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 Post subject: Fresno Flyers | Flying Around the Bases | Part 2
PostPosted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 11:04 pm 
Power Pro Legend
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Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2011 8:29 pm
Posts: 11487
Location: Skaia
Favorite Team: Rangers
Console '07: Nintendo Wii
Console '08: Nintendo Wii
Favorite Japanese title: (PS3) Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2012
“Frankly, I don’t know if this is going to work at all, but I’m in anyways!”

“Great! Glad to have you on board. Now, because of the weird circumstances surrounding all of this, you’re going to have to field an entire team from scratch. We’ve gone ahead and hired a secretary for you, but you’re gonna have to take care of everything else.”

Everything?

“Yes. Everything. You need at least 25 players for your major-league team, plus any minor-league depth you would like. A manager and some other coaches and staff might be nice, too, unless you think you can handle those responsibilities on your own.”

“Well, guess I better get moving, then.”

“Right on, Mr. Smith.”

Peter Smith went into his new office and fired up his laptop. It wasn’t much of an office right now, really more of a room with a desk and a chair, but that didn’t bother him at all. In fact, he kind of liked not having anything else in the room to distract him. I guess I ought to start looking for players… he thought as he started shooting emails and texts to various connections—former teammates, coaches, anyone he might know that could help him. He immediately got a few replies.

He had sent a text to a group message of several of his former high school teammates and rivals, and they had quickly agreed to meet him for dinner at In-N-Out at five-thirty. 5:30, he thought, that’s not too long from now. The time on his phone read 5:09. The In-N-Out was right across the street, though, so he wouldn’t need to take off for another fifteen minutes or so. A scout he had met a couple of times had also sent him an email, and he decided to go ahead and read that.

Hey Peter!

I’m excited for you to get this opportunity finally. I know you’ve been working for a long time trying to get to this point, and I’m proud of you for persevering through all those hard times along the way and finally making it here. I’m glad you thought of me, and in fact, I have several players I’d like you to check out. Let me know when you can make it up to Baltimore, I’ll prepare some scouting reports on the guys and have you meet them.

Thanks,
Jonathan Starling


He quickly shot back an email saying that he could make it up to Baltimore within a week or two, and closed down his laptop. Stuffing his cell phone in the pocket of his khakis, he walked out of the office, turning the light off behind him, and went down to the lobby, then across to the In-N-Out.

_________________
yeah that log's dead too- i mean on hiatus (yes that one too) (seriously all of them now lol)

NAPOLI FOR MVP

"All people are good for something. The important thing is finding what." - Tom

post count doesn't matter

BrewersFuzz wrote:
PEDs wrote:
i think we banned him cause he was an idiot
glad i never got banned for that


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 Post subject: Re: Fresno Flyers | Flying Around the Bases | Part 2
PostPosted: Sat Aug 15, 2015 2:08 pm 
Power Pro Legend
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Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2011 8:29 pm
Posts: 11487
Location: Skaia
Favorite Team: Rangers
Console '07: Nintendo Wii
Console '08: Nintendo Wii
Favorite Japanese title: (PS3) Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2012
“Hey! Quite convenient that you all happened to be in California this week, eh?”

I walked in the door of the In-N-Out and immediately spotted the group. Pete Grossman had been my best friend—and, well, my roommate—ever since my parents moved to Japan, back when I was still in elementary school. He was rather tall—six foot eight, he informed me—which made him quite recognizable. He was sitting just inside the door with three of our teammates back from middle school and high school: Jayson McDougal, Tim Cormier, and Tucker Davis. Simon Young, who had been a rival pitcher and a good friend off the field, was with them, as was an unfamiliar young kid who looked to be about fourteen years old.

