Yesterday was her actual birthday and we were headed to the mountains to watch a double header and spend time together as a family. Starting off at a diner for breakfast, we got to the park 15 minutes early only to find out that the game did not start at noon but at 2 pm. It was stormy and there was a football game too. Yes, there was a football game, an inner squad scrimmage that is played every spring to generate excitement. Sadly, due to the times, there was a state police helicopter circling over the stadiums. Further, we were not allowed to bring pocketbooks or bags into the ball park. No Kashi bars or Skittles....
With all of the traffic and the fact that it took us an hour to get to our parking space, we were not going to abandon it to leave for two hours, so we sat there in the rain....waiting....waiting...waiting....
On to the game....the first game began on time. Yes, Buddy remembered to order tickets for us and we were behind home plate. As the game proceeded, the starter had troubles and had to be yanked. It was obvious that he was struggling. He had given up 5 runs in the second inning, and finally he was removed. The next pitcher came in and gave up two more runs before the 5th inning was over. The team was way down and we figured that we would see the big leftie since they had 'nothing to lose' and were on their way to a loss. And yes...the big kid warmed up and was soon on the mound...and no, I did not have to wait until the 9th inning of the second game to see him pitch.
As he ran to the mound, it began to snow...again, he is the Rodney Dangerfield of baseball...no respect, even from Mother nature...looking at the big scoreboard, his photo, age, and home town were broadcasted next to his name that is still misspelled...no respect...He thinks it is funny. As his mom, I don't find the humor but am looking for it....
Back to the mound....some struggles, but he got his men out. As I looked at the bullpen, no one was warming up which meant that he was staying in for the next inning. He threw 5 pitches and had three outs. I knew that he was staying in until the next inning when he threw 6 balls in a row and his day was done. Before then, however, the pitching coach visited the mound during his first inning, grumbled and said: "You're a junior, you should know how to fix your mechanics. Thanks for wasting a walk to the mound for me." The rule is that the pitching coach can come to the mound for each pitcher twice before he was to take him out. The coach basically was saying that he is on his own out there, so 'man up.' Uh huh...that's the difference between a guy who is engaged with his players and one who is not. What do I have to say about it...to the coach..."Hey, dude, you man up...yeah, that's right...you are being paid handsomely to coach and mentor these kids...do your job...stop the whining...man up...dude...man up...."
And so, after being told that he was on his own, somehow he was able to not give up any runs but did hit a player...oh well. The kid moved into the pitch when it was obvious that that was the only way that he would get on base. There was a silver lining to the stormy and cold day...the team came back in the bottom of the 9th after a 7 run deficit and won the game. Lots of excitement....yahoo!
On to game two...all I can say is the following..."Cold...hand warmers....blankets...shivering..." That's it...game over at 7:30 pm after sitting in the cold conditions for hours after hours. With that, we were rewarded with a good outing by the big kid and lots of photos of a team that had the fashionable cow-attire. Did anyone who had selected the shirt consider that this was a major fashion faux pas?
As we waited in the parking lot for him to emerge from the locker room, I had the demented idea to move his car to another area. We had a key and wanted to play a practical joke....would he be receptive or want to kill us? Only time would tell....Out he comes and he does not see the car...thinking that it was towed, he has a meltdown until he sees it at the other end of the parking lot....good one, dad...I thought that I was towed and would need to borrow money to get it out of the impound lot. All is well, let's go to dinner....
We selected an Italian restaurant for the birthday girl and much to our surprise, our server went to pre school with Buddy....I remember the guy as a cute four year old with eye glasses bigger than his face. He still had the glasses but his face was obviously bigger. Buddy was clueless and said "Sure, we were friends, right?" (Not...but anyway). The kid lived down the street from us and attends college with the big leftie and works as a waiter in an amazing restaurant.
After the world's greatest dish of chicken Marsala, it was time to hit the turnpike. Today is day 3 of Tink Weekend, so there is more celebration ahead.
Enjoy the sunshine!
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