A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

ball

Snapped bat

A couple of years ago, while working at Dreams Park, I got lucky to capture a photo where the kid snapped a bat in three pieces. I got the pieces and the ball in the shot.

About a week or so later, I got another broken bat — but not as cool of a shot.

Thursday night, I went to a game in Syracuse to watch the Chiefs play and I did it once again. Not a great capture as the broken piece is almost out of the frame, but still pretty cool.

Anyway, I wanted to post the two photos here to show what happened. You can see in the first photo where the ball is going to connect with the bat.

Connection!

Connection!

Broken!

Broken!

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Team USA women’s baseball visits Cooperstown

Do you remember the old baseball saying “Chicks dig the long ball?”

Maybe that should be changed to “Chicks hit the long ball.”

Now, I didn’t see any home runs on a warm and sunny afternoon in Cooperstown. But I did see some long balls hit. I also saw some solid baseball, great plays and some good pitching.

Still in high school... and pitching for Team USA.

Still in high school… and pitching for Team USA.

And it was done by a bunch of “chicks.”

OK, we know that’s not the PC way of saying things, so let’s cut from the “ha ha” moments here for a second. The United States Women’s National Baseball team – ranked second in the world – played a four-game series against the Madonna Stars (Japan) in the Cooperstown area this past weekend. The opener on Friday was played at SUNY Cobleskill, with the remaining three games (two on Saturday, one on Sunday) played at historic Doubleday Field in downtown Cooperstown.

These ladies can play, too.

I first heard about this series from a Cobleskill graduate who told me the game was taking place there. I wanted to go up, but was heading out on a baseball weekend. Then I heard they were playing this whole series. I knew it was something I wanted to go see, considering I didn’t even know there was a women’s national team before this.

Clean fielding.

Clean fielding.

I’m glad I went.

Hit, run, throw – the ladies were talented from both teams.

Was it like watching men play baseball? Not at all. But was it still quality? Absolutely.

Two of the Japanese pitchers had funky submarine-style forms. The starting pitcher for the USA is, apparently, just going into her senior year in high school. Meanwhile, there’s another player on the team who was born in 1974. The youngest? Born in 1999. Think about that one for a bit.

They  bunted. They ran. They stole bases and took two. They found the gaps, had Texas-League singles and smashed balls to the base of the wall at Doubleday.

In the field, the ladies on both teams laid out for balls in the hole, made routine plays look easy, and showed a lot of athleticism in making plays.

Making the scoop,

Making the scoop,

All in all, it was a pretty cool experience.

It wasn’t a crowd of thousands who came out to watch, but there was a decent amount of people in the grandstand behind the plate. I had the freedom to roam all over Doubleday’s bleachers and tried to take some different angles and such with my photos. I enjoyed taking different looks at the game and watching the teams as they battled it out.

The Americans won this game, 6-2. The weekend series was 2-2, showing how equal the two teams are. I’m not sure if the Madonna Stars are the full Japanese National team, but I think many are on it (if not all). Japan is ranked No. 1 in the world. The U.S. is No. 2.

I have no idea what kind of crowd they had for the two games Saturday. The crowd at Cobleskill, from some photos I saw, looked decent.

The game featured some top-level action.

The game featured some top-level action.

Women’s baseball has challenges — just like every other women’s sport. It’s about getting eyes on the players and the team to show what they can do. There’s not a professional league (at least that I’ve seen), but with having national teams and international competitions, it has to show that the ladies can handle their own on the baseball field. It doesn’t always have to be softball (and, as many could verify, I’m a big softball fan).

When I first got there on Sunday, I had only planned on staying for a handful of the 7-inning game. I ended up staying until the end and I’m glad I did. It was quality baseball and showed what the women can do on the diamond. If you get the chance to see our National team play baseball — take the opportunity. It’s well worth it.

For a full gallery of photos from the game, please check out the album on my Flickr page.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Baseball is here!

Last year ended poorly for Chase Utley and the Phillies. Can this year be different?

Yes, it’s only pitchers and catchers.

But it doesn’t matter. Baseball season is here. Football is over. Basketball and hockey are, well, not as exciting as baseball. When pitchers and catchers officially report, to me it’s the beginning of the season.

And I’m ready for it.

Last year ended very sour to me. A poor performance in the first round of the playoffs eliminated the Phillies and their league-best record.

Note that I’m still against a five-game series. I always have been. When the divisional round was added to the playoffs, I said it then as I still do today — it should be a seven-game series. A five-game series becomes a crap shoot and, I think, penalizes a deeper and better team because it allows the team with the worst record to maximize what it has. Not to say that the Phillies didn’t just run into baseball’s hottest team last year, but it’s something I’ve always believed. You can’t reward the lower-ranked teams in the playoffs and that’s what a five-game series does.

Anyhoo…

This is the day I truly love because I know real baseball is right around the corner. It’s something that can help me ignore the crappy things going on in my life, even for a little while.

(Though, to be fair, it’s sometimes hard to forget certain things knowing how much these guys get paid to play a game).

The Phillies, again, should be one of the favorites. Though teams such as the Marlins and Nationals improved in the NL East, most experts have agreed that the Phillies are still the cream of the division. The Braves pretty much remained the same and the Mets, well, are the Mets. With all going on with that team, I’d be willing to bet they won’t be making any runs at the division.

The Phillies should be the favorites in the NL East again this year, but most teams in the division have improved.

The rest of the NL will be interesting.

No more Albert Pujols.

No more Prince Fielder.

And that doesn’t stink. At least for those of us who are fans of the National League (and not fans of the Cardinals or Brewers, respectively).

The Phillies, without a doubt, overpaid to get the best closer on the market in Jonathan Papelbon this offseason. Meanwhile, ex-closer Ryan Madson signed for much cheaper with the Reds.

I’ve disliked Papelbon for many, many years.

The former Red Sox closer has always reminded me of that college jock/frat boy who never grew up after leaving college. I don’t like some of his antics and likely never will.

But…

I had told a friend the day the Phils signed him — if any team can humble Papelbon, I think the Phils could be it. They have a very focused group and with people like Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and the such, it’s going to be hard to be a pompus idiot. So, hopefully, he’ll realize it’s time to grow up a little. There’s no doubting what he can do on the mound.

The Phils also had some changes that needed to be made.

Raul Ibanez had his contract run out and wasn’t re-signed. That’s too bad because I really wanted to see him win a championship with the Phils. He’s a class act and I’ll miss him. I know he was up and down during his tenure, but he came through with some big hits in key situations. That leaves left field as a question mark.

Ryan Howard was seriously injured during his last at-bat of the playoffs (the final out of the Phillies season) and isn’t expected to play until like May.

The Phils have brought back a fan favorite in Jim Thome as some power off the bench and an occasional first base option. There’s new faces in Ty Wiggington and Laynce Nix. There’s a minor league contract to Juan Pierre, which could be very interesting. Speed off the bench and the ability to put the ball in play. The bullpen is WAY overcrowded.

And J-Roll is back.

There’s questions. There’s hope. There’s a full season. I’m excited.

This is the time of the year when everyone is tied. Every team has hope. Every team has a chance. It’s not September, it’s February. Injuries can ruin a team. Rookies can make a splash and be a huge impact. Teams not expected to contend can pull off a wild move and become front-runners. A few mishaps can take a top contender and put them back to the middle of the pack.

Anything can happen.

And it’s such a wonderful time! Go Phils!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook by clicking the button on the right side of the page!

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