Matt Watson spread out in the batter's box, waved his Louisville Slugger manacingly, and looked very much like the professional hitter he is.
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This was at Clipper Magazine Stadium Thursday, hours before the Barnstormers' game that night with York.
Watson, a McCaskey graduate who's practiced his craft for the New York Mets and Oakland A's, for the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese Pacific League and in the minors all over America, could always hit.
Thursday was no exception.
"He certainly put on a show down there today," Keith Lupton, the Barnstormers' vice president for baseball operations, said later.
It's always been other things — injuries, largely — that stopped Watson from having a full-blown major-league career.
Watson was recently released, pending some worker's-comp formalities relating to a lingering back injury, by the Mets.
Assuming that happens and he passes a physical, he will likely join the Barnstormers within the next few days.
That along with some other recent additions and upcoming returns to health, fuel hope that the second half of the Atlantic League season can be much better than the first.
The first half of the season ends Wednesday. For the fourth time in five seasons, Lancaster will end the half with a losing record.
"The two years I've been here ... " manager Von Hayes said in his clubhouse office Thursday, shaking his head over not only the volume but strangeness of the player churn.
"I actually think we had more injuries last year, but this year, we've had more players signed [by affiliated and other clubs]."
As always, the Barnstormers fight the good fight against injuries and player defections.
Lately it's been weird injuries and player defections and, thus, a weird and frustrating fight.
L.J. Biernbaum, a power-hitting outfielder, has a neck injury that may or may not be the cause of a tingling sensation he feels when he lowers his chin to his chest.
Pitcher Trey Hodges has a knot between his shoulder blades, and the tightness makes it difficult for him to finish his delivery and, therefore, his pitches.
Pitcher Eric Young was signed last week by a Korean League team. The Barnstormers immediately shut Young down and haven't used him since.
They always do that when another team signs one of their pitchers, as a courtesy to the new employer. Except that the Korean team has not sent the money to buy Young's contract.
So Young sits, still with the Barnstormers but not available to pitch for them.
How long will courtesy last?
"That's a good question," Lupton admitted.
Two weeks ago the club lost closer Ross Cullen to noted baseball enclave Taiwan (not exactly the Texas League) and replaced him with six-fingered eccentric and former Philadelphia Phillie Antonio Alfonseca.
The team's roster has become a nightly news item Dave Collins, the team's broadcaster, hustles to put together in the pregame hours.
Let's all welcome Vic Guttierez, a veteran Atlantic League infielder signed and activated Thursday.
Biernbaum? Activated Saturday but not in the lineup. Available to pinch-hit. Outfielder/leadoff man Quincy Foster? He injured his wrist on a check swing Wednesday. Could pinch-run Thursday, but not hit, and therefore not otherwise play.
Infielder Danny Bravo? Could play first base in a pinch, otherwise out with a hamstring strain.
Pitching coach Bill Bliss was on the active roster Thursday, as he has been often of late. Perhaps not for much longer, though. Hodges had a simulated-game-type throwing session in the bullpen Wednesday and by all accounts looked very good.
He'll start today's game, maybe go three innings.
It is noted with mirthless laughs that York, the Barnstormers' opponent for this weekend series, just last week put its first player on the DL of the season.
"We've been trying for a couple weeks to put this team together for the second half," Hayes said.
"It's tough to do. We keep having setbacks."
The Barstormers have been the AL's fifth-best team. Through Friday's 4-0 loss to York, they were fifth in the league in runs scored and allowed and, more importantly, in wins and losses (30-34).
But the AL uses a two-halves format for a reason. The first-half pennant races are already over, Southern Maryland (39-25 in the Liberty Division, through Friday) and Somerset (41-24 in the Freedom) having clinched titles and playoff berths.
For the Barnstormers, the season begins for keeps Thursday. It begins, they believe, with potential for a better team than the first-half version, and a real shot at contention.
The offense could be a force. Mike Woods, last year's league MVP, only began his season in mid-May, before which he was attending college in Louisiana.
Since then he's been Woods-like, hitting .304 with a .386 on-base and .446 slugging percentages.
Foster, who's been here only a couple of weeks, hasn't gotten going yet. Biernbaum (.320/.390/.510 in 164 plate appearances) should be back soon.
Referring to Biernbaum and Watson, Hayes said, "This league is predominately a right-handed-pitching league. If we can get a couple guys like that in the middle of our order, especially in our ballpark ..."
The pitching situation, as usual, is more complicated.
The Barnstormers have gotten solid work from starters Eric Ackerman (3.34 earned-run average in 72 innings); Zach Parker (2.87 in 60) and Ben Fritz (3.49 in 67), but those three are a combined 6-10.
Clouding the run-prevention side of the ledger is the Barnstormers' defense, which has committed 74 errors and allowed 68 unearned runs, through 64 games.
Again, there's reason for hope. The two ex-big-leaguers now in the bullpen, Alfonseca and Neal Musser, have been fine in very limited duty, but their impact has yet to really be felt.
Hodges returns today. Young might soon, if some money doesn't show up from Korea.
"We really have to think we can make some serious noise in the second half," said Foster, who's played here in parts of four of the franchise's five seasons and is among its most popular all-time players.
"We have some key guys hurt now. Once we get everybody back, we just have to play the game and believe in one another."
Mike Gross is assistant sports editor of the Sunday News. E-mail him at mgross@lnpnews.com.
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