Sala Baganza and the start of some travels.

I am fully aware that I have already broken my promise of putting up posts on Sunday or Monday, but this week was a crazy one.  Between the last post and today, we played 2 very important games, I hosted both family and friends, traveled, and took a big risk.  Anyway, here we go.

So after much anticipation, my cousin Nick finally arrived in Reggio Emilia.  Being that he was largely responsible for helping me get here (helped with my passport), I was excited for him to come out and show him the lifestyle he helped me live.  He was traveling with his family, going from north to south, and made a quick day stop in Reggio.  I met them at the hotel, and took them around the city a bit.  After showing them the apartment, we took a trip over the field.  After a little baseball, we had a great meal in the city center.  Everybody was excited to meet Nick and his family, and he didn't disappoint.  Overall, it was a great time and I thoroughly enjoyed the day. 


So with one group of people down, I was preparing for the next.  I have a friend who I met last year in Munich through my roommate.  We became good friends, and some of you may remember that she visited New York for a couple of weeks.  She plays softball for the Haar Disciples, and as luck would have it every year they do a spring trip in Rimini.  Seizing the moment, I invited her out to Reggio for the weekend, considering they were done on Wednesday.  She agreed, and even invited two of her friends along.

Being that she was in Rimini, I figured it was a good opportunity for a beach trip.  After little convincing, me and Josh hopped on a train and headed to the coast.  We spent the day on beach and met up with the girls the next day.  Tough life.  We took the train back to Reggio, and started to plan what would be a great weekend.  My priorities were in order, and I knew that baseball was first.  The trip would have to wait, and they would have to support Palfinger Italia. 

The team we faced this weekend was Sala Baganza.  They aren't a very strong team, but there American foreigner is very good.  We edged him out last year by 1 run, and this year was no different.  After taking the first game, the second game bore great importance.  A win would put us in a good position for the beginning of the year, especially with the best pitcher in the league looming the following weekend.  It would also be Josh's first start, and he made the best of it.  Josh was lights out, pitching seven innings of shut out ball.  Me, on the other hand, played terribly, putting together probably the worst weekend of my italian baseball career.  Either way, I was happy to get the win.  I'm not worried about my performance, and I hope to turn it around this weekend against Modena.

After the games, I went home and started to put together a plan for the next few days.  Being that it was easter weekend, it wasn't an easy task.  Needless to say, I dominated the planning and put together a great weekend.  We left Sunday at 1pm and took the train to Cinque terre.  We spent the night there and all of the next day, going to each of the towns and marveling at its beauty. I went last year, but it never disappoints.  Monday night we hoped on a train to Florence.  We ate dinner in Florence, got a quick drink, and headed to sleep.  The next day, the plan was the girls to stay in florence and me and Josh to catch a train back to Reggio.  It did get interesting.

Me and Josh headed over to the train station at around 3 pm, knowing that we had to get back to practice.  Normally, the train to Florence is between 1 and 2 hours, giving us plenty of time.  There is a train running usually every 40 minutes, so if one was sold out I was sure we could get another.  We arrived only to find out that I was wrong.  All the trains were sold out until 8 pm, and we had to get to practice by 7.  So with not many choices and an angry italian president looming, I decided to take a huge risk.  We hoped on a high speed that was heading to Bologna with no ticket in hand.  For those who don't know, if you get caught on a train without a ticket you usually have to pay somewhere in the vicinity of 100 euros.  It was a risk that needed to be taken, because missing practice was not an option.  After hiding in the bathroom for a little and keeping a close eye out for the ticket lady, we made it to bologna without getting checked.  Luck was on our side, and we got back and made practice without a hiccup.

Overall, it was an awesome weekend.  I had fun with family and friends and won 2 important games.  Luckily, this week should be very mellow and the only focus will be Modena.  I hope everybody at home had a great easter, and I look forward to the next time.  Anyway, talk to you soon!

Messina field

 The first three pictures are before the rains, but as you can see it was ready to pour.  The last photos are pictures I took after they called the game.  Those aren't even the worst parts of the field.  Under the tarp, home plate had actually begin to sink into the ground, and around the bases it was just pools of water.  Anyway, take a look for yourself.

North vs South, Reggio vs Sicily, sort of.....

Based on a facebook status, I'm sure you are all wondering what exactly happened in Sicily yesterday.  I will get to that.  People that are baseball fans will be dumbfounded, and others won't really see the big deal.  Either way, it was exciting and ridiculous, and a serious reminder that baseball in Europe is just different.

First though, this week.  So this week was fairly calm.  We ate a lot, we drank a fair amount, and just enjoyed the laid back European lifestyle.  Josh and I, earlier in the week, met these people that told us that there was a river we could go to somewhere near Reggio to hang out.  Being fans of nature, and Josh being obsessed with fishing, we decided to take an adventure to find this mysterious place.  We asked everybody on our team if they had heard of the river, and they just laughed at us saying there was no such thing.  The only piece of information we were able to get was the name of the river, Enza.  So we google earthed the location, took down directions to the best of our abilities, and went on a mission to prove everybody wrong.

