Right into the Fire

After my training session at Goodlife and a couple of throwing sessions last week, I was feeling some pain in my upper back, left tricep and elbow. It had flared up a week earlier, but I didn’t pay too much attention to it. My woefully uneducated guess is that my supposed ‘maintenance’ strength training program is still a little too intense for an in-season workout program, so I’ve taken steps to make it a little less taxing on my body.

However, the discomfort I was feeling gave me the opportunity to experience another one of the seemingly never-ending perks of being a London Major: free chiropractic services. Doc did some minor chiropractic work on my back, but he spent most of my two sessions last week (did I mention that it’s free; amazing) using Active Release Therapy and electrical currents to heal my sore areas. He also used something called laser acupuncture which mimics traditional acupuncture with electrical waves. It’s very cool stuff and it works. My arm and back felt fantastic afterwards.

And it’s a good thing my arm felt good because at practice last Tuesday I was informed that I would be making the season opening start on Friday against the Hamilton Thunderbirds. There were a myriad of scenarios running through my mind when I was called into the manager’s office, but starting the 2011 season on the mound was not one of them.

I was admittedly anxious for the rest of the week as Friday moved closer. This was my first start in the Intercounty League and in front of fans who actually pay to watch the games; I’ve never experienced that before. I pictured a mass exodus of people demanding their money back after seeing me atop the mound.

Also adding to my stress and anxiety was the news that I’d been offered to write a weekly column in the Metro News London newspaper: here is a link to the column intro and a short biography I wrote. My first column was posted the same day as the game and in it I talked about being named the Opening Day starter, so I was putting my neck on the line. If I threw poorly, it would be a spectacular and very public flameout (here's my first column)

(My weekly allotment for the Metro News is only 300 words per column so I will continue to write a weekly article for this blog on topics I am not able to cover in my Metro News column)

Friday arrived and I just wanted to get to the park and begin throwing. Waiting around at the dorm watching the clock move was excruciating. I’m comfortable with a ball and glove in my hand; I was not comfortable alone with my thoughts of various ways I could screw up the first game of the season.

I got to the park about ninety minutes before the first pitch (I already went through my pre-game stretch and light workout at the small gym located in the basement of the residence hall). Instead of heading out to the field to throw, I was directed to the dugout where I would be interviewed by a columnist from the London Free Press who wanted to talk about my baseball and writing career.

There seemed to be quite a large build up to this start and I hadn’t even thrown yet. The nerves got to me a little more and the pressure seemed to close in a little further. I was fine once I started throwing in the outfield and cracked a few jokes with my teammates. I felt good in the bullpen and as people started to stream into the stadium to get a look at the 2011 edition of the Majors.

Because it was the Home Opener, there was a lot of excitement around the stadium and a lot of things going on that made it difficult to concentrate on the task at hand. There were speeches, the singing of ‘O Canada’, sponsor recognition, youth baseball involvement, an appearance by the Town Crier (I didn’t even know such a position existed) and the announcement of the starting line-ups.

The above video is from the latter; my only goal was to keep one foot in front of the other and not fall flat on my face.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the game began and I walked out to the mound. I tried to remain calm and cool on the outside, but inside my heart was thundering away in my chest like a jackhammer. Typically, I can tell what type of outing I will have by the result of my first pitch. I threw a high fastball and the leadoff hitter mercifully took a hack at it, popping it up to the second basemen for the first out of the game. And I could breathe again.

My stat line for the night: 5IP, 0R, 1H, 2K, 3BB. I was not happy with the walks and I will need better control if I want to continue to be successful in this league. However, I am ecstatic with that start to the season (we ended up winning the game 6-2).

Here is the link to the London Free Press article to show that I am not lying about my stats.

However, my body fell apart on Saturday morning. I had an extremely sore throat, fever and every muscle in my body was wracked with pain. I’m not sure what the cause was, but I can only assume that my body was so stressed and focused on pitching well on Friday that it had nothing left for the weekend. I was still trying to recover fully yesterday. It knocked me on my ass.

But I need to get better soon as I’m due for my second start of the season this weekend. Now I know what to expect from pitching in this league; I can’t wait to get back on the mound.

Rain, Rain Go Away

Mother Nature is wreaking havoc on the 2011 baseball season and, also, on my ability to post interesting articles to this blog. We are smack dab in the middle of the third week of May and the London Majors have yet to play anything other than an intrasquad game thus far. Oddly enough, we are the only team who hasn’t played a regular season game in the entire league.

