21 all over again

The big series sweep was behind us as we were at home all week in preparation for our first home games in three weeks. Between traveling places to coach the youth teams, and playing on the road we find ourselves moving quickly, and many times we don't stop to breath. Especially since we do not spend the night anywhere and we constantly find ourselves in the vans traveling 2-3 hours to different destinations.

The weather continued to stay unseasonably cold and the rain came with it from time to time. Apparently this has been one of the coldest springs Northern Europe has seen in the past century. Highs were in the mid 40's all week and it really made me miss springtime on the west coast.

I watched the San Francisco Giants play on Wednesday through MLB.com and it was so beautiful in the Bay Area. I felt warm watching the Giants play at home in the California sunshine at AT&T Park and for a moment I was vicariously back in California. As my California dreaming continued I soon talked to Erin via Skype and the weather was amazing in Portland, which at this time of year is not only necessary, but well deserved. That also put me back in Portland, and made me think about the anticipation of moving bak this October. I couldn't help but miss both places, my girl, my family, my friends, and my favorite baseball team. Needless to say I felt homesick for the first time. On top of all I want to feel spring so bad, and although I got a taste of it when Erin visited a few weeks ago, it was very short lived. The weather feels like it would in the Northwest United States during late February and early March. Cold, damp, overcast, and very unpredictable. A five day warm spell like we saw is definitely not unheard of in the Northwest in February, just like it is not unheard of in Northern Europe in April. All we can do it wait for the cold spell to end.

Monday was a good recovery day because I had caught 21 innings the day before and was really stiff and sore. I felt beat up, especially my bruised wrist and throwing arm. I rested all day although I went for a two mile run to help myself deal with any pain I felt I had. I have always found that it helps to exercise when I am sore anywhere. I figured if I could run the day after a catchaton then it really wasn't too bad.

With the weather being the way it has been, Danny and I have been trying to stay creative with our free time. We work on our German with the Rosetta Stone program, we read, I write the blog, and we watch movies. Last week was a perfect setup to our week ahead. On Monday we watched the movie "Beerfest," which is a movie about group of crazy American's who want to beat the Germans at beer drinking competitions during Octoberfest. This made for some highly entertaining stuff considering a cast of American's played the evil German's, speaking in ridiculous accents that were for the lack of a better term "dead on." I enjoyed every second of it because of the metaphors and snobbiness towards American's that we seem to encounter every week.

So, after watching the silly movie where the American's beat the German's at their own drinking competition it set our week up for the BIG UPSET that would later occur, and the sampling we would do with the different types of European beer.

The truth of the matter is that I enjoy beer as much as the guys in this movie, although a bit more responsible. I give myself that much credit at least. Each week, I try my best to travel about 200 meters from our house to the Loche Depot (A German beer store) and I pick out a different beer or two to try.

One of the best parts about being in Germany is the different beer we get to try. The German's have all sorts of laws and standards that make any kind of beer made in this country a delight because of the quality. Nothing but hops, barley, and water. The first time I walked into this store I was overwhelmed with joy. Keep in mind I have been in a warehouse at my former job in San Francisco that houses over 300 beers. I sold, traded, promoted, and even lived beer for a year in San Francisco because it was my job and I had a passion for it. I quickly began to lose my passion for it because I was around it all the time and didn't appreciate the industry. I wanted nothing to do with the American beer trade after about a year.

When I began coaching I stayed away from it for the most part. I wanted to appreciate it again one day because in all of reality I loved beer and the art behind making a good beer. This was the reason I did such a good job selling it. But like I said, I couldn't handle the inevitable treadmill of the workweek that surrounded it, and although I was able to sample most of the stuff I sold, it was no longer my ideal job out of college. I wanted back in baseball, and I got what I asked for.

So, seeing that I am in the greatest part of the world to find, sample, and enjoy beer, I take my opportunity to do it responsibly and walk/bike to the store every week. I walk through the store admiring the fact that every bottle that contains the hundreds of different brands and styles has at some point been recycled and used over and over again. In Germany, recycling is mandatory because the deposit from the bottles is around 10-30 cents. Not to mention the best part about recycling bottles is the fact that it keeps beer cost down. Including the bottle deposit of 8 cents, we roughly pay between 50-90 cents per .5 liters (1 pint) at any store. Where in the US can you find a pint of GOOD bottled beer (aside from PBR) that costs less than a dollar?

I am in Germany to play baseball, enjoy some traveling, and of course taste the culture both through food and drink. It just so happens that Beer and Bratwurst are in the title of this story, so I find it appropriate to write about.

Later the next day Danny and I were on our way to coach our youth game when we passed by the castle about a mile from our place. There were different tents, portable stations, and seats all around set up like a festival. Inquisitive about what the event, we wandered in after our game and found that it was a "Beerfest." Excited about the sampling opportunity, we planned on braving the cold and visiting the next evening.

With no coaching on Saturday and the only responsibility of the day was umpiring a 10 year old double header in the morning, we found ourselves conveniently walking through the Beerfest later that evening. Well aware of having two games the next day we responsibly chose wisely amongst the dozens of vendors selling the celebrated beers of the German and European market. As we walked through the 100 or so meters of Hop and Barley Heaven I noticed that they were serving Beer in glassware, and not plastic. Each vendor served their style of beer in their traditional way, with traditional glassware, and if you wanted to keep the glass, well, you had to pay a deposit on them anyways, so I did not mind keeping the ones I liked. At the end of the night, I had collected a few different glasses and decided that we had tried on of the greatest Beers on earth.

