2055.01 Strike Three, You're Out: Pacheco Fired

[Trebro]

Strike Three, You're Out: Pacheco Fired
by Valerie Davis for the Yellow Springs World
November 11, 2054

Yellow Springs, OH – Rumored to be in the works for months, GM Rob McMonigal and the Yellow Springs Nine opted to pull the trigger and fired manager Gilberto Pacheco after four seasons, each of which featuring a worse record than the year before.

"We'd like to thank Gilberto for his time here," said McMonigal, "but it became clear over time that he wasn't the right person to lead this team back into the playoff picture. We took a long look at the future and I will admit that his view of the team and mine were too far apart. It was time to bring in new blood."

Asked if McMonigal would confirm that he had argued with Pacheco on the lineup and other issues, the Nine's GM nodded. "I think it would be stupid to deny that he and I disagreed often on whom to include in the lineup. A huge example is where we bat Dong-po Thum. Despite a full month of Hunter struggling in the leadoff spot, Pacheco kept trying to put him out there. When I moved Thum to third in the order, his average improved significantly. That's just a fact and only one example of where I just felt we had a permanent disagreement that couldn't be solved.

A quick fact check reveals that McMonigal is right. Thum batted just .179 at the top of the order versus .259 going third. Even that is a far cry from the over .300 hitter Thum has been for most of his career, but it's clear that McMonigal's ideas put the team in a better position to win.

I pressed for more examples. "Look at the pitching staff," said McMonigal. We blew 13 saves, left our starters out to dry when they needed to be taken out of games sooner, it was just constantly head-scratching decisions. I kept trying to suggest pitch counts but he wouldn't hear of it."

Pacheco, who won 302 games against 346 losses for the Nine, started off well, going to the playoffs in 2051. But as the players started aging and regressing, he seemed to have no answer, losing 87, 93, and then 102 games in the final three years in the dugout.

"Look at what I had to work with!" said Pacheco. A combination of over the hill veterans who couldn't be consistent at the plate or in the field and a steady stream of "prospect" pitchers that the scouts loved but who couldn't manage to get players out to save their lives when it came to the Brewster. As soon as McMonigal showed up, the team fell apart. He never gave me the tools to be successful. And he kept meddling. Telling me who and where to play people. I can't stand that as a manager. Let me do my [expletive] job!"

To some degree, Pacheco has a point. McMonigal banked on young starters Reece Newsome and Alejandro Morin performing well, and while Morin struggled in year one, he appears to have turned it around. Newsome, on the other hand, has gone from first round star to a middle reliever. Others brought in, like Ricardo Martinez and Benjamin Broadbent, have struggled, with ERAs over 6 in their short-so-far BBA careers. The relief corps has been a constant shuffle, with too many players to list traded away or kicked to the curb because of an inability to play in the BBA despite high draft positions.

At the same time, the older fielders did regress. Thum has lost about 50 points off his batting average. Before he was traded, outfielder Frederick Brisset was only hitting .240. Bing-de Zhao was brought in and promptly got hurt. Jeremy Pickens lost almost all season. Veterans like Russell Sharp underperformed at the plate and in the field. Those are all things that are hard to place at the feet of the manager.

Still, something had to change. After decades of having a culture of winning, the Nine are now the doormat of the BBA and the butt of too many jokes. This is a chance for McMonigal to really work to make the team his own. After all, blame can only be spread around so long before it lands at the feet of the person in charge. McMonigal no longer has a focus point for underperforming. He's going to have to show owner Bo Jordan – and an increasingly skeptical and staying home fan base – that he's the man to bring them back to being relevant again.

From the view of this reporter, while this firing might be a great idea today, but McMonigal may come to regret it if the team loses 100 again in 2055. As things stand right now, I wouldn't bet on improvement any time soon.

[Dington]

Kinda bummed. Nashville enjoyed him being in charge.

[Jwalk100]

Wait for it......Bing-de Zhao just hurt himself coughing. That follows hurting himself sneezing.

[Trebro]

Kinda bummed. Nashville enjoyed him being in charge.

I'm sure you did.

The big takeaway for me is that I never want to have a manager again who won't let me adjust strategy. I had to watch him keep pitchers I wanted on a pitch count out there as they bombed. Same with wanting to give players rest. UGH.

[Dington]

Yeah I switched managers mid-season and didn’t realize new guy wanted more control. Almost fired him immediately but he wasn’t too bad.