57.05 Big Market Antics

[joshd19]

With the Monarchs still a deeply uneven team, star CF Joshua Koka lost for weeks to tendinitis of that mighty forearm, and the trade deadline approaching, I looked to put London's unused budget space to work to position us to either make up lost ground in the standings or, failing that, capitalize on our trade assets. There is an undeniable dearth of prospect capital in the league, so who knows if a soft rebuild strategy will prove realistic, but if there's one thing I won't do it's sit on my hands. (In extreme ironing, sitting on your hands is an elite strategy for burn recovery, but those days are behind me.)

Seeing that Sao Paulo had tried to pull a GBC fast one by jettisoning perennial All-Star 3B Ron Paul's $7.5M salary and immediately issuing him a minimum contract offer, I swooped in with a better deal. It wasn't difficult to convince him to jet over to London after such blatant disrepect by Sao Paulo's front office. Not to mention, Paul started off the year lightning-hot, so perhaps slotting him into the lineup will aid London's corner infield woes. Jin-Hwan Kim, who has been quite solid at the hot corner, has agreed to take some reps at 1B, where the once-stalwart Stewart Cannell is flagging mightily and intended replacement Nigel Laverick II has also failed to impact.

2B Robert Allen, called up earlier in the year from Victoria, has played unreal baseball in the month of May, earning a GBC Player of the Week nod for him and several hearty slaps on the back by the team's owner for this chuffed GM.

Our bullpen remains unstable, but the core of the rotation is settling into a nice groove. Maybe the soft rebuild plans will fall away in the face of a sudden hot streak by this capable but as yet unproven team.