For our SPECIAL CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION Report, click here.

GO WILDCATS!

Just in case any hardened Waverley baseball fans were in need of another stark reminder, the events at Melbourne Ballpark late yesterday afternoon were to confirm that in baseball it never, never, never, (had enough?) never ever pays to get too far ahead of yourself... amen!!

There we were about to start the top of the eighth inning and the hearty contingent of travelling Wildcats' supporters was in high spirits, maybe just allowing ourselves to imagine the next chance of glory that would surely await us at the same venue in a couple of weekends time. Our pitching ace Donavon 'Drysdale' Hendricks was warming up in relief of Ryan Fisher to deliver the final six Essendon outs and to screw the lid firmly closed on a tremendous 8-0 advantage that had been earned by our relentless offence. 

We could hardly have imagined the drama that would unfold when young 'Donnie' found that he had brought the wrong currency to the diamond on this occasion and he simply could not buy a strike. There was simply no place for our young Claxton Shield and AROOS' star to hide out in the middle of the MBP infield and it was to be a horribly lonely place for Hendricks. Nothing he tried seemed to work and he was obviously troubled by his unstable footing on the pitching mound. In fact Donavon may have been a victim of his own preference to pitch from the extreme left side of the rubber and his plant foot was consistently landing in a loose dusty patch.

Whatever the cause, the call of "BALL" from the blameless plate umpire was becoming agonisingly repetitive for both Hendricks and the increasingly restless Waverley fans in the grandstand. The "walkathon" of Essendon batters was only briefly paused when one impatient Bomber batter struck out, but this was only a momentary respite as the torrent of balls and walks continued unabated. With a couple of runs walked across the plate, and plenty of free passes keeping the bases juiced, it was only as matter of time before a couple of hits finally followed. The relative comfort of an unassailable 8-0 shutout had shrunk to a fairly nervous 8-6 lead with only one out and the tying run coming to the plate in the eighth stanza.

That would bring perplexed manager David White onto the diamond, not for the first time in the inning, but this time he was also to bring a merciful end to the torture for Hendricks on this day. Knowing Donavon as we do, he'd be the last guy wanting anyone to look for excuses or to provide any sugar coating on what was quite obviously another bitter experience for him at Altona. What we can say on the positive side is that this effort was completely out of context with what we have seen more regularly from our young star this summer and we still have plenty of faith in his ability to gain redemption in a couple of weeks time! We're still firmly behind you 'Donnie'.

You would rarely hear anyone at Waverley express relief about one of our senior teams being eliminated from the finals, but this time there was reason for us to be thankful that our SECONDS have had their season cut short. This became evident when we found the TWO's designated starting pitcher for the finals 'Tommy John' Rynberk available to come to the rescue of the FIRSTS in the same manner as he has as a starter in Division One so often this season. 

If Tommy was in any way nervous about accepting the responsibility of stopping the bleeding for his club, then he didn't show it. Not too many pitches later Rynberk had skilfully applied the tourniquet and the colour was returning to some of the paling faces in the Wildcats' camp. He used his canny off-speed and breaking pitches to snuff out the eighth and then to complete the task for the Wildcats in the ninth in another amazing display of poise under pressure. 

Of course it should not have surprised anyone who is a student of recent Waverley history that Tommy Rynberk would be the man for the big occasion. You don't have to wind the clock back too far to remember what an outstanding finals performer he was as a teenaged outfielder and clutch hitter in David Clarkson's finals teams. Moreover, pitching wise, this is only an extension of the really remarkable efforts that he has consistently produced for the Wildcats at the highest level this season... 'TR' was great again folks!! 

It really is quite unfair of me to take so long to mention the young guy who set the entire scene for Waverley's victory, the ever more impressive 'Nolan Ryan' Fisher who also did exactly what he has been doing all season as the Wildcats' regular No.1 starter. It is just like reporting every other game I have seen Fisher start this year... very tidy, very efficient and extremely effective. 

He gives up the occasional hit, doesn't walk many, keeps the ball down in "groundball territory" and changes speeds... it sometimes looks too simple, but the consistent execution of his skills and his solid temperament have been the hallmarks to the outstanding success of our left-hander Ryan Fisher this summer. The very fact that 'Fish' posted seven scoreless innings against the hard hitting Bombers is sufficient testimony!

