I’ll admit it: Mississauga City Champs sounded good. But now Provincial Champs sounds even better. We won the Ontario Provincial championship 15-6 in a hard fought game against Newmarket. We went 5-0 at the provincials and outscored our opponents 64-16 to win the tournament. That doesn’t give a grumpy coach much to complain about. I couldn’t be prouder of this group of boys. I don’t want to single anyone out because this game — along with our whole season — was a complete team effort. We had a very special group of boys this year: hard working, coachable, highly skilled, and a whole lot of fun to be around. Our only sad note is that our season is over and we have no more games to play. I would like to thank all the parents for giving me the opportunity to coach this extraordinary group of boys. Tryouts are next weekend and then we can get started thinking about next year. Great job boys. And congratulations. You deserve it!

West Hill Game

We beat West Hill 12-3 in the “undefeated” game to reach the SOBA final. The pyramids must have worked because the bats definitely were alive in this game. Danny, Josh, and Hunter all hit triples, and the offense looked great. Isiah, Max, Colton, and Danny pitched another great game. Matthew made a very nice running catch. And Krystian made an excellent heads-up play in right field throwing out a runner out at first. We are guaranteed a silver medal which would be nice, but not what we are looking for. The boys played one of their best games of the year, but I believe they still have a little better game in them. Let’s hope we see it in the championship game. Let’s go RED!!!

North Bay Game

Our sluggish ways continued in our 16-3 win against North Bay, where we rode excellent pitching (Danny and Max) and aggressive base running to our second tournament win. Our cause was helped by a clutch bases-loaded double by Krystian and a towering double by Matthew. Max continued his excellent base running. So far our pitching depth has carried us, but the team bats are resting comfortably under some makeshift pyramids as we resurrect pyramid power (with apologies to Red Kelly). So our bats should be wide awake for our game Sunday. We haven’t played our best yet game: let’s hope we do very soon. Go Red!!

Markham Game

Our whole team jumped on Danny’s back today as he pitched 6 innings of shutout baseball. Danny is literally carrying the whole team on his back in this tournament. This morning he faced 10 batters in his 3 innings of work; this afternoon he faced 11 in 3 innings. It has been a masterful performance. Danny was helped along by a huge blast from Isiah, who must have hit the ball 200 ft. Jason had a gorgeous bunt. Sean made a pretty play at seond. The whole team held it together for the win, but they definitely didn’t bring their “A” game. We’ll have to remember it bring it all on Sunday. It should be fun to play West Hill, the other undefeated team in the tournament.

We managed to beat a very good Mansfield team 10-2 in our SOBA tournament opener. The boys were a little flat but got the job done thanks to 3 shutout innings by Danny, a clutch 2-RBI-single by Matthew, a sweet 3^rd-to-1^st-to-3^rd double play by Jason and Michael, a beautiful home run by Josh, and some good overall defense. If we want to progress in the tournament we need to turn up the intensity and add some jump to our game. Go Red!!

Mississauga City Champs... sure does have a nice ring to it. Congratulations to all the boys for beating Forest Glen 8-7 in the city championship. It was a close one, but in the end the boys got the job done. Our pitching staff carried us — just like they have all season — so a big congratulations goes out to Danny, Colton, Max, and Isiah for an amazing job well done. While we have had better hitting games, we got the hits that we needed. Special congrats to Colton who had 3 RBIs in the game, including a towering clutch home run. Jason and Max also hit the ball hard. Michael had some nice outs at first. Josh made our last out in a very nice game-ending throw to first. Matthew and Krystian played well and are real team players. Hunter made a great catch in right. Sean had his usual superb game. Dryden scored on a beautiful steal of home, which was the difference in our one-run game.

I can’t say enough about how all the boys rose to the challenge, as we finished out our season 25-0 (exhibition, regular season, and playoff games). In fact, that feat is so difficult, no one else in any age group did it in the Mississauga Baseball Association this year. It’s been a fun year, and we have a week to go. Now that the pressure is off, we’ll get loose and have some fun at SOBA this weekend.

Well ... we have 24 games down ... and one win to go ... to reach the goal we set for ourselves last January. After beating the Mississauga North Tigers 15-2 last night, we earned a berth in the championship game this Saturday at Fleetwood. The boys played their best game of the season tonight in shutting down the Tigers. We had great pitching from Danny, Colton, and Max. We had fantastic defense from everyone, but especially from Josh at shortstop. And the bats were alive tonight, too, with a monster hit from Jason, a clutch 2-RBI single from Michael, and some nice shots from Isiah, Colton, and Danny. It won’t be easy to finish the job: the Twins, the Tigers, and Forest Glen are all playing great baseball. We’ll practice hard Thursday, and give it everything we’ve got Saturday, and see where it brings us. It is going to be a hot one Saturday, but let’s keep the boys out of the pool, and keep them idle and cool Saturday morning ... and then have some fun at one o’clock. Go Red!!

