Thoughts on the Final Day......

A group of 20 or so headed out to sea, led by Magellan, on a catamaran for a day of snorkeling on a coral reef.  Common sense - or is it being old & tired - got the best of me.  I was one of the group that stayed behind.......  Those that stayed behind hit the beach.  Trust me on this one:  the beach, a "speedo" & an over the top body builder are not three ingredients you want to stir in the same kettle.....

Motorcycle riders definitely do not need to obey any traffic laws here.....

I'm really glad that I got my Puerto Rico haircut; now if I'd only thought to wear a hat other than on the baseball field......

Had a nice group dinner in the restaurant at the top of the top of the  hotel.  It was nice to have everyone together for one last time.

Most folks depart for the airport @ 6am for flights that depart between 8-8:30am.  We all rendevous at Bradley around 2pm.....

Can't believe it's over already!!!!!!!!

The Puerto Rican lifestyle is relaxed & laid back..... 7 o'clock might mean 7 o'clock or 7:15 or 7:20 or 7:30...  If one is patient, they can get along & around very well; if not patient, the wait simply becomes longer & longer...  Just the opposite on the baseball field...  players run on & off at all times; between innings, PR teams are ready to go in about 2 minutes; no wasted time; PR teams try to play 7 inning games in 2 hrs or less; we were done games in about 2:15, not too bad....

Sky High On Day Five.....

Today's gamed was in Villa Marison just outside of Bayamon, about 20 miles outside of San Juan.  It was my favorite field of the trip because of it's location right smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood.  Nothing better than neighborhood baseball on a sunny Saturday morning.......

When the Deputy Commissioner retires, there certainly is a place for him in Puerto Rico.  For the life of me, I can't understand why they even paint lane markers on the highways - nobody uses them anyway.....  Probably half of the police cars we've seen (and there are a lot) simply ride around with the blue lights flashing; I have no idea as to how one would know to pullover.......  I am not convinced that traffic lights mean anything........  Some people drive 25mph in a 65 zone, you pass them then come to a traffic light where people have actually stopped, the guy going 25mph comes up behind you and beeps the horn because you have not moved fast enough when the light turned green even though there are 13 cars ahead of you.......

Magellan took about 22 people to El Yunque Rain Forest for a guided 3 hour tour (I did think we were going to see Gilligan at one point).  About 2/3 of the way up, we passed St Peter at the Pearly Gates; he said hello and hoped that we were enjoying ourselves  Really, truly a beautiful place.  After kayaking in the bio lagoon on Thursday and hiking today, I'm glad that Magellan did not know there were limestone caves on the island........  Magellan took pictures of me on the hike for proof that I was there - I hope he accidentally deletes them.....

Tomorrow's a free day except for those joining Magellan (of which I may be one) on a catamaran/snorkeling excursion for the day - when will I learn.  Maestro Moretti has organized a group dinner for tomorrow evening in the hotel restaurant as a final get together - Magellan will probably make us take the steps to the restaurant which is on the 10th floor.......

Puerto Rico All-Stars 9; Glastonbury 8

Gbury dropped a hard-fought contest to the Puerto Rico All-Stars, 9-8.

Gbury took a 7-3 lead into the bottom of the 5th inning when that wacky inning struck once again as it has in all 4 games.  After 2 hits to lead off the inning, PR was able to plate 5 runs without the aid of any other hits.  Gbury came back to tie the score at 8's in the top of the sixth on a Josh Barrett single.  PR added what proved to be the game winner in the bottom of the 6th.

Ben Sellew pitched 4 strong innings.  He surrendered 3 runs, only one which was earned.  Nick Neild & Kevin O'Connell also pitched well.  David Johnston with 2 hits & 3 rbi's led the offense.  Barrett & Pat Morton also had two hits.  Neild added a single to the attack.

Today's game ended the 4 game experience in Puerto Rico.  All games were competitive with one wacky inning, unfortunately, going a long way determining the outcome of each game.  Most importantly, guys had a lot of fun playing in great weather competing against good teams and made new friends. 

Quarter For Your Thoughts On Day 4.......

Woke up to partly to mostly sunny skies....  High today got up to 83 degrees....

