To Rule in Kansas City

[PotatoOfCouch13]

Uh oh, looks like Charlie Finley may still have an ace up his sleeve!

I'm really interested to see how the White Sox situation unfolds. IMO, you can't forfeit the 2nd biggest city in America to the NL. I bet Chuck Hunter can stop it...

[Coach Owens]

CoachOwens: I'm pretty sure KC isn't on the east coast.

I didn't say it was on the East Coast, I merely said it was closer to the EC than the West coast.

[Overbay17]

Holy Moley! Enemies on every side! Even Kevin Callahan doesn't like you anymore! Have fun sorting this out Chuck...

[CatKnight]

PotatoofCouch13: Maybe, but Selig has a few cards up his sleeve too!

Coach Owens: Maybe, but hard to be part of an EC bloc when you're not on the EC. KC's kinda its own bloc.

Overbay17: What is right is not always popular. What is popular is not always right.
*******

Mid July 1971


"Mister Hunter? Do you have a few minutes?" Paul Splittorff knocked on my open door with his good hand: His right elbow lay encased in a brace that would have done a medieval knight's armor credit. I nodded and waved him in.

"How's the arm?"

"Hurts," he admitted. "Doc gave me a cortisone shot and it hurts like a mother, but after a few hours it does help." He sat heavily.

"What can I do for you?"

He didn't answer, but instead looked at his elbow and rubbed the brace gently. "I want you to know, Mr. Hunter....I don't like going behind Bob's back like this. He's a great manager. But someone....but he won't do anything, and I'm afraid it'll hurt the team."

Uhoh. "Do I need a drink?"

"I do."

I opened my drawer and pulled out a bottle of scotch and two glasses. He took his and stared into the golden liquid. "I know he's trying to help, but he's killing us."

"Who? Bob?"

"Satch."

"Paige!? What's he doing?"

"He has...well, had in my case, us practicing these weird throwing positions that he says he used or saw used back in the Negro Leagues. Says that even if we don't use them, it'll help increase our flexibility. Well...maybe a week or two before I went on the DL I was trying this sidearm throw of his and I felt something pop in my elbow. I didn't think it was anything, but the pain just kept getting worse. I'm pretty sure that's how Wally got hurt in spring training. He tried some new throwing position before he was in any real condition. Maybe Al too, though he won't admit it."

I bit my lip. "You told Bob?"

"Yeah, and he told me not to worry about it, that Satch has been pitching longer than I've been alive and I could probably stand any lessons he wanted to teach me."
*******

I talked briefly to Lemon. He took the news that Paul went over his head quite well, saying only, "I'm sure he thought it was the right thing to do."

"Is what he says true?"

"Depends. Is Satchel exercising the boys? I hope so! That's his job! Is he hurting them? That's a bit of a stretch, don't you think? He played 27 years not even including that publicity stunt of Finley's in '65. I'm inclined to say he knows how to properly condition pitchers."

"Our starters have been getting hurt an awful lot."

He shrugged. "Luck of the draw? Pitching's hard work, Chuck. It puts an enormous strain on you both mentally and physically. Sometimes a pitcher's arm just gives out for a few days."

"Or a few months, like with Paul and Wally Bunker?"

He shook his head. "That happens too. Chuck, Satchel and I can take good care of the pitchers. There's no need for you to worry about it."

I hope he's right.
*******

I received a letter today from Jack McKeon in Omaha. It simply said "I fixed Thompson for you. Martin gave him some pretty strange ideas. I think you'll be pleased."

Thompson (now 91/95) is my new starter. He's been given a few chances now. I better be pleased.
*******

Sad news out of Boston. 3B Tony Congliaro is retiring at age 26 after 6 seasons.

After being hit on the head in 1967 with a ball, and rupturing vertebra in '70, he's played with increasing pain and is apparently losing his sight as well. If he can hit over .280 with failing vision, I wish we could see what he'd do if he stayed healthy.

