No Relief

No Relief — page 1 — by Rich Wallace illustrated by Tim Heitz An Imprint of Magic Wagon abdopublishing com

No Relief — page 2 — TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS Closing the Door 4 A Mighty Ant 13 Stepping Up 24 Too Fast to See 35 Taking Chances 44 Reflex Actions 53 Fine Lines 60 Driveway Hoops 69 Unplayable 76 Next Step 86 We Need a Rally 93 The Drumbeat 103

No Relief — page 3 — ONEONE C l o sing th Do o r I don’t mind the bench I’m certainly used to it Last basketball season I was the shortest guy on the team I considered myself lucky if I played a few mop-up minutes at the end of a blowout Mostly I collected splinters on the bench Baseball’s different I usually sit for the first three innings By the fourth Coach sends me out to center field like he did today I can catch I’m plenty fast enough to chase down deep hits And I can definitely throw That’s my best asset The sixth inning is my time If we have the lead and we usually do I replace the pitcher I don’t have the arm strength to pitch a whole game but for short bursts I’m tough to hit Usually that’s an inning or less 4

No Relief — page 4 — The final-inning pitching specialist is called the closer Or the fireman Or sometimes just the relief pitcher Whatever you call it I’m the guy who goes in for the save closing out a win by shutting down the opponent’s last chance to score I’ve picked up six saves this season so I’m good at it Nobody else in the league has more than three Of course I don’t always hold the lead Twice I’ve wasted it in the final inning and lost the game Both times it was against the same opponent But most of the time I’m gold Carlos is pitching great today so I may as well be picking dandelions out here Trouble is we haven’t been hitting much either It’s 1 1 bottom of the fifth There’s a good chance I’ll bat in the sixth If we get a run I’ll probably pitch after that Crack The ball streaks on a line drive over the second baseman’s head I’m at full speed in an instant It 5

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