We are facing the Cubs today. We had practiced with them on Tuesday and they were also 2-0 entering the game. However, they’d allowed almost no runs in their first few games, which was more impressive, to me, than their victories.
We’re the away team so we’re up to bat first. We get a couple of base runners with two outs but Alec ends the inning with a strikeout. Jeremy Ma throws a great inning sending them down 1-2-3 on only 9 pitches.
Second inning starts off with a couple of strikeouts, as they have the same pitcher in there from the first inning. However, after Jeremy F draws a walk and steals second, Jeremy Me drives him home with a double. They come out strong and score 2 putting us down 2-1.
We start to get things going with Cameron drawing a walk, and Nick singling him over to third. They have a very bad catcher in there and so after Jared lines out to the pitcher, who caught the ball more out of self defense than anything. If it had gotten by him it’d have been a two run single, easily. Anyhow, I convince Cameron to steal home next time the ball gets by the catcher. All goes well and Cameron will be safe, except he doesn’t slide and so he gets called out. Matt S then flies out left to end the inning. Their coach commented to me that this inning could have gone real poorly for them.
Nick comes in and on only 16 pitches strikes out the side, including have walked a guy. The big test for him will come next inning, as we’ve seen that he can just dominate the first inning he throws, the question is if he can keep it together for a second inning. When I told him before the game that he’d be pitching two, he was pleased but told me that if starts walking people to take him out. I assured him, that he’d be pulled pretty quickly if it looked like he didn’t have it for two innings. Anyhow, after 3 it’s still 2-1 Cubs.
We continue not to get anything going in the fourth. Fortunately, Nick does not need to be pulled as he strikes out the first two, lets up a single, however Jeremy Ma, playing catcher, throws out a guy who attempts to steal second ending the inning.
In the 5th we should have just gone to town. Jeremy F singles and proceeds to steal first. Jeremy Me then walks. Jeremy F steals third, the throw goes wild and Jeremy F gets a run. After Jeremy Ma walks, Jeremy Me, tries to steal third but gets thrown out. I would not have had him steal there, but don’t say anything since I hadn’t told him not to and we’ve been preaching aggressive base running. Jeremy Ma does advance to second. I then tell Jeremy Ma not to steal unless I tell him to, as their catcher has figured things out and I don’t want to risk us losing a big inning. So of course, Jeremy Ma on the first passed ball attempts to steal and gets thrown out. I was really upset with him about this, as not only did he ignore what I had said to do, but should have seen on his own that we just had a guy thrown out at third attempting to do the same thing. We do score Cameron after he walks, and is then driven home by Nick, who gets a legitimate double but ends up on third after some astute base running when the Cubs are sloppy getting the ball back to the mound. The inning ends, however. Good news is that we’re now up 3-2.
Cameron is now on the mound for us and things do not go particularly well. As in he walks the first three guys he faces. This then causes Steve and I some consternation about who to bring in if we need to pull him. We can either bring in Jeremy Me, who is scheduled to pitch the sixth making him ineligible to pitch there, or bring in Jared who is likely to be just as shaky as Cameron. Fortunately, Cameron settles down and strikes out the next batter. When the bases got loaded Jared, as shortstop, called out to throw home if they had the play. I immediately correct him and say “throw to an infield base” as we have Matt S catching and I don’t trust his ability to make the play. So of course when the next guy hits a ball right to Jared, Jared comes up with it and rockets it home instead of going to first or third, both of which would have been easy outs. Matt S, misses it and so instead of out 2 we now have the bases still loaded and only 1 out. Cameron strikes out the next guy. Which makes the fact that the next kid comes up and rockets a ball into the outfield all the more tragic. They tried to stretch out a triple, and we’d have gotten the out at third, except that Sean wasn’t covering the base. Fortunately the next kid flies out to end the inning. Still we are now down 7-3, when we might have gotten out of the inning with a tied ball game.
Life doesn’t start out well when their pitcher gets the balls over the plate and strikes out Matt S. However, after the pitcher hits Austin (in the groin), he becomes rattled. We then start a rally. Alec singles. Nof hits a double driving in Austin. Jereremy F singles, scoring another. Jeremy Me doubles, as does Jeremy Ma, giving us three more. We now are up 8-7 going into the bottom of the sixth.
Once again Jeremy Me is called up on to save the game for us. And while they do manage to get runners on second and third, Jeremy Me takes care of business striking out the last two players. We win in an another squeaker.
After the game, Steve and I disagree. Since we won, all is good for Steve. I feel like we had several mental errors, and our throws are still not as accurate as they should be. I know that if we’d lost the game, I’d have felt more positive about it than Steve. He’s pretty results driven, where as I try to see the good in loses and the not so good (if it’s there) in victory. Anyhow, game ball goes to Nick for his commanding two inning performance.
Good news is that, weather permitting, we’ll have two games this week as they made Wednesday’s practice into a game. Tomorrow’s forecast calls for thunderstorms, but hopefully they won’t come around here.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Practice Report and Update
Saturday Addendum
One thing I don’t think emphasized enough was how different I am as a coach this year compared to last year. I see how Steve is coaching this year, commenting nearly relentlessly and I know I did almost as much of that last year. When we started to unravel a bit, Steve was having a difficult time handling his frustration, and I know I felt similarly last year. I really think basketball changed this about me. I do less is more when it comes to comments, while still making sure the good outweighs the critical. And when the game that had been a blow-out started to get close, I felt it, but I worked hard to not let it show. I know that several of my parents, most notably Lucas’s dad, loved the fact that I always remained calm and I think this is a big reason we won nearly every close game we had. To be honest I even said something when Steve got audibly flustered that I shouldn’t have said (something like “Calm down” in a quiet and nice way). Anyhow, coaching baseball has made me see how much I’ve grown as a coach and I’m real pleased with the new me during games.
Tuesday Practice
Monday night Steve calls me. Long story short, in a month he’s going to unexpectedly lose his apartment and he and his roommate have to go hunting Tuesday during practice. This is going to leave me on my own for only our second practice.
Last week we’d developed a really awesome practice plan, for the Wednesday practice that was canceled due to rain. I basically decide to go with a modified version of this practice. The practice is going to be heavy on base running with a minor in hitting/bunting.
I get to the field and Jeremy Me is the first to arrive. We play catch for a bit. 5:45, the nominal start time of practice rolls around and he’s the only one there. Now I knew we’d have quite a few late players due to religious school, but I expected more than one kid at the start of practice. Our practice doesn’t start, therefore, in actuality until 6. Practice ends at 7 so it is a short practice. When we start there is only Jeremy Me, Sean, Jared, Cameron and Nick. Austin and Alec came to drop off Nick, but their mother basically couldn’t deal with logistical issues involving having Austin and Alec there so they missed. As we were throwing a little before practice started Nick and Jared were both concerned about their pitching performance. I reassured Jared he’d get to pitch again and Nick that he’d get to pitch two innings again.
