Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Extra Inning....

Games called on account of rain
Empty clubhouse on Friday
Well there has been a lag since my post on Friday (let's call it a rain delay) -
Empty Trainer's Room (Arnie with Larry and Chris)
we have had some internet access issues at home over the weekend, but I thought I would still do a final post to add a few observations from this year's Ponce camp.  The rain outs on Thursday and Friday were the first days totally washed out in the 15 years that Ponce has had its Florida camp -- not a bad record even if the rain put a wet rag on the end of our week this year.  Still, there was a  lot to like.

Adrian Rosati - Team D Spirit of Ponce
Team D won the championship -- and the teams were more balanced this year than ever before.  Our key inning of the week was Wednesday against Team C -- we got out of a bases loaded, no outs, 5th inning with no runs scored against us while we held a slim 8-7 lead, which became the final score.  That margin gave us an edge on our head to head competition with Team C when we tied for best record.  And that gave us the championship.  Chris Clark pitched us out of the jam, which ended when our third baseman Paul Basken pulled off a third to first double play to end the inning (with a nice scoop by Kevin Bousman at first.)  Last year I noted that the defense on my team was particularly poor for the week -- this year the defense for Team D was the best I have seen by any team in the 8 years I have been going to Florida.  We completed at least 6 double plays during the six games (and I may have missed one or two more), and we made all the routine plays with a minimum of muffs.  Our bats went cold for two games - but picked up in time for the Wednesday clincher. 

At the awards dessert on Thursday night, Adrian Rosati was given the Team D "Spirit of Ponce" award and Jamie
Ironman Walt Lynch
Bell was our MVP -- both well earned honors.  Adrian was playing - and pitching -  in his third straight week of tournaments in Florida, having played at Play at the Plate and Baseball International in the weeks before coming to the Ponce camp.  Our catcher, Walt Lynch, was the ironman for the week -- catching every inning of all our games.
 
I felt I had a good week -- and ended upright and feeling good physically, although admittedly missing the last three games made the week less strenuous.   The winter workouts at the batting cages -- where I have been able to hit and throw since the beginning of the year -- clearly help prepare me.   I hit well (except for 4 atrocious at bats against very slow pitchers where I lunged at bad pitches.)  I was 7-12 at the plate with a double, two walks and 7 rbi -- but struck out three times.  I felt very good pitching -- pitching three innings each day -- being effective except for two very bad innings on Tuesday when my control deserted me (I am blaming being pooped after running the bases.)  I did strike out as many batters (5) as I hit - so I guess there is some justice in that!

Chris "Perle Mesta" Clark

Chris Clark, the manager of my weeknight team at home had a typically good week pitching, at bat, and in the field.  Perhaps his greatest contribution to the week however was the superb home cooked Italian feast he gave for some folks on Wednesday night.  He even taught me how to make guacamole (I know that's not Italian) - but don't tell Elizabeth and Elaine or they will expect me to duplicate the feat.

Frank McAuliffe -- back this year after a partial knee replacement and foot surgery -- had a good week, some great at bats, and was stealing bases!  Frank and I have been working out at a batting cage in Gaithersburg - hitting and throwing a couple times a week.  It is amazing what modern medicine can do for geezer baseball.  On a related
Frank McAuliffe - Travel Companion extraordiniare
note, our pitcher Bob Willoughby, who now lives in Florida, missed the Wednesday morning game because he had a court appearance.  He was protesting a ticket he got for parking his motorcycle in a handicapped parking spot.  He told the judge that he had a handicapped parking sticker - the officer said he followed Bob from the parking spot to the baseball field!  The judge showed no leniency.  To be fair, your honor, Bob has very bad knees, hobbled at best on the pitchers mound (while pitching very effectively) and did not bat because he couldn't run the bases.  Bob Ciunci, from Rhode Island originally, played first base for us and hit well and ran the bases -- but could not throw because he had hurt his arm in an earlier tournament.  If you put the two Bobs together we would have had a complete player.  Nonetheless, it is hard to explain that a key member of your championship team uses the handicapped parking space.

