Cannonball Deathskull joins Marauders

By Everard Grenthumb from Dwaling

MIRKWOOD - News broke recently of the signing of a young starting pitcher, Ufrat Deathskull, to the Marauder's Single-A Farm Team the Greenwood Greats. This will be the third team in three years for the young Orc. As a member of Isengard's Single-A club he had 20 starts and had an unremakable Win-Loss record of 8-7, but he amassed an amazing strike-out ratio of 194 K's in 126 innings pitched, while walking only 38. Even so, Isengard's management felt it wasn't enough and released him prior to the 2004 season.

For a few months he travelled the waterways with his old buddies the Corsairs of Umbar. Then finding himself on the River Bruinen, also called the Loudwater, the river that rose in the Misty Mountains east of Rivendell, he decided to try baseball again. He tried out and was given a Minor Leagur Contract in May of 2004 to play for the Misty Mountain Single-A team, the Hobbiton Howlers. While there, he also showed promise by cutting his ERA to 3.73 and continued his brilliant K-ratio by striking out 190 in 115 innings and only walking 31. Again, the management wasn't impressed, and he was released just prior to the 2005 season.

Mirkwood, known for honing prospects into complete pitchers, took a chance on him and will take the time to train him into the pitcher they believe he can be.

Ufrat Deathskull's life wasn't easy from the beginning. As a young Orc in Mordor, he used to go down to the river and throw stones at the waterfowl, which no doubt was the genesis of his amazing control. At 7 years, he was shanghied by the Corsairs of Umbar and forced into years of servitude on the boats. But with his strong arm he was able to earn the respect of some of the other Corsairs and was soon made a full crew member in his own right. He practiced on the seagulls, and when battles raged on the water, Deathskull's ability to throw a rock through an enemy's skull became legend. His arm continued to get stronger with the rigors of sea life, and soon he was throwing cannonballs hard enough to put a foot-wide hole in an enemy ship at the waterline.

After 11 years at sea, he wanted to change his life and felt baseball was the portal to fame for him. At the Mirkwood open tryouts Manager Thranduil Elvenking was impressed with the Orc's control, but had to think for a while about how little stuff he showed. Finally, Elvenking summoned Deathskull, saying, "Ufrat, you are an outstanding strike-out pitcher, but you need to work on your stuff. You work on it and you have aplace in the Mirkwood organization." While thanking Elvenking, Deathskull whirled and beaned a raven in flight at 100 feet. Elvenking just smiled.

Posted at January 29, 2004 09:09 PM | more from Mirkwood