Chillicothe 2, Rockford 11

For the third straight game, the Chillicothe Paints have given up double-digit runs to the opposition. That opposition would be the Rockford RiverHawks. For a team that is hungry and is still fighting to make the playoffs, the RiverHawks did exactly what they had to do to get momentum going. These games are meaningful in that respect.

For the Paints, this has probably been one of the toughest stretches of losses in the history of the team. It's only just a 5-game losing streak, but with the way that these games are shaping out to be, you can tell that the whole team is, at this point, spent and tired. Everything that has been happening since late July has really taken a toll on this team.

For the offense, Sean Anderson batted second in the lineup and had a single. Travis Garcia went deep for a solo home run. Adrian Cantu had a single. Joe Spiers had an RBI single. I guess you could say that if the Paints' offense were a gas tank, it would probably be either on "E" or pretty close to it.

The pitching is what it is. It gave up 11 runs, although not all of them earned, on 9 hits allowed. The defense commited 4 errors in this ballgame. This comes from fatigue and a more than depleted bench with just one backup player.

Yeah, the lack of energy and focus has been noticed. As we reach these last 9 games of the 2008 regular season in the Frontier League, this much is certain; it's time to start thinking about the future. These last 9 games are going to be emotional to say the least. When you have the chance to field a team in your own backyard, it is simply an honor, and it's not to be taken for granted.

For some people, that's just too hard to understand.

The thing is, the writing looks to be on the wall, and I'm not talking about our win-loss record. I'm talking about the expressions of the diehard fans, who have gotten out of their own way to attend these games at the VA. Unless you have actually been at this place for numerous and countless times and experienced the same fun that we have experienced, then it would be hard to understand why we, Chillicothe Paints fans, do what we do night after night.

I guess why I'm writing about our situation and not about the game that was just played would be this; the time is coming. As we wind down yet another baseball season, it is time to reflect on what exactly happened and why we're even at this position right now. You can point the finger at high gas prices and mind you, that's an issue, but there's really no other reason why we are where we are. It's as simple as that.