We had a few emails to the booth last night which was awesome. I still would love to have more! The email address is media@lunkersbaseball.com!
The team is definitely struggling. After a very promising start, winning their first three, they have dropped the ensuing four contests and the last 11 innings have been more or less sloppy.
I am a big believer in the "Baseball Gods," whoever they are or whatever they are and, even though Willmar had four errors and left over ten men on base, Brainerd was still penalized because they made the first batch of errors, therefore being the first to "pollute," if you will, yesterday's ballgame. In life, it's always the person that throws the second punch who gets caught. Such is not the case in baseball, with the sloppy play being the theoretical first punch. Brainerd did not lose pretty, but Willmar certainly didn't win gracefully either. Anyway, it's a new day at the park, a new team coming in, and an opportunity for the team to get right back at it.
Yesterday I went to Buffalo Wild Wings with Lunkers catcher, David Albritton, as well as Lunkers pitchers, Drew Smith and Matt Florer. I made an effort to talk to at least each player or one of their coaches before the season started to have an opportunity to learn a bit about them, but I wasn't able to get to these three or their coaches for various reasons. Yesterday I sat down with them for what was supposed to be a quick thirty to forty-five minute lunch, but it ended up being over two hours long. We were all sitting around well after our meal just talking--the interview portion was well over--and all of a sudden we looked at our phones (aka our watches/clocks) and saw the time and we couldn't believe it.
I met David before I met Matt and learned that the two were living together this summer with the Douth family. David is incredibly polite (he called me "sir" until I begged him to stop and we are the same age!), a hard worker, who, from everything I had heard, was a baseball player's baseball player. All I knew about Matt is that he was from Mission Viejo, California. Going to school in Los Angeles and becoming familiar with the SoCal "breed," I was unsure how the pairing would work, worried that Matt would be a totally free-spirited, laid back, surfer bro and that the two personalities wouldn't mix. And, while I say that, I do not think the SoCal breed is a bad thing--a bunch of my friends fit that mold--but I just wasn't sure how it would mix. After getting to know Matt, he definitely has a bit of that in him--I mean, the kid hangs out at Laguna Beach so you can't blame him--and he did admit that he only recently was able to maintain a serious demeanor while on the mound, but he does speak proper English, as opposed to "Surfer Bro" and he has a great sense of humor. We also found that he and I share a mutual friend that we each are pretty close with....small world.
We got five new guys in yesterday. With those five guys, our team might have become the tallest, on average, in the league. Three of the five guys are 6'5" or taller (Russ Hopkins at 6'6", Ray Black at 6'5", and Patrick Nathanson at 6'5"), and Connor Mielock is 6'2". Rob Matthews is the shortest out of the bunch at 5'10". Six more guys are still due to join the team, with the next wave expected to come tomorrow, with the expected arrival of the two Cal-Berkeley players, Chadd Krist and Jimmy Bosco. The other four still to come are Tommy Reyes, Stephen Wickens, Juan Padilla, and Mick Gaston.
Hot Sports Opinion of the Day: I didn't get to watch Stephen Strasburg's debut--although I plan on watching it in the archived footage on MLB.com's website--nor did I get to see highlights, but his stat line is incredibly impressive. The thing I was happiest about? They let him go seven innings and throw over 94 pitches. For his first Major League start, especially coming after a month in a half where he was kept on a pitching leash, I think that pulling him was relatively acceptable. But here's to hoping that that leash is gone after his next start or two. I am tired of seeing young pitchers babied for the first five years of their career. For two years, it seemed as if Joba Chamberlain of the Yankees was not even allowed to throw his allotted amount of pre-inning warmup pitches, the Yankees were so anal about his pitch count.
I am not endorsing pitchers going out and throwing 150 pitches, but the reason why pitchers can't throw 120 pitches anymore is because they spend four or five years being allowed no more than 90 pitches, which does not prepare them to go deep into ball games. What it does is help save the General Manager and the rest of the front office's ass because it is a safe play to ensure that their investments see the major leagues. Pitchers get hurt more for their violent motions or poor mechanics than for simple pitch counts.
Let them play!
On a side note...If Bryce Harper is the real deal--which his one year of collegiate play with a wooden bat does not suggest otherwise--then how would you like to be the Washington Nationals in two years? A core of Ryan Zimmerman, one of the more unknown superstars in baseball, if that is possible, Stephen Strasburg, and potentially Harper might be the best young trio in the Majors...we will discuss that tomorrow!
Sports Pick of the Day: I jumped the gun...Chicago over Philadelphia to claim the cup tonight, not yesterday...
Record: 6-4
Streak: L1
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