Cairo Off-Season Report 3 (2054-2055)

[Krathan]

Pharaohs new GM Nathan Garrison walked to the podium to address the throng of reporters at the final press conference before the start of the 2055 season.

“First, let me say that I’d like you all to remind your followers that Spring Training records and statistics are meaningless. Nobody on our staff was worried about winning those games or making sure that guys had good numbers. We were more interested in seeing how guys go about their business and building the culture we want in the clubhouse. What we found is that we have a lot of guys who do things the right way. We have guys who are excited to be here and ready to take on the rest of the GBC. Now that the games are about to count, we’ll be able to focus on things like wins and losses.”

Garrison pointed at a reporter with long wavy hair to get the questions started.

NG: “Brent Grimm, Co-Dependent.”

NG: “All-right Brent. Ask away.”

BG: “I know you said that Spring results don’t matter, but some of your most expensive signings had miserable camps. Doesn’t that concern you at least a little bit?”

NG: You say miserable, I say spring stats don’t matter. Nacho Mendez, Antonio Roman, and Santiago Duran are accomplished veterans who were focused on getting their work in and getting ready for the season. Even when Antonio started the spring 0-19, he was in good spirits. He’s been there before and knows the hits will come. It was about the process and the work. Santiago came into the clubhouse and everyone listened to each word he said. Part of the reason we picked him up is his leadership, and he had an immediate impact on that front. Nacho has been great as well. The guy just knows how to approach the game.

Garrison continued to take questions and calmly responded to each one. Here are some of the other highlights from the press conference.

*On the trade sending away prospect and back-up catcher Butrus bin Issam for veteran infielder Jim Herrick and pitching prospect Vinayak Keyush:
“We hated to see Butrus go but Jim is going to have an immediate impact on our big league club and Vinayak is a guy we really like as well. We all hope Butrus has a great career, but we feel like Ozay Cebesoy and currently injured Aleksandr Selifanov will do a great job backing up Miguel Hernandez. Speaking of Miguel, I’m excited to see how his defensive ability and outstanding way of working with our pitchers impacts our staff throughout the season. He’s a real class act.”

*On keeping six outfielders on the roster for opening day:

“We had so many great guys and great players to choose from that we had to make some tough decisions. Obviously Antonio Roman, Blair Peyton, and Ramiro Hernandez were going to be there. Then we picked up an outstanding defender who also has speed and seems to always have great at-bats in the Rule 5 draft in Ricardo Esparza. He has a lot to offer. Enrique Rodriguez was fantastic in Pretoria last year and Gene Meade is a great player who is also the heart and soul of the ball club, especially with the position players.”

*On the starting rotation:

“I like our pitching staff. When Andreas Pires comes off of the IL, we’ll have another decision to make. But right now, Antonio Ramirez, Geoffrey Robert,Guruvayur Vashisth, David Torres, and the true captain of the pitching staff Grigore Balas are a group of five guys that I’m really looking forward to seeing take the mound for us. I think the biggest surprise for most people is probably David. When we picked him up in the Rule 5 draft, we originally thought he had a chance to be one of our late inning bullpen guys. Then we got him in camp and realized he needed to get a shot at starting games. I think he’s going to be great in that role. I really believe that the fans are going to be excited to watch him pitch every 5th day.”

*On season expectations:

“I’ve said it time and time again, we have a great group of guys here. We’ve got a lot of guys who play the game the right way. Guys who want to come to the ballpark every day and get after it. I know this team has never won anything. I want to see that change. I want to see that change this year. I think we have players here who give us a fighting chance to compete for a spot in the playoffs. Again, we weren’t out here trying to win a Spring Training trophy. We’ve been getting ready for the real thing. It’s almost time to see if we took the right approach. I think we did. As our manager Ray Whitney told the guys in our team meeting this morning, ‘Hold onto yer butts. This is gonna be quite a ride.’”