I know this looks like my first post, but it's not.
DD is playing 16U B. She's the #1 pitcher, but the difference between her and the #2 is negligible. Neither is great -- they don't walk a lot, but don't strike out many. A lot of grounders get hit. They both take lessons and both are dedicated, but like I said, neither is very good. I think they'd both be serviceable #2s for most teams at their level.
But the defense is terrible. Not sort of awful, but awful. Hits to the shortstop are 50-50 at best of it being stopped, and when it is, the throw is weak much of the time so the runner ends up safe. Long flies are about the same -- few fall out of gloves, but they usually aren't tracked well, and girls rarely run to make a play. They don't crash on grounders. They don't hit cutoffs. 20 games into the season, we've not had an infielder catch a ball in foul territory. 63 errors in 20 games; 13 at short, 11 at third and 10 at second.
Add into that we can't hit. DD and two other girls hit okay. Not great, but okay. But as a team, the average is .270. We've only scored. 38 runs in 20 games and given up 186 -- so the average score of the games is about 9-1. I'm a pretty kind scorer about errors, but of those 186 runs, 98 have been earned, so even had there been perfect defense, we'd still be losing 5-1 or so. But we've been run ruled more often than not. We've been run-ruled in every Sunday game so far. It's been miserable.
You figure into that some stupid (some not) teenage drama, where DD -- a pitcher -- found out that the catchers have been trashing her pretty badly. Not her skills, but just trashing her. Before we left yesterday, she said she didn't want to go to the tourney, but I made her, saying that she couldn't abandon her team (this was before I knew about the text messages). The first game of the day was against one of the few teams worse than us, and we squeaked out a win, behind the other pitcher. DD was pitching game 2, and her assigned catcher wouldn't warm up with her (despite being asked) until the ump gave the 5-minute warning. The catchers seem to hate her -- they don't talk to her, they don't calm her down, no one in the infield says anything beyond "shake it off" if she gives up a hit. But she pitched all right, but there were four errors in the first and she got rocked. Again.
I'm close with our coach, but the catcher I just mentioned his her step daughter. Coach wasn't at the games yesterday, so i don't know whether that would have mattered. But regardless, apparently the other pitcher (or her father) has had enough. He texted coach today and said he had to find a better team for his daughter. I don't say that I blame him, and we're thinking of the same. Not as much for the softball -- though it sucks to get rocked game after game -- but for the fact her catchers seem to hate her and trash her to her teammates. However, obviously if the other pitcher leaves and we leave, that's it for the team. Even if the other pitcher leaves, it should be it for the team though i imagine they'll try to manage through with DD and guest pitchers (some of which will make DD look bad).
I've talked to Dd about sticking it out for the sake of sticking it out, that she made a commitment, and killing the team wouldn't be fair to the other girls who she really likes. But at the same time, she's up there game after game and they're not doing their part to help out. DD and the other pitcher were the only ones to take lessons over the off season. DD works with her pitching a hitting coaches every week, and spends some time outside every day working on both. So is she obligated to keep working to help a team where people a) don't like her b) aren't making efforts to get better and c) don't give the game the same energy DD (or the other pitcher) does? Or are we just whining?
We've got a couple of weeks off. I've told DD i'll back whatever she wants to do. But I also know I can push her one way or the other. I just don't know which way that should be. There's still half a season left.
DD is playing 16U B. She's the #1 pitcher, but the difference between her and the #2 is negligible. Neither is great -- they don't walk a lot, but don't strike out many. A lot of grounders get hit. They both take lessons and both are dedicated, but like I said, neither is very good. I think they'd both be serviceable #2s for most teams at their level.
But the defense is terrible. Not sort of awful, but awful. Hits to the shortstop are 50-50 at best of it being stopped, and when it is, the throw is weak much of the time so the runner ends up safe. Long flies are about the same -- few fall out of gloves, but they usually aren't tracked well, and girls rarely run to make a play. They don't crash on grounders. They don't hit cutoffs. 20 games into the season, we've not had an infielder catch a ball in foul territory. 63 errors in 20 games; 13 at short, 11 at third and 10 at second.
Add into that we can't hit. DD and two other girls hit okay. Not great, but okay. But as a team, the average is .270. We've only scored. 38 runs in 20 games and given up 186 -- so the average score of the games is about 9-1. I'm a pretty kind scorer about errors, but of those 186 runs, 98 have been earned, so even had there been perfect defense, we'd still be losing 5-1 or so. But we've been run ruled more often than not. We've been run-ruled in every Sunday game so far. It's been miserable.
You figure into that some stupid (some not) teenage drama, where DD -- a pitcher -- found out that the catchers have been trashing her pretty badly. Not her skills, but just trashing her. Before we left yesterday, she said she didn't want to go to the tourney, but I made her, saying that she couldn't abandon her team (this was before I knew about the text messages). The first game of the day was against one of the few teams worse than us, and we squeaked out a win, behind the other pitcher. DD was pitching game 2, and her assigned catcher wouldn't warm up with her (despite being asked) until the ump gave the 5-minute warning. The catchers seem to hate her -- they don't talk to her, they don't calm her down, no one in the infield says anything beyond "shake it off" if she gives up a hit. But she pitched all right, but there were four errors in the first and she got rocked. Again.
I'm close with our coach, but the catcher I just mentioned his her step daughter. Coach wasn't at the games yesterday, so i don't know whether that would have mattered. But regardless, apparently the other pitcher (or her father) has had enough. He texted coach today and said he had to find a better team for his daughter. I don't say that I blame him, and we're thinking of the same. Not as much for the softball -- though it sucks to get rocked game after game -- but for the fact her catchers seem to hate her and trash her to her teammates. However, obviously if the other pitcher leaves and we leave, that's it for the team. Even if the other pitcher leaves, it should be it for the team though i imagine they'll try to manage through with DD and guest pitchers (some of which will make DD look bad).
I've talked to Dd about sticking it out for the sake of sticking it out, that she made a commitment, and killing the team wouldn't be fair to the other girls who she really likes. But at the same time, she's up there game after game and they're not doing their part to help out. DD and the other pitcher were the only ones to take lessons over the off season. DD works with her pitching a hitting coaches every week, and spends some time outside every day working on both. So is she obligated to keep working to help a team where people a) don't like her b) aren't making efforts to get better and c) don't give the game the same energy DD (or the other pitcher) does? Or are we just whining?
We've got a couple of weeks off. I've told DD i'll back whatever she wants to do. But I also know I can push her one way or the other. I just don't know which way that should be. There's still half a season left.