The McGovern Manifesto- Restoration, Reformation and Retaliation- Part 2

[royals19]

Re: The McGovern Manifesto- Restoration, Reformation and Retaliation- Part 2



McGovern hopped off his Blackhawk in the hospital parking lot as a nurse greeted him and walked with him into the hospital and towards Dayton's room.

What the hell happened tonight?

There was some sort of automobile accident and Mr. Moore was severely injured. He's on oxygen right now as we speak.

What the hell happened in the accident?

They continued walking through the hospital towards Dayton's room after getting off the elevator.

A man came by who claimed to be with him in the accident... his name was Ned or something along those lines. He said the driver stopped suddenly when they saw a squirrel and the car flipped over it's own weight.

Yost? Damn it!

Is anyone in his room now?

No, the police want to question him after he wakes up.

They arrived at Dayton's room and the Nurse ushered McGovern in.

I'll be outside if you need anything.

The door shut and McGovern approached Dayton.

Howdy Dayton! How are you doing?

Dayton stirred in his bed. His head had been bandaged and his leg was up but it looked as though he was going to be OK.

What in Sam Hill did they do to you!?

McGovern was answered by the slow *beep* *beep* from the monitor. He walked over to Dayton and whispered in his ear.

I know who did this to you... And I'm not going to rest until we have our revenge...

Suddenly the phone in Dayton's room began to ring. McGovern was suspicious... Could it be them?

Who's there?

You don't recognize the voice? It's your old pal Ned!

What the hell have you done? You could've killed him! This isn't about these guys... they have nothing to do with it! This is all about us and our beef...

I feel you... But here's the thing, people need things done, and this is what the brass wanted. We just gave Dayton a little headache is all...

What have you done with Bo and Freidman?

Oh them? They're fine... they've just... disappeared.

You'll never get away with this... You underestimate me. I've got millions and I'm going to spend every last cent of it enacting my revenge on you. So you can tell you're little buddies, you've just awoken a sleeping giant.

McGovern hung up the phone and walked over to the window... "It's amazing how quickly friends will turn on you"...

******

[beamerball811]

Re: The McGovern Manifesto- Restoration, Reformation and Retaliation- Part 2

Good read, I look forward to your World Series run and see where the plot goes next!

[royals19]

Re: The McGovern Manifesto- Restoration, Reformation and Retaliation- Part 2

Good read, I look forward to your World Series run and see where the plot goes next!

Thanks for checking in dude... It's safe to say that things just got real with the brains of the front office going missing and McGovern's front man missing as well.

******

The mood among the Royals clubhouse was solemn. Bo Jackson was essentially to the Royals what Nolan Ryan is to the Rangers... and then some. McGovern, uncertain of his own future, told his boys to "Win this for Bo". Aside from the this being the World Series, there was more at stake, an epic collapse could destroy the franchise, while a series win could bring unwanted attention to McGovern. McGovern was exposed and he didn't like it one bit.

So while we let the off the field situation develop, let's take a look at Game one real quick.



The Big Red Machine was easily the NL's most deserving team. Billy Hamilton won the Rookie of the Year, Joey Votto the MVP award and Johnny Cueto finished second in Cy Young voting. The thing I don't like about Cinci is they're going to small ball you. They're going to run, they're going to bunt and they're going to hit and run. If they do all those things correctly, they'll destroy us.

I really like the team we're marching into the labyrinth with... that is if we can hit. This is the f'n World Series for crying out loud! We can't just lay down here and get steamrolled! No... no, no, no.



The cut-scenes they have here in the World Series are actually pretty neat. They make this all that more enjoyable... for the first time in the show, it actually feels like October. They do the National Anthem, there are player introductions... the developers really went the whole 9 yards here in the playoffs.

So with that being said, we send our number one to face their number one... James Shields vs. Johnny Cuteo. That's probably one of the better matchups we're going to see all postseason long.

Now despite Shields' epic run this postseason, there's not a whole lot to hoop and holler about.

But tonight was a different story...


After starting slow in the ALDS and then gaining steam in the ALCS, Alex Gordon is hitting just about everything in sight. Tonight he went 3-5 and showed that he was a legit postseason threat... right there with Alcides Escobar who's also tearing it up.

If Gordon keeps hitting, then he could jump from being a good player, to a great player. This is definitley a situation that we're going to have to monitor.

Alex Gordon however, wasn't the big story of the night.



