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Coach Alesse gets "Photo of the Week" at LISPN
Okay, so I have to toot my own horn once in awhile. Over the last 25 years or so, I have had the pleasure to play baseball (not well, but I played), teach baseball, coach baseball, report baseball, score baseball, announce baseball, and now... photograph baseball. As a recent hobby, sports photography has afforded me the opportunity to literally view it from a different angle and I have to come to enjoy youth sports even more through the eyes of a photographer. Over the last year or so, I have had the pleasure to photograph a variety of many sports at different levels, each with it's own unique flavor and innocence. But the photos all have one thing in common and it serves to remind us all that... SPORTS IS FUN! Just this week, I'm proud to report that one of my photos from a recent shoot has been named, "Photo of the Week" at www.lispn.com . Be sure to check it out! Shooting the little dudes was a new experience, but it was by far, my most favorite shoot this season. Thought I'd share a few more from this shoot. Hope it puts a smile on your face like it did with me! |
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Start with this little girl. Nothing matches here. Mom wanted the team jersey top. She wanted the butterfly shirt and the John Lennon glasses. At least she has the hat. 
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Look at the size of this kid's helmet! I can't figure out if the helmet is THAT big or whether his head is THAT small. Anyway... looks like he's having a blast! 
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I have been trying to get my infield to do this. You gotta get your butt low and keep your glove down! This kid's got the ticket! 
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A little attitude in this game never hurts! 
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One thing that all these t-ballers have in common is that they can't wait to take off their helmets. They are so uncomfortable! 
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And they also like to slide for no reason... C'mon, admit it. It's fun! 
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Not to mention fielding grounders when there is no ball in sight! 
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We can learn a lot from this little dude. Notice how he keeps the barrel UP and the knob DOWN. That's the recipe for hard grounders and line drives! 
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Coaches Are Great! 
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What did I do wrong? I got on base, didn't I? 
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I hit the ball THIS far!!! 
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I dig this little dude's Jerry beads. 
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Ughh... this dang helmet again! Apparently, "One Size Fits All"... DOESN'T 
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May you find the inner peace you seek NMS players! 
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Spadafino Caps a 6-Run Fifth With 2-Run Blast
 Seventh grader, Peter Spadafino made up for a throwing error in the top of the fifth inning by crushing a 3-2 fastball deep into the centerfield gap in the bottom of the fifth for a 2-Run HR. The shot capped a 6-run inning for the NMS team as they came from behind to defeat Longwood Gold, 9-5. Contributing offensively were 8th graders, John Schmid (3-3, 2B, 3 RBI), Adam Binder (2-2, 2B, RBI), Ryan Kopiske (2-2, 2B, RS), Ben Lynn (1-1, 3B), and Andrew Palladino, who layed down a perfect RBI bunt single in the fifth inning with runners on second and third to keep the inning alive. Contributing defensively were Jay Mulderig, Preparation V, and Brawnny who all played solid up the middle throughout the game. Kop Rock was awesome as our starting pitcher, spotting and excellent fastball and kept hitters off-stride with his breaking pitches. Adam Binder, despite giving up a bases loaded triple in the fifth inning, dominated hitters with a superb fastball. Our seventh graders were equally impressive. Besides Spadafino, Ryan Messina, Matt Gavin, and Andrew Castello each had hits, making this victory today a true team effort.
Without a doubt, this was by far our best game of the season. Everyone contributed equally and we made things happen with our energy and team unity. It was a great thing to watch and I'm proud of how "WE" came together after our "hats off" discussion before the game started. You guys really made the decision of how you wanted to play, and after a lack luster performance on Wednesday, everyone bounced back nicely. Besides playing and behaving as a team, here were some other keys to the successful outcome... Walks... only 2. And our pitchers were constantly pitching ahead in the count. 
