Vs. Bonn

Sunday April 27, we played against a team from Bonn. Supposedly they were a young team but very promising. They supposedly had a pitcher who threw in the low 90's and plays for the German National team. I guess luckily for us, he broke his hand a couple weeks ago so they had almost no pitching. The first game the threw a slow right handed pitcher and we pretty much struggled because he was so slow for the first two innings - but then we exploded! My first AB, I made sure to hit the ball deep so that I wouldn't be out in front. Unfortunately I took a horrible swing at the ball and grounded out to short. Next AB, making sure I was ready with a good swing, swung to early this time and now I was out in front! I lined out to short. Ok....make the adjustment Gavin. Next AB I was ready. I worked the count to 3-2 and he came at me with a fast ball. WellI hit me a double to Left center. Then I stole my first base of the year, and later scored on a sac fly. I finished off the game hitting 1-4 and we ended up winning 14-2..

The second game Bonn thew a guy from the Dominican Republic. He had good speed with his fastball and had a hard slider but it really didn't break that much. I had much better AB's this game but didn't really get rewarded. I worked the count deep in my first AB and hit a hard groundball to second. They tried to turn a double play on me but what they didn't know is that I only hit into 3 double plays....in my life. sure enough I beat it out. The Dominican didn't make it past the 3 inning and they brought in a relieve who threw in the first game. At the time the score was still 5-1 so i decided to drop a bunt down with a runner on first and no outs. I dropped a perfect bunt down the third baseline and got a hit out of it. Sure enough the rest of the team followed suit and we exploded in this game as well. I finished off hitting 1-3 with a walk, and we won 9-2.

Cy ended up pretty well to if I'm not mistaken. He was pounding ball after ball to deep center field unfortunately we have a big field and some of his balls were caught. But I believe he had three hits for sure. Our next game will be thursday against the defending division champs. Wish us luck!

Game 2 - pitching

although i thought I was going to start the second game pitching, I ended up throwing just one inning. At first I was supposed to throw the last three innings. Then it went to the 8th and 9th. Then he said he though I wasn't warm so it ended up being just the ninth. I told him before the 8th that I've been throwing all game so I am warm but he left in the other guy anyways. Bad move....they scored their only run in the 8th! Anyways, I came in in the 9th throwing. My fastball was good with pretty decent movement on it. My curve ball was good with a lot of break and good control but my split finger was not working. My release point was off. Ohh that was just the warm up with not batter and no pressure. Ok...first batter...first pitch fastball right down the middle....he hits a weak ground ball to third base for out number one. Hopefully I can throw two more pitches and get two more outs then be done with it. Batter number two....one wild split finger and 4 fastballs. One just missing, and three of them for strikes for my first strike out in Germany. Next guy, a lefty.....I cant' wait to throw my curve ball! I star him off with a fastball away for a ball, then a fastball on the outside corner for a strike. Then I threw a side arm fastball inside and he foulded it off. one ball and two strike and the catcher calls for a curve ball! I wanted to make this guy look silly. Try to start it right at his head, then as he gets out of the way, have it drop in for a strike. I started it at his face, but it didn't come out of my hand like I thought. I knew it as soon as I released it - that it would hit him in the back. Some curve ball! Runner on first base, next batter I regrouped and made quick work of this next batter. three strikes the last one being a nasty split finger that even had guys on my own team talking. No joke, as soon as it came out of my hand, I knew it would be strike three, and as soon as I finished my motion though the ball was still on its way, I was already starting my walk back to the dugout. One inning pitch, 2 strike outs...not bad!

