MURRIETA MESA SUMMER BASEBALL

There was really no break for me between the regular baseball season and summer baseball at the high school. We started playing summer games before the boys got out of school for the summer. I was able to be the head coach of the varsity summer team with the help from other coaches. It was tough to organize at times with some of the boys playing football, basketball and on other travel baseball teams but we managed to have a pretty successful summer. The summer is a little bit different than the regular season. Coaches do not exchange line-ups, allowing free substitution. We usually play 9 innings instead of 7. Summer is mainly for instruction and development of the players instead of focusing on competition. The varsity team ended up 11-4 at the end of summer. As a coaching staff, we saw a lot of good things from a lot of different players. This is very encouraging since we had 13 seniors graduate from our program. It will be difficult to fill their spots but I am sure some of the young guys will fill in and take on the challenge. We saw a lot of things that need to be worked on as a program and I am excited to get back to work this fall in preparation for next season. We will be very young, but I think we will be a scrappy team that needs to rely on offense execution with solid defense. We have plenty on young pitchers that will have to be aggressive, throw a lot of strikes and trust their defense.

At the end of the summer, I had all the boys up for a BBQ and swim party. It was a lot of fun.

  

 

ANGELS BASEBALL

This is exactly how I felt after watching the Angels loose a few nights ago to the Rangers. Up by a run going into the bottom of the ninth and Frieri gave up two solo home runs to lose the game. Not only did it happen once in the series but three games in a row the Rangers won it on a walk-off home run. Unbelievable. For me, as well as many other Angels fans, the season has been a huge disappointment. Another year of high expectations with an unbelievable line-up and they are still playing below .500 baseball. Injuries have been a problem all year. Pujols was never at 100% and now on the DL. Weaver was down for a significant time with a fracture in his left arm. Our starting pitching has been okay at times but struggled going deep into games putting a lot of pressure on the bullpen. The bullpen has failed miserably. The offense and defensive side of the ball is no where close to being consistent. I believe the Angels are at the bottom of the league in defensive stats, which in the past, defense has been solid, minimizing errors. Sitting near the bottom of the American League West, 14 games back and 10 games below .500 with 56 games left, I don't see any hope for the Angels to make the playoffs at this point.  Most people believe 91 wins is the special number to win the division. The Angels would have to go 43-13 to hit 91 wins. Not going to happen. Even though they are pretty much out of it, I will still watch and cheer on my Halos, but already looking forward to next year. There needs to be a lot of changes going into next year but that conversation can wait awhile. 

SURPRISE FAMILY HOME EVENING

 

The past couple of weeks we have been having FHE. We try and plan on doing something with other couple friends, but this week it ended up being just Brooke and I. Brooke planned a little surprise activity for our FHE. She was really excited and actually kept it a secret all the way until we got to our destination. (She isn't very good at keeping surprises from me ha) We had a great time at the batting cages. Brooke swung the bat really good and I think she surprised herself when she hit the first pitch she swung at. She looks like a natural.

 



HOME RUN DERBY 2013

  

Yoenis Cespedes of the Oakland A's dominated the Home Run Derby in New York last night by hitting a total of 32 home runs. The guy was an absolute beast. He hit 17 alone in the first round, when no one else put up 10 or more. He didn't even need to hit in the second round to get into the final round. There was no one talking about him before the derby or picking him to win it. Most of the analysts on ESPN were picking Prince Fielder or Chris Davis to win. Cespedes faced the young phenom, Bryce Harper in the final round. I think a lot of people were surprised at Harper's performance. It is always a special thing to see when the player's father is out there pitching.  Even though Cespedes plays for the A's in the AL West, battling for an eventual playoff spot against my Angels, it was a lot of fun watching him blast baseballs into the upper deck last night. Congrats.