Errors... only 1. Stolen Bases... We had three stolen bases that led to two runs, while the Wood of Longness decided it was in their best interest to stay put after seeing Shmitty throw down to second during inning warmup. Putting the ball in play...When you put the ball in play, you force the defense to make mistakes. Center/Right Center...We didn't try to hit around everything, let the ball get deep in the box and took the ball up the middle and the other way. And Finally... we got the breaks and the ball bounced our way. But, isn't it amazing how things magically seem to go your way when we play like a team and play with energy and enthusiasm? Amazing, isn't it? (Sorry, I had to end with that recurring motif from the last blog). Photos courtesy of Pam Dworetz | BOXSCORE | RESPOND TO THIS BLOG | NMS Suffers Dissappointing Loss to Sequoya Gold After playing reasonably strong baseball and going toe-to-toe with a strong Sequoya team for five innings, the wheels came off in the sixth inning and we were never able to recover from that point on. True... the balls didn't bounce our way and we didn't get the breaks, but isn't it just amazing how things seem to magically work out for the opposing team when they play like a team and talk it up the way that they did? Just amazing how that worked out that way, isn't it fellas? Are you getting it yet? I have resigned to the fact that I cannot make this team something that they are not. I can't play the game for you. Last year, we NEVER had to worry about energy level and team chatter. We never had to worry about it because we had DiBernardo and everyone pretty much followed his lead. Good, bad, or indifferent, that kid got the team pumped no matter what kind of a game he was having. I have tried to take his place, but I realized tonight that I can't. I'm not DiBo and I just wind up sounding like a nagging parent still waiting for his kid to clean his room after reminding him for the 12th time. In order to motivate, there has to be a motivatee and if a team is not receptive towards it, then I have to look back at the decisions I have made in selecting the team and where I went wrong. I don't care about talent level. I want kids that will go through brick walls for this team and love every aspect of the game. It takes no talent to do that. None. Zero. Nada. But it does take character. It requires taking a long hard look at ourselves and deciding who we are as a team. Please re-read the opening day handout titled, "Who WE Are", because WE are getting away from that all of a sudden. There is just too much ME thinking the last couple of games. Why am "I" not playing. Why am "I" not hitting... blah, blah, blah. Let me tell you something fellas...The only person on this team that gets exempted from ME thinking is ME. Because IM thinking and working for US. I literally put my personal life on hold when we are in-season. My whole MO revolves around you... and US. And so tonight, this blog finds me saddened. Sad because I thought that I was getting that through to you and apparently I am failing in that regard. I dunno. I have to take some responsibility in shaping who WE are and who WE have become as of late. When we are winning... everything is fine and dandy, but when we are losing... well, true character rears it's ugly head. And it has been real ugly this last couple of games. I'm not going to make you something that you are not. No more nagging on my part...WE have to decide if we want our rooms clean or if it's "passable" the way it is. We have to decide if it's okay that the bed isn't made; that's okay if the clothes aren't picked up; that it doesn't matter what our parents say about our rooms because it's really all about "ME" and what "I" think... We have to decide what kind of team WE want to be. I can't make that decision for us anymore. Now, I could be DEAD WRONG about everything I have said in this blog. All I can say to that is...you have about four games left to prove me wrong. ... Coach NMS Ties Sag Red 4-4, 7's Step Up  Despite missing some key players, the NMS baseball team handled themselves well in tying Sagamore Red, 4-4. Filling in for ailing shortstop Vinny Bruening, Andrew Castello went 2-2 with an RBI and played excellent defense. Ben Lynn, filling in for Dom Mangiaracina, did an admirable job at first base and played sharp defense. John Schmid, once again had a key 2-RBI hit in the second inning.
