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September 7, 2009 · 23:27

What Happened? An analysis of the Norfolk Tides in 2009

Pirates Orioles Baseball Oscar Salazar

I have posted a couple of other articles analyzing the performance of the Norfolk Tides in 2009. Now that the season is over with the Tides winning their final game by a score of 4-3 at Durham in 10 innings to finish at .500 for the season I am really going to get into the weeds. First I am going to look at the team’s record each month of the season and note losses of key players during those months.

The Tides began well in April they were 11 and 8 with a .578 winning percentage. On April 21^st Pitcher Brad Bergeson (1-1 2.45 ERA) was promoted to the Orioles.

In May the Tides were almost untouchable winning 23 and losing only 7 driving their record to 34-15 with a .693 winning percentage. On May 13^th Nolan Reimold (.394 9 HRs 27 RBI) was recalled to the Orioles. May 14^th Scott Moore (.252, 7 HRs, 21 RBIs) was injured, on May 29^th Catcher Matt Wieters (.305 5 HRs 30 RBI’s) was called to the Orioles. Pitcher Lance Berken (2-0 1.05 ERA) was promoted on May 26^th.

Jeff Fiorentino 3 Run Home Run

The Tides crashed back to earth in June winning just 9 while losing 19. They still were in first place and had a overall record of 43 wins and 34 losses with a .558 winning percentage. Oscar Salazar (.372, 10 HRs and 43 RBIs) was called up by the Orioles on June 7^th. On June 28^th pitcher David Hernandez (3-2 3.30 ERA) was promoted to Baltimore. It is important to note that after June 7^th the Tides were 8 and 15 with a .347 winning percentage. This is the date that Oscar Salazar was called up and it marks a watershed.

Gary Allenson

July started off better than August but between 14^th and 31^st they went 5 and 13 with a .384 winning percentage. For the month they were 14 and 15 with an overall record of 57-49 and a .537 winning percentage and had fallen into 2^nd place. On July 17^th Justin Christian (.270 3 HRs and 25 RBIs) was injured followed by Jolbert Cabrera on July 17^th (.298, 7 HRs, 50 RBIs) was injured breaking his foot going into home when sent by Gary Allenson on a play that he had little chance of scoring on. On the 29^th Chris Tillman (8-6 2.70 ERA) and reliever Kam Mickolio (3-3 3.50 ERA) were called up by the Orioles.

In August the woes continued as the Tides won 10 and lost 18 giving them a 67-67 and .500 on the year. Once again the Tides had a meltdown, between the 20^th and the 31^st they only won 2 and lost 9 a pathetic .181 winning percentage during that stretch. Even more disheartening three of these games were blown with the Tides leading in the 9^th inning. On August 29^th Joey Gathright (.329 24 Stolen bases) was traded while Michael Aubrey who had come to the Tides from the Cleveland system was promoted to the Orioles on the 18^th.

Injuries: Jolbert Cabrera

The Tides finished the year going 2 and 2 in September and maintain their .500 record to finish the year at 71 and 71. September call ups included Jeff Fiorentino who hit .312 with 12 HRs and 67 RBIs.

The Tides finished 2009 with the 7^th best record in the International League. They had the 2^nd highest team batting average of .272 behind Columbus. Yet they were last in home runs with 79. If one remember that 31 of these were produced by Salazar, Reimold, Moore and Wieters before June 7^th^th in runs scored with 603 of which 239 (39.6%) were produced by the sextet of Salazar, Reimold, Wieters, Moore, Cabrera and Fiorentino. The Tides were 5^th in total hits with 1283, 6^th in On Base Percentage at.330 and 10^th in Slugging percentage at .389.

007 Jeff George was a late season addition to the pitching staff

The Tides had the 7^th best team pitching in the league with a team 3.87 ERA. The ranked 7^th in runs surrendered to opponents with 607 of which 527 were earned runs (80 unearned runs. Tides pitchers gave up the 2^nd most home runs (113) led the league in hit batsmen (77). They were 9^th in walks with 409, 4^th in strikeouts with 998. Only one complete game was recorded by a Tides pitcher that by David Pauley in a game that he lost as the hitting never came through. They had 9 shutouts on the year.

Joey Gathright bunting for a hit

Hitting seems to be the key, after the Tides lost Reimold, Wieters, Salazar and Moore they were 36-56 for a .391 winning percentage. Between those 4 players they hit 31 home runs before they left the team. Salazar 10 in 50 games with 43 RBIs. Reimold with 9 in 31 games with 27 RBIs, Moore, 7 in 32 games with 21 RBIs and Wieters with 5 in 39 games with 30 RBIs. Prior to this they were 35-19 with a .648 winning percentage. However the big drop occurred after Salazar was called up. After Salazar left on June 7^th the Tides had a 36 and 56 record for a .391 winning percentage during that time.

Brandon Snyder Goes Down Swinging

In the field the Tides had 130 errors. If one looks at fielding percentage by position played one can see my instincts about various players were correct. Justin Turner had a .963 fielding percentage at 2^nd base in 80 games committing 13 errors. In only 14 games at short he had 4 errors and a .930 fielding percentage, while at 3^rd he had 4 errors in 15 games and a .893 fielding percentage. The farther Turner got from 2^nd the less effective he was. Other fielders had similar dynamics causing me to wonder about constantly moving infielders around in order to produce utility players when in fact it may be better to focus players on the positions that they play the best and only occasionally move them to other positions for additional experience. I do understand the need for utility players, however you do not produce utility players at AAA. If the player and the team has not yet figured out where the player plays the best and fits the best in the organization then it has probably missed the boat. At AAA it is my opinion that unless a player has been recently converted to a new position, that strengths should be built upon with the goal of having potential starters, All-Stars and Golden Glove players at as many positions as possible. This goes against the utility player mindset that the Tides-Orioles seem to have adopted where the only logical thing they appear to be doing is producing a glut of utility infielders most of who will have little chance of making the majors and little utility outside the minor league system. Winning teams are built on excellence and not utility. Utility players are important to plug holes and give starters a break. You do not win pennants with teams loaded with utility players. The Orioles know what they need at various positions. Melvin Mora is getting old and Brian Roberts has been repeatedly mentioned in trade possibilities. Ty Wigginton is not the best Third Baseman and there is the potential that Luke Scott may not return at first base. Potentially they will have to replace one or more players in their infield next year. Justin Christian could go to second and Brandon Snyder to 1^st. Brandon Pinckney is the only infielder who could be considered a true and reliable utility infielder being pretty solid in every position that he has played including a one inning relief pitcher outing and being a dependable hitter with a .291 batting average.

July 3rd a Win Before the Bottom dropped out

Looking at trends for the Tides:

2009: 71-71 .500 3^rd place

2008: 64-78 .451 2^nd place

2007: 69-74 .483 3^rd place

Last 3 Year 204-223 .478

The Tides last winning season with the O’s is 2005 when they were the Ottawa Lynx skippered by Dave Trembley. Allenson managed the Ottawa in 2003 to a 79-65 record and .549 winning percentage.

Looking at the numbers the Tides early success was based on the incredible hitting and run production on about 6 players, only one that played most of the season with the team, Jeff Fiorentino. The key date to mark is June 7^th when Oscar Salazar was called up by the Orioles. This was not simply do to the numbers, but to “X” factor that he was on the team. Observing the team close up from section 102, row B, seat 2 I saw the impact that he had on the bench and on deck. He provided a a sense of relaxed determination and confidence that had an impact on the players around him. He Salazar not been called up, which I am glad that he was because he deserved to be, I doubt the Tides would have suffered the meltdown that they experienced. When adversity struck it seemed that Gary Allenson checked out emotionally, he exuded little energy and that obviously carried over to the team. Watching the Tides through most of August was painful as the team seemed lifeless as if they had already given up. Scuttlebutt heard around the park indicated that quite a few players were unhappy with the organization. A hint of this was provided by Jim Miller who when finally brought back as a closer indicated how being moved around hurt his game.

Last Home Win Against Gwinnett September 3rd

With Allenson seemingly ineffective during this second half meltdown the organization needs to look at the previous years as well. They need to look at who manages the Tides in relationship to the Orioles and in relation to whoever is manages at Baltimore as there is widespread speculation that Dave Trembley will not be back. The Baltimore organization has no lack of talent at all levels as far as players are concerned, the key now is the field management team at Baltimore and Norfolk. I would think that Baltimore would be wise to get in the hunt for Bobby Valentine who has proven that he can work with and motivate young players and who has signaled that he is ready to return from the land of the Rising Sun. Since the Mets have elected to continue down the path of self-immolation by keeping their losing management team of Minaya and Manuel. The Mets would have been the natural place for Valentine to go so with them out of the picture it would be wise for the Orioles to try to get him.

