Sunday with the Dodgers

In the last scheduled game of the season, Joe's Dodgers were scheduled to play the Stars on Sunday afternoon.  A fun way to end the fall baseball season, because it was a beautiful day and Joe played with a few of the Stars' boys and for their coaches a couple of seasons ago.  

Our boys were primed and ready to go, all of them arriving on time for batting practice 45 minutes before game time.  That made me happy because JP and I have emphasized to the boys that it's important for them to take responsibility for asking their parents to leave home with enough time to get to the batting practice so they can be ready to play.  I think our message had taken root, which is nice.

Unfortunately, the Stars only had five players.  When their coach told me what was going on five or 10 minutes before the game, I initially was disappointed.  However, we agreed to give them a couple of players so we could scrimmage.  JP played right field for both teams.  All of our boys got a lot of work in, too, which they needed.  Plus, it was nice to play a laid back game in front of all of our parents to end the season.  

I loaned the Stars Joe and Walker, which worked out well.  Walker was able to play infield, second and third base.  Joe played shortstop the first inning, then pitched three innings.  It was fun to see Joe pitch against his teammates, most of them boys he's played with for many years.  Joe pitched much better than his last outing.  We still need to work on his velocity but he three to contact and struck a couple of batters out.  He hit the ball well, again, and knocked in a run with a nifty two strike single to left field.  

For the Dodgers, I was able to pitch Lucas, Bennett, Huck, and Trey, all of whom needed the work.  Huck and Trey, who don't normally pitch, were excited to have the opportunity.  Lucas struggled with his control - totally normal for a 12 year old learning to pitch on the big field.  Bennett struggled, too, and seemed to be felt emotionally.  He perked up, though, when he pitched to Joe and lined him out to shortstop.  

During the game, I made sure to stop, to breathe, and look around field 5 at Warner Park and, really, just take it all in.  Joe pitching, JP playing right field, all of my guys wearing Dodger blue in the dugout, and all of the parents sitting in the bleachers.  Honestly, youth baseball the way it's meant to be played.  In a recreational league, not traveling to Smyrna to get boat raced by a team of ringers with a giant 12 year old - who looks like he's 15 - throwing seeds to my 11 and 12 year olds.  

There is a place for recreational baseball in youth sports.  An important place.  Sunday's scrimmage was affirmation of something I already knew.

It's hard to capture in words how much it's meant to me be on the baseball field this fall with JP and Joe.

    My guys.

    Joe and George Bell.

George Bell, Joe, and Trey Glenn.

Nico Little and Joe.

The best of days.

Postscript.  One more doubleheader vs. the Moonshots on Saturday.  I hope the weather holds.  I always hope the weather holds. 

There's always more baseball.  Somewhere, somehow, some way.

Metro Championships

Tuesday afternoon at the Metro Cross Country Championships at Vaughn's Gap, JP and his teammates successfully defended their junior varsity and varsity titles.  To be fair, both squads were prohibitive favorites, as the competition from the other middle Tennessee schools simply wasn't very strong.  

My real interest, though, was in the individual race because the faster boys, Jack and JP, were going to pace the other boys in an effort to build a consistently faster pace for the entire team.  The boys were going to run in a pack for the first two miles, then Jack and JP would race the 1.1 miles.  I was very curious about the outcome, as JP has never run a race where he hasn't pushed himself the entire way.  Interesting.

The weather was beautiful, although it was a little hot for the earlier junior varsity races.  

Jack McDaniel won the boys' junior varsity race going away, which was cool to see.  He will almost certainly run varsity next year as a senior.  Jack and JP have been friends since they were three years old and attending Children's House together.  Pike (Jack's brother) and Joe are the same way.  

Jon Meade was there to see JP race, which was nice.  Tracy, Alice, and Jerry came, as well.  Jude's parents were there, too.  Joe missed because he had a soccer game for USN at Grace Christian Academy.

After the race started, Giles Ward and I walked over and set up shop at the one mile mark.  As the leaders approaches, I saw for the first time that Jack Wallace and JP were not running in the lead pack.  Uh oh, I thought, as Thomas A. and a boy from Father Ryan HS streaked by us.  Jack and JP were running comfortably in a pack with the three or four of their MBA teammates and another boy or two.  Their time was 5:15, which is considerably slower than they normally run the first mile of races.  The lead runners were 40 or 50 yards ahead of Jack, JP, and the other MBA runners.

