"Sir, there's five inches of snow on the field."
"That's why there's 70 ballplayers here. More shovelers!" General Manager Shoeless sunk his hands into the pockets of his parka and looked out from the third base dugout at the main diamond of the organization's new spring training facility in Hague, North Dakota. He wanted to change the culture of the franchise and moving spring training to the bitter colds of the Great Plains was his way of toughening everyone up. Plus, he wanted no distractions from the relentless media covering the BBA or fair weather fans.
"But, sir. It's 19 degrees. The Ruiz kid we brought in from our International Complex won't leave the clubhouse because he's scared of snow, says he's never seen it before," Assistant General Manager Javier Valentin said, shivering in his ill-prepared spring jacket. "And, David Simpson convinced our new Rule 5 guy to lick the batting practice cage. He's been stuck there for 15 minutes because there's no hot water."
Shoeless shrugged. This was the weather he'd grown up with during his childhood in Bismarck -- a little over an hour's drive north. He wanted the guys to become tougher and not take the cushy accommodations at South Pacific Field in Sacramento for granted.
"Listen, Javier," said Shoeless. "I know this isn't ideal, but I'm tired of losing in the playoffs. I'm tired of the Heartland yammering on about how good they are. I'm tired of it all. I want gritty, hardened ballplayers -- ballplayers who don't give a crap what the weather is, or what the score is, or if there's a stadium full of fans watching them. I want boys who just want to kick the ass of the team in the opposite dugout."
"But, sir. How is Ramos supposed to get a feel for his pitches when he can't even feel his fingers?"
"Old Bumblebee will just have to figure it out. We're not here for feelings anyway."