 

BASEBALL SEASON

It really doesn't seem that long ago that I was listening to Game 6 of the World Series online and experiencing one of baseball's greatest games ever played by the Cardinals, but it does seem like this off season has been dragging on forever. Since the Angels acquired Pujols, the anticipation for the Angel's season to get started has increased even more than normal. Only a few more days till Opening Day 2012 and I am so stoked. There is a huge expectation for the Angel's this season based on their potential line up and starting pitching. I would not want to be an opposing pitcher going up against the Halo's. Top to bottom they are very dangerous, with speed and power. They will be able to hit the deep ball, driving in runs and increasing run support for starting pitching which is huge because that is what they struggled with last season. Every thing about the Angels and their potential for this season gets me excited. As long as the bullpen can do their job and close out games, the Angels are the favorite in the West.

Not sure if I will make it out the Big A this Friday, but you know I will be watching the game some where.

Go HALOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Working Hard

A little update on my Murrieta Mesa JV baseball team. We are now 0-3 in league, losing three straight. It's a tough thing losing, especially when we are playing better every game. We are making fewer mistakes, less strikeouts at the plate and limiting our defensive errors; we just can't get guys across the plate. We have opportunities to score, but just can't get that clutch hit, leaving guys on base. The ball just isn't bouncing our way and finding holes; but give credit to the other teams we are playing because they have made some critical plays to make a third out and get out of an inning when we have the opportunity to push guys across. We are getting great pitching from our starters, but all it takes is one inning for our opponent to put a few hits together and score a few runs and we are down, scrapping to get back in the game.
The guys are working hard everyday, in the cages and working live defense but to win we gotta work a little bit harder and get better everyday. Trying to keep the guys positive and focus on the things that we have been doing well. The hits will come, we just gotta keep swinging and stay aggressive. We are hanging close in every game, and there is no reason why we couldn't be 3-0 if we get a few crucial base hits here and there and stop giving up outs on defense.

Found this picture online this morning and thought it fits perfectly with the situation we are in right now as a baseball team. I printed this picture out to hang in the dugout and looking forward to see the boys reaction to it. Have a non-league game tomorrow against Hemet and two more games next week before spring break. Hoping to get a few wins going into spring break.

Been too long....

   Man, it has been over two months since my last post. That is way too long! A lot has happened in the last few months. It seems that I blog in waves. I'm good at posting for a month or so and then I slack off and just get busy and put my blog ideas on the bottom of my "To-Do" list.
   My schedule definitely has become much busier since I started coaching baseball at Murrieta Mesa. I haven't gone back to look at any of my past posts, but I am pretty sure that any post I made earlier in the year regarding baseball I was working with the freshman team, but since then I was asked to be the head Junior Varsity coach. I am absolutely enjoying my time that I get to spend on the baseball field with my team. We practice everyday from from about 2-5, depending on the day, and then usually a few hours on Saturdays. Not only the time during practice on the field is keeping me busy, but also the extra time after practice to maintain the field by watering and dragging it to  keep it nice,  making  daily practice plans, creating a line-up the night before a game and then working at fundraisers. It is a lot of work but I love it. I love getting out there with the boys and doing the drills with them. They are working hard. We started with a 3-3 record going into league games this week. We are still trying to get guys in the right position but the team is solid. We are constantly working on getting better everyday, giving 100% all the time and that is all you can ask of them. I am excited for the rest of the season and hope that we can win the majority of our games. It is my first year coaching, frustrating at times but constantly reminding myself to stay positive.  I make mistakes but  I am still learning and growing as a coach. I will try and keep you updated on the season here on my blog.
   Both, Brooke and I have made changes with work recently. Brooke was offered more hours at the preschool, but was limited with the extra hours she could pick up while working part time with my dad. Work for me, with the foreclosed homes was slowing down, so I decided that I would work for my dad again at the office and that would allow Brooke to work at the preschool full time, and me to work as much as possible. Brooke loves the preschool and really enjoys working with the kids. Since taking on more hours, the preschool offered Brooke a lead teacher position, including more responsibilities and a pay increase. Brooke is really excited about this and the opportunity to have her own classroom. I have started working for my dad a few weeks ago, and I really enjoy being in the office and being able to see and talk with my dad everyday. Working at the office makes it easier for me to get to practice on time and be able to leave when I need to for games. Brooke and I stay real busy during the week and enjoy our weekends together. Brooke still finds time to make hair appointments to make a little extra cash, and I still find time to play some softball. I am not playing on a city team currently but still on a tournament team and trying to play once a month with a team. I am looking forward to the summer and hopefully put together a city league team.
   I am sure most of you know from Facebook, but I was accepted to Cal State San Marcos in the fall for the Kinesiology program at the Temecula campus. I am really excited to finish my Bachelors degree. It should only take a year and a half going full time. I have been going to school for a long time and it will be awesome to finally finish and hopefully start a career. I really want to pursue athletic training and coaching, and get involved with athletics at the college level and even with a professional organization. I did finally finish my Associates degree in Physical Education at San Jacinto.
   This is just a few of the many things going on with Brooke and I recently. I am sure there will be mosre posts and updates coming soon.

