Saturday begins our playoffs. We were fortunate to receive a bye, as the brackets are done randomly. There is a good news bad news aspect to that, however. If we lose our first game we’re out of the playoffs. Teams that had a first round game get a consolation game. The good news, of course, is that if we win the first game we either get to play in the championship game or in a 3rd/4th place game.
We will be playing either the Marlins or the Angels for our first game. These would not be the teams I’d pick. We beat the Marlins rather decisively in one game and they beat us even more decisively in the second game we played. The Angels, on the other hand, are the only team we haven’t played, so we have no idea what to expect against them. Our second round game will be against either the A’s or the Orioles, both teams I’m pretty confident we could beat. But even if we don’t we’ll get another game. I just feel like we have such a good team this year, especially after the disaster that was last year, and will admit that I’ll be disappointed if we flame out n the first round.
The rules do change during the playoffs. Where as normally we play either 6 innings, starting no inning after an hour and a half, for the playoffs we play 6 innings. The big “controversy” this year is over a change of the 2-2-1-1 rule. In the regular season a team has to use at least 4 pitchers. However, for the playoffs Kevin decided to change things to a 2-2-2, cutting a pitcher out of the equation. This means teams that have three dominating pitchers have a big advantage over a team like ours where we rely on a bunch of different kids a little.
In order to avoid flaming out in the first round we not going to repeat last year’s mistake of saving our best pitcher for the last two innings. So Jeremy Ma is going to get the start. For the play-offs, as I’ll discuss shortly, you’re allowed to change your lineup for each game. This means that Jeremy should be facing the best players on their team, but hopefully he’ll bring his best stuff.
After two innings of Jeremy our plan is a little more flexible. I think our current plan is to do Jared for an inning or two followed by Justin, who might finish out the start of Jared’s inning and then pitch one of his own or just pitch one of his own, and then to have Jeremy Me ready for the 6th inning save. This leaves Nick out of the equation which might not make sense, because if he can find the strike zone he’s, hands down, our second best pitcher in terms of “stuff”. At the same time having a pitcher in reserve seems like a good thing, as we saw with Nick’s last performance.
Pitching Jared second is important because it will allow him to catch AFTER he’s pitched. Steve and I have agreed that until the last game on Sunday, if we get there, we want to limit our pitchers and catchers to no more than 3 innings combined between the two. That means if we’ll want to use Jared for two innings behind the plate, which I think we will, he’ll pitch just one. We can get an inning from Jeremy Ma, an inning or two from Jeremy Me, which means we’ll be relying on Alec for an inning behind the plate, which is hardly my favorite solution. All things being equal he’ll likely catch the first inning of Jeremy Ma, and I don’t know what after that. Having a catcher who catches the balls means more strikes. It’s not that Alec doesn’t catch the ball, but then again it’s not like he really does either.
In the field certain kids will be slotted into certain spots as well. Noff, for instance, has proven to be incredibly heads up at second base and we’re excited to put him there. Other kids will be more of a mystery. First base itself is a bit of a mystery. Jeremy F and Matt S both like playing there. Are they considerable downgrades from other options? I’m not sure. At the same time I don’t really feel good about them there. It’s likely Jeremy F will see some time there cause I feel considerably worse about putting him elsewhere. Matt S remains a bit of an enigma.
The nice thing is that we will only have to sit two an inning on Saturday, which makes scheduling SO much easier. The bad news is that we are sitting two an inning because Cameron will not be there. This is a major minus when it comes to our hitting. He is arguably the best hitter on the team and it’s not easy to just replace that. Though Cameron has been in a bit of a slump lately. I think the leadoff position is just not the right spot for him. However, it is perfect for Jeremy Ma who draws a lot of walks. After that I think we’re looking at something along the lines of Nick, Jared, Jeremy Me, Jeremy F. At the bottom of the lineup we’ve got (going up) Noff, Sean, and Matt S. That leaves Austin, Alec, and Justin somewhere in the middle. The nice thing is that unlike last year we don’t really have a part where we can’t count on ANY hits. If we can make their pitcher throw a lot of pitches in the first inning I really feel like we could do some damage in the second.
