Nov. 25, 2009
Track the Commodores in Japan and Hong Kong
Senior catcher Andrew Giobbi will provide updates during the team’s trip to Japan this week.
Blindly entering the Japanese style of baseball, the players did not know what to expect. My expectations certainly did not end on a final record of 1-1-2. We knew we had a plan and strive to execute upon it, but we were also trying to figure out our identity as a club. Being as this was the last day of baseball for quite some time, I think we have a good sense of what kind of team we currently are, but more importantly, what we want to become.
Today’s game (click for recap) was a great indication of what we want to become. We were down the entire game and the energy and momentum was in the other dugout the entire game. All of a sudden, with a hit by pitch, single, walk and a huge hit by Espo, the tides turned back to our side to knot the game up at 3-3 in the ninth. I’m ecstatic that Espo got a big hit, off a very good pitcher, because we desperately needed that. This team shows flashes of the 2007 team with our ability to `never be out of a game.’ Last year, we had exactly zero walk-off victories, and the only comeback victory worth noting was the Sunday Florida game. I’m happy to see the late inning heroics come back to us, and hope more stems from this.
The reason we got to the point of where we could come back in such fashion was because of the bullpen pitching we got today. Jack Armstrong started and threw five innings, allowing two runs and giving the Commodores a legitimate chance to win. He threw extremely hard and ran two-seam fastballs away from left-handed hitters and into right-handed hitters effectively, inducing ground balls, as well as racking up a few strikeouts. Our infield defense was flawless again today, building on an above par season fielding in 2009. Personally, I thought the story of the day, as well as the story of our week in Japan, was Corey Williams and Will Clinard. These two redshirt freshman pitchers have obviously seen limited action, but continue to improve with every appearance they make. Both pitched very well, sticking to their personal pitching plans. These two would be a fantastic asset to the 2010 season if they throw the way they have recently. Brewer was Brewer as well, being the shut down closer he has always been.
If this team has the aspirations of going to Omaha, we will have to continue to play defense and pitch well. These two key elements have been a staple in our play, as well as being highlighted and bolded as our identity right now. I did not review the stats, but from sheer memory, I do not think we made more than three errors in our four games in Japan. For us to be successful, this has to continue from now through the end of June.
Offensively it is hard to tell where we are right now. We are shuffling people in and out of the lineup, which is a fantastic thing to do, however, we need to settle into a consistent lineup sooner or later. The good news is that we have plenty of time to figure that portion out. From my observations, I think our hitters need to hit the baseball to the opposite field more than we do. I see a lot of weakly struck ground balls to the pull side, which gets exposed by the wooden bats that we are using in Japan. Offensively, our potential is through the roof. It will come around; there is no doubt in my mind.
There were hidden gems within the style of play that the Japanese teams used. The reason that we flew across the world to play was to get more experience, as well as study these players. As well as we played defensively the Japanese teams were better. They are wizards with the glove. They take immaculate routes to balls in the infield and throw the ball crisply with poise. Our players could learn a lot by studying them, which is something I hope we came away with here. In my opinion, the size, strength, athleticism and talent of the Japanese simply do not match up to ours, but their fundamentals are better.
The second note about them is they battle our pitchers every at bat. They have not seen sinking fastballs like they saw this week, but they battled them. In game two, one player saw 38 pitches in his four at bats, fouling off pitch after pitch every plate appearance. Granted, we take bigger and more powerful swings, hit more extra base hits, but we also strike out more. We do not have the same two-strike approach that they do which forces action and puts pressure on the defenses. If we can come away with these two simple mentalities from the Japanese style of baseball, this trip was successful for us.
As for the tourist aspect of the trip to Tokyo, after the game we visited the Tokyo Tower. The main purpose for this was to reach an elevation where you can see the city skyline, in turn seeing the endless skyscrapers and office buildings. The city is enormous. Having been to the largest cities in the United States, none of them compare in size. Each and every player is thankful for the opportunity we were given to see such a beautiful place.
On a lighter note, watching Northeasterners like myself, Espo, Curt Casali, etc. along with the Southern guys on the team try and communicate and adapt to a different culture is an absolute riot. Needless to say, it is quite obvious that we are Americans to the fullest. Watching the faces of some of the players entering the sushi restaurant we ate at tonight was priceless. It’s no Maggiano’s; that’s for certain.
Baseball is done for the remainder of the trip, but there is a vast amount of experience left to accomplish this week. I’m sorry I missed Thanksgiving dinner, Mom. We will be at Mt. Fuji at 9 a.m.
Happy Thanksgiving from Tokyo,
Gio
