Mumbai, India
-Abdulwahab al-Sakir for The Manama Papers, 2:30IST on 22/4/39
After a mediocre 3-3 week for the Pearls in which they lost two to Cairo, completing a lost sweep, and swept Baghdad in Manama, GM Jacob Lawton gave his second weekly press conference in Mumbai, following the Pearls' defeat to the Metro Kings in the first of their three game series. The 4-3 defeat, following 14 innings of play, appeared to have Mr. Lawton in quite the temper.
First off, injuries:
- OF Rhett Lawson and RHP Orlando Sanchez continue to occupy the disabled list. Lawson is expect to be fit for play next week, whilst there is still no timetable on Sanchez's return.
- OF Rhys Nornabell is out of action with an undisclosed injury that occurred off the field of play. Rumours of an alcohol or other recreational drug problems abound, given that Nornabell is from Birmingham, UK, and, to quote the GM "there's fuck all else to do around there, I suppose". Prior to going down, Nornabell had hit in 14 games, starting 13 of them, with a slash line of .258/353/.552. He was previously a part of California's minor league system. He will be replaced by Khartoum's OF Aurelio Lopez, who has been torching pitchers in the ABA for a .378/.440/.689 slashline in 12 games.
- RHP Leo Minter has been sent down to Khartoum, to be replaced by waiver pickup RHP Bob Murray. Minter had been struggling, collecting at least one ER in each of his first three appearances. Last season, for Jerusalem, Murray had a 3.50 ERA in 103IP, with a WHIP of 1.26.
- A tweak to the pitching staff sees RHP Lawrence Resendez moving into the start rotation, at the cost of RHP Ronald Stewart. After discussion with his staff, Mr. Lawton informed those present that the move may not be permanent, but there was a belief that the two men may offer greater contributions to the team in their new roles.
- A number of minor league relievers have been waived and DFA, due to their presence on the 40 man roster being deemed superfluous. The names mentioned were RHP Shawn Coleman, RHP Jose Cruz and RHP Armando Marquez.
Amongst the hitters, C Jim Melton is the man who the GM indicated as a standout. An All Star in 2038, Melton showed that form this past week, slugging two homers and posting a 1.205 OPS. The American spent 4 years in the Las Vegas system before retiring from baseball, returning to compete in UMEBA. He leads the team in all significant batting statistics save Homers and RBIs after three weeks, with a .375/.403/.578 slashline, for .981 OPS. He is trailed by last week's leading light 1B Sandro Trujilo, who has .306/.390/.542 so far, for .931 OPS. Also worth mentioning is 2B Divino Pedrulho, who picked up the Burt League Player of the Week award after posting a .458 BA between the 11th and 18th of April.
When discussion turned to the status of the free agents he was pursuing, Mr. Lawton purpled rather. He was, once again, ushered from the stage as shrieks of "they want UMEBA contracts when they can't even play at the ABA level? They're deranged! Deluded! Nearly as bewitched as that moron LYLE CUN...". I have censored this last word. Who the rant was directed at, we can't possibly know.
This week, the Pearls finish up their 3 game series in Mumbai, before travelling for more interleague play at bottom-feeder Beirut. Next time you hear from me will be after Game 1 of their series against Bancroft League leaders Bucharest.
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I was in Mumbai for work earlier this year, so here's a shot from my hotel window:
