Gord's weekend review..

Hey there Mariners, you pulled off two very close wins this weekend.  There were some really good defensive plays out there.  Remember our tournament play?  You all hit really well and also made the great defensive plays.  It was great that you all gave your bats a well deserved rest after the tournament but now that we are back in regular season it’s time to charge up those bats and turn them on again.  Most bats come with instructions when you buy them, there is a small on/off switch located in the knob end of the bat, so if your bat’s not working please remember to turn them on.  If you’re not sure how that works, please see one of the coaches.  That’s the funny thing about bats, we can show you how to use them but it’s up to the owners of those bats to turn them on.  Things to remember for next game:  1) come focused and ready to play 2) listen to your base coaches.  If you’re out on something that we call we will have to live with our decision, but if you decide to over-ride the coach and you are called out then we will have to staple your pants to the bench for an inning.  3) Swing like you want to hit the ball.  And now the game review: 

Brendan “Quick Glove” Heska was first on the hill and did an awesome job of putting the ball in play and making some really spectacular defensive plays to get the batters out.  In the second inning he dove off of the hill like a hang glider jumping from a mountain top to grab a hard rip up the gap and deliver it like a pizza to the door step at first base to get the batter out.  Great pitching and defence Brendan!  Alex “The Terminator” Cerniuk showed great awareness out there as he grabbed a worm-burner, laid the tag on the runner and tossed to first for almost a double play.  Kyle “Lightning” Van Vliet also showed that he knew what to do as he scrambled to first base to grab a toss from Brendan to catch a sleeping base runner and get the out.  Great pick-off team!  Scott “Mr. Hustle” Squair scooped a hard shot grounder from second base and threw on a rope to Kyle for the first out of the third inning.  Kolby “The Wall” McKenzie-Galway had a great game behind the squared diamond.  He also found the “on” switch on his bat and ripped a single up the first base line in the second inning and also drifted a hard shot to the outfield for a single in the fourth.  Alex “The Gun” Drozdzik had his bat turned on as well and smacked a hard rip between second and third.  Unfortunately it was caught by a hot glove, but it was a really great solid shot.  Aidan “Ace” Kerr came in as pitcher number two and pitched well, like he was throwing peas in a bucket to put the ball in play.  Simran “The Rocket” Parmar was showing great coverage out there as she backed up play after play to assist in keeping the runners from advancing.  Justin “Time” Olic  was also showing great coverage out there.  He was also very speedy on the bases, stirring up clouds of dust like the launching of a rocket into orbit.  Daniel “The Bullet” Jones made a stellar catch on a pop-fly to close out the inning.  He stuck with that ball like a tongue on a frozen flag pole to make an awesome diving catch.  Again, great defence out there.  Let’s get those bats working for our next games! 

Coaches: Gord “Stay with it” Kerr, Jim “Just swing the bat” Heska and Stacey “Let’s get a hit” Cerniuk

WOW WHAT GREAT TOURNAMENT MARINERS!! now for Gord's review...

This long weekend’s tournament started off really hot!  The birds weren’t singing Saturday and Sunday, they were sitting in the bird bath cooling off with mini slushies and sunglasses.  The heat was heavy on the field and made the backs of our necks sizzle like bacon in the pan.  But you all came to play.  It was really impressive how you all persevered through the heat and stayed focused for such a long time.  Conversely, our Monday games were incredibly wet.  So wet that the ducks were wearing rain coats and the frogs were carrying umbrellas.  Way to “stay in the game” Mariners! 

