And Another Season Is Over!

You win a few, you lose a few. Some get rained out. But you got to dress for all of them.
~ Satchel Paige

Fall ball isn't supposed to be taken seriously. And really, how can you when four of your games are rained out?

Thankfully, the games were close to home this weekend. I knew before heading to the fields that we were probably not going to be playing, but since I hadn't got a call telling me they were off, I headed out.

When I got to the fields, the boys were all under the tent that one of the parents had set up over the bench, and all the parents were huddled under the pavilion sipping their coffee. Everyone was just waiting for someone to call the game.

I think after 60 regular season games, plus playoffs and tourneys, everyone was baseballed out. I don't think anyone was upset that the games were called at all.

So I hopped back into my car, came home and relaxed with a book on a rainy day. Sometimes, even plans that get messed up happen for the best!

Until later...

Leisurely Afternoons

Baseball is for the leisurely afternoons of summer and for the unchanging dreams.
~ Roger Kahn

So Sunday was Mr. A's birthday and also a full day of baseball. It was a very warm, very wonderful fall afternoon, reminiscent of an early summer day. And how better for Mr. A to spend his birthday, but doing the one thing he loves best in the world, but baseball?

The first game was fun to watch. The boys were all at a peak playing mindset and enjoying what they were doing. It showed in their bats, in their gloves, in their overall performance. Mr. A had a good game at the plate and in the field.

The second game was a hardship to watch. The other team was atrocious. Truly, I'm being kind when I say that. We walked more than we did anything. We surrendered the plate all of the innings, as we'd hit the seven run rule each inning. As a birthday present, Coach R let Mr. A pitch, and he did quite well. Not up to his standards, but then, he never does play up to his standards. But well enough, that he didn't let any runs cross the plate.

I truly didn't think that game was ever going to end. Coach R even told the other team that we'd just take 3 outs one inning instead of batting, to try to make it go faster. At some point, you just have to, kwim?

So we left the fields Sunday with a record of 4-0 for fall ball. Pretty good for a team that really hadn't played together before the start of the season.

Until later...

Walk In The Rain

Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.
~ Roger Miller

This past weekend we celebrated Mr. A's birthday with my parents and my grandmother. We were instructed to bring the Wii over, so that Greatma could take on the boys and show them up in bowling. What a hoot!

Saturday before Bugaboo's game, I made Mr. A's pie. The filling was simple, and the crust came together wonderfully...until I tried to roll it out and put it into the pie plate. What a disaster! But it had a wonderful taste, and Mr. A loved it, so that's what matters.

Sunday dawned quite grey and gloomy, but the rains were supposed to hold off until the second game. Mr. A and I left early, leaving Bugaboo with my parents and grandma...they were to follow later.

We got to the field and Mr. A and his team started warming up. The first games were about finished, when the drizzle started. The rest of the family showed up, and the rain just started coming. My parents were worried about grandma getting sick, so they left before the Mr. A's game really got underway.

Now, we played in rain for most of the spring, so this wasn't out of the ordinary, but it just kept coming. In the first inning, the boys played well, bringing in three runs, and overall showing that they were the better team. They had a nice hotbox play between second and third, with the left and center fielders coming in to help out. It was a thing of beauty!

Bugaboo was beyond pissy about being out in the rain, so I sent him back to the car so I didn't have to hear his whining. At least one of us was going to be slightly dry.

In the second inning, one of our players got hit in the elbow and just about fell to the ground in pain. I learned over the summer that this player is a big baby when it comes to being hurt, so I wasn't too horribly worried, and given how he acted when he got out of the rain, well, I was right.

The coaches and the umps had a 15 minute conference about the state of the field. The batter's box was filling up with rain, and the pitcher's mound was so slippery, the pitchers skidded when they planted their front foot. So they finally called the game.

By the time Mr. A and I got to the car, we were so wet, I didn't think we'd every dry out, or get warm. The rest of the team was going out to eat, but there was no way I was going out the way I felt. So we headed home.

I don't mind a nice walk in a soft drizzle, but watching a baseball game wet to the bone? Not my favorite thing. Ah well, there's always next weekend.

Until later...

Blending Effortlessly

A coach's main job is to reawaken a spirit in which the players can blend together effortlessly.
~ Phil Jackson

Sunday was Mr. A's first fall ball double header. First, let me just say that I never knew that baseball for kids could last as long as baseball for the pros. Is it October yet?

Mr. A played on the "B" team this summer. For the most part, the boys that he played with have talent and love the game. It was a good fit for Mr. A, his first time out for travel ball. He had a wonderful season, stepping up and making himself invaluable to the team. The team went to State, missed the championship game of the league by 2 runs and Mr. A was elected to the All-Star team. And I thought baseball was over.

Then, the words "fall ball" entered our vocabulary, and Mr. A decided that playing fall ball was better than even thinking about playing football. Fall ball is supposed to be more laid back than regular ball. The boys are told to look on it as a spring training of sorts, and to practice the things that they wanted to do during the regular season, but were unable to, due to the needs of their team.

Not all of the boys who play regular ball end up playing fall ball. And that's where the coaches come in. They need to take 13 boys who love the game, and are good at it, and blend them effortlessly into a team that can go out and play together.

The fall ball coaches, based on just one double header, seem to have done that. There are five boys from Mr. A's regular team and eight boys from the "A" team on the fall ball team. They seem to play well together. Well enough that they won both of their games on Sunday.

I didn't see a huge difference in the abilities of the boys on the "B" team and the boys on the "A" team. It appears to be one of those "it's who you know" things that land you on the "A" team. Since this was the first year that Mr. A played ball with his classmates, being on the "B" team was apparently a given. Our coaches from the regular season have said that four of our boys have a legitimate chance to move up to the "A" team next year. Part of me hopes that happens for Mr. A, as he really wants it, but the rest of me almost hopes that he stays on the "B" team, as I know the coaches and think that ultimately, he'd have a better year. We'll see what happens.

For now, I'm enjoying watching the blend of these two teams, and while I might wish to be sitting in my warm house the next five Sundays as fall descends on the Hinterlands with a vengeance, Mr. A enjoys it too much for me to not.

Until later...

It's Tourney Time....

Don't tell me about the world. Not today. It's springtime and they're knocking baseballs around fields where the grass is damp and green in the morning and the kids are trying to hit the curve ball.

~ Pete Hamill

Until later...