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SmoothGentleman · 10-22-2019, 03:23 AM

After spending several days between the institute and office (along with seeing Malcolm for the first time in a week) I was live at the park to see Hatch make his return. He was returning off four days rest, but the 50 pitches were far from taxing. Instead of a throwing day, Pitching Coach Bhuvanacandra Himani had him do a light toss session two days before the start.

The games started rough, he hit the first batter after going 0-2....Pitching. However, the overall game went quite well. He used a lot of 2 Seam Fastballs and seemed comfortable.

The pitching remained the 'problem' on this team, but there are signs of hope in the bullpen. It's going to be a fight for us, but the playoffs are definitely within reach.

On May 26th, All-Star voting was updated. Popularity contests aren't something myself or my office values in or development and evaluation process, but fans and players seem to pay a lot of attention to them.

The 26th brought horrible news as I was about to board a plane for a scouting trip. Of course....Pitching.

Ranjan was struggling, yet Richard Colon our Assistant Player Development Engineer, Pitching thought he was close to turning it around after a few adjustments.

The injury forced an emergency meeting between myself, Malcolm, Richard, Himani, and Organizational Pitching Coach, Agendra Suchin late that night through video chat. We had to make a decision between our first two draft picks last year on who would take over for Ranjan in the rotation.

Himani told the group Vadodara Manager Devayukta Hazare would be fine with either taking over the role. Myself, Malcolm, and Richard were on board with Mecca despite his spotty control. Himani and Suchin rather we went with Punith, due to majority rule we decided to go with Mecca, last year's first round selection.

The next several days were frustrating as we struggled to overcome the Hyderabad Firebirds pitching. Since Mecca could have a future in the rotation, I decided to attend his start in Hyderabad on the 31st. We kind of needed to win the game.

I did have some hope going into this after watching Mecca warm up. His 4 Seam can touch 99, while his 2 Seam is anywhere between 84-90. He has an arm, just has to learn how to pitch effectively.

Mecca struck out the first two batters he saw. Our Third Baseman and team Captain Devsita Lakhani had back to back errors in top of the 3rd, which led to runs. I ended up leaving after the 3 run homer by Subodh in the bottom of the 4th. Fullington just legged out a fielders choice on a double play ball to keep the inning alive.

Mecca was good for his first start, it was a shame a Great Glove caliber player essentially cost the team a game. However, 'Tweet' isn't someone I can openly critique. Which is one of the reasons I didn't wait around to talk to the team after the game, I'm not going to risk upsetting the team chemistry.

Today has been quite thus far. I've decided to have a meeting with team leadership at some point during the month. The date will depend on how the product on the field looks. Devesita Lakhani, Ka'ai Tom, Wily Peralta, and Jose Yonayker Garcia will be the players I ask to meet with me here in my office.

Despite only being here since May 6th, Peralta has become a player the team has looked up to. His willingness to work at the Institute on his grips, his MLB experience, and how he leads has been great for this team. He's taken up a key leadership role Jake Higginbotham was filling. Jake is close to starting a rehab stint after an elbow strain has kept him out over two weeks. The others have great characters and work ethnic, making them the de facto leaders of the team in my eyes.

As we sit on an off days, it's become clear to me that our playoff hopes will depend on the type of...Pitching we get during the rest of the season.

If Viral is there in the draft at 8, I'm definitely taking him and will heavily consider having him skip developmental completely if we struggle in the pen again. The development and scouting departments seem to be on board with my plan for the most part, everyone in our organization likes the player a great deal.

I probably shouldn't panic too much, Josephine thinks we'll be fine and Malcolm believes our bats can carry us even if we have pitching struggles down the stretch.

He's almost a bit too confident with that. We'll see what happens.

10-22-2019, 03:23 AM	#5
SmoothGentleman Major Leagues Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 394	June 1, 2021 [Morning] After spending several days between the institute and office (along with seeing Malcolm for the first time in a week) I was live at the park to see Hatch make his return. He was returning off four days rest, but the 50 pitches were far from taxing. Instead of a throwing day, Pitching Coach Bhuvanacandra Himani had him do a light toss session two days before the start. The games started rough, he hit the first batter after going 0-2....Pitching. However, the overall game went quite well. He used a lot of 2 Seam Fastballs and seemed comfortable. The pitching remained the 'problem' on this team, but there are signs of hope in the bullpen. It's going to be a fight for us, but the playoffs are definitely within reach. On May 26th, All-Star voting was updated. Popularity contests aren't something myself or my office values in or development and evaluation process, but fans and players seem to pay a lot of attention to them. The 26th brought horrible news as I was about to board a plane for a scouting trip. Of course....Pitching. Ranjan was struggling, yet Richard Colon our Assistant Player Development Engineer, Pitching thought he was close to turning it around after a few adjustments. The injury forced an emergency meeting between myself, Malcolm, Richard, Himani, and Organizational Pitching Coach, Agendra Suchin late that night through video chat. We had to make a decision between our first two draft picks last year on who would take over for Ranjan in the rotation. Himani told the group Vadodara Manager Devayukta Hazare would be fine with either taking over the role. Myself, Malcolm, and Richard were on board with Mecca despite his spotty control. Himani and Suchin rather we went with Punith, due to majority rule we decided to go with Mecca, last year's first round selection. The next several days were frustrating as we struggled to overcome the Hyderabad Firebirds pitching. Since Mecca could have a future in the rotation, I decided to attend his start in Hyderabad on the 31st. We kind of needed to win the game. I did have some hope going into this after watching Mecca warm up. His 4 Seam can touch 99, while his 2 Seam is anywhere between 84-90. He has an arm, just has to learn how to pitch effectively. Mecca struck out the first two batters he saw. Our Third Baseman and team Captain Devsita Lakhani had back to back errors in top of the 3rd, which led to runs. I ended up leaving after the 3 run homer by Subodh in the bottom of the 4th. Fullington just legged out a fielders choice on a double play ball to keep the inning alive. Mecca was good for his first start, it was a shame a Great Glove caliber player essentially cost the team a game. However, 'Tweet' isn't someone I can openly critique. Which is one of the reasons I didn't wait around to talk to the team after the game, I'm not going to risk upsetting the team chemistry. Today has been quite thus far. I've decided to have a meeting with team leadership at some point during the month. The date will depend on how the product on the field looks. Devesita Lakhani, Ka'ai Tom, Wily Peralta, and Jose Yonayker Garcia will be the players I ask to meet with me here in my office. Despite only being here since May 6th, Peralta has become a player the team has looked up to. His willingness to work at the Institute on his grips, his MLB experience, and how he leads has been great for this team. He's taken up a key leadership role Jake Higginbotham was filling. Jake is close to starting a rehab stint after an elbow strain has kept him out over two weeks. The others have great characters and work ethnic, making them the de facto leaders of the team in my eyes. As we sit on an off days, it's become clear to me that our playoff hopes will depend on the type of...Pitching we get during the rest of the season. If Viral is there in the draft at 8, I'm definitely taking him and will heavily consider having him skip developmental completely if we struggle in the pen again. The development and scouting departments seem to be on board with my plan for the most part, everyone in our organization likes the player a great deal. *I probably shouldn't panic too much, Josephine thinks we'll be fine and Malcolm believes our bats can carry us even if we have pitching struggles down the stretch.* *He's almost a bit too confident with that. We'll see what happens.* Last edited by SmoothGentleman; 03-26-2020 at 08:15 PM.