We started off with some sprinting competitions with a sample 1st base and home plate. I would yell “Ball 4”, they’d drop their bat and run, going through the bag at first. After a little initial groaning they had some fun with it. We also practiced sprinting down to first and then making the turn towards second. As we were working on this Jeremy Ma, Jeremy F, Matt S, and Nof all showed up. We then worked on a drill where they practiced leading off as soon as the ball crossed home plate from the pitcher. All of these drills are designed to send the message that we will be aggressive on the base paths and to give them the practice that they need to do it. Aggressive base running can mean 1 or 2 runs every single game and I want to make sure we get them all.
By this time it was almost time for us to get the field. I did one last quick game where they were partnered up and I gave them 20 seconds. The goal was to throw back and forth as many times as possible in that time. They were about 2/3 of the distance between bases. The idea here is teach them on how to get the ball out of their gloves and make accurate throws under pressure.
Then it was time for us to take the field. The missing fifteen minutes of instruction would have been devoted to the basics of bunting and some individual hitting instruction (had Steve been there). I decided to go ahead with modified batting practice, where they can earn extra swings based on their bunting ability, anyway giving a very cursory bunting lesson. None of our batters were particularly successful with the bunting, understandably. I’m not sure that this hitting was the best use of time, actually, but they were clamoring to hit and this activity was on my practice so I did it. After the modified BP, we did the “how many bases can you get” game as this is both a throwing game (our one weakness so far) and a hitting game. We still had quite a few errant throws. By this time practice was almost over and so I ended us with a throwing relay race competition.
For this practice I feel like I gave excellent base running instruction. My hitting instruction was so-so, though I did make good progress with our novice bunters.
The big revelation of practice was that the ball Jeremy F rocketed during the game was no fluke. Both during BP and the game he KILLED the ball. He actually got 7 bases during the game, which is about the most you could get.
Nof is going to be our weakest hitter. His fundamentals just aren’t strong and he knows it. He’s an incredibly nice kid though and so hopefully we’ll be able to help him. Matt S is also weak, though he can wallop the ball if he gets a piece of it.
Nothing really stands out either way from any of the others.
Week Wrap-up
Heavens forbid that we actually get a full week of baseball in, our game yesterday was canceled due to rain (hardly unexpected). The forecast is favorable for Saturday though not so good for Tuesday and Wednesday for next week. There is a possibility we won’t play on Saturday as the fields could still be too wet, but hopefully that won’t happen.
I also received a sad email today from Kevin. Justin G has broken his arm and is going to be out for 3 weeks. We’re certainly going to miss his good cheer, his bat, and his pitching. Basically we’re going to miss him. I haven’t talked him yet, but am going to see if he’d be interested in coming to some of the games and perhaps doing some base coaching (not too much harm they can do at 1st base).
Hopefully you’ll see another update on Saturday.
One thing I don’t think emphasized enough was how different I am as a coach this year compared to last year. I see how Steve is coaching this year, commenting nearly relentlessly and I know I did almost as much of that last year. When we started to unravel a bit, Steve was having a difficult time handling his frustration, and I know I felt similarly last year. I really think basketball changed this about me. I do less is more when it comes to comments, while still making sure the good outweighs the critical. And when the game that had been a blow-out started to get close, I felt it, but I worked hard to not let it show. I know that several of my parents, most notably Lucas’s dad, loved the fact that I always remained calm and I think this is a big reason we won nearly every close game we had. To be honest I even said something when Steve got audibly flustered that I shouldn’t have said (something like “Calm down” in a quiet and nice way). Anyhow, coaching baseball has made me see how much I’ve grown as a coach and I’m real pleased with the new me during games.
Tuesday Practice
Monday night Steve calls me. Long story short, in a month he’s going to unexpectedly lose his apartment and he and his roommate have to go hunting Tuesday during practice. This is going to leave me on my own for only our second practice.
Last week we’d developed a really awesome practice plan, for the Wednesday practice that was canceled due to rain. I basically decide to go with a modified version of this practice. The practice is going to be heavy on base running with a minor in hitting/bunting.
I get to the field and Jeremy Me is the first to arrive. We play catch for a bit. 5:45, the nominal start time of practice rolls around and he’s the only one there. Now I knew we’d have quite a few late players due to religious school, but I expected more than one kid at the start of practice. Our practice doesn’t start, therefore, in actuality until 6. Practice ends at 7 so it is a short practice. When we start there is only Jeremy Me, Sean, Jared, Cameron and Nick. Austin and Alec came to drop off Nick, but their mother basically couldn’t deal with logistical issues involving having Austin and Alec there so they missed. As we were throwing a little before practice started Nick and Jared were both concerned about their pitching performance. I reassured Jared he’d get to pitch again and Nick that he’d get to pitch two innings again.
We started off with some sprinting competitions with a sample 1st base and home plate. I would yell “Ball 4”, they’d drop their bat and run, going through the bag at first. After a little initial groaning they had some fun with it. We also practiced sprinting down to first and then making the turn towards second. As we were working on this Jeremy Ma, Jeremy F, Matt S, and Nof all showed up. We then worked on a drill where they practiced leading off as soon as the ball crossed home plate from the pitcher. All of these drills are designed to send the message that we will be aggressive on the base paths and to give them the practice that they need to do it. Aggressive base running can mean 1 or 2 runs every single game and I want to make sure we get them all.
By this time it was almost time for us to get the field. I did one last quick game where they were partnered up and I gave them 20 seconds. The goal was to throw back and forth as many times as possible in that time. They were about 2/3 of the distance between bases. The idea here is teach them on how to get the ball out of their gloves and make accurate throws under pressure.
Then it was time for us to take the field. The missing fifteen minutes of instruction would have been devoted to the basics of bunting and some individual hitting instruction (had Steve been there). I decided to go ahead with modified batting practice, where they can earn extra swings based on their bunting ability, anyway giving a very cursory bunting lesson. None of our batters were particularly successful with the bunting, understandably. I’m not sure that this hitting was the best use of time, actually, but they were clamoring to hit and this activity was on my practice so I did it. After the modified BP, we did the “how many bases can you get” game as this is both a throwing game (our one weakness so far) and a hitting game. We still had quite a few errant throws. By this time practice was almost over and so I ended us with a throwing relay race competition.
For this practice I feel like I gave excellent base running instruction. My hitting instruction was so-so, though I did make good progress with our novice bunters.
The big revelation of practice was that the ball Jeremy F rocketed during the game was no fluke. Both during BP and the game he KILLED the ball. He actually got 7 bases during the game, which is about the most you could get.
Nof is going to be our weakest hitter. His fundamentals just aren’t strong and he knows it. He’s an incredibly nice kid though and so hopefully we’ll be able to help him. Matt S is also weak, though he can wallop the ball if he gets a piece of it.
Nothing really stands out either way from any of the others.
Week Wrap-up
Heavens forbid that we actually get a full week of baseball in, our game yesterday was canceled due to rain (hardly unexpected). The forecast is favorable for Saturday though not so good for Tuesday and Wednesday for next week. There is a possibility we won’t play on Saturday as the fields could still be too wet, but hopefully that won’t happen.
