by Hank Hanson, Yuma Sun

October 4, 2011: Yuma, AZ – It’s been a tough few years for the fans of the national pastime in our fair town.  What are the odds that a foreigner might save the fiery, burning wreck spiraling to the ground that is Yuma Bulldozers baseball?

When the PEBA experiment started in 2007, many observers had their money on Yuma becoming the dominant ballgame town in Arizona, and the weak first season of the Tempe Knights seemed to prove them right.  A few years later, the roles have reversed.  The Knights won 101 games this season, while the ‘Dozers haven’t lost less than a 100 games in their 5-year history.

And now the team is also looking for a new owner after the previous holders threw up their hands in frustration and walked out.  Uncertainty rules in the clubhouse.  1B Carlos Guerera, whose .341 AVG led the team by a huge margin this year, is confident, however.  “We have the town’s support, the players are hungry; now all we need is the financial muscle to grease the machine.”

An aptly chosen metaphor.  The latest candidate for taking over the team once the offseason kicks off knows something about machines.  Alex Heller hails from Germany, and his trade is machines large and small that he sells across the world under the well-known HellCraft brand name.  One of his plants operates just outside town in Blaisdell, employing 200 people.

But why would a middle-aged German industrialist pour his money into a Major League baseball club?  “The game has always fascinated me”, he explains.  “I grew up in a small town with American soldiers’ kids.  We would play ball in the afternoons.  I kept following this wonderful sport, hoping I could at some point leave my own mark on the game.  And I think the time has come now.”

A bold statement?  Certainly.  Arrogant?  It may seem so at first, but if you sat down with Heller as we did last week for a Schnitzel at Das Bratwurst Haus and talk baseball, you’ll notice this Teuton knows his sport, and he’s passionate about it.  But why Yuma?

“As you know I have a small plant nearby.  Whenever I was over here and had a chance, I would catch a ballgame.  It’s a shame how the club was treated in the past and how much bad luck they had.  I hope I’m allowed to give the fine townsfolk the great games they deserve.”  He smiles a boyish grin.  “And it would be a way for me to give something back to the community that has supported this part of my corporation so well these past ten years.”

Not all players seem to be happy about the prospect.  Said one infielder who spoke on the condition of anonymity, “An owner who’d be outside the country most of the time?  How will this help us?  On the other hand, we may finally have some quiet around the clubhouse, without an obsessive owner breathing our necks all the time.”

Rumors of relocation have hung over the team for two years now.  Alex Heller will have none of it.  “If at first you don’t succeed, keep trying till you do.  If I become owner of the Bulldozers, I promise not to move the team away from their loyal fans.”  With a smirk, he adds, “And no, Lederhosen won’t become our home uniform.  That’s too Bavarian for a North German like me, anyways.”

Greetings from Florida, everyone!  Finally, the playoffs are here!  Florida fans are excited and anxious for the playoffs to start.  This year is a chance of redemption for the team.  Possessing the best record in the Imperial League last season, the Featherheads were ousted in the Imperial Alliance Tournament by the divisional rival Statesmen.  Everyone within the organization realizes the opportunity at hand.  This is an opportunity to wrap up some unfinished business from last season.  It is an opportunity to bring the Rodríguez Cup home to the Sunshine State and its rabid fans.  This is redemption.  The road to redemption starts this Wednesday against George Riley and the West Virginia Coal Sox.

Florida manager Jaime Sánchez has plastered the big white board with the word "redemption" in big red lettering.  The whole team and its individuals all have something to prove.  The Featherheads need to capture that elusive Cup to culminate the team's successful turnaround ever since owner Drew Streets and GM Kevin Lewis took over the team.  Not an All-Star this season, Tsumemasa Morimoto travels the path of redemption to prove that his name belongs with the elite.  Newcomer Michael Kelly seeks to prove the naysayers wrong about him being soft and a playoff choker.  Facing Rafael Suárez this playoff series, fellow rookie Luis Torres is out to show the baseball world why he's still considered baseball's number one prospect.  Even manager Jaime Sánchez has something to prove – to prove that he is "$840,000 per year good".

Perhaps n o one individual is seeking more redemption than pitcher Franklin “Sticky” Browne.  To understand Browne's road to redemption, one must revisit a game against San Antonio on September 25^th, 2010.  It was that game against the Calzones where Sticky felt one step closer to redemption.  People have always said there's no crying in baseball, but apparently Browne did not receive that memo.  It was after that San Antonio game that Browne – whose face was partially covered in shaving cream – sat at his locker in the visitor's locker room filled with tears.  Just 20 minutes earlier, Browne and his teammates stormed Elysian Fields to celebrate a 3-game sweep of the Calzones.  Ricardo Gabriel, who recorded the final out, singled out Browne from the swarm of Florida blue and handed him the game ball.  For a rookie, Gabriel showed veteran awareness in handing Browne the game ball on the outing of his 20^th win.  Then again, Gabriel probably knew Browne closer than any other Featherhead teammate.  The two of them were teammates in Chesapeake Bay a year ago.  One a rookie, while the other a veteran.  Both had a mutual understanding of the journey of to the big leagues.

After a radio interview with A.K. and Nelly – where battery-mate Manuel González doused him with shaving cream – Browne found himself sitting in front of his locker shedding tears in front of reporters.  To the casual fan, it is apparent that Browne's tears were those of elation from notching his 20^th win of the season.  For Browne, however, the 20 wins meant more than just a pure numerical milestone.  It was a landmark that let him know he belong in the big leagues.  It was redemption.