The Majors are in the midst of our first losing streak of the 2011 season. We lost to the second place Barrie Baycats last week, shrinking our hold on first place to one game. Baserunning mistakes were our undoing and we couldn’t capitalize on Baycat errors to put the game out of reach.
We should have beaten them by six or seven runs, but instead we allowed them to keep hanging around until they started to play well. That’s one thing we can’t do versus good teams. When you have a chance to put runs on the board against one of the top teams in the league, you have to do it.
That’s what championship calibre teams do. When you have your foot on an opponent’s throat, you don’t release the hold and allow them a chance to breathe. You bury them, destroy their morale, and don’t let them back in the game.
The Majors are going to need to acquire that killer instinct if we want to win an IBL championship as opposed to just a regular season championship. Message received and we were able to push that game out of our memory and focus on our trip to Ottawa
We left at in the morning on Friday destined for the Nation’s Capital. The schedule called for us to play Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.
We ran into a great pitcher on Saturday and were not able to mount any offence. The Fat Cats shut us out 4-0. It was the first time a pitcher has been completely able to neutralize our offensive attack. It was a shock to our entire team. We hadn’t been punched in the mouth like that all year.
The team talked it over after the game and we were confident in our ability to rebound and come out firing on all cylinders the next day.
It didn’t work.
We lost 5-4 on Sunday to finish being swept out of Ottawa Ottawa
We’ve lost four games in a row. This is the time of the year where we’ll find out what we’re made of.
On a personal note, I haven’t throw in a game since my last appearance. It was remarked to me by a teammate during pre-game warmups that I have a lot of moving parts in my throwing motion and I should try to clean up my delivery in order to maintain consistent mechanics.
It was a salient point. And it’s not the first time I’ve heard it. Now that I’ve gotten my leg mechanics in order and able to derive power from my hips, I need to remove any extraneous motion from my arm movement to have better timing in my delivery.
And though I’m not throwing in games right now, I’m able to throw three or four times a week in the bullpen during games and practices to keep my arm strong and work on becoming a better, more consistent pitcher.
We are now in third place in the IBL with a 13-6 record.
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