61.2- ATC Pitching Staff- Line Starts Here

[chicoruiz]

Fun fact: Only three pitchers who started the 2060 season with the Gamblers are still on the active roster (there were a few midseason acquisitions who are still around, but none of them exactly lit the sky on fire with their performances). Granted, given the staff’s performance, turnover isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that I needed to be busy as a little beaver this offseason acquiring new arms to take the places of the departed ones. I even sniffed around Steven Flannery, but he would have left little financial wiggle room to fill out the staff, so for the most part I limited myself to more moderately priced options

And so I got busy, signing six major league arms and promoting another. So let’s take a look at the Not-So Magnificent Seven…

-Lefty John Avery got the only big paycheck; ten million a year. He hasn’t pitched in a starting role since 2053, but he was pretty good then, and I see no reason why he can’t fill a rotation slot. He’s a groundballer with high adaptability and work ethic, so I’m bullish on his chances.

-You De-Szema is kind of John Avery Lite; a groundballer who started a number of years ago and will be asked to start again, at least initially. His record isn’t quite as good as Avery’s, so I only forked over 2.9 million for him. He’ll begin at the back of the rotation and we’ll keep our fingers crossed.

-Arapeta Ebena joins us after a long career in the GBC. He features a really good fastball/slider combo, and a really not-so-good changeup. He could theoretically start, but the combination of only two plus pitches and habitual wildness probably limits him to bullpen duty.

-Motuha Kalinda spent seven seasons in Chicago, then had a cup of coffee with Charlotte last year. He’s an extreme groundball guy who has logged 34 saves in the past two years, so if I end up using a closer, it might be him.

-Bill Young is a 36-year-old lefty who spent most of his career in Edmonton before moving on to Long Beach, and then Vegas in 2060. His left-handedness is about the only thing about him that makes him worth a shot, but a shot he will get.

-Jimmy Fisher is the most recent signee. I gave him 950K based on his nice WHIP totals the past couple of seasons. Plus he’s another grounder-inducing guy, he can start or relieve, and as a lefty he’s insurance if Bill Young isn’t what I hope he will be.

-Antonio Terrones is the only guy from the Gamblers minor league system that figure to make the club out of spring training. I’m not throwing my hat up in the air about him, but after the season he had in 2060 in AAA (1.88 ERA, 0.89 WHIP), he’s earned his shot.

My pitching always looks okay, but it’s a house of cards every year, and it’s just a matter of who will collapse and when; I’m resigned to that. But at least I can look at these guys and say, “All right… it’s not impossible that I’ll have a decent staff… Improbable, but not impossible”.