By Francis Ferry, NLN beat writer

November 4, 2011: Aurora, Colorado – The weather on the Front Range is known to fluctuate wildly, and Tuesday’s season-ending playoff loss to Florida in cool weather has given way to the season’s first snow.  Thursday brought light flurries most of the day as temperatures hovered in the mid-thirties.  Within Northern Lights Park, workmen busied themselves taking down bunting, covering the field and preparing the park to withstand the harsh winter ahead.  Inside the vacated locker room, gloves, bats and cleats were all replaced with the odor of cleaner.  Tables where card games were played were replaced by rows of folding chairs in anticipation of the day’s main event: Aurora management’s first State of the Franchise press conference.

The appointed hour came, and in walked a group of men to face the press representing various news outlets: newspaper, radio and internet from all over Colorado and the west, as well as National news sources.  Between the shocking loss in the PEC and the questions raised by Chris Rodriguez, there was much interest in what would be seen and heard.

The chatter and milling about of reporters silenced quickly as the table upon the dais in front of them quickly filled.  President and CEO of the Borealis Michael Topham led the group that included his son, GM William Topham, and Vice-President of Baseball Operations Chris Rodriguez.  The senior Topham sat in the middle, not surprisingly considering the bad blood between Rodriguez and the junior Topham, and was the first to address the press.

“I want to thank you all for coming out and braving the cold weather.  I know for those of you from this part of the country, this may be nothing, but for us Californians, this is getting pretty chilly.”  There was a slightly audible snort from his right that only was noticed by those in the first row.  Michael Topham ignored the sound; the Aurora GM glanced across his father with a stern look for the previous GM.

“We were so looking forward to having a conversation about winning the Rodriguez Cup for the memory of Chris’s father,” as he casually points his hand in Rodriguez’s direction.  “That was, after all, our goal for the season.  We were very disappointed in the result of the postseason, but we do have to keep in mind that, in the grand scope of things, we had quite the successful season.”  Topham reached down and took a sip of water.

“Thanks to our long run through the playoffs, our overall attendance and gate revenue was up, as was merchandising.  We led the league in wins and had some real positive results from some of our young players.  All in all, a successful season.”  Once more, there was a low noise from the right, this time a clearing of the throat that seemed loader than it need be.

“We finished the season with what we believe was the largest payroll in the league, primarily due to the acquisition of Pexego.  We have no intention to see our salary base spiral out of control.  We will quite probably once more have the highest payroll next year; we’ve already paid out $1,000,000 more in revenue sharing over last year.  We believe we have the wherewithal to manage the salary load for next season, but we are looking at means of lowering it.  We hope to finish 2012 in sound fiscal shape because our real work here will begin in 2013, when a number of key players become free agents and/or arbitration begins taking a hit on us.”

Many hands began to shoot up into the air, as the antsy reporters wanted answers.  “There will be time for questions guys, but first things first.  I want to talk about the franchise first before we begin with what I’m guessing most of you want to hear about.”  With that, there were murmurs of agreement throughout the locker room.  “I’m going to let the man in charge discuss the personnel moves that have occurred and the moves we are looking at in the future.”  Michael Topham turned to his left.  “Will?”

The younger member of the Topham family cleared his throat as a more audible “humph” came from the other side of the table.  As Will Topham, the young GM of the Aurora Borealis, began, his father was seen leaning over to his right and whispering something to the remaining member of the Rodriguez family involved in the franchise.

“We came to Aurora with an initial plan to do very little and let the cards we’d been dealt play themselves out.  As the season began, we did see some problem areas we felt needed addressing.  First and foremost was the Salgadro trade.  Víctor was starting to make waves about playing time behind Wilson Berry, and when you look at the trouble he’s making now for New Orleans, perhaps we made the right move.  Aside from clearing Salgadro from the roster, it gave Ernie Card a chance, and in limited action Ernie did well, hitting .311.  I think we may see Ernie get more playing time next year, as we think that Wilson kind of faded down the stretch.  We netted a couple of picks in the draft, a #2 that got us Bobby Watson; a young, talented 3B who needs to work on his contact and recognizing the strike zone, but with great power potential.  We hope he’ll be knocking AAA pitchers around in 2014.  We also picked up a #5 that turned out to be Alberto Flores; a closer who ended up with 21 saves and a 1.15 ERA at Low-A, with a 3:1 K:BB ratio.  The kid looks promising.  We feel good about that deal.

“Another preseason deal we struck was sending Jorge Coreto to Reno.  Jorge was not in our plans as we examined the minor league outfield options.  This also netted us a #2 and a #5.  The two became Orlando López, who had a terrific stint at Low-A ball, hitting .341 and then .294 at High-A.  He may very well be fast tracked to AA next season.  These two deals involving players we felt had no future brought in return some players with bright futures.”

The group of reporters sat watching the 19-year-old GM speak far beyond his age.  His father sat back, surveying the room, listening attentively, and the third member of the Aurora party seemed distant and disinterested.  This dichotomy of behavior was not loss on the reporters.

“Injuries were another area that provided a great challenge for us.  Frankly, we were slammed, and were quite fortunate to have had the depth on the roster to manage.  Like they say, there’s always a silver lining, and for us that silver lining was John Roach’s arm problems.”  With that, Chris Rodriguez seemed to perk up a bit.

