It's been a while, time to rant

I was concerned about the effect of playing both Little League and travel ball would have on Rabbit. The six days a week has taken a slight toll, and I have slowly seen some bad habits creeping back. That being said, I am amazed at the dedication he has shown. In the midst of all of this craziness he has maintained his grades at the highest level and still manages to have fun in his spare 6 minutes a day.

So what is the problem?

The kid is 10. He is not supposed to be in Majors. That is usually for 11 and 12 year olds. I wanted him to be up with the better players. I wanted him to be challenged. And, selfishly, I wanted him to be out of pressure situations. I was perfectly happy for him to play 2 innings of outfield and sit the rest of the time. Well, he is firmly entrenched, after only 4 games, as a pitcher and 1B. Still no problem. However, last night he threw 72 pitches over 3 innings. That is a large number. I am frustrated that between the 13 other players we could not find as good an option. No big deal. It is baseball.

However, there is a significant difference between throwing a ball 60 miles per hour and knowing how to pitch. Rabbit can pitch. He cannot throw the ball past kids at this level. He can move a ball around a strike zone and hit the catcher's glove every time. Several of the opposing pitchers last night were throwing the ball as hard as they could, with half of the attempts ending up in or near the strike zone, but the other half hitting the backstop, scorers window, mascot, dugout, etc. That type of irregularity makes it difficult to string together a series of at bats that you can learn from.

And speaking of strike zones, let's spend a minute with the officials. They are painfully unqualified. I can understand missing a judgment call. But these people are often missing technical violations, and the occasional flat out wrong ruling. I want to be clear, I do not feel that they are biased, merely incompetent. At one stretch last night, between the two teams, 21 consecutive pitches that were not swung at were called balls. For two innings the only time a strike was called was if the batter swung. Meanwhile, both pitchers are hitting their targets and both benches were going crazy. Plays on the bases are being called from behind home plate. The umpire did not even make an attempt to position himself properly. Or to pay any attention. Twice players were caught off bases and tagged, but allowed or instructed to return to the base because the ump missed the play. I should understand that we are not getting pros, and that they are doing the best they can. Their best is not nearly good enough to be called competent. Luckily, the umps have yet to decide the outcome of a game, but it is only a matter of time.

Finally, I am still stunned that at this level, when most of the boys have been playing for 3-6 years, at the lack of respect for the game. Whether it is not bringing equipment to the practice or worse yet a game, or bending and breaking rules to get an edge it is frustrating to see how the little league game is played. Players cannot leave the base until the ball crosses home plate. With one umpire, especially of the quality listed above, it is not uncommon for a player to break early and be halfway to the next base by the time the catcher receives the ball. Last night a player from our team scored by sliding between the legs of the opposing catcher. The ball was still in the outfield when the player crossed the plate. I have also seen catchers, in full gear, dive into players coming toward the plate. This is dangerous for both players. And please, it is only the 4th game, how could you possibly have lost equipment by now?

I was unsure if we were going to play Little League this year. We will finish this out, but I am not seeing much hope for next year. Travel ball is not a panacea, some mythic Garden of Eden where everything is right all of the time. It is, however, a much closer approximation to the game of baseball.

Opening weekend

Saturday was the opening game for Little League and Sunday was our first Blue Wave game of 2009. We were excited to get going and a bit nervous to see how it would all go. The short answer is things went well, but we know what we need to work on.

Saturday in Little League we opened against the defending Majors division champs. The Bruins put 7 runs across in the first including Rabbit (hitting 7th) scoring on a passed ball. He had previously walked on a full count and stole 2nd and 3rd. In the field he started at 1B and played the first four innings there. The only action he saw there was when he made a good stretch to get a fast runner on a bang-bang play. After 4 innings we were ahead still 7-4. In his second at bat he struck out swinging at a ball above his head. That was tremendously out of character for him, and he was a little surprised that he had swung.

Rabbit came in to pitch the 5th and faced 4 batters retiring the side on 15 pitches. He really surprised his coaches who were not thinking he would be that effective. In fact, they kept him in to pitch the last inning with a 4 run lead. In the last of the sixth Rabbit got an out on the first pitch on a fly to right. From there no ball left the infield. A few dropped pop ups and misplayed grounders led us to a bases loaded, two out, one run ballgame. After running the count to full Rabbit threw a textbook called strike three to end the game and preserve the win. It was a great way to start.

For Sunday we arrived for game 2 of a double header with the 11U team. Blue Wave had won the first game by a mercy rule 14-2. As usual, but a surprise since this was the 11U team, Rabbit started at 1B. Again he was batting 7th and came up in the second inning with bases empty and two outs.. He tapped the second pitch to 2nd base for an easy out. He knew he was ahead of the pitcher, and I could see the gears of his mind working. In the bottom of the second he made a great scoop of a pick off attempt to retire the runner. He looks good over at 1B. In the third inning we blew the game open again with 10 runs. Rabbit came up with a runner on 2nd and drilled the 1-1 pitch back up the middle for an RBI single. Another strong play in the field at first and the team coasted to a 14-9 win. Two good wins in two days.

A great start, and it surely was time for a great weekend. 2 practices Monday, game Tuesday, practice Wednesday and Thursday and game Saturday. I am tired already and it has not started yet.

LL 1 1 0 0 1 1
BW 2 0 1 1 0 0

Spring forward!

Little League opens this weekend. We also have a Blue Wave game on Sunday. Two practices Monday, one on Wednesday, one Thursday, and a mid-week game to be announced. Yipes!

