Dirty Birds – Week 2

The second week and first full week of the season is in the books. It wasn’t the best week for the Birds but we played close in every game.

The start of the week had the Long Island Ducks come to town and they are the Yankees of this league. From what I have been told they are the top dog in the league and it would be a good test for the team. The series did not go our way but I had the shortest inning of my career as far as I can remember.

I had a five pitch inning against the Ducks in a tie game. It felt nice to get out there and pitch again after opening weekend. The more reps and experience I get is better for me. I am better the more frequent I throw, and since we had a short spring training these first few outings are crucial. They lay the groundwork for the rest of the season and set the tone. I’m still not where I want to be but if I can hold my own while I ramp up that’d be ideal. That was my only action against the Ducks and then it was onto High Point.

The High Point Rockers are a newer team to the league and their setup was nice. They have an all turf field and they stole the pink locker room trick from Iowa football. The original idea was pink was a soothing color and the visiting football team would be relaxed instead of amped up to play. The playing surface and everything was fine but the clubhouse snacks and food were lacking. Another hiccup was the hotel was overbooked and they gave us one bed and a couch. That meant one guy on the couch or floor and one guy in the bed. It is a small thing, but for a league that reminds us they are the premier league, to not have beds for players is something I did not expect.

The plus side of playing against High Point is the drive was only 3 hours and I drove myself. The first time I have driven myself to a professional baseball game and I could get used to it. The ability to explore new cities and areas of the country is a perk of the job and I’d like to take advantage of it. I was able to go to stores that aren’t in Charleston, and I could see the local sights and sounds.

My outing in High Point wasn’t as “good” as my others if that is the way to judge it. I gave up a solo home run and then got the next hitters out. This new sinker produced some major league fly balls, but I think that’s a focus thing. I need to lower my focus again and not worry about anything else.

The second or next gear that I had at the end of the year last year has not shown up yet. When will it show up? Nobody knows, but I know it is in there and it will come out as the season moves on.

I won’t see discredit myself after one pitch. I remind myself that these guys are paid to play as well, but my dreams of a scoreless April ended. The pressure is now off, even though there was no pressure to begin with. My brain likes to add added pressure on myself for no reason when I know that I don’t control if teams are paying attention to this league or not. I know teams aren’t expecting perfection but there had to be a reason they want you over the next guy. My usual reason is velocity and spinning the ball so when the velocity ticks up I will be as happy as a clam, whatever that means. It is hard to see the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel but we press on after 10 games, a lot of baseball to play.

If teams are looking at me then I know they won’t judge someone on one or two games. As the season progresses it’ll be interesting to see how teams look in a month or two when players start moving to and from the league.

I didn’t feel as shameful or stressed on the mound afterwards, and although it was just High Point, I handled myself well for the first road game. The comfort in visitor ballparks will come with reps, but I’m glad to get the first one out of the way and we won the game. It is interesting to me how my body doesn’t differentiate between A,AA,AAA, Indyball, etc. It all feels the same to me when I pitch and going forward I think it will stay that way.

This upcoming week we head to Lexington, KY to play one of the two teams that call Lexington home. The league had 9 teams and had to add a 10th before the season to make sure it was an even number. The Wild Health Genome and the Lexington Legends share the same ballpark. We play both teams this week starting with the WHG tomorrow and Lexington coming to Charleston on the weekend.

The last thing I thought of heading into this series was last year at this time I had just signed on with Arizona after not knowing what was going to happen next. A year ago I thought I was done or wondering when I’d play again, and bam just like that someone scooped me up. Will that happen this year? Who knows, and sometimes it feels like why would anyone choose me over the plethora of talent in the league. If that’s a bad mentality then okay, but it’s a thought that washes over me and goes on it’s merry way. I’m improving at letting those thoughts come and go and replacing them with better ones.

The Dirty Birds are 10 games in and we are coming in hot to Lexington and then back to the friendly confines of Charleston. Thank you everyone who is following along and I’m excited to see where this season ends up.