Self Criticism

So I’ve given a wrap-up for the players, for the league, and now it’s time to turn inward. I am going to mostly talk about me here and pretty much ignore Steve. This isn’t to demean his contributions, or to suggest he was perfect or awful, but mostly because I feel like I am in no position to evaluate my co-coach. So if I use I or me, I’m talking exclusively about me, and if I use we or our, I’m talking about the collective effort of me and Steve.

Looking back on the season, I’m not really sure what to think. I admit that I feel a certain amount of insecurity about my baseball coaching skills. And so the fact that we lost so much? That didn’t help.

There are certain aspects of my performance that I’m very pleased about. I’ve played on winning teams, but I’ve played on more losing teams then winning teams. And I’ve seen a team give up and stop caring. And I’ve seen teams that continued to fight all the way despite losing. So I’m proud of the way our team played this season. Considering that this was a bunch of 9-12 year olds they very clearly could have given up and packed it in. Now, I won’t lie. After that Red Sox playoff game I know several players did pack it in. And there were bits of defeatism at other points in the season. However, with the time off by the time Sunday came around they were ready to fight again. And I know Steve and I deserve credit for that.

Further, I know that we made a difference, at least for a time, in the lives of several of our players: Avi, Bobby, and Trey. Before this week I wouldn’t have put Trey on that list, but he happened to be riding his bike by my house as I was reading and so he stopped and talked. And in his own way, simply because this kid will never be a fountain of emotions, it was clear that Trey had a lot of respect for me. So that was cool. Avi and Bobby I’ve talked about before. You hear a common refrain in teaching how they hope to really just impact one kid and that’s good enough. Well that’s never been good enough for me. However, I do give us credit for the way we handled the social aspect of the team.

But then again, what we did is my minimum expectation. I don’t know how to write this without sounding like a braggart, but it’s important in understanding where I’m coming from here. I have been told by many people who have years of experience in the area that I have a “gift” for dealing with kids. I think I often get more credit then I deserve, but it does mean that I have a certain expectation for my performance in this area. So, I would say that I all I did was meet those expectations.

Also in the plus column is our devotion to fairness. We are scrupulous about following the rules and even go above and beyond them during the regular season, for the most part. This sort of dovetails with the point above, but I feel good about how we conducted ourselves. Even in games with unexpected no shows, I worked hard to follow the rules, and our unofficial rules, to the letter and always succeeded. This is very important to me and so again I have a very high minimum expectation and I feel like that was met, though not really exceeded.

On the field managing, I feel once again got stronger as the season went on. I haven’t grown as much here as I’d like, simply because I’ve had no one to push me here or to learn from, as this simply isn’t one of Steve’s strengths. I still have a bit to go to reach the level of where I want to be, but give me a passing grade for the area. I’m continuing to make progress, simply not at the rate at which I’d like.

But that brings me to the area of player development. And this is where I just don’t know what to say. I simply don’t have the experience or background to say how good of a job I did. And so looking at the results it would suggest that I did none too hot. Of course, the team was bad to start with, so maybe Steve and I just got bum luck this year. All I have to compare is our team last year and our team this year. And looking at the base talent of the two years we’re not even in the same ballpark. The team I had last year was more gifted then this year’s team. But that still doesn’t let me off the hook. And that’s because we didn’t have a player “breakout” this year. Last year there were a couple who made significant and noticeable strides in all parts of play. And we simply didn’t have that this year. And so I can’t help but think that perhaps the extra coach last year was the difference. I mean I know this guy was a great hitting coach and so perhaps holding myself to that standard isn’t fair. But it’s the only comparison I have to make.

The two areas where we really focused our energies this year were fielding and pitching. In fielding, there is no doubt that we got significantly better as the season went on. However, all teams get better. So, did we make more progress then the average team? I just don’t know. I do know that we didn’t do enough with hitting this year. I have some ideas of things we can do better next year. For instance, we should be doing soft toss before every game. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the game for which we did soft toss beforehand was also the game we played the best.

As for pitching? Well, I think I did an OK job here. Was I great? No. But I don’t think I gave “bad” coaching to any of our players though again I wonder how much help I really was. But, “first do no harm” is a pretty good philosophy for a coach in a house league environment and on that level I guess I was fine as a pitching coach.

What this all means is that I am going to continue to seek ways to improve myself. I did a lot of self study and work to be a better coach this year then last year and I will continue to try and find opportunities to improve myself. I just found a website which offers online courses in coaching youth baseball and I plan on completing that. I don’t know how worthwhile it’ll be, but they also certify coaches for high school coaching (though not online) so I figure it’ll be worth the time and money. If I find other ways to improve my skills I’ll do it as well and hopefully it’ll be enough.

All of this introspection does obscure something important. I do this to have fun. And while all the losing was VERY rough on me, I did have fun. The kids I was working with mostly had fun as well. And so on those levels? This season was an unqualified success. Except for all the qualifications listed above.

And with that I wrap-up my year of baseball.

The Letter

So when we last left the narrative I am slinking away from the field, feeling, well, defeated. We have given out the awards, which I know were meaningful for the team, something I’m not sure I was fully able to convey here.

