Saturday was my first time pitching at home for our last spring training warmup before the regular season gets under way this weekend. We hosted a pretty good club from Holland named PSV (yes the same organization for the famous dutch soccer club, sharing the same name... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSV_Eindhoven.
A few mishaps before the game - i was supposed to be picked up by dennis, or at least i thought, but apparently it was lost in translation the night before when he asked me what time i wanted to go to the field, he was just asking what time i would be there at and not when he would pick me up. so i walked to the ballpark and was quite late which is mutually exclusive from how i was also late in getting warmed up for the game, which i wasn't (warmed up, that is...) when i went in to begin the first inning, as the team waited by the dugout for me to finish my warm-up pitches in the bullpen on the opposite end of the field.
i proceeded, as i was also pretty overly excited since there were a ton of people there (a huge group of americans from ramstein airforce base in germany came to participate in a wewekend tournament for the little kids and a lot were sticking around to watch our game) to walk 2 of the first 4 hitters before i got out of the first inning bases loaded jam unscathed. we put a run up in the bottom of the first and despite the fact that i liked our chances after throwing a scoreless second inning, i was falling behind most batters mostly due to the fact that i couldn't locate my fastball (everything was up in the zone) and to make matters worse i couldn't get my change-up over, not once time in the first 3 innings, seriously.
mechanically i know what i was doing wrong which is good so i can correct it during the week we have before the game (breaking my hands too late in my delivery causing my arm to lag behind and then cheating my arm by taking a shorter path to the release point which my elbow is down and forearm is clenched and not loose...but who cares about the technical stuff, the moral of the story was i was guiding the ball on the chaneup and my release point was terrible for the fastball).
it was a pretty good hitting club so i tried to mix up my offspeed pitches to start hitters off because they were just sitting on my fastball, but the only pitch i could get over was the slider, which i apparently, was tipping off to a few hitters possibly because i was giving the signs to the catcher instead of vice-versa. an interesting dilemma in which we were having some definite communication problems, so our manager, mark, had go by what i wanted to throw and i would relay it using a part of my body to our catcher. something i had never had to do before and definitely made things interesting and diverted much of my focus before each pitch. (side baseball note upcoming)
*usually, as a pitcher, you have an idea of what you want to do, but you want your catcher who knows the league/hitters/how they're standing in the box/what they did the last time/how the ump is calling the game, to make the suggestion and then you either agree or feel, on those rare occassions, that maybe something else might be better...
well anyways 3rd inning i got roughed up a bit for 2 runs, walks, hits, getting behind batters in the count and not being able to locate my change-up aka my best pitch did me in. overall the first three innings were crap. in the fourth inning i made some adjustments and started getting the ball down and ahead in the count, my change-up finally decided to make it over the plate (throw it, don't guide it as my personal catcher at gw john birk would say) and my slider was working pretty well, except on this particular inning PSV decided to tee off on first pitch fastballs and also on a hanging slider, which led to another 2 runs.
i exited the game with a pretty crappy 4 IP, 4 ER, 3 K, 4 BB (maybe more) 4 or 5 hits. we ended up losing 11-2. the bad news, i didnt do much this game to have our staff have much confidence in my performance heading into the season, although i feel like my first spring training outing against competition we'll be facing during the year was pretty good, the last two weren't so hot. the good news is that i was able to make adjustments in the game in the 4th inning and correct some things. my so called "worst pitch" of my big 3 happens to be working very well in the games right now so i have a lot of confidence in that, and even though i don't think how i pitched was remotely near acceptable, even on my worst day i wasn't shallaked. i simply beat myself.
regardless, i'm pretty exciting for the real games to get started and with some warm weather moving in (expected to be in the 70s instead of the dreary and windy 40s and low 50s we've been playing in)...
aside from dennis who i hang out with daily because he loves to work out and do baseball training 24/7 like i, i began hanging out more with our 1b/of nick and catcher sammy this weekend. first, after the game i blew off some steam by going out with a friend of erwin's (now a friend of mine, as i know officially can count on 4-5 people that now call or text me...i have actually have friends, so that's fun) to de vagant which is a very famous, old "typical belgian"bar down in the center of the city by the cathedral. we had gezers or jezers or some kind of liquor that is very big in belgium and something that i never heard of. good place and i'll def have to visit again.
