New-Look Meteors Aiming High in 2132

[Dembe Kihiga]

MELBOURNE, Australia: It's Opening Night in the WBA, and the Melbourne Meteors look a lot different than they did last season. Of course, 2131 was not a successful year for Melbourne. They finished below .500 for the first time in six seasons, and missed the playoffs for only the second time in that span. But a busy offseason has them refreshed and ready to play.

Meteors GM Bob Weinberg, known for his high frequency of trades, had been relatively quiet for the past few seasons, but jumped right back to his old habits, trading SP Tetsuya Kudo to the Beijing Emperors for 2B Mitch McCauley. Anyone who follows the WBA rumor mill knows that Melbourne has been trying unsuccessfully to trade Kudo for years, and was also reportedly very close to trading for McCauley back in 2127.

The McCauley trade is the centerpiece of Melbourne's complete overhaul of their infield. First baseman Tom Farmer has been demoted to AAA, and second baseman Kenny Merrill will reportedly be playing first base to make room for McCauley.
Shortstop Kozue Tsuji was not offered a contract extension, and became a free agent this offseason (he eventually signed with Los Angeles). Tsuji, who until 2131 had not missed a single game since being traded to Melbourne, will be replaced by Miguel González, a former 2nd-round pick who hit .305 in a platoon role last season. Only one position in Melbourne's infield remains constant - third base, which will be occupied by Loan Ngo, who, at age 33, hit .353 and accumulated 5.0 WAR last season (his best total WAR since 2125).

Melbourne's outfield looks much more familiar. Superstars Dhuninatha Ravandur and Juan Mesa are still there, of course. The only major change made was the demotion to AAA of Jonathan Mills, who was disappointing last year. Mills will be replaced by Ramón Gonzáles, a 25-year-old who the Meteors have traded for twice. Melbourne also traded away Gonzáles once, getting in return Quincy Breen. - who will be making his major league debut this season for the same team Gonzáles now plays for.

As always, Melbourne's bullpen is an ever-rotating cast of good players who underperform, mediocre players who overperform, and the very rare player who actually lives up to the hype. They hope that last year's trade deadline acquisitions, Fytor Hollanda and Aidan Fearon, can continue to perform for a full season. Like Ramón Gonzáles, Hollanda holds the rare (although perhaps not as rare on Melbourne as on other teams) distinction of having been acquired by trade twice by the same team.

Finally, the pitching rotation looks to be about the same as last year, with the obvious exception of Kudo. His spot will be replaced by Myung-chor Lim, who had three moderately successful seasons as a starter before being sent to the bullpen last season, where he excelled, putting up an ERA of 1.36. Lim is currently on the injured list but is expected to return within two weeks.

Of course, even the returning players will be looking different this year, as Melbourne has officially changed their oft-maligned jerseys. The news was greeted with jubilation from fashion designers, fans, and essentially everyone who possessed the full use of their eyes - although the release of the new jerseys was met with mostly neutral reactions. GM Bob Weinberg was less than thrilled, saying "Well, we had to. It was getting to a point where people would refuse to buy the jerseys just because they looked gross. Which is dumb, they really weren't that bad. Orange and brown is a great color scheme and people who didn't like them are just stupid. Wait, I shouldn't call my fans stupid... uhh, everyone is entitled to their own opinions and I of course respect everyone's right to dislike our former jerseys." He left the room after this, but was heard muttering "tasteless morons" under his breath as he walked away. Only time will tell if Melbourne's new blue logo and Australia-themed jerseys will bring success on the field.

Dembe Kihiga is the Meteors' beat writer for the WBA Times. She has returned from her five-year vacation feeling refreshed and ready to write about the team.