The Spring 2011 Mudcats

The draft is over and we are ready to play baseball.  The 2011 Spring West Raleigh Minor League will have a 13 man roster. With 7 returning players, the Mudcats drafted 6 new spring players to the team: Brenner, Asher, Hayes, John, Gavin, and Noah. 

The complete numbered roster for this Spring includes:

#00 Gabe "Lil Papi" Proctor
# 1 Brenner "Double B" Bouquin 

# 2 John "JJ" Chapman 

# 3 Jacob "Smiley" Mitchell

# 8 Gavin Gallaher

#10 Asher "Stones" Lucas

#11 Andrew "Sticks" DiMeo, Jr. 

#12 Hayes "HD" Anderson 

#13 Christopher "Spunk" Gruskin

#14 Charley "Hustle" Hegeman

#22 Noah Hatcher

#28 Zach "Attack" Hurand
#99 Anthony "Red Hot" Alberghina

The new Spring 2011 Mudcats hit the dirt for the first time on Thursday, March 3rd at 5:15PM.

Update and Upcoming Events for the Spring 2011 Season

• New bat regulations on composite bats.  These rules have been adopted by West Raleigh starting immediately. 
• Baseball Explosion at Johnson-Lambe on Saturday, January 29th from 9 am to 4 pm. West Raleigh will be present from 9 am to 12 pm for walk-in registration for spring baseball. To find out more visit J-L on line.
• Registration deadline is Saturday, Feburary 12th. 
• Tryouts will be held February 19-20 and 26-27. If the second weekend is canceled it will not be reschedule. 
• Drafts will take place the week of February 27. 
• Practices will begin the weekend of March 5. 
• Opening day is scheduled for April 2.

The end

Of all the things I expected to find out in our first season in West Raleigh baseball, the one I absolutely, positively did not expect to learn is this: winning doesn't matter.

That's not how it was supposed to be. The reason we made the commitment to four practices/games per week was because winning does matter. We wanted real tryouts. We didn't want everyone to get a trophy. We wanted to keep score. We wanted to have a win-loss record at the end of the season.

We got all those things, and I am pleased to report that I don't believe anyone's growth was stunted from the emotional impact of having to accept losing a game or two. But we got something else that I don't think we expected: a real team.

At first, I thought the reason the Mudcats seemed to have such tremendous chemistry was because we were all thrown together four times per week. I thought maybe everyone who had to be together four times per week got along with each other. I thought all West Raleigh teams were like this, with shirt fairies and detailed practice plans and Google calendars.

But as we started seeing more teams, it became obvious that the fall 2010 Mudcats were unique. And around the midpoint of the season, it became clear that there's a difference between playing West Raleigh baseball and playing West Raleigh Mudcats baseball. The former is a crash course in serious baseball. The latter is a crash course in serious baseball...and how to be on a team.

It helped that the players genuinely seemed to like each other. I don't remember filling out a personality test during registration, but somehow the group that was assembled in the fall of 2010 fit perfectly.

Much of the credit has to go to the six returnees--Drew, Christopher, Anthony, Gabe, Smiley and Charley--who never seemed unwilling to help the new guys figure out what was going on. Making the jump from other rec baseball leagues to West Raleigh is like going from training wheels to riding a Harley. It would have been easy for the veterans to get frustrated. Outwardly, at least, they never did. As Coach Andrew said after the game, "At our first practice it was almost like we had two teams, and those two teams came together."

When our friends in Chapel Hill asked how the season was going, we gave glowing reviews. Knowing we went to West Raleigh seeking a certain level of competitiveness, their next question was almost always, "So, you're winning a lot of games?"

Well, no. And yes, the Mudcats lost on Saturday, falling 15-8 to the Riverdogs in the final game of the season for both squads. This time next week, I doubt I'm going to remember that score. But I know for sure I'll remember the scene 30 minutes after the final pitch, when a herd of Mudcats were still playing an impromptu football game near the concession stand. You couldn't help but look around, and when you did you noticed something: there was not a single Riverdog anywhere around...except for their head coach, who was sitting alone on a bench, watching the Mudcats play football, with the kids laughing and high-fiving as they decided who got to play quarterback.