The good news is that Steve has committed to doing this again next year. And so I start thinking about next year. So on Monday morning, first thing I do is send off an email to Libby.

In this email I do two things. First, I suggest a schedule of practices and games that is somewhat between last season’s all games and this season’s 2 and 1. The schedule I suggest is:
Week 1 - Practices (Like this year)
Weeks 2-5 Two games and one practice (Like this year)
Weeks 6-9 Switch to practicing once every other week (Creating two extra games)
Week 10 - Games
Week 11 - Playoffs
The idea being that additionally in Weeks 10 or 11 there could be a rain makeup day as well.

This schedule would actually create 3 extra games as it would eliminate a second practice that came in Week 2. Further the idea of doing a rain make up day in Week 10 or 11, and if there are no rainouts using that as a practice day instead, seems like something that would be nice. We had more rainouts this year then last, but it seems like acknowledging that games will be canceled in the schedule seems like a wise move.

Now while that’s the bulk of the email, the second line (after thanking her for her work) read “As an FYI, I am planning on sending letters to the Park District Commissioners, which while touching on a couple of other areas, is focused on the idea of keeping kids from the same grade together for the two years they are in Triple A, Majors, or Pony"

Now, I’m not sure if I had mentioned this before, or not, but Libby has an “auto response” which sends you an email saying that she got your email and will get back to you with-in 24 hours. If you recall she basically ignored several emails from Steve and I so that was a complete joke. However, out of courtesy, I did wait 24 hours before sending off my letter to the Park District Commissioners, with a CC to the Executive Director of the Park District. That email reads as follows:

Dear Commissioner (Insert Commissioner’s name here),

My name is Barkeep49 and I am would like to take this opportunity to give you some feedback on the Boys Majors (5th and 6th grade) baseball program. For the last two seasons I have coached, along with my friend Steve XXXX, a team in the league. While we are far too young to have any children play we do it because we enjoy working with youth and think baseball is fun.

The idea that playing sports should be fun is a philosophy that is certainly embraced by the Park District staff. This combined with the idea that each player should have the opportunity to grow their skills, forms the backbone of the Majors’ philosophy, in accordance with the Park District’s overall goals. The staff have done an excellent job of setting up a league which promotes these ideas. Perhaps the staff’s strongest moment came when they discovered that several coaches were not following rules regarding playing time. They took immediate and swift action to address the problem.

Unfortunately, other communication was not always so swift. From our own experience, and from talking to others, Steve and I know that emails were often ignored. At one point we even requested a meeting with a Park District staff member and gave several times which would work. This email was one of several that were ignored.

One area where feedback has not been ignored, however, is in the attempt to put together fair teams. This has proven to be a problem, we know, not just in Majors but in Triple A and Pony as well. I have seen this first hand, with our team last year having a third of the players on the team play travel baseball and our team this year which did not have nearly the same strength in our best players. In several nearby suburbs the Park Districts and Athletic Associations have found a solution to this problem which also fits in perfectly with the Park District’s philosophy.

The idea is that players of the same grade move up together as a team with-in a league. So, for instance, the players we have who are 5th graders this year would be the 6th graders on our team next year. They would be joined by kids who are 4th graders this year and who would come from many different Triple A teams. This provides numerous benefits with only a few drawbacks. First, it rewards coaches who invest time in developing all players’ skills. For instance, this year we had a player who wanted desperately to play catcher, but whose skills were lacking. Throughout the season Steve and I worked with this young man so that by the end of the season he was able to be a productive catcher for us. I know that next year, when he is in 6th grade, he will be a regular catcher for whatever team he is on. While I can’t wait to see how he catches next year when we play his team, I have to admit that it is frustrating to know that some other team is going to benefit from the hard work we have done this year.

Furthermore, time is wasted every year getting to know our players. While under the plan you would still have to get to know half a team (or slightly more if some players didn’t return to the league) this is far more manageable then trying to learn the skills and talents of a full roster. Just as important as our getting to know the players, is the players getting to know each other. This speaks to one of the drawbacks of this system. Players would not meet as many kids as before. While having the opportunity to meet different kids is important, more important is the relationship that the players form once they’ve met. It can take a full season for a squad to come together as a team, even when teamwork and team comrade is a major focus. Therefore, by the time they come together, and start to form meaningful relationships, the season is over and they might not see some of these peers again until high school. It seems like it would be far more rewarding to know that the peers you have met and grown to like are going to be your teammates again come next spring. Also by having half of your squad return, it encourages leadership. The 6th graders already know what the expectations of the coaches are and can help set the right tone for the younger players.

The other major potential criticism of this system is that some players would still have 2 coaches as the coaches move up in leagues with their children. Even this is not as bad as it first seems, as there are quite a few siblings who are 2 years apart (on our team alone there were 4 different kids who had a sibling two grades younger than them). With many coaches coaching in multiple leagues this means that as one child graduates to the next league, the coach could simply stay with the same team as a younger child would join it. Furthermore, even if a player had two different coaches, they are no worse off then they are today, while still experiencing many of the same positive social and leadership aspects that this program would offer.

