Manny Ramirez the dreadlocked left fielder for the Boston Red Sox is going to get it. He had the gall to say it is ‘not the end of the world’ if the Red Sox don’t make it to the World Series this year. That is right the left fielder spoke his mind, and every Red Sox loving Fed Ex driver in the greater Boston area is outraged. Because for them it is end of the world type angst that invades their heart every time their beloved franchise ends up short of world dominance. It marks the beginning of days of depression, days of half heartedness.

“Who cares?” Manny asks. Obviously not the players or at least not Manny. Now before we run Manny down too much, let’s applaud his honesty, and his priorities. Manny’s job is fairly simple by most job standards. His job is simply to hit the baseball, preferably over the fence, so his jog to first base isn’t too shameful. For it is hard for fanatics to justify pouring their heart and soul into supporting someone who can’t even run ninety feet in at least a three quarter sprint. If they see this too many times they might actually try doing something worthwhile in their spare time, or at least requiring some effort to be put forth for their entertainment dollar. But as long as enough of Manny’s hits make it over the fence than jogging to first base on a ground ball can be overlooked. After all Manny is a baseball player not an athlete.

Manny also is required to make some effort in left field, thankfully he has a cannon for an arm, so missing some catch able fly balls can also be overlooked, because he can get a double off the wall back to second base as good as anyone in the game.

So this how Manny puts food on his table. Compare that with your job description and I bet you end up on the short end of the stick. Now Manny says if he doesn’t get to do that next week, if instead he gets take a six month vacation, it won’t end his world. What? You mean you won’t question the very nature of your soul, Manny? The very reason for your existence? Life as you know it will continue? You don’t want that World Series 2007 ring more than any man has ever wanted anything else in the entire recorded history of human existence? How will justify your time here on Earth? As a loser? Try making 50k a year delivering packages to ungrateful people ten hours a day. Try unloading freight on the docks. Try ringing up Slurpees at the 7-11.

You see Manny will never have to do those things, because Manny can hit the ball. (see job description). And Manny has made about $140 million doing that one thing. The people above delivering the packages, unloading the freight, ringing up the Slurpees, won’t ever, ever see that kind of dough. They might now even think ‘Manny you have got it made, and you don’t even appreciate it.’

People pay a lot to watch Manny hit the ball. They pay for tickets, cable, T-shirts, Budweiser, and everything else to forget their miserable lives for three hours so they can have racing hearts, sweaty palms, and then heartbreak when Manny says ‘who cares?’ For those people know deep down in their hearts that then they have nothing to look forward to but their miserable jobs, supporting their ungrateful kids, and living in their little cookie cut out houses.

If you are up in arms, in shock and disbelief about Manny’s statement, if you are bringing it up at every opportunity even to people who don’t know who Manny is, then you are in total denial. You are in denial that you thought Manny ever cared beyond that on your average Little Leaguer. You are in denial that the Red Sox winning the pennant has any meaningful significance. And most importantly you are in denial about yourself, because if this what you care about so much, than you have nothing meaningful in your life. You pay lip service to your spouse, your kids, etc. but if your passion is being a sports fan, you will ignore or abuse them to watch your beloved team play. You will spend hours at the local watering hole to be with other social and emotional miscreants. You will guzzle beer you can’t afford, miss sleep you need to perform your job, ignore your child who would like throw the ball in the backyard, to watch Manny jog out another single that could have been a double. And then say ‘who cares?’ You do and you shouldn’t.

You see Manny knows one thing, he does have it made and he does appreciate it. He won’t ever be the retired sports star who feels worthless when his playing days are over. He knows those wild standing ovations for him are a product of the moment, and he loves it. But it could be anybody wearing that uniform, he himself doesn’t matter. And if his season ends now or if it doesn’t either way he has it made, and either way he still will.

Mac McMann writes from the male point of view at http://www.manslant.com

We hope that you finish this article having learned at least a little bit of new information. If so, then we have done our job.

CLEVELAND

Keep up with the hottest pastime rumor on the time’s baseball bog.

The Indians, who began the time in blizzard, will not object at all if they ending it in blizzard. But if they do? Let it blizzard, let it blizzard, let it blizzard.

From here on out, we will give you tips on what can make this subject a little more helpful to you.

