Damned if I do, damned if I don't

Good evening, baseball fans! Welcome to Hell!

Alright, that may be a bit of a stretch. After all, I'm fortunate enough to still be living and breathing and entertaining myself endlessly with this typing, so I don't have an idea of what Hell is actually like.

But (1) I do believe in Hell and (2) I think it's safe to assume it's pretty dang close to what we Scorpions fans have been living for the past three days. Now I know what all of those Yankees fans have been going through and feeling this season (not that I sympathize)! And, no, I'm not a Yankees fan (see previous post on my disgust with the Nats - but that's a whole different kind of Hell. At least the Yanks have a chance! And kindly keep your comments about my beloved Nationals to yourself!).

I don't need to remind you Scorpions fans that the boys have dropped four games over the past three days, so I won't. No sense in reliving a past you cannot change. And there is no point in also reminding you that their lead has been trimmed to a mere 1/2 game. Actually, after the next few games any one of the four top teams could be in the top spot! Orange County is 1/2 gb, followed by Chico at 1 gb and LB at 1 1/2 gb. This week, I believe, we will see the 'real' picture on how the teams of the GBL are built. There could be some shuffling going on in the standings. Fingers crossed that our Yuma boys remain in the top spot (I say 'fingers crossed' because obviously the term 'knock wood' isn't working so I'll try another superstition. I'm not ready to wear the same Scorpions shirt day in and day out, unlaundered, until they win one (and neither are my colleagues) so I'll stick with 'fingers crossed' for now. That may change tomorrow!).

Frankly, I think I'd feel a whole lot better about this downward spiral if I were able to contribute to the club more. I blog positive comments - the Scorpions lose. I use reverse psychology and predict they lose - they do nothing to shatter the prediction - and the Scorpions lose. Damned if I do, damned if I don't. Am I the only one who feels completely and utterly powerless to stop this trainwreck?

I'd much rather be positive than negative (not counting the above comments), so I'll venture a guess and state that I believe the Scorpions are going to win this evening, their first of three games at Chico. Chico, as you will recall, is only one game back (third place in the standings) so it is crucial, absolutely crucial, that the Scorpions win tonight and tomorrow and Wednesday and the days that follow.

As far as my theory on what is ailing the Scorps: In a word, pitching (well, pitching and bad play-calling by the umps and too many uncalled for ejections (also by the umps) of Scorpions players and managers).

Pitching, as we all know (well, granted, there are a few hardheads out there that don't accept this), is the true and real source of baseball success.

I was speaking with my friend Steve today about the local nines. Steve is not only a terrific guy and a great friend, but he really and truly knows the game of baseball and keeps up on everything related to what happens on the diamond. Steve is one of those rare male specimens who actually watches and enjoys SportsCenter. I know, I know, a man that follows baseball (and every other sport including lacrosse and rowing and curling) on SportsCenter is a true endangered species but, believe me ladies, there are still a few out there so hurry and find one before they are all gone! (And no I won't give you Steve's number.)

Anyway, Steve and I were discussing the Scorpions' performance of the past few games. (I think he could sense my distress over the e-mail.)

Being a girl, and a blonde, I'd say something like this about the game of ball: The team that is going to win is going to be the team that scores more runs than the other team. Short and sweet and true!

Steve, being a true, passionate baseball fan (not that I'm not a true, passionate fan, but he's got a whole lot more knowledge of the game than yours truly) had this to say: "There are times when teams just seem to get in a pitching funk. They really just need a pitcher to step it up a notch and pitch a good game. It could also be that with all the run support they get too comfortable with their pitching and don't make quality pitches. Seems like they are stuck in a rut right now. Ya, all those runs you put up really don't mean anything if your pitcher can't keep the other team from putting them up."

(Boy, Steve's comments eerily remind me of my Fantasy Baseball team!)

I'd also say something like, "The team is really sucking right now."

Steve would counter with something similar to his above comment, and say it very diplomatically. Perhaps Steve should have become an attorney instead of an engineer.

As far as cold, hard stats go, the Scorpions are 12-6 (as I type this, very near to Monday's game time). With the 12 wins the Yuma side has scored an average of 9.5 runs and held the opponent to 4.4 runs. When the Yuma team loses they've scored an average of 3.5 runs, with the winning opponent scoring an average of 6.2 runs. What does all of this mean? Beats me, my major wasn't mathematics.

But I'm smart enough to know you don't win baseball games when the other team scores more runs!