sunday i woke up early (yes, 9 am and i am fully adjusted to this other time zone, finally!) and went with dennis to his girlfriends softball game in downtown antwerp, and i have to say 1) it was the first time i think i ever decided to go watch a softball game and 2) his girl's team could absolutely mash the ball. afterwards we went back to their clubouse where frankly i felt pretty out of place, the majority of the girls, let's say were not interested in me for a pretty basic reason, and to remind me even more that i'm not in kansas anymore, english was not spoken, at all. so i sat for a few hours trying to listen for flemish words i knew, before my hero, alain (the second baseman for those of you scoring at home) came to pick me up (i was stuck on the otherside of the city) and dropped me off at home so i was able to do some running (as i ran through hoboken) and was able to not get lost on my way to my assistant coach's - nils and helen's house for a little easter bbq with some other teammates, sven, nick, alain, dave, and erwin with all their significant others. afterwards, sammy, nick and nick's friend nick - (lost yet?) and i, all went to a small hole in the wall, just a real fun bar, right in the downtown next to the city.government hall structure thing. we were out to 4 am or so and had a great time, and met a beautiful bartender jill who i think is good friends with sammy and we'll all be chillin again sometime this week. as far as the going out goes - i know a few lines in flemish, none really appropriate but all are good ice breakers, but i find it increasinly difficult to speak with people english sometimes the louder and more alcohol people have as the night goes on (some notes to remember i guess - speak early in english, later in flemish)...
monday was a day off, national holiday in belgium and most of my teammates were out with family so i went with the next best thing to family - ilse picked me up and i got a chance to hang out with her and 7 year old, i think 7 - arthur. (see pictures above) we had a good time playing with rabbits, going shopping for gardening, jumping on the trampeline and visiting the duvel beer factory to take pictures to prove to my sister rachel sara prinstein (happy birthday by the way!) that i am actually in europe. pictures to come maybe? and maybe some from dave finally too...
did some long tossing at the field later with sammy and then spent all day tuesday at the field, from 9 am in the morning to 9 pm at night. working on the field, playing darts in the clubhouse with some of the guys, hitting for hours, throwing a very encouraging bullpen of 70 pitches or so, 30 min of running, full pratice with my favorite pitcher's covering first base defense drill and full batting practice. probably one of the best days i have had here yet. i love the baseball. 'nuff said.
A few mishaps before the game - i was supposed to be picked up by dennis, or at least i thought, but apparently it was lost in translation the night before when he asked me what time i wanted to go to the field, he was just asking what time i would be there at and not when he would pick me up. so i walked to the ballpark and was quite late which is mutually exclusive from how i was also late in getting warmed up for the game, which i wasn't (warmed up, that is...) when i went in to begin the first inning, as the team waited by the dugout for me to finish my warm-up pitches in the bullpen on the opposite end of the field.
i proceeded, as i was also pretty overly excited since there were a ton of people there (a huge group of americans from ramstein airforce base in germany came to participate in a wewekend tournament for the little kids and a lot were sticking around to watch our game) to walk 2 of the first 4 hitters before i got out of the first inning bases loaded jam unscathed. we put a run up in the bottom of the first and despite the fact that i liked our chances after throwing a scoreless second inning, i was falling behind most batters mostly due to the fact that i couldn't locate my fastball (everything was up in the zone) and to make matters worse i couldn't get my change-up over, not once time in the first 3 innings, seriously.
mechanically i know what i was doing wrong which is good so i can correct it during the week we have before the game (breaking my hands too late in my delivery causing my arm to lag behind and then cheating my arm by taking a shorter path to the release point which my elbow is down and forearm is clenched and not loose...but who cares about the technical stuff, the moral of the story was i was guiding the ball on the chaneup and my release point was terrible for the fastball).
it was a pretty good hitting club so i tried to mix up my offspeed pitches to start hitters off because they were just sitting on my fastball, but the only pitch i could get over was the slider, which i apparently, was tipping off to a few hitters possibly because i was giving the signs to the catcher instead of vice-versa. an interesting dilemma in which we were having some definite communication problems, so our manager, mark, had go by what i wanted to throw and i would relay it using a part of my body to our catcher. something i had never had to do before and definitely made things interesting and diverted much of my focus before each pitch. (side baseball note upcoming)
*usually, as a pitcher, you have an idea of what you want to do, but you want your catcher who knows the league/hitters/how they're standing in the box/what they did the last time/how the ump is calling the game, to make the suggestion and then you either agree or feel, on those rare occassions, that maybe something else might be better...
