The Leftovers

It's been a fun and exciting Thanksgiving holiday for myself. The 4 days off from work have definitely been nice and much needed. I played a few rounds of golf, hung out with my brother, and spent time with my family. I finished this holiday weekend off by playing baseball today out at the Rose Bowl. We played the Norwalk Dodgers. Wouldn't you know it? Their catcher didn't show up today, so we had to lend them one of ours. Apparently 3 of their pitchers were missing too. We lit up their first pitcher and scored 8 runs in the first 2 innings of the game. In his defense, of which he had none of today, a lot of our runs were scored on errors. It seemed as though every guy on their team had a hole in their glove. They probably made about 10 errors in all, which led to the 17-2 shellacking we put on them today. I had a great day at the dish going 2 for 2 with a home run, infield single, and 3 walks. I crushed a 1-0 changeup out of left center field for my second home run in as many games. I also boarded the "Walk Train" with 3 walks today, which is probably as patient as I've ever been as a hitter.

As for my Thanksgiving it was a lot of fun. The entire family gathered at my parent's house and enjoyed a nice family meal. I was a little bummed to learn that there was no pumpkin flan, but nonetheless I enjoyed a nice array of deserts including chocolate pie, pumpkin pie, and a huge rice krispie treat. That pretty much sums up my holiday weekend in a nutshell. It was a great break from work, of which I'm dreading going back to because it's been 4 days and I don't miss it whatsoever.

Lastly, I'll throw in my two worthless cents about college football because I know my thoughts really matter to you guys. I saw this weekend that Oregon crushed Oregon State 61-35, which gave the Rose Bowl to USC. I know my buddy Dale was probably jumping up and down like a little girl because the Trojans are going to with the Pac-10 again, or as it should be called the Wack-10. Haha. I don't know what I'm talking about. That was my lame attempt at a joke. But apprently USC's schedule was so weak this year that they had to go undefeated to have a chance at the BCS. Oregon State ruined those hopes and dreams for the Trojans. Revenge is a dish best served cold,and Oregon served a big dish of whoop-ass to the Beavers this week in spite of USC. Dale, congratulatons on the Rose Bowl bid. Let's just hope that UCLA doesn't spoil it again like they did a few years ago by upsetting SC. Although I think that loss was a little more painful because it cost them the BCS game. Good luck Dale. I know you don't need it. haha.

Happy Black Friday!

Well it's that time of the year again. BLACK FRIDAY! I'll admit I used to get more excited about it but right now my excitement is mediocre at best. I checked the Best Buy ad yesterday and saw nothing that I wanted. Not that I can afford it or anything but nonetheless, I'm kind of disappointed in Best Buy. They usually have some killer deals but this year they only had a few of which were meaningless to me. They had the usual $4 DVDs and cheap MP3 players but that's about it. They had a deal on an LCD TV and a few laptops, but those are useless to me since I already have them. I do need a new MP3 player for the gym because like the dumbass I am I left my iPod Nano on the treadmill at the gym last Friday; not realizing I had left it there until Sunday afternoon. By that time it was long gone. Some heartless jackass decided it was better theirs than to have a heart and turn it in to the manager. Whatever. I'm pissed at myself for leaving it there. I've already left my phone there twice, so I should consider myself lucky I got that back. Anyways, I digress.

My Thanksgiving dinner isn't until tonight. My brother flew in Wednesday evening with his wife and they went down to San Diego for Thanksgiving yesterday; so today we're having the Hirsh Family Thanksgiving dinner tonight. It's sure to be an exciting meal with the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, homemade gravy, broccoli casserole, and much much more. Oh and for dessert we have a special treat of pumpkin flan. I'm excited.

Pasadena...We Have Liftoff!

I played in my first game in over a month yesterday, which just happened to be a double-header. It felt great to get back out on the field and play some ball. We were supposed to play the Giants scout team but apparently they canceled last Thursday. We ended up playing a team called the Hornets. They looked like a pick-up team and only showed up with 8 players, so we sent them one of our guys to catch for them. I guess that's what happens when you scramble for a game on two days notice. I'm not complaining though. ABs (at-bats) are ABs to me. The more pitching I can see the better. My timing was off a smidgen in my first AB but it came back for the rest of the game. I've been experimenting with my swing and I've opened up my stance a little bit, which has helped me see the ball better as I step into the pitch.

The first game against the Hornets I went 1 for 2 with two walks and a run scored. In my first at-bat I decided to use one of my newly acquired bats that my brother had just sent. It was an I13 Major League Maple bat. You can only guess what happened. Yep, that's right folks, after just one swing of the bat it was broken. I guess the only consolation I got was that I got a base hit. I hadn't realized that I broke it until my teammate told me it was broken. I didn't believe him at first, but I looked at the bat and low and behold the handle was cracked. Damn. Oh well. It happens to everybody. I guess I better get used to it. No matter how many bats I break, every time it happens I get pissed. I don't know what it is, whether I feel an attachment to the bat or what, but I always get upset when I break a bat; even if it is a base hit. Anyways, I digress. I ended up scoring the winning run in the bottom of the 8th inning when I scored on a throwing error by the second baseman. We only played 8 innings because of the time limit. After a quick 15 minute break we were back at it with the Cincinnati Reds scout team.

