SCENE FIVE: CUBS’ SPRING TRAINING PR OFFICES

Mitch and Carrie return to the office. Zapatos’ door is open and she’s drinking Scope.

MITCH KRICKSTEEN (to Carrie)

Wow, it’s not even one yet and she’s hitting the Scope. Rough day. OK, which cubicle is the Interns? I’ll grab the recorder, figure out how to spin what Dusty actually said and I’ll be back on the links by three.

Carrie points to a cubicle.

MITCH KRICKSTEEN

(Bleep) There’s nothing in here but his cell phone and an Evanescence CD. The kid’s got issues, all right. I need to find that recorder!

SCENE SIX: CUBS’ MEDIA ROOM

Kerry Wood and Glendon Rusch are foraging for leftover doughnuts.

KERRY WOOD (spots the white digital recorder on the podium)

Hey G-unit! Isn’t this Jose Macias’ I-pod?

GLENDON RUSCH

That doesn’t look like an I-pod. It’s white, but it’s the wrong shape.

KERRY WOOD

He’s probably got a Dominican I-pod. Hey, you know what would be funny?

Wood walks back into the clubhouse and heads to his locker. He grabs a bat and heads back towards the media room. He stops just before the doorway and makes an announcement to the guys in the clubhouse.

KERRY WOOD

In order to keep us focused this year, there will be no music in the clubhouse! No boomboxes, no stereos and not even any I-pods!

Kerry walks into the media room, holds the bat over his head with both hands and smashes both the recorder and the podium. The recorder explodes into several pieces. The clubhouse erupts with laughter.

Next week on The Front Office:

The Cubs’ TV announcing crew arrives.