Top of his game

Do you know what the requirements are to be President? Three things. You must be older than 35. Both you OR your parents must have been born in the US. And finally, you must be a BASEBALL FAN.
That's right. It doesn't matter what your profession was BEFORE you were president. It doesn't matter what school you went to. You didn't have to been born rich, or into a presidential family. Now it helps if you are or were a Lawyer (although Carter grew peanuts and Reagan was an actor)... And It helps if you went to an IVY league school, as five went to Harvard and three went to Yale... It REALLY helps if your Daddy was president (GW)... but it is almost impossible to get elected if you are not a baseball fan.

After all, who would vote for someone who doesn't like baseball? It's America's game. I got pictures to prove it. So... if you ever run into a President and run out of things to talk about ( I wouldn't talk about the economy, as it may be a sore subject) you can always talk about baseball. 
Mr. President- If you are reading this, who do you like to take the AL East this year?

Game time!

Super Weekend Invite at BLD
January 31 - February 1, 2009

Schedules for 11U - Open Division -


1 Sat 01/31/09 9:00 AM BLD Manteca Polo Hard 90 Phenom II vs. Bay Valley Bombers (orange)
2 Sat 01/31/09 11:10 AM BLD Manteca Polo Fresno Blue Devils #1 vs. Bay Valley Bombers (orange)
3 Sat 01/31/09 1:20 PM BLD Manteca Polo Hard 90 Phenom II vs. Fresno Blue Devils #1
4 Sat 01/31/09 3:30 PM BLD Manteca Polo San Ramon Bombers vs. CenCal Outlaws
5 Sat 01/31/09 5:40 PM BLD Manteca Polo CenCal Outlaws vs. West Coast Hurricanes
6 Sat 01/31/09 7:45 PM BLD Manteca Polo San Ramon Bombers vs. West Coast Hurricanes
1 Sun 02/01/09 8:00 AM BLD Manteca Polo Seed #3 vs. Seed #3
2 Sun 02/01/09 10:10 AM BLD Manteca Polo Seed #1 vs. Seed #2
3 Sun 02/01/09 12:20 PM BLD Manteca Polo Seed #1 vs. Seed #2
4 Sun 02/01/09 2:30 PM BLD Manteca Polo Winner Game #2 vs. Winner Game # 3

Nevada Outlaws 7, Canes 5

Sunday. 8 in the morning. I am surprised our boys look as ready as they do.

We actually win the toss. CK Toribio (Co-Captain for the tournament) tells the umpire we hit first.

We start the game with Jordan Barnum getting on first with a walk. Another balk, ground ball and a strikeout and Jordan is sitting on third with 2 outs. Vinnie Poole walks up to the plate and looks for a sign. I give him nothing. I said something like "Drive the ball, Vin..." So he did. He crushed the first pitch he saw over the left-fielder's head for a stand-up triple. Man that boy has a beautiful swing... We are up 1-0. Roman on the hill and like the others, needs an inning or so to knock the rust off. We find ourselves down 5-1 after two with the Outlaws getting a little too relaxed. What was nice about our boys is they stayed loose and confident. They knew they could come back... it was just a matter of when.

Top 3, Jelani Davis gets on first with a walk, moves to third with his speed and a wild pitch. Two batters later and Jordan smokes a single up the middle for the RBI. Roman Reed shuts 'em down in the third. Still 5-2. Top 4 and Vinnie and CK get drilled. Hmmm. Our number 4 hitter who just hit a triple gets drilled? Someone in my head has to remind me they are 11 and to just let it go... Another walk by Vince Leon, an RBI ground out by Daniel Gates, a two-run base-hit by Roman and the Canes have a tie ball game on their hands. Roman is on second while Devin Hurtado drives a single to right. We should have scored the go ahead run, but I held Lil' Rome at third. I don't know what I was thinking, but it happened. We close the inning at a 5-5 tie.

The Outlaws break through in the bottom of the 4th and put up two runs on a walk and base hit...
Top 5 with 1 out when Kaya Lacey belts a triple down the right field line. Big Kaya gave us some hope, but the Outlaws' closer was too good on this day as he blew threw the next two outs to give his Outlaws the win, 7-5.

