No Change in Tourney

7:45 I have checked the board, checked my phone. There has been no change in the tournament game times.

From what I understand the fields are all turf. This could be the reason for no change, or they just do not care about us?

MBC Surprises Dow with Big Finish

MBC broke open a tight game in the fourth and fifth inning and beat Dow 11-2. The game was a pitchers duel for three innings, and then MBC opened the flood gates to make it an easy win.

Two starting lefties went at it early, and it was as good as 13 year old ball gets. Joe Carey for MBC left with two outs in the fourth trailing his left handed counter part 2-0. His brother Tom relieved him getting out of a two out bases loaded jam, and cruised the rest of the way.

This is when the MBC cavalry showed up. In the fourth, Guthrie Morrison led off by lining out to short, an out, but a sign of good things to come. Joe Carey then singled and he was followed by a Joe Eskenazi single. Big Cole Burcham greeted Dow's reliever with a booming triple and the game was tied. After Landon Fletcher walked, MBC pulled a double steal of second and home, with Landon taking third on the over throw. Arthur Lane then belted a deep fly to left to score Landon.

In the fifth, Jackson Hirch started things off by being plunked. Jake Welch laid down another picture perfect bunt and MBC was in business again. Guthrie launched an RBI single and was followed by Joe Carey second hit of the game to score one more. After Joe Eskenazi was plunked Cole hit a hard grounder up the middle and Dow's throw to the plate was miss handled. A critical mistake. Landon Fletcher boomed a double for two more runs, Tom Carey drove a run in with an infield out and Arthur Lane ended the run-shortened game with a walk off RBI single, his second hit and second RBI of the game.

An Interview With the Coaches from Team Combat

Interviewer: You guys are a big, strong, hard hitting team. What are your keys to success.

Team Combat: We look for size and limited intelligence. Personality and looks are ignored in our search for players. In fact, we find it is just the opposite. The uglier, the more unruly and caustic the player, the more he fits in with us.

Interviewer: Do you have any problem containing these boys?

Team Combat: Well, sometimes, but most of the dugouts we play in are chain link fences. We pretty much close off one end, keep raw meat in the middle of the dugout and prod them with sticks to go out to hit. Beating them frequently keeps them motivated and the yelling and screaming, well that just comes naturally with the type of player we go after.

Interviewer: Where do your boys go after their playing days are over?

Team Combat: That sometimes can be problematic for them. Real life success comes hard for our former players. We have had some success running them through half-way houses or work release programs. Sooner or later most of our kids find jobs and some even eventually own their own trailers. We have a rent to own program for this, but the success rate is still down around 10%.

Apologies to All

A quick word of apology. Spelling and grammar sometimes (more often than most) ain't my best thing. I try (not really) to be good, but I am an impetuous writer. And proof reading is a task I find boring, and don't get me started about re-writing. That is for the birds.

Sometimes (again quite often) I miss spell words, sometimes (apparently EACH time, and each time a different way!) I miss spell names.

Please, point these things out to me. I need to know, so I can make corrections, and I need to know so I can figure out which boys NOT to play.

FYI, that snide little punk Joe Eskenazi (also know as Eskanzi, Eskanazi, and Joe Johnson) has pointed out that I have miss spelled his name EACH AND EVERY TIME in many ways. I am currently working on correcting this, and Joe is now facing a one game suspension.

He won't be at tonight's game, don't ask why; but please, let me know if I am butchering your name. I will take corrective action.

MBC Gels and Plays BEST Game EVER

It all came together for the MBC team on Sunday against the Bellevue Baseball Club. They played the best game ever against an evenly matched team. The final score was 6-0, but tells nothing of the drama contained during this tight game.

Guthrie Morrison was brilliant in four innings of work, allowing just two hits (to the same guy) and fanning five. His best inning was his last (pitch count). MBC had just taken a 1-0 lead and the Bellevue lead off hitter sliced a triple down the right field line. With the tying run at third, no outs, infield in, Guthrie induced a ground out to third and struck out the next two hitters (the 3 and 4 hitters!).

Daniel Hunt came on for the last three innings and took over and matched Guthrie's performance. Three innings of two hit ball and with just a 2-0 lead Daniel wiggled out of a bases loaded jam by inducing a weak fly ball to center.

MBC made the most out of their offense. With just five hits, and three walks baserunning took center stages. MBC took a 1-0 lead in the fourth after Landon Fletcher and Jackson Hirch walked. Arthur Lane clutched up and hit a single to score Landon to give MBC the slight advantage in a scoreless game.

In the fifth, after shutting down Bellevue's best scoring chance, Guthrie lead off with a single and promptly stole second. Joseph Carey hit a deep ball to right center and Guthrie tagged up and took third. Bellevue made a critical mistake in thinking Guthrie had left second too soon and decided to appeal at second. As the pitcher threw the ball to second the speedy Guthrie shot out for home and slid in front of the tardy throw from the second baseman, thus stealing home and giving MBC a two run cushion. Cole Burcham followed with a booming triple, but MBC was unable to score him with two outs.

MBC put the game away in the seventh. Both Guthrie and Jake Welch hit tough plays to short that Bellevue could not handle. Thomas Carey hit a deep fly to move both runners up bringing Joe Eskenazi up with two out. Joe hit a hot grounder that tipped off the Bellevue pitchers glove scoring Jake and the speedy Guthrie again scored when the rattled pitcher's throw eluded the first baseman. The final dagger was inserted by Landon who belted a huge double to score MBC's final two runs.

A Real Win over Bainbridge Island

MBC had a re-match with Bainbridge Island for a real league game and once again beat the Spartans 6-4.

