Milestone

So first of all, a big shout out to my older sister and younger brother on their birthdays this week. Obviously, that is a big milestone in their respective lives, turning one year older. But you want to hear another milestone? This is post number fifty! So thanks to all you readers who've stuck through everything, the good and bad.

To keep with the milestone motif, I feel obliged to tell everyone about the most recent weigh in. This past Wednesday we again measured our weight, BMI, and fat percentage. So in the past month, I lost four pounds, dropping to 191, which made my BMI drop from 26.5 to 25.9. Now, weight loss is not really a goal of mine. Losing fat is the priority, while gaining muscle. I was obviously very pleased to see that my fat percentage dropped from 15.2% to a microscopic 12%. It was great to see these results, especially because practice begins in one week, February 1st.

So I wouldn't go ahead and say that the weigh ins are becoming milestones, although I truly look forward to them. It definitely keeps me motivated when it comes to doing my cardio and I think that being fit and in good shape will help me tremendously on the field. Being as I routinely catch doubleheaders, carrying less fat will definitely keep me fresher.

Now, keeping all that in mind, being in better shape, being stronger, and the work I've been doing on my hitting, hopefully I can have some on-field milestones. 38 days until opening day!

Baseball Writers

I was originally going to write about the coming out of Mark McGwire, but like I've said before, I'm sick of talking about steroids. See previous post about it.

I heard Peter Gammons talking about what he thought about the whole situation. I was never sure why writers are the ones who get the say on who gets in the Hall. It seems unfair. What exactly do they do that puts them in a position to do that? If anything it seems unfair because they can be very biased, based on who was media-friendly. We saw just last year how Jim Rice was finally voted in, and many speculate it took this long because he was very unfriendly to the media.

Writers often get me very upset because I find that so few have any playing experience, their outlook on the skills of baseball are so skewed, what often comes out on paper makes me want to vomit. The way it works is that the writer must belong to the Baseball Writers Association of America for ten years - then he or she has voting writes.

But back to Gammons, his view on the McGwire situation was very refreshing. Not so much about Mark himself, but on the game of baseball. While saying he doesn't think he would vote for McGwire ever again he states his reason. "It is a form of cheating. Can you award someone with the highest honor in baseball? I say no." I do not necessarily agree with this. If someone would have been great enough to make it anyway, I wouldn't necessarily be upset to see him be inducted, althout it's a tough judgement call. But here's when I fell in love with Gammons.

"You guys know how hard it is to be a major league player." I do believe that some writers don't. "And the Hall of Fame is an honor. It's not a statistical right." This is a brilliant statement in my opinion. While obviously the ones in the Hall have noteworthy stats, not every player with noteworthy statistics are voted in. Example: Joe Jackson and Pete Rose.

Gammons said later that "Writers say, 'well, my eyes tell me he must have done steroids.' There are going to be 1-5 people that were innocent that don't make the Hall of Fame because of the people who did cheat. And that really breaks my heart, knowing how hard all of you worked to get where you are." Marry me, Peter Gammons!

Gammons points out the true crime of steroid users. I think we can all deal with the fact that some guys have ruined it for themselves, but the worst part is how they ruined it for other players. For opposing pitchers (or hitters, if the user is a pitcher) and innocent players alike. And finally, the appreciation for the Major League players. I cannot recall hearing or reading someone just acknowledge the skills, aside for me, of course.

I just hope most of the writers think like him. God bless you, Peter.

Homeward Bound

God bless them.

So that's it. My stay in Miami is over. I had a great time, except for the itchy minor burns I got all over my back and front. As good and relaxing time that I've had, part of me is very glad it's over.

I'm going to be very honest with you avid readers and fans. I haven't been eating too well, and haven't been getting to the gym (which was not as advertised; I was expecting better facilities). I've totally broken the rhythm I had going for the past 6 weeks. I know its not the craziest deal, but I'm looking forward to getting everything back together.

I'll have a week until school starts and then about a week and a half until "Spring" practice kicks off. Well, I'm going to sign off here from Miami Beach, I got to watch some TV, get some sleep and rock out my morning flight.

Stay classy.

Israel Baseball League

Many of you know this is my ideal professional league. Mostly because I haven't the skill or experience to play professionally in the States. But in Israel, the obstacle of playing on the Sabbath is easily overcome and it is a high level of play that I think would suit me well.

