Parting Notes - Final Cuba Notes -- a great adventure indeed!

Day 7 – Leaving Havana – well getting through the airport in Havana was not a big deal, you do have to pay an airport tax of 25 CUC so you can actually leave the country (very interesting) – our flight ended up being 3.5 hours delayed so this blog is being written in terminal 2 of the Havana airport – I am now very happy that I brought some snacks and various food items since they do not have a restaurant here – just some “Cuban Duty Free” shops with Pringles and cookies of sorts.  I bought some pringles to bring home to the boys and a few other small snacks so they maybe bring them to school to show the Spanish teacher – I am going to bring home some CUC currency as well – some coins.  I think my mom asked me about 4 times to bring a coin home (as that is something she does over the years) – so she has options.  Here are some random thoughts about Cuba – first of all this is a totally strange nation – it is total socialist (well communist) society with pictures of Fidel and Che all over the place (brainwashing…..).  Virtually everyone (was 90%+ in the 80’s now more like 70% in 2012) are employed by the government – all the jobs pay the same (for the most part) and it is equal to about 25 pesos a month (very little) --  now they do get Free Health Care, Free Schooling, Free University/College – but it is VERY poor here.  What is interesting about Cuba – it is a third world country but the interesting part is they had a thriving middle class in the 1940’s and 1950’s – so they have amenities that you don’t see in many “developing nations” – they have decent housing, infrastructure, water/sewer, electricity, etc.  Since 1996 Cuba lifted many tourism rules - so how they make money in Cuba is basically setting up a “black market” for goods and services.  Tourism is a huge boon to the economy and the people here – how it works (in a nutshell) – the Cubans have their regular currency “the peso” – which is the equivalent is $1.00 to 25 pesos – but the tourists cannot use pesos – they have to use CUC (Cuban Convertible Currency) which is about 1 CUC equals about $1.   So essentially the tourists are buying and paying for items at a 25x markup.   Tips are a huge item – beggar’s are around the common areas (tourism – especially in Havana) and then of course they have the “jinetero” – the guy (or in some cases, women) on the street who has a story or is hustling something.  So an American (or any other tourist) giving them a 1 CUC is similar to getting $25…..so it’s a big deal and why not do some hustling if you can get a CUC out of it.    Lots of people playing music, lots of bars, & discos (prostitution is rampant).  The Cubans need a way to survive so they do whatever they can to make a living – the prices for goods in Cuba is outrageous – the government here (controls all the goods) jacks up all the prices, a jar of mayonnaise is 5 CUC – so how does someone making 25 pesos a month even buy things?   So if you ever seen any movies that talk about how good things are here may be embellishing.  The health care is excellent but it is overshadowed by how the country is run and holds all the citizens down because of how the government controls the goods.   Cuba also was hurt by the fall of the Soviet Union (they were communist comrades until then) who used to supply them with oil and other much needed imports (food especially) – so they have a major oil (gas) storage and Cubans pay about $6 per gallon (which was told to me by our tour guide be about $25/gallon in the U.S. – standard of living equivalent) – I was talking to him about the currency and the country – he called it “crazy” – so even the citizens here recognize the problem.  Like one of guys mentioned at the airport – it’s one big con scheme and the whole island is in on it!!   Raul Castro has changed many things in the last few years (like giving citizens to buy property and build houses) and creating more of a free market (sort of), I wouldn’t doubt it seeing Cuba being more “capitalistic” within the next decade.   (sorry for the political/history rant – but just thoughts about the reality here).   

This was an amazing trip – the people of Cuba are wonderful (opportunistic….) and they love baseball.  I went on this trip because of my love for baseball – Cuba and I will always have that in common.   A big shout out to John Gilmore and Baseball International – he does a great job and I highly recommend anyone to attend a trip internationally (and play baseball too) as this year he has a trip to Germany (June) and then to China (in September).   He does not put these trips together for money, Baseball Int’l is a non profit and one of his primary reasons for doing these trips is promote friendly baseball games between the US and the countries they visit.  Equipment is donated to all places they visit as generally outside of the U.S. they do not have access (or the buying power) to get reasonable gear – all in all I gave away a number of items – I received donations of baseball shirts, jerseys, pullovers from Stan Dickman, director of the Twins Fantasy Camp and also struck a deal with Dan Murphy of the VoteTonyO.com organization (he is Tony Oliva’s neighbor in Bloomington, MN who is promoting Oliva’s chance to get into the Baseball Hall of Fame via the veterans’ committee – voting in 2014) and was able to donate and hand out many items – I also gave away both pairs of baseball pants, socks, cleats, many hats, jerseys, sunglasses, batting gloves, batting helmet, and an assortment of band aids/first aid items.   These are all sorely needed there……I think I had about 70 pounds of baggage on the way there and came home with about 40 lbs – so I left about 30 lbs of “stuff” while I was there – it felt good to donate – I hope those items get used in a fruitful way.    Well time to get back to normal life and complaining about traffic, paying for gym memberships, parking spots…….looking forward to seeing the wife and the boys – it was a long week as I got into Minnesota at about 11pm last Friday.

Thanks for reading and following along with my Cuba baseball adventure!

PB

~~ "You can observe a lot just by watching." - Yogi Berra ~~

Cuba - Game Video and some other videos - Last Day in Cuba

Day 6 – We played our last game near the steel mill outside of Havana (about 30 mins) – the field was encased by some real run down homes and obviously real poor area (the goofy part of Cuba is you don't see too much really poor areas).   The goats and chickens were making lots of noises just outside the centerfield fence and down the right field line as well.   I took a lot of video so these game hightlights will be a part of this & minute video via youtube – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2ZqUqFBvh4

A couple other videos:

A video of one my teammates giving a bag of items to the players -- he was explaining to them that the items were for them (not the children):  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJVtooQjYu4

This is a video when we were at a Cuban Rum & Cigar bar -- what you are about to see is a flaming cappuccino -- heats up the Rum, lights it on fire, lifts the hot rum as high as he can and pours it into the cups. The flame follows all the way down.  This was pretty cool to watch -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLZ1xgAFjNk&feature=youtu.be

Known for the music we were entertained by these guys -- pretty good too:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cYcHYv46fg&feature=youtu.be

Our 69 year old pitching phenom -- we went 2-0 for us this week - Lou warming up - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQGJXEoaFjE

One final posting tomorrow (or maybe tuesday) -- I also went back and uploaded a couple pictures in the prior postings.....see prior posting for a bunch of photos!!

