by Francis Ferry, NLN baseball beat writer

March 6, 2022: Grand Junction, Colorado – The defending PEBA champs are preparing to take the field tomorrow against Okinawa in the first of this years spring games and it looks like they will be doing so with a slightly – if not significantly, different look at their personnel level.

The Borealis held their annual spring luncheon for media and fans alike, and there was one glaring, missing figure at the owners table – manager Koki Kojima.

The absence of Aurora’s going-on-second year manager really does not come as much of a surprise at this point, as there has been no lack of discussion in the media about his holding out for a larger contract extension. GM Will Topham has reportedly visited the island of Kaua’i on multiple occasions this offseason in an attempt to thwart just the impasse that has come to pass.

Owner Michael Topham spoke to the collective about many things: What do do with OF Wilson Mercado, with an outfield that is already 5-deep with guys who could start for anybody (“We will address that in due time. Having depth has always served us well. I’m sure we could use the added power.”), the pursuit of another SP and the future of ‘Sawmill’ (“Time has proven to us that you can never have enough pitching, and if we bring in a strong arm and someone has to adjust their position on the team, well… then be a team player…”), and the failed pursuit of Curt ‘Cobra’ Turner (“It wasn’t a difficult decision, and the contract we offered neither broke the bank nor was a serious risk.”). But the biggest question on everyones mind was, ‘what of Kojima?’

“One of the things we believe in, from a business practices perspective, is that when you sign a contract, you honor it,” Topham began “and Koki has a contract with us. I also believe that we have done our best to be fair with both our players and staff, and have bargined in good faith throughout. Keep in mind – first and foremost, Koki Kojima is under contract, with this team, for the 2022 season. I fully expect that he will be in the dugout come tomorrow morning.”

Koki better get moving, it’s a long flight from Lihue to Denver.

“It is an unfortunate thing about contract negotiations, particularly in sports – time always distorts the value of a contract and it’s place in the sports perceived ‘value hierarchy’. The fact that Kojima was at the end of a long-term AAA deal, and Hayagawa’s newer deal had more value, is nothing more than an example of that. Our offer of an extension was an attempt to right that disparity.” Oddly enough, this has been the first time that Aurora Hitting Coach Kata Hayagawa’s deal has been mentioned in the context of this dilemma.

Topham continued, “It is also unfortunate that someone at PEBA headquarters leaked the ‘Operational-Occupational Team Payroll’ schedule, regarding ‘non-field salaries’, particularly those paid to GMs. I’m pretty sure we are not the only organization where the guys between the lines are feeling disrespected by this revelation.” The elder Topham paused for a sip of water, sighed deeply and continued, “Our GM has been at this now… going on 12-years. He has put together a consistent winner and has had us in the PEC 4-times, with two titles.” And with another sigh, “I have no problem with the salary structure there.”

One could not help but have a sense that the old man was defending his son. “Our GM,” and perhaps the unusual tactic of refering to Will Topham as ‘Our GM’ and not by his given name – was an attempt to separate son from employee, “brought Kojima to Aurora, picked him as Don James successor. Does a major league manager deserve more than a AAA salary? Absolutely, especially a title winning manager, but give time a chance to run it’s course and cooler minds to negotiate. Most of all, honor your existing obligation. Don’t hold an organization hostage by holding out.”

Reports out of Kapa’a, Hawaii, are that Kojima looks content and serene as he works at his families long-standing market. If the 63-year old was stressed about contract negotiations or money, one would be hard-pressed to see it. Age just may be a factor here, as one would suspect that Kojima’s managerial shelf-life must be ticking down. It is well known that the family market has been under attack by the larger, brand-name markets, and Kojima’s retirement ‘nest egg’ could probably use a little financial ‘insurance’.

GM Will Topham barely attended the event (uncharacteristically so), and instead was seen backstage in discussions with various members of Aurora’s major league coaching staff. After the luncheon, he met with the press and made a couple of interesting – and perhaps telling, announcements.

The first was the signing of international scout – and purported metrics-whiz, Daisuke Yamashita, to a newly created Assistant GM position. Yamashita has worked the past four seasons with Bani of the Dominican Winter League and his particular areas of specialty falls in line with Aurora’s philosophy – pitching and defense. It is unclear what his role may be over the coming months, but one suspects he will be a liason between Head Scout Joe Horn and the GM.

The other move is that of internal personnel shifting within the greater Golden Entertainment corporation. Assistant Chief Operation Officer Wellman Castle has been taken from his role in Golden’s floundering casino project, moved from the company headquarters in San Francisco to Aurora, and has been given the oddly conflicting title of ‘Assistant to the GM’. How ‘Assistant to the GM’ differs from ‘Assistant GM’ is beyond our pay scale, but one might gather that Castle may be more involved with the money side of the teams operation.

So… to sum it up, Aurora is minus a manager, and has added two ‘assistant GMs’. I’m not sure what that adds up to, but how ever you do it, it certainly must be that new fangled math they keep talking about.