So I enter this weekend upbeat and hopeful, though quite nervous. I had some unease when we were entering the basketball tourney, but I knew we were still a favorite to get to the championship game. Here, I feel like we have the talent, but we’re not SO much better than the field that we’ll need some luck, or to at least avoid bad luck, to go forward.
I’m not sure if I’ll update Saturday or after the weekend on how we do, but you can count on a full report.
Showing posts with label Jeremy Ma. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jeremy Ma. Show all posts
Friday, June 8, 2007
Sunday, May 13, 2007
BoSox vs. Marlins
Travel Basketball Convergence
As we’re warming up before the game, who do I see but Dante, from my travel basketball team, there for his soccer team. We didn’t have much time to say more than hello. He did ask me if I was going to coach the team next year and I said “I don’t know” which is pretty much a lie because I absolutely plan on going back.
Then during the game, Eric came up to me and we were chatting a little. And basically he offered me a position coaching for them. While I didn’t accept, I did express interest and explain that I would need to coach either 4th or 6th grade, and would only coach the upper division team (as HP has teams in both the upper and lower divisions) and he was amenable to that. I now just need to decide if I have the time, when I’ll likely be switching teaching positions, to coach two teams, because with the new administration, coaching for my home town is a lot more appealing. However, I couldn’t run out on my team from last year, especially not with their moving up from the lower to upper division, assuming at least two of the triplets return.
The Game
Yesterday was not great. Going into the sixth and final inning we were down by 7, which also happens to be the most you can score in an inning, meaning the best we could do was tie. Anyhow seems like a good time to do a good, bad, and ugly for the game.
Good
Our 6th Inning hitting: We came out and rocked their pitcher who was accurate but slow. We had the absolute heart of our order up and it showed as we had 2 singles followed by 4 doubles, a sac fly, and two more singles which netted us our 7 runs. It showed once again that we were a team who could come from behind.
Justin: It was Justin’s first day back after breaking his thumb. He pitched moderately well, made a stupid play in the 5th inning at 3rd, but it was his hitting that we really missed. He had a good at bat in the 3rd, which ended in a walk. He then proceeded to steal two bases. In the sixth he was the first one to start our extra base hit rally. It’s good to have him back.
Cameron: The kid isn’t fast (not slow, but not fast) and so the fact that he’s hitting .667 is a testament to how well he’s hitting. He once again did well at the plate going 2-2 in clutch places.
Matt S: He pitched fairly well again recording two strike-outs though he did let up a couple of runs. He suffered from some bad bounces on those though. He also had a near homer, over the fence, during the sixth.
Jeremy Me’s fielding: He made an incredible play in the 4th at second diving for a hard hit ball with the bases loaded that saved us two runs when he caught it for the third out.
The Bad
Jeremy Ma’s pitching: He didn’t have the same snap on it that he normally does and just couldn’t close the game for us. He actually look bad enough in the 5th that I considered having Nick, who hadn’t pitched for us, come in and pitch the sixth. And frankly after he walked the a batter in the sixth I should have likely pulled him. I didn’t since I figured Jeremy was better under the pressure, but he just didn’t have it on Saturday, or rather I should say he didn’t have what he normally had. After the kid he walked, which had followed a double and a steal, a guy came in and won the game on an infield single. If they hadn’t won the game after the first run they would still have been going strong and he could have easily allowed 3 or 4 runs during the inning.
Our bats against good pitchers: The last couple of games we’ve faced more good pitchers and we have not been able to hit them. This game we eeked out a run in the second, getting lucky scored a couple in the third, but we were basically shut down for the day. Last game was a similar story for most of the game. We’re only going to see more of the good pitchers and less of the bad pitchers, so this is a problem.
Sean’s head: Kid is wildly inconsistent. Some days he’s definitely our best catcher, but other days he’s just out of it. No real rhyme or reason as to which day it’s going to be either, as far as I can tell.
The Ugly
Jeremy Me’s pitching: Basically he’s a relief pitcher. I think coming in with the pressure causes him to throw hard and thus better. When he starts an inning he just doesn’t look as sharp. He ended up allowing 4 very ugly runs, and we had to pull him after four walks and a hit batter. Between this and Cameron, it’s a good thing Justin’s back because our next best pitcher is Jared, who we need to catch. Jeremy Me will be our good to reliever, but I hesitate to put him in to start an inning again.