Danny had expressed the Belgium Ale we tried as a “Bluemoon on steroids!” The Trippel is a wheat style Ale traditionally made by Monks, and in the Belgium Style can be extremely sweet with a very high alcohol volume. The one we tried was around 12% and very delicious. I agreed that it was one of the tastiest beers around and much different from the same imports we drink in the states that usually have a metallic tasting preservative added in order to assure freshness.

As good as the beer was that night, we had two games against one of the less successful teams in the conference the next day and we needed to go home and sleep. I wish we could have tried more beer, but we did the right thing by leaving early.

The next day was bad, and not due to a hangover or too many beers the night before. We had a really hard time producing any runs against two good pitchers. The German starter for Pulheim was effective with three good pitches and we could not adjust or get anything going. I hit a really hard line drive right at second in my first at-bat and it pretty much defined our entire day. Everything we hit hard was right at someone. We lost the first game by a score of 3-2. Game two was more of the same as we failed to support Danny’s outstanding performance. We lost 2-1 in 12 innings. Danny pitched all 12 innings and in the top of the 12^th gave up a hit to an American with a runner on first and third. Before the hit they were at 1^st and 2^nd base. I let a bad pitch get by me to make the count 3-0 and the runners moved up. I looked over to the dugout thinking alongside our manager that we should put the runner on base to create a force out anywhere in the infield. That and the next hitter had been struggling all day. As I extended my arm outward indicating we wanted Danny to walk the hitter intentionally, he shook me off. “What?” I had never been encountered with this type of situation. Danny was too prideful to walk their best hitter intentionally although it was the smartest and safest thing to do. Conveying his confidence and pride I got back into my squat position called a fastball and said to myself “It’s on us now!” Danny humped a fastball right down the middle and the hitter swung and missed. The next pitch he threw was a changeup for strike two. At this point I was extremely happy because we had an excellent chance to get this hitter out.

I called a slider down and away hoping the hitter would chase the pitch and swing into an out. Plus, if we walked him nothing would be hurt. Danny threw a great pitch down and away and the batter hit a line drive up the middle. Base hit, run scores. “Oh man!” We are going to hear about this for weeks. In the end, I tired to figure out why I sat down on the 3-0 count. We should have walked him. We should have played it safe and put the runner on. I could not figure out for the life of me why I sat down. I found out after the game ended and I let the lose sink in. Danny said it perfectly, and I completely agreed with him.

Danny said “I am not over here to walk their best hitter in the biggest situation of the game, I want the challenge. If I am going to lose, it is because I went right after their best guys. I can live with that.”

I couldn’t agree more. I felt the same way, and being on the same page as Danny means that I knew exactly what he was thinking. The only reason I was questioning myself is because we lost. Twice. Danny’s decision was the defining moment of a bad day, but one we certainly can live with and learn from. I had a lot of people pissed off at me because I sat down and did not make. Nobody really said anything to Danny because he is the most important player on our team and in a sense, he did not loose the game. We didn’t score any runs. I pointed that out when I was approached with the same question over and over.

Danny threw a tremendous game. I have never caught a guy who can throw 12 innings and 200 pitches in one day. Pretty amazing stuff. And like the weekend before, I caught 21 innings in one day. I was exhausted by the end of the day.

We learned a couple of different things during the week. One was that European beer is indeed some of the best in the world. The second was that our team needs to respect every opponent and prepare each week as though we were facing the best team in the league. After the loses sunk in, we got over them, got on with our lives, and realized that baseball is baseball. On any given day, the best team can lose to the worst because of one factor, pitching. The Pulheim pitchers were great on this day. The American who threw in the second game was the best pitcher I had seen by far. He had a devastating curve ball that broke hard and late, and he spotted his fastball and changeup wherever he wanted. We couldn’t score.

Life is still good and we are still in 2^nd place. This coming weekend we have a tournament in Bavaria. The Regensberg Legionare are hosting a tournament at their amazing stadium and it should be fun to play in front of a good crowd with the best teams from the southern league. (The better league according to everyone in Germany) We’ll just have to see about that!

Let's play Blackjack....... Part Two

With a 12 inning marathon under our belts from game one, and a big win, we headed into game two with Danny on the bump. It was really nice to sit down for a half an hour and get some food and rest, although I was cautious not to get to relaxed. We needed to win game two in oder to occupy first place in the standings with Solingen, who after Saturdays loss to the Dohren from UC Davis was now 10-2.

I had a very nice push bunt hit in the first inning. With nobody on base and the first baseman playing deep in the infield I told myself it would be an easy hit. With a lefty on the mound he would fall off to the third base side giving me an extra step or two towards first base. With the first baseman so far back it makes it hard for anyone to pick up the ball and beat me to the bag, even if I am slow catcher. So, as the pitch came I squared to bunt and laid the pitched ball right down the first base line and the race began. The first basemen came running in for it, the pitcher went running after it, and as the first basemen picked it up, I was two steps ahead of the pitcher who was racing me to first at this point. Safe, with a hit. Just like my dad used to tell me all the time. "It's a line drive in the score book and the newspaper." I scored that inning with two outs and we grabbed and early lead, just as we had done in game 1.

