By: Dick Cooke
Rain has turned our planned exhibition game versus China into BP in the cages for a handful who want to hit and three pitchers doing side workouts. Back the hotel by 11:30.
Rain is forecast for tomorrow as well as we anticipate a visit from President Bush. We're scheduled to finish pre-game BP by 2:30, and he is suppossed to be there at 2:35.
Davey and I have a long conversation in the hotel lobby about what he's thinking line-up and pitching-wise as the opener approaches. He's on edge - in a good way - and ready to go.
Staff dinner tonight at the USA house courtesy of MLB. The USA House is located close to the heart of Beijing, about 20 minutes from the hotel and 20-25 minutes from the village.
The USA House is run by the USOC, and they have rented this building - normally a restaurant and nightclub - for the Olympics to give athletes, coaches and staff a place to hang out if they are in the downtown area.
We have nice, relaxed, sit-down dinner with tons of great food options. Steve Cobb, who works for MLB and handles many logisitical issues here, takes a moment on behalf of MLB to thank everyone for their Olympic participation.
Back to the hotel by 9. The USA-China basketball game is on at 10 and, while we're planning to get together as a group and watch it, I doubt I'll make it that long.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Shopping and Scrimmaging
By: Dick Cooke
A fairly slow day. At 1 p.m., we had a USOC van take a number of us to the Silk Market to experience shopping like you've never seen. Six floors of everything you can imagine - clothes, jewelry, sunglasses, etc. - with each vendor side-by-side in a small booth. It is non-stop bartering. No prices listed. You like something, they tell you how much, you say no, they ask how much and you go from there.
It was fairly comical to listen to and watch and participate in. They physically come and try and pull you into their booths. Non-stop chatter, and the folks who work there speak English better than anyone we've seen. One of our players purchased five suits - which they will tailor for him, and he spent $100 US for each one.
Practice tonight was a six-inning, intra-squad game. Mike Hessman hit a monster home run off of Stephen Strasburg, and the players good naturedly rode Stras pretty hard afterwards. Stras is going through a bit of the "I'm only a college player" type of ribbing from the others on and off the field. I think he's anxious to get on the mound when it counts and show what he can do.
We play China again tomorrow morning and Monday. We are beyond ready to play for real.
I spent a good deal of time visiting with the scouts last night talking about our team, as well as Korea, who is our first opponent. One of the scouts - Mike Larson - came here from Korea, where he watched them play a five game series vs. Cuba. We'll almost certainly see a young, talented left-hander in the opener.
A fairly slow day. At 1 p.m., we had a USOC van take a number of us to the Silk Market to experience shopping like you've never seen. Six floors of everything you can imagine - clothes, jewelry, sunglasses, etc. - with each vendor side-by-side in a small booth. It is non-stop bartering. No prices listed. You like something, they tell you how much, you say no, they ask how much and you go from there.
It was fairly comical to listen to and watch and participate in. They physically come and try and pull you into their booths. Non-stop chatter, and the folks who work there speak English better than anyone we've seen. One of our players purchased five suits - which they will tailor for him, and he spent $100 US for each one.
Practice tonight was a six-inning, intra-squad game. Mike Hessman hit a monster home run off of Stephen Strasburg, and the players good naturedly rode Stras pretty hard afterwards. Stras is going through a bit of the "I'm only a college player" type of ribbing from the others on and off the field. I think he's anxious to get on the mound when it counts and show what he can do.
We play China again tomorrow morning and Monday. We are beyond ready to play for real.
I spent a good deal of time visiting with the scouts last night talking about our team, as well as Korea, who is our first opponent. One of the scouts - Mike Larson - came here from Korea, where he watched them play a five game series vs. Cuba. We'll almost certainly see a young, talented left-hander in the opener.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Let the Games Begin
By: Dick Cooke
8 a.m. - Our USOC van takes the coaches and staff to the main stadium for a short workout. There are two game fields and a practice field. All three are right next to one another, and all three are great facilities. Outstanding playing surface, nice cages. The basketball venue sits just past the center field fence of the main stadium.
9 a.m. - Stretch and throw followed by BP. Brandon Knight throws three innings in a simulated game to get his work in. Back to the hotel by 10:30.
11:30 a.m. - Staff meeting at the hotel to discuss transportation logistics, credentialing issues and our practice, game and meeting schedule. We'll have our first meeting with the scouts on Aug. 12 to talk about Korea, who we play the night of Aug. 13, and the Netherlands who we play on the morning of Aug. 14. The players are itching to go, as is everyone else.
6:30 p.m. - Opening ceremonies tonight and, since Roly and I are not credentialed to march, we join Paul Seiler and 10 others for dinner at Tim's Texas Barbeque. Nothing but real live Beijing cuisine for the baseball bunch.
A call was made to Tim's at 4 to reserve a table for our group. The cab ride takes a good 40 minutes, as we have to go around our elbow to deal with big crowds in the street and closed roads.
But the long ride will certainly be worth it as Tim's comes highly recommended by John Blundell of MLB and another MLB employee. Tim's definitely has a nice, southwestern feel to it. Texas A&M football jerseys, a Texas Longhorns football helmet, other state of Texas athletic memorabilia, TexMex food. The place is crowded so perhaps Tim has found his niche in the Beijing market. Oops. Spoke too soon.
