November 14, 2055
by Banjo Jackson
Nashville, TN
Despite winning over 100 games in 2055, the Nashville Bluebirds didn’t make much noise. Mostly because the Des Moines Kernels deafened any exterior noise with an amazing season, but the players expressed their frustrations with manager, Luis Hernandez. Grumblings of a player’s only meeting immediately after the Bluebird’s playoff exit turned into a full on mutiny with players calling for the head of the disgraced manager. It got to the point where several star players turned to the front office with an ultimatum: get rid of Hernandez or they would walk.
“Skip just became a little too controlling,” said ace Barney Lindsay. “I’ll be honest, as much as I love my brothers on this team and the fans in Nashville, I told the front office I’d be opting out of my remaining deal as long as he was in charge.”
LHP Barney Lindsay
The voices were heard and Hernandez was given his walking papers, however, it was too little too late as Lindsay would no longer talk extension and filed for free agency. In an effort to keep the fans’ engagement after losing the star pitcher, the Bluebirds hosted a sweepstakes to become the team’s new manager.
“We were incredibly disappointed to hear Barney no longer wanted to be a part of our team,” said GM Chad Nason. “It’s not easy to replace a perennial Nebraska candidate, but it’s pretty easy to replace a manager, so we decided we needed to hire someone who got along with all the players. We looked at some potential candidates, but nobody really struck us as the perfect candidate. But with this roster, we figured a monkey could manage this team to 100 wins, but it just needed cohesion in the clubhouse. Jokingly, it was mentioned that we let the fans manage the club. After everyone giggled, we looked at each other across our round table with the same look. Could we actually pull this off?”
And pull it off they did. Well, implementing a fan as manager, at least. The results remain to be seen, but one thing is for sure – Brent Ross is in for the time of his life. Ross, 54, entered the lottery to have his name drawn as a managerial candidate, and couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“One minute I’m working at the docks in Jersey, the next I’m putting on this Birds jersey,” Ross said at his press conference. “There was only one rule – treat the players as royalty and they’ll take care of the rest. I said ‘Great, because I’ve never coached as much as t-ball!’ I thought that would disqualify me, but Chad Nason said I was the perfect candidate. He would take care of the day to day stuff and my job was to not interfere. Easy enough. I can’t believe this is real life.”
Bluebirds Manager Brent Ross
The Bluebirds will have a few roster vacancies to address this season as Manuel García joins fellow pitcher Lindsay in free agency along with star outfielder, Felipe Vega, and 3B Rhys Brickell. Hopefully Ross can sway some of these players back to Nashville with his charm, but this plan could easily backfire.