That is all for tonight.

Peace, Steve+

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Tagged as baltimore Orioles, bobby valentine, brandon pinckney, brian bergeson, brian roberts, chris tillman, dave trembley, gary allenson, international league, jeff fiorentino, jerry manuel, jim miller, jolbert Cabrera, justin christian, justin turner, kam Mickolio, lance berken, luke scott, matt wieters, melvin mora, new york mets, nolan Reimold, norfolk tides, oscar minaya, oscar salazar, ottawa lynx, scott moore, ty wiiginton

August 29, 2009 · 13:16

Analyzing the End of Season Collapse of a Baseball Team

Note: I cover baseball and the Norfolk Tides with a Blog on the Virginia Pilot Online entitled Padre Steve’s View from 102. The link to that site and those blogs is here: http://hamptonroads.com/blogs/padre-steve039s-view-102 Those articles are not re-posted here.

Gathright Out at Home

Baseball is replete with end of season collapses of teams that had started hot and were in first place. The collapses often take place due to injuries to key players, trades gone bad or slumps that never end. These collapses are even more troubling when there are not injuries or other circumstances that readily explain them. The 1964 Phillies and the 2007 Mets had meltdowns of epic proportions in the last month of a major league season. At the Minor League level there are other factors to consider especially with the added dimension of call ups by the Major League team and trades made by the Major League affiliate which impact the Minor League club’s roster.

The Melt Down Continues Strike Out

This year the Baltimore Orioles AAA International League Norfolk Tides who were playing nearly .700 ball through June experienced a collapse like I have not seen up close and personal. Early in the season they were nearly unbeatable. Consistent and clutch hitting combines with excellent pitching allowed them to dominate the league taking series after series and recording a number of series sweeps against good teams. The for a variety of reasons the wheels came off. At first is was merely inconsistent play and basically playing .500 ball. Then came the collapse and the Tides are only mathematically in the post season chase.

Fiorentino HR against Colon Bright Spot: Jeff Fiorentino Should be Tides 2009 MVP

As the season draws to a close with the Tides obviously out of the playoff race even with the mathematical possibility of coming back it will be time for some ruthless evaluation of how the club has been managed since the All-Star break. It is hard to believe that with as much talent as the Tides still have that they are losing this consistently and this badly. The Orioles can be blamed for pulling players up and depriving the Tides of talent, however they needed to draw upon the Tides because of the weaknesses at Baltimore. Certainly the call up of players like Nolan Reimold, Matt Wieters and Oscar Salazar has had an effect on the Tides. Likewise the number of significant injuries to productive position players such as Justin Christian, Jolbert Cabrera, Scott Moore and Donnie Murphy had a large impact. The loss of these 7 players deprieved the Tides of most of thier offensive power as did the recent call up of Michael Aubrey.

gathriright bunting Another Bright Spot: Joey Gathright Bunting for a Hit

But even with all of these losses the Tides are tied for the best team batting average in the International League at .274. So we cannot simply blame the crash on the loss of these position players and loss of power hitters. We then come to pitching, Despite the collapse the pitching staff ERA is still only 3.94 and not at the bottom of the league, however the relief pithcers including guys who had been almost automatic in being able to close out innings and games has become very incosistent and in the past 10 games have blown 3 9th inning leads. Convert those to wins and the Tides are still in the hunt. Rececnt pitching additions from other clubs with the exception of Jeff George have not panned out. So we can say that pitching is a factor. Fielding and defense is another matter. Unfortunately Tides infielders have committed 71 errors. Three players, Melvin Dorta, Justin Turner and Blake Davis have committed 51 of these and former Tides infielder Carlos Rojas another 9. Though the statistic is not found on the MiLB or Tides Websites, Tides pitchers have committed their share of errors at critical points in games. On the other hand Tides outfielders Joey Gathright and Jeff Fiorentino have only two errors eachand lead the Tides in batting average, on base percentage and are near the top in slugging percentage among the current roster.

046 Is it the Manager?

The Orioles organization will certainly address these on the field concerns. This is something that thye have been working on and I expect that next years team will be more solid in these areas and hopefully the Orioles with the addition of so many Tides who now have Major League expereince will not need to dip down so often and give the Tides, Baysox and Keys time to develop tallent. However the Orioles management may need to take a look at the dynamics of what is happening in the dugout with the field staff including Manager Gary Allenson. We really have to see if the problem is bigger than just a Lemony Snickets Series of Unfortunate Events or an organizational problem. There are many regulars who question Allenson’s choices as a 3rd base coach as well as his inability to pull a pitcher before they get the team in deep trouble. Yes giving pitchers the experience of trying to pitch out of jams is important, but it should not be done all the time. Frequently it seems that Allenson has left pitchers in for one out or one inning too long, often with no-one warming up in the bullpen. The final thing to ask is how Allenson rotates his infielders to different positions on an almost daily basis. I have to wonder if the constant changes in where the infielders are being played is effecting the number of errors being committed by the club especially in light of the fact that the three biggest error producers are the middle infielders. While the Organization may be at fault for some player personnel issues ultimately it is the Manager who makes the day to day calls on the field that determine whether a team wins or loses.

135 Injuries: Jolbert Cabrera Being Carried Off teh Field after Breaking Bones in his Foot

The Tides are 10 and 25 since July 20th oin what has been a collapse nearing epic proportions and since the 18th of August have been outscored 65-40. When one looks at talent, save the inability of the infield to play error free ball; one has to begin asking questions and getting answers.

The Tides face the Charlotte Knights tonight, with Jake Arrieta facing Jake Peavy. I will be there in Section 102, Row B Seat 2.

Though the players are here to develop and learn, there is little substitute for winning when building a young team. As Charlie Brown said “Winning isn’t everything, but losing isn’t anything.”

Peace, Steve+

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Tagged as baltimore Orioles, blake davis, bowie bay socks, carlos rojas, charlotte knights, frederick keys, gary allenson, jake arrieta, jake peavy, jeff fiorentino, joey gathright, jolbert Cabrera, justin christian, matt wieters, melvin dorta, minor league baseball, minor league meltdowns, new york mets, nolan Reimold, norfolk tides, oscar salazar, philadelphia phillies, scott moore

August 23, 2009 · 22:15

Scouts Out: My Neighbors in Section 100

Scouts Guns up: Scouts and Players with Radar Guns at Harbor Park

“If you don’t find high-caliber marble … you can’t create classic statues” John Schuerholz

One of the interesting views from my pew in the Church of Baseball, Harbor Park section 102, Row B seat 2 is that of the scouts. I often talk with my friend Elliott the Usher about the nuances of the game including the realm of the scouts, that often unsung group of men who find the raw talent that helps build the team.

Scouts are an interesting breed. They work for a Major League club, but dwell in obscurity, as any true scout would do. The seek talent, both raw and developed that will in their analysis help their club. The scouts travel throughout the minors, colleges, high schools and independent leagues to see what talent might be available. Sometimes they are former pro-ball players such as Bob Kison who works for the Orioles and Bill Singer who works for the Nationals, both of whom I have met this year at Harbor Park. In addition to the team scouting organizations the Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau provides teams centralized scouting organizations which all have access to. Currently the Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau employs 34 full time and 13 part times scouts in the USA, Canada and Puerto Rico.

I encounter a good number of scouts at Harbor Park. They as well as player’s wives, families or friends and VIPs sit in section 100 to my left. In addition to the scouts the Tides and the opposing teams frequently have at least one of their own players charting the game from that section. I have had a number of interesting conversations about the game with scouts from the Orioles, Nationals, Pirates, Cubs, Mets, White Sox, Yankees and Braves as well as a scout from the Japanese Major League team the Yokohama Bays Stars. There have been scouts from a good number of teams, including the Korean Baseball League that I have not chatted with prior to games. One is very careful not to bother them during the game itself as they are looking closely at what is going on. This is their bread and butter and they need to be respected while they work.

scouts 2 Mets and Rays Scouts

Of course the job of the scout is directly impacted by both the current and projected needs of their teams, including the minor league system as well as how the teams are doing at the moment. Thus from day to day scouts may be scouting individual players, or looking more in general for players that might of help to their team and its associated minor league system. Once in a while I get to look at the sheets that scouts use in evaluating talent. Since pitching is always a needed commodity they are seldom without their radar gun to measure the speed of pitches as well as charting pitch type, placement and what happened to the pitch. It is a very detailed job collecting data on players as well as making first hand observations that could be as important as the numbers in determining whether a play is right for the organization.