As the game went on Danny was pitching really well into the 4th inning, when he hit a wall and lost his energy. To be honest, I was fighting the same thing. It is so easy to get fatigued after playing 12 innings at third and then being asked to pitch game two, or catching both ends of a double header. 15 innings of baseball in one day is a lot, but we still had at least 6 more. He gave up one hit and four walks in a row made it 4-2. We got out of the inning and grabbed some coffee and candy bars. The perfect solution.

We got through the rest of the next few innings without any problems. Danny actually hit his stride and progressively got better later in the game. It was his game and he gathered his energy and took control after his walkathon in the 4th. As a teammate, I was really impressed with his focus, and getting back to square one. It is really easy to fall apart after walking four in a row, yet he got better.

The funniest part of the situation was hearing the fans "trying to" give him a hard time. I laugh when I hear the things that come out of their mouth. Nobody, and I mean nobody knows how to heckle. Imagine grown German men trying to give a hard time to a guy who throws 90+ with statements such as "Yeah, vhy don't you go back to ze mound und throw a zittle harder on ze next pitch, maybe you culd sthrow anuder ball, yeah!?" (In a German accent of course) I laughed because nobody could think of anything better to say and we have both heard so much worse.

The rest of the day was a total crap-shoot. I had to remind myself before every single pitch to stay focused and call a good game. At this point I wasn't even thinking about hitting. I was hurting from getting drilled twice while I was batting, as well as getting nailed by pitches off my wrist and inner thigh. I was beat up pretty good.

In my second to last at-bat in the 6th inning I came to the plate and asked the Bonn catcher how he was doing. "I am hanging in there, this is a really long day though, how are you?"

I replied "Fine, although I am literally wearing it all over today. I have been nailed more times today than I can ever remember." He laughed and said "Yea, I noticed, I can see your wrist."

The conversation led me to a 1 ball, 2 strike count (1-2) with their American lefty still on the mound, and as I have done my entire life with 2 strikes, I move closer on the plate and a few inches up to the pitcher in order take his breaking ball and chageup away. The only pitch I give up is the inside fastball because it becomes harder to get the barrel out front and hit solidly. The lefty came set and threw a pitch up and in on my hands. I turned to avoid getting hit in the arm, but it was too late. I got drilled with a fastball on my right elbow, my throwing arm, and I have no protection like so many guys do. "God dammit," I said out loud and smiled a little bit because of the irony in getting hit, yet again. My elbow swelled a little and as the feeling returned, I realized I needed to stop complaining because I was fine. My energy, my approach, and my focus was fine. I just needed to suck it up an play hard. Plus, getting beat up a little makes you feel more alive, and we only play once a week at this point so it was not a big deal. I have time to recover, but I feel like a Monday morning Quarterback.

The 9th inning got interesting as we still had a 2 run lead. Danny got the first hitter out, walked a guy, and gave up a hit, then got another out. This put runners on the corners with 2 outs and the tying run on 1st. Danny worked into a 3-0 count, and we were trying to keep the tying run out of scoring position. With 2 BIG fastballs for strikes we got back to a full count. (3-2) This was a big pitch coming up and all I could think to myself was, 'this is the guy we want.' I stalled for a second and threw down three fingers indicating a slider. Danny took and extra second and without as much as a nod or a shake he started his windup. I had no doubt what he was going to do. The pitch was perfect, right down the middle and the hitter watched it right into my glove. I held it, waited in anticipation as I heard the umpire say "Dri!" (three in German) GAME OVER! Danny threw 160 pitches and earned every out he got. We won 4-2 and got a huge sweep over the first place team on the road. We now occupied first with Solingen, whom we split with last week.

The Untouchables, Danny, and myself had a terrific day on the field. Danny was rewarded player of the week for his efforts on the mound, and at the plate with his game winning homer in the 1st game. What a week.

As for me, I had done something that I had never done before. I caught 21 innings in one day. Being from good old Nevada and appreciating the victory I thought to myself....... "BLACKJACK!"

Lets Play Blackjack..... Part One

The week before heading to Bonn was dreadfully wet and cold for mid-May. It rained most days and we found ourselves occupying the time by reading, writing, and working out indoors.

Sunday we had a double header against the Bonn Capitals in Bonn, just south of Dusseldorf. Going into Sunday, Bonn was in first with a 9-1 record and two good starters. Bonn's game one starter, Tim Henkenjohan, is the number 1 pitcher for the German national team. We had been hearing rumors all week about how he throws in the mid-90's at times and usually sits around 91-92 mph. He started against the U.S. team last year in the World Cup (which was here in Germany). He had also pitched for the Minnesota Twins organization as well. My roomates had a recording of the U.S. game from last years World Cup, so I had seen him throw. That game featured a few of our players from Paderborn (playing for Germany), as well as a few future big leaguers for the U.S. I must say, the tv added some weight to his fastball. He threw three effective pitches with a decent fastball that didn't seem as hard to me as everyone had promoted, however it always looks a lot harder from the on-deck circle than the batters box. I would estimate his fastball was in the upper 80's at the beginning of the game and it got harder as the game went on. With a week of hitting everyday, and a rainy week with no outdoor practice we were very happy and ready to play some competiton on the field. Plus, being only 1 game out of first we knew that if we won two games we would be back on top in the league. Needless to say we came out swinging well! We scored 6 earned runs early in the game and seemed to be headed to an easy victory.