MBC challenged the Spartans all day, scoring in the first, third and fifth innings. The Carey boys, Joseph and Thomas kept the Spartans down and solid defense (for most of the game) brought the win home.

Guthrie Morrison and Joseph Carey led the game off with walks. Cole Burcham drove Guthrie home with a single and Landon Flether drove Joseph home with a single with Cole imitating his older brother by being thrown out at home.

In the third, Guthrie got things going with a single, stole second and third and came in on Joseph's towering sac fly. Cole was walked and after a steal of second was safely driven in by hard hitting Joe Eskenazi via his first of two RBI singles of the day.

In the fifth, Daniel Hunt slashed a ball through the right side of the infield, stole second and was moved to third on Guthrie's infield out. Joseph scored Daniel with a single, and after stealing second base came in on Joe Eskenazi's second RBI single.

The infield play was solid, and the outfield play was outstanding. Guthrie and combination of Daniel Hunt and Joseph Carey covered everything in center and right,and Joe Eskenazi was all over left with two outstanding catches on short pop ups.

MBC Finds New Home in Bellevue

Talk was all over the radio last night about MBC's potential move to Bellevue. Rumors were flying that MBC was about to accept a sweetheart deal to play all their home games in the friendly confines of Wilburton Park.

Arthur Lane was quoted as saying "I just see the ball so much better at Wilburton", Cole Burcham commented on how much better the mound was for his blazing fastball and Guthrie Morrison said "My pick-off move is just sharper there, it might be the mound slope or perhaps the background for the runner is poor, but I feel like I could pick anyone off from that mound".

That said, MBC had another great game in Bellevue Saturday morning beating the Warriors 12-2. Cole Burcham was dominating in his four innings and Joe "Cool" Carey closed it out with a scoreless fifth in this run margin shortened game.

But it was all about the bats on Saturday morning. It didn't start out that way. Guthrie Morrison lead off with a walk, stole second and moved to third and scored on two consecutive balls hit to the pitcher proving that speed never slumps.

MBC broke it open in the third. Michael Bloedel led off with a walk and after a single by Jake Welch, and a passed ball, MBC was open for business. Guthrie scored Michael with an infield out and Joe Eskenazi scored Jake the same way. It looked like the inning was over, but Cole Burcham, Landon Fletcher and Thomas Carey all hit safely and when the dust had settled MBC had batted around and put up a five-spot.

The fourth inning was a deja vue moment. Again Michael led off with a walk, but this time Jake laid down a great bunt single. Guthrie walked to load the bases and Joe Carey singled with the bases loaded. The big blast of the day came next as with the bases loaded Joe Eskenazi belted a ball clear over the center fielder's head to score three. After Cole walked, Landon drove home Joe and the game was pretty much over.

Beautiful Night in Bellevue

MBC continued their winning ways on a beautiful night in Bellevue beating the Eastside Huskies 10-3. MBC put it all together, great pitching, great defense, timely hitting and mastered the running game; shutting down the Huskies and running the bases at will.

Guthrie Morrison was smooth as silk on the mound, throwing four brilliant innings, fanning five, picking off four and yielding only two runs. His lefty counterpart Daniel Hunt followed him with three no-hit innings while fanning three. These two shut down the Huskies all night.

MBC scored three runs in the second to take a lead they never lost. Cole Burcham lead off with a single and scored on Landon Fletcher's single after stealing second. Thomas Carey, Arthur Lane (RBI) and Daniel Hunt followed with singles and the final run came home on Michael Bloedel's productive in-field ground out.

The big inning was the fifth. Walks to Jake Welch and Guthrie and the Huskies miscue on Joseph Carey's ground ball loaded the bases for Joe Eskenazi who drove home two with a single. After a couple of walks Arthur drove in two more with his second big hit of the night and the game was in the bag.

Mid Season Status Report

We have played eight league games and three non league games. We are 3-5 in league and 6-5 overall. And do not forget we started 0-3. Since then we are 3-2 in league and 6-2 overall. Not bad. But we still have a long way to go.

Overall I am seeing progress in each and everyone of you guys. We are playing better defense, I am seeing more "heart and guts" on display, and we are beginning to swing the bats a little bit.

But as we sit here mid season I would like to air what I would call my two biggest disappointments and see if we can begin to correct them.

Parents, I am not sure your boys even read this blog, but this is a good one to print out and have them read.

1. SWING THE BAT!
FYI the reason I played this game, and the reason this game got such a hold on me was hitting. There is nothing in the world like that two-second feeling one gets after great contact. That bliss you feel when you swing and make sweet spot contact and the ball just takes off. Nothing like it in the world. For this to happen, ya gotta swing!!!!

Here is the deal, guys, NO ONE COMES OUT TO SEE YOU GET A WALK. A walk is a poor consolation prize. I used to get sooooo mad when the pitcher walked me, and believe me he had to really try, because I was up there to hit. I will grant you that strategically walks have their place. But I will say it again, there is no prize for winning these games, and these games are much more fun when you hit the ball hard. Your future high school coach is not going to ask you how many times you walked at 13, and years from now you are certainly NOT going to remember that close pitch you took with a full count to "get that walk" You are going to remember the ball you hit over the center fielders head. Lastly, Jack Cust is never going to be anyone's favorite Mariner because he has such a great eye. A walk at this level is a consolation prize, GO FOR THE REAL PRIZE, a hit.

No one on this team is swinging too much at bad pitchers, trust me, I will reign you in if this starts to happen, but for the love of Pete (that's my son), stop taking SO MANY FASTBALL STRIKES.