Some observations:  It really struck me this week how people who make baseball their profession are so far ahead in
understanding the game and how to play it than even the most ardent fan.  Several small examples spoke volumes -- at the pitching clinic on Monday, Stu Cliburn and Tom Brown had an extensive discussion about where to stand on the pitcher's rubber and why and the different theories that different teams have about that, followed on Tuesday about strategy for pitching when you are behind in the count.  The detail and considerations for such ordinary - but fundamental - aspects of the game were telling.  On Wednesday evening, Arnie told us about his
Victor Rodriguez telling Steve Liddle that he saw things on the playing field this week that he had never seen before!
normal day as a first base coach and as the coach who positions the outfielders defensively -- arriving at the park at noon for a 7pm game, studying film on upcoming opponents for 5 hours a day ("where do you want to play Longoria when he has two strikes; how does your defense positioning differ if you are playing in Fenway or in Tampa or Yankee Stadium; how does an opponent handle Lester's pitches differently from Dubront's, even though both are hard throwing lefthanded pitchers ......?")  The level of analysis and strategy is far greater than the most fanatical fan realizes.  In referring to this level of detail,  Bill Lee on Tuesday said that everyone should read Malcolm Gladwell's book 'Outliers' where Gladwell establishes the "10,000 hour rule" as the key for success in any field -- music, athletics, etc.   His thesis is that excellence depends on practicing a specific task for at least 10,000 hours.  You realize that professional baseball people meet that 10,000 hour rule - and that success depends on that commitment as well as talent.

For me, baseball is a great game to play and watch -- and it is best when you can share it with friends and family.  Of the 75 players here this week, I have played with or against more than 60 of them.  A nice feature since I started playing 9 years ago is that many of those players -- and more on the teams back home -- have become good friends.
Kathy, Jay, George, Flint, Elizabeth and Pat with Big Papi
There are shared interests (baseball the anchor one), you see them weekly, get to know them as teammates or opponents over the years, and enjoy your contact with them.  And this week -- and playing in Ponce -- is an extension of a lifelong connection of enjoying baseball with friends -- going back 60 years or more.  When I was moaning about my aches and pains (feeling my age) and whether or not I should go to camp this year, my friend
George wrote:  "If truth be told, Jay, we need you to keep on playing Ponce baseball for us as much as for you.  If and when you quit, we all get old (not that we aren't already, but the things we give up or can't do anymore tend to remind us of just how old we are.)  You are also a harbinger of spring and a connection to the coming season."  Inspiration from one geezer to another.  A highlight of the year for Elizabeth and me is our, now annual, baseball weekends with George and his wife Kathy and our friends Flint and his wife Pat.

Kevin Bousman, Bob Bousman, Elliott Sledd -- Champions!
And a real theme this week was baseball as a family activity.  It was a great pleasure to play with the three generations of the Bousman/Sledd family -- Granddad Bob Bousman, Son/Uncle Kevin Bousman, and Grandson/Nephew Elliott Sledd.  It makes the game timeless to see how the generations spanning 70 years enjoy -- and play -- baseball together.  You could just tell that Bob and Kevin love to watch Elliott play in high school -- and that baseball is a bonding experience in their family.  And it was easy to see how much Elliott admired and liked watching his Grandfather and Uncle play the game that he clearly loves.  Fathers and sons have played at Ponce before, but this is the first year for three generations of the same family.  I don't know of a camper who wasn't at least a little bit envious of that wonderful family experience this week.  I, for one, hope we see more of it in the future.

HedSox in Seattle - Doug, Ben, Bill, Mike, Jay, Scott, Kyle
For me baseball has always been a family game.  I learned it from my four older brothers.  Went to Fenway with my brothers, my mother, uncles and friends when I was growing up.  One of my favorite pastimes is watching
HedSox in Detroit - Kate and Mike get chased by a Tiger
the Red Sox every night with Elizabeth and discussing the game and the season -- who's pitching, how did the Yankees do, what new players do we need to learn this year?  And each year for the last nine years, my brothers Bill and Doug and I, along with a gaggle of nephews and nieces, have taken a 'HedSox' road trip -- Hedlunds following the Red Sox for a weekend series someplace in the U.S. (although Toronto is not out of the question.)  This year we will be going to Oakland in June for a four game series.  Serious Red Sox time, and quality family time.  Brought to you by baseball.

See you in Florida for Ponce again next year, George.


Friday, January 31, 2014

Championship*

The Gold Medal!


