by Scott Plack

11/2/2011: New Orleans, LA – As I sat in Trendsetters Manager David Parks’s executive office, I noticed a few pieces of memorabilia: the 2008 Rodriguez Cup banner, and next to it a picture of McCullough receiving his Golden Arm award (which was incidentally signed to “The world’s greatest manager”).  Parks’s office chair was leather and looked comfortable, and I took a seat in a corresponding one across from his rather large desk.  The desk was covered with scouting reports and evaluations of last year’s roster, as well as pictures of Parks’s family.  Parks took a few more seconds before setting down his current piece of paper and greeting me with a scowl.

“Isn’t this the offseason… shouldn’t you be on vacation or something,” I inquired.

“Phaawwww… offseason… look Plack, I am doing this whole interview because Mr. Tanner said I had to, not because I want to… anyways, haven’t you taken stock?  This is the Dixie… it’s the toughest and best division in the whole PEBA… how many Rodriguez Cup winners have come from here?  Heck, the only teams that haven’t been to the postseason are Kentucky and San Antonio… and give them a few years and that won’t be a true statement, either.  I’ll have time for a vacation when I get fired… which will probably be soon if the trends don’t turn.”  With that, Parks crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.  “Well, what do you want to know?”

“Ooookaaaaayyyy…” I exhaled slowly, “take me back to this season, do you still feel like the team just underperformed?”

“Look, I said it then and I will say it again: It doesn’t make a difference who gets traded and who doesn’t… you gotta go out there and play to your best, and I don’t know that our team did.  Yeah, it’s tough losing the best pitcher in PEBA history, but that’s the way baseball is … the front office giveth and the front office taketh away.  Regardless, there should be no excuses, no regrets every time you hit the showers you better had left everything you had out there on the field.  What good does it do to get mad, to complain?  None,” stated Parks, eyes wide and nostrils flared.

He took a deep breath, “That being said, sometimes tough luck and slumps makes it feel like you are being rolled over, like with a big boulder, and once the momentum gets started… well, it can be kind of hard to stop.  Some days you go out there just hoping to survive and hoping things will bounce your way… Lady Luck will smile… all that jazz.  Unfortunately, it didn’t happen so much for us last season.

“Your managerial style has recently been criticized by players, some of whom stated off the record that you were gruff, unfriendly and unapologetic… how would you respond to that?”  I asked, bracing for the worst.

“Players get paid to play; I get paid to get the best possible performance out of them.  Nobody was complaining when we were in the playoffs the past three years… and I haven’t changed, so you do the math,” quipped Parks.

“What about the whole Semblano situation… should you have handled that one differently?”

Parks took a long, deep breath, “Semblano was crazy… maybe Salgardo was calling for bad pitches… maybe he wasn’t… we can never know.  Semblano was convinced he was, and thought enough of the situation to escalate it to a place it never should have gone.  Stuff like that becomes cancerous in a clubhouse, so he was removed.”

“But what about his tremendous success in Omaha?  How do you explain his night and day performance?”

“I never said Semblano was a bad pitcher; heck, I am not even saying he is a bad person.  Turnarounds like his never have easy answers, or everyone would be doing whatever worked.  Sometimes it’s the change in scenery, sometimes it’s the manager, maybe he changed his breakfast, maybe the Sovereign League hitters are just that bad…  I mean, how should I know?  I am not some philosopher waxing on the inner workings of the human mind…  I am a baseball manager.  I manage players who play a simple game; throw the ball, catch the ball, hit the ball… it’s not rocket science, and I am not Dr. Phil or their mommy to make them play nice together.”  Parks mumbled incoherently for a few more seconds.

At that point, I thought it might be better to look to the future and not dwell in the past… the angry, bitter past.

“So what about this offseason… anything to look forward to?”

“Nope.”

“Nothing?  What about rumors of trades, expiring contracts, all that stuff?”  I asked in surprise.

“I just wait out all of that silliness… besides, that has more to do with that fraud Flores than me.  Let me tell you something: only scouts and weathermen can be wrong as often as they are right and still have a job.  I mean, the papers love to write up the player the scouts are gushing over, potential this and potential that… when half the time those players come crashing down, and the other half are the players the scouts hate that just keep on pushing and end up making a difference…  I mean, where would Browne be if the scouts were to be believed?  Certainly not the starter in two big wins in the Rodriguez Cup… bah.

“Let me tell you something else: Flores changes his mind so often that I hardly even read the scouting reports… it’s like the weather in Texas; don’t like it?  Stick around for a bit, it’s bound to change… I mean, before this year Ed was barely even on Flores’s radar, and look how that turned out… you think Mr. Tanner would have figured it all out by now, but nope, every time  a trade or draft comes up, he always wants to know what Flores thinks, which I am pretty sure Flores doesn’t.  I think he casts lots or throws darts or prays that Billy Beane will give him inspiration… did you know he wears a rubber band on his wrist with the initials W.B.B.D.?  So my offseason consists of sitting here and stewing over player evaluations and minor league updates, but really I am just waiting for spring when whatever and whoever will be handed to me and I will try to mold them into a team, if I am even able to do that anymore,” Parks turned to stare out his window.

Sensing my interview was at an end, I excused myself.  Next on the list tracking down Tanner and Flores and getting the scoop from them.