2052.01 London Line Drives Aug 7, 2052: Coronation of GM Rob the First

[Trebro]

Long May He Reign? McMonigal takes over the Monarchs
by Niles Standish

It's been a horrific year to be the bloke who covers London's "international" baseball team, but readers know I've soldiered on, with my stiff upper lip. After last year's nearly even-Stephen squad, which didn't exactly set the Old Bailey abuzz, hopes were high for at least quality mediocrity.

No such luck.

After another week brought 6 losses to only one win, and an overall stretch of 14 straight losses, which might be a league record, a 5-4 win against 5th place Sydney finally put the brakes to a huge skid. But by this time, owner Yahyah Talal had seen enough. He reached out to the United States and hired Rob McMonigal, just as his unemployment was running out.

McMonigal has managed pro teams before, including keeping a franchise in Mexico bouncing in and out of the playoffs and a stint in Canada that was a series of poor free agent signings and trades, but was on a low ebb, with no prospects for a job across the pond.

"I was excited that London was calling," said McMonigal in his presser. "This is a great opportunity to show what I can do in a city that I love. My only sadness is that I won't be able to be in London every day because of road trips. If you don't see me in the analytic room, you'll see me at the museum! Or maybe at the Globe, or just wandering all the amazing parks. London is one of my favorite cities of all time."

He's just as likely to be in the bathroom, as this team is going to make him sick to his stomach. This team is on a 115 loss pace, which would blow away the all time-league record of 102 losses, set by Jerusalem in 2045. Every team except the "major" one is missing anywhere from four to ten (yes, TEN!) players from the active roster, causing an avalanche of injuries. The pipeline to London is leaking badly, and while it may be ranked first in the league by the league's neutral evaluators, there's only one player "ready" to help now, Ricardo Martinez, and he's got a torn labium and may never be the same.

"I'm aware of the challenge in front of me," said McMonigal, when asked why he was focusing more on cultural activities than the team. "And being blunt, I'm not sure I can offer the fans any relief in the short term. They're going to have to support us while we're down. But I promise things will get better. It's just not possible to do so overnight."

He then paused and continued:

"Now, time to get a little bunt. I'll be honest, I'm not sure why this team is in London or what the owner was thinking doing so. It's like he thinks this is all virtual reality and we can ignore the jet lag or something. And good grief, it's like this team was abandoned after its first year here, huh?"

McMonigal isn't wrong. While the team payroll was increased from around forty million to about fifty six million when it moved from Beirut, payroll is back to twenty nine million, the lowest since the 2040 season. And that despite rumors that the budget is far higher and confirmation the team was profitable in 2051. Is Talal looking to sell? Your reporter will be making calls to find out.
Meanwhile, can McMonigal make a difference in London? Will his reign be long or short? Only time will tell, but the bigger question right now is will trying to fix this organization be his priority? Or did he take the job for free entry on the Underground and easy access to Westminster Abbey?

I'm Niles Standish, reminding you that no matter the size of ball, it's scoring that's important

[I'll get working on links/images, but really wanted to lay down the situation so I can build from it and y'all can see where I'm potentially going.-R]

[Jwalk100]

Great start!