The 10u team fought valiantly all day Sunday to try to stay alive after a loss in the opener Saturday night. After beating Matthewson McCarthy 4-3, the "green machine" played a brilliant game coming back to nearly defeat Lou Gehrig. In seven innings. After falling behind 5-0 on a first inning debacle, the boys fought back and rallied. Once down, 8-0, the rally br ought us back to a tie game before finally losing 10-9 in the seventh. What a game.
The team is very disappointed, but the excitement experienced on Sunday will be something that will be remembered for a long time.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
North Buffalo loses opener, 13-5
Lou Gehrig got off to a string start and easily defeated the North Buffalo squad at Westwood Park. The North Buffalo team now faces Matthewson McCarthy in their single elimination round game.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Tournament Tune Up Works Out
In an exhibition under the lights at Shoshone, the North Buffalo team beat Grand Island 2-0 in a pre-tournament warmup before this weekend's big district tournament. Highlights included strong pitching from the NB pitchers and some solid fielding. Mario made a fine catch in left field to squelch an early GI drive, and Gabe laid down a fine bunt to score a security run. Great job boys!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Official Babe Ruth Photo 2011
Obviously the photo cannot be complete without Coach Eric, but that pic is forthcoming, and I will print copies for all. Thanks, Bob
Ready for the Districts
The Hertel North Park 10u team is ready to go. Our first game is Friday night at Westwood Park in Lancaster. We face the winner of the Matthewson McCarthy versus Lou Gehrig game.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Green Machine Beat Central Niagara, 13-0
In a great display of pitching, defense, and hitting, the Green Machine played a great all around game that found them winning by a large margin over Central Niagara. Several home runs paced the offense that was also fueled by good base running and timely bunts and singles. Great game, and a good precursor to next weekend's District Tournament.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Great tips on outfield play
Outfield can be a difficult position for kids to play well for a number of reasons but if you can get your kids to accomplish the next 3 items, you'll see your outfielders play improve throughout the season.
"Expect the ball to be hit to me on every pitch". This basically means that they need to be ready and expect the ball. Easier said than done! Often kids who play in the outfield get bored because they may not get many balls hit to them, especially if there is a good pitcher on the mound. So how do you keep them in the game and ready?
Help them develop a pre-pitch routine that involves movement. As the pitcher starts his motion, they should be moving and getting into a position where they are ready to move as the ball crosses the plate.
Communication. Get your outfielders talking to each other. They should be saying how many outs, what's the count. Where to throw the ball on a base hit. Where to throw it on a fly ball.
Empower them and expect them to adjust where they play based on the hitter. How many times does a big hitter step up to the plate and the coaches are yelling to the outfield to get back or a bottom of the order hitter comes up and you move them in. Try your best to get them to make those adjustments. If you expect them to adjust based on the pitcher, where the opposing team is in the lineup, what the batter did last time up, then your are forcing them to focus and think. It keeps them in the game and gets them thinking about where the ball would most likely be hit by each batter.
Get Behind the Ball! This is true on fly balls as well as ground balls hit into the outfield. Keeping the ball in front of you is an important part of playing outfield effectively. On a fly ball hit directly to a player work with them on trying to catch it moving forward. This will not only help them in not having a fly ball drop behind them, it also helps them setup to make a good throw back to the infield. On a ball hit to the side try to get your players to circle the ball rather than taking a direct path. This will help prevent balls from making it to the fence because the outfielder misjudged the speed of the ball and took the wrong angle.
Backup Everything - Not only will this save your team from giving up extra bases on overthrows, it will be another thing to keep your outfielders moving and in the game. Almost every play in a game where the ball doesn't go to the outfield, can be backed up by the outfield. Ground ball to third, left fielder is backing up third in case the ball gets by him, right fielder should backup the throw to first, center fielder can move toward second in case there is an error and the runner tries to advance to second. If you want this to work you really need to set the expectation and then give a lot of praise for the kids that hustle and meet that expectation.
Playing outfield can be difficult for kids and difficult for a coach to keep kids involved. Hopefully you can use these tips and try to motivate your outfielders to be active and engaged throughout the game.
Don Edlin
QCBaseball.com
"Expect the ball to be hit to me on every pitch". This basically means that they need to be ready and expect the ball. Easier said than done! Often kids who play in the outfield get bored because they may not get many balls hit to them, especially if there is a good pitcher on the mound. So how do you keep them in the game and ready?
Help them develop a pre-pitch routine that involves movement. As the pitcher starts his motion, they should be moving and getting into a position where they are ready to move as the ball crosses the plate.
Communication. Get your outfielders talking to each other. They should be saying how many outs, what's the count. Where to throw the ball on a base hit. Where to throw it on a fly ball.
Empower them and expect them to adjust where they play based on the hitter. How many times does a big hitter step up to the plate and the coaches are yelling to the outfield to get back or a bottom of the order hitter comes up and you move them in. Try your best to get them to make those adjustments. If you expect them to adjust based on the pitcher, where the opposing team is in the lineup, what the batter did last time up, then your are forcing them to focus and think. It keeps them in the game and gets them thinking about where the ball would most likely be hit by each batter.
Get Behind the Ball! This is true on fly balls as well as ground balls hit into the outfield. Keeping the ball in front of you is an important part of playing outfield effectively. On a fly ball hit directly to a player work with them on trying to catch it moving forward. This will not only help them in not having a fly ball drop behind them, it also helps them setup to make a good throw back to the infield. On a ball hit to the side try to get your players to circle the ball rather than taking a direct path. This will help prevent balls from making it to the fence because the outfielder misjudged the speed of the ball and took the wrong angle.