In 1971 he batted .287 13-39 1. Lifetime he finishes .279 138-415 12 with 660 hits
He played for the BoSox his entire career (64-71) and was an All Star in 67.
*******

Minnesota (46-41) (3rd, -5.5g) at Kansas City (47-37) (2nd, -3g)

15: Rooker pitches a CG giving up only 4 hits. Cardenal goes 4 for 5, Rodriguez 3 for 4 as Andrews and Hart each get 2 RBI in a strong showing for the home team. Royals 7-1
WP: Rooker (8-5) (CG)

16: Despite getting 12 hits our offense sputters, while Blyleven leaves after 3 innings of indifferent ball. Twins 6-3
LP: Blyleven (12-5)

17: This time Bunker doesn't make it out of the 4th. Hart leads our offense going 2 for 4 with 2 RBI, for all the good it does us. Twins 8-4
LP: Bunker (0-1)
*******

And now we're 2 games below .500 since May 1, and 1-5 for July. This could be a long, slow, painful slide if we don't wake up soon.
*******

Baltimore (64-29) (1st, +8.5g) at Kansas City (48-39) (2nd, -3g)

18: The O's win a general offensive war, with neither McNally nor Fitzmorris impressing. On our side are top 5 hitters each get at least 2 hits. Orioles 9-6
LP: Fitzmorris (4-4)

19: Jim York gives up two singles in the 12th to cost us our fourth straight. Rooker did well for 7 innings, just not good enough. Orioles 4-3 (12)
LP: York (3-6)

20: Blyleven and O's Jim Hardin and Al Severinsen put on a show, the Os only giving up 4 hits, while we yield 5. One of those, however, was a two-run homer by Cardenal scoring Hart,and in the end that's all we need. Royals 2-1
WP: Blyleven (13-5) (CG), HR: Cardenal (12)
*******

Chicago's gone on a winning spurt as we travel to Minnesota again.
*******

Kansas City (49-41) (2nd, -5g) at Minnesota (49-44) (3rd, -6.5g)

21: We explode for 7 runs in the ninth led by Hart's 2nd homer of the day, Thompson's RBI double, Fiore's 2 RBI single, Salmon's RBI double, and Rico's 2 RBI single. Royals 8-3
WP: Bunker (1-1), HR: Hart 2 (14)

22: Eric Soderholm hits a 2 RBI homer off Fingers in the tenth to take this one away from us. Concepcion went 3 for 5, Andrews 2 for 4 with 2 RBI. Twins 8-6 (10)
LP: Fingers (2-4)

23: Trailing 5-1 in the 7th, we score 8 runs led by Concepcion's 3 RBI double and Piniella's 2 RBI double. Butler makes his first return after his injury (see below) and does fair (2.1 IP 2 R 1 ER). Royals 9-7
WP: Butler (2-0), SV: Fingers (8)
*******

The incredible pitching plague continues as Jim York (3-6 3.78 4 SV) goes on the DL with a stretched wrist ligament. I'm really starting to wonder if what Splittorff is telling me is true.

Butler will come in at long relief for now. Before the 23rd he had a 7.02 ERA.
*******

Team          W    L    GB
Chicago      57   40    --
KANSAS CITY  51   42     4
Minnesota    50   46     6.5
Oakland      51   48     7  
Los Angeles  40   57    17
Seattle      39   57    17.5

AL East: Baltimore (69-30), New York (-11.5g), Washington (-12g)
NL East: New York (54-45), Chicago (-2g), Philadelphia (-6.5g)
NL West: Houston (55-41), San Francisco (55-41), Atlanta (-1g)

Team Leaders:

AVG: Pat Kelly (.320) (7th-T)
HR:  Jim Ray Hart (14)
RBI: Jim Ray Hart (69) (8th-T)
SB:  Pat Kelly (14) (6th-T)

W:   Bert Blyleven (13) (2nd-T)
ERA: Paul Splittorff (3.13) (5th)
K:   Bert Blyleven (132) (1st)
SV:  Rollie Fingers (8) (8th-T)

[Imgran]

It's time to move on from Satchel by the looks of it. Think: The Yankees moved on from their strength and conditioning coach this year IRL long before it had gotten this bad.