It is disappointing when you tried your best but couldn’t win first place.  If you weren’t a tad blue, we’d be worried that you didn’t care about the games.   The thing to remember is: learn what to improve on the next time so that you can move on.  As Chuck Tanner, manager of the 1979 World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates once said: “It's hard to win a pennant, but it's harder losing one”.  You all made us proud as both coaches and parents by the way you slugged it out this weekend, so don’t hang your heads.    We feel that you are all Winners!  And now the tournament review: 

Kolby “The Wall” McKenzie-Galway had an awesome lead-off homer in the bottom of the second in our First Game against Hastings.  It was a little hit but he blazed around those bases like he was riding a torpedo.  In the same game, Alex “The Gun” Drozdzik came to the plate in the second inning with the bases loaded , the pitch was thrown into his wheelhouse and he unleashed a long and strong drive to the gap to for a stand-up triple and cleared the bases like bulldog cleaning a plate of peanut butter.  He did the same thing in Game Two in the first inning against New Westminster.  Simran “The Rocket” Parmar made a great block like the Hoover Dam holding back the Colorado River, in our second game to keep the ball from leaving the infield off of a hard rip to second base.  Aidan “Ace” Kerr was our fireman, coming into a tough spot with bases loaded and none out.  He struck out three in a row like shooting ducks in a pond to get us out of the inning.  Great pitching Ace!  In Game Three against the Yankees, Brendan “Quick Glove” Heska made an incredible catch on a pop up against the opposition’s dug-out.  In our last game, he stretched like the Mister Fantastic from the “Fantastic Four” to grab a hard throw to first base and then dive back to get the batter out.  Great stretch Brendan, hope you’re still in one piece!  Justin “Time” Olic smashed a meatball up the gap in the bottom of the second in Game Three against the Yankees to bring in two RBI’s.  Awesome hit Justin!  In Game Four against North Langley, Daniel “The Bullet” Jones led us off with a great single up the alley to start our rally.  He also came to the hill in the fifth and closed the door for us by  jumping on a pop-up like a frog catching flies for the last out of the game.  Jay “The Tiger” Sandhu Came in as our ace against North Langley and mowed down batter after batter like a ride on lawn mower going through a field of tulips.  He was followed in the same game by Shane “The Whip” van Randen who had batters jumping out of the box like frogs jumping off of lily pads with his three-quarter arm pitching slot to get three K’s each inning for his two innings on the hill.  In the Final Game against Trout Lake Alex “The Terminator” Cerniuk snatched a hard grounder to second base and threw on a rope to first for the first out of the bottom of the first inning.  Scott “Mr. Hustle” Squair came to the plate in the same game ready to feast on a meatball.  He got his wish and launched a hard shot up the gap for a stand up triple and one RBI.  Nicholas “The Cannon” Sing showed us all how to run the bases all weekend long.  When he got on base in any of our games, we could almost count him as a run as he would light up the bases with his stealth-like speed.  Great base running Nicholas! Mariners, you all played really well and showed great sportsmanship out there.  You can count this as a job well done, team.  Thanks to our dug out boss, who changed his identity after day one of the tournament.  His nick-name is now officially changed from “Drill Sergeant” to Colin “ Mr. GQ” Galway.  Thank you to all the parents who helped to make this tournament a success. 

Coaches: Gord “My Feet Ache” Kerr, Jim “My Neck’s really Red” Heska, and Stacey “It’s a Small World After All” Cerniuk

 

Mariners 14 Dodgers 0 ....Gord's review

What a great warm day for ball today.  The sun was shining, birds were singing, dogs were barking, children frolicked in the park and there was the distant sound of police sirens to make us all feel at home.  But the best part of this perfect day was the sweet smell of the grass, the sight of the dust falling off of the base runner’s cleats and the sound of the crack of the Mariner’s bats.   We could all tell that you read the game review from our last game.  You all came ready and focused to play today and you never let your guards down.  This is what we need to take into the tournament this weekend.  Great game out there Mariners.  Thank you to Colin “The Drill Sergeant” Galway who got the team warmed up and fired up!  And now the game review:

