9-News: 39.077 – Mystery Message Has Phillips Pitching Hurt, Inkster Faces Heat

[RonCo]

NINE WINS ON PHILLIPS 39th SAVE

Controversy and mystery has gained a foothold in the Yellow Springs clubhouse after manager Bill Inkster summoned an injured Curt Phillips from the bullpen to seal yesterday’s 2-0 victory over the Des Moines Kernels. Phillips, who was reported to have complained about soreness in his elbow after his previous outing, shut the Kernels down with two strikeouts on 13 pitches—collecting his 39th save on the season. The post-game conference was a heated one, however, nad reporters barraged Inkster with questions.

“Are you aware that the team has already clinched the Heartland Division?” one reporter asked.

“Are you trying to prove Phillips is some kind of he-man?”

“Or are you just trying to get him his own personal Tommy John story?”

The usually forthcoming Inkster snapped back at all of these questions, suggesting that the reporters come from a single mother, and that they might be a form of donkey.

“No one wants Curt Phillips hurt,” Inkster said, visibly upset.

Later reporting suggests that the manager may have been withholding some information in the form of a direction that apparently came from the upper decks of the front office. Calls to GM Ron Collins’s office have not yet been returned, but a fan who has certain interests in the darker portions of the internet suggests that encrypted message traffic between the YS9 front office included direction that Phillips be used at every step possible, and that concern for future injury was not to be considered. “We’re in a damned race for the top,” the message read. “This is no time for the faint of heart.”

The team's medical staff suggests that with enough rest, Philliips could well recuperate before he would be needed in the post season.


LEAGUE BEST RECORD AT HAND

The point of that message appears to be focused on the idea that the Nine, now 90-65 and with seven games left in the season, suddenly find them selves in a fight with the Johnson League’s Rockville Pikemen (90-63) for the best record in all of baseball. Rockville is “ahead” two games in the loss column, but fancy calculators suggest the Nine still have roughly half a coin toss’s chance to take this title—which theoretically might give them home advantage if the world were to jumble up and the club found itself in the Landis.


FANS INCENSED

Members of the Bleed Nine Red fan club gathered outside the team’s ticket office to pound drums, burn smoke bombs, and incite other rowdy activity in protest of the usage. “It’s like the team is going out of its way to do something stupid,” said BNR leader Kal Freedman. “THat’s not totally unusual, but they usually aren’t as overt. By that I mean Collins is usually smart enough to at least have some kind of semi-plausible deniability for being an idiot. He’s like an oil slick on the sea of Yellow Springs most of the time. But his was horrific. You almost couldn’t watch the game for fear Phillips’ are was going to come off.”

He went on to complain that it was even worse than that because the whole idea of playing for an advantage in the Landis was crazy-talk for the Nine.

“We all know what happens to Ohio baseball in October,” he said with a wistful sigh capped off with a growling glare.


MESSAGE SOURCE NOT CERTAIN, THOUGH

A twist, however, is that the fans who intercepted the message traffic into Inkster’s account also say they can’t be 100% sure of where the message originated, saying it’s not hard to be anonymous in certain circles of the Net, but also noting that nothing else really made sense.

After all, the fan argues, who else would benefit from Bill Inkster using his injured closer in a generally meaningless game?

Yes, folks, who else indeed?