As a manager the hardest thing for me every year is finding practice and scrimmage time before the season starts for my team. Trying to set this up is very hard, - not everyone will commit or is available until the season starts in earnest.
Here's my idea: What if we had a field available(like Kinderhook or New Scotland, for example)on a Saturday or a Sunday. We get the field in April a few times from 10 in the morning until 4 or 5pm. All day long, people can show up and join into the practice for a few hours and then leave, and new guys show up. There could be an ongoing scrimmage on the field. If there are lulls the players that are there could switch to BP or infield practice. If a lot of guys are there for awhile adjacent areas could be used for shagging flies, etc.
These are all examples of practicing basic skills, things that you do not need your whole team to participate in. This way some guys might only be able to make it in the morning, other guys would come later, etc.
Certainly there is enough common sense and good will among us that I don't think the practice/scrimmage would exclude anybody from having a very productive session. And some fields are cheap and not used very much in April.
Isn't this something we could try to have this year? I would be willing to help organize it. You could have as little as 3 players there, or as much as 30 players there, and either way it would be a good thing. We could do this 3 or 4 times before the season starts if we could find the locations...
Tony, not a bad idea. I think scrimage games are okay, but at the beginning of the season I usually like to focus on regaining our basic skills, particulary for players in THEIR position. If you have a buch of guys out there. my 2nd baseman (3rd etc.) probably won't be able to spend much time in their positions. Maybe, getting a field and assigning a time period for teams that want to utilize it would be an idea. Just a thought Tony Scanu Vets
I think these are both excellent ideas. What if we kind of "morph" the two together? (figured I would use a film making term - I think it's a film making term, anyway).
We can run a scrimmage for a time period, break for drills and positional practice, then back to a scrimmage, and so on. Play an hour, practice an hour, play an hour, etc.
Whoever shows up gets in on whatever is going on. It could conceivably go on all day.
Can all ages show up? I may have some 25 guys willing to play? Wood or Metal it don't matter.
Also, My Rockies team is practicing on Tuesdays from 8-9 at Frozen Ropes if anyone wants to come and throw and hit with us your more then welcome. Its 10 dollars a piece for the whole facility.
If you plan to go please email me at qjensen19@yahoo.com or call 701-1014.
You have exactly described what I had in mind in the first place. Everyone would get to practice at their position for as many reps as needed. I think players from all ages could come down. Scrimmage, practice, whatever!
My only problem is this: Sorry Q, but in my entire life I have only played the game of baseball with wooden bats. Last time I checked that's how they play it in the major leagues. I think you can't mix bat types on a baseball field. So either they are all wood or they are all metal. That obviously means that they would have to be all wood...
Any youngster who doesn't own any wooden bats can come to the practice and they can use my wooden bat. Just like when we were all kids.
I seriously have never played a game of baseball with anything other than a wooden bat. It would not SOUND like a baseball game.
And Ray - you are totally correct - morph IS a film term! Keep it up and I might just ask you to be my Assistant Director...
You see, you know so much already! Actually the Assistant TO the Director would be fetching coffee and such. The Assistant Director, or AD(there are many of them ranked first, second, etc on a large film) is actually the staff sargeant of the whole operation, maneuvering the ENTIRE operation day by day, moment by moment. AD's on large budget films have the logistical prowess to launch a decent sized war operation, they are literally geniuses at what they do. For example, two crack AD's could probably work out our entire league schedule for all divisions in about 10 minutes, then they would sit around for 3 weeks to make sure they got paid overtime!
That is a joke and is not meant to disparage our fearless leaders who are racking their brains and pulling their hair out as we speak trying to work out our schedules so we have a baseball season this year. I respect them and honor them for the very tough job they have every year. Especially Kevin Jackson who holds it all together. Kevin Jackson would be a first-class AD on any film.
I don't think anyone would think you are disparaging them. Unless, of course, you call me a "Grip" in a non-movie sense. I'd rather be known as a "Handler".
Funny, how nobody asked to be a Best Boy??? This sounds like a great Idea...don't forget to let the "Free Agent Pool" know about this if it goes through...
Just keeping "reel" (another film term, not to be confused with John),,,
