Keogh Park- The season opener seemed to take forever to arrive. We had two batting sessions in the month of April and on opening night it looked like we hadn't swung the bats in a couple of years. Now I really want to be fair here, the batters boxes were just nasty, the muck was ankle deep and most guys could not even get any type of footing. The heavy rain earlier in the evening (around 5:30pm) made the things very uncomfortable at the plate, hence the 5-5 score.
At game time we had our full team, 12 guys all warmed up and ready to go... There really wasn't a lot to talk about, other than the solid defense displayed by both teams. Gord Robinson and Rob Rumbolt turned a beautiful double play in the middle innings and Craig (the new guy, as Roman likes to call him), made a couple of nice catches in the field, we looked pretty solid and if we can get the bats going we should be able to compete with most teams...
Pitch Bits: Since this is my first season as a P1, I thought I would track my progress with walks, strike outs and game scores, as well as any other bits of pitching related information. In this game I gave up 1 walk and struck out 2 batters, allowing 5 runs to score... It doesn't hurt to have such a solid defense behind me...
It's early in the season..
LAB- Kidder
Our next game is Tuesday May 8, 2012 vs the Championship Grisslies...
INTRO: When I do this little bloggie thingie I do it for several reasons:
1. It's fun, it's really that simple, I enjoy writing out the events and happenings of the Hurtin' Units team. Last year, I had actually thought about not doing the blog, but once I got going, it was really not that painful. I always encourage other players to contribute to the blog, either writing something or with pictures or with stories, etc. If anyone wants do some blogging or contribute let me know.
2. I like to keep the past and current players, of the Hurtin' Units, informed about the day to day (more like week to week) activity, with game scores, game highlights and team events or happenings.
3. When I look back at old postings of the blog (and I believe that they are all still there), I'm reminded of the Hurtin' Units teams from the past and the game by game events that we all experienced together from the draft to the end of the playoffs...Looking back, a little, at last season, I was reminded of how we started drinking a shot of Sambuca before every game and how we believed it was helping us win... I look back at the 2010 season and I'm reminded of our teammate Tom Perry who was a great calming influence on our whole team, leading us to the regular season league winning championship. I really hope the other Hurtin' Unit alumni go back and read what I wrote and it brings them back to the good times we shared as a team.
There are times when this blog can get a little boring and lifeless, I know it and sometimes I struggle to keep it going. It is even more difficult when we aren't playing any games yet. When I actually write this stuff, I'm sometimes sitting at a traffic light scribbling down thoughts (when I say scribbling, I mean scribbling, I can't even read my own handwriting sometimes) or I'm writing in a poorly lit area at 3:30am, not the most ideal conditions for blogging...In this edition of the blog, I thought since there has been so much discussion about concussions and head injuries, I would play around with this topic...
GIT UR GOING:
It seems like the time between the draft and the start of the regular season is in slow motion, week after week of nothing to do but wait for the season opener. Fortunately, the weather this April has been really good and I've had several opportunities to get out on the diamonds to practise. I have also been fortunate to go to Coventry when the Town employees have been working on stuff and the new gates, the Town installed at the water tower, are open. I'm looking forward to getting out on the diamond will the 2012 Hurtin' Units players. Our practise was good, even if the weather was a little bit crappy. Unfortunately, some of the guys couldn't make it out, I might try for another get together for some hitting and preseason warm up... I'll let you know if we decide to get out again...
THAT'S USING YOUR HEAD:
It would seem these days that we can't pick up a newspaper, turn on the radio or tune in to a sports network without hearing a debate or discussion about head injuries. Maybe, it's because we are more informed about how a blow to the head can cause more serious brain damage than we did in the past. I wonder if athletes like Shawn O' Sullivan, Steve Young or Eric Lindros would have done anything differently if they had known more about brain injuries... Especially Shawn O' Sullivan.
When I was younger, I was an enthusiastic boxing fan, Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard were two of my favourites. There was an incident in boxing that started me down a path that maybe I shouldn't be supporting this sport, the incident was when Roberto Duran knocked out a Korean boxer and the boxer died shortly after from brain damage. This incident really hit me hard and I had a hard time with the boxing scene after this point, every time I started watching a fight, I was reminded of what had happened and I could not be a part of such a violent sport...Even to this day, I can't watch the MMA or Boxing without thinking about how the brains of these athletes are being sloshed around inside their skulls...
Jacques Plante wearing a mask for the first time in a regulation game, after being hit by a shot.
