The Good Guys embarked on their first road trip of the year. The mood around the team still felt strange. While Elmont had promised to continue many of Lee's strict rules, in reality, he relaxed a few important rules, such as the team curfew on the road, and also the standard for which fines were determined. Under Lee's guidance, a player would be fined immediately, if they made a mental error on field. With Elmont, he usually allowed a player
to screw up under certain circumstances, and held less of an "Iron fist". It remained to be seen which way would work best, because the "Iron fist" of Lee Sniderman only produced ten World Championships, fifteen straight division titles, several Wild Card appearances, and only one last place finish. Without a doubt, Elmont was stepping into the shoes of a manager whose peers, and accomplishments in the game, were rivaled by few. Only the Braves Bobby Cox, and managers like the Yankees Joe Torre, and Casey Stengel, the true Hall of Famers, could be compared with the accomplishments of Lee.
The team had a road trip to attend to, while everyone was still getting used to Elmont. The trip took them to New York, Atlanta, and Houston, and did not start well. The Good Guys began the trip by losing two of three to the Mets in New York, and did the same by dropping two of three to the Braves in Atlanta, and finally finished the trip by winning two of three in Houston. They returned home, on a Sunday night, to begin a nine game homestand, their second of the year.
In addition to the difficulties in getting used to their new manager, Mitch and Naomi were having issues as well. During the ten day trip, Naomi was having periods where she acted very cold to Mitch. They weren't fighting, but she would sit in chat sessions on the computer with him, and say very little, or give him one word, clipped answers, or gestures, if they were talking on the phone. Mitch was becoming a bit sullen, and downhearted. First, he had to deal with the departure of his long time manager, who had been his favorite professor while he was in college, back in the days when Lee was a professor at Nassau University, and Mitch was his student, and then, he had to deal with his wife being a bitch, and a pain in his ass, when she got to sit home, and do little for ten days, while Mitch and the team had to go on the road with the new manager, with Lee's loss being felt, and his presence around them, everywhere, in whatever city they visited.
When Mitch arrived home, on Sunday night, he undressed, and went to the guest room, followed by Naomi: "Hello? Did I send you there? You dont want to sleep with me? This Aussie body doesnt tempt you at all?" She prodded. "I'm tired, Naomi. I had a long trip, and I'm mentally spent. I'm not in the mood for sex tonight, or to have you give me the cold shoulder, or rant and rave at me when I do something wrong. I just want to have some peace tonight, and get a good night's sleep, okay? I dont want to turn this into a whole homestand thing. Just please give me a night off" Mitch said. "Fine, take your guest room, maybe for the rest of the homestand, and fuck you!" Naomi shouted, and stomped out . The next morning, the couple awoke, and said little to each other.
That night, the Good Guys opened their second homestand of the year, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Kate Hudson was on the mound. Paradise scored three early runs, and, Kate was Kate, firing a three hit shutout, with nine strikeouts, and no bullpen help, in a 3-0 win. That night, Mitch and Naomi did not sleep together, and it looked like the deep freeze was on.
The next night, Gil Bellows was the starter. Gil gave up a two run homer in the first inning, and Paradise could score only one run, and lost, 2-1. Charlize Theron pitched on Wednesday night. The Good Guys scored four runs in the first inning. Charlize struggled, but managed to make it through five innings to qualify for the win. Paradise led, 4-3, before scoring two runs in the eighth, and having Hayden save the day in the ninth, in a 6-3 victory.
Thursday was an off day, That day, the couple went to counesling, and aired their issues. "I came home tired. I had a long road trip, and wanted one night off. She ended up ranting at me, and throwing me out, and one night turned out to be three. This has been a rough season. We're all still getting used to Lee's role change. I'm feeling tired of the road already, and we had a long trip. Sometimes, Naomi, I just need to mentally downshift. You ride me like a horse that you're driving your cowgirl spurs into. I do the best I can, but I'm human" Mitch said. "You know what, Mitchell, stop giving me your "I do the best I can" bullshit, and the crap about my "cowgirl spurs". I sacrifice plenty too. Say, 81 nights when you're away on the road, no acting career, waiting for you to call me, or come online when you're out of town. Stop this poor little me bullshit. It doesnt hold any water with me!" Naomi snapped. "Fine, so tell you what. Keep being cold to me, and let's keep bickering for the rest of our lives. How about that?" Mitch said. "Whatever, Mitchell, if that's what you want, and you want nastiness, instead of love, I can dish out all the nastiness there is!" Naomi snapped. The couple left the session, with nothing having been ironed out.
Chicago came to town on Friday night. Neve Campbell was on the hill. She allowed three runs in six innings, but the Good Guys couldnt score any, and lost, 3-0. Rachel Leigh Cook took a 5-1 beating on Saturday night. Kate Hudson would try to avoid the sweep, on a sunny, windy, 79 degree Paradise day, in front of a sellout. Elmont juggled his lineup a bit that day, with the team having scored only one run in the previous two games. The lineup changes worked, as the Good Guys scored three runs in the first, and six overall, and Kate pitched a fine game, allowing two runs in seven innings, with ten strikeouts, combining with the bullpen, on a 6-2 win.
