Last night's game went late and I figure that if the Star Tribune is allowed to say that a given game ended too late to report about in the paper, than I'm allowed to say that this game ended too late for me to blog about it.
We traveled to Veteran's Field to take on the Little Sailors, pardon me, Skippers of Minnetonka.
It wasn't exactly ideal baseball weather. In all my years on the diamond, I can in good faith say that last night was the first game I've ever played in the snow. You heard it hear, there was snow flakes flying during a baseball game at the end of APRIL. April fools, right? Wrong.
A few things that I noticed upon arrival at Veteran's: 1) Minnetonka has continued the tradition of warming up and doing their pre game routine without their uniform tops on (I suppose you could say they were topless), 2) They had a big sign on the side of their dugout that read "US" and they all touched it when they entered the dug out, and 3) There was a hole, nay, a crater in the right handed batters box.
Don't worry, I let the umpire know about the hole in the batter's box during each of my four at bats.
We jumped out to an early 4 run lead by stringing together a few walks, a few hits, and six stolen bases in the first inning. Tim Shannon got out there and pitched well despite the snow. There were a few pitches that he lost control of because of the wetball, but he managed to pitch very well through the fifth inning.
Somewhere in the middle of the game, Country Mike Larson was up to bat. With two strikes, he check swung at a pitch and the catcher dropped the ball. Not until the catcher had tagged Mike out did the umpire make the call that it was a strike. Mike wasn't sure whether or not to run, and the late call by the umpire didn't make it any clearer to him whether or not he should have ran. Coach Lerner called time, walked over to the umpire and asked if it was a strike on the swing, or a called strike on the pitch. Before Coach could even finish his question, the umpire got defensive and firmly stated, "It was a strike on the pitch, Coach! NOT a called strike!" That brought Coach Lerner's total Umpire Chit Chats to 5.5 on the year. For those of you who are interested in statistics, Coach Lerner averages .611 Chit Chats per game.
Once Tim left the game, Matt Sinderson came in and went to work. Matt has been money on the mound for us this year. He has done a great job of coming in late in the game and putting a stopper in the other team's offense. Until this game, no team had scored on him. He was money this game, but unfortunately, the last play of the game was a successful suicide squeeze by them. Matt still pitched three strong innings and managed to make a lot of Skippers look silly.
We ended up losing 5-4 in the 8th inning which makes our last 4 games all loses by 2, 1, 1, and 1 run respectively. We've been so close, but close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades. We have Wayzata tomorrow at home, a great chance to get back to our winning ways.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Game 8: Hopkins V. Eden Prairie
Again, I'm sorry for the delay. Coach Lerner told me after the game that I was to go home, not blog, and not think about baseball for the entire night. As always, I obeyed like the good boy that I am.
The highly touted Eagles of Eden Prairie came to PBMF on Monday to take on your own Hopkins Royals. Hammy toed the bump for us and Tyler Ruemmele pitched for the Eagles. Ruemmele had been hitting 87-89 MPH on the gun and even hit 90 a few times. He will be going to the University of North Dakota to pitch and play outfield.
The problem with us was that our bats never woke up. Ruemmele kept us off balance with a hard curve that looked a lot like his fast ball and he ended up pitching a complete game no hitter. What was really remarkable, though, was that even though we didn't get a hit, we hung in there with arguably the best team in the state for the entire game. We ended up losing 2-1 but we had every chance to take that game.
Somewhere in the middle of the game, a pinch hitter for the Eagles squared to bunt. Hammy went inside on him and it hit the kid's bat and possibly him. The behind-the-plate ump claimed that he had seen it and that it was a hit by pitch. Coach Lerner called time and walked out to discuss the play. This brought the total to 4.5. It turns out that the field ump had a better view of it, seeing as he didn't have to use his x-ray vision to see what happened, and he declared that the kid had, in fact, offered and that it was a strike rather than a hit by pitch.
Hammy pitch extremely well. He pitched the entire game, gave up 0 earned runs, and left a lot of Eagles on base. His effort went unnoticed for the most part because the other guy threw a no hitter and we lost, but nonetheless, Hammy pitched a gem.
Next we travel to Minnetonka to take on the mighty Skippers at the "House that Twenge Built" a.k.a Veteran's Field.
The highly touted Eagles of Eden Prairie came to PBMF on Monday to take on your own Hopkins Royals. Hammy toed the bump for us and Tyler Ruemmele pitched for the Eagles. Ruemmele had been hitting 87-89 MPH on the gun and even hit 90 a few times. He will be going to the University of North Dakota to pitch and play outfield.
The problem with us was that our bats never woke up. Ruemmele kept us off balance with a hard curve that looked a lot like his fast ball and he ended up pitching a complete game no hitter. What was really remarkable, though, was that even though we didn't get a hit, we hung in there with arguably the best team in the state for the entire game. We ended up losing 2-1 but we had every chance to take that game.
Somewhere in the middle of the game, a pinch hitter for the Eagles squared to bunt. Hammy went inside on him and it hit the kid's bat and possibly him. The behind-the-plate ump claimed that he had seen it and that it was a hit by pitch. Coach Lerner called time and walked out to discuss the play. This brought the total to 4.5. It turns out that the field ump had a better view of it, seeing as he didn't have to use his x-ray vision to see what happened, and he declared that the kid had, in fact, offered and that it was a strike rather than a hit by pitch.
Hammy pitch extremely well. He pitched the entire game, gave up 0 earned runs, and left a lot of Eagles on base. His effort went unnoticed for the most part because the other guy threw a no hitter and we lost, but nonetheless, Hammy pitched a gem.
