The postgame buzz

 

Some nights just don't work. You drag yourself back home.

Other nights you're exhilarated. Things might not have gone as desired but there's an energy you can't shake.

That was last night. Sure, I made a mistake. It's not the first time, I owned it, made fun of myself, and moved on. I didn't harp on it or really beat myself up over it. I actually -- GASP! -- cut me some slack.

It's true. The game got over and, at first, all of the adrenaline drained from me. I'm used to that. I wrote my game story and Vice President & Assistant General Manager Tyson Jeffers helped me post it online. But after that was done, Zach Neubauer came into the studio fired up and my energy shot back. He was trying to run cables to install a monitor in the booth for me to view the MILB.tv feed. That would be fantastic, as I could react much more to what is being produced by Sam, Zach, Sean, and company.

So we stuck around to help Zach with running cables through the ceiling and looked over some equipment. The Renegades borrowed some of my audio gear so Zach and I looked that over and talked about his idea for installing the monitor.

He thought he might stay longer. On another night, I would have joined him.

The stadium was quiet, save for a blower cleaning up garbage. The lights were dimmed. The air was cool.

But Sean's feet hurt and he was clearly exhausted. He's getting used to the grind.

Zach was content to call it a night.

Sean and I were driving home when I told him the truth.

"If you weren't so tired," I said, "I'd probably still be there."

But to be clear, I'm grateful because it forced me to step away and go home. Despite the energy rush, I was tired also. If I really wanted to stay, Sean could have sat down and waited. I'm a veteran of foot issues, having dealt with pain in my soles forever. But Sean gave me the best excuse to get home and get some sleep, which I actually did.

Breaking news: I slept until an alarm woke me up! Film at 11!

As we got in the car, I told Sean we had passed the midway point of the first homestand.

He smiled. A glimpse of pride at what he's accomplished appeared. He's enjoying it. He's growing right in front of my eyes.

He even praised his old man.

"Your energy is impressive on those broadcasts," he said. He noted that I sounded disappointed in the final out of the game because it was then over.

Actually, I was struggling to see through the lights as a fly ball went the warning track in right center field. But, he's not wrong either.

Game 4 is tonight.