Summer vacation: Day 1

The month of June hasn’t been as relaxing and blissful as we envisioned. Kates taught summer school this month and my projects have hardly slowed down at work. And we're still not totally unpacked, organized and settled when it comes to the whole new house thing.

Sounds like a good time for a summer vacation.

The mental countdown had been running for weeks, and I glided through my final day of work yesterday with a completely different mentality than the one I felt in the weeks prior. I pumped out a couple news features and come to grips with the fact that I’d finished the work I needed to get done; the remaining projects would have to wait to be picked up when I returned. Even while I sat in on a three-hour policy meeting in the morning and coordinated a news conference in the afternoon, yesterday I felt the weight of the workplace burden leaving my shoulders with the knowledge that I was heading to a much freer place.

Of course, there was plenty left to do at home. After a quick supper, I headed outside into the 90-degree heat and mowed the lawn. After that, we needed to gather enough toys and activities to keep Phoebe occupied during the trip, and pack our own suitcases. It was past midnight when we slipped into bed.

* * *

My alarm sounded at 6:26 this morning. Kates and I had said we were going to try to leave around 7, which clearly wasn’t going to happen.

But we did get ourselves ready to go and the car packed in time for a 9 o’clock departure. Destination: The Farm.

Our trip couldn‘t have been better. A road trip at its finest. I’d refreshed my iPod, removing several songs and albums I’d grown tired of or weren’t deserving to be on it in the first place. Kates stuffed her backpack with books. And she packed a separate bag with a slew of activities for Phoebe -- from coloring books to puzzles, and, of course, the portable DVD player with Phoebe’s collection of movies.

It was Phoebe’s best trip yet. Though she didn’t cave into sleeping until about 20 minutes before we reached The Farm, she was totally content viewing the scenery and watching her movies. We only stopped four times for a total of about one hour -- including our usual halfway stop for gas and lunch in Iowa City -- as the result of an exasperated “I need t’go potty!” from the back seat. … Then there was the moment, about 45 minutes into our trip, when Phoebe sighed and said, “Are we there yet?” “And so it begins,” I said before Kates explained, “Phoebe, we’ve got a long, long way to go.”

We marveled at the serenity of driving through the countryside, the only car on the road for most of our route from The ‘Ville through southeastern Iowa, before hitting the suburbs of Des Moines, Iowa.

From Iowa City, we ventured from our usual route and passed through Dubuque on our way into Wisconsin. Kates and I had a good time reminiscing about the days we spent in Dubuque during our honeymoon. We cheered as we passed over the mighty Mississippi and entered Wisconsin. As we continued, the road cut through canyons and rolling hills, giving way to breathtaking views. We passed through picturesque downtowns and saw parts of the state we either didn’t know about or forgot existed.

Funny how moving away helps a person gain a whole new perspective and appreciation for the place they left. The kind of appreciation that will surely keep us coming back. Already Kates and I are eyeing up possibilities for future adventures.

* * *

As we rolled along Interstate 80 in Iowa, I spotted Dyersville on a sign. Three miles, it read. And that meant one thing: “Field of Dreams.”

“Dyersville!” I shouted.

“You wanna go?” Kates asked.

“Yeah! We should totally go! Why not? We’re making good time, we don’t have anywhere to be. We’re on vacation!”

So we exited the interstate and followed the signs to Dyersville. Three miles actually turned out to be about 20 miles, but it was still so worth it.

We started on to Lansing Drive and approached the field. My heart beat hastened in excitement, and there it was to our left. The big white farm house. The red barn, with the little red gift shop to the side. And the field, with its lush green grass and shoulder-high corn stalks surrounding the outfield.

It was my third visit to the field -- the first occurred in June 1991 and the second occurred in October 2003 during the aforementioned honeymoon. The signs of commercialism that have sprouted up at the field are a little annoying. The rock wall and picket fence adorned with a “Field of Dreams” sign, which now separate the farmhouse from the field, take away from the purity of the original film site. And the infield today isn’t nearly as pristine as it appeared in the film and during those early years.

But its charm sustains.

We retrieved Phoebe’s wiffle ball set from the trunk and set it up at home plate. To her it was no different than playing in our backyard, though I tried to explain to her it was a very special baseball field.

We ran the bases. Stood among the corn stalks. Sat on the bleachers. And ran the bases again, and again.

Our visit lasted only 30 minutes. But it was the perfect diversion from our car ride and a chance to let Phoebe run for awhile. I was just thrilled to visit the field once more.

* * *

We made good time the rest of the way and it took us not even two hours to reach the farm, arriving just before 6 p.m.

It’s worth noting the first song to play on the iPod when we left this morning was Hanson’s “Man From Milwaukee,” where we’re spending the second half of our vacation. Fitting. … The last song to play on the iPod when we arrived at the farm tonight was one of our favorites, Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop,” the live version from “The Dance.”

“Yesterday’s gone! We’re on vacation,” Kates shouted.

Yes we are. And here’s what we’re looking at tonight ..

Ken Burns pitches extra 'Inning' this fall

Spotted this one on Twitter last night.

Awwwwwwwwww yeah.

Arguably one of the greatest documentaries of all time. It's a fascinating piece of work. It's an epic. And I've watched it repeatedly over the years ... Not to mention listened to its soundtrack and flipped through its companion book.

I am so thankful Ken Burns has finally decided to play another inning.

* * *

While we're on the subject of baseball, check out these fascinating finds illustrating fan bases ...

This first one, "The Die Hard Index," comes via Cubs Fan Report (an excellent daily digest of Cubs happenings that I've recently caught onto, by the way), and analyzes ticket prices, attendance, stadium capacity and home losses, among other things to determine the quality of each club's fans. Turns out Cubs fans are the best ... Royals fans, meanwhile ... Ugh.

Then there's this one, via my friend Matt, which I had not seen before. I find it fascinating, though not surprising, the swath that Cubs loyalty cuts through Iowa and Indiana -- competing, of course, with the large base of Cardinals loyalty across Missouri, southern Illinois and parts of other southern states ... I think I like this map the best of the two.

Fun stuff. 

Playoffs, round 2: Fun and done

Wednesday night's game sure was thrilling ...

But today, the fat lady started singing for us in the third inning.

We lost our playoff game today, 11-3. And that means our season is over.

