The Last Days of the Dodgers

 Yesterday, my Dodgers played Mt. Juliet on field 1 at Warner Park.  Originally, we were supposed to play at Mt. Juliet but their field wasn't available, so we moved the games to our place.  It was cool, actually, for the boys to play a Prep doubleheader on field 1, since it's a historic youth baseball field, at least in my mind.

As I told the nine boys I had before game 1, field 1 at Warner Park, when I was a kid, was a field on which the elite baseball players in Nashville played, many of whom played baseball in college.  This was before every other boys played travel baseball, of course.  Teams like the Shoetiques and Twitty City played there.  On occasion, when we drove by the park on a spring or summer evening, the lights on field 1 were always on and as we drove by on Old Hickory Boulevard, I looked out the window of my mom's car to catch a glimpse of the baseball game.  

Mt. Juliet, whom we played earlier in the season, isn't a very good team.  My boys beat them handily, 13-2 and 15-6.  

J.P. started game 1 and pitched well.  He went two innings, allowing one hit while striking out four batters and walking none. The last couple of games, J.P. has looked comfortable and in control on the mound.  In his last two outings, he's been impressive.  Five innings, two hits, nine strikeouts, no walks.  And that's without an off speed pitch or a curve ball.  

After the season is over, I'm going to get him with a pitching coach.  I'd love to have someone who knows a helluva lot more than me, about pitching, work with him and teach him how to change speeds and, perhaps, throw a curve ball.  If he keeps growing, and working, I think J.P. can be a decent pitcher.  His fastball has some pop and, at least lately, his control has been good.  Once he has an off speed pitch he can throw for a strike, I think J.P. will start to think more about his approach and how to keep a hitter off balance.  

Elijah pitched two innings after J.P. and did well, too.  He looked good.  Of all my boys, Elijah is the one who is just, naturally, a baseball player.  It's clearly the sport he loves.  There's real value, I think, in deciding at 13 or 14, which sport (or maybe two sports) you want to play and working hard all year to get better at that sport.  Elijah is a big boy, but fairly quick on his feet.  Interestingly, he's my best outfielder, one of my best baserunners, and one of my more versatile players.  He typically starts in left field but also can play first base and pitch, when needed.  I've played him at third base, too.  I expect to see big things from him at David Lipscomb in years to come.

The second game started a little more slowly for us, as Ethan struggled early pitching.  Benton struggled a bit, too.  Ultimately, Mt. Juliet ran out of pitching and we started hitting the ball some, too.  Cyrus pitched the last inning and looked really good, with J.P. catching.  I love the way - when he catches - that J.P. tucks himself in right under the hitter's bat and gives the pitcher a nice target.  It's easier for the umpire to call balls and strikes and it's much, much easier on the pitcher when the catcher is up tight on home plate.

Cyrus always has been our youngest player.  I hate that his year he's playing for another team, too, a tournament team.  From what I understand, he's not getting to pitch or play much.  He's only played a few games for us, which has been disappointing.  I would pitched him quite a bit and gotten him the reps he needs.  To me, it doesn't make a lot of sense, at his age, to play him on a team where he's not going to get to pitch regularly, but that's just me.  I've always thought, and continue to think, the Cyrus could have a future in high school and, even, college, as a pitcher if he got some private coaching and worked at it.

With Cyrus, it's always a confidence thing.  The more confident he is, the better he pitches.  I think he's comfortable with J.P. behind home plate when he pitches.  It's been fun this year to see Cyrus interact with the boys on the bench and to start to gain confidence.  He's always been a quite kid but he's starting to come out of his shell, which is cool.  He's an athlete.  I know it but my challenge always has been to make sure he knows it.

I took some photos afterwards, of the players and my coaches.  Monday night, in East Nashville, may well be our last games together, certainly for the summer, maybe forever.  That remains to be seen but it's been on my mind for a while now.  Time will tell.