Overnight rain precipitated a schedule change that moved our game to the nice stadium in Caugus where we played yesterday......  Too bad for us!!!!!

Made a strategic schedule change after this morning's game - moved the hike in the Rain Forest to Saturday to give the guys a chance to charge up their batteries (Magellan is ok with that) - they're not yet like that Eveready bunny that keeps going & going & going......  Spent a leisurely day around the HJ's and/or  at the beach.....  Too bad for us!!!!!!

A bunch of folks walked to Lupi's for dinner....owned by former major league pitcher Ed Figeroua, the 1st native Puerto Rican pitcher to win 20 games in a season  in the majors.  Ed wasn't there (he must not have known we  were coming...); lot's of MLB memorabilia around the restaurant.  Roger wore his Mickey Mantle replica game jersey.....

You know we've been here awhile when I can get back from the stadium we played at today without directions and an escort by using road signs - yes, those same signs that I still can not read......

A fact we did not know - Bryan Mester is an animal lover; doesn't matter what kind as long as it is alive.  Can't wait to what they might find in his bag when they check at the airport with what he threatens to catch and take home... 

Just found out that our buddy, Anthony, won his 1st round state tournament wrestling match, 8-7.  He grapples again tomorrow in quarterfinals...  Go Ant; Atta Baby!!!!!!

Talk to y'all tomorrow; can't wait to see what Magellan has in store for us at the Rain Forest!!!!!

PRBAHS 11; Glastonbury 3

Same school, different team, same result but a whole different way of getting there........ 

Glastonbury took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the 4th when  three wood bat hits,  three misplays, a balk and assorted other things led to a 9 run PRBAHS inning.  One of those innings where the "Baseball Gods" took over for them.

David Johnston led the offense with an rbi single, stolen base and run scored in the 1st and an rbi triple deep over the center fielders head in the 3rd.  Bryan Mester & Nick Neild also had hits.

Bryan Mester was dazzling on the mound for the 1st three innings before things came apart in the 4th.  Joe Spero was solid in finishing up the game.

Due to rain overnight, our game was moved to the stadium in Caugus for the 2nd straight day; the 4th inning must have been our "payment" to the Baseball Gods for that privledge.

Ramblings From Day 3..........

Day began with an early wake-up call @ 5:45am after getting back to hotel at 10:45pm from Wednesday's game.....

Day started out sunny & clear then transformed into overcast with interment, light showers...

Three more "team" family members arrived bringing the traveling party to 31; more are expected to arrive on Friday.

Mark "Magellan" Sellew coordinated a 2 hour evening kyaking trip to the infamous bio-lagoon for 22 - I was one of the 22 that will now question my sanity forever....  and a bunch of folks are accompanying Magellan tomorrow on a 5 hour hiking tour the Rain Forest - why do we do these things to ourselves???????????

Several other folks spent a much more relaxing evening taking in the pleasures of Old San Juan - this would have been the smarter ones of our bunch......

It is likely that we have never met a nicer bunch of opponents over the 1st 2 games of this trip.  The players are really enjoying themselves......

Players & coaches have had the good fortune of spending a significant amount of time in the presence of Hector Ortiz, former Texas Ranger catcher and current 1st year manager of the Texas Class A affiliate in Hickory, NC........

Enough for tonight - I'm tired.........

PRBAHS 11; Glastonbury 0

And that would be the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy & High School......  Funded significantly by the MLB.  Six unearned runs posted by the PRBAHS over the 3rd & 4th innings pretty much sealed the deal for Glastonbury.  After the 4th inning the Gbury strategy converted to using "inning eaters" through the 5th & 6th inning to save pitching for the remaining 2 games.

David Johnston pitched 3 strong innings, surrendering 2 earned runs on 4 hits.  Spencer Haymond with 3 hits & Josh Barrett with 2 hits led the offense.  Kevin O'Connell, Bryan Mester& Tony Moretti also had hits.  PRBAHS was able to retire the side in order on only 2 occasions.