An hour and a half after our party of 13 sits down, and a good hour after we have ordered our food, our waiter, who other than this next message did a great job, tells us that they actually don't have enough food to fill our different orders so if everyone would like a burger they could accommodate us, and they would be free of charge.
Seiler and I are amazed, handle the conversation with some head scratching, and, as we consider the proposition, six people are out of there like a shot. Four are headed to the Thai restaurant down the street, and three others zeroed in on the neighboring McDonald's. Seiler and I laugh, contemplate our options and decide to head back to the hotel. No confrontation with the waiter or manager, but simply a "we didn't quite dine" and dash. A bit of a Twilight Zone restaurant experience.
On the ride home we see a Beijing that is simply impossible to describe. It's 9 p.m., and we now see the major part of downtown, and it is incredible. Huge, wide streets, wide sidewalks and buildings lit up to their full extent that are impossible to accurately describe via written word or photos. Seiler calls the buildings "powerful." Modern architecture with an oriental touch.
Our drive takes us through Tiananmen Square again, which is the geometric center of Beijing. The buildings in and around the square, which I walked near yesterday morning, are now brightly lit and they appear to be even more magnificent. The train station is mammoth, and its lighting illuminates city block after city block.
We watch the rest of the ceremonies at the hotel and then shut it down as soon as they end, as we're all beat. We have a practice day tomorrow during which we will play an intra-squad game to keep our pitchers on track.
8 a.m. - Our USOC van takes the coaches and staff to the main stadium for a short workout. There are two game fields and a practice field. All three are right next to one another, and all three are great facilities. Outstanding playing surface, nice cages. The basketball venue sits just past the center field fence of the main stadium.
9 a.m. - Stretch and throw followed by BP. Brandon Knight throws three innings in a simulated game to get his work in. Back to the hotel by 10:30.
11:30 a.m. - Staff meeting at the hotel to discuss transportation logistics, credentialing issues and our practice, game and meeting schedule. We'll have our first meeting with the scouts on Aug. 12 to talk about Korea, who we play the night of Aug. 13, and the Netherlands who we play on the morning of Aug. 14. The players are itching to go, as is everyone else.
6:30 p.m. - Opening ceremonies tonight and, since Roly and I are not credentialed to march, we join Paul Seiler and 10 others for dinner at Tim's Texas Barbeque. Nothing but real live Beijing cuisine for the baseball bunch.
A call was made to Tim's at 4 to reserve a table for our group. The cab ride takes a good 40 minutes, as we have to go around our elbow to deal with big crowds in the street and closed roads.
But the long ride will certainly be worth it as Tim's comes highly recommended by John Blundell of MLB and another MLB employee. Tim's definitely has a nice, southwestern feel to it. Texas A&M football jerseys, a Texas Longhorns football helmet, other state of Texas athletic memorabilia, TexMex food. The place is crowded so perhaps Tim has found his niche in the Beijing market. Oops. Spoke too soon.
An hour and a half after our party of 13 sits down, and a good hour after we have ordered our food, our waiter, who other than this next message did a great job, tells us that they actually don't have enough food to fill our different orders so if everyone would like a burger they could accommodate us, and they would be free of charge.
Seiler and I are amazed, handle the conversation with some head scratching, and, as we consider the proposition, six people are out of there like a shot. Four are headed to the Thai restaurant down the street, and three others zeroed in on the neighboring McDonald's. Seiler and I laugh, contemplate our options and decide to head back to the hotel. No confrontation with the waiter or manager, but simply a "we didn't quite dine" and dash. A bit of a Twilight Zone restaurant experience.
On the ride home we see a Beijing that is simply impossible to describe. It's 9 p.m., and we now see the major part of downtown, and it is incredible. Huge, wide streets, wide sidewalks and buildings lit up to their full extent that are impossible to accurately describe via written word or photos. Seiler calls the buildings "powerful." Modern architecture with an oriental touch.
Our drive takes us through Tiananmen Square again, which is the geometric center of Beijing. The buildings in and around the square, which I walked near yesterday morning, are now brightly lit and they appear to be even more magnificent. The train station is mammoth, and its lighting illuminates city block after city block.
We watch the rest of the ceremonies at the hotel and then shut it down as soon as they end, as we're all beat. We have a practice day tomorrow during which we will play an intra-squad game to keep our pitchers on track.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Exploring the Sights
By: Dick Cooke
Roly DeArmas (bullpen coach with the Phillies), Davey, Reggie Smith and I are staying at the team hotel just 10 minutes from the baseball venue and not far from many of the popular tourist destinations.
Today we decide to head to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City with three of our scouts. It's a 10 minute, $3 (US) cab ride. There are thousands and thousands of people there, but it's such a huge area it doesn't feel at all crowded. It's almost overwhelming how big the area is. Great architecture, enormous buildings and very, very open and clean. We're trying to figure out just who these folks are carrying fire extinguishers. Fire safety workers? No. We're told they are there for crowd control as well as the firetrucks with the water guns on top. Davey was at Tiananmen Square at 5:30 this morning - not by design, but due to his sleep pattern - and saw the changing of the guard.
Just as we're about to enter the Forbidden City I get a call from Paul Seiler (Exec. Director, USA Baseball) and our team orthopaedic doctor, and I have to return to the hotel to resolve some credential issues. We'll come back here again in the next day or so.
