Power Pros Forum

January 3, 2015
I turned on my TV in my apartment building in downtown Chicago. It was early in the morning, and Comcast Sportsnet Live was on. The news was surprising. The White Sox have fired GM Rick Hahn after a large verbal argument with owner Jerry Reinsdorf. Rick Hahn was appointed to the GM position in 2013, after former GM Kenny Williams was promoted to Executive Vice President. I was the GM from 2008-2010, but was fired after two seasons of poor performances by the club. I had tried to revolutionize the club with Sabermetrics, but the idea did not pan out. After that, I became a producer for a local radio station, nothing special, quit the job after two years. I've spent the last two years saving up the money I made as GM and relaxing. Today, however, my life changed with one phone call.

Voice: "Hello, Matthew."
Me: "Who is this?"
Voice: "Emily, your assistant GM from way back when. I'm calling to ask if you've heard the news."
Me: "What news?"
Emily: "We have an opening at GM. I'd... I mean, we'd love to see you return as GM of the Chicago White Sox. Our time spent together was the best three years of my life. The new GMs have just treated me like a servant, they think I know nothing about baseball. You were different. You actually valued my opinion. We were partners. The three of us. Me, you, and Hirohito. Please accept this offer.
Me: "Is Hirohito still on the staff?"
Emily: "He disappeared in 2012. Last thing I heard him say was that he hated his new position.
Me: "Oh... Well that's a shame. He was a great person to work with."
Emily: "Hey, did you and Nina ever get married? Last I heard was you two were engaged."
Me: "Well... Let's just say she left. We're leaving it there.
Emily: Oh... Maybe she found out what we used to do during those long days in the office. That was pretty...
Me: Shut up, Emily! We're never doing that again if I take this job.
Emily: Geez sorry... I was just giving a reason. Anyway, come to the office at noon today if you want the job. See you then. Bye-bye.

Ah, Emily. My favorite person in the whole world to work with. I'm glad to hear she's still the assistant GM. Maybe she can become a GM one day. Anyway, I accepted the offer and drove to the White Sox office, near U.S. Cellular Field.

Emily: Matt! It's great to see you again! You look even better than I remember. Have you been working out more?
Me: Well I can see you're back to your old flirty ways, Emily. But yeah, I have started to run and stuff. Realized sitting on my ass was even more boring than a long day in the office.
Emily: True, true. Let me show you around. The office has changed in the past five years.
Me: Alright, I'd love to see the new changes.

We toured the new office for a while, and then I sat down to talk with Jerry Reinsdorf.

Jerry: Hello, Matthew. How have the past five years been?
Me: They've been alright. Just trying to forget what happened in 2010. That was a disaster.
Jerry: Well, at least you did not scream at me when I denied you a certain payroll... All jokes aside, we'd love to see you take over as GM. I'm offering you a 3-year contract for a total of $1.5 million. Your goal is to reach the Postseason. What do you say, are you in?
Me: Yes. I'm ready to lead this team to a title, and I have the pieces in place to win us one.
Jerry: Good. I'm happy to have you on board. Go White Sox!
Me: Go Sox indeed!

This was all too much for me. I did not expect anything of this nature to occur, but boom! This was the happiest day I've had since I was first hired back in 2007. I'm ready to become the best GM in baseball.

January 5, 2015
I was surprised to see how much our team has changed since 2010. We were now lead by young stars such as Jose Abreu and Chris Sale. Paul Konerko is no longer a part of the team, although he hardly contributed in 2013 and 2014. We had just acquired veteran stars such as Adam LaRoche, Melky Cabrera, Jeff Samardzija, and David Robertson. Our main weakness was our bullpen, yet again. The team's situation now was nearly the same as when I took over in 2008. We do not have a great farm system either. The main two things I want to fix are the farm system and the bullpen. Today was my first meeting with my new staff.

Emily: Hello, everyone! And welcome to our newest GM, Matthew Ratajczyk. I'm the only one on this staff who remembers him as GM, but welcome him anyway!
Me: Thanks, guys.
Robin Ventura: Glad to meet you. Now tell me, what are your expectations for me this season?
Me: Well, I expect nothing less than a playoff appearance. This team is loaded. I'll try to get you a reliever or two during the season, so there is no excuse to miss the postseason.
Robin Ventura: I can't make any promises, but we should make the playoffs.
Me: We WILL make the playoffs. No exceptions.
Robin Ventura: Very well. Thank you.

My first meeting went well. I'm already excited to start the 2015 season.