On the theory that guys who had to spend their careers being pitchers instead of throwers sometimes make better coaches maybe you should cast an eye over Don Larson.

[CatKnight]

Imgran: Probably. Tricks that might have worked in the 30s and 40s just don't work with modern (1970s) pitchers.
*******

Late July 1971


"Chuck? Charlie Finley! How are you?"

Overcoming a sense of deja vu, I reached for my scotch. "I'm fine, Charlie. What do you want?"

"Hey, no reason to be cold. Wha...oh. Well, never mind what I said at the meetings, Chuck. I was rather hot after the meeting. I, for one, consider the matter resolved."

Somehow I doubted this very much, but no sense picking a fight. "Agreed. What's on your mind?"

"Two things. First, I thought you'd like to know that assistant of yours is trying to get me to give up Jackson. I told him he'd have to give me half the team. He said he's thinking about it." He chuckled.

"He...called you?"

"He did! Not much of a negotiator yet, but I admire his spunk."

Time for a second drink. "What else?"

"I...was wondering if you've heard anything out of Chicago."

"No, why?"

Finley hesitated. "Chuck, I've been asking around a little and his attendance numbers just don't add up. The man's four games in first place and he has the worst attendance in the league? I can't accept that. Can you?"

I put down my glass. "I thought you wanted the White Sox to move."

"I want the White Sox to prosper. It's best for baseball if every team is viable. Milwaukee or Chicago doesn't matter to me. Usually I'd say it's his business where he goes, as you know, but there's something very wrong with the reports he's filing."

"Conceivably. Yes, I think so too."

Finley paused again. "Chuck...you're a lot closer to Chicago than I am. It would look strange if I did anything, and anyway you know Joe wouldn't even hear me out. We need to find out what's going on in Comiskey, and if Bud is playing games with his figures...we need to act."

I shook my head. "Charlie, as you say, I'd expect you not to care what he does so long as the ChiSox play somewhere. Why are you so keen on this?"

"Because I don't like being lied to."
*******

I found Andy in the bullpen with Satchel Paige, Blyleven and Rooker. Blyleven sat in the corner with his arm in ice. Rooker looked like he was trying to become a pretzel.

"That's right, boy! Just a little more!" Paige sat in a lawn chair sipping at some juice or other. "That'll get the knots out of your arm right!"

"Hello, Satch."

He squinted up. "Mister Hunter! Don't see you around here often! Boy!" This to Andy. "Get Mister Hunter a pop from the cooler will you? It's a bit hot." To my shock Andy obeyed.

I nodded at Bert. "What's wrong with him?"

"Oh, arm's a little sore is all. He'll be fine by tonight's game."

"Satch, I hear some of your exercises are...well, they may be hurting the pitchers."

Kraft snorted. Paige shook his head and smiled. "Who's been saying that now?"

"Paul Splittorff."

"Paul? Nice boy, real potential, but I think he's a little down that he didn't do as well this year. Now he's hurt. He's looking for answers just like the rest of us." He leaned back. "Jim! Ol' Satch's exercises aren't hurting you are they?"

Rooker had passed the pretzel stage and seemed to be trying for a Gordian knot. "No, sir!"

"Alright then."

"And what happened to Jim York?"

"Threw out his wrist, according to Doc. He'll be fine in a few weeks." Paige squinted up at me. "Mister Hunter, there something you want to say?"

"Yes. I'd like you to stop teaching these boys what you learned in the Negro Leagues thirty years ago. Just keep them loose and conditioned, then let them throw."

He lowered his head to look at me through his eyebrows. "Is that an order, sir?"

"I'm afraid so."

Paige chuckled. "Alright then. Jim! You can stop now!"

