As you know, the kid attends a school in the mountains in Pennsylvania. It's a well regarded university that has had some 'press' lately. Nevertheless, they play indoors in the winter and it does not mimic an actual field and playing surface.
Therefore, they are at a great disadvantage during the spring break travels since they play southern teams. If the goal is to win all of the games, then they failed. If the goal is to experience tough competition, then they succeeded.
With that said, after burning through the bullpen on Tuesday night, the team was left with a few guys to fill in the holes when the starter hit rock bottom during the third inning. And so, who got the call with the bases loaded and no outs? Yep, the big leftie.
Ok, so...how did it go? Wellllllll.....not great....but not bad......he walked in the first run (sad face), then struck the next kid out (happy face).....then a batter hit a single and two more runs scored.....then he got a pop up...another walk....out of the game......On the bright side, he is the only guy on the team with a 0.00 ERA. Although, at this point, the team is hanging their heads.
So, what seems to be wrong with our collected group of heroes? My perspective is that after losing their top guys last year through the MLB draft and graduation, they have a core group of guys who are fresh out of high school and/or arm surgery. Since Buddy has had limited pitching in the past few weeks after taking an entire year off, he is working his way back. Dad predicts that he will be back in form by late April. Until then, we will suffer as he walks or hits batters, strikes them out, gets them to pop up to an infielder, and so on.
Last night, we could listen to the game on the computer...it was tough to hear about the errors, miscalculations and walks. The pitchers are being shelled and the batters are struggling. Our poor Gopher has an batting average of .000. Can anyone spell "therapy"? He had not hit his stride yet, but I think that after he relaxes a bit, good things can and will happen.
I read a quick article about the New York Giants's football coach, Tom Coughlin who wrote a book recently on winning. He says that attention to detail, hard work, leadership, and his faith have helped him to carve out a winning spirit and team.
I guess that this will be the next book that I read after I finish "Quiet". Quiet was recommended to me by Ice who has a child like mine...competitive and introspective.....The author looks at the differences between introverts and extroverts and I have discovered that my entire family (nuclear, that is) is a group of introverts...yep, me too.
How can an introvert teach? Well, according to the author, if the subject is a passion, then an introvert can be a very successful teacher. The difference is that this person needs down time before and after teaching, which is very true. I need to be alone in my office before I enter a class. After a class, I shut down to re-group. It's like a light switch that I can turn on and off. When I return home, I am almost comatose because I need to settle into my home role. Does that sound nutso? Well, I used to think so until I read the research in the book. Now I think that I am fairly normal. And so, what does this mean for Buddy? Well, he is basically an introverted person who would prefer the sanctity of his home, family, and room to collect himself. He has a better time with a few select friends such as Angel, Meat, and Gopher, which is one of the reasons why the party scene in his own house makes him crazier than the extroverts that he lives with....ahhh, now it makes more sense......There is nothing wrong with him, this is his personality and temperament...much like his dad's.
And today, the team has practice and the guys are complaining. I understand what the coach is doing. After all, they are not lighting up Texas with their talent but it is a matter of time. Let's see how they look in April. In the meantime, this introvert/extrovert for the next few hours has to work....
Later!
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