Offensively, it took our men a little while to break down the typically high-quality pitching of the Essendon skipper and seasoned Claxton Shield star Russell Spear who is a tough hombre on any occasion and, the bigger the occasion, the tougher he becomes. The man to get the offensive action cranked up for Waverley again yesterday was Grant 'Carter' Karlsen whose thumping leadoff double to right field in the second inning was the impressive and invaluable ice breaker. 

Yet again no less than seven Waverley players contributed to our eight safe hits for the game, with only the redoubtable Danny 'Rambo' Reeman doubling-up with two knocks for the game. 'Reemo' is certainly making sure that he doesn't let injured team mate 'Chipper' Maurer down as a terrific replacement at first base. But, then again, when would Dan Reeman ever let the Waverley Baseball Club down as the man that will play just about any position at any time... what a clubman he is!

The rampaging 'Rusty' Russell had the other hefty blow of the game with his ringing double, while our sublime short stop 'Jimbo' Beresford once again demonstrated his growing maturity with the timber when he struck the vital bases loaded RBI blow at the most important time for the team. Although some of our "usual suspects" Geduld, Hodges and Reinke were the other Waverley hitters in this game, it has to be said that our boys hit a lot of balls hard and this surely was at least a partial contributor to the four errors attributed against the Essendon defence.

Our own defence was its usual unflustered and often brilliant self with yet another clean sheet from the most important game we have played so far this season. Make no mistake, it all starts with quality pitching, but Ryan Fisher and company know very well how important our superb defence has been to assist their cause all season... it's a genuine pleasure to watch fellas!

OK fellow Waverley devotees, I'm not going to insult anyone's intelligence by attempting to skirt around the obvious... and this is that we all know only too well that we have been in this very same position on many occasions since our last Championship success. We also know only too well that this position does not guarantee our possession of the ultimate prize on the night of Saturday 24th March. But folks, it would be equally ridiculous to overlook the positive aspect and that is the question of where else you would prefer to be at this stage of the campaign?             

With due respect to all of our opponents, and especially those who are still in the hunt for the 2006/07 Championship, namely Essendon and Blackburn, why would you even want to consider risking a cut-throat preliminary final game against either of those teams next weekend? Nope, our team have again positioned themselves perfectly to give us the inside running at the title and, based on our clear three-win advantage on the Div One table, we should have every reason to be confident and to fear nobody. We know that we will face a quality opponent whoever we meet in the Grand Final but, as manager David White would also interject at this time... "SO DO THEY"! There is only one thing left to say... GO WILDCATS!!... it must be our time!

Unless I need to contact Hewlett-Packard for a new calculator, our Waverley Wildcats have just clinched our second successive CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP... and while we may not be overly excited about this in the context of our desire for the Division One Premiership, it still probably remains the ultimate prize for CLUB supremacy in Victorian Baseball. And, while the Premiership continues to be decided on such a small sample of games, it should be the best indicator of dominance. 

At the time of writing I am assuming that our rivals at Blackburn are likely winners against Sandringham and, in this case, we will also pay tribute to them for ending the season on equal points for the Club Championship. Without abject bias, I do believe that WAVERLEY richly deserves the big prize for their clear domination of the FIRSTS table, but we can be objective enough to accept the ascendancy of both Blackburn and Geelong in the other grades.

So, moving on to the decisive game today and, let me tell you folks, it was far from plain sailing at beautiful, beaming Bonbeach today. Thankfully there was no sign of thermometers to test the "heat of the moment" because it must have been somewhat close to the 38deg Celsius in the savage sunshine that always seems to be in endless supply down near the sandbelt. Neither team would have liked the game postponed... well, perhaps my fellow Waverley supporters may have differed when our Wildcats were trailing 0-4, and then 2-5... it didn't look good at all!

There were far too many stories to tell from today's contest to do it in normal prose, so I will resort to the modern world of technical writing with the following "bullet points":

