[AgPete]

From: The Brady Brothers Agent
To: Mr. and Mrs. Brady
RE: 2004 Summary

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Brady,

It was another fine year for the Brady family. I'm sad to report that none of your sons made it to the postseason this year but if it gets to be a problem your boys are unhappy with, I'll make the appropriate arrangements. ESPN loves this story of two sets of twins from the same family. Nike is talking to us now! Look to see your boys in a commerical next year!

Bob - I would like to apologize for Bob's 2004 salary. We thought we could get at least $2 million in arbitration early this year but we lost and only received $957,600. Unfortunately, the Royals kept the same pitching coach and while Bob loves the man's desire to win, he feels he could get better coaching somewhere else. The Royals used the fifth overall pick in 2004 to pick the second best pitching prospect in the nation so help is on the way for Bob. I think the constant losing is pulling Bob down with it. The Royals had another gloomy year and finished 69-93 and 4th again in the AL Central, just barely beating out the Tigers for last place. The team had confidence in Bob and started him third in the rotation but as his ERA rose above 5.00 his spot in the rotation lowered. Bob did improve near the end of the season and finished with a respectable 11-11 record, 4.57 ERA and much improved 162 K's. Did Bob tell you about his first major league hit? He hit a beauty off of Byung-Hyun Kim in interleague play! With as many games as the Royals and Indians played against each other, I thought for sure both Bob and Denny would get a chance to pitch against each other but it didn't happen. Between you and me, if this organization wants to make any money at all, they'd better start scheduling games like that if for nothing else than some extra media attention. Bad marketing and a bad team. Don't worry, I'll get Bob out of here if it gets any worse.

Denny - Denny got a similar contract to Bob's at the beginning of this season and I'm sure it's going to help him pay off that weekend in Vegas, but I'll let him tell you the details. Denny had another fine season with the Indians, especially since he only had to play on one team this year. Denny started third in the rotation just like Bob but managed to keep his spot all year long. He collected an impressive 15-14 record, 4.04 ERA and 128 K's. He even led his team in wins this year! I'm going to ask for some big bucks next season if Cleveland wants to watch their young prospect continue to grow. Denny also got his first career hit this year! He's nothing to write home about at the plate but he can occasionally make contact. Cleveland was 3rd in the AL Central this year at 76-86 and it looks like their rebuilding phase may be starting to form something although Denny has told me he won't be apart of it if they don't pay him good when he becomes a free agent.

Mickey - I hope you are enjoying the new house Mickey bought you. He could certainly afford it after we forced the Cubs to fork out $2.2 million during arbitration. Mickey was excited about the 2004 season as soon as free agency began. The Cubs brought in John Smoltz, a terrific closer, to help them win some of the close games they lost last year and they still have one of baseball most promising young squads. You should be proud of Mickey, of all your sons, his team was the only one that still had a shot for the postseason near the end of the year. He still continues to receive 'excellen't coaching from his hitting coach. He's lucky to have him. I'm not too happy with the Cubs' latest experiments with Mickey. Can you believe they made that boy a leadoff hitter?! He still bats third in the line-up against righties but it looks like the Cubs will try anything to win games. Taking away his RBI numbers is going to hurt my negotiations, you can expect me to do something about it if it continues. Even playing some at the leadoff spot, Mickey was a star again this year and led the team with a .302 AVG and 95 RBIs. He also collected an impressive 23 HR and 88 RUN on top of that. Your son was HOT in the final part of the season and won the Player of the Month in September! Don't blame Mickey that the Cubs only managed an 82-80 record again this year. Mickey did his best to try and raise Chicago out of 3rd place in the NL Central! I can hear Ben Franklin and the other dead Presidents calling his name in the future. Don't get accustomed to your new 3 bedroom house because Mickey will be buying you a mansion soon if he continues to play like this.

Roger - I don't know how we did it but even with Mickey's better year, we managed to get the Orioles to pay $500,000 more than Mickey's arbitration contract. This is the kind of team I like working with, if you know what I mean. Did Roger show you pictures of his new farm? Mr. and Mrs. Brady, did you know that you have an All-Star in your family now?! That's right, Roger was one of two Baltimore selections in the 2004 All-Star game. His player of the month award in June sure didn't hurt his selection. He even had a hit and 2 RBIs in the AL's 8-3 thrashing of the NL. Just like his brother Mickey, Roger beat his teamamtes out for the best batting average. (.316) He was second on the team in RBI and RUN with 102 and 83 and also had 27 HR. The Orioles think so much of Roger that he usually bats clean-up and it didn't hurt that Baltimore traded for Gary Sheffield who provides a good bat behind him in the line-up. Roger is a star in the making and I'm going to make sure Baltimore knows it when it comes time to signing a check! Baltimore finished 71-91 this year, good for 4th in the AL East, but Roger doesn't seem to bothered about it yet. I think he's just getting use to his new stardom and not worrying about things out of his control.