ABCA CONVENTION

 Last weekend I was able to attend the annual American Baseball Coaches Association Convention in Anaheim. It was AWESOME! Coaches, players and companies across the nation associated with baseball at every level participated and attended. I was able to attend 2 out of the 3 days, Friday and Saturday. From 8 am to 6 pm there were clinic sessions that you could attend. Clinics and presentations from top Division 1 coaches, professional hitting instructors, sports psychologists, athletic trainers, former coaches that are now motivational speakers. Anything you can think of dealing with baseball and athletics, it was covered. It was a great experience for me and I hope to be able to attend more in the future. I was able to take away a lot of information to be implemented into my coaching style; different drills, players relationships, leadership roles, offensive and defensive philosophies and the list can go on. I thought I was excited to start this baseball season a few weeks ago, but after attending this convention I am even more pumped to start my first year of coaching. It increased my desire to be a head coach at the college level to be honest. There are so many opportunities in the world of sports and athletics and that is what I love to do. I am happy I am taking the first step and have been given the opportunity to coach this year. I hope I can be an positive influence and be able to help young baseball players to become better people and leaders along with improving their skills as a basbeball player.

PUJOLS an ANGEL!

As my wife would say..." O.M.G.!!!!!!" Over the past several days I have been getting ESPN notifications, updating me on the recent signings and trades in the MLB. Lots of talk and rumors of where big name free agents would end up signing filled radio stations, news reports etc.... but it was all speculation. The biggest free agent and the best player in the game right now is hands down Albert Pujols and like me, I am sure a lot of people were following along with the media to find out where he would end up playing next season. There had been a few teams that were reported to offer Pujols a deal, but the Angels were not in the conversation. I heard a lot of talk about, "What if????" or that would be cool if Albert actually came and played for the Angels but no one really thought that it would happen. Well, it did. I woke up Thursday morning and got on my phone, looked at Twitter and it was blowing up twitter. The Angels had swoopped in and offered Pujols a deal he couldn't refuse. 10 year contact at 254 million dollars. Ya, CRAZY!!! No doubt that the signing of the Pujols to the Angels makes them a front runner next season and a favorite in the American League. The Angels lacked the run support for their incredible starting pitching and now with Pujols in the line up it just makes everyone better. Angels fans from all over are so excited and can't wait for the new season to start. A lot to look forward to if you're an Angel fan for the next decade.

PRACTICE BEGINS

I finally received the final word from the district office last week. I am officially hired as a baseball coach at Murrieta Mesa High School. I will be coaching at the freshman level and really excited. I met most of the boys last week as well as the other coaches. Between now and Christmas break I will be out on the field with the boys, throwing the ball around and hitting in the cages. I haven't thrown a baseball in probably over a year but it felt good throwing the other day. It's a little different than throwing a softball, mainly just size and weight. I immediately started a throwing routine for the team and explained what I wanted them to do and focus on when warming and throwing. We probably won't do any live hitting or drills on the field until we get back from Christmas break. I am really excited about this opportunity to coach. I have wanted to do it for awhile now, and I hope that it leads to more coaching opportunities in the future with baseball as well as football.