Our throwing: We ended up allowing all sorts of trouble as several consecutive throwing errors on a steal at third base allowed two runs to score. It was bad news. We’ve done some work on this at practice and looked pretty good last game, so I hoped we’d moved forward, but it appears one of those two steps forward, one step back things.
The twin’s minds: If you asked them they’re both the reason we lost. We were warned that they would play mental games with themselves and they did. For the most part they played well. The exception being Alec who made the first throw on that awful play, even after both Steve and I said not to throw the ball. But their moping required some extended talks, mostly by Steve, to keep them focused.
All things considered, if we’d tied the game it would have been an incredible victory after our seven run inning. However, the Marlins won, getting their revenge after we beat them pretty decisively, and it was the better team that walked away with the victory. Tuesday’s a new chance and hopefully we’ll put out a better showing.
As we’re warming up before the game, who do I see but Dante, from my travel basketball team, there for his soccer team. We didn’t have much time to say more than hello. He did ask me if I was going to coach the team next year and I said “I don’t know” which is pretty much a lie because I absolutely plan on going back.
Then during the game, Eric came up to me and we were chatting a little. And basically he offered me a position coaching for them. While I didn’t accept, I did express interest and explain that I would need to coach either 4th or 6th grade, and would only coach the upper division team (as HP has teams in both the upper and lower divisions) and he was amenable to that. I now just need to decide if I have the time, when I’ll likely be switching teaching positions, to coach two teams, because with the new administration, coaching for my home town is a lot more appealing. However, I couldn’t run out on my team from last year, especially not with their moving up from the lower to upper division, assuming at least two of the triplets return.
The Game
Yesterday was not great. Going into the sixth and final inning we were down by 7, which also happens to be the most you can score in an inning, meaning the best we could do was tie. Anyhow seems like a good time to do a good, bad, and ugly for the game.
Good
Our 6th Inning hitting: We came out and rocked their pitcher who was accurate but slow. We had the absolute heart of our order up and it showed as we had 2 singles followed by 4 doubles, a sac fly, and two more singles which netted us our 7 runs. It showed once again that we were a team who could come from behind.
Justin: It was Justin’s first day back after breaking his thumb. He pitched moderately well, made a stupid play in the 5th inning at 3rd, but it was his hitting that we really missed. He had a good at bat in the 3rd, which ended in a walk. He then proceeded to steal two bases. In the sixth he was the first one to start our extra base hit rally. It’s good to have him back.
Cameron: The kid isn’t fast (not slow, but not fast) and so the fact that he’s hitting .667 is a testament to how well he’s hitting. He once again did well at the plate going 2-2 in clutch places.
Matt S: He pitched fairly well again recording two strike-outs though he did let up a couple of runs. He suffered from some bad bounces on those though. He also had a near homer, over the fence, during the sixth.
Jeremy Me’s fielding: He made an incredible play in the 4th at second diving for a hard hit ball with the bases loaded that saved us two runs when he caught it for the third out.
The Bad
Jeremy Ma’s pitching: He didn’t have the same snap on it that he normally does and just couldn’t close the game for us. He actually look bad enough in the 5th that I considered having Nick, who hadn’t pitched for us, come in and pitch the sixth. And frankly after he walked the a batter in the sixth I should have likely pulled him. I didn’t since I figured Jeremy was better under the pressure, but he just didn’t have it on Saturday, or rather I should say he didn’t have what he normally had. After the kid he walked, which had followed a double and a steal, a guy came in and won the game on an infield single. If they hadn’t won the game after the first run they would still have been going strong and he could have easily allowed 3 or 4 runs during the inning.
Our bats against good pitchers: The last couple of games we’ve faced more good pitchers and we have not been able to hit them. This game we eeked out a run in the second, getting lucky scored a couple in the third, but we were basically shut down for the day. Last game was a similar story for most of the game. We’re only going to see more of the good pitchers and less of the bad pitchers, so this is a problem.
Sean’s head: Kid is wildly inconsistent. Some days he’s definitely our best catcher, but other days he’s just out of it. No real rhyme or reason as to which day it’s going to be either, as far as I can tell.
