Lost Profit
(The cruel irony of a story that wrote itself)
Robins Roundup is all about fun stories. My writing style relies heavily on the use of humor in double meanings. So I would be remised if I didn't tell this recent story.
As you are all aware. Brooklyn ace Francisco Ruiz (10/7/6 Talents) was recently lost for the season due to a sore shoulder. That's fine, injuries happen. Brooklyn prides itself on being a team that is "bullet proof". Meaning they rely more on a depth of quality players rather then 3 or 4 superstars. So while the loss of Ruiz is painful, it's not the end of the world. In fact, the Robins were set to call up the teams #1 prospect Grellan Profit (10/5/6 Talents) to fill the void.
There are many parallels between Ruiz and Profit. They were both once part of other organizations. Ones that gave up on these late bloomers. The Robins pulled both players of the scrap heap and signed them to minor league contracts for zero dollars, fed them minor league innings, believed in them, and it payed off. Both are right handed power pitchers who stand well over 6 feet tall and weight over 200 pounds. Both pitchers craft an arsenal of three top shelf pitches. Both have impeccable stuff which is magnified by their slight wildness. Batters often say they feel uncomfortable in the box when they pitch. Ruiz has better movement, and thus is a better pitcher in this stitch of time. But Profit is four years younger and who knows what he could become when all is said and done. The fact is, with a week left in the baseball season, you are not going to find a better replacement for Ruiz then Profit. So Brooklyn called upon the County Cork Ireland native.
The transaction was posted in the official league transaction page and a plane ticket was sent with Profits name on it. Grellan boarded the first flight from Lexington to Brooklyn. He was on his way to the big leagues.
"I was so excited. I kept looking out the plane window trying to see all the sights and bright lights of NYC. I saw water and figured it must have been the East River. I have never been to NY, and thought wow, if the river is this big, imagine how big the city is. But the water kept going and about 4 hours had past. I know Brooklyn likes to take the road less traveled, but this is ridiculous. Did they send me on a flight around the world to save a buck? I asked the stewardess when were going to land in NY and she said never. "Never?!!" I said, that's not the kind of response you want to hear on a flight. Then she had assured me that the flight was going to land, just not in NY. This was a flight to Dublin. Brooklyn had booked the wrong flight and sent me back home to County Cork."
As it turns out this was a glitch in roster management. Brooklyn had exported their rosters with Profit heading to Brooklyn. Then some mumbo jumbo excuse about hard closing and exporting instead of importing followed. I'm not quite sure what that means. It sounds more like a video game then a professional baseball team. But what do I know. Bottom line, Brooklyn botched the week at hand and have decided not to bring Profit back for the final 3 games of the season.
So what is the irony in this story you ask? If you look at Brooklyns financial page, you'll see that this is not the first profit Brooklyn has lost this season, and far from the biggest. It's just a cruel reminder that Brooklyn will have no money for free agents this winter and maybe several more winters to come.
