The Malthouse: Revolving Tap

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The Malthouse: Revolving Tap

#1 Post by Hitmen »

Money Equals Happiness in Canton?

Cleveland, Ohio - November 21st, 2029:

Money is flowing in Canton as the offseason is underway in the Planetary Extreme Baseball Alliance. $96.5 million to be exact.

Is it smart management, good timing, or something else?

2029 saw Canton with a hefty $129.8 million payroll with stars such as catcher Ryan Lambert and All-Star/All-Leather winner Harry Hutchins accounting for the ballooned payroll that fielded a 63-99 record for the year. Not much to get excited about after finishing 20 games worse than the previous year's tie of the franchise best 3rd place finish in the division and second best franchise record of 83-79.

Is this smart management which lead to the freeing up of so much money, with hopes of a renewed push in the 2030 season? One insider hypothesizes that first year GM Michael Czosnyka threw in the towel in April after multiple confrontations with long time owner William Marsten IV. One could look at the acquisition of one time Golden Arm winner Leonard Carver as the start of the end of the Longshoremen. The exodus continued with 10 more trades of anything not bolted down within Svab Memorial. I'm told some furniture and team equipment can be found on Ebay and Craigslist still today being sold with strange accounts. These trades did result in a much needed restocking effort of the farm system however. So the verdict is still out; but we will be soon publishing the notes provided to us from our insider to let you decide.

Is this all just good timing? Canton has 5 players that are arbitration eligible this offseason; previously making ~$8 million in 2029. Early reports are that only one player still fits the plans of the GM and Assistant GM (Hoshi Shimizu) going forward. 6 pending free agents accounted for ~$73 million in 2029. Once again only one player is reported to have received a qualifying offer. Another additional ~$28 million comes off the books with Leonard Carver and David López. So it's very plausible that Canton and rookie GM Czosnyka fell into the right situation at the right time, choosing a hard stance in beginning a rebuild rather than overpay underperforming and aging veterans.

Or is something else going on entirely? Pending free agent Bill Carter and recently resigned Jimmy Younger are opening a family dinner named "Carter and Younger's", despite rumors of both players frequenting Jack Cleveland Casino and seen leaving in tears throughout the 2029 season. Other pending free agents have been reported buying new homes for family members amongst other more exotic and expensive toys for the offseason. There are also the recent rumors that William Marsten was seen recently meeting with Gloucester Fisherman owner, Wendell Hart, about new investment possibilities in a questionable real estate market. Marsten has been spotted with Hart visiting Wisconsin, Ohio, New Jersey, and Gloucester looking at land for both residential and commercial investment opportunities.

Hart provided only that the short term and long term health of the ballclub is his only concern with these new ventures and he expects to reinvest his earnings back into Gloucester. Can the same be said for Marsten?
More to follow as details are known.

- Damson Actinon, Canton Port Times
Last edited by Hitmen on Sat May 16, 2020 12:52 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Michael Czosnyka

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Re: Canton Port Times

#2 Post by Ghosts »

All eyes on Canton as free agency kicks off! I'll be one of many waiting to see how that fortune gets doled out.
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Re: Canton Port Times

#3 Post by Borealis »

I dig that logo!! Mike does such a great job!!
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Re: Canton Port Times

#4 Post by Hitmen »

Thanks Mike ;-D I was excited once I got photoshop up and running. Still relearning everything I used to know.

Can’t wait Dan, I’m thinking hopefully quality before I dive into quantity on the free agents. I have a bunch of borderline AAAA type that are going to get a shot this year as well.
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Re: Canton Port Times

#5 Post by Sandgnats »

Nice job Mike!
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Re: Canton Port Times

#6 Post by Hitmen »

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Re: Canton Port Times

#7 Post by Hitmen »

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Re: Canton Port Times

#8 Post by Hitmen »

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Re: Canton Port Times

#9 Post by Hitmen »

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Re: Canton Port Times

#10 Post by Hitmen »

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Re: Canton Port Times

#11 Post by Borealis »

Longshoremen wrote: Sat Nov 23, 2019 1:50 am Canton Tweet 005.png
:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:
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Re: Canton Port Times

#12 Post by Hitmen »

Step in the Right Direction? Or Massive Failure?
Cleveland, Ohio – August 5th, 2030:

As a fan, it is difficult to watch, I won’t lie. Our Longshoremen are currently on track to have their franchise’s worst season in team history. With 52 games left, Canton needs to lose 28 games to tie a franchise record 102 losses achieved back in 2026, 29 to set the record. While this season they have already lost ⅔ of their games, losing a little more than half of their remaining games only seems inevitable.

