Cats Settle For Split

After a week full of baseball clinics at schools and our field, during which I probably gave lessons to somewhere around 250 kids, it was time for the weekend fun.

Due to a scheduling complication, the home and away games were switched. For some reason unbeknown to me, we played at home Saturday as the visiting team and away on Sunday as the home team. I guess it has to do with the Belgian league rules, many of which I find completely unnecessary and making little sense, but I digress.

Saturday at home was a heart breaker. After leading all game and playing pretty well despite being short-handed, we lost with two outs in the 9th on a bases clearing triple. Unfortunately for us, playing well for 26 outs wasn't good enough and we swallowed a difficult 10-11 defeat. Although I was 1 for 4, my two hardest hit balls weren't hits and I felt like I was 6 for 7. I had 2 walks, 2 SB, reached on an error, and scored 3 times. Despite good offensive games from many of our players, the result definitely didn't settle well with many of us. It was nothing a little evening Jazz couldn't fix. That evening, Rachel, Bart, and I went to Brussels to meet up with Joris (our police officer/detective/speaks every language known to man fluently/genius teammate) at the Brussels Jazz festival. There was live music all over Brussels and after going to a few different spots, we settled in a nice little bar with a modern jazz band playing. We had a few drinks and talked a little bit about our upcoming summer break travel plans. We are thinking of driving from here to Lisbon, from Lisbon to Seville, to Cordoba, to Granada, to Barcelona and from Barcelona hoping on a flight to Sicily and traveling in Italy before heading back to Belgium to finish the second half of the season. (Again, sorry for the tangent... back to baseball)

On Sunday, still with a bitter taste in our mouths, we woke up to a beautiful Belgian summer day... rain, wind, and cold. Bram and I did a fabulous job of umpiring the Cadet games in the morning before turning our attention to Namen. We braved the wild weather in Namen and despite rain (and a few glimpses of sun), wind, and cold (picture a typical Sitka day), we had some fun and walked away kings of the hill (they play on top of a hill that overlooks the valley below, pretty sweet view when its clear enough to see). We took the 10-5 win on the road (as home team) to even out our record the last two weekends to 2-2.

It wasn't pretty, but I ground out a CG victory for the second week in a row. With about 4 different kinds of balls in the rotation, I never felt really comfortable and most of the time felt like I was trying to throw a wet bar of soap. I struggled with control early before setting into a decent rhythm, sacrificing velocity for control and a few hits for what probably would have been a greater number of walks. I wasn't overly concerned about anything beside getting the win, as we jumped ahead early in the game and I pitched with a comfortable cushion most of the game. I am never sure about the official scoring, but I think I finished the game scattering around 8-10 hits, 2 walks, around 7 or8 K's and giving up 3 ER. At the plate I was 2 for 5 with an rbi and 2 runs. Again I felt like I was on base all day, again reaching on an error in one of my other ABs.

After the game, we celebrated with beers in the cantina before heading to a delicious and much anticipated Stofvlees dinner at the Herinckx (spelling?) residence. Again, Maaike's mom didn't disappoint and I ate far more than my fair share of the beef stew and fries.

Right now I am sore as hell and debating on whether to go to Brussels for the afternoon. With Rachel working and my usual travel partner, Mike Neff in Copenhagen, I think instead I will opt for going for a run or long bike ride despite gray skies and threatening weather. As Joris told me the other day, in Belgium like Norway, there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing.

Thanks again for reading and all the comments... hope all is well with everyone back home. Keep in touch!

Peace

A Loooooooong Week

To say that the last week had its fair share of ups and downs would be a gross understatement.

On Tuesday, I woke up and got ready to go to Hugo's and then the field, where Reid and I were to learn how to use the beast of a lawn mower that Hans, our grounds crew man, uses to mow the field. I wasn't sure whether or not I should wake Reid, because he had just gotten back from London where he was visiting some family, or so I though. I noticed the door to Reid's room was open, so I knocked and called out. After getting no response after the second time, I poked my head in.

As it would turn out, Reid had decided to go back to the States. He had mentioned to me that he in all likelihood would not be staying the whole season, but I definitely hadn't imagined such a sudden departure.

This unexpected event has changed my season (and the team's season) in several ways...

