The good news is we scored 10 runs in our game tonight. The bad news is that the other guys scored 13. The strange news is that we scored 10 runs without ever once making contact with the ball. Every single one of our at-bats resulted in a walk or strikeout, thus sending the Rob Deer Fan Club into paroxysms of joy.
Not as much joy for our guys, though the two five-run rallies (teams are limited to five runs per inning up until the final frame) had everyone jumping and hollering. The other guys brought in their best pitcher after that, a ten-year-old Mariano Rivera who blew heat past everyone. A couple of them who were called out on strikes were pretty upset about it afterwards. Unlike the last ump, this one had a fairly realistic strike zone, one that was almost too small for this level. Both players complained that Strike Three was outside, and they took it hard. I spent some time smoothing their ruffled feathers, but since this all happened in the last inning there wasn’t a chance for them to get out on the field and get over it.
Unfortunately, we’ll be missing the next two games due to travels. I feel bad about that, like I’m abandoning them. I hope they have some better luck in my absence.
We did do some good things in the field, including a great grab of a line drive by our shortstop, who had started on the mound. We also did a better job of handling third strikes, though there were fewer strikeouts because these guys hit the ball a lot.
I’m preaching a steady diet of optimism, encouragement, and get-em-next-time. I do hope we get some results, because that sort of thing can only go so far. We’ll see how it is next week when I’m back.