When asked to make a statement about his landmark day in the JLB, the great Chalupus Caesar said only three words: "Venni, vetti, vecci."
In Latin, that means "I came, I saw, I conquered."
Mark it down in the annals of history. In 2015 A.D., Chalupus Caesar brought back an emperor's ransom for Dee Gordon and the first overall pick.
In a pair of trades, he acquired the three starting pitchers he needed; an upgrade at first base and an outfielder with high upside and minor league eligibility.
It was a good day.
In the first deal of the day, Chalupus sent Hector Rondon and his first overall pick in the 2015 draft to the Jimmyjam Slammers for James Shields, Tyson Ross, Adam Eaton, Justin Morneau and the Slammers sixth overall pick in the first round.
There is one condition: If James Shields is traded to a National League team, Chalupus will fork over two delicious buffalo chicken sandwiches.
In a later deal, Chalupus acquired Cliff Lee straight up from Philly Cheese Steaks for Dee Gordon.
A year ago, the Steaks made off with a five players from the Gamblers, which he has in essence turned into the formidable lineup that was one matchup away from going to the World Series last year.
Chalupus Maximus would like to make that same jump this year.
The three pitchers acquired, plus his minor league eligible starter Matt Shoemaker give him a good framework heading into the draft. He also has the highly touted Red Sox prospect Henry Owens in the wings.
Offensively, Morneau was the batting champion in the NL a year ago and he'll be a step up from Mark Trumbo. It also makes a decent infield with Dustin Pedroia, Josh Harrison and Danny Santana. Add in Evan Gattis at catcher and a few outfielders and he's ready for the next move.
For the Steaks, Gordon adds to a considerably jam-packed infield. V-Mart and Prince Fielder are at first, Daniel Murphy and Gordon at second, Pablo Sandoval all alone at third, and Hanley Ramirez, Troy Tulowitzki and Addison Russell at shortstop.
And for the Slammers, it means that David Price will be joined by Chris Tillman and Nathan Eovaldi in the rotation. The first overall pick doesn't appear to be worth as much as it was last year as there's no Masahiro Tanaka or Jose Abreu on the board. So it merely seems that the Slammers moved up six slots to pick first.
Odd, isn't it?
I'd say it's about as weird as if Chalupa actually sculpted that statue pictured above and placed it in his front yard.
Oh, how Pompeia would love that.
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