A Great Baseball Weekend. Bois Guillaume vs Montigny

Hey guys. Sorry for the delay in posts. I was dog tired after our games yesterday and went to bed around 10:00. Thanks for the comments. Tiffany, sorry...I have to award first post to Alex due to legalities, but thanks for the effort. Alex and Dad, thanks for your words concerning last week, Ian, I had to read your last line of your comment twice and when I finally got it, I laughed out loud. To everyone else, I love you and will talk to you soon.

Saturday. The softball team had a game today. This game was against Rouen. If there are any rivalries in France, this has to be the biggest one. So the girls were really pumped up about this one. The game was going to start at 5:00pm but I got there a couple of hours earlier and started dressing up the field. The girls started pouring in and I directed them to start warming up. It is really nice to delegate one of the girls to lead warmups and they know exactly what to do. We are starting to look like a team more and more. I HAVE REEEEAACHED THEEEESE KEEEEEDS. (You have to watch South Park to get that last line.) After a while of warming up, Rouen started to show up. Once again, male dominated. I still don't really understand the pleasure of beating up on girls...but whatever. Nothing sends a message more than starting 7 girls in a game against 7 other guy starters from the other team.

This game was one sided from the get go. I am starting to really dig the head coaching role. Giving signs, taking mound visits, and trying to look like I know what the hell I'm doing. We just crushed em'. Final score 20-6. The girls were happy with the win and Rouen had to take a hard loss with them as they drove 2 miles home. Good day.

Now, to start preparing for tomorrow. BG plays Montigny tomorrow. Our biggest test of the season. They are in first place with a 7-1 record with us right behind them 6-1. I have to tell you I have been stressing about this game all week.

Sunday morning. I got up Sunday morning, took a shower, and had a oatmeal breakfast. I was excited to get to the field because I was eager to meet Will Gordon. Will is the guy responsible for me being in France right now. He play for BG last year and left to play with a Lithuanian team who he still plays for. He is in a theatre troup touring Europe doing plays. But we have will to play with us for two weekends. It just so happened that the two weekends he will be with us are against the toughest teams in our conference.
So I got to the field and headed to the dugout.

"Hey Tony, nice to meet you."
"Hi...?"

It was really weird at first. I had imagined Will looking a little different for some reason. Will looks like an athlete let me tell you. This guy is huge! 6'5" with a gun stapped on his left shoulder. My nerves were eased a bit when I started to see him warmup. Another good thing is that when I started warming up my arm felt a bit better. So Will was to start the first game, bat 5th, and I was still going to play 1st base to nurse my arm. We all got warmed up, took bp, and got mentally psyched for gametime.

Game 1: BG Woodchucks vs Montigny Cougars
Time: 11:15
Weather: 67 F, sunny
Attendance: 15

Some of the softball and Cadet players were in attendance. It was nice to see support from the program.
Will took the mound. Top of the 1st.
First batter lines a ball up the middle for a hit. Maybe not what Will wanted for the first batter he faced in several weeks but he kept his poise like a pro. We got out of the first inning without a scratch on us. Will was telling me that his first inning, no matter where he pitches, is the hardest one.
Now our turn at the plate. Eric grounded out. Arthur got a base hit up the middle. I got plunked in the knee for my first at bat. Not what I was wanting but what the hell. Bernie lined a double down the line that scored Arthur with me at third. Will was next and lined a rocket opposite field to drive me home. The pitcher retired the next two batters to close out the first.
Ok...Ok...were are looking pretty good. We went up 2-0 after the first.
Next inning wasn't so smooth. Will struck out the first batter. The next batter drew a walk and stole second. Will struck out the 3rd hitter but Romain didn't catch it cleanly and he had to throw it to me at first. I failed to catch the ball so he reached 1st base safely. I was so fucking pissed at this moment. HOW DO YOU MAKE ERRORS AT FIRST BASE? I mean really, Tony? I was fucking so mad. The next guy line a shot off the wall and 2 runs scored, both unearned. We made a couple more errors in the inning, one by 2nd base, Pierre, and another one by me. Unfuckingbelievable. We finally got out of the inning but they tacked on two more runs going up 4-2. I expressed my sorries to Will because we should have gotten out of the inning unscathed.
K...relax. Shake it off. Let's get em' back.
We responded really well. We scored 4 runs in the bottom of the second to gain another lead change. I got my first hit of the game nearly knocking the cover off the ball into right field. Our guys were hitting really well. Eric got a hit, Arthur got him over, I hit, Bernie collected another hit, and Will lined another ball. So things were back in our hands.
I have to tell you that there was a tension in our first game. You could just feel it. The guys were not completely relaxed and it felt like we were on pins and needles for the entire game. There was lead changes throughout the entire game.

6th inning. Something bad happened. I moved to left field because I couldn't catch a ball at first base to save my life and then 'Time' was called. Jean-Luc motioned for me to come to the mound for a meeting. Will had opened a blister on his pitching hand and couldn't throw anymore.

Shit.

