Stuck In The Middle With Lugo

by Aviator McShadless


A young pitcher finally gets his shot in the big leagues, only to be discarded days later—or does he?

 

It was the opportunity of a lifetime, one Seth Lugo had dreamt about since he was a young child, growing up in the streets of Shreveport, Louisiana. Getting the call to play with the big boys of the EHCC, in the middle of a pennant race no less, was what he’d been working towards for his entire adult life. It was what kept him going through the hard times, like going undrafted in the 2016 EHCC draft, what kept him working hard on his rehab from spinal fusion surgery following a painful bout of spondylolisthesis. It’s what made Seth Lugo wake up every morning. And it was here – the big leagues. Rio de Janeiro.

2016 has been a crazy season in the EHCC Western Division. As the Dublin Snakechasers have surprisingly run away with what has historically been the stronger of the two divisions, it’s left 3 very good squads to battle for only 2 playoff spots. Santo Domingo and Quebec City have struggled to varying degrees since their respective championships in 2013 & 2014, with Santo Domingo missing the playoffs every year since their title, and Quebec City getting bounced on a tiebreaker in the first round last year. Both squads have made moves with an eye towards getting back to the promised land, but a great Rio team stood in both of their ways.

Rio has always had a solid squad, but never seemed to be able to quite get over the hump, losing in the Championship in 2012, and losing tightly contested battles in the semi-finals in 2014 & 2015 after narrowly missing the playoffs in 2013. And so it was in this situation, facing a 3 team race for only 2 spots, that Rio would make Lugo’s dreams come true. Facing a locked and loaded Quebec City squad with a full complement of pitching, the citizens of Rio needed all hands on deck, and then some, to compete with QC’s arsenal of arms. Enter Lugo.

The Cristos signed Lugo to shore up their rotation in the early going, and Lugo delivered, picking up a win with 4 strikeouts with solid ERA and WHIP. On the biggest stage, with the house lights blinding, Lugo gave the fans of Brazil all they could have asked for and more.

“When the Cristos gave me this opportunity, I was so, so thankful. I wanted to show them that I belonged and could help deliver them the championship that this franchise so richly deserves. I was very grateful and glad I could perform so well,” Lugo told reporters following the game. That’s what made what happened next all the more painful for Lugo.

In short, Lugo was cut. “I didn’t understand why,” Lugo said afterwards. “All I knew was, they signed me and asked me to do well, and I pitched my heart out, and then I got back to the hotel and I was locked out of my room. When I went to talk with the hotel manager to find out what went wrong, thinking that maybe they gave me the wrong key or something, he just gave me a piece of paper.”

The piece of paper was a note from the Rio General Manager. It read, “Seth – you’re cut. So sorry, bro, nothing personal. You’re still super great! Best of luck with your career, no hard feelings.  –TB12” 

Lugo was out on the streets of Canada at 3:00am, no hotel room, no money, and most importantly, no EHCC job. The best night of his life had turned into the worst on a dime.

But fate had other plans for Lugo – the EHCC, and this rivalry, wasn’t done with him just yet. Although Lugo had apparently failed to impress Tom Brady, someone else was also paying attention to his performance, and liked what he saw.

“I’ll be honest with you – the kid wasn’t on my radar until I saw the performance he put up against us,” said long-time Piglet GM Pat Renaud. “But to come out of nowhere and pitch like he did, in that spot? I was very impressed. I called him the next day and told him that if he cleared waivers, watch out – he could find himself flipping the script.”

Lugo did indeed clear waivers, and a few days later suddenly found himself on the opposite side of the rivalry, and in a big spot to boot. QC and Rio had been neck and neck all week in the Wins category, and QC knew they might need a miracle to hold off Rio and secure their playoff spot on the final day of the regular season. Enter Lugo. QC Manager Zack Morris slated for Lugo to pitch at 8pm EST, with the caveat that he’d only be called upon if QC needed the W. If the category was already locked up, Lugo and new teammate Jeurys Familia would take a seat and get ready for the playoffs.

“I was jacked up and ready,” Lugo said after the match-up. “I basically hate Tom Brady now, and everyone in Brazil, so I really wanted to shove it up their a--, you know?” In the end, it wasn’t meant to be. QC sewed up the victory prior to Lugo’s scheduled start, so his services weren’t required. Lugo was still so fired up though, that he ended up pitching a simulated game instead, putting up 7 innings of 1 run ball, and further cementing his spot on the QC roster – which, thanks to Lugo (or despite his best efforts?), will now include a start in the playoffs.

As for Tom Brady and the Cristos, the loss sealed their fate and they missed the playoffs by a single game. Brady had been hoping to take a few weeks off in the football season to help guide his new franchise to their first title, but now it looks like he’ll just have to watch the EHCC playoffs from the same place he’ll be watching the first 4 Patriots games – his living room couch. Seth Lugo, for one, has no problem with that. “I’m just so thankful to Mr. Renaud and the people of Quebec City. I really want to do everything I can to deliver a championship to this great organization. I hope I can be a part of this franchise for a long time. But either way, I just want to be very clear about one thing – Tom Brady and the rest of his flunkies in Rio can go straight to hell.”

After another heart-breaking finish, it sounds like Brady and the Cristos are already there.

Aviator McShadeless is a freelance reporter who has covered the EHCC for nearly a decade at various media outlets. His new book, “I Don’t Wear My Sunglasses at Night, Because It’s Dark, Duh,” is a collection of essays chronicling his many humorous observations about the world and baseball, and also a list of reasons why both Corey Hart the baseball player and Corey Hart the singer are horrible people who don’t deserve even their limited success.