Poblanotes 51.3- Random notes

[chicoruiz]

1. You ever buy some really trendy article of clothing that everyone wants, but it just doesn't look good on you? Or you ever sit down to watch some acclaimed TV show that won a bucket of Emmys, and after ten minutes you say, "I'm sure this is really great, but not for me--- I'm gonna catch a rerun of '30 Rock' instead"? That was me and Bryce Sparks.

I claimed Bryce in the Rule 5 draft a couple of years ago and congratulated myself on how smart I was. He was a 22-year-old relief pitcher that every scout adored. All I had to do was stick him in the minors and watch him blossom. But a funny thing happened- he never quite blossomed for me. Eventually I realized that he and El Paso weren't a match and I just traded him for another reliever, Daniel Gonzalez. Gonzalez may not be as highly regarded by the scouting community, but he's the kind of pitcher I tend to collect- a groundballer who's had success in AAA but hasn't really had a chance in the bigs yet. I guess you have to know what you're comfortable with, and like my old sweats and my episodes of 30 Rock, Daniel fits me just fine...

2. I'm trying to wrap my mind around a new reality going forward. The Chilis have always been such a ragtag organization that when an injury hits, my first thought has always been to run to the waiver wire and the free agent list. But when I had a few players hit the IL at the start of the season, I was looking at the affordable short-term fixes available, and suddenly it hit me- shoot, I've got guys this good in my farm system. So, as a surprise to me as much as anyone, Kelyn Lomond, Luigi Roughly and that shortstop with the incredibly long name all made the opening day roster. The shortstop with the incredibly long name is back in AAA now, but the other two are still around and doing quite nicely. I have to get through my thick skull that the personnel grass is not always greener on the other side.

3. Well, I thought I'd had to deal with pretty much every possible situation in my GM career, but this one took the cake. I had to fine one of my outfielders, Kade Lebowski, for slapping a member of the other team during warmups. And the reason he gave? Kade accused the guy of cheating him during a spirited game of Go Fish a year and a half ago. "I asked him if he had any nines, and he said no, go fish- but that son of a bitch had two nines in his hand all the time!" He added that the game in question had taken place in Las Vegas. "I'm a real high roller out there", said Lebowski. "Old Maid, Go Fish, Crazy Eights"... The league fined him, but there was no suspension. I give up- surely nothing like this has ever happened in baseball...

[woods]

At least in 2051 the players have moved on from fantasy sports. What an awful fad that was.

[ae37jr]

When writing "The shortstop with the incredibly long name" is still quicker and shorter then typing his actual name.

[chicoruiz]

When writing "The shortstop with the incredibly long name" is still quicker and shorter then typing his actual name.

For the record, the player in question is Aniruddha Meenakshisundaram. I wonder how many points I would have to spend to have his name changed to Ed Ott or something...

[ae37jr]

You can always give him a nickname with pp rewards. Like maybe write a team news about how his teammates can't pronounce his name so they call him Bob or whatever.

[CTBrewCrew]

Hes just known as “that guy with the long name” guy now