You won't hear any complaining from me, though. I love my baseball and it's a fantastic way to get out of the house, get some exercise and hang out with a fun group of guys every Sunday ...

But by mid-August, I'm so ready to have my Sunday afternoons back. To relax, take a nap, putz in the yard, spend time with Kates and Phoebe. As I sit here tonight, I feel like an enormous weight has been taken off my shoulders.

In today's game we were facing a team that ended the regular season with a 4-10 record. But coming in, they'd won three of their last four -- and that included handing the first place team their only loss of the season. ... We won both of our regular season matchups with them, but the games also were close as we struggled to hit their pitching.

Remember, we hadn't been doing a good job of stringing together our hits down the stretch, either.

We got on the board with a run in the first inning, but they came back with three in the bottom of the inning and never looked back. For a time, their pitcher couldn't throw strikes and we capitalized on a string of walks, but a 5-3 score was as close as we came to overcoming the deficit.

Nor was our defense as crisp and tight as Wednesday night. Even our steady shortstop made an error today -- that hasn't happened all season.

Add to all that, the umpires made a few calls that our team didn't agree with. Frustration boiled over. Tempers flared. And, well, as soon as that kind of stuff starts happening, it's tough to come back.

I ended it with an 0-for-2 day at the plate along with two walks. I popped out in the first and eighth innings and walked in the fourth and sixth innings.

In the bottom of the ninth, our final batter fouled out to the first base side. Someone on our bench said it was a fitting end to the day. … We shook hands, and that was it. That was our season.

Looking back on it, I couldn’t be happier with this summer’s campaign. It was undoubtedly the most fun I’ve had playing in this league, and the most talented team I’ve been part of in those four years. Sure there were disagreements along the way, but I always attributed those to our passions for the game and our confidence to win every game … In the end, we won and lost as a team.

I’d like to think playing on a good team helped me play better, too. Statistically, this season arguably was my best …

.368 average, with 14 hits, 10 runs scored, 11 RBIs, 4 stolen bases, 3 walks and 9 strikeouts in 13 games. There also was that double, RBI and run scored that were later struck from the record books in the lightning classic of Aug. 9.

My walks were way down and my strikeouts were up slightly … I’d like to think that’s from a combination of batting leadoff most of the season, getting more plate appearances and being more aggressive with my bat. I went down swinging on eight of those nine strikeouts.

Here’s a complete look back …

Game 1: 3-3, stolen base, 2 runs scored (14-4 win)
Game 2: 0-2 (12-2 win)
Game 3: 1-3, run scored (11-4 loss)
Game 4: 1-4, 2 RBIs, run scored (12-5 win)
Game 5: 1-3, 2 runs scored, RBI, stolen base (11-8 win)
Game 6: 2-3, 2 runs scored, 3 RBIs (15-14 win)
Game 7: Did not play (We won 5-0). I went to the Brewers game instead.
Game 8: 0-3 (22-1 loss)
Game 9: 2-4, two runs scored, stolen base (8-6 loss)
Game 10: Did not play (We won 11-4). I went camping instead.
Game 11: 1-3, 2 RBIs, and some key defensive plays (10-5 win)
Game 12: 1-2, double, RBI, run scored. But all of it was struck from the record books by lightning.
Game 13: 0-1, RBI, walk, sac fly (16-3 loss)
Game 14: 1-4 (6-5 win)
Playoff, game 1: 2-3, RBI, stolen base (1-0 win)
Playoff, game 2: 0-2, 2 walks (11-3 loss)

Look back at seasons of ...
2008
2007
2006

Playoffs, round 1: A good night

(insert happy sigh ... )

What. a. game ...

Arguably one of the most thrilling games I've been a part of ...

I'm thinking it wasn't a coincidence I had the Black Eyes Peas' "I Gotta Feeling" looping through my head all day and night ...

Our baseball playoffs are underway this week. It's a one-and-done tournament. All the records from the regular season have been thrown out. Your team loses one game, your season is over ...

We played our first round game tonight against a team that finished the season with a 2-12 record. And yet, that team is one of the most fundamentally-sound in the league. Baseball never fails to mystify.

As we warmed up and took the field, I had a feeling ... that tonight was going to be a good night. There was something in the air; there was a loose, but zoned-in attitude about us as some of us hit fungos and others played catch in the outfield. Especially after Sunday's come-from-behind win, there was a feeling we had hit our stride and we're playing as cohesively as ever now.

I got the start at my usual right field position and was moved down in the batting order from the leadoff spot to the second spot. Our manager retooled the lineup slightly hoping a different combination might help us put together a longer string of hits -- something we haven't been doing well down the stretch.

In the bottom of the first, after our leadoff batter grounded out, I singled with a line drive into center field. But the next batter hit into a double play, ending any threat.

And that's the way it went for the first 6 1/2 innings. Both of our teams traded hits, but neither team could get a run across ... Our opponent put runners on second and third in the fifth inning, but our pitcher fought back and got a strikeout to end that threat.

Our defense was as crisp and flawless as ever. We were digging balls out of the dirt, we were making running catches, we were snagging hot shots, we were turning double plays. It was awesome.

But the other team was playing perfect defense, too.

The game went scoreless into the bottom of the seventh inning ... Our leadoff batter singled, and then it was my turn to bat once more ...

During my second at-bat in the bottom of the fourth, I flied out to the shortstop -- on a pitch I should have smacked for another line drive to center field. I had gone down 0-1 on a strike call that was outside of the plate, a pitch the umpire had been calling on both teams all night. Then the opposing pitcher got me down 0-2 as I swung and missed a nasty, nasty curve ball. I fought back to a 2-2 count before flying out ...

So when I came up again in the seventh inning he pitched me an almost identical sequence of pitches. The outside strike to put me down 0-1, the nasty curve that I swung and missed again, and then a ball up high to make the count 1-2 ...

Before his fourth pitch, I took my time outside the batter's box and took a deep breath ... Concentrate. Watch the ball all the way. Watch it hit the bat ...

Then, there it was -- a fat pitch straight over the plate ...

I swung ... and connected solidly, sending the ball back up into center field. The leadoff batter -- who had stolen second base during my at-bat -- scored and got us on the board. And when the ball came back to the infield, I was standing on first base trying to hide my pride-ridden smile.

Our next batter struck out ... I stole second base during the ensuing at-bat, but the second out was made on a fly ball to left field. The third out was made on a ground ball to the pitcher, and I was left stranded.