Backup Everything - Not only will this save your team from giving up extra bases on overthrows, it will be another thing to keep your outfielders moving and in the game. Almost every play in a game where the ball doesn't go to the outfield, can be backed up by the outfield. Ground ball to third, left fielder is backing up third in case the ball gets by him, right fielder should backup the throw to first, center fielder can move toward second in case there is an error and the runner tries to advance to second. If you want this to work you really need to set the expectation and then give a lot of praise for the kids that hustle and meet that expectation.
Playing outfield can be difficult for kids and difficult for a coach to keep kids involved. Hopefully you can use these tips and try to motivate your outfielders to be active and engaged throughout the game.
Don Edlin
QCBaseball.com
Sunday, June 12, 2011
North Buffalo wins two similar shockers.
The "Green Machine" won two at home today both after falling behind by 6. Both games were 7-1 going into the 5th inning. The first game versus Clarence, the score was 7-1 in the bottom of the sixth. Behind huge hits and two home runs, the boys won 8-7 on good base running by Max F. who forced the error that caused the game winner to cross the plate. Rocco and Griffin each hit home runs.
In the second game versus Lancaster Blue, the boys tied it up in the fifth. With the score 7-7 in the bottom of the sixth, Luis walked and quickly stole second. Robert sacrifice him to third. Connor, in a great at bat went deep into the count before he smashed the ball through the third baseman and the winner scored.
A great day all around. The middle of the lineup was unbelievable at the plate all day.
In the second game versus Lancaster Blue, the boys tied it up in the fifth. With the score 7-7 in the bottom of the sixth, Luis walked and quickly stole second. Robert sacrifice him to third. Connor, in a great at bat went deep into the count before he smashed the ball through the third baseman and the winner scored.
A great day all around. The middle of the lineup was unbelievable at the plate all day.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Stats page is now down
I killed the stats page over concerns expressed from parents. The box scores and book are still available on that site, but the cumulative stats have been removed. I appreciate the open communication, and I hope if there are ever any other issues you will all come seek me out. If you see errors in the box score or game sheet, please do not hesitate to let me know. I can and will fix them ASAP.
Thanks,
Bob
Thanks,
Bob
A-Turf Tournament, Game 4, North Buffalo beats EMW in consolation game
In a game that saw four different pitchers and several new faces in the infield, North Buffalo beat EMW 10-9 in the final tournament game. We were off to a huge lead, and just had enough to hold off a big push at the end. It was a fun game in which many players had outstanding showings at the plate and in the field. The first four innings saw Teddy and Robert hold EMW to no runs and no hits with only one base runner.
A-Turf Tournament, Game3, North Buffalo loses playoff, 3-2 in seven innings
Southern Tier won in dramatic fashion on a walk off steal of home on a passed ball. The game as well played and tightly contested until Southern Tier's lead off hitter blasted a triple to right field in the bottom of the seventh. He then scored on the next pitch which was went to the backstop. What a heartbreaker!
A-Turf Tournament, Game 2, a huge win versus eventual #2 seed, Southern Tier
The North Buffalo team won a heart-stopper 5-4 to beat Southern Tier. This gave us the 5 seed in a tight knit tournament. We would go on to face this team again in the next round.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
A-Turf Tournament, Game 1, North Buffalo loses tough one to Sandlot Stars
Teddy was dominant on his return to the mound and the North Buffalo "Green Machine" played a fine game, but ultimately lost to the Sandlot Stars, 7-3. North Buffalon was down and roared back to a 3-2 lead before a tough rally by Sandlot in the bottom of the 5th put the game out of reach. Several defensive snafus led to a 4 run onslaught that could not be held off. The 7-3 outcome was not an indication of the close game we witnessed on the field.
The pitching and hitting stood out with the NB team proving it can both manufacture runs with the bunt and hit for power as well. The pitching was excellent and on any other day the defense holds up behind it for a better outcome. This is pool play, so we did not go deep into our rotation. The next rounds will be a different story.
The pitching and hitting stood out with the NB team proving it can both manufacture runs with the bunt and hit for power as well. The pitching was excellent and on any other day the defense holds up behind it for a better outcome. This is pool play, so we did not go deep into our rotation. The next rounds will be a different story.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Words to live by...
Ten Commandments for Success in Baseball
by Joe McCarthy (1949)
1. Nobody ever became a ballplayer by walking after a ball.
2. You will never become a .300 hitter unless you take the bat off your shoulder.
3. An outfielder who throws in back of a runner is locking the barn after the horse is stolen.
4. Keep your head up and you may not have to keep it down.
5. When you start to slide, slide. He who changes his mind may have to change a good leg for a bad one.
6. Do not alibi on bad hops. Anybody can field the good ones.
7. Always run them out. You never can tell.
8. Do not quit.
9. Do not fight too much with the umpires. You cannot expect them to be as perfect as you are.
10. A pitcher who hasn't control hasn't anything.
by Joe McCarthy (1949)
1. Nobody ever became a ballplayer by walking after a ball.
2. You will never become a .300 hitter unless you take the bat off your shoulder.
3. An outfielder who throws in back of a runner is locking the barn after the horse is stolen.
4. Keep your head up and you may not have to keep it down.
5. When you start to slide, slide. He who changes his mind may have to change a good leg for a bad one.
6. Do not alibi on bad hops. Anybody can field the good ones.
7. Always run them out. You never can tell.
8. Do not quit.
9. Do not fight too much with the umpires. You cannot expect them to be as perfect as you are.
10. A pitcher who hasn't control hasn't anything.
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