Figuring it out

This year, I have tried to keep these blog posts more general.  I have attempted, whether successfully or not, to try show how the European baseball player lives both on and off the field.  I have spoken about baseball, and the collective efforts of our team.  I have also spoken about traveling, living arrangements, and just general European baseball lifestyle moments.  The truth is, baseball is baseball, no matter where you play it.  It is a game of failure, and a game that can wear you down.  This post is more about that side of things, and the difficulties that can be encountered.

This year has been a tough one in general.  Although we are in second, only a game out of first place with a record of 12-6, a lot has been transpiring.  Last year was a breeze, with all of us contributing equally and the team rolling consistently.  This year has been a little different, with on and off the field problems.  It has also been personally difficult.  Last year I came over after a year off from baseball.  I had no expectations of myself, and was pleasantly surprised when I was able to thrive.  The team played well as a group, and it led us to a championship.  I was contributing in a major way, and it felt good to play at such a high level.  This year has been a totally different story.

I came into this year having expectations of myself.  I wanted to be as good as last year, if not better.  I spent the off season working in New York City, but found time to go to the gym every day.  I was preparing myself for a big year.  I came over here confident, but baseball has a way of humbling you.  After a mediocre start, I didn't feel I was where I should be.  This was the beginning of what is currently a major slump.

They say that you start to slump once you believe you are in one.  The mind is a powerful thing, and I am finding that out first hand.  With rainouts and off weekends making the beginning of the season inconsistent, I started to fall into a rut.  Weekend after weekend, I felt worse and worse.  Mixed in would be a game where you get a couple of hits, and then right back to square one.  I started to lose confidence, both in my swing and in myself. With nobody to go to, it was getting worse and worse.  This was the polar opposite of last year.  In my first game for Reggio, I had one of the best games of my career.  My confidence was high, and it carried throughout the season.  This year has been difficult on me.  

The toughest part of being in a slump is not the stats, it's the fact of not contributing.  It is difficult, especially as a foreign player, when you struggle.  You want to help the team win so bad, but the more you press the more you struggle.  The team and organization expect a lot out of you, and in most cases if you don't do well they will send you home.  Luckily, I'm with an organization that is loyal to their players, and they have stuck by me.  There are no excuses, and eventually I know I will come out of it.  After struggling the weekend prior, the toughest part is waiting that week until the next two games.  

This is baseball.  It's what makes you love and hate the sport at the same time.  Like golf, it just takes that one good swing to turn it all around.  I'm still waiting on that moment, and hopefully it comes soon.  The team needs all of us to perform at our highest level.  With 6 weeks left, every game counts.  The push for the playoffs begins this weekend, and I think it's a good time to break out of this slump.  

Enough about me.  This weekend we faced off against Sala Baganza.  After winning in dominating fashion the first game, we were set to face one of the better pitchers in the league.  Josh threw a strong game, but it wasn't enough as we lost 5-0.  Sala's pitcher was great, both pitching and offensively.  After the split, we fell out of first place but are still in the playoff picture.  This weekend should be an interesting one.  Although I don't know the exact plan yet, we are supposed to head down to Messina, Sicily to make up the games that were rained out.  With money being of the essence, I have no idea how we are intending on getting there.  Either way, these next six weeks are extremely important.  There are a few teams in the hunt, and everybody is out to get us.  

Remember to go to www.reggiobaseball.com to keep up with our hunt for the playoffs.  Also, go to mister-baseball.com for all European results and news.  Thanks again for the continued support, and hopefully the next post is a much more positive one.  Hope everybody has a great fourth of July weekend!  Talk to you soon!

Rebound Weekend

After two loses last weekend, the team set out to rebound.  The week leading up to the games were standard, and the team tried to stay positive.  Practices seemed to be better, in some regard, and the guys were all focused.  It's always good to practice hard, but sometimes that doesn't translate into games.  We were set to play Messina at home.  It would be the first time playing in Reggio in three weeks, and the first time playing two games against Messina.  The table was set, and we were ready to tee it up.