With the rain still coming down this morning, Team D won the Ponce de Leon 2014 Spring Training Championship on a tie breaker.  Friday's championship game was rained out between Team D (the good guys) and Team C, which each had a record of 4 wins and 2 losses.  Since we had defeated Team C twice during the week (by a score of  9 to 3 on Monday morning and 8 to 7 on Wednesday afternoon) we were declared the champions based on head to head competition.  So we were the champions, albeit with an asterisk.  I saw Jonathan Taylor ("JT") the star pitcher for Team C in the Fort Myers airport for our flight home and he said, "You know we would have won that game!"  I think he might have been right, but that is what the asterisk covers!

Note:  I believe if you click on any of the photos they will be enlarged and somewhat easier to see the detail.

So Team D are the champions.  After being on championship teams in 2010 and 2011 and the second place team in 2012, my team tied for 5th and last place in 2013.  So it is fun to be back on the championship podium once again for 2014 (no matter how we backed into it.)  Winning is more fun than losing.



When I say back on the podium -- not exactly.  We hung around the clubhouse this morning cleaning out our lockers and waiting, in the hopes that we would get our medals.  ("Medals? Medals?  There aren't medals in baseball!"  -- Elizabeth Hedlund, circa 2010.)  After about a hour and a half the medals appeared and the stirring ceremony was about to begin.  (Not quite the Olympic Stadium!)  And, no, there was no mayonnaise on the medals when they were presented.  And, unfortunately, not all of our teammates were present for the award.



Members of Team D - Stu Cliburn, present for the award ceremony for the gold medal at the 2014 Ponce de Leon Spring Training Championship:

From left, Front Row:  Frank McAuliffe, Adrian Rosati, Chris Clark, Jay Hedlund, Walt Lynch; Back Row: Bob Bousman, Kevin Bousman, Elliott Sledd and Rick McLaughlin  (Not pictured: Paul Basken, Jamie Bell, Bob Ciunci, Bob Willoughby)



It was a great week, although cut short by Mother Nature.  I will post final comments for the week tomorrow.   And I will sleep well tonight, both tired and - can I say - proud!  (Time for Stu's "humble" speech again.)







Thursday, January 30, 2014

Rainy Days and ......

We got rained out today.  I hate rain outs.  Baseball is about playing every day.   Whether it is the period from the end of the season to the start of spring training, rain outs, off days, and (sorry Jackie) the All Star break, I can get a real grump on about no baseball.  The drizzle that started on Wednesday afternoon continued into the evening when it started to rain hard well into the afternoon today - canceling any chance of playing today and putting tomorrow's games in doubt.  The forecast is for rain through the night into early morning -- if it ends early enough we may be able to play Friday.  On tap will be a championship game between Team D - Stu Cliburn (the good guys) against Team C - Stan Cliburn -- both teams having a 4 and 2 record so far for the week.  (Team C's only losses have come against us on Monday morning and Wednesday afternoon.)  Steve Liddle said that even if the fields are muddy that still could not "slow down the action in your games."

While we didn't play, Thursday night is the traditional awards dessert -- which features comments from each of the coaches, awards for mvp and Ponce spirit for each team, a "kangaroo court" where fines are assessed for notable or
Victor Rodriguez and Arnie Beyeler
outrageous plays on the field during the week, and -- this year -- comments from Arnie Beyeler and Victor Rodriguez about their experience this year as coaches on the Red Sox World Series Championship team.  Arnie said that what they accomplished didn't really hit him until the Duck Boat parade through Boston, when more than 2 million people turned out -- "It was the whole community not just the 35,000 fans we played in front of every night."  They both talked about how hard the whole coaching staff worked -- most days from 11am to after that night's game -- but how that wasn't a burden because of how seriously the players took their own responsibilities and how hard they worked.  Any potential disruptive issues that needed to be addressed were handled by the veteran leaders on the team and it was a unified team throughout the year.  They both credited manager John Farrell with setting the tone on the first day of spring training.  Arnie said that after 20 years in the game in the minor leagues he felt "blessed to be in the big leagues" and to work with such a great staff and terrific guys on the team.  Victor said that after spending 19 years working as a coach in the Red Sox minor league system it was a great experience for him to go through such a wonderful season with players he worked with when they first entered the minor leagues, such as Pedroia and Ellsbury.  They mentioned that Pedroia played from the first week with a torn ligament in his right thumb -- hindering his throwing and hitting -- and how tough he was to bear that the whole season.  Victor said that as a baseball fan he had always loved to watch the World Series, but "when it is you, it is really exciting and special."

