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THE BIG QUEENS TEASE

August  26,  2025

By Tony Torre

Queens Chutney Monarchs

 It was to be another season on the re-tool. Suffering. Pain. Losing. Substandard starting pitching. A poor bullpen. One power hitter. Too many of the players we were counting on will only play part of the season because of injuries. Yet somehow this collection of crap catapulted to the top of the WWBA Skylands standings through the month of April.

The Big Tease began 2 weeks in with a record of 13-1 and a 6-game lead over the second place Saginaw Wizards. A week later the Chutney Monarchs lead over Saginaw is five games. By months end it is three games and a 16-9 lead. But a 13-1 start. That rivals those amazing Detroit Tigers of 1984 and their surprising 9-0 kick off. How could it crumble so quickly? No Jack Morris. No Willie Hernandez. No Sweet Lou Whitaker or Allan Trammell. The once proud Skylands Division has somehow turned into the division of Builders, Re-Toolers and Losers. No more are Brown, Sorcher and even occasionally Sweets Wilson who would dominate. 

Maybe it’s the Rockledge effect, if you’re not going to beat them, then rebuild them. Here we are, two more weeks into the season and the plummet begins. Ten days into May and Queens goes 2-6. Q2 sees the Chutney Monarchs with one winning series (Rally Squirrels) going 3-1. But with a 1-2 stand versus Crystal City, 1-3’s against Marshall and Saginaw and the death blow of O-fers against front running Rockledge, Carteret, and Chilliwack. Then more O-fers against competitive Abbotsford and Guildford. The O-fers decimated this squad in Q3 with a 6-33 record. Time to move. Teoscar is jettison to competitive Carolina for 1 st and 3 rd round picks. Then some light at the end of the tunnel. Quinn Priester arrives with the surging Milwaukee Brewers in the NL. Robert Gasser bounces back from Tommy John way ahead of schedule and is pitching quite effectively in Triple-A. Even Martin Perez has showed up with five very solid starts for the ChiSox. Tyler Soderstrom settling in playing leftfield for the Athletics is hitting bombs. Bo Bichette finds himself as a team MVP with the surging Blue Jays. More on the Blue Jays front with the Chutney Monarchs are Max Scherzer looking good and Tyler Heineman playing well in his Blue Jays role was signed in free agency. Even the pen is shaping up with Okert, Armstrong, the oft rejected in trade discussions Greg Weissert. Addison Barger is acquired from Delaware and suddenly there is an infield for 2026. After taking a chance on Wander Franco in Free Agency he is not sentenced to jail time in the Dominican and maybe a light at the end of the probation office.

Queens is not without another BIG TEASE. Jonatan Clase playing well in Toronto is sent down to make room for Daulton Varsho. Joey Luperfido after starting the season in AAA is hitting .358 for Toronto but sent down to make room for Springer because of options. The tough pill to swallow, Parker Meadows going on the DL not once, twice, but yes, the trifecta. The 2026 Chutney Monarchs will be looking for a first baseman, centerfielder, and right fielder. Two first rounders and an exceptionally low second rounder won’t fill those holes but will bring the squad closer. In the end pitching, drafting, and trading will be the keys and the salvation.

Regards,Tony