All-Star selections

One of the few things that I have to do as a coach every year is name 3 players for the all-star team. There are 2 teams that play all-star weekend against our BYSP counterparts and for the most part we own them, queue the huge sense of pride thing. I'm glad that YAO is the best, I'm glad that we produce better ball-players. It gives credibility to our organization.

This year's all-star selections are a bit more clear cut than it has been in previous seasons. We have 3 players on our team that have done a lot to help us remain in the chase for the championship, 3 players who have established themselves as leaders and will be excellent ball-players in the years to come.

Our three all-stars for this year are:

Adam Hall - Offense, defense, Adam is the next "charlie-hustle".  Adam is the single biggest weapon in the league and will re-write the history books for our rookie league. 5 home runs so far, and commands respect with every at bat. Oh and have you noticed how hard he works on defense?  His dedication to the game is a credit to him, and his dad Tyler who has done so much for our team this year. If I could only get Adam to smile a bit more....

William Way - The quiet leader. Our anchor at first base, he brings us a huge pop with his bat, and has been unlucky not to get a home run so far this season. Not that he minds, Will ... or "Big Poppa Will" as I like to call him would easily be the best player on any other team. I can't tell you how much I have depended on him this year, and he has consistently produced to be one of the best players in the league.

Bryce Gonsalves - The third part of my triple-play. It hasn't come easy for Bryce. He has played in the shadow of the big 2 all year long (in reality for the past 3 years) and no one has worked harder at being such a good ball-player. Bryce doesn't have the big numbers of Adam or William, and doesn't dominate, but still comes up with clutch hits and solid defense when needed. My most emotional player, he takes everything personally, every little missed step. I spend so much time trying to lift him up, and keep him going, but at the end of the day when I see his smile, I know that it's all worth it. 

The good thing with these players is that they all bring something different to the table, all have great game knowledge, and all are great team mates.

For my other players, the selection of these 3 should give them all something to shoot for.  We have some great kids coming through the ranks. Liam, Mateo, Rachel, Taj, Riley, Tristan, Aidan, Sherwin, Jason, Riniko, Taylor and Syriah all should continue to improve... if they work at it, and I'll look forward to seeing how they develop in the years to come.

The last person on my list is Thomas. If only I could I'd have Thomas on every team I coach. He knows how much he means to us, and he is finally finding his place, and his confidence is growing. It is with a very heavy heart that I have just found out this week that Thomas and his family will be leaving Bermuda soon. I'm sure he'll find a great team and a great coach in the future, but what he takes with him is, I hope, a love for the game and a desire to be a better ball-player. Thomas epitomizes everything our team is about. Heart, work-ethic and an incurable fun-ability.  

What a better going away present than to give him his second championship in 3 seasons???

Let's do it!!!

Playoff Game 1 - D-backs 1 - Mets 0

I'm pretty sure that we will have to scratch and claw our way to the end of the season. Nothing comes easy, and we should expect nothing less. No one can say we've dominated, no one can't say that we have earned our way to where we are now. It makes us appreciate the work. It makes us work harder, and keep focused. While I wouldn't mind having a relaxing walk in the park win, lets say by more than 1 run, I'll take what I can get!

To be honest, I'm more proud of having had the defense show up week in and week out, big play after big play. It is equally frustrating that we haven't been able to score more than 5 runs in any game other than our very first practice game of the year.  Im baffled by our inability to hit consistently. We have tried so very hard to get the bats going, and we still will. For their part, I know that the kids are trying and in the closing weeks, we will keep trying, we will keep fighting to get it right.

Up next - a semi-final matchup against the Orioles, who beat us 5-4 a few weeks ago. A loss that still smarts. Our advantage this time is that we will be the home team. Let's hope we can put enough pressure on them to get some revenge from the first game against them. We know what they bring to the table and that we will have to be at our best to beat them. Having umpired their game yesterday and having watched them play a few times, we know that their strength is hitting and the excellent Ruck/Dickinson (Pitcher/1b) combo. If not for Adam Hall's amazing year for us, Tommy Ruck would easily be the best player in the league. We need to force the rest of their team to make plays, that is their achillies heel.

Our game will be at 11:00 a.m. next week, so I know that will bring some relief to those sleepy-heads who moaned over our early start this week!

Rooting for the Yankees... it's a dirty job, but we did it!!!

After our game yesterday, we had to wait for the result of the 3:00 p.m. game between the Orioles and Yankees to know our final positioning for the playoffs. We needed a Yankee win or at least a tie to secure first place. As we had lost to the Orioles last week, an O's win would have given them first place. Nerves were at an all time high. I would have accepted 2nd place, but having worked so hard and come so far, we deserved 1st place, although I'm sure the Orioles and Yankees would have said the exact same thing.

My son plays for the Blue Jays in Little League, and his game was scheduled for 2:00, and somehow I got roped into manning the scoreboard. I saw coach Eugene (Yankees) and coach Fred (Orioles) and wished them well, and told Fred I'd see him after Brandon's game and I'd be wearing my Yankees hat (I don't have a Yankees hat... and never would), but he laughed and understood my meaning.

So after Brandon had won his game (14-10), we went back to the Rookie league field and was pleasantly surprised to see coach Smokey and Liam there watching the game! On the other hand I looked at the score and my high hopes were quickly deflated when I saw it was 2-0 to the Orioles and they were still batting in the bottom of the 2nd inning (1 out). So with my D-backs shirt and hat I set out to inspire the Yankees in my own loud and boisterous way.

Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not sure if screaming "LET'S GO YANKEES!!" with everything I have actually did anything, but it did manage to get on the nerves of a few parents and coaches on the Orioles. My apologies to them all. Maybe it did do something, maybe not, but the Yankees responded scoring 5 big runs in the top of the 3rd inning to take a 5-2 lead!!!! Now all we needed was some defense.

Much credit to the Orioles, who also found some fire and fought back all the way to tie the game 5-5. The final score. 5-5.

5-5 doesn't settle anything other than who get's first place, and that goes to....

the D-backs.

Who gets second and third... that's no matter to us. We are the regular season champs!!!!

Congrats to all. Now we have to finish off what we've started.

Practice on Thursday 6:00 p.m.. We may have additional practices later. I'll let you know.

Righting the ship - D-backs 4 - Blue Jays 2

Take last weeks game and draw a carbon copy for 2 1/2 innings. We do well and score 4 runs in the first inning, and give up 1 in the first and second and sit with a 4-2 lead with the Blue Jays (a twisted form of Oriole?) up in the bottom of the 3rd. I'm a bit nervous, you know I am. It's hard not being nervous. Still, we do things right and walk away 4-2 winners. A good performance, and we showed that when we do the fundamentals right, we will always be in with a shot.

Finishing the regular season with one loss is a pretty good achievement. The fact we finished the season having to fight for every win will make the experience that more impressive. While we can't get too arrogant, we know that we are still a work in progress, still a team of many pieces, a team that can't begin to rest on it's laurels. We have to keep working, and we have to keep focused. Our chalenge is clear and teams will be gunning for us.

I am so pleased to have been able to work with such a great group of kids this year. If we take anything away from our season, it is that we can be great, all we have to do is believe in oursselves and work hard.