61.143 | Fiscus year 1 review

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61.143 | Fiscus year 1 review

Post by RonCo » Sun Jan 12, 2025 7:12 pm

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A Look Back At Kate's First Season


November 1, 2061 | Forever Land | Before the season began, Bikini Krill General Manager did not shock the world when he let manager Richard Lawson go. He did, however, shock it by what he did next. That was tag Kate Fiscus to be the league's first female, and first cloned, field manager, inking her to a four-year deal worth $1.1M per. "We wanted to shake things up," Collins said at the time.

Mission accomplished.

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Fiscus was a bit of a wildcard on day one. A woman with considerable experience in the game, but none on the field. Or, rather, the clone of a woman with considerable experience in the game. What this person had was debatable. Of course, it should go said that the OG Fiscus had a certain reputation regarding that off-field experience that made some raise more than an eyebrow or two. Would this clone follow in her OG's footsteps? No one knew. She entered the clubhouse with the idea that she would be unorthodox at times. Other than that, and the fact the this Kate Fiscus seemed to want revenge on the Portland squad that cut her OG out, Kate Fiscus was a clean sheet.

Now, with a season under her belt, the answer may well be ... um ... kind of.

"I learned a lot," Fiscus said from her Wisconsin home. "I thought we had a chance to take it all, really. But it was a good year. I expect we'll be better next year because of it."

One thing that can clearly be said is that the team liked playing for her. "She kept the clubhouse relaxed all the time," said one insider. "She has a really light touch with the guys, and also takes a bit of a step back and works with the rest of the staff so they can do their jobs." That last is probably good, because even her most fervent supports wouldn't suggest her ability to help players make tactical adjustments was particularly good.

Some say she'll be able to retain her best players better than maybe some others would, pointing to the cases of both Takashi Nakamura and Brody Picot, who entered the season saying they were planning on making Bikini a one-and-done before both signed arguably below-market deals as the season came to an end. Others suggest that her presence in the dugout will attract Free Agents in the off season, one of which hopefully might be a corner outfield who can ... well ... corner outfield.

Her team had fits and starts, though, and at times she seemed a little lost. The vaunted rotation seemed to implode in May, and she had only limited responses to that. Perhaps the "let'em play their way out of it" frame of reference was purposeful, but at times she had a deer in the headlights look about her. Rumors are that GM Ron Collins is reaching out to other managers to mentor Fiscus, something that Kate says she's interested in. "I like older men," she said. "Especially ones who know what they're doing."

At the end of the day, any final assessment of Fiscus has to conclude that she did what she was hired to do: keep the club loose and limber, and take them over the hump that Lawson was apparently unable to get them over. The Krill missed 90 wins by only a single victory, and made it into the second round of the championship series before running into the buzzsaw that is Nashville. That said, Fiscus herself is a little less enthused.

"We need to beat the pants off Portland," she said. "And we didn't do that."

Next year, though, she says. Next year, watch out.
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