Cincinnati was trying to run us right into the ground but they should've known better. We've got Shieldsy out there who's one of the best in the game at holding runners on... we've got Salvy out there who's like the Yadier Molina of the American League... I mean you would've thought they did their homework tonight? Haha... nope.

Salvy backpicked 3 guys and threw out 2 guys stealing... then Shieldsy picked off another 2 guys himself. The Reds deserved to lose this game. They practically gave away base runners like they were coupons for a dozen doughnuts. If this is the way Cinci is going to play then this should be a cake walk.

The math might not add up but that's due to a Royals error and a couple strikeouts that got bad hops and Salvy couldn't play them properly.

Granted though, we gotta give a little credit where it's due to the Machine.



Todd Frazier had a p*** rocket hit at him and that dude caught the ball inches from the ground and rifled it to first to get a stunned Eric Hosmer out. I at first didn't think he caught it but sure enough, he did. So I got up and tipped my hat to Frazier... ain't nothin' wrong with making a web gem... even if it is the opposing team in the World Series.



And as the story usually goes, Big Game James was en fuego again. It's actually really nice to have the luxury of running a Cy Young winner out there every 3 games... something we will never take for granted. Looking at Shields' line, I actually think it's pretty comical that the only 2 runners he didn't pickoff scored...

I thought for sure that Cincinnati was going to blow us off the face of the Earth... Stay tuned for Game 2.

[royals19]

Re: The McGovern Manifesto- Restoration, Reformation and Retaliation- Part 2

After a closed door meeting following Game 1, the Reds had a different air about them in Game 2... they looked like they were ready to kick butt and take names. I know it's just a video game but I was scared out of my mind when I watched them take the field. When you beat a team like that and you know that there probably isn't a chance of a repeat win, it's fairly reasonable to be scared.



And off of Big Jon Lester... the Reds went to work... systematically humiliating us in front of our home crowd. It's kinda like the kid that does something "cool" at school but the principal finds out and that kid gets laughed right out of town.

Under normal circumstances, we would've gone head hunting but the respect that we have for the machine is unprecedented... after all McGovern was the man who did find Pete Rose. However the Royals were committed to that scrub George Brett when McGovern tried to convince them to trade for him.

Regardless though, we could pick apart each guy on the team and say what they did was wrong... however, we're going to be blunt to keep this short.




Jon Lester... this is all you dude. You see, Lester has been extremely inconsistent this postseason so Joe Maddon felt that it would be best if we removed him from the rotation and placed Wade Davis in his slot. Wade Davis, who's tenure in KC was probably over, suddenly has a chance to earn a spot on next year's squad.... I had to put an ice pack on my head just thinking about how this Lester deal could go south. All his problems seem to stem from the stretch and then he gets all out of wack when he goes back to the windup.

Lester probably won't pitch the remainder of the postseason and we're hoping that he can get this thing figured out by next spring... if not, we might be forced to peruse alternatives.


Aside from Lester's struggles, David Lough is fighting just to hang on. He hit .302 this year but the fact of the matter is, the playoffs can erase all of that. And that's exactly what's happened to D-Lough. I want him to be successful but not at the cost of the team's success. In order to keep his roster spot, he really has to play out of his mind and hit like a #3 hitter, like he was in the regular season.


Matt Latos was dealing tonight. 4 hits, 10 strikeouts.... We just couldn't get ahead in the count. He got in our heads. Breaking pitches in fastball counts. Fastball's right down the middle on 0-2 counts... We were extremely confused.

A 4 hit shutout... we deserved it. I'm not going to spin this and tell how we should've won. When you play like absolute crap, this is what happens. It was bad to leave the good people of KC with a shutout but hopefully, we'll get a shot to prove our worth again up in the cool confines of Great American Ball Park.

[royals19]

Re: The McGovern Manifesto- Restoration, Reformation and Retaliation- Part 2

Nothing like flying up to good 'ol Cincinnati on the charter. We went ahead and flew on up there so we could go on the town for a couple days and get acclimated to what all the city had in store for us.

We went to the Zoo.... over to the American Sign Museum... You name it, we did it.

But come time for Game 3, we were in the zone...



I'm thrilled that we get to play in a nice stadium both sets of the World Series. Great American Ball Park is really a nice place... not as nice as Kauffman but still... a very nice ball park. Tonight, with the series tied up, we needed a win. Getting behind the Machine could spell certain death for anyone. We've got 3 games up here to make something happen so we might as well go right to work.



This series, things have been eerily quite from the reigning MVP. Joey Votto usually has everybody's number... he's like the Miguel Cabrera of the American League. Despite his struggles, he's still a dangerous hitter for obvious reasons. We can't just lay them in there on him even if he does continue his struggles.