Long-scale toughen projections suggested yesterday that it wouldn’t blizzard in Denver the last week in October, which is when the Indians sketch to be there. They are only one win from making the fall to Colorado after their 7-3 victory over the Red Sox last night.

After stunning Tim Wakefield and the Red Sox with a seven-run explosion in the fifth inning, the Indians took a 3-1 advance in the best-of-seven American League Championship sequence. The Indians will go for the banner and the Colorado journey tomorrow night.

The Rockies won their first native League banner Monday night, and then began an eight-day interval. Because of the change in the pastime schedule, the Rockies have eight times off before their next pastime, the World sequence edger next Wednesday.

That will be the jiffy fastest pastime layoff in baseball memoirs. Only the 11-day interruption because of the earthquake during the 1989 World sequence was longer. In that task, while, both panels, Oakland and San Francisco, had the same total of time off.

It would only be speculation whether the long layoff will adversely move the Rockies, but they have won 21 of their last 22 pikeperch, a stretch that would presumably stimuminute them to want to keep live. Who desires time off a day possibly, but not a week and a day when a panel wins every day?

As if disarming 21 of 22 pikeperch isn’t remarkable enough, the Rockies became the first panel in the 12-year memoirs of the prolonged game to sweep both the divide cycle and the league championship cycle. The only other panel to win seven pikeperch in a pastime lacking behind was the 1976 Cincinnati Reds, who swept the league championship cycle which was then a best-of-five design and the World sequence.

The company of the Rockies in the World sequence and a potentially minute ending than familiar to the October occasion could herald evils for baseball. Denver knows about blizzard storms at stickle epoch of the year, and so does Cleveland, for that worry.

April showers are alleged to convey May plants, but April blizzard bent havoc for the Indians.

The Indians were alleged to commence the home portion of their schedule with a four-pastime cycle against Seattle, but all four pikeperch were blizzard out, and the Indians exhausted the surplus of the time making up those pikeperch, with one in Seattle Seattle at Cleveland in Seattle the last week of the time.

Because of the blizzard storm, the Indians played their jiffy home cycle of the time, against the Angels of Anaheim, in Milwaukee. The suggestion was made here freshly that if the Indians win the World sequence, they should impart the plaque with the cities of Milwaukee and Seattle.

It was an unfamiliarly beefy minute-time blizzard storm that formed a lot of bodyguard, wet blizzard that chop many spaces, with Cleveland, Jeff Warner of the Penn official climate Communications Group said yesterday.

The Indians, while, overcame the mushy edge, won the American League focal and knocked off the Yankees in the divide cycle, causing consternation in Yankees land that was not eased at an encounter of the reason faith yesterday in Tampa, Fla. More work to do, more discussion to have to clarify managerial worries.

The Indians caused that bother, and four pikeperch into the league championship cycle they threaten to eliminate the Red Sox, too. Blizzard in Denver? They’ll take their mittens and size blizzard men. C. C. Sabetha and Faust Carmon can make blizzard balls and see if they can heave them for strikes.

But blizzard is not in the long-scale forecast for Denver, Warner said.

Id say that right now the maturity of the models would not suggest blizzard in Denver in those interior time, Warner said, referring to Oct. 27, 28 and 29, the time the Rockies will play mass to their first World sequence pikeperch; awhile if the Rockies resume their sweep policy, they wont hardship to play Oct. 29.

It looks like it will be relatively dry, Warner said. That’s not to say it’s impossible. A lot can change in the toughen between now and then. At this time of year in the mountainous ground in the west, toughen can change very rapidly. Blizzard at this time of year is not unfamiliar at all in the Rockies.

Unfamiliar occasions have occurred in the A.L.C.S. On panels that are alleged to have good headfirst staffs, Wakefield became the fifth of eight edger’s to leave the pastime before the end of the fifth inning; union panel mates brief Schilling and Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Indians Sabetha and Carmon.

Paul Byrd and Jake Westbrook is the pitiable half of the Indians edging foursome, but they have been the panels useful edger’s in the cycle. In fixture 3, Westbrook lock out the Red Sox for six innings, pending Jason Variety hit a home run in the occasion. In fixture 4, Byrd lock out the Red Sox for five innings, pending Kevin Yokels hit a home run in the sixth.

