Sponsors threaten to ask tough questions after the 15-12 defeat  

As the 2nd half of the Divisional season began the Ford Rookies faced an important game against the Giants to stay in contention for one of the coveted top 4 spots in the league ladder. The Rookies were back to full strength this week with the return of co-manager James "Stealth" Hughes from overseas, although his return was in doubt when his supply of Zingo Tromkso’s new "Zest Tasty" Bar lit up the x-ray machine at Auckland airport like a Christmas tree. Also, he did not endear himself to the Customs officers when one of the sniffer dogs managed to get a mouthful of the new Zingo Zest Tasty Bar at the baggage carousel and will likely have to be retired from active service and given a desk job. As Stealth explained to angry customs officers : "You gotta chew these things, you can’t just gulp it down. Just give the dog some of this powdered vitamin mix in with some Jimbo's cat food; and he'll be fine."

It has been a tough week for the Ford Rookies with rumours that Mark Lieburn, president of corporate communications for the Ford Motor Company, had a meeting with the Rookies managers "Stealth" Hughes and "G-Man" Brown over sponsorship renewal. This has been downplayed by the Rookies press Officer Kent Pumpernickle III who clarified the Rookies position with this statement : "You media hacks are all the same and I’ve got better things to do than talk to you rabble. We’re not answerable to anybody and I’m off to play golf".

Given the importance of this game I asked the Rookie’s 2nd Baseman Mark "Mad Dog" McLaren about how the Rookies are holding up : "As you know we train 4 nights a week until 11pm using the Wii Baseball simulator so we are as prepared as we can be for any kind of simulated game. We also practice outfield catches by throwing the Wii remotes around. At $90 for a replacement nobody’s gonna drop them ". I asked how he was feeling after his hernia operation : "Its still a bit tender. I had the operation done in Mexico and they fitted a metal plate so it feels a bit strange. There is also the outline of a BMW key under the skin but nobody’s called to claim it yet so I guess its along for the ride so to speak. As long as I don’t bend or move I’ll be fine."

The game was scheduled at 4pm on HP2 and with the dry spell in Auckland continuing conditions would be hard and fast. With a playoff spot on the line The Ford Rookies took the field first. Although the fielding was a bit shakey the Rookies limited the Giants to 3 runs with two left on base. Then the Rookies had their best scoring inning at the bottom of the first with 6 runs. Although the game went all the way to 7 innings the Giants finished stronger offensively with 3 runs in the 5th and 6th innings. For the Rookies Dean "Deano" Henney has cemented his place at the top of the batting order with another strong performance, getting home 3 times from 6 at bats. Rookie Veteran Fion "Pup" Mckibbon also made it round the bases 3 times although he’s not running as fast as he did in his prime. "Stealth" Hughes batted 0.250 in this game but is currently disputing the Hit-By-Pitch in his final at bat. "Hey, I took one for team ! that must count as a single" said "Stealth" after the game showing some of the legendary stats padding form that has him leading the team stats year after year.

Controversy erupted mid way through the game when the Umpire gave the Rookies a verbal warning not to take too many time outs. Unfortunately "Stealth" immediately called a time out to dispute this which caused the Umpire to give "Stealth" a Yellow Card and make him do 50 pushups.

Post match the Rookies felt that this was a game that got away from them. Shortstop Mark "Machine" Hall reflecting on the 15-12 loss said "the boys were doing some good stuff out there but we made a few costly errors along the way and that was the difference".

The Ford Man of the Match went to the legendary "Pops" McKibben who showed a glimpse of the form that got him to MVP status during the 80’s. With consistent hitting and lightning running "Pops" has proved to be an important mid season trade for the Rookies. Special mention also goes to Graeme "Glock" Lock who took some important catches at left field and was kept very busy by the Giants offense all day.