Sunday, March 22, 2015
Lakeland, FL
11:15am
There's a knock at the door, and it's Brad (Ausmus). I tell him to come in.
"Hey Brad, what's up?"
"Well Danny, I'm going to be completely honest. I'm not comfortable with our pitching lineup. I'm really concerned about Shane (Greene) and Joe (Nathan). I think Alfredo will be fine, but I think Shane will be a bit over his head starting at this level needs more polishing in Toledo perhaps. Losing Max, Drew, and Rick really hurt us."
I sat there and stroked my chin and replied:
"I agree there, Brad. Losing Max really, really made Mr. Ilitch upset and we're hoping that we will be able to extend Yoenis and David. We don't have a lot of time...I'll talk to Dave and we'll get on the horn see if we can make some deals."
"Thanks, Danny. Keep me posted, please."
"Will do, Brad."
As Ausmus left back towards the dugout, we both didn't want to say it, but deep down we both knew that time was of the essence. We have the 30th ranked farm system, Mr. Ilitch is 85, and our stars are all aging. The time is now. Or never.
That evening, Dave, Scott, and I met up at Harry's Seafood Bar & Grille to map out a few things. Pitching is always our most pressing need, so after much debate, we decided to offer free agent relievers Carlos Marmol and Brian Wilson 1 year deals for relatively low cost and risk. Their stuff is electric, although their control has suffered as of late. Nevertheless, their experience could be very useful.
We've received positive vibes from our contract offers thus far:
"Dave, let's call Billy Beane. I have an idea..."