Network Has a Blog.
Hey guys, this is Rick "speaking". This is my first blog post in what hopes to be many posts.
Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments with me. But please, keep it clean!
RC
Hey guys, this is Rick "speaking". This is my first blog post in what hopes to be many posts.
Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments with me. But please, keep it clean!
RC
Congrats Rick,
Bob
First off, I can't help but be excited about the opportunity we all have in front of us. It's not often we get to be kids for a day or a week as in this manner. The group I've assembled is mixed with old friends and new, a network that keeps extending throughout our lifetime. All I can hope for on this trip is that we play hard, we get it all on tape and that no one gets seriously hurt.
On that note, we had our first minor casualty. Robert Wasmund our hard hitting infielder/pitcher pulled a calf in his playoff game in Dallas on Wednesday and is doubtful for this tournament. He seems to think he may make it to Phoenix by Monday but it all depends on the severity of the injury.
That leaves me one bat and one arm short. We have enough on this team to cover for lose of players, but not too many, especially players that can throw.
I've checked on everyone traveling and it seems like all systems are go. I hope everyone has a safe trip and that we show up at Tempe Diablo Stadium tomorrow with a winning attitude.
First team meeting- 10:00 AM in the hotel conference room!
Rick
Best of luck to you guys...represent brother...wish I were going along...I'm headed down to the Fall Classic in Nov. I'll follow ya'll in the Series....can't wait until next spring/summer.
We all arrived in Phoenix safe and sound and geared up for our first game. I came with the Atlanta contingent: Terry Loe, Pat Zapp, Josh Davis, Bob Atwater and Chris Pullaro. Troy Startoni's plane came in about the same time from Newport News. We all got our luggage and picked up the 2007 Suburban. Sweet ride. Pat Armstrong and Jeff Wells were already here, as was Brien Blakely. Bailey and Bruno were in transit from LA, as was Chad Brown. Robert Wasmund is still iffy as to when he is arriving due to his recent calf injury. That will be assessed today. And lastly, JD, Jimmy Davidson, our leader, won't be with us till later next week due to two days on Guiding Light.
When we got to the hotel, Terry Loe, Mike Roesler and I opened all the boxes of equipment waiting for us from all our wonderful sponsors. We were like kids on Christmas. The Russell uniforms were beyond my expectations, thanks Rey Corpez. Pro Sports logos were amazing. I spent weeks trying to get the design and color right and they came out perfect-- Thanks Scott Postell! The equipment Mizuno provided was top-notched, especially the gloves, cleats and catcher's equipment- thanks Iver Maple. Clif Bar gave us an assortment of energy bars. Glaceau Vitamin Water loaded us up as well. Advil sent us large bottles of product (God knows we'll need it!). And the Schutt helmets were the coolest I've ever seen- thanks Glenn Beckmann! Lastly, starting this morning, I am putting my players on Mona Vie, the juice of life that I have been on myself for 14 days now and that Robert Palmer, my friend in Atlanta, introduced me to. It's 4:30 AM PST in the morning, I'm going on 5 hours sleep and I feel energized. I have never had so much energy, my joints have never felt better, my lungs have never been clearer since I've been on this stuff. That Acai berry has some magical powers. We'll see if it does for my players what it has for me so far.
Okay, so we look good, we're well fed and we feel good. We still have to go out there and play ball. That's always been the case. Pat Zapp has been our money pitcher all year back in Atlanta. He's won three ball games this year by 2-1, 1-0 and 1-0 scores, including 6-1 in the semis of our league playoffs. And that was without his regular catcher, Terry Loe, who was injured most of the year! Now we have Terry Loe back at almost 100% and I'm stoked to see what the end results will be.
Got my first look at Terry Gatens in 8 years and he looks and sounds just the same. Lots of wild energy and funny anecdotes. And I forgot how big his hands were when he engulfed mine during our first handshake. Legend goes Terry hit 5 home runs in one doubleheader for us back for the original Network team in 1990. Four of them in a row! True story.
