DENVER -- Rockies rookie Raimel Tapia puts the bat to his nose and face when he skims a pitch foul. Those who observe say the scent of leather, wood, pine and dirt -- set afire -- permeates the nose, taste buds and soul.
However, Tapia insists he is not smelling the residue of being this close to success. But it's not because he doesn't want to seem weird. His reasoning isn't the norm.
"I talk to my bat. I go, 'Let's go. We can mash the next one,'" Tapia said in Spanish, with first-base coach Tony Diaz translating.