by Ethan Wardman
Almost immediately after cheating the fine franchise the Rosenblatt Bombers out of 1.2 million by somehow convincing the League Office to agree that they did not have to take back Bobby Sherman and his salary (that GM Rob McMonigal agreed to in the off-season!), the Bombers selected pitcher Baz Badr off the waiver wire, foiling McMonigal's attempt to force a talented player to accept being strung out as an on-again, off-again member of Indianapolis.
McMonigal, who will often shuffle players on and off waivers to see if he can find a better alternative, bringing the player back if he cannot, had sent Badr to waivers after giving him almost no chance (just six innings pitched!). I know plenty of scouts in the BBA and they all tell me that Badr, if given a chance, can be an amazing ball player.
But McMonigal gives him 6 innings.
Six.
Not even a full game's worth of chances for a reliever that I'm reliably told has "a devastating cutter." Doesn't that sound like something the Nine's beleaguered bullpen could use?
Oh sure, point out his 2061 numbers. Yes, I know he went 0-1 with a 7.77 ERA with the Nine, but again that was in just 14 games and 22 innings. McMonigal gives that to horrible pitchers like Dave O'Reilly now a pitching coach for McMonigal in Rookie Ball, if you can imagine that! and far more all the time.
And yes, I'm going to hear how Boise picked him up off waivers in 61 and he was 1-1 with an 8.78 ERA, but that was only in 12 more games and 13.1 innings. Hardly a fair chance. Their GM didn't even let him see the majors in 2062, likely because they were afraid he'd embarrass them by showing how good he could be.
Here comes 2063 and McMonigal, like Lucy with football, goes to give Badr "another chance." Then he screws him over.
So now, at long last, Badr gets a chance with a real organization in Rosenblatt. When called Rocky Mountain they were a proven winner. Their new General Manager, Justin Niles, is a proven winner. I'll bet you, my friends, that Badr ends up a proven winner, too, adding to the mountain of bad decisions by McMonigal that's so high people think Ohio has moved into the same Rocky Mountains that the Bombers came from.
Was it spite that caused Niles to take him away? Was it an eye for good talent, just like I have? Well, my friends, we'll probably never know. For some reason, no BBA General Managers will talk to me. But there's one thing we do know and it's that anytime McMonigal gives up on a player who's as highly regarded by my trusted scouts as Badr, they do better elsewhere. (See Reece Newsome.)
So once again, I'll pick up my refrain. Say it with me now:
GOOD GRIEF BO! HOW MUCH LONGER CAN THIS GO ON?
I'm really starting to fear what the answer is.