The key to the success of any Major League organization is how well its scouting system identifies prospects for the big team. Teams that are forward thinking spend the time and money to scout players either through the traditional methods or through the Sabremetrics system popularized in the book Moneyball about the Oakland Athletics methods under Billy Beane. Some teams use a combination of both traditional methods and the more data oriented Sabremetrics. Some teams which are accused of simple “buying” their major league team through free agency like the Yankees actually have a very talented scouting department and minor league system. The Yankees have built their own middle relief corps from their own system this year. The bullpen with the exception of closer Mariano Rivera has been a weak spot over the past 8 years for the Yankees and they have remedied this on their own. Likewise the Red Sox, Rays and Orioles maintain excellent scouting and minor league systems. The Orioles are the newcomers in this building their team from scratch over the past few years. In the West both the Angels and the A’s have strong minor league systems as do the Cardinals and Dodgers.

japanese scout Yokohama Bay Stars Scout

Unfortunately many organizations outside baseball, especially churches do not scout or develop talent. Sometimes it is a organizational approach or prejudice that either seeks outsiders versus home grown talent, mega-churches are particularly bad about this often looking at outsiders to fill the their staffs. On the other hand older main line denominations often are suspicious of outsiders even those with good track records. Some Churches such as the Roman Catholic Church intentionally limit those who can serve as clergy to the ranks of unmarried celibate men, with a few exceptions made for married clergy from other churches. Those men are taken through a process that often discounts any prior ministry they have as of little value and very few make it through the process of being ordained. On the other side of the spectrum are churches which have no rhyme or reason as to how they choose develop or assign clergy with often very arbitrary means to choose pastors. Clergy development from identifying young men and women who believe that they have a call to serve; the nurture and care of these men and women, their education, formation and eventual ordination and assignment are particularly important if the Church is to fulfill its mandate of bearing witness of Christ in the world and caring for the people of God.

One can make application in many other fields. In the military we typically recruit for most specialties but we look harder for specialties that require a more selective process such as Special Operations personnel. In the medical field the military employs a very rigorous process of evaluating prospective physicians through medical school, internship and residency. In specialties which a lot of personnel are required and in which there is a good amount of turnover and attrition many personnel are recruited but at certain career points a good number are weeded out.

Good scouting needs to be part of recruiting. Talent must not simply be recruited based on test scores, but the whole person. Organizations that seek excellence will use people to scout for and evaluate talent within their own organization or outside of it. The goal of course is not to find one person that can play now, but to develop many people to deepen the organization and make it more resilient when it experiences personnel losses or has to make organizational moves. Without good scouting much recruiting effort will be spent and often wasted on people who do not fit what the organization needs at the present or in the future.

Peace, Steve+

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Tagged as anaheim angels, atlanta braves, baltimore Orioles, bill singer, billy beane, bob kison, chicago cubs, chicago white sox, clergy formation, elliott the usher, harbor park, john schuerholz, los angeles dodgers, major league baseball, Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau, mega-churches, military recruiting, military special operations, new york mets, new york yankees, oakland athletics, roman catholic church, sabremetrics, san fransisco giants, scouting, st louis cardinals, talent evaluation, washington nationals, yokohama bay stars

August 17, 2009 · 22:36

Things that Go Plunk on the Diamond: Bean balls, Comebackers and Getting Run Over at Second or Home

Pete Rose Taking out Ray Fosse at Home during the 1970 All Star Game

For the sake of the shear sportiness and terror of it all there is nothing quite as thrilling as getting beaned by a pitcher, creamed by a comebacker or run over by an aggressive runner coming into Second or Home. Likewise catching a bat in the face or head qualifies as somewhat sporty. This was really brought into focus this weekend when three players, the Met’s All-Star Third Baseman and former Norfolk Tides infielder David Wright, Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda and Texas Rangers Infielder Ian Kinsler took shots in the head on Saturday. Wright was taken down by a 94 MPH fastball from Giants pitcher Matt Cain. I am a Giants fan and the pitch certainly was not intentional but the sight was chilling as the ball hit Wrights helmet and put him on the ground. A video on Wright’s MLB page is linked here: http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=431151

The pitch from Cain was not intentional, just a high and tight fastball that got away from him. However the hit on Wright was brutal, Wright was down for about a minute, was taken to hospital where her was diagnosed with a concussion and could be out for the season. The blast that Kuroda took off of the bat of Arizona Diamondback Rusty Ryal had the potential to kill him. Kuroda also suffered a concussion but never lost consciousness. A video of the play, which was ruled a Ground Rule double as the ball went off of Kuroda’s head into the dugout is here: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090815&content_id=6445324&vkey=news_la&fext=.jsp&c_id=la

Kinsler took a pitch to the helmet from Fernando Cabrera following a hit on his shoulder. Kinsler remained in the game.

Taking a shot or getting plunked is no fun. Playing in a sandlot game in 3^rd grade I took a line drive comebacker to the face. The ball slammed by left check just below my eye and put me down on the ground. I have taken a number of pitches to my body, never any to the head. When I played I saw getting hit by a pitch as a way to raise my On Base Percentage before I even knew what that was. Nonetheless getting balls thrown at you either intentionally or unintentionally does make you a bit nervous. If you have read my blog I admit that I was never much of a hitter. However I have never admitted until now that I didn’t try very hard to get out of the way of inside pitches. I may not been much of a hitter but I was pretty good at going on base either due to walking, getting hit or running out a play at first when a infielder bobbled a ball and couldn’t make a play. Getting hit was the easiest albeit the most painful way to get on base. I wish I had kept stats and charted my at bats when I was a kid playing organized Little League ball. I was probably hit by pitches more than anyone on the team. The other scary or sporty things that I found were taking a bat to the head, which happened to me twice and getting run over by someone bigger than you at Second or Home plate which happened to me in baseball and softball.

The thing that is the terrible thing about what happens when one takes a big hit is that the player is often not the same following the incident. Of particular note what happened to Ray Fosse of the Indians when ran over by Pete Rose in the 1970 All-Star game. Rose plowed over Fosse and has been accused by some of ruining Fosse’s career. The impact is one of the most memorable in All Star Game history, I remember watching the game as my dad cheered Rose, one of his favorite players of all time around third and into Fosse on that final play of that memorable All Star Game. I can feel for Fosse as when I was playing softball in college I was run over by an opposing player at home plate. The impact hurled me back about 6 feet as I was jumping to catch the throw from the outfield which was over my head. I ended up falling on my right hand jamming the arm and breaking a small bone in the wrist ending my season, which patently was the best season I had hitting in either baseball or softball hitting over .300 with 2 triples and 6 doubles. A friend of ours took a picture of the impact which was amazing, as it captured the moment when the opposing player put his shoulder into me with me in the air and ball almost in my glove. Unfortunately I lost my copy of it years ago and the friend has since passed away. I have also been bowled over at Second as opposing players attempted to break up double plays. On that I have given as well as have taken, I have never gone in easy to second if I thought the play might be close.

Another situation was when Tony Conigliaro of the Red Sox was hit on the cheek by a pitch from Angles pitcher Jack Hamilton at Fenway Park on August 18^th 1967. He suffered a linear fracture of the left cheekbone and a dislocated jaw with severe damage to his left retina. He made a comeback the following year but was not the same. He played with the California Angels in 1971 in 74 games and 21 games with the Red Sox in 1975.

If player is beaned by one team, or there are several pitches that either hit batters or come close the opposing team might retaliate by going after the other teams better hitters. There is now a pretty good debate going on about this and if things are getting out of control. After having a lot of his players hit by pitches White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen warned opponents that if they hit more of his players that he would have his pitchers retaliate saying “If I see somebody hitting my players and I know it’s on purpose, two guys are going down. I don’t care if I get suspended, I don’t care.” Some were taken aback, but I can understand a manager protecting his players and even rallying them with such words.

Occasionally a catcher will get caught by a bat when a hitter swings. I got caught by one of these in baseball and one in softball. Thankfully both were glancing blows as at that time catchers only had face masks and not protective headgear. I was crowding the batter in both instances and was caught on the wrap around after the batter swung and missed at a pitch. A clean hit might have actually knocked some sense into me. Thankfully the Deity Herself was looking out for me and probably used all of these events to further warp my brain. One day, schedule, Judy and the Deity permitting I will get back into an old guys baseball or softball league. God help us all.

