The View From The Cheap Seats

Saturday was a very long day for both of us. We were at the field at 9 am, the first scrimmage game was at 10 am, the 2nd game at 1 pm and we finally arrived back home at 4 pm.  Whew! 

Christopher played second base in the first scrimmage game (photo above). In the second game, he caught for 4 innings and then played second base. It was incredibly hot (93 degrees) so catching was definitely a hardship position.

It PAINS me to have to write the following words but Christopher struck out 4 of his 5 at bats. Ugh! Talk about a slump! We are not sure what the problem is - he is hitting perfectly in the batting cage but just cannot make contact when he is on the plate. He is swinging the bat at great pitches but we just need to get him to hit the ball!

 Lunch break between the games.

The end of the game line up and handshakes. The boys on this team from the Japanese baseball academy are the nicest, most respectful and hardworking ballplayers. After our two scrimmage games were over, they stayed on the field for another 45 minutes and practiced. They are so committed to their sport - I am sure that is why they are so good.

 And the wai to the spectators. 

We played really well in the first game and were tied 1-1 at the top of the fifth inning. However, a few walks and errors allowed the other team to score 4 more runs and we lost 5-1.  

The second game was an absolute disaster. We went into the 4th inning leading 6-3 but they went on a batting rampage and scored 17 runs! Yikes! They certainly ate their Wheaties at lunch! After their 5th or 6th hit way out past our center fielder, I could see our team just deflate before my eyes. We did make some errors but not 17 runs worth. They were just hitting really well off of our pitcher (and his relief) and we couldn't reciprocate. 

We are having another weekend of scrimmage games in early March and it would be so nice to beat this team. They are the nicest group of kids but every time we have played them in the last two years, we have lost. A win has to be in our future. The boys were back on the field practicing on Sunday - only about 5 more weeks until the tournament in Singapore so this really is the crunch time.

Have a great Tuesday!