Day 2 was predictably frustrating. After losing the first game on Saturday our team settled into the feeling that we were smaller, less experienced and not as good as our competition. Suffice to say we lost both games, but a glimmer of hope started to flicker in game 2. We played very well and actually held a lead. Rabbit finally broke through with a bases loaded RBI single and pitched well. His coach wanted to keep his pitch count very low, as usual, and throw him mainly in the championship rounds. He threw 17 pitches in the first inning and was done on the mound for the day. Even with two losses, we could see small adjustments being made and the team improving.
That was the good part. The not so good part is the frustration, both amongst players and parents, that was palpable after losing 3 straight. Throw the additional confusion of who will get the 12 year old team, who will coach the 11s etc. it quickly becomes a grumpy crowd. This team needed a good win to help everyone feel better.
On Monday it was single elimination win or go home time. Coach asked Rabbit to start and go as far as he could. On our way to the park we discussed keeping his pitch count down and letting his defense get the outs. We set an imaginary, arbitrary and ridiculously low target of 4 pitches per batter. Our opponent was another team that had struggled and we were anxious to get going. Rabbit took control immediately. In the first inning he drove in a run on a shot down the RF line. With a 1-0 lead the boys took the field defensively. On the second pitch thrown a ball was hit that got through 2B and the runner took a big turn and tried for second. He was thrown out by 3 steps. A strike out and a pop-up later and we were out of the first inning on 7 pitches. We scraped another run across in the second, and again retired them in order, this time on 5 pitches, a new personal best. One more run for us in the third and then Rabbit struck out 2 and got a tremendous grab on a foul ball by the 1B. His second strikeout he threw a changeup that was ridiculous. The umpire was amazed, the poor hitter looked dejected and the opposing coach had a look on his face as if to say "I don't know either." He is throwing that pitch for outs now more often, and when it is good, it is completely unhittable. As usual, we scored 1 run in the fourth. Rabbit got the first two outs before walking a batter but then that runner was caught stealing. We broke it open in the fifth, scoring 4 runs against a clearly resigned defense. If we could hold on and not allow a run we would win 8-0 via mercy rule. Rabbit turned it up and threw 8 pitches in the inning, striking out the last batter for the CG shutout. ON 45 PITCHES! 5 IP, 1H, 0R, 5K, 1BB. He faced the minimum and no runner made it to second base. He also drilled a huge sac fly to RF. It was a great game for the entire team.
We were now in the semi-finals and faced a dramatically tougher opponent. We had some lapses in the field and fell behind early. The other team chipped away and finally the game ended at 9-1 in the fifth. The boys who had been so sharp in the morning almost seemed relieved that it was OK to lose one. Not in a negative sense, but that we had competed with some of the best teams out there. The mood was decidedly more upbeat that afternoon and we headed home for a pool party next door.
More tourneys coming up, plus LL ToC and possible All Stars. It just never ends.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
3 Day Weekend - Day 1
Between LL and Blue Wave we played 6 games over the three day weekend. It marked the end of the Little League season and the beginning of tournament time. It is amazing to see how much confidence and momentum matter in this game. We witnessed both ends of the spectrum, invincibility and the complete inability to do anything correctly. Breathe deep and remember, they are only 10.
Saturday morning was in Huntington Beach with Blue Wave. We were playing in the 11U bracket, but had nearly as many 9 year old players (3) as 11 year old players (5). We also had 15 on the roster. Since the coach has every boy hit, we had a 15 man batting order. In our first game we faced a very good team that had all 11 year old players and was a favorite to win the whole event. The game went about as expected. We knew that they could hit our pitching, but our defense was not adjusting to where the balls were being hit. Also, with over half our roster used to playing on smaller fields (46' mound and 65' bases, whereas this tournament was played at 50' and 70') we were unable to play the strong defense we needed. The game ended at 9-0 after 5 innings.
Jumped into the car and then off to Santa Ana for Little League City Tournament. Our coach for LL had his game plan, and was not going to deviate from it for any reason. Our starting pitcher, who was excellent all season long, did a good job, but was not as sharp as he had been. In fact, in the fourth inning he threw 30 pitches. The high pitch count would come into play and he would need to be replaced. With our team leading 4-2 in the bottom of the last inning our pitcher had finally met his number and needed to be replaced. With a runner on first and no outs the coaches son came in to close out the game. The problem is that he throws curveballs, almost constantly. This meant an extreme workload on our catcher to block the balls and prevent steals. Well, a walk and an error later, it is now a one run game. Then tied. Then the winning run for the opponent came across on a wild pitch. I lose my ability to second guess when I declined to manage. However, a control pitcher makes more sense to me in that scenario. And we had 4 of them ready to go.
Oh well. The good news is that we are out of that tournament and don't have to sweat juggling practices and games mid-week. An anti-climactic ending to a positive LL season. Rabbit played well in both games, but is still not finding hits. They will come.
