Organization

I have none of it. I have no organized baseball in my life. It's so depressing because now I have to schedule my baseball around school, but I prefer the other way around.

The weather is getting worse, rain coming down, and a little colder. Being a responsible collegiate athlete, I do my share of conditioning but more important to me is to get the baseball drills in.

I made a vow I wouldn't throw until practice starts up again, which is the very beginning of February. For the past 3-4 years, I never took a break from throwing and I think I'm finally mature enough to shut it down and let it rest and heal whatever damage has been done to it. Throwing is said to be such an unnatural movement, the damage done by throwing can be brutal. In fact, the shoulder can only generate approximately 40 lbs. of force, and that's almost exactly how much force professional pitchers are using. Meaning, they are maxing out their arms when they play. That is why arm care is so important, and even then, it's not enough.

So hitting is where my main focus is at, in terms of baseball specific drills that I do on my own. If I can find someone to swing with me (which gets tough because classes are at different times and it gets dark so early), then I can take real BP, but that's a rarity these days, because of weather and especially with midterms and class projects that are eating my time and holding me back. So generally I'm doing a lot of tee work. Trying to optimize my power. That's what I do. My problem with hitting hasn't necessarily been a contact issue or chasing bad pitches, it's that mechanically, I'm not as good as I can be.

So, I'm trying to stay optimistic, because spring practice will start before I know it. I have a couple weeks left to the semester, some winter break, a week or two of school, and it will start. OK, it's a while, but the bright side is that I have time to improve.

Toughest Season

The toughest season of the year is the winter. It's been that way for years. Ancient tribes had to plan ahead and really struggle to make it past the winter. Well, on a much smaller scale, it's going to be hard for me to keep this blog going through the winter. There won't be any college ball to talk, and obviously the only thing MLB is doing is signing free agents. You know what, I'll make due. Well, if my standard is like three a month like I've been doing, it'll be a breeze.

I'll deal with the winter thing when it comes. Right now, I have just three practices left this fall, and it's kind of depressing. Although, yesterday was the most beautiful day, and we had a scrimmage outside, it was great times. There were a lot of good signs, both team-wise and personally.

But knowing how few practices are left, and that it'll be so long before I step out onto the field, it really motivates you to take advantage of every second you are out there. And with this beautiful weather, there isn't much more you can wish for.

Right now, I'm just going to go out, make sure I'm enjoying every second out there, but also make sure I'm aware of what I'm doing. These fall practices are going to allow me to assess where my game is and where my game needs to improve. Right now, I need to not do too much behind the dish, make sure I throw to bases and not fielders, and get my hands back when hitting. That's obviously not everything, but that is what I can control for now.

Champs

What a game! Matsui was the freakin' man, he certainly had himself a day. There was no way he was going to leg out a triple to complete the cycle, but Japan must have been going nuts. But maybe not as close to how nuts Wash-Heights was. I was watching in a friends apartment, and a minute after the game ended, we ran up to the roof and heard the whole neighborhood just going crazy. Pots, pans, cars, vocal cords.

We gathered some stuff together and roamed down the streets yelling and cheering. Toilet paper hung from street lights, as a few piles of garbage lit on fire, while firecrackers went off amidst chants of "Let's go Yankees!", "Derek Jeter", "Mariano", "Twenty Seven", "Veinti-Siete!"

Great times.

Talkin' Baseball

Amidst all of this studying for annoying midterms and everything else preventing me from being the best player I can be, I decided I need to write a quick post.

We've had two practices so far, and I'm so psyched for the upcoming season. Aside for the new recruitment of rookies, who show some serious promise, I'm also excited about myself. My throws have been looking much sharper, but I really need to start practicing more coming out of the crouch.

Many of you know that I love hitting for power (or at least trying), and when you try to lift the ball, naturally, sometimes you'll miss and it could lead to popups. Now, I'm not saying that I've tried to lift the ball, but I'll say I've tried to hit the ball maybe harder than I should have. That's something I've worked on over the summer, and I also focused on hitting opposite field. I was doing that really well during BP and it felt real good. I'm pretty sure I'll get into a few this year, but for now, I know that hitting line drives and thinking opposite field is good for me.

Also, I'd really appreciate if the Yankees could beat the Phillies in Game 6. Reasons:

1) I'm a Yankee fan, I want them to win.

2) If it goes to Game 7, we have practiced moved to Friday morning so everyone can watch the game Thursday night. So, just how hungover can we be for practice?

Either way, it'll be much easier if the Yanks win. I'm pretty confident they will. I mean, Andy has been throwing really well, and being a lefty has worked wonders for him against the lefty-stacked Phillies lineup. I know his numbers in Game 6 of WS isn't good, but they weren't for Game 6 of ALCS, and look what happened. Also, Pedro's bag of tricks shouldn't work twice. The Yanks are likely to pounce on him. But, I have the utmost respect for Pedro and you never know, he may surprise some folks.

So that's it for me now. I just want to get one more chapter in and then I'm off for some shut-eye. I just really want to enjoy the next 2 1/2 weeks of structured baseball. After this, it's all mostly individual stuff until February.

Appreciation

OK, this will definitely not be a great post, but I'm hoping as I write something, it will lead to something better.

There are several ways to appreciate how good major league players are. One great way, which I guess I do fairly often, is to watch players who aren't in the major leagues. Go watch a minor league lifer or even a player in his mid twenties who has yet to get his cup of coffee.

This guys can rake during BP, pop catchers' mitts like popcorn, and yet, I can make more money than them serving cups of coffee. I am someone who really enjoys watching a minor league game, no matter the level, I'd watch a D-3 game if it was on.

So that's one way. Appreciate how good players who can't make it are. It really puts things in perspective if you are trying to compare yourself to professionals. Also, it makes you feel like none of your work has paid off so be careful.

The other way is obviously to watch major leaguers. But even in this method, I offer my own style. Sure, most like to watch the video of ML hitters bang balls of bleachers in a pace so often that it kind of sounds like that homeless guy who is banging pots together in the subway. But I like to watch the more subtle skill. Last night, with two outs in the ninth and his team down by a run, Johnny Damon had a 9 pitch at bat against closer Brad Lidge, and would eventually line a single and become the tying run. He takes a ball inside and fouls off three straight naaaaasty sliders (count 1-2) and then took two fastballs for balls to run the count full. He fouled off two hard fastballs away, and lined the ninth pitch into LF.

The art of fouling off pitches is something often overlooked by the average fan. Lidge hasn't been himself, but his stuff was pretty good (forgetting his "slow" 91mph fastball). He made two tight pitches on the outside corner, and as most well located pitches are, they are tough to make contact with, let alone put in play.

Writing this, I can't describe how tough it is. You need to experience it to understand. I'm pretty sure most of you readers have played baseball, so you do understand, but when you watch Game 5 tonight, watch out for the little things, especially when Cliff Lee is on the mound.