2050.7

[bschr682]

GM: " Well that was quite a flurry of activity so I thought I'd assemble you guys and we can discuss. The team has more or less been playing slightly under .500 ball for awhile so while we haven't been great, we are still holding onto a wildcard spot. With the adds we just made, we are hoping the team catches a bit of a spark and goes streaking. "

Renfork: " Do you think bringing Walbourne back is enough of a boost to the rotation or are you planning more? "

GM: " Well we definitely felt a little bad that we shipped Frank out just as the ballpark was remodeled to basically perfectly suit him. So bringing him back makes sense. In a lot of ways that first trade was a total failure but I think we've managed to shuffle some things around enough to take the sting out of it. Focusing on the just the pitching side of things Niles, we do think we are ok. We have enough pieces that can bounce from pen to rotation and back like Lopez and Ine and with all the wheeling and dealing recently we did not give up any pitching prospects who were near the majors. We feel like we have quality coverage should the injury bug strike and that Cole and Walbourne provide a hell of a 1-2 punch. Also don't sleep on Cristo Munoz. His mechanics were a bit of a mess when we acquired him so we buried him in the pen while he worked on straightening things out. Hes been looking very sharp lately and we've greenlighted giving him a shot in the rotation. If he works out like we suspect, that might be the lightning in a bottle we need going forward. "

Charron: " Vasco Fonzarelli just wasn't cutting it. He had his moments but he simply didn't make enough contact at the plate to utilize his natural power so I agree wholeheartedly with the Tyler trade but do you think its enough? "

GM: "Exactly Guy. We had thought his power numbers would be enough to overcome his poor K rate and low hit rate but we were proven wrong. So adding a bat like Blaine Tyler's fixes that issue we hope. He has a lot of power himself and also strikes out a fair share too but he makes a lot more contact and plays better defense. We are sorta back to square one on a long term 3B solution as Tyler is 30 and holds a contract opt out but for this season anyway we've made that situation better. The offense as a whole continues to be a work in progress. We still could tweak things but the main sticking point for now is Cesar Feliciana. We don't really understand why he's struggling. He looks amazing in the cage and he already does have 9 dingers since coming over but his K rate seems oddly high. We hope its just something he can work through. If not, thats a spot where we could make a move yet. "

Jenkins: "Llllleeeeerrrrroooooooyyyyy Jjjjjeeeennnnkkkkiiiinnnnnnssss!"

GM: " Yes Leroy as I was mentioning to Niles, we didn't give up much in pitching prospects who were close to the majors but we did send out some kids. Wilbert Bourgeois was the sacrifice needed to get that Tyler trade done. We liked Bourgeois a lot but you have to give something up to get something. In this case we potentially gave up a really strong starting pitcher but at the same time he has a lot of work to do before he's ready. We felt like homeruns allowed might have been a real issue for him especially in our home park so we bit the bullet and shipped him out. We wish him the best. Juan Blanco was another guy sent out. Blanco has a really good career ahead of him especially if he can tack on some velocity. Getting Jorge Rivera back who can contribute right now allowed us to cut Blanco loose. "

Sullivan: " The team is now massively in the red as far as budget is concerned now. Will there be further moves to fix that? "

GM: " Yes Ms. Sullivan, I realize that. If you add up all those trades we took on a bit of salary but its really only 4 million more. We think the team is in a stronger position to make the post season now which should even out that addition of salary. In fact I have a meeting with our esteemed owner to explain this very topic so I have to run. "

[7teen]

As you mentioned lately the Wright issue really hurts Vancouver.

As for budget issues, the Jorge Lopez opt out decision looms large for the Mounties. He has an opt-out after this year. He opts-out and you free up $11 million next season and I lose a backup SS.