Hustlers GM Matt Rectenwald pondered the question. Sipping on his Coca-Cola, he figured it was time to think out of the box. The Hustlers' pitching hasn't been this bad in.....gosh, it occurred to Rectenwald that he couldn't remember having a pitching staff in such disarray. He used to be able to find live arms just about anywhere and put together a great staff. Has he lost his touch? Wait...who's this Quick fellow in Milwaukee?
"Have you heard much about this guy in Milwaukee named Fletcher Quick," queried Rectenwald of Buckland.
"I know they call him 'Doodles', don't know why," laughed Buckland.
"Bro, funny nicknames are the last thing we need to be thinking about right now," said a clearly annoyed Rectenwald. "Can he pitch?"
Buckland types frantically in the computer looking for the latest scouting reports from Milwaukee, the Hustlers' Triple-A affiliate. "(Eugenio) Asseldonk (Milwaukee's pitching coach) says he has a live arm, fastball and sinker mix, great endurance for a reliever. Looks like other than one bad game in April, he's been pretty solid." He scans some more notes, and stops cold. His mouth agape for several moments, Buckland looks like he's seen something truly amazing.
"What the hell, Elliot?" Rectenwald shouted, snapping Buckland out of his trance. "What is it?"
Buckland looked up slowly from the notes, staring steely-eyed at Rectenwald. "He won a Pegler Series championship with the Toledo Liberty in 2057. Won the Garden Cup MVP, then the Pegler Series MVP, and then the Pegler League Reliever of the Year Award. He has that Liberty street cred. I can't believe we didn't notice this before."
Rectenwald now had the same look on his face that Buckland had just several moments earlier. Snapping back to the present, Rectenwald stood up quickly and shouted, "Get him up here, now! This is no way to treat a Toledo Liberty legend. Send him first class, have a limo waiting, and book him a penthouse. Get the man whatever he wants. He's a gosh-darned Pegler League champion. That's just what our bullpen needs. One flash of that sweet championship ring and the rest of the guys will be so inspired they'll have to start pitching better. Finally, we found the answer to all of our problems!"
