Uggghhh...

The baseball marathon continues.  Last night was a little disappointing.  We won big:  16-2.  That's not what I'm unhappy about. 

Actually, it is what I'm unhappy about.  We knew going in to this game that this team wasn't that hard for us to beat.  Last year, this was all new to us and we really didn't know which teams would give us trouble and which teams would not.

So, we pretty much showed up loaded for bear for every game.  Strongest lineup.  Bringing the hardest pitching.  We experimented once or twice with going with a lighter lineup but we guessed wrong a couple of times and the team we faced was harder than we predicted.

This year, we know the teams a little better.  Also, the league has divided up into different divisions.  The tougher teams are in our division.  The easier teams are in the other.

We played teams from the other division twice so far this year.  The first time, we dabbled with letting some other players get exposure to infield and pitching.  The second time was awesome:  infield was ALL kids who hadn't played it much, previously and we gave a lot of kids the chance to pitch.  I think we literally pitched a different kid every inning.

Last night was a little disappointing.  I have tried putting a bug in the coach's ear that maybe we could flip the batting order against some of these easier teams.  It sucks being at the bottom of the order.  My son was there a lot this year.  Really, the kids who hit well tend to hit well week-in, week-out.  The kids who don't might have a good game or two, but for the most part, they are towards the bottom of the team, numbers-wise, every week.

I think it would be nice to take that kid who has been slogging it out in the 12 spot all year and let him lead off or bat somewhere in the top of the order when the outcome of the game is not in question.  Plus, you never know, baseball is so mental that maybe doing that every now and then will help the kid improve. 

It also seems like an issue of fairness to me.  We bat our best batters at the top for the vast majority of our games because that makes sense and it's what you do to win games.  However, every other player on the team works just as hard.  I feel like they deserve a little moment in the sun, too, once in a while.

It was also disappointing in that we didn't jumble up the infield as much as we could.  In fact, we pretty much kept our usual third baseman and shortstop the whole game.  Honestly, this hacks me off a little bit. 

At least with batting, everybody is going to get a turn to bat.  Again, my son batted 11th or 12th for quite a few weeks, but his batting order couldn't dictate how well he hit.  Despite a crappy spot in the batting order, he still got the same chance to hit the ball every at-bat that everybody else had.  No matter where he was on the lineup, if he crushed the ball, he crushed the ball.

Yeah, the guys at the bottom end up with a lot fewer ABs than the guys at the top.  By the end of the season, the guys at the bottom probably get as much as 30% fewer at-bats as the guys at the top.

Still, this is travel baseball, and you have to earn your way up. 

However, with infield positions, you really have to look for chances to let the kids play those.  My son got to play an inning at 2nd base and an inning pitching last night.  He wasn't the only one.  Two other kids who don't pitch much got to pitch an inning, too. 

In a game like this, where we're clearly not going to lose the thing, why would we not use it as a chance to develop these kids?

My biggest problem with the team is basically that it's turning into a team that exists for 5 players.  The other 7 are just there to do whatever the other 5 don't need to do. 

Now, I know that even the greatest coaches have their favorite players.  I think we have a great coach.  He's only human.  I also think he is as fair-minded as he can be.  He would never actively do anything to favor one kid over another.  He's making judgement calls on what he sees as merit.  For the most part, I think he makes good calls.

I don't think he's always right, but he's as right as a human being can be.  The 5 players?  Generally speaking, they are a cut above.  I think that sometimes they get the benefit of the doubt, where other players on the team might not, but that's just going to be the case in any team sport with any coach. 

You get a guy who destroys the ball at the plate, and the coach isn't as hard on him when he tanks a play in the infield as he would be on the kid who is batting .100 and tanks the same play. 

The team's best pitcher might get to work out his difficulties at the top of the order when he slumps.  Another kid slumps and he's down to the bottom of the order. 

These are the sorts of things that are just inevitable in team sports.  Life isn't always fair and the team doesn't exist to give the perfect experience to any one individual player.  You make tradeoffs and realize that hey, maybe for no good reason, another kid who is no better than yours got put in 1B one day and yours got put in LF, and the coach just never saw a reason to change things.

When you're not one of the chosen ones on the team, it can be frustrating.

However, games like last night are the chance to give some valuable experience to the guys on the team who aren't the chosen ones.  That, more than anything, is what's frustrating to me. 

Yeah, you have to make a call, and not everybody is going to be happy with the "A lineup".  Sorry, but the team's studs are going to get the critical positions and better spots in the batting order when it's going to be a tough, competitive game. 

For crying out loud, though, when you're facing an easy team, that's a chance to balance the scales a little bit.  You're still gonna win.  Do you really need to win by 14 runs?  How about winning by 3 runs and developing the other 7 troopers on the team?

So, I'm a little hacked off today.  The kid is killing the ball, hottest hitter on the team and still hitting seventh.  When we face a team where he could have gotten some good experience pitching and playing shortstop, he ends up doing 1 inning pitching, 1 inning 2B, and spends the rest of the game back in center field.

Now, I also don't mean to bag on Center Field like it's some sort of consolation prize.  Logan plays the hell out of it.  He's had some huge catches and gunned down some baserunners with plays that not many guys on the team can make.  I have no problem with him being a center fielder in the long run if he makes his High School team. 

My problem is that the kid is 9 years old.  At this point, nobody can really say for sure what he'll develop to be.  He should be getting well-rounded experience that's a mix of pitching, infield and outfield.  I think he's getting a token amount of time pitching and in the infield.  He's developing into an insanely good CF, but I don't like the idea of potentially pidgeonholing him when he's so young.

Also, I should emphasize, I'm not just saying this for him.  There are other guys who either play the whole game in the outfield, or they platoon here and there.  These easier games should be a chance for them to have fun. 

We didn't do a very good job of that last night.  I've made my opinion known to the coach.  At this point, I just have to respect his decision and watch the rest of the season play out.

Ultimately, is this enough to make me want Logan to play for a different team?  That's a really hard call.  The coach really is a good coach.  He runs a great practice.  The team is a great team.  It's a classic big fish, small pond question.  Is it better to be the starting CF on a team that wins, or would you rather start at SS on a team that's playing at a level a notch below? 

In the best of all worlds, you'd play on the better team, then earn your spot as starting SS.  Thing is, unlike batting, that's hard to do if you don't ever get the chance.