The headfirst developments will not stimuminute a change in moreover panels sketches for the World sequence.

The World sequence is scheduled to conclude, barring postponements, no minute than Nov. 1, with the sixth and occasion pikeperch, if needed, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.

The hottest the World sequence has finished is Nov. 4. That happened in 2001, after an interruption in the schedule caused by the occasions of 9/11. The ending two pikeperch of that World sequence were played in Arizona. No blizzard there.

If you have found our database of information on this subject useful, read some of our other topics as well.

Kimy Banks writes for http://www.mondobizarroforum.net where you can find out more about Mondobizarroforum and other topics.

Last night I watched the Colorado Rockies clinch their first World Series berth ever with a 6-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. And boy did the crowd go wild! Traditionally, Denver is a city that brings home championships. From John Elway and the Denver Broncos to Patrick Roy and the Avalanche, fans in Denver have become quite used to throwing end-of-the-season victory parades. But the Rockies? They usually are on the disappointing side. So, that they have finally made it to the World Series is definitely cause for raucous celebration.

However, during the wee hours of the night, after the roaring crowd finally died out, I began wondering whether or not the Rockies have a legitimate chance at winning the World Series. History is definitely on their side. Case in point, the 1976 Cincinnati Reds. Led by Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and Ken Griffey Sr., the Reds dominated the opposition in the division and league series. After going 7-0 leading up to the World Series, the Reds swept New York on their way to the championship. The Rockies, too, are undefeated so far and are becoming less likely to lose each game.

Also, over the course of the first six years in the 21st century, half of the teams who eventually went on to win the World Series were Wild Cards teams. To me, it seems as if the playoffs favor the Wild Card teams somewhat. At the end of each season, there is a dog fight to get into the playoffs. The team who gets the Wild Card is usually very hot at the time, having just fended off other would-be playoff teams. On the other hand, teams that win their division can sometimes be worn out by the long, grueling season, going wire to wire as the division leader. So, we can see that the best team does not always win the championship. Rather, the team who is riding a winning streak into the playoffs wins. Just ask the Angels, Marlins and Red Sox who were all Wild Card World Series champs during the years of 2002-2004.

Furthermore, the Rockies have team that has come up through the ranks together. Most of their current line-up is filled with young talent who, at one time or another, played with his teammates on the Rockies minor league team.

So, to answer the million-dollar question, can the Rockies pull it off? Yes, they have won 21 of their last 22 games. No other team in baseball is as hot as them right now. And the kicker is they have youthful talent and chemistry that is so vital in the postseason.

Nishan Wilde is VP of Sales at RobbinsSports.com, an online resource for anything from Basketball Uniforms to Punching Bags to the Seiko S149 Stopwatch.

Eating carrots to develop good eye sight is sound advise. Unfortunately there is a little more to developing how your eyes move in relation to playing Baseball. Albeit there are many persons with natural ability use their eyes in tracking there target, still the normal reaction is to move the entire head and in the worst case, the entire body.

Sit for a moment and pick two objects 5 to 10 feet away from you about 6 to 10 feet apart. You should be able to comfortably see both at the same time. Now pick one to focus on. As quick as you can, turn your head to the second object and note the time it takes to select it. Now, start with your original target, hold your head still and move your eyes only to the second target. Unless you have quick twitch muscles throughout your body like a Barry Bonds, you should have noticed that it takes much less time to move your eyes than it does your head. That is because your eyes can move up to 5 times faster than your neck.

The speed at which you tract a target relates to your brain how much information you gather about the target and the perceived speed of the target. Occasionally experts will discuss how great baseball hitters and fielders see the ball well enough to slow it down. By allowing your eyes to make the most of the movement you gather more information and the perceived speed slows down. You now have the information to react sooner, get into position quicker and let your developed eye - hand coordination complete the desired result.

Focus on the object, in our case a baseball, is easier and far more comfortable when you have given some time to teach your eyes what you expect of them. Active vision training is not difficult. As players progress and the speed increases, active vision is essential for the next phase, prediction.