1. Being the lone American, I now have to give the baseball clinics to the schools alone. With the teachers essentially taking these "initiations" as a unscheduled holidays, try to picture me speaking in English and broken Dutch trying to control 40 9 year-olds who not only act like, but literally are seeing the sun for the first time in weeks. Stressful? Check. Draining? Check. Try that for three days straight, all day and you have my life the next three days.

2. For the first time all season, our team seemed to gel over the adversity. We came together on Saturday, played like a team, had fun, and won 11-2.

3. Our team is looking for a new player and I think I know the right guy for the role... Scott Heinig, hopefully he agrees.

4. I will shoulder the mowing the grass, umpiring, running youth practices/clinics... alone.

I guess the list could go on, but the bottom line is things are a little bit different here... Maybe I will add more later (i'm getting tired).

Anyways, on Saturday our club reached what I would call a season high. Most of the mental and physical errors that have plagued us all season disappeared and we played good inspired baseball for 9 solid innings. We worked the process, played focused, executed our plays, had fun and the results followed. We snapped our losing skid and won 11-2. It was also a personal high on the season for me, collecting 4 hits, 3 runs, a rbi and pitching a CG while allowing 1 ER in my 9 innings of work.

I was filled with optimism and while not overlooking our next game, was already trying to figure out what it would take to get back in the race for the top 4 and a playoff spot. Things were still looking up early in the game on Sunday as we went for the sweep. We were up 2-0 in the top of the 1st with bases loaded and one out, but a mental lapse on a line drive to the second baseman ended killing our inning in an easy double play and it went down hill from there. We made too many mental mistakes and ended up handing them about 7 of the 10 runs that they scored in a 10-4 loss.

While it was tough to go from being very optimistic to getting a little bit of a reality check, by no means was this weekend a loss for us. We showed what we all know, that we can play with teams if we play our game. We took steps in the right direction in almost all aspects of the game including the win column and I'm confident that we will continue to do so.

On a personal level, the weekend was kind to me. I caught a few breaks and ended up going 6 for 9 with a hbp, 5 runs, a double, a triple and an rbi.

I apologize that I lost steam at the end of the post here but I got a little distracted and tired. The kids will be ready to eat me alive at 815 tomorrow morning so I have to show up with my game face. Stay tuned for more. Up next, planning a 1 month euro trip with Rachel, Bart and maybe a few more... Should be fun.

Cats Get Saturday Win

The long losing streak is over and things are momentarily looking up for the Cats, with an 11-2 victory yesterday over visiting Mortsel Stars. Today we are back in action at Mortsel with a chance to leap frog them in the standings. I would give out a scenario of how we can jump back into the race, but for right now it is one game at a time. Going for the weekend sweep today. Back with more later.Go Cats.

Back to the Process, Baby

Another tough weekend for us, suffering 14-0 and 10-3 defeats at the hands of the Greys, who had their way with us all weekend.

I would make the argument that we handed them the games rather than making them earn it. There is no finger pointing going on here, as a team we just need to play the game smarter and more mentally/fundamentally sound. We need to put the emphasis back on having some fun and doing things right.

As a player, coach and most importantly, student of the game, my baseball philosophy is constantly evolving. I try to learn from the good and the bad, absorbing new lessons with each experience. Picking up pieces of information and new training techniques here and there, and trying to stay up to date with the latest mechanical philosophies that the newest technology has allowed people to discover. I have been lucky to have some great coaches over my lifetime. Starting with my Dad, who is my lifelong coach and the person most directly responsible for my baseball success. My brothers, who always trained me, supported me, and never took it easy on me when on the field or court. My first real little league and traveling baseball coach, Fred Wood, who put in countless hours at "cubs field." Darryl Stanhope, still one of the most knowledgeable baseball coaches I have ever met, who insisted on doing things right and was instrumental in showing me the importance of mental toughness. I could go on and on... from Sam Wilson to Marc Kenner to Marc Hicks to Dan Ariola to Aaron Rushing, Dave Gordon and the list goes on.

Stuck in the midst of a 9-game skid, I often find myself wondering what they would say or do. What would they do differently? How would they try to coach the players, who admittedly just haven't had the coaching to know what to in certain situations?