• Well done Donnie Hendricks to soldier on under difficult conditions and, while this is an "umpire free zone", I don't expect to see any of them at his 21st birthday party tonight!
• GREAT job by Anthony 'Rolen' Reinke to get the ball rolling for Waverley with his leadoff hit in the seventh that he turned into our first run on the scoreboard... the ICE BREAKER!
• Superb relief work from 'Steve Carlton' Hood who picked up the win when all looked lost for Waverley today, even after battling out of a seventh inning jam... he was HUGE!
• I did suggest that Jarrod Hodges was going to explode sometime soon and, while he still has much more to come, he was THE MAN with his bases clearing three-run shot that put our Wildcats ahead in the game for the first time... loved it 'Hodgo'!
• What more can you say that hasn't already been said about Andrew Russell this year? This guy is simply hitting everything like he has some sort of hatred for baseball manufacturers! 'Rusty's' first at bat resulted in a MONSTER home run, if only the baseball diamond had been three dimensional and if they counted pop-ups that went 600ft into the stratosphere. Then, with a little encouragement, or was that sibling slanging, from his brother Michael (fresh off the navy ship Newcastle) that he hadn't delivered a hit from a couple of plate appearances, Andrew simply went about raking three hits for the rest of the game, including a spanking RBI triple to the most remote part of the Thames Boulevard venue... ho hum!
• A special mention for two of the most up-beat and popular men EVER to pull on the famous Waverley uniform in Chris 'Chipper' Maurer and Danny 'Rambo' Reeman. I really hope that Chipper's leg injury is not as bad is it seems after he literally gave his own safety for the Wildcats today with a courageous hit and ill-fated slide into second base... then he literally clawed his way along the ground to make third base on the next play... GO Chip!
• Replacing Chipper was the ever intense and loyal Daniel Reeman who provided a terrific lesson to all bench players about how to keep their heads in the game. 'Reemo' sent a very positive message to the selectors that he has plenty to offer with a couple of safe hits that really mattered a HEAP to the ball club... we would not have won the game without him!
• Congratulations to Glen Mascoll and Ian Geduld for also having two-hit games among the NINE Waverley batters who produced safe hits for the team... they were all important.
• I haven't seen the stats sheet yet, but I'm confident enough to say from memory that ALL of the other Wildcats not mentioned contributed something important to an exciting victory! 

It will never sound accurate to try to describe the roller-coaster of emotions endured by Waverley fans today. Let's be honest, for most of it we had the undeniable feeling that it was never going to be "our day" for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, the Blue Jays' impressive young starter Brendan Wilson seemed to secure two outs in every Waverley batting inning with a blinking of an eye and, while we had a mob of runners left on base, it always seemed to start with two outs!! 

Then, when Bonbeach finally got the scoreboard moving, they really looked like the team of destiny with a big four-run inning that certainly felt like a Mount Everest climb for Waverley at the time. Baseball, as we know, can be a strange game and, OK I'm going to repeat it, the momentum seemed to change when Anthony Reinke, who has been struggling a little offensively, chose a very good time to be the sparkplug for a tremendous Waverley comeback... it's a team game!!

I've already mentioned the important contributions of ALL those very fine individuals who are privileged to wear the RED, or lately WHITE, shirt that represents the proud traditions of the Waverley Baseball Club! Our 22-5 record at the highest level in Australia's champion state competition for 2006/07 is certainly nothing to be sneezed at and, amazingly, it surpasses the 19-6 (plus two draws) record that our dominating team posted last season!

Our sincere thanks and congratulations to our duo of SENIOR Head Coaches David White and Scott Dawes who have played such a huge role in bringing successive CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS to the Waverley Baseball Club! Although we all know that we are still seeking another big prize, there is not much more that they could have done in their two seasons at Napier Park.

I don't need to witness the finals to know in my mind who are the PREMIER team this season, but I sincerely hope that those unpredictable baseball gods don't intervene again to overturn what has been achieved in TWENTY-SEVEN games over the space of only nine innings... GO WILDCATS!

It was certainly a fair bit cooler tonight than the last time we arrived at Sunshine for this Division One fixture last Sunday-week but, on the other hand, it was definitely one of the warmer and more pleasant evenings for baseball at Melbourne Ballpark tonight. In opposing dugouts were, in the red corner, our high-rolling Waverley Wildcats, who are driving towards another Club Championship, and, in the blue corner, those underrated Sunshine Eagles who still needed to make sure of their Division One status. 

At the conclusion of the mandatory nine innings, you could be excused for assuming that Waverley had romped to another comfortable 8-0 victory but, let me assure you, the Eagles did not go quietly and you would be taking credit away from the quality of our Wildcats' performance if you underestimate the fighting spirit of those Sunshine men who never stopped trying to get their teeth into the game. 

It might sound a fraction arrogant, but nonetheless true, to say that our Waverley team are making the complex game of baseball look simple just at the moment by doing all the fundamental things quite brilliantly. Let's start with those age old baseball blood-brothers named "pitching and defence". 

