Kernel of Truth 62.14 - DM at 6-14 this ST with 10 to go (a good look at the club)

[JRamirez]

DMO has lost five out of six and is now 6-14 in Spring Training 2062. There are 10 matches more before the regular season kicks in. Financially, it looks like the team will be available to keep every currently salaried player, so no more cuts or dumps will be necessary before the season starts. This includes C Cecil Clarke #32, picked in the offseason to be the starting catcher with Matsunaga at DH. Rule 5 pickup Dan Davidson #15 and Pablo Gonzáles are competing for the starting job. The latter has room to develop; he is 2 for 17 this spring. Davidson is 7 for 25 with three homers. 2061 pick Terry Pitzer #27 is 11 for 36. Long shot Tom Dahlberg is 0 for 2.

Currently riding a $108,349,900 player payroll, the Kernels seem ready for the 2062 campaign, GM JRamirez's fourth season. He is said to be in town, or at least the States, for a while—something about a house warming to attend—and assistant GM Esteban Costa is expected to be manning the GM office most of '62, which will be his second full season with the DMO.

Per the Accounting Team, the Kernels are looking at a possible $25mm loss this season. This despite only one IFA signing (2b Ricky Fults) and a modest development budget of less than $6mm, which is still a 16% over last season's. $16mm is player expenses, and most of that is dumping Greg Shaw.

The big free agent splash was LF Wan-ling Koo #13, who signed a six-year deal, with nice descending salaries favorable to the club. JR signed the Chinaman in January '59 for the GBC Pharaohs and he was a big part of Cairo's subsequent success. He then had a banner year for Jerusalem. JR told Costa to sign him, give him a big Year 1. Koo agreed, and he also agreed to wear #13, since nobody else wanted it and the number is not an unlucky one in China. And yes we know "Chinaman" is "not the preferred nomenclature." 14 is unlucky in Chinese culture.

Koo is 12 for 40 (.300) so far this spring. He successfully completed base-stealing training at the D-Lab, something that both Cf Morris and 2b MMartinez at working on. Don't expect to see Morris, Félix 'Matchbox' Parreno #37, or RF Júlio Pérez #14 play much during "Part 3" of spring training. Pérez is pegged by the pundits to be among the top of the BBA home run producers in '62. He improved his defense at right field for the third year in a row. Still, his range is mediocre. The outfield will be centerfielder Morris flanked by the "big sticks" Koo and Pérez. That leaves LF Kevin Thistle #51 without a starting role. Alonso 'Huckleberry' Flinn #19 is expected to start at first.

[BaseClogger]

Eek $25M loss!

[Trebro]

Eek $25M loss!

It's going to be interesting to see how the game handles that, especially at draft time. But I guess theoretically the owner just gets mad and eats it? not like he can fire us or I would have been gone by 2056 LOL.