Troy Startoni looks the best I've seen him in years. The last time we played in Hunstville we gave him the nickname of "pigpen" because, well, he looked like he hadn't had a shower or shave in weeks. His hair was shorter, he lost weight, he was tanned and ready to go. I'm expecting some big games from him this time around. No one has a quicker swing than Troy.
I've been playing with Josh Davis all year and tonight was the first time I noticed he had some grey in his hair. Must be because I never saw him without his hat off...LOL I expect some monster shots from him.
Can't wait to see Mike Roesler pitch for us. At 6'5" 240 he is one intimidating presence on the mound. He'll pitch the 2nd game of our Sunday doubleheader against San Diego...and hopefully, our last game next week in the championship!
The others, I'll have to wait for our team meeting this morning at 10:00 AM PST. Everyone is itching to get out there and just play. There's an exciting, nervous energy...or maybe that's me calming down from Terry Loe and I almost missing our plane last night due to Atlanta traffic. What a bad start that would have been!
Line-up is already posted in the box score! Check back either late tonight or first thing tomorrow morning!
Rick
Love Me.
Game one of Network's quest for a national championship wouldn't have won Network a local sandlot game. Everyone was so pumped up to play that we became as tight as the nooses we put around our necks afterwards. We all wanted to prove our worth to each other that I think it made us press, especially in the field. Although we were done in by our own physical errors, we were also a victim of some extremely poor umpiring including one play that I have never seen called in all my years of playing and another play that could have potentially lost one of our players who didn't know the contact rule.
Sacramento came with a strong All-Star team made up of their league players...but truthfully, the better team didn't win today. With all the mistakes we made and TWO runs taken away from us in the SAME INNING, we still only lost 8-5. That was some consolation as we try to regroup, but certainly not the position that what we wanted to put ourselves in going into today's doubleheader.
So many high expectations going in were quickly thwarted when Network made 3 errors in the 2nd inning only to make 3 more in the third and quickly fall behind 4-0. Our bats were awfully quiet to start off with as we got only one hit through the first 3 innings. Sacramento's crafty lefthander had some of our hitters off-balance to start off.
Pitching WAS NOT our problem. Pat Zapp, who went a full 7, was very sharp the whole game but was let down by routine plays in the field being tossed away and several strike calls being pinched against him. We had several pick-off plays not executed properly, potential double play balls booted, and routine throws tossed into the dirt. Jeff Wells was brilliant in his two innings of relief, even baffling several of the hitters from Sacramento who remarked that they had never seen better off-speed pitches thrown at them.
To our defense, we hit several balls hard to Sac Spike fielders that were right at them, and they made most of all their plays.
I guess our game can be defined by the two incidents in the bottom of the 5th inning. With Network down 6-3 and one out, Brien Blakely reached on an error by the Spike 3rd baseman. With myself at the plate, Brien proceeded to steal 2nd base successfully. On a 2-2 count with a brutal sun in right field and myself protecting the plate, I hit a blooper behind the 2nd and 1rst basemen into right field, the 2nd baseman went out to get the ball only to not make the play over his shoulder. As I saw him boot it slightly I decided to go to 2nd. He threw to 2nd and wasn't able to get me, however Brien, who had to hold up to see if the 2nd baseman would catch the ball, then decided to scamper home. The 2nd baseman threw home and it looked like Brien was going to score easily. Suddenly, in what became a much closer play, Brien barreled over their catcher with a crunching hit. The catcher dropped the ball and the crowd and benches exploded. Sacramento cried foul and Network seemed to be pumped up. The rule in NABA is that you MUST SLIDE into the base. Blakeley, who had only played MSBL, was confused by the rule and thought the play was legal. The umpires conferenced and soon called Blakely out the plate. Then things got even weirder...
Now there were two outs and myself on 2nd base. Pat Armstrong hit a hard, high chopper to the shortstop who was playing back. I hesitated a moment and just as the ball was going to go by me I stopped to shield the fielder who was playing back. After it went past me with strong back spin the ball took a bad hop and went over the SS shoulder. I scored easily from 2nd base and as I went into the dugout I saw several of my teammates jumping out of it. The umpire had called me out for illegally "deceiving" the fielder's ability to make the play. Yes, that's what he called. Illegally deceiving. In all my years and my players years we had never seen a worse ruling than the one he made. I mean I wasn't even within fifteen feet of the fielder when he missed the play. After several tense moments of arguing to no avail we had realized that a potential 6-5 game had remained 6-3 and that we blew a great opportunity to get back in this game.
