The instructions given to Pete Flores, a first-year Utah assistant, were clear and simple: Don't laugh when you see him during warmups.
That's because it's so easy for Stephen Strasburg, who made 94-95 mph fastballs look effortless in between innings (Sunday column here).
"You hope that you just (can) put a ball in play and the defense is on their heels because they haven't seen a groundball or a flyball," said Flores, a DuPage Dragons assistant. "That's one of the things you hope for."
If that sounds desperate, then consider that the year before Strasburg struck out 23 Utes in one game.
"There's a big YouTube video on that," Flores said.
