You're a good man, Charlie Brown

My son loves sports. He must, given the way his teams get pummeled. It was a grim weekend at Sitzer Park for Ben’s Brewers, who were routed twice by the Cardinals, 18-2 and 19-4. A few thoughts amid the wind-blown carnage of the weekend:

• Ben played pretty well for the most part. He ended up 1-4 between the two games, with a well-placed infield single in the second game. He also made a few nice plays at second base, which is clearly his best position. He had a few outfield misadventures in the second game, but overall he’s clearly a better player this year and I’m encouraged by his progress.
• His teammates are really a good group of kids this year. The problem is they are, in the main, modestly talented. The Cardinals team had 2-3 very good players, most notably a large, intimidating starting pitcher who threw four perfect innings in the first game. They also had another hulking youngster who routinely launched balls deep into the early evening sky. The pitcher, who also clearly shops in the husky section, also took out Ben on a play at third base. I’m guessing this kid outweighs Ben by about 50 pounds and he sent Ben flying. It looked like Ty Cobb blasting Jimmy Austin off the base in the 1910s. But Ben dusted himself off and went back to playing. Had to admire that.
• The rules in the American League are less compassionate than they are in the Junior Minor League. The meaning of this is pretty simple – there is no limit to the number of runs that a team can score in an inning, and teams can steal bases pretty much at will. Baseball is a game of rules, but there are also mores involved, too. In my experience, if a team is up by ten runs or more, they won’t keep stealing bases at every opportunity. Someone forgot to mention that to the Cardinals, who were absolutely relentless and ruthless and kept stealing bases, even when they were up by 15 runs or more. There’s an argument to be made that our kids have to stop the other team from doing that, but after a while you have to wonder about the sportsmanship of a team that is stealing bases when it’s already up 17-2. Is that extra run really necessary? Our kids definitely sensed that the other team was rubbing our noses in it. I know this – if our kids find themselves on the winning side of such a situation, we will call off the dogs.
• It was a tough weekend to play baseball weather-wise. The winds were really howling on both Saturday and Sunday; one gust even toppled a Port-O-San at the park. Perhaps the additional ballast on the Cardinal players made a difference; I know that Ben and a few of his similarly slight teammates were really struggling with it at times.
  
  Still, hope springs eternal and the mighty Brewers will return to action on Thursday, May 10 against the Rangers, back at Sitzer Park. Game time is 6:30. Don’t miss it!