He could put a bandage on it and play outfield but not pitch anymore. So I took SS and Will took left field. Bernie took the mound to hopefully keep the game close. He got out of the inning still keeping the game knotted up 7-7.
Bottom of the 6th. I lead off the inning with another hit by pitch. They had pretty much silenced my bat with a walk and a couple hit by pitches. Bernie moved me over with a ground ball. Will then knocked me in for the go ahead run in the game. Will eventually scored off a couple errors and a hit. So we had the lead 9-7 in the last inning.
Bernie managed to get the first out of the inning but then the next two hitters got hits that tightened our lead only one run. We got the next guy to pop up. Ok 2 outs, one more and it's over. He walked the next guy to give them bases loaded.
Next pitch sailed to the backstop...SonofaBitch. They tied the game. He struck out the next guy so keep the game tied. Man, this was a baseball game.
We failed to put them away in the bottom of the 7th and we went into extra innings.
9th inning. They struck first. Bernie left a ball right in the middle of the plate and their hitter hit it over the fence for a homerun. 9-8. We got out of the rest of the inning and had a chance to tie it up. I would like to tell you that we came back and one this game but that would be a lie. We went down 1,2,3 in the bottom of the 9th and lost a heartbreaker.
The other team was all cheers and the Woodchucks were not only physically beat but mentally as well.

We ate our lunch and just sprawled out all over the place. I was so tired. I could only imagine what the other guys felt like. But I tried once again to get our minds right and shake off the 1st game.

"Great thing about baseball is that you have a one game right after the next."

That was our motto for the next game.

Game 2: BG vs Montigny
Time: 3:00
Weather: 78 F, sunny
Attendance: About 20

A majority of the Cadets and Softball players were there for the 2nd game. Then something great happened. Chris couldn't be there for our first game because he was needed for the reserve game in Rouen. I told him that he needs to scoot on over when he got done and bring some noise. So Chris, just right before the first pitch of the 2nd game, came screaming up the hill behind the backstop. He had Gabby and some other kids with him just screaming their hearts out with noise makers. It was just what we needed. It seemed to relax the guys and give us newly found energy. What a guy. He was our 10th man. We struck first with 2 runs right off the bat. Vincent started the second game because Marc's arm was hurting him. Vincent did just enough ladies and gents. His gravity ball seemed to keep the other team off balance for awhile. They would scorch some balls off him but not a lot of damage was done. It was 3-2 for awhile then something wild happened.

Vincent stepped up to the plate with 2 runners on.
CRACK! This ball went sailing to the deepest part of the field in left center. Now I will tell you that I heard the ball hit a tree past the fence and come back into play. I was screaming on the top of my lungs "HOMERUN!!!!" but the umpire failed to realize it at first and called one of our runners OUT at the plate. I WAS FURIOUS. Jean-Luc and I rushed towards home and explained how the ball nailed the tree. Ha, you are going to love this.

The umpire then motioned HOMERUN!!!!!

BWAHAHAHAHA, Vince came trotting home from 2nd base and we just screamed with excitement. The other coach could not believe what happened and ran up to the umpire when he realized what happened. The umpire then walked out to the outfield to inspect what happened. I could just imagine this asshole reversing his call for the third time. I went out to the field to talk with the opposing players and of course they were saying it wasn't a homerun. It was funny though. We weren't yelling at one another, in complete contrast we were joking with one another. Then finally the umpire from left center said.

"HOMERUN!"

Thank god. I will tell you that there is a piece of bark stripped off the tree were Vincent nailed the ball.

We took a comfortable 4 run lead and added 4 more by the last inning. 10-2.

OK Woodchucks.....let's close this game out. 3 more baby. There was no way I was going to take out Vincent because his puss balls were doing the trick for the time being. His pitches lost its magic the last inning. He walked the first two guys and Arthur had to go in. First guy lined a double off of him. Ok...10-4...no problem. Let's just get an out.

Arthur walked the next two guys.....Well, Goddammit.

The next guy knocked a bases clearing double. 10-7. Arthur walked the next guy.....

We finally got the first out of the inning on a ground ball to me forcing a guy out at third. Ok...one out. Next guy lined a shot to right field but Pierre got a good beat on it and made a spectacular catch. YES, 2 outs!

Next guy knocked a lined drive up the middle to put their team within two. The next guy hit a seeing eye ground ball threw the right side to load the bases. Tieing run at 2nd base. I then called time.

"Hey, relax buddy. We got this. I believe in you. Smile, baby. Let's do this."

Arthur looked at me with worried eyes and shook his head, "Ok, Tony."

First pitch. A high chopper towards me. If I fail to make this play....tie game. I fielded it cleanly and made the throw.

The ball started tailing high.....

My heart sank....

It found Vincent's mit for the last out.

We finally won.

I was so happy I hugged the runner rounding second. Everyone started laughing. I think both teams were happy with the results and the beer bottles started to open. I took some good pics with Will. I gave him a composite bat to take with him to Lithuania free of charge. He then game me a Guiness tall boy beer can from Dublin, Ireland. A fair trade if you ask me.

Will and I will hang out more next week because he will spend about 4 days in Rouen. I was incredibly happy with how we played and how we fought. Charles and I are all good. We are back to pals again. Everyone understands, hopefully, now how important practice is. I aged 5 years yesterday. Well, thanks for reading. I love and miss you guys. Au revoir.