Next we travel to Minnetonka to take on the mighty Skippers at the "House that Twenge Built" a.k.a Veteran's Field.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Game 6: Hopkins V. Prior Lake and Game 7: Hopkins V. Edina
I apologize for my late posts, it's been a busy past few days. It's easy to blog about winning, losing is another story.
On Thursday, we traveled to Prior Lake for our first away game of the year. It was a little bit of a drive to Prior Lake, so we left before we had the chance to take BP. We got out there and started to warm up despite the cold. The game got going and got progressively colder.
In the middle of the game, Tanner Holmquist got a hit to shallow left field with 2 outs. Steve-O Palkert was on first so he ran to second and decided to try for third. The left fielder made a good play on the ball and threw to the third baseman. Steve-O swerved out of the way and the third baseman missed the tag, but he umpire thought different and called him out. Coach Lerner walked out to have a little chit chat, bringing the total to 2.5.
We had plenty of hard hit balls, but none of them wanted to fall. I also have to give Prior Lake credit, the played good defense. We did too, though, Andrew Glover pitched well and stranded a lot of runners, but we can't win a game by scoring only 1 run. Prior Lake handed us our first lost of the season 3-1.
We turned the page and traveled to Edina the next day to start conference play.
We had been scheduled to play the Hornets on Tuesday, but they cancelled the game at 11 o'clock that day because it was supposed to rain a little bit. It didn't end up raining till late Tuesday night. Because of their girly fear of a little rain, I have named them the Hornettes.
We went to Edina's Braemar Field to take on the Hornettes and, once again, it was freezing and drizzly. One thing I never forget about the visitor's dugout at Braemar is that someone painted on the wall, "Krempa=Gay." I'm not sure who or what Krempa is, and I'm not sure if they mean happy or homosexual, but for some reason, I can never forget that "Krempa=Gay."
We got all stretched out and warmed up and we started to take infield. During infield, the Hornettes were playing their warm up music. Whoever was in charge of the playlist didn't get the memo that their music should be appropriate. There were F-Bombs, S-Words, A-Words, B-Words, and racial slurs being blared over speakers at a family park. Certainly a classy way to start the day if I do say so myself.
In the 3rd inning, Tim Shannon threw a pitch that hit the one of the Hornettes on the knob of hit bat. I could obviously tell that's what it hit because there was a dull crack (the sound of a ball hitting the knob). One of the Hornette parents said, "Didn't sound like metal to me!" The dull crack didn't exactly sound like hand either. The behind the plate umpire rightfully called it a foul ball. But the base umpire, who was upwards of 150 feet away, came in and decided that he had seen it, and that it was a hit by pitch. Coach Lerner went out again and picked the umpires brains. For those of you counting at home, the total is:
Umpire Chit Chats for Coach
3.5
For the second day in a row, we hit the ball hard, but it wasn't falling. We showed a lot of moxie by scoring three runs in the last inning on Tanner Holmquist's base-clearing double, but it wasn't enough this time. We fell to the Hornettes 5-4.
We have Eden Prairie and Minnetonka in the upcoming week which gives us two chances to redeem ourselves.
Happy Easter to all those who celebrate.
On Thursday, we traveled to Prior Lake for our first away game of the year. It was a little bit of a drive to Prior Lake, so we left before we had the chance to take BP. We got out there and started to warm up despite the cold. The game got going and got progressively colder.
In the middle of the game, Tanner Holmquist got a hit to shallow left field with 2 outs. Steve-O Palkert was on first so he ran to second and decided to try for third. The left fielder made a good play on the ball and threw to the third baseman. Steve-O swerved out of the way and the third baseman missed the tag, but he umpire thought different and called him out. Coach Lerner walked out to have a little chit chat, bringing the total to 2.5.
We had plenty of hard hit balls, but none of them wanted to fall. I also have to give Prior Lake credit, the played good defense. We did too, though, Andrew Glover pitched well and stranded a lot of runners, but we can't win a game by scoring only 1 run. Prior Lake handed us our first lost of the season 3-1.
We turned the page and traveled to Edina the next day to start conference play.
We had been scheduled to play the Hornets on Tuesday, but they cancelled the game at 11 o'clock that day because it was supposed to rain a little bit. It didn't end up raining till late Tuesday night. Because of their girly fear of a little rain, I have named them the Hornettes.
We went to Edina's Braemar Field to take on the Hornettes and, once again, it was freezing and drizzly. One thing I never forget about the visitor's dugout at Braemar is that someone painted on the wall, "Krempa=Gay." I'm not sure who or what Krempa is, and I'm not sure if they mean happy or homosexual, but for some reason, I can never forget that "Krempa=Gay."
We got all stretched out and warmed up and we started to take infield. During infield, the Hornettes were playing their warm up music. Whoever was in charge of the playlist didn't get the memo that their music should be appropriate. There were F-Bombs, S-Words, A-Words, B-Words, and racial slurs being blared over speakers at a family park. Certainly a classy way to start the day if I do say so myself.
In the 3rd inning, Tim Shannon threw a pitch that hit the one of the Hornettes on the knob of hit bat. I could obviously tell that's what it hit because there was a dull crack (the sound of a ball hitting the knob). One of the Hornette parents said, "Didn't sound like metal to me!" The dull crack didn't exactly sound like hand either. The behind the plate umpire rightfully called it a foul ball. But the base umpire, who was upwards of 150 feet away, came in and decided that he had seen it, and that it was a hit by pitch. Coach Lerner went out again and picked the umpires brains. For those of you counting at home, the total is:
Umpire Chit Chats for Coach
3.5
For the second day in a row, we hit the ball hard, but it wasn't falling. We showed a lot of moxie by scoring three runs in the last inning on Tanner Holmquist's base-clearing double, but it wasn't enough this time. We fell to the Hornettes 5-4.