In the end, though, we needed nothing more. Our defense remained steady for six more outs, and we won the game, 1-0. We're moving on to round two of the playoffs.

Our pitcher -- our ace -- pitched a complete game shutout with nine strikeouts, while I went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles ... and the game-winning RBI.

Tonight was a good night.

Game 13: All's well that ends well

We finished off our regular season today with a 6-5, come-from-behind win. The win staked us in fourth place for the season, with a record of 8-5 -- by far the best record of any team I've played on in my four seasons with this amateur baseball league.

For awhile today it looked like we were going to lose. The opponent threw their 60-something junk baller at us and we couldn't hit him for a lick. I struck out to lead off the bottom of the first in another one of my "epic" at-bats, which have started to become the norm of my plate appearances during the latter half of the season, Once again, I fouled off a multitude of pitches before swinging and missing a sinking pitch ...

I hit a single in the fourth inning, but nothing came of it. We couldn't string together any offense against their pitcher ...

Finally, with our team down 5-1 in the bottom of the sixth, the opponent made a pitching change -- for whatever reason -- and suddenly our bats came alive. We put together enough hits to tie the game, and then scored the go-ahead run when one of our runners scored from third base on a passed ball.

I didn't figure into the rally, though ... I popped out to the third baseman in the sixth, and I flied out to the center fielder in the eighth inning.

Playoffs start this week -- and that's good, because we're hitting our groove.

Game 12: Late season tryout

We didn't have it today. We got beat -- rocked, you might say -- fair and square. 16-3.

We were playing the top team in the league. They're 12-0, after all, and even if we had played as well today as we did last week, it would have been a monumental task for us to knock them off.

They put us down 3-0 in the first inning, and then scored eight runs in the third inning, with the help of a three-run home run, to make the score 11-0. Their hits and runs were more scattered in the remaining innings ... After the fourth inning, we pulled our starting pitcher and sort of threw in the towel, deciding instead to use the rest of the game to play with our defense.

That meant I got a turn on the mound. Yep, I was called on to pitch an inning in the sixth ... I hadn't pitched in a game situation in probably 15 years, but it's something I'd been itching to do the last couple years since I've started playing again. I was ready and willing; I knew the biggest hurdle was going to be actually getting out there and building my confidence back up ... And those of us who were called to pitch figured the blowout we were enduring was the best place to try it.

I felt good during my warm-ups and I was hitting the strike zone. Then it came time for the inning to start and our catcher met me on the mound. "What have you got for pitches? Fastball? Slow curve?" he asked.

"I got nothing," I answered. "It's going to be nothing but straight pitches and strikes. Hopefully the fielders are behind me." And that was that.

My first two pitches were called for balls, but I soon found a groove and got the first batter to shoot a fly ball straight up over the first base line. I called for it and made the catch for the first out ...After that, the inning was sort of a blur of me trying to limit the damage and hold my own. I walked a couple guys, our third baseman made an error on a routine ground ball and a couple batters got away with some bloop fly balls to center field. I think I gave up one or two runs ... I got out of it when a batter hit a slow roller toward the first base side, I came off the mound and tossed the ball to the first baseman for the third out.

After that, I was sent back to right field, where I'd been prior to my pitching stint, for the ensuing innings. Other players took their shots at pitching, and I took shortstop for the final inning.

Offensively, I guess I had a couple things I could be proud of today ... I was in the lead-off spot again, and worked a 3-2 count during my first at-bat before swinging and missing a letters-high pitch for strike three. ... In the fourth inning, I knocked in our first run with a sacrifice fly to right field ... In the seventh, I worked another 3-2 count and drew a walk, my first of the season (Good thing, usually my walk numbers are high. Lately, I've been scrutinizing why I had yet to get a walk this season ...). Then I took second on a passed ball, moved to third on a ground ball and scored our second run on a single ...

Our best effort just wasn't good enough today.

Last game of the regular season is next week. Playoffs start after that, and we're sitting as the fourth seed.

Game 11 1/2: When lightning strikes

We've played some tough games, this season. But today, the weather was our toughest opponent.

We'd been toughing out a heat wave this weekend. Heat indexes of 95 degrees ... Before today's game, half our guys were shooting e-mails to coordinate who was bringing the water-filled coolers -- not how we'd set up our lineup.

By game time, the air was still thick with humidity. But clouds had settled over the diamond, covering the sun, and a swift breeze was blowing out toward right field.

We were up against the second place team today, the same team that knocked us around for a 12-2 loss in our second game of the season ... But we knew if we could keep our defense tight and just get our bats going against their pitching, we could hang with them.

We gave up one run in the top of the first and then went down in order in the bottom half of the inning. I led off with a flyout to left field. ... In the second inning we tied the score, 1-1, but they went ahead again in the top of the third, 2-1.

Then the lightning struck -- figuratively.

Our first batter in the bottom of the third grounded out. The second batter singled. The third batter struck out. The fourth batter was hit by a pitch ...

So it was my turn to bat with two outs and two runners on. I took the first pitch for a ball, low and away -- but the ball skidded away from the catcher and the runners advanced. When the catcher tried to gun down the lead runner at third base, the ball sailed into the outfield, and the tying run scored. The other runner moved to second base.

I took my second pitch for a ball, up high ... The third pitch was at my waist and a little off the plate. I took a good cut -- and smoked the ball for a line drive into right-center field. The ball rolled to the fence, and as I rounded first base I was thinking I had a chance at a triple. But the outfielders made a clean relay and I went in standing at second base for a double instead. We had taken a 3-2 lead.

We didn't stop there, either. The next batter walked, and I scored from second base when the following batter hit a liner into left-center field ... We knocked the starting pitcher out of the game and put together enough hits to take a commanding 8-2 lead at the end of the third inning. We were stoked.

Then the lightning struck -- literally.

The win gusts had picked up to hurricane-caliber. The clouds swirling over the ballpark were getting darker -- so much that a couple of us were dispatched to turn on the stadium lights -- at 4:15 in the afternoon. There was a brief downpour as we took the field to start the fourth inning, but it was nothing we didn't think we couldn't play through ...

But the umpires spotted a flash of lightning beyond right field, and that would put an end to our fun ... By rule, the game had to be postponed 30 minutes every time a lightning strike was spotted. In the time we waited, two more were spotted -- even though the clouds appeared to be dissipating in the west. After about 20 minutes, the umpires put it up to our managers to decide whether it was worth continuing. We could be waiting here for a long time, they reasoned.

