Fresh Fur, Part 4: A Comeback Story? (Hoppy Endings, ST sim 1) [PP:2054.06]

[neugey]

This off-season, the Jackrabbits have been driving their fans nuts, searching for bargains and coming up short to other offers in free agency. But this past week, the slump officially ended when Edmonton agreed to terms with lefty Jan Chmelyk on a one-year, $602,500 deal.

Jan's story is an interesting one. As a relief pitching prospect, he was drafted by GBC Jerusalem in 2045 but fell all the way to the 12th round. With a big chip on his shoulder, he worked on his craft tirelessly and became a breakout star at the AA level. He earned his callup to Jerusalem in 2046 and functioned as the team's closer. In the first few years he produced hot and cold results. But in 2048 he started to put it together, generating a 2.59 ERA and 3.35 FIP to go along with solid save totals. That setup a career-defining 2049 in which he recorded a 1.93 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 229 ERA+ while saving 42 games and winning the GBC's reliever of the year award. In 2050 he kept pitching strong as the team's closer and helped power Jerusalem to its first GBC title in 10 years.

Coming off of this massive success, he had many suitors in free agency and ultimately signed a hefty 5-year $38 million dollar offer with BBA Chicago. And then things changed quickly.

Despite Chmelyk's limited stamina, Chicago's management was excited by Jan's 3-pitch repertoire and opted to move the long-time reliever to the rotation. The results were disastrous. He made four starts and then suffered an elbow injury that put him on the shelf for almost a year. In 2052 he made his return to the rotation and soon tore his rotator cuff which put him out for another 8 months. In 2053 he managed to stay mostly healthy, but in a return to the bullpen he recorded a 6.03 ERA and 1.79 WHIP. That prompted Chicago to release Chmelyk outright in August 2053.

Last week, Edmonton noticed Chmelyk and decided to work him out. They noticed that his velocity and control were still quite good. Hit fastball and curveball still are BBA-ready. While he may not turn out to be the dominator he once was in the GBC, Edmonton feels he could make a modest comeback and was worth the gamble on a one-year deal.

The outspoken Chmelyk offered his own thoughts on the signing, and fallout with Chicago.

"I was always a reliever," demanded Chmelyk. "Except in college, but even then the coaching staff was limiting me to 4 or 5 innings in my starts and grooming me for the pen. I worked my way up and built my career on finishing games. I thought when I signed with Chicago it was to work out of the pen, but then the story changed and they put me in the rotation. My arm paid the price, and when they released me after 3 years of trying to comeback from one injury after another, I took it hard. 2053 I was trying to work my way back. It takes time."

"I'm thankful for the opportunity with Edmonton. I want to prove to the Sox I've still got it. I know I'll be well taken care by the staff here. I don't think that was the case in Chicago. They couldn't even protect the owner man."

Chicago's fans were outraged at that last comment by Chmelyk and thought the reliever crossed a line. Said one fan online, "Say one more word, chump. You're lucky you're over in the Johnson and out of stray bullet range."