Starting pitcher, Randy DiLorenzo had to work his way out of jams just about every inning, but wound up pitching 4 + solid innings, giving up four runs on just two hits. Reliever, Matt Ciccarelli came it to relieve DiLo in the middle of the fourth inning and kept the Sag team hitless, striking out five batters across two innings. I really don't have too much to say about this game. I thought our efforts were noteworthy and I thought that our 7's and rookies stepped up nicely. As mentioned, Castello did a fine job at short and contributed positively in the leadoff spot. Ryan Messina and Nicky Malena also did a nice job on defense. I have to walk away from this game with a smile on my face because we somehow managed to get 20 players into this game and still walked away with our heads held up high. This is true team spirit and that's what it's all about. There were few, if any negatives to dwell on. The field was really strange and I felt like we were playing in slow motion in a big bowl of mashed potatoes throughout the afternoon... a definite change of pace from our incredibly "fast" infield back home. I kept asking myself how one field in the Sachem School District can be so good, while this one inevitably seems to be put out to stud. But, that's another story... This game officially started the second half of the season. This second half always goes so fast so let's enjoy our remaining time together. Game notes or shout-outs or whatever... After our photoshoot tomorrow, the team is invited to Mama Porter's house of pasta. This has been confirmed by Papa Porter. Don't know if Coach Hess or myself will attend this or not. Personally, I will be glued to News 12 later in the evening to see if our budget passes or not. This is for our team captains, so if you are not a team captain, don't read this..."It's hard to tell the character of a person when he's winning, but it's easy to tell the character of a person when he's losing." Please think long and hard on this. I need you to be everything you can be. Photos courtesy of Pam Dworetz | BOXSCORE | RESPOND TO THIS BLOG | NMS Scores Four Runs in the 7th to Tie  Friday, May 13th : Spooky game. The NMS squad staged a two out rally and fought their way back from a 7-3 deficit in the bottom of the 7th inning to score four runs and tie Samoset Red 7-7. Adam Binder's season debut on the hill was noteworthy. He pitched five strong innings giving up only one earned run and helped his own cause by going 4-4 at the plate with a double and 2-RBI's.
 In keeping with Friday, the 13th, The Samoset pitcher mystified most of our hitters throughout the game, surrendering just three runs during the first six innings. Samoset finally opened up to a 7-3 lead in the 7th inning, scoring four times, but the NMS team were not going down quietly. Pinch hitter, Ben Lynn led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a clutch hit down the third baseline. Preparation V followed with a double to left, and after an out by Tom Frawley and an RBI out by John Schmid, Dominic Mangiaracina kept the inning alive with a an RBI single to right. Binder followed with a single to center, Ryan Kopiske walked, and Brady LaRuffa who had struggled against the crafty Samoset lefty hit a clutch 2-RBI double off the Samoset relief pitcher to tie the game.
I thought you guys were great today. Lots of energy and once again, your enthusiasm proved to be the mental edge in the 7th. Hopefully, you are beginning to see how much of an impact your energy has on the outcome of the game. We have now experienced several adverse situations in our season that we have been able to overcome... come from behind situations, funky pitchers, 7th inning rallies. This only makes us better and stronger.  No rest for the weary... we play again on Monday and again on Wednesday and Friday. The second half of the season is always met with some ambivolence by me personally. The second half goes so quickly and the time is coming where I will miss these experiences that we have shared together. The first week of June and the end of the school year quickly approaches, so let's cherish every moment we have left together.
Game notes or shout-outs or whatever... Don't forget that we finally have photo ops on Tuesday. Be sure to have your uni's and game faces on Tuesday. I have your money and I haven't spent it yet. If the guy doesn't show on Tuesday, I'm heading down to AC. Mike Porter has graciously opened up his house for 27 kids without getting parental permission for a pasta party on Tuesday night after practice. More to come... After going all red in the first half of the season, we go all gold during the second half of the season. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, check the game schedule Maybe I was hearing things, but I could swear that somewhere in the middle of the game, someone on the bench started singing, "Superstitious" by Stevie Wonder. Probably the same person who stepped on my clipboard earlier in the season. If you own up to both, all we be forgotten. I love Stevie. Rock... that kid hit one heck of a foul ball bomb, didn't he? Base plugs. I hate them. Blass, Birbs, and Lads... welcome to the official jersey club. Doms... AMAZING!  Adam... You and I waited for this moment since game one. You rose to the occassion. Keep it up, bud.