The coaches decided to end the game, and we started packing up ... It was too bad for us. If only we could have gotten six more outs, the game would have been official -- a big win! Now, we'll likely have to start from scratch -- if we even decided to makeup the game. This late in the season, it's possible we won't replay it.

About an hour later -- once I had shed my uniform, showered and settled in at home for a night of watching Sunday Night Baseball -- the TV stations were breaking in, warning of severe thunderstorms approaching. Right on cue, as the TV's radar showed nothing but red over our area, the sky darkened again and the rain came in force.

It was probably a good thing we called our game, but ... ah, rats.

Game 11: Selling the drama

When I arrived home this afternoon, I thought my head was going to explode from information overload. I didn't know whether I should laugh or cry.

I had been listening to friend rant and vent to me for most of the morning about church issues. Guys I play ball with were going berserk, via e-mail, over organizational issues within the league. I was stuck listening to a co-worker's endless phone calls regarding a search for his lost dog. And I was trying to do some actual work! ...

Exploring all the issues and philosophies at the core of these discussions is better saved for a self-help book or a workshop about leadership and making decisions -- neither of which I'm prepared to do within this post ... Suffice to say, by tonight, I was more than ready to get on the ball diamond and blow off some steam.

It was a gorgeous night for a ball game. The sun was shining, the weather was cool, not too hot, not too windy. We were playing at the city's historic '30s-era ballpark. And for once, the stands were relatively full.

The night started slowly for our team, though ...

In right field, I got the most action I’ve had all season. I made three catches, including a potentially game-saving catch to end the top of the fifth inning … The batter hit a shot down the right field line and I got a great jump on it. I tracked it all the way, faded back and then made a superb over-the-shoulder catch in the right field corner. Oooh, it felt good.

That catch propelled us into the bottom half of the inning with us down, 5-1 … Our catcher – our own “Big Papi” – crushed a home run over the left field wall to put us on the board in the second. But our bats hadn’t done anything since …

Finally, in the bottom of the fifth inning, we put together a string of hits and closed the gap to 5-4. Then, I came up with one out and the bases loaded …

I was desperate to do something. In my usual leadoff spot, I started the game by flying out to center and then struck out on a changeup in the fourth inning … My at-bat in the fifth almost turned into a repeat of my “epic at-bat” a couple weeks ago as I battled with the pitcher and fouled off multiple pitches … Finally, the pitcher threw me a hanging knuckleball that I just barely got a piece of …

The catcher laughed and said, “That whole thing was, like, in slow motion. You should’ve been able to knock that out of here. It was like ‘The Matrix’ it was coming in so slow.”

“I’d be happy to try it again, if you'd like,” I answered as I dug back into the batters box.

The pitcher didn’t try it again. Instead, he threw me a fast ball just above my waist … I took a swing and slapped it just right of second base. The shortstop misplayed it, two runs scored as the other team threw the ball around and when the dust settled – I was standing on second base having knocked in the go-ahead run. I was feeling redeemed.

As the rest of the game played out, we tacked on a few more runs and our defense was flawless. Our pitcher threw all seven innings on two days rest and struck out nine batters, while walking just one batter.

We won the game, 10-5. It was grand team victory … and a pleasant end to my dramatic day.

Game 9: The way the ball goes

It’s Sunday. And that means it’s game day. Time for some baseball.

We had this one circled on our schedule at the beginning of the season. We were going up against a team that matches up with us from top to bottom as well as anybody. A team that’s as competitive as any in the league. And a team that’s roundly annoying because of how seriously they take their baseball … They don't seem to get the recreation part.

To up the motivation factor, if we came out with a win today, we’d be tied for third place in the standings…

Instead, the story of today’s game was written in one unfortunate third inning, and we lost the game, 8-6.

Through the first two innings, we traded runs and they carried a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the third. It looked early as though it would be a tight game all the way … But in the bottom of the third, we gave up a couple walks, a string of booted ground balls, a misplayed double-play ball, and soon they’d put five runs on us.

From that point on, though, our defense was snappy, and we didn’t give up another run the entire game. Still, we couldn’t get out bats going, and by the time we crawled back into the game, it was too late…

I led off the game with a bloop single to left field, then stole second and scored to get us on the board … Then, in the fourth, I slapped the first pitch I saw toward the second baseman and grounded into an easy double play.

In the seventh inning, I put up an epic at-bat that might go down as one of the most memorable I’ve had during my time in this amateur league. It’s just too bad the outcome wasn’t in my favor … I knew the opposing pitcher had been throwing hard fastballs all day and mixing in some solid change-ups; that’s my kind of pitcher so I was stepping to the plate and hacking at every pitch that came near the zone …

He started me with a fastball just below the letters which I took for a strike. Then I swung and missed the second fastball to go down 0-2. Then a ball that was high, ball two was outside and I pulled back on a swing to get ball three. Then, I fouled off pitch after pitch after pitch after pitch … I fouled one into the catcher’s shoulder, several more to the backstop and a couple that bounced in front of the plate but rolled foul.

One of my teammates said he counted 12 or 13 pitches in the at-bat. I was faring well at keeping up with the fast ones and waiting back on the slow stuff ... But by the last couple pitches, the battle had drawn on for so long that I was starting to lose focus and almost couldn’t keep from breaking into a little bit of laughter at was happening …

Finally, I fouled a pitch into the catcher’s glove for strike three … Ugh. I could take solace in the positive reception I got from the guys when I returned to the dugout. But man, after all that, a hit would have been really nice …

I got some redemption in the top of the ninth. Down 8-3, we were desperate for a rally … After the lead-off batter struck out, I stepped up hoping to get something started and slapped a ground ball down the third base line for a clean single …

On the next batter’s liner up the middle, I advanced to third base but was called back to second base on an interference because the ball had hit the infield umpire on its way through the infield … Nonetheless, the next batter hit a deep ball to center field, I stayed on second base to either tag or make sure the ball dropped -- and when the ball dropped, I took off and scored. The runner behind me scored, too and the rally was on … But we could only muster one more run. With two outs and another runner on, the tying run came to the plate, but flied out to right field to end the game.

And so it goes.