4 p.m. - Van leaves the hotel for the baseball venue. We use our first practice opportunity in Beijing to play an exhibition game versus China tonight. We have to squeeze it into a designated two-hour time limit (6-8 p.m.), which was the time allotted for our practice.
We take BP in the cages prior to the game, take a quick round of infield and then it was right into the game. All but one of the scheduled pitchers get in the game. Blaine Neal doesn't make his planned appearance, as the ballpark lights were turned off precisely at 8 p.m. It's a fairly pedestrian game, as we used this to get the reps we need.
We score 10 in the six innings we play. Jason Donald, who was 0-for-14 versus Canada, gets off the schneid with a broken-bat single and, as a result, we "stop" the game and give him the ball. The Chinese team has no idea what we are doing. It's doubtful he'll put that one on his mantel.
Nine a.m. practice on Friday then an intra-squad game Saturday. We hope to play China once more and the Netherlands before the opener on the 13th.
Roly DeArmas (bullpen coach with the Phillies), Davey, Reggie Smith and I are staying at the team hotel just 10 minutes from the baseball venue and not far from many of the popular tourist destinations.
Today we decide to head to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City with three of our scouts. It's a 10 minute, $3 (US) cab ride. There are thousands and thousands of people there, but it's such a huge area it doesn't feel at all crowded. It's almost overwhelming how big the area is. Great architecture, enormous buildings and very, very open and clean. We're trying to figure out just who these folks are carrying fire extinguishers. Fire safety workers? No. We're told they are there for crowd control as well as the firetrucks with the water guns on top. Davey was at Tiananmen Square at 5:30 this morning - not by design, but due to his sleep pattern - and saw the changing of the guard.
Just as we're about to enter the Forbidden City I get a call from Paul Seiler (Exec. Director, USA Baseball) and our team orthopaedic doctor, and I have to return to the hotel to resolve some credential issues. We'll come back here again in the next day or so.
4 p.m. - Van leaves the hotel for the baseball venue. We use our first practice opportunity in Beijing to play an exhibition game versus China tonight. We have to squeeze it into a designated two-hour time limit (6-8 p.m.), which was the time allotted for our practice.
We take BP in the cages prior to the game, take a quick round of infield and then it was right into the game. All but one of the scheduled pitchers get in the game. Blaine Neal doesn't make his planned appearance, as the ballpark lights were turned off precisely at 8 p.m. It's a fairly pedestrian game, as we used this to get the reps we need.
We score 10 in the six innings we play. Jason Donald, who was 0-for-14 versus Canada, gets off the schneid with a broken-bat single and, as a result, we "stop" the game and give him the ball. The Chinese team has no idea what we are doing. It's doubtful he'll put that one on his mantel.
Nine a.m. practice on Friday then an intra-squad game Saturday. We hope to play China once more and the Netherlands before the opener on the 13th.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Team USA Touches Down in Beijing
By: Dick Cooke
I was not intending to write about our travel day, but that changed when I looked out of the window of the plane and saw the North Pole. I figure I won't have an opportunity to see that landscape very often.
We left the hotel in Cary at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, drove four and a half hours to Dulles in D.C., then took off for Beijing at 1:30 p.m., an hour later than scheduled. We flew from Dulles, over the North Pole, through Siberia and landed in Beijing at 2:20 p.m. their time on Wednesday. We are 12 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.
The flight was packed. The Canadian baseball team was with us, as were a few members of the USA female shooting team, in addition to a large number of Chinese school children.
Two books, a movie and some sleep, and we were in China. Thirteen hours in the air - a very manageable flight. A number of our players and a couple of coaches dropped $750 to upgrade to business class.
Baggage claim took quite a while, but the USOC (United States Olympic Committee) walked us through everything, and all bags were accounted for. The Beijing airport is huge, clean and impressive in its architecture.
On the ride to baggage claim, I spent a few minutes talking with Larry Gatlin of the Gatlin Brothers, who is here to watch the Olympics and is a huge baseball fan. Roly DeArmas and I had our picture taken with Jelena Jankovic from Belgrade, who will become the number one women's tennis player in the world as of August 11. She was on our flight, heading to compete in Beijing.
Tomorrow we play China in an exhibition game at 6 p.m. Our administrators have a full plate prior to that, as there are some credentialing and general logistics issues they need to sort out. In the short time we've been here, the people have attempted to be incredibly helpful, but the language will clearly be an issue.
I was not intending to write about our travel day, but that changed when I looked out of the window of the plane and saw the North Pole. I figure I won't have an opportunity to see that landscape very often.
We left the hotel in Cary at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, drove four and a half hours to Dulles in D.C., then took off for Beijing at 1:30 p.m., an hour later than scheduled. We flew from Dulles, over the North Pole, through Siberia and landed in Beijing at 2:20 p.m. their time on Wednesday. We are 12 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.
The flight was packed. The Canadian baseball team was with us, as were a few members of the USA female shooting team, in addition to a large number of Chinese school children.
Two books, a movie and some sleep, and we were in China. Thirteen hours in the air - a very manageable flight. A number of our players and a couple of coaches dropped $750 to upgrade to business class.
Baggage claim took quite a while, but the USOC (United States Olympic Committee) walked us through everything, and all bags were accounted for. The Beijing airport is huge, clean and impressive in its architecture.
