Standings

Winning doesn't matter much in a developmental program like Whitefish Bay Little League, but this morning I sneaked a peek at the Majors standings.
The Braves are tied for first place with the powerhouse Dodgers -- both teams with a 2-0 record. The powerhouse Phillies are right behind with a 1-0 record. Each of the seven other teams has at least one loss.
We will lose our share of games this season (and not just to the Dodgers and Phillies), but it's nice to see all of our guys playing good solid fundamental baseball so far.
Dave

Coach Dave: Post-Game Comments, Practice Possibilities, Happy Mother's Day

We will NOT have practice Sunday, May 10, because of Mother's Day. Guys, do something nice for your moms!
The weather willing, we may try to sneak in a practice at 5:45 p.m. either Monday or Tuesday on the high-school softball field. It would be good to have a practice before our game with the Cubs (6 p.m., Thursday, May 14).
I can't tell you how pleased I was with our players Friday evening. They played with focus and passion. A few plays keep rolling through my head. We put in a special bunt sign for Matt this game, and when he saw it he tapped a perfect bunt down the third base line and beat it out for a hit. When the Pirates tried their only bunt, Jason flashed off the mound to grab the ball and fire a strike to first to nip the runner. And then Nick smashed a line drive so hard that it literally ripped the glove off the Pirates' third baseman's hand!
Many thanks to the players' family members for supporting the team. Your presence means a lot to the players!
Dave

Game Story: Braves Make Practices Pay Off, Win 9-1

It's an axiom in sports that players learn skills in practice and show them in games. That's particularly true of baseball, which has so many little skills, plays and strategic decisions that can only be learned through repetition.
Clearly our Braves are paying attention in practice. Skills and situations they've worked on recently paid off in Friday night's 9-1 win over the Pirates at Water Tower Park.
Last Sunday, former Whitefish Bay High School Coach Dean Ledzian worked with the Braves on bunting. In last night's game, Coach Dave put the bunt sign on, and Matt laid a perfect bunt down the third-base line, beating it out for a hit.
That directly affected how the Pirates played Matt the next time up. Matt tried to bunt the first pitch in the same place, pulling the third baseman in. With the third baseman pulled in, Matt swung away at the next pitch. Had he connected, he had an excellent chance to drive the ball past the drawn-in infielder for a big hit.
Like all baseball coaches do, Dave, Rick, Ross and Stuart stress kids playing catch with each other, with siblings, with parents. Well, one reason the Braves have won their first two games is their outfielders can catch a fly ball. Chris made two fine catches of hard-hit balls to center field (one resulted in a double play). Matt made another excellent catch in center. At this level of competition, the outfield is a not a daisy-plucking position. Outfielders who can catch the ball and hit the relay man make the difference between winning and losing.
I can't say enough about Jason's good fielding. I watched him in practice this week Hoover up everything hit his way. Then, in last night's game, he charged off the mound to field a Pirates bunt and fired a strike to Nick at first to get a hard-charging runner. With the confidence and precision he showed on that play, Jason looked like a high school player.
When a player puts the bat on the ball, good things can happen, even if the result is not a hit. We had a number of productive outs in this game. Evan moved Connor to third in the 2nd inning with a groundout to the right side; Connor later scored. Connor later drove in a run with a groundout himself. And this is a good place to note that hustle also matters: Connor legged out two infield hits in this game.
This was not an easy game. The Pirates are a decent team. Nick subbed a game for them last year, and I was impressed with their coaches, who are quality guys with a teaching, encouraging approach to Little League, similar to the approach our Braves coaches take. Their shortstop made some outstanding plays in this game. Their final pitcher, Jack Arnold, dominated on the mound. This could not have been a fun outcome for them, and I was impressed at the calm, classy way they handled it. If we are on the losing side of a game like this in the future, I hope we will handle it just as well.
More highlights from the game:
BATTING: Ryan, in his first at-bat of the season, battled back from an 0-2 count, fouling off several pitches and drawing a walk. He went on to steal a base and score. Scott doubled in two runners. Chris, on a 0-2 pitch, ripped a double to center field that bounced up against the fence. Alec followed by pounding a double to center that brought Chris home.
Forgive me if I'm biased here, but I must give a slack-jawed tip of the cap to Nick, who did something I have never seen before in a Little League game. In his second-inning at-bat, Nick ripped a line drive about chest high in the hole between the third baseman and the shortstop. Nick hit the ball so hard it tore the glove off the third baseman's hand. The ball landed in left-center field, the glove landed a few feet away from the player. I asked Nick about it after the game. He told me that when he saw what happened, he said to himself "Oh (bleep)," because he thought he had broken the third baseman's hand.
The third baseman was fine and stayed in the game.
PITCHING: High-quality outings from all three pitchers. Connor struck out 6 batters around 2 walks. In other words, no one hit the ball when he pitched. Jason was effective on the mound, aided by good defense, including his own. Chris was dominant again as our closer.

