Diamond Reflections: Al Downing misses creativity in the
batters' box  The Times By The Times The Times, Trenton on
August 18, 2010 at 7:53 AM, updated August 18, 2010 at 8:02 AM
Rick Freeman.JPGRick Freeman Rick Freeman Column  Over 33 years
since he threw his last major-league pitch and nearly a half-
century since he left Trenton to pursue a professional career,
Al Downing remains a keen and opinionated observer of the game
of baseball.  Now 69 years of age and working in community
service for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Downing remains active in
the game. He recently spent part of this summer working at a
youth clinic in Cary, N.C., for USA Baseball, then devoted a
couple of weeks instructing youngsters in former big-leaguer
George Foster's "Baseball Boot Camp" in Vero Beach, Fla.  "These
young kids," said Downing, who attended the Yankees' annual Old-
Timers Day on July 17, "so many curveballs. Don't they, or the
people teaching them, understand that everything works off the
fastball?"  Downing threw his fast