When a pitcher hurls the ball at 90+ mph there is only a fraction of a second with which to pick up the ball and determine where to swing the bat. Some have theorized that the last two one hundredths of a second, when the ball meets the bat, even the best players cannot see that moment. So how do they hit it? The information presented by their vision helps their body predict where the ball will be. More information, better prediction, better batting average.

Baseball vision training does not have to be a grueling process. Simple exercises such as sitting still and tossing a ball in the air and catching it while keeping your head still is an excellent beginning. Then move on to standing with the baseball going higher. Mix it up with left to right movement bearing in mind to track the ball with your eyes only.

An advanced drill that is a lot of fun is to place a ball on three feet of string. Have your player lie flat on their back in a room where you can control the light. As a pendulum, swing the ball back and forth and give the catch command at which point your player grasps the ball quickly with both hands. To add difficulty, swing the ball then have your player close their eyes for a swing or two then give the command. Need more challenge, turn off the light and add a strobe light, laughter will ensue, but it really does work.

Vary the challenges of the drills and the speed of the strobe lights.

For those of the practical persuasion, visit a batting cage. Stand outside the net and mid length of the cage and have your player track the baseball from the machine to the plate. You can seehow the longer flight to follow enables a longer task to work from.

Baseballs, batting cages, rain dripping off the gutter even house flies; the act of being still and letting your eyes do the work will develop the players vision. The more they see, the easier everything becomes.

Mr. Dowdy is the father of 3 and after re-entering competitive baseball with his oldest frustration of finding suitable glove is what lead him to become an Official Distributor for Kelley Athletic Click now for a free catalog or sign up your e-mail for special offers.

You can also visit the Hirsch Group site more news/tips/articles on the subjects of baseball, construction, building codes and more that most will find a quick way to fall asleep.

Thanks for reading my article!

First and foremost when you select, or learn about a baseball drill for your players you must ask yourself the following two questions. First, “What is the purpose of this drill?” and second, “Does this drill help my players at this point in their development?”

There are an overwhelming number of good baseball drills, but only certain ones are the right fit for your players at this stage of their development.

So, how do you know what baseball exercises are the right ones?

Two ways…

1. Common Sense

2. Observation

Common sense

Let’s start with common sense. If a drill looks dangerous, it probably is. Stay away. But this rule also applies to the level of your players. For example, if you’re coaching nine year olds and you read about an advanced bat speed baseball drill, common sense tells you your players need to be working on fundamentals such as grip, stance, stride and of course the swing. Not advanced bat speed. This may seem like common sense, but you’d be surprised to see how often this rule is broken. Use common sense and do what’s best for your players at that particular point in their development.

Also, remember even though you may have 12 nine year olds on your team, they may all be at a different point in their development and need separate baseball drills. While this is rare, chances are there will be 2-3 kids that are either way better or way worse than the rest of the pack. These are the players you have to tweak the baseball exercises with to keep their confidence up and help them to continue to excel.

Observation

Now onto observation. There will be many baseball drills that at first glance you’ll be unsure of if they will help your players or not. This is where simple, old fashioned trail and error come into play.

If you think a baseball exercise is too advanced for your players, simply have your best player attempt the drill. Give him some time to adjust. If he can’t perform the drill correctly after 8-10 tries then it’s too hard for the rest of the team.

This can also work the other way too, although there are very few drills that are too basic, as a key to success is always doing baseball exercises that stress the basics. Get away from the basics and you get away from success. But there will be times that drills are too basic. For example, a college player shouldn’t need to work on grip, although you’d be surprised! And there’s nothing wrong with that if it’s the case. Again, it’s matching where you players are in their development with the proper drills.

But, if your least talented player doesn’t get much of a baseball drill, then chances are its too easy for the rest of the players.

Consider The Source

While you certainly have to “consider the source” of where your baseball training information is coming from, I wouldn’t put that much stock into it. Now, due to the fact that I’m considered the world’s leading authority on baseball training information you would think my advice would be of the contrary. The thing is, I’ve seen way too many genius ideas from “just” volunteer youth-league coaches (and I say that with a smile!) and too many terrible and dangerous baseball drills from self-proclaimed “guru’s” to feel any other way.

It’s one thing to listen to an expert, just make sure you’re asking the questions I covered above. And just because someone doesn’t have expert-status stamped next to his name doesn’t mean what hey have to offer is useless. Many times it’s quite the contrary.

