The first report came from the Yuma Sun newspaper on July 13 when a report that players hadn't been paid in quite some time. Here's the story:
After that, a story hit Edmonton newsstands today about the Scorpions are in Canada to take on the Capitals without paychecks coming in and their roster being depleted. This from the Edmonton Journal:Drama surrounding Scorpions may be too much for Yuma to handle
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July 13, 2010 10:47 PM
I was talking with someone familiar with the Yuma Scorpions and the Golden Baseball League last week about last year's situation.
We were talking about the long road the current management group had to overcome from last year's sudden roster turnover 48 hours before the start of the season. His take on the situation summed it up perfectly.
“My friend has an old saying — you can't put the (manure) back in the cow.”
But Golden Glove Baseball tried early on. They brought in talent that competed well — well enough to win the first-half South Division title if it weren't for some unfortunate breaks.
Fans, however, haven't responded. The crowds have been sparse when at one time they had made the team successful — or at least sustainable — prior to 2009. Behind the scenes, apparently, there was turmoil as well.
Chuck Heeman was brought in as general manger. He parted ways with the club after a month. But that wasn't the biggest internal struggle.
Not compared to the players not getting paid.
Of course, it's important to stress that the team is within its contractual rights. Players may file a written request for free agency with the commissioner after 14 business days past due. Commissioner Kevin Outcalt met with the team last week on what was the 14th business day. Nobody filed a letter with him, although players — including Bill Pulsipher (also the team's pitching coach) and Daryl Arreola — said Outcalt indicated the meeting counted as their written request. But Outcalt said no player has filed with the league, and that he could not talk about the closed-door meeting.
Golden Glove is based in Venezuela, and Scorpions president Ricky Smith said the team has had issues getting money from Venezuela, but has not missed a per diem payment. But that is a point of contention among the players.
Arreola told a story about having to eat at player's parents' house just to get fed. He and Pulsipher both said during three games at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, the players did not receive meal money.
Again, who do we believe? Was there a mix-up? The Scorpions lost a 20-2 game on the last day of that trip, then split two games in Yuma against the Toros before winning the last two games of the strange seven-game series — all played without an off day — in Tucson. If Arreola's telling the truth, that would explain a 20-2 loss and a three-game sweep against a team that finished below .500. It would also mean, most unfortunately, that maybe if the players had eaten, they would have won one of those games and made the playoffs ahead of Na Koa Ikaika Maui. It wouldn't have mattered about the Na Koa forfeit win against Tijuana, or the half dozen more games it played against the league-worst Cimarrones than Yuma did, or the fact Maui and Yuma didn't play in the first half.
Now, if the team makes the playoffs, they'll have to spend an estimated $35,000 to go to Maui for the first two games of the postseason. And if they do make the playoffs, they'll have to do it with a different roster.
Smith said the team can turn over 40 percent of its roster and still be competitive. If the team is strapped for some liquidity, wouldn't it make sense to trade some of its high-profile players for cash?
Of course, good luck selling that to a market that has been burned to the point where it has pretty much given up on the team. This was a fan base that was pretty much complacent when the rumors surfaced early in the year the team was moving to Mexicali — rumors that still persist and won't go away.
I like the Scorpions, I like the GBL, I like the leadership of both. I like Peter Young, the vice president of the Scorpions. He provided the most memorable podcast I have ever done. I like Outcalt. For the most part, he's been one of the most and patient sources I've dealt with. I like GBL CEO Dave Kaval.
I like covering the team and the league. I like baseball.
But I don't like the fact I have to write the following sentence.
The cow manure has been piling up during the last two years. It might be beyond the point of being able to be cleaned up.
I will say this, the note about the Capitals paying for Yuma's hotel bill doesn't matter. The home team always pays for the visiting team's hotel stay, with each team getting 16 rooms. That's always been the case.Scorpions owner hasn't shown them the money
Capitals footing Yuma's hotel bill
Jim Matheson, Edmonton Journal
Published: 4:05 am
While the Edmonton Capitals go for a Golden Baseball League record 13th straight win tonight at Telus Field, the visiting Yuma Scorpions will be playing catch for fun and for free because they haven't been paid since early June.
"No money," said one of the Yuma players, who wished to remain anonymous when contacted Wednesday, hoping things would get resolved and the Yuma players would have more than per diem in their pockets for the rest of the Scorpions' 12-day road trip, which starts here.
"Can't go there, buddy," said Yuma manager and former Edmonton outfielder Darryl Brinkley, when asked to comment on his players not getting any salary for weeks, even though they came close to winning the first-half title in the South Division, barely beaten out by Maui Na Koa Kaika.
Maybe Brinkley's embarrassed or dismayed, or both.
Two Yuma coaches -- pitching coach Bill Pulsipher and hitting coach Dave Cash -- have left the team.
Yuma's Darryl Arrelola, who led the GBL with seven wins and 49 strikeouts and ranked third with a 2.59 earned-run average, had his contract purchased by the Capitals.
All-star outfielder Tim Rodriguez went to the Victoria Seals and slugging third baseman Santo DeLeon moved on to the Chico Outlaws, the team owned by Golden League commissioner Kevin Outcalt.
The rest of the Scorpions showed up in Edmonton, ready to play and putting on a happy face but disgruntled under the surface, hoping that president Ricky Smith pays them.
There was conjecture that Capitals manager Brent Bowers might have to make some calls to local players so Yuma could field a squad for the series with the red-hot Capitals, but that wasn't true.
"I don't know where that (story) came from. That's bad," Brinkley said. "Everybody is here and ready to play."
"I feel bad because I was a player at one time," said Bowers, who has a much better financial situation here, with the Capitals owned by the Oilers.
The Yuma players felt they would be free agents on July 10 after a meeting with Outcalt in their clubhouse four days earlier, airing their complaints that they hadn't been paid their salaries.
But it's July 15, and most of the players are still tugging on Yuma jerseys.
Why are they here, with the Capitals footing the bill for their hotel rooms through Sunday? The owners paid for their flights, but no salary.
"They have given us their word they are going to pay us," said the anonymous player. "We get meal money by the day but not cheques (salary)."
Why did he come to Edmonton? "Because I am here to play."
But he is playing for free? "Maybe," he said with a laugh.
"We went on some road trips this year where we didn't have meal money," Arreola told the Yuma Sun.
"We were fortunate enough to have (former pitcher) Gilbert (de la Vara, now playing Triple-A in Toledo, the Detroit Tigers' top farm club) when we were in Tuscon. He's from there and his family supplied us with food. The first time we were there, guys were showing up to the field not even eating at all. It makes it extremely hard to try and get your mind right when your body is trying to shut down."
Arreola, 27, will make his first Capitals start on Monday against the Tijuana Cimarrones at Telus Field.
"The way our offence is rolling, you throw another arm into our rotation and it's going to make our team that much harder to beat," said Bowers. "He's got seven wins now and, hopefully, he can get seven or eight more in the second half."
jmatheson@thejournal.canwest.com
What does it all mean? I guess we'll have to wait to find out.
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