St Louis entered Paradise on Monday, for the homestand's final series. Gil Bellows pitched the Monday game. He got hit hard. Paradise scored four runs, but lost, 5-4, the team's third loss in four games. Charlize took the ball on Tuesday night. She gave up three runs in six innings. The game was tied, 3-3 in the eighth, when Ed Burns came up with the bases loaded, and blasted a Grand Slam homer, as the Good Guys came away with a 7-3 victory. Neve Campbell took the mound, on a sunny, breezy, 82 degree Paradise day, in front of a sellout. This time, Neve got hit hard, allowing four first inning runs. The lineup, however, had it's hitting shoes on that day, ralling from a four run deficit, to score five runs in the sixth, and three more in the seventh. The bullpen had some trouble in the ninth, but Hayden got the final outs, for an
8-5 Paradise Island win, that completed a winning, but subpar, five and four homestand. Ih the postgame interviews, Mitch still had a strange feeling, and described the barely winning homestand, as a feeling of the team just "Slogging along". As the team packed to head to Pittsburgh the following evening, it was hoped that they could come out of their slumber of the previous ten days.
In the meantime, the team held it's Saturday tickle party. With Mitch and Naomi not speaking, Mitch paid $100 each to several doms, to be tickled in a private room. He stripped to his black boxer shorts, and was tied hands and feet to the bed. One dom began the tickle on Mitch's neck with fingers, as his head shifted, and the laughter began:HAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA!
Moving down, a second dom joined in, tickling Mitch on his underarms, sides, ribs, and belly with fingers, as he howled:HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAA! Working down, a third dom joined the party, tickling Mitch on his hips, inner thighs, and behind his knees with fingers, as he thrashed, and bucked:HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA! Finally, a last dom positioned herself at Mitch's feet, and attacked them with fingers, long nails, feathers, and electric toothbrushes over his soles and toes. Mitch went beserk, shaking his feet, and howling with laughter:HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHHHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHA! OMG PLEASE NO MORE! I GIVE UP! NOOOOOO! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHA! Finally, the tickle ended, and Mitch was untied.
On Thursday night, when it was time for Mitch to leave for the airport, Naomi snapped: "Call a cab, I'm not taking you!" Mitch nodded, and called a cab. "Pretty fucking lousy homestand this time. How about we talk nice on the road this trip, so you can come home, and we can both get some next time you are here, hmmm, how about that?" Naomi said sarcastically. "Okay" Mitch said quietly, before picking up his suitcase, and heading out the door, to the cab to take him to the airport.
So, it had been a subpar homestand on field, and a very poor one off field. Now came a ten day road trip. Would the fortunes improve? That answer to come in the continuing story of the Tickle Team From Paradise Island.
The End
to screw up under certain circumstances, and held less of an "Iron fist". It remained to be seen which way would work best, because the "Iron fist" of Lee Sniderman only produced ten World Championships, fifteen straight division titles, several Wild Card appearances, and only one last place finish. Without a doubt, Elmont was stepping into the shoes of a manager whose peers, and accomplishments in the game, were rivaled by few. Only the Braves Bobby Cox, and managers like the Yankees Joe Torre, and Casey Stengel, the true Hall of Famers, could be compared with the accomplishments of Lee.
The team had a road trip to attend to, while everyone was still getting used to Elmont. The trip took them to New York, Atlanta, and Houston, and did not start well. The Good Guys began the trip by losing two of three to the Mets in New York, and did the same by dropping two of three to the Braves in Atlanta, and finally finished the trip by winning two of three in Houston. They returned home, on a Sunday night, to begin a nine game homestand, their second of the year.
In addition to the difficulties in getting used to their new manager, Mitch and Naomi were having issues as well. During the ten day trip, Naomi was having periods where she acted very cold to Mitch. They weren't fighting, but she would sit in chat sessions on the computer with him, and say very little, or give him one word, clipped answers, or gestures, if they were talking on the phone. Mitch was becoming a bit sullen, and downhearted. First, he had to deal with the departure of his long time manager, who had been his favorite professor while he was in college, back in the days when Lee was a professor at Nassau University, and Mitch was his student, and then, he had to deal with his wife being a bitch, and a pain in his ass, when she got to sit home, and do little for ten days, while Mitch and the team had to go on the road with the new manager, with Lee's loss being felt, and his presence around them, everywhere, in whatever city they visited.
When Mitch arrived home, on Sunday night, he undressed, and went to the guest room, followed by Naomi: "Hello? Did I send you there? You dont want to sleep with me? This Aussie body doesnt tempt you at all?" She prodded. "I'm tired, Naomi. I had a long trip, and I'm mentally spent. I'm not in the mood for sex tonight, or to have you give me the cold shoulder, or rant and rave at me when I do something wrong. I just want to have some peace tonight, and get a good night's sleep, okay? I dont want to turn this into a whole homestand thing. Just please give me a night off" Mitch said. "Fine, take your guest room, maybe for the rest of the homestand, and fuck you!" Naomi shouted, and stomped out . The next morning, the couple awoke, and said little to each other.