We had a very exciting, come from behind 12-10 win against the Twins this afternoon. The boys were very impressive in overcoming a 7-run first inning deficit. We don’t have a lot of experience in close games, so it was all the more impressive to see the boys battle back from a little bit of bad luck and some early mental mistakes. These boys just keep impressing me more and more every game. The nerves of all the boys (and the coaches) were a little on edge today, but we overcame that challenge, too. Kudos to Josh for a monster hit. Max pitched very well. Isiah earned his nickname of “Ice”, cooly shutting down Twins in the 7^th inning. Sean was Sean, making two absolutely crucial late inning defensive plays in the last inning. Lastly, Krystian truly hammered a ball that if he hadn’t gotten under it just a little bit, would have probably cleared the wall in left-center field. All 12 of the boys had a great game, and we are looking forward to having some fun against the Tigers on Tuesday.

We closed out our regular season with a 5-1 win over Royal York. The boys were pretty excited about finishing 20-0. They worked and played hard all year long, and deserve credit for winning all 20 league games they played. Pitching and defense were very solid. The bats were a bit sleepy again. But we definitely plan to wake them up for the playoffs. I can’t say enough about the dedicated effort and focus the boys displayed all year. I am proud of each and every one of them. I really believe that the best is yet to come and that the boys are going to turn it up a notch for the playoffs. It should be a lot of fun.

The boys played much better in the Aug 13 game than they did on Monday against the Tigers. We closed out our season series with Forest Glen with an 11-3 win. Personally, I don t think any of the Mississauga teams have been that eager to beat us for a few weeks now. They d like to catch us napping in the playoffs if they can. We ll have to be on top of our game to meet the challenge. As usual our pitching was excellent tonight, and the bats woke up too. Both Josh and Krystian hit triples. Max hit the ball hard — again. Danny, Colton, and Isiah were sharp on the mound. Playoff baseball is all about peaking at the right time. Let s stay sharp and keep our jump, and finish the job!!

Coaches are grumpy the week before playoffs, and notice the problems and not the progress. Despite telling the boys it was our worse game of the season, they actually played pretty well in spots. Danny, Jason, Colton, Max, and Isiah pitched well. Hunter, Danny, and Max hit the ball hard. Josh made a nice double play at short. Krystian made a great circus catch in center field. Danny and Michael combined for a nice put-out on a well bunted ball. Matthew swung the bat well. But we also made too many mental mistakes — the very ones we thought we'd cleared up weeks ago — so back to the drawing board on that. Still ... it was nice to close out the Tigers 10-4 to win our season series with them. Way to go boys!!

We played our 4^th and possibly our last game against the Majors White team — who are vastly improved from the start of the year. As a Junior entry in the Tyke division, the White team had their challenges this year, but it will all pay off for them big time next year. On our end, Jason pitched well in the first couple of innings. And Josh also had a stand-out inning as pitcher. The bats were quiet, but the base running was enough to win 24-6. As the season winds down, our team goal is to meet the challenge of “August baseball” by peaking at the right time. We have three games next week to close out the season as we head into the playoffs on the following Sunday.

We beat a good Forest Glen team last night 16-9 in a marathon game at Garnetwood. The win gave us a lock on first place, which is nice, but not our ultimate goal. Max, Danny, and Isiah gave us a strong pitching effort, but what caught my eye was the “jump” we showed on defense. All season we have been stressing that baseball is a game of inches. Tonight we had great jump ... with a special mention to Michael, who as catcher was going hard after every passed ball and every pop fly. Nothing a coach likes better than watching the catcher crash into the screen after a foul ball. At the plate, Sean had two triples, and Josh had a home run. Let’s keep it rolling!

We clinched first place last night with a 19-9 win over the Mississauga Tigers at Q2. The boys have really done an outstanding job this year and played some great baseball. I take my hat off to each and every one of them. A lot of our games have been difficult to play for various reasons, so the boys deserve all the credit in the world for keeping focused, game in and game out. Danny had another great game on the mound. Colton hit two home runs — one hit the fence (to the opposite field) on one or two bounces — after just having returned from vacation. Isiah and Matthew also had a couple of nice hits. This team is a pure joy to coach — congratulations to all the boys and thanks to the parents for their support. We haven’t won anything yet, but the boys do deserve a hearty pat on the back for all their hard work so far. Well done boys!