Finally, thanks to Coach Chandler for coming down today. You have to understand something guys... coaches are bred. You are born into a family of coaching. When you coach, you give up a large chunk of your of your personal life, especially when you are in-season. With all that is going on in Coach Chandler's life right now, one of his priorities still remains with the game of baseball and the baseball players in Smithtown. Personally, I appreciate his time, dedication, and passion. I couldn't have made it through this season with his support and I thank him whole-heartedly. Photos courtesy of Pam Dworetz | BOXSCORE | RESPOND TO THIS BLOG | From Penthouse, to Outhouse, and Back to Penthouse Again  Tuesday, May 10th : Despite a rocky performance by starting pitcher, John Schmid, the NMS Bulls team fought their way back from a 7-5 deficit to defeat Sequoya Red, 16-7 on Tuesday. After some prodding, the NMS bats proved deadly once again. Shmitty went 3-4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI's, Dom Mangiarcina went 3-5 with a double, 3 RBI, and 3 runs scored, Rock Kopiske went 2-3 with a double and 3 RBI, Tom Frawley had a clutch 2-RBI hit, Adam Binder went 2-3 with an RBI, and the Preparation of V went 2-4 with 2 RBI. All in all, NMS pounded out 15 hits and improved to a 4-1 season record.
But, it wasn't easy. This game was a tale of two houses. We came out strong scoring five in the first inning and figured that we soar to an easy victory. We were livin' in the penthouse and thought we were kings. This, however, was not the case. The Sequoya team quickly countered with two runs in the bottom of the first and while we sat around pounding our chests and drinking the nectar of the gods, they chipped away in the third and fourth innings. Some shotty play, mental errors, and overall lack luster performance quickly found us behind 7-5 before we knew what hit us. After starting the season 3-0, we lost our first game last week and were watching this one evaporate before our very eyes. We were entering the outhouse and something had to be done. And quick.
Now, I'm not a yeller. Ask Dawg, ask Walling's little bro, ask anyone in my class. I simply don't yell and holler no matter what. It's really not my style. But when you carry a passion for the game of baseball onto the field for 20 years, each and every day, a coach needs to find the right chemical formula to get his team to play hard. For that moment in time though, I couldn't care less about motivation, how to get our attitudes to change, or how to find the right words for the right players. All I could see was a talented team getting manhandled and outplayed by a team that was not as good. We were a penthouse team playing in the outhouse and for a brief moment, I totally lost it and couldn't care less who was around to hear it.  But it worked. All of a sudden, we were back into the game again, injecting energy into every pitch that was thrown and for a moment there, I sat back and enjoyed it. We scored 11 runs in the last two innings and were back in the penthouse once again. Yes... this is what I have been trying to get for five games.
I forgot where I heard this line, but it's appropriate for this blog... Do you know why the NY Yankees have as many championships as they do? It's because their opponents can't take their eyes off the pinstripes. I love that line. The game is psychological. If you can get a psychological edge, it makes your talent; your "pinstripes" if you will, glow that much more. 
