2006 Fantasy Camp Diary

Day Two--Not a Good Day

Tuesday, January 31

by Meg Goldsmith for Kerry

Today was not a great day for the Thumpers.  They lost both games, but it was the way they lost-- particularly the action in the second game-- that didn't sit well with Kerry.  He called it an "ugly game."  But first things first. Injurywise, Kerry is doing well.  He had the trainers rub out his hamstring and then stretch both of them and they basically feel fine.  He plans to have the trainers stretch him out every day because they can give him a more effective stretch than what he can get on his own.  His ribcage area is somewhat sore but at this point it feels more like a muscle strain than anything else.  Some Ibuprofen before and between games helps.  He's really trying to ratchet back how much of the Ibuprofen he takes this year.  It's doled out like M&M's by the trainers.  Without it, it's doubtful that most of the campers would survive the week.

The Thumpers lost their first game in a close one, 4-3, to Bill Swaggerty's Stags.  Kerry said it was a winnable game but a couple of lapses in the field may have cost them the game.  Such things are common in fantasy camp play.  Kerry actually did pretty well, walking twice and scoring both times.  In his third at bat, he hit a one-hopper to the mound.  He pitched the final three innings of the game and got saddled with the loss even though he only gave up one hit and got two strikeouts.  He said that it's becoming clear to him that he is the second best pitcher on their team this year, mostly due to the fact that his changeup is working really nicely for him.  They were leading 3-2 when he came into the game, but the Stags scored two unearned runs and the Thumpers never came back.  When he wasn't pitching, he played shortstop where he made a few routine plays but nothing to write home about.

As for the afternoon game, they faced Gross' Grizzlies and lost 10-2.  Kerry said there is usually a certain amount of malaise in the afternoon games.  Part of this is because people are tired, since they already have one game under their belts.  Part of it is the heat (it's supposed to hit 80 there tomorrow!).  Part of it is the meal the players get between games.  Kerry said this is almost always a very heavy meal although he usually just opts for some fruit.  (Based on firsthand experience, they don't offer much for people who don't eat meat.)  Regardless of the reason, Kerry said it felt like people were sleepwalking through the game.  I asked if the team was likely to get a brown rope and he said that this is very likely since Etch gave them a collective brown rope for their play in the afternoon game yesterday.  They got a collective gold rope for their play in the morning game.  But more importantly, there is a team meeting already scheduled for tomorrow morning and Kerry expects Etch to give them "a kick in the ass" to try to get them going.  He said they were down 7-0 heading into the bottom of the second and they didn't score until it was either 8-0 or 9-0, much too late to do anything about it.  

As for how he played, Kerry did pretty well.  He walked in his first plate appearance and reached on a single in his second.  He advanced to second when the infielder tried to throw him out at first and came around to score the first run of the game for the Thumpers.  As for his play in the field, he said he sat out the first inning, played the next two innings at third and finished at shortstop.  While at third base, there was a sharp ground ball close to the bag.  Kerry said he was playing over closer to the hole so he had to go to his backhand side to make the catch and still managed to get a force at second.  He also fielded a swinging bunt and threw the guy out at first.

His "story of the day" today still concerns Mo Drabowsky.  Kerry is impressed with how well Mo is getting around given that he is clearly debiliated by the chemotherapy.  But Mo remains "in the game" and is very much on top of things.  As a demonstration of this, Kerry related the following story:  Between innings, Mo asked Kerry if he throws a changeup.  Kerry told him that he did and Mo asked if it was a pitched that was working for him.  Kerry answered in the affirmative so Mo told him that he had figured out when it would be most effective.  Mo arranged to signal the catcher whenever a changeup should be thrown and Kerry was to look for the signal.  But in the final inning, Mo was concerned that the signal from their bench might be missed  so he added an audible signal so Kerry could be on the lookout for it.  Kerry said that this worked out very well because every time the bench called for the changeup against someone that person wound up being fooled or making an out.  

Tomorrow they play one game in the morning under Veteran's Tournament rules.  In the afternoon there will be a Q&A with Sam Perlozzo who is making a special trip to Florida to meet with the campers.  

STATS

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Day One

Veteran's Tournament Day Two

Veteran's Tournament Day One

Preparations