Chapter 27

I woke up between my ladies, realizing that they were ladies in every sense of the word. They carried on conversations with the club's executives and had a good time gossiping with the other women. These two were different from the others, as they acted as a unit to promote the team and me. They always looked at how the team would be affected by our actions.

We would then come home and they acted like the most wanton women in the universe, at least my universe. I smiled as I moved off the bed and covered the two with the sheet and spread. I put my running clothes on after using the bathroom, including a T-shirt because I knew that the tide was coming in this morning.

There was sand to run on going to the south, so I ran toward Pass-a-grill until I passed the concession stand. The water was coming in higher now, so I went up to the street to run back to the condo. There was hardly any traffic this morning, so I didn't get many honks. I remembered I didn't bring my key when I went to the garage door to go in, so I walked around to the back where I could use the spare key in the 'Hide a key' box.

I was unlocking the door when Andy pushed the foliage that separated our patios aside, and said, "Good morning, Matt. Isn't it great to be in the playoffs?"

"You bet, Andy. This is what the team plays for all season. I was so happy to come up after the All-Star break and be able to contribute. We were in the cellar when I came up, but we made it. We came back from being on the bottom to winning our way to first. We now have to see how we do in the playoffs."

Andrew said, "You know, we may not be as complete a team as some we're going to meet, but I think we'll give it a good shot. Joe says everyone has a chance, although he recognizes that our division, when considered together, has the worst win/loss record in the American league, and actually all of baseball this year."

I waved Andrew inside the house after unlocking the door and putting the key back where it belonged, as he had now made it around to our side of the patio. While I made coffee, I told Andrew, "If we plan our games right, we might be able to get our best pitching to win this. We're going to need run support for whoever pitches, and that means everyone on the team needs to work at being better hitters. Shelton is salivating while waiting to help guys, but a lot of them think they are God's gift to baseball batters. We're not that good. We need some better eyes and better swings. The teams we're going to be playing are good, and they will kill us if we aren't ready."

Andy grinned and said, "You're preaching to the choir, Matt. You're saying almost exactly what Joe says. He told me that he was going to make you pitch every game from now until we win the Series."

I laughed at that. "Yeah, right. We're talking about Joe Madden who doesn't even like me loosening up between starts. He was either drinking a lot of his wine, or someone shot him up with some pixie dust, if he said that."

Andy and I were drinking coffee when the girls came out wearing Matt, #19 T-shirts. They each gave Andy a kiss on the cheek, and me one on the lips. Sherry said, "We have enough to feed you too if you're hungry this morning, Andy."

Jeannie laughed as she said, "We have enough to feed most of the condo if we needed to. I think we're the only women who buy eight dozen eggs at a time. The butcher shop we go to loves us because we buy so much meat. They told me that they were going to close for the same period of time we go on vacation this off season, as their sales would be down that much anyway."

Sherry expectantly looked at Andy. The man hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "Sure, I'll eat with you guys. I haven't seen what Matt really can put away."

The girls went into action and were frying bacon for the grease to fry potatoes and onions in. They whipped up some Bisquick biscuits and started those. I pulled the huge slab of sirloin from the fridge, doctored it up, and put it on the Jenn-Air. It was a thick piece of meat so there was no sense in cooking it too fast.

The biscuits, eggs, and meat were done at the same time, and Sherry whipped up some gravy for the biscuits. The girls cut two small pieces of meat for themselves, and a nice size piece for Andy, but it still left about sixteen plus ounces of meat for me. I ate it all, including a pile of potatoes, half a dozen scrambled eggs, and a couple of biscuits with gravy. Andy could hardly finish his meat with a single biscuit.

"Holy smokes, Matt, you eat more than I've seen some NFL linemen eat. How do you stay so slim?"

"You know that I run every morning, and I try to go in and workout almost every day. I use the batting cages and try to throw some. It must be more than enough, because I'm really trying to get to 190 but I'm still under 180 so far since the problem. I'm only at 179 on the home scale, wearing just shorts and a T-shirt."

The girls both nodded, and Sherry added, "We've been making him drink a Guiness with his late night snack. I think he likes that beer, and it's the heaviest we know of. The nutritionist would like him to have some red wine with his meals too, but Matt isn't into drinking much. He'd rather have a protein shake."

