The No Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Optimism goes to die in Burlington, Vermont. Now, I'm sure its a beautiful place to live most of the year. But for the three days we were there, it was absolute h-e- double hockey sticks. We came into town to face the Vermont Lake Monsters with a gaudy 13 and 3 record. This would be our toughest test of the year so far, not because of the talent of the opposing team, but because the horrible conditions we were up against on and off the field. First of all, it was 98 degrees and humid...Second, the visitors clubhouse (actually University of Vermont's soccer locker room) was a country mile away from the field, had no air conditioning, and was the size of a closet. Third, the field was in horrific condition; concrete dirt, long grass, and an outfield more hilly than the Rockies. It wasn't hard to understand why a team with an ungodly home-field advantage such as this was tops in the league. Needless to say we lost two of three in the series and the Lake Monsters increased their lead over the rest of the league.

I started the one game that we did win in the series. I didn't have my best results of the year but I felt that I executed really well. I can never really get too mad at results alone. Sure, I would have liked to give up only the one run that I felt like I deserved to give up, but its not about that. It's about executing the pitches and making smart decisions on the mound. And I was happy with that during my outing. These hitters were definitely harder outs than the teams I had faced before (hence the 13-3). But, I felt like I constructed good at-bats and made pitches when I had to. I think this outing will really help my development. My last couple outings were relatively easy, I wasn't under a lot of pressure and I never really had to battle my way out of an inning. But, this outing I really had to make pitches in key situations and dig deep to get myself out of jams. I thought I did a good job of "being comfortable being uncomfortable" (a sports psychology saying) and really executing when it meant the most. All in all I can't be too upset with improving my record to 3-0 on the year...

P.S. I think the mascot "Lake Monster's" is the best one so far.

Our 4th of July hats

The Latin's (and Angelle) getting in the holiday mood

The extra-small locker room in Vermont

Our distant view of the field from the locker room

The "death" field