One Bad Pitch...

This weekend, we wrapped up our second series against the Perth Heat. The series, which unfortunately went in the Heat's favor was full of close games. On Thursday, as I already wrote about, we tied. Boo. On Friday night, I spent all game hoping I would get a chance to come in and nail down the W. We jumped out to a 4-0 lead and like all week, had great starting pitching. I watched from the bench as we ran into trouble in the late innings and ended up going down by 1 in the 7th, before tying it up in the 8th, and then losing the lead for good in the bottom of the 8th. We failed to get that big hit to put the game away in the middle innings in a game that I think we all felt like we should have won. I wish I had gotten a chance to come in, but that chance would have to wait until Saturday night.

Saturday nights game, the last game for Team USA, was another nail biter. In front of probably the biggest crowd in the 6 games, we again got great starting pitching. The pitching was strong on both sides and we got through 7 innings with the score tied at zeros. I took the ball in the bottom of the 8th to face the heart of their order. Among the hitters I faced were Evan McArthur, a former player at Cal State Fullerton who plays in the Giants system, Luke Hughes of the Minnesota Twins, and Allan de San Miguel, the AAA Catcher for the Twins.

I was throwing well and making good pitches. I got the first batter to fly out to right on a change up and then struck out McArthur with a curve. Things were feeling good until Luke Hughes stepped into the box. He had had a tough series so far, striking out a lot in the first two games, but was heating up and had laced a few balls earlier in the night. My first mistake to Hughes (http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/H/Luke-Hughes.shtml)was falling behind in the count. I lost my grip on a first pitch curve high and then missed with a second pitch low. What followed, will no doubt be a good story to tell, but one I would rather not be telling. I would have really liked to strike him out, get back in the dugout, score a run, come back out and nail down the W. That didn't happen. Instead, I did something very rare...I gave up two home runs to the guy in one at bat.

I threw a 2-0 curve ball. Not a great pitch, but the location was such that when he teed off on it, it was a foul home run by about 10 feet. He pimped it, never leaving the box. Hr number 1.
Trying to get him out front, I came back with a change-up. This was really my one mistake of the night, and happened to be a really bad mistake to a really bad person to make a mistake to. He teed off on the belt high blunder and deposited it about 10 feet beyond the left field wall. Fair. Hr number 2. I wasn't looking, but some teammates told me he basically stayed in the box admiring it until it landed.I don't really care about that, but am pissed at myself that I let myself get beat with not my best pitch. Mistake 2, or maybe 3... whatever it was. I tried to throw the change too hard, leaving it up over the middle. In retrospect, I should have come back with another curve (he had been swinging over a lot of them throughout the series), or executed the pitch better. I broke de San Miguel's bat inducing a grounder to short, but he reached on a throwing error. I got the next batter to fly out to end the inning, but the damage was done.

At the moment, the fact that he hit a home run in his first Big League AB doesn't make me feel much better, but like I said it will make a good story to tell. Right now I am just disappointed that I gave up the winning run, and cost us a ballgame. On a positive note, it was a lot of fun to be challenged by some good hitters and play in front of a sizable crowd in a good baseball atmosphere. I made one mistake and it made the difference in the ballgame. That is why baseball is the best and hardest sport. The small things make a difference, and when the game is on the line, you can't pass the ball off to a teammate. You can go all game in the field without a ball and then have to make the biggest play or sit on the bench for 7 innings and come in and have to pitch in a tie game. You can't beat that. I wish there were more games so I could face him again but it will have to wait for another time... for now, its just a story to tell.

After the game, I went to a bbq at the Free's place with some of my teammates from the bears. Despite the loss, it ended up being a good night and I look forward to the many bbqs that are still to come.

Sunday, Adam (one of the Stephenson boy's from the bears) and his wife Liza with their two sons and Lee showed us around Perth, where we checked out King's Park, Freemantle, and along the coast. Another good day and a big thanks to them for showing Rachel and I around.

This morning was my first real day of work at Lawley's bakery and cafe, where there are about 3049403 different pastries and 3409823 different breads for me to remember and about 309393 other things to serve. For a first day it went pretty well, especially considering that you could not hear anything because they were re-doing the pavement outside. There was one customer who was a huge you-know-what because 1) she said she wanted a pre-toasted sandwich toasted, so I thought she meant the un-toasted sandwich with the same name and 2) because I had to ask her twice. Basically she can .... aaaah customer service. The best part is that I work the 6-12 shift, meaning there is plenty of beach time left in the afternoons, which is where I am going now... comments, questions, and fan/personal letters are all welcome... miss you all!

E