2.For crying out loud will SOMEBODY TRY TO STEAL THIRD BASE!!!!!

Sometimes the other team just camps there and there is nothing we can do. Most of the time, the other team just leaves us alone and we DO NOTHING. Please get some courage up and start being aggressive at second base. When I tell you it is clear, please try to get your three secondary steps in, and when the pitcher lifts his foot, turn you hips and steal third. THIS IS THE YEAR to learn this valuable skill. Learning this turns you into a dangerous baserunner for the rest of you career. Please try it, please get thrown out a couple times and soon you will have it down.

If you watched the Mariner game against the Yankees the other night you may have seen Adam Kennedy get picked off first. It was a GREAT play on his part. He is older now and just an average runner. He took a chance to get a walking lead, in a close game with one out. If he had been successful, he would have been in scoring position, but he had the bad luck to run into a move to first just as he was taking a very good risk. It happens, but I loved the desire it displayed.

New Friends Help MBC Win on Island

MBC & Company barnstormed over to Bainbridge Island to play the Spartens on Sunday and came home with a win. Short regular players due to injury and Memorial Day Weekend travel plans, MBC added three ringers to their roster, Nephew William, the fourth Lane quadruplet Kyle, and a player so cool that like Sting he only goes by one name - Tim-O.

In a holiday mood, and ready to showcase their deep talent to the Island crowd, MBC used nine pitchers and two left handed catchers over the course of ten innings. A sharp eyed spectator may have even noticed a left handed second basemen.

MBC let the home to score first (a common practice of flashy barnstorming teams) and then quickly roared to a 6-4 margin in the "regulation" contest. Then, again in true barnstorming practice, MBC allowed the home team to score four charity runs prior to their departure letting the home town team save a little face.

Big bats abounded in the regulation game. Joe "birthday boy" Carey belted two hits, including a double, and the other Joe, Joe Eskenazi duplicated this hitting feat. Both boys added hits in the following game. Thomas Carey also received a clean single on his birthday.

In other big hitting news Eddie Lane started his run for the team RBI crown by belting two clutch singles and driving in three of our six runs in game one. Arther Lane added a hit and the game was stopped when we presented Daniel Hunt the game ball for his first hit!.

MBC Meets the Rebels With a Cause

MBC ran into a tough Rawlings Rebel team on Sunday and played them tough, but lost 7-2.

Landon Fletcher struck out three in his three innings, but the Rebels had some big bats in their line-up and they touched him up for four runs. Eddie Lane came in for the next three innings and did what he could to keep them off balance. He kept them in check other than their six plus foot first baseman who took a ball out of their short fenced field.

Guthrie Morrison stayed hot with two hits. Joe Carey, Cole Burcham, Thomas Carey and Jake Welch all added hits as MBC tried valiantly to keep up with the Rebels.

While the Coach is Away, This Team Will Play!

First of all, I want to go on record that the team was AHEAD when I had to leave. We had a commanding 5-1 lead. But I will say I was deeply hurt that after my departure, the team went on to crush the Senators 18-2. Wow!

Joe Carey (chosen by Coach Cougan to start the game) pitched a complete game victory limiting the Senators to three hits.

MBC came out hot scoring three runs in the first. Guthrie started the ball rolling with a single and stole second and third. Joe Eskanizi walked and Landon Fletcher and Thomas Carey followed with hits.

In the third the Senators started to fall apart. Too many walks combined with a Joe Eskenazi single plated two more runs. Coach Cougan then left for another game and the fun really started. When the dust settled, MBC had 18 runs, Guthrie and Thomas had three hits each, Joe Eskenazi had two hits and Landon and Arthur Lane each added a hit.

Pitchers Carey MBC to Win Over Wave

My wife makes fun of my spelling, my grammer and my overall writing skills. She can, she writes for a living. But the title is not a typo. Joe and Tom Carey combined for an almost shutout last night against the Woodinville Wave. Joe started and threw four scoreless innings, and Tom completed the last three innings, surrendering a run with an 7-0 score to for an easier out. Had we needed to shut them out, Tom could have, but he chose the smart play over the shut out.

Joe was masterful in his pitching and his moves to first. In the second he gave up back to back singles, and picked both runners off as soon as they reached first. I guess he is no longer reluctant to use his magic move to first.

Tom also pitched with ease and breezed through his three innings.

We are still waiting for the offensive explosion that I know is coming. Last night MBC struck for three runs in the second and four runs in the sixth, but we have yet to start pummeling the ball.

In the second Landon Fletcher reached on an error and after a single by Jackson Hirch and a walk to Joe Eskenazi, Eddie Lane laced a beautiful single to right to score two. The third run scored on a ground out by Arthur Lane.

Jake Welch led off the sixth with a walk and after a single by Guthrie Morrison and two walks to Tom Carey and Cole Burcham, MBC was in business again. Landon singled home two runs and the final run scored on a clutch two out single by Joe Eskenazi.

Nice Win Over Columbia City Reds

MBC 13's beat the Columbia City Reds 8-5 on a sunny Saturday afternoon. The offense woke up and joined the good pitching and fielding and the team was rewarded with a win.

Eddie Lane started and after giving up two hits to the first two Reds he proceeded to retire the next twelve Reds hitters in order (actually 13 if you count one Red reaching on MBC's only error of the day). Eddie fanned three batters and left the game with a big smile.

Jake Welch pitched the next two innings, gave up some hits and a few runs but overall held the Reds in check. Jackson Hirch pitched a perfect seventh to bring home the win for the hometown fans.

