Texsox

Towards the end of the in house season I was up with a runner on third. The manager told me to switch hit to the left side something I only did while goofing off at practice. I couldn't figure out why but I was raised to not question the manager and gave it a try. The next pitch he sent the runner to steal home. He was out by twenty feet. So the manager told me to go back to righty. I snapped and started yelling at him. You want a righty to shield the runner. I can bunt. That play was stupid. You don't know anything about baseball etc. I looked up and my old manager was behind our dugout. When I got to the bench I said to him did you see what that idiot manager did??! He said he saw me disrespect the game and the manager and was embarrassed. I was crushed. I had tears in my eyes but realized he was 100% right in calling me out. When I'm working with my players I realize I may have that kind of influence with one of them. It honestly scares me at times.

My last season of organized ball was in the house league when a manager was looking for a couple more kids to fill a roster and contacted five of us that dropped from the travel team. First off everything about the house league was worse. The players were worse, the manager and coaches were worse, and the umpiring was incredibly worse. We easily won the league, my BA doubled, no one ran on me. That's when I realized what a quality experience I had fighting for playing time. I love baseball to this day because of Ron Schmidt my travel coach. He was an old school Cubs fan, but I loved the guy and he tolerated having one Sox fan on the team.

People willing to be involved in all areas of youth sports is declining. The turnover in high school coaches is at an all time high. It's almost impossible to have enough coaches at the middle school level. Parent's expectations of college scholarships for their marginally talented kid manifests into complaints about coaching. Ten years ago I was forced into coaching soccer. When the parents saw me and found out I knew next to nothing about soccer, they formed a mob and headed into the principal's office. They simmered down when they were told no one else was willing to coach the team, that I was being forced to coach because I didn't have anything that season, and if I quit the season was over. That was on the Texas - Mexico border in a soccer crazy city. We won a district title but it wasn't my brilliant strategies. Now I have parents who hear that female college golf scholarships are basically guaranteed. They think their kid is going to learn the game and earn a scholarship in a year.

Players gotta play and obviously that hasn't happened in over a week. But you have to put people in a position to be successful. That's on the coaching staff. No one should be left off the hook this past week.

https://nypost.com/2022/04/24/michael-conforto-to-have-season-ending-shoulder-surgery/ He wouldn't have gotten hurt with the Sox. Garcia would have been playing ahead of him.

I almost wish they hadn't settled the lockout. Could we organize another one until we're healthy?

I'm liking April baseball more after taking Kalapse's lead and not watching games the team isn't taking seriously.

Fortunately we have Leury who needs playing time and never seems to get hurt. Dependable, like herpes, always coming back. I'm thinking of taking up a new hobby. Maybe picking up a heroin habit. Something more productive than watching this season fall apart.

I'm finishing up a project for my grandson's school carnival. Normally I'd have stopped for the game. I'm going to keep working. Y'all enjoy the game.

Standards continually change. Obvious change is twenty years, maybe ten years ago, you could choke a person unconscious and not miss a start. Now it's a career ender. So MLB changes the standard to one game for flipping fans off? Maybe. Seems like a fine make more sense.

I'm saying northern teams play six to eight less home games.

How about starting the season on tax day and playing more double headers? Hell, add ten games to the regular season and play even more double headers.

Since my distaste of playing baseball in less than 40° was brought up, any suggestions on getting northern teams to give up some early April home dates? Perhaps more home dates to dome and southern teams? Revenue sharing? Neutral site games?

Y'all enjoy the game. I'm following @Kalapse lead and not watching games they aren't serious about.

Sir Anderson

I was thinking of the folks that don't really have a team but pay attention when something exciting is going on. Call them what you want. It wasn't meant to be pejorative.

Last year Balta convinced me we're a bottom five franchise. Changed my outlook.

Good point. Perhaps I would also be in favor of April baseball if I followed your lead and didn't actually watch it. Ironic isn't it? And I'm against games when the players hands are too frozen to hold a ball and fans are wearing winter coats to games. Boys of summer and all that. Middle of April makes more sense to start the season.

I envy them. I had a four hour drive yesterday that coincided almost exactly with the game. I'm pissed off the entire drive and well into the evening. Casual fan switched off the game, cranked some tunes, and watched the scenery go back happily oblivious to the carnage going on.

Burger

Fixed

Vaughn

Anderson

He needs some quality innings away from crowds.

Amazingly enough Severino was actually worse than the box score. Brutal to watch. But arms are ready for Cleveland and hopefully Minny