It’s Time to Go

I made a difficult decision tonight.  After more years than I can exactly remember I resigned from the Shallowater Little League board of directors.

I originally got involved in Little League years ago, first umpiring, then coaching, then serving on the board.  I’ve seen the makeup of the board change dramatically over these years to the point where it is now a vibrant, active board with good participation and honest debate on the issues, all focused on helping our kids have a healthy baseball program in Shallowater.

Some of the people I have first met via the little league program have become very good friends who’s company I enjoy and friendship I treasure.  I’ll miss working with them on the board but hope to still be involved as a volunteer enough to get to continue “hanging around” with them.  Although I won’t be on the board any more I expressed my desire to the rest of the board to continue to volunteer and help where I can….you don’t have to be a board member to help.

Thanks to each and every person I’ve served on the SLL board with over these years.  I have truly enjoyed my time with you and I think I leave at a point where the board is as strong as it’s ever been.  I know not everyone shares my point of view, but I think youth baseball in Shallowater is in great shape and headed in the right direction.

Laying Turf

Man alive.  Putting down sod is not as easy as it sounds.  Getting everything prepped, especially one day after a huge rain, is a drag.  The dirt does not work easily.

A group of guys got together and did just that, though, this Sunday afternoon.  Some of it was real work.  All of it was appreciated, and though I’m sore I really had a good time.  It looks a little lumpy to me but the guys who do this type of work all the time tell me it will be no problem to level it out and get it ready by next spring.  I think it will look great.  As much as I love the look and play of the dirt infields, this was the right decision given all our circumstances.  I think we managed to fill in some of the depression that made a horseshoe shape around our mound, and we cut down some of the dirt behind home plate too (though not as much as I would have liked to make it drain).  We’ve put some serious money into the field this year and that’s where it belongs because kids for years and years will benefit from this work.

As much as I thought I’d collapse at home after this, I’m doing all right.  Tomorrow morning may be a different story. 

Let’s Win Two!

It might be!  It could be!  It IS!

A Cubs home run?  No.  A Cubs double header sweep.  ON THE ROAD!

How sweet.  I talked recently of the need for this team to begin to drive nails in the coffin.  I liked what happened today.  It’s August 13, yep, I have a calender.  But still, you gotta like what you see from this team at this point.

For once, I think the pitching staff just might be getting handled in a good way.  Harden’s durability is a concern.  I don’t think he’s gone more than six since he’s been with the Cubs.  But the way he is pitching (see ERA) and the way the Cubs have been generating runs, you don’t NEED to go more than six in a lot of his games.  I like the logic of pitching him that much, not pushing it, and having lots left in his tank for the stretch run.

Woody is coming back at the right time.  Marmol seems to have some of this mojo back.  Samardzija has done well and may get a taste of starting at the end of the week.  Marquis is workable.  Lilly is solid.  And though Big Zeke is the hoss of the rotation, I think we take Dempster for granted.  For my money, Dempster is the heart of this pitching staff.

Kosuke is perhaps awakening from a slump?  Soriano is healthy.  Center field with Jimmy Ballgame and Reed Johnson - I like it.  D Lee at first.  Ramirez at third.  And what Dempster is to the pitching staff, Theriot (THE RIOT), Derosa and Fontenot (yes, Fontenot) are to the infield.  Gamers.  Give me those kind of guys every time.  They LOVE TO PLAY THIS GAME. 

All-Star game starting catcher behind the plate.  As a rookie.  Geovany Soto brings game, and his backup Blanco is a vet.  I like it.

Some of the guys the Cubs will be able to bring up from AAA when the rosters expand will be good.

Don’t jinx ‘em, but THIS COULD BE THE YEAR.

A Step in the Wrong Direction

Our Grays took one on the chin tonight.  That’s ok.  The team we played is talented and well trained.  I’m not disappointed in losing.  I was honest with the kids when I told them that’s definitely not the only thing I look at.

But tonight we had some kids just not want to be there.  It affected those that did want to be there.  I’m talking about some kids who would not try to make plays, got dejected when coaches tried to remind them where to be and what to do, and who sulked when bad things happened to them.

In short, three of the things high school coaches are going to pick up on IMMEDIATELY and put kids on the cut list for.  They won’t waste their time with such kids and will not risk that attitude infecting their team.

This is still youth baseball, but it’s the equivalent of junior high athletics now.  Baseball is one of the few sports that don’t have junior high teams.  The other junior high sport teams these kids try out for are going to give some of them a rude awakening.  Not everyone makes it.  Not everyone plays that DOES make it.  It takes some work and some dedication and some desire.

I didn’t see much dedication or desire tonight.  I thought we had turned a corner last week, but apparently not for some of them.  They are still in the mode of wanting accolades when they “feel like it”, but don’t want it brought to their attention when they don’t “feel like it” and are wasting other people’s time.

I don’t know how to put it more bluntly than that.  Some of these guys are just wasting our time.  I don’t want to be around that any more.  I want to be around some people with desire, who will put out sincere effort.

I didn’t get it tonight.  And I am disappointed in them.

Baseball Will Break Your Heart

If you don’t believe it, you didn’t see the finals of the 2008 Little League Southwestern Regionals.