Some of the comments from the coaches:  Rick Knapp said that when the draft of teams took place on Sunday, Steve Liddle told him he had a "push button" team.  Rick said, "Steve was right, the buttons were 9-1-1."

Bill Lee with Paul Basken (and wooden bats)
Bill Lee was touting using wood bats -- at the age of 67 he plays in many wood bat tournaments throughout the year.  He is a part owner of a firm that makes wood bats (from wood grown on land he owns in Vermont) and had bats for display and sale (with part of the proceeds going to the Ponce supported Diamond Dream Foundation.)  He spoke of the merits of using ash or maple for bats.  When asked about the relatively new use of bamboo for bats, Bill said,  "Bamboo is good, but you still are unsatisfied 20 minutes later."

In the kangaroo court, among the two dozen players fined, I was fined for losing my cell phone on Tuesday -- and Steve said because of all the time it took for him to find my phone I had to pay a double fine. While I reached for my wallet for the extra money to pay the fine, I accidentally left my phone on Steve's speaking podium.  When I realized that, he charged me $10 to buy my phone back!  The proceeds from the fines go to the Diamond Dream Foundation (www.diamonddreamfoundation.org.)

The average age of the players this year was about 60, with one player aged 76 and two aged 75 (our 16 year old outfielder was left out of the calculation so as not to skew the results.)  Steve said that for the first time this year he received several pdf files from doctors clearing people to play -- "that's not good."  This year league owner Bob Duff invited a massage and cranial therapist to be available for the players for the week.  Steve said that, after seeing the average age of the players this year, he is thinking that next year he will invite an estate planner instead.

As in previous years, photographer Greg Wagner was here all week to take shots at the games.  For people interested in seeing some of the "action" -  you can go to his website www.wagnerphotography.com and click on the button for Ponce de Leon and look for pictures featuring Team D.

Not baseball! Rick, Jamie and Arnie chillin




During the day -- with no games -- Chris Clark invited folks back over to his house to enjoy the jacuzzi pool and to finish off the pasta and other food left over from our feast on Wednesday night.  It is not why we came to Florida, but it helped pass the time in an enjoyable way -- and once again we were able to chat with Arnie Beyeler about life in professional baseball.  A realization every year when I come to Ponce camp is the universality of the baseball experience.  A clear example was the three generations from the same family playing together.  It is also clear from the professional coaches who live and work at the top of the game but who are still patient with all our mistakes and genuinely admiring of the commitment of the campers to the game.  As Steve said, "it is impressive that these men who have played and worked at every level of the game from the bottom to the top can also teach at this level."  An example of the openness and relationships that get built between coaches and campers is the invitation the coaches give to all of us to contact them when they are going to be in our town with their team during the season -- so they can say hello.  Last September, Victor and Arnie got passes for Elizabeth and me and our friends Flint and Pat and George and Kathy to be on the field for batting practice when the Red Sox played at Camden Yards.  A wonderfully thoughtful and generous action on their part -- and typical of all the coaches.

Here's hoping we play tomorrow.  Frank McAuliffe and I will be flying back in the afternoon, so my final posting will be over the weekend. 

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Racing the Rain


With the weather changing and the clouds starting to drop rain, Team D split our games today losing 3-2 in the morning before pulling out of our slump and winning the afternoon game by a score of 8-7.  The temperatures dropped (to the high 60s) and with the threat of rain, the skills sessions were skipped today and the games were moved up to try to avoid any postponements.  In the first game, our hitting slump continued against against Team A, coached by Rick Knapp, minor league pitching coordinator for the LA Dodgers.  I pitched the first three innings and gave up 2 runs with 2 strikeouts -- I also hit two more batters and walked one, continuing my inconsistent control on he mound.  We took a tie game into the late innings, but could not get a timely hit and lost after Team A got the lead run in the 5th inning.  At bat I was 0-1 with a walk.  After averaging 11 runs per game in our first three games -- we averaged just 1.5 runs for the next two.

