My son's first College Fall Season was filled with plenty of ups and downs. They completed their Fall Series this afternoon, and his squad took 2 of 3 games to win the series, and more importantly, he got Dad's $25.00 back for the team meal...LOL. Okay, I let him keep the money!
Bsbl-son is a 2-way player (so far?). He had a tremendous start to the fall with his bat and on the bump. Through the first four weeks he was hitting over .400 and doing a great job on the mound. Two weeks ago, I was watching his scrimmage and noticed that his velocity was down significantly. He had been told to expect some decrease in velocity as they competed in the Fall due to fatigue. However, I had noticed that he was massaging his elbow/triceps on the On Deck circle prior to his AB's and I knew something wasn't right. The next day he was diagnosed with Tricep Tendinitis, and ordered to shut it down for a couple weeks. Of course, there was only two weeks left in the Fall. Fortunately, they allowed him to DH in the scimmages...but he went into a terrible slump and didn't feel comfortable as a DH. I don't know what his numbers were like in the Final two weeks, but it wasn't pretty. I hope the coaching staff considers his first four weeks, but who really knows? They're back to individual workouts until January rolls around. In the meantime, the players will have individual meetings with the coaching staff in the near future and will get an idea of what their roles will be prior to the season.
BOF wrote a great post regarding the numbers game, and it doesn't stop with recruiting. My son is a P/OF trying to win playing time on a top 25 team that returned eleven of their fifteen pitchers, and he's fighting with seven other players for one of the two open spots in the outfield. I look at things with an open mind, but I'm a realist. It's going to be tough sledding, but if he's healthy, he will contribute. In what capacity??? I guess we'll find out in a few months.
Good luck to all the players as they wrap up their Fall Season and prepare for the Spring. I enjoy reading all of the updates, and look forward to reading more when February rolls around and the 2012 season is underway.