Two fine teams playing their hearts out in front of their moms, dads, relatives and fans.  Goes to extra innings.  Passes 11pm curfew.  So many tough situations were overcome in that game by players on teams that had been well drilled, knew what to do in each situation.  High drama.  Home runs to take leads.  Home runs to come back.  Big defensive plays to save the game — more than once.

This game had it all.  If you missed it, you missed out.

And it ends on a wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh by a kiddoe that really gave his all.  Looked like a real 12 year old, too, didn’t he?  Not one of these beard growin’, Danny Almanza Lying’-Fake, cheatin’ dudes.  A real, live Little League kid.  I don’t know that kid from Adam, but I can tell you here and now I love that kid.  I’d take him on my team any day.

Great baseball game.  Heartbreaking baseball game.  Many times, as today, they are one and the same.

Leadership

Leadership on a sports team can be an elusive thing, sometimes hard to define.  You can’t just say you’re going to be one, you have to become one in the eyes of your peers.  It’s not always easy to know how to achieve that.

But it’s obvious when it’s missing.

Our Grays team is missing it, and needs it badly.  Not coaching leadership; player leadership.  No one has yet stepped up to be a leader and the team needs someone to.  There is a candidate I have in mind, but I think that player is a little put out with the lack of committment from his teammates.  It’s not my son by the way, so I’m not picking on the rest of the team in favor of my kid.

A couple of immature kids can harm a team with a lack of leadership, and I think that’s also happening to us.  Junior league is kind of a tough place to be.  You’re still a kid, but you’re entering that bridge between being a kid and being a young man.  Different people mature at different rates, physically and emotionally.  It makes for an odd mix of players some times, and makes finding the right chemistry to make a good team particularly challenging.  Throw the unique nature of “fall ball” into that and you can have a dicey situation.

We’ve played three of our scheduled ten games.  Over the next seven I will be focusing on identifying and developing a leader in this bunch.  Some of them don’t know me which may make this a little hard to do, but someone’s got to try.

Sweet Sweep

Who woulda thunk it?

The Cubs win four in a row against a Brewers team that, today, looked in disarray.  I’m sure losing the fourth in a row had something to do with it, but those Brewers really looked out of sorts today.  Capped off with Fielder’s childish display at the end.

Gagne?  I don’t know if he was throwing at Jimmy Ballgame or if he was just that bad.  Honestly.  I think he got a rep as something special at LA that he might not deserve.  That 3-0 fastball that went behind Edmond’s butt might have just been that bad a pitch.

As a fan, I selfishly wanted a four game sweep but never in my wildest imagination thought we’d get it.  Now that it’s done the Cubs need to go back home to Wrigley and begin driving nails in this coffin.  They have the toughest stretch of the three Central contenders when measured against their remaining opponent’s winning/losing record.  The Brew Crew has it especially easy - so now is no time to let up.  The schedule in August favors the Cubbies - take advantage of it.  September is going to be hard enough as it is.  Don’t give the competition anything to work with.

Southwest Regional

Little League baseball’s southwest regional starts Friday with pool play.  We’ll do our best to keep the scores, pool play and elimination info coming as soon as we get it.

Follow Lubbock Southwest as they strive to reach the Little League World Series in Williamsport.

Cubs Take First Two From Brew Crew

In the eagerly anticipated four game matchup between the Cubs and Brewers, the Cubs have taken the first two.  Given that this was against CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets, that’s great news for Cubs fans.  Now we have Dempster and Harden to finish the set.  Gotta feel fairly good about the possibility of getting out of Milwaukee with a series win.  No matter what happens, the Cubs leave Milwaukee in first place in the Central.

I didn’t get to see either game (dang it!).  The Cubs squeaked out the first one with a RBI by Lee in the ninth.  In the second game, they were up 7-0 in the bottom of the ninth before Smar..Schma…Shamar….(yeah, right.  I’m not even gonna try to spell it) before the rook from ND gave up one run before closing out a 7-1 win.  With that being a matchup between Sheets and Zeke - wow, that’s a great outcome for the Cubbies.  Apparently Ramirez had a monster night at the plate.  With double digit hits, he was not alone.  Good night for the offense.  Great to see that run support even though the pitching from Zeke must have been pretty darn good for the opponent to be scoreless with one out left in the game.

It’s only late July, but you get the feeling maybe, just maybe…..this is the year.  This is a solid club - it’s not a fluke.  They lead the Central which is one of the best divisions in MLB.  They are not sneaking in, they are (as Bum Phillips of the Oilers was wont to say) kicking the damned door in.

Umping a Practice Game

I called a practice game for a pair of teams that are playing in a 10U league this fall tonight.  The trick was, they are playing open bases and dropped third strike is live.  Leading off, pitching from the stretch, picking off, balks, the whole nine yards.  That’s a lot to throw at 10U, especially one of these teams which is heavily 9U and coming from machine pitch.

But you know what?  I think it’s going to work.  The kids were excited to try it.  They seemed to want the challenge of playing “real baseball”.  It was fun to call their game.

Being a practice game, we called a time out any time we wanted to so as to instruct players or go coach them on the field.  It was a good night.  I had fun, and enjoyed it even more than I thought I would.

I came away from it thinking our youth baseball is in some good hands going forward, and I wish both of these teams the best of luck this fall.