Noah left the cage, which was wise, and Jeff chose the bat he usually used and the gloves that fit the best and pulled out his quarters.
"A swim sounds good," he said, choosing the speed for the balls and tucking the bat under one arm as he pulled on the gloves. Squinting against the sun - Why did Seattle decide to shine when he didn't want to wear his sunglasses? - he stood in position and got a good grip on the bat.
"Oh, nothing much," he said, not looking at Noah, but focused on the purpose of the cages. "Just talking to my family, you know?"
The timer clicked, the machine shifted at the far end and balls began to launch themselves to ward him. His hits weren't always clean, but he didn't have any misses.