Practice--Flying blind

Something so incredible, so astonishing, so unbelievable that it had to be seen to believed happened on Thursday night at Pullen Park--the Mudcats went through a two-hour practice with no formal practice plan.

I know, I'm as surprised as you are. But it really happened.

Don't think there was no organization whatsoever. Coach Andrew had formulated a rough practice plan, but because Pullen Park was an unfamiliar environment, no one was quite certain what the state of the field might be. After all, we all remember the Great Kentwood Easter Egg Hunt on Monday. As it turned out, though, Proctor and Sons must have the field maintenance contract at Pullen Park, because the fields were in great shape.

Coach Jim made the mistake of arriving early to pitch to Christopher, which meant every Mudcat who arrived wanted to hit off the lefty. Eventually, after about half the team had taken their hacks against Coach Jim, Coach Rob took the 'Cats who had already hit into the outfield to shag some fly balls while Coach Andrew took over on the mound.

Apparently, the bright sunshine must have been getting to Coach Andrew, because he formulated a diabolical plan for the second half of the scrimmage. He installed Coach Tom as the head coach/full-time pitcher for one team, and picked Coach Adam as the head coach/full-time pitcher for the other team. Sides were chosen, and the teams went through a very even four-inning scrimmage. Highlights included Coach Adam pitching to Zach, JJ playing a slick first base, and the Fightin' JJ's using some dubious tactics to "win" the practice-closing relay race. Of course, there were also some shenanigans from the other team, as Coach Tom suspiciously got much better-looking and faster during the race.

You might notice that Coach Andrew does not appear to have a job description in the above scrimmage. He was very busy.

The next Mudcat event is Breakfast at West Raleigh on Saturday at 9 a.m., with pregame beginning at 8 a.m. Fans and players are encouraged to arrive hungry in the event that there might possibly be food on hand.