This might be a problem, I thought, particularly because JP was looking forward to racing against Thomas.  He's a friend from the youth group at church and a fantastic runner who is going to run in college.  Great kid.  Still, it's always fun to beat your friends.  They have rarely raced each other due to scheduling conflicts.

On the back side of the course around 1 1/2 miles or so, the pack of runners was still together, although Cecil had fallen a little behind.  Thomas and the Father Ryan HS runner were sill 40 or 50 yards ahead.  I walked over the other side of the course again and waited at the 2 1/4 mile mark.  I was a little discouraged but, as it turns out, I shouldn't have been.  

Suddenly, I saw the leader runners headed down the trail toward me, wearing white singlets, red letter - MBA - emblazoned across the center.  Jack in first place.  JP in second place.  And they were absolutely flying.  Thomas was behind JP by 10 yards or so.  As the boys made the final turn and raced the last 800 meters, Jack and JP pulled away from everyone else.  Jack won and JP finished second in 15:50.

I talked to JP afterwards and he was happy with how the race turned out.  I think it was good for him to race this one a little bit differently as he prepares for the State Championship in a couple of weeks, followed by NXR (Nike Cross Country Regional Championship) in Cary, NC.

I was proud of him and happy that family and friends were able to see him race.  

Dodgers vs. Nolensville

On a beautiful mid-October Saturday afternoon at Warner Park, the Dodgers split their last doubleheader of the fall season.  They lost the game 1, 7 - 14, then rallied to win game 2, 14 - 4.  

As has been the case with this group of boys at times, they didn't come out ready to play in game 1.  I started Joe at pitcher - a mistake in retrospect, as I probably should have gone with Keaton - and Nolensville jumped on us quickly with six runs.  Joe didn't make it out of the inning.  He didn't have any control, as he continued to short arm the ball, something he hadn't done in the past.  As a result, especially from the longer distance, he doesn't have any pop on his fastball.  He's had the same problem making throws from shortstop, as well.  It's like he doesn't fully bend his right arm as he makes the throw, so there is not whip action to his arm.  The result is a pitch, or throw, with little on it.  It's something we have to address this winter.  

More concerning, though, was the fact that Joe wasn't ready emotionally and didn't react well when his teammates - Nico at third base, in particular - made multiple errors.  His frustration was palpable and, of course, losing control of your emotions is not something you can do as a pitcher.  JP told him as much when he visited the mound when things began to unravel.  I pulled him a couple of batters when he continued to vocally express his frustration.  It's all part of it, though, and I love his competitiveness.  He wants so badly to do well that he gets upset when things don't go the way he hopes.  It's something we'll work on and, as always, I'd rather have a kid who cares versus one who doesn't.  

On the bright side, Joe's hitting was much improved, as he really swung Bennet's new bat very well.  He had a single to left field in game 1.  In game 2, he knocked in a run with a single to left field in the first inning.  Later, after walking in his second at bat, he absolutely smoked a line drive down the line into left field - the hardest hit ball of game 2 - and plated two more runs.  It was the best he has hit all season.  I've got to get him a new bat, I think.  

A couple of interesting notes from the first game.  Elias pitched well.  Nice, fluid pitching motion.  Good control.  He can pitch, I think, but he's got to decide if he wants to and, really, if wants to play baseball in general. 

The highlight for me, though, was pitching Huck in the last inning.  My affection for him is well noted in this space, because he's so genuine, enthusiastic, appreciative, and competitive.  I'm proud of how hard he has worked to get some control over his emotions because he tends to get down on himself when he makes a mistake.  Our work on that the last couple of years is starting to pay dividends, I think.  At any rate, I brought him in to pitch in the last inning at Coach Benton's suggestion.  

After Coach Cyrus warmed him up while we were batting, Huck took the mound and threw nothing but BB's.  It was reminiscent of the night - last fall, maybe - when I pitched Big Mike and he was a revelation on the smaller field because he threw so hard.  Huck's control wasn't great but he threw really, really hard.  He was so funny to watch, as he took a giant deep breath before every pitch and, at time, quickly made the sign of the Cross in between pitches (no, he's not Catholic, but he's seen big league players do it in the batter's box, so he does it, too).  I was so proud of Huck.  It was a memorable outing for him, the first time he has pitched for me in a game.

