By C.S. Carr
Infielders play pepper sharpening reflexes.
Chooch works with the kid from Panama with a rocket for an arm.
Coach leans against the backstop staring into the gage,
shouts,
shorten the stance
lower the hands
move closer to the plate.
Waits for that thwack from his bat
Like the crack of a pick striking a vein of coal.
The Big Piece lines
balls fired from the wheels of the batting machine
puncture the netting.
Gone are J-Roll, Chase,
the Flying Hawaiian, Cliff,
Cole, Doc, and Pat the Bat–
World Champions.
Phils perennial migration to Clearwater,
.        it’s Spring Training.
The chatter in camp is about manufacturing runs:
bases hits; moving runners; bringing guys home
using an assortment of prospects–
Rule 5’s, free agents, draft picks,
couple of no-hit speed merchants
and a bunch of Punch-and-Judy hitters.
The calendar flips to the dog days of June, it gets hotter and the road trips get longer,
can the young arms hold up?
Lots of unknowns before they head north.
It looks like the Big Piece can’t hit
for power anymore.