It would be very difficult to imagine a more competent and settled defence than that which Waverley sends out onto the diamond lately. It starts with Karlsen as backstop, circled by (from left to right) Reinke at third, Beresford at short, Mascoll at second and Maurer or Reeman at first... this is an infield defensive barrier that must look like the Great Wall of China to opposing teams.

And, if you think that there may be a hole to be found in the outfield, forget it, our Wildcats boast an outfield that would certainly be among the best at Claxton Shield level with Geduld, Hodges and Russell often making the task look a lot easier than it actually is. These guys can track hard-hit balls with the best of them, but they also have the admirable ability to seemingly position themselves perfectly for each hitter. 

Yes folks, if I was blessed to be good enough to pitch with these fellows behind me I'd be quite delighted, but then even the very best defence cannot compensate for sub-standard pitching. Thankfully for Waverley supporters, this has hardly been in question this year with the outstanding young arms of Fisher, Hendricks, Rynberk and Hood each doing the business on the mound with tremendous efficiency. 

Even though they have faced some of the strongest hitters in Victorian baseball lately, our bullpen crew are now protecting twenty-plus consecutive scoreless innings in Divvy One baseball and they have done this in the most economical and unpretentious way. It was the turn of 'Nolan Ryan' Fisher and 'Steve Carlton' Hood to put up another nine goose eggs on the Altona scoreboard tonight... well, we can imagine what it used to look like when they had it working... you just can't have everything I suppose!

Our starter Ryan Fisher simply continues to build upon a season that has seen him graduate from a promising junior utility / pitcher to a young left-handed pitcher who could go a very long way. Ryan is probably headed for the US college system next year but, if he was to be available, he could not be overlooked for a job with the Victorian Aces if he maintained this type of form. Not only does Ryan keep the ball down consistently, but his deceptive off-speed strikeout pitch is a really devastating weapon. Tonight he posted seven big KKKKKKK's over five innings!

Slinging in from the opposite side is ace right-hand reliever Stevie Hood who appears to be getting sharper and nastier as the season draws towards the pointy end. The even-tempered 'Hoody' has proven what a tough competitor he is by bouncing back hard from a couple of outings where he paid a hefty price from leaving the ball up in the zone. It is a real tribute to his determination and resilience that he is now reaping the benefit from working hard to get better... he might well be thinking that the harder you work the luckier you get!

Of course, no matter how strong you are in pitching and defence, you can't ever have a reasonably comfortable win in any baseball game unless you score at least a handful of runs... and this is never as easy as it sounds! For the umpteenth time this season Waverley fans would leave this game with the satisfaction of knowing that we had a number of terrific contributors to an overall impressive batting artillery. It doesn't seem to matter what part of the batting order is coming up in each inning, there is a genuine feeling of belief that we can score runs at any time... this makes baseball a lot of fun!

While we have had plenty of balanced offence this season, there is still quite a familiar ring to the names of the most productive hitters lately. 'Rusty' Russell finally took a breather from dominating the offensive text last week, but he was back in the thick of it in this game with one of his two hits thrashed for a triple to right field. Grant 'Varitek' Karlsen has become the "common denominator" lately and I can't remember the last time he wasn't in the offensive headlines... he smacked another 2-4 in this game, including a booming double to the base of the left-centrefield fence. 

The other young chap who keeps getting the job done in a most effective manner is none other than 'Jimmy B', James Beresford, who continues to make it apparent that Minnesota Twins' scout Howie Norsetter has spent the club's money very wisely. 'Jimbo' slashed a couple more doubles to add to his blossoming statistics this year. People who have followed James' career would not need further convincing that whoever got his coveted signature would have a bargain... at any price!

You don't have to be a student of baseball hitting to detect that Jarrod 'Hammer' Hodges has found that familiar groove for his swing and, as he always has, he can make hitting a baseball look like it happens in slow-motion with a minimum of sound coming from his wooden bat. 'Hodgo' delivered one clean hit and another that would have cleared many outfield fences in this league, only to be caught BRILLIANTLY by Sunshine's impressive centre fielder. You can sense that he is on the verge of really doing some major damage soon... don't forget to duck!!