The loss dropped us to 5-4 for the season. But it was hard to find anything to be ashamed of .. It was hard-fought, fun game to play today. Just the way it should be.

Game 8: Funny game

Baseball is a funny game.

One day your team plays to perfection. The hits drop in the gaps. Your defense gets to every ball, and fields all of them cleanly. The pitcher is getting calls on the outside corner. All the stars align and everything goes your way …

Then there are days when the stars align for the other team -- no matter how different your win-loss records appear.

Today, it was the other team’s day, and we lost.

22-1.

To a team that, so far this season, had six losses and no wins. ... We dropped to 5-3 with the loss.

It’s fair to say that, as the game progressed, some guys were taking the loss in stride, and some guys were taking it personally … After our manager accused the young manager of the other team for purposefully running up the score, the young manager hit a bomb over our manager’s head in left field. The young manager had a real shot at a triple, but instead trotted slowly into second base. Afterward, our second baseman asked the young manager why he didn’t try for third, to which the young manager said, “Your coach wouldn’t let me.”

I was in the group of guys that thought the exchange was a funny one.

You couldn't blame them for their excitment about knocking the cover off the ball and actually winning for once. These guys had been pounding at the door all summer. They’ve played hard, and their games have been close. I wasn’t out to jinx us, but I said before the game that I figured they were due for a win … I just didn’t expect it to be at our expense, much less a 22-1 beat down.

These guys were jumping on us from the beginning. They scored five runs in the first and crossed another six in the third … They were hitting the ball solidly up the middle and way out of the reach of any of our fielders.

Meanwhile, we couldn’t have hit the ball if it was a beach ball. Their pitcher was throwing as hard as anybody we’ve faced since our first loss in Week 2. Mix that in with some good sliders and an umpire that was calling a wide strike zone, and we looked at a lot of third strikes. We racked up 12 strikeouts in all, and just four hits. Our one run didn’t come until our final inning of at-bats.

I batted lead-off today and left with an 0-for-3 next to my name … I popped up foul to the first baseman in the first inning and grounded out to the first baseman in the fourth. During my last at-bat in the seventh, the pitcher buckled me up with a slider called for a strike on the first pitch, and I knew my fate right then … Slider, swing and a miss, strike two. Slider, swing and a miss, strike three.

If there was any glimmer for me to take away from the game, it was that I left the field feeling as proud of my defense on Sunday as I had all season. I started and played two innings in right field before moving to third base as part of a double switch/pitching change in the third.

At both of my positions, I fielded every ball cleanly and made the plays, including two choppers toward third base that I fielded cleanly and tossed to second base for crucial outs. I also took a perfectly-placed throw from a cutoff man to cut down a runner sliding into third base … It felt so good to execute those chances.

It’s funny how the one thing that hasn’t been right for me this season finally goes well … while everything else goes horribly wrong.

Game 6: Windy City

We won again today.

That’s three in a row for us and puts our record at 4-2 for the season, good enough for a solid fourth place among the 10 teams in our league. For the record, we suffered our two losses to the top two teams – which are 6-0 and 5-1, respectively – and we have yet to see the third place team, which lost 28-6 today to that 6-0 team. Yikes!

Although, we did come frighteningly close to handing an 0-4 team its first win today …

The wind was whipping, straight out toward the right field corner. And where I was playing in right, it felt like I was standing in the path of a tornado. I couldn’t hear a thing because the wind was blowing through my ears like a freight train, and I could barely see a thing with all the dust kicking up in my eyes. … I didn’t pick up the only ball hit in my direction until it was over the first baseman and bouncing in front of me.

Our opponent crossed four runs in the top of the first inning, but luckily our bats were more potent today – and the windy conditions helped turn the game into a slugfest. We came right back with seven runs in the bottom of the first inning and stayed ahead until the final inning.

In my first at-bat in the first inning, I hit a hot shot right at the second baseman. But he made a good play on it and tossed the ball to second base for a force-out and the final out of the frame … Then, in my second at-bat, I slapped a ground ball down the third base line for a single and an RBI. And later, I hit a line drive down the right field line for a single and two RBIs. A 2-for-3 day with three RBIs, two runs scored and no strikeouts – I’ll take it.

Heading into the final inning, we were ahead 14-11. Our shortstop moved to the pitcher’s mound, and I replaced him in the infield … We gave up a few solid hits, made a couple defensive miscues and pretty soon, we were tied at 14.

Still, heading back to the dugout for the bottom of the last inning, I don’t think there were any doubts we’d put the game away …

Sure enough, the opposing pitcher loaded the bases with no outs. They made a pitching change, and the first ball the reliever threw was in the dirt. Ball got past the catcher. Runner on third base scores standing up …

We win.

Game 5: Happy Father's Day

My Father's Day began this morning with my eyes opening around 8:30 and the sight of Kates carrying a tray of breakfast to me in bed, with Phoebe shuffling and giggling into the bedroom behind her ... It was priceless.

I got to enjoy a breakfast in bed, while watching the sports channels... Then, I joined Kates and Pheebs in the living room as we read, watched more TV and Phoebe played...

It was the perfect start to the morning -- especially after the drama of the storms on Thursday and Friday nights ... With more tornado warnings, damaging thunderstorms and flash floods sweeping through the area Friday night, we resorted to spending the night in the basement...

When we awoke on Saturday, the house was still standing, so I guess that was good ... But some parts of our basement carpeting were considerably damp, leaving us to spend much of Saturday drying the place out.

As we talked to friends and neighbors, though, we decided we're some of the lucky ones. With the deluge of rain we got over the course of the two nights, it would be a feat for anyone who didn't have water in their basements. ... News stories have reported streets and properties that were so flooded, the water was crashing through basement windows. And the photo on the front page of the newspaper today shows a county highway that is completely washed out, its pavement suspended over a 5-foot hole like a bridge ...

Today's weather is muggy and humid. The kind where the weight of the air makes you feel like a sponge ...

Perfect weather for playing baseball ...

* * *

Another game, another win today. A solid team effort. A 11-8 win …

Though we did almost give it away at the end. We went into the eighth inning carrying a 10-3 win and let five runs score, making the score 10-8. We tacked on one more in the top of the ninth, and then tried to hold on in the ninth … They loaded the bases and brought the winning run to the plate with no outs, but our pitcher got out of it with two strikeouts and a ground out to save the game.

