Mr. Palin Talks Roster Expansion; 2029, V16

[Bumstead]

Mr. Palin sits at his desk at 11am on Saturday, November 1, 2029 with his head in his hands groaning from the pain. An aspirin bottle the size of a 5 pound protein powder container is dumped over on his desk and Mr. Palin is currently chewing on a handful of the spilled aspirin.

Dug Riddler launches himself into Mr. Palin's office, pounding on the door as he enters.

Jeff Palin: Damnit Riddler. What are you, some sort of flatulating butthead? Can't you see I'm on the phone here?
Dug: Uh...there is no phone in your hand Sir. What the hell happened to you anyway?
JP: <picks up phone> Are you blind Riddler? Why are you even in here?
JP: Yeah, I will have to get back to you. Bye.
Dug: <laughing> we had a 9am meeting scheduled to talk about expansion. You weren't here at 9am, so I did some research and waited.
JP: Did you happen to stop at the 5-8 Club and pick up a couple of extra Juicy Lucy's?
Dug: Well, yeah, I just happened to do just that. <Dug hands over the greasy white paper bag>
Dug: You know, we probably should get this done before the game starts at 2:05. It will take some time for these players to get here from Duluth.
JP: <inhaling the burgers; already on burger #2> It's only a couple hours if they know how to drive Dug.
Dug: <rolling eyes> The manager will want them here by noon.
JP: Fuck him Dug. What's he won, 43 games? He's lucky to still be employed.
Dug: Have you seen the players we are running out there?
JP: Stay on task Dug. We don't have time to be screwing around. And next time, get here on time. I shouldn't have to wait around on these burgers.
Dug: Right. Sorry about that.
Dug: So, my suggestion is that we leave most of the guys in AAA so that we can win the AAA championship.
JP: Are you kidding me Dug? What do you think? You think we are going to fill our trophy cases up with minor league championship trophies? Is that why we are here Dug?
Dug: Well, no, but I thought it would be a nice lift for the organization.
JP: And what if we left all of our players down there and still lost? How would that look? If we are going to lose, it's going to be because we brought players to the big club to reward them for how they have played all season in the minors.
JP: Now, who's on the list?
Dug: Well, if that's your thought process, I will just go to my plan B.
JP: Plan B? Comical Dug. More like poor suggestion #5000. But, nevertheless, carry on with it and I will fix it.
Dug: Thank you Mr. Palin. You are too kind to me.
JP: I'm aware of that. I can also detect sarcasm and I still sign your paycheck, whenever we decided you need one.
Dug: See, about that...
JP: Look Dug. Stay on task or I can handle it all myself...like normal...this other stuff is for another meeting; you can call the service to schedule it.
Dug: There is no service, I tried that.
JP: I know. That was hilarious. I have the whole thing on tape. You want to listen to it?
Dug: No. I was there.
Dug: How about we start off with Carlos Fuentes? He can play...
JP: No.
Dug: Why not? I think he's ready.
JP: He's 20 years old and he's not on the 40-man roster. I'm not starting his clock and he needs more seasoning and more time at multiple positions.
Dug: Fine. Jack Bates.
JP: Closer, but he's not on the 40-man roster either. I'm leery of adding him.
Dug: Ok. Then how about Mark Wareham?
JP: Dug...this is about the dumbest group of suggestions I have ever heard. Wareham is 21 years old and he's barely even developed his power. Sure, he can win the gold glove next season at shortstop, but he has to be able to hit too...
JP: Look Dug, I hate to pull the carpet out from under your feet, but I think I am going to have to handle this myself. I know you put in a solid 10 or 15 minutes of your time, or less, but hopefully next season we are more in tune with our shared organizational goals and I will be able to at least consider something you say...
Dug: <throws his ream of paper containing graphs and notes on the subject across the room at the waste basket>
JP: Dug, that will still be there when I leave after completing the callups 5 minutes from now. I expect you will clean that up then. Be a swell guy and clean up this shit on my desk to please. Thanks for trying Dug. I almost appreciate it.

[jiminyhopkins]

I miss Mark Wareham.

He had some pretty good bumps for us after we discovered him. Hope he gets his chance in the show soon!

[Bumstead]

I miss Mark Wareham.

He had some pretty good bumps for us after we discovered him. Hope he gets his chance in the show soon!

I like him too! Barring a major potential realization, I would guess it will be this time next season when we first see him in the BBA. He can really pick it. If he bumped another contact point and realized all of his current potential, he would be an absolute stud. I'm optimistic about how he will perform once he arrives.