Offensively, compared to previous games, this could be called an explosion. MBC recorded eight hits and reached bases on some errors by the Reds. Landon Fletcher lead the way with two hits, and Cole Burcham, Tom Carey, Joe Eskanzi, Jake Welch, Guthrie Morrison and Eddie Lane all had hits.

Sunday, May 14th - NO GAME

Sorry, folks.
No game at 9 am.
I have just learned that the fields in Bellevue are closed due to weather conditions.

Looks extremely doubtful

Their coach is going to call me at 7 am. Call me before you leave home.

206 932 5734 or 206 793 0085.


Don't leave before 7:15 even if you live in Montana.

MBC Suffers Tough Loss in Hurracaine

MBC lost a tough one last night 5-4 against Rips. The game was played on the evening of one of the better days in Seattle this spring. Too bad by game time the temperature had dropped 10 degrees and the wind blew very hard in from left field the entire game.

MBC again played error less baseball. The defense is really starting to come together. The infield made all the plays all night and the outfielders raced around grabbing everything in the air. The pitching was tremendous with the exception of a disappearing strike zone in the 7th inning which proved fatal.

Landon Fletcher threw three great inning. His one mistake, a lead-off walk in the first, was scored via a surprisingly early squeeze play in the first inning. Landon blanked them after that through three innings. Arther Lane dazzled the Brewers for the next four innings as MBC fought back to tie the score.

Guthrie Morrison came in for the seventh and after striking out the first two Brewers had the strike zone disappear on him. After two walks and runners on second and third a Brewer batter fouled off at least ten pitches to load the bases with a walk. A tired Guthrie then walked in a run and a pesky Brewer hitting placed a hit and MBC was down three runs.

In a very exciting finish MBC battled back. Guthrie singled and with two outs the Brewer shortstop could not handle Joe Eskenazi's hard shot. With two on and two out Cole Burcham launched a huge double over the left fielder's head to put the tying run at second. But that was as close as MBC came and the Brewers fought out of the jamb.

Cole finished the night with two hits, as did a resurgent Joe Carey. Jake Welch also added a strong hit.

Painful Loss for MBC 13's

Illegally obtained actual X-ray photo of Danny's arm










Actual photo of "the beaning", bad film has altered the colors










Danny after surgery, a little dazed but still feeling squirrelly.



MBC played a non league game last night against the Bellevue Warriors. Sadly the team lost the game and in sadder news may have lost premier lefty Daniel Hunt for a part of the season. Victim of a beaning in the seventh inning Daniel suffered a fracture to his pitching elbow.

Eddie Lane started the game and threw two innings allowing a couple of runs but left with a 4-2 lead. Joseph Carey threw an inning and surrendered the two more runs. Daniel Hunt came in to pitch innings four and five, but needed Cole Burcham's help to get out of the fifth and pitched the rest of the way. When the dust settled in the seventh MBC was down 11-5.

But MBC did throw up some big offensive numbers on Mother's Day. A late inning rally that made Bellevue nervous made the final score 11-8. The final out was recorded with the tying run on base and Bellevue needed a fine play to retire Ryan McAloon.

Jackson Hirch and Thomas Carey were the big weapons tonight with two hits a piece and four RBI between them. Eddie Lane also had two hits and Guthrie Morrison, Cole Burcham and Ryan McAloon each added to the hit totals. Many others hit balls well, but right at waiting Bellevue fielders.