Paul

~~ "You can observe a lot just by watching." - Yogi Berra ~~

Pictures ...finally

We went to the stadium to watch a Cuban Professional baseball game

Cienfeugos Aiport

I gave my cleats away

Giveaway Shirts -- Thanks to Stan for this Fantasy Camp shirt (one of many donated items from Stan)

John and Aron putting on eye black (from burnt cork)

Entering in the park for Game 1

Game 1 - stadium

Game 2 - Dugout

Game 2 - postgame (lots of people looking for handouts)

Game 2 - stadium

Matanzas - Game 3

Game 4 - dugout (the sign said "Dogouts" before we entered)

Game 4 - scoreboard

Game 5 - field

Game 5 - pre game picture on field

Game 5

We stopped by Hemingway's apartment in Havana

I gave my Twins Jersey to this guy

Welcome!  (at the airport - we just landed)

On the way to Matanzas

Game 1 - kids on top of the dugout (looking for free stuff from the Americans)

Old police station

Beautiful Backdrop

Old town Havana

Pitching in Matanzas in my VoteTonyO shirt and hat

Game 3 pregame photo

People waiting for arrivals at the airport

Game 3 - Cubans playing pepper

Game 2 - police escort off the field

Breaking Bad is Franchising Gus's chicken restaurants?

Havana - Melia Cohiba Hotel -- the pool area was "ok"

Game 1 - postgame "feeding frenzy"

Game 2 - postgame

I traded jerseys with this guy in Matanzas

Paladar is a restaurant in a home (one of the few private businesses in Cuba)

Game 3 - Cubans put "Veterans of the USA" in chalk in front of our dugout

View from Hotel room in Cienfuegos

~~ "You can observe a lot just by watching." - Yogi Berra ~~

Cuba Adventure Continues

Day 4 – Evening – so Paul and I (my current roommate and a good friend from Twins Fantasy Camp) decided to just go simple on our 2^nd night in Havana so we went to a Palador (which is a restaurant that is inside of a home – we have went to 3 of them and the food is outstanding at all of them) and were recommended to get a meal at Bom Appetit – they serve all sorts of food but they have the best pizza in Havana.  We shared a Hawaiian – which was Ham (or at least that is what they call it) and pineapple.  Now normally I am not a fruit on my pizza sort of guy but this was by far one of the best pizzas I have ever had.  We ran into a couple of teammates who were meeting some “friends” at the place as well – and yada yada yada – they made the team bus in the morning on time.  The more interesting part of the evening was we had about a 15 min cab ride on the way to the restaurant and it cost 10 CUC (Cuban Convertibles) but on the way back I think it took about 7 mins – we were riding in a Russian car – Lada (evidently is rivals such lemons as the American Ford Pinto) and it was like driving back to the Hotel on the autobahn – it was a fun ride – I ask the guy – how much – he says, “OCHO” – I gave him 11 CUC – I guess the Lada was good for a discount and a fun ride.

Day 5 – Havana

We are bussed to an old stadium where the Havana Metropolitans played (the team has since folded) – the country of Cuba has 15 professional baseball teams (might be 16) and they all represent a province.  The guys can only play on the team from the province they were born – that is the only rule.  Baseball is huge in Cuba – simply amazing.  So we were playing a bunch of ex professional ballplayers a couple of them even played on the National teams from the 90’s – to say the least we were overmatched today – I struck out twice and lined out to right field – we played very poor defense along with their good hitting – my guess was the score was 20-1 (or something like that) – we still had a lot of fun.  I gave away most of my uniform today – my pants, shirt, and hat – also I brought additional items to give away and was able to trade for two uniforms (shirts the other guys were wearing) and will put together a picture blog once I get back – takes too long to upload and tag pictures and internet is limited and somewhat slow.   I hit the pool this afternoon at the hotel – it is like paradise, the hotel Melia Cohiba is outstanding.  A 5 star hotel – simply great.  I even have internet access (although not cheap, but worth every penny).    The bus took us on a tour of the “Old Town Center” – lots of history here.   Tomorrow we are going to play our 5^th and last game – we have won 1 game – so hoping to make it respectable and win tomorrow for 2 wins on the trip.   The weather has been a little cooler (low 80’s) and less humidity than Cienfuegos – lots of water and hydration has kept me energetic for the games.  My legs (hamstrings) are feeling it today, probably from pitching yesterday but all is good – no injuries, lots of fun and tonight I am going to hang out with our 69 year old pitcher Lou – he is a great guy who lives in the San Francisco area and is an International Business Consultant – his company is headquartered in Malta – a small island off of Africa – amazing stories all around.

One more full day here, we leave Friday morning – this country is very strange – my last post will highlight the strangest that I have seen and learned while here.

Be well.

~~ "You can observe a lot just by watching." - Yogi Berra ~~

Post two -- The Cuba Adventure

More Baseball in Cuba

Sorry for grammatical errors and typos – typing this up fast to get something up on the blog…….

Day 3 – Game in Abreus – we played a town team so these guys were more for our level – we again picked up a few guys from the stadium again – those guys were very good (muh bien) while the rest of them were playing in slip on shoes and no cleats.  Lou our 69 year old pitcher toed the mound – he mixes in a great curveball with a nice changeup and a very good located fast ball – Lou ended up pitching all 9 innings – our bats were ready and we scratched out a bunch of runs – Lou gave up two runs – both towering home runs – one of the guys who blasted one off the scoreboard in centerfield was a 3^rd baseman for the local professional team (14 year veteran) – he was probably in his mid 40’s – he also make a couple nice plays in the field as well – very quick hands and reflexes.  We ended up hitting well

Day 4 – Travel to Havana – long bus ride to Havana (about 3 hours total) so respect those guys who do bus trips all the time – we do have a nice bus to tote us around so no complaints.  A great group of guys -  many of them who have traveled to Cuba a few times – we ended up staying at the Melia Cohiba – a 5 star hotel – very nice amenities including INTERNET!   I grabbed two hours for $14 CUC (which is basically $14 American) – using it wisely connecting with the wife and my employees – making an update here or there  on the blog and twitter (facebook).   I will upload pictures once I get home, just would take too long and since I really want to be away from most things and enjoy the culture and opportunities.

