Team Flanders Waives Veteran Stoltman
Matt Stoltman had a quiet spring and summer. And that wasn't good enough for Flanders' brass. After three seasons with the club Matt Stoltman is now out of the picture
"The slow second half he had last season, combined with his lack of improvement in training camp, it was an easy decision for us," said Michelle Stoltman, director of player personnel. "We finally feel like we can move on and have a realistic shot to bring the fans a championship in 2010."
After posting big performances early on, Stoltman's performance tailed off in the second half sending his average down 70 pins.
"You know at this level you need players you can depend on," Team Captain Rich Noblett said late Monday night. "Towards the end it got ugly. The rest of the team was holding its own, but when you look down the bench and you see a guy posting a 75, I mean, what can you say? You can't win like that"
Flanders fans were excited last season as the team shot off to a 15-6 start, tied for the league's best record. But that quickly changed as a combination of his low handicap and low point totals hampered the team's overall performance.
F. Ned Flanders used their top draft pick on Tina Hart, a turkey specialist with room for improvement on spares.
"[Stoltman's] departure along with this year's draft class I think you'll see marked improvement from this ball club," Noblett said. When asked about direct replacements for Stoltman, Noblett sees many options, "There's plenty of market for people looking for an opportunity." Flanders have tried out several free agents including Don Voo, Mario, and Three Fingered Fred, "We can go in a few different directions but either way I think there will be improvement at that position"
Locker room reaction was unanimous, "[Matt Stoltman] leaving would be more difficult if I liked the guy personally," said Michelle Stoltman, Alternate Captain.
Rookie Tina Hart agrees, "In just the few hours since we got word there's an air of confidence flowing through this team now. Something just wasn't clicking and I think we've figured it out."
When it comes to Matt Stoltman's F. Ned Flanders career, the director of player personnel has no regrets, "He really didn't do a lot of good on the wood, but it's a learning process, in this case our experience with him showed us what to look for, and more importantly what not to look for in new prospects."
The big question is what is next for the aging veteran, "We have no interest at this time" said a league GM who discussed the move on the promise of anonymity, "In today's game there's no room for the straight ball, that's more of a Canadian Bowling thing, you know with the five pins?"
With a revamped Flanders roster, things are looking up and rookies all the way up to the all star Captain feel the excitement in the air.
"We have winners on this team, we've taken the Samuel Adams out of the cooler and now have only real beer."
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