Life as a Lefties Mom

 The season is over for our guys.  Last week, they lost 7 in a row, went to Kelowna and won 3, then back here and won 1/3 against Victoria.  The trip to Kelowna was classic.  The bus broke down on the way there and they waited 3 hours to get a ride. They had to cancel the Tuesday game, played a double header on Wednesday, then played an 11 inning game on Thursday.  Apparently no one had bothered to fix the bus, so they had one of the players fix it and didn't leave until 2 AM. They got home at 0930 and had to play Friday night. They lost badly; it was clear they were exhausted.  Saturday was a different story.  Andres pitched 5 beautiful innings including a sweet put out at first.  Riley hit a triple and Derek contributed to the win as well.  He made a spectacular catch in the outfield.  But, the coach didn't play either of them today. Their college coach told them to come home.  Andres has reached his pitch count and they are all s...

 And So It Goes So Golden Tate was a flash in the pan.  Played 3 games and no one has seen or heard from him since.  He just wasn't that good.  The guys thought he was a show boater too. I took the guys to Hurricane Ridge one day as Andres had never seen snow.  He immediately made a snow ball and threw it, but was disappointed he couldn't make a snow angel.  Derek promptly put snow down the back of his neck. They did have a party out at Lake Crescent and went to Devil's Punchbowl, a rite of passage in Port Angeles.  Things are quiet here now.  Derek asked me if his girlfriend could stay over July 4th as the hotel rooms here were so expensive.  I said sure as we have had girlfriends in the past.  The other 2 said "Yess!" and we wound up hosting a  3 girlfriends for 10 days! Have to admit, the house smelled better with the girls and they were really nice.  Didn't eat much.  I took the girls to Hurricane Ridge one day and the...

  And so it begins again.  Roxi who used to manage the housing for the team, sold their home in PA, bought an RV and hit the road.  The poor new girl managing the housing was overwhelmed and didn't let us know until the last second who was coming and from where.  We have 3 guys, all from Cal State San Bernardino.  Andreas is a pitcher (really good), Derek is an outfielder and initially the lead off batter, and Riley plays shortstop or 3rd base and initially batted clean up.  They are really nice guys, all over 21.  They don't need a mom like last year's boys did so it has been a little hard to warm up to them.  They like to go fishing in their off time and probably go to the local bars. They don't eat like last year's group. There were ribs left over!   The league has expanded to 6 teams in Canada, so when these guys are on the road, they are ON THE ROAD - and ferry and in the air.  The big news is that Golden Tate, former NFL wide ...

 In April we drove to California to watch our boys of last summer play their college ball.  Luckily, they all had games in the Bay Area the same weekend and my work schedule coincided with the games. First up was St Mary's in Moranga to watch Javy play.  It is a beautiful campus with a very small field.  Javy's mom says they promised a new stadium 3 years ago when he first started.  Still waiting.  It was free hat day, so we now both have St Mary's ballcaps.  Javy's entire extended family comes up from SoCal - grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins.  They accepted us as one of their own.  We all went out for beer and pizza afterwards.  Sadly, Javy wasn't playing 2nd base that day, but he did get in as DH and it was a beautiful day to watch baseball. Second up was Jack playing for UCLA at Cal Berkley.  The biggest news is that he has gotten his hair cut!  Those gorgeous flowing locks! The stadium is classic and it was a full crowd...

 And So It Ends The end of the season was several weeks ago, but it has been hard to find time to post.  The last game of the season was amazing.  Steven pitched and got the win.  Jack was a monster.  He had caught all 15 innings of the game the night before and all 9 innings of the final game. He also hit a home run.  Javy as always was a rock at 2nd.  The next day, they all left for their respective homes.  Javy went to the airport in the morning with one of the other players. Jack drove himself and 2 others.  We drove Steven and Bryce as we were headed out to NM the next day to see our son and were planning on spending the night at an airport hotel. Very bittersweet.  I have come to love these guys, but just like your own kids, there is a time to let them go.  None of them will come back to play for the coach as he was not someone they felt was progressing them in their careers, but they did love living here in PA with us and did...

 Fantasy Futures The guys are in to fantasy leagues, so I came up with a fantasy future for each one Jack - Catcher for the Yankees, marries a movie star Javy - plays 2nd base for the Mariners, becomes the president of the players association Steven - closer for the Phillies. His post game interviews are so entertaining that he becomes a color commentator. Sweetly, Jack asked me what my fantasy retirement is.   Steven and his fans