There was nothing like the smell of freshly cut grass. It had to be one of his favorite smells. He could remember as a kid when his dad would cut the front lawn, he would walk out of the house and sit on the porch just to breath in the wonderful aroma. He sucked in the sweet smell now as the maintenance raw finished mowing the baseball field. There was nothing quite like this smell.

It was early morning and Jeff Webber had come in earlier than anyone else on his staff. He had come in early to walk the field, he wanted to hear the crunch of the dirt under his feet, feel the sun on his skin and take in that sweet smell that he loved so much. He also came to think. That was one of Jeff's quirks that many of his staff had come to know about him over the years, when he had serious thinking to do, Jeff would just walk around the diamond for hours till he was ready to face whatever was plaguing his mind.

Today was no different, Jeff had many things on his mind that he needed to work through. He was thinking about his upcoming season with is almost new team. He had only two starters from last season returning. He was thinking about his new hot headed, hot tempered, hot shot pitcher, and how he was going to have to keep him in check. And lastly Jeff was thinking about his two daughters.

Jeff had been coaching baseball since he blew out his knee playing ball himself. In the span of his career Jeff had dealt with many a young men, but he still did not fully understand his girls. It wasn't just all that stuff they dealt with once a month (he was convinced there was no understanding that at all), but he didn't quite get all the emotional things that he knew his wife would have been able to handle with them.

For the last two weeks his daughters, Sarah and Elizabeth, had been fighting and it was beginning to give both him and everyone around them a massive headache. Though just as Jeff was rounding second base for the sixth time, he wasn't even sure what they were fighting about. When he had asked Sarah she would just tell him that Elizabeth was being stubborn and that just because Elizabeth didn't have a love life, that shouldn't stop her from helping Sarah have one. When Jeff had asked Elizabeth about it, she had told him that she was not going to help her sister make a fool of herself and she sure wasn't going to help her in her crazy scheme to trap anyone.

If only he and his wife would have just had all boys, oh Jeff could have handled that so much easier. If guys were mad, you just gave them a punching bag so they could hit something. If guys were sad you left them alone and then when they were ready you took them out for a drink or two. And when guys were fighting, that's what you let them do, fight. Most times once guys had hit it out they were done and it was over.

But with girls it was so much more complicated than that. When girls were mad, he had learned that they would rage like a tornado and take their anger out on anyone and anything that got in their way. When girls were sad they could cry rivers and want to be comforted (or left alone, depending on their mood) And when girls were fighting he knew to watch out. They could be mean and conniving and they could manipulate just about anyone to get what they wanted, and oh boy could a girl hold a grudge.

Currently the girls were ignoring one another despite the fact that they lived under the same roof and as of today they would now be working for the baseball team together. Though Jeff worked for a minor league team, the owners treated this as a family business and liked to hire within, so many times they allowed already existing staff to bring in their children. Sometimes it worked out nicely. His son Steven had been the team's catcher for the last three seasons and Sarah had been working in the publicity office for two years. Now Elizabeth would be interning with the athletic trainers to gain college credits.

Jeff loved all of his children and was overjoyed that he got to be around them every day, but the fighting his two girls were doing lately had to come to a stop so as not to upset the balance of his season. He just couldn't figure out how to accomplish such a thing.

"Figured I would find you out here," Jeff heard the voice of his pitching coach say as he rounded home plate for what must have been his twentieth time.

Turning and facing the man, "Am I becoming that predictable in my old age, Luke?"

Luke Spencer had been Jeff's pitching coach for the past six years, and since then had also become one of Jeff's closest friends. Back in his heyday Luke had been an amazing relief pitcher for the Texas Rangers. He had of course aged since then, instead of the blond curls that used to poke out from under his ball cap, he now had a mane of gray. The years of being out in the sun day in and day out now left Luke's skin a tad bit leathery, but still he was one of the only people Jeff trusted. Luke was very honest and Jeff would find himself not just asking Luke for advice on the game and his team, but also his personal issues with family.

"Not predictable, Jeff just a creature of habit," Luke responded with a small grin. "I take it you have something on your mind then."

Jeff let out a huge sigh, "My girls, mostly," he told his longtime friend. "I just don't know how I let their fighting get so out of control with those two and their gosh darn fighting. I really hope they can keep it at home, cause the last thing I need is a distraction at the begging of the season. We both know I'll have enough stress to deal with with this new team of ours. Thank goodness Steven and Patrick are still around to keep the team in check."

Luke let out a little chuckle, "Steven yes, but we both know Patrick can have his mind turned around when he notices a pretty face in the crowed. He's what I have been told is a bit of a player, and I don't mean ball player."

"Maybe, but he's a good ball player none the less and when it comes down to it he always puts the game first, that's what makes him the best first baseman in the league."

"True," Luke said, "So, what are we thinking about the rest of our new team? Are we going to have a winning season?"

"Outfield looks like it's going to be solid, O'Brien, Corelli and little Giambetti are spot on. They all seem to be the strong silent type, so I'm sure they can mesh well together. The infield on the other hand may be another story. We both know that Patrick and Steven can get along and work together, but I'm not sure how this Spencer kid….."

"No relation," Luke threw in there with a look of terror at the thought of having any children at all.

Jeff chuckled at his friend, knowing full well Luke was not the fatherly type and never planned to have any children. He knew Luke liked the bachelor life too much to ever settle down completely. " Got it, not your kid." Jeff said still chuckling and shaking his head.

Once Jeff was composed again, "Anyway this Spencer kid is a good third baseman, but from what I was told by his last coach, he's not the brightest bulb in the bunch. We've got Corinthos playing shortstop and he can be a bit volatile. Then of course your ace pitcher you wanted, Morgan."

"So all and all a rag tag team," Luke said with a grin and a shake of his head. " My favorite kind."

"Yeah, pretty much," Jeff responded. He looked down at his watch realizing what time it was and looked back up at his longtime friend, "Let's get this season started."

Both men started off to the dug out to go meet the team and get training started for what they hoped would be a championship season.