Andy said, "Loney's been looking fit lately. He's been doing a lot of your workout routine and eating a heavier protein diet. He says he doesn't eat half of what you eat and has been putting on a lot of muscle."

Sherry said, "Nadia told us last week that James is a hell of lot more fun in bed since he's been working out with Matt. She told us that she actually cried uncle because he was doing her so good."

I was laughing at how the women would gossip between themselves. Andy said, "I better not let you talk to my lady."

Jeannie asked, "Which one, Andy? You play with a whole bunch of ladies. You must be doing something right."

He was smiling at us when he said, "I have to interview some potential day maids this afternoon. Whoever it is needs to be the Mary Poppins type I have in my mind." Andy smiled as he said, "I'll hopefully find that right person."

Sherry rolled her eyes at the thought of a day maid for Andy. When he left, she asked, "I wonder if he's going to interview for a couple of night maids too?"

I told the girls, "I'm going to the ballpark to workout and do some hitting. Think about what you want to do until the start of the playoffs on Wednesday, the day after tomorrow."

Sherry chuckled before saying, "You have three days to gain some weight and be ready. What do think, will Joe lead off with you or Price? Just think how close they were to trying to trade him before the All-Star break. They had to keep him with so many on the DL, and they will need him now."

"I'll answer your question for you after I go in today. We have a shot if some pitchers are in to practice, and probably not if I'm the only one."

I drove the fancy red Expedition to the ballpark with the signs that told where the truck came from.

I changed into workout clothes once inside, and went to the gym. Scott was using the machines for lifting and legs, so I began with dumbbells for my arms and chest. I was able to go through my regimen and walk out to the field feeling good. Scott came out and asked, "Do you want to loosen up and throw some? A couple of guys have called to ask when I would be in. I told them all that I would be in all day and all night until they were done."

I asked Scott, "Am I your first customer?"

"Price was here a little while ago. He loosened up and threw thirty or forty balls. He was throwing well and said he would see me tomorrow. He always comes in early and goes home early on his days off. You come in at the same time whether or not you're pitching that day. I guess the difference is you play a position a lot of days too."

All my pitches were locating well and felt good. I thanked Scott and went to the locker room for a shower before going home. Joe came from his office as I was getting ready to leave. He said, "Who should I pitch Wednesday, you or Price?" I smiled at Joe and said, "Price has been your number one man; don't change that unless he asks you to. Besides, I pitched Sunday and Price pitched last Thursday."

Joe said, "I'm having a team practice to keep the infield sharp and for some live batting practice tomorrow. I want all the pitchers to throw thirty or forty balls. The office probably already called your house, so plan on coming in around one."

Joe had turned to leave, but turned back around, "The cafeteria is supposed to have some good food if you're going to come in to do your workout. Come in, do your workout, eat, and practice with the team."

I planned on calling Loney and Myers to tell them about coming in early. Myers was showing interest in how much effort I was putting in to be a better hitter and pitcher. He'll hopefully get on the bandwagon and work at it with me.

The girls had me dressing in nice clothes as soon as I was home, telling me that I was going to do a 'Men's Warehouse' commercial before going to the Mercedes dealer for a quick commercial there. Jeannie said, "We should stop in at the Veterans Hospital to say hi to some of the men who are hospitalized since we'll be near there."

The Men's Warehouse commercial was fast and only took a few minutes to talk about the big sale they were going to have. I put a really nice suit for one part on, and changed to slacks, knit shirt, and sport coat for another. They put a pin on the sport coat that read 'Clothes by Men's Warehouse' when we were through, and told me to wear that when I was out in their clothes.

We went to the Mercedes dealership and were surprised by the production they had set up there. The girls said they would be right back and handed me a gym bag and said, "Put the swimsuit on in the bathroom and we'll oil you up when you come back out. The dealer took me to his office and told me to use his private bathroom to change. The girls had a floral printed boxer style swimsuit for me to wear. This is going to be a strange commercial for a classy car.

The dealer's wife was standing by him in his chair when I came out of the bathroom. I heard her gasp loud enough that the dealer grinned and looked at her. The woman was standing there with her mouth open. The dealer said, "Maybe the swimsuit isn't the best costume for you."

The woman said, "Put him in an ad, and I'll buy anything he's selling. Whew, he's better than one of those body builders."