We never got closer than that even though our bats woke up somewhat later on. Scottie Bailey was the only Network player with multiple hits on a team that should have had two digit run totals, especially against their pitching. Terry Loe, as always, was outstanding, stealing three bases, handling the pitching staff excellently, and hitting several hard hit balls that were unfortunately right at their fielders. Each one of us hit several hard hit balls that just seemed to find their fielder's gloves. And the ones that were hit to us, particularly in the infield, were booted away. Even with a change to the infield in the 5th, Network wasn't sharp all day.
Today we have a doubleheader against the hard-hitting Colorado Bulls and San Diego Cardinals. Taking at least one of these games is a must. Taking two would put us in a much better position to make the playoffs. We seemed like we had put the game beside us as we all went out to dinner and had a good time. Scottie Bailey, and our ace, Mike Roesler will pitch each game respectively today. Stay tuned...
Rick
After a dreadful debut in Game One of the NABA WS in which Network gave away a potential victory, Game Two vs. the hard hitting Colorado Bulls proved to be the remedy.
The game was close most of the way until the Network bats exploded in the eighth with the final 5 runs. It was topped off by a walk-off 3-run home run by myself (Rick Cohen) in the eighth inning to put the 10-run mercy rule into affect. Chris Bruno had a monster double and triple and he showed off his powerful swing by knocking out the Bulls catcher on a back swing in the 4th! Josh Davis had a monster triple and Mike Roesler had the longest single ever hit at Tempe Diablo-- off the wall!
The game however, was all Scottie Bailey's as he scattered 6 hits with his baffling assortment of pitches. The defense finally held up and it was the game that Network was hoping to have when they arrived in Phoenix.
Final Score
Network 12
Colorado Bulls 1
GAME THREE - A NAILBITER
Game Three was a lot more exciting and controversial than the Colorado game earlier as Network took on the undefeated San Diego Cardinals in the second of two.
To say Mike Roesler dominated and controlled the game would be an understatement. We needed every bit of his 14 K, 1 walk, 1 earned run performance. Mike was consistently hitting 86 on the Juggs Gun. Although the Network bats weren't cold, the clutch hits weren't coming and Network could never close the deal on San Diego. Again, Chris Bruno and myself (Rick Cohen) had two hits a piece.
The play of the game came in the eighth inning. After the Cardinals got three consecutive hits and closed the gap to 2-1, with two on, two outs and two strikes, a Cardinal batter swung through the pitch for strike three. The ball popped out of Scottie Baileys glove and before he could pick it to throw the batter out at first and officially end the inning the batter's bat head came around and knocked the ball away from Bailey. When the runner at third came across home plate the umpire didn't say a thing. He called a legal third strike throw-down. However he never saw the batter hit the ball away from Scottie Bailey. After deliberating for 15 minutes, the field umpire overruled the call and gave Network the final third out.
Network continues to get better in the field as we made most of our plays out there. Some key line-up changes helped out as Bob Atwater, playing a stellar centerfield, helps keep Network solidified in the outfield so that I can move into the infield.
Tomorrow we have a tough game against the 2-1 Dallas Metro Cats at Surprise Stadium, home of the Rangers. The winner clinches a playoff spot and a chance at #1-4 seed. Crafty Jeff Wells will be on the mound for us to try and baffle the hard hitting Cats. Robert Wasmund will finally make it Phoenix from Dallas after sustaining a calf injury last Wednesday night in his local league playoff game. We need every player we can get at this point because Network is extremely banged up. Startoni and Blakely have leg injuries, Gatens has a bad wrist injury (tendon) and the rest of the team has aches and pains all over including Terry Loe's blackened big toes! Hopefully we can put it all together tomorrow and reach 3-1. Stay tuned....