Coaching Debut, Cultural Conficts, and "Ball, Ball, Ball!"

Hey fellow readers. I am really diggin' the fact that you guys are appreciating my pics/writing. I feel the love people. Dad, let me start by saying that I read your email with tears in my eyes...I love you, Dad. I really needed that. I can only wish to be a dad like you to my own kids. I assure you that I will try my damndest. Karly, thanks for the comments...I laugh everytime when you comment, Tiffany, no more Cheezits :-(...Alex, thanks for laughs that I know everyone shares with your words and I will wear a hat whenever I the fuck I want to, Ian and Emily, thanks for the talks guys, Joey, I will get you a choo choo pic soon, Phyll, it was really good talking to you the other day and I can't wait to share what I have seen and experienced when you get here, and Mom, thanks for working really hard on sending my package. I know that you want things to be perfect and I know they will because it is from you. Goes without saying that I love and miss you guys everyday.

Let me start with Wednesday. I had two practices this day. The Cadet team and N1 team. Jean-Luc is gone on a umpiring tournament somewhere in France, so I have the reins this week. Paul was back from his spring break in England and I could tell he missed having a bat in his hands. He was all smiles when we started working out. I am finding it easier to portray a coaching image to everyone. Little by little, I have become somewhat an authority figure in their eyes and they now know what I expect at practices. So they warmed up and I had a drill planned for these guys.

"Fly ball communication." I yelled.

Now in the states, once this is yelled at my past practices...those words are usually followed by groans. I will explain why in the following sentences.

So I placed the kids in different positions on the field. We had 9 this practice! Alright so I started just sky rocketing flyballs from home plate. They were all just admiring the little dots in the sky (baseballs) and making few catches. I expected this at first. I then got the point across that you have to say, "Ball, Ball, Ball!" for communication reasons and avoid collisions and dropped balls. Once they caught a couple balls consecutively, I then yelled....

"10 perfect."

Back home this could last awhile. Here in France, I was prepared to do this for the next 90 minutes. So at first, they would get up to about 5 then someone would fuck up. I'm sure at this point the kids were thinking....

"Oh this is kinda fun!..."

Well after catching up to 7 without a mistake then fucking up on '8', they were starting to get pissed. Hahaha, little Paul...

"Alle, puton de mierde! (LET'S GO, Fucking Shit!)" He would scream at the guys who were fucking up.

This continued for about 30 more minutes. The kids were yelling "Ball, Ball, Ball!" on the top of they lungs and would rejoice with satifaction when they caught it. They are starting to come together. Through this frustration and communication. Ok...so we got to nine. And the kids were chuckling nervously at the possible last pop fly. Paul then yelled.

"Tony, hit me the fucking ball!"
"You got it."

I reared back and hit the highest ball I could. Paul was at SS, and the ball was tailing towards 2nd. Paul called off Sam who was at 2nd and was sitting under the ball. Everyone had the look of desperation. This ball was just cometing down to Earth....

It found his mit.

All the kids just threw their gloves in the air and thanked whatever god they worshiped. The Bp felt earned to these kids and that is what I wanted. Their practiced ended great....

Now our practice....I have not gotten this mad in a long time.

After the kids rolled out, our guys started rolling in. It started to rain quite a bit but we were going to practice regardless rain,snow,hail,or tornado. We have to work out those 9 errors from last game. Not only that, but we have Montigny this weekend. Currently first, and us 1/2 game back. This is the matchup of the season. They have skilled players and good pitching. We have to be on top of our game.
So as we were talking in the dugout as rain was pouring down, I get a call from Vincent.

"Hey, I'm not coming to practice."
"Why?"
"It's raining and I am having a couple beers at a bar."

Unfuckingbelievable.

"Well, we are practicing and you are going to miss it. Do what you want. Goodbye."

This was the just a little more fuel being added to the fire. Charles then asks me.

"What are we going to do?"
"Well..we are going to wait this out for a bit, and if it doesn't let up, then we will go into the gym for groundballs."

He quickly retorts, "No."
"I am going home and I am not going to take anymore ground balls. We don't need to."

I could piss nails.

In the most relaxed and calm voice I replied.
"Charles...If you leave. You will not play on Sunday."

"Fuck it. I don't care. I am leaving."

Some of the guys looked astonished at this response. So Charles, walked off and went home.

There are some things that I can tolerate. I can deal with cultural differences. I CAN NOT deal with a blatent insult to my work. I have poured my heart into trying to incorporate baseball in Bois Guillaume. What just happened is a direct slap in my face. Charles might as well as stuck his middle finger in my face, now I know that gesture is universal.
At this point I was just beside my self. I wanted to destroy something. I wanted to pound my fist into someones skull.

I wanted to destroy something beautiful.

Every muscle and bone in my body wanted to release furious anger.
About 15 minutes later, Chris suggested that we take ground balls on the soccer field astroturf. So we walked up to the neighboring soccer field. The guys all put their stuff away and started to get ready.
4 of the guys starting throwing a nerf football around.

"If you throw that fucking football one more time...I am going to run you until you have nothing in your stomach."