This Day in WFBLL Braves History

First successful bunt hit: Matt
First double play: Chris (CF) made a running catch of a fly ball, threw to Nick (2B) to double up baserunner who had left early.
First steal of home: Jack

Jack's steal made me think immediately of Jackie Robinson, who famously stole home in the 1955 World Series against the Yankees. Robinson's steal was even more remarkable because it was a straight steal - no passed ball or wild pitch involved. The catcher was ready for him, and it was a close play, as you can see by the video excerpt below:



Disclaimer: All opinions are my own. Any mistakes are my own, too, and have nothing to do with the coaches. If you think I got something wrong, please tell me.

Game Day: Scorecard (Thanks, Rick!)

Game Day: Braves win, 9-1

Braves win over the Pirates, 9-1, with lights-out pitching, aggressive baserunning, steady defense, and timely hitting.
Details to come.
Dave

Game Day: 6 p.m. vs. Pirates; Practice post-mortem (as in Dave's ERA)

A spirited practice Thursday, with about two-thirds of the team plus four dads (me, Rick R., Stuart B., and Jim H.) at the high-school softball field.
As usual, our guys had a pretty sloppy practice until we separated into two teams for a scrimmage. Then they got their game faces on and made some great plays. Jason, Nick, and Matt were especially impressive in the field.
I pitched for both teams. A 20 mph wind was blowing straight in from center field and I had full command of my pitches. So I told the guys that I'd buy ice cream for everyone if anyone hit a home run over the fence, which is roughly the same distance as the fence at the Majors field at Water Tower.
As you have probably guessed, I learned the lesson that so many have learned before me: "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." Chris blasted my best fastball into the teeth of the wind. It landed 15-20 feet on the ice-cream side of the fence in left-center field, and the players erupted in celebration. A bit later Nick hit one just as hard, but on a lower trajectory. It reached the fence on a couple of bounces.
Everyone had a good time at Culver's.
We play the mighty Pirates Friday at 6 p.m. Please have your Brave at Water Tower by 5:15 p.m. I am expecting everyone except Tyler (on extended spring training in Florida) and Liam (on the DL for another week and a half). Please let me know if any other Braves will NOT be at the game.
Thanks,
Dave

Practice tonight (Thur May 7)

Braves,
We will practice Thursday, May 7, after the high-school softball game on the diamond at the east edge of the high-school campus. The game could end as early as 5:45 p.m., so we need to have as many Braves as possible there at that time to be sure of being able to seize possession of the field when the high-school girls leave the field.
The practice will feature Braves pitching against Braves -- giving our pitchers and our hitters the kind of practice they had before last week's game. It worked out well last week, so we're trying to reproduce the experience.
Some guys who didn't have the opportunity to pitch at last week's practice will get the opportunity this time. Practice will end at 7:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, more storms are forecast to rumble in late Friday night, but probably not until our game against the Pirates is finished. Braves should arrive at Water Tower at 5:15 p.m. for pre-game warmups.
Thanks,
The coaching staff

Happy Birthday, Willie Mays

Braves: If you don't know who Willie Mays is, ask your parents or coach to tell you about him. Among his many, many accomplishments, he made one of the greatest catches in baseball history.

Jim Higgins

Batting Order

Your sons may have told you that every player on the Braves will be the last hitter in the batting order at least once this season. It’s true.

After Rick posted the lineup in the dugout before Saturday’s game, the guys rushed over to see where they were in the order. A couple of minutes later I sat them down for the pre-game talk. I asked Alec if he knew why he was batting last. “Not really,” he replied.

I told Alec that he was batting last simply because someone had to bat last, not because anyone thought he was a bad hitter. And then I said that everyone on the team would bat last at least once during the season. I didn’t really plan to say it – it just kind of popped out – but I definitely think it’s the way to go in a developmental program such as Little League.

