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small bottle with ITCHING POWDER printed on the front.
    Andy reached into the bag and found a tube of clear grease and a small saw. “He used this grease on my dad’s glove!” Andy exclaimed. “And this saw on the chair at the home run derby!”
    The agent sniffed. His steely black eyes looked down at Andy. “Maybe you should ask your father about those,” he said. “Because that bag’s not mine.”
    Andy looked up at Sparky. “We saw himbring the bag in,” he said. “He took something out of it and put it in my dad’s locker!”
    Sparky stared at the bottle of Sudzi’s Super Foam in his hand. Then he looked at the agent. On the floor, Kate kept digging through the bag.
    “Well, it seems like we need to find out who really owns this,” Sparky said. He nudged the plastic bag with his shoe. “That would tell us a lot.”
    Andy’s face dropped. “How are we going to do that?” he asked. “It’s impossible!”
    Kate stood up. She was holding the bag. “No, it’s not,” she said. “Look at what I found at the bottom of the bag.” She pulled out a stack of papers. She handed them to Sparky. “It looks like Mr. Clark printed out his emails.”
    Sparky held the top email at arm’s length and read: “From: Tom Clark. To: Director,Sports TV Channel Five. I’m ace catcher Rocket Richards’s manager. I have inside information that the Rocket, and
not
Josh Robinson, will be starting in the all-star game this week. Make sure to keep your cameras on the Rocket during the game!”
    The agent slumped against the wall.
    Kate pointed to the date on the email. “This was sent almost a week ago!” she said. “Mr. Clark has been planning this all along!”
    Sparky handed the papers back to Kate. “Looks like we’ve just caught ourselves an all-star joker,” he said. “Why don’t you take a seat over there while I call my bull pen? I have a few people who might want to talk to you, Mr. Clark!”
    The agent shuffled over to the table. Sparky turned to Andy, Kate, and Mike.
    “You kids can hang out in the dugoutwhile we get this sorted. We’ve got a few hours before game time,” Sparky said.
    Mike, Kate, and Andy headed for the door. They were just about to climb the stairs when Sparky stopped them.
    “Andy!” he called.
    Andy turned around. “Yes?”
    “Uh, one more thing,” Sparky said. “Can you tell your dad that I have something to say to him?”

A Friendly Shake
    Sparky reached into the bucket of gum on the dugout steps. He pulled out a piece wrapped in bright red paper.
    “Rocket! Here’s another for you!” Sparky called. “I think you should eat every one we find!” He tossed the piece of Pete’s Picante Gum at the Rocket.
    The Rocket sat on the bench next to Josh. He caught the gum. “Come on, Coach,” he said. “I had no idea that my agent was playing all those practical jokes! I thought it was Josh!”
    “Thanks, buddy,” Josh said. “I’ll remember that next time you need something.”
    “Sorry, Josh,” the Rocket said. “I should have believed you. People said my agent was ruthless, but I never thought he’d do something to hurt other players. I guess he figured if you were benched, I’d get more playing time. Then I’d get a better contract.”
    The Rocket tried to offer the gum to Josh, but Josh held up his hands and backed away. The Rocket slipped it into his pocket instead.
    “Well, why’d you give a piece to Mike, then?” Andy asked the Rocket.
    “Someone had just tricked me by giving
me
one,” the Rocket said. “But I warned him. I told him he’d have a
hot
time!”
    Sparky reached into the bucket again. This time he came up with a square piece of bubble gum. He ripped the white paper offand popped it into his mouth. “That’s better,” he said, blowing a small pink bubble. “I want my boys to be hot on the field, not hot in the dugout!”

    Kate, Mike, and Andy were sitting at the far end of the bench. Just then, Kate’s cellphone rang. She pulled the