Rooker untangled himself and fell to the ground panting.

"Andy? Would you get him some water?" Well, it was worth a try.

"Get it yourself," he sneered and stormed out of the bullpen.
*******

I chased him into the outfield. "What the h*** is your problem?"

He whirled. "That's f****** Satchel Paige!"

"I gathered that."

"He knows more about pitching than the both of us. And you want to tell him how to do his job!? S*** man. Where do you get off?"

"I get off because I'm the general manager, and I have to do what I think is best for the club. Every starter but Rooker's been out for at least a few days, and three for at least two weeks each. Now York's on the DL. I can't ignore that."

"And so you take Paul's word that it must be Satch? Jesus. What a loser."

"Frankly I'm surprised you're defending Satch since you don't like blacks."

He gaped and laughed. "Who the f*** told you that?"

"You did...effectively." I paused, for the incredulous look in his eyes said much. "The way you talked about Foy and Hart..."

"Yeah, I'm not too hot on them. Foy wanted to screw with us money wise, and Hart wasn't trying hard. What's that gotta do with their color?"

"I...." Time to change the subject. "...heard you've been talking to GMs behind my back again."

"I've been feeling them out, yeah. Don't worry, square. I wasn't going to do anything without you."

Last I checked, square meant 'honest and fair', as in a 'square deal.' Something about the way he said it didn't make it sound like a compliment.

"Oh, I wanted to ask you," he continued. "Are we keen on winning this thing or not? Because if we're still building up, okay, but if you want to make a run then Cleveland's got a deal for us."

I listened. "And how much is this going to cost us salary wise?"

"They make some $240,000 more than our guys, but Cleve's offering $290,000 in cash so we have a year to decide what we want to do with them."

We returned to my office and looked through the player files. Finally, reluctantly, I nodded. "Let's do it."

TRADE:

Kansas City to Cleveland:
LF Joe Keough (73/81) [25] (.192 0-0 0 in 26 AB)
LF Lou Piniella (81) [27] (.314 3-44 1)
SP Gary Lance (57/76) [20] (D ball)
RP Norm Angelini (67/71) [23] (B ball)

Cleveland to Kansas City:
LF Lee Maye (74) [36] (.295 6-36 5)
CF Bill Robinson (83) [28] (.283 14-48 5)

Losing Piniella hurts. Not only does (did) he love it here, but once he broke his early season slump he turned into a solid offensive performer. Unfortunately his power isn't there, and we really need another home run hitter. Robinson doesn't get on base quite as often, and strikes out more, but he instantly becomes our #1/#2 power guy.

Keough was nice to have as a defensive player, but offensively he was never going to get much better. Maye...is old. However, he can warm the bench as well as Keough and can apparently hit the ball when he wants as well.

Lance and Angelini both might be on 25 man rosters given time, but they really have no future with us. Perhaps Cleveland can use them.

On our side, Robinson goes to LF. Oliver comes up from Omaha to replace Rico, since Oliver can play outfield in an emergency. Maye goes to the bench.

In Cleveland, Piniella starts in left, Keough on the bench. Lance and Angelini return to the minors as well.

[Coach Owens]

Get rid of Andy! If you can't fire him, there are, um, other ways to do it! Hehe.

[PotatoOfCouch13]

Get rid of Andy! If you can't fire him, there are, um, other ways to do it! Hehe.

I know a guy...

I suppose a congratulations is due, because your team has played so mediocre, and yet you're only 4 games out. Well done! I'm sure that this is Kansas City's year. I just wonder if Ewing will expect it every year after...

[Coach Owens]

Don't worry Cat! You only have to go 21-48 to meet the goal. Not that I'm trying to jinx it or anything...

[Overbay17]

Liking the look of the trade. Bill Robinson should be a good upgrade in the outfield, and the numbers say Lee Maye can still hit, even though he's clearly beginning to succumb to the ravages of age (a 74 OVR...yikes).

