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Brethren:
My
week
for
From
the
Bullpen,
and
my
apologies
for
the
delay
in
getting
it
out.
I am
still
catching
up
at
work
and
at
home
after
three
arduous
medical
malpractice
jury
trials
in a
span
of
six
weeks,
and
so
my
team
management
and
my
writing
duties
have
slipped
down
the
priority
list
a
bit.
I
can
think
of
no
other
reason
that
the
Senators
would
be
in
dead
last
at
this
juncture
of
the
season.
In
any
event,
here
are
the
Hot
Stove
League
standings
through
Week
9:
STANDINGS
THROUGH
WEEK
9
|
1. |
|
Wahoos |
4596.60 |
|
2. |
|
West Des Moines Cubs |
4454.50 |
|
3. |
|
Omaha Highlanders |
4405.90 |
|
4. |
|
Lincoln Chiefs |
4342.40 |
|
5. |
|
Millard Monarchs |
4303.60 |
|
6. |
|
Omaha Skipjacks |
4128.40 |
|
7. |
|
Redbirds |
4000.40 |
|
8. |
|
Lincoln Tribe |
3996.80 |
|
9. |
|
Omaha Bronx bombers |
3938.10 |
|
10. |
|
Detroit HS Missiles |
3751.10 |
|
11. |
|
Kansas City Blues |
3715.50 |
|
12. |
|
Lincoln Bears |
3701.80 |
|
13. |
|
Omaha Senators |
3643.20 |
POINT
TOTALS
FOR
WEEK
9
|
3. |
|
Omaha Highlanders |
621.9 |
|
7. |
|
Redbirds |
569.1 |
|
2. |
|
West Des Moines Cubs |
546.5 |
|
4. |
|
Lincoln Chiefs |
528.3 |
|
6. |
|
Omaha Skipjacks |
492.3 |
|
13. |
|
Omaha Senators |
474.9 |
|
8. |
|
Lincoln Tribe |
456.8 |
|
1. |
|
Wahoos |
450.3 |
|
11. |
|
Kansas City Blues |
441.8 |
|
9. |
|
Omaha Bronx bombers |
440.0 |
|
12. |
|
Lincoln Bears |
437.5 |
|
10. |
|
Detroit HS Missiles |
411.8 |
|
5. |
|
Millard Monarchs |
350.1 |
Things
have
tightened
up
at
the
top
just
a
bit,
with
the
Wahoos
still
in
first
but
no
longer
looking
like
a
team
that
will
waltz
into
the
title.
It
would
appear
that
the
Monarchs,
the
Cubs,
the
Highlanders
and
the
Chiefs
all
may
have
a
say
in
the
race
for
the
2010
championship.
I
had
planned
on
spending
some
time
on
the
website
this
morning
looking
over
player
stats
and
providing
some
insight
and
rapier
wit
about
player
picks
and
performances,
but
then
I
got
that
text
(at
least
once
a
week)
that
Joe
left
his
baseball
uniform
top
in
the
dryer
and
needed
me
to
drop
everything
and
drive
home
to
get
it
and
then
take
it
out
to
the
ball
field
for
his
Friday
morning
game,
so
the
witticisms
will
be
in
short
supply
in
this
issue
of
From
the
Bullpen.
SHORT
HOPS
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I can’t believe how fired up I am for the Huskers to join the Big Ten. I loved the Big Eight, have never been enamored with the Big Twelve, and think it will be great to have a conference rivalry with the Hawkeyes next door and the nearby Gophers and Badgers. If the Tigers somehow are left out, holding the bag, well, more the better.
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* |
I’m going to start up a new side business fixing baseball scoreboards. At least half of the fields that we have played on this year have nice, relatively new, electronic scoreboards which DO NOT WORK. Evidently, they budget plenty for starting the new scoreboards but not nearly enough for maintaining them. Just an observation.
|
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* |
With the final Rosenblatt College World Series just around the bend, I’m starting to get nostalgic about the CWS. Although it looks like there will be a lot of familiar faces again at this year’s event, I was hoping for a St. Johns or a The Citadel to sneak in for some added flavor. No danger of the Husker baseball team returning to the mid-summer classic anytime soon.
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* |
I’ve always thought I could never get enough baseball, but this presumption may be tested this summer. Not really, but with Joe playing on both the Senior and Junior Legion teams, and with Will’s Dirtbags teams playing in tournaments almost every weekend, well, it’s perfect, that’s what it is. Or it would be if the games didn’t sometimes conflict and force me to miss one or the other.
Both boys are having excellent baseball summers. Will, The Stopper (think Charlie Kerfeld, but without the glasses),
continues to flourish in the role that he was intelligently designed for, bringing the gas to the opposition in the final frame. Last weekend, Wilbur successfully closed out Dirtbags victories on three consecutive days, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, notching six or seven strikeouts in his three innings of work. The Dirtbags also won their third tournament of the season, to go along with their two runner-up finishes in the five tournaments that they have entered to date. At the plate, he bats second and is the team leader in runs and doubles, and either second or third in B.A.
After spending the spring mostly on the bench of the Mount Michael Varsity team, Joe is getting plenty of playing time this summer on the Mount Michael Senior and Junior Legion baseball teams. He starts at second base and is batting second in the line-up, with a decent B.A. and a very salty OBP. Because the seniors’ pitching staff is so deep, Joe hasn’t seen too much time on the bump, but as the season ages and the many innings mount on the other hurlers, he will probably see some more action on the hill.
All in all, everything that a baseball dad could ask for, and more. Somebody pinch me.
|
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* |
Other than our Opening Day trip to Phoenix and one trip out to Rosenblatt to see the Omaha Royals, I haven’t had the chance to get to any other professional baseball games. That changes next week when I will catch a Sky Sox game in Colorado Springs, and then (hopefully) a Phillies game next weekend when the kids and I will be in the City of Brotherly Love for Sam Krause’s nuptials.
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THE
TRIP
And
speaking
of
baseball
trips,
we
need
to
get
a
final
head
count
on
our
annual
HSL
Trip,
slated
for
August
20-22
to
the
Twin
Cities
and
Target
Field.
If
you
haven’t
responded
to
my
e-mail
about
this
by
the
time
you
read
this
edition
of
From
the
Bullpen,
please
take
the
time
to
let
me
know
if
you
are
in
or
out
for
the
2010
HSL
Trip.
Many
thanks.
Regards,
Skipper
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