The Curious Case of Leon Manarez

38 year-old RHP Leon Manarez has had one of the most bizarre careers in the history of baseball. Manarez made All-Star teams for both the Padres and Royals due to his mix of excellent control and a very good curveball - and even was a Gold Glove award winner in 2035. Over 15 major league seasons, Manarez racked up 153 wins, 1880 strikeouts, and was one of the most consistently solid pitchers of both the 2020s and 2030s. However, his career has shown one major weakness - his inability to get minor league hitters out.

Manarez has struggled mightily for the Orioles this season, posting a whopping 11.12 ERA for the team's AAA affiliate, the Norfolk Tides. Many people have called for his retirement, stating that his performance this season shows he is no longer worthy of being a major league pitcher. It may be true that Manarez may never play a major league game again, but his performance this season actually lowered his career ERA in the minor leagues.

Despite a major league career where he has been a consistent top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher for over a decade, Manarez's minor league record is a staggeringly awful 3-144, which means he has more losses as a minor league pitcher than as a major league pitcher; despite pitching in over 200 more games as a major leaguer. One look at the career numbers at each level shows such a remarkable difference that few people would believe these stats are from the same pitcher:

Leon Manarez Career Stats (as of May 1, 2040)

Majors: 153 W-123 L, 0.554 W%, 2565 IP, 3.70 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 2.67 BB/9, 6.60 K/9, 0.57 HR/9

Minors: 3 W-144 L, 0.020 W%, 665 1/3 IP, 11.88 ERA, 3.37 WHIP, 9.52 BB/9, 13.07 K/9, 2.15 HR/9

His career minor league line wouldn't even the legendarily wild and inconsistent Oliver Perez jealous, with Manarez transforming from a gifted control artist in the majors to arguably the worst pitcher in the history of the minor leagues. The only improvement for Manarez is the fact that his strikeout rate doubles - but that improvement is more than offset by the fact he allows over 3 baserunners an inning and over 2 homers every nine innings, causing his ERA in the minor leagues to more than triple.

No explanation has ever been found for this bizarre statistical anomaly, but it appears to be continuing to this day - and it will unquestionably go down as one of the weirdest moments in the history of FCM.

O's Captain Izquirdo out for 3-4 months

May 1st, 2040

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - If the Orioles are going to return to the playoffs this season, they will have to do it without the leadership and production of Robi Izquirdo for most of 2040.

The Orioles transferred their team captain to the 60-Day DL and announced that their team captain would miss a minimum of 3 months with an elbow injury suffered in a April 24th game against the Boston Red Sox. Izquirdo suffered a posterior fracture of his right elbow after he was hit by a pitch in the 4th inning. Izquirdo

was miraculously able to finish the game, including hitting the deciding 3-run homer in the 8th inning in a 6-4 Orioles win. However, an MRI the next day showed severe damage to the elbow, requiring the 31-year old 3rd baseman to miss extended time for the second straight season.

Izquirdo only played in 75 games for Baltimore last season, as an elbow injury in July shelved him for the rest of the 2039 season, with his injury cited as a major reason for the Orioles highly disappointing 82-80 record last year. At the time of the injury, Izquirdo was hitting .308 with a .936 OPS in 11 games this season.

Robi Izquirdo was not considered an impact player during his tenure in the minor leagues, or in brief major league action with the Texas Rangers, but blossomed into a superstar when he was traded to the Orioles in 2032 in exchange for cash considerations. Izquirdo has long been a fan favorite in Camden, due to his underdog story and great numbers on both offense and defense, with many Orioles fans calling him the team's best third baseman since Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson.

Team GM George Fitzpatrick was highly confident than Robi Izquirdo would return at some point this season, stating that "Robi is the last player you should count out when the chips are down," and is confident the team can stay in the race without the 4-time All Star. "We have a lot of talent in our lineup, and we are one of the few teams that can afford to lose a player of his caliber and still put a top offense on the field."

