SEEN AND HEARD IN VIERA
The drill is called 27 outs. Manager Manny Acta, fungo bat in hand, barks out a situation, then hits the ball anywhere in the field.
Acta expects proper defensive execution on each hypothetical situation. If the players make the right decision with the ball and execute properly, Acta awards the defense an out. If they botch a play, they start over.
On the 27th out yesterday, Acta yells out, “Two outs and a runner on second” and hits a soft liner to right. Right fielder Austin Kearns charges, picks up the ball and fires to the plate.
The throw is high, forcing catcher Robert Fick to jump, and the ball goes off Fick’s glove. Acta relents and doesn’t make the players start over. Afterward, somebody jokingly says Kearns missed his cutoff man by 120 feet.
TEMPERATURE CHECK
BROADWAY’S BATS (down)
Manufacturer sends wrong order
INTRASQUAD GAMES (UP)
Let the action begin
FIRST PRECIPITATION (DOWN)
Calling for scattered thunderstorms today
BY THE NUMBERS
24 Wrong bats Zinger mistakenly shipped to Larry Broadway
.288 Batting average for Broadway last season in New Orleans after hitting .193 in 18 games there the year before
OVERHEARD
“I used to love basketball, and I can’t even follow it anymore. In the situation that I’m in right now, I can’t even afford to be thinking about football or anything else. A few of those hours have to be dedicated in trying to find those four starters.”
— Manager Manny Acta on how many hours a week he thinks about baseball
SEVEN-DAY SCHEDULE
Today: Intrasquad game, 11 a.m.
Tomorrow: Intrasquad game, 11 a.m.
Thursday: Full-squad workout, 9 a.m.
Friday: vs. Dodgers in Vero Beach, 1:05 p.m.
Saturday: vs. Orioles in Viera, 1:05 p.m.
Sunday: vs. Dodgers (ss) in Viera, 1:05 p.m.; vs. Astros (ss) in Kissimmee, 1:05 p.m.
Monday: vs. Braves in Lake Buena Vista, 1:05 p.m.
TODAY’S WEATHER
Washington: Partly cloudy, 49 degrees
Viera: Scattered thunderstorms, 80 degrees
— Ken Wright
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