9.23.2007

A little fall ball

… So today I put on the ol’ baseball uniform one more time.

And boy was it worth it.

C’mon you knew I was going to find a way to play some fall ball even after I said I wasn’t interested

We took our Cubs show on the road today to Milwaukee to play the Angels of that city's league.

First, let’s look at the factors as we headed into this game…
1) None of us had picked up a bat since the last time we played nearly a month ago … and I had been slumping.
2) There were only eight of us today … which meant we would have to grab a player from the other team.
3) We were taking on a much more experienced team in a much more established league.
4) The field we were playing on had a sandbox for an infield.
5) Our starting pitcher, Jimmy, was still rehabbing the ACL he tore early in the season.
6) It seemed like there were more factors playing into today’s game, but I can’t think of them … You get the idea, though -- the odds weren't in our favor.

After arriving at the field, we warmed up, took some quick batting practice and got ready to play. I was penciled into play shortstop and bat in the sixth spot …

For the first four innings we battled. We had base runners, they had base runners. But neither team was getting a run across. A good sign for our team, though, was that Jimmy was not only throwing strikes, he was well above his game …

My first at-bat: I walked on five pitches in the second inning, then got moved over to second on the next batter’s single. But that’s where I’d end up …

My second at-bat: I got a pitch to drive … and drive it I did, roping a pitch that was low and away to the gap in right center field. It bounced off the fence and I was well on my way to second base with a stand-up double. And I’d like to think I could’ve ended up at third had I not been running in the quicksand that was today’s infield … A few pitches later, though, I got the hit-and-run sign and broke for third, only to watch the batter line out to the shortstop; he threw to second base and I had been doubled up to end the inning. We were still tied 0-0.

My third at bat: Finally in the fifth we got the first run on the board and took a 1-0 lead. That same inning I came up again and got jammed on a 1-1 pitch but managed to turn it around for a bloop single into centerfield. I’d knocked in the runner on third base, and now we were up 2-0 … I stole second, and then stole third, and then scored. We finished the inning with a 3-0 lead.

My fourth at bat: I led off the seventh inning and hit a hard, high chopper down the third base line. It skipped into the outfield, and I was on first base once more. I promptly stole second ( … by this time, I was starting to get the better of that quicksand infield), and when I popped up from my slide, the second baseman looks at me and scowls, “You again!” … “Yep!” I answered with a grin. Then I got moved over to third on a base hit and scored. We finished the inning ahead 4-0.

My fifth at-bat: I walked on four pitches to lead off the eighth … and then got put out at second base on the front end of a double play attempt. I say attempt because the runner beat the throw at first base … But we ended the inning with a 7-0 lead.

My sixth at-bat: I came up in the top of the ninth with two outs and runners on second and third … I took the first pitch for a called strike, though I thought it was low and outside. Then the pitcher got me swinging at a nasty curve for strike two and a high fastball for strike three. I flipped my bat and turned to walk back to the dugout, only to hear a guy in the opposing dugout yell, “All right! We finally got No. 8!” … That’s my number. Guess I earned their respect. I'd ended the day 3-for-4 with two walks, an RBI, two runs scored and stole three bases …

So we rolled into the bottom of the ninth with Jimmy still on the mound and trying to nail down the shutout. He’d only given up like three hits, and struck out about eight or nine. As a team, we’d been playing as relaxed and comfortably as we had all season long …

We’d been playing flawless defense, too. And I was taking a lot of pride in the fact I hadn’t let a ball get by me all day at shortstop -- I snared a hot ground ball to start a double play, caught a line drive that was hit hard to my right side and tracked down a pop fly that was hit over my head in shallow left-center.

But in the bottom of the ninth it started to unravel …

Jimmy walked the first batter …

The next batter hit a ground ball straight up the middle. Both Mikey (the second baseman) and I charged after it, Mikey made the grab behind second base, and I was backing him up, leaving no one to cover second base and start the double play. Doh! …

Another single and the bases were loaded. Then, another ball up to the middle -- this time Mikey was covering the bag, but the ball skipped high over my outstretched glove. Two runs scored and we’ve still got runners on the corners, with no outs …

The next batter hits a ball that drops in shallow right field between Mikey and the right fielder. The right fielder made a heads-up play by flinging the ball into me and I got one of the runner on a force-out at second base, but one more run scored. Now we’ve got a runner on first base with one out, the score is 7-3, and Jimmy’s losing his cool, which prompts a settle-down-and-focus meeting with the infielders on the mound …

They managed to push one more run across the plate, but Jimmy finally did settle down, got back to striking out batters, and we hung on for a gratifying 7-4 win.

Now, our season is officially over. Nice way to end it.

(For our regular season, go here)

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