CINCINNATI -- "Hey, nice beep."
That means batting practice. This was Jack Suwinski passing Bryan Reynolds in the dugout with a bit of a plaudit on this sunsplashed Wednesday afternoon inside Great American Ball Park.
"One round," Reynolds replied to his bud. "One round, and then I forgot how to hit again."
My friends, I love Reynolds almost as much as I love baseball itself. Not that they're easily separated, anyway.
Beginning today, the Pittsburgh Baseball Club will embark on its 142nd season with a game against an opponent that once was known as the Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1869, making this a meeting of two of this grand old game's most venerable franchises, none older than the latter.