Pete laughed. “Yeah, convenient, that’s what I’d call it,” he said. “Hey, I’m paying, so you better not complain,” I shot back. Pete sat back a little. “Yeah, you bet you’re paying. Five million a year,” he teased. I decided to change the subject. “So, Jayson, not rocking the ‘hawk anymore?” I asked, turning to a shorter (I mean, duh) guy with hair blacker than his solid black T-shirt. “Not right now,” he said, “USC wanted me to look a little more…presentable, for whatever reason. But I’m done with that now, so I might grow it out again.” Pete butted in. “Oh, by the way, this is Shane. You met him when we were down in Texas a few years ago with my cousins,” he said, “but it was very briefly, you may not remember him.” I denied that idea. “I remember him now.” I turned to Shane. “You were the kid with the weird head injury, right?” He looked up from his cell phone only to nod, then went back to tapping away at the screen. “Heh, sorry, he’s a busy guy, trying to finish up his degree and all.” “Degree? Isn’t he, like, fourteen?” Shane spoke up finally. “I’m actually nineteen,” he said, “same age as these guys. I’m trying to graduate in three years, and I just need one more class to finish up my English degree.”

“Anyways, why don’t we order? I’m getting kinda hungry,” I said. We got in line, behind a couple of couples (heh) and a scrawny-looking teenager. Suddenly, the kid turned around to face us. “You guys are, like, professional athletes, right?” he asked. “I’m actually the GM of a new Major League team,” I said, “and these guys might just be my first players. Why?” “Well,” the kid said, “I’m trying to be a Major Leaguer as well. I’m signed to play at a D-II school in Ohio next year, but my coaches and parents think I could get drafted in August.”

“About that…there’s not exactly going to be a draft this August, because of the whole league reformation thing,” I explained, “so if you want to go straight to the pros, your best bet would be to go play in a showcase around here. There’ll be a ton of scouts at those things from all the new teams.”

The kid arched his eyebrows. “What if I held, like, a private workout for one team?” he asked. “I guess you could go that route, but—wait a minute, I know where you’re going with this,” I said, “you’re trying to convince me to try you out, aren’t you?” The kid hung his head, turned around, and ordered a triple cheeseburger and a big order of fries. The kid went to sit at one of the little tables, and our group went to sit at one of those bigger circular-type tables after we ordered. I finished eating first and started talking to the others about how everything was going. Pete told me that he had been the starting first baseman in his junior year at UMass. “Hit .474 in conference play, with seven RBI and four runs,” he said proudly. I congratulated him and asked the others how they had been doing. Jayson had dropped out of college and gone off to play independent ball for a couple years and Tucker and Tim were trying to focus more on school at this point. Simon had joined the team at the D-III school he was going to. “But I barely played last year, only pitched four innings all season,” he said. Shane said he wasn’t playing in college either, but he had hit .541 in his senior year of high school down in Texas, and he had only quit so that he could graduate quickly and get back to playing.

As we talked, I noticed the kid straining to hear as much of our conversation as he could, but I continued to ignore him up until I was almost out the door. “My office is on the third floor next door, go on in,” I said to the guys, “I think I forgot something back there.” I walked back in and gave the table one last inspection. “Hmm, I guess I didn’t forget anything,” I said sarcastically. “Yep, there’s definitely nothing that I have forgotten.” I whirled around to face the kid. “Siiiiike!” I exclaimed as I invited him to come and join our meeting. He gladly accepted, threw away the scraps of his food—amazingly, he had polished off all of it—and followed me out the door and over into the five-story office building next door. We went up to the third floor, and when we got there, the others were already waiting for me in the office. Pete, ever the jokester, was sitting in my chair. “Oh yeah,” I said, “the office is a little, um, bare right now. I just got the job today, after all. By the way, I never got your name.” I said the last sentence looking at the kid. “Oh, sorry. My name’s Nick Bell,” he said. “Nice to meet you, Nick,” I said as I shook his hand. I tried to make small talk, but we ended up deciding to just go ahead and have a little workout on the back field.

I had Pete, Tim, Tucker, Shane, and Nick take a round of BP against each pitcher, then had them run through some simple baserunning and fielding drills. We decided to call it a day after that. “Swing back by any time Friday afternoon, I’ll be up in the office and we can talk money,” I told the seven of them. “Bring your agents, or consultants, or parents, or whoever, I’m giving you a few days so you can make arrangements.”

I said goodbye to all of them, and went back up to my office. I was quite tired, though, and I decided to go back home to my apartment. The apartment was well on the other side of town, near a mall and the ballpark that was, for the time being, the future home of the Fresno Flyers. I showered and changed into my pajamas—well, pajama pants and a white T-shirt—and nodded off, trying to think of something—anything—other than baseball.

