High school baseball opening day

First game of my high school baseball season 

Transcript

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Back for another episode of Four Clueless Dudes. Applying so low to date. Other guys are all busy with uh work and things. So uh just want to talk about a little high school baseball. Uh Monday was uh our opening night for our varsity uh baseball team. Uh played Riots High School down in Evansville at Bossy Field. Uh got my first time there as a uh actual coach. Uh I'm pardon there several times, uh played softball there several times, but a little bit different in a baseball capacity. Uh before just the history of that place. It's the third oldest active professional baseball stadium in the United States, uh only behind uh Fenway Park. Oh gosh, I think that one there in Alabama that MLB played in last year. Uh I think so. Uh maybe Yankee Stadium, not 100% sure. Uh but anyway. Yeah, uh really the tale of the unknown. You didn't really know how Gibson Southern was going to come out and play just for the fact of all the injuries uh that they've had and players recovering from injuries from last year. Uh you know, lost one of our middle of the lineup power guys. So you really don't know how the team is going to react, but holy shit, and they come out. First guy hit a triple, next guy hit a two-run bomb, and it was on after that. Uh so ended up with uh three home runs and three triples in that game, and I think a double. Uh so yeah, pretty good for the uh extra base hits and the slugging. So yeah. Uh of course the starting pitcher uh Monday night was coming off an injury, so uh you know really worked hard to get back to where he was at, and you know, he was as advertised. He came out you know, really good. I think he only really made one mistake pitch, and got hit ground ball back up the middle for a base hit, and that was about it. But uh on that play, uh center fielder threw out a runner to plate to end the inning to end the inning. So, all in all, that was a great play. Uh, but I'm gonna go to the next one. Four strong innings out of him, and the reliever pitched two innings, and uh come in and I believe he ended up getting the win. Uh I think it's still the same as high school as any other. You got to pitch five innings to get the win. So the reliever got the win, pitched two strong innings, gave up a couple hits, but all in all, pitching did very well. Uh they do have a game coming up Thursday at Castle, so we'll see how that goes. Uh, I believe Castle, either last night or tonight, uh plays Crown Point, which a 4-A school, which uh they're really, really good. They played Memorial Monday night and run ruled them. I think it was 13 to 1 after 5, so they're really good. So uh roughly four-day journey. Wright struggled a little bit. You know, their their starting pitcher was pretty good. You know, he had a little hop on his fastball. He just uh we just attacked it and jumped right out on it, and uh his off speed really wasn't up to par for a little bit, you know. Then he kind of went to that in the later innings before he got taken out. Uh otherwise did okay. I mean, get up 15 runs. We had 13 hits and uh six or seven strikeouts, so that's a little much. Uh coach did get on him yesterday a little bit for you know a couple of uh bonehead plays. Had a guy lead off with a double. Next guy uh didn't move him over. Um actually next guy hit a uh ground ball to the right, shortstop going that way, fielded it, and the runner took off and got thrown out at third base. So, you know, the runners uh just as much to blame as the batter was. So, you know, you never run with a ball in front of you, you know, it's always behind you or to the right side. Uh I did talk a little bit with that player yesterday at practice and say, hey, you know, you can uh move your feet to where you can hit it the other way uh if you absolutely have to, if you know how. If not, we can show you. Or said you could just laid a butt down, you know, to get him to third base, you know, runner on third with one out, you know, 90% of the time that runners in high school is going to score. Maybe I don't know if it's that high a percentage, but you know, you know, probably so with a pass ball or you know, a ground ball to the uh right side. Uh yeah, other than that, they looked really well. I know it was the unknown. Just again, like I said earlier, that you're one of your main power guys was out, and uh so didn't really know how the team would react, but they come out on fire. Uh, you know, we have been practicing hard the last couple of weeks with a lot of uh live A-Bs off of live pitching. And uh coach made the comment in uh the office before we left. He liked to get six runs tonight. You know, it felt really good. If we got six runs, we'd win the game. Well, we got six runs in the first two innings. Uh so yeah, and our pitchers, you know, they pitched a shutout, so it was uh really