Say Hey to 80, By Quin Hillyer

There was something about that baseball card. For one thing, the 587 under the "HR" column, far and above the corresponding number on any other player's card, absolutely wowed a five-year-old who thought that home runs were the primary measure of a player's greatness. For another thing, there was that incredibly broad and engaging smile on the photograph. Finally, there was, as I remember it, some sort of "fun fact" about how this player was particularly known for going out of his way to be nice to children.
Somewhere around that time came the greatest catch I ever saw. No, it wasn't "The Catch," the famous Polo Grounds snag of the ball blasted by Cleveland's Vic Wertz; that one came ten years before I was born. This catch was even better. My memory might embellish the reality a little, but it went something like this: A drive to right-center in Candlestick Park. Two incredibly fast outfielders at full sprint in pursuit. Bobby Bonds, from right field, arrived at the ball and the fence at the exact same time. So did my player, streaking over from center. He arrived at the same place at the same time. Two players, at full sprint, hit each other and the fence simultaneously. Both players fell in disheveled, oddly angled heaps. One of them may even have been temporarily knocked unconscious. Then came the dawning realization: Nobody seemed to know where the ball was.
Then, from the centerfielder, still in a heap on the ground, the gloved hand raised up, like that arm in the promo for the movie Deliverance. The glove opened. The world could see: The ball was snugly inside. The batter was out. Willie Mays' glove once more had become the place, as an opposing team's executive once said, "where triples go to die."
I was hooked on Willie Mays for life. And the more I learned about him, the more I liked. I found out that the stories of his manifold kindnesses to kids were true. I saw him act as a peacemaker in the 1973 League Championship Series when Mets fans were throwing objects at Cincinnati's Pete Rose. I read about how he had run to the aid of opponent Johnny Roseboro, rather than joining in the brawl, when his teammate Juan Marichal beat Roseboro on the head with a bat. I heard how he had taken time to take a troubled, athletic gang member named O.J. Simpson around San Francisco one day, by Simpson's own testimony turning the youth's life around. (Okay, okay, I didn't know in 1973 that O.J. would revert to form two decades later.)
Everything about Mays seemed admirable. And, of course, his record as a ballplayer, even as he faded into mediocrity on the field by the time I was nine years old, remained absolutely nonpareil.
Today (as indicated by the headline), the Say Hey Kid turns 80 years young. I happen to be reading, thoroughly enjoying, and marveling at, Mays' official biography by James S. Hirsch, Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend. What I am finding is that it was all true: Just about all the heroic qualities that my younger, innocent self had ascribed to Mays turn out to be qualities Mays usually exhibited. He was an ever better player than can be imagined -- and a good and kind and generous man.
His remarkable career statistics, especially the 660 home runs when all was said and done, actually understate his brilliance. He lost nearly two full seasons to military service; the year he returned, he hit 41 home runs. Give him just 30 in each of the two previous years and he would have passed Babe Ruth before Henry Aaron did. But wait: There's more. He played almost his entire career in two of the worst home parks ever for home run hitters. New York's Polo Grounds did have an incredibly short left-field foul line, conducive to homers, but Mays' power was to the "alleys" -- and the Polo Grounds' right- and left-center alleys were cavernous. No park today has fences remotely as deep. Then there was San Francisco's Candlestick Park, plagued by winds that particularly beat back drives to left field, which is exactly where the right-handed Mays pounded the ball. Author Hirsch reports that today's sophisticated statisticians estimate that Candlestick alone cost Mays between 80 and 160 home runs during the course of his career (Mays himself estimates it was around 120). Put Mays in Milwaukee's park or Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium, and he might have approached 800 career homers, even without recouping his two military seasons.
And that was during some of the tougher years for hitters in Major League history. Throughout much of the 1960s, pitchers had a statistical advantage, especially in Mays' National League. Those were the years when Sandy Koufax was tallying ERAs of 2.54, 1.88, 1.74, 2.04 and 1.73, while Bob Gibson (a few seasons later) was posting ERAs of 2.44, 2.98, 1.12 and 2.18.
Mays led his league in hitting once (and second three times), walks once, on-base percentage twice (including at age 40!), stolen bases four times, home runs four times, triples three times, runs twice, slugging five times (and second-place twice). Ten different times he led the league in the stats-nerds' new favorite category: wins above replacement player. He won Gold Gloves for the first 12 consecutive seasons the award was given (and surely would have won in the three previous years if the award had existed). His 7,095 career putouts easily lead all outfielders in history. And, by all accounts, he made more visually spectacular plays, with his glove and with his arm and with his base-running, than can easily be fathomed. Scoring from first base on singles, repeatedly. Advancing from first to third on ground-outs, repeatedly. Scoring from second base on sacrifice flies. And always doing so with a showman's flair.
"I'm not sure what the hell charisma is," said slugger Ted Kluszewski, "but I get the feeling it's Willie Mays." Or, as the actress Tallulah Bankhead said in 1962, "There have been only two geniuses in the world: Willie Mays and Willie Shakespeare."
It's quite possible, however, that not even The Bard's poetry could have done justice to the Say Hey Kid.


- - - - -
Thank you to Steve Lane for passing this on to me. I have to admit, I was a Mantle guy, the Giants had left New York prior to me becoming old enough to be a fan. But I will always have a Giant soft spot in my heart for Willie, especially for his return as a Met.

Walk-Off Win Over Rockies

The MBC 13's won their second game in a row in dramatic fashion. It was an exciting walk off win against the PBC Rockies, 3-2. Again the recipe was good pitching, solid defense and tonight they used a little more offense.

Landon Fletcher pitched three solid inning and tired slightly in the fourth. Walking two players to lead off the fourth he needed help from Daniel Hunt to get out of a jamb. Daniel pitched well and carried the team into the seventh with a chance to win. Guthrie Morrison closed the game out with a perfect seventh.

Offensively MBC got on the board early after Cole Burcham lead off the second inning with a walk. A hit by Landon Fletcher took him to third and he scored on a ground ball by Thomas Carey.

The Rockies tied the game after one of the lead off walks came around to score, also on an infield ground out, and a close play at the plate.

In the fifth Thomas Carey lead off with a solid single, stole second and third and scored on his brother Joseph's ground ball.

The Rockies tied the game in the sixth, scoring while MBC picked a runner off first.

In the bottom of the seventh Jackson Hirch boomed a one out single to left and stole second and third as the Rockies recorded the second out of the inning. Joseph Carey immediately went 0-2, but rallied to foul off pitches and work a walk bring pesky Guthrie Morrison to the plate. As the crowd held their breath, Guthrie laced a single to right to bring Jackson home with the winning run.

You couldn't ask for a better night weather wise. And you could ask for a better time to have a better game. A large crowd was on hand to see the game, even Coach Cougan's lovely mother in law Sally Santuci. Coach Cougan's beautiful wife arrived just in time to see the walk-off hit accompanied by two French media correspondents.
Last of all, ESPN had sent out one of their top baseball experts to cover the game. Coach Cougan stayed up until the wee hours and finally saw the segment on our game at 3:30 am on ESPN 15; you have to pay extra for that channel.

Big Win for MBC 13's

The MBC 13' played a near perfect game on a wonderful Saturday night to record their first win of the season. Great pitching and solid defense were the keys to the game. Joseph Carey and Guthrie Morrison combined for a shutout and the MBC team walked away with a 1-0 victory.

Joseph was masterful in his first start pitching four innings allowing just three hits and striking out two. Solid defense was on display behind him all the way. Ryno "the Hitting Machine", playing the hot corner, showed that he was not just another pretty bat with a fantastic backhand of a would be double to stop a Wolfpack rally. Joe Eskanazi tied the major league record by running all over center field in the fourth inning to nab three fly balls.

Guthrie Morrison came in to close the game with three dynamite innings, allowing just two hits and striking out four. He too was backed by solid defense, in fact the team played error less baseball; a rarity for a 13 year old game.