After my troubles the last few weeks -- troubles only to me, really, because I put so much pressure on myself to perform -- I was moved down in the order to the seventh spot. I also was positioned in right field for the second straight week. … Immediately after learning my spot, though, the pressure of leading off was gone. I could study the pitcher for a few at-bats and feel comfortable in my first at-bat.

They got on the board and quickly put us down, 0-3. But we came back in our half of the second, batted around in the order and crossed seven …

In my first at bat, I came to the plate with runners on first and third and one out. I quickly got ahead 2-0 on a couple of low pitches, and then took a strike right down the middle. Then, I swung and missed a curve -- typical -- for a 2-2 count … So now the pitcher’s got me thinking, Great, he saw how badly I looked on that pitch, and now he knows I can’t hit the curve. I gotta be ready if he brings it again …

I started telling myself, sit back and wait on it, sit back and wait on it, and watched for the next pitch …

It was a fastball. Letters-high. It looked good. I swung … And connected solidly. The ball shot through the middle of the field for a line drive into center field. One run scored; the other runner reached third …

It was as clean of a hit as I’ve had thus far, and it felt really good. So good that I swore I heard The Natural theme music as I rounded first base. Seriously.

So now I had my hit for the day. I was psyched and really into the game…

After watching a couple pitches at first base, I realized the pitcher was hardly paying attention to me. I figured, There’s a runner on third base, there’s one out, second base is wide open for my taking … On the 3-1 pitch, I took off and slid in safely. Stolen base. … I scored a couple pitches later.

We had our chances during the ensuing innings but failed to get anything across … I reached base again in the fourth inning on a fielder’s choice and reached third base on a couple passed balls, but didn’t score.

In my last at-bat in the seventh, I popped up to the pitcher. Ugh … But I got another chance on the base paths that same inning when I had to pinch-run for our catcher who was planted on first base (Under our league rules, if the catcher is on base with two outs, the last batter to record an out can pinch-run for the catcher). … With two outs, the batter launched one to left field, and I was off at the crack of the bat. By the time I hit third base, I was flying. I scored standing up … Man did that base-run feel good.

Getting the win felt good, too.

Game 4: Back to good

After getting walloped in our last two games against the two best teams in the league, we were desperate for a good win today. We needed a confidence-booster.

We got it. Against the worst team in the league. 12-5.

Interestingly, we went down 0-4 in the first inning on a couple errors and some timely hits. … I got the start in right field today, and the only ball to come near me was a line drive to my right side. I got a good jump on the ball, but it was too far out of my reach. I made a diving attempt at it, then felt it skip off the tip of my glove and saw it roll behind me as I skidded on the grass. The center fielder backed up the play and the batter trotted into second base with a two-run double.

It was all us from then on, though.

After doing nothing in our half of the first – I struck out leading off – we batted around and scored seven in the second. I drove in one run with a single to the left side and later scored myself.

You wouldn’t know it by the score, but we had our share of troubles hitting ... After facing a collection of hard throwers in our last two games, today we went up against a guy who was throwing pure junk that was so slow it barely made it to the plate. Every time the ball left his hands, our eyes got wide – but we were over swinging almost every time …

After my strikeout in the first and a single in the second, I had an RBI-ground out in the fifth. Then in the seventh, I finally got a good piece of the ball and drove it to left field – but it was directly to the fielder and caught.

While we kept scoring, our pitcher kept mowing ‘em down. He pitched the complete game and logged 11 strikeouts.

For once, our defense also held up – and included our third baseman’s diving snatch of a hot liner, which is sure to be the play of the year.

Game 3: Bad day

The game started so, so well.

I batted in the leadoff spot and started the game with a single up the middle. Then I advanced to second base on a bloop single into the outfield.

I took third on a ground ball to the third baseman -- it was a force play, so I had to go -- and got around the big third baseman with a hook slide into the base as he reached to tag me. I scored on a single a few pitches later and we went up 1-0.

And then …

everything

fell

apart.

That run I scored would be the only run we put on the board until the eighth inning. We lost the game 11-4.

Baseball players are famously superstitious and -- aside from my thrilling run around the bases to start the game -- things weren’t right with me from the beginning.

Rather than thinking about playing baseball, I had been keeping an eye on the Weather Channel and secretly hoping for a lazy, rainy Sunday. The radar images had storms passing over us throughout the weekend and they called for a 70 percent chance of rain, beginning at 3 p.m., our game time. … But the storms never came, and we played under sunny skies.

Add to that, we were playing at a new ball field that was a 25-minute drive out of the city. I got a late start on my drive and arrived almost 30-minutes late for our warm-ups … Usually, I’m among the first at the ballpark.

I also forgot my water jug on the kitchen counter … leaving my mouth dry for most of the game.

I got the start at second base and we figured pretty quickly during our infield warm-ups that it was going to be a tricky infield. The grass was rutty and the dirt was dry and gravelly ... The ball was taking bad hops all over the place.

In our league’s four-year history, two teams have dominated the standings. No matter how talented we know our team is, one of them beat us last week ... and we were betting on the other taking it to us today.

My mind had the best of me before the game started.

The first batter in the bottom of the first inning hit a ground ball right at me … and it bounced right by me. An identical play occurred to start the second inning. Then in the third, I fielded a perfect throw to catch a runner stealing second base but missed the tag.

To put it bluntly, a couple of us in the infield did a fabulous job of putting the game out of reach for our team. And by the sixth inning none of us were arguing with Coach’s suggestion to pull us.

I stayed in the batting lineup, though I didn’t do much more of anything there, either. In the fourth, I got down in the count by swinging and missing two nasty curveballs, and then struck out looking at a fastball that caught the inside corner. … In the seventh, I came up with no outs and two runners on. I got down in the count again, but I battled and fouled off three or four pitches before the pitcher got me swinging at a curve -- which got better the deeper he went in the game -- for strike three. We eventually loaded the bases in that inning, but failed to get any of our runners across.

Finally in the ninth, we showed some life, stringing together a few walks and a couple hits for some runs. But the damage had been done…

The game ended with me waiting in the on-deck circle. I hate it when that happens.

Game 2: As bad as it gets?

People say baseball is a humbling game …

We proved it today.

After an easy and gratifying first win in our opener two weeks ago, we returned to the field this morning and got slapped around. The final: 12-2.