We left our apartment by about 9 am, hopped in the car, and started driving.  After a few wrong turns, we righted the way and headed into the hills of Reggio.  After about an hour or so, we found the Enza.  We drove along side of it, hoping to find an area that looked appealing.  The river wasn't very big, and it wasn't very deep either.  We were hoping to find an area where there were some pools and a place to hang out.  We drove up and down this road, going higher in elevation and back down lower.  Finally, after about 2 and half hours, we agreed on an area to park the car and take a closer look for ourselves.

We luckily found exactly what we were looking for.  We walked into this area that had a nice pool build up, a stoned beach area, and even a bonus water fall (not actually a water fall, more like a water drip).  It was perfect, and we took some pictures to spite our teammates.  Nothing wrong with some old fashion showboating.  Take a look.

So this should turn into a place for us to hang out, as long as the water stays somewhat deep.  Anyway, now about Sicily.   Much like last year, we left friday afternoon from Parma and headed down to Messina.  The weather report was poor, and unfortunately it was accurate.  When we arrived it was pouring.  We got to the hotel, ate one of the best dinners I have ever had, and hung out.  We were all pretty convinced we wouldn't play, but to our surprise the next day we were on a bus and headed to the field.

The field held the water fairly well, and we suited up and started the first game.  Clouds were in the distance, and it was forecast-ed to rain all afternoon and night.  We were down 7-2 going into the 4th, when the rains started.  We were able to finish the 4th, and moved into the top of the 5th.  By this point, it was pouring and the field was turning into a lake.  In America, they would have suspended the game, but this was Italy.  It's important for to go over a few things before I get into the story.

In baseball, the rules are that a game becomes official if the home team is winning after 4 and a half innings, or after the away team bats in the top of the 5th.  In this case, Messina was winning going into the 5th inning, and we were coming up to bat.  Problem was, it was absolutely pouring and becoming dangerous to play.  The field was flooding after taking all the rain from the night before, but the terrible umpires of Italy kept the game going.  Now I don't know if this is because they were from Sicily, or whatever the reason, but Messina went out to the field and was hoping to get three outs and take the win.  Fortunately, karma took over.

Our goal was to keep the inning going, hoping to take long enough where the umpires would call the game.  After a few hits and a few runs, we found ourselves coming back.  The score was 7-5, and the field was disappearing.  After I drew a walk, the bases were loaded.  When I got to first base, the I was standing in a huge puddle.  Our coach started complaining, and the home plate umpire decided to call the game.  Smart, I thought as I ran into the dugout, but what happened next amazed me.  The field umpire came in and started talking to the home plate umpire.  Then, beyond ridiculously and just outright crazy, they told us to come back out.  The rain was harder than ever, the field was completely unplayable, but somehow Messina had convinced the umpires to keep the game going, hoping they would get the win.

Needless to say, our team went crazy.  It was unethical, unimaginable, and just outright crazy what was going on.  We went back out, and like I said, karma took over.  Thomas came up and with one swing of the bat, he cleared the bases and we went up 8-7.  Our team was ecstatic, and for the first time all year we showed the fire that we had the year before.  After the half inning ended, for us to win Messina needed to bat.  Obviously, the game was called and we weren't given the chance.  Italy baseball is crazy sometimes, but it is always exciting.

Both games ended up not counting, and we hoped on the bus, grabbed some dinner, hung out at the hotel, went to the airport, hoped on the plane, and got back to the apartment with barely any sleep.  It was a crazy trip filled with ridiculous baseball, great food, and lots of laughs.  It felt good to see that fire again, and I'm excited for this weekend at home against Sala Baganza.  Hopefully it carries over and the weather is good so we don't have another ridiculous event like Messina. 

This week will be exciting for other reasons as well.  My cousin Nick, who was a major part of why I ended up in Italy, is coming to visit with his family.  At the end of this week, a couple of friends from Germany are coming to spend the weekend, which should be a great time as well.  Should provide a lot of excitement and hopefully some good stories.

Tomorrow I will post some pictures of Messina, and also some pictures of the field after the game was called.  I hope everybody is doing well, and talk to you soon!  Until next time, have a great day!

Home Opener

This week was a very important week for Reggio Baseball.  It was our home opener, which was also our season opener.  The league started last week, but due to a very un-baseballl like bye week, we opened up against Arezzo (team from Florence).  The excitement for all of us has been brewing for a while, but after getting up in the morning, making an american breakfast, we headed over to the field.

Arezzo is an average team, not really great but good enough to beat anybody.  The team is essentially the same as last year, and they had beaten us early in the year in the italian game.  We were anxious for some revenge, and in the first game we got it.  We beat them 14-4, with most of the team hitting well.  I personally went 2 for 5 in the game, with a triple and 4 rbis.  That is pretty much all I would do for the day.  The next game went poorly, and was all too familiar of our first series last year.  After taking the early lead, Arezzo bounced back and took the game from our grasps.  We ended up losing 6-4.  So after our first weekend, we stand at 1 and 1.  Thomas ended up going 2 for 6 in his first serie a series, and Josh came in to throw 4 innings letting up 1 run. 