BEHIND THE MASK:
If we were to poll all the NHL goalies asking them the question” if you could play without a mask, would you?”( it's actually mandatory for NHL goalies to wear a mask), what do you think the answer would be? I'm sure most would say “no bloody way” and who could blame them with players like Zedano Chara firing pucks over 100 mph. Some goalies would probably be crazy enough to stand out with nothing between themselves and the shooter (from maybe the blue line), but no mask with sticks, bodies, legs, etc. to deflect or redirect the puck, that's just nuckin' futs!! It's really amazing that goalies didn't wear masks at one time.
I played in the Tottenham Mens' Hockey over the winter and one of the rules in the league was, if a goalie was hit in the mask with a shot, the play was whistled down. I was a little surprised by this rule only because the league has a no slap shot rule also, but I guess with head and brain injuries in the news recently, it's better to be cautious. On November 1, 1959, the Montreal Canadiens were playing the New York Rangers, early in the game, Andy Bathgate of the Rangers fired a shot striking the Montreal goalie Jacques Plante in the face, breaking his nose and cutting his face. Goalies in the NHL in 1959 did not wear masks and there were no such thing as a backup goalie. Jacques Plante had been been wearing a home made mask during the Canadiens practises, but coach Toe Blake would not permit him to wear it during games. After being struck in the game against the Rangers, Plante went to the dressing room to be stitched up and returned to the game wearing his mask. Coach Blake allowed Plante to wear his mask in future games, until his nose healed, but the Canadiens got on a roll and Plante continued to wear the mask. The Montreal Canadiens went on to win the Stanley Cup this season. Jacques Plante was definitely an innovator...
STOOGED:
I recently installed a high definition antenna for someone and as I was scanning for channels, channel 2, a Buffalo station came up. There were actually three channel 2s, but the one that caught my attention was the one showing old, black and white comedies.
Playing on the channel was a show where the three lead characters named Larry, Curly and Mo were constantly hitting each other on or around the head with either 2x4s, frying pans or a ball peen hammer etc. I laugh at how stupid this show was, these guys in real life would have been concussed 95% of the time. When the show first aired, I wonder how many hospital emergency rooms had idiots who thought that you could actually poke someone in the eye or bonk someone on the head with a shovel and not cause any kind of injury. Of course, I'm speculating about the emergency room visits, but I do know first hand that television, games and movies can lead to injuries.
I remember going to see one of the Rocky movies ( I'm going to say Rocky III, I don't really want to date myself), and when the movie let out there were all kinds of little scuffles and sparring going on and it didn't take long for a fight to break out.
Yo Adrian, pass the popcorn.
TO SERVE AND PROTECT:
Animated photo showing the scars that
Terry Sawchuk received during his career.
I think the most vulnerable position on the baseball diamond (and I'm sure most would agree) is the pitching position. It is my opinion that every pitcher in the T.O.T league should wear a helmet or some other kind of head protection and I'll tell you why I feel this way.
The pitcher stands 50 to 65 feet directly in front of the batter, an object (let's say a baseball) traveling at a speed of 70 KPH (there are numerous batters in our league that can easily hit the ball this hard and fast) will travel an approximate distance of 58 feet per second. At this speed (which really isn't that fast) the ball off the bat could be back to the pitcher in one second and that's not even taking into consideration the reaction and perception time of the pitcher which could be over a second and realistically more like one and a half seconds... The ball could travel 87 feet in this time...Yikes
Before I became a P1 this season, I had already decided, even if I was only going to be a P2, I was going to wear a helmet. There were a couple of close calls last season that swayed me this direction. The first was when the Hurtin' Units were playing the Lucky Stiffs, Roger B.(Kahuna) was batting, he hit a line drive back up the box, striking the our pitcher Bill J. in the forearm. The shot was so hard and so fast that Bill's arm was already bruising before he walked off the field...
The other was during the August Tournament when the Lollipop Guild were playing the Squirtin' Units. I was pitching in this game, the batter was Paul P. and Paul screamed a line drive back at my head, I managed to get my glove up in time and catch the ball, but still a little to close for comfort. These are just two incidents that stick in my mind, I'm sure each team/player could tell us another close call story...
Last week, I went in search of a baseball helmet, I ended up at National Sports, I tried on several different brands and models and there were a few that interested me, there were definitely some helmets that would have served my purpose and I was willing to purchase one of them.