MBC put the ball in play, and with a combination of walks and just three hits put the pressure on the Wolfpack all night long. Guthrie, Cole Burcham and Ryan McAlloon each had hits and Cole scored from third on a passed ball in the fourth inning to seal the win.

Base running miscues are what kept MBC from scoring more runs. Twice the Wolfpack made errors that would seem to extend innings and twice our "too nice of boys" gingerly stopped running to first to avoid collision with the first baseman. Running hard through the bag would have placed two more MBC players on base and delayed two outs that slowed our progress. We also learned the importance of freezing on a line drive the hard way in a two on/ no out situation!

Getting Off the Field Impedes MBC' Chance for a Win

Baseball (for seven inning games) is a race to 21 outs. The team that plays a better game of catch typically wins. The winner will normally score more runs in one inning, than the difference in the score.

All these adages almost proved true for the MBC team last night. The difference in the game was the Tiger's ability to "get off the field" and MBC's inability to "get off the field"

MBC got superb pitching performance from Cole Burcham and Danny Hunt but could not get those battling pitchers off the field in time to win the game. MBC lost 12-4, and allowed only 3 earned runs. Ouch!

MBC loaded the bases in the first against a struggling Tiger starter, and could not put him away. MBC did get on the board in the second to take a lead, but fell victim to staying on the field too long in the third inning.

Five plays. Five plays in the third could have been outs. Five plays that we normally make. Five plays in the third inning could have avoided disaster. Five plays were simply not made and a hole was dug. Five plays that we WILL be making down the road. It is early, and this night simply provided us with another lesson.

The fourth inning gave us three plays that would have gotten us off the field, and in the fifth we whittled it down to just one play. Instant progress, but still room for improvement.

Instinctively knowing that getting off the field was an important part of baseball, MBC tried their luck in beating the system, by simply running off the field after two outs. Our infield turned a nifty 6-4-3 double play and ran off the field. The other team took the field, and if it wasn't for that pesky umpire keeping track of outs, we might have gotten away with this great new idea.

Offensively Joe Eskanazi kept pace with his hot hitting with a single, and Cole Burcham collected two hits.

Game Two Surprise; Opponent Somewhat Smaller, Results Somewhat Better

MBC 13's traveled to Bremerton to play the Vipers in their second game of the season. Coach Cougan's heart sank as he greeted the opposing coach on route to the field. In his chit chat with the coach he mentioned last night's lost to the huge team from Auburn only to hear the Viper's coach reply, "yeah, they beat us 8-7 last week".

???!!**! went through Coach Cougan's brain. Upon rounding the corner to the field Coach Cougan was again started at the size of the opponent. Another huge team, and this one featured the spitting image of Kirby Puckett*. Egads!!!

Undaunted, MBC came out swinging and took their first lead of the year. Joe Eskanzie crushed a ball deep over Kirby Puckett's head for a double. Landon Fletcher pounded out a single and MBC was in business. Danny Hunt smashed a would be sac fly to center helping Joe Eskenazi learn to ALWAYS tag up on fly balls when on third. Joe was bailed out of trouble after "Ryno the Hitting Machine" McAloon singled home Joe and Thomas Carey singled home Landon.

The Vipers struck back with three of their own in the bottom of the first to take away MBC's early lead.

In the second, a couple walks, a hit from Joe Carey loaded the bases and a walk to Guthrie Morrison plated the tying run. Magnolia then allowed the Vipers off the hook as the next three batters went down unproductively with the bases loaded.

The game slipped away from MBC at that point as the Vipers responded with a big inning creating an 11 - 3 gap that later became a 12-3 final score.

MBC played much better defense in their second game. An outfield of Joe Eskanazi, Guthrie Morrison and Joe Carey raced around making many catches, none better than Joe's over the shoulder grab in left. The infield play was solid and Thomas Carey made a great play for a 6U, 6-3 double play. Jake Welch came in a pitched with guts and guile to hold the Vipers to just one run for the remainder of the game.

Although the results were another loss, the team played much better and one could see the team starting to figure the game out a little more.


* For all the young uniformed members of our team who said "Who is Kirby Puckett?

Kirby Puckett (March 14, 1960 – March 6, 2006) was a Major League Baseball center fielder. He played his entire 12-year baseball career with the Minnesota Twins (1984–1995) and he is the Twins franchise's all-time leader in career hits, runs, doubles and total bases. At the time of his retirement, his .318 career batting average was the highest by any right-handed American League batter since Joe DiMaggio.

Home Opener a Loss as MBC Hosts a Team of Giants

MBC 13's lost their home opener to the PBC Born to Play team. Born to Play? Born to be huge would be a better name for these guys. These guys were huge, and they had already played 16 games, coming in at 15-1. Coincidentally they beat us 15-1.

The good news; our pitchers kept throwing strikes. Our defense made some nice plays. The bad news, they hit some balls very far, they found a lot of holes, our guys (understandably) got a little rattled in their first game.

More good news, our team hit some pretty good shots off a very good pitcher. Joe Eskanazi belted a screaming line drive for a solid single in the first. Landon Fletcher launched a ball over a left fielder's head for a double. Ryan McAloon also scorched a ball over the left fielder's head as well. Others hit balls that on normal nights would be hits, but these giants from Auburn also played great defense.

All in all, the MBC team played a gallant game against a much bigger stronger team.

Opening Weekend; And Wouldn't You Know it, it is Poetry Month!

A poem to inspire you prior to Opening Weekend:

Making an Effort

Our so-called limitations,believe,
apply to faculties we don't apply.
We don't discover what we can't achieve
until we make an effort not to try.

