The first bad day

A rainout on Sunday forced us to push practice a day back to Monday, but it felt like we never really got out of bed.  I guess you expect to have a rough day here and there and every team on the planet goes through some growing pains when you start working with a new group.  That's probably the best way to describe it, too: growing pains.  We're currently carrying a roster filled primarily with freshman, so with all the new information they are being presented with, on top of the physical demands being placed on them, there are bound to be some days that aren't as good as others. 

You also have to toss in the fact that we were playing a BP intrasquad, and those are typically a little less exciting than a regular game.  A couple guys were playing out of position too, and of course, the ball always finds you when you're playing a new spot.  These issues, while contributing factors, weren't the problem though.  The problem was that we had several guys going through the motions.  More than 1 player cruised around the bases, didn't hustle into position to make a play, or just plain dogged it at times, and while errors aren't good, they don't bother you nearly as much as when your team just isn't playing hard.

I chalk it up to several guys just not quite understanding that there is a difference between where they've come from and where they're at.  What used to be good enough, often doesn't cut the mustard anymore, and that is just another of the lessons that will be learned before we step on the field for opening day next spring. 

On the other hand, if you're really going to teach them all that they need to know, you almost have to have some rough days to expose the areas that need the most attention.  In that regard, it's kinda a catch-22.  You don't want to have a bad day, but if you don't have a rough one now and then, it gets awfully easy to overlook some of those little things that mean alot.