atrain33 Interview

atrain33 is in his 4th season as the manager of the New York Juicers franchise in World Alexander. atrain33's first move was moving the team from Philadelphia (where they were known as the Pheamsters) to Madison, where they were renamed the Hops. After three 100-loss seasons in Madison, the team moved again and are now known as the New York Juicers. Dating back to the days in Philadelphia, the Juicers franchise is now facing a 6th straight 100-loss season. However, all is not lost. During the run of major league futility, atrain33 has managed to assemble some excellent minor league talent, such as future superstars Emmanuel Machado, Hector Beltran, Joe Anderson, and Raymond Buckley.

Q: How are you feeling about the way the season has been going so far? Were your expectations higher than how your team is performing?

There is one bright spot in this season of turmoil... Jim Pickett, I can't remember my last 12 game winner. Somehow I feel excited for the future because some of the worst ML hitters in this world are getting it done, namely Sun Sakamoto and Timothy Mora. Both are terrible and are hovering around .250.

Q: Some have criticized your pitching staff, claiming that better pitchers are available and that it looks like you're tanking. Can you explain how and why you assembled your pitching staff the way it is?

NO, NO, NO. Look at my pitching staff the last two years. Besides Raymond Ryan, who is now a Pawtucket Patriot, there was no one with an ERA below 4. And that was by signing Type B free agents that never panned out for me. So this year I have bolstered up my pen with additions of Cristobal Guzman, McKay White, Theo Nicholson, and Willie Serra. My team will hopefully be around .500 next year with the call ups of Joe Anderson, Esteban Belliard, Hector Beltran, and Charlie Holmes.

Q: How does the long term future of the Juicers franchise look? What is your plan for the future, and when do you expect to be competitive?

As said above next year is the first year that the Juicers look to be called a ML team. With the call ups and the first pick hopefully locked down, maybe a type A free agent signing and more beneficial trades, the Juicers look forward to hopefully a playoff berth as improbable as the Texas Texas Rebels' last year.

Q: Who do you think will win it all this year, and why?

Ahhhhh, the wonderful NL, where the Ottawa Rough Riders are currently 19 games above .500 and trail Rochester by another 19 games. Are you kidding me? Once again the probable champion will come from the playoff series between the Big and Tall and the Indianapolis Lancers. But it would make me happy if the Patriots could win since I traded them my first pitcher that I fell in love with, Raymond "PUNCHOUT" Ryan. Speaking of players that are like sons to me, there will always be Lance Ponson. The guy played 21 years and kept on playing despite his almost daily lowering overall rating and fighting injuries in his last seasons. But then came a gift from the HBD gods, Lance Ponson came to be my rookie league pitching coach. I hope he can be apart of my big league system again someday.