Peace,

Steve+

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Tagged as 1970 all star game, arizona diamondbacks, Baseball, bean balls, boston red sox, California Angels, chicago white sox, david wright, fernando cabrera, hiroki kuroda, hit by pitch, ian kinsler, las angeles dodgers, matt cain, new york mets, norfolk tides, ozzie guillen, Pete Rose, ray fosse, rusty ryal, san fransisco giants, texas rangers, tony conigliaro

August 1, 2009 · 13:32

Blowouts…The Days (or years) you want to forget…But Need to Learn From

not a happy camper How I feel after a blowout

It’s no fun to get blown out in any game or life. Losing sucks no matter how you try to cushion it by saying, “well we almost won” or “gee if only we had…” or “they got lucky, we should have won.” Blowouts on the other hand leave you little to console yourself with. You lose and you lose badly. In baseball this usually means that the other team has shredded your pitching staff and that your defense stinks as fielders make fielding and throwing errors, your pitcher throws wild pitches with men on 3^rd and your offense dries up like a West Texas lawn in July. This happened to the Tides Thursday afternoon as they were ripped by Indianapolis 11-3 and it wasn’t that close. Starter Andy Mitchell who entered the game at 9-2 gave up 8 runs in 4 innings work. The Tides hitters didn’t come through after a series of comebacks the previous three games. This happens in the Major Leagues as well. Back on July 22^nd the Athletics beat the Twins 16-1; the 18^th the Braves beat the Mets 11-0 and back on the 6^th the Phillies beat the Reds 22-1. Being on the receiving end of such a whacking is painful. The key is what you do with it. As teams, organizations and individuals everyone will get beaten up once in a while and it takes character and strength to get back out the next day and give it your best when the temptation is to give in to go through the motions and just hope to make it through.

Blowouts in life can come in many ways, health, finances, work situations and relationships. Sometimes they are our own doing and the results of our choices. The times I have had the most problems have often been self inflicted because I couldn’t keep my trap shut when I should have either shut up or found a safe place to vent. In my years in the military and watching baseball I have seen a lot of this. Likewise there are people who live on the edge and consistently do things that are known to be illegal or unethical within their organization or sport and eventually get caught. Unfortunately these are not usually the untalented and unmotivated people whose contribution to their team or work environment is to suck up band width and perfectly good oxygen that others could be using to better effect. The sad thing is that those who push the envelope are often the most talented who have natural ability as well as well as an almost pathological need to be the best. One only has to take a look at Pete Rose who though his “sins” were not on the playing field, was things that no Manager should ever do. His attitude about getting caught was an arrogant display of idiocy which disrespected the game that he contributed so much to and soiled his name and reputation. I hope that he will find redemption in baseball, but the onus is on him to make things right. Likewise with the myriad of players from the steroid era whose names and reputations are ruined by playing this kind of game. I am fortunate in that my outbursts did not cost me my career. There are some I am sure that think little of me because of some of the things I have blown up about over the years and if I could do them over I would do them differently. But I can’t go back and change them now; they are a part of the tangled tapestry of my life just above the Mendoza Line.

Tuesday night I had the overnight duty and because we were short staffed due to injuries and people being out the duty pager went off incessantly throughout the day. It was like a day at Parkland without every call being a code, death or trauma. By noon I felt like a pitcher who was having every batter get a hit, every time I turned around I was rushing off somewhere else. It is funny when you have a feeling about how a day is going to go. By noon I knew that this day would be long and painful, just like a game where the opposition scores early and often. By early evening I was tired, but the hits kept coming and by now almost all were cases out of my comfort zone.

I am by nature a Critical Care, Trauma and Emergency Medicine type of Chaplain. I am just wired that way. I will never be a shrink. I have people all the time ask me or even suggest to me that I get a degree in Counseling or even a Doctorate in Psychology. Now I do think that I would be a good diagnostician, but I couldn’t handle what my friends who are shrinks have to deal with on a daily basis, give me carnage and traumatic tragedy any day of the week, but not persistent pitter-patter of psychological problems.

Now by shrinks I mean Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Therapists, Clinical Social Workers and Psychiatric Nurses. I use the term “Shrink” loosely but with great respect and I do not hesitate to consult with them or refer people to them. I don’t know how they live in that world. The maelstrom of mentally mangled humanity that my friends deal with on a daily basis would have me in a rubber room. Thus when I see patients on medical floors I always read their chart and history because if I am going to go in and visit a patient I prefer to know that they are Borderline, Bi-Polar, Schizophrenic, Paranoid, Clinically Depressed, delusional, suicidal or spermicidal before they suck me into their hellish helix of hopelessness. Knowing these things allows me to stay in my lane, offer appropriate support and actually care for them within my limitations because I do actually have a lot of compassion for the mentally ill or those suffering from even temporary emotional problems. Heck I have PTSD and some amount of anxiety so Elmer the shrink has his work cut out. How can I not feel some amount of compassion for those who have even worse situations? Now there are those who may have some of these conditions who are also maniacally manipulative or pathologically putrid who are not only mentally ill but somewhat or even majorly malevolent. These folks get to me, I have little compassion for people who even if they have issues are simply rotten people who get off on inflicting pain, emotional, spiritual or physical on those around them, to include their shrinks.

Tuesday night my blowout continued as person after person presented not only needing to see a shrink but wanting to deal with God and all they got was me. I was beginning to have some words with the Deity Herself about this but was quickly reminded that she loved them too. Thus my approach was pastoral, supportive and compassionate working within my limitations to ensure that they got the care that they needed without mucking it up for the ER staff or the shrinks. So of course I was dealing with delusional Paranoid Schizophrenics and Borderline cases all night long. By the time I trudged up to the on call room a little after 0400 I was exhausted. My ICU pals were getting a good laugh at my expense and at least I could see the humor in it all. The alarm rang far too early and when I made my duty turnover I felt like a starting pitcher who had been run over inning after inning for the entire start. I hadn’t had a night quite like that since my residency at Parkland. After the turnover I met with my Department Head for a few minutes and he simply said “Steven, go home.” Even my normal “I can’t leave I have work to do” way of doing life had to agree. I knew that I was a spent round.

Coming back after getting run over can be difficult and my next day at work I was rested and had a busy but not terribly stressful day and I was back in my element. No runs, no hits and no errors and no Paranoid Schizophrenics left on base.

How teams come back is interesting. After the drubbing that the Tides took on Thursday they jumped out to an early 4-0 lead against Indianapolis. Starter Troy Patton gave up two runs and in the 6^th Dennis Safrate came on in relief. Sarfate is down on a rehab assignment for the Orioles and got hit hard by the Indians. The Indians sent 12 men to the plate and scored 9 runs in the 6^th off of Sarfate and Russ Wolfe. Down 5 runs and looking at another beating the Tides found it within themselves to score 5 runs to tie the game in the bottom of the 7^th. Robby Hammock led off the bottom of the 8^th with a double, moved to third on a Carlos Rojas sacrifice bunt and was driven in by a Joey Gathright single for the go ahead and ultimately the winning run. Josh Perrualt got the win pitching 2.1 innings of scoreless relief retiring 7 of the 8 batters that he faced. Jeff Fiorentino had 2 hits an RBI and score 2 runs, Joey Gathright had three hits and the game winning RBI and Victor Diz had 2 doubles and 3 RBIs to help the Tides to victory.

Coming back takes work, no matter what you do. My life, especially the time in seminary until the time I entered the Navy was like a player or team who had a decade of tough seasons. When I came in the Navy I was able to turn things around. For the most part I avoid the things that got me in trouble in those years and I have become a lot more skilled at getting through the bumps that I still face. Fighting back after my post Iraq PTSD collapse has been difficult but things are getting better and my life is coming back into balance. Things that were impossible for me to deal with even a few months ago are starting to become manageable. I am coming back and I think that is the key. Blowouts are no fun and personally I don’t like them, but I am starting to find the takeaways that I need in order to come back. Isn’t that the point?

Anyway, tonight the Tides start a 4 game series against the Syracuse Sky Chiefs the AAA affiliate of the Washington Nationals who have a 55-49 record and are in 2^nd place in the International League North. The Tides are now 3 and ½ games out of 1^st in the South Division and a game behind Gwinnett for the Wild Card.