Day 5 – Travel to Matanzas – a great trip over, the roads covering the northern part of Cuba and with the ocean to our north a beautiful 90 minutes bus ride.  This area is more hilly – most of Cuba is pretty flat – highest spot in Cuba is 2 KM (about 6,000 feet) the city of Matanzas has about 230,000 people.  We get to the stadium, first built in 1874 and you can tell.  We were greeted by the locals (again) and this field is the best we have been to.  We were given a tour of the museum that was the field (a  mini Cooperstown), all about the baseball history in Matanzas.   The game was more of a spectacle as they played the national anthems for each country while we stood on the foul lines.  We exchanged gifts before the game with the other players – we had a Baseball International pin  and we received a small wooden bottle of Rum (Havana Club) and a calendar.  I was slated to start this game and we were planning on playing 9 innings today – the weather was not as warm as it was in Cienfuegos (85-90 degrees with 80%+ humidity) so probably 85 and 65% humidity with a slight breeze blowing in left field (which was nice since we have seen a few home runs hit by the Cubanos).    I started off slow by giving up two hits (to right field) to the first two batters – one play would have been tough for our fielder, the other hit was playable – but they scored fast and we were down 1-0 in the first – I was able to get the next three batters out.   We played our worst defensive inning in the 2^nd and gave up 4 runs while successfully not making some “easy” plays.   Well it was ugly and I had to get like 7 outs – but we calmed down and now losing 5-0 – we breeze through the next few innings without giving up any runs – we score 1 in the 5^th for a 5-1 game, I gave up one more run in the 6^th to make it 6-1.  We score 3 runs in the 8^th to make it close at 6-4, I hold down the fort in the bottom of the eight – we get one more run to lose the game 6-5.   Fun game good times.

Tomorrow we play in Havana – going near a steel mill – the other team played some guys from the steel mill since the team that was supposed to play did not show up (they thought the game was rained out).

Things are good.....

~~ "You can observe a lot just by watching." - Yogi Berra ~~

Cuba Baseball Adventure

I decided that last year an opportunity came about with Baseball International to play baseball in Cuba -- I decided - what the heck -- well let's fast forward and today is the day I will be boarding a flight to a place where many people think Americans cannot travel.   I will be in Cuba for one week -- staying in Havana and Cienfuegos -- we will travel to Matanzas as well -- so we will get to see the north shore of Cuba and the southern shore (along with the northwest corner as well).

We will be playing five games and spending 7 nights -- just met many guys who have been there and finding out many amazing stories of what to expect -- what I know so far is the people are extremely happy and friendly -- I also know that many of the people in Cuba are very frustrated with the government -- in fact the shuttle driver (from the hotel this morning) asked me where I was headed -- "Cuba" -- he said, "My home country" -- I replied, "I hear it is very beautiful", He said, "Yes, but the government is messed up" -- and then I was on my way.  Many people who live in Florida really dispise Cuba and what it is all about and even though many people think the embargo of Cuba is silly -- a strong group of Cuban-Americans think the embargo is good -- in fact if the US would lift the embargo (which most of me disagrees with....) they would be very angry -- so for "probably" political reasons -- the embargo is in place.

So we get to Miami airport this morning and I finding some interesting things -- first of all it was recommended to me that I saran wrap my bags.  The Miami airport is rampant with theft and corruption (evidently they have a show on the Travel Channel about it – I may have to set the DVR when I get back home).   So I paid $15 for a guy to wrap my bag in neon green wrap!   (see picture)….I guess call it lesson number one in international travel – or in this case, travel from Miami Int’l – so my advice, drive to Miami – don’t fly in or out of there.   Our plane was delayed (which is quite frequent) as we are catching a charter flight from Miami to Cienfuegos – we eventually take off at 5:00pm (originally supposed to be 12:30pm) and land in Cienfuegos about an hour later.   Many passengers on the plane are going to visit family (one young lady noted she is going to see her mother for the first time in four years – we had to clear “customs” and then on our way to grab our luggage (thankfully all in one piece – nothing stolen) and to the bus to our hotel in Cienfuegos.


Our schedule is as follows:
Friday – fly into Cuba (Cienfeugos)
Saturday – 10am game in Rodas
Sunday – 10am game in Abreus
Monday – Travel to Havana
Tuesday – 10am game in Matanzas
Wednesday – 10am game in Havana
Thursday – 10am game in Havana
Friday – Fly home

I will admit the first 12 hours here in Cuba I was asking myself – “what the heck did I get myself into…..” – the next 12 hours went alittle better.

Cuba is a third world country but it has more amenities than a typical third world – our hotel in Cienfuegos was “nice” – definitely not 5 star – but more like 2 star, but for Cuba – a 4 star hotel easily.  We did not have any internet access while there and also since I did not bring a power adaptor I was unable to pull anything in the walls since all the power was 220 V – which would burn out anything I could even get into the outlet.   I do get a good nights rest and we head out to Rodas (about 30 mins away) to play some Cuban locals.   Rodas has a population of about 13,000 (Cienfuegos is a city of around 200,000) and as we drove over to the stadium we stopped twice to pick up some of the players we were going to play against.  A few of them are actual ex-professional Cuba baseball players – one of them was the pitching coach for the current Cienfuegos Elephants team (which interesting enough were playing a playoff game that evening).   We also were playing against one of the best home run hitters from the Cuban baseball league – Miguel (and guess what – he hit a home in the bottom of the 2^nd).