We have Eden Prairie and Minnetonka in the upcoming week which gives us two chances to redeem ourselves.
Happy Easter to all those who celebrate.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Game 5: Hopkins V. Minneapolis South
What started as an uncomfortably cold day turned out to be a pretty nice day to play baseball. The sun was out, the grass was somewhere between brown and light green, and your own Hopkins Royals geared up to take on the Tigers of Minneapolis South.
Right off the bat, the Tiger-kitties committed one of my biggest pet peeves. When they were warming up, they had their jerseys off and hanging up in the dug out. I've always been of the school of thought that teams should be ready and fully dressed right when they hit the field. The Kitties join the Skippers in this dumb practice.
Our guys were calm and loose. Pre-game activities included playing catch, fielding ground balls and fly balls, stretching, and dancing. Ben Christopher and I were dancing the "Cat Daddy" and the "Bernie". If you'd be interested in joining us, check out this video to learn how: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb8RSVD3rQ0&feature=related.
In the first inning of the game, I was up to bat and Kyle was on second. Kyle took off from second early to throw off the pitcher. The pitcher jumped out of his skin as if Matt "Dino" Molzahn had let out a terrifying roar. The pitcher clearly balked, but the umpire thought differently and Kyle was thrown out because of it. Coach Lerner called time, walked out and gave him the famous line, "Can you tell me what you saw on that one?" The umpire was taken aback, and I think he realized he had made a mistake. He said that the pitcher might have moved his front foot, which, in that case, would be the plate umpire's call. The umpire was quick to pass the buck.
Umpire Chit Chats for Coach
1.5
In the middle of the game, the poor umpire got hit right in the babymaker by a foul ball. He took a quick breather and got back to business, but every strike call after that was an octave higher.
The good guys (us) came away with a resounding 6-0 victory. Hammy was able to "Step over the chair, Skip" and pitch a 2 hit shut out. Conference play is coming up next, so come out and support your favorite ball club.
Right off the bat, the Tiger-kitties committed one of my biggest pet peeves. When they were warming up, they had their jerseys off and hanging up in the dug out. I've always been of the school of thought that teams should be ready and fully dressed right when they hit the field. The Kitties join the Skippers in this dumb practice.
Our guys were calm and loose. Pre-game activities included playing catch, fielding ground balls and fly balls, stretching, and dancing. Ben Christopher and I were dancing the "Cat Daddy" and the "Bernie". If you'd be interested in joining us, check out this video to learn how: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb8RSVD3rQ0&feature=related.
In the first inning of the game, I was up to bat and Kyle was on second. Kyle took off from second early to throw off the pitcher. The pitcher jumped out of his skin as if Matt "Dino" Molzahn had let out a terrifying roar. The pitcher clearly balked, but the umpire thought differently and Kyle was thrown out because of it. Coach Lerner called time, walked out and gave him the famous line, "Can you tell me what you saw on that one?" The umpire was taken aback, and I think he realized he had made a mistake. He said that the pitcher might have moved his front foot, which, in that case, would be the plate umpire's call. The umpire was quick to pass the buck.
Umpire Chit Chats for Coach
1.5
In the middle of the game, the poor umpire got hit right in the babymaker by a foul ball. He took a quick breather and got back to business, but every strike call after that was an octave higher.
The good guys (us) came away with a resounding 6-0 victory. Hammy was able to "Step over the chair, Skip" and pitch a 2 hit shut out. Conference play is coming up next, so come out and support your favorite ball club.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Game 4: Hopkins V. Eastview
My heart rate just got back to normal after the win last night! My doctor says there is something wrong with my heart if it has been racing for nearly 20 hours, but I can't help but be excited after a win like that!
(Note: My heart rate has been regular, I don't have a heart condition.)
Your own Hopkins Royals won a thriller last night in the final inning of the game. The Lightning of Eastview made the trek to Pat Berger Memorial Field to take on the hometown kids, and they gave us quite a fight.
The offense for the Lightning started with a big boy hit over the left field fence off Timmy Shannon, but Tim shouldn't feel bad because the wind was blowing in..
Tim continued to work his butt off and got through the 4th inning with the game still right there.
We turned a few Lightning mistakes into two quick runs, and the energy in the home dug out was back up.
Glover came in to pitch and did very well. He was throwing a lot more strikes than the umpire gave him credit for and he got us out of potential big innings for the Lightning. A few defensive mistakes gave the Lightning a few runs. Going into the bottom of the 7th inning, we were behind 7-3.
Then the fun began.
The first two batters, Wicklund and Steve-O, walked to start the inning. First, Tanner singled to load the bases. Then, Kyle singled with two strikes to score a run, and I followed it up with a double to score two runs. After five at-bats, we were only down by one, with runners on second and third with no outs. Joey Bag 'o'donuts (my nickname for Joey Brettingen) reached on another Lightning error. We had the bases loaded with no outs and we were only down by one.
The Lightning brought in a new lefty pitcher to try and finish us off. He was a hard throwing lefty with a nice back-door slider. After getting the first guy out, Benny stepped to the plate. He scowled at the new pitcher and flexed his muscles to show that he wasn't afraid. The pitcher was obviously intimidated (much in the same way that Tim scared the Benilde player into batting out of order), and he threw a wild pitch. Kyle ran home and tied it up, 7-7.