Peace, Steve+

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Tagged as atlanta braves, bi-polar, blow outs, borderline personality disorder, carlos rojas, cincinnati reds, clincally depressed, dennis sarfate, elmer the shrink, harbor park, indianapolis indians, jeff fiorentino, joey gathright, josh perrault, mendoza line, mental illness, minnesota twins, new york mets, norfolk tides, oakland athletics, paranoid, parkland memorial hospital, Pete Rose, philadelphia phillies, psychiatry, psychology, PTSD, robby hammock, russ wolfe, schizophrenic, spermicidal, steriod era, suicidal, victor diaz

July 20, 2009 · 23:13

Roster Moves: No Game, Series or Season in Baseball or Life Goes Without Them

046 Norfolk Tides Manager Gary Allenson making a Slight Adjustment to the Outfield with 1 Out in the 9th Inning

Larry: Who’s this? Who are you?
Crash Davis: I’m the player to be named later.

From Bull Durham

Sometimes I feel like the player to be named later. I am amazed at the changes on a baseball team’s roster during the course of a season. At the same time being in the military for almost 28 years I have some understanding of them in daily life. This season with the Norfolk Tides and my place of work at a Major Naval Medical Center has been a perfect example of how no roster survives intact.

Now this is nothing new, as long as there have been baseball teams and militaries there have been personnel changes. In baseball as in the military there is constant moves of personnel as people are transferred, promoted, demoted, are injured or retire from either the service or the game. Sometimes roster moves are part of a natural process as an organization decides how it wants to chart its future. Other times they are dictated by a need that occurs that has not been anticipated such as injuries, trades, transfers, retirements or personnel or budget constraints, either expected or unexpected.

In the Minor Leagues the Minor League affiliates exist to supply their Major League organization with young talent, player development, rehabilitation and depth to meet the demands of a long season. It is similar in the military where support and training organizations exist to meet the needs of the operating forces. This is true regardless of military branch of service. When the Major League Team or the operating forces are stretched, experience losses or suffer setbacks it is common for them to draw upon the support and training organizations to fill the holes and meet the needs of the larger organization.

I have watched this close up in two worlds this year both where I work and where I watch the Tides play ball. At work this has occurred where due to retirements and transfers our department has lost a lot of people who have not yet been replaced, creating a lot of pressure on those who remain, likewise we are tasked with more missions to support the operating forces. The same is true of the rest of the Medical Center where many physicians, nurses, corpsmen and other sailors have been deployed to meet the demands of the expanding war in Afghanistan while still supporting other worldwide commitments and our own home town mission. While this is going on other needs have come up in caring for returning warriors, wounded warriors and their families as well as the rest of the military community that depends on us for their primary and specialized medical care. I have seen more colleagues and friends than I can count be deployed from what is supposedly a pretty safe “non-deploying” shore billet to support the operating forces, Navy, Marines and Joint or NATO. I have watched the organization adapt to the call ups by moving people around as well as finding people to fill the void, even if they are only on contract.

Our Norfolk Tides began the season with a very solid roster and within two months the big club, the Baltimore Orioles had called up several pitchers as well as the heart of the batting order, Outfielder Nolan Reimold, Catcher Matt Wieters and Infielder Oscar Salazar. Meanwhile the Tides lost several players to injuries which forced Manager Gary Allenson and the Orioles organization to fins personnel both within and outside of the organization to fill the gaps created by call ups to the big team and injuries. To do this they brought up players from AA Bowie, moved players down from Baltimore and found and traded for players outside of the Orioles system. At first the adjustment was difficult but now the new players and those who were left are coming together to keep the team, at least for now in first place in the International League South. Yet with every move the organization has to decide how to best utilize the players that it has. In the case of the Tides this comes down to Manager Gary Allenson and his coaches working together with the rest of the Orioles organization.

Even in the midst of a game there are roster changes, sometimes for pitchers, sometimes hitter and sometimes even for running or defense. Some of the changes are for injuries, or situational based on statistics of what you have empirical evidence to show that one course of action is better than another. Thus you have relief pitchers and pinch hitters or runners. No at bat or even pitch is the same, which is like life, nothing remains the same so you must make the adjustments on every play.

At the personal level changes affects everyone in the organization even if their job in the organization does not change. At the minimum the changes affect the dynamics of the work environment, the chemistry between teams and the concern for friends who have left the organization with whom we have invested significant amounts of time and emotional energy. Thus when Oscar Salazar was called up by Baltimore it left a huge hole in the team because Salazar was not only a leading contributor on the field but his tremendously positive attitude off the field in energizing the team and working with younger players. Individual losses while seemingly statistically insignificant can be magnified by the intangibles of what a person brings to the team. Some who seem to have all the right stuff may not be missed, while others who maybe don’t have the same talent level as others might be more sorely missed. Since a team depends on the efforts of everyone, especially in baseball where the game is both immensely individual and absolutely interdependent personnel changes must be weighed carefully in the overall mission of the team or organization. The Tides are fortunate to be with Baltimore as the organization is not only scouting talent for the O’s but their Minor League affiliates. I met a Baltimore Scout at a Tides game over the weekend who said they were out seeking hitters for Norfolk due to call ups to the O’s and injuries to members of the Tides. The larger organization, though a work in progress recognizes that its future lies in its Minor League system. Thus over the past couple of weeks they have picked up Michael Aubrey from the Cleveland organization and Victor Diaz, a former Tides Outfielder when they were in the Mets organization and who later played in New York, Texas and the Houston organization before playing with the Hanwha Eagles in South Korea before being signed by the Orioles and assisted to the Tides. A good organization not only looks to the situation they are currently facing u to the future. A bad organization does not plan for the future but only concentrates on the present. In the case of the Tides we are prospering under Baltimore but suffered for almost 20 years under the Mets, who have continued to neglect and abuse their farm system, especially their AAA affiliates. The fans in Buffalo despise the relationship.

On the personal level this also means that individuals can be moved around to meet the needs of the organization. This does not always make players happy be they ball players or military personnel. There have been times in my career that I did not like what was happening to me in the organization, not so in the Navy but definitely in hte first part of my Army career. Such unhappiness when left unchecked can lead to blow ups. The movie Bull Durham has a great example where Crash Davis, played by Kevin Costner complains about his reassignment from an AAA team back to a single A team.

Crash Davis: You don’t want a ballplayer; you want a stable pony.
Skip: Nah.
Crash Davis: Well, my triple-A contract gets bought out so I can hold some flavor-of-the-month’s dick in the bus leagues, is that it? Well, f— this f—ing game!
[pause]
Crash Davis: I quit, all right? I f—ing quit.
[Crash exits the office and stands in the clubhouse for a minute before sticking his head back through the door]
Crash Davis: Who we play tomorrow?
Skip: Winston-Salem. Batting practice at 11:30.

I cannot say that in my Navy career I have ever felt like Crash Davis, in fact I have even when doing a lot of “relief” work and been moved around sometimes faster than I wanted to be because I was needed to put out a fire. At the same time I have always been dealt with well. I have not been sent back down in the organization, but have been moved up or laterally to do different jobs, like I said often on short notice like the time when two different chaplains were fired and I went from one job to the next and ended up nine or ten weeks at 29 Palms prior to a 7 month deployment in two different battalions. Those were stressful, but not bad and the organization treated me well. Some people don’t have that experience however and roster moves on short notice can be a source of consternation, anger and discord if not handled well by the team manager or the command.

However I did come into the Navy at a lower rank than I left the Army in 1999 just to get back in the show that was the cost of getting back in the game full time, something I am amazed that I got the chance to do and every grateful to the Navy, my Bishop and the Deity Herself. In my current billet I love what I do and who I do it with, but the organization will be making some changes as we graduate our current residents, gain new residents, gain and lose other personnel and adjust to meet an ever changing and increasing mission. While we do this we seek to set the standard of professional competency not only in the Navy but the civilian world. For me this will involve changes, changes that on one level I resist, but on another level completely understand and agree with as the way to help the organization move forward. Come September those changes will be made. I can say that I don’t feel like Crash because this involves things that I have always wanted to do but unless I am adaptable will not be able to do, unless the Deity Herself creates a couple extra days to the week and makes every day a 32 hour day. Thus I will adjust as will the rest of the organization as we collectively work together to ensure that we are taking care of those that God has given us.

So far as the story goes tonight, the one constant in the season is change, teamwork and adjustment to change. As Sparky Anderson once said “If a team is in a positive frame of mind, it will have a good attitude. If it has a good attitude, it will make a commitment to playing the game right. If it plays the game right, it will win—unless, of course, it doesn’t have enough talent to win, and no manager can make goose-liver pate out of goose feathers, so why worry?” Thankfully, our leadership seems to be rising to the task and and we have the talent, so why worry?

