying they were pulling Utley off the market because they weren't pleased with the offers. Daddy's Little Boys and the defending champion Hells Kitchen Herzogs were among the other teams in the running for the services of the best second baseman in baseball. Reaction to the deal was mixed.

"This trade doesn't look bad," said Jackrabbits owner Brandon Brown. "Kaz is very young and if he delivers on the potential as he should, this deal is a win-win. Snider is a bonafide stud prospect."

Herzogs owner Andrew Cooper was less kind.

"I can't believe [he] took that deal over what I offered...ludicrous," Cooper said. "[They'll] be the worst team in this league for the next 10 years."


Vladdy headed to Daddy

The Slum Lords made a move to get younger Wednesday, netting two top prospects in OF Matt LaPorta and SP Michael Bowden for OF Vladimir Guerrero. The alleged 33-year-old was the 25th best OF last year, putting up a line of .303/.365/.521, 27-91-5. With an outfield of Adam Dunn, Matt Holliday and J.D. Drew, Vlad was expendable for the Slum Lords, who were looking to get younger.


Is Brooklyn the new Gayborhood?

You can take the Blunted away from Randy Stopher, but it appears you can't take the Randy Stopher out of the Blunted. Word out of Blunted's new headquarters in Brooklyn, says owner Sal Goldstein has taken a special interest in MTV's "Real World: Brooklyn," and its role in the Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender (GLBT) movement. Of its cast members, one is gay and the other a post-op transsexual. Sources say a "Blunted GLBT Day" in Brooklyn is in the works, with none other than Randy Stopher in talks to throw out the first pitch. While there's been no official word, rumor has it that Goldstein is rushing to get the event ready for Week 2 when they're slated to plate the cross-town rival Her-zogs.


Rumblings & Grumblings

-- In what's shaping up to be the busiest off-season in years, a number of teams are believed to be discussing deals in preparation for the upcoming expansion draft. And there are a lot of holes out there. The defending champ Herzogs don't have an eligible 2B on their roster, and last year's runner-up DLB have no eligible 2B or 3B.

-- The DLB are believed to have had brief discussions with the MattroStars regarding Dan Uggla, as have the T-Baggers. With Utley's status to start the season unclear, the 'Stars say they aren't about to give him away. "He's been a top-five second baseman the past three years now," Grisafi said. "He's got top-20 outfielder-type numbers -- that will play at utility and give us Chase insurance. I don't know that we'll be able to protect him, but that doesn't mean we'll lose him."

-- This year's expansion draft could have a much different look than the first. Rumor has it that new owners Chuck Trotter and Pete English are going to team up and look at the available players together in an effort to maximize their return. "It's not us against each other, it's us against the league," Trotter said. Rest assured that a conversation like that never happened between Breig and the Satanists' Greg Heck prior to their expansion draft.