We had a good practice last night and ended a fun week. Rabbit is now at "Grandma Camp" with his cousin. That means 6 days with no kid! Except for having everyone over for dinner on Sunday, Dodger game and his birthday party on Monday and throwing on Tuesday. For his birthday we got him a new backpack style gear bag that is quite roomy. It will be much easier on his shoulders.
Our next practice is on Monday the fourth and then we do not have a game until the 16th and 17th. I know Rabbit will enjoy the break and I hope he has a good time being a 10 year old spaz. We are off to my brother's house next weekend for 3 days of pool time. The 10s team is playing this week in a CCYB tournament and we wish them well. For now though it nice to have a respite.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
One for three
Well, we finally got a chance to play at the Big League Dreams parks this past weekend. This was originally scheduled as a 9U tourney, but we ended up playing in 10U. There were 9 9yo and 3 10yo if I remember correctly. The first two games were against 9U teams though so we felt like we might have a good showing after back-to-back disappointing tournaments. Well, so much for that idea.
The boys were not ready to play. It must be summer. We took about 4 innings to get into the game and lost a game that was extremely winnable. Rabbit sat the first inning, then came in to play 1st base. He never left the field, or 1st base, after that. He played the next14 innings at first. He looked great and made the plays he needed to. Sinking liners, pop-ups, long stretches, flips to the cover man, a good set of games for him. The one thing he does need to work on is receiving pick-off attempts. He misplayed 2 of those that led to runners advancing.
Rabbit also hit well on day 1. Two infield singles and two RBIs helped ease some of the sting. He struck out once and flew out once to go 2-4 on the day. The second game was a mess. There was a moment in the third inning when you could watch the entire team give up. It was frustrating to watch them quit caring. I imagine all of the boys heard about it on the way home, after they heard about it from the coach. They needed to be better on Sunday. We had no chance of getting to the finals, but this level of play was simply unacceptable. We talked with Rabbit about acting as a leader, keeping his teammates in the game, encouraging the pitcher and basically not allowing the team to quit. He took it to heart.
Sunday morning the boys warmed up with a spring in their step. They looked like a different team entirely. We were the home team and did not allow a hit or run in the first inning. A first! We then came back in the bottom of the inning and put up a 6 spot. Rabbit laced a single over second to drive in his third run of the tourney. Back on 1B he made the plays he needed to and did a great job helping everyone stay focused. It was an entirely different team out there. The boys were all talking, encouraging, congratulating and helping in any way they could. At one point we retired 8 straight opposing batters. The SS had some amazing plays and the pitchers were on their games. It was fun to watch. We ended up winning 11-7 in a game that never really got close. It was a good win and everyone felt much better.
Since Rabbit did not pitch this tournament I took him to the park to throw once we got home. He threw 72 pitches under a "simulated game" format. He was a mess early, but settled in nicely and popped 50-51. he then wanted to run, shag flies, take throws at 1B and hit. We had to drag him off the field to go to Grandma's for dinner.
We ended the weekend on a high note which we needed. Tonight is hitting and then practice Wednesday and Friday. We have passed on the CCYB World Series tourney due to being out of town so our next tournament appears to be August 9-10.
7 2 3 3 0 2
The boys were not ready to play. It must be summer. We took about 4 innings to get into the game and lost a game that was extremely winnable. Rabbit sat the first inning, then came in to play 1st base. He never left the field, or 1st base, after that. He played the next14 innings at first. He looked great and made the plays he needed to. Sinking liners, pop-ups, long stretches, flips to the cover man, a good set of games for him. The one thing he does need to work on is receiving pick-off attempts. He misplayed 2 of those that led to runners advancing.
Rabbit also hit well on day 1. Two infield singles and two RBIs helped ease some of the sting. He struck out once and flew out once to go 2-4 on the day. The second game was a mess. There was a moment in the third inning when you could watch the entire team give up. It was frustrating to watch them quit caring. I imagine all of the boys heard about it on the way home, after they heard about it from the coach. They needed to be better on Sunday. We had no chance of getting to the finals, but this level of play was simply unacceptable. We talked with Rabbit about acting as a leader, keeping his teammates in the game, encouraging the pitcher and basically not allowing the team to quit. He took it to heart.
Sunday morning the boys warmed up with a spring in their step. They looked like a different team entirely. We were the home team and did not allow a hit or run in the first inning. A first! We then came back in the bottom of the inning and put up a 6 spot. Rabbit laced a single over second to drive in his third run of the tourney. Back on 1B he made the plays he needed to and did a great job helping everyone stay focused. It was an entirely different team out there. The boys were all talking, encouraging, congratulating and helping in any way they could. At one point we retired 8 straight opposing batters. The SS had some amazing plays and the pitchers were on their games. It was fun to watch. We ended up winning 11-7 in a game that never really got close. It was a good win and everyone felt much better.
