Aurora Turns to New Conductor; Suzuki Out
by Francis Ferry, NLN baseball beat writer
June 30, 2036: Aurora, Colorado – “It’s really come down to a growing discord in the clubhouse.” Said Aurora outfielder Stewart Arundale. “Four years ago there was excitement and improvement and playoff baseball that hid the discord, but now…” ‘Litterbug’ continued “but now the discontent is too apparent. Look in the dugout. Ryu is on one end, and the vast majority of players drift to the other - even the young guys, who would naturally look to learn from their manager.”
Stewart’s comments were not the only disparaging remarks – most from players who asked to be kept anonymous, questioning his use of the ‘pen (“He all of a sudden has decided he needs to keep relievers in for innings at a time), the lack of aggressiveness with the team’s speedsters (“Other teams seemed to run us into the ground”), and just a general lack of leadership (“Ryu leaves the dugout and heads to his office – and that’s that. As if he doesn’t care.”).
The general morale of the team is right there on the sleeves of their Aurora Blue unforms – this is clearly a team that is unhappy, and lacks a direction – and this has really begun to show in their play as the frustration over continued losing has this team hanging on the precipice of disaster with a 38-37 record. While the team stubbornly hangs on close to the division lead – a game deficit now at two-and-a-half, attendance continues to hang close to last years total – down just a percentage point, but should Aurora’s play continue to slide and Reno and/or Bakersfield get hot, Aurora’s infamous fickle fan base will find itself enjoying the Rockies more than baseball. A drop in revenue that would result woud be disasterous for a club whose salary structure is expected to grow over the next few seasons.
And gauging by fan websites and twitter posts, they, too, have noticed the discord and frustration and have speculated what the club should do – ranging from going all in on a trade to bring in Pablo Ortiz (so much for that with him now at Okinawa) or Lorenzo Castanieda (would the Trendsetters go there?) or Esteban Rodriguez (rumors are the Borealis and Ghosts have beat that horse to a pulp) – or just blow it all up and move pieces like Silva, Aleman, Clark and Twia and begin the arduous task of rebuilding – or simply fire the manager and seek to change the clubhouse culture.
Aurora GM Will Topham has, apparently, chosen the latter approach.
This morning, as the clubhouse personnel began to arrive to prepare for the day’s game with Crystal Lake, the GM called a press conference that was not unexpected, but was unexpected. “Today the Borealis would like to announce that they have decided a new direction is warrented and we have said goodbye to manager Ryuichi Suzuki – who actually will be reassigned within the Organization and return to his previous role as manager at Gatineau,” some in the group of reports silently gasped in shock, others nodded their approval, “and I would like to introduce the new manager of the Aurora Borealis – a familiar face, Michel Provost.”
‘Train Arollin’’, as he is known, came to the dias, looking haggard – showing the signs of a red-eye flight from Quebec, where Gatineau hosted Edmonton, to stand next to Topham as he continued. “Many of you heard of my uncomfortable conversation with Suzuki – what you may not know is I had already had discussions with Mike for the past week, getting a sense of where he was – professionally, and his readiness for the task. I’ll let him tell you more.”
Provost came to the mic and with a small cough, began. “First I’d like to thank Will, whose patience with me as a young pitcher - as he was a young man, is in no small way why I wear an Aurora cap in the Hall of Fame. When I retired and signed on to work as manager at Mokule’ia, I was excited. My goal was to do just this – manage the Borealis, lead the excellent group of players here, and to beat the Bears and Evil Evas.” The laughter in the crowd of reporters recognized the value of the statement. “If we do that, the fans will be happy and we will no doubt be successful.”
My colleague, blogger Ray D. Enzé stood and asked, “Michel, how do you see your skill sets making the biggest difference at this stage of the season?”
“Well, Ray, I know pitching, and arguably that has been where the slide in the teams overall play may have originated – and this is no knock on the work of ‘Stork’ (Aurora pitching coach Ryan Holbrook) – he’s an excellent coach with a proven record. Sometimes another set of eyes and a different voice can make a difference. ‘Stork’ and I have a great relationship and I will strive to complement his efforts, not compromise them.”
Provost has spent three seasons at Short A, a year with SLRC, and the past year and a half with Gatineau and has posted a 317-357 record (.470), with a pair of playoff appearances for the Oceanic. Clearly it is not a spectacular win-loss record the team is looking for – but leadership that his record with the team brings. The Hall of Fame pitcher was 160-83 with the Borealis, with a 2.73 ERA, with 2,079 K and just 195 BB – and a career 0.98 BB/9 that is the PEBA record.
Suzuki’s demotion makes him the first Aurora manager replaced mid-season, though for now he saves face as far as getting fired is concerned. His 4.5 season mark with Aurora was 418-305 (.578) and his 723 games as manager is second-best in Aurora history – behind Juan Toro’s 952, and just ahead of Don James’ 720. He was just the third Aurora manager with a win percentage under .600. Ryu returns to Gatineau where he was manager for 8-seasons after a pair of 4-year stints with West Virginia and Palm Springs, and he made the playoffs four times with the Balloonists – losing to what was Lupin’s AA twice (Beppo City), Toyama’s once (Toyohira in the semi’s) and Shin Seiki’s (Seoul) in the year before he took over with the Borealis.
Currently the Balloonists are 45-31 and in second place in the Maple Leaf Division, 2-games behind Toronto (FAR) and 2-games out of the wild card. Suzuki was already enroute to Gatineau, via Montreal when the press conference began, and was not available for comment.
