Blog from abroad

Former Boca Ciega standout Ben Pincus is playing in the Israel Baseball League, which is making its debut this season. Pincus will write the experience of playing overseas each week.

Well the Blue Sox have come back down to earth, and hard. We are in the midst of a three-game losing streak, two at the hands of the second-place Tel Aviv Lightning, who if you remember, I said we had begun a rivalry with. We are not pitching, we are not playing defense and we are not hitting. We are no longer doing everything we did well in the beginning of the season, and it is a tough time to be a member of Blue Sox Nation. Things are going to turn around. This is the time when teams decided if they are a championship caliber team. I feel that with the talent we have and the leadership in the dugout, this is nothing more than a bump in the road.

That said, our manager has decided to make some changes. Our pitching rotation has changed somewhat and has left some of our bench players less than happy. I will not say there is unrest within our team, however, there are a few of my teammates whose ideas on the season have changed. I feel that these types of changes are necessary for the betterment of our team. That might seem a bit biased, though, as I am now getting legitimate time at first base. I love playing the field and hitting. It is more fun than pitching. When I pitch I am serious, I overthink and I do not have the time to truly enjoy the game. Not that I am not concentrating or that I only play when I want, Randy Moss, but when you are doing the same thing as seven other guys it is less pressure and a nice change from the mindset I carry with me as a pitcher. It does not hurt that I can play the position really well and that my hitting is coming around as well.

This new role has had its share of negative effects as well. After having a knee and a shoulder surgery in consecutive seasons in college, thus leading to me not using my fifth year of eligibility, I had finally felt my body returning to normal. Now, it is a different story, or is it the same old story? The waking up in the morning and having to wait 10-15 minutes to have full use of my left arm, the constant pain with every throw, fighting myself to not worry about it and just keep playing. I am not saying I am some kind of hero or comeback story, I am just a run-of-the-mill athlete who wants to play so badly that injury is never really a concern. If you have, or have ever had, that mentality, you know what I am talking about.

This week we had Tuesday off for a Jewish holiday, Tisha B’av. This is considered, “the saddest day in Jewish history,” and that truly is saying something. The holiday commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples. Those two events occurred about 656 years apart, but on the same date.

Because of the sanctity of the day, my family chose to do something special, though not necessarily in accordance with the restrictions of the holiday. We all woke up at 3 a.m. and drove two hours to a mountain called Massada. Massada became famous during the first Jewish-Roman war, when Roman troops surrounded the mountain, leaving no escape, forcing a mass suicide by all of the inhabitants. There we were attempting to climb a mountain, with the aid of a path created by the settlers themselves, as the sun is coming up over the Dead Sea. It is truly one of the most beautiful sights I have ever witnessed. The climb itself became somewhat more than anyone had bargained for. My parents dropped off around half way (they are old you know). A little while after that I lost track of my brother, Loren, and sister-in-law, Ali. Forty-five minutes later I had made it to the top, alone. I was the first person on the mountain that day and the view and seclusion I experienced for the next half an hour, when Loren and Ali made it up, was genuinely incredible.

After that we took a cable car down the mountain - it is how my parents eventually got to the top - had some lunch, then headed for the Dead Sea. This body of water is famous because it is supposed to have many positive health benefits, is the world’s second saltiest body of water and is considered the lowest point on earth. Because of the mineral content you are unable to sink in this water. In fact, once you get deep enough, it gets difficult just to try and get your feet beneath you. The water literally pushes your feet to the surface and you just float; it is like nothing you have ever experienced.

Needless to say, this was a great day. I got to spend time with my family at some of the most amazing places in Israel. Now, it is back to work. We have a game tomorrow and I plan to win that game and, the game after that. The season is like a single game; the first innings and the last few innings everyone is pumped up, it is those middle innings that are the most difficult to get through. That is what this is, the middle of the season. There's no anticipation like the beginning of the season, or energy for a pennant race at the end; it is just game after game after game. My team needs to get through this time and come out with the excitement of a playoff game, because that is what all these are. We are in first place, but not by much. When it is all said and done, the next few weeks will show us what kind of team we really are.