I've been in the league a fairly long time now, granted not as long as many others, but enough to know that this year has been like no other.
The reason is, on the surface, very simple - parody.
Never have I experienced the fact that whoever the next opponent the Rome Raiders face in the Southwest, it'll be a dog fight. Every year prior you could always count on facing one or two, sometimes even three, teams that were nearly a gauranteed win, unless you showed up with only 9 guys and 6 of them were still drunk from the previous night. Either way, it was hard to lose.
As a player, you both looked forward to those games, but also dreaded them. Granted they were stat pushers, but they were normally pretty boring and drawn out. In the most recent years Farmington has been a model of one of these teams. Dousman was also there for a few years. Back a handful of years ago, Sullivan could have been put in that category.
Now? Nobody.
With Farmington now out of the league, it has made the competition that much better. But that's just the start. Teams like Dousman are now holding their own, as they are in fifth place, proving they are the real deal. Sullivan is around the .500 mark and looking for a playoff berth as well. Even the bottom teams, Burlington and Delavan, are no pushovers. The Blackhawks have the offense to play with anybody in the league. North Prairie, who sits third to last, just swept Mukwonago in a double header and is always a tough beat.
Now look at the top of the standings. It's not uncommon to see the first place team only have one or two losses on the year. Well, Genoa City is holding the fort with only three losses, but hasn't necessarily blown out the competition, with a few exceptions. Genesee is in second place with five losses. Just the other week they defeated 9th place North Prairie by just a 2-1 score.
Why is this happening around the league? Well, a few reasons.
First and foremost, the teams who have been annual bottom feeders in the league have gotten better. Dousman has gotten older and wiser. Sullivan has picked up a few new players. Teams that are normally in the middle of the pack like Mukwonago and Rome, have added some pieces to the mix, making them continual threats.
Secondly, the teams that were always near the top, haven't gotten much, if any, worse. Granted, teams like Waterford haven't all of a sudden just lost it. They're still as legit as always. Other teams though...well, they're catching up a bit. North Prairie has had some turnover this year, but they'll be back. They aren't the same team, but they still can make it happen any Sunday. East Troy has been maybe the most consistent team in the history of consistent teams. And add into the mix the powerful Genoa City squad, it makes for a ton of parody.
Thirdly, every team in this league has at least that one starting pitcher that can win them a ball game. Genoa City has Tom Clark, East Troy has Todd Nabor, Dousman and Tim Gotzler, Delavan with Matt Lisbeth, Burlington with Ryan Hoffman, Rome with Jeff Smith, Mukwonago with T.J. Dinsmoor, Genesee with Matt Demarais, Sullivan with Chris Perleberg. North Prairie and Brian Dominick, and Waterford with Nick Hunt.
The teams that are near the top have that extra pitcher that gives them a head up above others.
But seriously, looking at it from that perspective, if you don't show up with your "A" game every single Sunday, you'll be in for a long day. It makes it exciting to know that anybody can beat anybody.
No more of the scenerio where you as a player may only play half a game on a Sunday afternoon because your team is annhialating somebody. No more showing up half in the bag on a Sunday afternoon because you know you're playing Farmington and you don't really need to be there mentally.
A few years ago a lot of people were all over Tee Pee Talk bitching and complaining about how Waterford and North Prairie are always on top of the standings. A lot of people responded by saying that it comes in waves and cycles, as far as who is good and who isn't. It looks as though that wave is coming. It's hard to see Waterford and NP down for long, but for this year it is happening.
Most players and fans from the top tier teams defended themselves, rightfully so, often with the response of - don't get bitter, get better.
Well, it seems as though teams were listening.
R4L
Growing up and playing pretty much every sport known to man, I was never really one to voice any disgust or contempt at officials, umpires, referees, etc. I would usually let my teammates and coaches do all that dirty work. I wasn't necessarily more focused on the actual playing of the game going on than anyone else, I just never felt it necessary to make a scene or draw attention to myself.
Even throughout high school my mouth was shut on most occassions...most (See Beloit Turner basketball referee for details). When I was the one getting lippy with a ref, I got the "Holy Shit" faces from everybody. My competitive drive got the best of me sometimes, but I was never thrown out of any games and I wasn't much of a trash talker.