I also received a sad email today from Kevin. Justin G has broken his arm and is going to be out for 3 weeks. We’re certainly going to miss his good cheer, his bat, and his pitching. Basically we’re going to miss him. I haven’t talked him yet, but am going to see if he’d be interested in coming to some of the games and perhaps doing some base coaching (not too much harm they can do at 1st base).
Hopefully you’ll see another update on Saturday.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
BoSox vs. Yankees
Pre-Game
Steve and I were hanging out the night before and so we ended up making the lineups Friday night. Jeremy Ma was going to be unable to attend since we was going to the Bulls/Heat playoff game, lucky guy. We decided that we wanted to continue trying lots of different kids in different spots. We also agreed to give Jared and Austin a chance to pitch. All of our kids would see three innings of infield in the game if we went the full sixth, a possibility given the nice forecast, which we felt real good about.
Our team arrived early and with energy for our second game. I did some work before the game with Jared on his pitching. He didn’t look particularly strong. I changed him from working out of the windup to working out of the stretch. Still could have been far better. I need to really brush up on my pitching instruction since I’ve not been able to give the sort of specific tips to my pitchers that I’d like to be able to do.
The Game
The other game ends and we’re up to bat, facing the Yankees. We go down 1-2-3, though with no strike outs which is good. We gave Jared the start since we want to use him at catcher and it’s good, we’ve learned, to have them pitch before catching. Based on our work before the game, I knew that it could get real ugly. Sure enough he walks the first batter and second batter after going to full counts each time. He induces the next batter to ground out to second before walking two more. At this point he’s reached his limit and so I have to pull him, having also walked in a run. In comes Justin, who was scheduled to pitch the second. I feel good about Justin pitching as we know he’ll get the ball over. He lives up to our expectations, striking out the first batter, and doing the old ground-out to center (there was a force at second). Still they score 1 and we once again will have to play from behind.
Fortunately, we’re not behind for too long. After Matt A (who’s been nicknamed Noff) gets a walk, Sean hits into a fielder’s choice getting Noff out at second. Jeremy F then singles. Jeremy M singles in Sean. Jeremy F is now at third. It is here that I learn that he’s an absolute nervous nelly on the basepaths. He’s just terrified of getting out. To the point where he won’t even lead off at third. It doesn’t batter as after Cameron walks, Justin hits into a fielders choice scoring Jeremy. Nick ends the inning with a ground out and we capture the lead 2-1.
Justin comes back in and after allowing a walk to the first batter gets the next three out so we maintain our lead. Jared starts our inning with a strike out. Matt S then hits a hard hit ball that gets underneath their shortstops glove for a single. He ends up scoring after advancing to second on a fielders choice and a single by Alec.
We have another new pitcher in Austin, who we have throw to his brother. This is an unmitigated disaster. While Justin showed some signs of progress, Austin is a long way from being a pitcher we can use. After four consecutive walks, we use Cameron in relief. Cameron looks a lot better than he did in the first game. It looks like we might get away with only allowing one run, until one of their guys hits a base clearing triple. We end up allowing four runs giving them a 5-4 lead.
We need some runs in the fourth and Sean starts things out well by getting a single. He then steals second. I tell him to steal a half second too late, on a particularly poor catcher, and he gets called out, just barely. Whoops. Anyhow, Jeremy F then hits a single, steals second and third. Jeremy M unfortunately pops up to the pitcher for the second out. Cameron walks, and steals second easily, which is nice because Justin then drives in Jeremy, advancing Cameron to third. Nick hits another single driving in Justin. Jared continues our little rally, but unfortunately Matt grounds out to the pitcher. However, we’ve recaptured the lead, 6-5, Bo Sox. The bottom of the inning, with our ace pitcher Nick, goes as expected with his striking out the side on 14 pitches.
We then continue our offensive spurt scoring four more thanks to singles by Austin and Alec, a walk by Sean, a triple by Jeremy F, on a hit that he just laced, who scores on a single by Jeremy M. Four more runs gives us a 10-5 lead. The bottom of the fifth is going to be our last inning. We’ve got our best pitcher up. I’m thinking the game is in the bag. Except it just doesn’t happen that way. Nick gets a couple of bad calls on some strikes. This isn’t helped by the fact that Matt S, who is catching, isn’t a particularly good catcher. Nothing is working for Nick and we eventually have to pull him, with the bases loaded, only one out and having already surrendered 3 runs. In comes Jeremy M. His dad made a big deal the first day we met him how we pitched in relief last year. When he gets to the mound I ask him what we’re expecting him to do. He tells me “close the game”. I agree that is what we’re asking, but I ask him how he’s going to do that. He tells me “throw strikes”. I agree that this is the way. I tell him not to worry about letting them hit the ball, just to get it over the plate. He promptly ignores my advice (ok not really) and strikes out the first batter. This then brings up the strongest player on their team. On a 2-2 count the kid gets a hold of the ball. Fortunately Jared is out in left. He tracks down the ball and we escape with another win.
Post Game thoughts
The game ball went to Jeremy F, who was 3-3 including his great triple. He’s a nervous kid and I’m real glad he had some success today. Austin and Alec are going to need a lot of work on their hitting, as they’re just ugly to watch right now.
At catcher, Jared remains our strongest catcher, with Sean our second best catcher there today (Jeremy Ma might be better). Alec didn’t look nearly as good today and Matt S looked bad. Matt S really has a desire to play the position so it looks like he’s going to be Steve’s project this year.
Our fielding remains strong, with only one error, by Jeremy F at short, while our throwing could use some work. We’ll do some of that at our next practice, of course.
Overall, we continued to hit well today. Considering we had to remove three pitchers because they had walked four batters, to come away with the victory is just wonderful. I think we’re really starting to get a feel for who we can count on as pitchers and who we won’t be able to. Steve and I remain very upbeat about what we’ll able to achieve this year.
Steve and I were hanging out the night before and so we ended up making the lineups Friday night. Jeremy Ma was going to be unable to attend since we was going to the Bulls/Heat playoff game, lucky guy. We decided that we wanted to continue trying lots of different kids in different spots. We also agreed to give Jared and Austin a chance to pitch. All of our kids would see three innings of infield in the game if we went the full sixth, a possibility given the nice forecast, which we felt real good about.
Our team arrived early and with energy for our second game. I did some work before the game with Jared on his pitching. He didn’t look particularly strong. I changed him from working out of the windup to working out of the stretch. Still could have been far better. I need to really brush up on my pitching instruction since I’ve not been able to give the sort of specific tips to my pitchers that I’d like to be able to do.
The Game
The other game ends and we’re up to bat, facing the Yankees. We go down 1-2-3, though with no strike outs which is good. We gave Jared the start since we want to use him at catcher and it’s good, we’ve learned, to have them pitch before catching. Based on our work before the game, I knew that it could get real ugly. Sure enough he walks the first batter and second batter after going to full counts each time. He induces the next batter to ground out to second before walking two more. At this point he’s reached his limit and so I have to pull him, having also walked in a run. In comes Justin, who was scheduled to pitch the second. I feel good about Justin pitching as we know he’ll get the ball over. He lives up to our expectations, striking out the first batter, and doing the old ground-out to center (there was a force at second). Still they score 1 and we once again will have to play from behind.