Fresh from his magnificent triumph with the Victorian Aces at Claxton Shield 2007 in Perth, coach David White has a unique way of simplifying our game when he commented after tonight's win "if you stop the other team from scoring and then you score lots of runs, it's a good way to win baseball games!"... fair enough Whitey! Co-coach Scott Dawes never uses that many words when he commented "I like the way we are playing!"... both coaches were at pains to emphasise that the ultimate job has not been done yet!

Off we go to Bonbeach for our 2:00PM Saturday, 3 March game to conclude the regular season for 2007. I believe that our beloved Waverley Wildcats will secure our second successive Baseball Victoria Club Championship if we can get past the Blue Jays, but the home team might well be playing for their future in Div 1... clearly there is plenty at stake so please don't dare to miss it!

WAVERLEY WILDCATS BLANK BLACKBURN 3-0!
Sunday, 25 FEB 2007 

Fair dinkum, and here I was thinking that I could always retreat to the world of baseball as the last bastion of the rough, tough "alpha male". Where tough talking, hard drinking, tobacco chewing guys could get together and blow off some surplus testosterone... OOPS! sorry, that was the start of last week's report inadvertently re-copied... you didn't honestly think that I would be crazy enough to risk criticising the occasion of LADIES DAY at Waverley Baseball Club did you? 

As a matter of fact, I don't think that it hurts to have a bit of "feminine culture" about the place occasionally and it certainly wouldn't hurt those ever strained financial coffers with mega-litres of profit inducing bubbly passing across the club bar in volumes not seen at other times! It only served to add to the pretty pleasant atmosphere in the clubhouse for our last regular home game of the season and the weather gods were also very kind with superb warm and sunny conditions.

Arriving at Napier Park would be our well-respected and ever-competitive local rivals from nearby Blackburn and we always knew that a challenging contest was most likely in both the SECONDS and FIRSTS games. If you like tight, hard-fought pitching dominated baseball battles like I do, then you were in for a veritable FEAST on this particular Sunday afternoon at Waverley! 

It is not usual to mention our SECONDS in these reports, but on this occasion it is a MUST in the context of the entire afternoon. Not only was this young Waverley team battling for their finals future against the higher-positioned Orioles' Twos, but it would also need to be included as part of a wonderful SHUTOUT afternoon for Waverley pitchers who amazingly "blanked" the two very strong hitting Blackburn teams who visited us for the day.

I won't go on too long about the SECONDS guys, but they were fantastic in this game as they have been gradually improving over the season and they could be a serious threat to other teams now that they have secured a finals berth. Helping to ensure the icing on a very good season for this team was regular FIRSTS pitcher 'Tommy John' Rynberk who simply continues to stagger everyone at Waverley with the consistent, eye-catching quality of his pitching. Not only did he pitch a marvellous three-hit shutout in this game, but he also out duelled Blackburn's highly rated John Hussey who is heading back to his life as a professional pitcher with the San Diego Padres! 

With Tommy setting the standard for the day, he was definitely not let down by the increasingly impressive pitching of our young lefty duo of Donavon 'Drysdale' Hendricks and 'Nolan Ryan' Fisher who combined for a superb four-hit shutout in the big game. After cranking it up at the Claxton Shield, Donnie Hendricks is obviously more than ready to share the starting duties with Fisher and Rynberk in the run home this year and it is a great luxury for the club to be able to "mix and match" with these guys during our fast approaching finals campaign.

To my eye, Hendricks is possibly in career best form right at the moment and it is obvious that he is driven by the fierce determination to re-establish himself as a professional baseballer... the dominant variety and control he has demonstrated since Christmas must hold him in good stead! There is not much left to say about Fisher who has been a stunning success as a starter this season and in this game he was equally as good with 2.2 innings of most efficient relief. Once again the Orioles were also well served by another Claxton Shield pitching ace Cameron Hardy who, as usual, didn't do too much wrong and he was very difficult to get the better of.

On the majority of occasions you would expect Hendricks to be the MVP and you wouldn't get much argument from me, but in such a low-scoring affair the headline grabber was popular infielder Glenn 'Ferret' Mascoll whose crushing two-run home run bomb over left field supplied two of the three total runs for the game and it was the decisive game-breaker. I have spoken often about the unselfish loyalty of players like Mascoll and it is always GREAT to see these guys enjoy a moment or two in the spotlight for their tremendous service to the club. 