I thank you for your time and consideration by reading this letter and also thank you for the jobs you do in helping Highland Park have such an excellent recreation program.

Sincerely,
Barkeep49

Now if you remember, this email came about because of a conversation I had with Kevin, a park district employee. He had told me about the idea of keeping kids on the same team, I liked it, and he told me it was the Park District Commissioners who vetoed the idea. I didn’t really know what to expect after sending this letter. I am very familiar with how a local school district operates, and letters such as mine are generally sent to the circular file.

I sent this letter at around 7:30 AM, before I left for work. By 12 o’clock I had received 3 replies. By 4:30, 4 of the 5 Commissioners, plus the Executive Director, had sent me replied. What was interesting was that the Commissioners focused on. In a 900+ word letter I spent 56 words on lack of response from Libby which so irked me and Steve. But yet that was the point that all of the board members latched onto in their responses. It was very interesting.

Of the responses, I liked the Executive Director’s the best as he was the only one to address the letter in a holistic sense. He promised that he would get back to me soon with a longer reply and that the email would be passed on to the staff.

Overall I am quite pleased with the response I’m getting. And then I get the phone call. I’m driving in my car so I don’t see the caller id before picking it up and so I am a little surprised when I hear the voice of Libby’s boss, Michael. The email has been forwarded to him and he would like to have a meeting along with “Dave”. I have no clue who “Dave” is so I ask Michael and he asks someone what Dave’s title is before telling me that he doesn’t know Dave’s title but Dave is his boss. OOOOOOOOK then.

So thinking this over, I ponder what this meeting is going to be. I feel confident heading into it, but have no clue what they’re going after. Someone suggests that perhaps they’re building up a case against Libby to try and fire her. That thought makes me uncomfortable. Someone else suggests that they’re going to be very annoyed with me. I partially think this too, and so I print out all the correspondence Steve and I had with Libby this year and focus on what I feel the strongest points of the proposed system of keeping teams together are.

The day of the meeting comes. I go to the Park District Head Quarters not really knowing what to expect. When I get to the center no one really knows where Dave is, and since Michael’s office is in a different building, it’s very unclear where the meeting is. So I sort of loiter around in the sports wing hoping it’s the right place to be. Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal as I would just whip out my phone and play some Tetris, but my phone’s battery is nearly dead and I don’t want to risk it dying on me. A few minutes after the time we were supposed to meet, Michael comes out and escorts me into a conference room.

It’s the moment of truth. Dave, will be joining us shortly, but Michael kicks off the meeting without him. I can see in front of him a little sheet with Pro and Con written and things written beneath it. Sure enough he kicks off the meeting discussing the idea of keeping kids on the same team. I can tell right off the bat that he’s not going for it. Now mind you, this means I was a bit misled as I was informed by Kevin that the staff was behind it but it was the commissioners who put the kibosh on it.

Now either Michael is worn down or he’s not my greatest fan. I’m choosing option B. However, a few minutes into the meeting, Dave comes in and the whole tenor changes. When it was just Michael and I it was polite but there wasn’t any real excitement. Dave makes it clear right off the bat that he was just blown away by the fact that Steve and I volunteer our time. While Michael was just talking about the idea because he had to, Dave was more interested in discussing the idea. And in the end their opinion didn’t change.

Their essential argument was this: it would cause nearly as many problems as it would create. What I failed to take into account in my initial email was pushy parents. Basically their argument was that if a team was bad in the first year, they would demand to have their child moved in the second year. And if they didn’t like the coach they would demand to be moved in the second year. This being the city that it is, the Park District would basically have to accede to the request, as well. They also said, at first, that it wouldn’t make for “fairer” teams in terms of talent allocation, but I think I won them over on that point.


While most of the meeting was spent on the idea of keeping the players on the same team, we did touch the area of communication. Basically Michael said that he wished he had been made aware of the issue. In retrospect I wish we had done this and conceded that this was a fair point and agreed to do this in the future. The reason we didn’t is the comments we’ve heard about Michael not really caring about the things that go on. However, that’s not really an excuse and was a definite mistake on our part. However, this was not a huge focus of the meeting, which is just as well. What was a big focus was the main thrust of my letter, and Dave’s love fest for me and Steve.

So in the end, the meeting didn’t accomplish what I had hoped. Sure they claim that they would discuss it again in the spring, but I don’t really think that they’ll do anything. But I’m very happy with it anyway. Very happy. First, regardless of how they put together the teams for next year, I have a feeling that Steve and I will not have a crappy team. Frankly, though, that’s the least of it. My biggest problem this season was feeling marginalized. Perhaps, this wasn’t entirely fair as Libby was more dropping the ball universally. But from the start of the season when up until 10 days before the first practice, Steve and I weren’t even sure if we were going to have a team to a coach, to the way Libby ignored us all season, to the fact that we couldn’t get the same weather updates and mailings, was all very frustrating. And I think that this whole affair will ensure that Steve and I won’t be casually pushed aside. Short of some kind of major safety issue, I also can’t see the need to ever contact the board again, which is a good thing.

And so thus ended the little post season excitement (a better word then drama). In my wrap up post I am going to take a sort of look at the season as a whole and judging my own performance. Thanks for the patience you’ve had, both in general, and for reading through this post.