Now the pitcher was rattled. Benny licked his lips and gave flashed the pitcher a devilish grin. The pitcher threw a passed ball and I ran in to score the winning run.
Looking back at the game, there were a few things that surprised me. First of all, I was surprised that Coach Lerner didn't leave his chair to pick the umpire's brain. There were a few calls that caused his face to turn a shade of red that was reminiscent of Benilde's uniforms. The count remains the same.
Umpire Chit Chats for Coach
.5
Second of all, I was surprised that we had such a good fan section considering the weather was awfully cold. We definitely have a dedicated group of parents and girlfriends!
Lastly, I was surprised that Coach Strong would have the audacity to break wind during the team meeting at the end of the game. He claims that he was downwind, but we all know that only a man of his size and strength could drop a bomb like that.
I'm pleased to say that my blog has inspired Boys' Tennis Captain Michael Fields to start a blog of his own in much the same style as mine. Check it out at www.gohugeorgohome.blogspot.com.
(Note: My heart rate has been regular, I don't have a heart condition.)
Your own Hopkins Royals won a thriller last night in the final inning of the game. The Lightning of Eastview made the trek to Pat Berger Memorial Field to take on the hometown kids, and they gave us quite a fight.
The offense for the Lightning started with a big boy hit over the left field fence off Timmy Shannon, but Tim shouldn't feel bad because the wind was blowing in..
Tim continued to work his butt off and got through the 4th inning with the game still right there.
We turned a few Lightning mistakes into two quick runs, and the energy in the home dug out was back up.
Glover came in to pitch and did very well. He was throwing a lot more strikes than the umpire gave him credit for and he got us out of potential big innings for the Lightning. A few defensive mistakes gave the Lightning a few runs. Going into the bottom of the 7th inning, we were behind 7-3.
Then the fun began.
The first two batters, Wicklund and Steve-O, walked to start the inning. First, Tanner singled to load the bases. Then, Kyle singled with two strikes to score a run, and I followed it up with a double to score two runs. After five at-bats, we were only down by one, with runners on second and third with no outs. Joey Bag 'o'donuts (my nickname for Joey Brettingen) reached on another Lightning error. We had the bases loaded with no outs and we were only down by one.
The Lightning brought in a new lefty pitcher to try and finish us off. He was a hard throwing lefty with a nice back-door slider. After getting the first guy out, Benny stepped to the plate. He scowled at the new pitcher and flexed his muscles to show that he wasn't afraid. The pitcher was obviously intimidated (much in the same way that Tim scared the Benilde player into batting out of order), and he threw a wild pitch. Kyle ran home and tied it up, 7-7.
Now the pitcher was rattled. Benny licked his lips and gave flashed the pitcher a devilish grin. The pitcher threw a passed ball and I ran in to score the winning run.
Looking back at the game, there were a few things that surprised me. First of all, I was surprised that Coach Lerner didn't leave his chair to pick the umpire's brain. There were a few calls that caused his face to turn a shade of red that was reminiscent of Benilde's uniforms. The count remains the same.
Umpire Chit Chats for Coach
.5
Second of all, I was surprised that we had such a good fan section considering the weather was awfully cold. We definitely have a dedicated group of parents and girlfriends!
Lastly, I was surprised that Coach Strong would have the audacity to break wind during the team meeting at the end of the game. He claims that he was downwind, but we all know that only a man of his size and strength could drop a bomb like that.
I'm pleased to say that my blog has inspired Boys' Tennis Captain Michael Fields to start a blog of his own in much the same style as mine. Check it out at www.gohugeorgohome.blogspot.com.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Picture Day
I know we didn't have a game yesterday, but something more important happned!
Ok, not more important, but it was a fun little break from the normal routine.
Yesterday was picture day. For all of you who don't know what that is, we all dress up in our sparkly clean uniforms, smile big, and make each other laugh while they're trying to get their picture taken by saying embarrassing things.
First, we all lined up for our individual picture. They had us all stand up straight, hold a bat (even the pitcher only's), and flash a big, fake smile. "Look at that Athlete of the Week smile!" we said to Matt Sinderson to make him blush. Matt Sinderson was named one of the Star Tribune Athletes of the Week. We are all very proud of him and we all think it's funny that he gets embarrassed whenever anyone brings it up.
There was also the option for players to take "Buddy Pictures". The first set of buddies to get their picture taken were Tim Shannon, Country Mike Larson, and Jack Hamilton. Hammy and Tim held Mike up softly, similar to how a mother would hold an infant, and they all smiled for the camera. They weren't even close to dropping him. The next set of buddies to pose were Jack Retica, Benny Chistopher, and myself. Benny crouched in the middle of Jack and I, and made an intimidating face, while Jack pointed and looked off in the distance. At the same time, I was pointing at Benny and making an odd face. I asked Coaches Berger and Lerner to take buddy pictures with me but they both declined.
Then came the group photo. They had us line up tallest to shortest, which instantly created a sense of competition between everyone to determine who was actually taller. After people had finished going back to back and figuring out who was taller (more dominant), they got us in team picture formation. The standard formation is one row of players in the front sitting on the bench with their hands on their knees (the two players on the end holding a piece of equipment special to the given sport i.e. bat, basketball, fencing foil); one row right behind them standing on the ground, trying not to touch or tease the players on the front row; the last (also best) row being all of the behemoths standing on a bench to make them look even taller (and more dominant) than all the rest of the mere mortals. Can you tell which row I was in?
