Trainer Jack Brawner
The only Trainer Twin Cities has ever had, Jack Brawner, is facing intense pressure from the Front Office to explain why River Monster starters are having their arms fall apart.
"Honestly, we can't explain it. We've had several discussions with Brawner and we haven't really done much different from past seasons. We've kept the pitch count between 99 and 102. I suppose I could recommend dropping the Pitching Count even further to prevent these extended time injuries. We're extremely concerned with Thorpe, who it appears suffered permanent damage to his stuff as a result of his injury," Commented Pitching Coach Mario Velaz.
The latest causality was to Rookie Jose Perez, who had been having an extremely promising season, going 11 wins and 14 losses with a 4.39 ERA and 3.0 WAR. It was Jose's injury that really brought the microscope to Mario Velaz and Jack zBrawner.
"These guys are THE future of the Franchise. With pitching being at a premium, we can't be sabotaging their careers before they even complete their first full season. It's completely unacceptable to be losing pitchers at this alarming rate," ranted Team Owner Jack Wells.
Basically, the River Monster's lost 60% of the opening day starting rotation to season ending injuries with another part time starter for four starting pitchers total...
Here's a summary of the carnage for 2041
#1 Starter - Jose Perez (Rookie) - 7 Months - Rotator Cuff
#2 Starter - Liam Thorpe (Rookie) - 10 Months - Elbow
#4 Starter - Lucio Mendoza (Rookie) - 14 Months - UCL
LR / Starter - Takeo Morita - 12 Months - Labrum
The remaining full time starters are veteran, Ragnar Lothbrok and Rookie Manual Gonzalez. Gonzalez had been sent back to the Minors initially due to some early season struggles, back had to be brought back up because of the injuries. He's basically been left to wolves to struggle through the season, though it was apparent he wasn't ready for the BBA. Rookie Mario Espinoza was also brought up early to eat innings as well.
Fortunately, Ragnar has been a steady workhorse, even with his sub-standard ERA. He's put up a remarkable winning record, 12-8, despite the struggles of the young River Monsters... who have had 12 different rookies play regularly in either the starting rotation or batting lineup.
"I know you can't play the "Could of" game... but the team was showing signs of life in May, going 15-10, before the pitching injuries started to pile up." Comment GM Scott Piccoli.
