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Today the weather finally held out (for awhile, anyway) and we played our first scrimmage against the PSSBL Bulls (formerly the Sox). They are a bit of a rivalry for us, since the commissioner plays for their team and is a friend of a few of the people on our squad. I had some negative experiences against their team when I played for the Mariners in the Rocky division, so I was pretty amped up to pitch and step into the batter’s box against them.

Jacob got the start and went 2 IP, allowing two runs, of which one was unearned (I believe). I came in to pitch in the third and went two innings, allowing no runs, one walk and no strikeouts. Both Jacob and I threw only fastball/changeup/gyroball combinations, saving our breaking balls for the regular season. The truth is that I have little faith in my pronation curve at this point, but feel it should be ready by the season opener. I had decent control but below-average command of my changeup, but when I threw it where I wanted, the hitters were completely thrown off. In hindsight, I wish I hadn’t thrown it, since it’s my best pitch and we play the Bulls four times this year, but hopefully I’ll have developed the pronation curve by the next time we play them.

At the plate I went 1-for-2 with a strikeout (swinging and missing middle-out) and a double. I also picked up a very easy infield assist at second base to close out our game as the rain started in on us. We ended the game after 5.5 innings with the scored tied up at 2-2.

All in all, it was a very good day for me, and everyone seemed positive about our chances going forward. I think it’s clear that our pitching is going to be pretty good. I’ll have tough competition for the #2 spot, as Roger came on in the fifth and pitched two excellent innings, recording a few strikeouts. As I’ve said before, I definitely don’t mind the competition - I thrive on it!

Today was also the first game where I threw from the Marshall windup and the modified set position. It felt great - way better than throwing from the traditional windup. I will continue to use these mechanics until I run into an overzealous ump. I think I should keep a copy of the MLB rules regarding the windup/set positions on me at all times just to prove that they are in fact legal throwing positions. For those of you who aren’t aware what Marshall pitchers look like, here’s a clip of Jeff Sparks throwing the pronation curve (large file - 13.5 MB):

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What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.  I couldn’t have been more pleased to hear that yesterday’s  Nandemoya game was a late one.   My job doesn’t let go of me until 12:30PM on Saturdays, so I invariably miss all of the 9AM starts.  A 2PM start gave me just enough time to get home, dressed, organized and there.

My start was in right field and batting 9th, a perfect match with the way the Red Sox intermittently  played me.  Though this time it was simply because I was new to the team and had to prove myself.  The teams attitude alone made me infinitely more comfortable.

We were relaxed, and it showed by the type of baseball we played.  I was tested in the first inning, and I really made it look more of a spectacle than it needed.  I took a big step back when I saw the fly ball come off his bat, the dive at the end was just to make up for the error on the first step.  Nevertheless, I held on, and it seemed to give us a lift.  After that, my teammates made all of the other outs and it was a good show.  It’s quite special when an amateur team makes zero errors in a game.

My line at the plate:  1 for 1 (1B), 1RBI, 2 BB, and a run scored

It is difficult to say what I enjoyed most, the baseball or the constant ‘man Japanese’ being thrown around the diamond.  English speaking players have a distinct catalog of cheers and such, the Japanese most certainly do as well.  I don’t know the Japanese set of phrases yet, but I could pick out a few general encouragements based on my formal and polite Japanese.  I’m sure that Spanish speaking culture has the same thing, though I bet there are many subdivisions of baseball jargon in Spanish, based on the non-homogeneous nature of Spanish speaking players.  Conversely, it was evident how culturally similar the Japanese guys were in their reactions to events during the game.  For example, the entire bench exclaimed “Oshii!” (Japanese for ‘close call’) when a dribbler hugged the line and went foul.  They all said the exact same word.

I had to smile.  I can only hope to play more Yakyu.

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Great game today - we won 8-0 and our starter went 6 innings and surrendered only 2 hits. Jacob made a guest appearance as well and put in a good day’s work, though I’ll let him post about it.

As for me, I made a pretty good defensive play at third, picking the ball down the line and rifling it across the diamond to get the third out in the fourth inning. I hit pretty well today, going 3-for-4 with 2 opposite field hits and an infield hit, all singles, and picked up an RBI.

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We played our first game of the winter league on Saturday, losing 5-2. Here are the stats from the day:

Hitting Stats (winter 2007):
.666/.750/.666 over 3 AB / 4 PA
2 H, 1 HBP

Pitching stats (winter 2007):
0-0, 0.00 ERA
1.0 IP, 3 K, 1 BB, 0 H

So, I’m off to a good start. I walked the first batter I faced, then eventually struck out the side, the last one coming off a great two-seam gyroball (of which I have good command of now). My velocity is picking up with a few minor adjustments I’ve made, and I am generally happy with the course I’m on. I will be sticking with a fastball/gyroball combo in relief and using my circle change as a starter for the 2nd time through the lineup as a new pitch. I’ll probably throw in a curve as my show-me pitch as well, but otherwise won’t use it because it sucks.