Game 2 was much better that game 1.  Harper got there for game 2 and, in the first inning, threw a runner out on a routine grounder to third base.  He made the play that Nico couldn't make in game 1 and that set the tone for us in what was a much better played game defensively for the Dodgers.  Keaton pitched relatively well as the starter, although he ran out of gas sooner that I would have liked.  Harper took the mound and finished the game off, as we gonged (14 - 4) a Nolensville team that wasn't any worse than the Nolensville team we played in game 1.

It's only natural, I guess, but I find myself wishing like hell I had one more year with these boys.  If only, you know?  If only they were 11 and not 12.  

If only I had another year, two baseball seasons (fall and spring), to work with Huck on pitching, and on throwing and catching more consistently.  

If only I had another year to try to reach Nico, to access that part of his brain that will keep him focused and locked in.  

If only I had another year to spend with Bennett, to marvel at his grasp of the nuances of a baseball game in a manner unlike any boy I've ever coached. 

If only I had another year with Walker, to replace the years he missed on our team when he played for a coach who didn't develop him or, more importantly, his love of baseball.  Walker can play baseball - as evidenced by the fly ball he caught in center field in game 2.  He just doesn't know it.  I need another year to see him grow bigger and strong, and hit the ball more consistently.

If only I had another year with Paul, to help him gain confidence in himself while he improves on the baseball field. 

If only I had another year with Trey because, well, Trey is one of my favorite boys I ever have coached.  Always smiling, always game, smart baseball mind and can play anywhere.  He sent me a card when my mother died.  I will never forget that. 

If only I had another year with Ram, whom I've coached since he was four or five years old.  I need another year to find a way to teach him to hit with power and to watch his pitching continue to improve.  So smart.  He'll be a surgeon some day and a concert level guitarist because there is nothing he cannot do.  He'll be a winner in life.  

If only I had one more year with Joe, to spend with him on the baseball field.  My time coaching him has meant the world to me.  Words can't express how proud I am of him and how much I have loved every minute I've spent with him on a baseball field.  

One more game on Sunday and that's a wrap for the Dodgers.  

 

The Last Days of the Dodgers

On other occasions in the past, I've written about the last days of the Dodgers.  Every time, though, in a fortunate stroke of serendipity, I end up with one more baseball season, spring or fall, to coach a team.  And, of course, I call the team the Dodgers.  

Almost certainly, though, this fall is the end of the line for the Dodgers.  Although I coached JP's Dodgers through the fall after all of the boys turned 13, I don't see that happening with Joe's group.  I don't want to say JP's Dodgers (and parents) were more committed but I do think those boys had less going on across the board than Joe's Dodgers.  Honestly, though, as I think about it now, I can recall having to scramble to get players for JP's last team, just not as much as I've had to with Joe's baseball team this fall.

Several of Joe's teammates are also playing travel baseball, so there are conflicts with fall travel baseball tournaments.  JP's group didn't have any boys playing travel baseball, right or wrong.  Joe plays club soccer.  I have a boy who has missed baseball games to play flag football, which absolutely kills me.  I have had boys miss games for birthday parties, camping trips, and a bar mitzvah.  I've had a boy with Covid-19 and another with foot problems.  I had a boy injure his ankle at school when he fell on a set of stairs allegedly because his backpack was too heavy.

I didn't have those type of attendance problems with JP's Dodgers, as least as I recall those times three and four years ago.  Understand, I am not saying it's better or worse with Joe's Dodgers, just different.  And you know what?  That's okay.  It's a different group of boys and parents, obviously, but just as with JP's Dodgers, I have a nucleus of boys that I've coached since they were four and five years old.  

Joe, Ram, Nico, Trey, George, Elias, and Bennett.  I have Walker, who left the Dodgers early on - that was a mistake - and returned to us the last year or so.  I have Huck, one of my all time favorites, who left the Diamondbacks to play for me.  I have newer players I've imported from Joe's time with the Braves - Harper, Paul, Keaton, Lucas, and Daniel.  I'd ride with this group in a double header any Saturday, fall or spring.  

Seven of these boys are committed to travel baseball for the 2024 - 2025 season, so it's highly unlikely they will play together as a group after our final game this Sunday.  Which, of course, marks Sunday as the end of the line for the Dodgers.  

All of this makes me incredibly sad, yes, but incredibly grateful, too, for the opportunity to positively impact so many boys and families - through baseball - over the past 12 years.  Every boy (or girl) I have ever coached, even if it was only for one or two seasons, changed my life in some small way or left me with at least one memory I will carry with me until I die.  My life has been enriched immeasurably by the boys who have put on a Dodgers' jersey and practiced or played for me.  

