A Baseball Journey: Chapter II

At a secret location, a meeting. The heads of the five teams were all in attendance. Abercrombie and McKiernan, Clairol, Handyman Hardware, Palmer's Market and Springdale Shell. Baseball men. Men of action. Men who had built Springdale into one of the most talented and competitive Little Leagues in Connecticut.

It was 1989. The children of disco were coming of age. Soon, the signup forms would be far longer than the roster sheets, forcing the five teams (bound by the Little League spirit of inclusion) to reluctantly add a sixth. But these were competitive men. Men who had scouted, farmed and developed talent in town for years. Men with championship aspirations.

The 80's became the 90's and March finally arrived. Baseball tryouts. I was ten years old. A few kids made it to the "majors" at nine, but that wasn't me. This was my year. Fly balls in the outfield, can o' corn. Ground balls on the infield, no problem. My arm was my best tool, and I made them see it. I was really good in the field, and though I lacked speed, I didn't need much more than good reflexes at third base.

My only nervous moments came during hitting tryouts, as I was much more comfortable with my glove on than with a bat in my hand. The coaches were seated in folding chairs between first and second, clipboards and pens in hand. The left side of the field was open, and the commissioner of the league stood at the front of the mound. The tall man's easy toss was on me instantly and "crack!" a liner over second made one of the coaches duck. The next pitch came and "bang!" a whistling grounder to the right side got another coach out of his seat. Three or four more shots in their direction and all of the coaches were now on their feet and alert. Call it inexperience, call it late reaction time, but on that afternoon an opposite field hitter was born.

I was so happy. No whiffs in at least 8 pitches. Better than I had hoped. I had no idea that I should be hitting the ball to left field as a righthanded batter. All I knew is I hit the ball hard every time. All I knew is I was good.

Maybe I was too good. Shortly after the tryouts were finished, I was told that I was among the first 10 year-olds selected, and that I would be on the new team, George's Barbers. Child psychology is a beautiful thing, because at the time I was flattered to be among the first group taken. What I did not realize was that the expansion team I was on had been comprised entirely of players new to the league. This meant that while we did get some of the best 9 and 10 year-olds (and one 8 year-old prodigy) the 11 and 12 year-olds on our team would be skateboard kids who just randomly decided (or were forced) to take up baseball, or kids who just moved to the neighborhood. And Kelly Leak did not move into the neighborhood.

A Baseball Journey: Chapter I

Old Yankee Stadium. Ok, not that old. Middle Yankee Stadium. Freakin' Yankee Stadium. Ahem. Yankee Stadium. Bottom 9th, Yanks down 5-4, 1 out and 1 on. Bob Sheppard: "Pinch hitting, Number Thirty-Three, Gary Ward. Number Thirty-Three."

"He's gonna do it," a boy said out loud. "This guy? He's a bum," his father replied. "No, he's gonna do it. He's gonna do it," the boy insisted. Other than when bedtime was, this was the first time the boy had dared disagree with his father, putting the old man's perfect record of being right on the line.

Bang! Ward's powerful swing sent the ball high, deep and into the Right Field bleachers. Already on his feet, the boy leapt in the air and delivered a Shou RyuKen Uppercut right to his mother's nose. Sheer joy instantly turned to panic, as the boy had really put something into the triumphant fist pump. Tempered excitement was soon restored (the woman had a fantastic chin) and The Chairman walked the boy out.

That was July 31st, 1987. I was seven years old.

I quickly reasoned that I was so overjoyed when Ward came through (enough to knock my own mother's block off) not because the Yankees won, but because it was Ward that came through. First, my dad was wrong. This opened up a world of possibilities, though I did give plenty of weight to this being a matter of chance, and he was still flawless in matters of fact. Second, I was right. In my first such leap of faith, I had hit paydirt.

I was a Mets fan. Not only a Mets fan, but a Mets fan raised to hate the Yankees. Maybe it was being at the game in person (I had watched the Buckner play just ten months earlier) maybe I got caught up in "The Wave," or maybe I just liked the matchup. In reality, it was baseball's anthem still ringing in my head from two innings earlier. "Root, root, root for the home team. If they don't win, it's a shame." Right? I mean, what did I owe Detroit? They weren't playing the Mets, so why not? At that moment, it made sense. And I latched on to Gary Ward, and he to me forever. That was the night I became a baseball fan.