“John struggled upon returning, no doubt about that, but we believe he deserves a chance to work during the offseason and come back strong.  Meanwhile, Bill Bradley came onto the scene and was fabulous.  Really, really was everything we hoped he would be.  Likewise with Bryant Burris.  We sent Richard Thomas to New Orleans along with Salgadro to open up a spot on the roster for Bryant and he, too, impressed us with his work.  He does need work on his control, and he’ll be sent to Winter Ball to specifically work on that.  We expect that, when Suárez’s deal expires, Bryant will be our closer.

“Injuries also prompted the move for Pexego.  Well, that and just trying to beef up the lineup.  We just were not convinced that our pitching was strong enough to win in the postseason.  We tried to make some pitching moves, but we lost out.  So we figured we‘d just have to out-score them.  Almost.  It’s unfortunate that he missed the postseason.  He has two more years on his contract, and after next season we will begin to determine his long-term relationship with Aurora.  At this point, we could see him staying for another 3 years or perhaps finish his career here.  We’ll see.  Meanwhile, we do have a number of first basemen that we like in the organization and we also have a decision on Alex Poirier’s future as well.  Alex struggled mightily down the stretch drive, and that cost him during the playoffs.  He was understandably upset by that, but seeing we lost in the last possible game, I guess some correct decisions were made.”  A loud sigh floated towards the ceiling.

“As Dad said, we’ve got a number of free agent deals coming to the forefront after next season, many centering around pitching.  With that in mind, we do plan on seeing Francisco Chávez invited to Spring Training with a job that is his to lose.  With the devastating injury to Miguel García, Chávez will have to pitch his way back to AAA.  We hope he shows he’s up to starting at this level.  That would be nice.  We’re also interested in seeing what kind of bounce-back George Thompson, Artie Tillman and Kojima make.  Especially Artie.  His postseason was like a get out of jail free card.”

Will paused for a sip of his Coke, then, addressed the press one last time.  “I’ll be back on another day to look at the organization as a whole, including the minors and the players there.  Once we figure out where guys will be, we’ll talk more.  Thanks, guys.”  And with that, Will Topham sat back in his seat.

Once more, the many hands of reporters shot up in the air, and voices called out questions.  Michael Topham raised his hands in the air himself in an attempt to calm the reporters.  “I know, I know.  I know just what you guys really want to know.  I have purposefully refrained from addressing the rumors and comments from Chris about the team’s ownership ‘dilemma’ while the team was still playing.  I felt it was,” as he glanced in Chris’s direction, “unprofessional to drag our dirty laundry through the press while the playoffs were underway.  I was waiting for this moment.”  Topham grasped his water bottle, then glanced at his son, took a long, slow drink, put the bottle down and looked at Chris Rodriguez.

“What you have heard is indeed true.  When the Final Will of John Rodriguez, Sr. was read, he, in his last moments, was in belief that he possessed the entire value of the team to sell.  That does not appear to have been the case.”  Load, audible murmurs arise from the crowd of reporters.  “It appears that some shady characters and some dishonest actions have been taken over the past couple of years.  Plainly put, John Rodriguez was duped by his own family.”

Chris Rodriguez sat wide-eyed and crimson in the face, as if he could not believe what he was hearing.  He began to speak, but Topham turned and pointed a stern finger in his face.  The Tophams have been in control of the team for only a short seven months and change, and it was the first time the public had seen Michael Topham act in any manner that suggested anger towards Rodriguez.  “I cannot begin to guess how it came about.  I wasn’t a fly on the wall or a cockroach on the floor when these things went down, but legal papers have been presented to the Commissioner’s office showing that Chris Rodriguez is in possession of 25%of the team.  I frankly find this unacceptable, under the circumstances.  The unique relationship that Chris has with the Commissioner and the manner in which the team came to his possession has made it unacceptable to the Commissioner as well.”

The first words spoken at the press briefing by Chris Rodriguez followed this comment.  “I don’t care what the Golden Boy thinks!”

A hush fell over the stunned crowd.  Michael Topham closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  He held it for a moment before he continued.  “We have spent the past two weeks discussing, both within the Golden Community and with Mr. Rodriguez, what will be the next move for the club.  Christopher Rodriguez is very adamant that about maintaining possession of the team, and has made it clear he has no intention of backing down.”  The senior member of the Rodriguez family folded his arms, raised his chest and leaned back in his chair in a sure sign of defiance.

“How Mr. Rodriguez came about the team, we plan on keeping private.  What we’ve offered him for his portion of the team will remain private until a deal is consummated…”

“They offered me a bunch of movie theaters!  Can you believe that?”  That would be the last that was heard from Chris Rodriguez on this day.

Just then, in the back of the room was a familiar person, dressed in a baseball jersey who was jumping up and down, shouting, “Oh, Oh, oh!!!”  Aurora radio personality George Crocker was waving his hands, making quite a commotion.  “Why don’t you just have a competition for it?  Winner take all.  You know: play ‘em H-O-R-S-E.  Have a wiffleball game.  You know, strikeout!  Better yet, how about a giant Connect Four game!”

And that is how the idea was hatched.