Benny Christopher was in the front row and in the middle of the pictures, he was called out by the picture lady for making funny faces. While that may have been funny, he should have been smiling respectfully like Jack Retica and I were doing in the back.
Picture day was a success.
Ok, not more important, but it was a fun little break from the normal routine.
Yesterday was picture day. For all of you who don't know what that is, we all dress up in our sparkly clean uniforms, smile big, and make each other laugh while they're trying to get their picture taken by saying embarrassing things.
First, we all lined up for our individual picture. They had us all stand up straight, hold a bat (even the pitcher only's), and flash a big, fake smile. "Look at that Athlete of the Week smile!" we said to Matt Sinderson to make him blush. Matt Sinderson was named one of the Star Tribune Athletes of the Week. We are all very proud of him and we all think it's funny that he gets embarrassed whenever anyone brings it up.
There was also the option for players to take "Buddy Pictures". The first set of buddies to get their picture taken were Tim Shannon, Country Mike Larson, and Jack Hamilton. Hammy and Tim held Mike up softly, similar to how a mother would hold an infant, and they all smiled for the camera. They weren't even close to dropping him. The next set of buddies to pose were Jack Retica, Benny Chistopher, and myself. Benny crouched in the middle of Jack and I, and made an intimidating face, while Jack pointed and looked off in the distance. At the same time, I was pointing at Benny and making an odd face. I asked Coaches Berger and Lerner to take buddy pictures with me but they both declined.
Then came the group photo. They had us line up tallest to shortest, which instantly created a sense of competition between everyone to determine who was actually taller. After people had finished going back to back and figuring out who was taller (more dominant), they got us in team picture formation. The standard formation is one row of players in the front sitting on the bench with their hands on their knees (the two players on the end holding a piece of equipment special to the given sport i.e. bat, basketball, fencing foil); one row right behind them standing on the ground, trying not to touch or tease the players on the front row; the last (also best) row being all of the behemoths standing on a bench to make them look even taller (and more dominant) than all the rest of the mere mortals. Can you tell which row I was in?
Benny Christopher was in the front row and in the middle of the pictures, he was called out by the picture lady for making funny faces. While that may have been funny, he should have been smiling respectfully like Jack Retica and I were doing in the back.
Picture day was a success.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Game 3: Hopkins V. Holy Angels
Sorry for the delay between the game and my post. I had two things to attend to: 1) My math homework, 2) I was explaining the details of the game of baseball to my girlfriend (she doesn't have brothers), both of which took a while.
We welcomed back Mr. Manager Mike Leach from his college visits in Vermont. No offense to Mike, but the last two teams we've played have had cute girls for managers, and I'm not sure if Mike could pull off the jersey with yoga pants look. But he says he's here to try.
There was a mishap with the water jug. I'm not going to name names (his name rhymes with Shmalex Bunter), but there was a distinct hose taste to the water. Benny Christopher, outfielder, was the first to taste it and he knew right away that something was awry. "I could tell that it didn't taste like the water I know and love, so I unscrewed the top of the jug and it looked all yellow."Chistopher said.
Once we all got past the poor tasting water, it was on to business.
We gained the lead in the first inning and never gave it up the rest of the game. Hammy managed to strike out many Holy Angels Stars, making many of them look very silly. The Royals defense stayed very sharp. There have only been a handful of defensive errors thus far.
Tanner Holmquist had a big boy hit during his second at bat. He launched one right into McBerger Cove (the area over the right field fence, named after San Francisco's McCovey Cove). From now on, when Tanner hits, people will be camped out in McBerger Cove just like they were during Barry Bonds' at bats. This is what it might be like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkfCT3MHeU4
If you were at the game, you may have noticed a collision between Coach Lerner and I. I was rounding 3rd base and when I looked out towards the field to find the baseball. While I wasn't looking, Coach Lerner snuck in behind me and I had no way of seeing him. I took another shuffle step and BAM! I knocked over Coach Lerner. After he had gotten up, brushed off the dust, and after the stars he had seen cleared, I gave him a big hug and let him know how sorry I was.
During the pitching change, Andy Wicklund, Wick, handed me his sunglasses because he couldn't use them while he was pitching. I, of course, put them on because when someone hands me a pair of glasses, I instinctively try them on. Kyle Dalton told said to me, "You look good in those glasses!" The unpire looked at me and said, "You should look at his eye exam before you trust him."
This deeply saddened me.
Wick came in and threw fire balls too hot for the Stars to handle. Wick decided that he was the only one (except Hammy) on the field who could have side burns, so he used the heat from his fastball to burn off all of the Stars' facial hair.
Yesterday's game marked an improvement from Saturday's game. On Saturday, we scored 5 in the first and then not again until the tenth. This game, we had a steady flow of runs throughout. Our energy on the bench was positive and it was a fun laid back game. We've grown up a lot already and we're starting to learn how to win.
We welcomed back Mr. Manager Mike Leach from his college visits in Vermont. No offense to Mike, but the last two teams we've played have had cute girls for managers, and I'm not sure if Mike could pull off the jersey with yoga pants look. But he says he's here to try.
There was a mishap with the water jug. I'm not going to name names (his name rhymes with Shmalex Bunter), but there was a distinct hose taste to the water. Benny Christopher, outfielder, was the first to taste it and he knew right away that something was awry. "I could tell that it didn't taste like the water I know and love, so I unscrewed the top of the jug and it looked all yellow."Chistopher said.
Once we all got past the poor tasting water, it was on to business.
