Off Topic
Travelblog of Thom S. Hunter
Editor’s Note: This is a running blog that will cover minor league players in the Yellow Springs organization. We initiated it because this kid reporter was hired without my knowledge and we needed to do something with him. He seems flaky to me. Seems like a waste of good cash. But what do I know? Good luck.
July 3, 2045: SILVER SPRINGS – I was supposed to file this report earlier, but the fact is I wrote the thing while under a bit of a haze and really only just found the draft shoved under the mattress of the godawful excuse of a bed this hotel room I’m staying in. What can you expect for $12 bucks a night, right? The springs are shot, and the lock on the front door apparently not hard to pick. I only found it because the mattress is thin and the pages crinkled when I rolled over them. Fishing it out brought back the reason I stashed it in the first place—the story of which is probably better left for another time, but let me note that I am certain I am so innocent that I don’t think I’d even need to call in for any "support" to win any case that might be brought against me.
I swear to God I thought the girl was there alone, and I would never, ever drop anything like that into a guy’s drink just to get back at him for the fat lip I carry with me now. Do you know how expensive that stuff is? There are better ways. Believe me.
Anyway.
The feature is about Cesar Duran, a 20-year-old shortstop with a glove so fancy it’s rumored that the five members of the YS9 front office nearly fell over themselves for the honor of presenting the young man a cool $1M to sign with them. He’s out of San Pablo de las Salinas in Mexico—which I suppose I should note I’ve got another story about that has less said the better, I was, after all hungry, so everything should be forgiven. Anyway, where was I. Mexico. Right. He’s a native of what some Americans call “South Texas” but played his school day ball in the Far East, a combination that might go toward explaining why some folks missed him.
But I got to watch him play, and holy bazinga Batman, he’s a real glider.
You know what I mean, right? Some people run, some shuffle, some jog a bit. But when Cesar Duran moves, he glides. At 6-foot even, and 170 pounds, the kid’s defense is like a piece of performance art. What’s more better, though, is that his bat has been pretty okay. He’s a lefty, anyway, and he’s putting up league average kinds of numbers and showing at least a little pop in the form of double-digit doubles and a half-dozen homers on the half shell. I don’t think anyone expects those numbers to hold up, but the scuttlebutt is that no one seemed to expect those numbers to begin with, so color me impressed.
The scouts, too.
The kid was 2-3 with a pair of walks tonight.
Add the offensive numbers what that glove that has already dazzled to the tune of a +10 ZR in this half-season, and … well … after a couple beers on the old 9-News tab, one scout (who will remain nameless) said that the parent club could be shaking up the shortstop position sooner than later, and looking for a front-line shortstop as early as 2047. It’s all hush-hush and to be determined, of course. And it’s the word of a beer-blurred scout in a late-night and humid bar room, but if true, that would, or could, line up with Cesar Duran’s timeline.
I may be a bit dazed by a need for a bit of a hair of the dog that bit me, but don’t be surprised to see Duran in AA before the season is up.
July 3, 2045: SILVER SPRINGS – I was supposed to file this report earlier, but the fact is I wrote the thing while under a bit of a haze and really only just found the draft shoved under the mattress of the godawful excuse of a bed this hotel room I’m staying in. What can you expect for $12 bucks a night, right? The springs are shot, and the lock on the front door apparently not hard to pick. I only found it because the mattress is thin and the pages crinkled when I rolled over them. Fishing it out brought back the reason I stashed it in the first place—the story of which is probably better left for another time, but let me note that I am certain I am so innocent that I don’t think I’d even need to call in for any "support" to win any case that might be brought against me.
I swear to God I thought the girl was there alone, and I would never, ever drop anything like that into a guy’s drink just to get back at him for the fat lip I carry with me now. Do you know how expensive that stuff is? There are better ways. Believe me.
Anyway.
But I got to watch him play, and holy bazinga Batman, he’s a real glider.
You know what I mean, right? Some people run, some shuffle, some jog a bit. But when Cesar Duran moves, he glides. At 6-foot even, and 170 pounds, the kid’s defense is like a piece of performance art. What’s more better, though, is that his bat has been pretty okay. He’s a lefty, anyway, and he’s putting up league average kinds of numbers and showing at least a little pop in the form of double-digit doubles and a half-dozen homers on the half shell. I don’t think anyone expects those numbers to hold up, but the scuttlebutt is that no one seemed to expect those numbers to begin with, so color me impressed.
The scouts, too.
The kid was 2-3 with a pair of walks tonight.
Add the offensive numbers what that glove that has already dazzled to the tune of a +10 ZR in this half-season, and … well … after a couple beers on the old 9-News tab, one scout (who will remain nameless) said that the parent club could be shaking up the shortstop position sooner than later, and looking for a front-line shortstop as early as 2047. It’s all hush-hush and to be determined, of course. And it’s the word of a beer-blurred scout in a late-night and humid bar room, but if true, that would, or could, line up with Cesar Duran’s timeline.
I may be a bit dazed by a need for a bit of a hair of the dog that bit me, but don’t be surprised to see Duran in AA before the season is up.