I always thought it would be this way. I knew I'd be playing sports after high school - recreational, of course - and I'd still have a competitive drive. Going about my business and, the cliche of putting my nose to the grindstone, is really I've always had pride in. So there was no way my attitude and demeanor would change the older I got.
Eh, wrong.
The exact opposite happened to me. The older I got, the mouthier I got. Whether it was my teammates that rubbed off on me, a general attitude change, or whatever, I have no clue.
I find myself bitching and complaining more than I ever have. It isn't like I don't notice these things. I guess what I want to know is am I complaining because that's how much I care, or is it just to feel better about myself? It's an awkward feeling, whatever it is.
The funny part that I've noticed is that when I am a head coach of a team, whether it be the Rome Raiders, my varsity football team, or JV baseball team, I'm pretty mellow. Sure I get warnings, but I'm practically harmless.
It's when I'm playing and in a game, something takes over my mind and body that just comes out in me. I'm not necessarily nasty, but the sarcasm and ridicule I protray is really a juxtaposition for me, only because it feels great to say, "Figure it out", or, "Flip a damn coin," to an umpire, but at the same time I feel like...well, like a complainer, a whiner, and all those people I never wanted to be like when I was younger.
I know I don't complain as much as others, even on my own team, but I definitely don't want to be known as one. It's a no brainer I wouldn't want a job as an umpire, even in a little league game. I've done plenty, and hated it. I always got pissed off at the coaches, players and parents for their ridiculousness.
So I'm changing my tune from now on. I'm not saying my mouth will be shut, God knows that's hard to do. But the complaining will be limited to a minimum. Again, I don't think it was bad in the first place, but it's something I need to do.
And in all honesty, I think a lot of players/teams may want to think about doing the same thing. When I first got in the league, I was baffled by the whining and complaining. It got worse and worse. Then, after a couple of coaches meetings where the commish ridiculed us, he said to clean it up. And really, it has. But from what I've seen this year, it's getting worse and worse again.
Yeah, we pay umps $70 a game, but seriously, would you ever want to ump a game in the Southwest? Doubt it.
Remember back in Pee Wee or Little League ball when you would absolutely dominate an opponent in almost embarrassing fashion, losing track of how many runs your team scored and hits you ended up with? I remember taking part in a number of those games, always on the winning side of the score, too. After the game you'd go to Pizza Hut and stuff your face in with your teammates, only to brag you scored 7 times when in reality it was only 4 times.
Well, the tides turned on me drastically this past weekend.
Honestly, nobody in the park expected a 21-1 Waterford beatdown of the Raiders. Ask Beef or Hammer. They were as shocked as anyone, really. The game almost seemed to be in slow motion - obviously because sitting in the dugout watching this massacre nearly made me vomit in my mouth.
The Raider Nation was definitely embarrassed, too.
However, thinking about it and running through the motions in my head, I came to one conclusion. Shit happens.
Just a few days earlier, the Brewers lost 19-4 to the Cubs only to come back the next day and win with a huge comeback in the 9th inning. There are going to be days as a coach, and as a player, where you aren't on your "A" game, let alone your "C" or "D" game. Granted, it shouldn't happen often, if maybe once a year. The only difference is the Brewers had an opportunity to erase that tough loss the very next day, while the Raiders contemplate what went wrong for an entire week.
Nothing went right, really. Misplayed balls in the outfield, not hitting a cut off, couple of pass balls, getting picked off of first base, missing signs. Then again, Waterford hit the absolute piss out of the ball, so that was all them.
The good news is that it can't get much worse.
I honestly didn't know how to react after the game. To laugh it off, put my head between my legs. Pout like a five-year-old.
So I drank. It solves everything!
A few more guys are coming back to the Raider Nation that will be key components the rest of the year. The more innings we get in as a team, the better it will be. So I keep telling myself, that is.
The Raiders have nearly the same squad minus a couple of players a season ago, so it isn't as though they're going in the wrong direction. Starting off the year with Genoa City, Noth Prairie and Waterford didn't help, necessarily.
Either way, the Raiders are actually looking forward to Sunday's game against Sullivan, just so they can prove that this past weekend was a mirage.
Going back to my Little League days, I now only wish that I didn't make as much fun of the other team that we just demolished as badly as I did, because I now know how embarrassing it feels......
Yeah right, who am I kidding. Those beat downs were the highlight of my week, which is why this week is tough to bare, being on the opposite end of the winning score.
