Now that we are in the middle of the baseball postseason (Go Phillies!), what better way to get in the spirit than to check back in with your favorite NYC youth baseball team. Even though the season ended months ago, I've been saving the rest of these for this time of year. You thought the season was over, didn't you? Or maybe you thought I just forgot about sending these out. Or maybe you were hoping I had forgotten about them. Or maybe you never noticed I sent anything in the first place. Or maybe there has been a deep, dark, empty whole in your lives for the past 3 months without them. It's ok, we know. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HGS7p4gSqg)
And away we go...
Week 7, May 22: Non-league game vs Spartans; May 23: Diamond Buddies
As I've mentioned before, our home field on Randall's Island is truly picturesque. With the warehouse off the water in right field, the NY Post building in the distance beyond left field, and the tug boats pushing the freighters back and forth the East River, it's quite breathtaking. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DoARSlv-HU). But for some reason, every now and then when we show up first thing in the morning on a Saturday or Sunday, there is trash everywhere. It's as if the fields become landfills in the middle of the night. I have no idea what goes on. Do the clowns from Cirque Du Soleil throw insane parties and just trash the place? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRNmSPoTDBA) And it's not only the trash, but occasionally I've noticed chicken bones lying on the infield. Chicken bones?! Do the fields turn into a farm when the sun goes down? Are religious groups holding seances? Or are there after-hours picnics taking place and buckets of fried chicken are being consumed? Whatever it is, it's strange.
On Saturday, we scheduled a non-league game against the Spartans, another local organization. The good news is we didn't lose. The bad news is we didn't win either. The boys played well, but striking out 11 times will not result in too many wins. The game ended in a 1-1 tie, with Brad pitching lights out, striking out 10 in only 5 innings. But we had plenty of opportunities to score runs. These boys will only get better, but right now it seems they are not handling the pressure of batting with runners in scoring position. It'll come. We've all been there. I remember when I was 14 or 15, I was up with the bases loaded and the winning run on 3rd base. My brother and a high school teammate of his were in the stands watching. I definitely was nervous being in that situation. Between the winning run being on 3rd and my brother being there, my heart was racing. The little brothers out there know what I'm talking about. For some reason, I was unable to take the bat off my shoulders and watched 3 perfect fastballs go right by me and struck out looking. As Yogi said, "hitting is 90% mental and 50% physical." I know how these kids must feel. As coaches, we must figure out a way to ease their nerves when they are in these situations. Hey, much like Joshua and Julius, I'm learning too. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeOHEU7Ykyg&feature=related) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MszWzD4otec)
Trying to build on the strong pitching and defensive effort on Saturday, Sunday's regular season finale double header against the Diamond Buddies was a great chance to pick up a couple of much needed wins to close out the regular season. In game 1, Ned once again threw incredibly well, striking out 10 and not giving up a hit until the 4th inning. Finally a couple of timely hits early in the game gave Ned a 2-0 lead. Our favorite (not really) umpire took a 3rd run away from us when he called Albert out at home. From my position down the 1st base line, Albert clearly slid under the catcher's tag on his shoulder. The ump, who reminds me of Snuffy from Sesame Street and every time he moves I hear his music in my head, once again, did not get out from behind the plate. He said that Albert never touched the plate, when clearly that was not the case. As I walked off the field, I said to the ump, "Next time just tell me you missed the call instead of saying something that clearly isn't true."
In the 4th, Jay and Larry led off with back to back singles. Then a rarity in baseball happened, especially at the youth level. On a fly ball to right field, for some reason, both Jay and Larry took off as if there were 2 outs. My yells of "GET BACK!!" were not heard and the right fielder threw to second base for out number 2 and then the shortstop threw to first for the third out. A triple play!! As the center fielder came running off the field, he said, "Wait, what just happened." I have to admit though, seeing the triple play was cool, even though it happened to us. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2RiI9v3io4&feature=related)
It appeared we had the game in our hands but Ned started to tire in the 5th, walking in a run. With 2 outs and the bases loaded, but still up 2-1, Ned forced a little dribbler back to him. Great, we're out of it. But Ned didn't field it cleanly and then in a hurry, threw high to first and the run scored. He got the next guy out, but we couldn't recover from that, and the game ended in a 2-2 tie. Another freakin tie! The boys were frustrated. We were playing so much better, which was a good thing, but not getting wins when you have the chance hurts. Jeff and I had no answers and all we told the boys was they were right there and just had to keep battling like they were. Good things would eventually happen. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeVca9MwDX8)
In Game 2, the bats finally came alive...a little. As a coach, it's rewarding to see improvement in your team from one game to the next. Although we've been inconsistent, we've clearly done some things better as the season has gone on. It's great to see the kids respond to what we tell them from one game to the next. It means they're listening, and trying to say the least. And that's really all we as coaches can ever ask of them. Larry pitched outstanding, working out of a couple jams in the 1st and the 2nd inning. As he came off the field after the 2nd inning, he says to me, "I've decided I'm just going to try to get them to hit the ball." I congratulated him on cracking the secret code to pitching: Throw strikes and trust your defense. OK, maybe it's a little more complicated than that. But at this level, that's basically it.