The team also continues to struggle as their pitching is regressing for their 4th straight season, putting Wayne McCormick’s short two year stint as Pitching Coach in Canton in jeopardy. His contract is up at year’s end and it would be a tough sell to for GM Michael Czosnyka to consider extending him.

We questioned Czosnyka’s promotion of Edward Allen from SS-A ball Akutan straight to Canton, and his results have been about what you would expect. Allen is not ready for the big leagues and doesn’t have his hitters ready game to game.

Throw in GM Michael Czosnyka’s handling of the rosters, and quick trigger finger to dump anyone of worth in Canton and you can’t really argue Canton is doing anything besides alienating its fanbase and driving the team further into irrelevance. Canton does not deserve to be another Yuma, the fans deserve better. GM Czosnyka continues to spend more time out of the office, occasionally joining owner William Marsten as they gallivant around the globe with Gloucester’s Wendell Hart, or seen wandering the city’s street food vendors gorging himself.

Clearly management does not only not have the team’s best interest at heart, they plain don’t have any idea what they are doing. Or.. do they?

Ticket prices have been on the climb for a couple seasons, 2028 and 2029, when we saw prices rocket up to $23 or more on the low end. In 2030, ticket prices dropped 16% down to $19.50 for the cheap seats. Is GM Czosnyka actually thinking about the fans? Season ticket sales rose 44% from 2029 to 2030 with the lowering of prices, despite the team fielding what can easily be argued is a worse team this year. Attendance is actually up, an astounding 59%! Attendance averages of ~10k more per game put us at 27k on average per home game in 2030, compared to only 17k in 2029, showing an increase in gate revenues so far of ~34% this season.

With 52 games to go, Canton has already surpassed last year’s attendance numbers by almost 200k. So are they actually doing something right? Fans seem less interested in the product on the field in Canton, yet they still make it to the games in droves with friendly ticket prices and better food options in the park.

The team also has the 3rd best cost efficiency per Win in the league at only $942k per win. GM Czosnyka, despite removing anyone worth a lick of talent in 2029, payroll has dropped from a whopping $129 million in 2029 to just slated $53 million in 2030. This is set to decline even further next season.

GM Czosnyka has put a new focus on the youth movement, more than tripling the Scouting and Player Development budgets for 2030. The minor leagues are now chock full of young guys worth keeping an eye on in this rapid rebuild. Arms like Atasuke Inoue, Jorge Lorenzo, Jason Baker who seems to be a shoe in for Canton’s Minor League Player of the Year this season, and Pete Blaqueiere to name a few. Bats like Javier ‘Pokey’ Aguilar, Tony ‘Boy Scout’ Jarvis, and Steve Overgaag are reinjecting Canton with some much needed hope for things to come.

It’s been very much a ride of highs and lows, and no better seen than inside the halls of Svab Memorial itself. As promised, I will be releasing collected notes and comments provided from our inside voice in Canton to better understand what it’s been like from within the organization. So don’t make up your mind about how Canton is doing just yet.

– Damson Actinon, Canton Port Times
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Re: Canton Port Times

#13 Post by Hitmen »

CYA Notes and Thoughts - v1
Date redacted: Somewhere within Svab Memorial...

I told myself I can’t keep doing this… I can’t keep turning a blind eye to what is happening. I don’t know what is happening anymore with the team. One day we are seeking a trade, the next we are standing in place. Then right back to working the phone lines and making trades...

I can’t morally continue like this, watching on as the team starts to fall apart. So I have started putting all my notes and thoughts to paper. A cover my ass approach you could say. I can’t let my career be in jeopardy and I refuse to be the eventual fall guy, I need this job. I don’t want to go back...

My father always said, let the facts work for you. So I will do just that.

April 2nd, 2029:
Canton sends their 2029 5th round draft pick and $1 million to West Virginia, receiving 2B Wynn Berry.

Berry came in and filled a much needed hole in the infield here. Spending the majority of his time at 2B, Berry put up a respectable .267/.302/.347 slash for a contact hitter and base stealer. He nabbed an impressive 67 stolen bases in 2029 as well, tying Peyton Bishop's 9 year record in Canton. At only 27 years old and cost controlled at the time, you would figure he would be a staple in Canton for years to come becoming a regular in the local area…

He didn’t last a year... On December 18th, we traded Wynn to Crystal Lake, along with our 2030 5th round draft pick for Florida’s 2030 4th round draft pick and West Virginia’s 6th round draft pick. We would go on to keep the 6th round pick, but would package Florida’s pick along with our own 1st round pick (5th overall) to Bakersfield for Arlington’s 1st round pick, Bakersfield’s 3rd round pick, and Amsterdam’s 3rd round pick. Confused yet? I know I was and am...