Kolby “The Wall” McKenzie-Galway’s arm was like a pitching machine out there.  He threw strike after strike and mowed down the batters like a combine going through a wheat field to rack up our team’s first shut-out.   Way to pitch Kolby!  Simran “The Rocket” Parmar was making good contact with the ball tonight.  It’s only a matter of time before you straighten them out and light up another one in the alley for a base hit.  Aidan “Ace” Kerr approached the plate and sent the ball screaming into the gap for a double in the first inning.  Alex “The Gun” Drozdzik tracked the ball like a radar on a heat sinking missile to catch a hot ball and then deliver it to first for a great double play.  Justin “Time” Olic had an awesome lead-off single in the third inning that was reminiscent of Ichiro Suzuki as he placed the ball in the perfect spot through the infield.  Scott “Mr. Hustle” Squair hit a hard grounder in the second inning and then outran the throw to first like he was going for the last donut at Tim Horton’s before closing.  Nicholas “The Cannon” Sing was brilliant on the bases tonight.  Stealing third, then stealing home like he had been shot out of a cannon.  He was so speedy that the home plate umpire wasn’t finished saying “safe” and he was already re-entering our dug-out.  Kyle “Lightning” Van Vliet’s bat was charged and ready tonight as he nailed one deep to the fence through the gap to bring in 2 RBI’s.  Great hit Kyle!  Aiden “The Tornado” Oakley played well defensively tonight.  Like a human wall he was always in the right place at the right time to cover throws to the bases.  Daniel “The Bullet” Jones played great behind the squared diamond.  Using his glove like an artist uses a paint brush, he framed the pitches perfectly to get the strikes called for our pitcher.  Brendan “Quick Glove” Heska also had a great game behind the squared diamond.  Blocking and digging for balls like a pirate searching for buried treasure he kept the balls from getting past.  He also had a great hitting game.  Smacking balls out there like hitting beach balls with a tennis racket to get single after single. Again, great game out there Mariners! 

Coaches:  Gord “I got my transmission fixed and my wallet is a whole lot lighter” Kerr and Jim “I need a car like Speed Racer’s” Heska

 

Mariners 3 Angels 6

Happy Mother’s Day Mariner’s parents!!!  What a close game!!!  It was sunny and warm today which made for perfect baseball weather.  The ground was saturated from the previous night’s rain fall, which  put a bite on the ball like a pit bull on a mailman’s pants.  Translation:  The field was slow today and so anything on the ground had to be charged.  This game was a big learning experience.  What we need to take from this game and remember forever is: 1) never let your guard down.   As soon as we got focussed and started playing ball, the other team didn’t get another run on us. 2) If you feel there was a “bad” call or you think that you made a bad play, shake it off and get focussed on the next play.  You have plenty of time after the game to go over the game in your head.  3) As soon as the ball comes off of your bat RUN!  You never know if it will be foul or fair, so play it safe and get those extra steps to first base.  And now the game review: 

Hey team we started off a little flat but ended with some great plays out there.  Just remember to set those alarms for the first inning!  Daniel “The Bullet” Jones started out on the bump for us tonight and made an amazing play.  He hustled off of the mound to grab a soft grounder and then sprinted at the runner who was trying to steal home and did his patented Superman dive to get the tag on him for the second out of the first inning.  Way to dig deep, Daniel!  Simran “The Rocket” Parmar was outstanding on the bat tonight.  She ripped a single up the alley in the second and outran the throw to first with her torpedo-like speed.  Scott “Mr. Hustle” Squair lived up to his nickname in the first inning when he smacked a single and hustled to first base to beat the throw like he was tied to a jet propelled skateboard.   Kyle “Lightning” Van Vliet was robbed tonight as he smashed the ball out into orbit to center field only to be caught at the warning track.  Great hit Kyle!  Nicholas “The Cannon” Sing smacked a hard drive up the alley in the second and blistered to first to beat out the throw.  Kolby “The Wall” McKenzie-Galway’s bat was fully charged and ready tonight.  He came to the plate in the third inning and crushed the ball with his bat for a stand up triple and two RBI’s.  Justin “Time” Olic came to the plate in the fourth and nailed a single to lead off our rally and put us back in the game.  Aiden “The Tornado” Oakley was always ready to cover his team mates throws like a cat waiting for a mouse and was really focussed out there.  Alex “The Gun” Drozdzik was extremely speedy tonight on the bases.  Running and kicking up dust like he was setting a new land speed record on the salt flats.   Alex “The Terminator” Cerniuk made a great grab and toss from second to retire the second out of the second inning.  Way to be the wall out there, Alex!  Brendan “Quick Glove” Heska was the receiver of that toss from Alex for the out as he stretched (doing the splits) like he was made of rubber to keep one foot on the bag and make that catch.  Great catch Brendan and great rip in the fifth to get to first base when you were up to bat.  Aidan “Ace” Kerr came in to close the door tonight.  He nailed it shut and didn’t give up any runs. Catching one pop up out of the air like an Eagle tracking a pigeon to get us out of an inning.  Great pitching and fielding Ace!Great finish team!!! 

