Second Chance at Bat, page 22
"Hot Shot was always king of the hill, no matter what. He could beat you flipping horse shoes or skating or picking the most apples. Everything was always a game to see who could do this better or that faster. He doesn't take kindly to losing at anything, especially baseball."
* * *
"So what was that tantrum about Joey"? Tom asked.
* * *
"At every level, he could win throwing his fastball and curve for outs. Both pitches are deadly. His fastball has movement on it in the strike zone and his curve can buckle your knees."
* * *
"That's good right?"
* * *
"Yeah, but now the hitters at this level can get their timing down on his fastball and pick up the spin on his curve. He has to learn how to throw a decent slow breaking ball or change-up in order to change speeds and keep them guessing. That's what he has been trying to learn. They want him to start throwing those pitches in games. He doesn't have confidence in them yet and wants to throw his bread and butter. Hot Shot knows it in his head that very few throwers can overpower the hitters at the Pro level, but when he's in trouble he wants to go back to his best pitches. He has to learn how to pitch some slow stuff too; it is less wear and tear on the arm. Guys that can throw off- speed junk make even an average fastball look like it was shot out of a cannon. You win by throwing what they are not expecting where they can't hit it well.
When I caught him, he would shake me off all the time and throw what he wanted to."
* * *
Joey paused to once again remember the last pitch of the Little League World Series for the Reading All-Stars. " He was shaking off this catcher and the guy wouldn't go for it, so they were having a little chat."
* * *
"Looks like it didn't go too well. What makes your dad's pitching so effective?"
* * *
"He throws one very slow pitch, but its totally unpredictable. Professional Hitters have a practiced swing that they have honed since they were kids. Now they are trying to hit a pitch that is from Mars. Nobody has figured it out yet. Its like they have to unlearn their swing just for my dad.
* * *
"Will they?" Tom asked
* * *
Joey just shrugged, "I'll ask him what he thinks next Wednesday night, I've been invited to dinner at the house by my mom.
* * *
"Seems like you've got more important things to talk about with him Joey."
* * *
"Yes sir, but where do I start? I've been rehearsing that conversation in my head for almost two years now. It never comes out right."
* * *
"Do you remember what happened that night, kid?"
* * *
"Nope, I've been told by Hot Shot and a couple of other people that was there how disgusting it was. In a million years, I could not imagine saying or doing what I did."
* * *
"That's a start."
* * *
"What is Tom?" Joey was confused.
* * *
"Telling him that you could never imagine doing what you did or saying what you said. You were drunk and high and now you are not and haven't been for over a year. You are truly sorry for what happened. Joey, does a day go by without thinking about that and some of the other crap you pulled?"
* * *
Joey watched the next batter settle in against the reliever and shook his head no.
* * *
Tom continued, "You are sober now and promise that with the help of your Higher Power that it won't happen again."
* * *
Joey mulled it over. For some, the Higher Power was God. For others, it meant the higher power of AA. Joey had said before that he didn't really know any higher power until he walked into AA feeling lower than whale shit. He asked,"What if he doesn't accept my apology, what then?"
* * *
"How often do you say the Serenity Prayer?" Tom asked a little annoyed.
* * *
"Everyday. Why?" then Joey recited it in his head and the light bulb went on.
* * *
"Duh!" Tom punched Joey in the arm and asked, "Do you think they have any fried dough in this joint?"
* * *
xxxxx
* * *
"You had quite an appetite tonight", Janice said as she gathered the scraped dry platters and plates.
* * *
Joe didn't mention that he skipped the clubhouse food. It went unsaid that he wanted a reason to extend his time with her. Nor did he confess that his real hunger was to see her again. "Long day, I guess I didn't have time to eat. What's your normal routine like?"
* * *
"Always try to have breakfast with Mandy and connect with her. Now that her school is over for the summer, she has less inclination to get up before I leave for my classes". With practiced movement, she made her way to the kitchen.
* * *
Was that an extra tight black top she was wearing over hip hugging slim cut jeans? He had surprised her the night before with his arrival in the city that never sleeps, but she was very busy with a tour group that came in for a long summer weekend of discount theater tickets. She and the other servers had been flying around to keep up with the demands of the Elmira Teacher's Association.
* * *
A fresh ginger ale and cherry cheesecake made their way to his table and vied for his attention as she returned. "Then I rush off for study groups. In the fall, we return to the hospital for our internship . I am finally getting into the ER."
* * *
"Dayshift?" He asked.
* * *
"No, it rotates." She said.
* * *
"That'll be tough."
* * *
"Not as bad as you think, Joe. Our family grew up around Dan's shifts and my mom was always a stay at home mom for me and my brothers 'n sisters.
