Hell Week is Over!!

Back by popular demand...the second installation of Chris Publications! :)

This past week has been what I like to call "hell week for catchers."  I'd compare it to double days in football, although I never played football, but from what I hear they are tough.  Hell week consists of live batting practice for the hitters.  This is the pitchers first exposure to a live hitter in the batters box.  This is hell week because there are pitchers on the field for the first time facing live batters.  Now this would be hunky-dory except that the pitchers have an L-screen in front of them and the hitters have the batting cage shell around them at the plate.  This can get a little tricky because all of the front office personnel and coaching staff are all around the batting cage.  Not only is this very nerve racking for the pitchers but we don't exactly have it easy either as catchers.  You try throwing the ball back to the pitcher with an L-screen that they stand behind and you have only one spot to throw it to?!  It's not easy!

Since this is the pitchers first exposure to live batters and vice versa, plus every big wig in the organization is standing mere feet from you...it's natural to want to do a little extra.  This is where hell week begins.  We as catchers are doing everything in our power to try and slow the pitcher down and get him to just throw the ball remotely close to us. The hitters are trying to get their timing down from the pitchers and often times are very late on balls in-so-facto fouling pitches off and wearing us catchers out!  Between dodging lasers off the bats of hitters in the wrong direction and blocking balls on a consistent basis from the pitchers, it doesn't make for an easy day.  So basically what you've got in a nut shell are the pitchers trying to throw the ball 100 mphs and the hitters not having their timing and all of the personnel watching, it makes for a really lousy week!!  That's why I am drinking a coors light and celebrating the fact that hell week is over!

Now we are at the point in the season where games start...but it makes for much longer days.  We're all looking forward to starting games because this is the time for us to prove what we can do.  And this is my time to shine.  Thank God I'm versatile, this is where that really comes into play and can help me make a squad.  So whether I'm catching, playing in the outfield or in the infield...let's hope I do it well!  Until next time...."he gone!"