We were up against the perennial powerhouse of the league this morning, but going in -- given the way our team is built and how well we played two weeks ago -- I figured it’d be a competitive game. Instead, we didn’t hit, and they did. They also capitalized on our errors.

I got the start at third base to cover for a couple guys who couldn’t play this week. Second base and shortstop in our first game, and third base today -- just call me Aaron Miles, or Craig Counsell … I didn’t get a whole lot of action, however, other than a pop fly foul ball that I caught to end an inning.

At the plate, I came into today’s game as confident as ever after my 3-for-3 in the first game … But we also faced some hard-throwers today. In my first at-bat, I was thrown out on a slow bouncer to the shortstop -- but at least I could be happy I put the ball in play.

In my second and final at-bat of the day, I strode to the plate with two outs after the batter ahead of me drew a walk to load the bases. Nice. Here’s my chance to drive in some runs for us, I thought …

I swung and missed a letters-high fastball for strike one, then fouled off a breaking ball for strike two. Then, I fouled off a knuckleball to stay alive, and laid off a curve that dropped outside the plate for ball one. Finally, the pitcher threw another fastball; I started my swing too late and missed it. Strike three. … I could be happy I battled, but I badly wanted a sweeter outcome.

So went the game. It seemed as though the other side was piling on more runs with each passing inning ... During the final innings we were watching the clock and counting the minutes to lunch time. I was starving.

Oh yeah, and the umpires went to the wrong field and never showed for our game. Each team’s catcher had to call balls and strikes, which could not have been easy.

Game 1: Good as it gets

… The adrenaline rush has run out. The exhaustion and soreness from my weekend of fun is kicking in.

On Friday afternoon I got to interview Aerosmith’s Tom Hamilton. And I spent a part of my Saturday donning full firefighting gear and participating in some training exercises. It’s days like those that make the 5 a.m. days, the never-ending criticism and the high drama all worth it.

But I’m obligated to save those stories for another day.

Yesterday, I played baseball.

(Insert the angel chorus here.)

If you’ve read or listened to any of my commentaries from my last few summers of amateur ball, you know I’ve played on some teams that would’ve made the Bad News Bears look like the ’27 Yankees.

This year, all that changes.

After last season ended, a few other guys and I declared ourselves free agents and broke off from the team we’d played with for the last two years. We formed the foundation of a new team -- called the Pirates -- and started recruiting with the mission of forming a new team of guys who would be committed to our team but hadn’t lost sight of the fact that this is a game and a league meant for adult men who just want to play baseball and have fun doing it. Secondary to that, we wanted a team of guys who could play well together and stay competitive.

Both were qualities our former team sorely lacked.

As we gathered for our first practices in February, the puzzle pieces had started coming together. The team gelled instantly.

Yesterday, it came time to prove ourselves on the field. And everything clicked.

We won our season opener 14-4 … Even sweeter, we did it against our former team.

Our pitcher went seven strong innings, striking out 10. Offensively, we got on the board in the bottom of the first inning when our cleanup-hitting catcher -- who we might as well call “Pudge” -- caked the first pitch he saw for a two-run home run over the fence in left center. We never lost our lead for the remainder of the game.

As for me, I turned in a 3-for-3 day, although that was due in part to the other team … During my first at-bat, I skied a ball that probably should have been caught, but the shortstop let it drop in shallow left center field. I eventually moved to third and scored.

During my second at bat, I took a slider for a strike and missed a nasty curve before slapping the 0-2 pitch back up the middle and beating out the throw at first. … Then, since I was on with a runner on third, two outs and we already had a comfortable lead, I figured it would be a good time to try stealing a base -- so I went on the second pitch. About three quarters of the way there, I took a glance at the shortstop standing a few feet off the bag and guessed by his reaction that there wasn’t to be a throw. But just as I pulled up to the bag, the throw was bouncing into him and I couldn’t stop my momentum. I overran the bag, stumbled and the shortstop put the tag on me as I laid flat on my stomach behind the bag.

My best at-bat of the day came in my final trip to the plate. I slapped the first pitch I saw down the right field line for an easy single. And then successfully stole second and later scored.

I had a slightly tougher time in the field, which could be blamed on first-game jitters, I suppose. After years of playing left field, I was designated as our starting second baseman this season, which is where I’ve wanted to be all along. So I guess you could say the pressure was on to perform well …

During my first chance in the second inning, I booted a ground ball but picked it up in time -- only to make a bad throw that got past the first baseman and allowed the batter to reach second on my throwing error. I came back later in the inning by fielding a ground ball cleanly and making a good throw to get the third out … A couple innings later, an opposing batter hit a fly ball just over my head and into shallow right field. I had a beat on it and could have made the catch, but gave the angle away to the right fielder. The problem was neither of us called for the ball and it dropped between us. … I also allowed a couple more throws from the catcher get by me than I would have liked on base stealing attempts …

In the bottom of the fifth, I got moved to shortstop to fill in for our starter who was battling a sore quadriceps. Unfortunately, I botched the only opportunity I had there by letting a line drive sail just past me on my right side.

So there’s some things to work on yet. Big deal. …

More importantly we got a very gratifying win -- and we had a whole lotta fun doing it.

Sunday reading

Just said good-bye to the parents, who spent a couple days with us here on the homestead ...

A great weekend. Great food. Great conversation. Great times playing with Phoebe ... And not so great weather. It poured almost endlessly yesterday and today ...

The afternoon is fast turning into a lazy Sunday evening. Kates and I can barely keep our eyes open.

Here's some of the reads that caught my eyes over the last few days ...

Sports ...
a A tragic end for minor leaguer traded for bats
a For Free Throws, 50 Years of Practice Is No Help
a Manny Ramirez has some things to say
a What Yankees Knew About Rodriguez’s Injury, and When They Knew It

Media & the Internet ...
a When Everyone’s a Friend, Is Anything Private?
a 15 Fake and Funny Twitter Accounts
a WIAA files suit against Gannett over broadcasting of postseason games on Internet
a In Denver, Residents Lament the Closing of a Newspaper
a Will Report for Tips
a Small Town News" journalist dissed by Letterman was laid off last week ... I'm posting this mostly because I thought the "Small Town News" segment -- in case you missed it -- was hilarious. I think this reporter's reaction to it is a little over-the-top.
a Copyright Challenge for Sites That Excerpt
a YouTube and Universal Music Are Said to Discuss Deal
a A Google Search of a Distinctly Retro Kind
a How To Save Print ... A good funny

Politics ...
a For Young President, Flecks of Gray

TV ...
a CBS has its eye on Fox's ratings prize

Music ...
a Kelly Clarkson's 'All I Ever Wanted': 3.5 stars
a U2 looks in, branches out

Life & other stuff ...
a Here, all sales are final ... Never made it to any of the local Circuit City sales to check out the big sales (We don't have the money to spend), but this was an amusing read nonetheless.
a This winter, last year's add up to some bragging rights ... I'm throwing it back.