Hopefully we all learned from this. Know now, that you can come from behind. Know now, that energy and psychology is truly the 10th player on the field. And know now, that as we continue to grow as a team... that you can overcome any adverse situation whether it be on the ballfield or not. Photos courtesy of Pam Dworetz | BOXSCORE | RESPOND TO THIS BLOG | Too Little, Too Late Friday, May 7th : The cliche has been used so many times and it's kind of a lame headline, I know. But it pretty much sums this game up. At best, I hope this first loss humbles us a bit and will put us through the test to see how we come back in the next game. I won't blog about the negatives here. No sense in having to read about it all of over again and I would hope that discussing our shortcomings are better served in our face-to-face "hats off" meetings. We need to work on some things and that's that. I'd rather blog about the positives in this first third of our season. It's more fun to write about and since other people tend to read these blogs, might as well make the most of it and let them know who we really are. So, here they are in no specific order... Shmitty has had an unbelievable start, going 12-14 with a pair of HR's and 9 RBI's. Forgot who it was who asked, "What does sit back and mash mean?" Well... look at Shmitty. He sits and mashes. He just needs to know that it's okay not to be perfect all the time. Preparation V continues to be the driving force behind our defense and baserunning. Remember... you're not just playing for yourself anymore... you're playing for 27. Your actions after the play speak just as much as the play itself. Jay Mulderig has one of the best work ethics on the team. I knew after day one at winter camp last year. Don't ever doubt the respect I have for you as a person. Doms continues to get it done with clutch hitting and outstanding glovework at first. He needs to learn not to hit his coach in the head with a baseball bat. Next time, it might hurt. Ben Lynn is an outstanding backup behind Doms and in getting to know him over the first third of the season, I can't say enough about his integrity and character. I'm honored to have him on our team. Niko worked on a couple of things with his swing at last practice and it paid huge divendends today. Tom Frawley continues to be an outstanding catcher and completes the best crew of catchers I have ever had the pleasure to coach. I saw him in one game with the 7's last year and I was totally floored by his abilities. Brawnny is fundamentally smooth and puts his heart and soul into the game. He carries himself on the team as well as he did in my classroom on a daily basis last year. Peter Spadafino is learning his way on a 90 foot diamond and I have no doubt that he will be an integral part of the team over the next two years. The same can be said for seventh graders, Andrew Castello and Ryan Messina who have a wealth of athletic talent. Mike Porter keeps getting smoother and smoother at third base and is one of the nicest kids I have ever coached. After having Chick in class for nine long months, I'm enjoying every moment of having him on the team and he is proving that he is the "real deal". Don't let me down though. I have made a huge emotional investment in you and I'm looking to get paid this season. Brady LaRuffa will go through a brick wall for this team. Matt Gavin is our pitcher and firstbaseman of the future. Ryan Kopiske came back after a tough outing and put up zeros against a tough Old Field team. Adam Binder is out to prove that anyone that had any doubt about his dedication to the game was WRONG. Keep putting the pedal to the metal Adam. Alex Laudani is just starting to get his feet wet and I have no doubt that he will be able to play any position on this team and do it well. Randy DiLorenzo... SEE the blog on April 21st. I really meant it. Andrew Palladino... the door is open. YOU have to make the choice whether you want in. To all the rookies who haven't had the opportunity to play yet... YOU WILL. You told me who you were by showing up on the first day of practice. And finally, Alex Dworetz... what can I say about Alex. Hands down, the most improved player over the last two years which is a direct product of loving every aspect of the game of baseball and working his tail off to get the opportunity to play. Have a great weekend and stay dry. Stats will be available on Sunday evening. You'll need your username and password to access them and you'll need to kiss your mom before you can log on. Don't laugh. I have written a code for that. No kiss... no entry! I'm going to finish on a personal note, that I'm proud to be a part of. Tomorrow (Saturday) morning, two of my former players, 12th graders, Joe Sanfilippo and Tim Coglietta are receiving the Ciminiello Award and will receive a scholarship to the college of their choice in the name of Dr. Ciminiello. Joe and Tim played for me four years ago and had the class and character that I see out of many of you today. I am honored to be invited by the Sanfilippo family. Joe, Tim and all the players that I have had the pleasure of coaching over the years have truly impacted my life in one way or another. YOU are the reason why I coach. | BOXSCORE | RESPOND TO THIS BLOG | Chick Near Perfect in Stellar Debut 
Wednesday, May 5th : After a nearly two week layoff, the Nesaquake Bulls team played some of their finest baseball thus far, edging out a tough Seneca Red team, 6-5 and improving to a perfect 3-0 season start. Spotting a knee-high fastball, seventh grade lefty, Matt Ciccarelli held the Seneca team to one hit and a run across three innings.