We came out of the gate early, scoring 2 quick runs in the first.  I thought this would set the tone, and our offense  was finally going to click.  We ended up only scoring one more run the rest of the game.  We relied on the pitching performance of Fillo, who was throwing a gem.  After a rough start the weekend prior, he was putting up zeros inning after inning.  We were up 3-0 going into the ninth when things started to get interesting.

As of late, we were having a hard time closing games.  It seems that we get very comfortable, and within seconds the other team is rallying and putting pressure on us.  It is a reminder of my college days.  We had a way of putting up runs, but one way or another would let them team back in the game.  I loved college baseball, but last year's wire to wire domination was much more enjoyable.  With two outs, we managed to let up two runs, load the bases, and bring their best hitter to the plate.  Now when I say best hitter, he is leading the league hitting above .500, and was already 2 for 4 on the day.  We were up a run, but a base hit would put them up one.  In the back of my mind, I was nervous.  Very nervous.  With our veteran lefty reliever on the mound, anything could happen.  Luckily, he swung at a curveball in on his hands and grounded out to second to finish the game.  Another close call for Reggio.

The second game went smoothly.  Our offense wasn't completely there, but timely hitting is all that matters.  We were able to plate 4 runs against a very good pitcher, and Josh was lights out.  After getting ejected the week before, he was calm and collected and threw a great game.  He ended up with a complete game shut out, striking out 14.  We have been working well together most of the year, and seem to get better every start.  Winning two games was huge, as the first place team lost two to the last place team.  We reclaimed our spot atop the standings, and hopefully we are there to stay.  We play away the next two weekends, but luckily they are all close by.  No getting up at the crack of dawn.

On Sunday, we were invited for lunch at Takas house.  Franco, Taka's father, is one of our sponsors.  Him and his wife, Mari, are as gracious of hosts can be.  They made a feast, consisting of fried meat, rice, and fried fish.  This was followed by brownies, gelato, and iced coffee.  Wine and scotch were the beverages of choice, and we just talked.  The lunch lasted about 4 hours, but was entertaining and delicious from beginning to end.  It was the perfect way to spend a Sunday.

With baseball being the number one priority for the next 2 months, there isn't much travel on the horizon.  It is possible to make some day trips, but nothing planned just yet.  I hope we continue to play well, and by the end of the season we get our offense clicking on all cylinders.  I especially hope to pick up my performance, as I have been hitting poorly all year.  On that note, I also hope that every father had a great fathers day and everybody had a wonderful weekend.

Thanks again for the continued support.  I hope everybody enjoys reading as much as I enjoy writing the blog.  Remember to check out www.reggiobaseball.com and www.mister-baseball.com for all Reggio and European baseball news.  Have a great day and talk to you soon!

Two Weeks in the Making

As you may or may not have noticed, there was no blog post last week.  To some of you, that might have been a great disappointment.  I'm sure you have been anxiously awaiting the stories from the travels, as well as some baseball updates.  That is all to come.  First, I want to mention something I forgot to from our games at Anzio.

During the pregame warmup, I was called over and told that my family was there.  I had no idea what they were talking about.  I wasn't expecting anybody, but I ran over to see what was going on.  It turned out that some of my relatives from Rome had come to the game.  I had no idea that they were coming, and I have never met them before.  My parents had met them when they were in Italy, and spoke very highly of them.  I was excited to meet them, and labored through the language barrier to get to know them.  It was a pleasant surprise, and they were extremely kind and loving.  They stayed for the first game, and after the game we shared some memories and exchanged goodbyes.  They asked me about 10 times if I wanted anything, anything at all, and insisted that I come to their house for dinner when we play Rome.  I hope to make it work, and I look forward to their hospitality.  I appreciated them taking the time out to come to Anzio and see me play, without ever meeting me previously.

