The Season’s Over

Wow, it had been almost a month since I posted.  Sorry for those of you who check in regularly, working and the end of our baseball season has tied me up more than I remembered.

So baseball is over finally.  My youngest won their first playoff game and it was their first win of the season.  Great news for them.  They had been steadily improving all year and I knew it was just a matter of time, I just wasn’t sure if it would be this season or next when it came.  But they pulled it off at the perfect time.  So they moved to the second round with their win.  And got beat by the team that finished second overall (with some very big 10 year olds).  Overall I was very happy with our season and with how well the boys did.

My older son’s team finished in third overall, and didn’t win their first playoff game.  It was a rough game and while there were a few missed calls by the umpires, the boys simply didn’t play well enough to win.  One of our pitchers was off, and the other team just played better than we did.  Lots of things contributed to a rough season for the team, but Christian had a good season.  He had a couple of rough games that hurt his average (and helped the strike out totals of the other pitcher), but other than those few, his on-base average was over .500.  And once he is on base, he is a terror to the other team.  He has an uncanny ability to force the other team to make bad throws trying to get him out.  He generally ends up on third and often scores on bad throws.  He is very good at that.

Lydia finished the year in second place.  They won their first playoff game, but the championship game proved a bit too much for them.  I am not exactly sure what happened (I was at Christian’s game while Mom was at Lydia’s).  I do know that Lydia improved as the year went on both in her fielding and her hitting.  She needs to work on her confidence playing.  (She could take lessons from her younger brother, he is sure he will have a home run every time he comes up to bat.)  While I wish Lydia could have won the championship game, I am glad that she got that second place trophy.  After 7 years of playing, she finally got to the championship game.

None of them made it to the all-star game, and while I’m not certain I agree with the decision, at least I didn’t have to make it.  That is one of the nice things about not coaching, I don’t have to make any of the hard decisions. :)  But now that baseball is over (except for the all star game I’m coordinating), it is time to start planning for Fall Ball, our fall instructional season.  Only Caleb (my younger son) will participate, because it is only for the kids in his division.  So the break is nice, but it is short, which is nice as well.

By the way, did I ever tell you that I love baseball? 

CC

 

Congrats to Chipper Jones

I wasn’t planning to write this week, as my kids baseball season winds down and I get back into the swing of working, I’ve been VERY tired.  But as we sit here watching the Braves play the Marlins, I saw another notch in Braves and baseball history.

Chipper Jones just hit another rocket over the right field wall for his 400th career home run.  As the next step in what may end up being a career year for Chipper (he’s batting over .400), I was glad our busy schedule didn’t prevent us from seeing it.  It was great shot, and the announcers were actually talking about Chipper being that close to the milestone when he hit the shot.

So congrats to Chipper.  In a day and age where so many baseball records are tarnished by scandal, it is nice to see one that, at least, doesn’t appear to be the result of steroids.  Chipper, for all that other teams (like the Mets) don’t like him, he really is a home-town hero.

Congrats Chipper on number 400.

CC

Champion Baseball

Have I ever told you that my kids play baseball?

We play for Champion Baseball League where I am an assistant coach and a member of the Committee.  It is a ton of fun for the kids, and we love the distraction in the spring and early summer.  The league is designed to not be a competitive league, so we try to avoid the problems that other leagues run into when things get too competitive.  This is not to say we don’t encourage the kids to win, we do indeed.  However, as I’ve told all of the teams I am helping with, I’d rather have the team play their very best and lose than play slipshod and win.

We try to use the “Christian Winner’s Creed” to help teach the kids the proper attitude when playing.  “A true winner always does his best, never to the glory of self, but always to the glory of God.  With the Lord’s help, I will strive to be a true winner today.”  And while I am not naive enough to think that everyone who reads this will believe the same we do, I think everyone can appreciate the sentiment of the statement.  When you hit the field (or the books, or the office), you should give it your best.  If something is worth doing, it is worth giving your best to it.

I don’t pretend that we are perfect in our league, nor do I think we have perfect kids.  But we do hope that our focus will help avoid some of the bad things we see and hear about in other leagues.  I’m sometimes shocked when I see and hear what goes on in other baseball leagues.  I know there are areas that I want to see my kids succeed and especially areas where I may not have achieved.  But to be so focused on sports that I drive my kids batty and “show out” at their games, that doesn’t compute to me.

