It's his first time without them. You can tell that he's uncertain, tentative, and even a little scared. "My mom and sister like to leave them in," he says to me as he stares at where the bumpers should be. "I'll probably throw gutter balls all day." I could hear the resignation in his young voice. Better to expect failure than to be surprised, I was sure that was what he was thinking. "I'll bet you won't," I say hoping that my optimism would spill out from me and that after getting his feet ...