I have given things a lot of thought and again keep coming back to the same thing... try to impart lessons that I have learned to the guys. In addition to trying to show by example, maybe try to be a more vocal teacher as well. Whether guys take it and learn from it is up to each individual, but the only way for us to get better as a team is to begin to develop a team approach to the game... a common understanding of what must be done and how we must carry ourselves to start winning some games. This will be challenging, but we can do it.

One thing we can't do is become obsessed with winning a game. Instead we must focus on selecting a good pitch to hit, getting on top of curveballs, getting a good hop to field, winning the small battles. Once we start winning those little battles in what I like to call "working the process", then the wins will come without even thinking about them. You worry about the process (which to me is the most fun part of the game) and the wins take care of themselves.


A few things that I believe our team is missing that I think are central to us turning it around..

*Believe in yourself and your ability. Play with confidence and believe that you have the chance to win every game.
There is a reason MLB has 162 games and not 10. Any team can win on any given day, it is a long hall and it takes all 162 games to see who are really the best teams.

*Don't be results oriented (i.e. wins, hits, etc.), be process oriented (hard hit balls, team at bats, getting good hops to field, etc.). If you work the process correctly, results (Wins, hits, runs,etc.) will come.

*While maintaining confidence in your ability, know yourself as a player. Stay within yourself, don't try to do too much.
It is a team game, you can't try to win it yourself. If everyone plays their part in the process, results will follow.

*Practice is where the work gets done and muscle memory is created... increase the level of focus in practice. Games should be focused on going out and having fun.

*Baseball is a game full of failure and adversity, the sooner you learn to overcome it, the better off you will be.

We are staring adversity in the face right now...

Now all I want to know is who is going to be next to get the guy to 3rd with less than 2 outs, make the next big play, or get the next big hit?

Let's embrace these opportunities, this game, and lets turn this ship around starting today at practice.

Let's go Cats

Weekend is Here

The weekend is here and that means baseball games for the Merchtem Cats. Tomorrow and Sunday we take on the Port of Antwerp Royal Greys for the 3rd and 4th times in a row. To put it bluntly, we need to win very badly.

In lieu of getting into last nights nanigans in Leuven, which again was a blast (and left me dying to know what Joris writes in his little black book and how I can get dance moves like Bram H.), I will instead switch fields and talk about 10 things you are likely to see at a Belgian ballgame...

10) Odd dimensions or multiple infields in one field.

Nope, you are not blind... the distance sign down the line reads 97. It's not feet, but 97 meters is no insurmountable distance for the likes of power hitters like me. And make sure you don't throw to the wrong second base, because there is more often than not a second infield in the outfield.

9) Bad hops that almost hit someone in the face

Unfortunately, a majority of the time this has been me. It isn't so bad when I need to trim my whiskers, but I think I would rather do it the old fashion way... with a knife.

8) Favoritism towards the Antwerp teams

Even when the non Antwerp teams are playing each other, the Antwerp teams somehow get the calls.


7) Bush league on-field displays

Pitchers mouthing off to batters they just struck out, visiting teams hitting BP on the field when the home team doesn't, pimping home runs big time, bunting for a base hit when up 10 runs, and the list goes on. There is at least one at every game.

6) People drinking beer

Fans and players alike... before, during, and after the games would not surprise me at all.

5) (Read like Hebrew) Calls easy missing umpires

Good look MIAC the in blues the make they. Enough said.

4) Yankees apparel.

Not uncommon to see someone wear Yankees gear one day and Red Sox gear the next, or my favorite, Yankees and Sox gear at the same time. Depending on the day, you might think that the Yanks are the only MLB team that exists to the Belgians.*** This really should be number 10, but I though about it too late and am too lazy to change it***

And a big drum roll for the final 3.... Brrrrrrrr....

3) Zino

Doesn't matter who is playing, where the game is being played, or at what time, Zino de Law (the 15 year-old player for just about every team of the Merchtem Cats organization) will be at the game. Rumors are circulating that he lives in the dugout at Cats field, and lives off of waffles, pintjes, and other food that he steals from the snack shack under the cover of darkness.