Rabbit is playing well after shaking off a slight cold. His hitting is coming together and he is throwing the ball very well. His pitching is solid, but he is leaving the ball up in the zone. It still strikes me as silly that we are having these discussions about a 10 year old. He loves playing and that is enough.

So far we have been pretty true to our idea of LL just being a silly, fun time with no pressure. That being said, I fully expect Rabbit to be starting 1B as well as pitching some. At Blue Wave he is firmly planted at 1B and starting pitcher. It will be interesting to see how Rabbit adjusts to being used as a reliever. Historically he has struggled in those situations.

As a fan I am thrilled to see the World Baseball Classic starting, spring training in full swing and am preparing for the high-school/college/minor league seasons. Our big trip this year is planned as a road trip to ABQ to visit my Father-in-law and nephew and catch some AAA Dodgers this summer.

Other than the usual chaos we are currently looking for a private school for next year. Things are not quite crazy enough so we thought we should add something extra into the mix. As I have said before, I need professional help.

Well, at least it stopped raining.

The tough part of playing on two teams right now is the scheduling. If everything goes according to plan we will have had baseball 9 days in a row by next Wednesday. And on at least 2 of those days we had direct conflicts between LL and travel. A very busy time for sure.

Speaking of Little League Rabbit is getting a lot of reps at first base. I would not be too surprised to see him playing there a bit this season. He is running very well and is making decent contact. As usual, his hitting will take a lot of concentration for now.

Travel team is now in the Sunday Double-Header set up. Every other Sunday we play 2. A nice idea and very low key. I am looking forward to those starting this week. Other than the previously noted we have mostly been waiting out the rain.

I heard my first bit of spring training games on the radio today. The anticipation of starting the season(s) is amazing. I can hardly wait.

Rain Rain Go Away

I am not sure why I am surprised about the weather anymore. It seems like every year we lose valuable practice time before the LL season to rain. This year is no exception. Rabbit has had just 2 practices with his LL team and one with Blue Wave in the last 3 weeks. We have seen 6 practices and a tournament rained out. We need the rain, but Rabbit is going slightly stir crazy.

The LL Bruins (like UCLA) look to be a good team this year. The quality of play seems consistent with the Travel Ball Rabbit has been seeing for the past year. I like and respect the coach and am enjoying watching the kids work together. Rabbit seems to be taking the majority of drills at 1B and will have lots of innings there. Due to the weather we have not had anyone work out at pitcher yet. I know the coach wants him to throw. As a double bonus, we have SIX left handers on the team, out of 13 players. I am pretty sure that violates some law somewhere.

Blue Wave is back to being a 10U team after some comings and goings. I think this will work best and we are looking forward to our Sunday double headers which will start in March. Between now and then we need to get Rabbit back into the cages. His swing is not great right now. My big fear is that he gets into some bad habits that will be tough to correct.

Otherwise we are thrilled that MLB camps opened this past weekend. I am scanning the papers daily to see which rookies are making an impact and which veterans are about to lose a job. Who needs soap operas when you have clubhouse gossip.

Be careful what you wish for

After a Blue Wave practice Rabbit and I were enjoying a dinner of burritos and tacos when we got the phone call from the Little League coach. He had been drafted into majors. This was very exciting for him and a reward for his hard work. Now the tough part. He knows he will not be the best anything on this team. I suspect lots of "pine" time for him and fighting for innings. However, he can certainly handle the pitching and will play to the best of his ability every chance he gets.

We got lucky with his coach as well. And to top it off, the team is the UCLA Bruins, one of Rabbit's "go to" schools. We have practice tomorrow when we get to see who else is on his team. I am sure we will know a few at least. Rabbit has a lot of work to do to prove that a 10YO can play in the majors. I know he will be up to the task.

Little League, Drama and Spring Training

We had Little League tryouts this past week. Rabbit wanted to be considered for Majors as a 10 year old. Majors is usually the 11-13 year old boys. I confirmed with the LL Board that it would be OK for him to try out for the higher league. Rabbit did well and looked like he would fit in nicely with the other players we saw try out. If there are 4 teams in the division I would expect that he would play in Majors. With only 3 I do not know if there is an open slot for a ten year old once all the 12 and 11 players are selected. Rabbit was upset that he did not do better in his tryout. He hit weakly and overthrew from the outfield. I am not too worried. He has played in this league for 4 years. Most of the coaches know him by now and understand what type of a player he is. If he does stay down in AAA this year I expect him to play lots of catcher and outfield.

Back to Blue Wave. As the "rec" ball season starts our numbers keep dwindling. We had always expected to play Sundays in the 10yo bracket. After the previous drama of the 11yo team becoming an 11/12 we lost, collectively, enough players that we are now looking at a 10/11 team. This is a real shame. The 10yo team was coming together nicely, making the finals 3 tournaments in a row. From that core group of 10 players, only 4 are still with the team. The main concern for now is where will Rabbit play. The 11 team has two good 1B. I expect that Rabbit will find some time on the bench as well as in the outfield. I like the kids, and parents, that still are with the team. I still feel that this is the right spot to be in. And I know from experience that once Little League ends we will have many more players. Our goal for the next 4 months is to have some fun and try to get as many games in as possible.

MLB Spring Training starts in 2 short weeks. I can hardly wait. We have all been watching the free agent moves and arguing about who did the best. I expect the Dodgers to be consistently mediocre. However, their infield is set for 3 years and looks fantastic. I also met with the OC Flyers last week. We have renewed our season tickets with them and are anxious to see them defend their GBL title. We have a great year ahead of us and are all excited at what the future holds.