* * *
"What about your dad?", Joe asked.
* * *
"Oh he had a mid-life crisis shortly after 9-11and is living with his young girlfriend in the village."
* * *
"The Village?"
* * *
"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot that you are from the backwoods of Pennsylvania, grinned the native New Yorker. "It's Greenwich Village to you yokels."
* * *
He smiled. "This is good cheesecake." Joe said with some of the cherry syrup clinging to his upper lip.
* * *
Janice slyly looked around and then with a napkin swiped the smear. "You can dress him up, but....." With that she was off to another customer.
* * *
Joe smiled and appreciated the touch more than she could imagine.
* * *
As she made her way from his table Janice wondered, What are you doing? ' You can dress him up, you can dress him up', hell girl, you want to undress him. Yeah, but he is a married man. Yeah, but he's gorgeous and so easy to talk to. Yeah, but you are no different than that home wrecker that broke up mom and dad. Yeah, but mom and dad seem to be more happier now than for as long as I can remember.
* * *
" More coffee, ma'am? No, then I'll get the check right away."
* * *
Yeah, but where will it lead? Hey, there's no harm in flirting and talking, his work trips will end soon and he'll make-up with his wife.
* * *
"Humberto, go light on the Russian dressing, the guy doesn't want to go swimming in his rueben."
* * *
I love talking to him and even put on my best black Tee tonight. Do you think he noticed? Here we go, check in one hand, rueben platter in the other, arms up, tuck the tummy in, guns out, oh yes in deedy, he notices.
* * *
As the crowd thinned, Joe was happy that Janice circled back more frequently and for longer periods of time. While she finished up her closing routine for the night, he decompressed from the game. This was the fourth time both home and away that he had handcuffed the Mets. They were going see him again in rubber match game that had been bumped to Sunday night for a national audience. Two major market teams slugging it out to get bragging rights for the NL East before the All-Star game.
* * *
At midnight , shift over, she made her way to his table with her purse. Impulsively, Joe stood up and asked, "Where's your favorite place for cheesecake?"
* * *
Two hours later, they were walking off their Time Square Juniors Cheesecake on the way to her subway stop. Their talk was easy and fun-filled. Equal height and stride, they walked with ease. Joe was taken in by the crowds, sights and sounds of 42nd street. Janice navigated.
* * *
She said she was working Sunday night; he said he was checking out in the morning. She said that she had to get up early for church; he said that he was heading back to Pennsylvania after the seminar's wrap-up session. She said she didn't think that she'd still be a server at the hotel when she started rotations at the hospital; he said that he would have an accident so that they could talk while he lay in a hospital bed. They stood by the subway entrance, the hot unpleasant smells of the underground wafting up the stairs around them. They were oblivious to the swirl of people, cab horns, and traffic lights changing. The small talk ended. They looked at each other. Joe's heart was pounding. He knew what he wanted to do, but couldn't. He knew what he wanted to say, but didn't.
* * *
He wants to kiss me and needs a sign. I want to kiss him, but it's too soon. No, it isn't. It's time Janice Detweiler to start living and feeling again. Janice took a half-step closer.
* * *
Joe took a half-step closer, He began to lean in when two Mets fans lurched up the steps.
* * *
Mets cap backwards said, " Average Joe is throwing again tomorrow night, can you believe it?"
* * *
Mets cap sideways said, "They ought to make a rule that he can only pitch once a week."
* * *
Joe jumped back instinctively. He thought he had been spotted in hostile territory by angry natives. As they pushed past him and Janice, he realized that his secret was safe but the moment was spoiled.
* * *
Janice said, "They were not happy about this Joe guy, what's all that about?"
* * *
"I promise to tell you the next time I see you. Is that a deal?"
* * *
She nodded and he brought her hands to chin level and kissed the back of each hand, memorizing her face and slowly let go as he backed away losing eye contact only when a rowdy pack of Saturday night revelers filled the hard unforgiving pavement between them.
* * *
xxxxx
* * *
Her partially covered breasts rose with each breath. The light from the muted Sports Center on the monster HD flat screen bathed the hotel suite in a soft glow. ESPN had found early that the strikeouts were comical and the cameras followed the Mets hitters back to the dugout for their reaction, especially Hank "Bruiser" Lee. The rest of highlights included Ellis Long's moon shot off of the right field scoreboard and some nice fielding from Rueben Weinstein and Tony Covington.
* * *
Its funny, he thought how the ache was still there. He reached for the pain killers. Before taking some, he went over in his head where he had to be and what he had to do before the game. He had to be sharp in case the national broadcast team wanted an interview. Game time shifted to Eight PM. Plenty of time, he thought.