Saturday morning was in Huntington Beach with Blue Wave. We were playing in the 11U bracket, but had nearly as many 9 year old players (3) as 11 year old players (5). We also had 15 on the roster. Since the coach has every boy hit, we had a 15 man batting order. In our first game we faced a very good team that had all 11 year old players and was a favorite to win the whole event. The game went about as expected. We knew that they could hit our pitching, but our defense was not adjusting to where the balls were being hit. Also, with over half our roster used to playing on smaller fields (46' mound and 65' bases, whereas this tournament was played at 50' and 70') we were unable to play the strong defense we needed. The game ended at 9-0 after 5 innings.
Jumped into the car and then off to Santa Ana for Little League City Tournament. Our coach for LL had his game plan, and was not going to deviate from it for any reason. Our starting pitcher, who was excellent all season long, did a good job, but was not as sharp as he had been. In fact, in the fourth inning he threw 30 pitches. The high pitch count would come into play and he would need to be replaced. With our team leading 4-2 in the bottom of the last inning our pitcher had finally met his number and needed to be replaced. With a runner on first and no outs the coaches son came in to close out the game. The problem is that he throws curveballs, almost constantly. This meant an extreme workload on our catcher to block the balls and prevent steals. Well, a walk and an error later, it is now a one run game. Then tied. Then the winning run for the opponent came across on a wild pitch. I lose my ability to second guess when I declined to manage. However, a control pitcher makes more sense to me in that scenario. And we had 4 of them ready to go.
Oh well. The good news is that we are out of that tournament and don't have to sweat juggling practices and games mid-week. An anti-climactic ending to a positive LL season. Rabbit played well in both games, but is still not finding hits. They will come.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
The best team in the majors.
Well, the Dodgers are still winning. But this is not about them. This is about the Santa Ana NW Little League Major Bruins. After a 2-5 start they rallied hard, winning 10 of 11 to win their division. Rabbit played a big part and finished the season as a starting pitcher and batting clean up. What a tremendous accomplishment. The team has really played well of late and hopes to carry some strong momentum into the ToC and City Tournament schedules. His coach has also alerted us to the fact that he will nominate Rabbit for the 11U All Stars and even suggested that he may take him for the 12U team. Quite the recognition for a kid playing up a level.
Hitting has come back down to earth, but we noticed a slight change in the stance. Upon correction he was back to hitting the ball hard and picked up 4 RBI in his last 3 games. His pitching is great right now with a real zip on the fastball. Additionally, the change-up is un-hittable and keeping the front elbow high has really added to the movement of his other pitches. Of all things, it is his defense at 1B, usually his strong suit, that has been suffering. We spent some extra reps on the bag and are making the adjustments. For whatever reason he does not like to get the ball into the webbing of the glove, but rather trap the ball against the "paddle" edge. A few more reps and he will be back to his usual sparkling defense.
Travel ball gets serious this weekend with a 3 day tournament. We have the potential between City Tournament and Travel to play 9 games in 3 days. YIKES! The reality will be much more reasonable. I am astonished at Rabbit's progress in the last 12 months. Mostly, I am amazed he still has the same enthusiasm and drive. Even more so were that possible. It is fun to be a part of his world as he grows. I do need to remind myself that he is still 10. It is very easy to forget when he handles himself so maturely.
Summer plans are shaping up nicely. Flyers start in 3 weeks, road trip to ABQ looks like the end of July, and NCAA regionals coming in the next two weeks. Throw in a Dodger game or 3 and we are set for a few months. While not everything is perfect, who cares. The game is still fun, and he is improving daily. It is hard to believe it has been a year already since I started this project. I cannot wait to see what the next 12 months bring.
Hitting has come back down to earth, but we noticed a slight change in the stance. Upon correction he was back to hitting the ball hard and picked up 4 RBI in his last 3 games. His pitching is great right now with a real zip on the fastball. Additionally, the change-up is un-hittable and keeping the front elbow high has really added to the movement of his other pitches. Of all things, it is his defense at 1B, usually his strong suit, that has been suffering. We spent some extra reps on the bag and are making the adjustments. For whatever reason he does not like to get the ball into the webbing of the glove, but rather trap the ball against the "paddle" edge. A few more reps and he will be back to his usual sparkling defense.
Travel ball gets serious this weekend with a 3 day tournament. We have the potential between City Tournament and Travel to play 9 games in 3 days. YIKES! The reality will be much more reasonable. I am astonished at Rabbit's progress in the last 12 months. Mostly, I am amazed he still has the same enthusiasm and drive. Even more so were that possible. It is fun to be a part of his world as he grows. I do need to remind myself that he is still 10. It is very easy to forget when he handles himself so maturely.
