Blog and Video

Reviewing SLO Regionals

The Cal Poly baseball team had an historic season. They finished the year 47-12, and for the first time in school history the Mustangs hosted a NCAA regional tournament. There was excitement throughout the campus.

When tickets first became available, eager fans packed the Poly Escape Ticket Office for their once in a lifetime experience. And yet despite all the excitement the region had for the Mustangs, the goal of going to Omaha and competing for the College World Series was fell short as Pepperdine won the final game of the San Luis Obispo Regional tournament in thrilling finish.

The Mustangs were easily on their way, they had won the first game of the regionals by defeating Sacramento State setting up a showdown between Pepperdine in the winner’s bracket. The Waves were coming of a one run victory against Arizona State University and were ready for the Mustangs as they won another one run game.

The loss meant the Mustangs had to win three games in a row to advance to the Super Regionals. They defeated Sac Stated again to set up another matchup with Pepperdine.

The last game of the year at Baggett Stadium did not begin well for the Mustangs as they quickly fell five to zero in the early innings. The Mustangs however made an incredible rally as they tied the game at six making their faithful’s delirious.

The excitement across the stadium was short lived as Pepperdine loaded the bases with no outs and were able to score four runs in the top of the ninth as they defeated the Mustangs by the final score of ten to six.

The Waves are currently in the Super Regionals tied 1-1 against TCU. The winner of the series will move on to the College World Series.

MLB

It’s June 8^th and at this point the San Francisco Giants have the best record in all of baseball with a record of 42-21. They are currently on a five game winning streak and own a nine and a half game lead over the second place Dodgers and as of today they are the only team with 40 or more wins. Oakland should get there in the upcoming week as they own 39 victories, as well as the Milwaukee Brewers and Toronto Blue Jays, each club with 38 wins.

Certainly it isn’t surprising that the Giants are currently the best team in baseball. The season is long from being over and nothing has been decided yet, but at the moment everything is going right for San Francisco. Whatever they are doing in the city by the bay it is working.

One team that has been surprisingly bad is the Tampa Bay Rays. They are 24-40 and have looked awful in doing so. They rank near the bottom in all of the batting and pitching categories. David Price, the ace of the staff has not been living up to that title with a 4.03 ERA.

Again, it is still early and anything between know and September can happen, but don’t expect the Giants, Brewers, and Blue Jays to slow down. The only thing that will keep the Rays alive is the second wild card spot and that god awful division.

Image provided by  Keith Allison, Flickr.com

MLB.com At Bat

Need to watch baseball on the go? Well, there is an app for that. MLB.com At Bat enhances your experience watching America’s past time on the move. I have compiled a list on why you should download the app on your mobile device. The app does have several subscription offers. You have the option to listen to every game on the radio with a one-time annual fee of $20 or a recurring monthly fee of two dollars. If MLB.TV is already purchased, the subscription is free.

• It’s free! No purchase necessary. Find it on your app store and download away.
• Live look in’s. Watch crucial moments of every game as they happen.
• Listen to the away or home broadcasts on the go.
• Receive the latest news and updates from your favorite team.
• It displays scores, statistics, and standings from MLB.
• Connect with others through social media.
• Watch highlights of every team and every game.

The man behind the squat, Buster Posey

He is arguably the game’s best catcher. He owns two world series rings, a National League MVP in 2012, comeback player of the year in 2012, N.L rookie of the year award in 2010, a silver slugger, and is a two time all-star. He once played all nine positions at Florida State University, and he was drafted fifth overall by the San Francisco Giants in the 2008 first year player draft. His name? Gerald Dempsey Posey the third. And were the Giants and their fans ever so glad he fell to them. Since making his Major League debut in September of 2009, all he is done is produce for the team.

At the beginning of the 2010 season the Giants were a vastly improved team. They were coming of their first winning season since 2004 and they were stacked with good young pitching. At the time Bengie Molina was the catcher, he was productive and a fan favorite. So Posey wasn’t expected to make the opening day roster, and he didn’t. He was sent back to the minors to work on the art of catching.

The Giants started the 2010 season hot sweeping the opening series from the Houston Astros and taking two of three from the Atlanta Braves in the home opening series. The team had a dominant pitching staff, anchored by Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, and even Barry Zito was throwing like it was 2002. Despite their pitching success the team still lacked offense and Brian Sabean made the move to call-up Posey. A move that will change the franchise forever. In his 2010 debut, Posey played first base and went three for four with three rbi. So what did he do for an encore the next day? He collected three more hits and added an rbi. It was that splash that made fans fell in love with their franchise player. The season ended with him rushing the mound tackling Brian Wilson as the Giants won their first championship in San Francisco. 