On the ride to baggage claim, I spent a few minutes talking with Larry Gatlin of the Gatlin Brothers, who is here to watch the Olympics and is a huge baseball fan. Roly DeArmas and I had our picture taken with Jelena Jankovic from Belgrade, who will become the number one women's tennis player in the world as of August 11. She was on our flight, heading to compete in Beijing.
Tomorrow we play China in an exhibition game at 6 p.m. Our administrators have a full plate prior to that, as there are some credentialing and general logistics issues they need to sort out. In the short time we've been here, the people have attempted to be incredibly helpful, but the language will clearly be an issue.
Monday, August 4, 2008
USA vs. Canada: Third-Straight Win, Final Exhibition
By: Dick Cooke
A special Davidson College treat for all of the USA Baseball contingent as Porter Halyburton, Davidson '63 and Vietnam POW, addresses the team at lunch. Mike Gaski, the president of USA Baseball and the baseball coach at UNCG, met Porter this spring and asked him to visit with us.
He arrived Sunday in time for our game and plans to see tonight's game as well. Porter talks about teamwork and leadership and communication and how critical it was to the prisoner's survival and its relevance to what we are hoping to accomplish in Beijing.
It's a great talk, and everyone is riveted as he shares some of what he went through for seven years in captivity, and the mechanisms he (and other prisoners) developed to survive.
Our 13-hour flight to Beijing suddenly isn't quite so inconvenient. We present him with a USA baseball jersey, which each player and staff member sign, and he'll be in the dugout with us tonight.
He and I spend a good deal of time afterwards talking about the town of Davidson, as he educates me on who lived where when he was growing up and other parts of his Davidson and Davidson College experience. MLB productions is here to film his presentation, and they are equally impressed.
3 p.m. - Bus to the Durham Bulls stadium.
4:35 p.m. - Stretch.
4:45 p.m. - BP.
7 p.m. - USA 17, Canada 5.
High-scoring games are certainly nice when you're on the right side of the score, but not on a night when it is, by definition, an exhibition game, and we have to pack the bus at 4 a.m. for our bus ride to Dulles airport.
We lead 4-0 in the bottom of the third when Canada scores three off of Jake Arrieta. He pitched well overall, but may have gotten away from his fastball too much and put himself in too many hitters counts. While only in class A he has a high ceiling and is not far from the big leagues.
A nine run 5th by us puts it out of reach and, from that point on, we are looking at the clock. The 10-run rule is in effect in international play so the game officially ends after seven innings, but we play the 8th as we have two pitchers (Brian Duensing and Casey Weathers) who need to get their work in.
We hit four more home runs, led by Hessman with two. We got our first look at right-handed pitcher Stephen Strasburg, a rising junior at San Diego State and the only college player on the team. In fact, he's the first college player to be a part of the USA Professional National team since it's inception in '99. After some first inning jitters, he settles in nicely and throws a dominant second and third inning. Davey and Lach and everyone else are impressed, as this is the first time they've seen him competitively. He carries himself well and looks like he believes he should be here. It will be interesting to see how we use him in China.
Porter Halyburton is front and center on the top step of the dugout for the entire game. As soon as it ends, I inform him that our 17-run output requires that he accompany us to China. He laughs and then four more coaches stop by and tell him the same thing. You don't mess with baseball superstition. I get a sense he considers it for a moment...
You may have noticed that I haven't made observations about player's specific skills or about injuries. For example, while it would be very interesting, I am not sharing pitch velocities. MLB has directed us to be very careful in journal-type settings for a number of reasons, one of which being the fact there is certain information we don't want made public (i.e. - pitcher 'x' throws 96 mph with an 84 mph slider) as it may aid scouting reports by other teams. Four of the other countries we will play had scouts here for this series against Canada so clearly everyone - ourselves included - is looking for any type of edge. Hopefully we're not being paranoid but merely careful.
It's 1:25 a.m. as I wrap this up. We have a long bus ride in three hours so the next entry will come from Beijing, and I hope it's in a timely fashion.
A special Davidson College treat for all of the USA Baseball contingent as Porter Halyburton, Davidson '63 and Vietnam POW, addresses the team at lunch. Mike Gaski, the president of USA Baseball and the baseball coach at UNCG, met Porter this spring and asked him to visit with us.
He arrived Sunday in time for our game and plans to see tonight's game as well. Porter talks about teamwork and leadership and communication and how critical it was to the prisoner's survival and its relevance to what we are hoping to accomplish in Beijing.
It's a great talk, and everyone is riveted as he shares some of what he went through for seven years in captivity, and the mechanisms he (and other prisoners) developed to survive.
Our 13-hour flight to Beijing suddenly isn't quite so inconvenient. We present him with a USA baseball jersey, which each player and staff member sign, and he'll be in the dugout with us tonight.
He and I spend a good deal of time afterwards talking about the town of Davidson, as he educates me on who lived where when he was growing up and other parts of his Davidson and Davidson College experience. MLB productions is here to film his presentation, and they are equally impressed.
3 p.m. - Bus to the Durham Bulls stadium.
4:35 p.m. - Stretch.
4:45 p.m. - BP.
7 p.m. - USA 17, Canada 5.
High-scoring games are certainly nice when you're on the right side of the score, but not on a night when it is, by definition, an exhibition game, and we have to pack the bus at 4 a.m. for our bus ride to Dulles airport.