Saturday's Mudcat scoring plays
First inning
Drew drove in Charley--who once again had two hits from the leadoff spot--with a fielder's choice.
Score after one-half inning: Mudcats 1, Riverdogs 0

Second inning
Anthony led off with a single, then moved all the way to third after the Riverdog infield had trouble handling a hard shot off the bat of J.J. Gabe's RBI single drove in Anthony.
Score after one and a half innings: Mudcats 2, Riverdogs 2

Fourth inning
Hayes singled leading off the inning, then motored all the way around to score on Smiley's hard-hit double. Smiley scored all the way from second, despite the protests of the splendidly-shod opposing coach, after an errant throw at first base.
Score after three and a half innings: Mudcats 4, Riverdogs 4

Fifth inning
Brenner started the rally by beating a close play at first. Tyler quickly gave the Mudcats two baserunners, and Charley drove home Brenner with a single to left. Three straight singles scored Tyler, and then Drew drove in a pair with another single.
Score after four and a half innings: Riverdogs 11, Mudcats 8


Saturday's Web Gems

• Christopher played a flawless first base, including three unassisted putouts.



• Anthony made a deceptively difficult play, backing up on a pop fly over his head and easily gathering it to end the first inning.



• Charley had a hand in all three outs in the second inning. He caught a pop-up for the first out, then threw to first twice in a row to retire the Riverdogs without a run.

Saturday's line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Mudcats	1	1	0	2	4	0	8	11
Riverdogs	2	0	2	7	4	X	15	16

Postseason Game #2--Bats 10, Mudcats 9

Sometimes you have to watch a long, drawn-out stretch of over two months in order to see an entire season unfold. But sometimes you can watch the whole darn thing in 90 minutes.

That's essentially what happened on Friday night at Nowell Field, as the Mudcats' 10-9 loss to the Bats summed up virtually everything about a season that has consistently been right on the edge of significant success. Consider the things the Mudcats did well: some of the best defense of the season, including terrific inning-ending plays in the first, second and third that left five Bat runners stranded through three innings. At the plate, 11 different Mudcats collected at least one hit. On the bases, the Mudcats ran aggressively, efficiently turning those hits into runs.

And yet, it wasn't quite enough. There were some defensive hiccups in the hated fourth, and the Bats made several terrific plays in the field to limit the Mudcat offensive production. What could have very easily been a 16- or 17-run performance was instead limited to nine.

"The difference was how many catches they made in the outfield," Coach Andrew said, while also pointing out that one of the key culprits for the Bats was a former Mudcat, which obviously explains his solid fundamentals. "The most important position on the field is the one where the ball is hit. I want you guys to remember that. Taking fly balls is just as important as hitting or taking grounders."

The game also showed some continued progress in the area of mental toughness. An early 3-0 Mudcat lead was swept away by the four-run Bat fourth. At times this year, it's taken a couple innings to recover from a bad defensive inning. Not this time. The Mudcats immediately posted five runs in the top of the fifth to take the lead right back. A four-spot for the Bats in the bottom of the fifth proved decisive, as a sixth-inning Mudcat rally fell just one run short.

Fittingly, there were stickers galore. The entire team earned a sticker, as did Christopher, Charley, LB and Hayes for defense. JJ also picked up a sticker for his ringing clutch single in the sixth, one of the hardest-hit balls of the season.

Friday's Mudcat scoring plays
First inning
Drew drove in Charley--who had two hits and scored two runs from the leadoff spot--to provide an early 1-0 lead.
Score after one-half inning: Mudcats 1, Bats 0

Second inning
As they did all night, the bottom of the order generated some offense. This time, they did it with two outs. Gabe singled and scored on a line drive double down the left-field line by Big Ben. Brenner singled Ben to third, and then Tyler picked up an RBI with a single to the right side.
Score after one and a half innings: Mudcats 3, Bats 0

Fifth inning
Gabe got it started again when he reached leading off the inning. Big Ben continued to swing a hot bat with another hard shot to left field. Brenner loaded the bases, and after Tyler was robbed by a nice play in center field, Asher drove in a run with a grounder up the middle. Charley plated two with a hard single to left, and Smiley completed the scoring with an RBI single up the middle.
Score after four and a half innings: Mudcats 8, Bats 6

Sixth inning
Only some solid infield play from the Bats kept this from being a bigger inning. Big Ben drove in LB with the inning's only run, but without a couple solid plays on the left side of the infield that turned potential hits into fielder's choices, this frame had the makings of a rally.
Final score: Bats 10, Mudcats 9


Friday's Web Gems

• Christopher ended the first with a diving catch of a pop foul.



• Hayes snagged a line drive in left-center in the second, then fired to second base to complete the inning-ending double play.



• With two runners on and the Bats poised to break open the game in the third, LB knocked down a tough line drive up the middle, then recovered to make the inning-ending force out.



• In the fourth, Charley recorded the first out at home of the season, alertly grabbing a grounder at his pitcher position and stepping on the plate to pick up the bases-loaded force.

