v.4, no. 1 (March, 1997)
GREENS LEAVES: News and Notes from the Moline Baseball Club
When he was told that the Chicago Tribune had installed the Greens as the early favorites in the northern division of the Shoeless Joe League, manager Joe Morgan smiled. "Well, you have to like that." But he cautioned against too much optimism. "Look, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I don't think we're stronger than we were a year ago. I do. But I thought we were good enough to win last year too." Morgan emphasized the team's reliance on pitching. "It's the same every year," he said. "We built this team around a solid, everyday lineup. But you can't win in this league if you don't have the guys on the mound. They're the ones who we'll have to count on if we're in the race at the end of the season."
G.M. Rolf Samuels, on the other hand, isn't so diplomatic. "It doesn't help us," he said of the status as divisional favorite. "It's as though we've won already, as though we're supposed to. Under those conditions, anything less than a pennant is a disappointment."
Samuels was also less than pleased with the first implementation of the John Deere report on the bean-ball incidents of the last few years. Taking a cue from the game of cricket, John Deere has ruled that Moline batters this year will face the pitcher with protective pads over their shins, arms, and torso. The pads will be required for all Green hitters, though they may be shed once hitters reach base. The report notes that the "investment in labor at this level justifies measures ensuring return on that investment."
Morgan said that while he favored protective gear for players recovering from particular injuries, it makes "not a whole lot of sense" for every Green batter to "waddle up there and hit with that much stuff hanging on him." What might be some of the effects of the rule? "Fewer infield singles for one thing," said Morgan.
A hooded spokesman for Deere noted that the protective gear will be used only as long as it is shown to prevent harm without reducing "offensive efficiency." While visiting batters will not be forced to comply with what Morgan dubbed "the cricket rule," the Greens will bat with their soft armor both at home and away.
Other terms of the Deere bean-ball report have not yet been made public.
Samuels announced the managers of other minor-league affiliates, appointments maintaining organizational policy of rewarding promising prospects with managerial duties, "to develop leadership skills alongside playing skills."
LEVEL LEAGUE TEAM MANAGER AAA Continental Winnipeg Pelters Jay Payton AA High Plains Topeka Threshers Mark Kotsay A Grain Belt Association Waterloo Boys Kris Benson R Land O'Lakes Minoqua Anglers Kiki Hirota