Peace, Steve+

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Tagged as aubry huff, baltimore Orioles, bowie bay socks, bull durham, cleveland indians, crash davis, deployment, gary allenson, hanwha eagles, marines, matt wieters, minor league baseball, nato, navy, navy medicine, new york mets, nolan Reimold, norfolk tides, operating forces, oscar salazar, relief pitchers, south korea baseball leagues, sparky anderson, victor diaz

July 13, 2009 · 21:10

A Trip to the Home World, Tithing on the Speed Limit, a Tooth Joins the Ranks of the Undead and a Giant No Hitter

Yesterday we made a trip back to my family’s home world, also known as Huntington West Virginia. As far as home worlds go it is probably on no one’s top ten lists, probably ranking about as high as Qo’noS, the Klingon home world in terms of places that you would go to on holiday. However it is my family’s ancestral home for the past 200 plus years since coming from Scotland, Ireland and France. Now I was not born in West Virginia, though my parents were born there as were three of my four grandparents. I was actually the first of my generation born outside of the state as my dad was still in the beginning stages of his Navy career and was stationed at Naval Air Station Alameda California and I was born at Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in California. Even so Huntington was a place that served as a touchstone for our lives as my dad was transferred from one place to another on the west coast. We would return almost every summer, usually travelling by train in the days before Amtrack. Back then three of four grandparents as well as one set of great grandparents we still alive along with a butt-load of aunts, uncles and cousins. In 4^th grade we lived there while my dad found us suitable housing in Long Beach California after being transferred from Washington State. That was the year of three schools and four teachers for me, but I digress.

It was during that year that my great grandfather died and my grandfather was diagnosed with a golf ball sized yet benign brain tumor. It was also the adjustment form the kinder and gentler west coast schools to a much stricter standard in Huntington. I was also as we had come in from Long Beach I was nicknamed “City Slicker” and had to fight for my life. A couple of school yard brawls later which I cannot say that I won but in which I gave good account of myself I was accepted so far as a “City Slicker” could be. The thing was though that I had lived in a town of only about 8,000 inhabitants for 4 years prior to moving to Long beach for just over a month. The kids in Huntington were far more “City Slicker” than little old me. I had poor penmanship because in Kindergarten my teacher took the pencil out of my left hand and stuck it in my right hand. This was of no comfort when my teacher whacked my hand with a steel ruler since my penmanship was so bad. What good this did I have no idea except to maybe set me back two more years. I don’t think I ever left the dining room table due to the amount of homework that she assigned. During my time in Huntington we lived across from the old Fairfield Stadium where the Marshall University football team played. I saw the team work out in the spring practices of 1970, the same team killed in the plane crash on 14 November of that year. We returned to Long Beach that summer where when I started 5^th grade I was known as “Kentucky Fried.” Despite that I was happy to get back out west. After my Clinical Pastoral Care Education Residency in Dallas I got my first full time hospital chaplain job at Cabell-Huntington Hospital which I held as a full time contractor until I was mobilized for the Bosnia mission in 1996. During this time and while I was deployed Judy got to know my relatives better than me. I went into the Navy in West Virginia and due to this we remain West Virginia residents for Tax and Voting purposes. We came back to get our driver’s licenses renewed and see our dear friend Patty.

The visit this time has been pretty miserable for me as last night the tooth which was recently excavated for the second time as discovered to be cracked beyond repair decided to come back from the dead. I didn’t get to sleep until about 0230 and woke up again at 0415 before getting back to sleep at 0600. The alarm rank at 0700 and after getting Judy up, we talked and I went back to bed where I slept until 1230. It took 2 Ultram, 1 800 mg Motrin and a couple of beers with lunch to get the pain under control. Tonight I will probably do the same and go to bed early. In the morning I will have to call the Dental Department at the hospital to see what they want me to do. We don’t travel back until Wednesday and I don’t know if I can take much more of this. It seems to me that my tooth has taken a page from Dracula and joined the ranks of the undead. This really sucks like a Hoover.

The trip here was long, we had the usual snarl on I-64 from Newport News until past Williamsburg, and thankfully the HRBT was not congested. We picked up more slow traffic between Staunton and Lexington. Now I am bothered by people who drive slower than the posted speed limit in the fast lane. I trained on the Los Angeles Freeways and the German Autobahn. My view is that the speed limit is a suggestion for the less skilled drivers and those who have trained on high speed roads should be exempt from it. Now I am not a total scofflaw. I do not drive unsafely, weave in and out of traffic or fail to signal. Likewise I know about how fast I can go without drawing the attention of the State Police. Since radar detectors are illegal in Virginia one has to become very adept at this cat and mouse game and I am amazed at the number of people who get pulled over because they don’t understand the simple art of nuance. In most states you can safely drive about 10 percent over the speed limit on the Interstate without getting ticketed. This is a little different on the major travel holidays in Virginia where there is about a 5 mph tolerance. I do this routinely and refer to it as “tithing” on the speed limit. Of course there are times that I need to give more than my tithe and go a bit faster. Our GPS “Lilith” has a conscious about such things and would alarm when I did this forcing me to silence her.

There was also cause for rejoicing as the first half of the baseball season came to an end. The Norfolk Tides are tied for fist in the International League South, the San Francisco Giants have surprised everyone by playing great ball with solid pitching and now are in second place in the National League West and currently have the 3^rd best record in the league behind the Evil Dodgers and one percentage point behind the East leading Phillies. To really make things great Giants pitcher Jonathan Sanchez pitched a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres. It was almost a perfect game save for a booted ground ball and error by Giants Third Baseman Juan Uribe with 1 out in the bottom of the 8^thand Center Fielder Aaron Rowland saved the no-hitter with a leaping catch at the wall for the second out in the top of the ninth. Both of these show that even when a pitcher pitches a no-hitter it is a team effort. I had seen the next to last Giant no-hitter in person with my dad and brother back on August 24th 1975 when Ed Halicki shut down the New York Mets at Candlestick. Not a bad way for the Giants to go into the All-Star break.

Anyway it is time to self medicate for the night and try to get some sleep. Pray for me a sinner.

Peace, Steve

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June 29, 2009 · 22:32

Interns and Residents Graduate while New Ones Arrive; Save #500 for Mariano Rivera and I Know Why the North Koreans are So Belligerent…They Don’t Have Baseball!

Well. I got back to work today and I’m glad to be back. The trip to DC was really nice. Having duty the first day back well, what can I say? Tonight has been very busy but not too sporty yet, although I am wondering as the night has a weird feel, which a resident that I have worked with a lot feels too. Hopefully we are just paranoid. I wrote this at my dinner break and thankfully I picked relatively uncomplicated things to write about tonight, I had it done by the time the cardiac response pager went off following some meetings and early rounds and patient visits. It’s about 2300 and I am just now sitting down to finish this prologue.

Today we graduated our Intern Class. I have gotten to know a good number of these young physicians during the past year during their ICU rotation as well as when I have been on call throughout the house. It was a privilege to be at the graduation at the invitation of the class leadership as I had been with them on their Dining Out back in April. To have one more time with them before they go on to residency, the Fleet Marine Force or Sea Billets as General Medical Officers or Surgeons, as well as those selected to become Flight Surgeons or Diving Medical Officers assigned to Special Operations, Diving or EOD units was really nice. Having spent a lot of time with many on the ICU I see the toll that the internship places on them and their families. These young physicians have done well and will serve our Sailors and Marines, as well as Soldiers and Airmen and their families well. Some will remain to complete residencies of various types and lengths, while those who do not initially get a residency will likely be on the front line of caring for our servicemen and women in harm’s way or on medical and humanitarian missions. Some will end up with the Marines in Iraq or Afghanistan and others serve as the “Doctor” for a ship or Marine battalion often far from any immediate back up or specialty care. I wish all of them the best. We have also had residents leave us for new horizons. Some will be going on to advanced fellowships while others will serve as staff physicians or surgeons throughout the world. It has been great working with many of them in their final residency year.

While these young physicians are leaving us, we have some who will remain on as residents here or fellowships. It will be good to continue to work with and get to know them over the coming years. Now the fun part, we have a butt load of brand new Interns who are reporting to us as well as some Residents from other institutions or coming back from their tours in the Fleet. I remember my time at civilian teaching hospitals where I served as a chaplain or did my residency. Pastoral Care Residencies typically start in September or October which takes them out of the cycle that most residents or interns have in the medical community. I hope that we will eventually have our program lined up so our new residents report the same time the physician internships and residencies begin and for our residents to have more interaction with them. I think the latter will happen sooner than the first mentioned with things that we are in the process of instituting. I really believe that the cross pollination of physician and pastoral care residencies will benefit both specialties as they meet at the intersections of healing, life and death, faith and spirituality. Tonight when I have been greeting every new physician I see and introducing myself to them. They come from quite a few interesting places and I hope to get to know them all pretty well.

