Parrish Cleveland-Bound, Montreal Unveils its Dueling Aces, and Boston's IRS Promises to Make Pitchers Pay

By KYLE KEOUGH
DOUBLE DAY DAILY

Late-night trade talks have resulted in a series of moves involving the Cleveland Captains, Montreal Shamrocks, and Boston Beaneaters. The two deals, pending approval have perhaps radically reshaped two of the AL's better ballclubs, and have given Cleveland a new face for its franchise.

With a very crowded outfield, Montreal opted to ship CF Philip Parrish (.296, 21 HR, 75 RBI) in a multi-player deal for, among other players prized Captains ace Graham Langston (5-4, 3.42 ERA).

For both Montreal, the move was perhaps in part because of a logjam in the outfield, in which Parrish hadn't looked like the superhuman version of himself fans were accustomed to seeing. Likewise, Langston has notched only 5 wins on the season, but the Shamrocks expect for him to be a rock-steady #1 starter as they move towards a playoff push.

Meanwhile, the primary players in a subsequent deal involving Montreal and AL rival Boston were young middle infielder Robert Robinson (.295, 23 HR, 65 RBI) and all-star pitcher--and Montreal's former 20-game winner--Ramon Martin (12-3, 4.09 ERA). The Shamrocks also unloaded the hefty contract of Darryl Doerr and added replacement 2B Steven Dougherty in the process.

For Montreal, a team trying to ward off second-place Salt Lake City, the deals drastically improve their rotation, which was suffering from a dearth of experience, while they lose some of the pop from their lineup. Montreal hopes the jack-of-all-trades approach--solid hitting, starting pitching, and bullpen--will result in another division title.

For Cleveland, a new face of the franchise has emerged. For a team without a true star--though some might argue that free-swinging Billy Meyers was once a star in Cleveland--Parrish will now become their figurehead. Parrish will instantly become the best pure hitter in the history of the Captains franchise.

For Boston, the loss of ace Martin will not be easy to sweep under the rug. The Beaneaters are, however, excited to unveil 22-year-old Abraham Inge, 24-year-old Robert Robinson, and 27-year-old Jocko Sexson as what the tabloids have dubbed "IRS" (Inge, Robinson, Sexson), a CF, SS, 3B combo for the future that will make opposing pitchers pay, hence the moniker.