At this point, the guys saw a side of me that I don't show often at all. I lined them up and started training. I vented to them about how much disrespect I felt at that moment. I will not get into exact words but I can assure you that they could understand how crushed I felt. I don't think I have ever felt that madman's emotion before. I never want to have it again.

After they warmed up throwing the ball around, I motioned for them to come in for a talk. I first said I was incredibly grateful to have them here at every practice. I pounded my heart and said,

"This shows me you have this."

I then said,
"So put a fucking smile on your faces and let's take some fucking ground balls. HAVE SOME FUCKING FUN GODAMMIT!"

They all laughed and we took practice.
This venting needed to happen and it is done and over with.

A cultural conflict.

Thursday. Yesterday is gone. It is another day.
The French have another day off work because of some holiday. Man...they have a lot of these. So we had a rescheduled softball game today. I was to be the head coach! First time in my life that I had this kind of responsibility. I woke up and got ready for the day. I got to the field today at 9am and starting working on getting it game-ready. I was just getting ready to walk back to the dugout to start the lineup when I heard shouts of arguement. One of the father's of two guys ont he team, who never come to practice and he is a board member, states that he is going to be the coach and that he has a line up already written.

Ok, Tony. Deep breath. Destin. Cinque Terre. Children's Laughter......

Now....What?

The girls were almost in tears because everyone knew that I was going to be the coach and Jean-Luc specifically said that I had the reins all week.
"Tony, Tony, Tony, you have to coach us!"...."I don't want to play like this!"
Aww...this was really sweet. So I calmly said to the father.
I brought Laura over to translate every word I was going to say.
"Jean-Luc said I was going to be coach. If you have a problem, you can call him. If not, I want a clean lineup card."

"Ok, Ok, Ok, no problem."
The girls rejoiced with satisfaction and starting getting ready.

The other team showed up. Louvier. I was shocked as soon as I saw our competion. 10 grown men and 1 girl. These guys started warming up in left field. Maybe one or two of the players on their team was 15-20 years of age but the vast majority were in their mid 30's. Great. This is softball people. I really don't see the satisfaction of beating up on teenage girls.
There was no way I was going to alter my 7 girl starting lineup. I had to prove a point. We had to prove a point.
We took infield and looked pretty salty. Then they took infield....
A maniacal grim bloomed on my face....

We are going to murder these guys.

They struck in the first innings. One run off one hit and followed by enormous cheers. Are you fucking serious? Unbelievable.
We started off slow and found ourselves down 3-0 after the first two innings of a 7 inning game. I then huddled up the team.
"Guys...relax. Look at their pitcher right now."
He lobs a puss pitch.
"We are going to crush them. Just relax. We are going to score 20 runs this game."
They all smiled and we had another Woodchucks breakdown.

Then we put it to the old assholes.

Their is a six run limit per inning. Let me just say we used that rule for the rest of the game. Now I will tell you something even more unbelievable that happened in the 4th inning.
The score was about 14-3 at this point in favor of us. The other team's players had run to each other on three different fly balls. I then brought everyone together after the 6 run mercy took effect.
With a grin on my face.

"Now do you see why you say Ball, Ball, Ball?"

Then exploded with laughter. Now let me mentioned something that happened in the 4th inning. Virginie, our pitcher, was just mowing down these guys. Their head coach, 40 yrs of age lead-off hitter SS, calls time and heads to the mound. I then was summoned by the umpire. The girls were yelling with detest and I know that this wasn't going to be good.

"Wi." I breathed.
The other coach replied in broken English, "You have to change pitchers, no pitcher throw more than 4 innings."
Are you fist fucking me.
I then turned to Virginie.
"How old are you Virginie?"
"19."
"And how old are you?" To the coach.
He was baffled and insulted, as he should have been.
"It's the rules. Sorry. Change pitchers."

Virginie slammed the ball into my hands and took third base. Cami was to take the mound. This was the funniest thing that happened all day. Cami is a national French ball player who throws absolute gas. She threw her first warm up pitch.
It wizzed into Arthur's mit.
HAHAHAHAHA, I would just to have loved to know what the other team was thinking now. She continued to strike out the next 7 hitters in a row.
I was going to hold off stealing to show respect but not now. Green light all day. We won 27-3. I have to say that a little bit of today's and yesterday's emotions were morphined in today's win. It pleased me even more that every one of my players got on the field and atleast one at bat.
Their coach shook my hand and it was understood that their isn't any bad blood. So everyone and everything was tranquilo.

I love you guys and I will talk to you soon. Show me the comments. Au revoir.

Picture Post

Pics:
1st- Jean-Luc and I on way to Honfluer
2nd- Park where I had lunch the other day
3rd- The open air market I stumbled upon
4th- Cathedral Top
5th- Old men playing "PaDunk". It is like the French Shuffleboard.
6th- View of Deville from the forest
7th- Picture from Abbaye Du Bec Hellouin
8th- Cathedral Pic
9th- A minotaur statue. Looks kinda suggestive, if you ask me.

Here is a link to my YouTube page. This is what I have been doing with my spare time. Miss you guys and I will post soon. Au revoir.

http://youtube.com/user/Stabone03

Woodchucks Split With Les Andely. A Taste of Humility.