Up 6-0 in the 4th Auge shook me off for the second time all year in a 3-1 count. It was weird. I called a fastball, shake-off. I called a change-up, again, shake-off. Not knowing what he wanted at this point I put down a slider. He came set and went to the plate with his delivery. I was not mad that we weren't on the same page until I saw the pitch. With perfect timing and a BIG swing, their American left fielder hit the ball a mile to left. Neither one of us watched the ball because we knew as the pitch was coming to the plate what was going to happen. Home run. I smirked at first, then I yelled half joking, "Hey Auge! That's what you get for shaking me off," all while the ball was still soaring through the air past the left field fence.

What I didn't realize until 4 more runs were given up was that Bonn was stealing our signs from their dugout, or stealing them from the pitcher and relaying them to the hitter. As it turns out Auge was tipping his pitches from the grip in his glove, which their players on the bench could easily see and verbally relay to hitters as he went into his windup.

There are only a few sins to me in baseball. Striking out looking with runners in scoring position and less than two out, not hustling, and stealing signs. Danny came over from third during a mound meeting with Auge and me and told us he could hear their dugout giving verbal signs to the hitters for all of his pitches. Fastball was "drive it," and Off-speed was "sit on it." They had every pitch.

As he came up to us during the mound meeting, which happens so often in baseball, the field umpire came up to us immediately and said "Let's move it along boys, you cannot do this."

"Hey! We are fine, nobody is in a hurry here, we are talking about our situation, so leave us alone and go away." I repplied.

Danny helped me out by telling us when he walked away, "No worries, if that is the way it is I will take care of it."

So will I, I though to myself. I was pissed. Not only could I not figure out how, but secondly it took me back to countless games in college were we lost because of the same thing. Since I was catching I could not help but think that the third base coach could see my signs. "No way, Auge can barley see my signs most of the time, how could that be!?!"

With a new game plan in mind, Danny and I got to the bottom of it a few different ways. Danny told Auge that he needed to vary his hand motion in the glove before his delivery to mix it up. A lot of times pitchers get into rhythms that can be clues to opposing teams. Those clues lead to theivery much of the time. Whether it is a a baserunner getting the right timing of a pitcher and getting a really good steal jump, or a pitcher shifting his hand a certain way as he grips a certain pitch, tendencies will hurt any team.

We took care of the first part in finding out what the problem was. The second part was pretty simple. Danny went back to third base and told the third base coach that someone was going to get hurt if he heard another person say anything remotly close to tipping a pitch from their dugout. The coach looked at Danny surprised, and all of a sudden he couldn't speak English and acted as if he had no clue what Danny said.

This made Danny pretty mad, so he repeated, LOUDLY, to the Bonn dugout on the third base side.

"Hey! Quit tipping your hitters! Otherwise someone is going to get hurt." They got the message and it didn't happen anymore. The best part was that their 3 hitter was up and did not hear what Danny said. After the first pitch his eyes rotated to the dugout without his head moving as if he was surprised and didn't want to react with bad body language that someone had screwed him up. I saw his eyes percing whoever it was that was supposed to be telling him what pitch was coming so I stood up and said, "Hey, unless you want someone to get killed in the second game when our hard throwing American is pitching then I suggest that you tell the rat in the dugout to stop telling you what is coming, plus he isn't going to be right anymore. We figured it out." He looked at me, smiled a little and said ok. That was the end if that, and it was a good thing.

In the Bundesliga, word spreads faster than High School gossip. Even though Bonn has never seen how hard Danny can throw, I gurantee they have heard about! And they sure as hell didn't want to feel it. When the big Auslander tells you to stop stealing signs or pitches, just like the game blackjack, you have a choice.

You can either say "hit me!," or stay put.

We gave up two more runs and the lead when the rarest of things happened. Our shortstop and team leader Jendrick Speer threw a ball away at first. He later admitted that his arm was hanging and that he took Advil for the pain. Apparently, some people have hard time finding a release point after they take anti-inflamatories. Jeni is not one to make an excuse, and Danny Told me he has the same problem with Advil. I think it is really weird because I am the opposite, I need Advil to feel good while I am throwing! Down by one in the 9th inning we manufactured a run with two outs after our roomate Michele hit an RBI single to left.

The game went extra innings and it wasn't until the top of the 12th before anyone scored.

I led off the inning with a strikeout looking, which to me was way out, as it had not been called a strike all day. "Vu es das?!!" I asked politly. "You haven't called that a strike all day, why change it now." Danny quickly yelled at me from the on deck circle and said "Hey, we need you, we can't afford to get you tossed." I listened and walked away irate. Half the team came up to me and said "Nik, you cannot talk to umpires, they will throw you out, even if you say one word. They are really sensative." I quickly reminded them that A: I was right and he knew it, and B: The umpire and I have been working together at the plate for 12 innings and he screwed me. I let him know it too.