Summer plans are shaping up nicely. Flyers start in 3 weeks, road trip to ABQ looks like the end of July, and NCAA regionals coming in the next two weeks. Throw in a Dodger game or 3 and we are set for a few months. While not everything is perfect, who cares. The game is still fun, and he is improving daily. It is hard to believe it has been a year already since I started this project. I cannot wait to see what the next 12 months bring.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
A statement game
Little League is worse than the mob. Just when you think you are out, they pull you back in. Rabbit was starting against a team in our division that was within 1 game of us for first. With only 3 to play this was a must win for us to move on into Tournament of Champions. I was quite surprised when Coach told me that Rabbit had the ball. Coach was hoping to get 1-2 innings and then let the No. 1 come in and finish the game. What he got from Rabbit was nothing short of exceptional. 4 IP, 7K, 1BB, 1H, 0ER, 57 pitches. All of this against a team coached by a manager who said at the draft that no 10 year old should be in Majors.
Rabbit was doing a great job of changing speeds, raising and lowering eye-levels and spotting the ball perfectly. He was Maddux-like only in the sense that they were taking balls down the middle and swinging at things 6-12" off the plate. He struck out the side in the third, including his best friend from across the street (3 pitches) and the boy who 2 weeks ago told him that he had no business being in Majors and was only there because I made the league draft him, also on 3 pitches. In the fourth he got a friend, and former teammate on a fantastic sequence. Change-up for a called strike, swung and missed a high and outside fastball, then screwed himself into the ground swinging on a change-up that bounced twice on the way to the plate. He also made two strong fielding plays (we had been working on fielding the position lately) and managed to not slide head first into home this time.
That was the good news. Now the frustrating stuff. The officiating has passed bad, blew straight through awful, and is almost beyond embarrassing. Strike zones change from pitch to pitch and factual calls are missed several times a game. 6 of the 7 strikeouts Rabbit got were swinging so the opposition has nothing to complain about there. However, it is a joke what the boys have to deal with behind the plate. More bad news, we are now firmly atop the league standings and look to be facing City Tournament, ToC and All-Stars. So much for this being the last week of Little League. Rabbit's Coach has nominated him for the 11U All-Star team. A real accomplishment and we will see if he gets accepted. We highly doubt we would accept the honor since he wants to play with Blue Wave more and was incredibly frustrated by last years All-Star experience, but it is still a tip of the cap to all of his hard work.
We are in the middle of a stretch right now where we have baseball 10 days in a row and 13 out of 17. In the midst of all of that Rabbit is also doing State Testing at school and is headed into his classroom an hour early each morning for study-hall. I am nothing short of amazed at his focus and resiliency. I am exhausted and I just watch.
Blue Wave is coming nicely, big tournament over Memorial Day in Huntington Beach. OC Flyers open at home on June 9 and the Dodgers are starting to fall back to earth. I may have a comment on Manny later, but for now I just don't care enough to put it in writing.
Rabbit was doing a great job of changing speeds, raising and lowering eye-levels and spotting the ball perfectly. He was Maddux-like only in the sense that they were taking balls down the middle and swinging at things 6-12" off the plate. He struck out the side in the third, including his best friend from across the street (3 pitches) and the boy who 2 weeks ago told him that he had no business being in Majors and was only there because I made the league draft him, also on 3 pitches. In the fourth he got a friend, and former teammate on a fantastic sequence. Change-up for a called strike, swung and missed a high and outside fastball, then screwed himself into the ground swinging on a change-up that bounced twice on the way to the plate. He also made two strong fielding plays (we had been working on fielding the position lately) and managed to not slide head first into home this time.
That was the good news. Now the frustrating stuff. The officiating has passed bad, blew straight through awful, and is almost beyond embarrassing. Strike zones change from pitch to pitch and factual calls are missed several times a game. 6 of the 7 strikeouts Rabbit got were swinging so the opposition has nothing to complain about there. However, it is a joke what the boys have to deal with behind the plate. More bad news, we are now firmly atop the league standings and look to be facing City Tournament, ToC and All-Stars. So much for this being the last week of Little League. Rabbit's Coach has nominated him for the 11U All-Star team. A real accomplishment and we will see if he gets accepted. We highly doubt we would accept the honor since he wants to play with Blue Wave more and was incredibly frustrated by last years All-Star experience, but it is still a tip of the cap to all of his hard work.
We are in the middle of a stretch right now where we have baseball 10 days in a row and 13 out of 17. In the midst of all of that Rabbit is also doing State Testing at school and is headed into his classroom an hour early each morning for study-hall. I am nothing short of amazed at his focus and resiliency. I am exhausted and I just watch.
Blue Wave is coming nicely, big tournament over Memorial Day in Huntington Beach. OC Flyers open at home on June 9 and the Dodgers are starting to fall back to earth. I may have a comment on Manny later, but for now I just don't care enough to put it in writing.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
It's all about the kids... and other lies.