In fact, it probably seems like I’m completely fabricating my place on the team and I’m stringing readers along until I can no longer keep up such an elaborate ruse. However, I am nowhere near clever enough to hatch such a scheme. Therefore, here’s proof that I am actually a member of the London Majors: my website profile.

As I mentioned last week, the season opener was supposed to be on Sunday afternoon, but a torrential downpour that literally did not stop for the better part of three days quickly put an end to that possibility.

It was doubly disappointing that the season did not get underway as I found out that I was scheduled to pitch as the first or second guy out of the bullpen. I was really looking forward to the opportunity to prove myself on an Intercounty League mound, but I suppose I will have to wait until our next scheduled game on Friday. I was pleased that I was entrusted with the chance to throw in the first game of the year even though I am new to the team and league; the belief in my abilities gives me further confidence moving forward.

I suppose since there isn’t much baseball stuff to discuss this week, I can touch on some happenings off the field in order to make this a full-fledged column.

The Major players are taken care of very well here in London. We are housed in spacious, suite-style dorms at the University of Western Ontario, complete with housecleaning service once a week (an absolute must with twenty-something guys living in close quarters). The players are also provided with a complimentary buffet continental breakfast each and every morning. This has been instrumental to someone who eats as much as I do.

(And yes, I have no problem saying that we are incredibly spoiled; the organization treats us very well)

Each member of the team is also provided with a free membership at a Goodlife fitness club for the duration of the summer. I’ve mentioned in this space before that I train at Crossfit Oshawa, a no frills facility in an industrial park that is proud of its hard core look and uncomfortable training atmosphere (no fans or air conditioning). That, and hard work, is the secret to the results achieved there. Blood, sweat and heavy weights are the only options at Crossfit Oshawa.

The gym is not for everyone.

Conversely, Goodlife is a typical big box mainstream health club. That means mirrors galore, a plethora of machines and cardio equipment and the amenities one would expect from such a facility (juice bar, tanning salon, even massage chairs). I showed up on Sunday morning after learning the game was cancelled with my weightlifting shoes, a bag of chalk and a four foot long chain I use for weighted pullups and dips; I was like a fish out of training water.

I wasn’t sure how I would be received; truthfully I had visions of being escorted off the premises by the time I finished my warmup. In reality, I had no issues. I did get a few weird looks from the spinning class and a few pregnant ladies going through some prenatal workouts (I think one woman thought the chain was some Medieval torture device; she gave me a wide berth), but overall I was left alone to do my work.

It would be impossible to follow a Crossfit type strength and conditioning program at such a facility, but the Goodlife gym is perfect for my maintenance program over the summer. I should have zero issues doing what I need to do to stay in the best shape possible throughout the season.

First Impressions

The above video documents a portion of my final week of offseason strength and conditioning. I put in seven hard months of work to get my body in the best physical condition possible for the upcoming season. Now that the summer is finally upon us, its time to move my training focus from gains to maintenance.


Last week I spent my time in the gym re-testing my one rep max lifts in certain key exercises. These exercises will provide the foundation for my workouts throughout the summer, so I am able to maintain both my strength and my current bodyweight.

The lift in the video is the culmination of a long term goal; it felt great to finally feel the weight lifting off the ground. I’m ecstatic to see all of my hard work paying off; much like the feeling I had over the weekend at my first full practice with the London Majors.

Because I've only thrown twice for the coaching staff and, by extension, my new teammates at an indoor facility, it was imperative for my eventual position on the pitching staff to face live hitting from the mound and throw a few innings in an intra-squad setting so everyone could see my repertoire and command.

When I got to the diamond on Saturday evening, I was immediately impressed by what a first class organization London has. Labatt Park is a top notch facility and I literally felt like I was in a major league clubhouse when I entered the locker room door. Each player has their own locker and cubby, there is a lounge area complete with a couple of couches, and the entire clubhouse was spacious and impeccably clean.

It was something that I've never had the pleasure of experiencing before. Truthfully, I felt like an impostor and kept looking over for my shoulder for someone to tell me I had to change outside. All equipment, uniforms etc. are provided free by the team; I'm used to having to pay for such luxuries. The team even has laundry facilities on site. I could definitely get used to this.