Although losing is always disappointing, our team can take a lot of positives.  Hopefully, much like last year, we build on those positives and go on a nice win streak.  This week we head down to Messina in Sicily for one of my favorite weekends of the year.  They have been looking good so far, and I look forward to going in there and hopefully winning two games.  I'm also excited to be at the beach, hang out with the guys on a road trip, and sleep in the airport after the game.  Oh, and I almost forgot about the seafood.

Outside of baseball, we have been keeping pretty busy.  Yesterday I promised the girls softball team that we would go to their game, considering how dedicated they are to coming to ours.  So, Sunday morning (aka noon), me and Josh woke up and made some breakfast.  The breakfast went a little too long, because when we showed up to the game it was already over.  Not one of our best moments, but at least we made it there.  After explaining ourselves, we got invited to go to one of the players homes (she dates on of our teammates) for her sisters graduation party from university.  We said what the hell, and decided to go.

We headed over and were greeted by some of the kindest people I have ever met.  They sat us down and fed us until we couldn't eat anymore.  They tried their best to speak english, some better than others.  The father, for example, was an awesome guy full of energy.  He brought in his mother, our friends grandmother, and as confidentially as possible said, "This is my father!"  It was hilarious, and everybody got a kick out of it.  We also had the chance to meet some people our age who live in Reggio, and a couple of people who play softball.  One girl we met, who spoke perfect english, plays for the Italian national team.  Another girl was from Los Angeles, and pretty much doing the same thing we were. This year more than last, we have had the opportunity to really meet a lot of people from Reggio. 

All in all, it was a good week.  I'm sure this week will have its excitement.  I hope everything is well at home and you are enjoying the blog. If you have any desire to keep up with the season, whether it be stats or standings, check out www.reggiobaseball.com.  Paul has been doing a great job keeping up with it.  Anyway, have a great week and talk to you soon!

Starting the routine

After much excitement the past few weeks, we have finally started to hit the stride of redundancy.  It was inevitable that it would happen, but this is the time where we are too early in the season for the excitement of travels.  So for now, I have to patiently wait for the savings to build up and the ideas to start flowing.  Within the last two hours, I started the excessively early and preliminary plannings of a couple of trips I want to take.  The excitement is building, but it is very premature.  Either way, this week had its fun.

The week started with us being required to attend a late lunch with our sponsors.  It was somewhat of a recognition for our championship last year, but mostly for the sponsors to feel like their investments were actually paying off in some capacity.  Our exposure has sky rocketed with the championship and the addition of Thomas DiBenedetto.  The food was phenomenal, the presentation was average, but overall it was a fun experience.  It was nice to meet some of the people that are involved in our program, but it was even better to have all the guys together enjoying a quality meal.  With practice looming afterward, and everybody excessively full, it was decided that batting practice and a soccer game would suffice.  Gotta love those Italians.

The final obligation of the year would be an awards ceremony held on Saturday morning.  The event itself was for all the people in Reggio that have won some type of championship or accolade in the sporting world.  It was incredibly boring.  Unorganized is exactly how I would describe it, and it reminded me of the high school awards dinners.  It also didn't help that the night before we went to the disco.  Needless to say, when it was over I went home and played a game of naps. 

Saturday night was fairly mellow.  We went to my teammate Fillo's house to watch the AC Milan-Inter Milan soccer game.  AC Milan won, in case you were wondering.  After some delicious pizza, which I believe I have eaten close to everyday, and some beer, we headed home to get some rest before we played the next day. 

Now this weekend was the opening weekend of Serie A.  Our team had a bye.  Yes, we had a baseball bye.  So instead of having the weekend off, we scrimmaged against the newly inducted IBL team Novara.  If you read last years blog, Novara is the same team that we beat and fought in the semi finals last year, Milan Senago.  Rumors had spread that it was the same guys on Novara from that team.  All week, I was certain that this would turn into a brawl, considering how much hatred there was after those games last year.  Luckily, the team wasn't the same, and we played two civil games.  We lost the first one, and won the second, but considering it was a scrimmage made this an unimportant fact.  What is important is guys were getting at bats, and pitchers were getting innings.  Personally, I fixed a few things and felt great towards the end.  I was seeing the ball better and taking better swings.  I can't wait to start up next week against Arezzo (Florence) at our home field.

In regards to travels, after the next pay check I hope to start getting around a bit.  Both Thomas and Josh are new to the backpacking world, and I can't wait to show them what it's all about.  I'm hoping to get to Barcelona first, trying to get some beach time while having incredible night life.  Plus, I can't think of a better place to visit first.  This week will be simple and directed to one thing, this weekends games.  It's baseball season.  I hope everybody at home is doing well.  Until next time, have a great week!