Hubris!

Team E Manager Victor Rodriguez and Bill Lee

Hubris will get you every time -- if the baseball gods don't.  Yesterday, I said thank goodness for Team F because we got our only two wins so far in the week while playing against them -- well this afternoon they turned the tables and beat us for their first win of the week.  Combined with our loss in our morning game, Team A now has a record of 2 and 6 -- earning us a playoff game tomorrow against ..... the 1 and 7 Team F. 

There was rain overnight and into mid-morning but the fields were in fantastic shape by 10:30am when we started our game against Victor Rodriguez' team.  (Steve Liddle said that the grounds crew told him the fields were pretty muddy and Steve replied, "do you think a little mud will affect the speed of our games?")  Joe Cardi started as our pitcher but his arm tightened up after the first inning - with us down 3 to 0.  I pitched the next three innings, giving up six runs and striking out 2 (a couple of players who are on my weeknight team back home -- I'll hear about that this spring.)  We didn't do much at the plate, were shaky in the field and were dispatched pretty quickly by a final score of 9 to 1.  I was 0 for 1 with a walk at bat. 

Arnie Beyeler Manager of Team F

The afternoon saw our third game against Arnie Beyeler's Team F.  Again with poor fielding and no hitting, we fell behind quickly by a score of 6 to 0 -- and then started to inch back to get to a 6 to 3 score going into fifth inning.  The scored three to go ahead 9 to 3 into our last at bat.  We rallied to score 4 runs and had runners on second and third base with two out when our rally fell short, losing the game by a score of 9 to 7.  I was 2 for 2 at bat with an rbi.  We will face Team F tomorrow to see who can stay out of the cellar for the week.

I pitched for the fourth day in a row today and my arm has continued to feel good and I am happy with how I have thrown this week.  Several people have asked what my earned run average is for the week and there is no good answer.  The number of errors and misplays make an accurate accounting of earned runs almost impossible.  For instance a player on another team said after one of their games that his team made more errors and misplays (14) than they had hits.  We had a play today where a 30' high pop-fly into the infield fell between the first and second basemen without ever being in danger of being caught.  It was a hit but in "normal" circumstances would be an easy out.  It is the nature of Ponce and makes it difficult to have precise or meaningful statistics.   As in all sports, the most important statistic is wins and losses.

A couple of observations on the day:  During our afternoon game our third baseman made a nice move to his left to spear a hard hit ground ball -- then he stood and kept searching around him trying to find the ball until our teammates told him that it was in his glove!  An example of so many errors being made that fielders can be surprised when they don't make an error.

During the early rain delay this morning, a player was swinging a bat in the locker room, worrying a couple of guys who were standing nearby.  Steve Liddle walked by and said, "Don't worry, you're okay, he hasn't hit anything all week."

Successful hitting is a combination of concentration and reaction -- it is important to execute the proper fundamentals but you shouldn't be thinking about too many things while you are at bat.  Overheard from one of the older campers who was 8 for 10 at bat, "I think its due to early-onset focus."

Bill was talking to Victor and Arnie before the Awards Dessert tonight.  Jackie Bradley Jr. is a highly ranked outfielder in the Red Sox minor leagues who Victor says has "all the tools."  They both think that Xander Bogaerts is an outstanding propect with a very high ceiling.

Steve Liddle said he understood why some long-time campers couldn't come any more -- one told him that Medicare didn't cover orthotics and another said a screw fell out of his hip.  Bill Lee said he thought Ponce campers were late bloomers -- like century cactus. 

Tonight at the Awards Dessert (a low-key Awards Dinner) Jamie Bell won the Team A most valuable player award for his all around play -- one of our leading hitters, outfielders and infielders (and a frequent pinch runner for me after I hurt my knee.)  Will Daugherty won the Spirit of Ponce Award for Team A.  Stuart Cohen, on my weekend team up north, won the Spirit of Ponce Award for his team, Team C.  Well done Stuart.

Extraneous Note:  Some people may be surprised to know that I am a big fan of Lady Gaga -- at least of her version of The Lady is a Tramp with Tony Bennett on Duets II and I look forward to the jazz album they are planning to do together.  Ms. Gaga (age 26) has got game .. but Tony Bennett (age 86) more than holds his own.  Not bad for a geezer.