Sweet Spot: Homeruns #4 Read Online Free Page A

as cool as you, but I can’t complain.”
    “You’d better not plan on replacing me, fucker,” I warned him.
    “Please,” Devin scoffed. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re out of here before the end of the day. With numbers like yours, they’d be fools to not move you up. They’ve got one hell of a hole since Sean retired.”
    When Sean Tucker announced his retirement last season, I’d felt hopeful I’d finally get my chance. Then, I overheard some of Dad’s winter meetings and not once was my name mentioned. In fact, at one point they talked about trades to get some fresh blood into the club, because the Mavs kept falling short of the league championships. Being stuck in limbo pissed me off. It felt as though my dad didn’t have faith in my abilities, but he also wasn’t willing to trade me away to another team that might give me a shot. But I didn’t say anything to him because of our “no baseball at home” rule. The rule I had insisted on implementing.
    The room grew insanely loud as more guys filed in to get their tests over with. My next stop was the fitness test. Last year, I’d worried I was going to be labeled one of the team fatties, but I was in good shape this year. Rather than worry about how short I’d fall of whatever unknown expectations management had for me, I remembered Jimmy’s advice and tried to remain positive. Sean was no longer the Mavericks’ key starter, and while I didn’t have any foolish notions about sliding from Triple-A straight into his shoes, if I was smart this year, there was a chance I could make my way to Milwaukee after all.

Two
    (Cody)
    “ Y ou about ready ?” Bryce yelled from the top of the basement stairs.
    “Yeah, I’ll be right there,” I hollered back. It drove Drew crazy, the way we were always yelling at one another through the house, but we rarely let that stop us.
    “We have to be on the road in the next twenty minutes unless you want to miss your flight,” he warned me.
    No way in hell would my ass not be on that plane. As my professor liked to remind me, this was the shot of a lifetime. Every year, students fought for the coveted role of summer intern for the Milwaukee Mavericks. More than a few of my classmates were pissed as hell I’d been offered the position. They accused me of asking Drew to use his influence with the front office to get me an internship I hadn’t earned. Well they could all kiss my ass, because I was heading to spring training while they froze their asses in Wisconsin.
    I ran through my checklist once more to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything. I did this every time I went on an assignment, but this was the opportunity of a lifetime and I didn’t want to screw it up. I held on to this unrealistic hope I’d impress the hell out of the Mavericks and they’d beg me to stay on full time as their social media coordinator. Although they had a good PR team in the front office, they were seriously behind the times when it came to social media. I’d already talked to the director of media relations and she agreed it’d be a good niche for me to fill, as long as it didn’t pull me away from my other work assignments. From what she’d said, my primary task would be following players and suits around to various functions, taking pictures the team could send to media outlets with interesting tidbits to make the team seem as well-rounded off the field as they were on it.
    I hoisted my camera bag over my shoulder, fumbled for my suitcases and began the trek upstairs. Eric, Drew, and Bryce were all standing around the kitchen island, beaming like proud parents. A few years ago, I would have felt a pang of sadness because they weren’t the ones I needed approval from, but now I’d grown to accept that it was better to be loved by people who wanted me in their lives than tolerated by those who brought me into this world.
    “Guys, stop it,” I groaned as I poured myself a mug of coffee. “I swear, if you get out your