The NMS team played superb defense throughout the game committing only one error, and team captain, John Schmid continued his unbelievable offensive run, pounding out three more hits going 10-11 to start the season. In reality though, the success of this game came down to our aggressive baserunning which we practiced throughout the week. What looked to be a blowout in the early innings wound up being a close, well fought out ballgame that was won on the basepaths. We did exactly what we practiced earlier this week, taking aggressive leads, reading the pitcher's moves to first (or lack of) and stealing at will off of a very good catcher. One of the key elements that I had preached this week to our pitchers is to NOT be afraid to throw to first. It disrupts the baserunner's timing and gives them another thing to think about. Right from the first inning, it was clear that the Seneca pitcher wasn't going to throw to first no matter how big our lead. We were quick to expose and capitlize on this weakness and tore it up on the basepaths. Once at second, they were practically giving us third base. This is one of those situations where the first/third out at third doesn't apply. If they are going to gift wrap third base for us, we will kindly oblige. Once again, kudos to John Schmid for noticing this and reading the "head nod" from Coach Alesse for approval. "Yes, take it!" Although our bats were somewhat quiet compared to the first two games, we still managed to string together some timely hits. Alex Dworetz, our best contact hitter, finally found some holes and went 2-2 with an RBI. Mike Porter made some great defensive plays at third and got his first hit of the season. Dom Mangiaracina, went 2-2 with an RBI, Tom Frawley contributed with a a timely hit, and Shmitty finished the day going 3-3. But listen, I have to really make light of something special here that maybe you might have noticed or maybe not. What proved to be the winning run was scored by Vinny Breuning who scored from second on a routine grounder. Once he rounded third, he never stopped and knew that the Seneca defense had to make a perfect play in order to get him out. Even when V has what he might consider an "off day", he continues to do the little things to help the team win. 
Some concluding observations...
Uhmm... Dom isn't really that slow. He looks kinda slothy, but he really isn't. I have picked on him all year mainly because I like picking on him due to the fact that it takes me a long time to spell his last name, but he runs the bases well and goes all out on everything he does. Plus, he really isn't as slow as I portray.
I really think Palladino does a good job digging. He is a champion digger. If there is anything that needs unearthed in your yard... call Palladino. He can dig it out for you. He will be cleared to play again on Friday, so we will miss his digging abilities. That little water puddle by the entrance to the field at Seneca was annoying and it seemed to get bigger throughout the game. Didn't like the puddle. Puddles- BAD. Clouds... GOOD. On last names... I think I have "Mangiaracina" down okay when it comes to spelling, but forget about Blaszczyk. I can't spell it without looking. I'll just have to call him Blass and leave it at that. How did it feel moving from a hard concrete infield to a plush carpet? Nice, huh? Finally... what was up with the bladder problems today? It was worse than my seventh period class. Add it to the list for away games... dress, get equipment, pee. In that order. K, nuff said. It's almost 2 AM, and I'm a little tired. See y'all tomorrow on the concrete. | BOXSCORE | | Respond to this blog | NMS 8's Practice With JV's Saturday, April 23rd: I want to thank all of you for coming out on Saturday to practice with the JV's, despite the adverse weather conditions. But, truthfully, adversity is really what this blog is about. I have a good friend that coaches baseball at the varsity level in Pennsylvania who comments, "In order to prepare your team to be a true state champion, you have to constantly expose them and prepare them for adverse and hostile situations." As ballplayers, you have to learn how to play under these challenging situations which include, poor weather, darkness, ratty fields, coldness, wind, unruly fans, long bus rides, poor umpiring, poor sportmanship of opposing players... just about anything. How we handle ourselves under less than favorable situations this year will define who we are as a team. Do we play up to adversity or fold like a wet newspaper? Just something to think about... As we progress through the season, I would like to incorporate more and more of the JV workout into the 7th and 8th grade practice program. Many thanks to Coach Chandler for inviting us out today and we hope to do it again sometime this season. DiLo Celebrates 14th Birthday and 1st Win! Thursday, April 21st: Spotting a superb knee-high fastball, Randy DiLorenzo went the distance against Selden MS en route  to a 17-7 victory. Hovering around 80 pitches by the end of the fourth inning, DiLorenzo replied at the notion of being relieved by replying, "Coach, I feel great... I want to keep going." This "give me the ball" attitude is to be admired. It's called, "moxy" and only the select few that call themselves ballplayers have it.