I drifted away from the baseball helmets, for a moment, and in to an area with catcher's masks (the masks that look like the NHL goalie masks), these masks seemed quite heavy (although I did see a pitcher wearing one in the tournament last year), but decided that these were not for me. I was about to go back to the helmets when I noticed something I had never seen before which I thought was the cat's meow.
The mask was the first I had ever seen (probably because I had never looked before now), a protective mask for a pitcher, there were actually several different makes, but I liked the one made by Combat Sports...I chose the Combat brand because it seemed to be the strongest... You can check out the product testing (baseballs hitting this mask and other brands at 80mph) at... http://www.combatsportsgroup.com/combat/pg_GearFaceOffVideos.php
A ball impact to the front of your face can change your life. Teeth, cheek bones and eyes are all extremely vulnerable to an unexpected frontal impact.
Check out this website for the Combat protective mask, really cool stuff, worth viewing a couple of times.
TALES OF THE GRAY DOT...
Eye'll Be Black.
Year's ago, long before the Hurtin' Units were even a glimmer in his eye, Units co-captain Mike O. was tracking a ground ball, while playing second base and just as he was about to snag (yes, snag, he was a snagger back then) the ball it took a mysterious bounce... The cause of this mysterious bounce is unknown, but what we do know is the ball (the gray dot from hell) leaped over his well positioned glove and struck Mikey Boy on the left side of his face.
This blow to the face cracked Mike's orbital bone around his left eye, it cut, requiring 6 stitches and the eye was so swollen that it was very difficult to remove the contact lens he was wearing... Tales of the Gray Dot...
NOBODY REALLY NOSE.
It was a warm August evening at Coventry Park, the T.O.T August Tournament was under way, Team Extreme had just taken the field and Rob Farah ( yes, the same guy from the championship Grisslies team) was throwing his warm up pitches.
The infield players were throwing the ball around the infield, 3rd toSS to 2nd and then, as if in slow motion the second baseman named Jimmer threw the ball toward first base, but the first baseman was looking toward homeplate and didn't realize the throw was coming. Other players on the field screamed his name, but it was too late... Darren (Lefty) Hall turned at the last second only to be struck square on the nose, he went down in a heap...
Lefty got to his hands and knees, blood was pouring out of his nose like a drain plug hole when changing your oil, someone ran for ice, someone grabbed a towel, things were a little scary for the next couple of minutes. After things had calmed down, Lefty got to his feet and walked off the field, he would not play this again on this night...
Lefty did play the next game of the tournament with a broken nose and a couple of developing black eyes. Lefty was advised not to play on the Sunday... He never played again that weekend. What exactly Darren was looking at down at home plate, nobody really knows...Another tale of the Gray Dot.
FOUL TIPPING.
The game was being played on diamond # 3 at Coventry Park, Donald (Donny) Swabuk, a top 3 umpire in the T.O.T league, was umpiring the game. A left handed batter with determination in his eyes, emerged from the left field dugout with a 28oz Worth bat in his hands. The batter stepped in to the batter's box waiting for his first pitch, the bat cocked and ready to swing... A high lob came in, the batter swung, Donny the umpire yelled "striiiiike !!!". The batter gathered himself, adjusted his batting gloves and stepped back in to the box. The pitcher set and threw a big, fat, juicy pitch, it was headed toward home plate, the batter froze, the bat resting on his shoulder as the ball barely missed the board, Donny yelled " Ball"... The catcher threw the ball back to the pitcher, the batter set again, the next pitch had extra backspin on it, it spun like ninja star, the batter swung with all his might, this time there was contact, the ball went off the top edge of the bat heading back to the left...
The ball hit Donny the umpire flush on his right side jaw bone and mouth, he dropped to one knee in pain.Donny mouth was bleeding, his lip already beginning to swell, someone ran for ice, but it was probably too late. Donny's lip had puffed up like a blow fish, he was no longer the pretty boy everyone had come to know. The game was understandably delayed and another umpire had to finish umpiring the game. Donny would eventually return to the umpiring game, but this experience left him wondering if this was the career for him... A short time later Donny would give up his umpiring gig and join the T.O.T as a player... The Gray Dot strikes again...
Alright, I really think it time to put a stop to this posting, this posting was a lot longer, but it would be crazy to keep going. If you have managed to get this far and you are still bored (you must be bored if you got to this point), I'll give you something else to do...
Last season was the first season with our new logo Bender (the robot smoking the cigar), I inserted a picture of Bender in every posting of the 2011 Hurtin' Units blog, go see if you can find him... Kinda like where's Waldo...