Hey guys. I got back not too long ago from today’s games. Love you guys and miss you a ton. Thanks for the comments and please keep’em coming. I get taste of home with every message. Love you all.

I will start off with Friday/Saturday. On Friday, I had absolutely nothing to do. I just hopped on a bus with no intention of getting off at any particular stop. So I just made my way through Rouen, looking around at all the buildings. Before I knew it, I was riding along the Seine and out of the city. I started to have a giddy nervous feeling. But I took the bus until it completely ended in another suburb. I can’t tell you the name of the little town, just the fact that I had to follow the river back to town. So I just started walking. Following the river, taking pics, and just taking in the warm summer breeze. It was really nice. I ended up at the boardwalk and had a nice stroll along the river. I then walked into the town visiting different cathedrals. I listened to a great guitarist outside one of the cathedrals. I automatically knew this guy was going to be good because he didn’t have a money hat in front of him. You just knew he loved playing outside in front of a crowd. He had a Spanish tone and was very good. I then stumbled upon a huge open air market, and had lunch outside at a very serene, quiet park. Just a nice day.

Saturday. The softball team had a scheduled match against Honfluer, a town that sits next to the coast. So we drove to this town and I got the girls ready. I say girls, but we were mostly comprised of cadet ballplayers with a couple of girls mixed in. The field was absolute shit, but he scenery all around was beautiful. Huge poplars just shot up all around the field. Jean-Luc then told me something that I really had never thought of.
“You like trees don’t you Tony?”
“Well now that you mention it….I guess I do.”
We won the game 27-12. More like a football game if you ask me. That night I had dinner at Jean-Luc’s house where we would mentally prepare for the next day’s games. We were away at Les Andely which is the same town where the castle was where Chris and I visited before. The field sits actually right next to the castle, but trees blocked any view from the field. I was wanting to hit a bomb that landed in one of the dungeons but that wouldn’t be at this field.

Game 1: BG vs Les Andely
Time: 12:00
Weather: 70 with Sun
Attendance: around 19 peeps.

I had a bad feeling about this team all week. NOT BECAUSE YOU ASSHOLES WERE WARNING ME, but the guys look really lackadaisical this morning. Marc Bouchard, our Canadian ace, was scheduled to start. We started off the game like gangbuster again scoring three runs right off the bat. I lined a ball that almost broke the pitchers neck and other guys got base hits as well. Let me just say right now, that that was the best we looked for the first game. So there we were, in our element after the top half of the first inning. Now their turn. First batter for Les Andely, SS makes error. Next batter, 3rd makes an error. Next batter, double. Next batter, 2nd makes error. Next batter, RF makes throwing error. Next batter, 3rd makes error. You see where I am going with this? We found ourselves in an unlikely position after the first couple innings. Losing. We pinballed the lead back in forth for awhile until our poor defense got the better of us. We lost the first game 11-7. They had 3 earned runs fueled by our 9 errors. It was a piss poor performance. I stranded bases loaded twice. Damn…that is painful to write. So the 2008 Woodchucks are no longer undefeated. You would have thought that Les Andely just won the fucking World Series. They were just screamin’ and shoutin’. I was just waiting for them to start doing beer bongs.
I don’t think Emerill Legassi himself could have made our sandwiches taste good after that game. But one thing that we couldn’t do, is let this roll into the next game. So I tried really hard and shook off the pouty face and starting laughing a joking around. Anything to get our minds right. I did my impression of a woodchuck that always gets the guys laughing and it seemed that all was forgotten. Let us hope eh?

Game 2: BG vs Les Andely
Time: 2:00
Weather: Beautiful
Attendance: 21, Benedict and Laura showed up.

I stepped back before this game started and just looked around. I realized a couple of things.

1. I am playing baseball in France next to a castle.
2. The weather and smells of the field were just like I was back in the states.

They were two completely contradictory thoughts but they were singing with harmony at this moment. With one out in the first, Arthur led us off with a double to center field. I then strode to the plate completely relaxed. I then proceeded to hit my second homer of the season over the left field fence. It was a decent shot, if I do say so myself. We scored two more runs off a couple of errors committed by the other team and we were chattering like the Woodchucks of old. Vincent was our starting pitcher this game and he threw one hell of one. Three up, three down. All game. We continued to pour in runs absolutely showing the other team that we had beatin’ ourselves the first game. I strode up to the plate for the 3rd time this game after a hit by pitch my last at bat. They had brought in another pitcher who was throwing the ball with a lot more velocity. Maybe intimidating to some guys but just how me likey. First pitched wizzed by for a ball. Next pitch, estimated time of arrival…..my house in Deville in about 10 minutes. I absolutely pounded the hell out of hit. It was beautiful. One of those shots where as soon as you hit it….you can just jog and watch the ball sail threw the air. Really poetic if you ask me. We continued to hammer them into the ground for the remainder of the game. Final score 15-0.

I will mention that something really funny happened today. In the first game, I had not realized that the other team had another American. It wasn’t until their hitter jawed at Marc, our pitcher. I had told Marc only to throw this guy sliders because I could tell he was their best hitter.