good. Good way to start off 15 to nothing. Uh but you can't rest there. You know, you got to go out for more, and I think that's a little the brow beating practice yesterday was kind of that too to keep them down to earth and uh don't let the the head swell. Uh so yeah, we'll see again. Like I said, they play Castle Thursday night, and they get a double header on Saturday up in Hanover against Ron Collie and Hanover, so don't really know too much about those. So uh so we'll see. You know, we are supposed to get some weather here, so hopefully it won't rain it out. Uh I'll get a chance hopefully Thursday to get just the JV by theirself out and practice a little bit. I know a lot of them have been wanting to do that and you know, get some reps. Some of them get stuck behind the varsity guys and don't get enough, don't get a lot of reps, rep bats. So uh thing I did tell the coach that uh uh when he made the comment about the six runs, and I said you gotta realize, you know, uh these guys have been, you know, in practice in lives, live pitching, they've been pay facing the best uh rotation, you know, in our conference. I mean, I think by far, you know, we have the best starting rotation uh you know in the conference. It's not just how fast they throw. We got a guy that throws 91, 92, and we've got a then we've got a couple lefties that throw, you know, maybe touch the mid-80s with nasty curveballs. So and then your other starter, uh, he's probably touching 82, 83, so good change up. So uh yeah, and you know, that's the best starting four. And then, you know, you you bring a reliever in like the one they brought in Monday night, and you know, gave up a couple of a hits, but still shut them down. So uh so you know, a lot of the guys, you know, got 35 to 48 ABs during the lives, and uh really worked on a lot of a situation, so you know I think that kind of really helped them a little bit, you know. Just like you know, I'm retired from the military, and you know, I always tell you, you know, and you get into a situation, it's just nature, you fall back on your training. Uh you know, different things. So I seen a lot of good things there Monday night, seen a lot of things that weren't so good, just like the coach did. But again, they're young kids. Uh some can process that information quicker than others, so you know it was good. So uh did have three of my JV guys on the team that night. Actually, one of them actually started out in right field and played very well. Uh another one caught the last inning or two, and the other one uh pinch ran. So, you know, they got their feet wet in a little varsity action. So at a historic baseball stadium. Uh you know, just you know, kind of getting off baseball. It is baseball a little bit. Uh, a couple of the guys want to know where Latrine was, and you know, uh the tunnel way was unlocked where the players come down and you know walked up that way and you know, found a bathroom for them, but you realize that the the players that have walked through them. I mean, Babe Ruth has played there, Mickey Mannell, Joe DiMaggio, guys like that have played at Bossy Field at one point in time. And you've got guys like that as walked up and down that tunnel. Uh you know, the Evansville Otters, you know, they're an independent team, but before that we had the Evansville triplets there, and they were a triple-A team for the Detroit Tigers. So, you know, a lot of those guys, uh, you know, from the 60s, 70s, early 80s, you know, Tiger, great Tiger players have walked down that tunnel, and I told some of those guys just uh, you know, some of them guys that never played there before, some of the guys that was their second chant time there. I said, just think of the guys that's walked through there, you know. Again, Mickey Mannell, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, uh Ted Williams. I think he played there when he played for the San Francisco Seals. So, I mean, just some historic players that have come through there back in the day, but then, you know, your uh players that AAA, you know, that came through, not just the the farm club Detroit Tiger players, but the teams that they played against, you know, that those guys that went there. I remember Mike Laga came and played there. Uh, you know, he was a uh Cardinal farmhand back in the late 70s, early 80s. The only guy to ever hit a ball out of uh old Bush Stadium. It was foul, but he hit it over the the roof. Jesus Christ, you know how how hard that probably was to do that. But anyway, just the history of that field right there. It's uh just it's crazy to be there. Like I said, I've been there as an umpire twice. Uh I did play like a uh I don't know what you would call it, maybe Steeleys. Uh they were a traveling softball team of former, you know, pro football, pro-baseball players, and they travel around and do exhibitions, and I got to get on an all-star team that played against those guys in the eighties. And