The Rookie Page #2

Ow.

We're talking about singing,

not pitching.

And, Hunter,

do us all a favor

and don't tell us that bit

about the ankle anymore.

-- Mel Torme in June.

-- What in the world are you

talking about now?

Mel Torme wrote

"The Christmas Song"

on a beach somewhere.

There wasn't no Jack Frost

nippin' at anybody's nose

that day.

-- Daddy...

-- Yeah?

Your arm ever hurt

anymore?

Only when I have to

drag you out of bed

in the morning

for school.

No, I'm just kidding

you, bud.

It hasn't hurt

in a long time.

How long?

Why do you want to know?

Just wondering.

Oh, let's see.

[ Exhaling ] Uh...

It never hurt

when I was in high school,

'cause we didn't have

a baseball team.

And it never hurt

when I was in junior college,

'cause, well, that's why

I got drafted.

And then, uh...

I don't know.

Just started hurting.

Is that why

you didn't make it?

It's never one thing.

[ Fence rattles ]

[ Fence rattles ]

[ Rattling continues ]

[ Baby crying ]

[ Groans ]

[ Sleepily ] Mmm.

[ lnhales deeply ]

I'll get her.

Is that a real

"I'll get her,"

or are you just

waiting for me to say,

"Go back to sleep"?

I haven't decided yet.

Go back to sleep.

[ Crying continues ]

Mm, baby...

Aww...

Oh...

Oh...

What's all that

crying about?

[ Crying continues ]

[ Sighs ]

I think it's my turn.

No.

It's your turn to sleep.

Shh.

Okay.

You sure?

Yeah.

Here we go.

Come on, baby.

There we are.

Good night.

Good night.

Mmm.

There we go.

Shh.

Mmm.

There we go.

Wack:
Hey, Rudy, when was

the last date you had --

what, like a year ago?

Rudy:
Not me, man.

Come on, man.

Who you kidding?

You, too, Rudy.

Don't be laughing.

All set, coach.

Give me a ball.

Owls player:
Hey, coach,

I forgot my glove.

-- Check the bag.

-- [ Sighs ]

-- 10 players, 9 gloves.

-- Yeah.

-- How do they look?

-- Couple of holes.

All right, get one.

Thanks, man.

Hey, coach...

They putting down any grass seed

in the field this year?

Man, it's a goat track

out here.

Just waiting

for the seed to take.

Uh-huh?

-- What seed?

-- [ Chuckles ]

Ain't no seed

out here, man.

Wack!

How come we get dirt,

and the football field looks

like Tiger Woods' backyard?

They don't even play

for six months.

Just let me worry

about the field, all right?

You plan on worrying

anytime soon?

-- All right, Wack.

-- [ Laughter ]

You can get your running done

early today.

All right, I'll get

my running in early.

Lookin' good.

Okay, bring it home!

[ Exhales deeply ]

Hey, coach...

you want to throw?

You know, I seen you

out there at the Old

Legion Field at night.

You know,

sometimes it helps

when you throw

if you got somebody

catching for you.

A ball, a glove --

that kind of thing.

-- I'll throw a couple.

-- Really?

All right.

How come you throw out there

all by yourself?

Helps me relax.

I've been doing it...

a pretty long time.

Coach, back when you

were really throwing,

how fast were you

bringing it?

I don't know.

Well, that's not bad.

Well, it is when

the other guy's

throwing 90.

Coach, come on.

Let's see you bring one.

Can't.

Promised too many doctors.

Come on, coach,

one is not gonna kill you.

Now, come on.

Feed me.

Yeah, Dad.

Bring the heat.

Feed me, coach.

[ Air whooshes ]

Wow!

Coach...

Where'd that come from?

Forgot how good

that sounded.

Yes!

[ Air whooshes ]

[ Chuckles ]

[ Hunter laughing ]

[ Air whooshing ]

[ Grunting ]

Unbelievable.

Coach, how fast do you

think those were coming?

-- Oh, not as fast

as you think.

-- Oh.

Hey, uh, do me a favor,

all right?

Let's just keep this

between you and me.

Okay.

Hunter:
You could barely see

that last one.

And that goes for you too,

all right?

-- No telling Mom.

-- Why?

[ Sighs ]

Because I said so.

Good night, Ray.

I know why

your grass isn't growing.

[ Crickets chirping ]

Usually get three or four

out here every night.

So I put the seed down,

they pick it up.

Once it comes in,

they don't like it as much.

That's why the football field

looks so good.

Yeah?

Maybe those football guys

are paying off these deer

with all the big budget money

they got.

[ Laughs ]

Hey!

Go on! Get out of here!

I thought deer

were supposed to be skittish.

[ Allison Moorer singing

"Tumbling Down" on stereo ]

Need me

to top that off?

Nothing like wine bought

with a Chevron credit card.

Well, I know what a demanding

consumer you can be.

Mmm. Yeah?

Yeah.

[ Sighs ]

I threw today.

To Joel...

after practice.

You threw?

I threw.

How hard?

Pretty hard.

Uh, don't worry.

If it starts to hurt,

l-I'll stop.

All right? Promise.

I gotta check on

the kids.

Joe David:
Wack, got

the muffler changed,

buddy -- the jeep.

Can't hear me coming three

miles away, can you, there?

Owls player:

Ray, check out the screwball!

Ladies loving the jeep.

Come on, man.

Give me the rock.

All right,

bring it in for some b.p.

We can't.

Rudy's not here.

-- Well, where is he?

-- Locker room.

Something to do

with only having one shoe.

Somebody grab a bat.

You're throwing

batting practice?

Yeah.

-- [ Laughter ]

-- I'm up first, man.

Wack:
I hit the Lotto!

Joe David:
Come on, Wack!

Send it, baby!

Send it!

What do you say, Wack?

[ Laughs ]

-- Whoo!

-- Yeah!

Looks like that one's

gonna land in another

time zone, coach!

You might want to reset your

watch before this next one.

You see that?

Yeah, it's...

Come on.

Joe David:
Yeah!

[ Laughs ]

[ lnhales deeply ]

-- [ Grunts ]

-- [ Air whooshes ]

What was that?

Man!

Wait till he warms up.

[ Laughs ]

[ Rudy and Joe David

laughing ]

Let me see

another one of those.

Nope. It's batting practice,

not pitching practice.

[ Chuckles ]

All right.

[ Laughing ] Oh, my God!

Cal:
I'm already down

two bits.

How many of them

job applications you plan on

sending out, Jimmy?

Many as it takes, I guess.

So the little boy

coming into my store to buy

socks after a dozen moves

is planning on making

a move of his own now?

Well, this is different.

[ Laughs ] It always is.

I hear you diagnosed

that problem with that

baseball field of yours.

You mean

his potential field.

Well, "diagnosed" part's right.

It's the "curing" part I'm

having trouble with.

I'll take five.

You know, I had the same

trouble out at my place

a few Springs back.

You did?

What'd you do?

Oh, hell.

Give me five, too.

Let me ask you something --

how many games

you got on that field

next couple of weeks?

Well, we -- we play there

next Friday,

but then we're not back

till the end of the month.

You think you can keep

your boys off the field

for that length of time?

Now, I'm talking about no

practice, nothing whatsoever.

Henry...

why do I get the feeling

this is something

I don't want to know about?

I'm gonna take back

two of them old ones

if that's okay with everybody.

I'll tell you what you do.

You give me three weeks,

and I'll have that field

Iooking greener than Dublin

Rate this script:5.0 / 1 vote