LOVE..... and BASEBALL

There are a lot of things that people "Love."  There are a lot of things that I love.  I simply love life and everything that it has to offer.  I love my beautiful wife Brooke, with all my heart and will for eternity.  I love my family unconditionally.  I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ and so grateful for the love, joy, peace and knowledge is brings into my life.  I could make a long list of the things I love, but those are the few really important things I love in this life.

One of my great passions, and has been from the time I was young, is baseball.  I love baseball.  I enjoy playing a lot of different sports and being active but the game of baseball is special.  I haven't played an actual baseball game for a few years but I get my baseball fix by playing a lot softball.  It isn't quite the same but very similar.

I came across this simple quote and that is what inspired this blog post.

"Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good too."

I am really excited to get the chance to coach baseball this next season at the high school level.  I have never coached a team before and it will be a new experience for me. I am a little nervous, but I feel the skills needed to coach will come naturally and I have confidence in myself that I will be able to do the job.  

BASEBALL SEASON

"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." ~Rogers Hornsby


I caught myself thinking and saying to myself the other night, "I wonder if there is a baseball game on TV that I could watch? Oh wait. Baseball is over." (Here I would insert a :( but you can imagine the immediate frown on my face)  October is the best time to watch baseball.  Nothing like the Fall Classic.  Play-off games almost every night, with the best teams battling to make it to the next round and become World Champs.  It's sad to say that the baseball season is over and we will have to wait till spring for it to start back up again.  I think the World Series was sooooo good that it gave baseball fans such a rush and excitement that it left many wanting for more.  Almost like an addiction.  Can baseball be an addiction? Depends on who you are asking I guess.  The off-season does leave many story lines of new GM's, firing and hiring of managers, blockbuster trades and signing of free agents. There will be much speculation to who signs with what team and which players will be traded.... blah blah blah.  Nothing will compare to the anticipation of opening day next year, and all baseball fans can hear, "Play ball!"

As for my Halos, the 2011 season left much disappointment and room for improvement along with high hopes and expectations for 2012.  The hire of DiPoto as the new GM for the Angles creates excitement and a breath of fresh air.  Changes in the front office will be good for the Angels as they move forward putting last season behind them.  It was a bummer that the Angels did not make the post season and from my point of view unacceptable with the talent on the mound for starting pitchers and the type of players we had defensively.  The main focus this off-season should be the production at the plate giving our outstanding starting pitchers some run support.  They have to start swinging the bat better especially with RISP.  The Angels had a lot of young prospects that filled in and had a really good season. At the top of that list would be Trumbo, the AL ROY.  He will be a player to watch grow and mature and become one of MLB's big bats.  One of the biggest blunders for the Angles last year was Vernon Wells.  The way I look at it is that he can't get much worse than last years production. The only way is up. I  believe he will have a much better season in his second year with the ball club.  There are still many questions about Morales and where he will fall into the line-up if he is healthy. There are also a lot of questions about the veteran players, Hunter, Abreu and their role moving forward.  Another pressing matter is the issue behind the plate.  I don't even wanna get into it about Mathis. I can't stand to watch him in the batters box.

I found myself paying more attention to baseball and the Angels more than ever this last year than in years past.  I think I credit that to the wonderful world of Twitter, being apart of the Angles Family and following a lot of significant people connected to the Angels as well as listening to sports talk radio every time I am in the car.  I am sure my wife Brooke loved it when we would have to get in the car to go somewhere during an Angels game and the first thing I did was change the station to AM830.  If i wasn't listening  or watching the games I would be getting updates on my phone. I would let her know if the Angels won that day or lost. She loves to go to the BIG A sporting her Angels shirt.  She constantly teases me about my signed Tim Salmon baseball I got this year and we get a good laugh about it.  I will have to post pictures about that soon and recap what happened, but it is a very cool story that I will never forget and will tell my whole life.

