Somewhere on the screen of a smartphone, Charlie Morton began to lose control.
Pittsburgh had to win, or face the the wild card playoff. Hell.
In this case, a collection of baby bears.
They haven’t grown up or they’d lose their essence.
They seem to be growing teeth, though.
And Morton stood on the pitching mound, trying to keep the Pirates in the game.
It used to be much easier to throw the ball in the strike zone when he didn’t have to.
On the smartphone, it was only green dots landing outside of a rectangle.
But there were three yellow dots on a tilted square.
Two runs on the board for St. Louis, who needed a win to clinch the NL Central.
Morton left, replaced by Bobby LaFromboise.
He might have been a character in a play, but instead he pitched relief.
The hitter, Jason Heyward, stood motionless.
“Ball in play,” the screen said.
He must have moved.
The dots were suddenly gone.
And so was the division for Pittsburgh.
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