You've got to be a Carpenter

One thing I've noticed about professional hitters... as a general rule, they are emotionless. Now, without question.. during a key moment of a stressful big moment game.. emotions are hard to hide.. passion rides high and ... occasionally, there is emotion. Sometimes for the good.. ala Alexei Ramirez' elation in yesterday's dynamic White Sox win (above). And... sometimes for the bad (after a strike out or a disputed called third strike). For the most part though, emotionless rules.

The professional hitter is concentrating on one thing.. the ball. It's intense concentration, too. Watch for yourself and figure out when the last time is that you focused on something.. anything.. so intently. Pure focus... "I am going to hit this pitch!"

Then, here comes the pitch... the professional batter does everything just right.. perfect load, perfect timing on the step.. whips the bat through the zone and.. oops, missed it. He is stoic. He doesn't stomp around.. hang his head or any other shenanigans. He just regroups... sets his focus and goes right back to work on the next pitch!

I like to use the analogy of a carpenter. Carpenters are paid to hit nails. They climb up on top of a structure.. they have their tool belt.. they have their nails. And they have their hammer. Pounding nails is what they do. Nail after nail.. whack .. whack .. whack! Hey, on occasion, they miss one. Do you think they stand up on the roof and announce to the world with some kind of antics that they missed the nail? Uh... no. They just pull another nail out and go back to work.




This is how a professional hitter approaches his at bat. He gets three strikes at the ball.. more if he "just misses one and fouls it off".. but, essentially he gets three shots at it.

He has his tools (knowledge of the game, the pitcher, the count, etc.) and he has his hammer (bat). His job is to hit nails.. hit the ball. Period. Go to work... be a carpenter at the plate.


Where as a carpenter has the little bitty nail to hit with the head of his hammer... a professional hitter has a small sweet spot (17 to 21 inches from his top hand) to hammer the baseball with. You have to concentrate to do that. You can't have emotion clouding your focus. Go to work. Hit some nails.

Magic in the Big Apple

The Cubs have been giving the Mets plenty of stress in their four game series, games the Mets simply had to win to stay on pace in the NL East and Wild Card spots. Game four was a battle Royal to be sure.

The Cubs even threw in a secret weapon to spice things up.. starting Rookie Micah Hoffpauir at 1st Base instead of Lee. All Micah did was go 5 for 5 on the night.. drive in 5 RBIs and hit his first two Major League HRs! His shocking 3 run shot in the 7th gave the Cubs what looked to be a win.. but that was before the magic arrived :)

Will all that, the resilient Mets came roaring back late in the contest to tie it in the 8th.. this after going down by 3 runs and the cold, wet NY fans getting very quiet. But, the Mets kept plugging away.. scoring one in the seventh.. two more in the eighth to tie it (the tying run scored when Ryan Church made an amazing slide to get around the tag of catcher Koyie Hill)... they did this with a nobody-on-2-out rally which was started by superb at bats from Beltran and Church. Ramon Martinez and Robinson Cancel followed with unlikely heroic hits of their own. Cancel's driving in Church for the tying run.



Good ol' Shea Stadium was rocking again in the rain and the stage was set for more heroics in the bottom half of the ninth when Beltran stepped up to the plate. Beltran smoked a 2-0 pitch on a rope down the first base line.. it clipped off the glove of the diving Micah Hoffpauir and trickled into right for the game winner.

Reyes led off the ninth with a single off losing pitcher Kevin Hart, and he stole second after Daniel Murphy, bunting on his own with two strikes, and Wright struck out. After Hart intentionally walked Carlos Delgado, Beltran pulled a line drive off Hoffpauir's glove for his second walk-off of the year.

I've got a pretty good feeling that there will be more Magic in the next few days.

Where have all the "Scouts" gone?

So, the other night at the local pub, I was sitting there enjoying the many games being broadcast when I overhear this fella spouting about how he knows the scout that "found" Jacoby Ellsbury.

"Yea, found him and signed him! What a find that was! Find one like that and you are set."

Funny thing is, I know the guy too - John Booher. I worked with John for alot of years. No offense to Boo.. but.. he didn't "find" Jacoby Ellsbury. The kid was on a team that set the stage for back to back National Championships. He was a Pac-10 All Star standout from Freshman year on. My point is.. Jacoby Ellsbury was not "hiding" in the vast talent pools of American Amateur baseball. How do you qualify that as "finding" a player?

Since I am ranting on "Scouts".. how about all of the "findings" in Latin America. Here we have some incredible young talent that is often signed at 16 years of age (legal or not) and then brought up through the pro instructional leagues with the best competition, coaching, equipment, etc. The youngster shows he has a little speed, some arm strength, a desire for the game and some scout "finds" him, signs him and wow... what a find that was!

Uh, just checking in here.. but, don't you think the same thing could be done in rural America? You know.. some Iowa corn field. Some place where the "Jacoby Ellsbury's" of the world are not slapped right in the face of the "scout"?