That night, the Good Guys opened their second homestand of the year, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Kate Hudson was on the mound. Paradise scored three early runs, and, Kate was Kate, firing a three hit shutout, with nine strikeouts, and no bullpen help, in a 3-0 win. That night, Mitch and Naomi did not sleep together, and it looked like the deep freeze was on.
The next night, Gil Bellows was the starter. Gil gave up a two run homer in the first inning, and Paradise could score only one run, and lost, 2-1. Charlize Theron pitched on Wednesday night. The Good Guys scored four runs in the first inning. Charlize struggled, but managed to make it through five innings to qualify for the win. Paradise led, 4-3, before scoring two runs in the eighth, and having Hayden save the day in the ninth, in a 6-3 victory.
Thursday was an off day, That day, the couple went to counesling, and aired their issues. "I came home tired. I had a long road trip, and wanted one night off. She ended up ranting at me, and throwing me out, and one night turned out to be three. This has been a rough season. We're all still getting used to Lee's role change. I'm feeling tired of the road already, and we had a long trip. Sometimes, Naomi, I just need to mentally downshift. You ride me like a horse that you're driving your cowgirl spurs into. I do the best I can, but I'm human" Mitch said. "You know what, Mitchell, stop giving me your "I do the best I can" bullshit, and the crap about my "cowgirl spurs". I sacrifice plenty too. Say, 81 nights when you're away on the road, no acting career, waiting for you to call me, or come online when you're out of town. Stop this poor little me bullshit. It doesnt hold any water with me!" Naomi snapped. "Fine, so tell you what. Keep being cold to me, and let's keep bickering for the rest of our lives. How about that?" Mitch said. "Whatever, Mitchell, if that's what you want, and you want nastiness, instead of love, I can dish out all the nastiness there is!" Naomi snapped. The couple left the session, with nothing having been ironed out.
Chicago came to town on Friday night. Neve Campbell was on the hill. She allowed three runs in six innings, but the Good Guys couldnt score any, and lost, 3-0. Rachel Leigh Cook took a 5-1 beating on Saturday night. Kate Hudson would try to avoid the sweep, on a sunny, windy, 79 degree Paradise day, in front of a sellout. Elmont juggled his lineup a bit that day, with the team having scored only one run in the previous two games. The lineup changes worked, as the Good Guys scored three runs in the first, and six overall, and Kate pitched a fine game, allowing two runs in seven innings, with ten strikeouts, combining with the bullpen, on a 6-2 win.
St Louis entered Paradise on Monday, for the homestand's final series. Gil Bellows pitched the Monday game. He got hit hard. Paradise scored four runs, but lost, 5-4, the team's third loss in four games. Charlize took the ball on Tuesday night. She gave up three runs in six innings. The game was tied, 3-3 in the eighth, when Ed Burns came up with the bases loaded, and blasted a Grand Slam homer, as the Good Guys came away with a 7-3 victory. Neve Campbell took the mound, on a sunny, breezy, 82 degree Paradise day, in front of a sellout. This time, Neve got hit hard, allowing four first inning runs. The lineup, however, had it's hitting shoes on that day, ralling from a four run deficit, to score five runs in the sixth, and three more in the seventh. The bullpen had some trouble in the ninth, but Hayden got the final outs, for an
8-5 Paradise Island win, that completed a winning, but subpar, five and four homestand. Ih the postgame interviews, Mitch still had a strange feeling, and described the barely winning homestand, as a feeling of the team just "Slogging along". As the team packed to head to Pittsburgh the following evening, it was hoped that they could come out of their slumber of the previous ten days.
In the meantime, the team held it's Saturday tickle party. With Mitch and Naomi not speaking, Mitch paid $100 each to several doms, to be tickled in a private room. He stripped to his black boxer shorts, and was tied hands and feet to the bed. One dom began the tickle on Mitch's neck with fingers, as his head shifted, and the laughter began:HAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA!
Moving down, a second dom joined in, tickling Mitch on his underarms, sides, ribs, and belly with fingers, as he howled:HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAA! Working down, a third dom joined the party, tickling Mitch on his hips, inner thighs, and behind his knees with fingers, as he thrashed, and bucked:HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA! Finally, a last dom positioned herself at Mitch's feet, and attacked them with fingers, long nails, feathers, and electric toothbrushes over his soles and toes. Mitch went beserk, shaking his feet, and howling with laughter:HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHHHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHA! OMG PLEASE NO MORE! I GIVE UP! NOOOOOO! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHA! Finally, the tickle ended, and Mitch was untied.
On Thursday night, when it was time for Mitch to leave for the airport, Naomi snapped: "Call a cab, I'm not taking you!" Mitch nodded, and called a cab. "Pretty fucking lousy homestand this time. How about we talk nice on the road this trip, so you can come home, and we can both get some next time you are here, hmmm, how about that?" Naomi said sarcastically. "Okay" Mitch said quietly, before picking up his suitcase, and heading out the door, to the cab to take him to the airport.
So, it had been a subpar homestand on field, and a very poor one off field. Now came a ten day road trip. Would the fortunes improve? That answer to come in the continuing story of the Tickle Team From Paradise Island.
The End