The NMS offense continue to pound the ball to all fields. After an 18-run performance the other day, the team followed with 13 more hits and 17 more runs. I have every bit of confidence that everyone, including all our 7th graders have the capability of putting the ball in play this year. That is a great luxury to have. The turning point of this game occurred in the third inning, when after some costly errors tied the game at 7, the NMS fought their way back scoring 10 runs and took their opponents out of the game by some aggressive baserunning. Leading the NMS offense were Vinny Breuning (2-3, 2B, RBI), John Schmid (3-4, HR, 3 RBI), Niko Colon (2-3, 3B, 2 RBI), Tom Frawley (2-2, RBI, 2 RS), and Ryan Kopiske (1-2, 3B, RBI, 2 RS) A special shout-out goes to pinch-hitter, Matt Gavin who solidified our gravy inning with a 8-pitch gutsy at bat performance. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, "gravy inning", I will give you a brief explanation. When you are up against the 2-hour game time limit rule and the home team is due to bat with a lead, that half is known as the gravy inning. The rule simply states that no inning shall start after two hours has passed. With five minutes left to play and due to bat, that inning has the potential to be the gravy inning. As long as we don't have a three up, three down, 9 pitch inning, there is no way that the visiting team can come to the plate to bat. Therefore, if the home team's at bat exceeds the remaining time in the two-hour window, all runs scored become "gravy". Gavin's at bat, put us over the time limit and helped solidify the win. Now, I'm not advocating that we should be playing against the clock, but moreso, it helps reinforce our overall philosophy... if we play hard, have quality at bats, and do the "little things"... the scoreboard takes care of itself. So, hats off to Gavin for doing the little things!  Okay, now onto more important stuff. Someone stepped on my metal clipboard before the game started. Before I go any further, I must stress the importance of my metal clipboard. It's everything! My whole life is in that clipboard once baseball season starts. Palm pilot, lineups, game notes, boring speeches, tomorrow's ELA quiz, phone numbers. EVERYTHING! Well... someone stepped on it leaving two perfectly cylindrical cleat marks on the left side. I have consulted with Mrs. Kopiske and she has given me the name of a reputable forensic scientist in law enforcement who will be investigating the case. He will be taking cleat samples of all players over the next week in hopes to match the perfect imprint left on my clipboard with the violating perpetrator. If it's not you... you have nothing to fret about. But, if it is, you have been forwarned. You can run... but you can't hide.
Game notes... this is the stuff you might find interesting or maybe not. Game note #1 deals with Selden history. DiLo remembers this team from last year. Okay, here's the story on the Seldenites. Last year, we were involved in a tight well-played game with the Selden team. Down by a run or two, we started to stage a comeback in the late innings. There was a questionable call and the Selden coach merely questioned the umpire's call. He was promptly ejected from the game and we won by forfeit. The next day, I wrote a letter to the Athletic Director in Selden claiming that the ejection was totally unjustified and how it ruined the game for 18 players from the Selden team. It was not a good situation.  The Selden coach was cool. He was professional. He was a good coach. The ejection ruined the day for a bunch of good kids that played the game with character. So, the moral of the story is this... always respect your opponents because they are good kids like yourselves and always do what's right. Don't take the path of least resistance. Do the right thing.
