Finally, after what seems like a year, the playoffs begin tomorrow. After lots of good times, great travels, and relaxation, I came back knowing that it was time to redirect my energy and focus back to baseball. So taking the initiative, my teammates and I started hitting everyday. After some great practices, a couple of friendly games, and some extra work, the playoffs are a day away.
The playoff system is very strange in Serie A baseball. Actually, it doesn't make much sense at all. I'll explain. The top two teams from each division make the playoffs. In our division, we are the 1 seed and Anzio is the 2 seed. In the other division, Codogno is the 1 seed and Milan is the 2 seed. Instead of playing Anzio and meeting the other division champion in the finals, the have the 1 seed of one division match up with the 2 seed of the other division, hence why we are playing Milan. Then, the winner of the series plays the winner of the other series. If your following, that means we have the possibility of playing Anzio in the championship, which originally is in our division. I find this to be silly, but Italian baseball seems to enjoy doing strange things like this.
The first series is a best of three. Tomorrow, we will play 2 games at our home field. If for whatever reason we split, we play Sunday at Reggio Field as well for game 3. The championship is a best of 5 series, and will be played at both fields. This is a great advantage for us, and I'm happy to be playing at home. Milan needed to win 6 straight games in order to make the playoffs, and they were able to do so. I'm excited to play a team from the other division, just to see what the competition is like.
From what I know about this team, they have a few foreign infielders and a foreign starter from Venezuela. He played as high as Triple A in pro ball, and pitches for the Spanish national team. I'm looking forward to facing him and testing my merit. The first game of the series is Italians only, and the second game is foreign. The third game is free. This is where management and proper use of your pitchers becomes very important. Ideally, we would like to take two games on Saturday and not have to play that Sunday game.
The playoffs are what playing sports is all about. During the regular season, you are able to play a different style of baseball. It's more relaxed, and the mind set is completely different. In the playoffs, each at bat matters. Every little thing you do on the field can directly correlate to your teams future. It demands that you are concentrated and in the game at all times, and everybody on the roster is of value and meaning. You could strike out your first 3 at bats, and in the fourth at bat get a big hit and change the outcome of the game. Stats don't matter, just what you do for your team and how you contribute to a win. I'm very excited to the pressure and challenge of playoff baseball, and I can't wait to get out on the field. I feel great, my team is ready, and hopefully I can come back to New York with a championship.
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