Learning how to pitch at 65 part 2...

I'm still a work in progress when it comes to pitching a baseball.

I lost my first game this summer, losing 4-3 at Udall Park today in a Tucson Old Timers Club (TOTS) game and fell to 6-1 on the year. I lost my control in the first inning. I probably threw 25 pitches in the initial inning, but was able to regroup and post a string of shutout innings. But in the final inning I pulled a muscle in my back and proceeded to walk a couple of batters and then allowed a base hit to left, which led to my demise.

I probably threw 90 pitches and I'd have been better off if I'd stopped at 80. I've learned to mix up my pitches -- sometimes it's fastball, sometimes it's a roundhouse curve and sometimes it's a changeup. But it's my delivery that's off. Can't seem to release the ball in the same spot with any consistency.

Maybe I'll have all the mechanics down by the time I turn 66, next July. In the meantime, I better move back to third base and concentrate on that position until I get back from the Mens Senior Baseball League (MSBL), which gets underway October 18 in Phoenix. Right now I could use a whirlpool. This pitching thing leads to a lot of aches and pains.