Follow these simple, yet underused techniques to get the most of out of your players by using the baseball drills that will be most effective and efficient for them at this point in their life. Hats off to you as you are molding young lives for the better.

Jon Doyle, MA, CSCS is considered the world’s foremost authority of effective baseball training having worked with tens of thousands of professional and amateur ball players. His baseball training website is the largest site in the world of it’s kind. Be sure to check it out and sign up for his FREE Baseball Training Newsletter.

Charlie Manuel’s contract has been renewed for 2 years through 2009, with a club option for a third year. This season, his third year as skipper, Manuel guided the Phightins to the NL East crown and into the playoffs for the first time since 1993. That achievement was hard fought, as the team battled through many injuries to key performers.

“We love what Charlie brings to the ballpark every day, which is an upbeat, positive attitude that rubs off on the players,” Gillick said in a news release. ”He helped lead our club back to the playoffs, and he and his coaching staff did a great job, especially with the injury issues they faced throughout the season with a number of key players.”

Even when things were looking their bleakest, Charlie never wavered publicly in his belief that his squad could make the playoffs. That positive vibe is his best quality, and is one of the big reasons his players like playing for him.

Ryan Howard said. “He’s a player’s coach, and he kept a lot of things together.”

“Awesome news,” Brett Myers said. “He deserves it. He put us in the playoffs for the first time in 14 years. He deserves a lot of credit for keeping everything together when so many of our big guys went down.”

Is this a good move by the Phillies?

The division title that the team won this year, in game 162, was a byproduct of the team’s offensive talent, tenacity and admirable late season focus, but also an historic flop by the division leaders. The Mets’ 7 game lead that loomed so large in the last couple of weeks would not have been such a gap if this team could just earn a winning record in April. Charlie Manuel’s teams have not started the season well and it has cost them dearly in each of the last 3 seasons.

2007 April Record 11 – 14. Phillies won division by 1 game after coming back from 7 down.

2006 April Record 12 – 14. Phillies finished 12 back of the Mets in the division and 3 games out of the wildcard.

2005 April Record 10 – 14. Phillies finished 2 games back of the Braves and 1 game out of the wildcard.

In each of his 3 seasons, Charlie Manuel’s team was playing from behind from the jump. Knowing the slow starts had contributed to the Phillies missing the playoffs in his first two seasons, Manuel placed a heavy emphasis during spring training on getting a good start this year. They were 5 – 11 in the first 3 weeks. If they had split those first 16, the late season drama would have been diminished and maybe the team would not have been completely drained when the playoffs begin.

Much has been made of his strategic failings, and rightly so. One of the more significant issues throughout the course of the season was his use of the bullpen. He would routinely remove his starters when they had a lead in the 5th and 6th innings, if they allowed base runners to reach. This put the game into the hands of an unsteady bullpen that was staffed with too many cast offs, re-treads and never-weres. Many leads evaporated in his middle relievers hands. With his bullpen, it seemed obvious that he needed to give his starters every chance to get into the 7th inning or beyond, but he rarely did. Charlie was not responsible for player selection, but he did control how he used them.

This Phillies team has a core that can make them a World Series contender for the next several years, if there are a couple of upgrades made. They need a third baseman, a top of the rotation starter and 2 good relievers. I would have also liked an upgrade in the manager’s office.

http://4phillyfans.com
editor@4phillyfans.com

The Cubs suffered a tough loss last night to the Marlins and it leaves me wondering if they even want to make the playoffs. The Marlins are one of the worst teams in the majors and the Cubs simply could not beat them. I know Willis had the game of his year but the Cubs still need to find a way to win. The Cubs will be going up against the best pitchers in the league if they make the playoffs so they will need to find ways to score some runs. Here are some ways:

1. Be patient: Most big league pitchers like to work fast and get guys out in the least amount of ptiches possible. The Cubs need to start taking some pitches to work deeper counts which will pay off later in ball games. I know some hitters like the first pitch but when they are going up against the ace of a staff, the pitcher will be throwing his pitch and hitting his spots. If the Cubs are patient and force him to throw pitches he does not want to throw they will be successful. The key is getting into 3-1 and 2-0 counts, which are hitters counts.

