- Jul 29, 2016
- 231
- 43
I haven't posted here in a while. My wife, who is the OP, suggested that I read this. It's a little frustrating to read through all of this. Half of the people are sympathetic, and half of the people are just being belligerent.
OP/Wife wrote this to vent. But let me offer some perspective, being a member of the "dad squad" mentioned way up in the posts here.
FIRST THE FACTS
First, this is a very good, but young team. There are two seniors, our daughter who is committed to a D3 school, and a super-talented senior SS who is committed to Michigan. We also have a junior 2B who is committed to BC. Daughter has played with girls on this school team who are playing at College of Charleston, UNC-G, Boston University and UVA. We've seen lots of talent.
As long as we're talking about actual facts, this year our daughter batted .311 Her OBPS was .940. Her average is probably 6th best on the team. On base was probably 5th best, and OBPS was 4th. She is one of three kids to hit HRs this year (the other two are those two D1 commits). She either strikes out or hits long fly balls. Her hits are usually doubles because she runs like a catcher. Her hit in the penultimate game struck the CF fence about two feet from the top and shot back to the middle of the outfield so it was a single.
NOW ON TO OPINION
The freshman who has displaced our daughter at catcher has a rocket arm - much stronger throwing arm than my daughter's. But until the very last game of the year (the one we're talking about here), no catcher on the team had a CS. Aside from the arm, our daughter is a much better catcher in every respect. Framing/blocking/managing the pitcher/managing the umpire. She knows when to call for time. She knows when to go to the circle. Freshman does none of that. The team plays better as a unit when our daughter is on the field. Every time. Better defense. Better offense.
But whatever - coaches gonna coach. The problem which my wife didn't really articulate very well is that the crucial season-long coaching error here is at 3B. 3B is a huge liability to the team. She's a freshman, too. Cannot field sharply-hit balls, and cannot make a consistent throw to 1B. Leads the teams in errors - almost all of them on throws to 1B - one in the dirt, one into the dugout. Over and over again. The 3B's backup is the freshman catcher. So this is getting into some 3-D chess, but coach can solve all of her infield problems by moving freshman C to 3B, moving our daughter behind the plate, and putting the current 3B at DP (she has a good bat). It was the obvious solution, and the coach actually played that configuration several times over the season, and those were our best defensive games. The coach just couldn't see it. This is not an exaggeration - she didn't see it.
So with all of this as backdrop, we enter into this final series that we have to win. Our daughter, who had been a leader on the field, in the dugout, and in the locker room all season long gets pulled in her very last at bat so a sophomore with four hits on the season could ground out into a double play. There's nothing about this situation that isn't sh!tty. It was a horrible thing to do to the senior. It was a horrible thing to do to the sophomore who came in to pinch hit. And it was a horrible thing to do to the team.
That's dad's perspective. And if you're inclined to suggest that "his daughter just probably wasn't that good" send me a DM, and I'll send you video clips and whole game videos that will prove you wrong on that score.
OP/Wife wrote this to vent. But let me offer some perspective, being a member of the "dad squad" mentioned way up in the posts here.
FIRST THE FACTS
First, this is a very good, but young team. There are two seniors, our daughter who is committed to a D3 school, and a super-talented senior SS who is committed to Michigan. We also have a junior 2B who is committed to BC. Daughter has played with girls on this school team who are playing at College of Charleston, UNC-G, Boston University and UVA. We've seen lots of talent.
As long as we're talking about actual facts, this year our daughter batted .311 Her OBPS was .940. Her average is probably 6th best on the team. On base was probably 5th best, and OBPS was 4th. She is one of three kids to hit HRs this year (the other two are those two D1 commits). She either strikes out or hits long fly balls. Her hits are usually doubles because she runs like a catcher. Her hit in the penultimate game struck the CF fence about two feet from the top and shot back to the middle of the outfield so it was a single.
NOW ON TO OPINION
The freshman who has displaced our daughter at catcher has a rocket arm - much stronger throwing arm than my daughter's. But until the very last game of the year (the one we're talking about here), no catcher on the team had a CS. Aside from the arm, our daughter is a much better catcher in every respect. Framing/blocking/managing the pitcher/managing the umpire. She knows when to call for time. She knows when to go to the circle. Freshman does none of that. The team plays better as a unit when our daughter is on the field. Every time. Better defense. Better offense.
But whatever - coaches gonna coach. The problem which my wife didn't really articulate very well is that the crucial season-long coaching error here is at 3B. 3B is a huge liability to the team. She's a freshman, too. Cannot field sharply-hit balls, and cannot make a consistent throw to 1B. Leads the teams in errors - almost all of them on throws to 1B - one in the dirt, one into the dugout. Over and over again. The 3B's backup is the freshman catcher. So this is getting into some 3-D chess, but coach can solve all of her infield problems by moving freshman C to 3B, moving our daughter behind the plate, and putting the current 3B at DP (she has a good bat). It was the obvious solution, and the coach actually played that configuration several times over the season, and those were our best defensive games. The coach just couldn't see it. This is not an exaggeration - she didn't see it.
So with all of this as backdrop, we enter into this final series that we have to win. Our daughter, who had been a leader on the field, in the dugout, and in the locker room all season long gets pulled in her very last at bat so a sophomore with four hits on the season could ground out into a double play. There's nothing about this situation that isn't sh!tty. It was a horrible thing to do to the senior. It was a horrible thing to do to the sophomore who came in to pinch hit. And it was a horrible thing to do to the team.
That's dad's perspective. And if you're inclined to suggest that "his daughter just probably wasn't that good" send me a DM, and I'll send you video clips and whole game videos that will prove you wrong on that score.
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