Hammer Time - New Staff Signings and Extensions

[Jess64]

Hammers Fill Out the Front Office
(Jerusalem, Israel) New General Manager Jesse Stollings wasted no time in making an immediate impact in the organization's front office. Stollings let it be known that one of his first priorities was to get the right staff in to handle the day-to-day operations of the organization. Before hitting the phones to bring in new staff he started out trying to keep the staff he already had. Stollings said that he didnt feel at this point that anyone needed to be replaced and to ensure stability, he would extend whoever was interested in staying.

Three short days after Stollings walked into the General Manager's office, the team issued a short press release concerning the staff extensions and new signings.
Jerusalem Hebrew Hammers
Assistant GM, Baha al Din bin Arfan, a 49 year old Egyptian, signed a 2 year contract at $225,00 per year
Manager Marcos Tenenete, a 58 year old Brazilian, signed a 2 year contract at $775,000 per year
Bench Coach Francis Rodriguez, a 53 year old Frenchman, signed a 2 year contract at $85,000 per year
Pitching Coach Felipe Olivares, a 59 year old from the Dominican Republic, signed a 2 year, $370,000 per year extension, getting a $5,000 per year raise
Hitting Coach Alfredo Bermudez, a 49 year old from the Dominican Republic, signed a 2 year, $460,000 per year extension, taking a $65,000 per year reduction to stay in Jerusalem
1st Base Coach Brendan Cheney, a 56 year old Englishman, signed a 2 year, $205,000 per year extension, getting a $5,000 per year raise
3rd Base Case Walid bin Yasser, a 49 year old Israeli, signed a 2 year, $180,000 per year extension, getting a $5,000 per year raise
Trainer Mukhtar Jamshed, a 47 year old Pakistani, signed a 2 year, $320,000 per year extension, staying at his current salary

Jerusalem announced an afternoon press conference which was very well attended. New General Manager Stollings was at the podium and started off by welcoming the members of the press corps to the meeting and informed them that he would be conducting, at a minimum, weekly news conferences so they could be brought up to speed on what the organization was doing. Stollings was quickly asked if they would stop if things didnt go well, to which he replied that he was the General Manager, no matter how things were going. Stollings read from a prepared statement and said he would be open to questions after he was finished.

"Jerusalem are excited to announce that all current staff members, not only at the GBC level, but throughout the organization have agreed to extensions, with many taking pay cuts to remain in their current roles. The organization also had some important positions in the organization open and they were also filled with everyone accepting 2 year deals. The staff come from a variety of places around the world and this adds to the rich culture within the Hebrew Hammers organization."

"As far as player extensions, we have had some important players extend their time with the Hammers. We started with the pitchers, signing al Din, Smit, Freeman, Molina and closer Hernandez to new deals. The loss of Hideaki Shibutani for the rest of the season due to shoulder inflammation was unexpected, but we will make the roster adjustments we need to fill his spot."

Stollings was asked when there would be some extensions for the fielders. He smiled and replied, "Many of the players are unhappy, for a variety of reasons. As we all know, angry players wont sign contract extensions. So we are currently at an impasse with the negotiations. We hope to be in a position to extend them when the mood in the locker room makes them more receptive to our offer."

A follow-up question was asked about what would happen if the players did not change their mind, once again Stollings smiled and replied that we would see if, and when, that happened.

The roster moves have been interesting, signing numerous minor league Free Agent deals as well as waiving some underperforming players who seem to fit that "Angry" description.

Is change good just to make change, of course not. But when the team has that many unhappy players, something needs to be altered. If nothing else, Stollings is trying to bring in staff and reassign those players who no longer want to play for the Hammers. Time will tell if his strategy will be effective.