"For days now, people have talked in amazement about Hiroki Kuroda's last pitch.

The ball coming off the bat of Arizona's Rusty Ryal, shooting into the side of Kuroda's head, bouncing off his skull and back into the stands, dropping him to the dirt with a ground-rule concussion.

For days now, people have talked in amazement about Hiroki Kuroda's last pitch, which sent me to Dodger Stadium on Thursday in search of something even more compelling.

His next pitch.

How exactly does one do that?

A soft cap covering his head, memories of violent pain filling his brain, how does a pitcher resume taking giant steps within 55 feet of a man swinging a bat?"