End of Season Awards

When I last left you we had just shook the hands of the Braves at whose hands our season had ended. I am quite upset, and Steve is just stunned, as we get the team to get their stuff and go to a place near the diamond so we can do our end of season stuff.

Steve and I each make speeches. I know I babbled some with the kids, something I don’t do often owing to the fact that I’m a teacher and so have lots of practice at being concise at making my point. The basic theme of my talk was just how proud I was of the team, and proud was a word I think I must have used a bazillion times during the speech. But, despite everything, it was how I felt.

We then handed out awards. This seems like as good of a place as any to do a wrap up of the team. For comparison’s sake I’m going to post what we said in presenting the award, what my final private take was (which sometimes matches up) and what I said at the start of the season by way of comparison (which I’m only looking at AFTER I give my Eval). Steve and I alternated awards. You’ll see that I remember more of what I said then what he said.

Jodi Jackie Robinson Award (Me)
Presentation There is one player on our team who exhibited all of the characteristics of this person. They showed great poise. They played second base and broke down barriers. To Jodi we give the Jackie Robinson Award

My Eval Jodi never made the full transition from softball to baseball. She is a gamer, that’s for sure. But the hitting, despite a good start, never really came through for her. I know Dad put a lot of pressure on her, which is too bad as well. I know she’s having a good travel season from seeing mom at the library, which I’m happy to hear.

She’s clearly talented, but without ever being at a practice it will limit her opportunities on this team.


Brendan The Down and Dirty Award (Steve)
Presentation I said that if a player that if a player isn’t messy at the end of a game they haven’t played baseball. This guy really showed the meaning of that and came a long way this season. To Brendan we give the Down and Dirty Award

My Eval This kid is a great kid and a great guy to have on the team, as he’s a team player. I really do think the progress he’s made this year at catcher will help him tremendously next year. His batting was still clearly in need of improvement though as his pitch selection, more then mechanics, was poor.

Brendan – Will be our #2 catcher behind Jesse and shows promise as a catcher. There is a big drop off in talent we perceive between Everett and Brandan. He does not have very good plate discipline/eye but he can make contact with balls outside the strike zone, which in this league can often turn into errors.

Fuller Scott Rolen Award
Presentation It isn’t every year that you find someone so perfectly suited for a position. We were lucky to have that this year. We knew that when this guy was playing we were in good hands and so to Fuller goes the Scott Rolen Award

My Eval You’ll never have a good team without kids like Fuller. He wasn’t the best player, but he could come through in the clutch in both the field and at bat. Flyballs were definitely not his strong suit, but he could catch and throw nicely and had several good at bats, though he never did make it as a catcher for us.

We’re in the dregs of the lineup here. Continues to want to catch, despite not really having very good skill so he’ll get a couple chances early on, but for Saturday’s game is scheduled to catch the 6th inning so he’ll likely not see action.

Avi Greg Maddox Award

Presentation This guy might not have had overpowering stuff but he could get it over the plate consistently and get outs. To Avi we give the Greg Maddox award

My Eval It will be interesting to see how/if he pitches next year. Statistically, he comes off better then perhaps he deserves because fortunately he normally faced the ends of lineups. By the end of the season he was a definite part of the team (even if he wouldn’t win any popularity awards) which was great to see happen. The kid is a bit of a head case which effects his playing.

This is the biggest question mark. If he had been around, as a Hebrew kid he’s only been to 1 of 3 practices, he could have earned a higher spot. He’s going to be pitching the second inning so he’ll have an early shot to impress us.

Kelvin Ichiro Award

Presentation Just like his namesake he might not hit home runs, but he certainly got on base a lot with some great speed. To Kelvin we give the Ichiro Award

My Eval I still don’t know how he got on base as much as he did. This kid saw perhaps the greatest improvement in his hitting mechanics on our team and they were still terrible. But he ran hard every play. Was a real struggle on where to place in the field as he lacked good skills in throwing, catching, or fielding groundballs or flyballs. I chuckle that he got so much time at firstbase considering he can’t catch the ball, but instead I was deceived because he never really missed a throw either, instead he’d get his glove on it and not really catch it. Gotta love the hustle though.

Poor kid has no hand eye coordination I think as his mechanics have improved a lot already and he still can’t hit anything thrown to him. It’s a shame we didn’t get to bunting.

Jim Love of the Game Award (Steve just in case you forgot)

Presentation Baseball is a fun game and this kid was always enjoyed playing baseball. To Jim we give the Love of the Game Award

My Eval His bat came alive towards the end of the season, which was good to see. He certainly was a gamer, though his emotions could get the better of him. I hope the poor kid grows some as he will likely continue to suffer with what he (and his parents) perceive his skill to be and what the skill actually is, especially in terms of pitching.