As our season draws to a close, we are all looking forward to the free weekends again, but that is not to say we love baseball any less.  As with all things, our baseball season must come to a close.  We will be anxiously awaiting the fall when we start again with “Fall Ball” instructional baseball.

CC

A Father’s Fear

One of my biggest fears as a father is that I will do something to let my kids down.  I try my best to be there for them.  While I don’t give them everything they want, I do sometimes find that they are upset with me.  Sometimes this is good (when they want something not good for them), other times it isn’t (when I needed to do something for them).  Here’s my story from today to explain.

Before Lydia started her (11:00 am) ballgame today, she had to take off her jewelry.  So she was headed to the bench to give her mom her watch and ring.  Only she was supposed to be lining up, so I told her to give it to me instead (as an assistant coach, I like up with them).  I put it in my pocket not realizing that her ring was with her watch.

Fast forward to sometime durring the game.  The watch was jabbing into my thigh whenever I sat down on the bench between innings.  So I pulled it out of my pocket to give to my wife.  Unfortunately, I still didn’t realize the ring was there.  The ring fell out at some point.  The watch took its place in my wife’s purse, the ring settling on the ground somewhere.

More fast forward, and we are leaving (after our 9:00 am, 11:00 am and 1:15 pm games) to come home.  After my wife calls to order pizza for dinner, Lydia asks for her watch and ring from her mom.  Shannon digs the watch out of her purse, but couldn’t find the ring.  She emptied her purse and still nothing.  I checked my pockets (finally realizing that I was supposed to have the ring as well), and nothing.  We turned around and headed back to the fields.

Lydia, Christian and I got out of the van and looked around the field while Shannon manned the van.  We looked for 10 minutes or so, and found nothing.  I called her coach to check and they hadn’t found it.  I was feeling lower than the dirt and grass we were looking through.  We checked the two other places on the fields where I took stuff out of my pocket.  Nothing, nothing, nothing.

We drove home as I beat myself up for losing the ring.  Lydia for her part, tried to help her dad feel better.  I had told her that we would get her another ring if we couldn’t find it.  This ring was a promise ring that her mother and I gave her for her 13th birthday.  It was a promise by her to wait on the person God has for her.  It is a heart with a keyhole in it, and it came with a key tie tack for me to where.  It represents the fact that God has tasked me to guard her heart.

You see, we have taught Lydia that it is as important to keep herself emotionally pure as it is for her to be physically pure.  How beautiful it will be if her husband is her first love.  How much pain and sorrow will she avoid by staying away from the typical “dating” lifestyle.  She wants for part of her wedding ceremony to be a moment when I give the key to her husband to represent the passing of the responsibility for guarding her emotions.  More on that some other day.  Anyway, suffice it to say that this was a very special ring for her.

So, I’m feeling aweful, and despite the fact that I promised to get her another one, it will not be the same.  When we got home, Lydia caught me at the door while everyone else was at the van.  She patted my shoulder and consoled me, “It’s OK dad.”  I almost cried then and there.

I sent an email to all the coaches asking if perhaps someone found it.  When that was done, I reached for the last chance in my quickly dwindling hopes.  I called the coach that was on the field for the game after Lydia’s.

God was watching over Lydia’s absentminded father.  Someone had found the ring during the next game, and turned it in to the other coach.  He held onto it and is keeping it safe for us until we can meet up to get it back.  After the long day, and the stress of my maximum mess up, I was drained.  I was so grateful that everything worked out so well.

CC

Congrats to John Smoltz

Last night, the Braves played the Washington Nationals, and John Smoltz got strikeout number three-thousand in his career.  This is a major achievement, and should cement his eventual election to the Hall of Fame (not that there was much doubt beforehand).  Unfortunately, the Braves didn’t get the win despite Smoltz holding the Nats to only one run in his seven innings.

Smoltz is the sixteenth pitcher to reach the 3000 strikeout mark.  Some of the active players he joins:  Roger Clemens (4672), Randy Johnson (4629), Greg Maddux (3287), Curt Schilling (3116), and Pedro Martinez (3031).  Behind him, there are only seven active players with more than two thousand, and only Mike Mussina (2670) and Tom Glavine (2576) are close, but neither of them will likely reach 3000 before they retire.

Smoltz finished the past couple of years with an average of 204 K’s, so keeping close to that pace, he could finish with over 3500, putting him somewhere in the top 10 all time.  With the specialization in the bull pen and the way managing pitchers is changing, John my be in the top 10 for a very long time.  In fact, it will be difficult for anyone to displace him the way today’s game is played.

