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

I'm a fraction disappointed to report that we have now enjoyed the last of our midweek games at local venues for the 2006/07 Victorian State League season... it was another fabulous, balmy late summer evening at Sandringham's quaint Tulip Street venue and there was a tremendous social spirit among the Waverley contingent that outnumbered the locals. Memo Baseball Victoria: These games have been an outstanding immediate success and, while you bask in these congratulations, please make sure that they are maintained and even INCREASED in future years!

We were graced with the considerable presence of one of my favourite ever workmates John Wonnacott who is a "big name" around the Sandringham club, as he says, back in the days that the dates were written in roman numerals! In fact the name Wonnacott appears innumerable times on the honour boards in the Tulip Street clubhouse, although John explains that they are nearly all his illustrious (Helms Award winning) brother 'Butch' and his other brothers... not him!?

Now folks, I'm going to admit straight away that I don't have any of the game details to help with this mid-week report... and I can't even guarantee the total accuracy of the final score that I have reported as 23-1. Trouble is that all of the very intelligent Waverley guys with whom I watched the game had run out of the fingers and toes required to keep count of the score near the end of the game! 

What I can report for the Wildcats' faithful is another awesome offensive performance by our boys who are, collectively, hitting the ball with tremendous confidence and authority. They certainly took advantage of some moderate Royals' pitching to put up some huge numbers in this game. But, do you know what?, baseball can be like that and you have to enjoy the opportunities when things go in your favour. Some of us have tried hard to forget the last time we ventured to the same venue before Christmas when we watched our team struggle to hit a lick!! 

I can't pretend to remember all of the offensive highlights in this game, but I reckon there may not have been any of our players who did not contribute in some way. At the risk of missing plenty, I'll attempt the following summary: Beresford produced at least one hit; Geduld bunted safely first time up, then added at least one more hit, probably more; Russell scorched another "jack" 400ft-plus over left field and had at least one other hit; Karlsen smashed the baseball every time and had at least two hits; Mascoll had a hit but then was hit by pitch twice; Reinke had at least one solid hit, as did Reeman and Maurer. Kerry Gassner walked for at least one time on base while Hodges was hit by a pitch in his only time up and both eventually scored... how did I do?

It was much easier to remember the, once again, brilliant pitching of our Waverley Wildcats. For anyone who can scarcely believe the SENSATIONAL performances of 'Tommy John' Rynberk and who may be waiting for his bubble to burst... well, you'll be waiting a bit longer! The likeable Rynberk presents himself as a fairly uncomplicated guy and he pitches exactly the same way. He doesn't try to overpower anybody but he outsmarts most and the variable velocity he conceals on his breaking pitches makes him extremely effective. And, as my son Mark pointed out, he is remarkably clever at holding base runners for a right-hander! I'll stop short of calling him "The Smiling Assassin" but it is completely natural for Tommy to smile just because he loves the game! Fact is that Tommy Rynberk has been a genuine pitching STAR for Waverley this season!

After Rynberk left the game with just one run on the home half of the scoreboard and with his sub-2.00ERA intact, there was just enough time for Steve 'Carlton' Hood to continue his positive resurgence of late. I mentioned that Stevie has endured some ups and downs at times this season but he has been excellent in the main and he appears to be pretty much back to his best right now. 'Hoody' virtually sailed through the last couple of innings with some devastating strikeouts to signal a pitcher who has his confidence back. I am a little (or a lot) biased, but I really admire a player like Steve Hood who maintains his self-belief when things may not be running smoothly... baseball is a game that always tests the resilience of even the greatest players! 

Before I sign off, it was also fantastic to see another of Waverley's unassuming GREATS at this game in the popular personage of Richard Sisson. For the uninitiated 'Sisso' is an all time great player and coach with the Wildcats and a foundation player with the incomparable 1990 REDS! Quite typically, Richard was happy to chat quietly in the background, but he will always be held in very high esteem by everyone at Waverley.

I don't think that Waverley will regard this lop-sided win as in any way a pay-back for our defeat by the Royals earlier in the season. What is much more important is that we cannot afford to rest on these laurels when Sandy pays us a visit at home this Sunday, 11 February. We would all do well to remember that a wounded opponent can often be a very dangerous one! See you there.

WILDCATS WIN BIG WITH 12-0 SHUTOUT AT MALVERN
Sunday, 4 FEB 2007

It was a nice time to be a Victorian and a Waverley supporter at Malvern today. The conditions were nearly perfect for Melbourne Division One baseball... warm and sunny at one of the more pleasant local venues. The stinging rays of the sun would be reminiscent of recent glories in Perth and the Wildcats certainly enjoyed the luxury of having our Aces stars returning from their great success at Claxton Shield 2007. The only player not available with a minor injury was our amazing young 2007 pitching ace 'Nolan Ryan' Fisher.

The Waverley Wildcats would welcome back home the presence of Claxton Shield medal winners Andrew Russell, Daniel Berg and Donavon Hendricks. We don't forget 'Jimmy' Beresford who returned from Perth with his profile enhanced after playing superbly for the Australian Provincials and, typically, he turned up again for this game after having starred for Waverley last weekend. We also applaud the Waverley coaches, past and present, David White and Dan McConnon who were integral to the Aces triumph, plus our current co-coach Scotty Dawes who was also there to lend his support! 