Fortunately, we’re not behind for too long. After Matt A (who’s been nicknamed Noff) gets a walk, Sean hits into a fielder’s choice getting Noff out at second. Jeremy F then singles. Jeremy M singles in Sean. Jeremy F is now at third. It is here that I learn that he’s an absolute nervous nelly on the basepaths. He’s just terrified of getting out. To the point where he won’t even lead off at third. It doesn’t batter as after Cameron walks, Justin hits into a fielders choice scoring Jeremy. Nick ends the inning with a ground out and we capture the lead 2-1.
Justin comes back in and after allowing a walk to the first batter gets the next three out so we maintain our lead. Jared starts our inning with a strike out. Matt S then hits a hard hit ball that gets underneath their shortstops glove for a single. He ends up scoring after advancing to second on a fielders choice and a single by Alec.
We have another new pitcher in Austin, who we have throw to his brother. This is an unmitigated disaster. While Justin showed some signs of progress, Austin is a long way from being a pitcher we can use. After four consecutive walks, we use Cameron in relief. Cameron looks a lot better than he did in the first game. It looks like we might get away with only allowing one run, until one of their guys hits a base clearing triple. We end up allowing four runs giving them a 5-4 lead.
We need some runs in the fourth and Sean starts things out well by getting a single. He then steals second. I tell him to steal a half second too late, on a particularly poor catcher, and he gets called out, just barely. Whoops. Anyhow, Jeremy F then hits a single, steals second and third. Jeremy M unfortunately pops up to the pitcher for the second out. Cameron walks, and steals second easily, which is nice because Justin then drives in Jeremy, advancing Cameron to third. Nick hits another single driving in Justin. Jared continues our little rally, but unfortunately Matt grounds out to the pitcher. However, we’ve recaptured the lead, 6-5, Bo Sox. The bottom of the inning, with our ace pitcher Nick, goes as expected with his striking out the side on 14 pitches.
We then continue our offensive spurt scoring four more thanks to singles by Austin and Alec, a walk by Sean, a triple by Jeremy F, on a hit that he just laced, who scores on a single by Jeremy M. Four more runs gives us a 10-5 lead. The bottom of the fifth is going to be our last inning. We’ve got our best pitcher up. I’m thinking the game is in the bag. Except it just doesn’t happen that way. Nick gets a couple of bad calls on some strikes. This isn’t helped by the fact that Matt S, who is catching, isn’t a particularly good catcher. Nothing is working for Nick and we eventually have to pull him, with the bases loaded, only one out and having already surrendered 3 runs. In comes Jeremy M. His dad made a big deal the first day we met him how we pitched in relief last year. When he gets to the mound I ask him what we’re expecting him to do. He tells me “close the game”. I agree that is what we’re asking, but I ask him how he’s going to do that. He tells me “throw strikes”. I agree that this is the way. I tell him not to worry about letting them hit the ball, just to get it over the plate. He promptly ignores my advice (ok not really) and strikes out the first batter. This then brings up the strongest player on their team. On a 2-2 count the kid gets a hold of the ball. Fortunately Jared is out in left. He tracks down the ball and we escape with another win.
Post Game thoughts
The game ball went to Jeremy F, who was 3-3 including his great triple. He’s a nervous kid and I’m real glad he had some success today. Austin and Alec are going to need a lot of work on their hitting, as they’re just ugly to watch right now.
At catcher, Jared remains our strongest catcher, with Sean our second best catcher there today (Jeremy Ma might be better). Alec didn’t look nearly as good today and Matt S looked bad. Matt S really has a desire to play the position so it looks like he’s going to be Steve’s project this year.
Our fielding remains strong, with only one error, by Jeremy F at short, while our throwing could use some work. We’ll do some of that at our next practice, of course.
Overall, we continued to hit well today. Considering we had to remove three pitchers because they had walked four batters, to come away with the victory is just wonderful. I think we’re really starting to get a feel for who we can count on as pitchers and who we won’t be able to. Steve and I remain very upbeat about what we’ll able to achieve this year.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
A's vs. BoSox
Pre-game Practice
Steve talks to Kevin around noon and learns that we will not be having a practice. Oh no. We’ll be having a game. Do we have any idea who our pitchers our catchers are? Nope. Steve and I decide we’ll have a mini-practice before the game. The game is scheduled for 5:45. Steve and I make some phone calls and ask the kids arrive between 5:10 and 5:15.
Steve and I decide to get to the park at 4:45. And who is there, but Cameron. Talk about ridiculously early. Anyhow this gave us some real quality time to hang out with Cameron. He’s a quality kid and a good time was had.
Jeremy Me shows up. I do some hitting practice with him. Jeremy Me is a quiet quiet kid. His dad does a fair amount of talking. I learn that he was, according to dad, his team’s closer last year. I do some whiffle ball hitting with Jeremy and he is thoroughly unimpressive.
Eventually our team gets to the game. Steve takes the catchers aside and does some work. I do some real poor work with the pitchers. I did not bring my A game. I was very disappointed in myself as I feel like I squandered a good practice opportunity. The clock is ticking and so it’s time for me to start to do lineups. We have the team throw tennis balls to a few of the kids as catchers, but I was trying to figure out the lineup and so I didn’t really observe this closely.
The Game
We’re the home team. Initially we were going to pitch Jeremy Ma first since he says he pitches for travel and it wouldn’t surprise me. But in order to make the subs work, as I don’t like to sit all of the really good players at once, Cameron gets the nod instead. Right off the base we’re in trouble. Their #1 hitter on the first pitch lays down a TERRIFIC bunt. He of course reaches first easily since we’ve never practiced fielding bunts. On the next pitch he steals second. Their aggressive nature indicates to me that we’ve been out coached. They were simply able to accomplish far more in their practice than we were in ours. Next batter hits a single moving the runner to third. Here’s where my opinion of them starts to change. We call time and pull our catcher, Jared, over. We explain WHEN (not if) the runner goes fake a throw to second and hold onto the ball. Except the runner never goes. There’s a couple of pitches and the runner never goes. This ends up possibly being fortuitous when the batter grounds into a fielder’s choice to short. When the next batter strikes out, it looks like we might escape too much damage. Until their fifth hitter RIPS a triple into right center. The next batter is hit before Nick fields a well hit ball to short and makes it look easy recording out three at first. We’re down 2-0 to start the game.
No worries though as I feel we could come and get them right back. Jeremy Ma starts us off with a walk. Cameron then comes up and rips a double to score Jeremy. Justin hits one back to the pitcher and must have looked at the ball he hit 3 times, which was likely the difference between him being out and safe. Nick hits a single but they hold the run at third. We get another infield single from Jared to load the bases. Matt S comes up. This kid will hurt the ball if he can get a hold of it. Sadly he hits back to the pitcher. They get the out and home and easily double him up at first. 1-2-3 DP and we end up with only 1. 2-1, A’s.
