Week 5, May 9 vs Grays, Randall's Island
After another lackluster performance last week, it was the wrong time to be playing the best team in the league, the Grays. From the Bronx, the Grays, named after the Negro League team of the same name, showed up wearing the official uniforms as their namesake. I have to admit, they looked sharp...and BIG!! I wanted to see birth certificates for some of these kids, as there appeared to be more than a couple Danny Almonte's. Being big is one thing, but having more facial hair at 12 years old than I do is completely another. At least they could shave. These guys were scoring runs at will, and not giving up very many either. I think thru 4 games, they had scored close to 50 runs. That was not a joke. The Eagles were going to have their work cut out for them if they wanted to give their mothers a Mother's Day victory.
The Grays weren't the only ones who looked sharp in their uniforms, as today was Team Photo Day for the Eagles!! It was extremely hard to smile, however, as our second game in May was the coldest since January when we were working out indoors. The wind off the water didn't help either. I'm not lying when I say it felt like the temperature was in the 30s. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR__gRs-tlQ) And it was so windy (how windy was it?) that at one point during the game, Archie's hat blew off while he was playing first base and rolled all the way to the right field fence. That's pretty windy. It was as if we were playing at the old Candlestick Park in San Francisco. But, as the troopers they are, the kids quickly threw off their jackets and we all managed to smile for the camera and took one heck of a team photo.
Only 4 weeks into the season and the injuries were starting to pile up. Jeff and I talk all the time about not remembering us being this injury prone at 12 years old. Sure we had aches and pains, especially me. I had a teacher in high school who told me once that I was a 17 year old kid in a 70 year old's body. (He also told me that I was the most un-athletic white guy he knew and I looked like Rick Moranis. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvd3kaupZ60&feature=related) Needless to say, he was my favorite teacher ever.) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xfi4s8cjLFI&feature=related)
But to be on the "disabled list"? There was no such thing. But these days, doctors like to over-diagnose, and perform tests and prescribe physical therapy and what not. Back when we were kids, we just played thru it. Rod has "little league elbow", which I actually had as a kid. (OK, another injury. I told you I was injury prone.) It's from overuse and not enough stretching. Although I got mine from throwing curve balls. Poor kid also got hit in the other elbow, causing internal bleeding. Fred was complaining last week in between games about his knee hurting. He told me it buckled during the first game and was painful when he ran. I took a look at it and there was already a bump on his kneecap. His father, immediately, tried to convince me he could play through it. I told him I was concerned because 1) there was a bump, and 2) he was in pain, and 3) we didn't know how it happened, so I was hesitant to let him play in the second game. His father kept pushing. He said, "he can hit." I said, "How's he going to run to first? Sorry, not on my watch. Safety first." The father kept pushing. Finally, Fred yelled, "Dad, be quiet! It's not your call. It's coach's. My knee hurts!!"
So we found out a few days after that game that Fred had Osgood Schlatter disease, which apparently is common with yutes today. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpNgONH2ncI) He was given the go ahead (by a doctor) to play thru the pain and could hit, but unfortunately, in his 3rd at bat he got hit by a pitch on the side of the same knee, creating another bump. Mark's elbow also hurt, and he had been told (by a doctor) not to throw for 4 weeks!! What would be next? A groin injury? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vg9ruee3Vos&feature=related).
The boys were complaining about how cold it was before the game started. I had to admit, it was absolutely freezing. It definitely wasn't baseball weather, and the boys looked like they didn't want to be there at all. While we were stretching about 45 minutes before the game, we noticed the Grays were a little late showing up. Larry said, "I hope they don't show up." I said, "If they don't show up, we don't get to play baseball today." Larry said, "Good. Then I can go back home and sleep." If it was up to me, Larry would not have played in the game, but I'm not the head coach. I tried to tell Larry that everyone was cold and he just needed to try and ignore it. I told him that once he gets loose and starts playing, he'll forget about being cold. I also told him, in a nice way, to get a little tougher. I promise, I was nice. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snpjfamMHUk) Unfortunately, nothing worked with him. And it was definitely a sign of things to come.
The 1st game was over before it even started. The kids were cold and intimidated. It was probably a combination of the cold, the size of the Grays, their flashy uniforms, and the fact that they were using pink bats and wearing pink hats in honor of Mother's Day. We couldn't tell if were playing a youth team or the Yankees. Ned, who is either on or off, was very off from the start. A couple of walks, then a couple of errors, then another couple of walks, and we were down 10-0 before I had a chance to get a cup of hot coffee from the concession truck. In fact, we had a chance to get out of the inning without giving up a run! We actually settled down after that, as we played the Grays tough, losing only 4-2. But the hole we dug ourselves in was too much to get out of, and the game ended after 4 innings due to the mercy rule. Ouch. Jeff and I told the boys after the game we thought we could play with this team, pointing to the fact that other than that first inning, we DID play with them. But the cold beat us more than anything, and the second game was no different, with Larry succumbing the most.
After the 1st inning, in which Larry committed a throwing error while playing 2nd base, he comes off the field and says, "Coach, I can't feel my hand. It's frozen. I can't feel the ball." I told him to hang in there and keep blowing on his hand. And to toughen up.
After the second inning, again he came off the field and said, "Coach, I'm so cold." I told him to do some jumping jacks and not to think about the cold. Just focus on baseball. And to toughen up.
After the third inning, he came off the field and said, "Coach, I can't feel my toes. I think I have hypothermia." I told him he was fine and to keep moving to stay warm. And to toughen up.
In the 4th inning, we got a runner in a rundown, in which we eventually got him out. But during the play, Larry's hat blew off, and instead of finishing the rundown and forgetting about the hat, he tried to keep it on his head, almost costing us the out, After the inning, Jeff and I asked Larry why he stopped running after the runner on the rundown. He said, "My hat blew off." Jeff and I looked at each other and then asked Larry almost in unison: "Really? That's your answer?" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4JeVCEaz50&feature=related)
Current record: 2-7-1 in League play. 3-7-1 Overall.
Next episode: Anybody Got Seeds?
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