So its been about six days, and a lot has gone on here in the Scottsdale/ Mesa area.  Halloween came and went like it was nothing. Since I’m no longer 6 years old, I don’t “trick or treat” anymore, but I did actually dress up this year for Saturday night festivities. I wish I had taken some pictures, especially with all of the camera phones in the world, but me and my Freddy Krueger costume are more of a myth now than an actual happening.  We waited in line at one of those two week a year creepy Spirit Halloween stores where the a/c doesn’t work, and the lights barely work, for over 45 minutes.

            Our first mistake was going on Saturday afternoon/evening and expecting to get in and out in time to take a nap, but that never happens. Everyone and their child was there looking for last minute Avatar costumes or creepy dead people masks.  It was an overall awesome night, lots of funny costumes, some more inappropriate than others, but Halloween can always bring a huge laugh and lots of fun even without ringing doorbells and asking for candy.

 

(Realistic Enough? just kidding, but that was the idea!) 

      

      Today was my fourth start of the Fall League.  As you may remember, my last outing didn’t go as well as I had hoped, and I finished my last post by stating; “how hard you work determines what kind of person you are, especially after failure.”  If this week was a small sample, I’d say I worked extremely hard.  I had the unfortunate task of facing the same team that I faced six days ago.  When you struggle against a team one week, they most definitely hold the upper hand going into the next game. 

            But today was different.  Today was my first chance to get to pitch at home- at HoHoKam in Mesa- and I’m glad.  It was my fourth game of the year, with my first 3 coming on the road, and pitching at home was a nice change of pace.

            Last week in Peoria I felt slow, and had bad tempo through my windup.  Everything between pitches felt like I had heavy feet, and I just didn’t feel confident. Today I made sure to work quickly and not let close calls by the Home plate umpire get the best of me.  I figured if I didn’t give myself time to dwell on the pitches I had just thrown, all I would have to do is throw the next pitch.  Coaches always preach “it’s about the next pitch, not the previous pitch,” and you know what, they’re right.  I’ve realized that before, but it’s something that I need to learn how to do mid-game, not 6 days later.

 

            I came out throwing strikes.  Two out of the first three pitches of every at-bat have to be strikes. Attacking the strike-zone causes the hitter to be more aggressive, and swing at balls out of the strike-zone later in the at-bat: and today that happened.  I threw 61 pitches, 37 for strikes. I didn’t walk anyone, my third game where that happened. Struck out 3 batters and gave up only 2 hits.

            I was very proud of my game today, all of my pitches worked well, and I kept the ball in the ballpark, which any pitcher can say is a huge feat, but what was most fantastic about the game today was how great the whole team played.  We put up 20 hits, and scored 15 runs.  But we also pitched really well as a team.  Tyson Brummett, Justin De Fratus, BJ Rosenberg. Chris Kissock and Ryan Brasier combined for 5 innings of 1 run baseball and pitched outstandingly- not allowing the Peoria Saguaros to get back into the game. 

 

 

On a different note:

            Congrats to the San Francisco Giants, outstanding pitching and timely hitting, even a first ever sacrifice bunt by Aubrey Huff, signified a complete team effort.  It just shows that a team has to win the World Series. The pitching staff was amazing, but the lineups Bruce Bochy threw out there every day played well together, and they did just enough to put enough runs across every game.

 

            But I do hope the Phil’s make it back there next year!!