Frankly this is a bit of a risk as he’s really not all that great of a hitter. Steve and I feel, however, that he will be patient at the plate. And so he will get on base because even our travel pitcher, Trey, had a hell of a time pitching low enough to him. He’s got pretty good speed for his size and so we feel he’ll do a nice job of setting the table. At worse, he’s simply become thought of as the bottom of lineup instead of the top. I mentioned before that he said he pitched last year. Today he looked much better and of the pitchers we looked at today was BY far the most consistent at getting the ball over the plate. I feel he’ll be a strong role pitcher for us: someone who won’t be one of our go to pitchers, especially with the relaxing of the pitching rules, but someone who will see an inning every 2 or 3 games. Come play-off time having someone who can take innings is huge so, this is great.

Ethan Most Improved Award

Presentation I don’t remember what Steve said but it focused on his improved fielding

My Eval His batting never came alive, despite seeing flashes of great potential. If we would have had another month, he easily could have been an all star, as I am sure his batting would finally have started to click again, just as his fielding did. Heck with more time he could have even been a usable pitcher, who knows. Frankly, more could have been done, but soccer was his priority so considering the situation we had, I feel pretty good about what we accomplished.

Couldn’t hit Trey even when he was lobbing them in. Needs work in a million areas. I can’t decide if keeping his eye on the ball, or “dancing feet” (he’ll literally spin himself around, despite wearing cleats) is the bigger problem. Dancing feet is the more important one though so it’s where we’ll start. Also has huge focus issues in the field. He literally took off his glove during the “game”. This will not be good. Not good at all. I wish we could make him last, but sadly that honor, based on skill, goes to:

Bobby Team Spirit Award

Presentation Steve and I always stress how important the idea of a team is and there was always one guy who could be counted on to be out there encouraging his team mates. A guy who would start a cheer on the bench. Or who would say his now famous words “C’mon, why isn’t anyone talking to the pitcher?” To Bobby we give the Team Spirit Award

My Eval Bobby turned into an above average player for us. I was very pleased at where his pitching ended up, after a lot of hard work. He was a guy we could plug comfortably into any position and he would do a good job. Perhaps our best player mentally as I can’t think of him ever making more then an insignificant lapse in the field, at bat, or on the basepaths. As I said before he told us it was his best season, so I’m happy to have been a part of it.

Bobby – Had an extended chance to pitch today and could not locate the strike zone with a live batter in there, though he did fare better against righties then lefties, so he’ll be getting an inning Saturday. He muffed an infield groundball and an outfield ground ball. Not good.

Everett Mark Burhle Award

PresentationEvery team needs to have a jokester and Everett certainly was ours. To Everett we give the Mark Burhle Award I piped in here and said “And he was a darn good pitcher too

My Eval This kid will be one of the stars of the league next year. He did a lot of innings for us behind the plate as well. After a great start his hitting went into a bit of a slump. His pitching was great stuff even if the numbers didn’t always show it. His decision making in the field could be suspect which is the only weakness in this five tool player.

Continues to be our best hitter. Hopefully Trey and Jim will setup some good situations for him.

Percy Cal Ripken Award

Presentation There was only one player who was there for every minute of every game and every practice. This was a player who did everything we asked of him without complaint. Even when feel sick and injured, he gutted through to play for us in the first game of the playoffs. To Percy we give the Cal Ripken Award.

My Eval We loved Percy. Another gamer. I wish we had known how good of a catcher he was earlier on. This is another kid who should do very well for any team he’s on next year.

I’ve been underwhelmed with this supposed travel kid. He’ll keep getting opportunities for the moment but I feel very good about the decision to put him here in the batting order.

This was the 6th position in the lineup


Jesse Carelton Fisk Award

Presentation Something about how he was a great hitter and a terrific catcher.

My Eval What a kid. A great hitter. One of the best catchers in the league. Not a whole lot to say, but he was one of our favorites this year.

Our #1 catcher. Really gets the leadership aspect. He kept saying to the team to encourage the pitcher today. It was great. He and Trey clearly have clicked already as a battery which is great considering he is the only one I am sure can catch him

Trey Roger Clemens Award

Presentation Statistically this was our best pitcher we’ve had in the two years we’ve done this. This was someone who was averaging 2 strike outs an inning. Here’s someone who I was glad was on our team. To Trey we give the Roger Clemens Award

My Eval I wish he hadn’t gotten into such a batting slump. His father is an interesting character. I’m glad we didn’t play on that Saturday as I now have a very good final memory of him rather then a bitter one. Hopefully one day he won’t put so much pressure on himself, but there’s no doubt that this kid can play.

Trey will be our starting pitcher and our workhorse. He can really fire the ball in. He also has a very nasty rising fastball that he over used today in our game. High strikes simply are not consistently called in the league, so I will be encouraging him to use it as more of a “strikeout pitch” as kids will swing at it. As a batter he’s certainly one of our best, but does not overly impress me.

After the awards ceremony the parents presented Steve and I with a gift card to Lettuce Entertain You restaurants, a group of restaurants that all different but nicer, and a Starbucks card. It was really nice of them. And with that people went on their way. We got several more thank yous, but the season was over.

So I think there are two more posts left to write about, with the next one being some post season drama.

Playoffs vs Braves

Unlike the last update I am writing this with the benefit of the scorebook in front of me, so I have more firm and detailed information, besides my own memory.

