SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Michael Morse trudged through the clubhouse in the sixth inning on Wednesday, the smears of eye black only partially concealing the oddly bemused irritation on his face.
“I’m barely missing,” he said. “Just let me go hit a homer.”
The stats aren’t supposed to count in spring training exhibition games. And they truly don’t, if you are Buster Posey or Madison Bumgarner or Brandon Crawford. You’re just there to get your work in.
But that luxury doesn’t exist for most. The day arrives for every veteran player in this game who tries to soak up every last moment: the guaranteed contract offers disappear, and you’re left to prove yourself in someone’s camp as a non-roster invitee.