We lost to a team we really whooped in a double header just a few weeks ago. We beat the next team.
Then, we started a game that got rained out after 2.5 innings. We were home team and winning, so that's essentially the same as completing 3 full innings. (Akin to the old "home team doesn't take their final at-bat if they're winning" thing.)
Turns out that according to Nation's Baseball rules, that was enough to constitute a complete game. So, we were then 2-1.
All we had to do was win our fourth game, against the weakest team in the bracket. We responded by playing absolutely stupid baseball. I honestly can't describe it. An example: first baseman catches a hopper. Turns to run the 4 feet to first-base to get the out. Somehow manages to drop the ball before he gets there.
They pitched a kid against us in the last two innings, and I don't mean to be cruel, but he probably would have been an average pitcher last year, when the boys were playing U9.
Instead of making the kid work, throw strikes, etc., the guys were flailing at stuff outside the strike zone, connecting for weak tappers. It was absolutely maddenning.
I'm not sure our coaches actually have a "take" signal. At this age, the main goal is development and for development, you want them hitting. It was just so stupid, though. It was a frustrating loss.
It was a loss we deserved, because we really played badly. It was a win they deserved because, although I don't think they're as good as we are as a team, they played as well as they could.
Now, for the wierd part: due to a strange tie-breaker, we advanced to bracket play, despite ourselves.
So, let's hope we'll peak for the bracket play tomorrow.
The coaches are at a total loss as to why the boys are so sluggish this season. I have some theories, but they're mostly just guesses. We're absolutely not playing up to our potential. There are some problems I can put a finger on, and I hope we address them, but it's not just the few trouble spots we've got. Everybody is really playing below their potential right now.
Probably one of those things that's just not worth obsessing about. They're kids. They're 9 and 10 years old. They'll snap out of it when they're ready to and nothing can be done to make it happen sooner.
As for El Bambino, he's still going absolutely ape. He ran out of luck a little bit today. Hit a liner straight up the middle that got past the pitcher.
9 times out of 10, that's a base hit. The problem? The 2nd baseman was covering the bag for the steal and didn't bounce back to his fielding position like he should have. So, he was in perfect position to make a play on the ball.
Despite this, Bambino almost legged it out. Got thrown out by less than half a step. He got a solid hit in his next AB to keep his streak alive. In fact, it was one of those hits you really don't like to see. He sent a rocket at the 3B who didn't quite get to it, but took it on the ankle. Hot corner can be hard to play when a right handed batter really gets around on the ball.
Funny, but the first 7 games of the season, Bambino was hitting less than .100. The next 12 games? Over .700.
He's .500 for the season, but that's mostly because he batted last or second to last all the way until the 2nd game of this tournament. So, his crappy start wasn't as damaging to his average as it could have been because he just didn't get that many ABs.
It's a funny trajectory, overall. I have to laugh.
In the off-season, I thought Bambino was going to make a case for being the best hitter on the team. He had a couple of bad at bats in scrimmages, and the coach saw something he really didn't like.
Bambino started the season in the 11 hole. Might have shaken his confidence, but who knows, might not have.
However, I basically worked with him, got help from folks, broke everything down and built it all up from scratch.
Bambino is now on a 12-game hitting streak. 3rd on the team in batting average right now:
| Date | Player | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Season | ### | .532 | .569 | .617 | 1.186 |
| Season | ### | .500 | .618 | .524 | 1.142 |
| Season | El Bambino | .500 | .590 | .531 | 1.121 |
Since his steak started, though, his numbers for the previous 10 games have looked more like a work of fiction than something that's really happening:
| Date | Player | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Last 10 | El Bambino | .722 | .750 | .722 | 1.472 |
| Last 10 | ### | .522 | .577 | .783 | 1.360 |
| Last 10 | ### | .500 | .643 | .500 | 1.143 |
So, so far, so good. He's really seeing the ball well, picking good pitches to hit. Driving the ball pretty hard, legging it out when he doesn't get it quite square.
Prior to today, he was 10 for his last 12 ABs.
He almost went 2 for 2 today, but again, he got a bit of bad luck when the 2nd baseman wasn't playing his position correctly.
So, we'll see how much longer the hot streak can continue. He started last year red-hot and faded when things got a little nuts. (We had a few weeks where he didn't get any days off from baseball. That was a bit much for an 8 year old and it showed up in his stats.)
This year, though, he's a year older, a bit more mature. Has a bit better sense in the batter's box.
So, it wasn't a straight line trajectory, but he's still in the running for establishing himself as the best hitter on the team. Of course, the more important issue is that he establish himself as doing his very best and doing something at or close to his potential.
He's there now. It's a beauty ot behold.
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