We lead 4-0 in the bottom of the third when Canada scores three off of Jake Arrieta. He pitched well overall, but may have gotten away from his fastball too much and put himself in too many hitters counts. While only in class A he has a high ceiling and is not far from the big leagues.
A nine run 5th by us puts it out of reach and, from that point on, we are looking at the clock. The 10-run rule is in effect in international play so the game officially ends after seven innings, but we play the 8th as we have two pitchers (Brian Duensing and Casey Weathers) who need to get their work in.
We hit four more home runs, led by Hessman with two. We got our first look at right-handed pitcher Stephen Strasburg, a rising junior at San Diego State and the only college player on the team. In fact, he's the first college player to be a part of the USA Professional National team since it's inception in '99. After some first inning jitters, he settles in nicely and throws a dominant second and third inning. Davey and Lach and everyone else are impressed, as this is the first time they've seen him competitively. He carries himself well and looks like he believes he should be here. It will be interesting to see how we use him in China.
Porter Halyburton is front and center on the top step of the dugout for the entire game. As soon as it ends, I inform him that our 17-run output requires that he accompany us to China. He laughs and then four more coaches stop by and tell him the same thing. You don't mess with baseball superstition. I get a sense he considers it for a moment...
You may have noticed that I haven't made observations about player's specific skills or about injuries. For example, while it would be very interesting, I am not sharing pitch velocities. MLB has directed us to be very careful in journal-type settings for a number of reasons, one of which being the fact there is certain information we don't want made public (i.e. - pitcher 'x' throws 96 mph with an 84 mph slider) as it may aid scouting reports by other teams. Four of the other countries we will play had scouts here for this series against Canada so clearly everyone - ourselves included - is looking for any type of edge. Hopefully we're not being paranoid but merely careful.
It's 1:25 a.m. as I wrap this up. We have a long bus ride in three hours so the next entry will come from Beijing, and I hope it's in a timely fashion.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
USA vs. Canada: Game Three, No Contest
By: Dick Cooke
With a 5 p.m. game tonight following last night's 7 p.m. start and late arrival back to the hotel, Davey decides we will take BP in the cages at the Bulls park today as opposed to normal BP on the field. This gives our guys a chance to relax a bit longer, knowing we still have a long road ahead.
12 p.m. - Team signing in a conference room. Tons of stuff.
1:30 p.m. - Positional players and coaches head to the stadium.
2:30 p.m. - Bus leaves the hotel with pitchers.
2:45 p.m. - BP in the cage. A spartan set-up near the home clubhouse. Roly DeArmas and I throw our BP today. I've felt safer. Today I get Nick Schierholtz, Terry Tiffee, John Gall and Brian Barden. I throw to them for about 20 minutes then we head to the clubhouse for more memorabilia signing and to relax until game time.
7 p.m. - USA 9, Canada 1. Home runs are good things, and we hit four, including a grand slam by Schierholtz (Giants, AAA) in the 8th to put the game out of reach. Home runs to dead center field in the 2nd by LaPorta and Hessman set a nice tone. In addition Tiffee hits one off of the right field foul pole. Schierholz's granny was an absolute bomb off of an 84 mph slider. Well over 420 feet.
Strikeouts are good as well when it's our pitchers recording them. Sixteen tonight for our staff including 10 in five innings by starter Brandon Knight (Mets, AAA). Canada tallies an unearned run in the 6th but manages only five hits on the night. More lineup and position shuffling by Davey. More signing after the game, but this time it is for items that the players, coaches and staff will ultimately receive. One more game Monday night, and then the flow changes as we head to China.
Another nice crowd for today's 5 p.m. start following two sell-outs. Today's crowd includes my wife Susan, our three daughters and my mom, who just turned 89. Mom passes on an invitation to run the bases after the game with the rest of the kids in attendance. Not surprisingly my mom won't be going to China, so this was a nice treat for her to watch these guys play. She's seen every imaginable level of baseball for 44 years and contiues to really enjoy it.
The staff will convene tomorrow to map out Monday's lineup and project the pitching for our time in China. We hope to play three or four exhibition games there in lieu of practice, but those details will be last minute which makes coordinating pitcher's throwing routines a bit more complex for Lach.
I make the somewhat manageble drive home to Davidson to see the family once more and do some last minute things. I will head back to Cary early in the morning for a luncheon.
With a 5 p.m. game tonight following last night's 7 p.m. start and late arrival back to the hotel, Davey decides we will take BP in the cages at the Bulls park today as opposed to normal BP on the field. This gives our guys a chance to relax a bit longer, knowing we still have a long road ahead.
12 p.m. - Team signing in a conference room. Tons of stuff.
1:30 p.m. - Positional players and coaches head to the stadium.
2:30 p.m. - Bus leaves the hotel with pitchers.
2:45 p.m. - BP in the cage. A spartan set-up near the home clubhouse. Roly DeArmas and I throw our BP today. I've felt safer. Today I get Nick Schierholtz, Terry Tiffee, John Gall and Brian Barden. I throw to them for about 20 minutes then we head to the clubhouse for more memorabilia signing and to relax until game time.