Last night was a great event. Yankees ace reliever and “closer deluxe” Mariano Rivera notched his 500^th save. He became the second pitcher to achieve this number as he shut down the New York Mets at Citi Park. To some this may not seem too much of an accomplishment. After all, the relief pitcher as a specialty and development of pitchers to serve in different relief roles is a relatively new part of baseball, really only going back to the 1970s. Of course there were relieves before, but they had a limited role as starters often would pitch complete games. Satchel Paige was an exception when he came to the Majors from the Negro Leagues spending most of his time in a relief role, and there are a few others but the reliever was in many cases a former starter who didn’t have the juice to pitch complete games later in their careers. Rivera is a special breed even as a reliever. He is a closer. This means that when he comes in he is either trying to save the victory or stave off defeat. He has to come in at a moment’s notice in any park, weather or situation often to deal with the heart of an opponent’s batting order. He has the 500 saves and a career 2.29 ERA. In the World Series he has 9 saves and a 1.16 ERA. It gets better. In the League Championship Series that he has pitched in he has 10 saves and a 0.97 ERA and in Division Series he has 15 saves and a 0.38 ERA. Since the playoffs tend to have the better and more competitive teams in them so these are amazing statistics. In the playoff he has 8 wins and only one loss. At age 39 he shows no sign of letting up.

What makes a guy like Mariano so special is first that he is nearly unhittable and his very presence on the mound gives confidence to the Yankees and sends a message to their opponents. He will if he has any say in the matter save or win that game even if he comes in early with the bases loaded and no outs in the 8^th inning. Rivera is like a really hot ER or ICU team that has to save a life when the situation is at the worst or if not that bad where it could get sporty. I have always admired relievers who do the job well having had to go into a number of jobs where my predecessor both as a Medical Service Corps Officer in the Army or Navy Chaplain was fired. That is no fun when you have to go pick up the pieces. Relievers make their living doing this and Rivera has to be the best reliever who has ever lived. To top it off he is regarded as a nice guy, a leader and one of baseball’s good guys. And last but not least Mariano was not a “bonus baby.” He came up as an undrafted free agent. Some Trevor Hoffman fans may argue this point but the high intensity playoff game record speaks for itself. Nobody does it better. Someday Jonathan Papelbon may do so for the Red Sox, but he has many years to go before he hits 500 saves. He has the advantage of starting his Major League career as a closer and already has as of the end of 2008 114 saves and a 1.84 ERA. He is the real deal and hopefully will remain healthy.

Finally a closing thought for the night. I have wondered for some time just why the North Koreans can be so bellicose and ill tempered. They are threatening to incinerate us and upset that we have moved missile interceptors to Hawaii, like hello, Hawaii is 4000 miles away from North Korea. Needless to say the whole bunch of nations in the neighborhood is not real happy with the Dictator named Kim. The Japanese are upping their readiness, the South Koreans sending folks to the border and talking of pre-emption and even the Chicoms and Russians are not real happy. Some sources are even saying the Nutty North Koreans may launch and ICBM in our general direction around the 4^th of July. That would not be cool.

So like I said, I was wondering about what makes the North Koreans so ill tempered. It finally came to me last week at Harbor Park when watching the Tides play the Pawtucket Red Sox. There were scouts from the Korean Professional Baseball league in the stands as well as Japanese scouts and American scouts. Then it hit me. Baseball is big in South Korea and they are getting pretty darned good in international competition. They are so good in fact that they have won the Olympic Gold Medal and finished second in the World Baseball Classic. In contrast the North Koreans don’t have baseball. If they had baseball they would be able to work off all that unhealthy stress and hatred, the Yin and Yang would come back into balance. What if Kim Jung Il had played little league and high school ball? Who knows he might be a manager in the Korean Leagues taking out all that anger on the umpires when they make a bad call or executing his closers when they fail. The South Koreans have been blessed by the Deity Herself with Baseball and I do believe that this has to be the difference. Even Communist Cuba is nowhere near as nutty as North Korea and this too I attribute to Baseball and Fidel having played ball himself. Maybe we should instead of negotiators send Baseball players, scouts and instructors to North Korea? It just might work. Look what McDonald’s and Coke did to the former Soviet Union….

Peace, Steve+

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Tagged as afghanistan, bonus baby, chicoms, china, citi park, closers, coca-cola, cuba, diving medical officer, ERA, fidel castro, fleet marine force, flight surgeon, gmo tour, harbor park, hawaii, icbm, interns, iraq, jonathan papelbon, korean professional baseball, mariano rivera, mcdonald's, medical education, missile interceptors, navy medical, negro leagues, new york mets, new york yankees, north korea, olympics, pastoral care residents, pawtucket red sox, relief pitchers, residents, russia, satchel paige, saves, south korea, trevor hoffman, undrafted free agent, world baseball classic

June 17, 2009 · 23:16

A Weird Day, a Great Team and Some Fractured History

Today was one of those weird days for me, very busy, pretty good work and good intellectual stimulation n an ethics committee meeting. I’m also still pretty tired from the past few weeks, not feeling bad but I know that I need to pace myself while we are short staffed in our department this summer. It is a good thing that I have the boss that I have as he is making sure that I am okay on a pretty regular basis. He knows that I will push myself hard until I hit the wall, which I did about a week and a half ago. The thing is it is not just me that is feeling the strain. All of us on our staff have been pushed hard caring for folks during the recent deaths of two military staff members, regular work on our wards, administrative tasks as well as the extra load imposed by being short staffed. But this is what we do as chaplains. The good thing is that we are doing our best not just to look after our flock, but to look after each other. We have a great team which I am proud to be a part.

Thus today my mind was a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives. In fact it was awash in so much that I should have written them down. The mind is like a sieve sometimes. Since it is late I am going to stick with a few observations from this day in history which seems to still have significance today June 17th.

On this day in 1579 Sir Francis Drake sailed his ship the Golden Hind into San Francisco Bay. Immediately he was picketed by anti-imperialist and environmentalist protesters who had come down from Haight Ashbury in their Birkenstocks. Ignoring them Drake’s crew hit on women and some men in Golden Gate Park, had lunch at Fisherman’s Wharf and took in a Giants game. At least that’s what they wanted to do, but they were 400 years or so too early. Instead they sat around wondering why it was so cold in the middle of summer as they repaired their ships, had the chaplain celebrate Eucharist and then claimed everything in sight for England calling it New Albion. The Spanish realtors in the area took umbrage to this and never recognized the claim.

On this day in 1775 was fought the battle of Bunker Hill or more appropriately Breed’s Hill. The American soldiers defending the hill gave a good account of themselves against the British who were trying to drive them off of the hill. An American commander on the front line uttered the cry which did not become in military history “Don’t fire until you can smell the Redcoat bastards.” The insensitivity of the comment regarding the Colonial’s British Cousins body odor, which wafted over the battlefield, offended some of in the snior commanders who had a hard time smelling the gunpowder over their own body odor. When the Pentagon heard about it the offending officer was sent to Ft Polk Louisiana and the utterance was officially changed to “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.” After the clash the surviving unwounded opponents gathered at Sam Adams pub where they consumed vast amounts of his original Boston Lager beer as they played darts and argued the merits of English versus American Football. Some went to the Yankees Red Sox game at Fenway later in the evening.

On this day in 1815 Commodore Stephen Decatur commanding a Task force from the 6th Feet conquered the Algerian frigate Mashouda in an action that finally helped bring an end to the Barbary Wars and drove the Barbary Pirates from the Mediterranean. Within 48 hours of defeating the Mashouda he was in Algiers harbor exacting peace on the Dey of Algiers. This ended the period of where Barabry Pirates excercised domain over the Mediterranean. Getting with British sailors on liberty in town with which they had recently been at war, the Americans and Brits spent the evenings at Murphy’s Irish pub drinking Guinness and Kilkenney with Irish and other expats while watching Arsenal play Bayern München on pay per view.