uh there's an old furniture warehouse in center field there, and these guys were hitting softballs on top of that building. Not baseballs, softballs 450 feet. So just just awesome to watch that stuff and just the history of that field, and then get to go back, you know, some 40 years later as a uh coach just to stand in the dugout there and uh you know, just kind of take it all in, you know, all the history of uh Bossy Field, you know. Hopefully these guys when they get older, you know, they'll uh think back on that and think all the guys that's walked through there and played there. So and then you know some of the otters, you know, that have gone on to the major leagues and and you know had good careers. So but anyway, yeah, uh we had a hell of a game. Uh didn't expect to score 15 runs. I'm sure the coach didn't either. Uh, but they played very well. He has kept them grounded and gave him good ass chewing yesterday, and we got out there and just you know uh just did a little bit of lives uh you know last night off my JV pitchers because you know I've got to get those guys their reps because again our first game's coming up Monday. So uh and we've had some injuries that have kind of thrown our lineup into disarray. I really haven't uh I really don't know what I'm gonna do yet with the lineup. I'm gonna talk to uh Wilkie, my assistant coach. You know, he's been there this is his ninth year, so you know he knows the sophomores better than I do, but the freshman, you know, we both kind of eye to eye with them, they both in there. So uh so yeah, that'll be interesting to see what happens. I do have my starting pitcher lined out for the first three games, but it's just you know, my lineup, you know, I don't know what I'm gonna do. You know, everybody'll get a chance to play, and we'll see who plays the best. And uh so yeah, we'll see how that goes. Uh and you know, just just amped up, hopefully Thursday, to get my JV guys by themselves out there and just to see what they got and uh see what they're thinking, and you know, we'll go from there and then uh maybe practice again on Friday or Saturday, depending on Coach did make the comment that if uh or if Gibson Southern goes out and boat races Castle, he might give them all the weekend off. I mean the JV, of course, the Barcy's got to again go up to Hanover and play a doubleheader. So we'll see what happens there. But anyway, just wanted to come on here and talk a little bit about the games. Uh, you know, kind of before I jump off here, been watching a little major league baseball too. When I got time, you know, this coaching uh it takes a lot of time up. Hadn't got a chance to watch a lot of basketball or you know, a lot of the baseball that I get to watch is later at night. So, but seems like the MLB, the same old teams, Yankees, Dodgers, and of course Toronto Blue Jays are winning, and my Kansas City Royals won their last two games, so they're starting to look you know pretty good. Uh been kind of keeping my eye on that uh rookie from Cleveland that DeLouder having a hell of a start to his season, but he did foul one off his foot last night, and it's got to hurt like hell, but they did take him out. He had DC report later on where nothing was broken, so that's good news. So he might be out a day or two. Uh so we'll see how that goes. And then that starting pitcher, that pitcher last night for Philadelphia, that painter, come in and through five, almost five and a half, five and a third innings of uh some good baseball. So see a lot of good players coming up. There's that kid from the New York Mets, that uh outfielder that you know is playing pretty good, and uh McGonagall from Detroit having a pretty good season already. You know, he did it at a home run, then he had one robbed of him uh against Padres, but all in all playing pretty good. Uh you know, Detroit might be the surprise this year if they can stay healthy. Uh and you know uh Toronto. I seen Scherzer pitch last night, pitched what, four, five, six strong innings, looked like the old Max Scherzer, so look pretty good. So anyway, I'll uh get to play that game on Thursday and see how that goes. Uh might come back on here and give my take on that, and how my JV guys go. Uh, there is a thing called game changer. I think you can go on there and watch local high school baseball. That must be something new that was kind of new to me. That well, they do the book on game changer, nothing is in paper anymore, so that's a big change that not used to. So, and then they chart everything, so at bats, pitches, and all that good stuff. So that's it's a learning curve for me this year. So but anyway, also we might have some. Have a good rest of the day and uh take care. And like I said, hopefully this weekend for the final four, uh get the weekend off. I can get all these guys down here and we can get do our uh actually have all four clueless dudes in one room to do a podcast. Enjoy your day.