Sticking Points 2058.5: The Good in Everyone

[JimSlade]

"Roster management is one of the toughest parts of this job," says Rockville Pikemen GM, "and by 'roster management' I mean cutdowns."

With the rookie draft completed and an influx of new talent entering the Rockville organization, some fading prospects will be making room for the 2058 crop. "It takes me a couple of weeks after spring training to get some crushed dreams off my conscience," Slade continues. "Then before I know it, we need to push aside another dozen or so young men who only want to play professional baseball."

Limited talent is an obvious criterion for not making the cut, but Slade filters talent through a number of intangibles. "Leadership is the obvious one. We know not every kid at the minor league level will progress beyond a certain point. We want each team to have a certain dynamic. There's someone at each level who's extending his career because he keeps his teammates in the game."

For obvious reasons, Slade wouldn't name names, but one can imagine that the leadership skills of 27-year-old AAA infielder Travis Harrell, a former 2nd-round pick and natural second baseman whose first baseman's mitt sees more action, may have warded off the Turk.

"Sparkplugs, man," Slade blurts out, "I love having guys willing to go all out, mix it up on the basepaths, give the ump some hell. It's hard to let a sparkplug leave he organization. They add something that doesn't always show up in the box score."

The A-ball Eau Claire Cavaliers haven't had much to light up box scores, but the 15-35 team is loaded with players willing to mix things up: fringe prospects and bench players like outfielder Roberto Soliz, second baseman Bob McMartin, and catcher Jeff Price.

"You think a top prospect like Masahiko Harada hasn't passed through the ranks without being influenced by these guys? I can't wait to see Tim O'Reilly climb the ladder and absorb examples being set by each team's character guys."

Slade cites other qualities that can extend a longshot prospect's chances of staying alive. "Innings eaters. We're not pushing even the best 18-year-old pitchers past 80-85 pitches. We want to build a winning culture at each level, but we also want to give arms a chance to mature."

The Pikeman organization is still short on defensive specialists, but that is a quality Slade hopes to develop. "We haven't hit on some of the defensive specialists we targeted in recent drafts, including this year's, but versatility is an obvious trait we seek."

Rockville media and fans have been known to snicker at the organization's attraction to switch-hitters who adequately play numerous positions. One talk-radio show hosts jokingly refers to the organization as a "variety show," referring to a terrestrial television genre featuring brief performances by a series of mildly popular entertainers that was all the rage 80 years ago.

"Yeah, I get it," says Slade, "the whole - what was that singer-dancer-actor's name, Ben Vereen? The 'jack of all trades, master of none' thing. I get it, but a flexible supporting cast helps the studs stay in their zone."

There's talk that Slade and his generals have based close calls around minor league roster makeup on various intangibles than can only be characterized as "style points": intriguing facial hair, swagger, media relations. One recently released fringe prospect who would only speak off the record claims he heard coaches complain that he was "a little too boring" compared with his platoon mate, who's still getting regular at-bats as of this writing. "Are you kidding me?" the player said. "And people wonder why that organization can't get it's head out of its ass."

"We've invested heavily in analytics and conditioning," Slade says when asked about the "style points" criticisms. "We also invest in humans. What's behind a kid's eyes? What's behind what's behind his eyes?"