This guys pops off,
“Throw me a fucking fastball you fucking pussy.”

Really loud. Marc really didn’t know how to react. I then stepped in from 1st.

“What the fuck is your problem you fucking asshole? This is baseball. Not fucking tiddlywinks, you fucking pussy.”

He responds, “You shut the fuck up, you have been jawing all game.”

I then replied a retort but you guys can guess what the majority of my words were. Marc now knew what was going on. The next pitch found the middle of the Americans back. He trotted down the line towards me. Shit…now I gotta deal with this asshole.

“C’mon man…what’s up.”

“I’m just pissed because I got nailed with a ball during practice before the game.”
I replied. “Welcome to France.”

We laughed and all was forgotten. We then introduced ourselves. Josh Galla is a guy my age who played ball at Sam Houston State University and has family in Les Andely. We have the same French speaking ability. Non-existent. We joked around to each other for the remainder of the day and exchange contact info. He is actually a really nice guy. So we might hang out over these next couple of months.

Yes, we lost the first game but the guys learned something today. Not only in baseball, but in life, when you get knocked down, you have to get back up and score 15 runs against your boss. Love you guys and I will talk to you soon. Au revoir.

Just Livin'.

Hey guys. Past couple days have been pretty relaxed. Love the all the comments that you guys are giving me. I have read them many times. I have to give this week's winner to Dad. Just a good comment. Tiff and Karly, thanks for burnin up the #1 spot as of late, Alex, I am taking it easy, probably not going to throw another curveball for awhile and thank you for all those sessions...wouldn't be here if it weren't for you, Ian, thanks for the comment...I'm glad you laughed at the Ray Liotta part, Emily, I am positive that two glasses of Calvados would put you under the table, Mom, thanks for the apple butter and I love you so much.

I have been nursing my arm the past few days. I haven't thrown a ball. I got tendonitis cream from the doc and anti-inflam. pills. So it's all good. I feels good right now but I am not going to chance anything. So onto the week.

On Monday, Chris said that he had something in store for me. We were going to a religious relic. It is a monastery by the name of Abbaye Du Bec-Helloin. It sits in a river valley about one hour outside Rouen. It was really nice to get out of the city and see rural scenary. On the way to the monastery you can see fields of gold. It was just a relaxing sight. The gold seemed to stretch forever. Then once we made a couple of turns, you could see the tower of Abbaye Du-Bec rise up out of the valley. It reminded me of one of Tolkien's towers. I got out of the car and took some pseudo-aerial pics. Chris and I then parked our car outside the gates and walked in. We looked around the buildings and the relic of where the original cathedral sat. The place where the church used to sit had to be thousands of years old. I was telling Chris that back in MO that it was impressive to see something from the Early 50's. It is just a different culture here.

We then walked around to the front of the main building and I noticed that a creek ran from the outside to right through the cathedral. It made for a great pic. Chris then told me that he got most of his information for his religion philosophy thesis from the library that they had. He was also telling me how devout the monks and nuns were in this area. He was telling me that they were very precise and practiced almost a zen-like catholicism.
Chris also told me that that day was a religious day that they would hold a special mass where the whole convent would be singing at the mass. So we decided to sit in on it. I was greeted by angelic sounds.

Their voice was one. It filled your body. The power of their voiced made hair stand on end. It was beautiful. That music could pleasantly put me to sleep. The cathedral was a very long hall that had the effect of creating great acoustics for their voices. It was great. Chris and I sat near the back and listened to the readings and procedings. We took communion and I felt like one wrong movement would shatter the walls. Everything was precise and it was expected.
Ok....left hand over right....take the bread....carefully place in mouth...close mouth...take wine...delicately tip...walk back. So I made it back to my seat without disturbing the gods and all was good. It was a great experience. These experiences are the ones that will stay with me.

After the Abbaye, Chris took me back, I went for a run, and then went to bed. The next day, Tuesday, Jean-Luc delivered my medicine for my arm and said he wanted to take me downtown just to walk around. I eagerly agreed. Anything to change scenery is good. What was even more spectacular was that it was T-Shirt weather. We sat down at an outside cafe and had drinks. I had a tall house beer and Jean-Luc had a cafe'. What was even more sirreal was the fact we were sitting right next to the Joan of Arc Cathedral. It was just a nice afternoon. We talked baseball and enjoyed our drinks. I went back home and that was pretty much Tuesday.

Today, I had baseball ALL DAY. I had to sub-in for Sebastian Grimaud, elementary kid's coach, and take the 5-7 year old kids at 10:00am, then I had to run practice for the Cadet team from 4-6, and take the N1 from 6 until the sun goes down. I woke up this morning, had a yogurt filled breakfast and headed for the field.
I was greeted by 7 little kid's curious eyes. I think they thought I was a pro American player and they were asking me all these questions. They were so cute. I tried to answer their questions with laugher following. So I had a ball with these kids. We played a soccer game to warmup, and then we started on some basics. Like step with your left foot before you throw, stop stealing Cami's glove Alexadria, and stop picking at dandilions Maxim. I could easily substitute Ian's name for Maxim. Hahahaha. Had to do it. So we took a photo together and they said their goodbyes. I went back to Chris's house for lunch and then I headed back to the field for the Cadet practice. Most of the kids had been on a 2 week spring break vacation and they were all impressed with the field.

