Baseball Baloney (Talk the Talk)

The Rain Game

Well all of this rain and the bad storms we had last week make me think back to a very important part, but very little known part of baseball, the rain game.  Sports can be good or bad to the athlete and we you get hot, you ride that thing as long as you can!  But when you are running cold, or in a SLUMP, you do whatever you can to break the chain!  This is where the "Rain Turtles" appear.  Most athletes know about them. They are used to buy a rainout, aka, a day off!  Sometimes when you are in a slump, you feel like if the team could get just one day off, a rainout, you would come back as a whole new person.  So, when no one is looking, and when the time is right, you draw a little turtle in the dirt. This little turtle has the power to break you out of a slump.  It can bring RAIN!  Most athletes know the power of the rain turtle.  You would think the farming industry would catch on or maybe they have their own rain makers, but  if things are not right and you need a break, take the fungo bat or a stick and get to drawing. And like you have always heard, if one is good, two, three or more is better, right?  SO get to drawing rain turtles, get your day off, get your mind right, rest your body and like the previous post said, come back the next day rejuvenated and BE NASTY!

One funny story, while I was playing at TAMU, we had a weekend series and the threat of rain was there, so a few of us decided to draw a few rain turtles to help prompt the rain along.  Well, I am not saying I am an artist or anything, but we drew some pretty good turtles that day.  As a matter of fact, we drew so good, that not only did we get a little rain, we got some hail, and even a tornado!!!!!  ALl of the fans in the stands had to come down and fill up our locker room to get to safety.  So  after sitting in a crowded locker room full of fans, all hunkered down for 30 minutes, I realized, you do not bring the rain turtles out unless you are serious!  Ha, ha.

Be Nasty!

Okay, I figure it's time to get to work and give the people what they really want to hear.  I am talking about the magic that makes all of the practice, drills and mechanics breakdown, tranlate into success.  Hard work alone will not get the job done.  Taking 500 swings during batting practice or throwing bullpens 3 days a week mean that when you get in the game, you will be structurally sound.  Well then, that should get me hits or strikeouts! Right??? WRONG!  That means you will have put yourself into position to get the job done, and that is the stuff your coach, parent or instructor can teach you.  What no one can give you, only you, the player can provide, is the MAGIC!  What is the magic?  That is that special ingredient, that when sprinkled on your approach to the game at hand, makes you NASTY! 

There are only a few places that you can find this special ingredient, magic.  It is found in your back yard, it is found on school playgrounds and it is found wherever you are in a heated game with your brother or best friend.  Think about it, if you were playing wiffle ball in your backyard, against your older brother, you are not just going to throw him strikes, you are going to ATTACK THE ZONE!  You are going to throw strikes, but you are going to try with all your might to be as nasty as you can be!  No way are you going to allow your older brother or best friend to RIP one off you!  By the same token, at  school, playing the same game, you are batting, you are not going to let one of your classmates strike you out, much less even get you out!  You are going to scratch and claw and wait for your pitch to JACK, out of the park!  This tenacity and "Not here, Not now, NO WAY off me" attitude is the magic that we leave behind when we actually play the REAL game of baseball! We try to be mechanically sound, we take a conservative approach and try to use raw talent to get the job done. That is great, do not get me wrong, because mechancis help make sure we will not hurt our arms, etc; and mechanics help us to be consistent in our swings and throws, but do not forget to add in the secret ingredient, the magic, if you will. 

This magic can be described another way, by another name, which may make it more clear for you.  It is called:  COMPETE!  Just COMPETE!  Don't throw strikes,  attack the Zone!  Don't hit the ball, Rip it!  Some one will look bad with every at bat, either the pitcher or the hitter, you decide who is going to look bad on your next at bat and go COMPETE!  It is merely a mental approach to the game.  Be the nicest guy you can be off the field, but on the field, BE NASTY!

Baseball, in Baseball terms (Post #2)

This is only my second blog post and I am HOT!  I had to keep this train rolling down the tracks.  You know, sometimes when you get around athletes, they seem to talk their own language.  It is pretty interesting to listen to a group of guys on the bench during a game and hear how they describe the action or pick on the players and umps, it's a whole other world.  Sometimes it sounds like a secret society, full of code, that even the most proficient hackers can't crack.  Here I will layout some of the most common terms and then you see if you follow and can "Talk the Talk"!

