Maldonado buzz

Carole Garbowski, daughter of longtime Sox coach Eddie Popowski, passed along this in response to a Globe story Sunday about Felix Maldonado, who for many years ran extended spring training with Popowski: ‘‘Felix and my dad were ‘partners’ for many years. They were an unlikely duo. The well-dressed, soft-spoken senor from Puerto Rico and the little Polish guy (not so well dressed unless my mother was with him) from New Jersey. Pop thought the world of Felix and they worked well together. And, their dear friend Charlie Wagner rounded out their group. We are eternally grateful to Felix for taking good care of Pop those last couple of years in Fort Myers. I was reminded of one of Pop’s stories. He attended one of the English classes several springs ago and listened to the instructor who was telling the players to repeat the phrase ‘I want pizza.’ After the class the instructor asked Pop what he thought of the class. My dad in his inimitable way said: ‘You do a good job, but could you teach them to say ‘Hit the cutoff man?’.’’