Since Rabbit did not pitch this tournament I took him to the park to throw once we got home. He threw 72 pitches under a "simulated game" format. He was a mess early, but settled in nicely and popped 50-51. he then wanted to run, shag flies, take throws at 1B and hit. We had to drag him off the field to go to Grandma's for dinner.
We ended the weekend on a high note which we needed. Tonight is hitting and then practice Wednesday and Friday. We have passed on the CCYB World Series tourney due to being out of town so our next tournament appears to be August 9-10.
7 2 3 3 0 2
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
A great time in Florida
Well, we accomplished our goal of baseball and barbecue in Florida. Overall we saw three games. A rain out on Friday led to a double header (9 inning game, then a 7 inning game) on Saturday. On Sunday morning we left Jacksonville for Savannah, GA for a 2PM game there. At 5PM on Sunday we had seen 25 innings of baseball played in less than 23 hours. I was in heaven.
Minor league ball is a blast. In Jacksonville we were granted a full access tour including the owners suite, clubhouse, underground cages and field. We were also allowed to go out early and watch BP and get autographs. Also in Jacksonville Rabbit got the ball from the final out of the first game when the CF tossed it to him. At the Savannah game Rabbit and I were brought out onto the field between innings for the home run derby. Starting in Left Field you hit the ball off the tee. Kid first, then father. If you get it over the fence in 2 hits you win. Rabbit did his part, I failed miserably. We still got the Chili's gift certificates anyway.
We had a great time and many thanks to our friends in Jacksonville for setting it all up. Now, back to reality. Practice Wednesday, hitting lesson Thursday and then a tournament Saturday and Sunday. We are still deciding about the next tourney, a week-long affair that starts the 26th.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
So... about that last tournament
Well, they stunk. They lost all 3 games and the last 2 by mercy. It was a group effort and everyone was off their mark. Many, many errors, including 3-4 by Rabbit added up quickly. On the plus side, Rabbit hit the ball hard 3 times and got a hit, only striking out once. Rabbit did get a chance to pitch in the second game and got some ground balls. He pitched effectively and will continue to throw for the 9's team and maybe again for the 10's. Oh well, time to move on.
We leave for Florida in the morning so we have been trying to get our baseball out of the way early this week. Spent yesterday in the park hitting 2 full buckets of flies to OF. This morning we were on the bump again, 50 pitches this time. He was sharp, throwing mainly strikes (probably 35-38) and tapped 49 twice on the gun. His change-up is coming on quite nicely.
Off to the cages this afternoon, then shutting it down for a few days. Next tourney is the weekend of July 19-20.
4 1 1 1 0 1
We leave for Florida in the morning so we have been trying to get our baseball out of the way early this week. Spent yesterday in the park hitting 2 full buckets of flies to OF. This morning we were on the bump again, 50 pitches this time. He was sharp, throwing mainly strikes (probably 35-38) and tapped 49 twice on the gun. His change-up is coming on quite nicely.
Off to the cages this afternoon, then shutting it down for a few days. Next tourney is the weekend of July 19-20.
4 1 1 1 0 1
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
A chance to play with the big boys
The new bat is working well and Jason, the swing doctor, is pleased with Rabbit's progress. On Sunday we went to the LL park and threw off the mound focusing on velocity. His first 10 pitches averaged 44 MPH on the Bushnell gun. His last 10 (he only was allowed to throw 50) averaged 48.5, including 2 at 49 and one at 50. Not bad for a first effort. A longer stride really helped his speed.
We will be playing this coming weekend on July 5 and 6 with the 10U team. Since Rabbit is only 9 I expect that he will not play very much. I am quite happy about this honestly. I hope he can take this tournament and treat it as a learning opportunity. His time in the dugout can be spent listening to the coaches, seeing how they set up the fielders and focusing on the pitchers. I think this a great opportunity for him.
After the tournament we are off for almost 2 weeks. We are headed to Jacksonville, Florida to visit some friends. While out there we will see some minor league ball, eat BBQ, and complain about the heat. It should be a fun time all around.
We will be playing this coming weekend on July 5 and 6 with the 10U team. Since Rabbit is only 9 I expect that he will not play very much. I am quite happy about this honestly. I hope he can take this tournament and treat it as a learning opportunity. His time in the dugout can be spent listening to the coaches, seeing how they set up the fielders and focusing on the pitchers. I think this a great opportunity for him.
After the tournament we are off for almost 2 weeks. We are headed to Jacksonville, Florida to visit some friends. While out there we will see some minor league ball, eat BBQ, and complain about the heat. It should be a fun time all around.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)