A Bad Day

Braves vs. Rockies

Lost 18-8

Picture day at NYO is always a little crazy. For the first time since we've been there, they were held outside which was nice but there were kids everywhere and given all the waiting time, the kids were definitely getting restless.

One of our coaches muttered that he had already lost one game today and was worried about the next one. I was hopeful thinking that we could maintain our winning streak. The Braves started strong and quickly got ahead 3-2 by the end of the first inning. Jayson played pitcher and make a good stop which he threw to first for the third out of the first inning.

Our coach was struggling with his pitching -- most were high and slow. Jayson is batting ninth and for the first time in spring baseball, he struck out. He was disappointed but couldn't seem to pull one out with what he was given to work with. He played first base and sat out an inning.

The entire team seemed sluggish and weren't the same team that showed up for the first two games. The Braves continued to hit balls into the outfield and our team couldn't get them in fast enough so the Braves continued to rack up the runs. Jayson played pitcher once again and caught a ball but that was as much action as he got.

By the end of the 4th inning, the Braves were up 18-8 and with the five runs per inning rule, the game was out of reach. We called it and decided to forget about this one game and look forward to the next one.

Gaining Momentum

Yankees vs. Rockies
Won 11-17

Unfortunately I was out of town on business in NYC and missed the game. This brief account is from several text messages I received and a recap from Jayson and Keith. The bottom line is that they won.

I gather that they beat another tough team and although Jayson played at first most of the game, he made several key contributions. In the fourth inning, Jayson pulled out a two-run home run bringing the score to 12-10 which is when we took the lead.

In the bottom of the 5th, the score is 15-11 and Jayson scoops up the ball and rockets it to first base for the final out of the inning holding them to just one run.

With another rally toward the end of the game, the Rockies took the game 18-11. Next up the Braves.

Opening Day

Marlins vs. Rockies

Won 11-17

The excitement of spring means warmer weather and the start of baseball season. After a terribly wet and cold winter, Opening Day brought blue skies and temps in the 70s. A perfect day for baseball. The park was dressed up with banners and balloons and looked beautiful.

Jayson is playing up again this year and was a first round draft pick. Luckily we are fortunate enough to be playing with our familiar coaches and a solid team many of whom we have played with before. The boys were all introduced and lined up to kick of the 2010 Spring Season.

Jayson played pitcher during the first inning. He quickly threw two balls to first to get two quick outs. Then to end the inning, he ran down a runner at home which was completely unexpected by all but very exciting. The other team quickly got ahead 8-3.

At his first at bat, he scored a single and brought two guys home. During the second inning, he played short and stopped a hard ball and threw it to first, but it was dropped. At his second at bat, he hit another single and got another RBI tying the game up at 8-8. We pushed ahead with a home run and ended the inning 12-8.

In the fifth inning, he was back at short stop and got two more outs -- he caught a line drive and almost got a double-play by throwing to first but it was dropped and at the next play he caught a hard ground ball and ran over and stepped on second base. The Marlins scored a few and ended the inning 12-11.

At the top of the 6th Jayson hit a triple and knocked in the winning run -- they won the game 17-11. All told , Jayson got 5 outs and 5 RBIs and earned himself a game ball. What a first day!