Life as a Lefties Mom

We've been laughing about how Dean is so nice to Nick - he buys him special food and he keeps telling me what a quality guy he is.  He's even lent him his car to take his girlfriend to and from SeaTac.  Well, I am just as bad.  Today while in Costco, I texted the guys to see if there was anything they wanted. Nick wanted protein shakes (Dutton did too), so I have 2 cases in the garage refrigerator.  I have definitely fallen under their spell. This has been a long road trip.  Dutton did join up with the team yesterday and played a few innings.  They finally won tonight, but none of my boys played. 😦

So this morning, I offered to drive Nick to the field to catch the team bus at 7AM since I had a 0730 surgery to do.  I noticed there were 2 gear bags on the front porch.  When I asked Nick, he said, "oh, they belong to a buddy who slept over last night.  He needs a ride to the field too".  Just then out comes Marten, all 6'6" of him.  "thanks for letting me stay the night".  "Sure", I said "happy to have you".  We piled into my car and I asked Marten where he was from.  Philadelphia.  So I told him Dean and I were from South Jersey and that we were going on vacation there in September.  He offered us a place to stay!  House swapping with the Lefties.  Does it get any better?

So they lost all 3 to Longview, but Dutton hit his second home run of the season Saturday night.  I was at a meeting in Leavenworth and talked to a practice manager from Yakima who has the batting coach of the Pippins living with him.  He says when he was in college playing in a league like this, his host "mom" used to grab his butt when he walked past her,   Pretty weird. So when I got home from work tonight, here is the latest:  Nick is here and headed out with the team tomorrow for their road trip to Wenatchee and Bend.  I hope he is up to pitching, Dutton is taking the week off to play in a tournament with the Ktisap Bluejackets.  They will be camping,  I guess they needed a catheter and we have an abundance.  He will be somehow joining the team in Bend.  They are due back here on Monday, July 3 or maybe late on July 2nd. Nick the 2nd (another pitcher) will be living here after the road trip (he is the one staying with the chainsmoking...

Well, it's been a few days since I posted anything because, I never see these boys.  During the week when I am working, they get up after I leave for work and get home from games after I go to bed.  Nick's girlfriend was here for 3 days and I never saw her.  I'm not sure where they go and what they do after games.  I think they must be eating somewhere because they don't eat much here, at least at night.  The weather is warming up, so going to the games is more fun.  We had a great outing against Bend last night with an 11 run inning.  Dutton is not getting any playing time, which is sad and Nick still hasn't pitched since that disasterous first night.  They have invited another guy to stay at out house,  Apparently he is living with an older couple in a trailer park that chain smoke and want him to call them Grandma and Grandpa.  OK, he's in. They are on the road tonight, tomorrow and Sunday in Longview and will be home SUnday night wi...

So neither of the dudes went to Victoria, so they hung out today.  Slept in, played a little catch.  Dean fed them well with ribs, corn on the cob and mac and cheese.  The cookies are nearly gone.  Will let them finish the banana bread, then snickerdoodles.  They are most appreciative.  Dean lent Nick his car to pick his girlfriend up at the airport.  I am most interested to see what kind of girl attracts Nick and vice versa. He is real quality guy with a good head on his shoulders and he knows where he is going. Dutton is having trouble registering for his classes at PCC.  Uh oh. We did watch OSU slaughter LSA.  Go Beavs!

Jon left the team.  He is transferring to Tacoma Community College and apparently needed to take classes this summer, so he is moving home.  The dudes just got back from a road trip that started in Victoria on Monday, then to Corvallis and Walla Walla,  They left WW at 6 AM and got here around 4.  Although the team bus looks great from the outside, its pretty much a dump inside: the bathroom doesn't work and graffiti on the walls.  One kid puked on the way home. Our neighbor up the hill now has one or two players.  They were staying with a lady who is a vegan and would not allow them to have meat in the house..  Poor kids were starving!  Lori will take good care of them. Big surprise is that they are not taking the whole team to Victoria tomorrow, so Nick, Dutton and several others aren't going.  I think they all plan to sleep in. We did a pizza party tonight for neighbors, friends and Lefties.  We had 5 of them here.  All really...

Watching the game on line and Dutton hit a home run!!!!! So excited. Nick forgot to take the cookies - and his pants - on the road trip.  Luckily, John was driving down himself and took both with him. Its pretty quiet around here without the dudes.  We did find out the other night that Nick will eat green stuff.  He likes asparagus and broccoli, so guess what Dean bought at the store? He also bought baby back ribs, so the boys will be eating well next week. Sunday will be pizza.

So the boys dropped 2 games in Victoria.  Nick has been having a great time hanging out in Port Angeles.  He and another injured player who didn't make the trip went to the mouth of the Elwah Monday and Lake Crescent yesterday.  Last night, Dean made steak for dinner and I made another batch of peanut butter cookies.  He won't want to leave!  Unlike what I thought, they are coming back on the 10 AM ferry and leaving for Corvallis at noon.  They had better put the pedal to the metal if they expect to be there for a 6:30PM game! One interesting item is that the Victoria team has a female pitcher,  Luckily the guys did not have to face her this time.  Dutton feels it would be a no win situation.  If they beat her, they would look like jerks and if she beat them, they would look like wimps.  Quite the dilemma!  It's tough being a 20 year old college baseball player.

