JUPITER, Fla. — When they came bopping into the clubhouse Wednesday morning, Cardinals pitchers didn’t need to see the grin on bullpen coach Bryan Eversgerd’s face to know it was there, warmed up and ready, just like his fungo bat or his sharp one-liners.
“Oh yeah,” he said he few muttered. “This is your favorite day.”
Little did they know.
What has become an annual burst of fierce competition with a healthy dash of whimsy — or maybe it’s the other way around — arrived Wednesday as the Cardinals hosted their PFP Tournament. Pitchers Fielding Practice, or PFP around ballparks, includes covering first base on a groundball, covering home plate on a wild pitch, and any other drill related to fundamentals including getting a glove on sharp, groundballs back at the mound.