61.3- The Peterson Principle

[chicoruiz]

Did you ever get a letter saying that you’ve inherited a large amount of money from an uncle in Australia you didn’t know you had? Did you ever get on a flight and find yourself seated next to a lonely, friendly supermodel? Did you ever find a golden ticket that invited you to tour the candy factory of a mysterious, enchanted genius?

Yeah… me neither…

But I did come pretty close this week, when it was announced that the franchise had won a lottery, and as a result an international free agent named Kenny Peterson had been assigned to the Atlantic City Gamblers. I don’t follow the financial manipulations of the Brewster too much (which is probably one reason I’m not successful), but as I understand it, Nashville was able to sign a number of high-profile international free agents using a financial loophole, which while not technically illegal, was not intended by the league to be usable for that kind of transaction. Anyway, the wonderful, wonderful folks at the league office decided to disperse some of these players through a weighted lottery, and when the music stopped, there was I holding the Golden Ticket for Kenny Peterson.

Kenny reported to us a few days later, and while at first impression he didn’t seem like someone you’d call on to diagram a sentence or solve a quadratic equation, in all other aspects he was very impressive. He’s just a kid, barely seventeen, with cheeks that have probably never felt the scrape of the razor, but he seemed mature beyond his years. And then he spent about fifteen minutes hitting in the cage for is, and oh my dear sweet Lord… that swing! Team personnel that watched that session were moaning in ecstasy; the office staff who could hear us through the door were sure we were all watching some adult movie in there.

I kind of feel bad for the Nashville GM having to give him up. Some GMs resent him because he’s so successful, but I’ve always found him to be a good guy who just happens to be really good at his job. It’s hard to feel TOO sorry for him, though; he still has enough good prospects to stock a small town with.

Kenny is of course a long ways away, but he projects to be an okay right fielder and a middle-of-the-order bat that could anchor a team for a long, long time. When I go to sleep tonight, I’ll dream about the outfield I’ll have in a few years with him, Carlos Allen and Vandika Zadoyan. Or maybe I’ll dream about touring a magical chocolate factory. Maybe in my dream, I’ll sign an Ooompa Loompa or two to a free agent contract; they could probably draw plenty of walks...

[recte44]

I'll be honest, I felt a little like a parent on Christmas Eve waiting to see the smiles on my kids faces with the five teams that got free players.

[Dington]

Peterson looks like a beast. Was tough to choose between him and Tanju. Couldn’t believe Peterson was still available after the first IFA sim.

[trmmilwwi]

Golden ticket! Or Bluebird gift.