Last night, my son and I were driving home from his baseball practice listening to the game on XM Radio (thanks XM).  I will remember where we were when that strikeout came for many years to come.  I wish I had been home with the rest of my family to see the pitch.  My wife described it for me.  A typical sinker from Smoltz that dropped late and had the batter totally off balance.

Maddux, who was a teammate with Smoltz and Glavine for many successful years with the Braves, is said to have sent John a congratulatory text message.  Maddux told Smoltz that now he had one strike out for every hair he had lost. :)  Great to have friends to celebrate career milestones with you.

So congrats to John Smoltz.  A well deserved honor for a great pitcher.

CC

Nolan Ryan (5714),

One More First Game

I know everyone who reads my blog (all five of you) is probably getting tired of hearing about my kids baseball games.  Unfortunately that is the majority of our life, and I don’t want to write about the job rejection notice I got today.  So, I am going to tell one more baseball story for now.  Hopefully tomorrow I will have more variety in my thoughts (or I will remember to write before I get so tired).

Lydia played her first game Saturday.  Lydia is my oldest (14) and she is very glad to be playing again this year.  Her year off cost her some of her skills, but she was anxious and ready to play on Saturday.  Unfortunately the same couldn’t be said for her team.

The game started and, to be kind, it was ugly.  Bobbled balls and wild throws, and by the middle of the third inning, they were donw by 9 runs.  First game jitters are one thing, but this was just ugly softball.  Being somewhat unsure of how to handle a team full of 13-16 year old girls, I generally jogged over to the third base coaching box and let the head coach handle the dress downs and pick-me ups.

Two outs in the bottom of the third, and something happened.  I’m not certain what it was, but a spark ran through the team and by the time the inning was over, they were down by only two runs.  Lydia cranked out a double that inning, and scored on the next batter’s hit.  I had to laugh at the other coach.  After her first at-bat when she popped a fly ball to a leaping short stop, he decided to bring his infield in for Lydia.  I’m not sure if he thought she was someone else, or what, but he definitely didn’t know by girl.

Lydia had been very frustrated at the down-turn her hitting had taken, and I had given her a few pointers as had her coach.  She was trying to figure out what to do to remind herself of those things when she came up to bat, and despite her first at-bat being an out, she was getting there.  Then came the double and score in the second inning.  Now, for those of you who do not know my daughter, she is not the fastest runner there is.  In fact, she is rather slow.  She knows this and we have worked on it (her coach from 3-4 years ago was at the game and said she was running the fastest she’d ever seen her run).  So for Lydia to get a double and then score from second is saying something.  In fact, she confessed to me later that she was shocked when I sent her around third to home.

Anyway, to make a long story short, we were abel to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth.  The bases were loaded with two outs and Lydia came up to bat.  Now, I confess that I always remember the “mighty Casey” when my kids are batting in these situations.  I have had it happen twice recently and both times ended well.  Back to Lydia.

After 5 pitches, Lydia had a full count.  One more pitch, ball or strike and she would be either the heroine or the goat.  Pitcher threw the ball, and Lydia swung the bat.  The ball went skidding sideways, past the baseline, foul.  My stomach churned as Lydia stepped back in for the next pitch.  I’m not certain who had the worse case of nerves, but I will defer to my daughter since she was actually in the situation, and I was just watching her.

The next pitch came floating in, and Lydia didn’t swing.  Ball four, and she was walked to first.  The other runners advanced, pushing the winning run across the plate.  No, it wasn’t a dramatic game saving hit, but she was able to fight off that pitch before to stay alive long enough to draw the walk.  Lydia with the game winning RBI.

There is always next time for the dramatic hit, but at least for now, the JV Tigers were successful due, in no small part, to my Lydia.

CC

Where’s My Bag?

Well, I have been reluctant to post about this because, quite frankly, I’m ashamed. When I was in high school and college, several brilliant fans, frustrated with the ineptness of the New Orleans Saints, brought out bags to wear on their heads during the home games. Hence the title of this blog.

With the loss on Sunday, the Saints have dropped to 0-4 on the season. And the loss to Carolina, no less. (Difficult being a Saints fan with the moniker CarolinaCajun.) This following a baseball season where the Atlanta Braves failed to make the post-season. I’m at a loss to figure what is going on, although I’m wondering if it may be me. With the LSU win over Florida on Saturday, I think I may be off the hook, but time will tell. (Geaux Tigers!!)

