London Hires Pete Grassi as New GM

3/2/2013: London, England – The London Underground have hired a new GM today.  Pete Grassi has been tabbed to run the ship by ownership.  It was a controversial decision, to say the least.  Grassi has no previous experience running a baseball team as a General Manager.  He does have a background in baseball, though, serving as a bench coach for his college team.

Grassi was interviewed about the decision after an outcry by the loyal London fans.  “The team felt we needed to bring in new blood to run the Underground,” Grassi said.  “As a young fellow, turning 36 this past November, I bring that.  The club wanted to bring a new view on how to build a team.  Their last GM was not so successful, as London did not finish higher than 4^th in the previous two seasons.”

Grassi went on to talk about his first order of business, which was to sign his head scout and manager to long-term extensions.  “I like the talent we have; that goes to show how good a scouting department we have.  I wanted Wade Gaddis locked up long term, so I signed him to a five-year extension.  Watching the team last year, I was very impressed with the job manager Sergio Manetti did handling the club, so we handed him a four-year extension.”

Grassi commented, “We want stability within the organization.  We now have our entire major league staff signed through 2014, and plan to make that longer.  Del Carley’s contract expires in 2014 and we would love to hold onto him.  I already have calls into his people.”

Grassi was also sure to mention that franchise player, Orlando Germán, will be a member of the Underground for a long time.  “In my first couple of weeks as GM, I fielded eight calls welcoming me to the league, and the first question out of each GM’s mouth was, ‘What do you want for Germán?’  A good GM is never closed-minded, so I did let these GM’s know what the price was.  All of the conversations ended right there.  Germán is in our long-term plans.  I am always open to a trade, but it has to make sense.  Trading Germán right now does not make sense.”

Exciting times are ahead for the Underground.  Pete Grassi seems to have a strong head on his shoulders.  He has a definite plan, so let’s see if he can fulfill his vision in the weeks, months and years to come.