In the afternoon, our bats picked up as we came from behind to win 8-7 against
Team C whom we beat on Monday morning.  But not without some close calls.  We fell behind early, but scrambled back and were leading 8-7 in the top of the 5th inning when Team C loaded the bases on three straight walks off our best pitcher, Chris Clark.  With the infield drawn in to try to keep the tying run from scoring, the next batter, Ponce legend Simon Kumkunian, had a great at bat going to a 3-2 count on Chris and then fouling off three tough pitches before hitting a looping liner just over the infield to left field.  Rick McLaughlin scooted in to just behind shortstop to make a lunging catch at the knee for the first out.  The next batter hit a sharp ground ball to our third baseman, Paul Basken, who stepped on third for the second out and threw the batter out at first for a double play.  No runs scored and Chris shut them down in the 6th, finishing with a strikeout of the final batter to preserve the victory.  I was 1-2 at bat, a double that drove in two runs. A light drizzle of rain fell during the afternoon game -- but, with the accelerated schedule to get to the games, we finished for the day by 2:30 (the dentist's favorite time) before the heavier rain started to fall.

The weather forecast is for rain through the night and 70% chance of rain on Thursday -- so the games tomorrow may be in doubt.  We could complain, but folks back home in single digit temperatures won't be sympathetic (I understand that!)

Nuggets:  Our 16 year old ringer, Elliott Sledd, hit two balls out of the park today in batting practice -- the first one clearing the 325 foot sign and the second going about 350 feet over the double fence around the park.  Elliott -- who is a very nice young man with a constant smile -- seems to be having a great time playing with his grandfather and uncle (and they are clearly thrilled to be playing with him.) 

Victor Rodriguez said that he was very impressed by the way Xander Bogaerts handled the pressure of playing during the playoffs and World Series.  Victor thought he showed great patience and pitch selection at the plate during the very intense playoffs - not something you could expect from most young players.

Our catcher, Ironman Walt Lynch, has caught every inning of all six of our games this week -- an impressive performance and stamina, particularly when you realize he has to jump around to catch the off target throws of some of our pitchers (mostly me!)

Team C's Dave Smith (Smitty, who I play with in the weeknight league in DC) suggested to the coaches that I have a urine test to check for performance enhancing drugs because of the hard-hit double I had in the afternoon game.  I told them that shouldn't be difficult, because at our age we have to pee about every 20 minutes anyway.  (They declined to test me and relied instead on the lucky swing theory of baseball.)

Chris Clark (and) the Meatballs!
Tonight, Chris Clark, who is renting a home for the week in Cape Coral, invited about 10 of us for dinner at the house.  He "has been cooking all week" and it showed as he served us gnocchi with homemade pesto; penne arrabiata with Italian sausage; meatballs; chicken with mozzarella; mozzarella and tomato with basil; guacamole; all topped off with cannoli.  Chris is typically very gracious -- regularly hosting an end of the year (or summer) party at his home in Maryland for players on his weekend and weeknight teams and their families.   Tonight he treated us to a great meal and conversation with players from Chris' weeknight team in DC, some other friends he has played against for years, our triple generation squad on Team D, and Arnie Beyeler, coach of Team F (and the Boston Red Sox.)  Arnie had some fascinating insights into the work of major league coaches -- typically from noon to after the end of a night game -- with daily film work on opponents (as much as 5 to 6 hours per day), reports from advance scouts, coaches meetings, and game responsibilities.  It is clear that a ton of what goes into a three hour game at the major league level is not seen by fans (and is a tinch more involved than the average preparation for a Ponce game.)  Arnie was also compelling talking about how the Boston Marathon Day bombing affected the team -- and the response of the players to the victims and the city.  He particularly mentioned the leadership of Pedroia, Gomes, Saltalamacchia, and Ortiz, but said the whole team was 'all in.'

We hope the weather holds for tomorrow so we can get both games in again -- the weather promises to be better by Friday, our final day.








Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Stay Humble


Game 1 Tuesday in the Stadium

Before our afternoon game today -- following our 16-6 win in the morning that took Team D's record to 3 and 0 -- Coach Cliburn urged us to stay humble, not be over confident and keep hustling.  Instead we went out and were held hitless until the fifth inning and didn't score until the last inning, losing by a score of 7 to 1 to Team B, coached by Victor Rodriquez.  We laid a big egg after averaging 11 runs a game in the first three games -- and I played my part by going 0 for 2 at bat with two strikeouts.  (I have struck out three times in four games this week, after striking out only 7 times in 51 games all of last year.  Although Elizabeth -- ever trying to keep my spirits up -- said, "well just remember how many times Babe Ruth struck out!")

In the morning game we had much better success -- getting the lead early and finishing strong to win 16 to 6.  Like my teammates, I had a much better time at the plate in the morning than in the afternoon -- going 3 for 3 and a walk with 2 runs batted in.  I started pitching and did well early -- going one, two, three with two strikeouts in the first, but collapsing in the second and third innings -- hitting two batters, walking three and giving up several hits and six runs total in my three innings of work.  While my arm felt good pitching on a second day in a row -- I was tired out by running the bases and ended up not keeping control of my pitches and losing my energy on the mound.

Tomorrow is hump day -- half way through the week and time to take assessment of the physical toll of playing two games a day.  With the cold front moving across the country (I understand it was 8 degrees in DC today!) we expect temperatures to plummet to 69 degrees here in Fort Myers tomorrow (it was 80 today.)  In addition, Ponce is experimenting on Wednesday with a "wood bat" day.   Normally we use metal bats, which are common in amateur baseball from youth leagues to college.  Tomorrow we will go back to pure baseball for the day -- wood bats for both games (and pitchers, including me, are looking forward to hits on the handle of the bats to break the wood rather than becoming base hits as they often are off metal bats.) 

Observations from the day:  In our second game today, Dave Wheeler, in his 75th year, was the pitcher for Team B and our Bob Bousman, in his 75th year, was the batter for Team D -- a 150 year battle, won by the pitcher in this case.  There is no truth to the rumor that they both knew Abner Doubleday personally. 

Steve Liddle mentioned that last winter Victor Rodriguez' team won the Ponce championship for the first time in all of Victor's 10 plus years at the camp. Steve attributes the Red Sox winning the championship last year to Victor just staying on a winning roll throughout the year.  I played on Victor's team for three years and our collective record for those years was 4 wins and 23 losses.  In truth, the record for the managers here -- all of whom do a terrific job -- is more reliant on the luck of the draw for who gets on their team than any other factor.  After today's afternoon game, it looks like Vic's team could be in the running for the championship again this year (and that bodes well for the Red Sox for 2014!)  Victor told me today that although Steven Drew has not signed with any team yet -- he thought Drew was a terrific shortstop "who made all the plays" and was a very good hitter who overcame a lot of injury and other challenges last year in very professional manner.  He admired Drew very much as a player and as a person.

Arnie Beyeler also had high praise for Mike Napoli and Jonny Gomes.  Arnie got into the habit of doing a head butt with Napoli whenever Napoli got to first base.  I told Arnie I thought that was a little dangerous for him since Napoli was such a big guy.  He replied that it wasn't so bad except on times when Napoli would be so excited when he would get a hit after being 0 for 3 so far in game, when he would give Arnie such an enthusiastic headbutt that could rattle his cage.  Arnie also said that Gomes was a very special person and player -- a total student of the game and a "baseball rat."  He couldn't speak highly enough for the positive influence both players had on the team.

Overheard from an adjoining field this morning -- Arnie Beyeler telling his team to get out on the field for their final inning "we have this inning and then lunch.  If we are going to lose, let's do it quickly!"

Yesterday I wrote about the fascinating pitching skills session focused on the pitching mound rubber.  Also this week my friend Jackie Howell, who writes my favorite baseball blog -- Baseball, Yoga, Life (and Me), had a great post about the importance and history of home plate.  Two inanimate objects that play such an important part of this very lively game.  Check Jackie's blog at: http://baseballzen9.wordpress.com/

Pitching skills with Stu Cliburn and Tom Brown
Today in the pitching clinic, Stu Cliburn and Tom Brown talked about how a pitcher should manage his pitches depending on the count on the batter -- when in trouble rely on your best, most consistent pitch.  For the young pitchers they work with (or very old ones) that is usually a fast ball.  "When you have a 2 and 0 count, or a 2 and 1 count, use your fastball.  Don't dig a bigger hole by using a pitch you don't control as well."  While I heard that advice at 9:30 in the morning, by the time I was pitching at 11am I neglected their lesson when I had my two shaky innings.  A case of teaching an old dog the right tricks, but the old dog not learning them.  Stu reminded me of the lesson after my morning pitching performance.  Let's hope I can act on it when I pitch later in the week.