So what is wrong with the Saints. I’m afraid that there is more than just one thing wrong. Obviously, the focus of my prior post was the lack of the “big” play for the offense. I think this is a lot of it. I’m tired of seeing the quick dump off pass, and the 2-yard run up the middle. This team was the master of the explosive play last year, and we haven’t seen nearly enough of it this year.

I’m not sure why this is. It would be easy to place the blame on the coaching and QB position, but that isn’t necessarily the way it is. I’m not certain whether the blame should be placed on Brees alone, or if the O-Line and receiver corps deserve some of the blame. It is difficult to tell, but with 9 interceptions, something is not working at the QB position. I know that being hurried can lead to an interception, but didn’t we have Aaron Brooks to do that for us? Why spend the money for Brees to do the same thing. Not to mention the fact that the coaches almost had Brooks broken of that bad habit.

There is also the issue of the penalties. Don’t let the numbers fool you. I know that according to the numbers, the Saints quantity of penalties and the number of yards isn’t near the league’s worst in that category. However, the Saints penalties all seem to come at a key opportunity. We actually had a touchdown called back because an O-lineman couldn’t line up in the right spot. We can’t expect to win if we are going to continue to get stupid penalties at the worst times.

As a fan, there is that excited little kid in me saying what a cool season it would be if the Saints turn it around, finish 12-4 and blow everyone away in the playoffs. Not likely, but that’s what the rabid fanboy inside of us is for. So, I’ll sit and watch (hopefully) the game this week against Seattle, and when the Saints are driving down the field, my rabid fanboy will be jumping up and down with excitement. Then, when the penalty, interception, and/or collapse comes, I’ll don my bag and quietly eat my chips and salsa.

CC

New Orleans Saints Redux

Well, I guess all my earlier enthusiasm was unfounded.  Although an 0-3 start is not a complete death, it is a very difficult barrier to overcome.  And it won’t be possible to overcome it if things don’t change.  It is frustrating to see how ineffective the team has been.  Now, I’m not a professional football coach (I didn’t even play one on TV), but what sort of a football fan would I be if I didn’t have an opinion on how to fix this mess.

First, I will admit to not having seen the every play of every Saints game so far.  However, given the fact that since the first game, I’ve been saying the same thing as the announcers for nearly every play I have seen, I think it is worthy of at least a second thought.  That thought being, where are the big plays?

(On the other team’s offense.)

Somebody shut that heckler up.  Seriously, though, this was touted as one of the most potent offensive collections around.  This group was supposed to rival the elite groups.  They were supposed to be a high power, high scoring offense that would easily make up for any lack of potency on the defense.  (Even though the defense was also supposed to be better.)

Instead, we have a lack of offense that is so opposite of what it was supposed to be it is an embarrassment.  Expect to see the paper bags in the coming weeks.  Why is it that with such a high powered offense that is in a position to need to score that we settle for dump off 5-7 yard passes?  That doesn’t make sense.  One of the great things the new coaches brought in was a lack of fear in trying for the big play or the gadget play.  I’m not sure whether they’ve tried anything like that so far this year, but even if they have, last year’s gadgets won’t work.  If you don’t stay fresh, you will lose.

Drew Brees, in addition to having 7 interceptions on the year, has a measly 5.2 yards per passing attempt.  That means, for those of you not into football, every time he throws the ball, he averages only 5 yards.  Compare that to last year’s 8 yards per attempt and you can see the point.  Over the course of a game, that 3 yard difference adds up to more than 100 yards.  So why aren’t the Saints going for (and achieving) the big play?  I’m not sure, but I hope it isn’t because the coaches are trying to be a “real” football team.  I hope it isn’t that they thought the only way to succeed last year was on big plays and gadgetry and now we have to be a real football team.  That goes against the design and make up of the team.

So here I stand, still rooting for the Saints, with paper bag firmly in place, calling the coaches out.  Come on guys, where is the big play from this potent offense.  Geaux Saints.

CC

Done For The Year?

Well, it appears that the Atlanta Braves are done for the season. They couldn’t complete the sweep of the Nationals today, meanwhile, the Phillies and the Mets both won. Another combination of poor pitching with a lack of clutch hitting cost the Braves today. While it wasn’t as painful as listening to the Saint’s collapse on Thursday night, it was painful. Not so much because it was a poor performance, but more because it was probably the last nail in the coffin of the Braves season.