As all of thus is happening I hear a loud Crack and see a soaring ball to left off of Dannys bat. Gone! Homerun and a 1 run lead! "Yay Vohy Danny!!!" I was pumped and quickly gave him a prompt congrats for picking me up after I struck out.

With a one run lead in the 12th inning amazingly our starter Auge came back out to throw yet another inning. He went 1,2,3, in the 12th and the game was over! He threw a total of 180 pitches. Yes, 180 pitches!

For those that do not understand how hard that is, go throw a tennis ball against the garage door 10 times as hard as you can. Unless you have great mechanics and you are in great shape I bet your arm will hurt really bad the next few days. Now imagine doing that 170 more times in one day. Like I said, amazing!

I finished game one 2-4 with a walk, HBP and 3 runs. I also took a really bad shot off the side of my wrist blocking a curveball. It was funny because it swelled pretty good and looked like a plumb under my skin. Soft, blue, and rip. Gotta love catching! Danny had 2 hits as well, one of them a REALLY important homer in the 12th inning.

Thank god game one was over. The Bonn catcher was and American and we laughed at each other and said "Wow, we are in for a long day back here!"

Fight for First

Last Sunday we traveled to Solingen to play the first place and undefeated Alligators. They were a perfect 8-0 in league and have two of the best starters in the country as their German starter is a strong left-handed pitcher who also pitches for their National team. The entire week was filled with anticipation and what seemed to be nervousness from the rest of our teammates. We are also really injury bitten right now as three of our top hitters are out for a few weeks. Nonetheless, we understood that we also have two very good starters, and we had faced part of their lineup (minus their pitching) in the first game of the season when we beat them in a non-conference matchup the first day we arrived in Germany.

The first game was back and forth as we secured a one run lead in the 8th inning. Then I made one big mistake. Our starting pitcher, Auge (pronounced Aulga) was throwing well, but beginning to fatigue as his fastball was starting to vary speeds and stay up in the hitting zone. With the 9 hitter up, nobody on base, and me trying to be to technical, I called for a change-up to help him adjust down in the zone and throw the pitch out front to find his release point once again. I thought that would help him with his next pitch, but as it turns out, the 9 hole-hitters in Germany love the changeup because it goes right into their bat speed. WACK! The smallest guy on the field hit a hard fly ball to left and it left the yard. Tie game! Auge did not adjust down in the zone, instead, he left it up in the hitting zone like his fastball, and the slower speed of the changeup went right into the 9 hitters bat speed. I didn't feel too bad because I was leading off the top of the ninth and I knew that with the top of our order coming up we could get it back. However, I hit a hard grounder to second on a 1-0 slider and failed to get on. We did not score in the 9th, shut them down again, and went extras. "Great!" I thought to myself. It is hard knowing you have to catch a double header (at least 18 innings) and the first game goes extra innings which makes it a long tiresome day! I am definitely ok with it, I would rather play than not, but it wears you down.

Imagine squatting over 1,000 times a day, blocking over two dozen pitches, getting hit by fouls, bats, and runners, making sure every pitch is the right pitch to call, concerning yourself with fielding positions, opposing lineups and conversing with German umpires who speak little English (as I speak little German). I had an umpire tell me I was "getting in the way of his view" when I received a pitch right down the middle that was NOT called a strike. Like I said, every inning is a new game and you can get tired both physically and mentally while catching!

We failed to score again in the 1oth, and since Auge had already thrown about 140 pitches in 9 innings he was done. Auge was really upset about being taken out and swore he had more in the gas-tank. I honestly believed him because he seemed better as the day went on (minus the homer) and this guy is full of tenacity and competitiveness. We brought in our best German reliever and leading off the inning for Solingen was the American Auslander who had played with the Phillies Organization. He was a recent addition to the Alligators after they had released their previous American due to poor performance. We had talked very briefly during his at-bats but from what I gathered he was a good dude. He got ahead 1-0 and on the next pitch hit a slider that had just the right amount of backspin on the ball which sent it tailing into right-center. Our right-fielder took a terrible route and he was standing on second with a lead-off double. Their four hitter came up and just like he had been trying to do all day took a ferocious swing and pulled the ball down the 3rd base line. Run scored, game 1 over.

We didn't hang our heads as we knew we had game two with Danny on the mound. We were facing another left-handed pitcher from the States who had the most strikeouts in Germany, as well as the most walks. We knew it was going to be a good game.

The game was a total pitchers duel as both Americans went scoreless inning after scoreless inning. We finally broke a 0-0 tie in the 7th when our 7 hitter got a two out hit with runners on 2nd and 3rd. Two runs seemed to be enough as Danny continued to cruise on the mound and finished the game by not allowing any runs. 9 innings pitched, complete game and 0 runs. We won game two, 2-0. Pretty good day! Although we both hit the ball hard we did not help much offensively the second game. I lined out 3 times on the day and only managed 1 hit in 8 at-bats, while Danny had 3 hits on the day and pitched terrific!

