|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
Philip Humber Journal
|
|
Location: Blogs . |
 |
| Posted by: Content Administrator |
10/20/2007 |
Hey Guys,
Sorry for the delay. I went into this thing fully expecting to live up to the weekly publication schedule that was advertised. Unfortunately, I am a bit of a procrastinator, which became obvious to you all. I can say that the time between this entry and the last one isn't entirely fault. One of the New York beat writers caught wind of our little website and this journal and began linking my entries to the paper's website. Without going into too much detail, I was asked by my employer to wait until the season had ended to resume the journal. So...
I guess I will start by saying it was a crazy second half of the season. It began with having to miss a start due to a strained shoulder suffered at a team sponsored charity golf tournament in New Orleans. I was in the midst of what I was hoping would be a turn around in my season after stringing together a couple of decent starts. Just as I had worked through that mishap, the trade deadline came and I happened to be scheduled to start on that day. The second I came into the clubhouse, our pitching coach informed me that I would not be pitching that day and I knew something was up. The game started at noon and the deadline was 3:00 central time. He didn't have any details for me other than my name was in discussions with a couple of teams. I felt excited and anxious at the same time. It was really hard to concentrate on the game that was going on when I knew it was possible that I would be packing my bags at any minute. To make matters worse, a rain delay forced us inside where the TV showed the Baseball Tonight special that was airing on ESPN. My eyes went back and forth from the TV to the clock, until finally nothing happened. My name was mentioned a couple of times on the air, once by Peter Gammons, which I guess is about the coolest thing about it. I was still a Met, or more accurately a Zephyr. Our next road trip was in Albuquerque, which takes me to one of the worst experiences of my life.
I pitched ok there, earning a no decision after a "5 and dive" effort, but the memorable thing about the trip for me was when Mike DiFelice uttered four simple words in the dugout. "I have to puke." Little did I know that I would be repeating those words out loud or in my head for the next week. To this day, I don't know if what we acquired was food poisoning or a stomach virus, but I do know that I hope to never have it again. I dropped 10 pounds like it was nothing and was forced to miss two starts. I struggled to regain form after that and being that it was the middle of August by then, I had given up nearly all hope of seeing the Big Leagues in 2007. This is when it got fun again. I went out on my second to last start of the year and managed to take a no hitter into the 9th inning and followed that up with another good start. On September 1st I was called up and pitched in three games for the Mets, including my first ever start. I haven't felt adrenaline like that since the CWS in 2003.
Although I was a member of a team that will be remembered for one of the biggest late season collapses in history, I am thankful that I was there. The feeling I got walking onto that mound on the 26th is the reason we all play. I hope every one of the former Owls that are still grinding it out gets that feeling and we can share it many times over. That's why I'm headed to the gym tomorrow to give myself every shot at it.
The off-season brings with it the closing of a chapter and the freshness of a new year. The good and the bad are all erased and spring is just around the corner. It will be a busy fall for me with workouts and wedding planning. (Nov 24) I will see some of you there and hopefully all of you at the alumni game. We'll have to break in the Owls new surface with a victory!
I hope you guys have enjoyed reading this stuff as much as I have sharing it. I felt a little weird talking so much about what was going on with me, when I know everyone has something to tell that's a lot more interesting than my stories. Maybe I didn't bore y'all too bad.
For the last time,
Go Owls!
Humber
|
|
| Permalink |
Trackback |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|