Coaches: Gord “Getting my transmission fixed tomorrow” Kerr, Jim “I made my van go even faster” Heska and Stacey “Happy Mother’s Day!” Cerniuk

Mariners 15 Marlins 10 Gord's review

Great focus out there Mariners.  In spite of the length of the innings, you all remained focussed and ready.  That is really good to see and also hard to do with a slow moving game, so WAY TO GO!!!  That game reminded me of an old Christmas classic “A Christmas Carol”.  You know, where the Scrooge goes through that whole long ordeal and then thinks that he missed Christmas only to find out that he didn’t miss Christmas after all.  I was out warming up the pitchers, then came running in from time to time to ask coach Jim if I had missed an inning only to find out that I hadn’t and that we were still in the second inning.  I felt as giddy as a school boy and yelled to Toots to go and buy me the really big hotdog at the concession stand and he replied “what? The one as big as me?” and I said  “yes” and tossed him a nickel…anyway, we were all really proud of the fact that you all kept your heads in the game.  And now the game review: 

 Alex “The Terminator” Cerniuk made a great grab in the first inning off of a hard ground shot and tossed a bullet over to Brendan “Quick Glove” Heska for the first out of the game.  Great combination play boys.  Aidan “Ace” Kerr started off our pitching tonight and threw some pretty good bullets down the pipe.  He also smacked a great hit the first time up to the plate to bring in 1 RBI.   Our second pitcher Kolby “The Wall” McKenzie-Galway came to the bump and also threw some hard peas into the bucket.  He got us out of the inning in one pitch.  Way to go Kolby!  Brendan “Quick Glove” Heska also came in to throw tonight and threw straight into the strike zone.  Daniel “The Bullet” Jones was amazing behind the squared diamond tonight.  Framing the pitches like an artist working with finger paints to highlight the strike zone.  He also came in as our closer to nail the door shut with 8 spikes.   Nicholas “The Cannon” Sing’s bat was fully loaded tonight as he smacked a hard shot out to centre to bring in 2 RBI’s.  He also used his bullet-like speed to steal third and then home.  Justin “Time” Olic had a great hit in the second to bring in one RBI and also beat the throw to first like his feet were tied to rockets.  Simran “The Rocket” Parmar got on base and blistered around the three bags and then home to score.  Great base running Simran!  Scott “Mr. Hustle” Squair smashed a single in the first inning and while on defence he was outstanding in his field…right and centre field that is.  Kyle “Lightning” Van Vliet ran the bases like he was being chased by a cougar and made sliding look easy out there.  Alex “The Gun” Drozdzik played well tonight.  Always ready to back up the throws and cover the bases like a champion.  Aiden “The Tornado” Oakley was down and ready all of the time tonight.  He ran the bases well and got to home like a bolt of lightning hitting a pine one out of a tree.Again, way to stay focussed tonight team! 

Coaches: Gord “Scrooge” Kerr, Jim “Bob Cratchet” Heska and Stacey “Tiny Tim” Cerniuk

Mariners 12 Yankees 7 Gord's review...