Anyways... This blog post ended up being much longer than I expected and I added a few subjects that  weren't really on my mind until I started typing.  I am looking forward to next season already with enthusiasm and passion. GO HALOS!

BEST GAME EVERRRRRRR!!!!

Game 6 of the World Series in 2011 could and most likely be argued as one of the greatest games played in MLB history.  Amazing, unbelievable, incredible are only a few words to describe the unforgettable victory by the St. Louis Cardinals.  If you weren't glued to the television somewhere, listening intently  to the radio like I was last night, I am sure you have heard about the what happened.  Cardinals were down by 3 at one point in the game and came back to tie, then were down by 2, two different times with the Rangers one strike away from being the World Series Champs and the Cards were able to score, making the game even. I n the top of 11th inning St. Louis was able to hold Texas, not allowing a run and taking advantage in the bottom of the 11th with a walk-off home run.  Game 6 wasn't pretty defensively for either team, but the game was sure exciting with costly errors, wacky managerial moves, clutch base hits and crushing home runs.  The Rangers thought they had put the game away twice and the Cardinals refused to lose and give up.  This game will forever be remember by all baseball fans, being talked about as one of the greatest baseball games ever.

COACHING OPPORTUNITY

Anyone that really knows me, knows that I love baseball. It truly has been a long time passion of mine ever since I can remember. I love the game of baseball. I love the everyday practice of fundamentals and drills. I love the mental part of the game at the plate and especially on the mound.  I love the feeling when you make solid contact with bat and ball. I love making a diving play and getting dirty. I love the sound of metal cleats on red brick dust infield. I love the camaraderie of a baseball team. There are so many things I love about the game of baseball and I could go on and on.
One of the regrets I have in my life to this point is not pursuing baseball and playing at the next level.  I gave it a shot a few times in college, but didn't stick with it.  No one to blame but myself.  I do however still want to be involved with baseball and have a great desire to coach.  I don't have much experience of being an official coach but I have an opportunity to help coach at a local High School in Murrieta.  Murrieta Mesa has need of assistant baseball coaches. Luckily for me, one of my old baseball coaches at Murrieta Valley is involved with the baseball program at Murrieta Mesa and has helped me get my foot in the door. I have met with the Athletic Director and currently in the process of applying through the school district and making it official. There is still some paperwork, certifications that need to be processed and interviews that still need to happen.  I am pretty stoked about the opportunity and hope that I can help these young players become better at the sport we both enjoy.

Lets Go Angels!

It wasn't that pretty of an offensive game for the Angels last night, but it was exciting to see a walk-off base hit in the bottom of the 10th inning to win the game. After 9 scoreless innings and almost a dozen guys left on base the Angles were able to score a run. It was another great outing for Jared Weaver, pitching a complete game shut out not allowing a runner past second base with a little help from the defense turning some double plays. The Angles ended up pulling out the victory and that's all that matters. It is good to see the Angles grind out these close games and get the W. It would be nice to see some more offensive production from guys and a lot more run support for the Halo pitchers. Several times last night we had guys in scoring position and failed to score runs. Mathis had a horrible game at the plate, striking out for the third out, once with bases loaded and once with runners on 2nd and 3rd. Tori Hunter had a great game with the bat. He had 3 hits, 2 doubles off the wall and a home run robbed from Seattle's left fielder. Though it was only my second game this season to be at the ball park, I am hoping to get out to the Big-A several more times. Especially when there is such a close race with Texas for the AL West.  Angel's pitching has been solid all year and everyone is waiting for the bats to get hot. Right now would be a really good time for more consistency with run support.  GO HALOS!