One young bloke who is destined to see plenty more moments in the baseball spotlight is 'Ozzie James' Beresford. 'Jimmy' is really finding his confidence as a hitter in this league since putting his 2006 scholastics behind him and, while he will surely get stronger, he doesn't need to get too much better offensively than he is right now! Beresford's 3-4 with a slashing double in this game would have him joining the long queue for MVP honours too! His steadily rising .314 average would also bring him a degree of satisfaction before he heads off later to take on the US pros!

This may be a convenient excuse for me to mention and officially congratulate Waverley club legend Matthew Sheldon-Collins on his recent induction into the Baseball Australia Hall-of-Fame. You don't have to be too old to remember 'Matty' as the master of all Australian short stops during his glittering career with the Waverly Wildcats and REDS (with apologies to Upwey FTG). It would be sufficient to say that if Matthew was impressed with James Beresford's work at short stop during this game as he was in passing discussions with me, then the boy is doing OK!

To take advantage of another obvious journalistic opportunity, and before I neglect to mention the patriarch of the Sheldon-Collins family, we must not overlook the welcome return of another Waverley Life Member Keith Sheldon-Collins who was back behind the microphone at Napier Park for this game like nothing had happened to him. In this case, I need to let you know that Keith suffered an horrific fall on a tiled staircase over the Christmas period in Adelaide and, with a very serious skull fracture thankfully behind him, we are blessed to still have him with us! It is a good time to remind us all how fortunate we are to have people like Keith at Waverley Baseball Club.  

It never gets boring to mention the burgeoning form of our young catcher Grant Karlsen who banged two more solid hits in this game to compliment his quite outstanding defence that saw him handle a shutout from behind the dish in his usual no-nonsense way. My old (OK, enough of the old!) friend Peter 'Redcat' Wood couldn't hide his excitement with the news that Grant owns a quite brilliant 1.000 defensive record this season from doing the most difficult job in baseball!!

The other multi-hit man in this game was none other than Jarrod 'Hammer' Hodges who is starting to look more like his "old self" since resuming his rightful place at centrefield. You don't have to own a sports science degree to know that it will be VERY good news for our Wildcats if this fellow can take some of his best form and confidence into the finals. He doesn't seem to have the pressure of needing to carry the Waverley offence this season, but you can bet that his big bat will be required when the opposition pitching is at its toughest during the finals.

So folks, it is always welcome and important to overcome one of our key rivals on the eve of the finals, but we will not need to be reminded that it is only one game... nothing more than that. We have recorded a good victory in this battle, but the ultimate war lies ahead and, I fancy, we will need to deal with Lee Hogan's Blackburn Orioles again before we can claim any of the spoils! 

Let's enjoy this one for a day or two, then move on quickly to our make-up date with the dangerous Sunshine Eagles at Melbourne Ballpark this Thursday night at 7:00PM. I reckon the Sunshine Baseball Club ought to shout the Waverley supporters a beer or two after we turned their clubhouse into Fort Knox the previous Sunday... thanks again for the hospitality chaps!

MELBOURNE TOO HOT FOR WAVERLEY, OR SUNSHINE!
Sunday, 18 FEB 2007

NB: I would ask anyone who may be over-sensitive to writing that is clearly "tongue in cheek" to be warned that the following game report is ENTIRELY meant as a source of entertainment and amusement for readers, in the unfortunate absence of a baseball report on a game that didn't happen. If you do choose to read on, then please make sure that you get to the end of the report so that you can be assured that there is no obtuse "political agenda" intended.

Fair dinkum, and here I was thinking that I could always retreat to the world of baseball as the last bastion of the rough, tough "alpha male". Where tough talking, hard drinking, tobacco chewing guys could get together and blow off some surplus testosterone... but, NO, I'm sorry to report that our beloved game of baseball has been dragged into the modern world of political correctness and its accompanied over-exuberance on the issue of occupational health and safety!! 

There we were, the usual hearty throng of faithful Waverley supporters, with a nicely presented suburban baseball diamond, a couple of stalwart umpires and two teams of well prepared players... the only thing we didn't have was a game of baseball for entertainment! Apparently someone in recent history has decided that there is a temperature above which it is no longer physically safe to play our favourite sport. Just imagine our barefoot forefathers chasing animals with a spear across the burning plains draped in a loin cloth while the planet earth was still erupting with molten lava at every turn? And, in case I blinked when it happened and missed it, could someone remind me when we did have any ill-health issues related to playing baseball in hot conditions... I wonder how on earth baseball (or any other summer sports) got on without notable incident for so many decades?... or is this all about the recent effects of global warming?

