Coincidence? I don't think so.....

Good morning! Last night's game was postponed because the grounds crew forgot to leave the tarp on the field and as the rains came....the field was so wet that if anyone played on it, they would have ruined the turf. With that said, a night off for all.....



And so, Tink and I joined Betty, Scooby, and Big Sis and attended the Happy Together Tour at a local venue. The bands included Gary Lewis, Chuck Negron (Three Dog Night), a member from Grand Funk Railroad, Flo and Eddie from the Turtles, and Mitch Ryder. The singers were in great form as was the audience...OK, sort of. We were by far the youngest in the place. With good, functional hip joints, we were able to get out of our seats and dance. The rest of the audience....well, they kind of sat and enjoyed the concert. There were lots of canes and many trips to the bathroom by the guests, but on the whole, it was a nice group and the music was fun. It was a great way to spend a summer evening...music...family....venue....let's do it again (as the Beach Boys would sing). Honestly, it has been years since I last attended a concert.









No, it was not the Rolling Stones....Beatles.....Beyonce....it was Flo and Eddie...and guess what? We had an amazing time, although I am not sure about Tink since she texted all night. Yet, she says that she had fun....

Speaking of our Tink....this is weird, so let's ponder this event....

On the way to the concert, Tink was chatting away about everything....and I mean everything...so, sorry...sometimes, I tune out and figuratively change the radio station in my mind (sorry Tink)....but then, she said something that has me a bit freaked....

"Mom, you know my friend K at work? She has four children and an ex-husband....their names are....." I stop listening since the names are not important.....

"Well, they have this dog that had puppies....."

"Uh huh...." sigh

"There are ten of them....." sigh...welling up a bit

"They are maltese puppies...." a few tear balls fill the eyes...stop listening....now or I am going to blubber before the concert.

"Mom, they were born last Monday and one girl looks like Diva....." Get me a tissue, stat!

"Mom, don't cry...."

So, what she was saying was that her friend has a dog that had puppies that are malteses (like Diva) and were born on the day that she died (in my pathetic arms with me filling the room with enough tears to water the plants for a week)...what the heck?

Is this a sign? Am I reading too much into this story? Is it really true? Is this a coincidence or something that I need to look into? She was a dog, for crying out loud, yet, this is way over the top even for my crazed mind.

So, let's think.....the day Diva passed, these puppies were born....one looks like Diva. I can't...I won't.....it's too soon? Or is it? Am I supposed to follow up on this and get this Diva-look alike? If I don't, will I regret it when the Diva look alike is taken by another family? Now what? I am not ready....but if I pass up on this dog, am I passing up on fate? karma? kismet? Will I look at this dog and cry because she is not Diva?

I don't want another dog...yet I do....



I don't want another dog now.....yet I do....


I don't want my heart ripped out again....yet I do....



With that said, I need to get my head examined.....I have an acupuncture appointment in an hour, so I will have Needles stick a few extra pins in my head....perhaps my brain is scrambled.....now what?



Stay tuned....

Peace!

Pitching for the Home Crowd

Good morning! The day after the big homecoming and the sun is not shining but the natives are happy. Yesterday's game was terrific and the big guy poured on the steam....sort of.

I do believe that dad and I were watching two different games. he gave the big guy's performance a C+. On the other hand, I though he was more of a B. Why the variation? I guess dad expected more and I expected what I saw (which was fine).



Leading up to the start, I was naturally uneasy. Although I love to watch the kid pitch, you never know what you are going to see, so I live with a fluctuating level of anxiety which can hit its peak during an inning. Actually, there are scientific levels of anxiety which are located on a continuum from queasy to panic. My own BPM Theory of Anxiety is somewhat complex, but I tend to grade anxiety as follows:


Low level: uneasiness....water.....Skittles (small package)

Moderate level: leg tapping....arms moving....no food or drink...holding rosary...say little to me....

Panic: constant movement...saying the rosary.....prayers.....Snickers bars...no Skittles....don't talk to me.
 
The first item on the agenda was to get BP Grandmom and Grandpop to the game and not be late. So, I picked them up 90 minutes early to quell the high level of anxiety which was starting to percolate. I never know what traffic is going to be like or if I am going to find the field, so I leave early and naturally sit in either the stands or car until it is time to enter the stadium. I can catch warm ups and get a decent seat.