Overall, we walked away pretty happy. We played a solid team (they went on to win the tourney) and stayed within range although we used very little strategy and made many tough, although correctable mistakes.

Pitching:

Roman Reed - 3 Inn, 5 hits, 5 runs, 3bb
Jelani Davis - 1/3 inn, 1 bb 1 Run
Jack Brydon - 2/3 inn, 1 run, 1 hit.


Hitting:

Roman Reed - 1 for 1, 2 RBI and a walk.
Vinnie Poole - 1 for 1, triple, run, RBI
Devin Hurtado - 1 for 1, walk
Jordan Barnum - 1 for 2, run, walk, RBI
Kaya - 1 for 2, triple

HR: 0
Triples: Vinnie Poole, Kaya Lacey
Doubles: 0
RBI: 2- Roman Reed, 1 - Vinnie Poole , Jordan Barnum and Daniel Gates



Don't forget practice tonight at the Lake. 5:30.

Outlaws 5, Canes 4

Game two on Saturday was exciting, to say the least. We go head-on against a team that was undefeated in at least five tournaments. The Outlaws are the top team in Nevada.

We lost the toss, but as I said before, we are playing mind games here- we actually won... right? Well, not this time. This kid on the mound was pretty solid. Nice fastball, solid change AND a curveball he threw for strikes. First inning and he strikes out two Canes and leaves Jordan stranded as Jordan reached on a walk...

Vince Leon took the hill for us and threw quite well. He walked the lead off batter, but never walked another. His pitching kept us in the game. After two innings, he gave up only one run on one hit and struck out two. We pick up one run in the 3rd, as CK Toribio reached on a walk, stole a couple of bags (actually got picked at first and beautifully beat the throw to second) With Jordan on first and Ck on third, we score on a balk. At the bottom of the inning, the Outlaws put together a couple of hits, steal a bag and then it happens. Vince pulled out the new move to first. Runner picked. Two outs. Vince then figured he would let the next guy get on base with a hit, then just pick him off with the new move. So he did. Runner picked. Third out. Vince gets out of a tough inning with minimal damage, but we are down 3-1 and we need some hits.

Top of the 4th and we get what we need. With one out, Daniel Gates hits a ground ball to the shortstop who overthrows first (Dan would have beat the throw anyway). Vince comes up and helps out his own cause by smashing a triple down the first base line to score Daniel. One pitch later and Roman Reed crushes a single to left that scores Vince. After a ground out, CK drives in Roman with a single to left center. In another blink of an eye, we are up 4-3 with the Outlaws wondering what hit 'em... Vince proceeds to blow through the next inning 1-2-3 and take us to the top of the 5th with that 4-3 lead in tact. After a three and out by us as well, Daniel takes the hill in the fifth and although he strikes out three, we give up one run on a walk and a rare error. Tie ball game. 

Top of the sixth and we go down in order... The Outlaws only chance to get us was if we were to beat ourselves. After a sweet double play on a snatched line drive by Roman we had them where we wanted them. 2 out and Daniel throwing gas? Who wouldn't want that? Before we know it, a runner is on and he gets to third after swiping two bags... That chance of the Outlaws getting to us on our own mistakes? It happened. I'll just say that all of our boys saw what happened and I am sure they will use it as an expensive lesson.

We go down but have our heads up. Outlaws 5, Canes 4.

Pitching: 

Vince Leon: 3 k's, 5 hits and a walk with 2 earned runs in 4 innings.
Daniel Gates: 3k's, 4 walks and 2 un-earned runs on zero hits in two innings.

Hitting:

Roman Reed 2 for 2 with an RBI and a run scored.
Vince Leon 2 for 3 with a triple, a run and an RBI.

HR's: None
Triples: Vince Leon
Doubles: None
RBI's: CK Toribio, Vince Leon and Roman Reed.


Next: we face the same Outlaw team. 8am. Sunday.

Canes 12, Rays 6.

Game one in Manteca on Saturday and we took on the Valley Rays. Game time was 11:15. Cloudy and about 60 degrees.

We loose the flip.