We gained the lead in the first inning and never gave it up the rest of the game. Hammy managed to strike out many Holy Angels Stars, making many of them look very silly. The Royals defense stayed very sharp. There have only been a handful of defensive errors thus far.
Tanner Holmquist had a big boy hit during his second at bat. He launched one right into McBerger Cove (the area over the right field fence, named after San Francisco's McCovey Cove). From now on, when Tanner hits, people will be camped out in McBerger Cove just like they were during Barry Bonds' at bats. This is what it might be like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkfCT3MHeU4
If you were at the game, you may have noticed a collision between Coach Lerner and I. I was rounding 3rd base and when I looked out towards the field to find the baseball. While I wasn't looking, Coach Lerner snuck in behind me and I had no way of seeing him. I took another shuffle step and BAM! I knocked over Coach Lerner. After he had gotten up, brushed off the dust, and after the stars he had seen cleared, I gave him a big hug and let him know how sorry I was.
During the pitching change, Andy Wicklund, Wick, handed me his sunglasses because he couldn't use them while he was pitching. I, of course, put them on because when someone hands me a pair of glasses, I instinctively try them on. Kyle Dalton told said to me, "You look good in those glasses!" The unpire looked at me and said, "You should look at his eye exam before you trust him."
This deeply saddened me.
Wick came in and threw fire balls too hot for the Stars to handle. Wick decided that he was the only one (except Hammy) on the field who could have side burns, so he used the heat from his fastball to burn off all of the Stars' facial hair.
Yesterday's game marked an improvement from Saturday's game. On Saturday, we scored 5 in the first and then not again until the tenth. This game, we had a steady flow of runs throughout. Our energy on the bench was positive and it was a fun laid back game. We've grown up a lot already and we're starting to learn how to win.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Game 2: Hopkins V. Benilde (aka The Marathon)
Why am I calling this a Marathon? I do, in fact, understand that we were not running 26.2 miles together against Benilde.
This game was a marathon because neither team was forced to surrender in defeat in the normally allotted 7 innings. Only after 10 innings was the better team determined. That team, I am proud to inform you, was your own Hopkins Royals.
It was a long afternoon at Pat Berger Memorial Field.
For all of you who were concerned about Coach Berger's health, let me be the one to tell you that he is alive and well. Our field does not, to my knowledge, have a real name, so I figured I would give it a name, and seeing as Coach Berger has done the most work on the field over the years, I decided we should all remember that by naming the field after him. He did not die, he is alive and well.
In my first blog, I mentioned that I have a grip on the two most important skills in blogging, one of them is the lingo (simply adding the word blog to everyday words. For instance keep you blogs fresh and chilled in the blogerator), and the other being making things up. I demonstrated my ability to do the latter by giving the field a name and suddenly I'm being asked if Coach Berger is ok.
I digress.
It was a long afternoon at Pat Berger Memorial Field. By the time I left, the season had changed, I had grown a beard, and my haircut had gone out of style. Valiant efforts by Tim Shannon and Matt Sinderson on the mound kept us right in the game the whole time.
Tim's intimidating scowl caused one of the Red Knights to step up to the plate a little early which happens to be against the rules of baseball. Coach Lerner called time, slowly rose from his chair, sauntered (slowly) over to the umpire, and calmly (slowly) pointed out to the umpire that the other team had made an "Uh-Oh". He didn't ask the umpire, "Can you tell me what you were thinking out there?", but he did delay the game for quite awhile, allowing me newly grown beard that I mentioned early to gray. This counts as one-half of a Coach Lerner Umpire Chit Chat. The new total is as follows:
Umpire Chit Chats for Coach
.5
In the middle of the game, something happened that I hadn't seen since little league. Joe Melles, Red Knight pitcher, and friend to many on the team (including myself) hit a home run, and before one of out players could go chase the ball down, one of the Red Knight parents had beat us to it. The ball was safely in the hand of Joe Melles' mom. Poor Chris Code was charged with the duty of fetching the ball from Mrs. Melles, an unlucky task. Chris was booed by the Red Knight fans. To clear things up for Hopkins fans, we didn't take the ball because we didn't want Joe to have it as a souvenir, we took it because the umpire was running out of balls and the game might have come to an abrupt halt without the home run ball.
It also seemed to be family day at PBMF (Pat Berger Memorial Field). All three of the Coach's wives and all of their children were in attendance. In attendance were Coach Lerner's wife, Mrs. Lerner, and their kids Max and Sonjna; Coach Berger's Wife, Mrs. Berger, and their three kids, Leo, Gus-
Gus, and Ellie; and Coach Strong's wife, Mrs. Strong, and their new (5 week old) daughter Ella. It's refreshing to me to see a program built around family. Leo Berger told me after the game that the Berger Family was going to go to a Mexican restaurant for dinner, so I hope they enjoyed it!
After many attempts at ending the game, Matt Sinderson decided that not only was he going be a stud catcher and pitcher, he was going to end the game with a base hit right up the middle. Mattie was the hero today in a game that we won't soon forget.
This game was a marathon because neither team was forced to surrender in defeat in the normally allotted 7 innings. Only after 10 innings was the better team determined. That team, I am proud to inform you, was your own Hopkins Royals.
It was a long afternoon at Pat Berger Memorial Field.
For all of you who were concerned about Coach Berger's health, let me be the one to tell you that he is alive and well. Our field does not, to my knowledge, have a real name, so I figured I would give it a name, and seeing as Coach Berger has done the most work on the field over the years, I decided we should all remember that by naming the field after him. He did not die, he is alive and well.
