Italian Mob
With catcher-outfielder Bryan Silverman still on the disabled list nursing a high ankle sprain and expected to miss more significant time, the Outlaws signed veteran catcher Matt Ceriani, who has already played in five independent leagues and spent a short stint in the Milwaukee Brewers farm system. It was there he was a teammate of Outlaws manager Jon Macalutas.
None of these, of course, are the most important anecdotes about a journeyman like Ceriani (it's almost like the ol' longtime veteran joke, 'Who WASN'T his teammate?') He actually played for Italy in the World Baseball Classic in 2006. Remember how the bevy of American-born players flocking to the various different nations in the WBC was a huge deal at the time?
And the Outlaws are no strangers to Italian baseball whatsoever. Last year, they reacquired Craig Kuzmic for the final stretch of the year after he returned from playing professionally in Italy. Before this season, starting center fielder Jason Matteucci asked to be let out of his contract to play in the same league. Before you ask, catcher Gerardo Verastegui's European bloodline is Spain (one of the first things we discussed upon first meeting), not Italy.
And this blog post natually had to come on the same day the Italian soccer team scored an important 2-0 victory over rival France to advance into the quarterfinals of the European Championships.