Game 2

Game two got underway with me in left again and hitting in the 7 spot. The other team was throwing a left handed pitcher from the US. Generally US pitchers dominate in the league because they control their pitches better and the batters here have a hard time "using the whole field" when they hit - meaning hitters here only know how to pull the ball so if you pitch away to them, they don't hit it as well. This lefty pitcher however was not to good. Most of the American's that I've come across here in Europe are all kind of cocky cause they know they are the best on the team. However, they forget to realize that they are only here because they were not good enough to play in the states. Europe is a way for them to get paid to play baseball and for them to do pretty well not because of how good they are, but because of how weak the competition is. This left handed pitcher threw me a curve ball first pitch in my first AB. I turned and showed bunt and pulled back and turned away so the ball wouldn't hit me in the face. I turned back to look at the field and notice that the pitcher was just looking at me and had this smirk on his face. He had won the battle. My purpose in the AB now was to crush his next pitch therefore taking me out of my own batting plan. he threw me a fastball low and away and I foolishly swung at it hitting a hard ground ball to short making an out. I was now more mad at myself than anything. It's ok, I got my payback my next AB. With the count full, he threw me a fast ball and I riffled it right back at him! He got his glove on it preventing damage to his own body however he wasn't able to catch it so i got a hit out of it. My next AB, with a runner on second and two outs and the same pitcher on the mound, i tagged another ball, this time to left field for a single and an RBI. We ended the game winning 9-1 and I was 2-4. Cy beat me in the homerun race with a ball that just cleared the fence in right field. I was a little upset/jealous that I didn't get one of my own, though it should be no surprise. Every time me and Cy play homerun derby in Hawaii, he always beats me. Ohh well, I'm just going to have to go for an in the park homerun if I don't have the power.

Game 1

Our (Cy and Gavin) first game with the team was to be against this team from Hannover. Last year they did not win a single game so it was safe to assume that they were not that good. However this year, they had won one game already! OHHH NOOOO! We show up to the field, and it is a awkward shaped field. It is built on an old soccer field and the right field fence was fairly shallow, but left field extends almost 200 yards. They put up a make shift fence in left field that was about the normal depth of out field fences - 330 feet. Because of the design of the field - a square - centerfield was pretty deep, about 420 feet. the game started, and we surprisingly didn't score any runs the first two innings. Cy hit a deep fly ball to right field, i walked in my first AB as the number 9 batter. Then we started pouring in runs. 2-0, then 6-0. In my third AB I came up with a runner on Second base and was thinking one thing...on the first pitch, hit a homerun! Not my normal thinking, and not the situation to be thinking that, but we had a good lead and I thought this my be my only chance to hit a homerun. I thought to myself...the first two AB's, both of which were walks, he threw me curve balls the first two pitches. I figure because of that, he would throw me a fastball to change it up and maybe change the results. I was looking for one pitch...a fastball middle in. What does he throw...a curve ball. Ok, i step in for the second pitch and was expecting another curve ball figuring he would follow the previous pattern, then he throws me a fastball...middle away for a strike. That was my double pitch meaning if I had swung, I'm about 90% sure I would have hit it in the left center gap and gotten a double. But no, I didn't swing. the count is now 1-1 and I'm certain he's going to throw a curve ball. I step in, expecting that, and he throw me a fastball! Middle in! The pitch that I've been waiting for. But I'm set up for a curve ball so I'm not flying open using all my might. So what happens, i just react to it taking my normal inside out swing and I crushed it! One of the hardest balls I've hit in a while. Had the ball gone down the right field line, it probably would have gone over the big fence they had to protect the cars parked back there. Had the ball just gone 15 feet to the right of where I hit it, it would have been in the trees. Unfortunately I hit it to centerfield. Unfortunately I hit into out number two. Final tally for the game...we won 9-1, I was 1-3 with a double and two walks. One catch in left field and luckily for me, that was the only ball hit to me all game.

License

Here's the scoops...We ditched Belgium for another team, and a better offer. Because of the way we left, the belgium team would not release our players license because we left them in a whole...without two foreign players. After trying to hold our license ransom for the insane amount of 7500Euro's (about $11500) they released it for 3200Euro. It was kind of nice knowing that one team though we were worth $11500...and thats just for playing baseball. However, after several weeks of negotiating, and us telling them that if they don't come down on the price, they won't get any money at all, they had to settle for 3200Euro. Had they not come down, we would have just said oh well and they would have lost out on whatever money they had spent on us. So now they released our license and we are able to play for the Paderborn Untouchables. Check out my other post for updates on the game and everything else.