On this day in 1856 Republican Party opened its 1st national convention in Philadelphia. Immediately Randall Terry demanded equal time to speakers demanding the end of slavery while Ron Paul was ignored. Others lobbied for the Flat Tax until they discovered that there was not yet an income tax. Up and coming Illinois legislator Abraham Lincoln gave the keynote address recommending a bigger Federal role in solving disputes between states while Newt Gingrich presented a “Contract with the Union” to deal with the various tensions. Fox News covered the event

On this day in 1916 US troops under General John Pershing marched into Mexico to bring Pancho Villa and others into custody. The expedition was not successful as many troops were inflicted with Montazuma’s revenge while KBR failed to get the porta-poties in place in a timely manner. The Easern European sub-contractor walked out and KBR replaced them with men from the Indian Subcontinent area who had each paid $4000 to an agent for the job and recived $300 a month working 16 hour days 6 days a week. However the campaign did give US troops experience operating in harsh climates which would serve them well when stationed in Texas over the next century. General Phil Sheridan had once said of Texas that “If I owned Hell and Texas I would live in Hell and rent out Texas.”

On this day in 1938 after conducting military operations against the Chinese for over 5 years the Japanese declared war on China. Chinese leaders Chaing Kai Shek and Mao Tse Tung issued a joint statement agreeing to work together and declaring “It’s about damned time they admitted that they are at war with us.”

On this day in 1940 the French after having their asses handed to them by the Germans yet again asked for surrender terms. General Charles DeGaulle immediately departed for England to continue the war against both the Germans and his fellow Frenchmen. Upon his arrival DeGaulle immediately complained about the bad food, plain women and miserable weather. He was embraced by Winston Churchill who got him drunk, left him passed out in a brothel and blamed the Vichy government for it. Churchill wrote afterward, “that man is a pain in the ass.” DeGaulle always doubted Churchill’s version of events every time he looked at the tatoo of a German tank on his ass.

On this day in 1944 Iceland declared independence from Denmark. No one noticed until 1953.

Most importantly on this day in 1960 Ted Williams hit his 500^th home run. and today the Nationals beat the Yankees and the Orioles beat the Mets.

Peace, Steve+

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Tagged as abraham lincoln, arsenal football, baltimore Orioles, Baseball, battle of bunker hill, battle of france 1940, bayern Munchen, cahing kai shek, chaplain corps, charles degualle, dey of algiers, don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes, fisherman's warf, general john pershing, general phil sheridan, golden gate park, golden hind, guinness stout, haight ashbury, iceland independence, japanese declaration of war with china, kilkenney beer, mao tse tung, mexico, new albion, new york mets, new york yankees, pancho villa, randall terry, republican party, ron paul, samuel adams, san fransisco bay, san fransisco giants, second barabry war, sir francis drake, stephen decatur, ted williams, texas, washington nationals, winston churchill

May 23, 2009 · 23:02

One Pitch, Game or Season too Many

In 1973 Willie Mays signed with the New York Mets after being released by the San Francisco Giants at the end of the 1972 season. It was a mistake and was his worst season in the majors. He showed his age, he had lost his speed. His arm was shot and hs hitting was a shadow of what it once was. He committed errors that never would have happened early in his career. He was unable to play on a daily basis. He wanted to do well. However the inability to be in the lineup on a consistant basis, lack of outfield speed, weak arm and poor hitting hurt his team. As a Giants fan I love Willie Mays. I believe that he is quite possibly the best player who ever lived. It hurt to see him finish his career in that fashion.

Other players have done this as well. They go for that last season that last chance for glory and leave not at the top of their game, but at the bottom. They end up tarnishing their final year and a career that should have ended in triumph ends in a whimper. A recent example is NFL great Brett Farve. His debacle with the New York Jets after retiring from the Packers has pushed his greatness to the side. The continuing confusion of whether he will try to return for one more year has made many former supports stop caring. Roger Clemens in the way that he played his last couple of years, sitting out half a season to make a dramatic entrance and then not performing well in his last season left a sour taste in the mouth of many in and out of baseball.

This is not confined to sports figures it occurs in almost every career vocation. For many this desire to stay just one more year, one more tour one more chance at glory the attempt ends in personal humiliation. They realize later that they should have gotten out at the top of their game. When I was a young Medical Service Corps officer we had about 250 Colonels in our branch. We only had one billet for a Brigadier General. That was usually 3-4 year term for whoever was the Chief of the Medical Service Corps. Additionally there were only a few actually billets for Colonel’s to command actual units. Some of these officers would have sld their soul’s to get the star. I’m sure that at least a few did. But with only one General Officer billet that came open every 3-4 years the chances were pretty slim for anyone to get the job. Yet we would have men well past their prime holding on, going from staff assignment to staff assignment until they hit the statutory retirement point. Many were miserable and felt that they should have been the annointed one. Unfortunately both in attitude and for the fact that by holding on indefinitely they kept others from getting promoted they hurt the Corps. This is not uncommon in botht he military and the civilian world, even in churches. It often harms those that hold on, those that work for them and the institution when younger men and women with fresh ideas can’t get promoted. Since I left the Medical Service Corps as a fairly junior Captain to go to seminary I never had a dog in this fight, but it was intersting to observe the effect on individuals and the institution.

There are times in life as well where we go through different seasons. Adjusting to the changes of those seasons is just as important, be they family, spiritual or vocational. Knowing when the season is changing and having people help us through are key. Likewise for those who have a religions faith, my Christian faith is a moderate Anglo-Catholic Episcopal spirituality with a membership in the Church of Baseball. After all the Deity does speak to me through baseball.

It takes a bit of self-awareness to know when you shouldn’t go on. Mike Mussina retired at the end of the 2008 season. He went won 20 games for the first time in career had a 3.37 ERA and won his 7^th Golden Glove of his career. He could have probably played for another year or two. However, he decided to go out on top. He left at the end of his 17^th and best season.

In daily life we have the same situation. A pitcher needs to know when to tell his manager that he can’t pitch. Likewise the manager and pitching coach have to be able to tell when their pitchers are losing their edge. My department head knows what I have been through in my life and what I have been dealing with both personally and physically. He trusts me to tell him when I am having trouble. He knows how to get the best out of me without wiping me out to do it.

Sometimes people not only stay too long, but in staying to long end up hurting their team, political party, business organization or religious organization. We have all probably known people like this. They finish badly and seldom does someone gently come alongside and say, “Friend, you had a great run, it’s time for you to step aside and let others carry out the mission.”

I for one know that I desire to go out on top when it is time for me to leave the military. I will be retirement eligible in about 2 ½ years. I want my tour where I am to be the best of my career regardless of whether I retire or get promoted and remain in service. I want people to remember me in the best possible way. If I know that I cannot do the job anymore it is incumbent on me to be honest enough with myself to admit it and go home before people say: “Yah, he was a good chaplain back in the day, but he’s lost something…he’s not the same.” I trust that the Deity Herself will assist me in this; Lord knows that this miscreant Priest needs all the help that he can get.

Peace,

Steve+

Post Script: I saw the Tides win again tonight and bring their record to 28 and 13, the best in AAA baseball. They won on a Justin Turner hit a walk off single to drive in Oscar Salazar with 2 outs in the bottom of the 10^thto defeat the Rochester Red Wings. Kam Mikalio got the win for the Tides and Bobby Keppel took the loss for the Wings. It was a ugly game, perhaps the ugliest I have see this year. Each team committed three errors for a total of six errors in the game. Wings third baseman Matt Macri dropped a routine pop foul by Oscar Salazar who then singled and scored the winning run. Wings starting pitcher Philip Humber hit three Tides batters. Tides Manager Gary Allenson and Designated Hitter Robby Hammock was tossed in the bottom of the 8^th and Wings Shortstop Trevor Plouffe was tossed in the top of the 10^th.

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Tagged as 1973 baseball seson, anglo catholic, brett farve, christian faith, episcopal, giants, gold glove award, green bay packers, mike mussina, military retirement, new york jets, new york mets, new york yankees, roger clemens, willie mays

Tag Archives: new york mets

What Happened? An analysis of the Norfolk Tides in 2009

Analyzing the End of Season Collapse of a Baseball Team

Scouts Out: My Neighbors in Section 100

Things that Go Plunk on the Diamond: Bean balls, Comebackers and Getting Run Over at Second or Home

Blowouts…The Days (or years) you want to forget…But Need to Learn From

Roster Moves: No Game, Series or Season in Baseball or Life Goes Without Them

A Trip to the Home World, Tithing on the Speed Limit, a Tooth Joins the Ranks of the Undead and a Giant No Hitter

Interns and Residents Graduate while New Ones Arrive; Save #500 for Mariano Rivera and I Know Why the North Koreans are So Belligerent…They Don’t Have Baseball!

A Weird Day, a Great Team and Some Fractured History

One Pitch, Game or Season too Many

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