2. Play Small Ball: Earlier in the season the Cubs did this perfectly. Now, they are trying to drive the ball out of the park. That is fun and exciting but it will not do the job in the playoffs. In the playoffs they will need a combination of small ball and the homerun to win games. The Cubs need to work on getting their lead off hitters on base and moving them over with a sac bunt or a hit and run. If they can put runners in scoring position with 1 out or less, they will be in very good shape in the playoffs as long as they can produce some base hits in those situations.

3. Get Men on for Lee and Ramirez: The top of the Cubs lineup needs to work very hard to get on base for our main RBI guys. I know Soriano likes to hit the ball out of the park which is nice but late in games it may be better for him to try to just get on base to start a rally in an inning if the Cubs are down. If Ryan Theriot is batting second, he is usually key to starting a rally because he is always looking for a way to get on base, whether it be a single, a walk, an HBP, it does not matter to him. If we have guys on for Lee and Ramirez, the guys who we pay to drive in the runs, then the Cubs should have no problem scoring runs to win ball games.

But lets not get ahead of ourselves quite yet. The Cubs still need to make the playoffs.

The Cubs are finally back to playing October baseball for the first time in four years. The Cubs won the National League Central Division by holding of the Brewers down the stretch. For the Cubs, this is new territory that they have not seen in a while. They have many veterans on the team that have been here before so that should work out to their advantage. Here are some tips the Cubs can use to be successful in the playoffs.

1. Get back to scoring early and scoring often. The Cubs have a huge advantage at the top of their lineup in Alfonso Soriano. Soriano hit a Cubs record 14 home runs in September. He had 12 lead off homeruns this year which is a big advantage to starting a game. If the Cubs can keep him going and get the rest of their lineup in on the hit parade, there is no reason they should not win.

2. The Cubs have to at the very least split in Arizona. Obviously we are all hoping for a 2 game sweep in Arizona so we can go back to Wrigley with a chance to win it at home. But is this realistic? I do not think so. The Cubs are going to have to do their best to win the first game of the series so they are in control throughout this series. If they fall behind 2 games to 0 it will be a very hard struggle to come back. The Cubs need to win one in Arizona so they can get back to the electric atmosphere of Wrigley field and its playoff hungry fans.

3. Do what you have been doing all year. It is not time to change things at this point. The Cubs have been successful in playing how they know how. The Cubs need to stick to the basics and they will be successful in the playoffs. They need to get to the other team’s starting pitcher early so he cannot get settled in. If the Cubs play like they have been all year (especially in September) they will have no problem in this first series.

Ever wonder what the purpose of throwing a baseball is? From early on most of us rely on the knowledge that to play baseball all we need do it

1) Hit the ball to score a run
2) Catch the ball to make an out and
3) throw the ball to stop the runner.

For T-ball players and younger youth this summary is sufficient. When it is time to make the step up, there must be a different emphasis on what the particulars account for.

Anyone can throw a baseball. How well everyone throws is a different matter. All should have the same goal, whom ever you are throwing the ball to should be able to catch it easily. Easy, comfortable catch zone from top to bottom is between the belly button and shoulders, left to right is between the elbows at rest. This is the zone you wish to place the ball.

Throw velocity needs to be distance appropriate. It makes no sense to whip a ball in at 70 or 80mpf from less than 40 feet. If you choose to throw too hard several things can happen. First, if your throw is off there is less reaction time for the receiver to make the adjustment to your bad throw. Second, the run down distance from a ball not being able to be caught is greater an may allow the base runner to take additional bases. Third, depending on the receivers ability, a hard throw may be too much to handle to them to take possession of and make the tag.

Your goal for each and every throw is a frozen rope that begins to taper off 5 to 10 feet past the receiver. The frozen rope is a flat, horizontal throw from your hand to the receiver. Baseballs on a frozen rope will fall only 6 to 8 inches from the time it leaves the hand until it reaches a point past the glove of the receiver regardless of the distance thrown. By throwing ‘thru’ the receiver, you ensure that there is indeed enough umph on the ball to get there quickly but remain catchable.

