Baseball Journal

[ajupsman]

Opening Day for us tonight ag Meigs. They're a small school, but always have great athletes and traditionally have a solid baseball team. I'm starting 7 seniors and 2 juniors with out senior lefthander getting the start on the bump. We have 6 games this week, so we will be pitching by committee. Finally time to get down to business!

Good Luck! 6 games is a lot in your first week. I start week 2 of indoor practices today. We are still 2 weeks away from our first game and that's if mother nature cooperates and melts all this snow. Hoping to get in two scrimmages next week so I can at least see some of these boys in action before we play for real.

 

[cotty16]

We got cancelled Saturday at Steubenville. We open today at home against Martins Ferry. They are going through a talented group in all sports right now. Not sure how things will go today. Our three scrimmages were up, down, up. We shall see...

 

[Fluteman]

Good luck today fellas!

 

[Big_Holla]

Coaches meeting tonight for the Little League and my daughter's first scrimmage with the Varsity softball team against the county college team. That should be interesting LOL!!

 

[Buckmaster]

I'm ordering team jerseys today at 4pm. Feels like Spring outside. Getting closer.

 

[bowhunter1023]

If I were a betting man, I'd have taken this action...

We never got off the bus last night. Stranded 10 runners and lost 5-3. Stupid base running mistakes, missed signs, 4 missed bunt opportunities, 8-9 strikeouts and ZERO enthusiasm. It was embarrassing. We might be 0-3 by 8Pm Wednesday at this rate.

To make matters worse, the head coach showed up with his own lineup. It cost us 2 runs in the first because we had people out of position. He has never coached baseball before and told me that he'd let me manage the lineup and games. Well all he needs me to do is give signs at 3rd cause he doesn't listen to a damn thing I say. He moved our best athlete from LF to RF just so we could start a senior in LF. I explained why the junior should start in LF and he says: "Well the senior hasn't shown us he can't play left, so we'll give him the nod." He promptly misread a ball that resulted in 2 runs scoring in the bottom of the 1st and we never recovered.

This has been the most frustrating couple of months of my life and it really just started. We are going to piss away the most talent we have ever had and there is nothing I can do about it. The kids don't want to play for him and he does whatever he wants to do without regard to the people around him that really know the game.

 

[cotty16]

We lost a tough one to Martins Ferry in 8 innings. Our starter gave up 6 runs, but only 2 were earned. Our thirdbasemen killed us early on and I put in another kid that made some great plays, but one by him in the end led to them scoring 5 runs in the top of the 8th with 2 outs. They had bases loaded with two out in the top of the 8th and a gorund ball was hit to the right of our SS. His only play is a force at third. He fields and puts a face high throw to third. Our thirbasemen acted like a firstbaseman, as he should, but he stretched too early and the ball bounced off the tip of his glove leading to the go ahead run. the next batter promptly delivers a base clearing double to put the dagger in. Final: Ferry 11 Indian Creek 6. Should've been out of that inning and a few innings before that too.

One situation has me second guessing myself. Bottom of the 7th, game tied at 6. Our 3 man leads off by getting on via error by the SS. 4 man comes up. I'm wrestling with the decision to bunt... decide to give him the green light hoping he can catch a gap. He walks. Now it's 1st and 2nd nobody out. It's a no brainer... sac bunt, right? Well, our 5 man is up and has two hits on the day. On deck our 6 man has looked bad all day and K'd twice looking. If I bunt, I'm moving a guy to third just so numb nuts can K again.
I went against everything I believe in regarding baseball strategy and let my 5 man swing away. Hindsight, it was just flat out stupid. He pops the third pitch up to 2nd. The 6 man comes up and grounds out to 2nd. Runners advanced to 2nd and 3rd. 7 man comes up and hits a grounder to SS. He bobbles the ball and fires it across to get the hitter by 1/2 step as the game winning run crossed the plate. We were that close to a walk off.
If I had put the bunt on, thr groundball the 6 man hit may have done it. It wasn't hit hard, but may have been enough. I messed up not playing the basic game.

