Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - Fear of Failure

Barkeep49 · 05-12-2011, 06:54 AM

We had one of those classic pitcher's duels Tuesday. Final score: 17-16, with an extra inning. It was not going to be a good day when Nate gets two outs in the top of the first and then loses his ability to get the ball over the plate. Nate was supposed to pitch two, but Steve and I pull him and put in David. Who gets the ball over the plate so well that they rock him for 8 runs on 7 hits. Our other pitchers all pitched alright, but all allowed runs.

Fortunately our offense was able to keep up with theirs. It was also the first time we consistently acted aggressive on the basepaths. We got some base runners in the first and I had them run wild, leading to 3 runs scored because of passed balls or wild pitches.

The first couple innings were tough on Steve. This team we were playing wasn't good and the prospect of losing, and maybe by a lot to them, pushed him over the edge. I tried to be upbeat about it at first, but in the end I quietly, but very firmly had to give it to Steve. It's the joy of having a life long friend as a co-coach because with most people I wouldn't have been able to go quite as far as I was with Steve. And as the game went on, and he saw that we weren't going to get blown out, he calmed down. That fear of failure is clearly weighing on him as well, as he made a comment, "I can't go through another season with a team that can't win."

It was a back and forth game, but they were in control most of it. But then they ran out of pitchers. And their pitcher in the 9th, with us trailing by 2, couldn't get the ball over the plate consistently. And we managed to load the bases. Andrew smacked in two run single to tie the game, but a couple of infield flies and a grounder right back to the pitcher later, we strand runners at 2nd and 3rd with no outs, unable to get that winning run.

Good news is that we have Jordan waiting in reserve. And he looks not just good, but great. He strikes out the first guy, induces a guy who hit a homer off us earlier in the game to pop it up WAY up which Ryan fields cleanly at second, and strikes out the 3rd guy.

Ross leads off with a walk. Brett lays down a BEAUTIFUL bunt, which since I had Ross running with the pitch means that by the time Brett gets out, Ross is at 3rd. Nate hits the ball to the shortstop who can't make the play at the plate, and we dramatically win our first game.

We'd been close the past two and so to finally win one? It felt great.

Other notes:
David got his first hit of the season and had a great piece of baserunning going from 1st to 3rd on a wild pitch, when there was a play at the plate...Andrew got beat up, having a couple of hard balls hit off him while catching, and bruising his knees quite badly when he slid into their pitcher on that play at the plate, though in addition to that clutch single he also threw out a couple guys stealing at third...Alex looked like the guy we choose to lead off, going 3-4 with a great double...Justin had the best hit of the season to date with a LONG triple which could have been a homer if the ball hadn't been stopped from rolling by a hill...Nate continues to not look good in the outfield, as he takes bad angles on balls, which frequently get by him... Brett on the other hand continues to look good, making a good catch again...Jordan while playing second stretched about as far as a person can stretch to catch a weakly hit line drive...

05-12-2011, 06:54 AM	#6
Barkeep49 Coordinator Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Not too far away	We had one of those classic pitcher's duels Tuesday. Final score: 17-16, with an extra inning. It was not going to be a good day when Nate gets two outs in the top of the first and then loses his ability to get the ball over the plate. Nate was supposed to pitch two, but Steve and I pull him and put in David. Who gets the ball over the plate so well that they rock him for 8 runs on 7 hits. Our other pitchers all pitched alright, but all allowed runs. Fortunately our offense was able to keep up with theirs. It was also the first time we consistently acted aggressive on the basepaths. We got some base runners in the first and I had them run wild, leading to 3 runs scored because of passed balls or wild pitches. The first couple innings were tough on Steve. This team we were playing wasn't good and the prospect of losing, and maybe by a lot to them, pushed him over the edge. I tried to be upbeat about it at first, but in the end I quietly, but very firmly had to give it to Steve. It's the joy of having a life long friend as a co-coach because with most people I wouldn't have been able to go quite as far as I was with Steve. And as the game went on, and he saw that we weren't going to get blown out, he calmed down. That fear of failure is clearly weighing on him as well, as he made a comment, "I can't go through another season with a team that can't win." It was a back and forth game, but they were in control most of it. But then they ran out of pitchers. And their pitcher in the 9th, with us trailing by 2, couldn't get the ball over the plate consistently. And we managed to load the bases. Andrew smacked in two run single to tie the game, but a couple of infield flies and a grounder right back to the pitcher later, we strand runners at 2nd and 3rd with no outs, unable to get that winning run. Good news is that we have Jordan waiting in reserve. And he looks not just good, but great. He strikes out the first guy, induces a guy who hit a homer off us earlier in the game to pop it up WAY up which Ryan fields cleanly at second, and strikes out the 3rd guy. Ross leads off with a walk. Brett lays down a BEAUTIFUL bunt, which since I had Ross running with the pitch means that by the time Brett gets out, Ross is at 3rd. Nate hits the ball to the shortstop who can't make the play at the plate, and we dramatically win our first game. We'd been close the past two and so to finally win one? It felt great. Other notes: David got his first hit of the season and had a great piece of baserunning going from 1st to 3rd on a wild pitch, when there was a play at the plate...Andrew got beat up, having a couple of hard balls hit off him while catching, and bruising his knees quite badly when he slid into their pitcher on that play at the plate, though in addition to that clutch single he also threw out a couple guys stealing at third...Alex looked like the guy we choose to lead off, going 3-4 with a great double...Justin had the best hit of the season to date with a LONG triple which could have been a homer if the ball hadn't been stopped from rolling by a hill...Nate continues to not look good in the outfield, as he takes bad angles on balls, which frequently get by him... Brett on the other hand continues to look good, making a good catch again...Jordan while playing second stretched about as far as a person can stretch to catch a weakly hit line drive... Last edited by Barkeep49 : 05-12-2011 at 06:57 AM.