Cannonball
Ex "Expert"
- Feb 25, 2009
- 4,881
- 113
First of all, BB had me in a barn at 7 this morning coaching for 3 hours. I must be getting soft. From there, I picked up the wife, we got some good food and then off to watch my former catcher play. I starred coaching her when she was 8. I reminded her today that I was the one who taught her how to put on shin guards. LOL
I don't say this because I coached her but what a treat it is to see a good college catcher play. From fielding bunts, to directing traffic, to covering 3rd on a bunt to 3B, to ... I sat there and was so proud of her. One pitch hit the front of the plate causing it to bounce high and she leaped up, angled her body and put that ball back on the plate with a runner on 3b. How did she do that? In HS she started for 4 years. There were very few successful stolen bases in those 4 years. She has a cannon. So, today, the opposing coach put on a hit and run. Pitcher threw a drop ball in the dirt. My former catcher scooped it and threw. Her footwork is so good. She had the runner out by 3 steps. Later, they tried to steal again. My former catcher threw to 2B so fast that the SS couldn't get there in time. The ball hit the bag. That runner would have been out by several steps.
A few other observations:
I'll wrap this up by mentioning something that happened in the game that was both funny and maybe should have resulted in an ejection. One catcher, not my former catcher, caught a pitch that was clearly a ball. She kind of framed it as a ball and held it. The Umpire had called the pitch a ball but the catcher continued to hold the frame. The umpire said to the catcher, that's a ball. The catcher said clear enough for all to hear, "I know but you've been so bad today that I thought if I framed it long enough you would change your mind and call this a strike." I laughed at first as did others and then I wondered why the catcher was not ejected.
I don't say this because I coached her but what a treat it is to see a good college catcher play. From fielding bunts, to directing traffic, to covering 3rd on a bunt to 3B, to ... I sat there and was so proud of her. One pitch hit the front of the plate causing it to bounce high and she leaped up, angled her body and put that ball back on the plate with a runner on 3b. How did she do that? In HS she started for 4 years. There were very few successful stolen bases in those 4 years. She has a cannon. So, today, the opposing coach put on a hit and run. Pitcher threw a drop ball in the dirt. My former catcher scooped it and threw. Her footwork is so good. She had the runner out by 3 steps. Later, they tried to steal again. My former catcher threw to 2B so fast that the SS couldn't get there in time. The ball hit the bag. That runner would have been out by several steps.
A few other observations:
- I saw a player dive for 1st base. She dislocated her arm at the elbow. Don't dive into 1st.
- I like the run and hit more than the hit and run.
- What has happened to the bunt and run? I saw several times today where I would have done it.
- Today's game was played on synthetic turf both infield and outfield. This isn't like real ball and yes, I know teams do this all of the time up north. I saw bounces today that were unnatural.
- If you don't have pitching, it is obvious from the start. At a higher level of play, good HS pitchers just can't get it done. You have to recruit exceptional pitchers.
- Fans do not help their cause by yelling at the umpire.
- Why do these venues play the music so loud? We could not carry on a normal conversation at all between games. In fact, the parents decided to go to the parking lot because it was so loud.
I'll wrap this up by mentioning something that happened in the game that was both funny and maybe should have resulted in an ejection. One catcher, not my former catcher, caught a pitch that was clearly a ball. She kind of framed it as a ball and held it. The Umpire had called the pitch a ball but the catcher continued to hold the frame. The umpire said to the catcher, that's a ball. The catcher said clear enough for all to hear, "I know but you've been so bad today that I thought if I framed it long enough you would change your mind and call this a strike." I laughed at first as did others and then I wondered why the catcher was not ejected.