Now, to the travels.  After the Anzio games, the next couple days were designated to getting ready for the trip.  The preparation got me excited, and reminded me of the month trip I took the year before.  I was so excited to get on the train, get on the road, and experience something new.  We caught an 11 am train to Munich, and we were on our way.  This train was the same one I had taken to Oktoberfest months earlier, and I was patiently awaiting getting up North.  It is an absolutely beautiful trip.  The train rips through the mountains, changing landscape as you go through Italy, Austria, and into Germany.  I couldn't help but take video out the window, knowing that down the road I would want to see it again.  I have always been fond of train travel.  Even though it may take longer, it allows you to see so much more, and in some ways get a better appreciation for where you are going.  It just so happens it was going to my favorite city in Europe, which doesn't hurt.

After about 6 and half hours, we finally pulled in to the Munchen Hauptbahnhof (the train station).  We got off the train, and were happily greeted by my friends Ty and Sarah, with beers in hand.  After saying hello, we were on our way to drop our stuff off at Ty's place.  For those who don't know, Ty is an American who plays baseball for the Haar Disciples in the German Baseball League.  Chris and I ran into him the year before in what was a fluke encounter.  We were lost, trying to get back to our hostel, and we hoped on a tram.  We then heard somebody call Chris's name, and turned to see Ty.  Chris had previously played in Germany, and had met him before.  After exchanging pleasantries,  Ty let us know we were going the wrong way.  It ended up being a blessing in disguise, as we have continued to stay there whenever in Munich.  He has been a gracious host and I am extremely thankful for his hospitality.

After dropping off our stuff, we headed out to enjoy all the great things that Munich has to offer.  The rest of the Munich stay would consist of enjoying the best beer in the world, hanging out with germans and americans alike, and eating quality German meals.  Whether we went out to the bars and clubs, or just enjoyed the English Gardens, Munich never disappoints.  One of the things I wanted to do while I was there was head to the concentration camp Dachau.  Every time I had been to Munich, I have missed the opportunity to go. I feel when traveling it is important to learn something, anything at all.  It is easy to just fall into a routine of sightseeing and partying, and miss the opportunity to actually know where you are and what you're looking at.

Lucky for Josh and I, we had a German host who took us out to Dachau.  We hoped in Sarah's car, and arrived at Dachau in about 20 minutes.  I was nervous the entire time, mostly because I have never experienced something like this before.  Dachau was a camp mostly used for political figures, and although there were people killed there, it was nothing like the extermination camps such as Auschwitz.  Either way, the simple idea of going to such a horrible and evil place made the hairs on my neck stick up. When we finally got out of the car, it was almost surreal.  We walked down the path towards the main part of the camp.  It was much larger than I expected, but just as mortifying.  The barracks were surreal, and as I read about what went on, I had a hard time believing humans could ever do such a thing.  As we walked, Sarah told us bit and pieces of information.  At one point I stopped to take it all in, and didn't even know what to think or feel.  It was just sad.  We moved on to the part of the camp that I feared the most, the gas chamber.  I was conflicted on if I was going to actually go in, but I decided to do so.  It was unlike anything I have ever seen.  The idea of it was so simple, but it had this morbid feel that instantly gave you goosebumps.  It is something I'm glad I experienced, but never want to experience again.  If at any point you find yourself in Munich, take the trip to Dachau.

The rest of the trip was all smiles and fun, as we took in the city.  When the final day came, it was upsetting to leave.  Hanging out with all the people I have met the year before was a blast, and they were all equally great to Josh and I.  We were set to leave for Valencia on Saturday night, so we had some time to kill.  We woke up early in the morning, and headed to Ty's girlfriends place to have a traditional Bavarian breakfast.  It consists of pretzels with a special cream cheese, sausages, and Wiess-beer.  Yes, we had a beer at the lovely hour of 9 am.  After breakfast, we packed our things and headed out to the English Gardens for some last minute relaxation.  We then hoped on a train and headed to the airport to catch our flight to Valencia.