Kraft's probably going to have to be dealt with though.

[Imgran]

Kraft's probably going to have to be dealt with though.

Agreed. He's deliberately stepping over the line to see how much he can get away with and Hunter's letting him get away with stuff.

[royalblue5]

Kraft might make a great GM!!!!!!

for Selig.

[free2131]

Just wanted to chime in and say that if you aren't a writer by profession, you should be. Very easy to read and your plots (Cardinals and Expos dynasties included) are superb.

On a side note, I see you have a... um shall we say... small annoyance with Barry Bonds.

[CatKnight]

Coach Owens: We might be down to the 'other' ways. I might need to borrow F from the Phillies dynasty

PotatoofCouch: Hard to say....but probably. I see Ewing as being a reasonable man, but he is determined to bring KC a winner. A perpetual winner would be even better. (Of course, just staying ahead of Finley's Athletics would probably do. )

Coach Owens: Grr!

Overbay17: Eventually yes, will have to do something about Andy. I'm hoping the trade will bring me some much needed power. Robinson's at least playing fairly well.

Oh, good news. BM09 (at least the beta, but I see no reason for them to take it out) auto backs up each dynasty. That way, if you accidentally kill it like your '77 Blue Jays, you can just load the backup and resave.

Imgran: Yep, and Kraft obviously has authority issues. Like much of his generation I suppose.

royalblue5: Wouldn't THAT be an alliance made in h___.

free2131: Thank you! I've written dynasties and AARs (after action reports - same idea, but for wargames) and they always seem to develop a story element. In many ways I like writing about the plots more than the actual game, though it does help keep my interest up that Chicago and I are locked in a duel.

As for Barry....just a little

COMMENT: As of this post the game's converted to 11.03 Beta. I reserve the right to backtrack if something goes horribly wrong, but everything looks stable and smooth so far. Once the game's officially out I'll post some screenies.
*******

Late July 1971

"But Mr. Kauffman, he's a damned nuisance!" I braced the phone against my ear with my shoulder as I opened mail. Bill. Bill. You might already be a winner. "He's making deals behind my back, I don't think he's ever heard of respect, and..."

"He's young," Ewing replied, chuckling. "He's young and a bit sure of himself. I admire that. I wish you were a little more sure sometimes."

"He's young and he doesn't know what the h*** he's doing! I had to talk to one of the coaches about the way he was training players, and Andy took his side against me."

"Which coach?"

"Paige."

"Maybe he has a point."

I growled.

"Chuck, unless he does something blatantly wrong I need to ask you to put up with him until he matures. His father owns 19% of Marion Pharmaceuticals and could make things unpleasant if he so chose. I don't need to tell you how important Marion's health is to the Royals' prospects."

"No." The latest trade meant the Royals were no longer self sufficient...and it wasn't true we had a year to 'decide.' Several of our stars would be up for renewals, arbitration and free agency. Our budget would skyrocket.

"Be patient, Chuck. But don't be afraid to set limits. His father is...well, let's say he's not attentive. Perhaps you need to fill that void for now."

Just f-ing great.
*******

While I'm at it I need to decide what, if anything, to do about the Chicago situation. Clearly someone needed to get to Comiskey and look around. I asked Calvin Griffith in Minnesota about sending someone, but he nervously told me he needed all his people there.

I'm tempted to send Andy. He'd probably love playing the spy, but I don't trust him. I don't think he'd actively betray me or anything, but he doesn't exactly impress me with his subtlety and common sense.

That's when Richie Perrin walked back into my life. He was scouting director until Kauffman fired him over the winter. He was leaner than I saw him last, with more lines around the eyes.

"I haven't really had any luck," he said regarding the job hunt. "No team wants to hire a disgraced scout, and my name wasn't really out there enough to go working for a school or college. They keep asking me if I have an education degree."

"Perhaps you should work in a factory for awhile, just to make ends meet?" I suggested.