The Ugly
Jeremy Me’s pitching: Basically he’s a relief pitcher. I think coming in with the pressure causes him to throw hard and thus better. When he starts an inning he just doesn’t look as sharp. He ended up allowing 4 very ugly runs, and we had to pull him after four walks and a hit batter. Between this and Cameron, it’s a good thing Justin’s back because our next best pitcher is Jared, who we need to catch. Jeremy Me will be our good to reliever, but I hesitate to put him in to start an inning again.
Our throwing: We ended up allowing all sorts of trouble as several consecutive throwing errors on a steal at third base allowed two runs to score. It was bad news. We’ve done some work on this at practice and looked pretty good last game, so I hoped we’d moved forward, but it appears one of those two steps forward, one step back things.
The twin’s minds: If you asked them they’re both the reason we lost. We were warned that they would play mental games with themselves and they did. For the most part they played well. The exception being Alec who made the first throw on that awful play, even after both Steve and I said not to throw the ball. But their moping required some extended talks, mostly by Steve, to keep them focused.
All things considered, if we’d tied the game it would have been an incredible victory after our seven run inning. However, the Marlins won, getting their revenge after we beat them pretty decisively, and it was the better team that walked away with the victory. Tuesday’s a new chance and hopefully we’ll put out a better showing.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Game vs Astros
Setting the Lineup
This year’s lineup making is so much easier than last years. The fact that we have several kids who are somewhat competent catchers helps. As does the fact that we have several kids who can play well at pretty much any position we put them at. 11 players is also easier to schedule than 12 players, though we could soon be back to 12 as Justin’s finger is just about healed. Anyhow, we’d told Sean he could catch 2 innings, and Nof, Alec, and Cameron that they’d be pitching. Jared missed Tuesday’s practice without notifying us so he got to sit twice. For catchers it was going to be Sean for the first two, Jeremy Ma in the 3rd, Jared in the 4th and 5th, and as a sop to him Matt S in the 6th.
The Game
We’re the home team, with our friendly ump Mark calling the balls and strikes against the Astrods. Noff is on the mound against what has to be a weaker part of their order and sends them down 1-2-3, though this included a fantastic play at short by Jeremy Ma. A kid hit it hard up the middle, Noff got his glove on it, deflected it, Jeremy Ma adjusted picked it up barehanded and got the kid at first. Just a terrific play.
We got up, after a hot grounder by Sean back at the pitcher, Jeremy F singles and steals. Jeremy Me flies out to center, but Jeremy Ma doubles home Jeremy F and is then driven home himself by Cameron. Nick strikes out to end the inning. 2-0 Red Sox.
Cameron is on the mound and does not look good. He eventually lets up 3 runs and has to be removed because he’s walked four. Jared comes in finishes the inning uneventfully. I think Jared has shown that he deserves more innings at the mound and Cameron should really only see time for us in relief as he just walks too many. 3-2 Astros.
Fortunately we come back with a one out double by Matt S who scores after Alec singles him home. 3-3
I’m sort of dreading the next inning as we have Alec on the mound. He hasn’t ever pitched for us and while he looked good in warm ups when I’ve practiced with him, I wonder if he’ll be able to translate that to the mound. And the good news is that he does. After letting up a walk and a single to a weak part of their order, he gets one player to fly out. And then suddenly he has heat on his pitches, striking out the next two players looking real good. It was insane. One batter he looks OK, the next he’s throwing them in there hard and well. We’ll definitely have to see him again. We take the lead in the bottom half of the inning with 2 runs, started off by a double with Sean. 5-3 Red Sox
Nick is up for us and after walking the first guy, who then proceeds to steal second and third on wild pitches, settles down. The first batter scores when a player grounds out to first, but otherwise he looked good. 5-4
It is then a bunch of uneventful half innings. Both teams go down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 4th and the 5th. I had hoped in the bottom of the 5th we’d get an insurance run, but they have their ace on the mound. Fortunately we have our ace on the mound as well. So going into the 6th, Jeremy Ma just has to hold them for us to win our 6th straight. And he does hold them, except that on a disputed call a kid gets awarded first base on a hit by pitch. It sounded like it’d hit his bat and initially it was ruled that way for us, but in the end that ruling was reversed. The kid stole a couple of bases on Matt S and scored on a grounder to first. Jeremy Ma ended the inning by striking a kid out with a wicked change-up that ended up striking Matt S in the thigh and caused him to roll around on the ground in pain.