The toughest thing when you arrive in a city you have never been to is getting your bearings.  After walking around a bit, trying to find our hostel, we arrived.  Spain has a way of being very complicated, with streets that seem to go in circles and change names every 10 feet.  Either way, by the time we go in it was about midnight.  This isn't a problem in Spain, considering the night doesn't begin until 2 am.  We put down our stuff, took a quick shower, and headed downstairs to the bar.  It was already lively, and there was a birthday party going on.  We met a couple of guys from England, and we all discussed how we needed to find someplace else to go.  Luckily, one of the people who worked at the hostel overheard our conversation and told us they were heading out to a bar at around 2:30 am, followed by a club.  We went to a bar in the city center, and then took a cab to a club at the famous Arts and Sciences Center.  Yes, there is a club at an Art's and Science center.  Spain is pretty ridiculous.  By the time we started to head back to the hostel, it was 6:30 am.  While we were walking out, people were still waiting online to get into the club.  It's absurd.

The next day consisted of relaxing on the beach, followed by a day of sightseeing.  We opted not to go out much more.  Munich followed by a night out in Spain can wear you down, and it definitely did.  We met some great people at the hostel, and enjoyed the Spanish scenery.  It ended being a great trip, with no bumps along the way.  It also makes you excited to get back to Reggio, and to get back to playing the game we love.  It was a perfect vacation.

As you may have already assumed, this trip wasn't necessarily expensive, but it also wasn't the cheapest journey.  For the next couple of months, up until August, I will be living in a budget mode.  The end of the year will involve a lot of traveling, and I need to be fiscally prepared.  Therefore, there won't be much traveling in the upcoming agenda.  The rest of my time will be focused on baseball, and baseball alone.

This weekend started the second half of the season.  We were set to play Arezzo at their field.  They don't have lights, which means we play on Sunday.  When you play on Sunday, you play a 11 am game and a 3 pm game.  Arezzo is in Tuscany, and is about 3 hours away.  So, this means we had to get up at the lovely hour of 5 am to catch a bus leaving at 5:30am.  Not fun.  It ended up directly effecting us, as we came out flat and lost the first game.  The second game was important.  If we lost, we would drop out of first place.  Josh took the mound and was throwing well.  We got an early 5 run lead, but they were threatening in the 4th.  Josh was  getting squeezed by the umpire all game.  This umpire, who I know fairly well, is usually one of the best in the league.  In this particular case, he wasn't.  He was missing a lot of strike calls, and it was wearing on Josh.  With the bases loaded and one run already in for Arezzo, he threw a 3-2 curveball right on the corner.  It seemed to be a definite strike three, but was called a ball.  Josh turned around and cussed, and the umpire threw him out of the game.  This was unwarranted for two reasons.  First, Josh's back was turned walking away from the umpire, and was obviously just venting frustration.  Second, our coach most likely should have been out there trying to defend him so he didn't get tossed, but wasn't.  Either way, Josh was gone and Tito came in.  Arezzo fought back in the later innings, and eventually won the game on a bases loaded walk.

I think it's safe to say the baseball gods weren't on our side. We dropped into third place, but no need to worry just yet.  We still have to make up four games, and these games are against the two bottom teams in the league.  This is, however, the first series we have lost since I have been playing for Reggio.  It wasn't fun at all, actually it was miserable.  Our team isn't performing at the level it should, and there are things that need to change.  I hope these loses are spun positively, and the team realizes that we need to play harder and want it more.  Everybody is out to get us being the defending champions, and we need to want it more than they do.

This upcoming week will be a short one, as we are set to play Messina at home on Saturday.  The rest of the year the pressure is on, and I know we will be up for the challenge.  I look forward to getting back in the baseball groove, and hopefully playing every weekend without a hiccup. I hope everybody had a great couple of week, and I look forward to having positive posts down the road.

Remember to check out reggiobaseball.com for all of the Palfinger Italia's news, updates, and results.  Also, check out mister-baseball.com for all European baseball news.  Thanks for the continued support, and talk to you soon!