SCENE TWO
JIM HENDRY’S SPRING TRAINING OFFICE, GENERAL MANAGER OF THE CHICAGO CUBS

Hendry is on the phone.

JIM HENDRY

Look, Billy, I know you’re not selling jeans. Look, I’ll be in touch, OK? Thanks.

He hangs up the phone and picks up a copy of the medical report on ace pitcher Mark Prior. He has inflammation of his ulnar ligament in his right (pitching) elbow.

Cubs scout BIRD DOG MCCRACKEN is sitting in a chair facing Hendry’s desk.

JIM HENDRY

Bird dog, what are our pitchers made out of, glass? I swear, on a windy day you could go out to the practice field and hear their arm ligaments snap.

BIRD DOG MCCRACKEN

Would now be a bad time to remind you that I told you not to draft Prior? That Joe Mauer kid is…

JIM HENDRY

Sitting in a clubhouse in Florida watching his knee swell up.

Hendry and McCracken can hear Zapatos yelling as she makes her way down the hall.

JIM HENDRY

(Bleep!) It’s The Big Shoe! I don’t want to talk to her right now. BIRD DOG, hide behind that plant.

BIRD DOG MCCRACKEN

Huh?

JIM HENDRY

Just do it, if you know what’s good for you.

Hendry pulls the chair out from his desk and hides under the desk.

The door flies open and Zapatos and Brent stand in the doorway.

LINDA ZAPATOS

(Bleep.) Where is he? I thought you said he was in here!

She leans back through the office door and casts a doubting glare at Hendry’s secretary.

JIM HENDRY’S SECRETARY

Isn’t he in there? Oh, he must have stepped out. Can I tell him you stopped by?

LINDA ZAPATOS

No. We’ll wait. Grab a seat, intern!

Zapatos and Brent walk into Hendry’s office and sit down in the chairs that face his desk. McCracken is behind them, hiding behind the plant that Hendry told him to. McCracken is now wishing that it really was a ‘plant’ and not the cactus that he is uncomfortably squatting behind. Hendry is hunched awkwardly in the space under his desk. His cell phone is in his right hand. He types out a text message on it to his Secretary.

LINDA ZAPATOS

Oh, this is just like him, Intern. He’s probably out stuffing his face someplace. Have you noticed how fat he’s gotten? Every time one of our million dollar arms goes lame, he puts on 40 pounds. I should have Fitch canvass the Waffle Houses for him. We’ll wait. He’ll be back.

Do you hear that?

BRENT DAVID

Hear what?

LINDA ZAPATOS

Those beeps. It’s like somebody’s dialing a cell phone.

Hendry finishes up typing his message and sends it to his secretary. It says.

GET HER OUT!!!

Seconds later, Hendry’s cell phone goes off. Startled, he hits his head on the underside of his desk.

Zapatos springs from her chair and runs behind Hendry’s desk.

LINDA ZAPATOS

There you are! Were you hiding from me?

JIM HENDRY

Oh, hey, Linda! I didn’t hear you come in. I was…yeah, oh there it is. I couldn’t find my cell phone.

Zapatos looks up and sees McCracken squatting behind a cactus.

LINDA ZAPATOS

And I suppose Bird Dog is helping you look for your phone.

BIRD DOG MCCRACKEN

No…I was…um…taking a poop. Good news though! Still constipated!

LINDA ZAPATOS

This is unbelievable! You were hiding from me? What, did you think that if I didn’t talk to you that Prior’s elbow wouldn’t be news? Do you know that we still look like clowns because of last year and the injuries to Mark and Kerry and how long they took to get better? Do you? It’s my job to look out for the reputation of this franchise, and after 100 years of terrible (bleeping) teams, that’s not easy! And I come in here and you’re hiding under your desk? bird Dog is not only hiding behind a cactus but the best excuse he can come up with is that he’s taking a crap in your office with his pants on? No wonder the Cardinals won 105 games last year! I’ll bet Walt Jocketty doesn’t have scouts fake pooping in his office!

BIRD DOG MCCRACKEN

You’d be surprised.

JIM HENDRY

Linda, we weren’t hiding from you. I dropped my phone under the desk and didn’t hear you come in. I apologize for the misunderstanding. You do a great job. We all respect you. We love you!

Zapatos begins to cry. She is frustrated by the obvious lack of respect and wants to tell Hendry off. But all she can muster is…

LINDA ZAPATOS

Jim, I can’t believe you’d…this is…I…

She turns to Bird Dog and as she storms out of the office, she yells.

LINDA ZAPATOS

Neifi Perez sucks!

BIRD DOG MCCRACKEN

Hey!

Jim Hendry hangs his head.

JIM HENDRY

That was a mistake. Now I feel bad.

He looks up at Bird Dog and says,

JIM HENDRY

Taking a poop? That’s the best you could come up with? A poop?

BIRD DOG MCCRACKEN

You had me squatting behind a cactus! It’s the first thing I could think of. Being put on the spot like that is not in my job description.

Hendry notices that Brent David is still sitting in a chair.

JIM HENDRY

You must be the new intern?

Hendry reaches out and shakes his hand. He introduces Bird Dog to Brent and they shake hands.

JIM HENDRY

Bird Dog here will take you back to the PR office. Nice to meet you.

Bird Dog and Brent walk out of the office and Hendry looks at his cell phone to see who called him and gave away his position hiding under the desk. He notices there’s no voice mail, but instead a text message from his secretary in response to the one he sent her that said GET HER OUT OF HERE!!!

It read:

OK.