We had two games on Sunday, with the luxury of knowing that regardless the outcome of the early game we were in the championship final. This was a great opportunity to give players a look at different positions and rest some arms. Rabbit, however, stayed at first. It is quite comforting to see him there.
The game started at 7:45 am, and it was 36 degrees when we pulled into the parking lot at 6:50 am. This needs to stop! We were visitors and batted first. Rabbit drew a walk on 7 pitches and was sent to second by the coach who was trying to catch the defense napping. No such luck, he was out at second. Blue Wave scored three in their half of the first and then got the opponents 1-2-3 in the bottom half. Rabbit played much better defense and recorded 2 of the three outs. His next at bat was a 4 pitch walk where he came around to score. Third trip was an 0-2 single into LF and another steal. His approach at the plate is amazing. Even down 0-2 he is still dangerous. In the bottom of the third (we were ahead 11-2 by then) Rabbit made 2 great defensive plays, including a pop up over his shoulder. After the previous days shaky defense it was great to see him play so well. His final at bat he was robbed of extra bases, and possibly a home run, by a great leaping grab. Even though it was an out it was hit where he wanted it to go, and hard. The team coasted to an easy 14-5 victory.
We headed home as the final game was not until 3:45. We got a quick rest in, some lunch, and then headed back to Chino. After watching the warm ups and first inning I told my wife I expected us to lose 12-4. Sadly, I was eerily prescient.
Things started off with us going 1-2-3 in the top of the first. 2 of those outs were on stunning defensive grabs. We were inches away from having a great inning. We only allowed one in the bottom of the first. Rabbit, still at first and still batting clean-up, got an infield single to start the second. He came around to score after a few steals. We were tied at 1 after 1.5 innings. Then the wheels started to fall off. You could see it coming. Some poor decision making about when and where to throw the ball, coupled with a few misplayed balls let 5 runs in. Even when we scraped 3 of our own together in the top of the third they responded with 2 in their half. By now Rabbit was brought in to finish the game and lost his composure. It was cold again, the sun had gone down, and was maybe 45 degrees on the field. Rather than checking with the umpires or coaches he decided on his own that he could not blow on his hands to keep warm. This dramatically reduced his ability to grip the ball. He opened the 4th inning with 6 straight balls, and I could see his shoulders slump. It took about 4 batters to find his groove. Once he did, he got 3 of 4, but by then 4 more runs had crossed. At the plate he finished with a strikeout and a walk and the final was Blue Wave on the short end of a 12-5 score.
As disappointing as the loss was, it was very heartening to see this team win three games in a weekend for the second tournament in a row. It also marked their fourth finals appearance since June. There is still a ways to go, but the team is getting better by leaps and bounds.
4 2 2 0 2 1
Monday, December 15, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Being a good teammate ... and playing for a good team.
We were back at Big League Dreams again after several months. And we were there early. Call time was 7:15 on a gray, misty morning. It was cold to be certain. The game was at 8am and Rabbit got the ball as starter. Having him start always makes me nervous, but it is particularly terrifying for games starting before 10am.
In his two innings of work (standard fare for the first day of a tourney) he allowed 5 hits, one walk (did not come around to score), two strikeouts (including a devastating change-up) and one earned run. And also six unearned. It was frustrating. We could see the team struggling to not fall into bad habits of giving up on games. We were down 4-0, 4-3, 7-3 and 8-4 in this game. Back in July we would have started packing up because the mercy rule would have been inevitable. But a funny thing happened on the way to the loss. Rabbit, after a mediocre turn on the hill and another error at pitcher walked his first two trips and singled sharply in his third at bat. For this tourney he was hitting clean-up, a tip of the cap to his vastly improved hitting of late. He also scored twice, including the bottom of the last inning winning run! Blue Wave scored the last 5 runs of the game to prevail 9-8. While it was not a thing of beauty, it was a win we most likely would not have achieved earlier in the year. The team was starting to believe that they can win games. It is fun to watch.
After a quick lunch we played again at noon. For game 2 Rabbit was back at first and still hitting fourth. His first AB was an 8 pitch pop out to second. A very nice AB and while not the perfect result, a good effort. In the bottom of the second (we were visitors, so hitting first) with 2 outs Rabbit brutally misplayed a routine ground ball into a two run error. It was ugly. He took the next two batters off before finally getting back into the game. It was frustrating to watch, but also it was only 2-1. We were still in it.
His next at bat was a four pitch strike out with two good swings and one horrible one. He was still angry. He will learn to shorten his memory. It is ok to be aggressive, but don't swing angry! He played better at first after the error and came up again against the ace pitcher in the 4th. After opening 2-0 Rabbit took a cut that scared me. It was the most violent swing I can recall from him in quite a while. Even though he missed the ball he knew that if he hit the ball, it was going to go far. At 3-1 the pitcher made a mistake. Rabbit laced a ball just fair down the LF line. All of his extra running paid off as he was halfway between 2nd and 3rd before the LF even caught up to the ball at the fence 338 feet away. He came in, standing up, with his second Blue Wave Home Run. We were sitting on the 1B side and could see his smile as he rounded 3rd and came across. A great moment.
Later on defense he turned another 6-3-2 double play, throwing a perfect strike to the catcher who blocked the plate like a pro. The boys had come from behind, again, and won 7-6. This team has now won 5 of their last 6 and is starting to believe. All the boys were hitting. To be sure, there were many errors and miscues, but none of the hopelessness, or haplessness, from previous tournaments. The team walks differently now. Not a swagger but a contagious confidence that they can play with, and beat, any team they face. It will not always be this good, but for now it is going well.
Oh, and one last thing. In the third inning of the first game I heard the coach call him "Rabbit." He has earned it.