The highlight of my day was in the 8th inning. With 2 outs and runners on 1st and 2nd base, Solingen had their cleanup hitter at the plate. The same hitter who had beat us in game one. After a first pitch strike our manager started yelling at me by my team nickname "Llyod" (From Dumb and Dumber. Apparently we look alike.) He also yelled at our first basemen by his nickname. He was looking for us to back pick the runner at first to avoid facing the 4 hitter with runners on base. At first I thought he wanted me to call a pick off from the pitcher to 1st which is really hard and the timing has to be perfect. I gave the pickoff sign to Danny followed by a fastball sign. I thought he would pick to first, but instead he went to the plate and threw me a pitch. As soon as he threw it I realized I could throw the baserunner out at first because he had taken such a big lead. The ball was up and away to the right handed hitter. It was a perfect pitch for the situation. I set my feet and threw to first where the baserunner was totally caught off guard. He had no reason to take a big lead, and nowhere to go considering there was a runner on second base already. He was so stunned he froze on his way back to first and attempted to get to second where a runner was already occupying the base. After one throw from our first basemen and a tag from our shortstop we were out of the inning scott free. Danny was pumped and I had a big grin on my face as I gave Red a big fist pump for calling the pick.

The best part was I didn't realize until after the game that I had picked off the American shortstop. He came up to me shook my hand and said, "Thanks a lot man, really? Back pick? I never saw that coming" He was smiling, but I could tell he was still pissed. I responded with a "Baseball is still Baseball, even in the Bundesliga." (Nickname for any first league professional team in German sports, including baseball) We had a good talk after the game and shared similar stories about our playing experiences so far.

With a split against Solingen we had a good ride home. Our manager was very happy with Danny's performance on the mound and we had a week to prepare for another good team, the Bonn Capitals, which after our split with Solingen put them in first place with a record of 9-1. Bonn also has one of the top rated pitchers in all of Europe and the true number 1 starter for their National team. Although we had 7 more days until we competed again, I was looking forward to the week ahead.

Sweet and Low

What an incredible week! I cannot believe that Erin spent and entire week out here and it went by in the blink of an eye! Having her here was so amazing and in many regards I wish I had never let her leave. She left last Thursday morning out of Dusseldorf, which is the capitol city of North Rhine Westphalia.

What an awesome city! I had been to Dusseldorf with my family about 15 years ago. I remember that stay on the Rhine river very well because my parents let my sister and I try German beer for the first time. In the spirit of trying new things and tasting new cultures and no drinking age, Keri had her first beer (with the family) I remember taking a sip of hers because I was still too young to have even one. Still, like the days when I was a little boy and my dad would let me have a sip of his Budweiser, I took a giant gulp and savored every flavor of the German Kolch-style lager. At the end if the night, we could not find a bathroom anywhere. (not unusual in Europe) I remember my sister running for our hotel room as fast as she could once we got out if the cab. Something we still laugh about to this day.

The other memoriable part of Dusseldorf on that trip was baseball. We had been gone from the U.S. for a couple of weeks at this point and my father and I were going crazy without baseball in August! For some reason, we split up hotel rooms so the boys were together and the girls were together. (Unfortunatly my older brother missed out on this vacation due to work) Once we were in our room for the first time my dad and I turned on the tv only to find a Clevland Idians game on with German broadcasters! "What!?!?! Needless to say, my dad and I were in paradise for about an hour or two. Even though we didn't understand a word the broadcasters were saying it was baseball. I am sure that if we had known there was a professional league near by we would have checked it out. With that memory in mind my dad and I laugh now that I am playing here.

So, having been to Dusseldorf and getting back to the present, Erin and I headed to Dusseldorf on Wednesday afternoon. We checked into our hotel and headed outside to catch the local trans to Altstadt (oldtown). We jumped on the train which is very similar to the muni trains in Portland and San Francisco. After going the wrong way for two stops and ditching the fare station altogether, we arrived in Altstadt Duseldorf and started walking around.

Our European guide book/map was pretty useless so we decided to put it away and just walk around. It was amazing! Erin and I enjoyed every second together and were pleasantly surprised to find such a scenic metropolitan area with a feel of Chicago, Portland and San Francisco. The European architecture was really cool as well. As we found our way around we discovered the Rhine River and all of the people who were enjoying the beautiful sunshine on this Wednesday evening. It felt like a Friday because there were so many people out and about, yet Erin and I concluded that the weather was so nice that people would be crazy not to enjoy it. Especially in Northern Germany where days like this are few and far inbetween. The highlight of our evening was sitting on the dock of the river and the walkway overlooking the river while we talked about our future together, travel, friends and home in the states. We were also very entertained by many of the pedestrians, roller skaters, bikers, and characters that passed.

At one point a jogger ran by with a very familiar grey shirt with blue letters reading "Berkeley." Although I am and always will be a true Portland Pilot I still love Cal football. And in the spirit of both my brother and his wife Susie (both Cal Berkeley grads) I hollered a loud "Go Bears!" The jogger took about five steps as though he did not recognize what I said then he suddenly pulled an earphone out and turned to me showing me a big thumbs up while he kept going. Erin laughed and seconds later a biker was passing behind us and hit a tree. He had a bottle of Becks beer in his hand and was obviously waisted. Erin and I laughed cautiously, and another biker yelled at him and said, "Hey, don't drink and drive you idiot." It took the man a few moment to gather himself and we did not feel the need to help because he was clearly out of it and wanted no help. He left his spilled beer bottle behind and went on his way. Lastly, the rollerbladers and rollerskaters going by were hilarious and very flamboint. One guy was doing his best Brian Boytono impersonation as he pranced around the walkway trying to impress and catch the attention of other rollerskaters passing.