7 p.m. - USA 9, Canada 1. Home runs are good things, and we hit four, including a grand slam by Schierholtz (Giants, AAA) in the 8th to put the game out of reach. Home runs to dead center field in the 2nd by LaPorta and Hessman set a nice tone. In addition Tiffee hits one off of the right field foul pole. Schierholz's granny was an absolute bomb off of an 84 mph slider. Well over 420 feet.
Strikeouts are good as well when it's our pitchers recording them. Sixteen tonight for our staff including 10 in five innings by starter Brandon Knight (Mets, AAA). Canada tallies an unearned run in the 6th but manages only five hits on the night. More lineup and position shuffling by Davey. More signing after the game, but this time it is for items that the players, coaches and staff will ultimately receive. One more game Monday night, and then the flow changes as we head to China.
Another nice crowd for today's 5 p.m. start following two sell-outs. Today's crowd includes my wife Susan, our three daughters and my mom, who just turned 89. Mom passes on an invitation to run the bases after the game with the rest of the kids in attendance. Not surprisingly my mom won't be going to China, so this was a nice treat for her to watch these guys play. She's seen every imaginable level of baseball for 44 years and contiues to really enjoy it.
The staff will convene tomorrow to map out Monday's lineup and project the pitching for our time in China. We hope to play three or four exhibition games there in lieu of practice, but those details will be last minute which makes coordinating pitcher's throwing routines a bit more complex for Lach.
I make the somewhat manageble drive home to Davidson to see the family once more and do some last minute things. I will head back to Cary early in the morning for a luncheon.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
USA vs. Canada: Second Exhibition, First Win
By: Dick Cooke
12 p.m. - We have an extensive signing session of bats, balls, posters - you name it, we signed it. Much of this has been set up by USA Baseball to help with fund raising, saying thank you to corporate sponsors, etc. But we sense the players are ready to have the normal rhythm of a game day that they are accustomed to. Others would argue that the rhythm they know will be no where to be seen in China.
2:30 p.m. - Bus leaves for the training complex in Cary. I ride with Rick Eckstein, Davey and Lach (Marcel Lacheman). We take advantage of the four field complex to work on some PFPs (pitchers' fielding practice) on a back field and to introduce and go over our bunt defenses. They are fairly simple and similar to what these guys are used to with their pro clubs. We break a good sweat and, once Davey is satisfied we're in sync, we head over to the main diamond to take BP.
I throw to the same guys again. Matt Brown in particular has a great round of BP and, while that doesn't always translate to the game results, it's clear his stroke has gotten into a groove the past two days. After BP we head over the Durham Bulls park where we play the next three games.
Pat Gillick, currently the GM for the Phillies, is in the dugout before the game. He was the GM for the first USA team I was a part of in 1999, the team that qualified for the 2000 Olympics. He's one of the best baseball minds around having constructed the Blue Jays' world champion teams of '92 and '93. I've spoken with Pat a few times but haven't seen him since our time together in '99. It's great to get a chance to visit. He's here to watch two of his organization's players with us, Donald and Marson, as well as two players on the Canadian team.
7:05 p.m. - Dexter Fowler (Rockies, AA) opens the game with a triple, we score two in the first, and tonight it seems easy. Four strong innings from Trevor Cahill (A's, AA) allowing one hit with three Ks.
Jeremy Cummings (Rays, AAA), who is with the Durham Bulls this year, goes four and pitches well, and Casey Weathers (Rockies, AA) pitches a perfect ninth. Nine hits including two triples and a home run give us a nice cushion throughout the game. Matt Brown indeed has a good night, going 2-for-3 with four RBI and a triple.
I ride back to the hotel with Davey, Eck, and Lach, and we spend the entire ride projecting lineups. Fowler will be a critical piece as the lead-off guy as Davey desperately wants a reliable "table setter."
He's struggling to get a feel for the 3-5 spots but tonight helped him get more comfortable with some options there. He'll juggle the lineup some more over the next two days.
Canada again Sunday at 5 p.m., then once more Monday night before we leave the country.
12 p.m. - We have an extensive signing session of bats, balls, posters - you name it, we signed it. Much of this has been set up by USA Baseball to help with fund raising, saying thank you to corporate sponsors, etc. But we sense the players are ready to have the normal rhythm of a game day that they are accustomed to. Others would argue that the rhythm they know will be no where to be seen in China.
2:30 p.m. - Bus leaves for the training complex in Cary. I ride with Rick Eckstein, Davey and Lach (Marcel Lacheman). We take advantage of the four field complex to work on some PFPs (pitchers' fielding practice) on a back field and to introduce and go over our bunt defenses. They are fairly simple and similar to what these guys are used to with their pro clubs. We break a good sweat and, once Davey is satisfied we're in sync, we head over to the main diamond to take BP.
I throw to the same guys again. Matt Brown in particular has a great round of BP and, while that doesn't always translate to the game results, it's clear his stroke has gotten into a groove the past two days. After BP we head over the Durham Bulls park where we play the next three games.
Pat Gillick, currently the GM for the Phillies, is in the dugout before the game. He was the GM for the first USA team I was a part of in 1999, the team that qualified for the 2000 Olympics. He's one of the best baseball minds around having constructed the Blue Jays' world champion teams of '92 and '93. I've spoken with Pat a few times but haven't seen him since our time together in '99. It's great to get a chance to visit. He's here to watch two of his organization's players with us, Donald and Marson, as well as two players on the Canadian team.
