Game #9

... Ok. I'm still having fun. Really ...

But this whole losing thing is starting to wear on me ...

Tonight, we had a 5-1 lead and blew it. We lost 14-9.

... Granted we were playing one of the better teams in the league, but we're capable of beating any team in the league.

It also doesn't help that half our team is injured. Jimmy's rehabbing the ACL he tore earlier this season. Tommy badly sprained his ankle during practice on Saturday. J.D. did something to his ankle too. And Garrett did something to his arm ...

Ay yay yay.

I started in left field again tonight and got moved down to fifth in the order ... Both teams went scoreless in the first, and then we blew it open in the second. I led off the inning with a single to the left side, stole second and then scored on a fly that dropped in the outfield. When the inning was over we had a 5-0 lead ...

After they came back with one in the bottom of the second, I came up again in the third inning, this time with one out and a runner on first. I grounded the ball to the left side, they got the lead runner at second and I beat the throw to first ... When the next batter hit a long fly to center, I took off running. But as I'm rounding second, I see the third base coach giving me the stop sign to tag up. What!? I thought there were two outs!? The ball dropped, and I gunned it again and headed home to score -- a few moments before the runner was thrown out at second for the final out of the inning. I immediately went to the third base coach, threw my helmet in the air and shouted, There were two outs!

Oh, there were!? he says with a laugh.

Yeah! I said as we embraced in a playful hug.


That's all right, you scored anyway, he says.

... The laughter didn't last long though. The other team came back with five runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning and tied the score at six. And one run in the fourth. And four in the fifth. And three in the sixth.

We were so desperate the last couple innings we actually stuck Jimmy on the mound, even though he couldn't cover homeplate on any of his passed balls. And Tommy tried playing a couple innings at first, but notched a couple errors when he failed to glove two pick-off throws ...

... I had my share of action in left field, including a laser line drive that was hit my way and I gloved midway through the game. On the flip side, I let a deep ball get over my head -- if only I had one more step on it, or I tried to dive for it, I think I would have had it. And when a foul ball drifted to the deepest corner of left field, I gave it a good chase but tumbled over the bullpen pitcher's mound -- had I played it better, I would've had that ball too ...

I was moved to play second base for the final inning ...

And I did get to the plate once more, drawing a walk that I was pretty proud of. During that at-bat, I took the first pitch for strike one and then whiffed on a curve for the second pitch, quickly putting me down 0-2. But I guessed right on the next two pitches -- the pitcher tried getting me on some more junk, and I didn't take the bait, getting the count even at 2-2. That seemed to rattle him enough that his next two fastballs were way off the plate and I took the walk ... Then I took second on what should have been a hit-and-run play, but the batter missed the sign. I got to third on a ground ball that the first baseman botched, and then scored as the first baseman picked up the ball but failed to pay any attention to me ...

So, 1-for-2, a walk, two stolen bases, three runs. Not a bad night for me ... A win would've been nice too, though.

My line for the season …
.391 average, 9 hits, 4 walks, 3 strikeouts, .519 on-base %, 4 stolen bases, 8 runs, 2 RBI

As for our other games …
Game one: We lost, 16-4
Game two: We lost, 13-2
Game three: We lost, I was off for the weekend
Game four: We lost, 5-4
Game five: We lost, 20-9
Game six: We lost, 5-4 (with pictures!)
Game seven: We won, 7-5
Game eight: We lost 12-4