2011 was a bitter sweet moment for Posey. Mostly bitter to Giants fans, because of this horrific play. Posey was out for the remainder of the year and the team’s goal to repeat fell quicker then virginity’s during prom. During his recovery time, he welcomed twin daughter’s Lee Dempsey and Addison Lynn Posey, born on August 14 2011. So not a bad year for the Posey family at all.

During spring training of the next season the focal point in Giants camps was Posey. Will he be ready to start the season? How is the leg going to react? Can he hold up as a catcher throughout the year? Not only were these questions answered they were forgotten as the season progressed. He made his first all star team and was one of the front runners for league MVP. 2012 was a magical year for Posey and the Giants. They won six elimination games during the postseason and end up sweeping the highly favored Detroit Tigers in the world series. He would end up winning the N.L. MVP award and a second ring in three years. As a result, during the offseason, the Giants and Posey agreed to a nine-year contract worth $167 million. Is it a smart investment? The general consensus is yes, but we will have to wait and see until the contract expires in 2022.

Image by dannymac15_1999 Flickr

 

A timeline of history

Here is a timeline of historical facts of America’s past time. From the curse of the Bambino, which Red Sox fans claimed it began when the Yankees acquired him via trade or the expanded instant replay that began this year, (surprisingly) the timeline has significant events that changed the course of history. So enjoy and feel free to leave a comment and tell me what other historical figure or event I left out of my brief timeline.

 

Instant Replay

It’s here it is finally here! MLB has decided to join the 21st century by implementing a replay challenge system. Each ball club receives a manager’s challenge before the start of every game, and if he wins a challenge the team receives an additional challenge. All challenges after the sixth inning (unless a coach or a manager still posses a challenge) are reviewed by the umpires. If a manager is out of challenges and a close play does occur, the manager may ask the umpires to review the call. When there is a challenge on the field, the crew chief goes to a headset where the Replay Operations Center in New York reviews the play in question. Specialized replay umpires review the call then gives orders to the crew chief on what the correct call should be. In a nutshell this is what the replay system is. You still can not argue or challenge balls and strikes, because the “human element” of the game is too important. So what do you guys think? Yay or Nay on replay?

MLB Team’s Value

Forbes compiled a complete list of every MLB team’s value and surprise, surprise. The New York Yankees sit atop the rankings with a whopping value of $2.5 billion. The Los Angeles Dodgers with new ownership and their new Time Warner Cable deal are just behind with $2 billion. The Tampa Bay Rays end the list with a miniscule $485 million. Which goes to show that winning doesn’t always translate into dollars or vice versa. Along with the Rays, the Oakland Athletics have not always been known for spending top value for players, but they are always in games and produce a winning product on the field.

 

Practice makes perfect

The Mustangs finish their practice with a BP (batting practice) session. Each player takes their turn in the cage.

The importance of team chemistry

Chemistry, it’s everywhere. I am not talking about beakers and the latest Walter White chemistry lab set. I am referring to the one in the sports world. You know the one that every team claims they have, regardless of what their win and loss record indicate.

Teams will do anything to add chemistry to a ballclub. Whether it’s the 2013 Boston Red Sox with their famous “Boston Strong” rallying cry after the marathon bombings and those wicked beards or the 2012 San Francisco Giants and Hunter Pence’s infamous speech he made before the start of game three of the division series against the Cincinnati Reds. Chemistry exists in every ball club and these two teams will have the recognition of having a good clubhouse because of their success.

Baggett Stadium

In order to have a winning culture a ball club needs to have a group of talented players that are willing to work together on and off the field. And for the Cal Poly baseball team they have just that. Talented players such as southpaw pitcher and major-league prospect Matt Imhof, second baseman Mark Mathias, and catcher Chris Hoo, have acknowledged team chemistry as a major part of their success.

“Basically our camaraderie, the way we have bonded together,” Mathias said. “There is no dislikes or any drama or anything. We are all brothers on this field. We play good together. We play as a team. There are no individuals on this team.”

It’s the sort of camaraderie that has the Mustangs with a 36-7 record and are currently ranked number one by Collegiate Baseball and are a consensus top five team in the nation. Poll rankings such as Baseball America, USA Today Coaches’ Poll and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, do have Cal Poly in the top three, just not number one.

Under the overcast sky

When news broke of Cal Poly’s top ranking, reactions spread like wildfire. Chris Hoo did what he could to spread the word using social media. However, that ranking wasn’t the be all and end all for him and his teammates. The club remains hungry for more and they realize there are still more room for improvement as the season moves along.