Little do the Rays know, we wanted to loose that flip. Seriously. We want to come out Bangin' first. Okay, it goes like this... An ideal first game for the Canes: We come out bangin' first, put up ridiculous, serious runs and demoralize the other team before they even get to hit... So we win no matter what. If we win the toss, we call for visiting team. We hit first. If we loose, the other team wants to be home team (like most should) and we hit first anyway. We win again. In order for this to really work in our favor, we must come out bangin'...

Top of the first, we are nervous. Jordan leads off and as I think of it, (you are in my head now) he has only played a hand full of games in tournaments where players can actually take leads. What did I do? Did I put him in an no-win situation? He's on a new team, playing a new game and I load up the pressure and force him to lead off the first game of our very first tournament. What was I thinking? Should I make a change before he takes a pitch? Too late. He's looking at me for a sign... I tell him to hit away. First pitch and Jordan looks like he has been doing this for years. He drives the ball up the middle. Base hit. Nice. I start to think... Why would I ever doubt Jordan?

Jordan steals second as CK now has a 1-1 count. Third pitch to CK and he pounds a double deep over the left and center fielder's heads. Two batters later, CK is on third when Vinnie drills the pitcher with the hardest line drive I have ever seen. CK scores. After some tears, the pitcher is found to be OK but needed to change his shorts. We lead 2-0. The other team has seen a glimpse of the storm to come and they are freaked. Our Coin toss theory proved well. So far...

Devin takes the hill and after two strike outs, we get out of the first with that 2-0 lead in tact. Second inning. Todd on first with a walk. Torin rakes the third pitch down the line for an RBI triple. Justin follows with a double to knock in Torin. Bottom 2 and we are up 4-0... We are now rollin. 90 miles per hour. Then... the wheels come off. A few walks, a couple of hits, a pitching change and couple more walks and a base hit given up by Torin, and we are down 5-4. We come to bat and go down 1-2-3. Uh-Oh. How are the boys going to react? Will they fold? Can they handle it? Jack takes over on the mound after one more run and we go into the 4th down 6-4. Gut check time.

I am now worried about the time. This game has taken a while and we need to wake up. Quick.

Right after I look at my watch, Devin comes up and wastes no time blasting a ball over the right fielder and to the fence. Home Run! Home Run! This boy hit the ball so far he he even had time to do a hip roll between 2nd and 3rd, get up and finish running home. 6-5 game. Back to back doubles by Vince and Daniel, a single by Jelani, then 2 more doubles by Jordan and CK. Just like that, we are back on top 10-6. Two more runs added in the 5th and Jack finishes the game on the hill with very little trouble... Hurricanes win 12-6.

On the hill Devin had 4 k's, 3 walks and gave up 2 hits. Torin gave up 3 walks and 2 hits. Jack had a strikeout, 1 walk and a hit.

At the plate, Jordan was 2 for 3 with a double and 2 runs scored.

CK was 2 for 4 with 2 doubles and 2 runs scored.

HR: Devin
3B: Torin
2B: CK (2), Jordan, Vince, Daniel and Justin
RBI: Torin 3, CK 2


Next: The Outlaws. Did you know they have never lost? They are the top team in Nevada... Here we go.

Nice.

I am so proud of our club. We came into this tourney knowing we have potential, but unsure of how we would perform right out of the blocks. To say the least, I was pleasantly surprised.

We showed up today.

I really thought our boys played as though they have been playing games for months. We made very few mistakes, came through in many clutch situations, and threw a lot of strikes. It was a very nice beginning.

Props go out to our pitchers today - Devin had 4 k's in 2 1/3 innings, Vince threw 4 innings with only 1 walk and 3 k's. Daniel threw 3 k's in 2 innings while not giving up a hit.

Defensivley, Jordan made a few wonderful plays a short, Devin and Vin ran solid games behind the dish, Torin had 5 put-outs at second, Roman had a great defensive game with a nice leaping double play

At the plate, Jordan, CK and Vince had 3 hits each, CK and Torin had 3 RBI's, Devin crushed an HR, Vince and Torin had triples, CK had 2 doubles...

Let's get more tomorrow!!!!