OK, so we were early, but they did not seem to mind. Unfortunately, I forgot the huge bag of Skittles in the pantry, so we were Skittle-less since there was no snack bar. This is fine, we toughed it out.

Then the family began to arrive....all of my siblings plus Cupcake and Big M made it to the game which warmed my heart as well as the big lefty.  Also in attendance were the Produce guys from Tink's supermarket. The big kid was thrilled to pitch before the home team and his posse. We actually had the most fans until a freshman from the area arrived in busloads. He has 11 siblings...countless relatives....and his ball team from high school came to the game. So, I assume that there were about 70 or so cheering this kid on. When I looked at the other side of the stadium (which is more of a field), there were 5 or 6 fans (school is out). The game's attendance was posted at 477 (95% were cheering for our team).

Anyway, the kid held the opposition to 1 run which could have been avoided if he had covered first base. Yet, he left the game with the score 1-5. It looked like a victory although it got dicey in the 8th and 9th inning when the opposing team scored 3 runs. The Czar went nuts in the dug out and screamed for several minutes. Yikes...I could only imagine what he does to the team after the game when no one is around.

With that said, the big guy got the win....yeah! Then he came out to see us and posed for photos. This is a far cry from freshman year when he never acknowledged his family and we pretended that we did not know him. Now, he tips his hat and waves.

After the game, he mentioned that he threw 70 pitches in warm ups until the pitching coach felt that he was ready. Hmmmm....some guys don't throw that amount of balls in a game let alone warm ups. SO, he was pitching in a hole when he finally took the mound.

He also had to lift and do heavy squats. When he complained about lifting before pitching in the fall, the Czar screamed at him. So, he had to lift and his legs were shot before he got to the mound, yet he prevailed. Anyone who knows anything about training and anatomy and physiology would laugh if you told them that the kids have to lift before pitching. They need to rest their muscles not tire them. Anyway, Friday's starter hurt his back yesterday when he was doing the squats. Great....Doesn't anyone listen or read a book here? Sheesh....

And so, it looks like the guy's junior year is over and he has overcome quite a few roadblocks. After yesterday's game, the Czar said to him "the mental toughness game has worked for you." OK, if you want the truth....what has worked for the big lefty is that he has been doing his Texas work outs behind the Czar's back at night when no one is around. You see....mental toughness is important...but strategic arm care is more important, 'cause you can be the toughest SOB out there, but if your arm hurts or is not flexible...then you have nothing to give.

This will make a great story in the future. For now, we have to keep it to ourselves knowing that people with the big jobs often do not know what they are doing.....

Have a great day!

Peace!

A Silver Lining

I am back from the Y....had to stretch after traveling all weekend, so I limped to a Pilates and yoga class. That's right. I sat through 2 different classes and am happy that I did. My joints and muscles have been stretched back to normal. I don't know about you, but it seems that there is less space allotted for legs in air planes.

 

Therefore, I spent the weekend with my knees next to my ears. The body is not a big fan of sitting this way, but my sweet little yogi helped to work out the knots. It was worth the effort of getting there.

And where did I leave off yesterday...hmmm...oh right...not a great performance....although not a bad one either.....

Here we go....

Create this image in your mind.....we are basically in the middle of the Midwest. There is nothing there....no Starbucks....pizza parlors....nail salons...nothing until you hit one of the cities. We drove hours without finding a bathroom or coffee....how about a Dunkin Donuts? Nope. Lots of farms....which is good...we need the corn...I personally like the hybrid corn. The genius farmer who invented it has made my summers all the sweeter.....

Back to the game....we are in the middle of no where...then we see the stadium. It is gorgeous and looks like a minor league stadium. Since the elevation is flat, the wind was not blocked and it whipped and whipped. Although the temperature was in the 60's, it felt like 40's, so I shivered from the cold and nerves.

