Gentlemen, Start Your Engines

Let's play two! Games started today for Ponce and my team is either Team 3 or Team C, the league is using numbers or letters apparently interchangeably! In any case, Team 3-C is managed by Darrin Garner, a fielding and baserunning roving coordinator in the Seattle Mariners minor league system. He has been coaching in the Ponce camp for 5+ years and seems to be a very good guy. Team 3-C-Garner split our two games today in 80 degree, beautiful weather. We won the first game 9-6, over the team coached by Detroit Tigers pitching coach Rick Knapp, with them scoring 3 runs in the last inning to make it close. We lost the second game 7-4, falling behind a team coached by Red Sox Minor League Hitting Coordinator Victor Rodriguez 5-1 early and when we closed it to 5-4 going into the last inning, they stretched their lead and put us out of reach. I was 1-4 at bat in the first game and 2-2 in the second game.

The other coaches here this year include: Camp Director Steve Liddle, Minnesota Twins bench coach; Stu Cliburn, Twins AAA pitching coach; Stan Cliburn, a manager for an independent minor league team; Arnie Beyeler, the Red Sox new AAA minor league Pawtucket manager (he was manager at AA Portland last year.) Helping with instruction are: Don Buford, former Oriole and White Sox allstar; Floyd Rayford, former Oriole catcher; and Tom Brown, a pitching and catching coach in the Cincinnati Reds system.

Steve Liddle announced that they would once again have a photographer here all week to "catch the action" although he pointed out that Ponce action is so slow they considered having a sketch artist instead.

The day started inauspiciously for me: in "skills training" at the beginning of the day I was in a group of outfielders fielding fly balls hit by Floyd Rayford. On the second ball hit to me -- a line drive I had to run in for -- I slipped and fell and the ball hit me on the forehead (as you know my "forehead" is a larger than normal target.) On the head, so no damage done (except to my pride.) One of my teammates pulled a groin muscle during infield practice and had to sit out the rest of the day -- two injuries and the games hadn't even started yet!

I mentioned last year that the Red Sox had selected Victor Rodriguez' son, also Victor, to attend a school for budding Major League scouts. This winter young Victor was hired by the Red Sox to be a full-time scout, and has started scouting players in the Dominican Republic.

Victor also said that the Red Sox gave up a terrific young hitter, Anthony Rizzo, in the trade to San Diego to get Adrian Gonzalez. Victor thinks Rizzo, who he said is also a terrific fielder and "great kid", could well make the Padres this year and in the end he may hit with even more power than Gonzalez.

Along with top pitching prospect Casey Kelly going to the Padres to get the established star Gonzalez, it seems to be a case of a bird-in-the-hand for two bushes -- as the Red Sox are expected to win right now, not wait for prospects to develop.

Arnie Beyeler said that Ryan Westmoreland, the Red Sox top prospect who at the age of 19 last year had emergency brain surgery to address a brain malformation, "has made a remarkable recovery." He said every report starting from the week following the surgery had been way ahead of predictions -- and that Westmoreland is hitting and throwing at the Red Sox facility. While there is clearly more therapy needed, Arnie thinks Westmoreland could conceivably be ready to play at the Red Sox short season minor league team in Lowell this summer.

Pitchers and Catchers (and others) Report for Spring Training

The surest harbinger of spring is when pitchers and catchers report for spring training -- just two weeks from now for major leaguers. For Ponce de Leon players spring started today as we reported tonight in Fort Myers for our week of baseball in the sun. I arrived in Fort Myers to 72 degree temperatures with forecasts of more of the same for the week.

Tonight was the organizing dinner (although somewhat disorganized) where we received the schedule for the week, rules and team rosters. There will be six teams of 11 players each. Managers will be assigned tomorrow when the games start. There are four players on my team who I played with last year and six players I hadn't yet met. The league tries to balance the teams competitively -- particularly trying to make sure each team has enough pitchers and catchers. Our team seems well set for catchers but will be short on pitching. With 11 players for 9 six-inning games we will all get to play all the baseball we want (or can) for the week.

I appreciate the words of encouragement and concern over the last two days from a number of folks. Several of you (including Jackie the yoga maven) reminded me to "make sure you stretch" and there were multiple warnings for me not to strain anything -- all echoing Elizabeth's words to me before each of my games, "have fun and don't get hurt." That's my lofty goal for the week.

Geezer Baseball, The Sequel

The Ponce de Leon Florida baseball week in Fort Myers will run from Sunday, January 30 through Friday, February 4. At the suggestion of my friend Flint Taylor and others who followed the camp on this blog last year, I am again going to post daily my impressions of activities for the week -- both the action related to the camp and, hopefully, some nuggets about major league and minor league baseball from the camp directors and managers -- all of whom are active major league or minor league coaches. As you will see, the posts I make this year will come as a continuation of the posts I did for last year's camp.

Sunday night there is a dinner and organizing meeting where team assignments, schedule for the week, and last minute instructions will be handed out. Play starts on Monday and each day will run from 9am to 4 or 4:30pm -- except Friday which ends at noon.

We are scheduled to play nine 6 inning games, Monday through Friday with skills instruction, and batting and fielding practice each morning and afternoon as well. The camp will have about 100 players from the 30+ and 48+ Ponce de Leon League in DC -- mixed into a single division of 6 to 8 teams for the week.

This past week we have had a terrible ice and snow storm in DC (we lost our power for 24 hours and on Wednesday night I was stranded in the Charlotte airport for the night) so I am looking forward to the baseball weather predicted for Fort Myers -- highs in the mid-70s to 80 throughout the week with some hint of possible rain later in the week.

If you have questions or comments there is space on the blog for you to post them. I will post more information Sunday evening after I get to Florida.