My first at-bat was the best of the day. I took a first pitch curveball right down broadway for a strike. I was ok with it because my timing was right on and I didn't want to swing at a first pitch curveball and roll it over. However, the pitcher thought it would be wise to come back with the same pitch. This time the results were a little different. I saw the pitch right out of his hand and it looked as big as a beach ball. It was like the scene in Rookie of the Year when Henry Roengardner throws the softball slowpitch to the Mets hitter and he licks his chops at how juicy and perfect the pitch looks; except I had the opposite result and didn't strike out like he did in the movie. I took the same stride and then *THWACK!* I knew it was gone the second I hit it. However, there's always that little part of me that doubts it will actually go out, which is why I choose not to showboat and do some stupid bat throw like I'm a big leaguer. That and it's Sunday baseball. We're there to have fun and play the game, not to show guys up and act like we're better than them; even if we are. Haha. Just kidding. Back to the home run, so as soon as I hit it I saw it soar down the left field line close to the foul pole. I was thinking to myself "Please ...just stay fair. PLEASE!" I saw it hooking foul, but luckily it stayed fair long enough and wrapped around the foul pole in fair territory. I don't know if any of you readers out there have been to Jackie Robinson Field at Brookside Park next to the Rose Bowl but its a pretty interesting field. The dimensions are a little mixed up. Left field is 385 feet, center is 365 feet, and right is 345 feet. It was a pretty good shot because there is a building about 60 feet past the left field fence that is used to store the Rose Parade float that stands about 30 feet tall and the ball I hit landed right where the roof meets the wall. I'd guesstimate it to be around 450 feet or so. In addition to the home run I also walked and hit into two fielder's choices.

Overall in 12 games with the Redbirds I'm hitting .364 with 2 home runs, 4 doubles, 8 RBIs, 6 walks, and 5 stolen bases. I have 11 strikeouts in 44 at-bats, which is 1 every 4. It seems like less, but that's what my stats say. I will say that I'm excited to see what happens for next season. I'm trying to get into an Independent League where ever possible. I know I have the tools to play pro ball as an outfielder. I just need somebody to give me a chance. The only thing working against me right now is my age. I'm 24, which in baseball years is getting up there; especially to not have that much experience. However, I'm very optimistic about this transition from pitching to outfield. Everybody keeps saying I'm pulling the Rick Ankiel. Hey, if he can do it then why can't I? The only difference is he's in the big leagues. Who said dreams can't come true?

A Little Too Late...

First of all I would like to extend my sympathy to all the victims of the Los Angeles fires. These fires have destroyed hundreds of homes as they continue to burn. Our fire fighters are putting their lives on the line everyday to get these fires extinguished and they deserve nothing but respect.

Once again, our game got canceled today. This time we were supposed to play Pasadena City College, but due to the fires their coach had to cancel. We showed up to the field ready to play but their coach had failed to call our coach to notify him. Due to that, we took batting practice on the field and then left. I also threw 2 rounds of BP and my arm felt like Jello after. I know it'll be sore for at least 2 or 3 days. Next week we have a double header starting at 9am out at Brookside, so I will FOR SURE be playing next week.

The smoke and ash from the fires was really bad yesterday. I went to play golf yesterday and driving out of the valley in the morning we could see this blanket of smoke which covered the entire valley and into LA from the Sylmar fire. Smoke from that fire had traveled all the way out to Camarillo, where we were playing. It wasn't as bad when we came back but there was still ash and dust falling in my backyard throughout the day and even into today.

The Baseball Drought is Over!

Hey everybody. It's been almost a month since I last played in a game. We had a scheduling conflict with one team, got rained out the following week, and I had a previous commitment last week, but I'll be back at it Sunday morning at Brookside with the RedBirds. It's been kind of nice to have a few weeks off but it also makes me realize that I love playing ball and can't wait to get back out there. I've still been hitting twice a week over at Pierce College with my buddy Mike, who is one of the coaches over there. He is gracious enough to throw me batting practice after their practice ends twice a week.

My swing really feels like it's coming around. I feel much more comfortable at the plate and can't wait to get back out there Sunday morning and get some more at bats under my belt. I also found some new bats that I like. I was taking batting practice last week over at Pierce with Mike Moustakas (2nd overall pick in the 2007 MLB Draft), who went to Chatsworth High School, and tried out one of his Marucci bats. Oh man, this bat was sweet. It was a solid piece of lumber and I took a liking to it immediately. I'll have to see if I can get my brother to get me some because they are outstanding bats. The only drawback is they're pretty expensive at $100 a piece for Maple. Well worth the money but money is tight so I'll just use the C271 Maple bats my brother gave me from his collection. Anywho, I just thought I'd update you guys on what was happening. Take care everybody and thanks for reading!

New Blog!

Hey everybody! The Hirsh Brothers have a new Blog! You will now be able to post comments on my blogs and tell me what you guys think. Be sure to check back as I will be updating this as often as possible. Thanks everybody!