Although he promised, the big guy did not leave us tickets. Giving him a break, he did not know that we were coming until the day before the game which probably meant that it was too late. Nonetheless, we got into the stadium, but had standing room only tickets. The seats were filled with the locals. I saw very few college students in the stadium. These people loved their baseball. It was obvious as EVERYONE was wearing the team colors. I have seen this type of fan loyalty with most pro football and baseball games, but never in college baseball. So, with a sea of red blanketing the stadium, I stood by the first base line next to a pillar and snapped photos of the big Sunday start.

As I mentioned yesterday, we gave the performance a "C" for performance but an "A" for grit and determination. Why?

Well...the opposing team was a powerhouse and ranked high. Their team batting average was in the .300's which means they are on base every third bat. The night before the game, one of Buddy's team mates stopped him and asked him to keep the game close. Huh? Close? We're going to win. What is he talking about? Close? Not us....going for a win...close is for losers.

I agree. A person especially a pitcher cannot go into a game thinking that he is going to lose and his only goal is to  keep the game close. What kind of mental toughness is that? The positive part of this thought was that my guy was not rolling over and waiting to be spanked by an opposing team. He gets angry and takes it out on the ball and batter. Mental toughness, indeed....

OK, back to the first inning. He threw....and threw...and threw...and threw.....The opposing team kept hitting the ball...foul...foul....ball...foul....strike....foul....foul....foul.....foul....He threw 40 pitches to 4 batters. By the end of the second inning, he had thrown 60 pitches! How did I know this stat? Well, the man sitting on the picnic bench next to me was listening to the broadcast of the game and mentioned it to the guys next to him. Sixty? oy...I knew right then, he was not going to last past the third or fourth inning. Throw...hit...throw...foul...throw....

When he left the game, the score was 3-1 with his team leading the game. He left men on 1st and 3rd. When the new pitcher entered the game, he coughed up 5 runs! My kid, although he threw 100 pitches in 3 and 1/3 innings held the opposing team to 1 run (even though the relief pitcher cashed in the two runs on the base), I walked away knowing that even when the big guy does not have his best stuff, he will NEVER, EVER back down. He will stand there all day and throw and battle.





And so, this is where I am impressed. He never backed off the fight. This team had 20 hits on Friday night. They only had three with my son despite his throwing 100 pitches. This is where I see hope for his future. When he was pulled out of the game, the fans applauded...loudly....they appreciated his effort because they understand baseball and knew what a job he had done.

Although he only last 3+ innings, we had to run, because when a pitcher throws 100 pitches, the innings are LONG and we had to catch a plane in KC. Along the road, I was tinkering with the radio and found the game on the local station, so we listened the the game until the signal was lost.

After the game, we started to receive the text messages.....

"Garbage. I screwed myself over"
"I sucked"
"If I throw a g-d strike we win"
"I could have killed them if they weren't squatting it up"
"I should not have let it get to that point. I could have won it easy"
"*&% away the shot to go again. I flat out sucked"
"I'm just mad because I was better than them. I beat me"

"Not getting back to campus until 6am...."

Ok, those were the actual text messages sent to us (modified a bit for a "G" rating).

The reality is that he did not have the best stuff. But even his crappy stuff was enough to keep the opposing team in check. If he had pitched against the lame teams that they played earlier, he would have no hitted them with his abilities.

It took several hours to settle down as we continued to chat and receive texts. He needed to vent. We were happy to receive them but never indulged a woe-is-me attitude. The silver lining of this gray cloud is that he battled, fought, and won a moral victory (which means that the team lost). Dewey watched the game and texted him with the statement "You belong..."

And yes...he does. Out of all of the team's pitchers, he held the beast down long enough for the relief pitcher to blow the game.

I am happy for him, although he does not feel a sense of accomplishment. I can understand. When a competitor loses, it is not 'pretty'. If he walked off the mound and said 'yep, I am good', then I would have wondered about his psyche. The bottom line is for him to learn from what worked and what did not work then move on to the next foe.

By the way, the team got back to campus at 5:30 am. Several guys had 8 am exams since it is finals week.
 

The big lefty had a paper, presentation, and final exam too. What kind of university allows their athletes who are supposed to be students first travel like this? I am pretty confident that the big kid did not ace his final. But he did his best....well done.

Gotta fold laundry.

Peace!