I’m feeling good though as Jeremy Ma gets set on the mound. I figure after a little trouble last inning this should be a smooth go. Of course the first batter, on a full count, gets a single to center. This is where our problem comes in. The original plan had been to use our best projected catcher, Jared, with our best projected pitcher, Jeremy Ma. Except when I had to move Jeremy’s pitching to the second, I didn’t also move Jared. This means Matt S, who Steve said was our worst projected catcher, is now scheduled to catch. The fact that Matt can’t catch the ball definitely costs Jeremy some strikes this inning. The other thing that cost us some strikes? The wildly inconsistent strike zone of the ump. Anyway they’re able to steal 3rd due to passed balls. He then walks, on a full count again, the next batter (AK from last year). I hope he’s staring to settle down when he strikes out their #10 hitter. We’re now at the bottom of their order and I’m hopeful we can get another out here. Except he once again walks the guy to now load the bases. He then walks yet ANOTHER batter to walk in a run. He records a strike out, before hitting a batter with a pitch. At this point I go out to talk to him. Tell him it’s a weird strike zone. I know he’s a good pitcher. Just throw us some strikes. Alas he walks the next batter. I call time thinking I have to pull him (4 walks and a pitcher is pulled) except Steve says it’s only his third. This is of course a mistake. Anyway he stays in the game. Next guy hits a single. Finally, we get out of the inning when the 6 hitter fouls one off to the first base side, and Alec nearly makes a great diving catch. Next pitch he hits it again but this time Alec is able to make the catch, and adds in an unnecessary dive for good measure, to end the inning. The A’s extend their lead 6-1.
Austin, Alec, and Matt A go down 1-2-3 with Alec and Matt A striking out. Nick comes in as our next pitcher. I think we’re in better shape when he strikes out the first batter. But then the next batter rips one to left, and with Matt S playing there and taking forever to get to the ball, a single becomes a double. Nick doesn’t get rattled though and strikes out AK. He remains un rattled when he hits the next batter and walks their last kid. There’s a little dribbler back to the mound to end the inning without any runs scored. We head into the bottom of the 3rd still down by 5.
Sean comes up. I’m thinking, honestly, another 1-2-3 inning at this point. Except Sean RIPS a ball to deep center. The outfield was playing ridiculously in and so we get a triple out of a double. Steve and I are pleasantly AMAZED. Jeremy F then gets up and hits a weakly hit ball. However, he SPRINTS down to first and due to his great speed just barely makes it there in time. The run is held at 3rd, however. Jeremy Me strikes out as does Jeremy Ma. Cameron then hits a single, which turns into a double as they throw home to prevent Jeremy F from scoring. Justin, however, hits one back to the pitcher to end the inning. We’re now down 6-2.
We start the inning well. The first batter hits a well hit ball to center off of Jeremy Me. Cameron, however, is there and makes a good catch for out number one. The next batter hits a ball and the throw gets by Austin who is playing first. He then attempts to throw the guy out at second, despite Steve and I saying not to, and that ball gets by them so the runner ends up at 3rd. Jeremy looks a little upset on the mound but strikes out their next player. This is when the ridiculousness starts. On two consecutive plays there is a ball hit to second. Justin fields it cleanly and throws it to first. Both plays are close and both times the runner is called safe. I think it was the right call both times. Steve insists that the first one was definitely an out. However, our team gets fired up as they think both of them were outs. This puts some runners on and instead of ending the inning without allowing a run, when the next kid hits a single two runs score. Fortunately the next player hits a ball to right field, right at Alec who is playing there. Alec makes the catch and we end the inning. We’re now down 8-2, however. We’re able to get things going, however, when Nick hits a great ball to the warning track for a double. Steve had pointed out that the catcher is weak and so I have Nick steal 3rd. Jared walks and steals second uncontested. Matt Sherman hits a check swing tip to the catcher for our first out. Austin is then walked, loading the bases. Alec is then walked, scoring a run. Matt A walks for good measure, causing the pitcher to be pulled. Their catcher has been weak this whole time and I’ve been looking for a reason to send a kid home. Sadly it never comes. Sean hits a single scoring another run. I had started to send Alec home but then called him back. If I’d just sent him, he’d have been safe as the catcher lost the ball. That was my mistake as I sent him knowing the catcher wouldn’t likely catch it and then I wimped out. Our rally is cut short, however, by yet another double play. Jeremy F hits one to second base and Sean gets caught off of first to end our inning again. Still, we score three and make it an 8-5 game.
I still think we’re likely out of it however as scoring 4 runs is hard and we still have to hold them in the 5th. The 5th is going to be our last inning based on the time limit (no inning starts after an hour and a half). Justin is our next pitcher. As I’m catching him in warm-ups he’s showing exactly what he told me during practice: he can’t pitch fast but he throws the ball over the plate. Facing the bottom of their lineup he strikes out the first two players on seven pitches. It takes 3 more to induce a ground out to the mound. Three outs on 10 pitches is just terrific.
So now, with basically the top of our order, we just need to score four to win, three to tie. It’s going to be hard, but it’s doable. Jeremy Me starts us off well with a single. Jeremy Ma walks. Cameron then laces a double scoring one. Justin doesn’t want to be outdone as HE hits a double. I’m coaching first base this inning. When there is confusion getting the ball back to the pitcher I send Justin to third. This exposes my one big frustration with Steve: he’s not a good base coach. Fortunately I am able to correct it in this very important situation. I honestly think Nick will end the game but he bloops one to first. Jared, however, ends the game with a great hit into the gap in right-center and the BoSox win the game.
Jared got the game ball for his game winning hit.
Post game thoughts
The team is just ecstatic about our come from behind win. Steve and I are just so happy that this team is not going to be a repeat of last year’s.
We learned that we should have a surplus of pitchers and catchers. We have, for sure, three kids who we can use at catcher: Jared, who’s likely going to be our best catcher, Jeremy Ma, and Alec are also going to be just fine. Alec in particular surprised me with how well he caught. While Jeremy Ma is a better catcher now, I think Alec could easily grow into our #2 catcher. Matt S thinks of himself as a catcher, and he certainly has that build, but is our weakest catcher. Hopefully we’ll be able to grow him as the season goes on.
As for pitching, Nick and Jeremy Me proved that we’ll be able to use them regularly in any situation. Nick could have easily pitched another inning were we not trying to see as many players at different positions. Justin showed he could get the ball out of the plate. Cameron is the one who I feel the least good about. Jeremy Ma actually pitched the worst, but I have to think that’s just a fluke.
What was most amazing about the game was the fact that we didn’t have one fielding error. Every ground ball was fielding and every fly ball, with-in reason, caught. We had some throwing errors, but to have basically a perfect fielding game in the first game bodes VERY well for our season.
Also the fact that the top of our order produced both times they were hitting with no outs means that Steve and I likely did a good job of putting together the order, despite our limited knowledge of them. I’m not saying we’re going to go undefeated, but after last years pain I’m just so glad to have a better team.