Steve and I arrived to the field early. We thought the coaches of the Braves were good guys and so we were happy to be playing them. Our team was all reasonably prompt in arriving, except for Brendan. With the rescheduling, we had received confirmation that everyone was going to be there except for Kelvin, so Steve and I made a lineup that had no Kelvin. With Brendan not arriving, it meant some changes, as Brendan could play Centerfield, something Kelvin isn’t as well suited for considering his lack of throwing power. So that is my curveball. Overall, the team is relaxed, which is good.

We win the coin toss and get ready to go out in the field. We send Trey to the mound first, deciding that we don’t want to mess around. The pitching lineup caused a lot of consternation for Steve and I. This was furthered by the fact that Percy has truly come into his own as a catcher. However, we’ve learned that most fifth graders have problems pitching after they’ve caught so we want to avoid that situation. This sort of means that we want Percy to pitch the third. Then the last choice becomes about how to use Everett and Avi. In the end, we decide to use Avi in the sixth, despite his being a complete nutcase, and Everett in the 4th and 5th.

Trey, after throwing a couple of pitches, reports a problem: he’s throwing uphill. With all of the rain from the previous day and a little overnight, the pitching rubber is so far back that it is a problem. The coaches from the other team, who again are very friendly, the ump, and Steve and I, have a discussion about whether to leave it, as it penalizes both teams equally, or move it forward. Steve and I advocate moving it forward so we decide to dig out the rubber and move it forward two feet, as there is no park district employee anywhere in sight to help us. Trey reports this is a lot better.

Things don’t get off to a good start though, when there is an error on the first play by whoever is playing short (I don’t have the fielding chart due to the Brendan situation) leading to a runner on second. Trey is not overpowering this inning. The next batter goes deep in the count before he hits one pack to Trey who, in a move that made me laugh, looks at the runner at second, who has started running immediately, and then throws it to first anyway. It’s good to see that he’s learned the mechanic of looking at the runner, even if he doesn’t then follow through on it. On the next play it is a legitimate sacrifice fly to someone in right, scoring the first run. The next batter walks, a rarity for Trey and showing how off he is, before the next batter strikes out to end the inning.

We have Jim bunt and while he lays down a fairly good bunt, it’s not good enough and he gets thrown out. Bobby walks to give us a base runner. Jesse continues his recent difficulties as he strikes out. These difficulties have coincided with his having private batting instruction. Everett then singles Bobby over to third, but Trey grounds back to the pitcher to end the inning. 1-0 Braves. And right as the first inning is about to end who shows up but Brendan? This completely throws off my whole chart and it takes nearly 2 full innings for me to replan things. How aggravating.

Trey comes out looking a little better, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s facing the bottom of the lineup, and gets the first guy to ground out to him, followed by a strike out. TG allows yet another walk, truly remarkable considering that including the two in this game he only allowed 7 all season. He does strike out their last batter to retire the side allowing only 1 run on a day where he doesn’t have his best stuff.

Their ace, back for another inning, strikes out the first two batters, Percy and Ethan. Fuller then gets hit by a pitch and steals second during Kelvin’s at bat. Kelvin does one of his weakly hit balls for a hit, advancing Fuller to third. Alas, Avi hits one back to the pitcher to end the inning. Still 1-0 Braves

Up comes Percy to face the top of the lineup. And it looks like things might be rough again when after 8 pitches and a full count the first batter gets a single. The next batter gets out, which is good. However, it’s then walk, walk, to load the bases. However, our newly found outfield ace, Ethan, make the catch on a well hit ball to the outfield. With two outs, perhaps things won’t be so bad after all, I allowed myself to think. But no. Next batter doubles, driving in 2. Percy hunkers down, however, and looks good striking out the next batter.

I don’t have much hope, despite the new pitcher, when Brendan comes up. But he hits a single. Jodi then gets hit by a pitch (atta girl!) and things are looking good. Jim hits a ground ball to the first basemen, which advances the runners. Bobby then walks to load the bases. Perfect! With the heart of the order up, Jesse hits a single and drives in one run. Everett then hits a grounder to first, driving in another, and Trey continues his slump grounding out to the pitcher, yet again. However, we score two making it a 3-2 game.

Everett comes to the mound and first pitch allows a single. The next two batters fly out, however, the runner has stolen third. The second fly out presented some consternation as Ethan was in center and Avi in right. It’s hit to right-center and is clearly Avi’s ball, but Ethan is on the ground “backing him up” but nearly causing a collision. Fortunately, Avi comes up with it and collision is averted. The run does score, however. On the next play it is again hit to Avi, but he can’t come up with it this time and the runner gets to second. Everett manages to strike out the next batter, however, before any more damage is done. Once again our hitting can’t get anything going as Ethan represents our only base runner, with yet another hit by pitch. 4-2 Braves

Things don’t start well in the top of the inning when Everett allows a leadoff double to their #3 hitter. On a 1-2 count, just like the rest of the season, the next batter bloops a ball into short left center. The centerfielder makes a great throw into the plate to get the runner from second for the out. Steve and I both didn’t see who made the play and thought that it was Bobby, playing SS, but no it turned out to actually be Jodi, coming through with a good fielding play just like I knew she could. Everett strikes out the next batter for the second out. The inning ends when Ethan makes yet ANOTHER good catch in the outfield for out number 3.