We get the stadium and that was interesting – the stands were full of people!  (free entertainment!)   As we made our way out to the dugout children were on top of the dugout (more or less asking for stuff) as typically these trips produce a fair amount of potential handouts for the spectators & players.   We let the kids know they need to get away and after a few times they ended up finding the way back to the stands – we start our game and I end up batting like 8^th and playing 2^nd base --  you never know where the team needs you to play – of course many of the guys are wondering why a left handed fielder would be playing 2^nd base (and many of the Cuban players were making fun of me as well – as the game went on).   The 2^nd batter hit a hot shot to my left – I was able to back hand it and flip it over to first on my knees to make the play – I hate making a spectacle of my play but that play alone was pretty cool because many of my teammates and the other players knew I was there to play some ball – the Cubans are amazing players – they had all the ages represented – they had a 14 year old pitching and guys in their 60’s playing as well – they all can play.   They all look very natural, whether it is throwing and catching or in the batter’s box.  This is what they do here – they play baseball.  This country is VERY poor – in fact many of the guys do not have gloves – they certainly do not have batting gloves, cleats, bats, or even hats.   They score one on a home run in the bottom of the 2^nd and we score one in the top of the third – then they started hitting – eventually scoring 7 runs (topping it off with a 3 run HR) to take a commanding lead.  We could not find our swings and we called the game after we hit in the top of the 7^th – ending up losing 12-1.  The field was adequate (but in US terms in rough shape) but a few interesting hops.  So we get to the end of the game and now the mob appears just outside the dugout.  Tradition has been when the guys from the US show up (this trip has been going on for at least 10 years now) they give away (hand out) many items, well the locals (and especially the children) know this – they are like a swarm of bees ready to sting.  I personally brought a number of shirts and hats (later I found out batting gloves and sunglasses would have been a great item to hand out as well) and found out quick how to disburse these items and how not to give them out.   First of all you need to zip up your bag – otherwise the swarm will take thing – if you zip it up, they won’t go in there, but if they see something they like, they will go for it.  You also have to be careful not to reach into your bag on the ground – you could get swarmed under and more or less trampled, this is a big deal for the kids.   While I love to give to charity and especially the poor – I get turned off on the “swarm” effect.  But at the end of the day – we, humans, are animals and one way the people of Cuba survive is any attempt to make an extra buck by either begging or bartering can make live a little easier for them (or in many cases – survival).

It was a good day -- nerves have calmed down......

~~ "You can observe a lot just by watching." - Yogi Berra ~~

Saturday Games & Awards/Banquet Night

This week flew by -- as always Saturday feels like we just got here (while Thursday felt like we have been here for weeks) -- the championship games were played at Hammond today and it featured the Dreamweavers vs. the Warriors.   At the beginning of the week I had predicted a top four finish for the Warriors and if I had made a prediction for today's game it would have gave them the edge -- well I missed the first inning (I got there in the 2nd inning) and the Warriors were up 4-0 and had Will McMacken on the mound going strong -- I wish I could write something interesting but I can't as Big Will finished off the game with a complete game shutout.  Warriors 6 Dreamweavers 0.

In the upper Championship game the Panama Stingers played Stay Thirsty My Friends -- John M. vs. Dave H. were the pitching matchups.  Thirstys lineup was real strong this year while the Stingers strength was their pitching.  This game got off to a quick start as the Thirstys got three runs in the bottom of the 1st inning -- just solid hitting (and a couple errors) got them out to a great start.  Dave was throwing well and through 4 innings giving up just 3 hits.  The Thirstys lineup struck for 3 more in the bottom of the 4th and the route was on.   Thirstys went on to 9-1 victory -- this was the first time the games were not "close" as both winners truly showed why they are champions today.

The final night is reserved for the Live and Silent Auctions and of course the awards for the campers.

The only award I figured I had a shot at winning was the Cy Young -- I had two good outings (the awards are for the regular season -- not playoffs) and not sure who else at camp did that -- well I was nominated for the award and I did indeed win the award -- the under 50 Cy Young here at camp.  I received a Twins Mini Helmet signed by Frank Viola -- the 1988 MLB Cy Young award winner.  Very cool.

Another great week in the books -- much different than camps in the past but great no less.

Til next time.....

PB

~~ "You can observe a lot just by watching." - Yogi Berra ~~

Friday baseball!

Well here we are -- it's friday and it is playoff time.  The Canterbury Clan were set to play Stay Thirsty My Friends in the semi's.  Stay Thirsty had a great week going 6-1 -- in fact they scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 7th to win their last game and the team they beat ended up being the #5 seed -- so we have them to thank as well!!

We started off fast in the first -- I started with a one out base hit and advanced to 2nd on a walk.  Another hit and we were on the board.   We ended up scoring 3 runs in the first to get the train rolling.   Thirsty came back with 2 runs in the bottom, I couldn't find the strike zone consistently and they ripped a couple hits to scratch out some runs.   We did not score in the 2nd inning (neither did they) but we got two more runs in the top of the 3rd inning to make it 5-2.  I didn't have my 'good' stuff, my breaking balls were all over the place and my fastball was 'flat' but I figured that as long as I threw strikes we can keep hitting -- Thirsty's struck for 2 more in the bottom of the third and it was a one run game again -- 5-4.  We rallied in the top of the 6th giving us a good cushion -- I started the inning off with a double and the rest of the team chipped in to give us a nice 7-4 lead.  I was feeling good about our chances.  I just got through the "meat of the order" of the Thirsty's and the rest of the lineup was solid hitters but not the big boppers -- the plan was to throw strikes and see if they can get themselves out.   Well the bottom of the 6th -- my plan didn't work -- I threw strikes -- but boy oh boy, did they hit, and they hit -- after the dust settled -- they scored 4 and were up 8-7.   We had a nice rally going and the top of order up -- Doug came up to bat and hit a nice grounder in the hole to the SS -- once he hit it, I thought it was a base hit, but within seconds the game was over because they turned a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.  The Thirstys win -- it was really a good game and despite taking the loss and giving up a lot runs -- I have to tip my hat to them -- they hit the ball.  Generally in fantasy camp if you throw strikes you can get the hitters to get themselves out -- this didn't happen in the 6th inning and did not happen in this game.   I feel good about the game since we did play the best team at the camp and lost by one -- we didn't play our best game but we certainly played a very good game.  Better to lose a close game then to get whooped up on....that is forsure.

In other action -- the Stingers beat the Battery Mates 1-0, scoring in the bottom of the 6th to take the victory.  The Warriors beat the Hrbekskis 6-1 and will advance to the finals and in the other lower level game the DreamWeavers beat the Bombers 4-3 in a dramatic bottom of the 7th winning run.

Tomorrow -- 9:30am - Warriors vs DreamWeavers -- 12:15pm  - Stingers vs. Stay Thirsty -- we will be there watching the action!

