Baggin'a hoosier

Good Sunday morning! Where is spring? Did it hit a low front in the south and get stuck? I am waiting to plant the pansies. After all, I don't want to see their sad little faces if I plant them too soon. Don't you love pansies? I love the colors and their little happy faces. There is something special about a flower that smiles at me 24/7.

Does it seem like I trying to avoid something? If you guessed "yes", then you are so right! I really don't want to make this post, because I like the positives and not the negatives....but once again, this blog is the truth and nothing but the truth...and here we go...

Our team traveled to Indiana...home of the Hoosiers...flat....no mountains....food not so special....people are incredibly nice and have a great deal of athletic talent. With that said....

The game on Friday afternoon was played in 40 degree weather. Both teams played in the same temperatures, so there is no excuse....the team lost...big....they can't hit still......

Yesterday, they played a double header because of the snow storm heading their way today. Game 1 was terrific. No, the team did not hit, but the pitching held and at least the game was close.

Game 2: Another story altogether. LW started the game and barely lasted 4 innings. Another pitcher came in and held the opposition to 1 run....then he loaded the bases. Who comes in? Yep...the big kid....

I was sitting in the family room with the laptop listening to the game as if I was listening to my transistor radio in the 1960's. Dad could not get the game at work, so he called and I placed the cell phone on top of my computer speaker so he could hear the game. And here he comes....ball 1...ball 2...ball 3...hits batter...walks a run in....oy.....strike out....out of inning....whew....but not whew....what's the deal about hitting batters? Before he knows it, he will be leading the nation in this statistic and I doubt if this is what he wants to be remembered for...just sayin'

Next inning.....ball hit to pitcher...throws batter out at first....then walk....The next batter.....hits a ball to third base....the third baseman overthrows first base...error......runners are on second and first....this is not good....As the next batter comes to the plate, the man on second base tries to steal, the catcher throws the ball into the outfield. Another error.....runner scores.......then the best hitter on the team comes up. He has him 0-2....then he hangs a curve ball and.....

I am sure that you know the rest. Yep...a double.....run scores...he's out. I could hear dad's voice on the phone screaming "Ahhhh"...then I stopped listening to the game and went on with my life. Dad hung up the phone.....we were done. The reality is, the big kid did not have his revenge....he was so-so...he did not get the job done. Actually, the rest of bullpen did not get it done either since the opposing team ran up another 6 runs.....for ten minutes, no one got an out. It's just ugly with a capital "U".

Knowing that my role as a parent is to listen and perhaps offer advice, I knew what was coming....the phone call.....yep...the lefty was going to call to report on the game from his perspective and perhaps need some consolation. But, I could only offer so much. He did not get it done. That's it. What did he learn? How will he move forward? Yes, there were two errors...but he did not get it done. Period....

And so, the call finally came in AND he did not want to speak to me. It has to be dad...only dad....no words of wisdom or comfort from mom...just dad. Praise be!

And I listened as Buddy and dad reviewed the events. During this sad time for the kid, I smiled and thought....he has the perfect father. Dad listened, offered advice when needed, and saw some bright spots during his outing. Frankly, this was an awakening for me. I knew that they had a special relationship, but only his father would help him through this trauma...and yes, it was traumatic for the kid.

In a nutshell, the coaches told Buddy that he had the guy at 0-2 and he let his mind take over. In other words, rather than throwing the ball, he was thinking. That's a no-no in baseball...you are supposed to react....throw....no thinking allowed. This is not brain surgery. It's baseball.....turn the head off....OK, good advice.

The other thing that he was told and we all knew it from the time that he was ten is that he is in too much of a hurry. He has to set up before he throws...he is one of the fastest pitchers out there. Guess what? This ain't the Indy 500.....so he needs to set up and then throw.

Point three from the pitching coach....he needs to tinker with the mechanics. However, he has great ball movement and his fast ball is fast. So there are lots of positives in this storm. Back to the basics....mechanics.....fundamentals....it's a matter of time before he regains his old form. In the meantime, this is going to be a bumpy season.

And so it goes...the ups...the downs...the highs and the lows...it's life...right? Yep. That's what life is all about. No one promised that it was fair or perfect. In fact, struggling is the way of the world.

The important part of the story is that the kid did not throw his glove into the incinerator. In fact, he reviewed what had happened and created a plan of action with the coach. Perhaps he is growing up. Perhaps he is a warrior. I don't know....but he did not bag any hoosiers.....they bagged him.

Have a great day. It's time for Zumba!