Hump day (and wood bat day) on Wednesday!



Monday, January 27, 2014

Field of Dreams

Connie Mack-Field 3-Terry Park

First day of the week on the field of dreams - not in the cornfields of Iowa but near the seagrass of the Southwest Florida Coast.  Terry Park hosts baseball weeks for senior leagues like Ponce de Leon, as well as high school and college tournaments throughout the year.  It has also been the site of spring training for Major League Baseball teams going back to Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics (aka Kansas City Athletics and the Oakland Athletics.)  Everyone who steps on the field is thinking of his (or her) version of baseball glory.  This week it is the Stu Cliburn Team D against all comers.

That sounds a bit over the top because Team D, under 80 degree sunny skies, started the week off hot -- a 9-3 win over Stan Cliburn's Team C in the morning followed by an 8-5 win over Arnie Beyeler's Team F in the afternoon.  Strong points for Team D included good fielding in both games (including 3 double plays in the morning game), timely hitting, and efficient and effective pitching.  I pitched the first three innings in the morning game - giving up no runs (starting two of the double plays on balls hit back to me) and going 1-2 at bat with a run batted in.   Chris Clark and Adrian Rosati finished up pitching and Kevin Bousman and his nephew Elliott Sledd led the batting honors with triples for each of them.

A unique element of our team is the triple generation of one family in our lineup -- as Kevin's father and Elliott's grandfather, Bob Bousman, is playing with them on Team D.  Bob is in his mid-70's, Kevin in his mid-40's, and Elliott is 16 years old.  Ponce gave special permission for Elliott to play (official Ponce rules require you to be 30 to play old-man baseball!) so the three generations could play baseball together.  Elliott is not allowed to pitch, catch, or steal bases - but nonetheless impressed everyone with his talent, speed and good spirit in meshing in with the geezers.  He made some nice plays in center field including a diving shoe-string catch, which if the rest of the Ponce squad tried the same catch would have had a hard time just getting back on their feet.  And we calculated that if you add Bob's, Kevin's, and Elliott's ages together and divided by 3 you would have a 45 year old player -- well within the rules.  We are glad we have all three of them.

Bob Bousman added a hit in our afternoon game where Adrian Rosati, Chris Clark and Bob Willoughby worked effectively on the mound as Team D led the whole game.  An iron man performance also from our catcher Walt Lynch who caught all the innings in both games -- I wouldn't be able to straighten up if I tried that (and may not be able to straighten up anyway tomorrow even after a comparatively easy day!)  I was 2-2 at bat in the second game with 2 runs batted in

Each day starts with camp director Steve Liddle giving announcements and advice to the campers and making observations.  Today he reminded us that the umpires -- universally disdained throughout baseball by players, coaches and managers when a call goes against them -- are not always deserving of blame.  "If you swing at the first
Steve Liddle with morning announcements
two pitches in the dirt, don't blame the umpire if he calls you out on strike three on a pitch on the outside corner."  Sometime during the announcements I lost my cellphone out of my equipment bag.  I guess if there are "Drama Queens" there can be Drama Kings and I was one for the next 5 hours.  Imagine the sinking feeling of thinking my Iphone with everything on it was gone.  People helped by calling the phone to see if we could locate it, nothing was turned into lost and found, and announcements at lunch didn't turn it up.   I called Verizon to cancel the phone service and to make sure it hadn't been used in the interim.   In the afternoon Steve Liddle used the Find IPhone app to locate my phone in one of the dugouts in the Terry Park complex -- mystery solved, my anxiety calmed down, and the curtain drawn on my multi-part drama.  (And we won two games in the interim!)

A couple of notes on the day:  Stu Cliburn's coach in college -- at Delta State University in Mississippi -- was former Red Sox great pitcher Dave "Boo" Ferriss, who was also the Red Sox pitching coach in the late 1950's.  Stu said he talked to Boo just yesterday -- and that at 92 years of age, Boo and Bobby Doerr are the only two players still alive from the 1946 Red Sox World Series team.