So much of my non-work life has revolved around coaching the Dodgers, first JP and his teammates, then Joe's, as well.  At times, I had two groups of Dodgers, of course, JP's Dodgers and Joe's Junior Dodgers.  Those were heady days, for sure, and scheduling wasn't always easy, but I loved every minute of it, rushing from one game to the next.  I've also had years where I coached expanded rosters - enough to have two teams in the same age group - also a challenge but one I relished, for sure.  

This fall baseball season has been disjointed, at best, with more practice time than actual games.  It's an abbreviated baseball season in the fall, anyway, and we lost three games to rainouts and four games to forfeits.  One of the doubleheader forfeits was our team, which is not something I recall ever happening with a group I coached.  

One of the most rewarding things about this fall baseball season has been watching several of JP's Dodgers - JP, Benton, Wes, Cyrus, and JK - coach Joe's Dodgers, at practices and games.  I've given the big boys more and more responsibility, having them coach first and third base, visit the pitchers on the mound during games, and address the team before and after games.  Yesterday, JP handled the meeting between coaches and umpires before the second game of our doubleheader, which was really cool.

Joe's Dodgers have really responded, I think, to being coached by older boys actually playing high school baseball, just like I had hoped they would.  It's been good for the big boys, too, as they have had the opportunity to spend time together, again, and reconnect while giving of their time and energy in a way that really matters.  It's just been really special.

For me, too, spending time on a baseball field, coaching with JP while Joe is playing has been, well, tremendous.  It's something I will never, ever forget.  

I'll write about yesterday's games later because, for now, I want to see the bigger picture and appreciate the gift that coaching youth baseball has been to me.  

Dodgers forever.

They Paved Paradise and Put Up a Parking Lot

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

    - Counting Crows

I've put off writing about this because it hurts.

Portland Brew, the one true neighborhood coffee shop in my life, closed in early August after an all day party with music, art, laughter, tears, hugs, former baristas, and regular customers all together one last time on a late summer Saturday.  

It was beautiful to see such community among so many varied and distinct people, all of whom shared a love for Portland Brew.  In the end, that's what Portland Brew was about.  Community.  This was evident in the messages on the many yellow post-it notes stuck on the wall, left there by customers who stopped by to say goodbye to a place they loved.  A place of refuge in a busy, stressful world, where you could could count on a smile and a greeting from a familiar face, and a good cup of coffee.  

To me, what Bongo Java was, once upon a time, Portland Brew became.  A fixture in my life.  A place I could stop in on the way to work or on the way home after work and almost always see someone I knew.  For the longest time, the baristas were old heads, just like in the Bongo Java days.  Even thought that changes a bit the last couple of years, the newer, younger baristas were kind, friendly, upbeat, and interesting.  

When I walked into Portland Brew, I felt like I was home.  That's probably the absolute best thing I can say about a coffee shop or a bar.  And, I think, that's why it's so hard to say goodbye.  It's like losing an old friend, especially for someone who is as nostalgic as I am.  Bongo Java marked a time in my life, a simple time when the boys were young and I walked them through the neighborhood every weekend.  Portland Brew marked a different, more complicated time in my life, when the boys were older and in school, the stresses of work increased, and I lost my mom after a long fight with Alzheimer's disease.  

Portland Brew was a safe harbor for me, a place where I could stop in on the way to work and collect myself.  Plan my day.  Read the New York Times or the New Yorker online, write in this blog, answer e-mails, or get ahead of the day's work.  All with a good cup of coffee and scrambled eggs w/avocado, my go to breakfast there.

What was really cool, though, is the Portland Brew had the most loyal crew of regulars of any coffee shop I have ever frequented.  More, even, then Bongo Java in the old days.  Stuart, Michael, Rob, and so many other others, many of whom I did not know by name.  And, of course, Dennis, the mayor of Portland Brew.  

Originally, I met Dennis at Honest Coffee Roasters in the Factory in Franklin, where we often chatted about sports, kids, and life.  I was delighted, of course, when I walked into Portland Brew one morning a couple of years ago and saw Dennis, decked out as always in Detroit sports gear (Tigers, Lions, Michigan, Pistons, etc.).  He had moved to the neighborhood and, soon enough, he was holding court at Portland Brew every single morning.  It was a sight to see, as person after person sat down for a minute or two every morning to say hello to Dennis.  He radiates goodness and optimism.  His presence at Portland Brew the last couple of years and the light he shined on so many regulars is something I will always remember.