4 3 2 1 2 1
In his two innings of work (standard fare for the first day of a tourney) he allowed 5 hits, one walk (did not come around to score), two strikeouts (including a devastating change-up) and one earned run. And also six unearned. It was frustrating. We could see the team struggling to not fall into bad habits of giving up on games. We were down 4-0, 4-3, 7-3 and 8-4 in this game. Back in July we would have started packing up because the mercy rule would have been inevitable. But a funny thing happened on the way to the loss. Rabbit, after a mediocre turn on the hill and another error at pitcher walked his first two trips and singled sharply in his third at bat. For this tourney he was hitting clean-up, a tip of the cap to his vastly improved hitting of late. He also scored twice, including the bottom of the last inning winning run! Blue Wave scored the last 5 runs of the game to prevail 9-8. While it was not a thing of beauty, it was a win we most likely would not have achieved earlier in the year. The team was starting to believe that they can win games. It is fun to watch.
After a quick lunch we played again at noon. For game 2 Rabbit was back at first and still hitting fourth. His first AB was an 8 pitch pop out to second. A very nice AB and while not the perfect result, a good effort. In the bottom of the second (we were visitors, so hitting first) with 2 outs Rabbit brutally misplayed a routine ground ball into a two run error. It was ugly. He took the next two batters off before finally getting back into the game. It was frustrating to watch, but also it was only 2-1. We were still in it.
His next at bat was a four pitch strike out with two good swings and one horrible one. He was still angry. He will learn to shorten his memory. It is ok to be aggressive, but don't swing angry! He played better at first after the error and came up again against the ace pitcher in the 4th. After opening 2-0 Rabbit took a cut that scared me. It was the most violent swing I can recall from him in quite a while. Even though he missed the ball he knew that if he hit the ball, it was going to go far. At 3-1 the pitcher made a mistake. Rabbit laced a ball just fair down the LF line. All of his extra running paid off as he was halfway between 2nd and 3rd before the LF even caught up to the ball at the fence 338 feet away. He came in, standing up, with his second Blue Wave Home Run. We were sitting on the 1B side and could see his smile as he rounded 3rd and came across. A great moment.
Later on defense he turned another 6-3-2 double play, throwing a perfect strike to the catcher who blocked the plate like a pro. The boys had come from behind, again, and won 7-6. This team has now won 5 of their last 6 and is starting to believe. All the boys were hitting. To be sure, there were many errors and miscues, but none of the hopelessness, or haplessness, from previous tournaments. The team walks differently now. Not a swagger but a contagious confidence that they can play with, and beat, any team they face. It will not always be this good, but for now it is going well.
Oh, and one last thing. In the third inning of the first game I heard the coach call him "Rabbit." He has earned it.
4 3 2 1 2 1
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Time to take a deep breath
The schedules have opened up just in time for the holidays. Rabbit looks to have one last tournament this year. It is nice to have the break, especially with the chaos of impending holidays.
On the baseball side of things Rabbit is excelling beyond our dreams. He is hitting well (8 for his last 16 with several extra base knocks), pitching nicely and fielding very well. By far the biggest change comes from his confidence. He plays from pitch to pitch, with a short memory. It is OK to strike out, just get a triple next time up. It is OK to allow back to back line drive doubles so long as you find a way to get out of the inning. He has learned that there are many ways to be a good teammate. You do not have to do everything perfect. He can be as valuable with his glove as he is with his bat some days. This is baseball on a whole different level than I expected from 9 and 10 year olds.
On the personal side I cannot believe the change in my son. He has seen the highest highs and lowest lows. He has won and lost and been responsible for both. And more than anything, he wants to play more. It is still fun, and that is most important to me. When he plays after school with his friends it is always baseball. On XBox it is always baseball. He takes the game seriously, and treats it with respect. This will be, I hope, a passion for him for years to come. We are already planning our summer trips to watch more ball being played. This is amazing.
Times are tough for families now, and the costs associated with this activity can be staggering. I figure, by rough estimate, we have spent almost $4,000 this year between equipment, fees, instruction, tournaments and travel. That is not insignificant. Luckily some of that is "up front" costs that we will not need to pay annually. And we are making sacrifices, all of us, to keep doing the things we love. We are so fortunate with the team he is on and the coaches he is working with. This group of boys is amazing to watch. I look forward to seeing what happens in 2009. If I had to guess, we will win some, and lose some.
On the baseball side of things Rabbit is excelling beyond our dreams. He is hitting well (8 for his last 16 with several extra base knocks), pitching nicely and fielding very well. By far the biggest change comes from his confidence. He plays from pitch to pitch, with a short memory. It is OK to strike out, just get a triple next time up. It is OK to allow back to back line drive doubles so long as you find a way to get out of the inning. He has learned that there are many ways to be a good teammate. You do not have to do everything perfect. He can be as valuable with his glove as he is with his bat some days. This is baseball on a whole different level than I expected from 9 and 10 year olds.
On the personal side I cannot believe the change in my son. He has seen the highest highs and lowest lows. He has won and lost and been responsible for both. And more than anything, he wants to play more. It is still fun, and that is most important to me. When he plays after school with his friends it is always baseball. On XBox it is always baseball. He takes the game seriously, and treats it with respect. This will be, I hope, a passion for him for years to come. We are already planning our summer trips to watch more ball being played. This is amazing.
Times are tough for families now, and the costs associated with this activity can be staggering. I figure, by rough estimate, we have spent almost $4,000 this year between equipment, fees, instruction, tournaments and travel. That is not insignificant. Luckily some of that is "up front" costs that we will not need to pay annually. And we are making sacrifices, all of us, to keep doing the things we love. We are so fortunate with the team he is on and the coaches he is working with. This group of boys is amazing to watch. I look forward to seeing what happens in 2009. If I had to guess, we will win some, and lose some.
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