I’ve done a lot of work in LA. Too many trades to list, too many FA signings to go through (on account of my laziness more than anything else). The greatest hits… I traded a solid starter and an above average prospect to Phoenix for
Michael Brisk – I got fleeced a bit, but if ever there was a mustache that belongs in LA, it’s his. Had to be done. I traded for your boy
Rad Taylor – I had to give up a prospect with arguably more upside than Rad, but I expect his work ethic to improve while assigned to our AAA club in Compton. I picked up Ethan Mullens from Portland for a couple of so-so pitchers (one a serviceable MLB starter, the other a mid-range relief prospect). I signed
Pepper Grant to a 2-year deal, not because I wanted to because I had to – he spent the offseason working out his fielding kinks - or so I’ve been told...
I’m a believer, I’m slotting him in at 3rd. I traded my Ace, John Aivazian, for an Ace in the making – Josiah Kawka – this one was more about having to type Aivazian all season than anything else – they are essentially the same guy, but Kawka is a bit younger. I had to retain 15% of Aivazian’s contract to make it work - worth it, his is a hard name to type. I traded for Merl Crawford – he’s still developing, but I was able to dump an overpriced older guy with who knows how much left in the tank for him - so, that’s coo. Lastly, I made a few attempts to get Hamza – nothing doing though, they love him in San Fran…
2075 Season (4/1 – 4/3)
Los Angeles Lakers @ Phoenix Suns
So, I’ll start my new job where I ended my old job - in Phoenix playing against a team that looks an awful lot like the one I built. I guess that the new regime doesn’t have a lot of fresh ideas. I enjoyed my season in Phoenix - I was hired to build a low-key contender around the two remaining Jeter Bros and to boost ticket sales. I went in another direction and traded away established players and error-prone personnel with bloated contracts to fill our funnel with talent for the future... and still snuck into the playoffs. It’s a bit sad that I won’t be around if/when those moves start to pay dividends, but truth be told - I just never got attached to any of the new blood I brought into the organization and as the season moved along after the trade deadline, I found myself less engaged with the team at an individual level. Los Angeles will be my team - I’ve turned over a good chunk of the roster and brought in my guys... Rad, Pepper, Ash - and even have some new early faves in Otto, Josiah, and Newman... I’m not putting too much stock in this series - it’s early, I have firsthand knowledge of Phoenix’s Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde tendencies, and like I said - they haven’t changed much. Meanwhile, in LA - I have my idea of what I got & what I think we can be - but until you play some baseball it’s anyone’s guess where this club will end up. We’re built on Starting Pitching, a serviceable Bullpen, fielding prowess, and some patience at the plate. Before we get started, let me make some introductions...
Players to watch that are not named Pepper, Brisk, or Rad:
CF Otto Isaac, 26 (15th overall pick out of Pennsylvania in 2070) – A slick fielder at Center with great speed, a good eye at the plate, and a little bit of pop… he’s starting to realize his potential – I expect him to breakout this year. He came up through our Compton affiliate where he languished for a while – I need to improve the development staff down there. We signed him to a 1-year, 1.6M extension - I already regret not trying to add in a few more years.
SP Josiah Kawka, 27 (47th overall pick by SDC out of Mississippi State in 2068) – Our newly appointed Ace, acquired by trade with the Montreal Impact. He’s got a great fastball, a solid curve, and a quickly developing changeup. Great stuff, good control. We’re hoping this will be the year that he puts it all together.
LF Joshua Newman, 28 (63rd overall pick by the Houston Dynamo out of Ridgemont Community College in 2068) – A solid above replacement guy whose jovial nature has made him a fan favorite in LA. We acquired him in the Rule 5 Draft in 2071. Newman has an absolute cannon for an arm, is a good contact hitter, and is something of a baserunning savant. Good ‘glue’ guy.