This is how it ends

So we went from playing the best game in our history last week to playing one of the worst last night. It was tough to watch -- which, unfortunately, was pretty much what I did ...

To make it worse, I awoke this morning to an excruciating cramp in my right leg ... And it's not going away.

We were in the playoffs as the No. 6 seed. Last week we knocked off the No. 3 seed. Last night, we were playing the No. 2 seed… Going in we had the momentum. We were still flying high from last week’s upset win. We were a cohesive unit and aiming for another one tonight …

And we looked really good taking a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning …

And then our momentum vanished …

I got my first at-bat in the second inning and flied out to center field. That was the only at-bat I’d get.

Coach pulled most of the starters after the third inning -- for reasons I’m still trying to figure out. Meanwhile, our center fielder continued to play, even after he’d injured his knee. And when we had three other pitchers ready to take the mound, we went with the one who threw eight innings last week -- and had a bad knee himself -- for seven innings tonight …

We lost the game 16-9.

And that’s the end of our season. We went 5-9 during the regular season and 1-1 in the playoffs …

If my calculations are correct, I batted .409 this season ... Yeah, I surprised myself when I came up with that number too. Ted Williams, watch out ...

Here's the rest of my season numbers: 9 hits (in 22 at-bats), 2 doubles, 5 walks, 4 runs scored, 2 RBIs, 2 stolen bases and 7 strikeouts.

Though, I only played in 10 of our 16 games ....

Here's a look back ...
a June 1
a June 28
a July 9
a July 13
a July 27
a Aug. 3
a Aug. 17
a Aug. 20
a Sept. 3

Proposals and ideas

... Two proposed ordinances in Chicago got my attention last night ...

First, a Chicago alderman is proposing that metal bats be banned during organized baseball games within the city ... I think the idea of such an ordinance is absurd. Metal bats are part of the game, and if you can't deal with it -- don't play. There's other ways to get hurt playing baseball, too. It's like asking for an ordinance that bans tackle football. ... And c'mon, wood bats shattering all over the field can be just as dangerous ...

Meanwhile, another alderman is calling for a ban on text messaging while driving ... Let me know where I can sign that one. As I was driving home last night, I caught a kid driving a minivan alongside me, his hands raised over the steering wheel and he was text-messaging -- either that or he was playing on a handheld video game. Either way, the van was swerving all over road, and the girl in the passenger side, with her feet propped on the dashboard, was acting as though it was ok. I should have called the police on them ...

Die another day

… I didn’t feel like playing baseball tonight.

… The day had started with Kates waking me up an hour earlier than my alarm -- because our power was out. The thunder was rumbling outside … Then it took me longer than normal to get Phoebe ready. It seemed like it took an hour alone to feed her this morning, though really it was probably about 20 minutes. And I ended up being about 15 minutes late to work …

Several times throughout the day, as I began thinking about my plans for tonight, I nearly forgot I had a baseball game to play.

But my mood changed when I got to the field. The weather was cool; it was like football weather. A breeze was blowing in from left field, and -- for the first time all season -- we were actually warming up in our warm-up jackets. It felt great!

On top of that, we were starting the playoffs tonight as the No. 6 seed playing the No. 3 seeded Hawks -- a team that we haven’t exactly been fond of this summer. We hated the way they carried themselves, we‘d lost three games to them this season, and they enticed one of our top pitchers from last year to move to their side during the offseason. So there was a certain fire in our eyes, a revenge factor raging tonight when we took the field …

From the start, we were super aggressive on the base paths and used some good base running to take an early 1-0 lead …

Then in the top of the second inning, I came to the plate and hit a two-out single to the right side. I stole second a couple pitches into the next at-bat … And that batter shot a fly ball toward center field. I could tell off the bat it was going to be shallow, but with two outs I was off and running. I got an excellent jump and by the time I got to third base, the base coach was waving me toward home -- the ball had dropped. I crossed home plate standing up, gave us a 2-0 lead, and was pretty proud of my base running during that sequence …

… But the Hawks came back and tied the score in the third … And it stayed tied until the eighth inning.

In the meantime, I struck out after battling and fouling off a handful of pitches in the fifth inning. The umpire called me out on a ball that I thought was far outside. … In the seventh inning, I took a hack at the first pitch I saw and flied out to right field.

In the eighth inning, we went to work on the Hawks pitcher. We’d been making him work all night long, and he was finally showing signs of being tired. We stayed aggressive on the base paths, rattled ‘em and scored three runs to take a 5-2 lead. Our dugout was roaring …

But in the bottom of the inning, they started getting on our pitcher too … And when we finally stopped the bleeding, they had taken a 6-5 lead.

So we went to the bottom of the ninth. Three outs to work with … Tom led off the inning and lined a shot to left field that dropped for a single, but with the game on the line, he got a little too aggressive and tried to stretch the hit into a double -- and was tagged out … I couldn’t blame him for the move, but it didn’t go our way and we feared it would cost us …

But Lance walked, Ange was hit by a pitch, and then I stepped to the plate again. I got a walk, too, and suddenly the bases were loaded with one out …

Lo and behold, Kyle stepped up and got a hold of one. He roped it down the third base line and the umpire called it a fair ball (which was a much-welcomed call since we thought we were the victims of a bad call on an almost identical play an inning earlier). The two runners ahead of me scored, and I slid safely into third base to beat the tag there. I was left stranded there, but it didn’t matter -- we were ahead 7-6 going into the bottom of the ninth …

And we sent them down 1-2-3.

The way we hopped onto the field afterward, you might have thought we won the championship. Truth was we just really wanted to win that game …

Making it even sweeter, it was a total team effort. Everybody on our team contributed tonight, everybody did what they needed to do …

It was easily the most gratifying, dramatic and fun game we’ve played in our three years of playing together.

We've lived to play another day ...