Listening to the masters

ver heard it said that there are not many new ideas, just clever people who know how to rehash —  creatively — all the old thoughts? That's my style. Every now and then a creative, original thought crosses my path, and I pick it up. General idea is to have a grabby attitude. Notice what happens around you, listen creatively, digest faithfully, file incessantly.

That's why I can't quite remember who it was (Mr. Christensen, maybe) talking about the chances he missed to warm his umpiring engine before the first pitch. Something was mentioned about getting behind the catcher during the eight pre- game warm-up pitches to get used to what he was going to view and judge. Hell of a good idea! And:

• How's the ball coming out of the hurler's hand?
• Is he high, low, cross body?
• What is the state of the mound?
• Will he have to perform gymnastics just to retain firm footing?
• Did he have to work on his breaking ball?
• Or, does it look as if he's gonna have that traditional tactic of establishing his fast ball before he goes curvy?

Continued...