Vic Caleca: (Exhales heavily, and runs a hand through his hair) So, let me get this straight. You’ve got this Doubleday kid rated a 12 – on a 10-point scale, mind you – for contact, but he’s only played one year of high school ball and he batted … (clicks through to a new page on his laptop) … let me get this right – .178.
GM Caleca
Cristo Beltrán: Those ratings are UMEBA relative ratings, by the way, and they're based on more than his one year in high school, Vic. We also attended a number of his workouts, where he hit in simulated game conditions. And his first name is Bryan, by the way. Not Abner.
Caleca: OK, so we went to some of Bryan’s workouts … and who was pitching to him? Professionals, I hope?
Beltrán: Well, his uncle …
Caleca: His uncle?
Beltrán: His uncle plays semi-pro ball in Adelaide and actually has a couple of decent pitches …
Caleca: (Sighs heavily) For Pete’s sake, Carlos. You want me to invest our first round pick – the number two overall pick in the draft, mind you – in this kid because he can blister his uncle’s pitching?
Bryan Doubleday
Caleca: Against his uncle. In Adelaide. Jesus, Carlos. Who else we looking at here?
Beltrán: (Looks at his laptop screen, clicks on a name and calls up a profile) OK, we do really like this kid, Blake Bell. He’s a corner outfielder, which I know isn’t ideal, but the scouts grade him at a 9 for contact potential with decent power.
And, I’m quoting here: “Bell is projected to be an above average, everyday big league player.”
Caleca: All right, that sounds more like it. So, what do his stats look like?
Beltrán: OK, says here he played one year of high school ball and hit … um …
Caleca: Yeah?
Beltrán: Um, .173 …
Caleca: (Red in the face and nearly shouting) Are you f#@$ing kidding me? You have got to be …
[The screen goes dark and the audio abruptly cuts out …]