4 errors killed us, but I would love to have that call back. I rolled the dice and it didn't pay off. Damned if you do...

 

[bowhunter1023]

Tough call there, but sounds like you know the right call. I was talking to my dad about this very thing this morning. I made a couple decisions yesterday that some might raise an eyebrow at, however I make decisions. No hem hawing around. Make a decision and stick to it. I loaded the bases in the bottom of 6 in a 5-2 with one out and runners on 2nd and 3rd to give us the force and to face a kid that had looked bad at the plate all night. That kid K'd and we got an easy grounder to 2nd on the next batter. Dad said he'd listen to Joe Madden on ESPN Radio and he was asked how many games he wins in a year based on his decisions. He said 5 would be a lot. That's in 162 games. Fact is at the HS level, we don't win and lose games in the 3rd base box/dugout. Maybe 1, 2 at most in a season. Our job is to prep the kids and hope they execute.

 

[cotty16]

Yeah, it was one of those decisions that could go either way based on who was coming up. My dad, who never misses a game, is also my worst critic. He called me after and says, "I wouldn't have bunted either." That's how he started the phone call off, just by saying that. I'm still kicking myself, but he knows why I didn't. Right now, once we get past the 5 man, we are hurting. With a key injury and that lazy kid who decided to come out, our lineup went from pretty strong to pretty weak. But, the right call? BUNT!

Jesse, you are right though, the kids gotta execute. If they do that in the game yesterday, it doesn't come down to the end like that.

Lots of games left! I'm already excited for today's matchup with 4-1 Brooke, WV (Wellsburg). They just got back from a spring trip at Disneyland. their last win there was a blowout victory over Columbus Worthington. I think we have our work cutout for us. Brooke was once a powerhouse and have been down lately. This year they are supposed to be loaded.

 

[ajupsman]

Cotty, I know the conventional thing to do in that situation is bunt but I think you did the right thing. I don't follow convention much anymore and rarely bunt since I hate giving outs away. Let's say your 5 hitter sacrifices the runners over. 2nd & 3rd 1 out and your strikeout hitter is at the plate. You have to assume the infield is in and any grounder to an infielder should be an out at home. Now you've got your 7 hitter up with 2 outs. So basically if you bunt your taking the bat out of one of your better hitters hands and hoping a weak hitter can come through. That usually doesn't work. I dont know your personal but if you had any speed at all on the bases you could try a double steal. If it works you have 2nd & 3rd no outs with your 5 hitter up. If they throw out the runner at 3rd you still have a runner in scoring position at 2nd with a good hitter up. I always believe you want to give your good hitters a chance to come through. I think that will work more times than praying some pissant who can't hit his own weight actually comes through. Just my 2 cents.

 

[bowhunter1023]

We lost 3-2 last night to a team that shouldn't last 5 innings with it. It was the most amazing display of head up ass baseball I have ever seen. I'm beyond frustrated and nearly lost my cool. My second mound visit was a f-bomb laced tirade. I watched a senior pitcher airmail a pickoff throw over the senior 1Bs head, then just stand there. The 1B gets the ball, then puts his head down and walks back letting the runner advance to third. Ball hit back to the pitcher and he looks back runner to third, then promptly airmails another one in to RF. We left 12 runners on base. That's 22 in 2 games. We have loaded the bases 5 times already and not scored a run, 3 times it was with no outs. We had runners on 3rd last night 5 times and couldn't score. This team was supposed to have legendary bats and right now, my ass would be a superstar in that lineup!