Tonight seemed like an off night. Colton and Jason were away. We were in a post-tournament letdown. One boy had an injury, and another spent the day at Wonderland. Everyone was just a little bit off. But we managed to hold it all together to beat a rapidly improving Twins team, so I am very proud of the boys for rising to the challenge, even on an off night. Our efforts were helped immensely by Danny, who is Mr. Consistency on the mound. Hunter got a key hit. Josh and Dryen played very steadily on the left side of the infield, while Max pitched well and had a line drive double, too. As we predicted, all the teams are rapidly improving, so the rest of the season should be a whole lot of fun. Go Red!

Majors Tournament, Game 1

The coaches were nervous — we played an early morning game against the same team (Brampton Blue Jays) that handed us our first loss of the season at the Brampton tournament in another early morning game. But it was a different story this time, as we were able to avenge our loss with a 16-2 win. The boys continued their strong hitting effort, with Hunter leading the way with a multi-RBI game that helped him win the game MVP award. Congrats Hunter. We were trying to show some jump in our game, and Josh really gave us a boost with an excellent diving catch on a ball in foul territory in the first inning. Both Danny and Colton pitched shutdown baseball. Great game for all the boys.

Majors Tournament, Game 2

The boys got to experience their first real rain delay in game two of the tournament. We had a huge downpour — congrats to the grounds crew for making the diamond playable again. We outlasted Whitby 12-3 with a strong pitching effort from Max and Isiah. Congrats to Isiah for winning the MVP award. The boys played a great game and maintained their focus through the rain delay, to take their second game of the day. Way to go boys. We play Waterdown in the morning for first place in our division. We’ll see which version of our team shows up tomorrow, but let’s hope the boys can keep it going.

Monday, against Forest Glen, we nearly blew a 13 run lead. So against Royal York last night, no lead looked big enough. But kudos to the boys; every last person on our team hit the ball hard. And while Royal York is normally a tough team to play — they can pitch, hit, and run well — last night they had an off night. Put all that together and we beat the Cardinals 33-1. But we know that we aren’t 32 runs better than Royal York. When we meet them again in our last game of the regular season, they will be ready. All the teams in this loop are too good to take any of them lightly.

Because everyone makes the playoffs, these games have an exhibition-like feel; so we won’t necessarily see the other teams’ best pitchers and top line-up. The boys need to keep their feet on the ground, so all I will say is that all our hard work on hitting (batting cages, hitting machines, soft toss) is starting to pay off. So let’s keep it up. But we haven’t won anything yet! Mind you, if we keep working hard and stay focused, anything is possible! Oh yes ... before I forget, Jason hit a massive home run — not an easy task in the long grass of Lakeview West. Way to go, Jason!

We had Forest Glen down by 11 with 2 out in the bottom of the 5^th, and needed one more out for the mercy. But we couldn’t shut them down, and they made a game out of it. All of the teams in our loop, without exception, are well coached teams, lead by very experienced coaches. That means they are all improving each and every week. We have a great group of boys on this team, with excellent baseball skills. Plus they are the nicest group of kids I have ever coached.

But our weakness is focus and effort in the 75-90 minute range of many of our games. Our boys are turning into pylons in the 4^th and 5^th innings. Baseball is a game of inches, which means successful teams have to maintain their edge and their jump over the entire 7 innings of the game. Too many of the boys aren’t ready in the field, go after balls at 3/4 speed, jog on the basepaths, and have absolutely no jump on a hit ball. So that is what we are going to be working on this week. Having said, we did make some nice plays and have some clutch hits in our game against Forest Glen. Well done boys!

After the first inning, when it was 3-up-and-3-down for both teams, we thought we were in a tough game against Forest Glen, who started one of the better pitchers we have faced this year. But our bats exploded for 18 runs in the 2^nd inning and we went on to win 21-1. Danny (3 innings) and Michael (2 innings) were very sharp on the mound. Josh continued his hitting streak with a towering home run in the 2^nd. Jason made a very nice play throwing out a runner at first from third base.

It was a pretty good effort. But many of these games are not as lop-sided as the scores suggest. As our opponents tighten up their defense throughout the summer, we will have to keep improving, too. As we enter vacation season I would encourage the parents to try and include some baseball (a game of catch, some pop flies, a little pitching, a visit to the batting cages) in their vacation activities.

Reminder: Practice has been changed from Saturday morning at Huron Height to Friday at 6:00 at Crookes Park. See you there!

