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Blood Cold
Now,
while watching the 2002 wiffleball season from the stands, it’s
easy to root for everybody. Why not? Most of the guys out there
I know and I want to succeed. If I don’t know a player (aka "the
rookies"), I want them to do just as well just so the captain
will have chosen a good draft pick. But as I watch from the stands,
I can’t help just cheer a little bit louder, clap a little bit harder,
and cry a little bit longer than for the blue and white, my old
team, the Road Warriors.
With
a 2-7 start, the Road Warriors seem to be on the brink of destruction
again. They have two pitchers now who suck ass, their batting average
stinks worse than last year, and they have three rookies.
But
wait a minute, that may be what everyone is saying, but is it really
the truth?
Some
of it, yeah…but not all! Let’s take a look at the team.
Chris
Keefer
Chris played in his first gameday last Sunday and by most accounts,
didn’t do too well. From everything that I have heard though, the
kid has potential.
“Keefer
has a great attitude and he throws strikes," said team captain
Darnell Uhland. "His first gameday wasn’t the greatest, but
he is a stud on defense and will get used to hitting soon.”
Throwing
strikes has always been the thing that sets some rookies apart from
other rookies. The first thing I always tell rookies before their
first year is to just throw strikes, then worry about your speed
later. The thing is, people get used to the Cosom ball. If they
can start out throwing strikes, then the speed will come with time.
So the fact that Chris has already started throwing strikes is a
plus in my book.
Though
the Road Warriors are struggling in both hitting and pitching, I
think Darnell should worry about Chris’ pitching before hitting.
We all know that a bad hitter can essentially ruin a rally started
by some players, but a bad pitcher can not only ruin a rally for
their team, but also build the opposing team's confidence.
Chris
Keefer was also the last pick of the draft. But by what everyone
is saying, he could be a decent player come next year. Hell, maybe
even after the all-star break! And even though he may think that
his abilities are lacking, if he sticks with the fundamentals, he
will turn out just fine.
Jeff
Register
With the other half of the struggling rookies, Jeff Register has
entered a world he is probably a little intimidated by. Now, I can’t
lie, he seems to have some Aaron Kemperness to him. That is not
a good thing. Bad thing.
20
walks in 7 innings?! Wow…he seems to be a little too young for his
own good.
From
my practice with him before season, I can say that he can throw
strikes and he can hit the ball. The term ‘pure-athlete’ is not
a word that I would use to describe Jeff, but he did seem to know
how to play. As he was pitching, I could tell he knew how to throw
the ball and knew the proper wind-up. Basically he knew the fundamentals.
That is going to help him big time. We are not talking about a kid
who has this funky wind-up, throws the ball down the pipe one time,
then five feet in front of the plate the second time. The problem
was that he became tired too early and didn’t have control anymore.
He needs stamina! There will be no quick results, but if he just
keeps throwing, only good times are going to come.
The
batting was a little difficult to analyze due to the surroundings
(just trust me), so I will not give my assessment on that. Hey Jeff--if
you are reading this--you are a Road Warrior. That means you keep
playing until you are better; no complaining, no quitting, nothing.
Stop reading the rest of the article and go out and throw the ball…NOW!!!
Anthony
Sanzone
I’m sorry, but Anthony scares me. Is it because of his mean demeanor?
No. Is it because he seems to have too much power for his own good?
No. None of those, it’s because he seems a lot like Luke Carriere.
Now for the most part, that might be good. He may produce somewhat
similar stats this year compared to Luke, but I also get this feeling
he may not stick around either.
I hope
he looks at this as a challenge. I think for the most part, Luke
Carriere didn’t see a big challenge. He knew that he could hit 95%
of the pitchers, but that wasn’t enough for him to stick around.
I look at Anthony and see close to the same thing. He knows he can
hit the ball out against every pitcher, it’s just only a matter
of ‘if’. I look at his stats, (9 hits, 6 homeruns) and think of
Sammy Sosa...four years ago. Sammy has turned around his game and
become so much more than a homerun hitter…I only hope Anthony can
do the same.
I challenge
Anthony to be a team player. I challenge him to knock a couple out,
slap a couple base hits when it counts, make a couple decent defensive
plays, and become a better pitcher. Basically, I want to see Anthony
as an All-Star fast! That is my challenge to Anthony. Mark my word,
when I come back to Chico and see Anthony (he better be at the June
23rd gameday), I will lay down the challenge in person…Road Warrior
style. The Road Warriors don’t need another Luke Carriere, they
need another Darnell Uhland. Which brings me to…
Darnell
Uhland
We all know Darnell is a player. We all know he can out pitch almost
everyone. We all know these things. So what I want to talk about
is Darnell, the manager.
In
a recent interview with Darnell, I spoke to him about managing and
from what I gathered, he is a manager! Now that sounds obvious,
but when I say, “Darnell is a manager”, I mean it! When I say James
Vassar is a manager, I mean in the literal sense. I mean, next to
James’ name, it says ‘Manager’, that is it. When I say Casey Sylvester
is a manager, same thing applies that did to James. (That is not
a knock on both players, because both players are big-time, ‘lead
by example’ players. They speak with their actions, instead of their
words…most of the time. But the term ‘manager’ doesn’t mean, ‘lead
by example’, it means ‘lead’) Now I will say it again, Darnell is
a manager!
When
asked about the upcoming series against the Longballs, Darnell talked
about wanting to take two so the team can get some respect. When
asked about the future plans of the Road Warriors, Darnell talked
about finding the right combination. When asked about managerial
decisions, Darnell talked about bringing some "Road Warrior
spirit back to the team" like the "0-2, ewwww!" catchphrase
that caught on with all the Warriorites out there.
He
doesn’t talk about carrying the team, he doesn’t talk about the
mistakes, and he only talks about good managing decisions.
Guess
what Darnell, I got a challenge for you too! You have had three
gamedays where you've been manager. That was your trial period.
That is over. Let’s see some action now. You are smart enough to
look back and see what you could have done that was better. The
team spirit not being as high as it should be? Well, incorporate
some into the game. You got three rookies on your team. It’s time
to show some out there what real Road Warrior pride is all about.
If Art Howe can take a 40 million dollar payroll and compete against
the Yankees, why can’t Darnell Uhland? (We are obviously replacing
payroll with "believed talent")
The
fact is that the Road Warriors have a great manager who can take
his team far. His is a pitcher first, batter second, and that is
what the team needs. If Darnell’s pitching skills are bestowed upon
his teammates, this could be a hell of a team. It is no secret that
this year is probably not the one where the Road Warriors take the
title, but progress is something that needs to be seen out of this
young team. The excuse that they have three rookies is only going
to last for so long, sooner or later, they are going to have to
provide results. I’m just going to be hoping it’s sooner rather
than later.
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