November 8, 2012: Aurora, Colorado – On a seasonably cool, overcast morning in Aurora, Colorado, the Front Range media gathered to meet with Aurora President Michael Topham and GM Will Topham for the team’s annual State of the Team conference.  The 2012 season was one of challenges and disappointment for the Borealis.  They failed to reach the Planetary Extreme Championship, a goal the team had set and their fans had come to expect.

“I’d like to welcome you all to Northern Lights Park for our annual debriefing,” began the senior Topham, “and we wish it were under better circumstances.  The 2012 season ended with great disappointment for everyone in the Borealis family – players, coaches, owners and fans.”  Topham gazed around the room and gestured at the press, recognizing their disappointment.  “Did we have a successful season?  Well, a 114-win season is unequivocally successful, tops in all of the PEBA.  Failing to win the championship hurts.  Losing the Sovereign League Alliance Tournament in the manner in which we did is not acceptable.  We have high expectations with the money we have invested in this roster.

“Teams undergo change.  That is the course history shows, and the Borealis are no exception.  We inherited a team at the start of 2011 that was loaded with talent, but it was a team that was growing, maturing, and with that maturation comes expense.”  He looked around the room at the older writers, those who would understand.  “It’s like when you first get engaged; that simple engagement ring may suffice, but when you hit that 30^th anniversary, you better pay up with something nice.”  Heads nodded in the audience of reporters.

“Very little looked different in 2012 body-wise.  We made some deals during the 2011 season – moving Salgardo and installing Card as the backup catcher.  Trades for Pexego and Garza affected the minors more than the major league roster.  2012 brought financial change as players were extended with the hopes of keeping the core, the nucleus of the team together to maintain competitiveness.”  Topham paused to take a sip of water, then continued.  “The moves paid off.  We were a game shy of the title in 2011, and in 2012, we again had the best record in the league.”

“But ultimately, history catches up with you.”  The elder Topham shuffled some papers on the podium.  “We saw salaries rise from the $120 million spent in 2010 to $133 million spent last year – a big piece of that coming from the Pexego trade – and this season we shot up to over $145 million due to extensions for Jim White, John Knight and Juan Suárez (said with a touch of anger).  Despite our great success, for the first time this franchise lost money.  Not much, mind you, until you factor in the revenue sharing bill – a figure that is $2 million more than our closest competitor.”  The look of displeasure was clear on Topham’s face.  “To discuss the changes we expect to happen for 2013, here’s Will.”

Will Topham rose from his chair, cleared his throat and began.  “Hey guys,” he said with a slight, friendly wave.  “Well, you already know a couple of the moves.  We released Salvador Bernal shortly before the season ended for us.  Salvador was a fine member of the Borealis in the past.  His speed and defense were valuable assets, but unfortunately for him, his lack of offensive success coincided with the development of Cory Pierce.  We do wish him luck.  I’m certain he’ll find work somewhere.

“Secondly we traded Alexander Poirier to New Orleans for Kane Talley, a young outfielder who was a second round pick in last year’s draft.  He’ll give us more minor league depth in the outfield.  Alex’s position was much like Salvador’s – inconsistent play while being outplayed by others, in this case Quiñones and Rivera.  His inflexibility defensively also contributed to his lack of playing time and made him expendable.  I’m not sure what Scotty has in store for Alex, but we expect that wherever he ends up, he’ll play well.”

Before continuing, Will Topham leaned over to his father and shared a whispered exchange.  “We have a number of free agents within the organization, mostly minor leaguers, but there are two big names on the Aurora roster, and it’s really no big secret.  Chris Weaver is an original Borealis from the inaugural season, and he’s consistently been one of the top hitters in the PEBA since the league’s inception.  We would love to keep Chris in Aurora a few more years, but financially it is no longer feasible.”  The junior Topham looked down at the papers in his hands.  “Chris’s $19 million salary is simply too much for us financially.  We have offered him arbitration, but realistically we expect him to decline.

“The same is true with Aaron Turner.  Aaron had a fantastic season – he really showed he still has game, despite our efforts to move him all season.  With the injuries we had in the outfield, we really needed Aaron, and he produced.  That says a lot about his professionalism.  I think he’ll move on to one of the rising powers in the Imperial League – Kentucky, perhaps.  I would not be shocked to see either end up in the LRS.  It’s happened before.

“With those moves, four original members of the organization are gone, and I want to reiterate that we are thankful for the efforts they gave this franchise.  This leaves us with only three members of that 2007 team: Steve McDonald, George Thompson and Jamie Johnston.  In their stead, Al Edwards finally will get a chance.  He’ll initially move into the utility spot that José Rivera has served, and Rivera himself will compete with Jim White for the 3B job.”

Once more, Will turned and spoke quietly to his father before returning to the press.  “Sorry guys, we just have a few things on the burner… (the reporters all start speaking out)  Later, guys, if something comes, up you’ll know.  I’ll just say we’re negotiating with one of our players over a long-term extension.”  (more murmurs from the crowd)

“En-guo Guao has already taken Bernal’s spot on the roster and Pierce’s spot was really not a spot – we were juggling the DL all season to keep him with us, so he’ll take Turner’s spot.  We are anticipating Mike Burton to fill Weaver’s spot.  That is the one position that will be an open competition during spring training.  Brad Cain and Ernie Brown will both get looks.

“Financially we save over $10 million and get younger, and those are two areas that we decided when we took over we were going to be diligent about – keeping the team in the black and not getting too old.  Moving Poirier and letting Weaver and Turner go were moves us in that direction.  Despite the changes, we are confident we have the firepower to defend our division title.

“What we are most concerned about is our pitching.  The failure of George Thompson’s control and John Roach’s inability to find consistency coming off his shoulder problems has left us thin in the rotation.  Bradley, Kojima and Tillman all had outstanding seasons, as did the bullpen, so our biggest area of need is starting pitching to complement our three starters.”  Will pursed his lips, “We are exploring ideas and weighing our options.  Really, no one is out of the realm of the trade market.”

Topham paused to sip his water, “We believe we have the pitching to be a playoff team, but we’ve learned the past two seasons that we need to improve to be a championship team.  What we look forward to most come spring training is seeing the progress Miguel García has made.  He was looking like an ace before his rotator cuff injury.  His return to form could be huge for us.

“Looking ahead, we’ve two players up for arbitration – Jamie Johnston and José Rivera, both of whom we are hoping to sign to deals.  After the 2013 season, Pexego and Quiñones become free agents and maybe only Ernie Card will be up for arbitration.”  Topham scanned the crowded room.  “So we stand a pretty good chance of making up the losses of this year while remaining quite competitive.”

The young Topham looked down at his notes, shuffled some papers and looked up.  “We’ve got some young talent in the minors.  How that affects our future moves is to be determined.  Will Ken Coleman or Rod Johnson be up to replacing Pexego?  Should we let him go?  Scott Vinson may see a call-up by the 2014 season and may be starting by 2016.  We’ve see Jeff Marable already at the major league level, and he’s one of our main conversation pieces this off-season – whether he’ll start or continue to relieve.  Same for Francisco Chávez, and we may even see Tony Gordon later this season or certainly in 2014.”

With that, the microphone was handed over to the media, who had no shortage of questions.  One thing was certain; Aurora was not going to be content with resting on the large collection of talent they have.  Fans of the team should be pleased with the knowledge that the organization is dedicated to bringing a championship to the Front Range and that they are going to work hard to do so.