The Gbury defensive highlight occurred in the bottom of the 5th inning when Gbury "turned" an inning ending double play.  The play began with 3rd baseman Nick Neild making a play on a foul pop behind 3rd base down the left field line.  It ended with Neild receiving an assist and left fielder Joe Spero recording 2 putouts at 3rd base.  You'll have to talk to those guys to fill in the middle part because I certainly can't in witnessing the funniest, most unique thing I have seen in a baseball game.  This certainly verifies the the saying that there is at least one thing that happens in a baseball game that you haven't seen before.  No one in attendance today has ever seen this play......

Next game:  Friday @ 9am. 

To Our Buddy Anthony....

Hey Ant,

You go get 'em in States this weekend!!!!  We know you're here in spirit with us; we just wanted to let you know that we're rooting for you.  Win a couple matches and let us know how you're doing!!!!

Good luck,

The Boys

Stadium - Today's Game Site

Today's game was played in the 10,000 seat stadium in Caugus, all field turf, major league dimensions....

Bayamon (PR) All-Stars 5; Glastonbury 3

If this was SportsCenter, the "Lead" would be "Metal v Wood"....  They had the metal, we had the wood......  Seems someone forgot to tell the other guys it was wood bats.  We could have used metal, but our guys opted to use wood.

The game turned out to be a really fun game.  Bayamon scored single runs in the 1st & 2nd to jump out front, 2-0.  Josh Barrett dropped an rbi double into left centerfield in the top of the 3rd to cut the lead in half, 2-1.  Pat Morton bombed a 2 run homer to deep center in the 4th to give the good guys a 3-2 lead after 4 inning.  Bayamon plated  3 unearned in the bottom of the 5th which turned out to be the game winners.

Offensively, Barrett had two hits, Morton, Rory Bedell & Bryan Mester one each.  Spencer Haymond & David Johnston each reached base twice via walks and/or HBP.  Barrett, Haymond & Johnston stole bases (don't worry - they gave them back when the game was over...)  There was only one inning in which we did not have at least one base-runner.

Nick Neild, Joe Spero & Kevin O'Connell handled the mound duties confidently & effectively.

Defensively, David Johnston at 3rd base & Kevin O'Connell in CF were key in keeping the game under control with several outstanding plays each.  Pat Morton gunned down a would-be base stealer to end a threat with big-league throw.

Couldn't ask for a more fun, competitive game to start play.  Players on the other team were good, played hard and were lots of fun.....

On 2nd Thought.....Day 2

....Woke up to overcast & 78 degrees...  The rain that was called for stayed in the forest....  Turned into partly to mostly sunny, breezy with high of 85 degrees.  Relaxing beginning to the day - late continental breakfast and the guys headed to the beach by 10:30am - a couple of the parents beat them there....

Stayed at the beach until early afternoon; warned the kids about getting sunburned, but I sometimes forget that they are 17 & 18 year olds.....  A couple guys have met and will pay the piper.....  

Mid-afternoon meal for a 4pm departure for game versus the Bayamon (PR) All-Stars.  Think about this - 2 hours to get to the field; 20 minutes to get home after game......  Can you spell R-U-S-H H-O-U-R T-R-A-F-F-I-C....... 

7am departure tomorrow morning for a 9am game - it will be a short night...  I had to wake guys up for bed check - go figure.......

Some initial Thoughts........

.......after a good night's sleep.........

On blogging:  The internet connection in rooms is wireless; when signing onto the blog to do yesterday's update, the 1st hurdle to jump was  that everything converted to Spanish on my computer (but we are in Puerto Rico) - where is Dan Madden when you need him.  Got that straightened out after about 15 minutes of just staring at it......

On driving:  Our mini-van is 6.5 feet wide - the lanes are 5.5 feet wide - 'nuff said.  Drivers here drive on the theory of "go, they'll stop - this makes Jersey look sane.  Once I get past the issue of all traffic signs being in Spanish, you soon realize that many of the Exit signs actually read "Ha Ha - the exit you want is 100 feet behind you".  I really don't  know how you get off the highways because once you get on, it seems like every exit just takes you onto another highway.   Oh, by the way, next street sign we see will be the 1st.....  But that's ok - I can't read them anyway!!!!!!