OK, I'll admit it, it was pretty hot yesterday... Oh, alright then, it was very hot... YES, yes, I give up, it was hellishly hot... well, for Melbourne anyway!? Yes folks, some of us were fortunate enough to be in Perth for the 2007 Claxton Shield at the end of January and, trust me, this put an entirely different emphasis on the word HOT, especially in the searing sunlight... they don't seem to have clouds over there, or anywhere else to hide from those penetrating rays for that matter! That often mentioned hole in our planet's ozone layer must surely be centred over Perth, WA!

With not the slightest suggestion of any games being postponed, I happened to mention to a gathering of local Perth baseball fans that we would not be playing these games in Melbourne because of our baseball "heat policy"... next thing I was helping the guys pick themselves up from the ground while they were laughing in hysterics. Well, you know what other Australian states think about Melbourne's infamous weather... "What, does it sometimes get too cold and miserable to play in your summer time?" one wag chuckled. When I reassured them that some feel that it gets too hot for both juniors and seniors at different temperatures, the quizzical crew got serious for a moment and noted that they would rarely ever play baseball in Perth's summer... or spring!?

Anyway, I digress... so there we were, stationed within the Sunshine Eagles' most pleasant clubrooms where the air conditioning was working beautifully and the bar takings have never been so good for the Sunshine club. Let's just say that a lot of Waverley's currency had found itself reinvested across to the other side of the Westgate Bridge... the local economy in the western suburbs was booming! Waverley fans tried to replace the absence of a game with re-run stories of bygone games and players that seem to be bigger and better than they probably were at the time!? Even Geelong's outstanding "microphone man" Allan Ricketts had turned up out of the blue hoping to see some baseball... at least he got to catch up with a few old mates... good on you Al!

It didn't escape the irony of those in attendance that we were watching a live game of cricket on TV involving some geriatric players and so-called celebrities in the "Shane Warne Charity Game"... and where were these guys playing?... yep, you guessed it, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, just a few Andrew Russell (or Mathew Kent) hits away to the east! Apparently it was not too hot for those semi-serious dudes to scamper about for a few hours without the benefit of a change of innings every 15 or 20 minutes. But not our precious and pampered baseballers... oh no, they are so scared of the ultra-violet exposure that they even send the poor old umpires out every half-hour or so to see if the temperature was falling... not one of them was willing to escort the umps outside, or even to move for that matter... it was a pitiful sight!

Crikey, back in our day (for all the supporters and fathers), there was no such thing as using sun screen, wearing hats or re-hydration... it was just "get back out there son" and, if you happen to lose too much sweat, maybe the odd salt tablet to keep you from passing out! These were the tougher and more enlightened times of athlete management... not the soft pussy-footing and molly-coddling these youngsters are spoiled with these days... what is the world coming to?

The time seemed to pass quite quickly, for those who were socialising, and not so quickly for those forced to wait to see if the game would be played (read umpires, players and coaches). Following the umpire's final inspection, mercifully, the school bell rang and the anxious pupils hardly hesitated to pack their bags and race to the school gate. Suddenly, it seemed, there was no fear of the sun or the heat... each and every one of them dashed energetically for the comfort of their vehicles to be first off the starting grid and they wasted no time in hitting the road!

Of course, it must be said, that all of these most worthy views are somewhat tainted by the fact that I support, spectate and write about the game of baseball... I don't actually PLAY IT!... and I'm not sure that I would really want to in that heat!! If you keep that fairly significant perspective in mind, then you will understand what direction I am coming from... it is simply a fun debate!

As we were departing for the long journey home, bereft of our weekly baseball "fix", I passed a couple of young girls playing hopscotch on the footpath outside the baseball club... when I enquired sympathetically "Aren't you girls hot out here?", one of them replied "Yes, but we'd rather be out here playing than being bored inside!"... we knew how they felt!! 

We guess that this fixture will have to be re-scheduled sometime, just so long as it's not a bit too cool, or windy, or hot or if it's somebody's aunt's birthday or something equally important... c'mon it's time to "lighten up"... I'm just kidding, it's too hot to be too serious! 

Unless this happens during this week, we will be thirsting for baseball next Sunday at Napier Park when our respected local rivals from Blackburn pay us a visit in an important pre-finals contest. It will be our annual LADIES DAY at the Waverley Baseball Club, so boys you'd better leave all of that aforementioned excess testosterone at home!!

