Mike Marmo is a second year American catcher for Reggio Baseball. Pro Days in Italy depicts the life of a European Baseball player, both on and off the field.
After two weeks of not playing, which essentially feels like forever, we finally tee’d it up against Modena at home. As of recent date, our team has been somewhat struggling. We have lost some very important games, most of which we should have won. The weeks leading up to these games were no better, as the stress and disappointed finally hit its boiling point.
All year long there has been somewhat of a distance between the players and coaches. When teams succeed, it’s easy to look past the things that may be wrong. It’s when teams struggle that you really start to assess the potential problems. One practice seemed to be the icing on the cake, as a player and coach had a discrepancy. This triggered a chain reaction, and everybody took the opportunity to vent. It made things awkward, but it was in hopes that we could move past it. Venting isn’t always a bad thing. We continued our workout, and it wasn’t spoken of again.
The situation leading up to the game was simple. We were in second place, but by a small margin. This meant that we needed to beat the teams we are supposed to beat, meaning taking two games from the teams at the bottom of the standings. Modena is middle of the pack, and is a very lopsided team when it comes to the first and second game. Their second game starter is the best in the league, stacking up strike outs. Going into the first game, you would think it would be a sure bet win for us. Unfortunately, we were unprepared for what was about to transpire.
Our offense has struggled all year. Our power numbers are down, and in general it hasn’t been as consistent as the past. It showed in the first game, as we struggled to string together big hits. Fillo struggled as well, and we were forced to take him out early and go into our bullpen. With some small mistakes on defense, we allowed Modena to take a lead and hold it. They ended up winning a important game, and one that had the potential to hurt us drastically.
The second game was set to be a pitchers duel, and it lived up to the hype. Josh has been great as of late, and he just seemed to improve more. Marquez, Modena’s foreign starter, was lights out as well. There was no offense to speak of, as both pitchers continued to shut down their opposing offense. It was 0-0 in the ninth, and it became the bullpens game. Lucky for us, our depth showed its value, as Tito came in and shut them down. Our DH was able to get a huge triple for us in the bottom of the tenth, and eventually scored on a dramatic but almost anti-climatic passed ball. Regardless, the win would end up being huge as the rest of the league split their series as well.
We were able to hold our spot in second place, but the road doesn’t get easier. Every weekend counts, and every game is of the up-most importance. Unfortunately, that second game against Modena had its downside. The win was somewhat bitter sweet, as our starting centerfield and fellow American Paul fell to injury while in a run down. Although the diagnosis is unknown, he was forced to leave the game. He is a huge proponent of our team, and we truly hope the news is good. The quicker he gets out on the field the better. No matter what the circumstance, our team now more than ever needs to come together.
I appreciate everybody who has supported the blog, and everybody who has supported my adventure here. Remember to check out www.reggiobaseball.com and www.mister-baseball.com for all Reggio and World news. Thanks again and talk to you soon!
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