Marvin Bell The Book of the Dead Man (The Batting Cage) Live as if you were already dead. -- Zen admonition
1. About the Dead Man and the Batting Cage You know what's coming, and you still can't hit it. The dead man set the speed at high, the pitcher was not permitted bean balls or the inside corner of the plate. It was not as it was for the little, lead-off hitter taking one for the team, not like that. The batting cage is a form, a shape, a definition, a physical tautology, an insular life of now, and again now, and now yet again. Snapping overhand, the robotic arm brings it. You are in the cage to hit line drives, a little arc is best, a liner to the outfield will be the top prize. The mesh ceiling blocks high flies, a grounder is humiliating. A batter wants to know his next swing will bring rain. Bring your bat, the cage bats feel water-logged. The dead man, a singles hitter, chokes up, he just wants to reach base.
Nine Mile Magazine Vol 3 No. 1 - Page 7