The next inning features the team’s second best pitcher, who pitched the last inning as well, and he shows why he’s good (even though it was Avi, Brendan, and Jodi) when he strikes out the side.

So we’re heading into the sixth down by two with our mental case coming to the mound. Fortunately, it’s towards the bottom of the order. And he pitches what is by far his best inning of the year, allowing just one hit, but having seemingly ever ball be in the strike zone, with pretty good velocity for him. After the game, he was truly proud of how he pitched, and he should be. So, in the clutch, Avi came through for us.

And now we are down by 2. The favor that their pitcher did by striking out the side, means we have the top of our order up. And there is excitement in the air when Jim hits a well hit ball into right for a single. He then steals second. This is followed by Bobby laying down a great bunt down the first base line. It caught everyone by surprise and ended up being a single. I truly hope he was bunting for a single there, as I was coaching third and had most definitely NOT given him the bunt sign of any sort, as we needed two runs. Anyhow, he easily takes second when they do not contest the base, with Jim at third. This brings Jesse up to the plate. And Jesse strikes out, again. But that’s ok. Everett is up. He hits a routine ball to second base, which scores Jim and advances Bobby, but now means there are two outs with Trey up at bat.

With our season on the line, we have our best batter (theoretically) at the plate. In fact things have been like a movie all game: the kid making some incredible plays in the outfield, the kid having his best pitching performance of the season, and now this. As Trey comes out to the plate, knowing the situation, I call him over. I tell him the following: “No matter what happens now, I am so glad that you were on our team and will be proud of you. So go up there and smile.” He gave a simple nod and steps into the batters box. On the second pitch, he connects with a weakly hit ball towards the first base side, Bobby is running for all his worth, and I watch as he slides into home. I then shift my focus over to the play at first. It’s going to be close as the first basemen has mishandled the ball. He finally gains control of it and runs towards first. The play is very close, but Trey clearly beats the first basement to the bag, but did the first basemen tag him? And the ump makes the call “OUT” and just like that the game is over. Several on our side thought that the game is over because we had won, but I know the truth. The other team celebrates for a moment and then we shake hands. I am near tears at this point myself, considering how much I wanted it for the team, and how well they played. Seeing Trey bawling, actually helps me keep it together, and I put my arm around his shoulder and try and comfort him. And like that, our season is over.

Coming tomorrow: team awards, end of year reflection, and the post season drama.

Playoffs vs Red Sox

Again sorry for the delay. This is the first of several end of season/after season posts. I hope to do the rest tomorrow, though it might not formally conclude until Monday. I am doing this all from memory, so I don’t have tons of specifics, but you should get a pretty good feel for what happened.

Steve and I had announced the day before that Percy would be our pitcher. This was after he had a terrible showing, as we wanted to express our support for him. After thinking it over, we decided that since games go 6 innings in the playoffs that we would go Percy, Avi, Everett, Everett, Trey Trey. The idea being get our weaker pitchers out of the way early and close out strong. When we played the BoSox the previous week, having Trey available at the end of the game was crucial towards producing our tie (and moral victory).

So it’s a Wednesday night and we are expecting the full team. Steve and I arrive to the field early, though not excruciatingly early. The team starts to arrive, but very very slowly. Enough that I start to get worried. I get more worried when somebody tells me Percy had injured his foot at school. However, I know they’re super responsible about calling so they would call.

Fortunately, the game before us runs late as we only have 9 players show up right at game time. Kelvin, after being bitched out a couple of times about not calling us if he was going to be late, does call and say he’s going to be late. Percy shows up and we are told he was doing dry heaves in the car on the way over. So injured and sick. What a combo. I believe, but am not sure, that all our players do end up showing up. Ethan might not have.

Anyway, we give an extended pregame speech. About playing hard. Doing the little things. Relaxing out there and playing as well as we know that they can. I feel good as we go out there. We lose the flip so we’re up to bat first. And their pitcher, the kid who we had coached last year , basically blows right by us. We might have had a hit, but we get nothing going.

So Percy is sent up to the mound. And, well, it’s painful. He has no control just like he hadn’t the night before. He throws walks. He gets hit. He gets hit some more. And he throws some more pitches which are balls. After his third walk I go up there and basically say “I don’t care how you throw it, just throw it over the plate.” No dice. He walks the next batter and we’re forced to auto yank him. In comes Bobby. He starts off poorly, but in the end gets us out of the inning, though after allowing three walks himself. After the third walk I went back to the mound and gave him a similar speech to Percy, and said that I know if he takes something off of it he can get the ball over. So he did, and got us out of the inning. It was bad, because as I was walking away the other coach thought that was 4 walks and we had to switch again. But fortunately that was not the case and so the inning ends and we’re down 5 or 6 to nothing.

Next inning we once again fail to get any offense going. Up comes Avi, and they just rock him. We let up 7 runs and only get out of the inning because of the cap on how many runs a team can score in an inning.