Rick
The game
Well, that's more like it. Network put the hammer down on the ex-2-1 Dallas Metro Cats (that gave the undefeated Spikes a run for their money) whipping them 14-4. Network knocked out 19 hits and made several great defensive plays to keep the game close before the explosion. Jeff Wells gutted out 7 innings to get the win and the game ended in the dreaded "mercy" rule.
Network has clinched a playoff berth and with a win tomorrow against the Denver Grizzlies can secure no less than a 1,2 or 3 seed in the 8 team playoffs. Chad Brown will take the mound tomorrow and try to keep the lowest runs allowed in the tournament in Network's favor.
On a great note, power hitting 1B Robert Wasmund has recovered from his calf injury and has arrived from Dallas to help the aching Network troops both defensively and offensively. Robert has played with several Network players in California and is maybe one of the best opposite field gap hitters in his local league. Welcome Robert!
Look for my next blog for playoff seeding!
Rick
Dad
I hope you received my offline comments - make sure the on-deck batter is coaching home plate for runners coming in. Hope you kept it low today!
Your passion and enthusiasm is felt by all throughout this site. Thanks for sharing, good luck in the play-offs
Look forward to joining you one day soon.
Ronny (AG's bro)
It's play-off time here in Phoenix and the Network storms into the round with 4 wins in a row. Last game, against a depleted Denver Grizzlies team and pitching staff, Network romped 18-3. It conceivably was a throw-away game for Network as they had already clinched the #3 seed overall in the tournament. Denver had very little left after losing 6 of their players to injury, family commitments, etc. All the Network players got to bat (except Pat Zapp who chose to do business all day!) and the team chemistry has really seemed to come together.
We have a tough Quarterfinal Game against the Atlanta All-Stars at 12:00 PST in Tempe Diablo Stadium. Although they carry the name Atlanta, they are conceivably an All-Star team from around the country that was put together by ONE manager from Atlanta. What a joke...but the team is not. They finished 4-1 as well. There were THREE TEAMS that finished 4-1 and ONE 5-0 which will make for a very competitive playoff.
WHEN we win, the 2nd game comes an hour later in the auxiliary fields at Tempe Diablo. We have our pitching staff all set up for the playoffs. We have positioned the players perfectly and reiterated their roles on the tea,. Everyone truly believes we can go all the way. That's all you need.
Pitching rotation
QF-SCOTTIE BAILEY
SF-PAT ZAPP
F-MIKE ROESLER
Yours truly,
Rick
Love,
Your biggest fan.
Kick some ass!!!!! Remember me !!! It's Dennis Tirado's daughter, Veronica. I met you in Florida and helped you tape a little!!!! Keep it up...the website looks amazing!!
NETWORK 9
ATLANTA ALL-STARS 7
Nip and tuck is a good way to describe the pace of this game. Each team chipped away at each other, getting key hits and timely base running successes and blunders.
Scottie Bailey started for Network on only two days rest and fortunately he gutted out three innings before Network had to go back to their ace, Mike Roesler. Once Network tied the game with big Mike on the mound we thought the game was in the bag only to realize that we're in the world series, and every team can hit. Network found themselves down 5-3 until a huge 7th inning had them scoring 6 runs, all with two out!
It seemed the game was in the bag but in the eighth Atlanta loaded the bases with no out and a 9-6 deficit. A ground ball to 2nd was booted slightly but Josh Davis picked up the errant ball and threw home to catch the runner trying to score. Then Chris Bruno started a double play to end the inning. Mike Roesler went 1,2,3 in the ninth and Network closed it out. Me, Terry Loe and Josh Davis each had 2 hits and Robert Wasmund hit a huge double off the 420 foot dead centerfield wall.
NETWORK 8
DENVER BEARS 10
With Network only having 50 minutes to get ready for their game and Denver having 4 hours, Network was slow start as was the case throughout the tournament. Falling behind 4-2, 6-3 and 7-4, Network was sparked by Josh Davis's inside-the-park home run. From there, Network tied the game and the momentum seemed to swing towards them at 7-7.
