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May 1, 2013
Since yesterday had been the last day of April, it was time for the Monthly Meetings. I had decided to hold a meeting with every player on the first of every month to go over their role going forward, performance in the past month, etc. After a light practice, the whole team gathered in the clubhouse. “Good job, guys,” I started. “We’re now 19 and 8, three games ahead of second place in the division. Now, let’s get to the individual meetings. First, the pitchers, starting with Simon.”
Opening Day starter Simon Young followed me into our office. “Simon, you did pretty well, with a 4-2 record, 3.72 ERA, and 24 strikeouts in six starts,” I said. “Well, I did okay, but I still want to get better,” he said. “That’s good. You’ll continue to be our #1 starter,” I told him.
Matthew Hanson was next. “Matthew, you were the only starter on the team with a WHIP under one,” I started. “You also had the lowest ERA, most strikeouts, and best record in our rotation,” I continued. “Wow,” he said. “I don’t want to make any changes yet, so you’ll continue to be second in the rotation.” “Thank you,” Matthew said as he left.
Tyler Richardson followed him. “Tyler, you did well this month, with a 2-1 record, 30 strikeouts, and a 3.58 ERA.” “I guess…yeah, I did alright, didn’t I?” “You did well enough to keep your rotation spot, and our trust,” I told him.
Reese Anderson rounded out the rotation, as our fifth starter, Tanner Hill was in the minors. “Reese, you did a good job this month - after spring training, I was a little worried, but you bounced right back for the regular season.” “Thanks,” he said.
Michael Cooper came in next. “Michael, you started off well, but after the last few appearances, I’m not sure we can keep you on the roster. You will get at least one more chance to prove yourself.” He was mad, but that last sentence cooled him off enough to keep him from punching me.
The next man up was Jake Jones. As players had been showering, not everyone was fully dressed yet. This included Jake, who came into my office in boxers, with a towel wrapped around his upper body. “Jake, you’ll continue to pitch out of the bullpen for us, at least for a few days. We’ll probably use you if we need some long relief,” I said. Jake breathed a sigh of relief. “However, if you don’t pitch well, we have other options.” “Gotcha,” he said as he left.
Frank Grossman was up next. “Frank, you will continue pitching as a mop-up reliever for us,” I said. “If you perform well, we may start using you more regularly.” “Great. Thanks,” he said.
Adam McDougal came into the office next. “Wait, is this the real Adam?” I asked. “What do you mean?” he responded. “Surely, the Adam that just dominated the first month of the season isn’t the same guy that was worried about his roster spot at the beginning of Spring Training,” I said, making him crack up. “I take it my spot is safe, then?” he asked. “Yes,” I told him.
Josh Kelly followed. “Josh, you had a disappointing first month, with a 5.4 ERA and only two strikeouts in eight games,” I said. Josh hung his head. “But-“ his head perked up again- “we are still confident in you, and will keep you in a late-innings role for now.” “Thank you very much,” he said.
Jayson McDougal, our closer, was the final pitcher. He had toweled off, but hadn’t fully dressed yet, as evidenced by the fact that he was only wearing boxer shorts when he came into the office. “Jayson, you did a great job. Keep it up,” was all I had to say to him. He hadn’t allowed a run in 10 games, and had six saves and 12 strikeouts to go with a 0.48 WHIP - one of the best monthly performances I had seen by a pitcher in a long time.
The batters followed, starting with catcher Dan Crawford. “Dan, we sent your brother down to Triple-A, so you won’t have to catch him every game. Instead, we’re going to start you against all right-handers for now. You will get a break if we face a bunch of righties in a row, but we want to keep you in the lineup as much as possible.” “Thanks,” he said quietly. “Oh, and don’t be afraid to keep taking those risks, trying to steal bases and the like,” I said.
Andrew Cooper followed him. “Andrew, you’ll be our starting catcher against left-handed pitchers for now. Don’t worry too much about your offense, just make sure you’re playing the best defense that you possibly can and we’ll keep putting you in the lineup,” I said.
I had our first basemen - Pete Grossman, Will Griffin, and Grant Lawrence - come in together. “Great job so far, guys. Pete, you’ll keep starting every game, mostly at DH, but some at first. Will, you’ll sit every fourth game, but come off the bench, alternating between first and third when you play. Grant, we’ll try to get you in the lineup as often as we can, probably at DH most of the time.”
Brett Bell was next. “Brett, we’re going to a platoon at second. You’ll be starting against right-handers though, so you’ll get most of the starts, it’s just that Nate has been hitting well, and you’ve struggled a bit against southpaws.” Brett understood the decision. “Oh, and definitely keep running out there. You’ve got a green light to go whenever you want, because we trust you to be a smart baserunner.”
Nate Gray followed him. “Nate, you’ll start against all lefties now. Good job out there, keep doing what you’ve been doing.
Dylan Brown came in. “Dylan, nice job. We’ll continue putting you in the lineup- it’s hard to put a .400 hitter on the bench,” I said, drawing a chuckle.
Matt Lowe and Nick Wallace came in together. “Matt, we’re going to start you against righties, and Nick, we’ll start you against lefties.” They both understood why we were going to a platoon.
Tim Cormier came in next. “Tim, nice job out there. You went down to Pawtucket and worked hard, like you said you would, and look, here you are, starting and hitting .347!” He shook my hand and left.
Isaiah Hightower followed him. “Isaiah, good job in center. You’re hitting .400 and are 6 for 7 on steals, so I don’t have anything to complain about. Keep doing what you’re doing,” I said.
Jeff Lowe was next. He had a pen in hand, as usual, and was doodling on his arm, as usual. One thing was different, though: his shaggy hair, instead of its usual brown, had been dyed pink. “Notice anything different?” he asked with a grin. “As per team policy, your hair has to be back to a normal color - brown, black, red, or blonde - by our next game. Now as for the playing itself, it hasn’t been bad. I haven’t seen anything much to sway me to give you more or less playing time,” I said.
Tucker Davis came into the office. “Good job, you rebounded from a bit of a slow start, and are now approaching the .300 mark,” I said. “Also, you’ve thrown out a TON of base runners this year. Keep, you know, doing that.” He thanked me and left.
Shane Gomes was the last player on the team. He walked in wearing a tank top and boxers, with shorts pulled down almost below his knees. “You did a solid job this month, and we’ll keep you in the same role as our backup corner outfielder,” I told him. “Swag,” he said as he left. I shook my head, then went out to talk to the team again.
“As a team, we need to keep hitting like we have been - we lead the league with a .340 team average - and everything will work out fine. Our pitching has been good enough to keep us in ballgames, and our hitting, obviously, has won us several games. Great job, guys. You are dismissed, until the game later today."
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Olive - she/they // NAPOLI FOR MVP // post count doesn't matter
yeah that log's dead too- i mean on hiatus (yes that one too) (seriously all of them now lol) (haha unless...?)
"All people are good for something. The important thing is finding what." - Tom
BrewersFuzz wrote: PEDs wrote: i think we banned him cause he was an idiot glad i never got banned for that
Second Member of the 10,000 Post Cult
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