Sugar cane diaries - 2030.1 : Acceptance

[Dan]

I was able to catch the alarm before the numbers flipped to 5:30. It was early, but that hasn't mattered for a few weeks. I hadn’t been sleeping well while on the road and the losing through the end of the season was tough.

Since taking on the job August 1st, the Sugar Kings played extra poorly, finishing with only 67 wins.

I’d been using the 5:30 alarm as a way to keep me from calling my AGM too early to discuss the team. Lucas had been with the Sugar Kings three years now, and he let me know that there were no issues urgent enough for him to warrant a middle of the night call.

On my desk, I saw the four files I had been leafing through over the last couple of days. I pulled the blue one out, called Lucas and asked to set up a player meeting at the office. He agreed, although not without sounding annoyed.

Two hours later Iran Brito came in. The three time All-Star and I hadn't yet had a chance to speak. I made it publicly known that I wasn't thrilled with him and his contract when I first got here, and I sensed that there was some irreparable damage done because of that. Brito has been used to being treated as a star, and the deterioration in his performance the last two seasons looks to have been tough on him. He was clearly angry - at himself and at the team.

The Florida native was a first overall pick in 2019, drafted by the Des Moines Kernals. Iran Brito had won numerous awards prior to the draft, and was rated highly by the scouts. He immediately performed well at the AAA and earned a spot on the active roster by the time he was 21. After a 2020 year where he was plagued with injury after injury, Brito was traded to the Barnstormers for starting pitcher Cap Morgan and Lambert Snabel (both of whom continue to play well today).

In 2022, cracks started to develop in Brito’s ability. Even though he was only 24, his speed started to slow, and as he got older, his ability to see and make contact with the ball moved to being barely average. We’ve seen that he still has his power, but he is nowhere near the ball player he was when he came over to the Sugar Kings.

In 2026, Iran became a free agent after another strong year. He had just completed three consecutive years of hitting over 30 home runs and had over .500 slugging. While not the star he was at 26, he was still a force at 28. In 2027, Havana signed him to a six year contract worth $88 million, and he almost immediately began to implode. Since 2027, he has been injured at least twice a year - his shoulder is wrecked. His fielding also took a hit once he arrived here, although he can still play some average defence in Right Field.

Iran sat there with a smirk. He knew I was stuck. There are still some years left on his contract, and he has already been dangled to the rest of the league. There is a team option next year, but for now, Iran Brito will remain a Sugar King. He clearly won’t opt out of his contract this year, and although he has demanded a trade, I think he knows that his career will end here, just across the gulf from his home state.

I am at peace with him though. The salary certainly hurts, and I could use that money elsewhere. If he won’t gracefully go to the minors, he can come to the games, but my instructions to the manager will be that he sits unless we need him. I tell Iran of my intentions, and he’s smart enough to have seen that coming.

As for Lucas - I had to let him go. His contract was coming up, and he was demanding a lot for an extension. His record with the Sugar Kings hasn’t been good, and it may very well be a good time for some new blood in the AGM chair.

[Ted]

Good stuff. I do wonder about the AGM impact sometimes. When we're in control, does it matter? Do they affect international finds at all?

[Dan]

That's what I figured. The old AGM was costing me 4-5 what this new guy costs.

[udlb58]

Good lord, 35 OPS+

[Lane]

He didn't just fall off a cliff, he fell off Mt Everest and then all the way down the Grand Canyon


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[udlb58]

He didn't just fall off a cliff, he fell off Mt Everest and then all the way down the Grand Canyon


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And into the Mariana Trench