Tracked down what I was thinking of: May 1981, "A Team Grows In Queens" (I like the title I assigned it in memory better) by Geoffrey Stokes. Passage of note: Cashen had given minor league director Chris Kager the scope he'd previously been denied, and when the 100-odd Met farmhands arrived at the Payson complex for spring training, each would be handed a descendant of the original "Baltimore Catechism," a manual Cashen and Dalton had developed with the Orioles. Starting this spring, every player at every level in the Met system would know exactly what to do in each of 40-odd defensive "situations." These detailed instructions are any fan's browsing delight, but they may also spare Met fans the agony of watching an enemy runner sneak into scoring position on a bungled cutoff play. I take it that manual was sort of the defensive equivalent of the hitting regimen the current regime has mentioned a time or three. I wonder if it ever gained traction. For all we know it's been in place for 34 seasons...though based on recent rundown situations, probably not.