By Keitaro Kato, Transmitters Tribune

March 1^st, 2012: Kawaguchi, Japan –When it comes to talking with the media, new Transmitters’ GM Sebastian Pruiti has been pretty quiet, but when it comes to managing the people of Kawaguchi’s favorite team, the Kawaguchi Transmitters, Mr. Pruiti has been ridiculously busy.  In just this off-season – which isn’t over by the way – Mr. Pruiti has completed four different trades.  Today was the first time that Pruiti publicly discussed the moves.

Before I went to the press conference, I took to the streets to get the fans’ thoughts on their new American GM.  “He is making trades just to make them,” said one nineteen-year-old fan.  “Some of the best players on the team last year got traded for nothing.  Draft picks and cash.  American greed in its truest form,” said a fan in his mid-twenties.  “He has stripped this team down to the bare bones and he wants to raise prices.  I don’t think there are going to be any fans in the stadium this year,” said a mother of two with her kids in tow.

Oh, did I forget to mention?  Sebastian Pruiti also decided to raise ticket prices from an average price of $12.50 a ticket to $15.00.  Despite obviously having a plan, Sebastian Pruiti’s approval rating (the Tribune has always polled its readers about the home team’s GM) has dropped from around 60% when he was first hired to a meager 43%.  The people of Kawaguchi are famous all around Japan for their support of the Transmitters, but if the fans aren’t happy with the GM, they probably will show it by not showing up to the games.

As I sat in the press conference room waiting for Mr. Pruiti to appear, I had all of the fans’ thoughts running through my mind.  I started thinking to myself, “Could the Transmitters really have hired an American who was just trying to make a profit and then cut and run?”  Just then, Mr. Pruiti walked to the microphone and quickly quelled those thoughts running through my mind.

“I am not stupid.  I have heard what is being said about me in the press,” Mr. Pruiti explained as he pulled a wallet out of his back pocket.  “Apparently, I am doing this for the money.  Get in, and get out.”  As Mr. Pruiti continued to talk, he kept his eyes glued to the wallet as he counted a handful of bills.  “This GM job actually pays less than my job back in America.  I am here because I want to turn this team into a winner.  I am here for the long haul, and most importantly, I don’t need the [expletive deleted] money!”  Without warning, Mr. Pruiti took out the money he had counted out and tossed it towards the reporters sitting in front of him.  One Transmitters’ intern got up as if to scramble and recover the money, but Mr. Pruiti raised his hand as if to tell him to sit back down, which he did.  Then, like a serial killer telling detectives about his conquests, Pruiti went over the details of the four trades he made this off-season.

“The first trade.  The one that involved Pepe Rico was a win for us, in my opinion.  Pepe was going to demand something like $6 or $7 million in arbitration, and as a poor team, we don’t need a closer that costs that much.  We were planning on letting him go, so to get some good stuff in return was huge for the Transmitters’ future.  We got two really good prospects, a second round draft pick and a serviceable outfielder in Carlos Cavazos, who was actually the Akira’s leader in batting average.”

Pruiti then took a deep breath and continued.

“The second trade came during the Winter Meetings.  Here, we gave up a pretty good catcher in Azumamaro Fujita, and that hurt a ton, but with Félix Lima waiting in the wings, it was a hit we could take.  In return, we get an expiring contract in Teruo Kichida, but maybe more importantly, Kichida is a tremendous fielder who will probably win a Gurabukin Award at whatever infield position we play him at.”

Mr. Pruiti licked his lips before continuing.

“Now the third trade also happened during the Winter Meetings, and it’s funny; this one was actually a setup trade for something we were working on moving forward.  Katsuyoshi Yamashita is a decent prospect, but our scout likes two other third basemen that we have in Yamato, so to move him for Jun Watanabe plus two more draft picks just made sense.  Wantanabe is a career minor league pitcher, but as we were looking to move our big money pitchers, he is probably going to be counted on to start this year for us.”

Mr. Pruiti paused, and before he continued, he flashed a great big smile to the media present.

“Now this final trade.  This one was the grand finale.  Jesús Luna and I never really got off on the right foot when I arrived in Kawaguchi.  Maybe it had something to do with my opinion that he is vastly overpaid, but that isn’t our concern anymore.  Luna is due to make around $15 million dollars… for the next three years.  We get that bloated contract off the books and in return we get a serviceable catcher to make up for the one we lost in a previous trade, a good defensive outfielder in the final year of his deal, $2.8 million in cash and two draft picks, with one being a first rounder.  Now if that isn’t a win, you either don’t know baseball or you are crazy.”

Mr. Pruiti then opened the floor up to questions, and his behind-the-scenes approach was of big concern to the media members gathered today.  One reporter asked, “If you are so proud of these deals, how come it took you so long for you to come out and talk about them?”  Before answering, Mr. Pruiti let out a large chuckle.  “Being a GM of a professional baseball team isn’t just sitting there drinking sake and hanging out.  It takes work – a ton of it – and for the past couple of weeks, I have been sitting with Daisuke Tanaka, watching tape of all our minor leaguers to see where everyone needs to be situated at the beginning of this upcoming season.  You will be hearing about that shortly, I promise.  You will start to see my face more and more around here, so don’t you worry your pretty little head.”

The next set of questions had to do with the team’s salary.  “Mr. Pruiti, why is it so important to cut payroll?  The Transmitters had top-tier talent on their roster; why the need to cut the payroll?”  Mr. Pruiti rolled his eyes before answering.  “Top-tier talent?  Top-tier talent wins more than 57 games.  Just because they are getting paid like superstars doesn’t mean they are actually superstars.  Our payroll for this year is right around $31 million, and next year our payroll is only $4.5 million.”

Before he finished, a fan that snuck into the press conference started yelling, “You say that like it’s a good thing.  You are ruining this team!”  Before the fan could finish telling the GM what he thinks of his moves, he was escorted away by security.

Looking angry, Mr. Pruiti started shaking his head, then slamed his hands on the podium.  “You guys don’t really know how much this team is losing, do you?  We lost $5,597,895 last year, and right now our cash on hand is still in the red.”

The rest of the reporters and I were in shock.  The previous GM never really disclosed the financials, and nobody really knew how bad the situation was.

“Hopefully, the small payroll this year can get us back in the black; we add some players next year, make a little more money and then this team can be turned into a contender.  This is also why we raised ticket prices.  We are going to be a bad team this year; I know it and you know it.  There aren’t going to be too many fans showing up at the game.  We need to make the most money from the fans who show up.  Once things get back under control, I am planning to lower prices back to the normal levels.”

With that, Mr. Pruiti gives a nod to the media gathered and then walks out of the conference room, leaving the $1,000 in American bills lying on the floor.  As a few media members scrambled to get the money and put it in their pockets, I sat there really impressed with Sebastian Pruiti.  Though young, he seems to have a plan, and he seems to be executing that plan.  Is it the right plan?  Only time will tell.