Among the offensive highlights was a triple by Brad over the right fielder's head which rolled to the fence, Fred's bomb in the left center field gap, and a couple of perfectly executed squeeze plays. Jeff and I love the squeeze play, if at the very least, out of necessity. When you are inconsistent at the plate like we are, especially with runners in scoring position, you have to manufacture runs and play a little small ball as they call it. Sometimes, however, we like it a little too much. When you go to the well often, sometimes the bucket comes up dry.
In the 4th, with the game tied at 2, Brad is on 3rd after his triple. Larry lays down a perfect bunt that goes past the pitcher and is fielded by the 2nd baseman. There's no chance of getting Brad at the plate, but the second baseman still threw home. Upon seeing this, for some reason, Larry stopped running to first base halfway down the line. My amazement and cries of, "Keep running!" startled Larry, or woke him up from his trance, and he just reached safely. I walked over to Larry, patted him on the back and said, "Great bunt buddy. Sorry for yelling there, but you almost gave me a heart attack when you stopped halfway down the line. Never stop running." He smiled as if to say, "Just messing with you Coach." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfLUya64ovc) Crazy kids.
Now, as I mentioned above, sometimes playing small ball and being aggressive can backfire. Such was the case in this game on multiple occasions. We tried to hit and run with Jack on 1st. The other team pitched out and nailed him at 2nd. With Brad on 1st and no outs, Greg laid down a great bunt. Jeff tried to catch the defense sleeping and waved Brad to 3rd. They weren't sleeping and Brad was thrown out easily. We tried to suicide squeeze one again with Sam at the plate and Fred on 3rd with 1 out. Sam, one of our best contact hitters and has great bat control, missed the bunt attempt and left Fred out to dry. Believe me, when your decisions don't work out, you feel awful. But as I told Jeff, I'd rather be aggressive and fail than be passive and fail. Hindsight is always 20/20 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE8jj2t23yI)
What would be a game without a little controversy with the umpires, right? In the 5th, after we just took the lead in the 4th on Larry's squeeze bunt, the Diamond Buddies got a runner on 2nd with no outs. We expected the bunt so we put the wheel play on, where the 3rd baseman charges and the shortstop covers third. Sure enough, the batter squares and the runner takes off for 3rd. The pitch is a ball, but Albert beats the runner to 3rd and the throw from Ned is right on the money. Of course, the umpire rules safe. Naturally, being behind the runner and out of position, he had a great angle on the play. Jeff lost it. He ran out of the dugout screaming and got into the face of the umpire. I thought he was getting tossed for sure, so I followed him, hoping to calm him down. Fortunately, as soon as he got to the umpire he caught himself and walked back to the dugout, still fuming. The next batter hit a ground ball to our 2nd baseman and the tying run scored. I looked at Jeff and said, "Well, since cirque de soleil is in town, looks like one of the clowns escaped from the circus. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrtwWraQDn8). Jeff smiled.
After complaining about the other pitcher balking multiple times, there was a close play at first in which the 1st baseman's foot came off the bag. Coaching 1st base, I had a bird's eye view of the play. The umpire hesitated, obviously because he saw the same thing as I did. But then he ruled out. So I had to say something to him. And then all of a sudden, one of the dads sitting behind me chirps (Get it? Bird's eye view? Chirps?), "Man, these guys complain about everything." Well, I snapped. Immediately, I turned around and said, "HEY, PIPE DOWN AND JUST WATCH THE GAME!" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8E_zMLCRNg) Now, in hindsight I let my emotions get the best of me and realized I should have been the one to pipe down. I'm not proud of doing that. A friend of mine who has coached for many years told me to never get into it with a parent from the other team. It can and often will get ugly. Only speak to the coach. Good advice. But fortunately in this case, it worked. Even the guy's friend told him to be quiet.
And finally, every now and then Jeff and I will receive coaching tips from some of the dads. Ned had been struggling at the plate and so Fred's father figured he'd tell us how to fix it. He says, "“I don’t know a lot about baseball, but I know what’s wrong with Ned’s swing.” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgX7i0C-IK4&feature=related)
Those darn clowns.
End of Regular Season. Record: 3-8-3. 7th Place finish in the division.
Next episode: Thunder Road.
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