In my first blog, I mentioned that I have a grip on the two most important skills in blogging, one of them is the lingo (simply adding the word blog to everyday words. For instance keep you blogs fresh and chilled in the blogerator), and the other being making things up. I demonstrated my ability to do the latter by giving the field a name and suddenly I'm being asked if Coach Berger is ok.
I digress.
It was a long afternoon at Pat Berger Memorial Field. By the time I left, the season had changed, I had grown a beard, and my haircut had gone out of style. Valiant efforts by Tim Shannon and Matt Sinderson on the mound kept us right in the game the whole time.
Tim's intimidating scowl caused one of the Red Knights to step up to the plate a little early which happens to be against the rules of baseball. Coach Lerner called time, slowly rose from his chair, sauntered (slowly) over to the umpire, and calmly (slowly) pointed out to the umpire that the other team had made an "Uh-Oh". He didn't ask the umpire, "Can you tell me what you were thinking out there?", but he did delay the game for quite awhile, allowing me newly grown beard that I mentioned early to gray. This counts as one-half of a Coach Lerner Umpire Chit Chat. The new total is as follows:
Umpire Chit Chats for Coach
.5
In the middle of the game, something happened that I hadn't seen since little league. Joe Melles, Red Knight pitcher, and friend to many on the team (including myself) hit a home run, and before one of out players could go chase the ball down, one of the Red Knight parents had beat us to it. The ball was safely in the hand of Joe Melles' mom. Poor Chris Code was charged with the duty of fetching the ball from Mrs. Melles, an unlucky task. Chris was booed by the Red Knight fans. To clear things up for Hopkins fans, we didn't take the ball because we didn't want Joe to have it as a souvenir, we took it because the umpire was running out of balls and the game might have come to an abrupt halt without the home run ball.
It also seemed to be family day at PBMF (Pat Berger Memorial Field). All three of the Coach's wives and all of their children were in attendance. In attendance were Coach Lerner's wife, Mrs. Lerner, and their kids Max and Sonjna; Coach Berger's Wife, Mrs. Berger, and their three kids, Leo, Gus-
Gus, and Ellie; and Coach Strong's wife, Mrs. Strong, and their new (5 week old) daughter Ella. It's refreshing to me to see a program built around family. Leo Berger told me after the game that the Berger Family was going to go to a Mexican restaurant for dinner, so I hope they enjoyed it!
After many attempts at ending the game, Matt Sinderson decided that not only was he going be a stud catcher and pitcher, he was going to end the game with a base hit right up the middle. Mattie was the hero today in a game that we won't soon forget.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Wow
I'm impressed, Hopkins Baseball community.
On the first day of the blog, you (and others) managed to visit the page nearly 200 times. The page was also viewed by 3 people in Columbia and 2 in the United Kingdom (Shout out to the foreign viewers!).
I also want to thank Coach Berger for linking my page to the Hopkins Baseball website, and I promise this is not an elaborate plot to take over HopkinsRoyalsBaseball.org....
My plan is to blog after every game, or after anything significant enough to warrant blogging about happens in practice. Save yourself the trouble of following the schedule and subscribe/follow From the Hot Corner and you will be sent updates telling you when I make another post.
As long as you keep reading, I'll keep blogging.
On the first day of the blog, you (and others) managed to visit the page nearly 200 times. The page was also viewed by 3 people in Columbia and 2 in the United Kingdom (Shout out to the foreign viewers!).
I also want to thank Coach Berger for linking my page to the Hopkins Baseball website, and I promise this is not an elaborate plot to take over HopkinsRoyalsBaseball.org....
My plan is to blog after every game, or after anything significant enough to warrant blogging about happens in practice. Save yourself the trouble of following the schedule and subscribe/follow From the Hot Corner and you will be sent updates telling you when I make another post.
As long as you keep reading, I'll keep blogging.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Game 1: Hopkins v. Richfield
To get this over with, we won 9-2.
It would be easy for me to tell you what happened in the game, according to the numbers. But thats not what this blog is about. A wise man once told me, "Stats are like bikinis. They show a lot but they don't show everything." This blog is about the stories behind the numbers.
The newest member of the Hopkins Baseball program is team Manager Mike Leach. His duties include keeping the book, helping with field work, telling good jokes, and being a friend to everyone on the team. Mike doing work on the field was the first thing I saw as I strolled into Pat Berger Memorial field.
A few highlights from the game include us four infielders discussing the benefits of chapstick with the umpire during a pitching change, Country Michael Larson wearing a fastball like a champ and not even rubbing it on the way to first base, Coach Lerner's web gem while coaching 3rd, and talking to Leo and Gus Berger (Coach Berger's kids) at the end of the game.
I have the privilege of being admired by Leo Berger. I hadn't seen him since the end of last season and it was nice to catch up with him. In the middle of the game, I told Coach Berger that I had greeted Leo and Coach said, "Great! You should tell him to wear sunscreen, he doesn't listen to his mother and me." Sorry to say it, Coach, but I didn't get the chance to impart my knowledge of protection against the sun to him, but I will find a way to work it in next time he and I talk.
And who could forget the cheers from Grandpa Don? Grandpa Don is Hammy(Jack Hamilton)'s Grandpa. Grandpa Don always calls Hammy by the nickname 'Skip'. Ever since I was 12 and playing little league, Grandpa Don has been to every game. Every so often as he watches, he will yell out a cheer like, "Talk it up out the, Hopkins!", "Step over the chair, Skip!", or when someone is batting, "Just meet it, it'll go!" Grandpa Don has been one of the few constants throughout my baseball career.
