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May 1, 2008 - 5:30 PM - Game 1 is now a thing of the past. I am sure that we are all going to take different memories from our efforts. Some will remember coming out on the low end of the score. Some players will remember the lack of ability to hit and field due to the frigid blowing cold arctic air. While other will remember being on a beuatiful ballfield, with clear skies and snow on the nearby mountains while being on a ballfield with their buddies. Yes the loss is bitter, but once the weather warms up another 30 degrees we will be able to work on that. We can’t lose track of the fact that we are a good team with great potential.

ZACH - Late in the game Zach came to the plate with Matt on first and hit a great shot to left field that advanced Matt to second and got him safely to first base. Unfortunately our bats died behind him and we left both of them stranded on base in an inning that started off as though we were going to score six runs. You could see Zach wanting to run and score, but we never got the hit that we needed to get Matt and Zach home. Zach has gained so much confidence hitting since he first came on the team a year ago, and it is great to see him smile when he gets safely to first base.

MATT - Matt pitched three great innings. He was confident and kept his cool when a few errors extended innings that should have been shorter. He faced a few more batters than he should have had to, but I looked at each of these error field plays and was thankful that we could get these types of errors under our belt now instead of later. Matt went three full innings and he threw about 60 pitches. Fans should know that when a pitcher goes over 40 pitches they are inelgible to pitch in the next ballgame, no matter how many days out the next game occurs. So we won’t be seeing him pitch in our next game.

JULIAN - Julian’s crowning memory won’t be catching the well hit fly ball to right field. Instead, it will be his 9 pitch inning on the mound. Julian knew that he was to pitch one inning and we assured him that it made no difference if he faced 3 batters or 12. I figured that it would take us 5 or 6 batters due to our current learning curve, but Julian wasted no time striking out the first batter. The next batter popped up a fly ball and Julian caught it. The third batter whiffed to end the inning. Next to the dream of hitting a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning, I think that every young man dreams of pitching the perfect inning that we watched Julian pitch.

BROOKS - Brooks played a lot of different positions today and gained experience while the game avoided him almost completely. I love his confidence and his versatitlity as he will agressively be ready to play wherever he is called upon.

TYLER - Tyler also repelled the action away from his defense positions. I just love it when the ball never comes to players because it means that they are intimidating the other team from even coming their direction. It is interesting because if they did hit to Tyler, he was always ready to make the play.

ADAM - Adam has many varied memories from this first game, and what he will probably remember most was getting grass stained from head to toe after the game while playing pickle with Jonas and whomever else he could get to join in the game. He might even remember climbing the tree before the game while he was waiting to take his turn batting. We watched a lot of passed balls that got to the backstop and some strikes that popped out of Adam’s glove, but Adam told me later that it is tough to catch Matt’s fastball. Those plays will diminish in the next couple games and we will watch his confidence grow as he becomes accustomed to having a speeding projectile hurled in his direction. In today’s game Adam stayed focused and kept our team aware of the outs and what base they should make the play. He was able to get 2 runners out at first base from dropped third strikes, and that shows a head’s up on his part. Adam’s speed came into play in the first inning as he stole home and scored our team’s first run of the season after he became a pinch runner for Aaron who injured himself sliding into third base.

JONAS - Jonas confidently took the field and he played hard. The Cub’s pitchers were throwing harder at him than anything he had yet faced in life and this got the best of him. I like the fact that it does not matter where we ask him to play he cheerfully gives it his best.

JEREMY - Jeremy confidently donned the catcher’s gear to catch when Julian came onto the mound. He did a good job behind the plate and I think that they will become a good partnership throughout the season as a pitcher and a catcher. Jeremy also made contact with a hit down to third base, but even with all of his speed, the third baseman came up with the ball, made a rocket throw, and just barely made the out at first base.