The dudes are away all week.  They played in Victoria last night and tonight, then boarding the bus for Corvallis on Wednesday morning.  When I told Dutton that would mean they have to take the 0630 ferry from Victoria Wednesday morning, he said he wished I hadn't told him. They will have to be at the dock really early to get through Canadian customs, etc. Nick stayed behind due to his elbow injury and has been hanging out with another injured player.  They seem to be having fun.  Dean is going to make steak for him tonight.  Spoiled! I found a cool app on the West Coast League website where you can follow the game digitally.  There is a schematic of the field with all the players and a running box score.  Great!  More ways to waste time in the evening.  Oh, and they lost 1-4 :(

Back home from our weekend in Portland, and the dudes had the day off.  They really didn't do anything, just hung out and were happy that they did not have to play.   John (who now does have a last name) isn't back from having his wisdom teeth extracted.  He is supposed to show up for the road trip to Victoria tomorrow,  Nick who is still injured isn't going.  We got all filled in on the latest news.  They swept the Walla Walla Sweets and apparently had a good sized crowd,  People hung out after the game to get their autographs. Dutton has to take 3 on line courses this summer to get his GPA up so he can keep his scholarship.  He is taking geography, geology and Medieval English Literature,  I don't think he has cracked open his lap top yet, so he'd better get to it,  Yikes! Sounds like a brutal course load.  He was very impressed at the shadow box I had made of my Dad's Purple Heart.  He said, "they just don't give those thin...

Last night I was able to stay up late enough to see the dudes when they came home from the game (we watched the first 5 innings).  This time there were 4 of them and they assured me that Nick (another pitcher) was just visiting and not staying.  They were like a group of lab puppies, all energized by their first at home win.  I had made peanut butter cookies which they devoured, I got to talk to John (still no last name) who is from Gig Harbor. He has a truck with WSU, Mariners and Seahawks stickers,  A real Washington boy!  I asked him if he had any food allergies.  He assured me that he did not and they all concurred that they would not allow any vegans or gluten intolerant players to live here. Today, we left for a weekend in Portland.  John developed an abscess in his mouth and was quite ill.  They were unable to drain it in the ED.  He is having his wisdom teeth extracted tomorrow and should be back Sunday.  This was all in text me...

Well, we missed our first game last night as we went to the last orchestra concert at the High School for the conductor.  Ron Jones has been in the PA School District for 42 years and is a good friend.  Have to admit, I missed watching the boys play ball. Dean has found out the name and school of #3 - John from WSU and a catcher.  If I could stay up late enough, I might get a last name, home town and major.  Sadly, they are asleep when I leave, and I am asleep when they come home.  At 0122 this morning, the dog was whining, so I let him out.  He promptly let himself in the kitchen door where the boys were eating.  Dean had made pasta and meatballs and I had made a Jewish apple cake, so I know they were happy.  Nick is the elder statesman of the group.  He and Dean apparently talk more than the other 2, so if Nick wants pasta for dinner and chocolate chip ice cream, that's what they get! Hope to stay up late enough tonight to chat.  I wo...

I got a txt message from Dean this afternoon.  "Going to the game.  We now have 3 guys". I guess there was a guy without a home, so we now have all available beds full.  We don't even know this kid's name or position.  Guess we will find out.  I quickly cleaned out some space in Lucas's closet for his stuff.  Better get some more milk and bacon. The chocolate chip cookies were half gone this morning.  The boys lost last night by one run, but there was a lot of scoring.  We went to the first 5 innings tonight, but they were getting clobbered 7-1.  Dutton wasn't catching - he was the DH and Nick is still on the DL.  Dean seems to be having fun with these guys.

The dudes showed up at 0700 this morning after leaving Kelowna at 9:30 They looked a little ragged.  I knew they were tired when they didn't even want to eat, just go to bed.  They had to be at the field at 3.  Apparently, Nick injured his elbow in the game he pitched last week, so he is not pitching at all until it heals.  I don't know who decides that. We went to the first part of tonight's game.  Dutton looked really good behind the plate.  One of our pitchers was throwing wild and gave him quite a workout.  I have no idea when they will be home as these games are LONG!!  Of course June-uary weather in Port Angeles is not conducive to sitting outside and drinking beer.  Also, some of us have to work tomorrow!

They boys come back tonight from their road trip to Kelowna.  Lord knows when they will show up.  I did make them chocolate chip cookies and Dean made a pan of enchiladas that they can eat tonight or tomorrow.  I bought 4 lbs of bacon at Costco since they polished off one pound in 2 days. Today, I went in their rooms to pick up towels to wash.  Nick's room is neat and tidy, everything put away.  Dutton's not so much.  There are clothes all over the floor.  I had told them to keep the doors of their rooms closed to keep the dog out.  Also, better that I don't know what those rooms look like! Tomorrow they start a 6 night home stand.  Games are at 6:35, so I don't know if I will ever see them.  I'm sure I will be leaving for work before they get up and be in bed when they get back from their games.  Good news is, they went 2-1 on this road trip.  Nick didn't pitch at all and Dutton was DH for the last 2 games.  Hopefully w...

Background This summer, Port Angeles has a new baseball team - the Lefties. They are in the West Coast League, a wood bat league for college players.  When this was getting off the ground last year, they advertised for host families.  It would involve having a player or two live with you for the season (June through early August) and providing them meals. Since our two sons are grown and gone, and we have plenty of room as well as a new lab puppy who needs someone to play with, I said, let's do it.  Dean loves to cook, and we know boys.  We must have passed muster on the application and were accepted. Months went by without a word.  I emailed the team several times, and eventually heard back in early May that indeed we were going to have 2 players, and they would let us know by May 9. That day came and went.  Eventually, I got an email from one of the guys, Nick, a pitcher from Arizona.  I then reached out to the team again and got the email and phon...