From the JJ Market in Bangkok, Thailand, to the dock of the Rhine River in Germany, Erin and I both agreed one of our favorite things to do together is "people watching."

We enjoyed the rest of the evening in the Burbon Street like area of Altstadt where bars and resturants where plentiful and many local Alt-Style beers were readily available in .25 liter glasses at their bierhaus. Apparently Dusseldorf has a nickname as "the worlds longest bar" due to this area. Dusseldorf was such an awesome high!

The next morning however was not.

Between the slight headache from our previous evening and reality setting in, Erin and I got up at 5 a.m. To send her back to Portland. In so many ways I wish I had the impulsive behavior to say "screw it," and keep her next to me. I can't imagine not having her now that she has shared this experience in Europe. We enjoyed every second we had together and the only thing we tiffed about was the emotion that we endure with seperation from one another. I feel so blessed, lucky, and now sad that she came and went. I am lucky I have my second love, baseball, to keep my mind ocupied. The one thing I realize and learned from my father is that it could be worse. The old Vietnam Vet seems to remind me that I could be overseas getting shot at in Afganistan or Iraq as opposed to playing ball in Europe. For that, I am thankful as well!

Erin departed and made it home safely. The drive back to Paderborn was quiet and lonley, and although I am having a great experience for the most part I realize I would much rather have these experiences with her by my side.

She made it hom saefly and we agreed that we did the responsible thing as she had work related things on the Friday she got back to Portland.

All in all, what a fabulous week, and Dusseldorf was by far my favorite day and city of the year! I will see Erin soon enough as she is heading back out here in July for a two week excursion of Europe during my two week break.

(Here is a little footage from Dusseldorf)

Rainy Days and German History

With Travel on our minds, Erin and I had planned to find our way out of Paderborn once again on Monday and venture east. I knew I would be tired from catching a double header the day before, and when I tried to wake up on Monday morning I was not feeling it. We had thought about Berlin for the day and night, but a train was 300 Euro round trip which is about $400. Renting a car was not much better. We soon decided to grab the backpack, our trusty guide books, as well as some beer and venture out to the train station about 5 miles away. There is a muni train station that runs about every twenty minutes or so near my house and I figured it would take us to the train station.

First we stopped at the store where I must have had a metabolic breakdown. I walked in to buy some snacks, and when I came out I was literally shaking with hunger and I had an amazing appetite for ANYTHING! Talk about a really bad time to walk into a store. I must have bought everything that looked good. The second I got outside, I told Erin what was going on, and as worried as she was, she understood and started to help break open packages of food. Although I had eaten a solid breakfast just hours before, my body feels the need to refuel itself the day after I catch 18 innings by telling me to eat every hour or so. I stuffed my face and immediately felt better. I guess it is not a bad problem to have because Erin was laughing the whole time.

At this point we found the muni-train station and tried to find our way to a town called Munster which was about 150kl north of us. We couldn't read or understand anything so we asked a girl waiting for another train if she knew how to get there and she informed us that the train we watched go by us just moment earlier was the one we wanted. It would be another hour before the next train came heading in that direction so Erin and I walked back to my house to come up with another plan. When we got back neither of us could decide what to do or how to do it because the weather was bad and it was the afternoon already.We never had a concrete plan so we decided to stay home, enjoy each others company and watch movies.

My roommate Franke has a great selection of DVD's so we picked from four we each had either seen or wanted the other to see. Well, one of the selections was Shindler's List. I surprised Erin, and even myself, when I realized I had actually never seen the movie. I had mainly seen bits and pieces. It also surprised me that the movie was in our house considering where we are, and the fact that German's are not proud of these past events.

Erin talked me into the movie and I realized why everything had happened the way it did. I was supposed to see this movie for a few reasons. One of them being that the next day we had planned to ride our bikes about 14 miles away to the Wewelsburg Castle which was the Headquarters for SS Nazi Leaders and organizers of the Holocaust. There is a great museum in the castle that explains the history of the SS and the Nazi Party, as well as the lies, deceit and elitism the Nazi's were trying to accomplish while murdering millions of people during that horrific time.

To say the least, Shindler's List only made me accept things a little more the next day. The movie was so hard to watch that I had to take a break from it and watch something else. However, I did finish the movie. Later that night Erin and I braved what looked to be a rainy night and headed out for dinner. We dodged the rain and managed to find a great Italian place where we enjoyed a great meal. I ordered a pizaa with eggs on top, a first for me. Erin loved it. Erin also debated a glass of red wine and a Beer at, needless to say the Beer won because we are in Germany. That was a first for me at an Italian place.

The next morning, Erin and I trekked out into the Beautiful German countryside through a few small towns and one very creepy forest to Wewelsburg and the Castle that Heinrich Himmler, (the man who plotted the entire Holocaust alongside Adolph Hitler) called Headquarters for the SS.