DREW - Drew made several great plays at first base. We had several close calls go the other way as runners would just beat out well made throws at first. He held the runners back and had to play a lot more than we originally planned as Brian was unable to make the game to day. Drew also made contact twice at the plate. One of the hits had us all bewildered as to what the call should have been as he hit it down the first base line and it hit the front of the bag and bounced a bit towards home and foul, causing the first baseman to get it and tag the base for the out. Even the field umpire was not sure whether or not to call it a fair ball or foul. Checking the rules it says that “a fair ball is a batted ball that settles on fair ground between home and first base, or between home and third base, or that is on or over fair territory when bounding to the outfield past first or third base, or that touches first, second, or third base, or that first falls on fair territory on or beyond first base or third base, or that, while on or over fair territoty touches the person of an umpire or player, or that while over fair territory, passes out of the playing field in flight.” Drews hit ball definitely touched first base and was therefore a fair ball and not a foul.

AARON - Aaron led off the game and started us off with a well hit ball to the outfield and the player dropped the ball. He confidently stole second on the first pitch to Adam, and then stole the third pitch to third. Sliding into third is where something drastically went wrong as his cleats caught the dirt and instead of his normal beautiful slide, he flew forward and face first into third base. He got up and I could see him grimmacing and he said that he was going to be okay. Two pitches later, with cvery little ability to lead off and frustrate the pitcher in his normal way I asked him if he needed a pich runner and to my surprise he said “Yes.” For Aaron to come out of the game we knew something was really wrong. Aaron played the rest of the game, but with the knee injury and the freezing cold, it was nearly impossible to keep his heart into the game. He still fielded well and helped the team, but you could see it in his demeanor that he has hurt himself. I can only home that his youth will allow him to wake up this morning and quickly heal.

SHAUN - Shaun has the honor of immediately sending fear through the hearts of the other team as he took the mound in the final inning and his first Junior League pitch went behind the batter. I don’t know if he held a grudge for that batter or not, because he finally hit the guy and sent him to first base. Shaun just smiled, jept his confidence, and went after the next batter.Shaun’s confidence will wax strong as the season progresses. Shaun continued to throw strikes and his inning was called short because we were on the losing end when time was exceeded.Shaun also played a great third base and worked well together with Matt in several pick off plays at third. Shaun’s speed led him safely to first as he beat out a full swing bunt down the first base line. The other team thought they had all kinds of time to get him as he flew by them in a blur to safely make it on base. From there he stole second, third, and then home. He is proving my belief true when I tell him that I don’t care how he gets to first, because he is most definitely going to score.

HITTING - As coaches, we knew that we were facing one of the best pitchers in the league and he proved it by striking out 3 of our first 4 batters. I was impressed with our team’s resiliency as we shook it off and stayed competitive. Coach Street is working hard with the players to build their confidence and skills when it comes to hitting. His comment after the game was that he was surprised that so many of our players went into the batting box and it was as though they were a statue and made little attempt to move that thing we call a bat. Whether that was due to the frigid cold, the first game jitters, or the hard throwing pitches coming across the plate, the result was the same.... “Strike three... You’re out!!!” I can see so much potential in each of our player’s hitting. As the season progreses, we are going to become a hitting machine with every player hitting and getting on base. Good pitching will always make this more difficult, but we are going to see a great change as we get more experience under our belts.

IN SUMMARY - I did not feel bad about today’s loss. We played hard. We got over the jitters of our official first game. We were good sports. We made some good plays. We made some good hits. We ran well on the bases. We had good pitching and good fielding. We were just lacking one good rally inning, and that didn’t happen for us today and that’s okay. Each of our boys knows where they are rusty and each knows where they need to work to improve. I was most impressed with the fact that each of our players knows one another and there is great team cammeraderie. It took several games last season before we could even remember one another’s names. The Dodgers looked great on the field, in the dugout, warming up, and playing the game. It was a pleasure to be a coach on our team and a part of our success. It is also great working with our other coaches in today’s game, Coach Street and Coach Petersen, as they both want the same success for each one of our players. The collaborative effort was a pleasure to be a part of as we decided what we should do before, during, and after the game... Way-To-Go Dodgers!

What are your first game afterthoughts?