First, the recent updates. Rabbit is seeing the ball amazingly well. He has not struck out in his last 15 or so at bats. A few hits, including a nice one to center in tonight's LL game, and a few hard liners right at people. He has worked very hard and now has a stance and swing that is providing some power. Fun stuff.
On the hill we are working on driving more off the front elbow. To help accomplish this we are turning the glove hand palm up while in the wind up. This is forcing him to keep the hand high and creates a nice lever-whip motion on the way down. Initially it has led to some more pop on the ball without sacrificing any control. In his LL game he threw 2 inning with no hits, 2 strikeouts, no walks and no runs. The very next day he faced an 11U majors team. From 50' (he had thrown from 46' the day before) he went 2 innings with 6 hits, 3 ER and no walks with 1 k. A very respectable outing.
Now buckle up, double barrel screed coming.
Little League - Get over yourselves coaches. You embarrass yourselves with petty tyranny and selfish playground antics. Tonight a coach waited until 5 minutes after game time to threaten to take his team off the field unless the umpire was changed. The umpire had already been changed once. I have previously railed on the officiating and it is not getting any better using local, rather than District, umps. The three managers in our division are all trying to out clever and out maneuver each other. It is stupid. Let the boys play. These kindergarten mind games are a joke. The other coach was tossed before the game even started. He missed a gem. 2-0 in our favor. The umpire, while not great, had no effect on the outcome. Now the coach missed that game, and the next by rule. All of this posturing for a berth in Tournament of Champions? Get over yourself. The kids got it right tonight. The adults, both dugouts, looked foolish. Knock it off already.
Travel - I really think we have had enough "character building" for the spring. It is time to let our boys play other 10U teams. I realize that it is very difficult to balance two squads covering 8-12 year old players. I know that everyone wants a chance. I also know how good the team can be when they get a chance to play 12-15 games together. I really feel that "rec ball" (LL and Pony) is killing any momentum we garner. I cannot wait for the summer season when we can play the same 12 boys in their natural positions. Facing 11U teams is fine, but getting run out of the building by an 11U majors team does nothing to improve the squad. I actually fear it will leave a bad taste in the mouths of new players. And finally, I look forward to the day when we can select our roster, rather than having to rely on who is available. Call me an elitist scumbag, but there are simply some boys who are not on par with the core of the team.
It is very easy from the stands. Every call I make is correct, and I never mess up on positioning or bating order. One of the true revelations in my life is that I no longer coach. I understand the task that the coaches face, and I remain supportive. But every now and then I just want to scream!
On the hill we are working on driving more off the front elbow. To help accomplish this we are turning the glove hand palm up while in the wind up. This is forcing him to keep the hand high and creates a nice lever-whip motion on the way down. Initially it has led to some more pop on the ball without sacrificing any control. In his LL game he threw 2 inning with no hits, 2 strikeouts, no walks and no runs. The very next day he faced an 11U majors team. From 50' (he had thrown from 46' the day before) he went 2 innings with 6 hits, 3 ER and no walks with 1 k. A very respectable outing.
Now buckle up, double barrel screed coming.
Little League - Get over yourselves coaches. You embarrass yourselves with petty tyranny and selfish playground antics. Tonight a coach waited until 5 minutes after game time to threaten to take his team off the field unless the umpire was changed. The umpire had already been changed once. I have previously railed on the officiating and it is not getting any better using local, rather than District, umps. The three managers in our division are all trying to out clever and out maneuver each other. It is stupid. Let the boys play. These kindergarten mind games are a joke. The other coach was tossed before the game even started. He missed a gem. 2-0 in our favor. The umpire, while not great, had no effect on the outcome. Now the coach missed that game, and the next by rule. All of this posturing for a berth in Tournament of Champions? Get over yourself. The kids got it right tonight. The adults, both dugouts, looked foolish. Knock it off already.
Travel - I really think we have had enough "character building" for the spring. It is time to let our boys play other 10U teams. I realize that it is very difficult to balance two squads covering 8-12 year old players. I know that everyone wants a chance. I also know how good the team can be when they get a chance to play 12-15 games together. I really feel that "rec ball" (LL and Pony) is killing any momentum we garner. I cannot wait for the summer season when we can play the same 12 boys in their natural positions. Facing 11U teams is fine, but getting run out of the building by an 11U majors team does nothing to improve the squad. I actually fear it will leave a bad taste in the mouths of new players. And finally, I look forward to the day when we can select our roster, rather than having to rely on who is available. Call me an elitist scumbag, but there are simply some boys who are not on par with the core of the team.
It is very easy from the stands. Every call I make is correct, and I never mess up on positioning or bating order. One of the true revelations in my life is that I no longer coach. I understand the task that the coaches face, and I remain supportive. But every now and then I just want to scream!
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