Practice #6--I want to eat spinach

Practice began in the cage, which is always a challenge. Not for the actual players. They do fine. The challenge is for the parents, because do you know how hard it is to find a spot of shade down there at a 3 p.m. practice? No toughness sticker for me today. As the parents slowly edged toward the tree line, the Mudcats split up between the tee, soft toss, and--once they'd completed those two stations--live pitching in the cage off the rubber-armed Coach Andrew. Cage highlights came when Hayes smoked a ball off the ball bucket, and Smiley earned a piece of gum by ripping the ball straight back up the middle off Coach Andrew, who was foolishly fearlessly pitching without a screen.

After an hour in the cage, the Mudcats begged to challenge the Bees to a race around the bases before taking the field for the second half of practice. But the Bees had already grabbed their bats and were headed over to the cage. Ah, but that would only prolong the inevitable...

As Coach Mike gave the infield the best watering job a baseball field has seen since Noah's flood, the Mudcats split into two groups--infield and outfield. The first infield group dragged a little until an impassioned speech from Coach Andrew. After gathering the infield group around him at home plate, it went a little something like this:

With a bored, straight-up stance and a tired voice: "This says, 'I want to eat spinach.'"

Knees bent, crouched like a panther: "This says, 'I want to play baseball!'"

With a bored, straight-up stance and a tired voice: "This says, 'I want to clean my room.'"

Knees bent, crouched like a panther: "This says, 'I want to play baseball!'"

The message was received. Upon returning to their positions, the first group turned in a much crisper session. The outfielders, meanwhile, were going through the usual split between fly balls, throwing to the correct base, and a little bit of baserunning. After the groups switched stations, it looked like practice would end fairly quietly. At the post-practice meeting down the left-field line--after a somewhat loose practice--Coach Andrew asked the team to remember the "focus" part of the Mudcat Motto. Coach Tom handed out the day's helmet stickers. He had been watching for toughness, which means none of the shade-seeking parents were eligible. On a hot, humid day, Coach Tom picked Brenner for being oblivious to the heat and running anywhere and everywhere (at a post-practice pickup game, Brenner would again flash some toughness, verifying his selection), and Smiley for taking a couple tough collisions without complaint.

But the day wasn't over. The Mudcats again begged for a race against the Bees. This time, the foes accepted the challenge, putting the Mudcats' unbeaten, untied record in base races (that's a 1-0 record for those of you scoring at home) at risk. It was the most anticipated rematch since Ali-Frazier II, except with a much nicer venue than Madison Square Garden, which is perhaps the worst-smelling major arena in all of sports.

Just like last time, the Bees began the race at second base, while the Mudcats started at home plate. With only 10 players at practice, the Bees raced their three fastest players twice. The Mudcats, meanwhile, followed the same strategy that worked in the first installment, as five-year-olds (by league age, which, again, is far more important than real age) Asher and Brenner led off. The Bees grabbed an early lead, but fast middle legs by Tyler and Little Ben brought the Mudcats all the way back. By the time Drew slid triumphantly into home plate, the Mudcats had a sizable advantage...which was a good thing, because Drew wasn't the last runner (but it was a nice slide). He handed off to Smiley, who capped the Mudcat win with a good-looking feet-first slide.

The Mudcats will be back on the field Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. and will be on the field first, cage second. Since Monday is a school day, practice will end no later than 11:30 p.m. 11:29 p.m., at which time the team will adjourn to the home of the Alberghinas, who apparently have a very strong homeowners insurance policy.