_________________
yeah that log's dead too- i mean on hiatus (yes that one too) (seriously all of them now lol)

NAPOLI FOR MVP

"All people are good for something. The important thing is finding what." - Tom

post count doesn't matter

BrewersFuzz wrote:
PEDs wrote:
i think we banned him cause he was an idiot
glad i never got banned for that


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 Post subject: Re: Fresno Flyers | Flying Around the Bases | Part 2
PostPosted: Sat Aug 15, 2015 8:05 pm 
Power Pro Legend
Power Pro Legend
User avatar

Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2011 8:29 pm
Posts: 11487
Location: Skaia
Favorite Team: Rangers
Console '07: Nintendo Wii
Console '08: Nintendo Wii
Favorite Japanese title: (PS3) Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2012
The next day was Sunday, and I got the day off, choosing to go to church in the morning and relax the rest of the day. When I got to work on Monday, I had over a hundred emails in my inbox, and nearly three hundred text messages, plus a handful of voicemails! I had gotten replies from nearly everyone I had sent a message to, some of them serious inquiries about potential players, some of them joking inquiries, some of them just a “congrats” or “good luck” message, as was the case with many of my former teammates, most of whom had stopped playing baseball after high school if not before then. Over the next three weeks, I started bringing in players from all over the world—yes, the world—for interviews and workouts. By then, I had assembled a decently-sized staff, including Pete’s brother Colt, Carson and Matthew Harris, and a handful of outside candidates as well. We worked together to compile scouting reports and put together potential contracts for each player, although our list continued to shrink as we went along. “Some of these guys deserve a shot in the low minors, but certainly aren’t cut out for this level yet,” I said as I made another round of cuts. Finally, we started to sign some of the players. My first signing was, of course, Pete, who was followed by Tucker, Tim, Jayson, Simon, and Shane in that order. Reese Anderson, another former teammate of mine and Tucker’s best friend from high school, was the agent for all six, and we were able to work out deals pretty quickly. By the end of the week, I had put together a roster of eighteen players, and the kids I had gone to meet in Baltimore were coming by later to sign, which would put us at twenty-two. The eighteen guys we had so far were altogether not all that notable, although one pitcher, Chase Glass, impressed me with his command and stuff. Catchers Trent Harris and Darren Escobar were also fairly good overall, though if they both make the roster, it’s hard to imagine a situation in which I don’t substitute them often, what with Escobar’s above-average defense and Harris’s tremendous bat.

Then it came time to meet with the rest of the players. My first meeting was with Quinn and Zachary Zeller, twin brothers from Baltimore. I spent most of the afternoon reading reports from my various scouts and staff members on them. Luckily, these two were very normal kids. During the meeting, Zachary kept trying to talk Quinn up, but Quinn kept denying the praise. He was a very humble kid, I learned, who did it not for the money, but for the pure joy that came from playing the game for him. “So once again, thank you very much for this opportunity, Mr. Smith,” he said as he shook my hand after signing his contract. Zachary inked his deal, thanked me, and walked out with his brother.

Quinn Zeller — SP — L/L — DOB: 12/25/88

STATS: 2.02 ERA, 4.79 K/9, 1-2 record in non-conference; 0.84 ERA, 8.58 K/9, 4-1 record in conference play
SCOUTING REPORT: Mixes a four-seam straight and cut fastball topping out around 94 mph, as well as a standard curveball and straight change. All four pitches are at least average with plus or plus-plus potential. Good command, especially in the lower half of the zone. Very athletic with a good pickoff move and ability to field his position. No real weaknesses.
PERSONALITY: Humble, often absurdly so.

Zachary Zeller — INF — L/R — DOB: 12/25/88

STATS: .371 batting average, .143 isolated power, seven RBI in ten games
SCOUTING REPORT: Pretty average kid, although he seems to have a penchant for getting on-base when it’s needed most. Boots a lot of balls, although his ability to play second, short, and first is an asset no matter what. Can also pitch a little if needed.
PERSONALITY: Pretty much just tags along with his brother and tries to talk him up as much as possible. A bit of a ladies’ man.