Steve talks to Kevin around noon and learns that we will not be having a practice. Oh no. We’ll be having a game. Do we have any idea who our pitchers our catchers are? Nope. Steve and I decide we’ll have a mini-practice before the game. The game is scheduled for 5:45. Steve and I make some phone calls and ask the kids arrive between 5:10 and 5:15.
Steve and I decide to get to the park at 4:45. And who is there, but Cameron. Talk about ridiculously early. Anyhow this gave us some real quality time to hang out with Cameron. He’s a quality kid and a good time was had.
Jeremy Me shows up. I do some hitting practice with him. Jeremy Me is a quiet quiet kid. His dad does a fair amount of talking. I learn that he was, according to dad, his team’s closer last year. I do some whiffle ball hitting with Jeremy and he is thoroughly unimpressive.
Eventually our team gets to the game. Steve takes the catchers aside and does some work. I do some real poor work with the pitchers. I did not bring my A game. I was very disappointed in myself as I feel like I squandered a good practice opportunity. The clock is ticking and so it’s time for me to start to do lineups. We have the team throw tennis balls to a few of the kids as catchers, but I was trying to figure out the lineup and so I didn’t really observe this closely.
The Game
We’re the home team. Initially we were going to pitch Jeremy Ma first since he says he pitches for travel and it wouldn’t surprise me. But in order to make the subs work, as I don’t like to sit all of the really good players at once, Cameron gets the nod instead. Right off the base we’re in trouble. Their #1 hitter on the first pitch lays down a TERRIFIC bunt. He of course reaches first easily since we’ve never practiced fielding bunts. On the next pitch he steals second. Their aggressive nature indicates to me that we’ve been out coached. They were simply able to accomplish far more in their practice than we were in ours. Next batter hits a single moving the runner to third. Here’s where my opinion of them starts to change. We call time and pull our catcher, Jared, over. We explain WHEN (not if) the runner goes fake a throw to second and hold onto the ball. Except the runner never goes. There’s a couple of pitches and the runner never goes. This ends up possibly being fortuitous when the batter grounds into a fielder’s choice to short. When the next batter strikes out, it looks like we might escape too much damage. Until their fifth hitter RIPS a triple into right center. The next batter is hit before Nick fields a well hit ball to short and makes it look easy recording out three at first. We’re down 2-0 to start the game.
No worries though as I feel we could come and get them right back. Jeremy Ma starts us off with a walk. Cameron then comes up and rips a double to score Jeremy. Justin hits one back to the pitcher and must have looked at the ball he hit 3 times, which was likely the difference between him being out and safe. Nick hits a single but they hold the run at third. We get another infield single from Jared to load the bases. Matt S comes up. This kid will hurt the ball if he can get a hold of it. Sadly he hits back to the pitcher. They get the out and home and easily double him up at first. 1-2-3 DP and we end up with only 1. 2-1, A’s.
I’m feeling good though as Jeremy Ma gets set on the mound. I figure after a little trouble last inning this should be a smooth go. Of course the first batter, on a full count, gets a single to center. This is where our problem comes in. The original plan had been to use our best projected catcher, Jared, with our best projected pitcher, Jeremy Ma. Except when I had to move Jeremy’s pitching to the second, I didn’t also move Jared. This means Matt S, who Steve said was our worst projected catcher, is now scheduled to catch. The fact that Matt can’t catch the ball definitely costs Jeremy some strikes this inning. The other thing that cost us some strikes? The wildly inconsistent strike zone of the ump. Anyway they’re able to steal 3rd due to passed balls. He then walks, on a full count again, the next batter (AK from last year). I hope he’s staring to settle down when he strikes out their #10 hitter. We’re now at the bottom of their order and I’m hopeful we can get another out here. Except he once again walks the guy to now load the bases. He then walks yet ANOTHER batter to walk in a run. He records a strike out, before hitting a batter with a pitch. At this point I go out to talk to him. Tell him it’s a weird strike zone. I know he’s a good pitcher. Just throw us some strikes. Alas he walks the next batter. I call time thinking I have to pull him (4 walks and a pitcher is pulled) except Steve says it’s only his third. This is of course a mistake. Anyway he stays in the game. Next guy hits a single. Finally, we get out of the inning when the 6 hitter fouls one off to the first base side, and Alec nearly makes a great diving catch. Next pitch he hits it again but this time Alec is able to make the catch, and adds in an unnecessary dive for good measure, to end the inning. The A’s extend their lead 6-1.
Austin, Alec, and Matt A go down 1-2-3 with Alec and Matt A striking out. Nick comes in as our next pitcher. I think we’re in better shape when he strikes out the first batter. But then the next batter rips one to left, and with Matt S playing there and taking forever to get to the ball, a single becomes a double. Nick doesn’t get rattled though and strikes out AK. He remains un rattled when he hits the next batter and walks their last kid. There’s a little dribbler back to the mound to end the inning without any runs scored. We head into the bottom of the 3rd still down by 5.
Sean comes up. I’m thinking, honestly, another 1-2-3 inning at this point. Except Sean RIPS a ball to deep center. The outfield was playing ridiculously in and so we get a triple out of a double. Steve and I are pleasantly AMAZED. Jeremy F then gets up and hits a weakly hit ball. However, he SPRINTS down to first and due to his great speed just barely makes it there in time. The run is held at 3rd, however. Jeremy Me strikes out as does Jeremy Ma. Cameron then hits a single, which turns into a double as they throw home to prevent Jeremy F from scoring. Justin, however, hits one back to the pitcher to end the inning. We’re now down 6-2.
We start the inning well. The first batter hits a well hit ball to center off of Jeremy Me. Cameron, however, is there and makes a good catch for out number one. The next batter hits a ball and the throw gets by Austin who is playing first. He then attempts to throw the guy out at second, despite Steve and I saying not to, and that ball gets by them so the runner ends up at 3rd. Jeremy looks a little upset on the mound but strikes out their next player. This is when the ridiculousness starts. On two consecutive plays there is a ball hit to second. Justin fields it cleanly and throws it to first. Both plays are close and both times the runner is called safe. I think it was the right call both times. Steve insists that the first one was definitely an out. However, our team gets fired up as they think both of them were outs. This puts some runners on and instead of ending the inning without allowing a run, when the next kid hits a single two runs score. Fortunately the next player hits a ball to right field, right at Alec who is playing there. Alec makes the catch and we end the inning. We’re now down 8-2, however. We’re able to get things going, however, when Nick hits a great ball to the warning track for a double. Steve had pointed out that the catcher is weak and so I have Nick steal 3rd. Jared walks and steals second uncontested. Matt Sherman hits a check swing tip to the catcher for our first out. Austin is then walked, loading the bases. Alec is then walked, scoring a run. Matt A walks for good measure, causing the pitcher to be pulled. Their catcher has been weak this whole time and I’ve been looking for a reason to send a kid home. Sadly it never comes. Sean hits a single scoring another run. I had started to send Alec home but then called him back. If I’d just sent him, he’d have been safe as the catcher lost the ball. That was my mistake as I sent him knowing the catcher wouldn’t likely catch it and then I wimped out. Our rally is cut short, however, by yet another double play. Jeremy F hits one to second base and Sean gets caught off of first to end our inning again. Still, we score three and make it an 8-5 game.