Portland Brew stayed open during the pandemic, unlike most other local coffee shops and restaurants.  In the spring and summer of 2020 when we were all so scared, anxious, and confused, I was able to stop by Portland Brew and get a to go cup of coffee.  That shred of normalcy kept me going and gave me hope that somehow, someday, the pandemic would end and I could gather again in a group with friends and strangers and have a cup of coffee.  

I vividly remember a morning when our office was closed - hell, everything was closed - and I drove to Portland Brew, got coffee, then drove down 12th Avenue and sat in the chairs outside Burger Up with Hal.  We socially distanced as we shared a cup of coffee and conversation, uncertain of what the future held for any of us.  It was powerful, intimate, and memorable.  Portland Brew made moments like that possible during the pandemic and for that reason and others, I remained a loyal customer after the pandemic finally ended.  

I ended a thousand afternoon weekend runs at Portland Brew, or so it seems, got a coffee, and walked home.  Every runs end with coffee, I used to joke.  

On almost every snow day, Portland Brew was open.  Neighborhood folks stopped in on the way to and from a day of sledding in Sevier Park to grab a coffee or hot chocolate for the kids.  That's what Portland Brew was about, really.  Neighborhood.  Community.  The tourists the bachelorettes went to Frothy Monkey.  The neighborhood people went to Portland Brew.  

Ironically enough, one Saturday or Sunday afternoon last spring, I walked into Portland Brew slightly past 4 p.m., less than an hour before closing.  I sat by myself, looked around, listened to the baristas talking about their plans for the night, and took a few minutes to appreciate how Portland Brew was one of the only places in the neighborhood that was still "old 12South."  So much else had changed and was changing in 12South but not Portland Brew.  I even wrote a post about it as I sat there.

Well, a few months later, Charles Treadway sold all of us out and agreed to lease the property to, of course, another women's clothing boutique.  Greed kills, forever and always.  

Now, the Portland Brew sign on the outside of the building is gone.  The tables on the front porch are gone, too.  What is there, though, is a sign that informs people how to pay to park in the Portland Brew parking lot, while they go shopping or eat at a 12South restaurant.  

Quite literally, they paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

Traveling Man

Saturday morning, JP and the MBA cross country team raced in at the Daviess County Classic in Owensboro, KY.  Because I missed the last race in Louisville, KY, I decided to make the two hour drive that morning, then hustle back to town to coach Joe's baseball games at Warner Park.  The bus left MBA at 6:15 a.m., which is about the same time I pulled away from the house.

The drive was nice, particularly since I had gotten a good night's sleep on Friday night.  Podcasts and music all the way to Bowling Green, KY, then across I-165 over the Owensboro, KY.  I even arrived in time to get a cup of coffee downtown, such as it was, before driving over to Yellow Creek Park. 

Apparently, MBA has run in the Daviess County Classic a few times in the past but not since the pandemic.  It's a race where the junior varsity can compete, too, which is part of the attraction, I think.  Also, it's an easy drive and one that can be made the morning of the race, so it's not necessary for the school to spring for hotels the night before the race.

Going in, we knew the field wasn't too competitive.  Jack Wallace and JP were predicted to finish 1 - 2, based on previous times, and that's exactly what happened.  In fact, Jack, JP, and Gabe finished 1 - 2 - 3 and MBA's varsity, as a team won easily.  Later, the junior varsity made it a clean sweep for the morning by winning their race, as well.

To me, the course was more hilly than the course at the Trinity-Valkyrie Invitational in Louisville, KY, and the times reflected as much.   Jack won the race in 15:23:80 and JP ran second in 14:34:70.  Gabe was just under 16:00:00 again at 15:59:90.  Also, by the time the boys ran at 9:30 a.m., the sun was out and it was surprisingly hot for early October.  Not idea conditions for PR's.

Coach Russ and I stayed together and watched the boys at the 1, 2, and 3 mile marks, cheering for all of the Big Red varsity runners as they passed us.  JP was running with Jack at the 1-mile mark but by the 2-mile mark, Jack had opened up a bit of a lead, which he maintained through the end of the race.

Jack and JP push each other, as I've written in this space before.  JP wants to run with Jack, I know, which motivates him and keeps him going in races.  Jack knows, I think, that if he has a bad race or lets up, JP will be there.  The competitiveness of their relationship is good for both of them.  

Although it wasn't a competitive race, it's nice to see the boys bring home more hardware for the school trophy case.