Well, that went well

1 IP, 1H, 1K 0R

I would call that quite a bit better than last time. I threw the new cutter in all but 2 pitches.  I threw one change up and a four seam fastball. That was it. Probably threw about 15 pitches total.

I felt great.  I really did.

Felt good to have a great group of teammates coming around afterward. They know what that meant. They've been around long enough to understand.

Even a member of the opposite team came up to me afterward and gave me his congratulations. That was great.

It's funny how this works. It was a really neat feeling to get back on there knowing that this was going to go better. I. had that same weird feeling when I crossed the line but not when I took the mound. I felt completely relaxed on the mound for the first time in about 2 years. I knew I wasn't going to hurt later,  I knew I wasn't doing any new damage. Everything was  finally ok.  Felt like playing right field  has felt all year...just easy.

Man, I missed that feeling. I also missed the feeling of striking someone out and having someone ground out on the first pitch because they had heard I "bring it".

Unfortunately, we lost the game.  In a way though I think the team took a small victory away.  They seemed to anyway.  I certainly took that victory...even though the game didn't end well. 

I appreciate my teammates a lot. I was happy to be able to pitch well in front of them.  Not only that, but my wife, father in law, and mother in law were all there as well. 

I'm just thankful to be able to play ball.