I can’t complain too much because my own fantasy team (the Carolina Cajuns, of course) probably died and left the playoff race behind. They lost 2 of 3 in week 20 and that puts us a way out of the wild card race. I don’t think there is any way (unless we go on a wild winning tear) that we can make it to the playoffs. This is only my third season with the IBL, but I think my team should be better than they are playing. It is frustrating to see the lack of production where it should be. Just like with the Saints and the Braves. Maybe it is that infamous “Walker” luck my parents warned me about.

CC

New Orleans Saints

OK, one thing I have to mention before we get too much further in this blog. In addition to baseball and the Atlanta Braves, I am also a big New Orleans Saints football fan. (I kid my wife that every husband is entitled to one sport and since she likes baseball, my one sport is football. She is a good wife, and smiles and says “Uh-huh” whenever I try that. Like I said, she is a good wife.)

So anyway, I have been a Saints fan since before I knew what football was. It was kind of a requirement of growing up in New Orleans. At that time, there was no other professional sport in New Orleans, so everyone was a Saint’s fan. Archie Manning was my only sports hero when I was growing up. If you know anything about football, you will understand why he was the only one. None of the other players on the Saints were any good. This, of course, led to one of the more popular saying in my family, originally coined by my grandfather, “Them lousy Saints!” The team would often win the games they were supposed to lose, and lose the games they were supposed to win.

So why did this come up now? Well, I watched my first football game of the season today (Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, bleh) and I figured now was the time to say it to prove I wasn’t a band-wagon fan. If you follow football, you know that New Orleans had a breakout year last year and the people who are supposed to know are predicting that this year could be even better. I thought I’d better mention that I was a fan before they do well, or, like my grandpa would expect, choke.

So the Saints start their season on Thursday night against the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts, coming off their Super Bowl win, are led by Peyton Manning, the son of Archie Manning. This is the game many Saints fans were hoping for in last year’s Super Bowl. Unfortunately Chicago, and the cold weather game got in the way. So Thursday night we get to talk about what might have been. If you are anywhere near a Saints fan Thursday, let them have their moment of dreams. Whether the Saints win or lose it will be a great game, and it will be good to get the new season underway.

Halftime Report

OK, so the halftime report just came on for tonight’s game. The topic of the discussion was Michael Vick. I wasn’t paying much attention to what the announcers said. My ears have trouble hearing anything Bob Costas says, besides, I was writing still.

This entire Michael Vick situation has really irritated me whenever I think about it. Before I say anything else, let me be absolutely clear. What Michael Vick did was horrid, atrocious, and wrong. He should indeed be punished for his wrong, and I don’t have a problem with that punishment including jail time, and a ban from football.

Here is where the problem lies. How many sports players commit crimes and are not punished at all, or at least not as harshly. Here is an article that talks about the problems of domestic abuse in the NFL. I was particularly struck by the closing lines of the article:

“There was a time not so long ago when abused women were treated like dogs by professional sports leagues.

“Now, sadly, they are treated worse.”

Then there is the whole drug and steroid 80’s in MLB. I’ll leave the steroids side alone for now. But if you are a pro athlete and you are doing drugs, just check into Betty Ford and you don’t have to worry about any retribution. Can you say Darryl Strawberry? How many times can one guy be in trouble? Sure, Strawberry served time and was suspended from Baseball, but after how many charges/arrests? Took quite a while for them to actually send him to jail, meanwhile, according to an ESPN article about Michael Vick:

“…prosecutors will recommend a sentence of 12 to 18 months.

“The official said such a sentence would be more than what is usually recommended for first-time offenders, reflecting the government’s attempt to show that animal abusers will receive more than a slap on the wrist.”

I don’t even want to get started on the gang-infested waste that is the NBA. Howie Long, in his NFL Hall Of Fame induction speech said:

“…baseball is America’s pastime, but football is truly America’s passion.”

I agree with what Howie said, but I would add (in keeping with the alliteration), “If baseball is America’s pastime, and football is America’s passion, then Basketball, on a professional level at least, should be America’s pariah.

Well, I guess this is a lesson for me in my second blog post ever. A lesson on how quickly a post can change direction. I didn’t intend to go this way, but the Halftime report came on and I couldn’t leave it alone. I’ll grant that Michael Vick needs to be punished. And given the admiration and idolization of pro athletes, I’m not opposed to stiffer and harsher punishments for him. But don’t just stop with him. Carry the same message to all the criminals in all of professional sports.

CC