Last time out, he struck out twice and hit a pair of routine flyballs that drove in a run. Despite his struggles, he still finds ways to get the job done and that's the mark of an excellent ball player. Tonight, Votto went 0-4 and his struggles continued on.

Unfortunately for Cincinnati, there wouldn't be a whole lot to be excited about.

Aside from another Web Gem, this time, from Zack Cozart.



Cozart somehow found a way to make this spectacular play on an Alcides Escobar line drive. When I tell you that Cincinnati has some good defense, they really have some good defense. All their outfielders can cover ground, Brandon Phillipps and Joey Votto got that right side on lock. Meanwhile, Todd Frazier and Zack Cozart play out of their minds on the left side... you really have to have gap to gap power or you need to be able to bunt because they will catch anything remotely close to them.

It's insane... but you know what else is insane?


Andrew Cashner's outing tonight... He struck out 11 guys and allowed only 1 hit, a homerun from Todd Frazier. Other than that, that was it. These are the types of things that crush opposing teams in a series like this. These types of things break the other teams will. Cashner was mediocre this season but during this postseason, he has turned the dial all the way up. He's actually going to have a spot in next year's rotation, which I personally felt was a longshot.

With Yordano Ventura going tomorrow, we have a chance to put this series out of reach... or send it back to KC.

[royals19]

Re: The McGovern Manifesto- Restoration, Reformation and Retaliation- Part 2

So after that smashing victory against the Reds, we head on back out for Round 4... Err... Game 4. The Reds got Cueto going to tonight and we had the option to throw Shields but we refrained and went ahead with Ventura, the rookie.

He was nervous all night long but the offense attempted to alleviate some of that. Starting with MOOOOOOOOSE.



Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer recognize they have an opportunity to get some money this offseason from us in the form of extensions but they need to play to show that they deserve that. While Hosmer hasn't exactly taken the call to action, Moose on the other hand has been tearing it up lately.

Tonight he went 3-4 and hit every single ball hard against Cueto and J.J Hoover, a pair of really nice pitchers.

Regardless though, the Red Terror stole the show tonight,



DatDudeBP continues to haunt our very existence. He hits pitches out of the zone, in the zone, in the dugout, in the seats... it doesn't matter, he puts the bat on the ball and puts it in play and it forces us to make plays. It's grinding my gears man.

Him and Carl Crawford both had our number tonight. Crawford is hitting .467 and BP is hitting .410 both with a combined 7 homers this postseason.

Speaking of Crawford.


Jed Lowrie hit a 2-2 rocket out to Crawford. Crawford somehow comes up with the ball and throws out a bewildered Lorenzo Cain at first base to complete the double play.

The fact that the Big Red Machine is making these plays day in and day out is absolutely insane... They're doing just about everything right. Meanwhile, we're playing streaky... inning to inning it almost seems like it's just not fair.

And you know what else isn't fair?


Aroldis Chapman rolling out of the bullpen like a tumbleweed and then blowing away all of our hitters. In tonight's save situation, he was just overpowering. He's easily the best pitcher we've seen all October. After tonight, we realized that when Chapman comes in for the 9th, it's basically game over... you can't catch up to his fastball and the slider is unhittable at all times... I didn't even see the changeup so that's probably unhittable too.

It's suddenly apparent that Chapman could single handedly win this series for the Reds so we truly are facing a crisis.



And another L in the loss column. We absolutely cannot afford a loss tomorrow. That could put us in a deep, deep hole.

On the bright side however, the series will go back to KC so we'll have an opportunity to actually win the series at home. We got Game 5 at 7:10 tomorrow, Wade Davis makes his first playoff start vs. Mike Leake.

[royals19]

Re: The McGovern Manifesto- Restoration, Reformation and Retaliation- Part 2



Game 5 just wasn't Mike Leake's day... He came in with the stirrups, all ready to rock and roll and instead, he got rocked. Every single time it was a fastball right down the middle, low in the zone. We were just teeing off on him. Leake didn't have a chance to work in that killer breaking ball or that change up.

We were on Leake from the first pitch. Just ask Alex Gordon who did most of the damage.



Gordon brought in the dagger in about the 4th inning with a towering shot into the right field seats off of... you guessed it, a Mike Leake fastball right down the kisser. We dared Gordon earlier in the postseason to come in here, leave his mark and establish himself as the face of this franchise. Gordon has done exactly that. He's come into each game and made spectacular defensive plays and hit the crap out of the ball.