Steve and I feel good about the game since we basically have the heart of our order up. After Jeremy Me strikes out, Jeremy Ma gets things going with a walk. Cameron and Nick fly out, however, to end the game with a 6-6 tie.
All-in-all, it was another good effort and I have no real complaints about the outcome. Not to mention we play the Marlins Saturday and they’re the one team who we really hit well, so hopefully after a relatively dead day for us at bat, we’ll rebound nicely in that game.
This year’s lineup making is so much easier than last years. The fact that we have several kids who are somewhat competent catchers helps. As does the fact that we have several kids who can play well at pretty much any position we put them at. 11 players is also easier to schedule than 12 players, though we could soon be back to 12 as Justin’s finger is just about healed. Anyhow, we’d told Sean he could catch 2 innings, and Nof, Alec, and Cameron that they’d be pitching. Jared missed Tuesday’s practice without notifying us so he got to sit twice. For catchers it was going to be Sean for the first two, Jeremy Ma in the 3rd, Jared in the 4th and 5th, and as a sop to him Matt S in the 6th.
The Game
We’re the home team, with our friendly ump Mark calling the balls and strikes against the Astrods. Noff is on the mound against what has to be a weaker part of their order and sends them down 1-2-3, though this included a fantastic play at short by Jeremy Ma. A kid hit it hard up the middle, Noff got his glove on it, deflected it, Jeremy Ma adjusted picked it up barehanded and got the kid at first. Just a terrific play.
We got up, after a hot grounder by Sean back at the pitcher, Jeremy F singles and steals. Jeremy Me flies out to center, but Jeremy Ma doubles home Jeremy F and is then driven home himself by Cameron. Nick strikes out to end the inning. 2-0 Red Sox.
Cameron is on the mound and does not look good. He eventually lets up 3 runs and has to be removed because he’s walked four. Jared comes in finishes the inning uneventfully. I think Jared has shown that he deserves more innings at the mound and Cameron should really only see time for us in relief as he just walks too many. 3-2 Astros.
Fortunately we come back with a one out double by Matt S who scores after Alec singles him home. 3-3
I’m sort of dreading the next inning as we have Alec on the mound. He hasn’t ever pitched for us and while he looked good in warm ups when I’ve practiced with him, I wonder if he’ll be able to translate that to the mound. And the good news is that he does. After letting up a walk and a single to a weak part of their order, he gets one player to fly out. And then suddenly he has heat on his pitches, striking out the next two players looking real good. It was insane. One batter he looks OK, the next he’s throwing them in there hard and well. We’ll definitely have to see him again. We take the lead in the bottom half of the inning with 2 runs, started off by a double with Sean. 5-3 Red Sox
Nick is up for us and after walking the first guy, who then proceeds to steal second and third on wild pitches, settles down. The first batter scores when a player grounds out to first, but otherwise he looked good. 5-4
It is then a bunch of uneventful half innings. Both teams go down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 4th and the 5th. I had hoped in the bottom of the 5th we’d get an insurance run, but they have their ace on the mound. Fortunately we have our ace on the mound as well. So going into the 6th, Jeremy Ma just has to hold them for us to win our 6th straight. And he does hold them, except that on a disputed call a kid gets awarded first base on a hit by pitch. It sounded like it’d hit his bat and initially it was ruled that way for us, but in the end that ruling was reversed. The kid stole a couple of bases on Matt S and scored on a grounder to first. Jeremy Ma ended the inning by striking a kid out with a wicked change-up that ended up striking Matt S in the thigh and caused him to roll around on the ground in pain.
Steve and I feel good about the game since we basically have the heart of our order up. After Jeremy Me strikes out, Jeremy Ma gets things going with a walk. Cameron and Nick fly out, however, to end the game with a 6-6 tie.
All-in-all, it was another good effort and I have no real complaints about the outcome. Not to mention we play the Marlins Saturday and they’re the one team who we really hit well, so hopefully after a relatively dead day for us at bat, we’ll rebound nicely in that game.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Cubs vs. Red Sox
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.
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.
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.
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