Piet Hein


Let us play inspired baseball this weekend. Let's put our tongues out, hustle, give it absolute all and have a bucketful of fun.

First Game Results - Optimism Abounds

The Magnolia 13's had their first action Saturday April 9 and a lot of good things happened. This team has a bunch of strike throwing pitchers - a plus. This team puts the ball in play - a plus. This team has some power - a plus. This team has the ABILITY to play good defense - will be a plus. This team can run - a plus.

I liked what I saw. The best thing I saw during the practice game was us making some very good mistakes. I believe it is best to make mistakes early. There is NO better way to learn than through making mistakes and making them early.

Things we learned yesterday:
1. It is VERY IMPORTANT to keep your eye on the ball while on base. Signals need to be taken from the safety of the bag (but it is good that we are actually looking for signals). Eyes on the ball before and during leads - always a plus. And we stay on the ball even when the other team is doing something routine, like throwing the ball back to the pitcher

2. The game is a little faster this year. When the other team bunts we need to jump on the ball and act fast. OUR CATCHERS NEED TO YELL WHERE THE PLAY IS. Middle infielders may need to cheat in bunt situations for coverage issues. Everyone must MOVE, and move fast, when a batter squares around to bunt.

Things we maybe didn't learn so much that Coach Cougan will be talking about at the next practice:

1. Flyballs in the air need to be caught IN THE AIR by outfielders. They are outs when caught, they are hits when they land. We are trying to get outs, ASAP!

2. Different players come in different sizes. Outfielders need to start acting on their own when they see six foot batters come up versus 4 foot players. Think for your selves, try to impress me with what you know.

3. The game of baseball is played on our feet. Bad things happen when we go to our knees. On dives we land on our chest, we do not drop to our knees.

4. Another player's bad throw (and we are 13 we will uncork bad throws) become a fielding opportunity for the recipient of the throw. Stop the mistake at your end. Move to the ball, stop the ball, stop the resultant mayhem associated with a bad throw.

But all in all, I was impressed by hustle, I was impressed by the focus on the bench, I was impressed by the effort. I was glad we made the mistakes we made. Now we can go to work on learning more and getting better and better every time we are out there!

Stop Shaving NOW!

Hey guys, I just had a great idea. I want to put it to a vote and we will only go for it if the majority of you want to do it.

I say we all grow beards this summer and let our hair go long. I will see if Karen will spring for some authentic House of David jerseys from Ebbet Field Flannels.

What do you say? Are you in?

Here is a blurb on the House of David:
Known the world over for their famous bearded baseball teams, the House of David was something America and the rest of the world had never seen the likes of before. These men travelled the country with their long hair and beards, heavy wool uniforms, and a truck full of laughter and talent. They went down in history for entertaining America with their uniqueness on the field, their absolute superb playing ability, their own invention of the Pepper Game, and their ability to break the color barrier as they travelled many years with the Negro League teams. You see, these bearded baseball players from Benton Harbor, Michigan were something very special.

The very first teams were made up of strictly members of the famous House of David religious colony, who lived a communal life, a life of Christianity, vegetarianism, celebacy, and love for mankind. But they had to find something to do with alot of extra energy, so they set out to play the game of baseball. Starting in 1914, they began to take on outside teams, and soon found out that they were better than most that they encountered, so they went outside even the local teams, playing the best talents of the State of Michigan, and then eventually by 1917 taking on talented teams around the country. They continued their winning ways, and began to be invited to play better and better teams across America, until they were actually playing semi-pro and pro teams everywhere. They actually beat over 70% of the teams they played year after year, and were invited to play so many teams around the country, (even into Mexico and Canada), that they had to soon build up a second, third, fourth and even fifth travelling team to fill in all of the demand.

So it goes that by the early 1930's, there were House of David teams scattered around the country, taking on anyone and everyone who wanted to play, beating most, and leaving the stadiums full of laughter and amazement everywhere they stopped. Almost anyone we have interviewed over the past 10+ years that remembered the House of David teams told us that it was the most amazing group of baseball players they had ever seen, and absolutely the most unique! We have had experts in Negro League Baseball spend literally days studying the House of David Museum files, only to tell us that they have been told by the old Negro League Players that the House of David Teams were to be given credit for breaking the color barrier that kept them out of the Major Leagues during those same years.

Baseball is Fun

Baseball is fun. I am the biggest believer in that statement. My #1 goal in life is to make you guys experience how fun it is to play baseball. I want you guys to have fun this summer.

Now let me define fun.

Success in baseball is fun. When the game is going well, baseball is fun. When you are getting better everyday, baseball is fun. When the game rewards your efforts, baseball is fun.

Now let me define success. I do not think, and quite honestly I do not want to win every game. That is not my goal. Sometimes to grow in the game we have to make changes, and do things that make it difficult to win the current game, but grant us the most growth in the game of baseball. Sometimes LONG term growth gets in the way of 7 inning success. Most likely, winning more than we loose will be a by product of us – having fun – and getting better everyday.

Now, why am I bringing this up?

You are 13. You are learning. You have crazy energy. You sometimes lack focus. Relax, I realize this and are more patient than you will ever realize. But sometimes it is going to look like I am getting on you. I typically try to do this in amusing ways. I try to do it gently. But one thing I know about human nature is that nobody likes to be corrected. When authority speaks, it is human nature to defend what is and close off to what could be. That is okay, but please try to think about it and know that I am always available to talk more about it – just not at the immediate time. And know this; I have short term memory loss about it. I realize (because I needed it) that you will have to hear things 100 times before you actually “see it” and then it will take more time to “do something” about it.

