The best, to the best

Nolan Ryan was a great pitcher.   Tony Kornheiser is a great writer.  And so when Tony Kornheiser profiles Nolan Ryan, even 31 years ago for Inside Sports, you figured they would avoid cliches like the plauge.  And yet...and yet...

This is what is now important to Nolan Ryan as far as baseball is concerned — that he is a pitcher, not a thrower.

Before Doing Comes Understanding

You might think that people just pitch, not throw, without really thinking about it.  It just starts to happen.  And maybe that's so for some guys.  But Richie Mascheri, pitcher for the Kitsap Bluejackets of Kitsap, Washington doesn't just do it, he understands it.  Or at least his manager, Matt Acker, thinks he does, as he told the Kitsap Sun.

"He understands the concept of pitching, not throwing," Acker said. "He finds a way to compete every day."

Don't laugh...if he didn't understand it...he might just be up there pitching and not knowing why.