Denver knocked starter Pat Zapp out of the game the next inning and we brought in Mike Roesler to stop the bleeding. At 9-7, Network squeaked across another run in the eighth to close to 9-8 only to see Denver come back and make it 10-8. In the ninth, after a ground out by Chad Brown and a hard liner off the bat of Brien Blakely caught, we were down to our last out. Pat Armstrong had an awesome at bat fouling off several pitches until he earned a walk. Troy Startoni hit several hard foul balls until striking out on a 3-2 pitch to end the game. Ironically, I was on deck as the winning run in a 10-8 loss, the same scenario two years ago in the 28R championship game and the same thing happened.
My thoughts on the tournament coming.
Remarkable. That's about the best word I can describe the whole experience of our week in Phoenix as the National Network team and as friends coming together again and playing baseball with each other after so many years apart. And although we were bummed about bowing out in the semis and falling short of our goal, the wins and loses were secondary to the life lessons we all learned while basically "living" with each other for a whole week.
To say we gelled as a team is an understatement. I have never seen such support, such love for teammates, such genuine compassion and trust as I have on the Network. That's what it's all about, gentlemen. That's what I set out to do when I decided to tell this story and bring us all together. Nothing was set-up or fabricated. The stories, the feelings, the emotions, the attitudes were all organic. In other words, they came out because they were compelled to come out.
Now that we have again touched each other's lives I believe we will continue to do so, to stay together, not just as a team, but as friends. Great friends. We all have our crosses to bear in life, so to speak. And to carry that cross alone is a difficult burden on any human being. Network was created to help those that need help the most. There will always be a shoulder to cry on, always be a hand to shake, always be an ear to lend.
If we take anything away from this weekend, fellas, it's that you can't have enough great friends in life. And the ones that you have, try to hold them close/dear to your heart...because without your friends, we walk this earth with a hallow heart. It's all about heart, gentlemen. It always has been. Down in the trenches, who can suck it up, who will be there for you, who can you count on.
If you all wanted to grant me one wish from this experience it would be to hold you all to the Network mantra -
"I will never turn away a friend who needs five minutes of my time. I will never turn away a friend who needs me to be there for him emotionally. I will never turn away a friend who needs to hear the three words we all need to hear each day-- "It's all good."
When you're down, and you have your family and your health, think about those words. Say them to yourself. Then pick up a phone and call anyone on the Network and let them know you just needed to hear a friendly voice. I guarantee they won't tell you they're too busy. I'll guarantee they won't turn you away.
In conclusion, I hope that I can do you all justice by honoring us in this film. It will take complete cooperation from all of you to make this film a success. LA guys, I plan on coming out there this month or next to finish the individual story lines so please make yourself available to me however possible. Those that have supplied me with footage, pictures, etc. It is much appreciated. Please feel free, as some of you already have, to either write me your feelings/sentiments or, preferably, to blog them on the site (www.endorphinentertainment.com) for the world to read.
Again, God bless you all and thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Your Manager-- Rick Cohen
Hi Rick,
Thanks for the picture and again for the opportunity to be a part of the team. I greatly enjoyed getting to know the new guys who became my teammates and it was a pleasure to see all of the guys from last year. As you know, I believe everything happens for a reason and whatever part I am to play in the other guys' lives or whatever part they might play in mine - I look forward to seeing how God will work.
The most important question that we all have to ask and find the answer to----? It is not so much, what we do here, but Who we know. What do I believe, what do you believe to be the truth about life (and death)? On what do we base that belief?
Thought I would leave you with something deep to ponder:-)
I look forward to spending more time with you in a few weeks.
Take care and God bless - I hope you and Gina had a great and meaningful trip to Sodona.
tloe
Did you use the word mantra? Now I know I am rubbing off on you. You said
everything I would say, except you used better grammar. All kidding aside,
it was a blast. I hope we get together again next year. I am already
planning it.
Tremendous work on this site...it really is more than a baseball team...its a family! I hope you don't mind, but I posted my Parkinson's website on this blog...Thanks for the help...Let's hit a homerun in finding a cure for Parkinson's!
http://www.firstgiving.com/dariensmith
KEEP THE FAITH
DARIEN
It's too quiet here on Clearwater Beach without you guys. It was a pleasure being able to spend time with the team this year, and it was an honor being at the game for the big win!
Hurry back for your repeat next year!