We have kangaroo court this evening.....hoping my tweeting doesn't cost me more.

PB

"You can sum up the game of baseball in one word: 'You never know.' "--Joaquin Andujar

Friday Morning Thoughts

The camp is both winding down and revving up at the same time.  We have 7 games in the books and now on to today in which half the camp will play tomorrow and half the campers will pack up their lockers since "losers" go home.

This morning's games will be the semi finals and these are the most important games of the week - you could lose every week during the week, but if you win friday it makes up for all of that.  I am 3-0 on Fridays so looking forward to my fourth win!   I will be pitching (at least I think I am) and this could be interesting since I have never started games in back to back games.  A day off between games is always good for the arm to heal up and feel better (get stronger) but here at camp we do not have many other good options -- so I am going to give it a go today!   I am "lucky" in the sense that my pitch count is low.  I pitched 5 2/3 innings and I have a hard time thinking I threw more than 70 pitches and my start on Tuesday I could not have been much more than 80 pitches.  A couple years ago I pitched a game where I threw at least 120 pitches in one game so I am glad I avoided that sort of pitching performance.

This afternoon is reserved for a game in Hammond Stadium.  This is the highlight for many of the rookie campers.  A chance to play baseball in the same stadium as the Minnesota Twins.  The rookies will split up in a couple teams and play a 3 inning game against the Pro Staff and will be able to hit off Viola, Blyleven, Aguilera, and other Twins greats.

Here are some pictures (I apologize for not posting some earlier):

Mark hanging with Bert Blyleven

Camilo Pascaul & I on the bench

One of my favorites Pro Staff - Dick Stigman

One of my coaches this week - Julio Becquer

One of my coaches - Ron Coomer

Mark hanging with Lee Stange "Stinger"

Today will be a fun day.....as long as we win......and if you remember -- I made predictions on how the teams would fare and I would have done just as well using a coin -- I had half the teams correct in the top bracket and half of them right in the bottom bracket.....so basically they were meaningless.  

Since I am not 100% positive who we play, but if we have a #4 seed -- we play a very solid team -- I think the big thing for me is to keep the big bats quiet.  They have 3 (if not 4) of the best bats in camp -- so if I can keep them in check we should do fine -- and as always -- our bats need to wake up and good defense goes a long way!!

PB


~~ "The other teams could make trouble for us if they win." - Yogi Berra ~~

Quick Thursday Post

Thursday is a big day at camp -- this is where the teams jockey for position as they are getting ready for the first round of the playoffs on Friday.   So many teams with 2 wins and 3 losses made this day especially important if teams wanted to get into the top four bracket for Friday's semifinals.

We played the Bombers this morning -- both teams were 2-3 so this was a big swing game.  The morning game worked out pretty good for  us -- I started on the mound and pitched well, I don't have my official stats but I went 5 2/3 innings, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB's, 5 K's -- I labored a bit in the fourth inning but escaped by only giving up one run.  I gave way to Curt Sampson who came in relief.   Curt is 79 years old and has been to camp (I think) 22 times over the years.  Curt is an amazing man and friend.  The original plan was for him to pitch one out -- but it turned into pitching the rest of the game -- 1 1/3 innings.  What a joy it was to see him out on the bump.  Our bats finally came alive in this one as we cruised to a 8-2 victory. I had 2 hits (including a double) and 2 runs to help my cause and secure the game 6 victory.  We did our part and won game 6, so a win in the afternoon would secure a spot in the top 4 teams.

The afternoon game started off great -- we lit up the other team for 4 runs through 2 innings.  We could have scored a lot more runs but left many runners on the bases.  We felt OK thought and had Ralph on the mound pitching well -- they scored 2 runs off of him in the 3rd inning but into the bottom of the 5th we had a 4-2 lead.  The Battery Mates woke up their bats and knocked it around good and after the dust settled they had put up 6 runs for a 8-4 lead.  Our bats went quiet -- I think we ended up running out of a gas and the game ended with a 8-4.   The Battery Mates ended up with a 4-3 record and pushed us to a 3-4 record.  We are still holding out hope we have secured a 4 seed based on runs against (the first tiebreaker).

Tomorrow we play just one game (in the morning) and it is the semifinal round of the playoffs -- the 1 seed plays the 4 seed and the 2 vs 3 -- in the upper bracket -- then the 5 vs 8 and the 6 vs 7 in the lower bracket.

Here are my unofficial playoff seedings:

1)  Stay Thirsty My Friends
2)  Panama Stingers
3)  Battery Mates
4)  Canterbury Clan

5)  DreamWeavers
6)  The Warriors
7)  Hrbekskis
8)  Burnsville Bombers

The only seed I am not positive is the 4/5 seeding -- we will wait for the official results by the camp director Stan Dickman -- I am thinking he may update the Minnesota Twins Fantasy Camp Facebook page with the official results.

I will put up a couple pictures but I am going to put up one of them --

Papa Smurf, 73 & Paul Bennett

This is one of my favorite teammates at the camp -- Lloyd "Papa Smurf" -- he will be 73 next month -- he plays catcher and has been fun to throw to during my time on the mound.   One of the many fun stories of the camp!!

Thanks Papa Smurf for all the fun and laughs.....

PB

~~ "Baseball statistics are like a girl in a bikini.  They show a lot, but not everything." - Toby Harrah ~~

Thursday throwing....

One thing I despise about living in an hotel for the week is the complete lack of sleep I generally get -- I can basically only sleep 5 hours -- I generally just wake up after sleeping for 5 hours -- the last two evenings have been exactly the same -- bed at 11am, sleeping at 11:05 (or close) and up at 4am.  So I toss and turn for a bit and eventually give in and get up.   Better than just laying there doing nothing.  Maybe I will try to get some rest after this post.

I will be pitching today and man do I hope I can throw as well as I did on Tuesday.  Pitching is a lot of fun but a part of me does not want to be a part of getting "shelled" out there.  It is not like I am playing for a contract or anything, just throwing strikes and having fun.  No pressure....but it seems like I put at least a little pressure on myself.  I would also like to get my swing back -- I have been a little jumpy (anxious) at the plate, need to relax take an easy swing and let the barrel of the bat find the ball --- a seemingly easy thing to do -- the last two games it has escaped me.