I still think we’re likely out of it however as scoring 4 runs is hard and we still have to hold them in the 5th. The 5th is going to be our last inning based on the time limit (no inning starts after an hour and a half). Justin is our next pitcher. As I’m catching him in warm-ups he’s showing exactly what he told me during practice: he can’t pitch fast but he throws the ball over the plate. Facing the bottom of their lineup he strikes out the first two players on seven pitches. It takes 3 more to induce a ground out to the mound. Three outs on 10 pitches is just terrific.
So now, with basically the top of our order, we just need to score four to win, three to tie. It’s going to be hard, but it’s doable. Jeremy Me starts us off well with a single. Jeremy Ma walks. Cameron then laces a double scoring one. Justin doesn’t want to be outdone as HE hits a double. I’m coaching first base this inning. When there is confusion getting the ball back to the pitcher I send Justin to third. This exposes my one big frustration with Steve: he’s not a good base coach. Fortunately I am able to correct it in this very important situation. I honestly think Nick will end the game but he bloops one to first. Jared, however, ends the game with a great hit into the gap in right-center and the BoSox win the game.
Jared got the game ball for his game winning hit.
Post game thoughts
The team is just ecstatic about our come from behind win. Steve and I are just so happy that this team is not going to be a repeat of last year’s.
We learned that we should have a surplus of pitchers and catchers. We have, for sure, three kids who we can use at catcher: Jared, who’s likely going to be our best catcher, Jeremy Ma, and Alec are also going to be just fine. Alec in particular surprised me with how well he caught. While Jeremy Ma is a better catcher now, I think Alec could easily grow into our #2 catcher. Matt S thinks of himself as a catcher, and he certainly has that build, but is our weakest catcher. Hopefully we’ll be able to grow him as the season goes on.
As for pitching, Nick and Jeremy Me proved that we’ll be able to use them regularly in any situation. Nick could have easily pitched another inning were we not trying to see as many players at different positions. Justin showed he could get the ball out of the plate. Cameron is the one who I feel the least good about. Jeremy Ma actually pitched the worst, but I have to think that’s just a fluke.
What was most amazing about the game was the fact that we didn’t have one fielding error. Every ground ball was fielding and every fly ball, with-in reason, caught. We had some throwing errors, but to have basically a perfect fielding game in the first game bodes VERY well for our season.
Also the fact that the top of our order produced both times they were hitting with no outs means that Steve and I likely did a good job of putting together the order, despite our limited knowledge of them. I’m not saying we’re going to go undefeated, but after last years pain I’m just so glad to have a better team.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
The Season Begins
We’re back for another season. I am hopeful that this season will be better than last year. I have a lot more confidence about coaching this year. Since basketball has ended I’ve invested a bunch of time, just like I did last year, into improving my coaching and I really hope it’s going to payoff.
Quick note: I need to still name this dynasty. Nothing as obvious as last year’s Little Little League seems to apply. Also, this year I’ll be using names, just as I did with basketball. You’ll see this is going to get tricky in a second, but initials still felt impersonal (and wouldn’t be of help) and coming up with pseudonyms makes it hard to capture the “feel” of their name and I’m likely to slip up anyway. So you get their real first names.
Pre-Season
Well the good news is that Libby is no longer the Park District coordinator. We now have Kevin instead. Already I am cautiously optimistic that things will be run better.
When the rosters come out, I cross check with the travel team. News is good. I find out we’ve got three travel kids from the 5th grade team. The 6th grade team’s roster isn’t online so I don’t know if we have any. But 3 kids from the 5th grade team is one more than we had last year so already we’re in better shape.
I’m a little jealous that we don’t have any of returning players (PW and JM’s little brother are both on the Braves). I don’t really recognize any of the players on the team, unlike last year where I need, indirectly, several of the people.
What I do find out? Every kid on our team has the same name. THE SAME NAME. We have Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy, Jared, Justin. To review 5 out of 12 have a name that starts with the letter J and three of them have the name Jeremy with two of them being Jeremy Ms. Let’s continue. We then have Matt and Matt. Austin and Alec (identical twins to boot). We do have a few original names that don’t repeat: Sean, Nick, and Cameron. But really my overwhelming impression of the team is that every has the same name.
Anyway, we have our coach’s meeting last Wednesday with our first practice schedule for last Saturday. At the coach’s meeting there is a long discussion about whether to allow 4 outfielders. Steve and I were both pretty vehemently opposed to this idea and it ultimately is defeated, but by a close vote after a lot of discussion. I’m actually opposed to it because it’s not real baseball and that’s a big reason Steve and I coach at this level. Obviously, the coaches in favor were arguing that it was less people sitting on the bench. I actually argued against it on the grounds that the weaker hitters would be denied base hits by this extra outfielder. Not sure I influenced anyone, but I do feel that to be a true statement.
At the meeting we get a list of our player’s contacts and our uniforms. One of the coaches who we were real friendly with last year commented we had a good team. Signs are looking good.
But then of course the great extended winter of ‘07 intervenes. We were supposed to have our first practice last Saturday. Canceled. A pretty big let down.
The First Practice
The weather forecast for yesterday didn’t look much more promising for a while, but then yesterday came and we were actually able to have practice. It was marvelous.
Our plan was to focus on hitting and that’s what we did. Our team was very late in arriving, which was annoying, but what are you going to do? The problem was Hebrew school, so that’ll be a pretty consistent thing with Tuesday practices I suppose.
While Steve and I had a pretty firm plan for yesterday’s practice we didn’t put times onto things and so that severely hampered our ability to run the best practice possible. Overall it was an OK practice, but I feel like I’ve got a better grasp on their personalities than baseball skills, especially compared to the post I did last year. Anyhow here’s a rundown of the team from what I know so far:
Matt A – Smallest kid on the team. Has a nickname, fortunately, so that solves one of our Matt problems. Not a particularly good hitter, but had pretty good fundamentals on the ground balls we saw.
Cameron – A travel player. I think he’ll be one of our pitchers. He had to leave early so I didn’t get a good feel for him at all.
Jeremy F – Wasn’t at practice
Justin – Looks to be our best hitter. During the BP part he absolutely ripped some balls. Another travel kid. He plays 1st and 2nd base on travel, which means he could likely play any position we’d need him to play. Gotta love that. Steve thinks he’s going to be one of our favorites as well based on personality. We’ll see.
Jared – Don’t really remember much about him as I’m having trouble picturing him right now. Sorry. If I could remember what he looked like I’d no doubt remember more about him.
Jeremy Ma – A travel player who I believe will be one of our pitchers. He swung at a lot of stuff he really shouldn’t have, but I’m hoping that will change when we put in a real pitcher who throws things other than lobs and whiffle balls.
Nick – Seems like a real nice kid, but mediocre baseball player. Had some fielding issues.
Jeremy Me – Has some hitches in his swinging mechanic but looks to have an OK eye for pitches.