Replacing Izquirdo at 3rd will be former Oakland starter Geoff Johnson, who was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk today. Johnson signed a 2.4 million, 2 year contract with the Orioles in the off-season and was signed by Fitzpatrick to give the team extra depth in the infield. Johnson is known for his incredible arm and glove at 3rd base, but also has some pop, hitting at least double-digit homeruns in 6 straight seasons. However, Johnson only hit .220 last season and struggled with the bat mightily in 2038 as well, with many scouts only considering the 30-year old to be a platoon or bench player at this stage of his career. Fitzpatrick appears confident in Johnson, stating that he will be playing at 3rd base every day for the foreseeable future and added "challenges like this are the reason why we signed Geoff over the winter, and he will do a fine job for us."

The Orioles currently stand at 15-12 and have won 7 of their last 10 games.

Controversial trade of Anketell puts Orioles GM Fitzpatrick on Hot Seat

February 21, 2040

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - Less than a year after taking the job, George Fitzpatrick has found himself in the center of Orioles controversy.

His decision to trade 27 year-old All-Star 1B James Anketell to the World Champion Toronto Blue Jays did not sit well with many Orioles fans as well as the local media, with many questioning the rationale behind the move. Before the press conference to announce the trade officially, a number of bloggers and Orioles beat writers questioned the move, including long time Baltimore Sun reporter Peter Schmuck:

I was around for George Fitzpatrick's first run with the organization over 25 seasons ago, and back then I was impressed by his boldness, creativity, and ability to think outside of the box. However, today's trade is a move I cannot defend. It seems bizarre to me that Fitzpatrick, a man who covets superstar talents like Anketell and desperately tried to acquire players of his caliber during his last reign in Baltimore would so willingly give one up, especially to the team standing most in the Orioles' way.

Schmuck's editorial seemed absolutely glowing compared to that of Chad Bryant IV, the lead blogger of popular team blog "Money, Cash, O's," who said the move was proof that Fitzpatrick was not cut out for the job:

Today's trade is a low point for the Orioles organization and is a microcosm of the damage George Fitzpatrick has caused to the franchise in just 8 months.

I was willing to give him a pass for trading prospects for an arm (Gary Gaskins) even while the O's were out of the race last season, considering the team's need for pitching. But the decision to trade Anketell today was obscenely stupid - and there can be no rational defense of it. This trade comes after the decision to hand a 31 year-old Sean Cargill a $107.8 million deal over the next four seasons - meaning that he decided to keep the older, less productive, more expensive first baseman (and one who was a DH nearly all of last season) as part of his long term strategy instead of the 27 year old hitting the prime of his career. Yeah, that makes perfect sense.

This mistake alone was compounded by the fact that all he acquired back in the deal were a 26 year-old second baseman who is known more for his glove than his bat and an injured first baseman who may not be ready for Opening Day with a career OBP of .289. Do the Orioles owners just have so much blind faith in Fitzpatrick that they signed off on this deal without looking at it? That's quite honestly the only way I can imagine how this deal could have possibly happened.

After the trade, #FeastOrFired was trending on Twitter worldwide, with Oriole fans using the tag to symbolize their frustration with the organization and their opinion that General Manager Fitzpatrick should be fired if there is not significant improvement from last season's 82-80 record.

Fitzpatrick vehemently defending his move in the press conference today, stating that the trade was "...a major step toward the goal of bringing Oriole fans their first World Series win since 1982," and added that "Chad Noah and Brent Stawell are perfect fits with the team," citing Stawell's tremendous power from the left side of the plate fitting in well in Camden Yards, as well as Noah's incredible defense at second base. "James Anketell is a tremendously gifted athlete who could improve any team, but the additions we made today solidify us as a contender both this year and beyond. If people think this is some sort of surrender move, they will be very disappointed."

Fitzpatrick also stated he was not worried about the negative reaction from the fans, stating that "Orioles fans are the best fans in the world, specifically because they have tremendous pride and passion for winning baseball - we have the same goal in mind, and that's to see the Orioles bring a World Championship to Baltimore. I believe in myself and my abilities enough that I'm not afraid to make an unpopular move if it improves the team, and once our fans see [Chad] Noah and [Brent] Stawell in Orioles black and orange, they will absolutely love this move."

He refused to answer questions about whether or not the move was related to team finances, stating that "ownership does not want team financial information out in the public."

Only time will tell if this controversy will simply be a blip on the radar screen of a successful run by GM Fitzpatrick or the catalyst to an early end to his second tenure in Baltimore.