Anyway, many may have heard of the IBL, but I feel like giving them some free promotion time on this great blog and let everyone know - watch "Holy Land Hardball" on the MLB Network tonight at 10pm. It is a great documentary about the struggles of the league, players and everyone involved. I've seen in twice and would see it again if I found access to the MLB Network. (I'm still in Miami Beach and coming back tomorrow morning.)

I hope this national showing helps bring awareness to the league and hopfully they will be able to jumpstart it again, maybe in the summer of '11. That would be the most clutch thing ever because I graduate in May 2011, and I would be able to continue my baseball career without a bump in the road.

There are only two things that I don't like about the IBL. The first is that games are seven innings long. They do this because the season is crammed in and they don't have free dates to make up games (as they don't play Friday nights or Saturdays). And to keep players healthy, the don't have extra innings- they decide the game in a HR Derby. While I'm sure that's exciting, it just doesn't seem fair or normal at all.

But I'd easily dismiss that if they can get that league going again. While I work out and practice and diet all for college baseball, in the back of my mind there's always that thought it doesn't end with a diploma in my hand.

Enjoy the film!

Vegas

OK, I didn't go to Vegas, but I went to the Hard Rock and played some blackjack. Obviously, I played by the book, went with what gave me the highest chance of winning, and was fortunate to walk away with a profit.

In thinking how this applies to baseball (because all I do is take what's going on to me and translate into baseball terms), it could come in a few different scenarios. The most obvious one that comes to mind first is pitching matchups, like bringing in the lefty, or a hitter's history vs. a certain pitcher.

As a Yankee fan, it got very annoying watching Joe Girardi get his cardio in everyday by taking several trips to the mound replacing each relief pitcher after a dozen pitches. But, at the end of the day, you can't really expect any different. (And now that they all buying a case for a new ring they just got, it seems it was the right way to go.)

I know this isn't how anybody should think - but how would you answer the media if you clearly went against extreme odds and let the .230 hitter face the closer with the tying run on second. If your answer is similar to "well, I went with my gut," then you're likely to make more mistakes, but if you have evidence that supports your decision, you can't really blame the manager.

But at the end of the day, Jeter bunts on his own.

Too Many Mind

I threw today. Not too much, barely anything hard. I was shoeless on a beach. I hadn't thrown since fall practice, probably early November.

It felt nice, but I need the proper warmup. The pregame jogging, stretching and long toss. Arm strength has never been one of my assets. Some people just have the ability to just rear back and that ball comes zipping out. I don't.

I don't need to explain why a strong arm is valuable at every position, but I will explain why "too many mind" applies to myself. First of all, the phrase comes from the movie, The Last Samurai, when one warrior explains to an American newcomer, that he must stop thinking about outside distractions.

I'm obviously very annoyed that I can't light up a radar gun, and I'm fortunate that throwing comes last on a catcher's priorities. But here in lies my problem. I know that to gain arm strength, I'll need to spend months on a daily long toss program, as such. And I've tried to get a LT partner over the summers, but there's really nobody in Brooklyn that I know that can commit to it. It's really a shame I go to such a prestigious University where the athletes come from across the country to play.

Anyway, so instead of really getting out there to long toss everyday (and again, during the winter, it's hard to do anything baseball related), I just think about everything when I throw. Keeping my front side closed, getting my throwing elbow back, keeping the knees bent and staying low, etc.

I think it's good that I'm aware of the proper mechanics, but I should probably just be throwing the ball and focus on being consistent, because thinking about all these things won't make me throw faster, only long tossing will.

Well, that's all that is going on inside my head these days.

Cold

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. It wasn't quite sixty degrees down in Miami Beach, but better than NY, that's for sure.

With Baseball (again, religions are capitalized) always on my mind, I can't help but think how awesome it would be to play baseball in this weather. Upper fifties, that's totally fine, especially compared to 20 in NY. But in the 40s, you are starting to push it. Baseball isn't a cold weather sport, I think everyone can agree on that.

So please tell me why Target Field (new home for the Twins) will be completely outdoors? Granted, baseball is probably not meant to be played indoors, but if you're going to build a new stadium, why not make it retractable like Safeco?

I'm still shocked why the Yankees and Mets built outdoor stadiums. Lets put it this way, I would hate an indoor-only stadium, but to prevent rain-outs, and other bad conditions, make it retractable.