7:05 p.m. - Dexter Fowler (Rockies, AA) opens the game with a triple, we score two in the first, and tonight it seems easy. Four strong innings from Trevor Cahill (A's, AA) allowing one hit with three Ks.
Jeremy Cummings (Rays, AAA), who is with the Durham Bulls this year, goes four and pitches well, and Casey Weathers (Rockies, AA) pitches a perfect ninth. Nine hits including two triples and a home run give us a nice cushion throughout the game. Matt Brown indeed has a good night, going 2-for-3 with four RBI and a triple.
I ride back to the hotel with Davey, Eck, and Lach, and we spend the entire ride projecting lineups. Fowler will be a critical piece as the lead-off guy as Davey desperately wants a reliable "table setter."
He's struggling to get a feel for the 3-5 spots but tonight helped him get more comfortable with some options there. He'll juggle the lineup some more over the next two days.
Canada again Sunday at 5 p.m., then once more Monday night before we leave the country.
Friday, August 1, 2008
USA vs. Canada: First Exhibition
By: Dick Cooke
1 p.m. - This is our first true team meeting, a meet and greet, which is led by Paul Seiler, the executive director of USA Baseball. These meetings are critical as they help everyone learn more about one another but, even more importantly, it allows Paul to explain just what this means from the perspective of USA Baseball and what he hopes it comes to mean for each player.
Forty-two people in the room (24 players, 6 coaches, 12 support staff), and everyone spends a moment explaining who they are, where they are from and how they wound up with this team. It winds up being a two-hour meeting but no one minds.
Seiler is, as usual, impressive in stating what these players represent as they go to play with USA on their uniforms. The players learn about Davey Johnson's history in the game: two World Series as a player, managed the world champion '86 Mets as well as the Orioles, Reds and Dodgers, hit behind Hank Aaron and Sadahuro Oh, got the last hit off of Sandy Koufax in '66. We learn that pitching coach Marcel Lacheman got his first out in a limited big league career by getting Davey to ground out to second base in 1969. Davey denies this.
The staff as a whole does a great job of explaining just what this - and other USA experiences - means to each of us. I look around the room at the players as we speak, and they are locked in and truly listening to what everyone has to say.
The players, too, are impressive. Matt Laporta, who has been in the news recently as the player who was traded by the Brewers for CC Sabbathia, spends most of his time thanking everyone over and over for the opportunity and saying what a privilege it is for him to play with all of the other guys in the room.
John Gall (Marlins, AAA, Stanford '00) says that each player is at a different point in their careers. He and a few others are on the backside of their professional careers, while LaPorta, Brett Anderson and the younger players have their best days ahead. Regardless, he says, this USA opportunity has the same type of lifetime impact on each of them. As a group they seem humbled to be here. Egos appear to have been checked, which is essential.
The meeting ends later than expected so we rush out of the room, get dressed and head to the bus.
3:30 p.m. - Bus to the USA Training Complex in Cary.
4 p.m. - Stretch and throw
4:30 p.m. - BP. 15 minutes per group. Today I throw again to Nix (Rockies, AAA), Donald (Phillies AA), and Brown (Angels, AAA). Lou Marson (Phillies, AA) joins the group. Brown has a particularly good round today after not feeling good about it yesterday.
7 p.m. - After the teams are introduced, I head to the stands where I will chart pitches and velocities and track pitch counts, all of which I communicate to pitching coach Marcel Lacheman during the game. I will also take notes on Canada's hitters and pitchers, which will be inserted into the scouting report we will ultimately create on them when we play in Beijing. Apparently my access to sitting behind home plate may face some challenges in Beijing. We sense that won't be the only challenge over there.
Mike Frongello (Davidson '12), a sophomore pitcher at Davidson, and his family come to the game, and I am able to visit with them.
Left-hander Brett Anderson, (A's, AA) starts for us and gives us four strong innings - three hits, four Ks, one walk.
Terry Tiffee (Dodgers, AAA) drives in the first run in the 3rd. Matt Laporta (Indians, AA) hits a home run in the 4th to put us up 2-0, and Brian Duensing (Twins, AAA) pitches a good 5th and 6th.
Canada scores three in the 7th against Mike Koplove (Dodgers, AAA), a sidearm righty who, because of his arm slot, doesn't match up well against lefties - and nine of Canada's 13 hitters are left-handed. He'll be a situational right-handed pitcher when the Games start.
Brian Barden's (Cardinals, AAA) home run in the bottom of the 7th ties it up, and that's how it stays until the 10th, when Canada scratches a run across against Jeff Stevens (Indians, AAA) with two outs.
4-3 Canada in 10.
It's a quiet bus back to the hotel, but it's simply one of what we hope will be seven or eight games before we play our first one that counts. Davey will adjust the lineup each night; we'll see each starting pitcher once and each reliver twice over these four games, and then we'll have a better sense as to what may or may not work.
1 p.m. - This is our first true team meeting, a meet and greet, which is led by Paul Seiler, the executive director of USA Baseball. These meetings are critical as they help everyone learn more about one another but, even more importantly, it allows Paul to explain just what this means from the perspective of USA Baseball and what he hopes it comes to mean for each player.
Forty-two people in the room (24 players, 6 coaches, 12 support staff), and everyone spends a moment explaining who they are, where they are from and how they wound up with this team. It winds up being a two-hour meeting but no one minds.
