Yes! Yeeeeessssss!

SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!

I just stand out there in left, feeling my heart settle back into my chest and go back to its day job. I look around: It’s the nicest windy gray day I’ve ever seen.

Manny gets the start in center for the second straight year, and Malfoy is over in right. They put him over there because not much gets hit that way, so it’s easy to sub in for him if he needs to come in to pitch. It’s where they put J.P. when he doesn’t start, too.

The main thing is that Malfoy is in right. Good, I think. Stay over there. He’s a pain when he’s in center, always trying to call you off so he can come all the way over and snag a high pop-up.

After a while, Coach calls us back in and says: “That’s the starting lineup for Saturday. Nothing is set in stone after that. You got me? You want to stay there, you’ve got to earn it. You other guys want to grab one of those spots, you’ve got to earn that, too.”

He pauses, then says, “I don’t want a repeat of last year.”

The Craven Yankees beat us after we blew a late lead last year. Most of us were on the team for that, and the new kids have at least heard about it. The Craven Yankees’ coach is a loud, angry jerk, and the team is pretty much the same way. No one wants to lose to them again.

Coach draws a line in the dirt of the first-base line with the toe of his shoe. We all look at it, and he erases it with his other foot.

“That’s how quick it could go,” he says. “You got me?”

“Yes, Coach!” we yell.

It’s still sweet.