8/16/2014: Tempe, AZ – Steve Battisti, the newly introduced general manager of the Tempe Knights, sat and adjusted the height of the microphone on the table in front of him. A burst of feedback squealed, sending hands to ears for a brief moment. Camera shutters snapped and flashes streaked the room like lightning. He shuffled a chaotic mess of papers into a hefty stack and brandished it, grinning at the crowd.

“This is the list of things I have to talk to you about tonight,” he quipped, prompting a round of laughter from the gathered media. He tipped one hand in the direction of Tempe owner Chris Van Hauter. “Chris, thanks very much for the kind words. I hope I can live up to everyone’s expectations.” He shaded his eyes against the lights and peered at the crowd. “Looks like a full house. Carver, glad to see you’re doing well. I follow your blog religiously and I’m glad to see that you have survived the past few months. With any luck, I won’t be causing you any similar hardships.” There was a smattering of additional laughter.

“Okay, I guess we should get down to it, then. I’m honored to have the opportunity to become the general manager of the Knights, a franchise that has been successful, and recently. You know by now I have quite a bit of background in baseball, but more on the league side than the player side. The old school guys probably call me a ‘pencil-pusher’, and perhaps rightly so. I know times are a bit tough right now and the road has been a bit bumpy; for the Knights, for you guys, and most importantly, for our fans. I can’t promise I can smooth out that ride right away, but I’m confident that we have a strategic plan of attack for the Knights that will give Tempe a competitive, enjoyable, fan-friendly franchise for some time to come.”

A frenzy of hands raised as press members clamored for attention, and question after question was fired at the new GM.

“What did you think of the job Sascha Tesch did?”

“Would you have traded Hancock?”

“Are you going to extend Joe Moore’s contract?”

“What’s your plan for free agency?”

“How are you going to beat Bakersfield?”

Steve handled the questions smoothly and calmly in the way of most general managers; in an extremely vague yet confident manner. He stayed for some time – longer than expected, of course – and eventually Tempe’s PR director, Kim Merkison, stepped in to end the press conference. Chris Van Hauter stepped forward and a number of “photo op” pictures were taken, destined for a wide variety of papers and sports sites.

Steve headed for his corner office. It was lavishly but sparsely adorned, as yet undecorated by any personal effects. He plopped into the leather chair with his stack of papers, which were in fact scouting reports on the hundreds of players in the Tempe organization. He leaned back. It was going to be a long night.