Unposted from archives?

Eighteen games into the MIAA schedule we are now 17-1, with ten games left to play.  Half of our four game series against Hope College was postponed due to Friday's weather, and those games will be made up on May 10th.  Though I was hoping we would play last Friday, now we will be able to use six different starting pitchers on that last week (Friday, Saturday, Tuesday) and thus have some more of our pitchers prepared for the Regional Tournament.

Though we still can't count our chickens before they hatch and we can't take a Regional appearance for granted, our practice of believing in ourselves gives us the opportunity to visualize the regionals already.  Our closest competitor in the loss column is Kalamazoo College at 9-7, and the next best team in the win column is Calvin College at 12-8.  We play our Kalamazoo series in two weeks, and we have already played Calvin.

Early in the season, or actually in the pre-season, I had the pitchers use visualization while we practiced inside.  For the returning players, I told them to envision being on the mound at Marietta College's field.  That is where the Mideast Regional tournament was last year and again next month that will be the site.  All of the players who played last season in that tournament are able to visualize themselves being successful on Marietta's field, and that can only help us when we get there.

Again though, we still have to take care of business in our last ten games.  Yesterday we swept Hope, throwing another shutout in game #1, which gives our pitching staff eight shutouts in our 18 conference games, and seven shutouts in our last twelve games.  That is an indicator that we are continuing to improve, but we have to keep reminding our guys that no matter how well we have been playing, there are still mistakes made that we can learn from and thus make ourselves a better team.

The luxury that a team has when it is playing well is that in trying to improve on weaknesses, or mistakes, it is easier to pick out those mistakes after games because there aren't as many of them as in a poorly played game.  In providing feedback after a bad game, there are often so many mistakes to try to hash out and then some of them can unfortunately be overlooked.  After well played games, we can look at the mistakes we made and spend some time in dialogue as well as in practice to try to take care of those situ

Causes of flare-up?

I've been procrastinating on this, but I want to put into writing some of my internal questions regarding the possible reasons for my recent flare-up.

I wonder what brought it on, or whether it was a combination of things or just something that was eventually going to happen.  After all, I did go two complete years without a flare-up after my diagnosis and two week hospital stay back in May of 2010.

So, was I drinking too much coffee?  Did I eat too many fresh fruits (blueberries, strawberries, blackberries) this summer?  I had abstained from corn on the cob so far!!

Was it because I drank a few beers and a few shots on Thursday night and then four more beers on Friday night?  I generally drink a few beers perhaps 2-3 times per month.  The flare-up began Monday night, three days after Friday night.  Or how about eating Mexican food on Friday night?

Was it caused by independently decreasing my medication by 33% over the past handful of months.  I'm pretty sure the doctors know their stuff better than I know their stuff.

Or what about the 'protein' shake I drank a couple days prior to the flare-up?  Is something like that too high fiber for my large intestine?  Perhaps it isn't a coincidence that I had been eating sunflower seeds in the dugout this season, for the first time in about ten years or so.

How about taking some occasional Tylenol (Acetaminophen) whenever I had a little headache, although the last time would have been at least 3-4 weeks prior to the flare-up.

Was I eating too many high fiber foods in the past few months?  Things such as wheat breads, granola bars, cereals.

Whatever it was, perhaps we will never find out for sure.  Perhaps future flare-ups will occur regardless of how carefully I stick to the prescribed diet and regimen.  I am glad to be off of the blood thinning drugs now, though.  I am not so afraid of being hit in the head by a bat or ball now, though I'm sure it would still leave a mark......may provide me with more sense, too!!!

American Legion Baseball Post-Season

After having to miss a weekend of Post 275 American Legion baseball I was more than happy to be able to be at the Zone Tournament the past couple days at River Valley High School in Three Oaks, MI.    Since we are hosting next week's State Tournament, we automatically qualify to compete in it, but as a team we want to earn our way there.  The top two teams in this Zone Tournament qualify.

We assured ourselves a spot by winning our first two games on Friday, thus forcing the other teams to battle for the right to play us and also qualify for the state tournament.  Due to the costs of lodging and feeding the team, the tournament committee decided on Friday night that once we were down to two teams, there would be no need to play the 'if necessary' game of the double elimination on Sunday.