Okay, okay, I admit it!  I was a little premature on the “warm weather” report from our last game review.  It got pretty cold out there today and it was once again polar fleece weather.  Ah, what would one do without polar fleece…probably freeze, I suspect.  Even though the weather got cold  your bats were on fire tonight, which is a good thing because it all kept us warm in the dugout…that and the fact that Jim, Stacey and I were singing “roasting chestnuts on an open fire”.  Nothing like fiery bats and a sing-a-long to keep a team warm.  Things to remember for next game: 1) Remember before game time to have a PGS (Pre Game Squirt)  This will keep you from leaving the field during the game to answer nature’s call.  2) When facing a slower pitcher, move up in the box and be patient, don’t unhitch the bat too early.  Like I’ve always said, if you are being served a pizza on a pie plate, wait for it to be served to you before digging in.  3)  Think about who is on base and where the ball should be played before it comes to you, that way you know where to play the ball before it happens.  And now the game review:

Great offence and some really spectacular defence out there today Mariners!  Aidan “Ace” Kerr’s bat is still set for consistency as he nailed a single in the first inning from the clean-up seat and brought in two RBI’s.  Simran “The Rocket” Parmar found the “on” switch on her bat and hit in the first and third inning to move players into scoring position.  Way to go Simran, it’s all about confidence!  Kolby “The Wall” McKenzie-Galway had an excellent offensive game as well.  Crushing a stand up double in the first, and nailing a stand up triple that jumped off of his bat like a cougar jumping on a rabbit in the third which went clear to the fence!  Justin “Time” Olic hit a single in the first and third innings and raced to first base like he was being chased by a wolf to beat the throws.  Great wheels out there Justin!  Aiden “The Tornado” Oakley’s bat was working overtime tonight as well, bringing in two RBI’s in the first and one RBI in the third.  He was hitting those balls out of the air like smacking beach balls with a tennis racket.  Alex “The Terminator” Cerniuk found the strike zone like searching for a cotton ball in a snow storm and mowed down the batters in the first inning like shooting fish in a barrel.  He also showed great stealth-like speed in the fifth when, like a thief in the night, he stole home.  Alex “The Gun” Drozdzik came to try out the bump tonight and mowed down the batters with his laser fast pitches in the fourth.  Great effort out there Alex!  Brendan “Quick Glove” Heska  hit a single in the second to bring in one RBI.  He also came in as the game closer to take retire the last batter of the game.  He closed the door and used five padlocks.  Great job out there Brendan!  Kyle “Lightning” Van Vliet arrived late tonight, but didn’t skip a beat as he made a great grab at first for the first out of the bottom of the fifth.  Great defensive work Kyle!  But the play of the game had to be Daniel “The Bullet” Jones’ flat out Superman dive from short stop to smack the ball out of the air with his glove, pick the ball up and deliver a perfect flip to second base for the force play and the last out of the inning!  What an awesome play!  Way to dig deep and think about where you were going to play that ball before it came to you, Daniel!

It was great watching all of the bats come to life tonight!  Now that your bats are alive, remember to give your bat a name, they work way better at the plate than if you don’t call them anything at all.  Great offense and defence out there Mariners!  We are really proud of your efforts.

 Coaches: Gord “I can’t back up” Kerr, Jim “Just one more out” Heska and Stacey “nobody helped me rake the field tonight” Cerniuk

 

WOW!!! What a nail biter Mariners!  Great efforts out there by all of you.  Now that is what I call playing like a team.  It was an excellent day for ball.  I think that it was the first game this season where you didn’t have to wear a parka, toque, mittens and have all of us in between innings waiting around a hole in the ice for the bob to move so that we could real in that fish.  But I digress…Like I was saying the weather was perfect and there were even Grandparents in the stands so I know that it wasn’t too cold.  Things to remember for next game: 1) Always watch the base coaches, they will tell you to keep going or not.  You never know, sometimes we can squeak in that extra base if the score is tight.  2) Never hang your head.  If you gave it your all and it didn’t turn out the way you wanted it, you have to “shake it off”, learn what you can do differently and get your head back in the game.  Nobody ever gets down on people who try, it’s when you can’t recover from a bad play that the “hook” comes out and takes you away from the green grass stage.  And now for the game review:

Boy, that was a great game to watch.   Great defensive and offensive plays from both sides made it a tight race right until the end.  We started this one with 8 players out there which was reminiscent of the 1919 Chicago White Sox.  But then  again, this wasn’t the world series and we didn’t throw the game.  What we did do was dig deep and hold the fort until Brendan “Quick Glove” Heska arrived to bring our numbers to nine.   You all showed that even when we are down in numbers, once the Mariners set their compasses for a win, there is nothing that can stop us…unless the Earth shifts and our compasses point South instead of North, but I don’t think that will happen.Kolby “The Wall” McKenzie-Galway exhibited good solid pitching.  In the first inning there was a liner driven straight back at him which he gloved cleanly off of the ground and sent a bullet to first base for the first out of the game.  Great reaction Kolby!  Aidan “Ace” Kerr came in after Kolby to try his stuff on the bump as his broken toe is now fully healed.  He showed that his push-off toe is in fine form as he mowed down batters like a combine going through a wheat field.  He also had a great shot to the gap when he was batting in the first inning which brought in an RBI and moved runners around and into scoring position.  Great game out there Kiddo!  Alex “The Terminator” Cerniuk came in to close the game for us.  Like a janitor with a mop, he came in with the tying run on third and cleaned up the game for us. Way to close the door out there Alex!   He was also like a machine out there when he comes to bat, smacking out ball after ball like a skeet shooter breaking clay pigeons.  Scott “Mr. Hustle” Squair came to the plate and showed that his bat is unstoppable.   His bat was on fire and had flames shooting off of it like when a space shuttle re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere.  He crunched out a stand-up double in the second inning to right field and he also smoked a stand-up triple in the fifth to bring in one RBI.  Aiden “The Tornado” Oakley had an awesome game behind the squared diamond.  Blocking and digging balls out of the dirt like a potato farmer harvesting his crop, he showed a lot of hustle back there.   He also had a great hit in the fourth inning to drive in two RBI’s.  Alex “The Gun” Drozdzik always amazes me with his speed.  When he was batting he drove a hard rip back at the chucker which deflected off of the chucker’s shin to the second baseman and he sprinted full out and beat the throw to first.  All we could see from our angle was a blur of blue and white and a cloud of dust.  Daniel “The Bullet” Jones played a great defensive game today.  He charged a hard grounder like a bull facing a matador and picked up the ball then sprinted back to first base for the second out of the second inning.  Great hustle out there Daniel!  Brendan “Quick Glove” Heska arrived just in time for his bats in the second inning.  He was the recipient of many hard throws to first base by our team and he grabbed everyone of them like Roberto Luongo practising with Markus Naslund…okay, wrong sport, but you know what I mean.  Justin “Time” Olic played hard out there today.  He reacts really well to the ball like a cat on a ball of wool which is awesome considering this game is about 80% defence.  Way to be in there covering and backing up the plays, Justin.Team, that was an awesome game.  You are all making some really good, game turning plays.  It is really exciting to watch as both coaches and parents.  Keep up the good work!

Coaches: Gord “I can’t believe that I’m still standing” Kerr, Jim “I set a new speed record in my minivan” Heska and Stacey “Get the Hook” Cerniuk

 

What a game against the Angels!! Alex C. with a moster HR Kyle keeps hit hot hitting streak going Scotty showing babe ruth like power Aidan K the next Ichuro with a clutch hit Alex D with some great speed on the bases Simran sliding into 3rd. an ill feeling Kolby came in and close the door the defence was like a wall out there with Daniel making huge diving plays Brendan like an elastic with his stretch at 1st and with the play of the game Aiden O to Nicolas for a great double play!!

Big game this thursday..Watch out Angels!!!!!

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