"You guys like it?" I said.
"Ooooo tre bon!" They replied.

You bet your ass Tre Bon.

We conducted a normal practice but this was their first one outside. The only difference in their play was that they were rejoicing at the fact they were outside on their field. It was a proud moment.
So after that team departed, the N1 guys started coming in. I had enough guys to field a team! Normally, I just have about 5-6 guys but I think the sun brought out more of them. So we took an extra long infield, I skyrocketed flyballs, and everyone was just having fun. Once again, this is summer baseball. We took an extra long bp.
We had a little crowd in the outfield because a soccer game just let out and I could tell that some people were thinking....

"What the hell are they doing?...." and "Who the hell is that little American who is barking orders?"

After the team had taken their turn at bp, it was my turn. I have to say I wanted to impress this little crowd. Mom, does this remind you of when I was at the batting cages when I was a little kid? I have to tell you that I am still that little boy who turns his head to see if anyone is watching. I skyrocketed 7 balls out of the park and everyone was all smiles, especially me. A good day.

I hope this will tide you over until our games against Les Andely this Sunday. We should kill them. Miss you guys and love you very much. Au revior.

Seas of Beer. Woodchucks Sweep Seagulls!

Hey guys! Just got back from Cherbourg and I just got done my potato dinner. Alex, wins this weeks "Best Comment" with the Ace of Base, F U at the same time asshole, Ian, I'm glad I do not know the words to the "poopy song", Emily, tell Joey he is still numero uno, Dad, I was thinking the same ..."Don't Stray From The Path....", Mom, Love ya and I hope the funnel cake is good while you are in SDC...Man I miss that place, Karly, took the pics for you!, Tiffany, you rock and I am eagerly awaiting your package.

Game 1 BG Woodchucks vs Cherbourg Seagulls
Time: 12:30ish
Weather: Slight Drizzle
Attendance: 30

That's right my peeps. We had spectators today. Even though they are probably wives, girfriends, and kids of Cherbourg, it still felt good playing in front of an audience. Bernie "The Warrior" got the start.
Bottom of the first. We just took it to them. Scored 4 runs off of 3 hits and never looked back. I crushed a double of the wall, 1 of my 4 today, in the first inning massacre. Now let me just tell you about Bernie.....

He threw a no-hitter. This guy still impresses the hell outa me. And I haven't even got to the most impressive part to this guy's day.

We just sprayed hits all over the place and won 17-1. They scored off a walk, steal, and SAC fly. So the no-hitter was still in tact. Arther had the most impressive first game going 4-4 with two doubles and 5 RBI's. Everytime he stepped up to the plate, I yelled at him,

"Relax baby."

After the game, Arther told me that he now really understands what I mean when you have to relax at the plate. You just completely block everything in your mind and think of nothing but the ball coming your way. He said that he wants me to tell him this EVERY time he comes to the plate. He is starting to see the method to my madness. So we are all grins after the first game onslaught.

Olivear picked me up this morning and I told him that we had to get these sandwiches that Chris and I got a week earlier. So it was my treat and we enjoyed some great sandwiches between the games. Now the question was....

Who is going to pitch the next game?

My arm is shot. I threw atleast 50 curveballs on Wednesday's "Curve Ball" practice so I was going to take a break today. Eric's arm was bothering him and Marc, our normal ace, is still on holiday. Then someone spoke up who I never expected or anticipated.

"My arm still feels great!" proclaimed Bernie.

Yes. Bernie. The guy who just got done hurling 5 innings of hitless ball wanted the GAME 2 NOD!!! Now, in the states....this is unheard of. A pitcher starting two consecutive games. This guy is in his late thirties and has the arm of a 15 year old. I had my doubts because we need his arm for later in the season but he persisted on starting game two. He had family in the crowd and wanted to have a day. What is a 23 year old coach to do when a 38 year old guy tells him that he wants the ball? I know you guys are just cringing in your seats. BERNIE GOT THE GAME TWO START!!!

Game 2: BG Woodchucks vs Cherbourg Seagulls
Time: 2:45
Weather: The sun was in full form.
Attendence: 30

Let me just start by saying that the weather for the second game was the best since I have been in France. It felt like summer. I was actually getting hot. The sun was out, a friendly breeze, and the smell of the ballfield. Just great.

I will always know this type of smell. The movie, "Field of Dreams", puts it best when Joe Jackson, Ray Liotta, is talking with Ray Consella, Kevin Costner.

"I miss the grass. The smell of the field. The crowd....the ambience. Have you ever just held a glove up to your face?"

Yes...Yes, I have Ray Liotta.