I made sure to let the powers-that-be know that I disagreed with that decision.  They called it a 'meaningless' game.  We all have our own interpretation of the word meaningless.  To them, since the two teams had already been determined, there was no point in playing an extra championship game and spending extra money.  But to me, from a coaching perspective, there are numerous reasons to play that final championship game.

First of all, I think we are doing both teams a disservice by not playing, as an extra game of competition can only help both of the Zone's representatives prepare some more for the state tournament.  Players and teams improve by playing.  In addition, in looking at our team specifically, we have a pitcher who will be a 2014 high school graduate who hasn't pitched in two weeks.  He is also a potential college pitcher, and he is now denied an opportunity to pitch, potentially in front of a few college coaches.  And it isn't just the opportunity to see this one kid, but two entire teams of potential college players are denied the opportunity.

We will be playing next week, as will the Berrien Springs team, but both squads were denied an opportunity to not only prepare more for the state tournament, but also to improve in a big game situation.  The same scenario occurred last year in our Zone Tournament.

The American Legion Baseball Administrators have clung to some old-school values, which is a good thing.  But they have also created situations that has caused a drop in the number of teams and quality players who choose to play Legion Baseball in various regions and states across the country.  When I first became a college coach in the late 1980s, most of the top players in our state were playing Legion baseball.  Today, there are only a few geographic areas of the state that attract the best local players to Legion Baseball.

Personally, I think some input from 'baseball' people would do some good for the players and administrators of American Legion Baseball.

Recalling Undergrad Classes

I know the subtitle of the blog says something about a journey through a baseball season, but that was a couple seasons ago and so I am deciding, for the moment anyway, to add some thoughts outside of baseball....because I can.

This morning I was a little light-headed for the first couple hours at school, but as the day continued I felt as though I had more energy than I did yesterday.  I had a hitting/pitching lesson with a ten year old, had a nice workout at the Y, and then did some grocery shopping, came home and made some dinner for Eric and myself.

At the grocery store I ran into and said hello to Spencer Bennett, a retired History/Social Science professor from Siena Heights University.  As a social Science major during my undergrad years, I had the opportunity to have a handful of classes with Spencer.  I'm pretty sure the first one was a class titles 'Popular Culture in the US'.  I remember having an assignment requiring us to go to downtown Detroit and watch a movie that had just come out that was called 'The Buddy Holly Story.'  Since then the movie has been on television countless times and I always watch at least a little bit of it if I've got nothing else going on.  I still love to hear many of the Buddy Holly (and the Crickets) that were featured in that soundtrack.

I remember another time, during my senior year of college, when I missed a test in Spencer's American History class on a Friday morning.  I was prepared and I knew the information and would have probably scored well on the test.  My roommate, JD, was also taking that class, and we always studied for the tests together on the morning of the tests.  JD took the test and earned a 'B' I think.  He was a business major and was taking the course as an elective.  I went to Spencer's office to explain that I was sorry for missing the test and that I would take the test if he would give me the opportunity.  He told me to forget about it, that he knew I would have done fine, and allowed me to slide by without penalty for missing it.  Needless to say, JD wasn't please with either me or Professor Bennett!!  I have seen Spencer a number of times at the YMCA over the past few years.  I am thankful for so many people like him!  He was an extremely intelligent man who enjoyed his job and had a great sense of humor!

Anyway, I do feel much better tonight, though I'll probably get to sleep earlier than normal.  On to what I hope will be a speedy recovery from the scary flare-up of last week.

My kids are both awesome!!

Second Home

Today was to be a day full of work, a YMCA workout, and then coaching a doubleheader in the evening.  Our summer school days end at 1:30, and by about noon I was dragging and just about out of energy.  I decided to skip my Y workout and try to nap a bit before our games, and what a great choice that was.  I ate some good food and napped at home and barely got to the game before the first pitch was thrown.

I must say it was great to get back into the dugout, but I also wasn't as involved as I normally am.  I let the catchers call the pitches and I basically hung out at the front corner of the dugout with no responsibilities other than teaching situational things, attitudes, and the other normal things that coaches must do during games to help their teams and players make improvements.

I'm home now, but I need some sleep.  I know my body needs to get back to full strength again and I guess it will tell me when to rest......hopefully I will listen!!

We did win two games to bring our season record to 24-9, which so far is progress from last year's 21-19 finish.  Most of all, I felt at home in the dugout, which probably really is my second home!