Whenever there is a questionable call by the umpires, Coach Lerner will (very) slowly walk out to the umpire and say, "Can you tell me what you were thinking there?" As stated in my first post, I will be keeping a running tally of the number of times Coach Lerner has his... chit chats, we'll call them, with umpires. Thankfully, there weren't any questionable calls this can, so Coach didn't have to make a trip into the umpire's personal space.
Umpire Chit Chats for Coach
0
It would be easy for me to tell you what happened in the game, according to the numbers. But thats not what this blog is about. A wise man once told me, "Stats are like bikinis. They show a lot but they don't show everything." This blog is about the stories behind the numbers.
The newest member of the Hopkins Baseball program is team Manager Mike Leach. His duties include keeping the book, helping with field work, telling good jokes, and being a friend to everyone on the team. Mike doing work on the field was the first thing I saw as I strolled into Pat Berger Memorial field.
A few highlights from the game include us four infielders discussing the benefits of chapstick with the umpire during a pitching change, Country Michael Larson wearing a fastball like a champ and not even rubbing it on the way to first base, Coach Lerner's web gem while coaching 3rd, and talking to Leo and Gus Berger (Coach Berger's kids) at the end of the game.
I have the privilege of being admired by Leo Berger. I hadn't seen him since the end of last season and it was nice to catch up with him. In the middle of the game, I told Coach Berger that I had greeted Leo and Coach said, "Great! You should tell him to wear sunscreen, he doesn't listen to his mother and me." Sorry to say it, Coach, but I didn't get the chance to impart my knowledge of protection against the sun to him, but I will find a way to work it in next time he and I talk.
And who could forget the cheers from Grandpa Don? Grandpa Don is Hammy(Jack Hamilton)'s Grandpa. Grandpa Don always calls Hammy by the nickname 'Skip'. Ever since I was 12 and playing little league, Grandpa Don has been to every game. Every so often as he watches, he will yell out a cheer like, "Talk it up out the, Hopkins!", "Step over the chair, Skip!", or when someone is batting, "Just meet it, it'll go!" Grandpa Don has been one of the few constants throughout my baseball career.
Whenever there is a questionable call by the umpires, Coach Lerner will (very) slowly walk out to the umpire and say, "Can you tell me what you were thinking there?" As stated in my first post, I will be keeping a running tally of the number of times Coach Lerner has his... chit chats, we'll call them, with umpires. Thankfully, there weren't any questionable calls this can, so Coach didn't have to make a trip into the umpire's personal space.
Umpire Chit Chats for Coach
0
What is "From the Hot Corner"?
Ladies and Gentlemen, without further a due, I present From the Hot Corner.
What, you might ask, is From the Hot Corner?
Relax, and just bear with me and let me have my debut moment.
From the Hot Corner is an inside look at the Hopkins Royals Varsity baseball team from yours truly, Mr. Bill Gregg, 3rd baseman and amateur blographer (still waiting for my someone to pick me up and start paying for me for this).
Why, you also might ask, is it titled From the Hot Corner? You also might be asking what a blographer is. First of all, the 'hot corner' is another name for 3rd base (my position) because groundballs are said to come very fast. A blographer is a term I made up for one who blogs. I figure if I'm going to blog, I might as well enter the blogosphere with at least a cursory knowledge of 1) The lingo, and 2) Making things up.
The main purpose of From the Hot Corner will be to go into the dugout, and for the first time ever, out onto the field with the Hopkins Royals.
How, you might be asking, will you do that? To that I say, first off, that you ask too many questions. Than I will indulge you by saying that I will share with you the anecdotes, experiences, triumphs, tragedies, and sunflower seeds that make the Hopkins Royals who they are.
I plan on posting after every game and letting you know how things went, who wore what, what's the hot gossip, and how many times Coach Lerner walked out slowly to the umpire and asked, "Can you tell me what you were thinking there?"
The first game is tonight against Richfield at 4:15 pm at Pat Berger Memorial Field at Hopkins High School. Try to be there, but if you can't, read my posts to stay up with your own Hopkins Royals.
What, you might ask, is From the Hot Corner?
Relax, and just bear with me and let me have my debut moment.
From the Hot Corner is an inside look at the Hopkins Royals Varsity baseball team from yours truly, Mr. Bill Gregg, 3rd baseman and amateur blographer (still waiting for my someone to pick me up and start paying for me for this).
Why, you also might ask, is it titled From the Hot Corner? You also might be asking what a blographer is. First of all, the 'hot corner' is another name for 3rd base (my position) because groundballs are said to come very fast. A blographer is a term I made up for one who blogs. I figure if I'm going to blog, I might as well enter the blogosphere with at least a cursory knowledge of 1) The lingo, and 2) Making things up.
The main purpose of From the Hot Corner will be to go into the dugout, and for the first time ever, out onto the field with the Hopkins Royals.
How, you might be asking, will you do that? To that I say, first off, that you ask too many questions. Than I will indulge you by saying that I will share with you the anecdotes, experiences, triumphs, tragedies, and sunflower seeds that make the Hopkins Royals who they are.
I plan on posting after every game and letting you know how things went, who wore what, what's the hot gossip, and how many times Coach Lerner walked out slowly to the umpire and asked, "Can you tell me what you were thinking there?"
The first game is tonight against Richfield at 4:15 pm at Pat Berger Memorial Field at Hopkins High School. Try to be there, but if you can't, read my posts to stay up with your own Hopkins Royals.
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