I wanted to get after these guys the second game and try to get rid of that "Game 2 Laziness". And we did. We scored 2 runs right off the bat.
Bernie took the mound for the second time this afternoon and pitched another hell of a game. I gotta tip my cap to this guy. This guy is a machine. I hope I still have this guy's ability when I am his age. Who knows....I might still be a Woodchuck when I am in my fifties.....Just playin' the game.
The game was a little closer this time but we broke loose towards the latter half. We won 12-2. Another bashing.
During the game I made some friends too. The coach of Cherbourg spoke fluent English and we were bullshitin' to one another during the games. I would bullshit with the other French guys as well. Felt like home. Still being a competitor, but I like to be courteous in any game. I like to put today's wins as "Gentlemanly AssBeatings." Bois Guillaume moves into first place in the Northern Division with the help of a loss of the Montigny Cougars to GIF this sunday. Record: 5-0

Bernie got BOTH wins today and we all celebrated with Heinekens that Bernie brought to the game. I think this asshole was anticipating celebrating before the first pitch was thrown. So we all drank together. Umpires, opposing players and coaches, fathers, and the Woodchucks. I took some pretty snazzy pics as you can see. It felt good to have these kinda celebrations after games. I think the states should adopt it. Who cares if 15 year old are drinking right!? But really, what is the harm in that?

That is the recap of this weekends activities. I will post again soon. Love you guys and miss you with all of my heart. Love you guys. Au revior.

Seas of Lavender

Hello my friends. Sorry it has been a bit since a post ;) To the comments, Alex, I have been resting my arm and thanks for talking to me the other day, Ian, love ya...How do I reeeech theeese keeeds?, Nas, I will get you a damn chuck hat soon, thanks for the comments brother, Tiffany and Karly, j'taime, Phyll, gonna make it to Paris next week,Evan, my man I KNOW, I gotta become a fan of the vino, Mom and Dad, love you guys and it is kinda bittersweet that you got your computer fixed.

I have been pretty much haven't done anything baseball related these past couple days. I have been spending my time just getting out and seeing what there is around me. It is absolutely beautiful. I get the same feeling like I did last summer when I was in Europe.

"I can't believe I am looking at this."

On Wednesday, I went with Chris and his kids to a park that sits right outside Mt. Saint Agnon. This was some park. It had rolling hills, huge slides and zip cords for kids to play on. Joey would absolutely go nuts. Im telling you these slides were huge. Then once you get away from all the playground equiptment, the park just opens up to a beautiful apple orchard and forest behind it. Chris was telling me that when the apple blossoms turn into fruit, people can just come to the park and gather some apples or simply just pick one from a branch and enjoy it as you walk around. You know I am going to do this...
That night, Chris invited me over to watch a football match on tv between Paris SG vs Caraquefou in the Quarter Finals of the French Cup. This was a huge match because every year in France they hold a country wide tournament that has every level of every soccer club involed in an intricate tourney setup. Caraquefou is the equivalent to the Drury Panthers and Paris SG is the equivalent to the St. Louis Cardinals. So imagine a small town club team playing in a massive stadium vs a team that should just woop the shit outa them. The whole stadium was just rockin cheering for the underdog. I bet the guys from Caraquefou were just livin' it up. Paris SG won on a goal toward the end of the game and the whole crowd was just upset.

Thursday was just a lazy day. I woke up, ran, and went to the field to do some touch-ups, and had pasta with the ol' roomie. She is so nice. I know I have told Mom and Dad this, but when I fall asleep on the couch watching French tv, she sometimes puts a quilt over me. Hahaha, I really think she enjoys having the company. I'm her foreign son. We have the best charades. I have been able to learn a lot of household objects around the house. I will tell you one funny thing that happened....

When I had correctly labeled everything in the kitchen in French, she was very happy and I exclaimed a French slang for "That was wonderful!"
That slang is "Tod du la ball!" But I said "Tod tru da ball!"

Tru ball is french for asshole.

She just laughed and laughed. To her, I must have said something along the lines of, "That was wonderasshole."

Okay...on Friday, I went with Chris's family again to another park. This park was somewhat a refuge for forest animals. Wild boar and deer is all I saw. Really...kinda the first park that didn't wow me. C'mon Chris...gotta wow me man...EVERYTIME. You know I'm joking.
That night I was going to have dinner with Olivear from the team at his flat. Olivear lives really close to Chris and I, and they pretty much take turns totin' me around. So Olivear picked me up around 8 and we headed for his flat. He had a great dinner made. Rice, pork, and filled vegetables. I brought some whiskey and ice cream for dessert. He lives with his girlfriend Marie, who is just as nice as she could be. So we all had ice cream and drinks after dinner then Olivear and I did something that I haven't done since I was back in the states...

I saw that Olivear had two acoustic guitars in a corner of the living room. I asked him if he played and he said he plucks around a time or two. So we brought out the guitars and played together. It was just great. Drinking whiskey and playing guitar with a friend. Hadn't done that since Carl and I played together. We laughed at the mistakes that both of us would make and would just yell with excitement when we put chords rhythmically together. It was so much fun. I have a feeling that we will play together more often.

Now to the forests. Every forest that I have visited, you can find hundreds of small purple flowers. That just coat the ground. The pictures you see are the ones that I encounter every day on my morning runs. It is absolutely beautiful. They fill the scenery with their color and fill your nose with a their fresh scent. I really wish you could just walk through these paths. Seas of Lavender.

Miss you guys and I am going to catch some Z's. We got Cherbourg tomorrow and hopefully we can pull off a sweep. Love you guys and talk to you soon. Au revior.