Seiler is, as usual, impressive in stating what these players represent as they go to play with USA on their uniforms. The players learn about Davey Johnson's history in the game: two World Series as a player, managed the world champion '86 Mets as well as the Orioles, Reds and Dodgers, hit behind Hank Aaron and Sadahuro Oh, got the last hit off of Sandy Koufax in '66. We learn that pitching coach Marcel Lacheman got his first out in a limited big league career by getting Davey to ground out to second base in 1969. Davey denies this.
The staff as a whole does a great job of explaining just what this - and other USA experiences - means to each of us. I look around the room at the players as we speak, and they are locked in and truly listening to what everyone has to say.
The players, too, are impressive. Matt Laporta, who has been in the news recently as the player who was traded by the Brewers for CC Sabbathia, spends most of his time thanking everyone over and over for the opportunity and saying what a privilege it is for him to play with all of the other guys in the room.
John Gall (Marlins, AAA, Stanford '00) says that each player is at a different point in their careers. He and a few others are on the backside of their professional careers, while LaPorta, Brett Anderson and the younger players have their best days ahead. Regardless, he says, this USA opportunity has the same type of lifetime impact on each of them. As a group they seem humbled to be here. Egos appear to have been checked, which is essential.
The meeting ends later than expected so we rush out of the room, get dressed and head to the bus.
3:30 p.m. - Bus to the USA Training Complex in Cary.
4 p.m. - Stretch and throw
4:30 p.m. - BP. 15 minutes per group. Today I throw again to Nix (Rockies, AAA), Donald (Phillies AA), and Brown (Angels, AAA). Lou Marson (Phillies, AA) joins the group. Brown has a particularly good round today after not feeling good about it yesterday.
7 p.m. - After the teams are introduced, I head to the stands where I will chart pitches and velocities and track pitch counts, all of which I communicate to pitching coach Marcel Lacheman during the game. I will also take notes on Canada's hitters and pitchers, which will be inserted into the scouting report we will ultimately create on them when we play in Beijing. Apparently my access to sitting behind home plate may face some challenges in Beijing. We sense that won't be the only challenge over there.
Mike Frongello (Davidson '12), a sophomore pitcher at Davidson, and his family come to the game, and I am able to visit with them.
Left-hander Brett Anderson, (A's, AA) starts for us and gives us four strong innings - three hits, four Ks, one walk.
Terry Tiffee (Dodgers, AAA) drives in the first run in the 3rd. Matt Laporta (Indians, AA) hits a home run in the 4th to put us up 2-0, and Brian Duensing (Twins, AAA) pitches a good 5th and 6th.
Canada scores three in the 7th against Mike Koplove (Dodgers, AAA), a sidearm righty who, because of his arm slot, doesn't match up well against lefties - and nine of Canada's 13 hitters are left-handed. He'll be a situational right-handed pitcher when the Games start.
Brian Barden's (Cardinals, AAA) home run in the bottom of the 7th ties it up, and that's how it stays until the 10th, when Canada scratches a run across against Jeff Stevens (Indians, AAA) with two outs.
4-3 Canada in 10.
It's a quiet bus back to the hotel, but it's simply one of what we hope will be seven or eight games before we play our first one that counts. Davey will adjust the lineup each night; we'll see each starting pitcher once and each reliver twice over these four games, and then we'll have a better sense as to what may or may not work.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
In Preparation of Exhibition
By: Dick Cooke
| Yesterday was nothing but travel. 8:15 bus from San Jose State, long wait at the San Jose airport for our flight to Houston. We ultimately arrived Raleigh/Durham at 11 p.m., into the hotel shortly after midnight. The transition from a San Jose State dorm room into the Umstead Hotel and Spa was easy though... 9 a.m. – USA baseball gear and attire distributed. More stuff, more bags, packing challenges. We postponed our first official team meeting until Friday as we were pushed for time. 11:30 a.m. – Bus leaves for the USA Baseball Training complex in Cary. N.C., just 10 minutes from the hotel. We have a meet and greet with the media, do an autograph session and then grab some lunch and finally get on the field for practice at 2:30. Short workout today as we have four exhibition games vs. Canada over next four days. Stretch and throw and then BP. Shorter BP rounds today as Reggie Smith, our hitting coach, wants the hitters to get acclimated to our allotted BP times in China. Most of the pitchers threw bullpens again and then it was back to the hotel by 4:30. 6:15 p.m. – We head over to the Embassy Suites to join Team Canada for a reception/dinner hosted by the Triangle Sports Commission. Good food and a fast paced event and everyone was out of there by 8:30. Terry Puhl, the manager for Canada and Bob Watson, a former big league teammate of Puhl’ with the Astros who now serves as the GM for our team, introduce the members of the the respective teams. All of Canada’s players are currently in the U.S. minor leagues except for two - Rheal Cormier and Chris Reitsma. Cormier had a 15-year big league career and gives them a legitimate late-inning left-handed reliever, and Reitsma is not far removed from being the closer for the Atlanta Braves. Canada always swings it well as a team and now their pitching depth makes them a true concern. Puhl feels like they have a shot at gold. Tomorrow is our first games as a team, so we spent some time with Davey talking about line-ups and setting up the pitching over the next four days. |
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