That's just my take. Maybe Joe Mauer will get fed up playing this year in the Minnesota cold and decide to sign with the Yanks after the season. Of course, when that happens, the Yankees would have just won their second straight championship, so there will be other motivations. Keeping those fingers crossed.

Routine

So my last post - I ended because I needed to go workout when the gym opened because I was heading to a small party later in the night. Well, unbeknownst to me, the gym no longer opens Saturday night because of intersession. In the long run, of course it doesn't really matter, but it gets annoying when your routine gets knocked off course, even for a little bit.

The past month or so, the baseball team was able to reserve exclusive gym time from 8am-9:30am. We were all put on a 5 day a week lifting program, and it was pretty exciting. First couple weeks, attendance was pretty good. But obviously, these aren't mandatory and plenty of guys were switching to evening workouts. Either way, I stuck to those mornings like gum under a school desk. The only two mornings I missed were the two days I had finals at 9:30am.

OK, enough about me, lets talk about the importance of a routine. I'm mostly jealous of the big leaguers who get paid to spend all day in a stadium (indoor and outdoor facilities) to work out, take reps, and just chill hard. There's no doubt these guys are much more likely to get into a routine, especially because many have 1-1 conditioning coaches. But, they do deserve it. The big leaguers obviously get the best treatment. Check out what Crash Davis has to say about the treatment in the show.

It should be noted that it is very likely that the big leaguers are the ones who have been able to keep a routine back when they were amateurs and minor leaguers. Even if it is not a routine that you follow to the tee, I think that baseball has to take precedence over other things. It has to become routine enough, that everyday you are hitting the gym, everyday you are taking swings, everyday you are taking fielding reps, everyday throwing pens and whatnot. Obviously off days are very important also, so I don't really mean every day.

But, in a physical sense, the practice time is what matters. The more swings, the more fine tuned your swing is. Apply that to anything in life. Practice is what makes you good. The better your routine is, the better practice you are getting. Also, I think the routine is good for you mentally. When you know you've put in the time, you know how good you're getting, you have more confidence, which goes a long way in this game.

(Note: When I said I was done talking about me, I lied.) As many of you know, I'm leaving to Miami tomorrow. One week on the beach and away from the frigid cold. Well, of course, I made sure the place I'm staying has a gym that suits my needs. Losing one week of the routine is really bad, especially because the season is approaching so quickly.

One last thing about routines. Lets see how routinely I can keep posting.

Excuse

No computer is the biggest. My motherboard died and I was without a computer for quite some time. Granted, I did have access at the library and computer labs in school, but I could never stay there for long periods of time.

But lately, with finals and whatnot, I haven't had too much time. Not that my grades reflect that at all.

Anyway, a lot has happened since my last post. Obviously the offseason for MLB proved to be an exciting one. For the Yankees, seeing Matsui go was tough, especially to the Angels. He's such a good hitter, and I feel like it's going to be tough having to face him in the playoffs. But at least Chone Figgins is no longer wearing the halo above his head. The only problem is, with the way the Mariners are running things, the Yanks just may face him in October.

Uch, October. Not that I hate it, but the player inside me is looking forward to dates much closer to now. For instance, February 1st brings the first "spring" practice. Unfortunately, I have inside information and I know there will be a lot of conditioning tests, so not too much baseball on Day 1. I have been working out, no doubt, but who wants to do sprints during baseball practice? Or ever?

After a short month of practice comes a short season. In the coming weeks I'm sure I'll write every detail of what my plans and goals are, but for now, I really want to get off to a good start. In my first two seasons in college, I started 0-9 and 0-15, respectively. I'm on pace to start 0-25 this year. That's a 2/3 growth for all you figger filberts out there. Just in terms of sticking to what was working in the summer, I'm going to try to just "barrel it up" instead of trying to wreck the ball. And you'd be surprised that it just might happen anyway.

Anyway, it's great to be writing again. The gym opens up in five minutes and I have to stick to my routine. A few teammates and I are having "weigh ins" every 3-4 weeks to track our BMI and fat percentage. We've had two so far. My BMI was first 27.3 and fat percentage of 15.9%. Three weeks later, on December 23rd, my BMI dropped to 26.5 and fat percentage to 15.2. So in truth, in the first three weeks, I was cutting my cardio short, but now I'm hitting it harder on the bike and treadmill (not too much on the latter, trying to protect the knees) and hopefully it'll pay off on January 20th, the next scheduled weigh in.

Alright, peace.