His 3-5 game tonight really solidified his value to our ball club and showed us that his best years are ahead of him which ups his value even more heading into the 2015 season. This year, Billy Butler was there half of the year to share the "Face of the Franchise duties" but next season, there will be more on Gordon's shoulders than ever before. He will have to produce as a 4 hole hitter and he will have to continue to play both sides of the ball well.



Mike Moustakas too had a big night, a pair of dingers and a few RBIs. This game might have won Moustakas a contract extension. We want to give extensions to either Hos, Moose or both... as long as they earn it. Moustakas has taken the call to action and run away with it. Meanwhile, Eric Hosmer still is barely hovering over the Mendoza line.

The potential is here for Moustakas to be one of the premier young players in the game but he just needs to be consistent. Moose finally looked like his post-recall form in this game; as did the whole team.

As far as Web Gems go, there weren't any this time around. Although Salvador Perez had a heck of a play.


Before we had blown the game wide open, Salvador Perez had a hell of a play. Moose threw him the ball on a bases loaded situation and Salvy held on amid a brutal impact brought on by Brandon Phillips.

I always cringe when Sal gets involved in these types of plays because we can't afford for anything to happen to the kid. I mean... Salvy is one of the young premier catchers in the game... up there with Buster Posey. We lose Sal, we lose the series.



It wasn't all the offense though, there was also the excellent pitching brought on by Wade Davis. If we start Lester here, this thing might be a different story. But now, we can head back to KC ahead, with an opportunity to bring a World Series trophy to KC for the first time since 1985.

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: The McGovern Manifesto- Restoration, Reformation and Retaliation- Part 2

Carl Crawford on the Reds?

One more win..

[royals19]

Re: The McGovern Manifesto- Restoration, Reformation and Retaliation- Part 2

Carl Crawford on the Reds?

One more win..

Yessir, Crawford originally started out as an A potential but for whatever reason, he's now a mid C. He was DFA'd by the Dodgers and claimed by the Reds last offseason. He was outrighted by the Reds this year and we put in a claim for him but the Reds pulled him back somehow and he stayed in Cinci....

As for the one more win... We really have to win Game 6. I don't know how Lester will do in Game 7 and I'd rather not stick around to find out. Hopefully that Game 5 was a sign of things to come.

[royals19]

Re: The McGovern Manifesto- Restoration, Reformation and Retaliation- Part 2



Heading back to KC for the climactic finish that you all anticipated, you see that we hold down a one game lead. I mean sure, we could punt Game 6 and then try to pull a game 7 win out of our hat... The fact of the matter is though, is that the longer we go on, the more the series is in favor of Cinci. Joey Votto is bound to wake up, Billy Hamilton is bound to terrorize us on the base paths, Johnny Cueto will finally hit his stride, Aroldis Chapman will take his place in history... There's just too many What if's if the series goes on any longer.

So tonight folks, we're going all in. Instead of saving Shields for a Game 7 situation, we'd start him tonight. Shields has been cash money this whole postseason and carved up the Reds in Game 1. There isn't a reason out there that says he shouldn't repeat tonight.



Having the reigning Cy Young on your roster to start in these elimination games just isn't fair... in fact, in theory it should be a virtual checkmate. Shields might have put together one of the most impressive postseason stat lines since Cliff Lee a few years ago. The fact that Shields was able to continue his dominance into the postseason essentially makes him one of baseball's best pitchers. That's right, Shields is right up there with David Price, Justin Verlander and Yu Darvish.

Tonight though was a different story. In arguably the most important playoff game to date, Shields didn't bring his best stuff. He had 60 pitches through 4 innings and had me in panic mode thinking about what would happen if we didn't win this game and burned up the bullpen.

Alas, Shields did get some help from Alex Gordon over there in Left Field.



Haha... here's arguably the greatest play I've ever seen in a postseason game. It was a 1-1 count and Shields threw a changeup in on Todd Frazier's hands. Todd Frazier hit it hard between Moose and Escobar but Alex Gordon, being the 2 time gold glover that he is, comes in hard on the ball.

Todd Frazier is on his horse trying to get to first and at first thought he was safe but when he was walking back to the bag, he noticed the umpire had called him out. He stood there watching the scoreboard, bewildered.

Alex Gordon had unleashed an absolute laser from left field and got Frazier out at first by a step. You just can't teach that amigos... you just can't teach that.

What's that? Another thing you can't teach?



You just can't teach plain, good 'ol fashioned stupidity.... David Lough was in the right damn spot to catch this routine, bases loaded fly ball.... or so he thought.