The other goal today is to get some decent pictures with a couple of the Pro Staff.  I have been lazy (or too busy) to get the normal amount of photos of usually get down here.  But with the rainout on monday this week has been a little off.  I hope most of the rookie campers don't feel "ripped off" a little because of the rainout (no golf outing) and the fact we basically miss out on one full game (we played 5 inning games instead of 7 yesterday) during the week.

One great note about the camp -- they have two video guys here (one works with the Twins) taking video of many of the games -- I made a leaping catch yesterday in one of the games and was able to see a 'replay' of it since he was able to capture the catch on video -- they will be putting together a DVD of the highlights of the week for the campers, what a nice touch for the campers to get that.  I look forward to watching it when they complete it.

We are 2-3, a disappointing spot to be in, the shining light is we have the same record as 5 other teams and as luck would have it -- we play two other 2-3 teams today -- we win two, we do one of two things -- 1) get to four wins and a probable top four seed  2)  the teams we beat today get at least a fourth loss to push them into the lower 4 grouping.....so it's a big day.   A must win position for the Canterbury Clan.

We need to get our bats going.....

Just a quick note -- if you are a Twins Fan and don't know who Aaron Gleeman is -- check out his website at aarongleeman.com, he is a Twins Blogger and does a great job writing about Twins stuff and other 'geeky' items.


~~ "I have never said most of things I have said." - Yogi Berra ~~

We came, we lost, and we didn't kick....

The Canterbury Clan had a triple header today at the Fantasy Camp -- forecast was suppose to be mid 80's and humid -- I don't think it actually got that warm but it was very good weather with scattered clouds and plenty of blue sky.  The rainout monday had us playing three games today but all the games would only be 5 inning games.

We started our first game quick by scoring in the first -- I got a base hit during the inning to help out the cause.  I ended up playing 3B the whole game and was able to make a few plays.   Let's fast forward to the bottom of the fourth - we were the visitors so we were in the field.  We were playing the Warriors, well in the bottom of the 4th the Warriors got their bats going -- they got a hit and walk to start the inning and then we gave them a couple bases on wild pitches and 2 errors and the Warriors end the inning up 2-1 over the Canterbury Clan.   We start off the inning with a base hit to get the rally going -- a pop out and strikeout make it 2 outs --  we worked a walk so we had runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 outs.  Our batter took a called third strike to end the game.  It was a good game but the Warriors really "stole" that victory.  We should have found a way to get more than 1 run, but it did not work out that way.  I was 1 for 2 in the game.  Our record now sits at 1 win and 2 losses.

Our 2nd game was our best hitting performance of the game -- this game is where the coaches were pitching -- we had Gene Larkin, Ron Coomer, and Milt Cuyler all threw to us campers -- it was a very quick game since the pros know how to throw the ball -- our bats were very quiet and after a 1-1 going into the fourth inning we broke out for 5 runs.  We head into the top of the 5th inning with the meat of the "Stay Thirsty My Friends" (who were 3-0 heading into the game) order was coming up to bat.   We get the first guy out, but the next two guys get on base to start a rally.   We get an easy fly out to make it 2 outs.  The final batter (who had 9 RBI's in a game yesterday) came up to the plate and launched a sky ball to left center field -- Mark, my roommate, found it in the sky and made a nice catch to end the game.  The wind had picked up so the ball drifted a fair amount to the left field -- he staggered over and the ball found his glove.  CC wins the game and now has evened their record to 2-2.  I ended up grounding out and striking out in this game.  Gene Larkin got me on an outside "breaking ball" (I actually think he has a hard time throwing a straight ball) but he threw a nice outside pitch and it broke more outside instead of staying on the corner -- I didn't want to take a called strike three.  That was a bit frustrating -- I faced Coomer the 2nd time around and Ron couldn't find the plate so I ended hitting "ball four" which was a grounder to 3rd -- it ended up being an error so officially I went 0 for 2 and a run scored.

Our 3rd game was in the afternoon -- it was getting pretty warm out there but we had our favorite rookie, Mark Cheeley on the mound.  I just checked the weather and it indeed was warm and was 87 degrees this afternoon -- it was beautiful as light clouds gave us a little reprieve from the hot sun.  I ended up getting a little color (which is always good since many remark how I don't look like I went somewhere warm when I put on sunscreen and stay out of the sun).  We were the visitors and got to bat first in this game.  We started off fast by scoring 3 runs in the top of the first and staked Mark to a 3-0 lead.  Mark struck out the first batter (a very good hitter) and then got the next two batters out for an easy 1-2-3 inning.  I wish I could write more about Mark getting more 1-2-3 innings -- the 2nd inning was a disaster -- starting with our defense -- yours truly (playing third base) got 'played' by a ground ball and let it get into the outfield -- i didn't charge the ball, instead took a step back and missed it completely (it was hard hit, yes) but I need to make that play.  Our left center fielder missed a ball (it was in and out of his glove) and later our SS couldn't find the ball on a routine grounder.  A couple of hits and a couple of walks later -- the Hrbekskis plated across 6 runs.  The game didn't get any better -- to spare you the details the Hrbekskis found 2 more runs later in the game and the Canterbury Clan didn't muster up any offense.  I ended up being 0 for 1, BB in the game but with only a couple AB's hard to find your groove.  All in all a disappointing day -- the Canterbury Clan is not finding the offense and the good defense (a strength of the team) has been very questionable as of late.

The good part is CC is not out of the race -- so much parity on the teams at camp here that a couple wins tomorrow puts us in the hunt for a top four finish -- standings after today --

Stay Thirsty My Friends      4-1
The Warriors                      3-2
DreamWeavers                  3-2
Battery Mates                     2-3
Burnsville Bombers             2-3
Canterbury Clan                 2-3
Hrbekskis                           2-3
Panama Stingers                  2-3

Many teams are 2-3 -- so two wins tomorrow and that should secure a top 4 seed.....let's play two and win two tomorrow.

I shall be on the mound ready to win one of them for us.

PB

~~ "Think.  Don't just swing.  Think about the pitcher, what he threw you last time up, his best pitch, who's up next.  Think."   - Ted Williams ~~

A Triple Header Hump Day - Notes from Kangaroo Court

Because of the rain out day on Monday the camp had to adjust the schedules a bit so today we will be playing a "triple" header.  The morning will consist of two 5 inning games (back to back) we will get lunch and in the afternoon play our standard 7 inning game.