Game note #2 is a lot shorter... Frawley watches the Brady Bunch. I have no idea if this is significant or important but it's worth mentioning. Frawley likes the Brady Bunch. Game note #3 has nothing to do with anything other than to bring you back to the headline... DiLo was great. It was his birthday and he deserved the game ball today. I consider myself a good judge of character and DiLo impressed me from the first day I met him in sixth grade in Mrs. Sternbach's class. The hardest part of this job is saying good-bye to kids that I have known since sixth grade. As for DiLo... I'm going to enjoy every moment I have left while he is a member of this team. Happy Birthday Randy! | BOXSCORE | NMS Pounds Out 15 Hits Including 3 HR's for Opening Day Victory 
Tuesday, April 19th: As we quickly learned, the ground can be our best friend and our biggest nightmare. We did what we had to do today. We put the ball on the ground, hit to all fields, and played tight defense in the outfield. Schmiddy came up big in this game, going 4-4, with a HR, two triples, a double, and 6 RBI's. He was helped by Dominic Mangiaracina and Niko Colon who each had 3-Run HR's, Ryan Kopiske (2-2, 2 RBI's), Ben Lynn (1-1, RBI), Tom Frawley (1-3, 3 RBI's), and Vinny Breuning, who jump started our offense in the leadoff spot.
It's nice to have pants. Pants are nice to have. I like pants. Despite the setbacks that we have had to start the season, somehow we put it all together today. Base sleeves were found, lines were chalked, Vinny looked nice in school. We put it all together. Pants will do that. Pants keep us together. The weather was nice too. I like nice weather. Lots of happy cumulus clouds means lots of hits, and apparently balls that roll forever. I think Alex is still chasing that one bomb that the Woodsy dude hit. But, really, the outfield held us together. The outfielders and pants. They run like deer, cut off the ball in the gap despite that gap being in the next town, made like three and four piggyback throws and got the ball back in before the Woodsies got a chance to circle the bases twice. Nice job guys! Our catchers, DiLo and Frawley did a nice job. There were no stolen bases on us, no wild pitches, and no passed balls. Their pants must fit nice. But in the end, the day really belonged to our offense. I mean after the second HR, circling the bases almost became routine. Oh, big deal, another HR... big whoop. We have to continue to pound the ball the other way, hit line drives and hard grounders, and limit strikeouts. If we do that... the scoreboard will take care of itself. What we need to work on... Okay, now that everyone has had their pat on the back. Here is what we need to work on. As I stressed, 27 players are a lot of players. It's a lot of pants to fill. The success of our season will solely lie on how well 27 players come together. Now, I'm not saying that we have to hold hands the entire game. But, we do need to stay together when we are not playing, tell our friends to sit themselves in the bleachers and enjoy the game. Yes, 27 will be tough to cram onto the bench, but we HAVE to do this. I was proud of the determination we put forth today and I like how everyone picked each other up. We broke with tradition by winning our opening game. It's the first time it has happened since I have been coaching in Smithtown. Let's keep rolling! | BOXSCORE | |
It was the best of times... it was the BEST of times. In a season, that could very well be my last for awhile pending the outcome of the budget, you all have left a lasting impression on me... one that I will never forget. Talk about finishing a season on a high note.
In our final game of the regular season, this was the day to put our team of the future onto the field to see what they can do. With a starting lineup that featured all but one seventh grader against Sagamore Gold, the team fought their way through some shotty defense with some aggressive baserunning and timely hitting. Future starting pitcher, Justin Blaszczyk, affectionately known as "Blass" because I can't spell his last name did an excellent job at keeping his pitches low in the strikezone and pitching consistent strikes. He gave up four earned runs across four innings and kept us in the game.
choice, and Ben Lynn hit a clutch double to right scoring Prep and Binder. Nico Colon followed with a double putting runners on second and third and after Lynn was thrown out at the plate on a fielder's choice, Colon successfully stole home for the final run of the inning.
Adam Binder spotted an excellent fastball in limiting a tough Seneca team to just one run for a complete game victory. For Binder, he completes the regular season with a perfect 2-0 record and a team leading 1.87 ERA.