RomoBall's Family Ties: Share Your Captions!

Cal Ripken and Steve Wilkos
Baseball and TV's Iron Men

Scott Rolen and Mark Wahlberg
"I'm the guy who does his job- you must be the other guy."


David Ortiz and Esther Rolle
Good times...


Ramon Castro and Bill Nunn
"Two minutes to deadline, Jonah!"

Brandon Dubinsky and Freddie Prinze, Jr.
I still don't know what you did last offseason...


Phil Ivey and Tiger Woods
WSOP with that?

Stan Van Gundy and Ron Jeremy
Magic Time


Kyle Korver and Ashton Kutcher
Punk's


Andy Roddick and Seann William Scott
Stifler/Roddick


Mike Tomlin and Omar Epps
Don't Be a Menace to the AFC Central while starring in Juice and The Wood


Jim Fassel and Robin Williams
Insomnia

Andrew Bynum and Tracy Morgan
Pass the 30 Rock


Vlade Divac, Yasir Arafat and Ringo Starr
"I hate Thanksgiving. Can we go out for Chinese this year?

Hiccups and Pickups: Week 8

FALLING DOWN

Felix Jones. Jon Kitna went as Tony Romo for Halloween. He dropped back 45+ times, threw for 375+ yards, turned it over more than three times, and lost at home. He's sure to be good pill hunting today after his first start in two years, but the loss is not his fault. Two of his picks were on drops, and he never should've been asked to do that much, which brings us to Jones. The Cowboys' are a throw-first offense and can't stop anyone on defense, making Felix a non-factor by halftime most weeks. He has no touchdowns on the year and has only hit double-digit fantasy points twice. Treat this week's loss vs. the Jaguars as a bellwether game and conclude that if Dallas goes down big early at home to Jacksonville, that's just who they are.

Randy Moss. In an unprecedented move, the Minnesota Vikings have hired special assistant Dr. Emmett Lathrop "Doc" Brown to help with the passing game. Unconfirmed sources are reporting that he and Brett Favre are working on something "big." Brown's $10 million dollar fee may seem high, but you can't put a price on 2-5 and a share of last place. Moss quitting on a ball after a pass interference call and his lengthy embrace with Bill Belichick, coupled with the trainer having to re-attach Favre's head was a series of smacks to the face for team owner Zygi Wilf, whose Vikings' record (and personal finances) would be better without Favre and Moss this year.

Chad Ochocinco. When the sum of your name changes and television shows is greater than your touchdowns, it's time to drop yourself from your own fantasy team. Chad, if you're reading, Steve Johnson may still be available.

Ronnie Brown. Remember when the Dolphins were so savvy and took Ronnie Brown instead of Cadillac Williams? They were right, but not by much. Brown has been the more productive of the two, but both have been disappointing at the pro level and are again this year. To Miami's credit, 2005 was loaded with first-round busts, semi-busts and wastes-of-time (Alex Smith, Adam Jones, Cadillac, Troy Williamson, Mike Williams, Shawne Merriman, Braylon Edwards) and at least Ronnie is still wearing teal.

MERCURY RISING

Matthew Stafford. Stafford-to-Johnson was a peach of a connection on Sunday, as the best QB in UGA history hit the best wideout in Georgia Tech history for 101 yards and three scores. Matthew threw another to Pettigrew, and threw himself into the mix of quarterbacks to consider for bye Weeks 9 and 10.

Michael Crabtree. Crabtree heads into the bye a wideout with breakout potential in the second half. Mike has had three fantasy games in his last four, the 49ers may be without Vernon Davis, and their schedule is favorable the rest of the way.

LeGarrette Blount. LeGarrette Blount will be LeMost added fantasy player this week, and he's definitely worth a shot as the lead ballcarrier in Tampa Bay. 120 yards and two TDs on 22 carries looks slightly better than it is, (nearly half his points came on a 48-yard run late in the game), but it's more than enough to trade in the Cadillac for him.

