Off Topic
Loss to San Fernando “Too Damned Much”
July 14, 2042: Yellow Springs – After months of turmoil and speculation, the chickens have finally come to roost on the managerial term of Bill Inkster. The four and a half season run included some of the best baseball seen in franchise history, and terminates with the manager holding a 461-276 record. His teams won the Heartland division during each of the previous four seasons, but lags eight and a half games in back of the Sluggers at the time of his dismissal.
“It became clear that Bill wasn’t really excited to come back next season,” said general manager Ron Collins as he briefed the press. “And it was beginning to influence the team. No one is happy with where we are right now, including Bill himself, really. So we decided we needed to do something now rather than later. That said, we have great respect for Bill Inkster and the work he did while he was here. I have every reason to think he'll make a great manager somewhere else.”
Inkster and the front office have been bickering inside and, if rumors are true, outside the press all season on things as varied as personnel and individual game decisions. The team has been among league leaders in intentional walks this year for the first time, as Inkster seems to have made the tactic a personal flip of the bird to a front office who is legendary in their disdain for the practice. The team’s executives met several times over the course of the All-Star break in an attempt to decide how to handle the declining manager, but had not reached a decision. A tepid 3-2 loss at lowly San Fernando was, however, apparently too much for Collins to take.
“Six hits and a walk is all we can come up with against Freaking San Fernando?” he was said to scream as he threw a white board eraser at the screen where the game was playing.
An insider said the loss was just too damned much for the team’s chief executive to stomach, and that Collins feared that if he didn’t do something soon he was going to have to face an angry Bo Jordan—which is not something anyone seems to particularly enjoy.
TEAM DISTURBED
To Collins’s credit, he flew to San Fernando to face the team as he gave them the news first. The clubhouse was somber and resigned, but also still struggling with the change.
“I understand it’s a business,” said often unheralded pitcher Luis Colon, who is often seen as a level-headed leader in the clubhouse. “But Bill deserved better than that. He’s given a lot to the organization. He deserved better than that.
BREWINGTON TAKES THE REINS
In line with rumors that had been floating for some time, the team announced that current hitting coach Sam Brewington would take the Inkster's position—a move that, due to his position within the franchise, likely softened the blow to the team. Brewington has been a successful contributor to the club for a very long time, and at 63 years old is being handed the keys to the car for the first time in his career.
“I’m sorry to see Bill wind up like he’s winding up, but I’ve been around long enough to know that’s the deal. A man only lasts so long in any place. I’ll do what I can to help our boys win, though. That’s the challenge, you know? We’ve got a long way to go to catch up with Loserville, and that’s what I need to focus on.”
Brewington is known for his quick mind and his more modern approach to the game. “He’s an old catcher, you know?” said Collins during his briefing. “He’s always thinking three steps ahead of everyone else in the room.” He's also know to be a bit more of a task-master than the more laid-back Inkster, and some think the shake-up was as much to bring new energy into the managerial office as it was anything else.
Collins demurred when asked if Brewington’s promotion carried an ‘interim’ tag. “I’m sure Sam will do great,” he said. “So we’ll review together just like we’d review every member of the staff.”
Fans were immediately ecstatic, which goes a long way toward explain exactly how many bridges Inkster had burned with them.
ADDITIONAL MOVES MADE
Given Brewington’s promotion, the team announced that Hall of Famer Emilio Rodriguez would, as expected in the scenario, be brought into the big-league dugout from AAA. Additional movement will follow as cascading rounds of musical chairs proceed.
In addition to a deal announced earlier that brought Jose Rivera to the team to replace injured catcher Augusto Vargas, it was also announced that outfielder Rex Foster would likely be placed on the Injured List to convalesce a nagging back injury, and that veteran Jose Machado would be called up from Indianapolis to take his place on the roster.