* * *
The ache wasn't as much from his torn up shoulder and elbow, but from this right now, and always afterwards. Oh, since coming back to "The Show", Julio found the women to younger and more eager to please, just like this one, Ronnie or Rhonda or whatever ever her name is. The great swordsman Julio Vasquez was slaying, but his true love was at home in the DR. His estranged wife and son were there and deep down he wanted to be with them or more correctly, for them to be with him. But here, in more than the groupie, lay the problem. With the national TV talk shows and commercials, local Philly everything, his persona grew and so did the number of conquests. The younger and hotter, the more it stroked his ego. His income this year was going to have one more zero on the end. Did the money really mean more than connecting with his familia? Unfortunately, yes. Fame, money and sex were the substitutes for what he really yearned for. These tres amigos brought the high highs and the painkillers numbed the low lows.
* * *
He chuckled to himself and she stirred uncovering both surgically perfected wonders. He enjoyed the twin peaks and realized that he would make more money this year than the year after winning the Fireman of the year award and coming in third for the Cy Young award, which was almost unheard for a closer.
* * *
His celebrity this time; however, was borrowed from Average Joe. He wondered how long he could parlay his quips to the American public before they tired of his schtick. What if his friend tanked? The knuckleball is a finicky pitch, no? What if Joe started talking for himself? Joe was going to ink contracts with Nike and Cadillac. He would appear for the first time on Kiko's Corner over the break. What need would there be for the designated speaker?
* * *
Julio gulped down the painkillers. Besides he really didn't like the idea of swinging his morning wood at dawn's early light with Rona, Roberta or whoever.
* * *
xxxxx
* * *
Right off the bat everybody was moving. Joe bounded off the mound towards first for the throw. Ellis took several quick steps before launching himself deep into the hole. Taylor wasn't getting to it, so he moved to back up Ellis. Cater charged in from right wanting to hold Lee to a single. Lee was enough of a hot dog to try to stretch a single into a double.
* * *
Out of the box, Hank "Bruiser" Lee started motoring up the line. Joe had held him hitless for too many at-bats. Lee was none too kind in labeling Joe as a flash in the pan with a freak pitch on a phone interview with the New York morning drive guys. This was according to Clay, who lumbered out of his crouch to follow Lee preventing a throwing error from allowing the runner to advance.
* * *
Weinstein went to cover second just in case. Joe's ran the route he taught the kids. Get to the foul line and run up the line in fair territory to avoid a collision with the runner when arriving at first base.
* * *
Ellis stretched out fully and snagged it before landing flat on his stomach. He came to a knee to throw to Joe covering the bag.
* * *
Lee pushed his sprint faster. A two-sport four-year starter at University of Texas, The bruiser got his nick-name as a middle linebacker that punished runners and terrorized receivers. God take pity on the poor fool that reached out for a finger tip catch in his neighborhood.
* * *
Long's throw was off the mark as he tried to lead Joe to the bag. Joe reached out into foul territory with his glove hand, exposing the right arm, shoulder, ribs to the former Texas Longhorn.
* * *
Later, the slow-mo, confirmed two things. Lee stayed in foul territory, but that he did lower his shoulder like a bull about to throw a matador into the afterlife. On Sports Center later that night, ESPN did a top ten best baseball collisions with the Rose and Fosse All-Star game dust up coming in first place
* * *
Joe didn't "alligator arm" the catch a nano-second before stepping on the bag. Then the bomb went off. Searing pain erupted from his right side ribs. The impact of bone on cartilage, tendons and muscles threw him into the air as he propelled off of his plant foot. Lee's grunt was simultaneous with whoosh of air from Joe's lungs as he flew through the air. He came down in a heap. The Umpire was perfectly positioned and made the out call when he spied the ball firmly tucked into the webbing of Joe's glove.
* * *
Lee argued the call and had to be forcibly restrained by his first base coach.
* * *
Joe's memory of when Joey cursed and cold-cocked him came in waves with the pain and obscenities. He squirmed on the ground and flashed back to when he was a sophomore QB getting clocked from the blindside. His lungs couldn't find the oxygen they desperately needed. Then, there was the time when he fell out of a tree in Tommy Henrick's backyard when he was 6 years old and felt this terrifying sensation for the first time. He moved to his knees with Ellis quietly asking him if he could breathe. Still no air coming in as Joe shook his head. Just when he thought he would pass out, the shock subsided and the rush of sweet air brought the back the memory of when he broke the surface after diving into the deep end of the pool and loitering too long on the bottom. With the inflation of his lungs brought the stabbing pain in his right side from his hip to his pit.
