9-News: 42.032 – Rumor: Inkster Wants To Be Paid

[RonCo]

Will 2042 Be Inkster’s Last Stand?

Amid stories of friction with the front office, YS9 manager Bill Inkster tries to keep a calm demeanor. “My mother always said I should just be like an apple, and I always think of that as I try to make her proud of me,” he said, not going any further with his metaphor. This is important, perhaps, because the season hasn’t started in miraculous fashion—the club is 3-3, but already a game and a half behind the Heartland leading Kernels from Des Moines. Worse, there continues to be controversy in his use of the bullpen, not the least being a decision to leave Jose Sanchez in a game to face LHB Yancy Cravat even after he’d already yielded a homer to Ronnie Hubbard.

“Anyone could see what was going to happen,” one fan said in a call-in show broadcast on “Nine Talk” shortly after the game. Cravat also homered.

There are those who suggest Inkster, whose career record in the regular season stood at 403-245 after four seasons with the team, has been arguing with the front office in how certain decisions might be made. “If I wanna bunt, I’ll bunt,” Inkster said when asked about the rumors that said the team was concerned with his propensity to use the sacrifice in spring games.

Inkster came to the club as a relative unknown, replacing venerable Bret Richards, but has grown in stature over the seasons, including taking home the coveted Manager of the Year in 2040. He was considered a “company man” in his first seasons, but some are saying that he’s become a bit less compliant as his reputation has risen. Insiders suggest the team has reached out to his representation about what it would take to keep the manager around, and that the number received was considerably more than the $488K he makes today.

“I’m the manager,” he said when asked about his situation and whether he would be returning iin 2043. “I just manage.”

“Bill is our manager,” GM Ron Collins said from the luxury suit during the team’s Opener against San Fernando. “He’s very good at his job. But we’ve won with him and we’ve won without him.”

Fans, however, might be quick to note that the team has not won a Landis, with or without Collins.

[HoosierVic]

I think the real question here is where does he fall on the Kocherschmeltz Group color-coded grading scale: is he electric blue or dingy orange?

[RonCo]

He's very devout Bluish.

[HoosierVic]

Then, clearly, he's a bargain at twice the price!