Well he thought wrong, the ball landed a good 10 feet behind him and 2 damn runs scored! Being the good owner that he is, George McGovern called down to Joe Maddon from his suite and demanded that David Lough be replaced immediately.

Thus Chris Denorfia took over for David Lough for the rest of the night... and possible forever.



Both starters got lit up like a town center Christmas tree. Shields only managed 4 strikeouts but allowed 10 hits and 3 earned runs... definitely not the way he wanted his year to end. But hold on.... hold the phone... Matt Latos allowed 4 runs... 4 earned runs...

I think it's time we pay a special visit to the 8th inning.

[royals19]

Re: The McGovern Manifesto- Restoration, Reformation and Retaliation- Part 2

Now, I know that Latos didn't throw into the 8th inning but we were able to tag him for 4 runs... then the Big Red Machine fired up the steamroller and came after us, almost putting the game out of reach... almost.

Some say that this play will arguably go down as one of the most debatable calls in the history of the game... Others will say with stunning confidence that there should've been a Game 7.

Before we get to all the action, let me set the scene for you:

We had runners on 2nd and 3rd with Lorenzo Cain coming up. Alex Gordon was on 3rd, Chris Denorfia was on 2nd. We put on the suicide squeeze and managed to score Alex Gordon on a fairly clean play. Lorenzo Cain was called out at first on a highly questionable play giving us 1 out on the inning.

So it goes like this:

Bottom of the 8th, tie ball game, Chris Denorfia represents the tying run on third and in steps the second baseman Jed Lowrie.

With Todd Frazier playing back and not covering the bunt, we laid down another squeeze and this time, the result was different.

The Royals bats have been on and off all night Phys, I think Joe has to call for the squeeze here. We can't let this scoring opportunity go to waste.

Even with the way Lowrie's swinging the bat? The Royals have one out and Lowrie's hitting .303 with runners in scoring postition.

Even with one out. The Royals have to have to have to win the game right here.

And Hoover comes set, checks the runner... Denorfia's taking off!!! Jed Lowrie squares to bunt!!! Hoover flips the ball to Mesoraco!!! He's out! He's out!

Hold on Phys.... He's safe! He's safe! Royals take the lead here in Game 6! The fans are going crazy! And here comes Dusty Baker sprinting out of the dugout! He chucks his hat at Cowboy Joe West!

******

While the Royals fans go nuts, the Royals players congratulate Denorfia and hoot and holler, Dusty Baker chews the **** out of home plate umpire Joe West.

What the **** was that! What in the **** was that!!! That's some BS right there Joe!! You know that and I know that!

Dusty get out of my face! He was under the tag, I had the best angle on it!

That dude was out!!! You and I both know it! *beckons to the big screen* Watch that! He was out!!! Denorfia didn't even touch the plate!

Dusty, quit kicking dirt on me you *** hole! He was under the tag! If you keep chewin' me out then I'm gonna toss you!

That is ****ing bull****!!! He didn't even touch that plate, Mesoraco got 'em!!!

That's it.

Joe West tossed Dusty out of the game and the crowd proceeded to get louder. As Chili Davis came out of the Reds dugout to pull Dusty back in, Dusty yelled back at Joe West.

Thanks Joe! You just cost my team the series! You're gonna be the next Jim Joyce when you turn on Baseball Tonight!

None of the major TV outlets were able to get a good shot... The play at the plate involving Chris Denorfia and Devin Mesoraco will be one of the greatest mysteries ever.



However, after I watched the replay from all angles for at least 10 minutes, it occurred to me that Dusty Baker was right... Chris Denorfia did not touch the plate... or at least he didn't before he was tagged by catcher Devin Mesoraco....

It's every bit as ironic as I would've thought. You see, the 1985 Royals had a missed call go their way as well... in Game 6, that allowed the Royals to play in Game 7 and eventually win it.

Check it:

I can't embed it because it cuts off the important part.

http://wapc.mlb.com/play?content_id=13062921

[royals19]

Re: The McGovern Manifesto- Restoration, Reformation and Retaliation- Part 2

So after claiming the lead, we got Donnie Joesph hot in the bullpen and put him in to close Game 6... a rookie closing Game 6 of the World Series haha... that's pretty good.

He would allow two hits but struck out a pair of Reds bringing op Joey Votto. Joesph missed his spot and left a fastball right down the kisser for Votto. As the pitch came in, I cringed only to find that it was routine fly ball to Alex Gordon for the 3rd out.



