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California Bolsters '04 Offense |
| Carmichael, CA
- The California Blitz announced their first off-season acquisition this
afternoon with fans in full frenzy. LH
Slugger Barry Bonds, who California had tried to acquire in the past, will don the Blue
and Gold in 2004's Outfield alongside Vladimir Guerrero.
"This gives us the great 1-2 punch in
the middle of the lineup that we'd been looking for" said Blitz GM David Smith,
"Vlad was terrific last season, but we really needed someone to hit behind him with
authority."
The trade sent OF Jay Payton and promising
young SP's Ben Sheets and Kurt Ainsworth to Baltimore for Bonds.
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Beltran/Castillo anchor new Offensive Scheme in 2003 |
| Carmichael, CA
- Holding the second and the fourth picks in the 1st Round, the
Blitz took OF and 2B veterans Carlos Beltran and Luis |
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| Castillo in the
C2C 2003 Draft. "We had them on our board for a long time, they're both great hitters
and have the speed that we hope will be the cornerstones of our new "Run &
Gun" offense" Blitz officials said. Throughout the draft, California balanced
2003 needs with future talent, nabbing the likes of Brandon Phillips, Joe Thurston, Omar
Infante, and Juan Rivera to go with starters Dewon Brazelton, Kurt Ainsworth, and Ben
Kozlowski. Not to be outdone in future relief arms, the Blitz also picked up young flame
throwers Franklyn German and Francisco Rodriguez. |
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2003 Blitz Draft Results |
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| Carmichael, CA
- California zipped past their1st Round matchup Shawnee in 5 games to
face league powerhouse Philadelphia in the NL Championship Series. |
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| Both teams have
had similar histories, and paths to success. Starting with inherited personnel that was
not equipped for the future, both organizations reformed their teams into contenders
building from trades and the annual drafts. Four years in, they met in Philly for the
first two games. |
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| Odds makers and
Press alike had Philly pegged to move on, after a stellar regular season where they won a
whopping 114 games, but it was the Blitz who flew back to Sacramento up 2-0 after running
the Autos ragged. |
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| After dropping a
close game 3, California's offense came alive to take games 4 & 5 and advancing to the
World Series. |
OVAL has
officially changed their name to C2C (Coast 2 Coast League) beginning with the 2002
season. |
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