I made a bone head decision in the 6th last night getting impatient and wanting 2 runs instead of 1. I had my 9 hole batter bunt to lead off and it nearly worked as they had shown their bunt coverage sucked. Half step and we had him on with no outs. Senior leadoff man walks. I call hit and run to get him moving since he's fast as hell. He straight steals (been over this 3 times with him now) and luckily is safe and makes it to 3rd on the over throw. 2 hole batter walks, so I have first and third. Decide to steal thinking the last throw was horrible so they'll give him the bag. Nope. Kid makes a perfect throw, 2 outs. 3 hole hitter who has a college scholarship pops up for the 3rd time. Next inning my #1 plunks not 1, but 2 kids including the 4th batter of the inning to walk in the winning run.

I'm at a loss for what to do. We play our toughest league opponent tonight in a "home" game at a local podunk ball field with a fence that's 325 in center and sub 300 on the lines. Going to be a nightmare. Even the kids who want it, aren't playing like it. We have no idea how to change our approach at the plate. No matter what, we are swinging for the fences. Just not making good baseball decisions and when you start 7 seniors, you shouldn't have to worry about that.

 

[cotty16]

Cotty, I know the conventional thing to do in that situation is bunt but I think you did the right thing. I don't follow convention much anymore and rarely bunt since I hate giving outs away. Let's say your 5 hitter sacrifices the runners over. 2nd & 3rd 1 out and your strikeout hitter is at the plate. You have to assume the infield is in and any grounder to an infielder should be an out at home. Now you've got your 7 hitter up with 2 outs. So basically if you bunt your taking the bat out of one of your better hitters hands and hoping a weak hitter can come through. That usually doesn't work. I dont know your personal but if you had any speed at all on the bases you could try a double steal. If it works you have 2nd & 3rd no outs with your 5 hitter up. If they throw out the runner at 3rd you still have a runner in scoring position at 2nd with a good hitter up. I always believe you want to give your good hitters a chance to come through. I think that will work more times than praying some pissant who can't hit his own weight actually comes through. Just my 2 cents.

We had slow and slower on the bases and even slower sitting on the bench as subs. LMAO! Right now I'm trying to make chicken salad out of chicken shit. We had 4, YES 4! Dropped flyballs yesterday in the outfield. They threw a really good pitcher and he fanned us 11 times. Sometimes you just face guys like that. But, what should have been a 1-0 game was 11-0. They had 10 unearned runs! I exploded yesterday and ended up keeping the team after the game to practice until dark. Three of us coaches were hitting flyballs to each outfield position and making them run each ball all the way back in. My one assistant had bloody hands from hitting and that's when I figured we should stop. That, and the fact that it was getting real dark.

The thing is, it wasn't a lazy effort. These are good kids. In fact, this might be one of my favorite groups as far as attitude and hustle. They sprint on and off the field like a college team. Sprint down the line on walks, etc... The talent level just isn't quite there... yet. We are working on it! All we can do is keep plugging away and hope that we can turn it around when it matters. Lots of season left.

 

[cotty16]

UGH! Lost another one last night 2-1. Our junior lefty gave up 3 hits and surrendered two UNEARNED runs. At some point we will take care of the ball and maybe start hitting it. We had 5 hits and scraped and clawed to get the one run we scored. I'm holding out hope that the bats will catch fire and support the good pitching we have been getting.

Both errors last night came from our secondbasemen. He's usually sure handed. Just one of those days for him, I guess. We have an off day today, but will try and beat the rain with a solid round of BP and mass fungo for the defense. Just gotta keep working em! Main goal is to be playing the best ball in May.

 

[ajupsman]

Keep at it. Sounds like you got something there. It all starts with pitching so if that's working for you the rest will follow.

 

[bowhunter1023]

I avoided posting the results of our first league game last Wednesday out of sheer embarrassment. Gallia beat our asses 10-0 in 5 at their place. It was ugly. 5 times we had runners on 3rd and could not score a run. I witnessed 4 errors from seniors that were absolutely dumbfounding. There were an additional 3 mental errors that made me want to scream. My first f-bomb laced mound visit game out in the 3rd game! Through the first 3 games we left 32 runners on base. We had the bases loaded 5 times and did not score. 3 of those times were with no outs! We committed 12 errors and had at least that many mental errors. This is a regional finals team starting 7 seniors!!!