Well for starters, the juego is played on a diamond, at the yard, or as some refer to it as, the shack.  The skipper is in charge of the lineup and he is looking to find the closest thing he can to "murderer's row".  The other team will combat that with their ace.  He stands on the bump and has a whole arsenal of weapons including a heater, a splitty, a hook, even a fish and possibly a fork.  But he better have a rubber arm if he is going to go deep and pin a few hat tricks or golden sombrero's on anybody in the opposing team lineup.

Now the pitcher has a little help, and as we go around the horn, the man at first can pick it, there's a vacuum at 2nd, short has a lot of range and an absolute cannon or howitzer up top.  Now the hot corner is hosting a guy who can flash the leather a little, but he has been known to get caught wearing cement shoes and his nickname is "Tony lama" because of all the boots, but on the other hand, he does have a gun over there, so beware!

There are a couple of rabbits and a gazelle in the outfield so no Texas leaguers or bleeders should drop in.

As the game is going on, many hitters come to the dish, one by one, hoping to swing the lumber and crush the rock.  You should see some guys who can swing the stick, club a few, drill some, crush some, but you may occasionally see some dribblers or cue shots, because ultimately, the guy on the hill is trying to fan the hitter, or even feed him a jam sandwich, at times. The pitcher just doesn't want to serve up a meatball or tater for lunch.  Now there are a lot of strategies that the hitters will use to get on base, you might see a bean ball, a drag, squeeze or even a suicide!  the hitters are shooting for a jack or a gapper but will settle for a seeing eye hit, as long as you don't call them punching judy and it raises their batting average. (Most athletes are stat rats anyway!) Really all it takes is a boot, a worm burner thru the wickets, a Texas Leaguer, or a pea rod/frozen rope thru the hole and you find yourself with ducks on the pond.  Then it comes down to the pitcher buckling down and trying to bring out the whole kitchen sink, since the bases are juiced!  Here you might see an appearance from Uncle Charlie, but you definitely will see the cheddar cheese.

So the batter walks up to the dish, the bases are drunk, and he is looking for something in the wheel house!  The pitcher paints the corners a couple of times, gives the batter a little chin music, then brings the petro right down broadway.  The hitter lays the wood to it, crushes it toward the Monster, and puts it in the cheap seats! Grand Salami!

Well, the ace is played out, time to go to the bullpen and call the fireman, hopefully he will throw water on the flames and leave the gas can in the bully!

So that is how baseball sounds and I did not even mention the role that frying pans, pickles, cans of corn, pearls, and turtles, play.  So, there is a lot to learn if you are going to "Talk the Talk".  Until next time, "Heads Up" and "Watch your Lips!"

www.beltonbatcave.com

Play Ball!

Well, I am joining the ranks of many who have blazed this path before me, but I may be moving in the slow lane.  I created this blog to be informative and amusing, so it may be annoying at times, but then again I may educate you a time or two also.  I will be mainly concentrating on youth baseball and also my times in the baseball life.  I will hit subjects like basic pitching, hitting, and fielding, as well as, other things like mental toughness, training and arm care.  I will try to keep this thing fun by adding in stories of my life in baseball which now spans 30 years, from youth baseball thru college and into the professional ranks and now "blogging"!  Wow, that sounds pretty high-tech or something. ha,ha.

Anyway, keep checking the website, post your comments if you like the articles, if you don't agree with my opinion on things or if you want to suggest a subject for one of the future blog posts.   

Like I said, the main target for this blog is parents and players of youth baseball, those that want to learn, read something amusing, at times, and anyone who just loves baseball and wants to see if I can write!  The first couple of posts, we will treat like Spring Training.  Since this is my first venture into this sort of thing, keep your expectations low for a few games and hopefully I will be in midseason form before too long.

So sit back, relax and from the words of the "great" Dallas Cowboy, T.O., "get your popcorn ready", this is gonna be fun!

Check out http://beltonbatcave.com, the home site for the author of this weblog!