Kangaroo Court was in session and this is one of the highlights of camp -- we get the Honorable Judge Blyleven presiding.  This is where campers (and pro staff, and others -- everyone is fair game)  can be "fined" for certain on and off field offenses (with all the proceeds going to the Children's Hospital) and laughing is not optional, it is mandatory.  Standard fines include (but not limited to):  taking a called strike three, not wearing shower shoes, and the rookies get dinged well for being rookies.  Bert called my name out and decided to let me know that tweeting in the dugout is something the Judge doesn't appreciate.  I got fined $20 for it and tweeting at camp (like last year) is costing me money.  I will keep my wallet handy for friday's session -- it is not like I am going to quit something fun like tweeting!

Before court they give out "game" MVP's -- I was able to get the game 1 MVP with my pitching effort -- the fun part was the game 2 MVP when to my rookie roommate and old college friend Mark Cheeley.  I shouldn't have told him earlier that I think he has a shot at it since he clearly had the best performance of our players -- of course he didn't believe me that was possible -- here is the video:

Mark wins game 2 MVP honors

Today I am a bit worried -- the forecast calls for 86 degree weather and it has been humid this week -- generally the weather around Fort Myers for the camp has been about 70 degrees and low (or no) humidity -- so today might be a tough one for many guys out there.  It doesn't take much to get overheated so guys need to be smart and really pound down the liquids.  One of my favorite friends out here passed out during the banquet last night -- it leaves a sick to my stomach feel -- the early prognosis is he was suffering from dehydration and the EMT's were here quickly to take care of the situation -- I hope he is well enough to see him today or tomorrow -- prayers lifted buddy!

PB

~~ "Fans don't boo nobodies." - Reggie Jackson ~~

"Let's play two" -- Games 1 & 2 recaps

The monday washout moves us into the Tuesday Doubleheader which would have been games 3 & 4 now are games 1 and 2.  The Canterbury Clan ("CC") was facing the Panama Stingers in game 1.  The game 1 matchups are usually solid since most teams will be pitching their number 1 starters so great match-ups all around.  This game featured last year's camp Cy Young award winner, Lance Anderson, vs last year's MVP award winner, me, were the pitching match-ups in our game.   The game started at 10am and the warm day was setting in.  The sun was peaking out and temps rising into the 70's by the first pitch.   We were batting first and Lance started off with a strikeout of the lead off hitter.  I hit 2nd and worked a 2-2 count and laced a base hit into right center field.   I moved up to 2nd base on a wild pitch.   Matt came up and ended up taking a walk -- so with one out we have 1st and 2nd.  Lance worked the next hitter enough to get a strikeout for the 2nd out.  Matt and I moved up a base on another wild pitch (or passed ball) so we had 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs.  Randy knocked a base hit to left center and plated both Matt and myself for the games first two runs.  The inning ended on a ground ball but the Clan staked themselves out to a quick 2-0 lead.  I went to the rubber with the idea that I wanted to mix my pitches but more importantly -- throw strikes.  I always strive myself to be a good control pitcher so that is always my goal.  I struck out the first two batters and induced a pop out to short to end the first the inning.  I felt very fluid out there, not trying to overthrow and hit the corners....so far so good.  Let's fast forward to the bottom of the fifth inning and at this time I had retired all 12 batters and currently pitching a  "perfect game"-- I continued the stellar pitching with a 1-2-3 inning and thus has retired all 15 batters.   We scratched another run to make it 3-0 and all I had to do is get 6 more outs to secure the victory.  I went to the mound in the bottom of the 6th inning facing the "meat"of the order -- I quickly got the first out (if you are counting 16 guys now).  With Matt G coming up to the plate I didn't want to give one away -- on the 3rd pitch I left it up and out -- thinking he was just going to take ball 3 I let up on the play -- Matt took the pitch right back up the middle - a line drive shot that escaped my glove (and quite frankly my face) and into center-field for the first hit of the game.  Now a part of me thinks I could have caught that, but another part of me was happy it didn't hit my face.   I ended up getting the next two guys out and we head into the 7th inning still up 3-0.  I get to the mound to finish out the game and after getting the first two guys I give up my 2nd base-runner after he reached on an error by the SS.  I induce a first pitch ground ball to the SS who flipped it to 2nd base to end the game.  A nice 1 one hit shutout in the books and the Canterbury Clan is in the left hand column with a "W".  I really think the Stingers are one of the better teams at camp so it was a good victory.  I ended up getting another hit and popping out in my last AB, so I had a real quality game overall -- 2 for 3, run, 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K's -- a great way to start camp.

Game 2 -- in game 2 we faced the "DreamWeavers" -- as noted in a previous blog I handicapped them as a "bottom four" team.  We felt good going into this match-up as I think our team has some really good hitters.  We didn't score a lot of runs in the first game but we did hit Lance enough to manufacture runs.  The pitchers we were to face in game 2 would be "more favorable" for us so we were looking to plate a lot more runs than 3.  We were the home team (wearing out white Twins uniforms) and the game started off rough as we gave up 2 runs in the top of the first.  We got some hits in the bottom of the first but only able to get 1 run.  We just couldn't get our bats going and ended up losing to the DreamWeavers 5-3.  They played good defense and had enough pitching to secure a victory -- our bats were cold and couldn't put together multiple hits.  I ended up going 1 for 2 in the game, playing some outfield and shortstop.

End of Day one Hitting Stats:  3 for 5, run

End of Day one Standings:

Stay Thirsty          2-0

Dream Weavers   2-0

Canterbury Clan   1-1

Panama Stingers   1-1

Hrbekskis            1-1

Warriors              1-1

Battery Mates      0-2

Bombers              0-2

Kangaroo Court will be in session tonight -- I will be looking at digging in my wallet -- evidently tweeting in the dugout is frowned upon....

PB

~~ "Nobody has ever said "Work Ball", they say "Play Ball" that means having fun" -- Willie Stargell ~~

A rainout....

Monday's games ended in a rainout -- evidently this was a "camp" first to have a full day rain out -- we will play two tomorrow!  