"It may come to that. Mary's working in one now - sixty hours. We're barely getting by. Which is why I'm here. I was hoping...well, hoping you might be able to find a place for me."

I closed my eyes and shook my head. "No, Richie. We have all the scouts we need, and..." My eyes narrowed. Scout...scouting....spying... "Wait. How would you like to visit Chicago?"

"Chicago?" he echoed. "What the h*** is in Chicago!?"

"The White Sox."
*******

Kansas City (51-42) (2nd, -4g) at Seattle (39-57) (6th, -17.5g)

24: Blyleven pitches eight excellent innings, but Hedlund loses it in the ninth as our offense doesn't produce (except for Kelly.) Pilots 3-2
LP: Hedlund (2-3), HR: Kelly (10)

25: Bunker pitches a decent game but hurts himself in the eighth (see below.) Thompson, who's still not overly impressive, managed a 3 RBI double to win this one. Royals 4-2
WP: Bunker (2-1), SV: Hedlund (3)

26: Another close game. Fitzmorris goes 8 innings giving up only 1 unearned run. Robinson goes 1 for 2 with a double and RBI. Royals 3-2
WP: Fitzmorris (5-4), SV: Fingers (9)
*******

Wally Bunker's rotator cuff is out! Whether this is an aggravation of his preseason injury or something new, he's out for another month. Bill Butler takes his place in the rotation. Clearly something has to be done about our pitchers' conditioning...which is supposed to be Satch's job!

The Expos offer me a tolerable reliever: Tom Walker (76/78) [22] for one of our prospects, RP George Throop (63/82) [20]. Our relief corps is...stable, so I decline.
*******

New York (58-41) (2nd, -10.5g) at Kansas City (53-43) (2nd, -4.5g)

27: Butler pitches 7.2 IP and Hedlund finishes up with 1.1 IP of perfect ball. Hart goes 3 for 4 with 1 run, 3 RBI. Royals 5-0
WP: Butler (3-0)

28: A closer game, with Kelly getting 2 RBI. Of our nine hits, 4 our for extra bases including Concepcion's 4th triple and Andrews' 2nd homer. Royals 5-3
WP: Rooker (9-5), SV: Fingers (10), HR: Andrews (2)

29: In a nail biter the Yanks score 3 in the 9th to take a 6-5 lead. Concepcion and Robinson hit back to back singles with two on to take the game and series. Of our 15 hits, ALL are singles. Royals 7-6
WP: Cram (3-2)
*******

I don't care if you're the Red Sox, Angels, or anyone in between. Sweeping the Yankees is always a sweet experience.

Fitzmorris needs a few more days off. He says it's to "get his head on straight for the rest of the season." Doc doesn't like the way he's holding his arm. What the h*** is Satch doing to my pitchers!? Montgomery gets his spot. I can't watch.
*******

Los Angeles (42-60) (5th, -18g) at Kansas City (56-43) (2nd, -2.5g)

30: Montgomery stumbled early. It looked like he might stabilize, but finally Bob Lemon took him out after 5 having given up 4 runs. Robinson finally does what we are paying him to: Hit homers. Angels 5-2
LP: Montgomery (3-6), HR: Robinson (15)

31: With the Angels leading 7-5, Mike Fiore hits a two-run homer in the ninth to tie it. Then someone's grandma kidnaps Rollie Fingers and tries to pitch the tenth. Then someone else's kidnaps Dick Drago and tries their luck. The score says it all. Angels 15-7 (10)
LP: Fingers (2-5), HR: Fiore (3)

8/1: Fitzmorris returns from "getting his head on straight" to give us 7 strong innings. Grote goes 2 for 3 with an RBI. Royals 3-2
WP: Fitzmorris (6-4), SV: Cram (2)
*******

Despite our setbacks, the White Sox have suffered worse losing 4 straight and 6 of 10. We're now 1.5 games back.

[Coach Owens]

No! You can't reach your goal! You mustn't!