1 of 162: Josiah Kawka @ Patrick Keith
Not gonna lie – it’s weird being back in Phoenix… My time as GM in Los Angeles begins with a 3-pitch strikeout for RF Ethan Mullens – that’s inauspicious, I was hoping for something better than that. The game stayed scoreless until the top of the 5th – when, even after getting 8 hits, we break through with hit #9 – a
PEPPER GRANT solo shot for the 1-run lead. We get another solo HR in the top of the 6th when SS Sammie Fregoso puts out his first of the year… 2-0 now. Phoenix CF Jason Bland knots it up in the bottom of the 6th with a 2-run shot… ugh – where was that timely hitting at when I was captaining the ship? Our homer party continued in the top of the 7th when Otto hit a 2-run blast – 396ft of payback (insert James Brown voice). We kept it up late and ended up torching the Suns 8-3 in the season opener – same old Suns… 2 errors - both costly, and weak pitching from the pen. A complete game for Kawka, Pepper hits one out, and Otto gets 2 stolen bags to go with his 2-run homer. This one felt too good.
2 of 162: The Michael Brisk @ Evan Frazier
Evan was starting to come around a little bit at the end of the 2074 season for Phoenix, it will be interesting to see what he’s been working on in the offseason… In our first two games of the 2075 season, we have started off the festivities with a leadoff strikeout – I don’t like that. The top of the 2nd ends on a pop up to LF followed by a strike thrown to 1st by Cash Crouch that catches our DH Kumar Bovie looking – didn’t see much of that arm from Cash when I was in town. Through 3 innings, Frazier would walk 2, strike out 2, hit 3 batters, and be the beneficiary of 3 DP’s… woefully uneven, but oddly effective. Phoenix would open up the scoring in the bottom of the 4th off of a Luca Milbrandt RBI double… but Kumar would answer back in the top of the 5th with a solo HR – doesn’t quite make up for his boneheaded baserunning, but I’ll take it. We start to take over in the 6th after Otto hits a 2-RBI single, which is then followed up with a bases-clearing double for your boy
PEPPER – Lakers lead 6-2. We trade runs in the bottom of the 7th and top of the 8th, respectively – we get the solo shot from our Catcher Dom Cooke… and that’s where we leave it – Lakers win 7-3. Brisk gets a CG and gives up only 2 earned runs, and Pepper & Otto bring in 5 of our 7 runs… We look like a pretty good club.
3 of 162: Case Tunnell @ Al Van Wilder
Game 3, a chance at a season-opening sweep, and my first look at some new blood in the Phoenix Burnt Orange & Eggplant Purple – the Van Wilder kid has three great pitches (fastball, cutter, and changeup) but his movement leaves a bit to be desired… This one will be our first game of the season that we lead off with a hit – courtesy of Newman. We get a run in the top of the 1st, but Derek answers back in the bottom of the second with his first HR of the season and scores 2… Through 6, Van Wilder has us pretty well locked down, while Phoenix already has 5 on 5 hits for a 5-1 lead… Clay Daniels, in for Sammie Fregosi as an injury sub, got us a bit closer with his 1st HR of the season – a 2-run shot to left-center… and an inning later, Dom Cooke hits his 2nd homer of the season – another 2-run shot to tie it up… 5-5 now. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and we implode in the bottom of the 8th – Merle gives up 6 in the inning – including a walked in run, a run scored on a wild pitch, and one scored on a throwing error to first – if it could go wrong, it did. Phoenix wins and avoids the sweep, 12-5.
Taking two of three off my old employer in their park is a perfectly acceptable way to start the season. The 3rd game was a tough watch, especially during that ill-fated bottom of the 8th, but we played some solid ball and showed our fans a glimpse of what we will be capable of. For the series Otto hit .500 with a HR and 5 RBI’s, Pepper got a HR and 4 RBI, and Dom punched two out – in all we had 6 players who hit at least one HR and finish the opening weekend with the #1 rating in runs scored, batting average, OBP, and home runs. In the pitching department – Kawka and Brisk were better than advertised – sharp, in command, and extremely hard to hit – while Merl, a still-developing reliever we traded for in the offseason, and Case Tunnell both had abysmal performances. An uneven performance from our pitching staff. We head to San Francisco next to take on the defending World Series Champs – maybe I’ll make another play for Hamza while I’m in town.