Back to fun. Baseball is fun. Doing baseball things at practice is fun. Other things are fun. Have fun about other things at other times. There are 24 hours in the day, baseball only takes up two or three during a couple of your days in the week. When we are at baseball practice, and baseball games – let’s have baseball fun.

It is Now a Giant Hardware Store

Years and years ago, in the old black and white days, Seattle had a wonderful old baseball stadium. It was called Sicks Seattle Stadium. That is Rainier Avenue to the right and Martin Luther King (Empire Way in those days) Way to the left. It was located in the Rainier Valley about midway from Dearborn and Columbia City.

I was lucky to attend games there (season ticket holder for the Rainier’s in the early 70's) and even more lucky to actually get to play there. For my sophomore and junior years at Seattle U this was home.

It was pretty run down then, but hey, it was still a big league park to us. The drinking fountain in the dugout was horrible (see the scene in THE NATURAL where Pop tries to take a drink), but they were real "dug"outs and there was a locker room and bathroom available up the ramp. The outfield walls were big and tall and had old signs on them. Our crowds were small, parents and girlfriends and wives all sitting in fold up chairs. My brother still has a wonderful picture he took of his wife Patti, sitting alone amid the scattered chairs just as the sun is setting and the lights were coming on. As you can just imagine, you got a little pumped up every time you came to that glorious palace to play a game.

I wish the picture*(that I have stolen from Dave Eskenazi and Steve Rudman's Wayback feature on sportspressnw.com) was a more full shot. I wish it showed more of the left field corner. As a young player I had many faults, none greater than my impatience at the plate. In a round field I would have made the big leagues as most of my best hits were on the wrong side of the left field line. Against Gonzaga my sophomore year (with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth) I hit a ball OUT of Sicks Stadium, over the fence, over the bleachers and saw it bounce on Empire Way and attack the apartments....just foul. Maybe Carlton Fisk could have kept it fair, but my ball wouldn't listen no matter how hard I waved my hands. On the next pitch I swung five times on a change-up to end the game.

Link to Wayback archive at sportspressnw.com:
http://sportspressnw.com/author/daveeskenazi/


* Postscript. After asking Dave's permission for the post (thanks Dave) Dave provided a better picture of Sicks Stadium (taken during a Pilot game) that shows the true magnitude of my my blast. And now that I have a picture, I guess my memory of the ball hitting the apartments has been proven WRONG (but what are memories for), but it did bounce in the street, just between the light pole and the foul pole!

March Madness

I sent an email out this morning. I am having a March Madness Limited Pool contest. The picture above is from the medium size Ebbets Field Flannel's T-shirt that we are competing for.

The rules are simple. Pick 16 teams. You get a point for each game they win. You MUST pick one of every seed #. That means you pick one #1, one #2 all the way to a seed #16. Email your picks by tomorrow.

AND... if you have never been to Ebbets Field Flannels, you should go sometime. Real cool old time baseball jerseys, jackets, tee shirts and hats. They also have old hockey and old football gear. They have a web presence www.ebbets.com that you can go to and look at stuff. There is typically some history involved when you look at an item.

Speaking of history, and speaking of reading - both BIG things for old Coach Cougan, I just finished the new Mickey Mantle biography, a sad tale and am currently reading a memoir of Carl Erskine's. I BETTER not have to tell you who Mickey Mantle is, and Carl Erskine was a standout pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers (and stayed with them when they ran off to LA). Here is a GREAT quote from Carl on how he pitched Stan the Man.

"I've had a pretty good success facing Stan (Musial) by throwing him my best pitch and backing up third base."

The Mantle book is on my kindle, but the Erskine memoir is a real book and is open to loan to any avid readers out there. And Carl Erskine ACTUALLY has a web site - www.carlerskine.com

Doors closing at McNeil Island prison after 135 years

Coach Cougan likes to tell people that he spent 30 days locked up at McNeil Island in the late 70's. I like to tell the story just for shock value. It is true, I spent time at McNeil Island.

I played semi-pro ball during the summers then and McNeil Island was in our league. They played all their games at home (obviously) and it was a weird experience going there. Their teams were tough (duh) and they had some pretty good ball players. The entire place smelled like one giant ashtray.

After a hit and you were standing on a base, if you had the courage (I have always been a yapper) you would ask the first baseman, or second basemen etc what he was in for. They ALWAYS looked you right in the eye and said "murder". I was the catcher and the scariest moment I ever experience was when our pitcher hit a batter. He got so nervous after that he hit the next guy.... and then two more! As the guy who has to protect my pitcher, I was sweating bullets, but other than more cursing (and vile words and evil threats) nothing came of the matter.

We always drew a pretty good crowd, what else was there to do. The thing that struck me the oddest was that in the stands, all the white guys sat together, all the Hispanics sat together and likewise all the African Americans. The crowd was always for us, and derided the home team. It goes without saying that depending on race, two of the three sections hooted and made fun of anyone who made an error or an out.

Security wise, we were searched on the way in AND out. We were not allowed any gum (jambed the locks) or anything that could be construed as a weapon or turned into a weapon. The oddest part of the security was that behind the dugout there was a bathroom. The bathroom consisted of a toilet (just like every other toilet in the world) with the only difference being that it was just out there in space. No walls, no screens.....just a toilet in the middle of the yard, with a crowd of people in the bleachers. Needless to say it was not something one looked forward to using.

The wildest game and time on the island came after a game that went late. We missed the scheduled boat and were invited to eat dinner in the prison mess hall. The food was very bland, the company was chilling and I felt like I was in a James Cagney movie.