The Kansas City Royals are offically, the 2014 World Champs.



We had to slug it out, we worked around errors and poor pitching but in the end, it all worked out. Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas had big games... Alex Gordon made damn sure to get his share of the glory and Alcides Escobar made a couple nice plays.

the fact that this game was decided by one questionable call at the plate further adds to the folk lore of the Royals 2014 World Series run. Had we not won this year, I don't know where we'd be... we might not be able to retain Moose or Hos... We might have decided to begin retooling our team again... I don't know but the fact is we don't have to live with that reality. We're on top of the world.

Now of course, it wouldn't be a playoff victory if something didn't grind my gears...


We get the f'n World Series trophy and we hand it not to Alex Gordon who got us here but we hand it to David f'n Lough... the dude who got pulled in the 4th inning for making a stupid mistake at a crucial time in the game.

Regardless though, it's pretty sweet how they made this celebration thing to add to the mystique of October. In years past, it was really like you'd won a walkoff win or something and the only thing special was the post game text message alert...



Heh... it wasn't easy... I'll tell you that much right now. Had we not won 20 games in a row during the waning days of the season... Had Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas not decided to hit.... Had Alex Gordon crumpled under the pressure of being a franchise player, well we might not have been here.

It's easy to take these types of things for granted but when you had the longest playoff drought in North American sports prior to the 2013 season, well... you just might learn to appreciate things a little more.

[royals19]

Re: The McGovern Manifesto- Restoration, Reformation and Retaliation- Part 2

After that stunning win, I tripped over myself trying to run and see who the MVPs of the postseason were. Heh, and the Baseball Writers got it right this time.



Alex Gordon winning the Playoff MVP doesn't really sound like a big deal but the fact of the matter is, this is a huge deal... Alex Gordon had an opportunity to leave his mark on October, to show the baseball world that he was a legit player and not just somebody who put together highlight reels in the outfield.

No, Alex Gordon winning the playoff MVP is more than that... much, much more than that.



By winning the World Series MVP as well, he shows that he is more than just some scrub who finally found his swing in 2011... no, Gordon has become the Derek Jeter of the Royals... the Chipper Jones of the midwest. All the kids hope to be him and all the Dads want to be him. I won't BS you and say he's the greatest player in the American League but currently, Alex Gordon has established himself in Miguel Cabrera-Mike Trout territory. Gordon has proved that he only works at one speed, he's in clutch mode all the time. I mean hitting over .400 during the entire postseason where the pressure's on the most. That's insane to even think about.

He's an elite player, and to think that it took him 9... long grueling years where the chips were down most of the time, where he was a punchline for Royals baseball, where people considered him a bust... He's finally realizing his substantial upside and at just 30 years old, I can't help but think that this dude is just scratching the surface of what he could be.

[royals19]

Re: The McGovern Manifesto- Restoration, Reformation and Retaliation- Part 2

Things had finally worked out. McGovern stood at his seat and applauded his ball club with the masses. After taking over team, George McGovern had righted the ship and brought an end to KC's World Series drought. Take that and combine it with the young stars in KC and in the minors along with the emergences of James Shields and Alex Gordon as impact players.... McGovern was starting at a future dynasty under normal circumstances.

However, these were not normal circumstances, Bo Jackson and Andrew Freidman had been kidnapped in Toronto while Dayton Moore was on his deathbed; both as a direct result of Ned Yost's revenge plot. McGovern having been a scout for as long as the Royals had existed, suddenly found himself juggling the duties of General Manager and Club President. To make matters worse, George was now exposed to the villanous "Trust" and their phantom grip on professional baseball.

The World Series was won, the champaigne bottles had been popped but the real tests lie ahead. Like a decapitated chicken, there was only so long the Kansas City Royals could run around with no owner. The Trust thought that they had destroyed McGovern and that it was only a matter of time before they once again reclaimed the Royals.

Maybe they underestimated McGovern, maybe they were just toying with him or maybe, they were prepared to make him disappear as well.

Whatever the case, McGovern had contingencies for these types of situations, as all good business men should. That's why, McGovern soaked in champagne, stood on the World Series podium with Joe Maddon, James Shields and Alex Gordon, donned a sinister smile...

******

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: The McGovern Manifesto- Restoration, Reformation and Retaliation- Part 2

Congrats on your WS title, bro. You and deuce both brought home the hardware for you respective clubs. Now, we just need my Astros, kharmo's Bucs, Crains' Reds, and lilbiggio's Bravos (among others) to join the party.