2) People peeing in open view of everyone else

Doesn't matter if there is a grandma right there, pretty much anywhere there is a fence... someone will be peeing on it in plain view of everyone else. If you have stage fright, this is not the place for you.

1) Cigarette breaks by players

Our team, the other team... at some point someone is taking a break to "de-stress" with a square. Rod Beck would be proud of the Belgian baseball fraternity.

A typical example would be our catcher asking pitchers to notify him two minutes early before they want to start their pre-game warm up/bullpen so that he can smoke is ritual pre-game heater.

And coming soon to a Belgian field near you... Cats victories (see last post).

Bye Week Trip to Parijs

I concluded my week of travels with a trip to one of my favorite cities on Sunday. Rachel, Bram, Reid and I woke up at 6, packed into the Mercedes and made the 3 hour trip to Paris, arriving shortly after 9.

After taking in some sun (for the 1st time in 2 weeks... thank you Belgium)during a patio breakfast that included fresh squeezed orange juice, a croissant, baguette with butter, and a cheese omelette we followed the Seine river before branching off towards the Eiffel Tower. Before taking the stairs up to the second platform of the E.T., I made my first attempt at a picture capturing me doing a handstand in front of the Tower. Fail. It had probably been a good 10 years since my last handstand that didn't take place under water, and my nerves may have got the best of me, but lets blame it on the delicious apricot and custard pastry I ate after breakfast. With a good 600 or so (Reid actually counted the real number) stairs to plan out my next attempt and burn off the morning feast, there was no way I could possibly fail.

So after going up to the second platform, taking in the panoramic view of Paris, coming down, dodging a few hundred street vendors trying to peddle Eiffel Tower key chains and other gimmicks, avoiding being harassed by a guy in a gorilla suit, and crossing the Seine so that I could get the handstand and the tower in the same shot, it was time for redemption. This time, I nailed the handstand, a 5.4 average on the judges cards (probably the best I could do), I managed to land this bad boy...



I know, my right leg didn't stay straight, but lets just blame that on my still tender at times knee, thanks to Deurne. But even the 99% healed bum wheel couldn't hold me down in Paris. We walked to all the hot tourist spots. After the Eiffel Tower came the Arc de Triomphe...




Then a stroll down the Champ E'lysses, the street with the most expensive shops in Paris, located on the most expensive real estate in Europe and more importantly the final straightaway of the Tour de Lance (France)...



Which led us to the largest and most visited museum in the world, The Louvre, where we saw...



and I did this to it...



and then made sure I would be the last person to ever see it by doing this...



We also bumped into the Venus de Milo...



and finally a portrait of myself...



Starting to feel the legs tire from walking around, we did what any logical group would do... we braved the riot police...



and went to Notre Dame for mass...




Here Bram and I contemplated buying a candle and praying for some wins. We decided against it, however, when we realized that we were about to start a massive winning streak anyways.

Needing some nourishment, the only logical thing to do was to go to the most famous ice cream place in Paris, Berthillon, on Ile St. Louis. Next it was off to a nice dinner in the Le Marais quarter, where I chowed on some Bouef Burginion.

Ready to collapse from walking all day, we made a b-line for the car and passed out on the ride home, everyone except for Bram who took one for the team as the driver. It's a good thing too, because there is no way I could drive in that city and make it out alive.

Not a bad end to a solid week over here in Belgium, now all we need is to start winning some games.

And my hard life just got tougher... Just booked a 11 day trip to Croatia for the end of June... Hope to see everyone out there

Bye Week Travels

Having a bye week this weekend hasn't translated into having a lot of downtime this week. Part of that is because Reid and I have done 4 "initiations" this week, where we go into schools and teach kids ranging anywhere from 6-19 how to play baseball. While this may seem like cake, add in the language barrier, dodging (or, unfortunately, not dodging) metal bats flying through the air, and starting from zero understanding of baseball and it can make the days feel very long. The other half of the time I have spent visiting cities in Belgium. On Monday, Rachel and I went into Brussels and walked around for a few hours, on Tuesday we had another wild night in Leuven with Bart, and yesterday we went to Gent.

