Baseball season

In a different kind of way...

It seems that to have a successful baseball team, a number of different things are needed. You need a coach/manager to coordinate everything. You need a pitcher who not only pitches, but "listens" to the catcher and the rest of the team, because I'm told the catcher really directs things. You definitely need a catcher who can coordinates a lot, and who directly relays messages to the pitcher. And you need a supporting "cast" with an infielder, 3 basepeople, outfielders, and people in the dugout. What happens when things aren't quite right? Can the team still be effective? Can the team still win? What qualifies as winning? What happens when the team is "thrown a curve ball?"

Consider this scenerio. The pitcher is the absolute best as an individual pitcher. He has some tunnel vision, thinks his pitching is all that matters, and in a sense, runs the show, not listening to anyone, really. It's always worked for him - why change now? The catcher has the best intentions, but with a lack of communication with the pitcher, he's a bit stuck in only being able to effectively communicate with other team members.

Oh no! Where's the coach? It doesn't appear there's a coach. The pitcher might have told the coach to go away. That's unfortunate, because there's an upcoming game where a coach is needed.

Well look - here comes the infielder. Someone determined he should show up, but he's not sure how long he'll be there. He'll be there if requests for him continue. The catcher has talked to him, and the catcher effectively has communication with first, second, and third base. But this pitcher and lack of coach seem to be a problem.

Add some outfielders. They are thinking "what if," and they're great, because they've thought of many different scenerios. But they're not in contact with anyone in the infield. Too bad. They have vision. But one outfielder is confused with the whole process. This outfielder can't catch the ball and didn't think you needed to be able to catch to be an outfielder. Hmm... Someone has to catch those flyballs!

Wow. So we need a coach who can get through to the pitcher. The pitcher needs to be more of a team player. The infielder needs more involvement. Without some of this, routine games may indeed be won. But unexpected games - I'm thinking there may be problems.

That's baseball. No, actually that's a comparison I'm making for my shoulder surgery. Different players - can you place where they are in this mix? There's the orthopedic surgeon, the rehabilitation doctor, the physical therapist, the MRI, the durable medical equipment company, the chronic care coordinator, a nurse, another outside physical therapist, and a bunch of people in the dugout asking questions. I'm not sure where I am. I certainly hope they get a coach soon! These are interesting times!