April 1, 2059
by Banjo Jackson
Nashville, TN
A couple of familiar faces will be joining the Bluebirds pitching staff. Well, maybe not that familiar, but their parents recognize them and maybe a couple of former teammates recall their names. Nashville GM, Chad Nason, is no stranger to bizarre coaching changes. After all, manager Brent Ross was selected as manager of the Bluebirds after winning a sweepstakes offered by the team. With two open positions in the minor leagues for pitching coaches, Nason didn’t want to spend too much time choosing the right coach. Nason flipped through the next memo at his desk about the recent minor league players who decided to retire. Yu Li and Feng Jianbua were named on the list and as former pitchers, they should at least know a thing or two.
“Hiring a new employee is 10x more expensive than hiring within,” said Nason. “At least that’s what I’m told. Lulu and JonBon will do just fine.”
Li, 25, never made it past Single A, but he spent four seasons with the Santo Domingo Sea Turtles and will now be coaching other young pitchers. On the mound, Li had a career ERA of 3.79 in the minor leagues, but didn’t show much promise as a prospect.
Jianbua, acquired in a trade with the Las Vegas Hustlers, is also 25 and spend most of his career in Nashville’s minor leagues. He showed a little more promise than Li, but still was a colossal project than, unfortunately, didn’t develop. He had a career ERA of 4.05 and played three seasons with the Lynchburg Whiskeyjacks, where he will now be coaching.