WILDCATS SAY SAYONARA TO SANDY'S SAUNDERS 7-1!
Sunday, 11 FEB 2007

Baseball is a game that has always been full of surprises and one of the reasons that we love the game so much is that, no matter how many games you watch, you will often see something different and exciting. Early morning rain storms initially threatened to make it a miserable day for baseball, if there was to be any, but these soon passed as the day turned into another bright and sunny offering from marvellous Melbourne! Only some strong wind gusts that relocated plenty of dust from our infield basepaths made life a little uncomfortable for the players.

My day started at Malvern where Waverley's Under 18 Cougars produced the rare event of a "NO-HITTER" pitched by left-handers Con Papanicolaou and Heath Wright in a seven innings 13-0 mercy rule shutout... you don't often see those! Next stop was back at our delightful Napier Park where our young SECONDS team circled the bases like a merry-go-round in a superb 16-1 win. 

Eventually the FIRSTS game got rolling and, while few may have noticed at the time, no less than ELEVEN different Waverley batters hit the ball safely in an amazing demonstration of balanced team-orientated batting. I have mentioned often this season how reassuring it is for Wildcats' fans that we don't rely on a handful of big hitters to provide all of our offence and this was never more evident than in this game against the sterling pitching of Sandy's US import James Saunders.

Before we get back to concentrating on our own matters, we will bid a fond farewell to James Saunders who heads back to the US of A this week after gracing Victorian baseball with a fair bit of class! Not only was Saunders well liked by virtually everyone in local baseball circles, but the small, skinny right-hander belied his physical stature as a pitcher of real quality... a craftsman. James pretty much carried Sandringham back into Division One last season and he was the key to most of their infrequent successes this year. We wish him all the best for the future.

If we gloss over our blowout win at Sandringham this past Thursday, the last time we faced Saunders at Sandringham before Christmas the Royals gave us a painful lesson in both the SECONDS and the FIRSTS on a miserable day for visiting Wildcats' supporters. This time the roles were emphatically reversed when strengthened Waverley teams had it mainly our own way.

Back from a minor arm ailment this week was 'Nolan' Ryan Fisher who gave yet another good demonstration of why he has been so poised and successful this year. As I've said often, 'Fish' has always been a terrific talent but it is hard to imagine a younger Fisher limiting the damage of ten hits to only one run on the scoreboard. He has matured himself from what I would call a "confidence player" in his younger days, to a really focussed and determined star this season. His strong six innings start would be rewarded with his sixth win of the 2006/07 season... nice one!

In a classic display of keeping the opposition hitters off balance, Waverley followed lefty Fisher with righty Steve Hood, then closed with Australian team left-hander Donnie Hendricks. Steve 'Carlton' Hood built further on his recent confidence boost with two innings of nearly flawless relief pitching, while Donavon 'Drysdale' Hendricks had way too much for the Sandy lads to handle in the last frame of the game. They are forming a most formidable bullpen combination.

Among Waverley's ELEVEN, yes ELEVEN, safe hitters on this day, only the sweet timing of our young catcher Grant 'Varitek' Karlsen was able to produce more than one knock in the game... his 2-4 effort has him knocking on the door of a .400 season average... pretty darn good for a young fellow who has always been praised for his defensive, rather than offensive, capabilities! The more often that Grant proves his detractors wrong, the better we like it... way to go Grant!

There were lots of good hits among the other Waverley contributors but maybe the ones most worthy of mention were 'Jimmy' Beresford's three-RBI game-breaker early in the contest. Would there be any need for me to repeat that our newest AROOS selection Beresford also produced a couple more defensive plays worthy of the highlight reels for this season... no, I guess not? 

And, on a rare quiet day for him, if you could call it that, 'Rusty' Russell's lashing line drive to the left field fence put some welcome padding on the scoreboard for the home team. Just to close on the subject of the Russell family, the one rare and interesting thing that we missed on this day was the promise of father Jimmy to do his best impersonation of Virgil out of the Thunderbirds after a challenging week of batching! Instead, a rather "subdued" Jimmy Russell sneaked into the clubrooms without anyone noticing his not-so grand promised entrance... oh well!!

See you at Sunshine next Sunday afternoon...

WILDCATS ROUT ROYALS 23-1 AT SANDRINGHAM
Thursday, 8 FEB 2007