Victor Rodriguez and Arnie Beyeler were universally congratulated for their wonderful World Series winning Red Sox season.  Victor told me that he saw and talked to my brother Bill (an usher at Fenway) on the field before the Duck Boat parade celebration.  Arnie said the parade was an incredible experience -- and couldn't believe the turnout which was estimated at 2 million people along the parade route.  Bill -- and the other ushers and support staff at Fenway -- were able walk along the parade route with the Duck Boats (Bill adjacent to Manager John's Farrell's boat) through downtown Boston from Fenway to the Charles River.

It seems like a little thing -- where a pitcher stands on the pitching rubber on the mound while he is pitching -- first base side of the rubber, in the middle, or on the third base side.  This afternoon Stu Cliburn, Tom Brown (a pitching coach in the Cincinnati Reds system) and former Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee gave a fascinating clinic during skills session for pitchers on the different theories of where a pitcher should stand on the rubber -- to increase control over the middle of the plate or to hide your pitches from the batter.  For such a simple action -- there were considerations and nuances that I -- and I think it is fair to say other Ponce pitchers -- had never entertained.  It shows how a professional who has devoted a full career (or life) to a topic really does know yards more than the rest of us who dabble.

Another day tomorrow and another double-header (just don't try to call me on my cell phone!)


Sunday, January 26, 2014

The Baseball Solstice


According to baseball meteorologist and Ponce player extraordinare -- Gib Willis on my weekend team in Washington, DC -- we are now past the Baseball Solstice, the mid-point between the end of the World Series and the start of Spring Training.   Gib is right -- and the harbinger of baseball for 75 players from the Ponce de Leon League in DC is the annual trip to Fort Myers for the weeklong Ponce Spring Training.  I left Washington with teammate Frank McAuliffe this morning with temperatures not out of the teens and landed in Fort Myers this afternoon in 72 degree temperature.

This will be my eighth year participating in this rite of spring.  I considered not coming this year because of several bothersome ouchies with my knees and feet that hindered me last fall, but my friend George Maden made the excellent point that if I didn't plan on coming I wouldn't work out like I need to, and that would lead to a rapid downhill slide for me physically.  Good advice (although I may be blaming George come Wednesday or Thursday as I hobble my way through the end of the week.)

The Ponce camp is not a fantasy camp like the Red Sox and other Major League teams hold each winter (except for the fantasy that the Ponce players -- ages ranging from 30s to 70s -- have about still being able to play this game.)  Instead it is a five day session with daily skills training and a round-robin tournament of 9 games - double headers of six innings each on Monday through Thursday and a final playoff game on Friday morning.  Our coaches are all affiliated with major or minor league professional teams with the camp director Steve Liddle, a former bench coach of the Minnesota Twins.  Two of the coaches this year -- as in the past -- are Victor Rodriguez and Arnie Beyeler -- batting coach and first base coach of the World Champion Boston Red Sox (just thought I would sneak that in for you Yankee, Orioles, Tigers, and Cardinals fans.)  All Ponce players attribute the Red Sox Championship to the fact that Arnie and Victor joined the major league staff for the 2013 season -- as one player said, "If they can help us they can help anybody."

Tonight was the organizing dinner and team assignment and Frank and I are on Team D, coached by Stu Cliburn, a pitching coach in the Minnesota Twins minor league system.  I have never played for Stu before, but have had his brother Stan as a coach several times in the past.  Team D has several players I have played with in the past -- Frank McAuliffe, with whom I play on my weekend team;  Chris Clark, Jamie Bell and Rick McLaughlin from my spring and fall weeknight DC team; and Walt Lynch and Adrian Rosati with whom I have played in Florida and on summer teams.  Several others I have played against -- including Paul Basken, another Red Sox fan originally from Massachusetts -- or will be playing with for the first time.

A number of people emailed me in the last few days and wished me luck, encouraging me to "have fun and don't get hurt" -- the same as Elizabeth's refrain before all my games up home.  So my goal for the week is to have fun, not get hurt, and, of course, win more than we lose.  The weather forecast looks great.  We start tomorrow at 9am.  Let the games begin!