Berry has gone from putting in a 1.5 WAR performance in Canton to a 2.9 WAR performance only ⅔ of the way through the 2030 season for Crystal Lake. 2B in Canton has already changed hands multiple times with not much upside since Berry’s departure.

Canton’s 2029 5th round pick was later traded by West Virginia to Hartford. Hartford selected SS Mathew Becker who has put up two respectable seasons in SS-A Waikiki. Becker could one day make a solid backup/depth role in the majors.

Canton’s 2030 5th round pick was later traded by Crystal Lake to Yuma. Yuma selected CL Leo Van Der Waal who has been putting a solid effort in at Kivalina with a 1.17 ERA and 1-1 record in 14 relief appearances. Currently he is slated to play a minor role in the bullpen if he can crack into the bigs later in his career, although he has the make up to surpass that and be a regular bullpen presence.

Canton loses:
- $1,000,000
- 2B Wynn Berry
- 2029 5th Round Draft Pick (SS Mathew Becker - HAR)
- 2030 1st Round Draft Pick (LF Tsuginori 'Mustache' Takahashi - BAK)
- 2030 5th Round Draft Pick (CL CL Leo Van Der Wall - YUM)
- 2030 4th Round Draft Pick (FL) (SS Dave Hearn - BAK)

Canton receives:
- 2030 1st Round Draft Pick (ARL) (2B Juan Rincón)
- 2030 3rd Round Draft Pick (AMS) (RP Humphrey Riley)
- 2030 3rd Round Draft Pick (BAK) (RF Luis Martínez)

- 2030 6th Round Draft Pick (WV) (SS Nicholas Purcell) - Somehow lost or stolen through back channels

Grade: D
At the end of the day, Wynn could have been a staple in Canton but was traded for some hopeful future pieces. Wynn is a versatile utility infielder with speed to spare. He has shown he is a perfect lead off man and in the short term, moving on from Wynn only hurts Canton in multiple ways. 2B is currently a mess, although there is a light at the end of the tunnel with 2B Steve Overgaag’s development in AA Youngstown this year. He probably won’t break the roster until 2032, but could potentially get his toes wet in next year’s call ups.

Rincon has potential, but was off to a rough start in Melbourne before fracturing his foot, which is feared to potentially be a nagging injury that could hamper Juan’s defense and speed. I want to remain hopeful, but Rincon might end up being a first round bust if he can't recover from his foot injury. He has already seen one setback and recently had surgery to correct the ongoing issues.

Riley will fit nicely in the bullpen if he continues his growth, and is on pace for the 2023-24 season at this time, although he is nothing to really get excited about at this time.

Martinez has been catapulting through the minor leagues so far and is already making waves in Youngstown. His defensive work will need to catch up to his bat though. He could break into the majors as early as 2032 or 2031 if he can make some leaps defensively. So I like the Martínez signing.

The bumbling errors by our management that lead to the mystery loss of our 6th round pick only makes all these trades worse in the middle of a crucial rebuild. It goes further to show how incompetent they are... how are we letting him run this franchise?
We definitely went with the long game with all of these trades from the initial acquisition of Berry, and ultimately it will weigh very heavily on how the three picks will turn out. However, today the trades are not looking in our favor for the short term. I'd be pretty depressed as a fan.

Contributor - Redacted
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Re: Canton Port Times

#14 Post by Lions »

I think it's hard to evaluate rebuilding trades like with Wynn Berry for picks. He is looking pretty good right now for Crystal Lake, though. In the short term, these will almost always look better for the team acquiring the established player.
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Re: Canton Port Times

#15 Post by Hitmen »

Badgers wrote: Wed Feb 26, 2020 2:13 pm I think it's hard to evaluate rebuilding trades like with Wynn Berry for picks. He is looking pretty good right now for Crystal Lake, though. In the short term, these will almost always look better for the team acquiring the established player.
Completely agree Frank, this definitely favors the short term. I am hoping to revisit all my trades as the years go on. It’s always fun articles that spur great debates, and it gives me a chance to reflect on what I am doing since the rebuild tends to take a couple years.

I am upset with myself for missing a draft pick since I didn’t catch the error pre-draft. So good thing to double check next time around.
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