“He said what???” exclaimed Ernesto Zamora, the Blazers manager.
“I’ll quote,” said the reporter.
“He said that?” asked Zamora, clearly stunned.“Is there anyone here who thinks Iwamoto accidentally hit Menzies? If you say yes, you’re an idiot.
“It’s not just him either. Their manager Zamora can be a real son of a bitch. I know he told him to do it. The only question is if it came from higher up. Was it those GM’s? They’re like father and son, right? Maybe they came up with the plan over family dinner.
“I bet they figured they couldn’t win unless they took something’ from us.”
“Yes, there’s footage of it from his postgame news conference,” replied the sportswriter.
Zamora took a moment to consider his response.
“I’ve been coaching professional baseball for over twenty years. Four years ago, Zuniga was running a high school team. Give me a break! I’ve forgotten more about baseball than he’ll ever know.
“Look, he thinks we’re that desperate because they swept a four-game series against us last month? Maybe he should look at the standings.
“Of course, it’s absurd to think that Kinzo would throw at anyone in that situation. This isn’t rocket science. Menzies bats left-handed. Kinzo’s cutter breaks in to lefties. Menzies got fooled on the pitch and the cutter caught him on the thumb. I hate to see anyone get hurt, and I feel bad for Menzies.
“No one told Kinzo to throw at anyone. The Breums do not get involved in game management. That’s why they hired a whole new coaching staff when they took over. They trust us to run things on the field. They treat us like professionals. That’s why both the coaching staff and the players enjoy working for this organization.
“Next question.”
