The Unknown

The guys gathered around Juan Carlos’s coffee cart were dealing with the unknown this morning. They looked lost after ripping through the newspapers searching for bits of information on Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada.

“Everyone has got the same stuff,” said Javier from Walton Avenue. “There isn’t much news no matter how many times I read these stories. I really need to know what’s going on with my team.”

Posada feels the same.

“We need to know what’s going on,” Posada said about his throwing shoulder after yesterday’s game. “It’s really early in the season, and we’ve got to be smart about it now. I don’t want to be back there when I’m not helping the team out.”

He will have an MRI today.

“I’m hoping for the best,” Posada said, “but I don’t know. A catcher is like a pitcher, you need your arm. If you are an outfielder or a shortstop you can play through it, but a catcher throws as much as a pitcher.”

The guys sipping coffee in the South Bronx chewed on that for a moment.

“I’m with Jorge,” Javier finally said. “I’m hoping for the best, too.”

They all nodded.

“How’s Jeter?” someone asked.

Javier flipped through the newspaper and found something.

“I don’t feel it walking around,” Jeter said about his strained left quadriceps muscle, “but I haven’t run.”

Everyone shrugged.

“We’re not gonna find out anything until later,” Javier reasoned. “I guess we ought to go to work then.”

“Sure,” everyone said as they wandered into the unknown.