If anyone took pictures, send them to me. I will upload them to this page!

Now taking the hill...

Do the Wellman

I saw and posted this last year and I still love this video... This has got to be one of the greatest meltdowns in baseball history. The rosin grenade was a perfect toss.
Please do me a favor and tackle me if I ever loose it like this job does. I really don't want my most famous moment in my coaching career to be a YouTube video of me in an all-out army crawl at Twin Creeks... But Really, who knows if this was a stunt to get more fans out to the park or not, but I hear it worked (those minor league guys will do anything). Heck, if this is what it takes to fill our stands in the dead of winter, I'll do it!

Rock you like a Hurricane

I had a great time last night. All the food, music and friends made it fantastic. The only thing that would have been better would have been to have more friends there OR for ME to win the poker game! In the end, Coach John outlasted all of us and now has bragging rights until next month. On a side note: In a wonderful, "team-first" move, Big John donated his winnings to the Hurricanes!!! ( You are a much better man than I...)
The boys were full on in concert mode playing Rock Band and rockin out well past midnight. I didn't realize our boys were some of the best musicians around...

Do fries come with that...

One of the signs of a well prepared team is the handshakes. Well, I guess a team doesn't have to be really prepared to have good handshakes and having a good shake doesn't mean a team can win, but I am sure in some weird way it probably helps. I will also assume if a team doesn't even shake hands, they probably don't win much.

So what comes first? The wins, or the shakes? With me being extremely baseball superstitious, I think we need to get our shake on.

(Be sure to pause the music player at the bottom of the page when watching a video...)

The Greatest...

Growing up in the Bay Area, I had the privilege of being 10 years old when Rickey Henderson was a Rookie with the A's. His first years with the A's were my first real years as a baseball fan. I sat in the Left Field bleachers at more A's games between the age of 10 and 14 than I have in all the years since. Many kids around these parts that were around my age idolized Rickey, and I was no exception. I had every Rickey Henderson baseball card. I think I still do. My batting stance as a 12 year old was a mix between Rickey Henderson and Rod Carew. I once to tried to snap my glove after a catch just as Rickey did back in the day and completely missed the ball only to have it bounce off my face. Perhaps the greatest story I have of Rickey was just a couple of years ago as I was at a playoff game when the A's were playing the Red Sox at the coliseum. I got up to go to the jam packed restroom between innings and Rickey was in line. After a few minutes, Rickey was at the big white bath-tub looking urinal and it started. One guy yells out "RICKEY'S IN THE HOUSE!..." Then it REALLY started... The whole restroom (about 100 of our closest friends) start chanting. RICK-EEE! RICK-EEE! RICK-EEE!... Hilarious. What I can't believe is he was actually able to pee under all that pressure. Now THAT's a true Hall of Famer.


I hope he goes into the Hall wearing Green and Gold... With white cleats.

Almost Ready...

A couple of wins would sure go well with our new jerseys...

Just go with it Ron...

Practice this past weekend was pretty solid. Now that we are back in the hitting tunnels and getting quality swings along with further work on our pitchers, catchers and team plays, I couldn't be happier. We must have many more great practices to get to the level we should be playing at. Like it or not, we need to take our game to a couple of tourneys for our boys to have a few weaknesses exploited. Yeah that's right- I said it- a little beat down would be good for them... Seriously, have you heard these guys lately? We have a team full of boys that don't stop gabbing and Yappin their mouths. They talk trash... Xbox, girls, music, football, Rock band... just about everything but baseball. DURING PRACTICE. It drives me crazy, but at the same time I kinda like it. I couldn't have dreamed of a team getting along better. For all the reasons it is difficult to quiet them down and get them to pay a little more attention, are the very same reasons why I think they could do extremely well.
As for me talking about beat downs... Do I really want them to get bounced in their first tourney? Not at all. But something funny happens when these boys get serious. They are good. They are good and they know they are good. I truly believe we are loaded with some of the best athletes around. It will not be until they learn all of our team plays and terminology that they will be good together. It may take a little beat down to realize they need less jibber-jabber and more focus. Until then, I am reminded that these boys are not out here to change the world. They are out here to have fun...