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Hurler Vows To Return By Playoffs
September 5, 2061: Kamloops 25 year old closer George Stafford made news today when police detectives invited him into their offices for questioning. The six foot one 190 LB prospect who has been pitching in Kamloops, the Bikini AA ball club, for the past Four Seasons, struck out 8.4 batters per 9 innings this year, and gave up only 1/2 of a home run in each of those 9. To top it off he walked "only" 3 1/2 batters per nine. Those numbers make him a much more interesting prospect than the one who, the three seasons before had walked 8.3, 7.1, and 6.1 batters per 9 innings.
Pitcher Striving
For BBA Slot"I wanna pitch in the big leagues," Stafford had said at the end of the season. "Daddy needs a new pair of boots, and they ain't made for walking on their own."
No one seemed to understand exactly what Stafford meant by that, but the young man has made himself a bit of a local hero with his less than well thought out quips, and his propensity for delivering pitches to wildly unpredictable locations. One Kamloops promotional evening was advertised as watch Stafford hit the bull, and enticed fans to come to the field by offering free cotton candy if an errant Stafford fastball made it to the backstop. What fans could say, however was that that improvement from six point one walks per game to 3.5 suddenly made George Stafford into a much more interesting professional prospect. Never mind that scouts still considered his control to be to the South of Sacramento general manager shoeless's ability to avoid signing anyone who can dunk a ball over third base. The grades these scouts are publicly providing have not changed when it comes to Staffords control of either the curve or the cutter that make up his repertoire. That control score remains a big red 1.
Reports now say that perhaps the 3.5 is not so real.
Evidence has been uncovered that suggests that Stafford's girlfriend was often seen in contact with minor league umpires either hours before or after Kamloops games, and snitches are suggesting that the most likely cause of such improvement is not any inherent skill from Stafford so much as favorable support from the umpire behind the plate.
"I can't say anything about girlfriends or umpires or what that all meant," One anonymous AA hitters said last week. "But I can say she's as hot as Stafford is dumb, and that Stafford had a strike zone the size of a Nashville fans ego. It just wasn't natural."
Time of this writing we could not determine the content of any conversation that Stafford had with the police, but can report that the pitcher left the precinct office on his own recognizance. No word as to whether Stafford will spend time in either the jailhouse, or the clubs offseason development lab at Payne Island.
September 5, 2061: Kamloops 25 year old closer George Stafford made news today when police detectives invited him into their offices for questioning. The six foot one 190 LB prospect who has been pitching in Kamloops, the Bikini AA ball club, for the past Four Seasons, struck out 8.4 batters per 9 innings this year, and gave up only 1/2 of a home run in each of those 9. To top it off he walked "only" 3 1/2 batters per nine. Those numbers make him a much more interesting prospect than the one who, the three seasons before had walked 8.3, 7.1, and 6.1 batters per 9 innings.
Pitcher Striving
For BBA Slot
No one seemed to understand exactly what Stafford meant by that, but the young man has made himself a bit of a local hero with his less than well thought out quips, and his propensity for delivering pitches to wildly unpredictable locations. One Kamloops promotional evening was advertised as watch Stafford hit the bull, and enticed fans to come to the field by offering free cotton candy if an errant Stafford fastball made it to the backstop. What fans could say, however was that that improvement from six point one walks per game to 3.5 suddenly made George Stafford into a much more interesting professional prospect. Never mind that scouts still considered his control to be to the South of Sacramento general manager shoeless's ability to avoid signing anyone who can dunk a ball over third base. The grades these scouts are publicly providing have not changed when it comes to Staffords control of either the curve or the cutter that make up his repertoire. That control score remains a big red 1.
Reports now say that perhaps the 3.5 is not so real.
Evidence has been uncovered that suggests that Stafford's girlfriend was often seen in contact with minor league umpires either hours before or after Kamloops games, and snitches are suggesting that the most likely cause of such improvement is not any inherent skill from Stafford so much as favorable support from the umpire behind the plate.
"I can't say anything about girlfriends or umpires or what that all meant," One anonymous AA hitters said last week. "But I can say she's as hot as Stafford is dumb, and that Stafford had a strike zone the size of a Nashville fans ego. It just wasn't natural."
Time of this writing we could not determine the content of any conversation that Stafford had with the police, but can report that the pitcher left the precinct office on his own recognizance. No word as to whether Stafford will spend time in either the jailhouse, or the clubs offseason development lab at Payne Island.