We heard a commotion out in the showroom, and we all turned to look through the one-way glass wall. Jeannie and Sherry had just come out wearing some very brief bikinis. The swimwear wasn't a T-back, or even that skimpy, but the two girls showed enough of everything to cause every man, as well as a couple of women, in the showroom to make a comment.

The dealer told me, "Well, I hope this sells some of the SLKs and Cabriolets I ordered in."

I was thinking that the three of us could be in a Coppertone ad since we were all tanned. I was dark-skinned enough to tan easily, and had been out in the sun enough to look decent next to the tanned beauties I was with. The girls immediately began oiling me up, while some of the office girls and female saleswomen at the dealership volunteered to help. We were told to hang out around a red SLK250 and just chat. The cameramen videotaped us just talking and being around the car. We were then moved to a beautiful silver blue Cabriolet like our red one, and were just talking about how strange this was.

A worker was moving a huge solid blue background behind the car when we moved from one car to another.

The dealer then handed me a Rays' ball cap, and a sign that said in big letters 'Fun on Sale'. The dealer told me, "Read what's on that cue card in front of the cameraman. You girls get up behind Matt and hug his arms. Show a little cleavage while you do it. That'll keep the viewers interest."

We did the take three times, and I couldn't tell what was wrong with the first one. The man who acted like he was the director told us, "We'll put this together with the gulf beaches as a background. It'll look like we did the entire take on the beach."

The girls told me, "Go wash the oil off and get dressed. They want another couple of shots with you dressed."

I quickly showered and dressed in the nice slacks, knit shirt, and sport coat I came in with. The girls were now dressed in attractive skirts and tops when I went out to the showroom. We three sort of matched in colors.

The dealer had us talk with him in front of a beautiful S-Class sedan. We walked from there to some SUVs, then back to the fancy sedan. When we were done, the dealer said, "We'll use that with a voiceover to talk about special deals coming up. You know you'd look good driving one of these M-Class crossovers. Do you still have that red Jeep?"

I blushed and told the dealer, "The Ford dealer has me driving one of his Expeditions right now. You know, the car you've let us use is really classy. How could we want anything else?"

The man smiled and told me, "I'd love for you to drive my cars more, but you're doing the right thing by spreading yourself around. We took a close up of your 'Men's Warehouse' button. We'll show that and have them kick in a little for our commercial."

The dealer's wife came out to join her husband and asked if we might want to join them on their yacht for a meal now that the filming was complete. I was quick to tell them, "We're scheduled to visit the VA hospital for a couple of hours. Thanks for the offer though. That's very kind."

The girls were elbowing me in the side to get out of there, as the woman was becoming predatory. Between the dealer drooling over the girls, and his wife getting silly over me, we did need to be gone.

On the way to the VA hospital, Jeannie said, "We could have rented you out for about as much as you make playing baseball. The problem would be the dealer. He was licking his chops over Sherry and me. We probably shouldn't often be dressed like that around sponsors. That was hot, but not at all safe."

We spent close to three hours visiting with the men at the hospital. The girls had a lot of Rays' team items that were neat giveaways. We felt grateful to be well and able to be out in the world by the time we left. I kept thinking of how close I had come to being either dead or in a hospital for life.

We finished our day at the little restaurant on Pass-a-grille beach. Jeannie told me, "You know you made a lot of money today. I think the deal for the Men's Warehouse was five grand and more clothes. The dealership is paying the three of us twenty-five, plus we have the fancy car. The man offered that for us to be in swimwear. I thought we were doing commercials for him to keep the car."

Sherry said, "This commercial business is something, isn't it? The dealer even knew to use the Men's Warehouse button to get help on his costs. We're going to really work on you during the off season."

As we walked back to the condo, which was right on the dividing line between Pass-a-grille and St. Pete Beach, we were musing about how the girls were adding to our investment account. Sherry made the comment, "We haven't put that golf thing with you hitting a baseball off a golf tee for a hole in one together yet. Jeannie and I will work on that. You know you could help sponsor a weekend golf tournament for the local amateurs with a bunch of baseball prizes. All the entrance money can be used to offset the cost of the tournament and the rest donated to the Children's Hospital. We could get all kinds of sponsors and donations for that."

I had to remind them, "We're going to go on a long vacation to Hawaii. We should plan on November 15th to December 15th, and make plans and reservations. I want to go there to relax, play in the big surf they have, look for houses or places as an investment, and to wander around the islands to see everything we can."