Mike Sims-Walker. Welcome to Jacksonville, home of the hyphen and the most-frustrating players in fantasy. While Jones-Drew owners are still waiting for that monster game (or two?), many Sims-Walker owners had already bailed before his Week 8 breakout. Currently owned in 65% of Yahoo! leagues, Mike caught 8 for 153 and a score in Dallas and has shown he can get it going with Garrard.

Keiland Williams. Washington running backs have been going down faster than a lead zeppelin. Okay. That should cure them, right? Curse, go out from this place! There you go. Now grab Keiland Williams.

Hiccups and Pickups: Week 7

FALLING DOWN

DeAngelo Williams. Drafted as high as 8th overall, Williams is the biggest bust this fantasy season, even with 2nd-rounder Ryan Grant going out for the season. By going on IR, Grant actually did his owners a favor-- he freed up a roster spot immediately. Williams has cost his owners a productive spot in all six games he's played, averaging just 60 yards per contest and reaching the end zone just once. A foot injury on the last play of the game (in which he rushed for 44 yards) makes him a must-bench this week at St. Louis, and makes Jonathan Stewart the primary back in Carolina. The Daily Show should be decent this week at St. Louis, and even better Week 9 hosting the Saints.

Miles Austin. Never play cards with a guy who's name is a city. Maybe we should extend this rule to fantasy, as Miles Austin, Dallas Clark and Austin Collie's fantasy value took a major hit in Week 7. Jon Kitna at quarterback denies Miles the arm strength and escapability he needs to get down the field, but he's still a threat to take any short pass to the house.

Wes Welker. Welker has shown that he's healthy, if not explosive through the Pats' first six games. He's averaging 6 catches a game which puts him on pace for 96, so an increase in looks will be necessary to cross 100 a fourth straight year. Still, that he's healthy and Randy Moss is wearing purple are both positive signs for owners who knew it would take time for Wes to get all the way back.

MERCURY RISING

Kenny Britt. Britt is a fighter. Coach Jeff Fisher suspended Kenny for the start of Sunday's game, and was glad to see the lightning fast wideout land blow after blow against the Eagles after hearing his opening bell. Britt has now scored seven touchdowns in his last five games, scoring in all five, and it doesn't seem to matter if it's Vince Young or Kerry Collins under center. Opposing teams' focus on Chris Johnson will keep Kenny in single coverage, so continue to keep him in your lineup.

Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick has been a bright spot for the winless Bills, making the Trent Edwards Era feel like a distant memory. Ryan has thrown at least two TDs in each game he's started, providing a spark to a Bills team that came up just short vs. New England and Baltimore. His 374-yard/4 TD performance at Baltimore makes Fitzpatrick a fantasy commodity and a strong start three of the next four weeks (@ KC, CHI, DET, @ CIN).

Steve Johnson. No, he's not your kid's science teacher and he didn't try to sell you term life insurance over the phone. The Bills' number one wideout has an every-man quality that has left him virtually unowned until this week. A 5-158-1 performance in Baltimore is anything but common, and that it's the most recent in a 4-game touchdown streak is encouraging as well. Steve should lead the Bills in targets the rest of the season, and Fitzpatrick will continue to average more than 30 throws per game.

Brandon Pettigrew. Season-ending injuries to Dallas Clark and Jermichael Finley vault Brandon into the top tier of tight ends for the second half. Antonio Gates' owners got a scare as well, and will be looking to add a TE for his Week 10 bye. Pettigrew has huge upside and a big game this week will give him trade value as well. Add him.

Owen Daniels. Daniels has been slowly working his way back. 5 catches for 79 in Week 6 marked his best game of the season, and the bye should have him close to full speed. He's a solid start at Indy this week, as Houston will undoubtedly get him more involved than in Week 1, when he had just one reception.

Blair White. Just in time for Halloween, the Blair White Project becomes a viable fantasy option. In a stroke of geographical witchcraft, the power went out in Dallas and Austin just as the lights went on in Pierre and Blair. An ailing Colts' backfield is even more cause to add White, as Peyton will have to throw a ton to make the playoffs this year.