August 3, 2061
by Banjo Jackson
Nashville, TN
Questions surrounded the Bluebirds rotation by the end of May after poor starts by Phil Cole and Bob Loblaw, but rookie pitchers have helped carry the team to success. Armando Ortíz began the year in the rotation and surprised many as he earned an All-Star game nod and recently acquired Jim Ploughman has pitched well. After Cole’s most recent injury, a new rookie has emerged - Bin-ying ‘Bye Bye’ Yen.
RHP Bin-ying ‘Bye Bye’ Yen
One of the league’s top prospects, Yen dominated the minors spending 2059 in Single A, 2060 in Double A, and the start of 2061 in Triple A. He had a sub-3.00 ERA along each stop. He hasn’t slowed down a bit since being called up to Nashville at the end of June. Five of his seven starts have been quality starts and he’s sporting a 2.51 ERA with only 2 HR allowed. His five pitch repertoire and ability to keep the ball low in the zone keeps hitters off balance and his personality is a welcome addition to the clubhouse.
“Bye Bye is a riot,” said CF Crissy Tingle. “He came into the locker room his first day and bought everyone on the team these little plastic championship rings with ‘2061’ engraved on them. They all had a big fake diamond missing out of the middle and he said ‘I’m the missing piece.’ It wasn’t in an arrogant way though, just a nice ice breaker to meet all his teammates. We all had a good laugh about it.”
Yen’s success has made Cole’s injury untimely…for himself. He now sees himself on the chopping block as the league head’s into trade deadline season and could be on the move shortly.
