November 22nd, 2035
Arbitration 2035 was a fairly simple task for Louisville, only reliever Rafael Cruz and 3B Felix Arrojo were non-tended. 31-yr-old Cruz had been a late waiver pickup and made just 11 appearances going 0-1 with one save and a 9.00 ERA while 27-yr-old Arrojo had spent six years with the Sluggers. His role had generally been as backup third baseman, in 2031 he had a career high 303 AB’s along with 13 HR’s & 42 RBI. With the emergence of 21-yr-old Doug Glover jr in his September callup it was felt that Arrojo’s arbitration estimate made him expendable. The arbitrator hit Louisville reasonably hard though awarding Doug Clement ($2.5 million) an extra $500k, Kevin Morales ($6.8 million) an extra $500k and Gabriel Talamante ($8.1 million) an extra $540k over their estimates. Worst was reliever Ramon Gaza, who Sluggers almost non-tended, he was awarded $2.3 million which was $700k over his estimate. Still the total anticipated wage bill of $91.1 million is comfortably within the budget & salary cap.
Off season squad tasks are few and far between. In the rotation the management were satisfied with Kevin Morales, Pepe Jaramillo and rookie Doug Clement, all of whom posted winning records. Rogerio Vazquez and Mario Villarreal had both made over 20 starts each at the bottom end of the rotation but had distinctly failed to impress and were both moved on before the trade deadline. Rookies Julio Barajas and Mike Singleton had both proved competent as they made almost 10 starts each and the decision has been made to make them the leading contenders to remain in the rotation in 2036. Several others might be thrown into the mix in Spring Training. The bullpen remains an uncertain area, but Louisville remains optimistic that there are enough moving parts in the organisation to make a foray into free agency unlikely. 22-yr-olds Lando Klomp and Carlos Rosa improved as the season went on and will be trusted with the back-end again in 2036 whilst a plethora of the trade arrivals and others already in the organisation will be looking to press their claims in March.
On the field Louisville are happy with what they finished with. Rookies Vince Osborn, Pedro Debesa, Javier Vazquez and Pedro Saldana, all under 22-yrs-old will retain their places and will hopefully be even better in 2036. All the other positions are firmly sown up with the exception of centrefield, William Gelinas has proved reasonable there and will likely enough be given another year or two there to see if he can really get to grips with the position. Javier Tavarez is the defensive option there but currently can’t hit a lick of major league pitching, managing just .087 in 2035, either he improves in 2036 or the franchise feels it may have to look externally for a top-notch CF. With a rough couple of years coming up with the salary commitments Louisville will be looking to the draft and in-house for any improvement with the likes of Glover Jr, Lou Cotton, Joey O’Brien and Sifal Smerdon expected to pick up bigger backup roles alongside the biggest utility man of all, Calvin Clohessy.
It was a tough first year for new GM Laverick, damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. He could have followed the Genius success plan, mapped out for years ahead but any success would be tainted, belonging to the Genius they’d say. So, the brave line was followed, to ring the chances, to plunge the rookies in and to stamp his changes on the organisation. Out of the 30 franchises in the current BBA only seven have their original stadiums built in 1995 and Louisville’s Waterfront Park is the eighth oldest, built in 2020 and now 15 years old. Rumours are that high-level Louisville management, local government and several local community leaders have been spotted in clandestine meetings as Laverick try’s to raise the funds, commitments and support to making the old Waterfront Park history.
Arbitration and the off season thoughts (2036-2)
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Arbitration and the off season thoughts (2036-2)
Nigel Laverick
(former GM of El Paso Chilis #WeWereShitty) ,
Now GM Riyadh Red Crescents #WeBeNotSoNewNow #WeAreJustAsShitty
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JL Manager of the Year 2000 (Baltimore Monarchs)
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(former GM of El Paso Chilis #WeWereShitty) ,
Now GM Riyadh Red Crescents #WeBeNotSoNewNow #WeAreJustAsShitty
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Re: Arbitration and the off season thoughts (2036-2)
Wait, the stadium was only 15 years old and they need a new one in Louisville? Boy those tax payers can't be happy about that.
Chris Wilson
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LB Surfers 95-96
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Re: Arbitration and the off season thoughts (2036-2)
Boys like shiny toys
Nigel Laverick
(former GM of El Paso Chilis #WeWereShitty) ,
Now GM Riyadh Red Crescents #WeBeNotSoNewNow #WeAreJustAsShitty
Riyadh GM since May 2046
JL Manager of the Year 2000 (Baltimore Monarchs)
Nothing since
An MBBA GM since 1995 (off & on)
(former GM of El Paso Chilis #WeWereShitty) ,
Now GM Riyadh Red Crescents #WeBeNotSoNewNow #WeAreJustAsShitty
Riyadh GM since May 2046
JL Manager of the Year 2000 (Baltimore Monarchs)
Nothing since
An MBBA GM since 1995 (off & on)
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- Ex-GM
- Posts: 3982
- Joined: Fri Apr 09, 2010 3:50 pm
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Re: Arbitration and the off season thoughts (2036-2)
They will be torn down by the fans ala Arab dictator style and dragged across to the gates of the new “The Firehouse at Waterfront Park” AA field to be re-erected
Nigel Laverick
(former GM of El Paso Chilis #WeWereShitty) ,
Now GM Riyadh Red Crescents #WeBeNotSoNewNow #WeAreJustAsShitty
Riyadh GM since May 2046
JL Manager of the Year 2000 (Baltimore Monarchs)
Nothing since
An MBBA GM since 1995 (off & on)
(former GM of El Paso Chilis #WeWereShitty) ,
Now GM Riyadh Red Crescents #WeBeNotSoNewNow #WeAreJustAsShitty
Riyadh GM since May 2046
JL Manager of the Year 2000 (Baltimore Monarchs)
Nothing since
An MBBA GM since 1995 (off & on)
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