Friday, March 25, 2011

Chris Rodriguez, son of the recently passed Aurora Borealis patron John Rodriguez Sr. and current VP of Baseball Operations, announced today, on the eve of the 2011 season, two major media deals that surly will challenge the rest of the Sovereign League. First is the signing of a new 7-year contract with Denver radio giant KOA, one-time home of the Colorado Rockies.  The powerful 50,000 watt station has a reach far into the realm of the Desert Hills Division, touching Tempe, Yuma and Reno, as well as Omaha and Fargo of the Great Lakes Division.  On a clear night, people have reported even hearing this radio giant in San Antonio.  Sports writers who cover the PEBA feel this is an aggressive act on Aurora’s part, some even calling upon the well-used “Evil Empire” moniker to suggest Aurora is trying to elbow into other teams markets.  Increased exposure leading to increased revenue is how most arguments go.

“Nothing could be farther from the truth,” said Rodriguez at an impromptu meeting with the press outside Borealis headquarters.  “We are simply trying to improve our reach to fans throughout the state of Colorado who may otherwise not receive our games on our old station. Now fans in Grand Junction can clearly hear Borealis action every day.  Just because we have proximity to Omaha and now our broadcasts can be heard there does not mean we are being hostile.  Fans in western Nebraska are closer to us than them!  Like our predecessors, Colorado baseball has a broad geographic fan base.  KOA allows us to tap that base.  Our need fills (KOA’s) loss.”

The second deal should send shock waves throughout the PEBA media world, and that is the blockbuster signing of two former PEBA stars to radio personality contracts to join the Aurora broadcast team.  Former Kalamazoo OF George Crocker, known for the violent ending to his career in a Spring Training game, will team up with the controversial Mark Gunter, 2B of the Manchester Maulers, who many believe was blackballed by the PEBA community as he failed to re-sign with Manchester or any other PEBA club.  Crocker, believed by many to have been the best player in the league at the time of his injury, and Gunter, who at the end of his career had been nicknamed “Money” by his own owner, manager and even some teammates for his mind-boggling contract demands, will team up to do a radio pre-game vignette tentatively called “A Crock of Gunt.”  Plans are for the duo to discuss “baseball” stuff and player interviews.  With these two players, the irreverent Gunter and the screw-loose Crocker (rumor has it he’s had little self-restraint after the severe concussion that ended his career), there promises to be many a wacky moment.  The show will be simulcast onto Comcast-Rocky Mountain broadcasts.

Crocker hit .288 in his three years at Kalamazoo, with 61 HR.  His final season finished at .301 and a .562 SLG with 29 HR.  Then, at the age of 26, Crocker was injured in a collision during a Spring Training game, fracturing his skull.  Crocker was hospitalized for three weeks, recovering slowly from both the skull injury and a severe concussion.  He attended a late June game at Kalamazoo, and in a pre-game ceremony spoke to the crowd and referenced a “beaning that ended my career”.  The mike was quickly cut and the ceremony ended when he began to ask manager Martyn Steger, “…how things were going with…”  Presumably he was referencing rumors of Steger and hitting coach Ed Johnson’s 28-year-old daughters purported romance.  In the past year, Crocker has made many appearances throughout the PEBA, typically sporting a baseball jersey not of the Badgers or some other PEBA team but of leagues from all over the globe.  When questioned about this habit, George has replied, “I’m just trying to figure out who I’ll play for next season.  I gotta look good in my jersey,” or, “Hey, I just like the colors!”  And color is what Aurora is looking for?  “We hope that George can provide a flair that will keep our broadcasts fresh,” said Rodriguez.

Gunter, a career .253 hitter with the Maulers, was considered the most popular player in Manchester this side of Cristiano Ronaldo (oh, right… Manchester, New Hampshire). Gunter created his own problems with his large demands for an extension.  L.H. Thompson of the Manchester Boutique dubbed Gunter “Money” after Maulers GM Jeff Dudas’s passive-aggressive attack on the 2B, paving the way for a reduced image hit for the club that, arguably, ended up making the Maulers look bad.  When no other club presented an offer, Gunter spent the past 18 months angrily attacking the PEBA.  Now Mark Gunter looks forward to bringing a trained eye and the perspective of a former player to the radio booth.  Clearly he has not gotten over the inglorious way in which he departed Manchester.  “I hope we see the Borealis take on Manchester in the Planetary Extreme Championship.  Dudas’s ears will be scorching.  Why that cheap slime ball…” said Gunter before the Aurora press secretary pulled him from the mike.

Certainly Aurora is taking a big risk, but the club has historically been anything but shy in making big moves, and clearly with the end of the Rodriguez’s reign on the horizon, they don’t intend on slowing down.  With much speculation surrounding the fate of the club now that John Rodriguez, Sr. is dead, this move is believed to be an indication that Chris Rodriguez intends to continue running the team his way.