Slugger Shavings 2054.1 - A New Era Begins

[RT60]

The Sluggers surprised many in 2053 with 87 wins, a 15-game improvement from a disappointing 2052. They shocked many by not only squeaking into the playoffs, but then sweeping Des Moines in the opening round and taking the ultimate champion Sacramento to seven games in a Doubleday Series that easily could have gone the other way.

2052 was GM BP's first season with the club, and the team's performance that year caused the fanbase to openly question the decision to bring the former Buenos Aires GM into the fold. But 2053 proved to confirm the owner's wisdom. Moves like bringing Neill Fenomore at the deadline were directly responsible for the playoff success. The fans were happy, at least until the off-season.

In a series of "interesting" moves, the Sluggers appear to be stuck in a strange hybrid position. Are they gunning for the playoffs again? Are they rebuilding? Perhaps something in between?

The first move was not to exercise the option to renew the extremely popular Ricardo Rivera's 7M contract, which immediately caused a great tremor within the fanbase. "It was simply a matter of money. We didn't have enough and it would have been difficult anyway to justify 7M for a reliever since Ricardo did not do as well as we hoped as a starter last year. We took a chance on him last year and it didn't work out. We wish him well in Long Beach."

Then, GM BP traded away his prized deadline acquisition from last season and the reason the Sluggers made the playoffs, SP Neill Fenomore, along with popular reliever Al Colbert, and potential comeback player of year Jorge Diaz, all for a pitching prospect named Ford Prefect. "Again, this largely comes down to money. Colby makes 5.5M this season and is starting to show his age, and while Neill is a bargain at 3+M this year, he jumps to 10+M next year. He simply wasn't in our long-term plans, but we all thank him immensely for getting us in the playoffs last year. I am really sad about Jorge, because the kid has had some bad luck along the way. I think he is going to be a great player. But I am really happy to have Ford in the organization. He was the first overall pick last year and has a really cool name. Plus the dude's freakishly tall."

And then, GM BP traded away fan favorite center fielder and team leader Ragheb Burhan and promising reliever Glenn Dennis to hated rival Nashville for promising reliever Aelbehrt 'Wunderkind' Schlöndorff, pitching prospect Callum Martin, and solid role players Khayyat Isa and Ivan Torres. Fans were incensed at the loss of popular Burhan. "I can see why they were upset. Ragheb is a fantastic player and leader. And I think Glenn is going to get multiple all-star nods in his career. But I will just be frank. It is Amphibian's time. He will start in centerfield. He is my first-ever draft pick and I am so excited for what he can do for us. And Isa is such a great captain; he can help Amphibian along the way. I think the fans will forget Glenn ever existed once they see Schlondy on the mound. Plus the dude's freakishly tall. We are really excited about getting Callum. He is the #13 prospect in the BBA right now and could be an ace in the future. We just hired a special personal trainer for him so he can get some extra motivation in his development."

Overall these moves don't appear to make the Sluggers a better team now, but the fans do have reason to believe that the team's starting pitching will be solid down the road. The Sluggers currently have a number of top pitching prospects in their system, including three of the top 30 prospects overall. But regardless of how the team does this year, it is truly the start of a new era where GM BP finally gets to play one of his own, #53 prospect Amphibian Johnson.