[Breeze]

FOFC MANAGER UPDATE

Press Conference

Stan Hack - "Benton you've lost 3 in row now."

I roll my eyes, and look at him, sigh and ask, "Was that a question?"

I looks at me shocked like how can you be so stupid, then he says, "Yes."

"OK, um...well yes - we have lost 3 in a row." I look around for the next question, but before I can get one, Hack barks out, "Does that bother you?"

"I'm not thrilled about it, but I knew it would happen sooner or later, and will undoubtedly happen again at some point during the season."

Hack, still chiming in before everyone else, "What about the clubhouse?"

I shake my head thinking, 'What about the clubhouse. It's not bad for a road clubhouse. Chairs are comfortable, and we have televisions to watch. IDIOT', but I bite my tongue and say, "I assume your asking how the players feel about the losing streak?"

Same stupid look answers my question "I'm sure they feel like me. We don't like to lose, and you really don't like to get on a losing streak, but when you have the best record in baseball by 6 or 7 games and we are only half way through the second month - it's a little easier to swallow."

Stan starts to ask another question, but before he can finish I say, "Lou," and point to him.

Lou Scribe says, "Why did you leave Rodney in so long? You were leading when you brought him in and losing when you took him out. Why not pull him quicker."

"Good question. Actually, I decided to let him pitch for 2 reasons. The first was that I wanted to see how he would handle the adversity. I don't want to be facing the same situation in the playoffs, without knowing how he's going to perform under pressure. Secondly, I was looking for a strikeout and Rodney is probably the best at getting one on the team, unfortunately he didn't this time."

Blaine Crease asks, "Since Rodney didn't get the job done, does this mean we can expect to see him in mop up duty for a while?"

"Hardly. You have to remember he got the first out. Then gave up a single. The key was the walk on the full count. If he had gotten that call, I doubt they'd have gotten a run in the inning. There is a huge difference in two outs and 1 on first then 1 out and men on first and second."

Scribe again, "Benton, Pflaggstettler has really fallen off. Do you expect to juggle your lineup because of that?"

"Actually, Percy grabbed me on the way in here, and told me I probably aught to drop him in the order. So he recognizes he's struggling a bit, but in all honesty, did you really expect him to hit .360 for the season? He's doing fine. I'll probably give him a few days off, let him get his head right and work him back into the line. Will he hit third? I don't know. Hayes and Palmer are playing well right now, maybe one of them moves into that spot."

Hack, "What about the other players?"

I can't hold my tongue this time, "What about what with the other players?"

He just looks at me. Crease chimes in, "Are some of the other players aware of your plans and are they excited about the juggling of the lineup or the chance to see the field more?"

"I haven't told them, but I'm sure they are. Everyone on this team is great, and they all want to play everyday - this will give a couple players a few chances to shine."

Gentlemen, that's going to have to do it for tonight. We'll talk to you after the next game.