“I was fired up! I was in class, I saw on twitter that someone tweeted it and it was a really good felling to have, but at the same time the first poll I looked at we were ranked third still,” Hoo said. “So I wouldn’t say we are definitely number one because we are third in that and second in another poll. So it would be good to keep winning and climb up all the rankings.”

However, the team’s ultimate goal isn’t where they finish in the rankings; it’s what they do after the regular season that keeps this team motivated.

“Yeah being ranked number one is nice, but the goal is still a national championship,” Imhof said. “You don’t win a national championship with five weeks left in the season.”

View from inside the third base dug out

Batting practice is a good way to keep your swing sharp

Team huddled up around Manager Larry Lee

Learning how to turn double plays is essential

Playing catch is always a good time

Pitchers going through their unique motion delivery

Jogging is always a good way to warm up

Machine is helpful during outfield drills

Part of the yard where home runs go to die

Down either line is 335 ft at Baggett Stadium

Aggregate

Mustang Baseball

The Cal Poly baseball team finished off a sweep of Hawaii over the weekend by winning the final game of the series 8-3.

Their Sunday victory insured the Mustangs atop the Big West standings, while the Rainbow Warriors went to 2-7 in conference play.

Sophomore pitcher Casey Bloomquistpitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing just nine hits and three runs, while recording his eight win of the season. Designated hitter Brian Mundell hit a two-run shot to lead the charge.

Giants v. Dodgers

The Dodgers avoided a sweep by their arch rival the San Francisco Giants by winning the final game of the three game series 2-1 on Thursday afternoon. Ryu pitched seven innings of shutout ball striking out three and walking one batter.

Image provided by flickr.com

Giants and Dodgers are currently tied in the National League West with records of 10-6. The Giants are currently winning the season series 4-2 taking two of three at Chavez Ravine and two of three in San Francisco.  They have played in their seventh consecutive one-run game, their most since the Taft administration.

Ace lefty Madison Bumgarner only lasted 4 1/3 innings allowing two runs on six hits, striking out six and walked three. His three-game winning streak against the Dodgers was snapped giving up RBI hits to Tim Federowicz in the second and Adrian Gonzalez in the fifth.

Image provided by wikipedia.org

The Dodgers were having quality at-bats against the lefty, making him work hard for every out he recorded. They were going deep in to counts fouling off quality pitches making his pitch count rise quickly in the early innings. A big reason for his early departure.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy pulled Bumgarner immediately after Gonzo’s RBI hit, going to reliever Yusmeiro Petit who got Matt Kemp to hit into a ground ball double play to end the fifth.

Recently off the disabled list, reliever Jeremy Affeldt threw two dominant innings and this weird double play.

Yasiel Puig certainly has a flair for the dramatics. In the bottom of the second inning with a runner on first base, Brandon Hicks hits a routine fly ball to right that Puig drops. Immediately he picks up the ball and guns down Brandon Belt to get the force play at second base.The very next batter, Gregor Blanco hits a drive to right and Puig makes a tremendous over the shoulder catch.

Former Giants closer Brian Wilson made an appearance in the bottom of the eight inning. He allowed a few base runners, but ultimately got out of the inning unscathed.

Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen made the bottom of the ninth interesting allowing a run to score, but he stranded the potential tying and winning runs by getting Brandon Crawford to fly out to left.

Welcome to All Things Baseball

Bagget Stadium

Hello and welcome to All Things Baseball. The name is Joel Escareno and I am studying journalism at Cal Poly. The purpose of this blog is to bring America’s pastime to you. This blog will allow me to utilize my knowledge and passion that I have for the game of baseball and to share it with the world. So expect a lot of content from the nationally ranked Cal Poly baseball team and Major League Baseball.

The game of baseball is alive and well. Cal Poly has taken the NCAA by storm with their grit and determination. For the first time in Major League Baseball history, there is a replay system in place that hasn’t existed in the past century. So as summer approaches and pennant races begin to unfold, expect me to bring the heat.

Just in case you are interested to learn more about Cal Poly baseball, give CPhomerunsandhoops a look. If that doesn’t satisfy your fix follow Sully Baseball for additional MLB content.

If you happen to be a huge Cal Poly soccer fan, calpolysoccer, a blog dedicated to enhance the soccer experience at Cal Poly, is there to satisfy your needs.  Tourist and locals should be made aware of SLO Cuisine and Morning Joe in SLO. Two blogs dedicated to inform people of the best dining experiences and coffee shops around town.