Of course, the only way to ensure the continuation of such treatment is to pitch well when I'm asked to throw. The plan on Saturday was for me to throw 45-50 pitches to a variety of the team's hitters. I would switch every three outs with another pitcher. I climbed atop the mound and felt some pressure, even though I was throwing in a practice atmosphere.

First impressions mean a lot, and this was the first day I was meeting most of my teammates. Throwing well would do wonders for my rapport and reputation on the team. It would not look good if I showed up to my first practice and threw terribly; I wouldn't have the confidence of my fielders when I pitched in a real game and that is of the utmost importance for a pitcher.

Luckily, I threw extremely well. Probably the best I've felt on an actual mound all offseason. My mechanics felt great, I didn't worry one bit about my velocity; just focused on location and throwing strikes. I managed to strike out the first three batters I faced; I could not ask for a better start. All told, I threw four innings of work, struck out 6, gave up 2 hits and, most importantly, did not walk a batter.

As a pitcher, that's the best way to endear yourself to your teammates: throw strikes and work quickly. There is not a baseball team in existence that doesn't like a pitcher who can do the above. I just hope I can build on that outing going into the home opener on Sunday afternoon (if I'm scheduled to pitch). I'm confident in my ability to get hitters out at this level. As I've said many times, I just want the chance.

I'm also enthused that I was able to throw well over four innings to show the coaching staff that I have the ability and stamina to start in this league. I'll be back next Wednesday with notes from the first game of the year, plus I hope to have a better idea of how I'll be utilized on the hill throughout the summer.

Decision 2011

Above is video from my outing on the second day of the Brockton tryout. I decided not to give commentary on my performance, nor show my inning of work in its entirety because, to be perfectly honestly, it wasn’t that interesting. It was a non-descript, boring stat line: 1IP, 1K, 1H.

However, I did want to post the video to show a selection of pitches to see how far I’ve come since the Fort Myers showcase in utilizing the lower half of my body in my delivery. I think I can notice a marked difference from the February footage, in terms of my back leg drive and the use of my back and shoulder to deliver the ball instead of just my arm. Of course, my form is far from perfect and I still have a lot of work to do. What do you think?

I was purposefully vague in my final video blog from the weekend because I wasn’t exactly sure what was being offered and I wanted to talk to some people and do some research before I divulged any details. I can now say that I was offered a spot in the New York State League, which is the development or feeder league for the Can-Am League.

It’s a 42 game season crammed into six short weeks in the Metro New York City area. Because it is considered a developmental league, players do not get paid and are expected to cover their own housing costs, but the total financial hit for playing in the league would be a substantial sum once all the extraneous costs were calculated.

Also, the league seems to be primarily a proving ground for players fresh off their senior seasons in college. Unfortunately, I am a couple of birthdays past that age. And, truthfully, I think I’m a little long in the tooth to be plying my trade in a developmental league; I am too old to be considered a prospect. I think the scouts of the majority of independent league teams would be inclined to agree.

They want to see twenty-one or twenty-two year old kids, not grizzled guys like me on the downslope of their quarter life crisis. I just don’t feel that playing in the New York State League this summer would be the most appropriate fit for me baseball-wise. However, it is definitely a nice accomplishment to be recognized for my abilities on the mound and lets me know that I have talent to hang competitively with former Division I and Division II baseball players.

(Going to university in Canada always left me curious as to whether or not I could have played at that level in the United States. Now I have that answer)

Therefore, I’ve decided to stay north of the border and play with the London Majors of the Intercounty League. It’s the best fit for me at this point in my baseball career and makes much more sense financially speaking (housing is provided by the team).

Allow me a quick, fleeting moment of self-congratulations. As I’ve mentioned before, this means that I’ve reached half of the titular goal of this blog as Intercounty is a semi-professional league.

That’s not too shabby, as two years ago I played the majority of the season in senior select baseball, last year I spent the summer playing senior rep baseball and this season I will be playing semi-professional baseball. I think that’s a fairly impressive rise through the ranks of the sport fuelled by a ton of hard work and determination.

As for future blog coverage, I still plan on writing a column every Wednesday to document the rapidly approaching 2011 season.

Brockton Tryout Showcase - Day 2

Just missed my midnight deadline. Now I'm going to bed.

Enjoy.