_________________
yeah that log's dead too- i mean on hiatus (yes that one too) (seriously all of them now lol)

NAPOLI FOR MVP

"All people are good for something. The important thing is finding what." - Tom

post count doesn't matter

BrewersFuzz wrote:
PEDs wrote:
i think we banned him cause he was an idiot
glad i never got banned for that


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Fresno Flyers | Flying Around the Bases | Part 2
PostPosted: Mon Aug 17, 2015 3:02 pm 
Power Pro Legend
Power Pro Legend
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Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2011 8:29 pm
Posts: 11487
Location: Skaia
Favorite Team: Rangers
Console '07: Nintendo Wii
Console '08: Nintendo Wii
Favorite Japanese title: (PS3) Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2012
The other two guys that I had met in Baltimore weren’t quite ready to come down and sign yet, so I decided to go ahead and sign Nick Bell, the kid I had met at the In-N-Out. I had gotten some more reports on him from my scouting staff, and everything looked pretty encouraging.

Nick Bell — OF — L/R — DOB: 4/27/87

STATS: .543 average, .143 isolated power, eight runs scored in senior year of high school; also drew a walk
SCOUTING REPORT: Very well-rounded player. Can hit for both contact and power, and is a definite threat on the bases. History of leg injuries including broken right leg (twice) and torn left ACL, but shouldn’t be a problem if you don’t push him too hard. Not the best defender, but center fielders with legitimate leadoff skills don’t grow on trees. His ability to slide over to right in a pinch will help with our flexibility.
PERSONALITY: We…really have no idea. He’s shown signs of being very outgoing and then refused to talk. He really seems to want this, though.

After that, I went up to Minnesota to watch another pair of twin brothers. Nolan and Collin Gray both played for the University of Minnesota, and their home series that weekend would be a perfect opportunity to go get a good look at them. In a three-game sweep of Michigan, both brothers dazzled, as Nolan locked down two saves, allowing only one hit in four innings, and Collin went 6 for 12 with two solo home runs. I talked with them after the game, and they said that they would come down after the season—their final, as they were both seniors—to meet with me. By the time the college season ended three weeks later, I had added a couple of relief pitchers, both of them veterans who had spent several years bouncing around the independent circuit.

Taylor Guest — RP — L/L — DOB: 11/15/79

STATS: 1.80 ERA, 6.30 K/9 in first half; 2.31 ERA, 8.10 K/9 in second half; played for five different teams across three leagues
SCOUTING REPORT: I don’t really know what to make of him, he’s got a terrific changeup that almost looks like a true sinker at times. Claims that he uses a “vulcan grip” on the pitch. His fastball tops out in the high-80s, but it has a decent amount of life, and he can also mix in a cutter and a very slow, looping breaking ball. Has good control, but seems to melt down and walk a lot of batters anyways. We’re in trouble if he ever gives up a string of big hits, he’s been known to explode into a rage on the mound.
PERSONALITY: Gets really angry if he performs badly, but seems like a pretty normal guy otherwise.

Omar Robles III — RP — R/R — DOB: 1/2/78

STATS: 0.69 ERA, 5.54 K/9 in first half; 8.10 ERA, 2.70 K/9 in second half; was Guest’s teammate briefly to start the season
SCOUTING REPORT: Gets a lot of ground balls, but that’s about it. Threw six perfect innings in his first game this year, but still only managed three strikeouts—he’s definitely not a strikeout pitcher. His K/BB ratio will almost certainly be under one, but so will his FB/GB ratio. Was part of a combined no-hitter in his ninth start, though he walked seven or eight batters and took the loss.
PERSONALITY: Works hard. Yells about the Mets a lot.

It had been just over a month, and I still hadn’t hired any coaches, but little did I know that my next player visit would turn out to be my first meeting with our future manager.

_________________
yeah that log's dead too- i mean on hiatus (yes that one too) (seriously all of them now lol)

NAPOLI FOR MVP

"All people are good for something. The important thing is finding what." - Tom

post count doesn't matter

BrewersFuzz wrote:
PEDs wrote:
i think we banned him cause he was an idiot
glad i never got banned for that


Top
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