Throwing a baseball into the each catch zone has multiple advantages as well. Ideally the receiver will already be in the proper location to make the play when the ball arrives. A well thrown ball will not take the receiver away from the optimum play position. They will spend less time finishing the play as the ball is good proximity. Their balance will remain in tact so that they may initiate another play. If you have ever witnessed a truly smooth 5-4-3 double play, the whole event happens so quick a easy it takes on an un-natural appearance. This smoothness or successive throws could not be achieved if the second baseman has to leap off to one side to first make the catch and then tag the bag. Time lost running down the throw all by guarantees the batters success at reaching first base.

Baseballs thrown into the zone are an enormous benefit when they are miss gloved. Predominately the ball will bounce off the receiver in front of them and at a short distance. There is still hope to make the play. Now had the thrower launched the ball to impress someone, aside from the possibility of injuring the receiver the ball can wind up anywhere and too far away for the receiver to recover.

Keep the simple goals in mind on every throw. 1) in the zone 2) catchable 3)proper speed and most importantly 4) You really want the person you are throwing to to catch it so do all you can to ensure their success.

Mr. Dowdy is the father of 3 and after re-entering competitive baseball with his oldest frustration of finding suitable glove is what lead him to become an Official Distributor for Kelley Athletic Click now for a free catalog or sign up your e-mail for special offers.

You can also visit his site for more news/tips/articles on the subjects of baseball, construction, building codes and more that most will find a quick way to fall asleep.

Thanks for reading my article!

Kyle Kendrick had a 3-2 lead in the 4th inning, with a man on 2nd and 2 outs. The next 2 batters got on to load the bases. The first was the catcher Torrealba, who got a head in the count 3-1, and was then intentionally put on. The next batter was rookie Seth Smith, pinch hitting for the pitcher. He has been big for the Rockies down the stretch. Kendrick jammed him with a pitch that became a slow roller to 3rd base that Wes Helms could not handle, and it ended up as a hit. With the bases loaded, manager Charlie Manuel decided to switch pitchers and bring starter Kyle Lohse in from the bullpen to face Kaz Matsui. Matsui had hit Kendrick hard in his last at bat, getting a triple. Lohse gave up a Matsui grand slam to right field, making it 6-3. Lohse finished the 4th and pitched the 5th. He was replaced by Jose Mesa in the sixth. Mesa and Clay Condrey gave up 4 runs to put the game away. Should the change have been made?

“I don’t think it was a mistake,” Manuel said. “I did it. I liked Lohse against Matsui because of his stuff. It was the second time I got him up and when I put him in, he was going to go to the sixth.”

Yes, it was the second time he got Lohse up in the bullpen. Lohse was tossing in the 3rd inning when Kendrick only had one runner on base. Kendrick was not throwing a great game, but he was battling and keeping the team in it. He gave up back to back first inning homers to Tulowitzki and Holliday. But the next time he faced them in the third inning, he struck out Tulowitzki, and got Holliday to ground out to Helms at third. The Phillies middle relievers are pretty bad and any game they are in is not a game that is going the Phillies way. That said, Lohse is a starter, not one of the middle relievers that has had so much trouble this season. He has pitched from the pen twice down the stretch, and performed well for the most part in that role.

I listened to tape of legendary Philly sports writer Bill Conlin speak with Kendrick in the post game interviews. He referenced the Holliday at bats, and then asked Kendrick if he felt confident that he could get Matsui out this time. Kyle’s response was firm.
”I was pretty confident [about facing Matsui],” he said. ”Bases loaded and two outs, one pitch and I’m out of it.”
Charlie Manuel was sitting next to Kendrick and interjected that Holliday had not batted in the 4th inning, obviously not catching the reference as intended. Manuel’s tone was very defensive.

Manuel did not show much faith in his starter, not just in the 4th, but in the previous inning as well. This is not new. Many times this season, when his bullpen was toxic, he would replace a starter who had been throwing a winning game but had runners on base, and go to the same crew that kept failing him in the 5th and 6th innings. I did not understand it then and do not now. Kendrick should have stayed in the game. His ball/strike ratio was not good, 38-28, and he was behind in too many counts, but he was getting through.

Now the Phils season is reduced to either a heroic effort, that saves the series in a very dramatic way, or a fast fade to from elated to frustrated. The scenario seems familiar to me.

sixersshawn
http://4phillyfans.com
editor@4phillyfans.com