Signs of the times

Since we're on the subject of the 'invisible' side of the game, there was another article that caught my eye - on ESPN.com - this time on signs: giving them and stealing them.

I love the story about former Pirates manager Jim Leyland, because it reminds me a little of our baseball team, as we're not always great at getting the signs from the coaches. We were thinking of getting some big hand-written signs made up, just so that there's no confusion out on the field, but Leyland's method was even simpler:

[...] Leyland tells a story about one of favorite players he managed in the minor leagues, Kirby Farrell. Leyland gave Farrell the bunt sign three times, and each time, Farrell missed the sign. Finally, Leyland cupped his hands and yelled "Bunt!'' Farrell cupped his hands and yelled "What?''

We'll just have to hope that our hearing is better than our sight...