Friday's line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Mudcats	1	2	0	0	5	1	9	15
Bats	0	0	2	4	4	X	10	15

Practice #21--Nope

See, this is what happens when you go against the blog. With four straight off days between tournament games, the Mudcats tried to hold practice on Thursday night. They should have known better. After all, the blog had already declared last week's practice to be the final practice of the season.

Lesson: don't mess with the blog.

At almost exactly the time Coach Andrew was within shouting distance of Method Road, the clouds dumped buckets of water on the field. Practice could have still been held, but the Mudcats would have had to wear water wings when running the bases. So the team decided to be flexible and reschedule practice for the cages at West Raleigh. And by "be flexible and reschedule practice" I mean, "Ask General Manager Jenn to send out a flurry of emails and reorganize everything."

So everyone rerouted and headed for West Raleigh. At approximately the moment Coach Andrew pulled into the parking lot, the clouds dumped buckets of water on the field. All games at West Raleigh were canceled, and the only game the Mudcats were able to play was a very muddy session of football.

Assuming weather allows (the blog decrees that Friday will be beautiful), the Mudcats will finally hit the field on Friday at 5:30 (pregame at 4:30).

EOS Tournament

To stay updated on the End of Season (EOS) Tournament check out the updated bracket. 

The seedings for the EOS tournament are:

#1 Scrappers

#2 Bees

#3 Thunder

#4 Bats

#5 Riverdogs

#6 Lookouts

#7 Bulls

#8 Mudcats

The Mudcats are in action Sunday, October 24th: Game at Noon, Thursday, October 28th: Practice at Method Road from 5-7 PM, Friday, October 29th: Game at 5:30PM, Saturday, October 30th: Game at 1:30PM, and Sunday, October 31st: Championship Game at 1:00PM and Closing Ceremonies following the Championship Game.

Postseason possibilities

As of this writing, the West Raleigh standings haven't yet been updated (they should reflect all teams having played 13 games). But the Bulls picked up a come-from-behind win over the Riverdogs tonight, giving them a one-game lead on the Mudcats with one game to play. However, the possibility of earning the seventh seed isn't quite over yet. Here's what we know with one game to play, starting with the Mudcat possibilities and then expanding out to take a look at the league at large.

The Mudcats will have either the seventh seed or the eighth seed. If the Mudcats earn the seventh seed, they will play Sunday (10/24) at 2 p.m., Thursday (10/28) at 5:30 p.m., and Saturday (10/30) at 9:30 a.m. If the Mudcats earn the eighth seed, they will play Sunday (10/24) at noon, Friday (10/29) at 5:30 p.m., and Saturday (10/30) at 1:30 p.m. Barring another bracket change, those are the only possible tournament game times, which means the Mudcats can't play on Tuesday (10/26) or Wednesday (10/27).

If the Bulls defeat the Mudcats on Saturday, the Bulls will be the seventh seed and the Mudcats will be the eighth seed.

If the Mudcats defeat the Bulls on Saturday...it will get complicated. The two teams will be tied, with identical 4-10 records. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head competition. The two teams split. The next tiebreaker is the record against the highest-finishing teams in the league. The best win for the Bulls is against the Thunder. The best win for the Mudcats is against the Lookouts. That means if the Thunder finishes higher than the Lookouts, the Bulls get the seventh seed. If the Lookouts finish higher than the Thunder, the Mudcats get the seventh seed.

The Thunder play the Bats on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. If the Thunder win that game, there is no mathematical way the Lookouts can catch them. That means the Mudcats get the eighth seed no matter what happens in the game against the Bulls on Saturday. But if the Bats beat the Thunder and the Mudcats beat the Bulls, attention will turn to the 3:30 Lookouts-Riverdogs matchup. If the Lookouts win that game, they finish higher than the Thunder and the Mudcats earn the seventh seed. If the Lookouts lose, they finish below the Thunder and the Mudcats earn the eighth seed.

So, to make it a little simpler:

Necessary outcomes in Saturday's games for the Mudcats to earn the seventh seed: Bats beat Thunder, Mudcats beat Bulls, Lookouts beat Riverdogs.

Any combination OTHER than all three of those outcomes: Mudcats earn the eighth seed.

Here's what we know about the rest of the league:

#1 seed: Scrappers
#2 seed: Bees
#3 seed: Thunder-Bats winner
#4 seed: Thunder-Bats loser or Lookouts
#5 seed: Thunder-Bats loser or Lookouts
#6 seed: Riverdogs
#7 seed: Bulls/Mudcats
#8 seed: Bulls/Mudcats