Price of gas:  47.9 cents a something or other - I haven't been close  enough to read the sign (not that I could) - equates to $1.79 a gallon.

Going to Old San Juan last night:  I was the last of 5 vehicles in line; got shuttled off an exit at a fork in the road when all of our buddies swerved left at the last moment & hung us out to dry. Got to Old San Juan on our own, by way of Havanna, I think.  All vehicles ended up separated and ended up in Old San Juan within 3oo feet of one another within a minute or 2 of one another.  Hmmmmm.......  Got lost on the  way home again; good thing was that we got to see Caracus, Venezeula this time.

Woke up to overcast skies, 78 degrees.  Hmm 32 degrees or 78 degrees??????

Can't wait to see what today brings.......

More 1st Day......

Safe Arrival & Fun 1st Day

After a fast flight from Bradley, the boys touched down safely in San Juan @ 1:00pm to blue skies & temps in the mid 80's...  A nice start to the trip!!!  It was off to a quick check in at the Howard Johnson's & off to the beach by 2:30pm!!!  The guys even found a field to throw on and went to do so on their own.

After a 6pm meeting, it was off to Old San Juan for a native Puerto Rican dinner at ........ the HARD ROCK CAFE......  Oh well.  Dave Mester did negotiate a party of 28 for which they readied for us in about 10 minutes.  Now, him dividing up the dinner check was another matter....  Even with help from Moretti the engineer.....

It was back to HJ's by 10:00pm with bed checks at 11.....

A leisurely day tomorrow until game time at 6pm.  Check back on Wednesday evening for updates.....

Rise & Shine......

The Time Is Here Boys!!!!

Up Early, Ready To Roll!!!!

Don't Be Late!!!

Game Schedule!!!

Game Schedule for the trip: (I have not been informed who we play as of this point in time.)

Wednesday, February 18: 7 pm in Pajaro
Thursday, February 19: 9 am in Caguas
Friday, February 20: 9 am in Gurabo
Saturday, February 21: 9 am in Villa Marison

The morning games are early so it gives us a lot of time to do other things.

I won't be long men!!!

Hector Ortiz Tentatively Scheduled To Visit Players

Hector Ortiz, a catcher who played for KC and Texas, will visit with Glastonbury & Hamden Players for a discussion & question/answer session. He has been a coach in the Texas organization. Ortiz is also currently the hitting instructor for the MLB School in PR during the off season. This event will be scheduled as part of an ice cream social for players & parents of the GAB & Hamden teams to have an opportunity to mingle on an afternoon convenient for all three teams.

This activity is being set up by Rick Dematties & Puerto Rico Baseball Tours Unlimited.

Packing List

Uniform Vest
Uniform Pants
Navy Sleeves
Navy socks (if you wear your pant legs high)
Hat
Belt
Athletic Supporter/Cup
Spikes
Glove
Wood Bat(s)
Catcher’s Gear
New Baseball in Wrapping (I will give to you)
Sun Tan Lotion/Block
Bug Spray
Medications
Pitchers: Your Stuff To Ice Arm

Sunburn.....

Heading to fun in the sun........

Do not forget to bring along suntan lotion/sun block, both for the beach and for games. It is important that you protect yourself while in the sun. If you end up looking like the guy to the left, you're probably not going to be able to play (you might not be able to play if you look like him and ARE NOT sunburned!!!!). While on the field, protect exposed areas - face, ears, back of neck, etc.

Coach Sellew.........

....decided that he can't wait.......

....he's ready to go right now......

....he'll meet us there.....

Root for good winds!!!!!

Leaving This.......

On This......

To This

In

12 Days!!!!!!!

Player/Parent Meeting Time Change

The Player/Parent Meeting tonight (Feb 4) will be at 6:30pm for those that can make it. If you can't make it at 6:30pm, get there when you can. Thanks!

Reminder: Player/Parent Meeting

The Parent/Player Meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, February 4, 2009 @ 7pm. The meeting will be at GHS in the Faculty Dining Room located in the hallway behind the cafeteria.

It is hoped that all players will be able to attend and at least one parent/guardian.

Snow tomorrow, San Juan in 2 weeks!!!!!!

Thanks!!!