The entire museum was educational. The displays broke down everything and it was made clear that this was not a Nazi museum for Arian followers or Nazi worshipers. Throughout the years following the Holocaust many evil worshipers have pilgrimaged to this site to worship the Nazi symbol embedded in the ceiling of the Crypt, as well as the symbol of the black sun in the room directly above.

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The displays in the museum were very descriptive on the history of the SS, Hitler, Himmler, the Nazi party, as well as the Niederhagen Concentration camp that was adjacent to the castle. Of the 3,900 prisoners, 1,285 died, as 56 were formally executed. This camp was mainly the site for Soviet POW's and followers of Jehovah's Witness. It was extremely sad to learn about.

After the museum we ventured to the Castle to see the infamous Nazi Crypt and chamber of the Black Sun (SS Generals Hall).

As we recorded video (see below) and took pictures in the Crypt Erin and I both got a very strange feelings. It hit her first, but we both felt the same thing. The dome shaped crypt made even a whisper sound like a surround sound system in a movie theater. This was something I had never experienced and after about 3 minutes and standing alone in the middle of the room all alone taking pictures, (Erin left because she felt so uncomfortable) I myself got the chills and had to rush out. It was an evil feeling! One neither Erin nor myself will ever forget.

On a side note, the castle at Wewelsburg is now a youth Hostel. Many school's throughout Europe and the surrounding area take advantage of the educational experience of the museum by having children spend the night in the same place that some of histories most evil men planned the most inhuman act in modern and world history. Great idea huh?!?! The castle is a must see for anyone in Northern Germany as it is an errie reminder of Germanys dark past.

With time running out before I had to go to practice we headed back into Paderborn only to stop and have a great lunch with a beautiful view. We talked a little bit about our experience and realized just how important it was for us to experience the museum and even the castle.

Small World Indeed

The day after our trip to Cologne we played a double header at home in Paderborn on a beautiful sunny day. It was the warmest weather since our arrival in Germany, and poor Erin had to wear long sleeves and jeans because she did not want to burn. I was excited because Erin got to see us play for the first time in Germany. It was the first time she had seen me play since we were In little league and she played against me.

I love the fact that I played little league games against Erin. Both my older sister Keri, and Erin pretty much dominated farm league at Reno National when they were ten, a testimate to both their athletic prowness and maturaty at that age! Come to think of it, both dads were so competitive (lawyer thing I guess) that they would never let their daughters become anything but the best baseball players in little league.

Back to the double header against the Dorehn Wild Farmers.

We won both games, (11-1, 2-1)

Danny went a ridiculous 7 for 8 at the plate and drove me in from first base 3 times. He pitched strong in game 2 as he threw a complete game alowing only 1 run. I was 2 for 6 on the day with three walks and an RBI. I hit my first triple in about a decade during the first inning of game two and I felt it the rest of the day with my tired legs. Our outfield is the fastest thing I have seen since the invention of concrete and pretty much everything hit in the gaps goes for at least a double due to the hard ground and German outfielders terrible routes to cuting off the ball. It is great to see them try and catch anything Danny hits to left.

The funniest thing of the day were 2 of Danny's routine fly balls (soaring might I add) that stayed in the air so long that both center and left got to it, and must have had to much time to talk about who did NOT want to catch it. One fly ball fell right in between both of them untouched for a stand up double. The other fly he hit made the left fielder look like a wanna be MC Hammer with bad dance moves followed with a reverse cartwheel. Left, right, back, forward, fall down. It is the latest dance move among German outfielders when the big Auslander from Paderborn hits the ball. I was on first both times and couldn't help but laugh out loud. I also told Danny how jealous I was because I could use a couple of those hits to even out all the balls I have hit hard right at people.

We played against two Americans from California, one of which was the best position players we have faced in Europe, amongst one of the nicest as well. In his second at-bat he said hello in an American accent, and I started chatting with him. I asked him where he was from and he said Lake Tahoe. I thought he was joking and maybe he had found out where I was from, but soon told me that he played ball at Nevada. "No kidin, I grew up in Reno, my dad played at Nevada." He smiled, laughed, and we talked during his entire at-bat. He caught the second game and it was more of the same. The American pitcher was from UC Davis, and Danny and I had faced him all of four years ago when he was a starter at UC Davis and we faced the Aggies in a three game series at Portland. He threw very well, and I cannot emphasis how GREAT it felt to have a guy challenge us with a good fastball. Most of the guys we face top out around 80mph at most with shitty breaking stuff. I have gotten myself out on most occasions due to impatients and cockiness. But nonetheless, the Davis pitcher threw harder than anyone we had seen and it felt great to be challenged by a guy who was not afraid to attck the strike zone with hard stuff. Good old fashioned baseball! After the game I reminded him that the Pilots had swept UC Davis the year we faced him and he reminded me that he had a torn muscle in his throwing arm the entire year. Understandable I guess. Both of the California boys from the Dorehm Wild Farmers were cool guys and we talked for a while after the game.

Baseball is such a great game, with such a small community. To think that we played against a guy who grew up only a few miles from me and played at Nevada, as well as a pitcher we faced over 4 years ago and 5,000 miles away only to see them in Europe. It is truly a small world.

Check out some of the great footage Erin got during the game.