The Nuthouse

Just when you thought Wichita’s inaugural season couldn’t get any nuttier, the manager becomes a celebrity for what some may consider an epic meltdown. I’ll just call it a meltdown.

But let’s recap:

1. The Brawl and everything surrounding it — the crazy quotes, the Disney music, the managers’ feud
2. Shreveport manager Terry Bevington’s 20-minute argument (and a two-question interview by me that lasted just about as long) after the Sports were on the wrong end of a bad call at L-D Stadium
3. Kash Beauchamp’s first suspension, which happened as the result of his arguing a call in St. Paul

Now this. Lots of drama.

The only error I see with how the Wingnuts staff is handling this is by letting Beauchamp go on “Inside Edition.” I talked to general manager Josh Robertson today because he told me Beauchamp could be facing more discipline for a couple radio interviews Beauchamp did this morning. Robertson said he wanted the whole situation to go away, then told me Beauchamp was recording the interview for the “Inside Edition” spot as we spoke. That’s not exactly letting it go away.

But I haven’t seen the interview yet so I won’t offer any judgment. I’ll watch it when it airs tonight at 6:30 and maybe something positive will come out of it. Who knows if this story will still have legs in a couple days or even tomorrow. The thing I really regret, though, is not getting MY 15 minutes out of this (tongue in cheek, people). Jay Mariotti is referencing my stories on ESPN, but nobody calls me for a first-hand account? What’s up with that?

Actually, I tried getting on ESPN’s late-night radio show last night, but they wanted me to come on at 2:40 a.m. Boy’s gotta sleep. Is this how ESPN treats all mid-market media?

I think Kash is showing way too much pride on this one. He said the only thing he regrets about the tirade was accidentally letting some chewing tobacco fly out of his mouth and hit umpire Blake Felix. Other than that, he sees it as a motivational tactic. I can’t agree with that. I just can’t.

What I can admire, on some level, is Kash sticking to his value system. That doesn’t include putting your armpit near somebody else’s face, but it does include, I guess, having no regrets. In interviews I’ve had with Beauchamp, he’s told me his dad, longtime Braves minor-league and assistant coach Jim Beauchamp, could have been a major league manager if he’d just learned to play the game a little bit, to get on the good side of the right people by being someone he wasn’t — by being fake. But Jim never did.

Kash is the same way. I think he thinks that if he comes out and says “I’m sorry,” it would be like he’s kissing up to the league and lowering himself in some way. In fact, it would be the exact opposite. But Kash is standing by what he believes, and I have to respect that even if I don’t necessarily see it the same way.