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.