We bounced back nicely in our regular season game tonight against the Twins with a 19-2 win. Danny delivered a masterful pitching performance, putting the Twins down in order in the first 3 innings. Way to go Danny. Max got a nice hit. Michael gunned down a baserunner stealing third. Jason shut the door with his relief pitching effort. It was an all-around great team effort. I’ll have to re-jig the schedule to make sure we don’t play any more morning games. Because this team sure looks better at 6:30pm than it does at 8:30am.

After a 6:45 wake up call on Saturday morning, we lost our first game this year 6-5 to the Brampton Blue Jays. We weren’t sharp first thing in the morning, and it showed. Although we were up 5-4 in the last inning, we had two runs slip past us on a controversial call by the ump, forcing us to change pitchers after a second visit to the mound. But all-in-all it was a good introduction to tournament baseball for the 7 boys who were playing in their first tournament.

After getting knocked out of the tournament play-off round in the morning, we had our most challenging game of the year in the high heat of the day in our 1:30 start in game three. We are still an inexperienced team, and it really showed in our third game, where we struggled from start to finish. If Friday was our best game of the year, then Saturday afternoon had to be our weakest showing. Luckily, we don’t have long to wait to get back into action, when we play the Twins tonight at Tom Chater. We will see if we can keep our regular season undefeated streak alive tonight.

The boys shook the rust off in our first tournament game against Martingrove, which we won 22-4. Special congrats to Colton who might have had the best game I have seen him play in the four years I have coached him: 2 home runs; 6 RBIs; a great inning of pitching; and a nice fielding play at third, throwing a runner out at first. Great job, Colton.

Kudos also go out to Josh, who reminded us of Sleepy when he first arrived at the game, but he went on to have his best showing of the year: pop fly in center field; great fielding play at shortstop; and he hit 3 screamers to center-left field for extra base hits. It was no accident that Josh had his best hitting game of the year: he spent the afternoon belting line drives at the Playdium. It was a great day for Josh: 250 hits in the cage; $5 team rebate on his heavy hitters package; an entry in our team draw for replica Blue Jay jerseys; and hitting like A-Rod out of the 6 hole in our game. Way to go, Josh!!

We beat Royal York 15-5 in a rescheduled Sunday afternoon game. It took the boys a couple of innings to shift fom picnic mode to game mode, but they eventually did. Our hitting was strong. Sean, Danny, Hunter, Jason, and Josh all had extra base hits. Isiah and Max pitched well. The boys played hard. For this team to reach its potential we still have a LOT of work to do.

As a team we are taking a week off, starting on Thursday June 26th. We might not be meeting as a team, but I highly encourage all parents to help their boys get in some baseball over the break. Play some catch. Hit them some pop flys. Better yet — take them up to the Playdium and reserve batting cage #1 in baseball (not softball) mode and do some hitting. I don’t think our competitors are taking a week off, so if we want to keep up with them, we need to keep working harder than they do. We can do it!

We beat the Majors White team 15-5 in a hard fought game at Lakeview on Tuesday night. Playing two nights in a row, we rested our 3 starters from Monday and went with 5 additional pitchers on Tuesday night. They all performwed well, with Hunter having a 3 up and 3 down inning in his first appearance this year. Sean also retired the only 2 batters he faced in his first appearance on the mound this year to shut things down. Nice job boys, and keep up the great work.

We beat the Tigers last night in another close and hard fought game. The Tigers play good baseball, and we needed to come back from a six-run deficit before going on to win 12-10. Our pitching was great. Our fielding was very good. Our hitting wasn’t too bad, but we continue to be plagued by mental mistakes, specifically swinging at bad pitches, and getting thrown out on the basepaths. But the boys battled back, so I am proud of them all. Special congrats to Danny who shut the Tigers down in the last three innings, and helped his cause with a 2 RBI double with 2 out in the seventh. Way to go Danny!

We outlasted the Twins last night 16-6 in a well-played game. Thanks to the Twins and the umpires for being flexible enough to accomodate our weather-related change in venue. We had some definite highlights in this game. The big one was Hunter’s great hitting effort, going 4-4 at the plate. Hunter has some of the sweetest hitting hands this side of the Etobicoke Creek. Josh also made a great catch at third. Our pitching and hitting were strong. But team discipline remains a big challenge. All the teams in the leagure are well coached and improving ... can we keep improving, too? Stay tuned!

We played the undefeated Mississauga North Tigers last night and managed to subdue them 9-7 in a hard fought game. Highlights for me included Danny battling so hard to get his outs that he threw one runner out at first from his belly. Sean also made a great play to first after the ball bounced off the pitcher's glove. That's our goal ... compete hard on every play.

We want 9 guys on the field to compete hard on every play, and we are bound and determined to reach that goal. Go Red!!