It will be good for every player on the team to have the experience of batting in the first inning. And it will be good for every player on the team to have the experience of batting last.

The players seem to think that this is very fair. I hope it helps them realize that everyone on the team is important, that everyone can contribute. Certainly the last two batters in our lineup against the Orioles made contributions. Jack and Alec both went 3 for 4, each with two doubles.

We won’t always get that kind of production from the last two guys in the order, but that’s not the point. The point is that we don’t want anyone on the team to think that he’s more important that the others on the team.

Of course everything’s easier when you win by 13 runs. The true test of team morale will come after we lose by a big margin. I suspect we’ll be just fine when that happens – and it will!

Hope to see you all at Friday’s game,

Dave

Practice, 5-3-2009

Dean Ledzian, former coach of the Whitefish Bay High School baseball team and professional hitting instructor, was our guest coach for Sunday's practice. He put the boys through a number of creative drills.

Game Day: Scenes from today's game

Fandemonium

Game Day: Focused, aggressive Braves win their season opener

A base on balls might not come immediately to mind when thinking of big at-bats in a 17-4 game.

But Jason's third-inning walk was a key point in the Braves' 8-run outburst during today's season-opening victory over the Orioles. His epic battle at the plate, one of several by the Braves today, typified the blend of aggression, patience and good decision making that led to victory.

Jason was down 0-2, but continued to spoil good pitches by fouling them off, and wisely laid off the pitches that weren't strikes. He endured a pitching change by the Orioles -- no easy feat, waiting with 2 strikes for a new pitcher, bringing a different speed and motion to the mound. He finally worked the new pitcher for a walk. With Alec already on base with a ringing double down the first-base line, the Braves were in business. Matt's double down the third-base line brought Alec home, and the scoring onslaught began. Thirteen Braves batted in the inning.

As Coach Dave pointed out after the game in his remarks to the team, it is rare in our little league to have every kid on the team score in a game. But the Braves pulled that off today.

Every Brave went home today with something to feel good about. The Braves where whirling around the bases so fast the electronic remote control for the scoreboard threw a hissy fit and stopped working for a while.

Some of the highlights as I saw them (feel free to add your own mentally):

PITCHING: Two dominant innings of pitching by Connor, who struck out 5 batters and showed impressive command and poise. Folks, I saw Connor pitch last season. He has made tremendous improvement on the mound. Later in the game, after the Orioles mustered a rally, Chris swaggered onto the mound and shut them down.

BATTING: RBI machine Jack drove in 5 runners with 3 hits, including 2 doubles; Alec ripped two doubles as well, and Chris and Scott each had three hits. Every Braves batter had at least one hit.

FIELDING: Jack made a nice catch in LF of a hard-hit ball to snuff out a rally (the Orioles had the bases loaded). When an Orioles runner tried to score from third, catcher Nick threw him out, with pitcher Alec alertly covering the plate and applying the tag. Evan made several sure-handed putouts at first.

THIS DAY IN WFBLL BRAVES HISTORY

With this being the Braves' first game ever, let's take a moment to note a few firsts in Braves team history:

First pitch: Connor to Scott.
First K by a pitcher: Connor.
First putout: Evan (at first base, unassisted)
First batter: Jason
First hit: Connor
First stolen base: Connor
First extra-base hit: Alec
First run scored: Alec
First RBI: Matt

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own. Any mistakes are my own, too, and have nothing to do with the coaches. If you think I got something wrong, please tell me.

Game Day: Scoresheet

Notice how Coach Rick had to extend the third inning into an overflow column. Good eyes and great hitting from the Braves! (Click on the scoresheet to enlarge it.)

Game Day: 9 a.m. vs. Orioles

Braves,
Apparently we will have only nine players at today's game (Sat 5-2-09). Here's who I think will be there:

Jason Blacher

Matt McLaughlin

Connor Kimple

Chris Pritchard

Nick Higgins

Scott Rojahn

Evan Howell

Jack Kivley

Alec Lindfors

IF ANY OF THESE GUYS WILL NOT BE AT THE GAME, PLEASE PHONE ME (961-0142) AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE SATURDAY MORNING SO THAT I CAN FIND A REPLACEMENT.
We had a good practice Friday afternoon. Everyone is ready to play ball.
Dave