Let me take you back a couple of years to a fella named Bill Russell. Yea, the standout Dodger short stop. Russell never even played High School baseball. Oh, he would have played High School baseball... it just so happens his school was so small they couldn't field a team!!! Yet.. a real, live .. bonafide "scout" saw the athleticism of this guy.. saw the desire and competitive fire in him... and drafted him to the Dodgers out of High School! A couple of years later he is in the big leagues as an outfielder because the great Maury Wills plays shortstop. Wills leaves, Russell steps in.. for 12 years!

Sorry guys... I love ya Boo... but "THAT" is scouting. Not picking from the most celebrated.. high profile kids. There are tons and tons of young men capable of playing the game at the highest level all over America. Who will "Find" them?

College World Series

The Champions of mens College Baseball was decided on Wednesday. What a great ending to a fun post season in the college ranks. There were so many outstanding players showcased for the country. It's a shame that most people do not share in the excitement of college baseball.

Sure, the metal bats change the game some.. but no different than Arena football changing the NFL. They light up the scoreboard. That's just the way that game is.. the same for college baseball.

Although, you certainly see that good pitching can even shut down a metal bat lineup. Just as the young lefty from Fresno State did to the powerful Georgia Bulldog bats. Speaking of the Georgia bats... was it fun to watch that Gordon Beckham play? Or What? He is a very intense competitor and I loved watching his approach to hitting. He was rarely satisfied with an at bat... even when he hit it hard and it found the leather. He wants a hit every at bat.. that's kind of cool : )

I also enjoyed watching Tommy Mendonca from Fresno State. He was very impressive on defense and tied the CWS record with 4 Home Runs in the series. The bomb in Game 2 was massive.. first pitch! His glove was fabulous though.. if you hit it to the corner.. you are out.

This year is in the record books and next year will bring a new crop of players that will show us the passion of the game.. the excitement of offensive baseball and the unbridled enthusiasm of amateur baseball at it's best.

Bonds and Clemens

What a crazy era we are in for baseball. You have to look back sometimes at the controversies that plagued other eras and recognize that baseball players seem to step into piles of dog doo on a regular basis throughout history.

In year's past it seemed that greed played a big part of it. Players were not really paid that big of a salary in comparison to the money generated by the sport, consequently they were easy targets for bribes and other tactics ala the Black Sox scandal. The character flaws in some of the players were brought to light, never mind their physical skills on a baseball field.

Today's ballplayer, even the lowly rookie, is paid handsomely. So, greed gives way to ego in the 21st century. With so many performance enhancement drugs being developed and the nature of the game, combined with the personalities of players like Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds... it's a mixture sure to blow up in your face.

Look, it's no secret that "man" has been swayed by a host of illicit things... drugs, sex, alcohol.. "man" in the spotlight.. ala famous ballplayer, is no exception. These guys that have character flaws (think lie, cheat, steal) are eventually exposed. They were exposed in the early 1900's and they were exposed in early 2000's and they will be exposed in every century that follows.

The shame of it is that throughout history baseball takes the beating for the individual sins of a few. Especially when those "few" have placed themselves in elite statistical company in the history of the game. The funny thing is .. had they been able to keep their ego in check and not found it necessary to illegally enhance their already blessed skills at the game, both Clemens and Bonds would have stood at the top in the end naturally. And... they would not have been placed in a position to lie through their yellow teeth to you, me, congress and themselves!

Ah, but... the nature of "man" and the nature of the game.. a volatile mix. Say it Ain't so.. Joe.

Chipper and Lance chase .400

What a start for Chipper Jones and Lance Berkman. Could this be the year we end up with a .400 hitter? Okay... sure, it's only 6 weeks into the season. Even so, these two are about 25% of their total at bats from 2007. It's not inconceivable that they could stay at or near this magical number for the entire year.

Perhaps Chipper was upset that in 2007 he barely missed gaining his first Batting Title. This guy has been a steady hitter since his high school days. In case you've forgotten... he was the high school player of the year for 3 straight seasons in the state of Florida! Think about that... so, as a sophomore in a baseball rich state like Florida.. he beat out the top Seniors in the state. Then, he did it two more years running. It's no surprise that he has had tremendous success. To see this type of a start is a testament to his Desire to place himself among the elite players to have stepped on the diamond... and to get that batting title he narrowly missed in '07.

With all that Chipper brings, he must be looking over his shoulder and thinking... damn, of all the years for Lance to put together these kinds of statistics... why this year? :)

Lance Berkman is leading or near leading in virtually every offensive category in 2008. His .393 average and power numbers are so impressive that you have to wonder if this career .303 hitter is making HIS statement to be placed among the elite hitters in the game. Lance should easily reach the 300/300 club of Home Runs and Doubles by the end of 2008. At only 32 years of age, he should easily put up solid numbers for the next 5 years which would place him in tall company with the legends of the game, like Chipper Jones.

So, all in all... sit back and enjoy the seasons these two fabulous entertainers are having. It's likely you won't see this type of performance for years to come.