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This year I really have enjoyed my batting average being reset now that playoffs have arrived. We lost today, a lot to a little less, and I had a really good game. I was totally relaxed at the dish today, and I got on base in three out of five plate apps. Two walks, two K’s and a solid base hit the other way… overall I’m pretty satisfied. My team is getting a little better about sportsmanship, but they still talk to the blue way too much in my opinion.

My shoulder woes have forced me to correct my throwing form, and tonight I really put it together. I cut down a runner at the plate, and my GM told me after the game that it was our first assist as a team at home plate this year. Kinda stunned me. It was nice to make a good defensive contribution; our catcher, Koosman, made me look pretty good.

Since it’s double elimination, we have at least one more game. I may not be able to make it due to work, but we’ll see what I can do. We only have 9 guys due to injuries, so hopefully my boss (a huge M’s fan) will have a sympathetic ear. I definitely want the AB’s.

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Well, what can I say?  My first at bat against Kyle was pretty poor, neither of us was particularly lighting it up that day, and he struck me out on a pitch I shouldn’t have swung at.  Ahh, baseball.  At least I had some better discipline the second time and drew a walk.  So I’m 0 for 1 with a K and a BB…  small sample size.  It was great to be playing baseball again after a month off, regardless.

All in all this last weekend was good to me.  Played three games and din’t get a hit, but I didn’t reinjure my shoulder and that was my main goal.  Playoffs are next and I want to be there.

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After making about 10 errors at third base in the first inning which led to 8 runs, I ended up going 0-for-3 for the day with a walk and a HBP. I’m pressing too much at the plate, in the field, and I’m not 100% on the mound. I’ll be going to Cleveland for a wedding and some sorely needed time off for 13 days starting on Monday, which I think will help me a lot.

I digress. I came on to pitch in the sixth and allowed three runs over three innings, walked four, and struck out one. If you guessed that Jacob is the lone strikeout, you would be right! In fact, I threw him a 1-2 curveball that got him swinging.

The PSSBL Mariners is suffering from attrition - people aren’t showing up, the arms on the team are getting worn down (mine included), and the morale is low because of a few other reasons. It’ll be good to get away from organized baseball for two weeks. I’ve been training hard all year and the first 75% of the year was excellent - I saw major strides in hitting, fielding, and pitching. However, over 100 AB’s, 40 IP’s, and countless pitching/hitting lessons later in just a few months, I’m too burnt out on baseball to compete at 100%.

See you in a few weeks, readership.

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Our game at Bannerwood (great field, by the way) for the PSSBL Mariners went extremely well today. John started on the hill and only allowed two runs over five innings. I entered the game in the sixth with a one run lead and finished it off, allowing 1 earned run (1 unearned run as well) on 1 hit, 4 walks, and 3 strikeouts. The defense played extremely well today (just a few minor errors) with two baserunner kills/pickoffs, and our hitting picked up in a big way in the seventh. We ended up winning 8-4, so I think I picked up a four-inning save!

The game with Nandemoya is fairly uninteresting except for the fact that we lost to a team who were a bunch of jerks just like our opponents, the Sox, in the PSSBL game. It’s not worth getting riled up about.

So, today my stats looked like:

Hitting: 2-for-5, BB, RBI, R
Pitching: 4 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 4 BB, 3 K

Stats in summation:

Hitting Stats:
.353/.438/.482 over 89 PA / 85 AB
30 H, 9 2b, 1 3b, 12 RBI, 14 R, 8 SB, 8 K, 6 BB, 3 HBP

Pitching stats:
2-2, 1 SV, 6.94 ERA
33.7 IP, 20 H, 32 BB, 18 K, 26 ER

I’ve started a coaching over the Internet program with a known professional instructor who’s putting me on his pilot program. The cost is great, and we’re both going to learn a lot. I have a lot of flaws the need to be addressed, but I think before we even start to list them (bat drag, hip slide, oh wait…) I need to understand how a professional swing even looks like and works, broken down piece by piece.

At the beginning of the season I came out of the gates slicing doubles to the gap, stealing bases, and hitting for serious power and contact. I’ve regressed some, and not all of it can be attributed to luck, but it’ll be good to have that mental and psychological feeling back once I finish my lessons and continue to get more and more work in - which will be easier now, since my workload at the office has been diminished and I purchased a tee and a hitting net to go with my bucket of balls. I still get some running in as well (usually 2 miles), and I’m on a weight lifting program, but I’m trying to cut weight before I head back to Cleveland for my best man’s wedding. Hopefully I can wrap all this up without interfering with my in-season workouts and games!

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Tuesday’s game was at Eastlake High School at 6 PM without any lights. Great idea, PSSBL…

Anyway, I had a less than stellar day at the plate, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against hard-throwing righties that had good breaking balls. The good news is that I pitched two innings with a final line of 2 IP, 1 K, 2 BB, 0 H, 0 ER. My stuff was the best it’s been all year, and all my pitches were fastballs with the exception of the strikeout with my curveball. The catcher was a last-minute replacement (our first baseman), and he dropped the strikeout pitch allowing the runner to reach first base, so we went with all fastballs after that.

A mechanics post is forthcoming with the details of my delivery as I continue to tinker with it, but I’m really happy with the progress so far. There are things that have to change, sure, but I’ve made a giant leap in the past week.

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