Rain washed away our games Friday and Saturday last week, and Tuesday this week. Last night we traveled to Logan for our second league game. We finally got a W with a 12-7 victory. However there wasn't much to be proud of. They are horrible and their pitching is even worse. We should beat that team in 5 every time we play. We had some timely hitting from the lower half of the lineup and a couple of a our leaders stepped up last night. I called for a squeeze in a 6-6 ball game in the top of the 5th and we executed well enough to get the run. That helped light a fire and we finished by scoring 5 and only giving up 1 more. We still allowed 10 walks and had 4 errors, with 2 more horrible mental mistakes. I started 2 sophomores last night and one looked fantastic in the field, but let us down on the mound. The other caught and did an OK job, but he's not ready for the big show yet. He can thank the senior starter who was at Car Teens with his dad for getting the chance to go last night!

We host Jackson (league) tomorrow at Federal Hocking since our field is still not done. DH at Marietta on Saturday which will be a fun, but tough couple ball games. It'll be great weather though!!!

 

[cotty16]

We are still losing as well, but our teams are kind of on opposite ends of the spectrum. We did get our first victory against Weirton, Wv on Tuesday 8-1 and our junior righty had 11 k's. I say we are opposite ends of the spectrum because we are pitching really well and playing good enough defense to win games, but we are just not hitting well at all. Last night we lost to Buckeye Local 4-3 and left a small village on the bases. Our senior catcher, who hits piss rockets in BP, got the hood (KKK) with all K's coming with guys in scoring position and less than 2 outs (once with bases loaded and nobody out). At some point, someone will light the spark in the offense and perhaps it will start clicking. I'm holding out hope anyway. The good news is, we are in every game and the kids are very competitive. they are a good group... just not very talented at key spots.
Oh, and our starting SS may have a torn ligament in his throwing shoulder. I will know more today. If he's out, now we gotta move guys around. I already have 3 guys in our lineup that didn't even start on JV last year. We might be up to 4 today.

 

[ajupsman]

Well, here in NH I am finally getting to practice outside today for the first time since we started on 3/24. All the snow and cold temps in March led to snow pack on the fields until early this week. Our field is not ready and won't be until next week. Im actually holding practice today on a soccer field. We were supposed to open our season on Monday 4/14 but that has been bumped back to Friday 4/18.

 

[aholdren]

I've been so busy I haven't had much free time to post much but I have been wanting to update where I'm at with my boys 9-10yr old team. We only had 10 kids sign up this year, soccer is killing youth baseball and football by the way, and I couldn't be happier with the batch of boys that wanted to play. I have all 10yr olds and 1 9yr old. Through basketball season I had the opportunity to meet a guy from Jackson/Wellston area that coaches a travel baseball team called the Blaze, he offered for us to come down and have a double header scrimmage with them and Meigs Heat which is another travel team. After only 2 outdoor practices I talked it over with the parents and they were game for traveling an hour to play the double header. So this past Sunday we played and I was really happy to say the least with our Rec team, we played by their rules which consisted of lead off runners and pick offs and 3rd strike dropped ball the runner can attempt to get to first, for the first 3 innings and by our rules which are basic no lead off and no dropped 3rd strike rule. We won the first game against the Blaze 2-1, and dropped the 2nd to the Heat 18-4. I had 4 kids pitch the first game and 6 pitch the second and I'm very pleased with their performances. 2 games back to back had me wore out and the boys we're burnt out too. We start our regular season games next Friday.

 

[cotty16]

We stink. that is all...

 

[Buckmaster]

I'm trying to make it outside for our first practice. I'll check the field tonight. Last year our games began May 3. The weather is not cooperative.