Coming to

So, today I went back to work after having last week off due to a flare-up of my colitis.  I've got to admit, this time it attacked me like a tornado.  Without warning, I had significant rectal bleeding Monday night and Tuesday morning.  While getting ready for work Tuesday morning I fainted twice on the toilet and fell off, then twice more in shower--one time falling completely out of the shower and another time falling in the shower.  I called my daughter Tess, and she told my ex-wife Vicki, who picked me up to take me to the ER at Bixby Medical Center.

Each time I 'came to' after fainting, I was immediately confused about where I was and also felt like I had been in a fight.  Since I have been on blood thinners for two years, those falls could have resulted worse than what happened.  They did a Cat Scan and found no bleeding in my brain, thankfully.  Steroids and other drugs in the hospital got my colon functioning closer to normal, and I only needed to spend three nights there before coming home.

I spent my weekend in recovery at home, watching a lot of the British Open Golf and Major League Baseball on television and spending some nice time with both of my kids in the evenings. I missed our Legion (Adrian Post 275) team's District Tournament, but we swept through it to qualify for next week's Zone Tourney.  I am truly thankful and lucky for so many of God's Blessings, most notably the people with whom He has allowed me to be with.

Today I went back to work, though it was an easy day.  Jason Boring and I had to pick Sammy up at his house in Tecumseh, bring him to the Hope Center, work on his goals, and we even to take him to the Lenawee County Fair.  I haven't been to that fair in a few years, and we went before it was too crowded and hot.  I appreciate the willingness of Jason to do most of the physical work, pushing Sam's wheelchair around the Fairgrounds.

Though I did get tired kinda easily, I came home, ate lunch, had a decent workout at the YMCA of Lenawee, and then came home to read, shower, make dinner, etc.  Being back to work is a blessing, and so are the people in my life.

I'm trying to become better at being me and understanding my body.  More to come later.  Thanks for taking a few minutes to read about me!

Observing the mental game

Today is basically the last day of my stay-at-home recovery from this past week's flare-up.  I am reminded of my initial bout with colitis in 2010 and my recovery at home.  At that time my hospital stay was fourteen days and my at home recovery was virtually all summer.  This time I only spent three nights in the hospital and am now in my third day at home, thankfully.

Each time I returned home from the hospital I have been able to relax and watch major sporting events on television as a doze off and come to the realization that I don't always have to be doing something.  Two years ago, my mother-in-law Jean Murray took care of me for a week while we watched the French Open Tennis Tournament all week.  Jean is a huge tennis fan and player.  I was struck by the television broadcasters and how much they talked about the mental game during that week.  I was also able to share some mental tips with Jean's husband Mike, who was also visiting and playing rounds of golf during his week here in Adrian.

Today, during the last round of the 2012 British Open, again I can observe not only the performances of these fabulous professional athletes, but at the same time I can listen to the broadcasters and their opinions of the nerves, the mental preparation, the sleep patterns interrupted, and the emotions of the golfers.

The more I am involved in athletics and have the privilege of working with kids of many ages, I can clearly observe while watching some of the world's top athletes, that the mental game and the ability to control emotions is so vitally important to success in competitive athletics.

In saying that, I want to give a shout out to 23 year old Rick Porcello of the Detroit Tigers, who dominated the Chicago White Sox yesterday, and to the Adrian Post 275 American Legion Baseball Team, who swept through the District Tournament the last two days by allowing only three runs in three games.

Gratitude and perspective

While I spend a lot of time coaching in the summer and enjoying the game of baseball and the people around it, occasionally events outside of my own life give me the opportunity to remain grounded and grateful for all that I have.

The terrible shooting rampage at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado could not remind us enough of how we never know which day will be our last, or when we will see our loved ones for the last time.  My own kids have been spending time with me this week while I went through a flare-up of my colitis.  I have always said that once we choose to be parents, we have chosen a new life priority.  Acting on that priority, which some may consider to be a sacrifice, is one of our greatest contributions we can make to the world around us.

Every year I come to realize more and more that God didn't put us here by ourselves.  He put us with all of His other children so that we could share His love in whatever ways we can do best.  Having gratitude for my family and friends helps me to handle any bumps (real or imagined) along my path.

My prayers go out to the families and victims in and around Aurora, Colorado.  May they feel God hold them in His hands and comfort them.