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Monday, June 30, 2008

Put Us Out Of Our Misery - Please!

We just finished the first weekend of our all-star baseball tournament season.

I hate this time of year - especially when you're losing - especially when you're losing and shouldn't be!

Knowing that too many people in this town read my blog, I will not say any more about that!

I'm just thankful it's almost over...

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Two Down...One To Go...

Caeden's team lost. They actually played quite well, especially considering they were missing three players for vacations! They might have won had there not been a five run limit per inning - final score 11-9.

The "nasties" I referred to last night were actually quite civil - probably because they were winning! Very unlike what I witnessed last year when I saw one of their coaches actually hit his son and his nephew upside the head. In fact, at the team pizza party, his nine year old son refused to shake his hand! Setting the course for a great relationship in the future...


Back to my son - who has the upmost respect for his father - he got into a habit this year of holding the bat high up over his head. In fact, he was called out twice when he ducked to miss getting hit and the ball hit the bat that was high over his head!




This picture isn't a good example of just how high but the next picture shows John needing to go out and adjust him. Next pitch, he hit the ball straight up the middle :)





He also came in to pitch the last inning. John has it in his head that Caeden HAS to be a pitcher because he's left handed. Well - just follow the trachectory of the ball...
(I particularly like this last pic when the fielder, umpire and runner aren't even considering needing to be baseball ready!)

But in the end - they lost and it didn't even matter - they are only thinking about the team pool party at our house next Monday...

Monday, June 23, 2008

One Down - Two To Go...

The baseball season is crawling to a close...sort of.

Jackson lost his playoff game tonight to finish his season. I would like to say I was sad but it was becoming painful to watch him struggle at the plate. He just couldn't get his head back into hitting - he was swinging at pitches that he would NEVER have attempted the first half of the season. Tonight - he swung at three straight pitches and only the last one was a strike. Bless his heart - his spirits were good and he's already looking to next year.

Caeden (and John) are in Round Two of their playoff adventure. They clobbered their first round opponent 20 - 8 last Saturday. The best part of that game was Caeden's BFF, Kyle, hit two line drives (only his second and third hits all season) and John brought him in to pitch the final inning because they had such a big lead - and he struck out two!!! You have to know this sweet little boy to understand that this is a BIG deal - he deserved it more than anyone.

Tomorrow night they face off against the "nasties" of the Minor Division - ironically sponsored by a local church! I will tell all on Wednesday.

Cameron is "done" on Wednesday - final game of the regular season. That means we only have about another MONTH of games - it's All Star Tournament time. First tournament is this weekend.

Here's the rundown...
All Star Uniform = $65.00
All Star Fan Shirts = $12.00 each
Tournament Fees = $8.00 (this weekend)
$$$ Every Weekend Until End of July and beyond if they make it to the Pony World Series in California...
I'll keep you posted on THAT one... :)

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Jackson's Last Stand...

Jackson has wanted to pitch all year. Every game he gets to the field eagerly anticipating that his coach will put him in that coveted (and pressure filled) spot.

Last night was the night. The final game of the regular season against a team from the other division. It didn't count in the standings. This would be Jackson's one and only chance to pitch this year.

I don't say this with any animosity towards his manager - he's been extraordinary. In fact, at this level in our league, the manager drafts the players he wants on his team. I found out a few weeks ago that this wonderful man drafted two players with Aspergers (including Jackson) and two with significant ADHD. For that - he is a saint!

Back to pitching - Jackson came into a tight game the middle of the 2nd inning. All the coach wanted him to do was throw strikes and let his team-mates do the rest.

He threw nothing but strikes...beautiful lobs right across the plate. ("Lobs" mean very slow)

You'd think if you're not throwing hard, the ball wouldn't go far. Wrong. They hit two beautiful shots into the gap in right field. Jackson's team-mates didn't have a chance. Fortunately, Jackson was able to make a play to first on a little grounder to get an out.

By the time he was finished midway through the third inning the score was 3-0. They scored one run on him. We ended the game with a final score of 5-2.

Jackson was philosophical about the experience. He told me he wanted to use this game to nail down his accuracy. The heat will come next year...

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

The Season of Broken Hearts and Broken Dreams

The baseball All-Star list was posted on Sunday. Jackson wasn't on it.

And we had NO illusions that he would be. Unfortunately, he did.

He hasn't hit a ball in over three weeks (the worst slump I've ever seen) and he's only caught one ball in the outfield the entire season - but in his beautiful mind, he thought he should be considered for All-Stars.

I love how passionate he is about the game and how badly he wants to succeed at it. The only problem is - he's not a natural and therefore has to work a lot harder. Therein lies the biggest problem - Jackson is, by nature, a very lazy boy.

Who knows, maybe this will fire him up and he will practice in the off-season. Or maybe, just maybe, he will find another sport to call his own! Did I tell you he won his weight class in wrestling last year?!? :)...

I'm Joking People!!!

I live in a very challenging town.

I think I've spoken of it before...it's an old steel mill town that never really let go of the mill mentality and embraced a spirit of progress.

This town is a shell of what it once was and for the people who stayed, it must be hard to see what it's become.

But for God's sake people - just because you have had to live here your whole life, choosing not to embrace progress or anyone from the outside - doesn't mean you can't have a sense of humor about things!

So for my "Anonymous" poster who keeps criticizing my oh-so-tongue-in-cheek posts. Just stop reading...you're never going to get me anyway.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

The End of the Innocence


Yesterday, at precisely 3:35, Cameron became a high school freshman.

And also yesterday, around 7:00pm, the innocence of childhood ended with the Class of 2012 pool party!

Fortunately - there were only a few girls who came, but the one's that were here showed it off for all the boys to see!

What confuses me - and remember I'm the mother of three boys so I have NO concept of the girlworld - is how such incredibly nice little girls can turn into hoochie mamas when they put on bikinis! Could it be the belly button piercing? That's right - on a 13 year old girl!!!

Or maybe I'm just freaking out because my baby was loving every string bikini on their tiny little bodies...

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Rebuttal...

I just received a comment on my last post about Awards Season. Shockingly, someone from this town actually reads my blog and even more shockingly, took offense to what I had written!

To clarify...the reader was appalled that I didn't see my son in any of the slides from the awards ceremony and that I expected more of HIM - like he deserved to be the center of attention...

What I was trying to convey - in a tongue in cheek manner that obviously didn't come across - was that my son HATES to be the center of attention and would go out of his way to NOT, I repeat, NOT, be in any of the pictures. Therefore, it was no surprise to me that I did not see him and I was making a joke to that effect.

For those loyal and anonymous readers from Boardman - I thought the video was BEAUTIFUL. Touching, fun and great for the kids to see.

I wish my son had a desire to be part of it...