Mea Culpa ... I have been remiss.

Day 3 in Arizona was poetry. One of the best baseball games I have ever seen, regardless of age/level/profession. We ended up facing the number one overall seed who had yet be scored upon. Long story short, it was tense, close and exciting. We did score, we held them and in the end lost 3-1. The opponent then went on to capture the entire tournament winning in the final game by five. We scared them, and played great. It was amazing tournament for the growth of the boys as a team. A great time and Rabbit is really starting to fit in with this club.

No good excuse as to why I have taken a few months off. Well, I have good excuses, but none that matter. I will try to get caught up.

Hitting -
Since the 4-4 game with the HR Rabbit went 0-28 before finally snapping out of it this past weekend. His swing was broken down to zero and is slowly coming back together. He is making some very loud outs and getting RBIs even when not getting on safely. This is a huge improvement over his 0-10 with 8 Ks (7 looking) he had a few weeks ago.

Fielding -
Constant improvement, and gaining confidence. He is playing smart and not putting himself in tough situations. This past weekend (2nd place in a local tournament) he made 3 double plays by making throws to bases after recording the out at first. He is really starting to see the entire field and make good decisions. We will be working on short hops in the coming weeks and also foot placement at the bag. He remains a good fielder and is now working on the little things that make the difference.

Pitching -
One word. Wow. He is dominating right now. His last four outings have been against majors teams and he is throwing well. Averaging just under 2 Ks per inning and less than one run every two innings. Hits are down, walks are down, baserunners are down. He believed Paul Abbott when Paul told him he was a power pitcher. We will be introducing a cutter in the coming weeks. No more than 10 a week, and nothing off a mound for at least three months. Fun stuff.

The Team -
I love the team and the coaching philosophy. They are not bothered with being the best 11 yo team in Southern California, but rather on building the skills needed for high school ball and later. This has been a good decision.

I will go into the drama of new and old teams later, or maybe not. The bottom line is, for right now, Rabbit is playing well and having fun. Last time I checked that was the whole idea.