Tonight we will have a Cigar & Autography party in the bar while watching the Notre Dame-Alabama game on the TV's.   The campers will be able to bring things to be signed and hang out with the Pro Staff -- a nice relaxing evening!

Light on the post today -- but nothing happened.  Mark and I went over to Sanibel Island and had a beer on Captiva -- so all in all a good day even though we didn't play any baseball.

PB

~~ "You can observe a lot just by watching." - Yogi Berra ~~

Monday morning

A good night's rest was welcome to start off the week.  This week the weather forecast is suggesting to the "warmest" camp I have ever attended -- currently showing low 80's all week, normally the last thing I would do (as a Minnesotan) is complain about warm weather in January -- but what I am going to is point out the possibility of how the weather will be wearing down the campers throughout the week.  I will need to remind myself to continually be drinking water -- when I think I am not thirsty, I better keep drinking.  The first two games are always interesting because you would like to think you have a "good" team and start out fast and play two and win both -- I will mention this in the blog -- baseball is a funny game and on any given day any team can win or lose.  This is also fantasy camp where routine plays are made difficult -- a ball off the ball finds it way into the outfield -- a pitcher can't find the strike zone -- so too many variables to actually be confident on how teams will do.  So with that said -- let's go out and dominate!

I know one thing -- if you can't have fun here at camp, you are in trouble -- time to start getting this body for the 4 games in 2 days, 7 in 4 game stretch!!!

Paul

~~ "If my uniform doesn't get dirty, I haven't done anything in the baseball game." - Ricky Henderson ~~

Sunday --- "Teams are Announced"

Sunday is a fun day for camp with some "group drills" and instructionals in the morning here are a few clips of the morning.

1)  Bill "Soup"Campbell -- explaining some of the techniques used by outfielders

2)  Frank Viola telling a story about Laudner

3)  Laudner talking about the first time he caught a game in the big leagues

4)  Blyleven talking about pitching with a good base (your legs....)

The rookies played in some scrimmages in the afternoon the Pro Staff can do some "scouting" so they can be prepared to draft a team in the afternoon.  The afternoon was a nice warm one -- temps near the 80's and when the sun was out -- boy it felt warm.  I ended up just watching and taking some pictures instead of playing (which I had done the previous 3 times as bed) -- the weather is supposed to be warm (hot) all week so I wanted to save the legs for the "real" games -- I got some BP (batting practice) and some throws in earlier in the day so I felt like I will be in good shape for tomorrow's first day.

The evening banquet starts out with the announcing of the teams (and the team managers) -- so here they are (in order of team numbers.....)

Team 1 - "Panama Stingers"- coached by Lee Stange & Juan "Senor Smoke" Berenguer
Team 2 - "Stay Thirsty My Friends" - coached by Erik Rasmussen, Milt Cuyler, and Gene Larkin
Team 3 - "The Warriors"- coached by Rick Aguilera & Phil Roof
Team 4 - "Dream Weavers" - coached by Bill "Soup" Campbell & John Wilkens
Team 5 - "Hrbek-ski's"- coached  by Tom Brunansky, General Manager Kent Hrbek
Team 6 - "The Canterbury Clan"- coached by Ron Coomer & Julio Becquer
Team 7 - "Burnsville Bombers" - coached by Dick Stigman & Frank Quilici
Team 8 - "Battery Mates"- coached by Frank Viola & Tim Laudner

Mark and I are going to be playing on the "The Canterbury Clan"-- my early feelings is we have a decent team if our pitching can hold up -- if our pitching can be stronger than my first inclination -- we will be fine.  I think our batting and fielding will be very good.....so we just need to make sure we have average to above average pitching!  I would be disappointed if we are not a top 3 team (if we are....that is certainly ok....)

I am going to just predict a "top four" finish and "bottom four" finish -- it is too hard to "handicap" these because of 2 things - 1) the rookies (we have 39 of them this year, it hard to figure out which ones can play all week at a nice steady pace)  2) injuries -- if a few guys get hurt here and there can change the make up of the roster.

Last year if I had put my predictions up -- they would have been way off -- I was wrong about my team (we finished in the 5 seed) and also one other team which took the 7 seed (after which I thought they would be fighting for the top seed) -- so here I go to attempt a prediction:

Top Four Teams:
Panama Stingers, The Warriors, Canterbury Clan, & Hrbek-ski's
Bottom Four Teams:
Stay Thirsty My Friends, Dream Weavers, Burnsville Bombers, & Battery Mates

There you have it -- these predictions really don't mean anything but the top four teams definitely have a good combination of pitching and hitting (and younger legs) where I feel initially the bottom four teams might have a deficiency (or two) in other areas.  One item to note is match-ups are a big deal -- I mean during the week we may only face "top" pitching 1 time (the first game) and get lucky and play against the number 2,3,4 starter (depending on health, etc), so it all factors in.  Legs will be very important this week -- the heat will factor in and the younger teams will have an edge there.  Our team is a plus when it comes to the age factor. We have a good group of young players, this should help us.

Two games tomorrow -- we will know more about the teams after those two games......or maybe not.

Signing off -- this camper is a bit tired -- need to stay rested and well hydrated!

"The great trouble with baseball today is that most of the players are in the game for the money and that's it, not for the love of it, the excitement of it, the thrill of it."   Ty Cobb

Opening Night - Introduction - Pro Staff & Rookies

Opening night is pretty low key -- the rookies get together for a short meeting to go over the "ground rules" and to get an idea of what is going on -- it was reported that Bert dropped a few "f-bombs" but otherwise it was "brief"and to the point.  We headed into the banquet and voice of the Twins Broadcasts Dick Bremer introduced the pro staff --See Video

Then the rookies get a chance to introduce themselves -- they pass the mic around and the 'new campers' get to let us know where they are from and why/how they are attending.  The common dominator with these campers - they bleed Twins blood, they love baseball, they love the Twins and they are here to have some fun!!

Mark's Intro Video

After the evening wrapped up we then piled into the bar to watch the Packer-Viking game -- we got word Ponder wasn't playing (not that it would have made a big difference) but boy Joe Webb looked like one of the fantasy campers who is a bit past his prime playing and it was an ugly night to be a purple fan.

Well onto the field tomorrow.....

~~ "Baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical." - Yogi Berra ~~