Alec and Austin – Identical twins. And they wore the exact same thing to practice, which was also annoying. These are two goofballs, but I think in a good sense. They haven’t played baseball since 3rd grade (and are now in 6th) but are natural athletes playing elite tennis and travel basketball. Austin, in particular, seemed very welcoming of instruction. These two could be a real powder keg, as they were OBSESSED with winning but could also be a real boon. I’m cautiously optimistic.
Sean – Has never played real baseball before and shows it. Is a very proud young man. This will likely be our hardest coaching situation, given this combination but I think we’re up to the task.
Matt – Our tallest kid who is also very SLOW. He hits the ball a mile, when he hits it. Definitely a work in progress.
There’s going to be no practice today. Hopefully we’ll get in on Saturday, though the weather again looks none too promising. As Steve pointed out, it seems like our luck that just when we get a good team we’re cursed by the weather.
Quick note: I need to still name this dynasty. Nothing as obvious as last year’s Little Little League seems to apply. Also, this year I’ll be using names, just as I did with basketball. You’ll see this is going to get tricky in a second, but initials still felt impersonal (and wouldn’t be of help) and coming up with pseudonyms makes it hard to capture the “feel” of their name and I’m likely to slip up anyway. So you get their real first names.
Pre-Season
Well the good news is that Libby is no longer the Park District coordinator. We now have Kevin instead. Already I am cautiously optimistic that things will be run better.
When the rosters come out, I cross check with the travel team. News is good. I find out we’ve got three travel kids from the 5th grade team. The 6th grade team’s roster isn’t online so I don’t know if we have any. But 3 kids from the 5th grade team is one more than we had last year so already we’re in better shape.
I’m a little jealous that we don’t have any of returning players (PW and JM’s little brother are both on the Braves). I don’t really recognize any of the players on the team, unlike last year where I need, indirectly, several of the people.
What I do find out? Every kid on our team has the same name. THE SAME NAME. We have Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy, Jared, Justin. To review 5 out of 12 have a name that starts with the letter J and three of them have the name Jeremy with two of them being Jeremy Ms. Let’s continue. We then have Matt and Matt. Austin and Alec (identical twins to boot). We do have a few original names that don’t repeat: Sean, Nick, and Cameron. But really my overwhelming impression of the team is that every has the same name.
Anyway, we have our coach’s meeting last Wednesday with our first practice schedule for last Saturday. At the coach’s meeting there is a long discussion about whether to allow 4 outfielders. Steve and I were both pretty vehemently opposed to this idea and it ultimately is defeated, but by a close vote after a lot of discussion. I’m actually opposed to it because it’s not real baseball and that’s a big reason Steve and I coach at this level. Obviously, the coaches in favor were arguing that it was less people sitting on the bench. I actually argued against it on the grounds that the weaker hitters would be denied base hits by this extra outfielder. Not sure I influenced anyone, but I do feel that to be a true statement.
At the meeting we get a list of our player’s contacts and our uniforms. One of the coaches who we were real friendly with last year commented we had a good team. Signs are looking good.
But then of course the great extended winter of ‘07 intervenes. We were supposed to have our first practice last Saturday. Canceled. A pretty big let down.
The First Practice
The weather forecast for yesterday didn’t look much more promising for a while, but then yesterday came and we were actually able to have practice. It was marvelous.
Our plan was to focus on hitting and that’s what we did. Our team was very late in arriving, which was annoying, but what are you going to do? The problem was Hebrew school, so that’ll be a pretty consistent thing with Tuesday practices I suppose.
While Steve and I had a pretty firm plan for yesterday’s practice we didn’t put times onto things and so that severely hampered our ability to run the best practice possible. Overall it was an OK practice, but I feel like I’ve got a better grasp on their personalities than baseball skills, especially compared to the post I did last year. Anyhow here’s a rundown of the team from what I know so far:
Matt A – Smallest kid on the team. Has a nickname, fortunately, so that solves one of our Matt problems. Not a particularly good hitter, but had pretty good fundamentals on the ground balls we saw.
Cameron – A travel player. I think he’ll be one of our pitchers. He had to leave early so I didn’t get a good feel for him at all.
Jeremy F – Wasn’t at practice
Justin – Looks to be our best hitter. During the BP part he absolutely ripped some balls. Another travel kid. He plays 1st and 2nd base on travel, which means he could likely play any position we’d need him to play. Gotta love that. Steve thinks he’s going to be one of our favorites as well based on personality. We’ll see.
Jared – Don’t really remember much about him as I’m having trouble picturing him right now. Sorry. If I could remember what he looked like I’d no doubt remember more about him.
Jeremy Ma – A travel player who I believe will be one of our pitchers. He swung at a lot of stuff he really shouldn’t have, but I’m hoping that will change when we put in a real pitcher who throws things other than lobs and whiffle balls.
Nick – Seems like a real nice kid, but mediocre baseball player. Had some fielding issues.
Jeremy Me – Has some hitches in his swinging mechanic but looks to have an OK eye for pitches.
Alec and Austin – Identical twins. And they wore the exact same thing to practice, which was also annoying. These are two goofballs, but I think in a good sense. They haven’t played baseball since 3rd grade (and are now in 6th) but are natural athletes playing elite tennis and travel basketball. Austin, in particular, seemed very welcoming of instruction. These two could be a real powder keg, as they were OBSESSED with winning but could also be a real boon. I’m cautiously optimistic.
Sean – Has never played real baseball before and shows it. Is a very proud young man. This will likely be our hardest coaching situation, given this combination but I think we’re up to the task.
Matt – Our tallest kid who is also very SLOW. He hits the ball a mile, when he hits it. Definitely a work in progress.
There’s going to be no practice today. Hopefully we’ll get in on Saturday, though the weather again looks none too promising. As Steve pointed out, it seems like our luck that just when we get a good team we’re cursed by the weather.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
The Season that never begins
Well yesterday should have been our first practice but it was canceled due to the cold. I expect Tuesday and Wednesday, based on the weather forecasts, to be canceled due to some combo of rain/cold/snow. It seems as though our season will just never begin.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Basketball and Blog Update
I have now finished posting all of last season's entries from baseball, just in time for this season's start (hopefully on Saturday).
Anyhow last night we had the coach's meeting for baseball and I ran into Luke's father. Turns out that Luke is having an awful AAU experience and when baseball starts Luke is going to be pulled from the team (amazing since Luke doesn't even play travel baseball, just rec league).
That was interesting. MORE interesting was the fact that David had already quit the team. Seems as though perhaps I'll have a shot of getting David next year after all. I don't want to get my hopes up, but my hopes are up :).
Anyhow last night we had the coach's meeting for baseball and I ran into Luke's father. Turns out that Luke is having an awful AAU experience and when baseball starts Luke is going to be pulled from the team (amazing since Luke doesn't even play travel baseball, just rec league).
That was interesting. MORE interesting was the fact that David had already quit the team. Seems as though perhaps I'll have a shot of getting David next year after all. I don't want to get my hopes up, but my hopes are up :).
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