Through-out the game, it should be noted, our defense didn’t help things out. It wasn’t exactly that they were playing poorly, it’s just that that they weren’t playing well. So with the pitchers pitching so poorly, having a mediocre didn’t really help.

Third inning new pitcher, new hope. Except that this guy is clearly their ace. Completely overpowering. In his two innings of pitching we had exactly two players make contact with the ball. Like even for foul balls. It was not good. So we don’t score in either of this innings.

But at least we have some hope when Everett comes in to pitch. At least our bad pitchers are over with. Except that Everett isn’t throwing well. Fortunately they only manage a couple of runs before Everett pulls it together and gets us out of the inning. As mentioned earlier, our second inning against their ace isn’t better then the first. The good thing is that we get to the top of the order for the new pitcher in the 5th. Everett pitches very well in the bottom of the 4th and doesn’t let up any more runs.

The bad thing is that when we enter the 5th is that we need to score runs. The game is currently 13-0. Which means that if we don’t score 6 or 7 runs the game is over as we would be mathematically incapable of catching up in the 6th. We get a little bit of a rally going, but can only scare up 2 runs and so the game is over: 13-2. We were crushed.

Our team spirit was pretty good throughout the game, which was good. But our batting was not. Our pitching was not. Nor was our fielding anything to write home about. There were not really any positives I could take out of the game.

The situation only gets worse. We already knew that Ethan wasn’t going to be there on Saturday. Then I learn that Fuller is not going to be there on Saturday. As we’re leaving the field Trey and his father come up to me. Trey had asked before the game started about when he was pitching. We explained we wanted to save him for the end since it was a six inning game and that he should pitch. I honestly didn’t anticipate being so far behind that we wouldn’t play either the 5th or the 6th. Trey mopes away. Trey’s father then lets me know that Trey has front row tickets to the Cubs/Sox game on Saturday and since we lost that he will likely not be at the game. He says he will call me on Friday to confirm one way or the other, but that we should plan on not having Trey.

And so my despair only deepens. The next day I get a call from Jim’s mother who is very concerned that we won’t have enough players for Saturday’s game. By our count we’re sitting exactly at 9. Anyhow she is very sweet and offers to have some of JS’s friends come if need be. It was very nice. She ended up talking to both Steve and I, and while I forget the details of it, she talked to Steve after she talked to me and Steve completely rocked the conversation. On Friday I get the phone call confirming that there will be no Trey.

Saturday morning I wake up ridiculously early, despite the fact that I had been up pretty late the night before with friends. I am NOT looking forward to this game. We are going to play the Angels, who if you recall beat us pretty soundly earlier in the season. And we’re going to do it without our star pitcher. But the good news is that when I wake up it’s raining oh so lightly. I like rain. As a pick me upper, I make one of the Cinnabuns I had in the freezer and it works some to cheer me up, not to mention letting me have enough calories and fat for the rest of the day. At 7:15 I call the weather hotline and get an update that the games are postponed, but picture day is on. A real decision will be made at 9 o’clock regarding the games.

At 9 o’clock the games are canceled. I am secretly very happy. Steve and I can’t decode the message to figure out if they’re going to reschedule the games and squash them into Sunday or just cancel the playoffs. I head over to his house well before picture time anyway so we can make up team awards. It is his birthday and so I give him his present, a copy of Moneyball. At this point Steve’s mother insists on making him pancakes, just like she used to do when Steve and I had sleepovers. We go and make the awards and then I get to have my second breakfast of the morning. We eat, print out the awards, and head over to the rec center to have our team picture.

At the rec center it’s an absolute mess. There are no Park District employees anywhere. There are teams everywhere. It’s nuts. We have about half the team show up for the photo. We hear that our game has been rescheduled to the next day. This gives Steve mixed emotions. He’s glad we get to play again, but not as glad that it will limit his ability to go to bars that night for his birthday. As we are walking out to the parking lot and talking about the team, Steve tells me that wants to do it again next year. This is a big relief. I honestly thought he had tuned out the team, with us doing so bad, and was sick of the commute down to the suburbs form the city three times a week. Anyhow, it’s a big relief to know that I will be able to do this again next spring with Steve.

Bobby had suggested that we go out to breakfast and so 5 players plus me and Steve head over to breakfast. It was a great breakfast. Avi makes me sad as he proves again how distrustful he is of everyone when he orders the French Toast, I tell him it’s good, and he doesn’t believe that I’ve ever had it before. Steve backs me up and he believes it, but it makes me sort of sad to see him go through life thinking so suspiciously of others. During breakfast, Bobby confides in us that we’re his favorite coaches ever since we’re the first coaches who haven’t just stuck him in the outfield all the time. Knowing what Bobby’s athletic ability was when I was student teaching at his school, I can understand how that was true that his previous coaches had done that, but it was still a great thing to hear.

Steve and I head back to his house and find out that when they rescheduled the games, they redid the brackets. Instead of playing the Angels, we’re playing the Braves We’re very excited about that. We make some phone calls and then head down into the city to hang out at his apartment for a while.

After a depressing week with baseball, knowing that we’re going to have Trey and we’re going to be playing a team that is very beatable, gives me a lot of hope.