well anyways 3rd inning i got roughed up a bit for 2 runs, walks, hits, getting behind batters in the count and not being able to locate my change-up aka my best pitch did me in. overall the first three innings were crap. in the fourth inning i made some adjustments and started getting the ball down and ahead in the count, my change-up finally decided to make it over the plate (throw it, don't guide it as my personal catcher at gw john birk would say) and my slider was working pretty well, except on this particular inning PSV decided to tee off on first pitch fastballs and also on a hanging slider, which led to another 2 runs.
i exited the game with a pretty crappy 4 IP, 4 ER, 3 K, 4 BB (maybe more) 4 or 5 hits. we ended up losing 11-2. the bad news, i didnt do much this game to have our staff have much confidence in my performance heading into the season, although i feel like my first spring training outing against competition we'll be facing during the year was pretty good, the last two weren't so hot. the good news is that i was able to make adjustments in the game in the 4th inning and correct some things. my so called "worst pitch" of my big 3 happens to be working very well in the games right now so i have a lot of confidence in that, and even though i don't think how i pitched was remotely near acceptable, even on my worst day i wasn't shallaked. i simply beat myself.
regardless, i'm pretty exciting for the real games to get started and with some warm weather moving in (expected to be in the 70s instead of the dreary and windy 40s and low 50s we've been playing in)...
aside from dennis who i hang out with daily because he loves to work out and do baseball training 24/7 like i, i began hanging out more with our 1b/of nick and catcher sammy this weekend. first, after the game i blew off some steam by going out with a friend of erwin's (now a friend of mine, as i know officially can count on 4-5 people that now call or text me...i have actually have friends, so that's fun) to de vagant which is a very famous, old "typical belgian"bar down in the center of the city by the cathedral. we had gezers or jezers or some kind of liquor that is very big in belgium and something that i never heard of. good place and i'll def have to visit again.
sunday i woke up early (yes, 9 am and i am fully adjusted to this other time zone, finally!) and went with dennis to his girlfriends softball game in downtown antwerp, and i have to say 1) it was the first time i think i ever decided to go watch a softball game and 2) his girl's team could absolutely mash the ball. afterwards we went back to their clubouse where frankly i felt pretty out of place, the majority of the girls, let's say were not interested in me for a pretty basic reason, and to remind me even more that i'm not in kansas anymore, english was not spoken, at all. so i sat for a few hours trying to listen for flemish words i knew, before my hero, alain (the second baseman for those of you scoring at home) came to pick me up (i was stuck on the otherside of the city) and dropped me off at home so i was able to do some running (as i ran through hoboken) and was able to not get lost on my way to my assistant coach's - nils and helen's house for a little easter bbq with some other teammates, sven, nick, alain, dave, and erwin with all their significant others. afterwards, sammy, nick and nick's friend nick - (lost yet?) and i, all went to a small hole in the wall, just a real fun bar, right in the downtown next to the city.government hall structure thing. we were out to 4 am or so and had a great time, and met a beautiful bartender jill who i think is good friends with sammy and we'll all be chillin again sometime this week. as far as the going out goes - i know a few lines in flemish, none really appropriate but all are good ice breakers, but i find it increasinly difficult to speak with people english sometimes the louder and more alcohol people have as the night goes on (some notes to remember i guess - speak early in english, later in flemish)...
monday was a day off, national holiday in belgium and most of my teammates were out with family so i went with the next best thing to family - ilse picked me up and i got a chance to hang out with her and 7 year old, i think 7 - arthur. (see pictures above) we had a good time playing with rabbits, going shopping for gardening, jumping on the trampeline and visiting the duvel beer factory to take pictures to prove to my sister rachel sara prinstein (happy birthday by the way!) that i am actually in europe. pictures to come maybe? and maybe some from dave finally too...
did some long tossing at the field later with sammy and then spent all day tuesday at the field, from 9 am in the morning to 9 pm at night. working on the field, playing darts in the clubhouse with some of the guys, hitting for hours, throwing a very encouraging bullpen of 70 pitches or so, 30 min of running, full pratice with my favorite pitcher's covering first base defense drill and full batting practice. probably one of the best days i have had here yet. i love the baseball. 'nuff said.
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