Several Cardinals dutifully commenced their initial, daily ritual of Spring Training stretching and calisthenics. Positioned unobtrusively in the dugout shade, Shildt and his #1 confidant Oquendo felt safe candidly ping-ponging random observations about a key topic this time of year: shape status.
"Lost some bounce," observed the Secret Weapon.
"Core seems weak," offered Shildt.
"Bumpier; maybe not in a good way."
"Little bit bigger. Barely."
"Seems lighter; not by much."
"Heck, seems ‘bout dead."
A silence signaled the veteran baseball men had plumbed the depths of the topic for now.
"I’ll put these back in the humidor," said Oquendo.
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