The Malthouse – Madison, WI: January 2nd, 2033

The Madison Malts started the offseason with a lackluster realization.. 2032 did not go as planned. While improving on 2031’s 69-93 record to 73-89 in 2032, the Malts still finished 4th in a tough Great Lakes division that highlighted the continued growth of the Kalamazoo Badgers, who until recently were in the same stage of rebuilding as the Malts.

“It feels like we stalled this year. We just couldn’t find that consistency we needed, but it was a learning year for our kids.” per Manager Bob Kramer. That is a tough pill to swallow for a team that many fans feel paid too much to improve their pitching staff last offseason. This led to the budget constraints being felt this offseason as attendance dropped ~700k from 2031 to 2032.

So with this offseason once again starting with what feels like knee-jerk reaction decisions from management, the fans are left to wonder if the recent move from Canton to Madison and yet another rebuild, is just a whole lot of the same old story for the only franchise to never make the PEBA playoffs. With owner William Marsten IV’s display at the recent Winter Meetings, you may not be wrong for giving up hope..

“With the recent “lackluster” ticket sales and performance of my dear Malts.. *hiccup we have gone ahead and pushed forward with new ventures to compensate for our GM Mr. Czosnyka’s poor performance.. *hic*.. the AAA Allentown Falcons have been sold to Great Lakes Brewing in Ohio, and will now be known as the Akron Ambers.. **hiccup good day! I say.. good day!”

Marsten more or less threw his GM, Michael Czosnyka, under the bus for the team’s poor decision making and performance in the 2032 season. He followed that up once again by selling naming rights, stadium rights, concession rights, you name it.. of one of his minor league clubs to another alcohol distributor in the Great Lakes Brewing company of Ohio.  Additional fall out from his disgust.. and drinking; is that gone is a top prospect in pitcher Shohei Murakami, for cash to cover the teams losses and assist in paying off the team’s new stadium in Madison, WI. Gone is Madison’s 1st round draft pick in the 2033 rookie draft, 10th overall, as well as another stud pitching prospect in Felipe Aguilera for outfielder Taki Takata. Hopes are Takata can be the future RF the team needs, but others in the organization argue Marsten didn’t want to pay the $2-$3 million dollar price tag of a 1st round draft pick. Additional talks are occurring with potentially moving fan favorite short stop Javier Torres and his contract as well.

One has to ask, who is running the show? Owner William Marsten IV and his recent drinking issues? Or GM Michael Czosnyka and a short attention span? And does either of them being in charge actually help the Malts to realize their goal of making the playoffs finally and removing the stink of a losing franchise?

Well at least we can say the Akron Ambers, despite the sell out, is a nice refreshing look compared to the old Allentown Falcons. Great Lakes Brewery paid homage to Ohio and the start of the company where they hand-delivered bottled beer to their first retailer, West Point Market in Akron, Ohio. With exclusive rights to the concessions stands, you can expect to see their full line up of beer available throughout Great Lakes Field.

In a marketing follow up, more likely a media clean up effort on how Marsten appeared at the Winter Meetings, the Malts revealed the planned “Bottle Cap Series” franchise reorganization. Attempting to make the best of ownerships continued push to align with regional beverage distributors, we now know that the remaining minor league teams;  Youngstown Thunder (AA), Middle Bass Vintners (A), and the Akutan Island Eagles (S A) are all on the list to be sold in the near future. So get your team memorabilia while you still can.

Only question is, which team is next?

– Damson Actinon, The Malthouse: Revolving Tap