To my delight and the dismay of Rach-Dogg's stomach, Leuven gave us more of the same. Chalk that up as the second 6 A.M.er. The dance moves were on display, and Rach-Dogg must have been in heaven dancing between such two studs. We took the train back to Opwijk the next (or same... depending on your frame of reerence) day after walking around a bit and grabbing a broodje and gelato.

Yesterday we went to another fine college town, Gent. Gent has grown on me with each visit, this being the second time I have spent extended time there. It is a college city buzzing with young people and things to do. The fact that there is a Kebab every other store doesn't hurt either. If I spend enough time there I may end up like Gaudi and get hit by a cable car/tram, which cruise the streets in San Francisco-like fashion. Using my keen memory and seeing-eye-dog sense of direction we found our way from the train station to Gent's historical center by foot. In the center, we wandered along the water way, passing beautiful buildings, churches, and appetizing shops, restaurants and cafes. After spending a few hours walking and looking at the historical landmarks, Rachel tricked me into going to a vegetarian restaurant to grab some dinner. After eating, we then met up with my teammate Tom and his friend Sanne (who was very fun and nice) for some friendly bowling, billiards and drinks. We also made Sanne talk in a British accent, which she has to use at school in order to become a teacher.

On the way back we almost missed our connection back to Opwijk (giving me a momentary panic attack because it was the last train). This would have been the second time I would have had to call Bram and beg to have him come pick me up in Dendermonde late at night. But we made the train and my dignity was preserved.

I'm hoping to go hit some balls at the cage in a few, and then either driving or jumping on a bus to Paris for an overnight jaunt in one of my favorite European cities. Fun/good stories will ensue and you will be the first to hear about them next time. Above are a few random pics from Gent and Leuven... Bart and I breaking it down, Leuven at 6 am, scenic historic Gent. Enjoy

Weaksauce Baseball

I apologize for not having checked in for a while, but it has been pretty busy the last few days and I have been trying (unsuccessfully) to look for a positive way to spin our embarrassing weekend of baseball against the Antwerp Royal Greys.

First the positive: Rachel got in on Friday morning. Bram generously offered to drive me to pick her up at 7:50 in Brussels. After a brief nap, I showed Rachel around downtown Opwijk and we stopped in at a cafe so that she could pick up a coffee.

Things take a turn for the worse: All the guys and gals from our house went to the field Friday evening to hit and take some ground balls. About 10 minutes in, Maaike wore a heater on the chin from Tom (her younger brother and my teammate who I think I have written about before). From there things went down hill. To summarize...

Rachel and I were up all (k)night because she somewhere caught a bug/food poisoning and was throwing up about every 10 minutes... It was a great way for Rachel to get used to Belgium and for me to get ready for the game that I was supposed to pitch the next day(sarcasm, Reid).

Things get worse...

After a few hours of sleep, I awoke to miserable weather. After several attempts at warming up and a rain delay or two the game got started. To summarize... I didn't have my best stuff and knew I would have to battle to stay competitive. I felt like I did a good job of staying focused and competing, but in the end we/I had little to show for it. It was one of the more frustrating games I have pitched that I can remember. I ended up having to get 4 outs most innings and that didn't bode well against a very solid team without my best stuff. In the end I gave up 9 runs (4 earned) in 6 innings pitched. I think I gave up in the neighborhood of 10 hits and didn't catch many breaks. To summarize the feel of the game... in the 6th with 2 outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd and a 3-2 count I threw a curveball that dropped right over the middle of the plate. It was called a ball and from there they went on to score 4 runs with 2 outs. After the inning my catcher told me that the umpire said he missed that 3-2 pitch...Thanks a lot A-hole.

At bat I had an rbi double and lined out to each of the centerfield gaps. Balls that I drove and thought would drop. That was the kind of day it was. We lost 9-1 and the next day our home game was even worse. A 10-0 beatdown. Nothing much to say about the game other than it was an embarrassing display.

I think everyone on our team is getting pretty frustrated with the way we are playing and our with bye this weekend, I think everyone is looking forward to a fresh start. We still have 5 months of season ahead and i'm staying optimistic about a turn around.

I am also optimistic about my return to Leuven tonight.. Rachel and I are headed out for a night on the town with Bart. I am off to practice but I will update more later on the weekend and our Monday in Brussels... Until next time... peace and love