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CatKnight · 03-01-2009, 09:48 PM

glenn: Thanks! I'm curious where this will go as well. Currently I'm trying to introduce the teams, then we'll get started.
*******

Early May 109

Jason Love, General Manager of the New Haven Redcaps, sat in the owner's booth overlooking New Haven Field, an open park that favored long singles and doubles as opposed to homers, Far below him manager Alfonso Soto slowly picked his way through a legion of hopefuls.

Love sipped his drink, a stiff local whiskey, and sighed as it eased his toothache. Love didn't want this assignment. He barely knew the rules of the game. At age fifty-eight (old for a Whitehorse native) he simply wanted to make it to his promised retirement in seven years. The idea that said retirement might depend on the productivity of people he'd never met and probably wouldn't want to meet....

Still, Soto's reports were promising. Their offense depended on 2B Miguel Cano, a thirty-three year old who scouts thought would never strikeout. Cano didn't have much power, but routinely hit balls over and through the infield for what would be base hits.

The rest of Blackwell's offense was neither here nor there, but Soto assured him their pitching would shine. He called 32 year old Ryan Hall and 22 year old Carl Sutter the best one-two combination in the Whitehorse League. His assertion was difficult to prove, considering scouting on the other teams had only just begun, but to Love's untrained eye they seemed impressive. Both promised excellent command and movement.

Twenty-one year old Keith Williams might be even better, as he added a blazing fastball to good command and movement, but he lacked the endurance and patience of the others. Soto wanted to use him as a closer.

*******

Andres Martinez, manager of the Rio Grande Caballeros, sat in the dugout watching his hitting coach go through the paces with each batter in turn. He stared at a clipboard full of names, most of which he didn't recognize, and shook his head. Mr. Chavez had invested very, very heavily in the team and it was thought he might have the highest payroll in the league - even over cities like Portland and New Haven. Martinez couldn't afford to make mistakes.

24 year old SS Juan Ventura had progressed notably since the first round of tryouts. He hit a few home runs, but his real danger was a supernatural ability to avoid bad pitches. 30 year old CF Gabriel Stevens promised the power Ventura might lack. Unless pitchers really bore down, Stevens hit every ball off the wall and ran outfielders ragged.

27 year old Brian Anderson was pitching now, offering decent power and control. 28 year old Chet Myers probably wasn't elite, but he should still be a solid performer.

Martinez slowly, hand shaking, 'X'd out another hopeful and thereby banished him back to whatever subsistence living he held before trying out. He hated making these kinds of decisions. The sooner he could get the roster down to 25 players...

"Cesar? Tell Simmons he can go home." Martinez watched his bench coach sigh, rise and head towards the field.

Mr. Chavez wanted a winner. He'd get it...but at what cost?

03-01-2009, 09:48 PM	#6
CatKnight All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 1,199	glenn: Thanks! I'm curious where this will go as well. Currently I'm trying to introduce the teams, then we'll get started. ***** Early May 109 Jason Love, General Manager of the New Haven Redcaps, sat in the owner's booth overlooking New Haven Field, an open park that favored long singles and doubles as opposed to homers, Far below him manager Alfonso Soto slowly picked his way through a legion of hopefuls. Love sipped his drink, a stiff local whiskey, and sighed as it eased his toothache. Love didn't want this assignment. He barely knew the rules of the game. At age fifty-eight (old for a Whitehorse native) he simply wanted to make it to his promised retirement in seven years. The idea that said retirement might depend on the productivity of people he'd never met and probably wouldn't want to meet.... Still, Soto's reports were promising. Their offense depended on 2B Miguel Cano,** a thirty-three year old who scouts thought would never strikeout. Cano didn't have much power, but routinely hit balls over and through the infield for what would be base hits. The rest of Blackwell's offense was neither here nor there, but Soto assured him their pitching would shine. He called 32 year old Ryan Hall and 22 year old Carl Sutter the best one-two combination in the Whitehorse League. His assertion was difficult to prove, considering scouting on the other teams had only just begun, but to Love's untrained eye they seemed impressive. Both promised excellent command and movement. Twenty-one year old Keith Williams might be even better, as he added a blazing fastball to good command and movement, but he lacked the endurance and patience of the others. Soto wanted to use him as a closer. ***** Andres Martinez, manager of the Rio Grande Caballeros, sat in the dugout watching his hitting coach go through the paces with each batter in turn. He stared at a clipboard full of names, most of which he didn't recognize, and shook his head. Mr. Chavez had invested very, very heavily in the team and it was thought he might have the highest payroll in the league - even over cities like Portland and New Haven. Martinez couldn't afford to make mistakes. 24 year old SS Juan Ventura had progressed notably since the first round of tryouts. He hit a few home runs, but his real danger was a supernatural ability to avoid bad pitches. 30 year old CF Gabriel Stevens promised the power Ventura might lack. Unless pitchers really bore down, Stevens hit every ball off the wall and ran outfielders ragged. 27 year old Brian Anderson was pitching now, offering decent power and control. 28 year old Chet Myers** probably wasn't elite, but he should still be a solid performer. Martinez slowly, hand shaking, 'X'd out another hopeful and thereby banished him back to whatever subsistence living he held before trying out. He hated making these kinds of decisions. The sooner he could get the roster down to 25 players... "Cesar? Tell Simmons he can go home." Martinez watched his bench coach sigh, rise and head towards the field. Mr. Chavez wanted a winner. He'd get it...but at what cost? Last edited by CatKnight; 03-02-2009 at 02:02 AM.