31.   Mondesi stopped at third, until left fielder Ellis Burks skipped his throw over the cutoff man, past catcher Steve Decker and by pitcher Bill Swift.

32.   My arm is good enough to get to the cutoff man.

33.   Nobody hits the cutoff man.

34.   Now Aunt Peg gets angry when someone misses the cutoff man or when Melido Perez keeps getting behind on the count.

35.   On the play, Sanders overthrew the cutoff man and Jones advanced to second, but Smiley got his act together to prevent any more scoring.

36.   Outfielders practice for hours to hit the cutoff man.

37.   Palmeiro eventually retrieved the ball himself and threw it to cutoff man Benji Gil, whose throw home to catcher Bengie Molina was too late to get Rivera.

38.   Payton, the center fielder, made the catch but overthrew the cutoff man, allowing both runners to advance.

39.   Right fielder Dante Bichette allowed Rodriguez to advance to second when his throw sailed high above the cutoff man.

40.   That means no free pass for stupid mistakes, like forgetting to cover a base, missing a cutoff man or throwing to the wrong base.