Adding to the mood of the day, it was a tremendous boost for Wildcats' trio Beresford, Berg and Hendricks to be named in the latest Australian team. While we are as proud as punch to boast such a large "Waverley contingent" in the team, perhaps someone's invitation must have been lost in the mail? Let's help you out with this... write it down... Mr. A. Russell, C/o Waverley Baseball Club, P.O. Box 910, Glen Waverley VIC. 3150. Hey folks, we LOVE our "signed guys" like 'Bergy' and 'Jimbo' who are inked by the Minnesota Twins, but we feel equally aggrieved by the apparent lack of respect shown to our un-signed and/or recently cut YOUNG men like 'Rusty' Russell and Grant Karlsen... not to mention that 24yo has-been Jarrod Hodges who has been unavailable. 

For anyone out there looking for a quality young man who also doubles as a baseball STAR, write down the address given above. Andy Russell, as always, smacked everything hard at the Claxton Shield in Perth, but just to show that this was not another fluke, he came out swinging the timber again today. The always unassuming Russell came into this game batting .429 with a team-high 18 RBI's. He crunched a ball for a very long out onto the distant left-field warning track at Malvern for a DEEP fly out his first time up... tough luck Andrew! But no, don't EVER feel sorry for this guy... his next two plate appearances yielded thumping home runs that rocketed over the same left field fence for a game dominating EIGHT personal RBI's. Write down that address...

We could say almost the same for another quality young man who also doubles as a baseball STAR, our terrific young catcher Grant Karlsen. Grant must have been terribly unfortunate not have collected a Claxton Shield Winners' Medal with the Victorian Aces in Perth, even if he had been selected as the understudy to Helms Award winner Mathew Kent. Karlsen is rated by many as among the best defensive catchers in the country with a throwing arm that is second to none. And, now here's some news for the unconvinced, this guy can also hit! He lifted his Division One average to .382 with his hard-hitting 3-4 in this game. You can find him at the same address... 

Our teenage short stop James Beresford emphasised the prodigious talent that took him into the senior Australian team at such a young age by batting a stunning 3-3 at Malvern and thereby lifting his season average above the .300 plateau. This is made all the more remarkable given the fact that he was concentrating on his studies pre-Christmas and he virtually abandoned his hitting to fine tune his defence following his minor shoulder surgery. 'Jimmy' may be disappointed that he wasn't with the victorious Aces this season, but I wish that I had an ounce of his talent... there are bigger and better things on his baseball horizon, including MANY future years with the Aces in the Claxton Shield, or in the NEW National League!

The absence of our usual starter Ryan Fisher was superbly covered by the return of our Claxton Shield star Donavon 'Drysdale' Hendricks whose excellent pitching in Perth ensured him his selection in the aforementioned Australian team. Donnie's gutsy winning start against South Australia, where he pitched seven commanding innings in extreme heat, was an ideal preparation for him to take the ball for his club in this game. It is obvious that Hendricks has been getting sharper and more impressive with each outing and he certainly seems to be a pitcher who enjoys more pitching, rather than less. This is something that did not help him as a short-reliever during his time as an Atlanta Braves professional.

By the time that Donavon handed the ball to 'Tommy John' Rynberk for the last inning he had slotted six scoreless innings into the rack at the expense of three hits that never really threatened to damage his ERA that is now below the magical 2.00 mark. Even Hendricks would be impressed with his combined shutout bullpen mate Rynberk who also boasts a remarkable sub-two ERA for a guy who has not been a specialist pitcher throughout his career. Tommy allowed a few hits in this game but he didn't become rattled as he stuck to his strength of throwing strikes and getting batters to hit into his defence... it can be a pretty simple formula.

I've been waiting for a good opportunity to give some HUGE praise to a quiet young guy who has been an OUTSTANDING contributor to the team's success so far this season, Ian 'Ichiro' Geduld. I selected this week because it is one of the very few games in which he hasn't recorded a hit, allowing his season average to "nosedive" to just .357!! He may not have added to his hit list on this occasion, but he scampered everywhere to track down fly balls in the spacious left-field acreage at Malvern to help his pitchers to preserve the shutout. When you combine his energetic defence with his versatile offence, base speed and hustle, Geduld has been an unsung hero! 

Write down that postal address for the Waverley Baseball Club AROOS selectors... P.O. Box 910, Glen Waverley VIC. 3150... I can GUARANTEE you that neither Andrew Russell or Grant Karlsen would ever let you down! And, if I were the Victorian Aces hierarchy, I'd be working on Jarrod Hodges to make sure that he considers resuming his brilliant career at national level.

I'm looking forward to our mid-week visit to one of the friendliest suburban baseball clubs this Thursday, 8 February when we venture to Sandringham's Tulip Street home for the 6:00pm game. Not only is it another chance to enjoy their spanking new clubroom facilities, but it is a long-awaited opportunity for our Wildcats to turn around their miserable 1-4 loss at Sandy earlier this season. And, if that is not enough, we welcome the Royals to have another crack at us in our own backyard when we host Sandringham at Napier Park this Sunday, 11 Feb.

WILDCATS MADE TO WORK FOR 10-6 WIN v BONBEACH
Sunday, 28 JAN 2007

I'm sure that my own Waverley people will excuse the hiatus in WBCWEB updates while I have been making equally valuable use of my time by supporting the Victorian Aces all the way to winning their record extending 17th Claxton Shield title in Perth. We had a fabulous time in WA, but after some typically sweltering days, it was a bit of a relief to arrive back in Melbourne with the hint of a chill in the air at just after five AM Sunday morning. However, by the time we arrived at Napier Park for the afternoon baseball, the bright sunny conditions would remind us of those at Thornlie, in Perth... just that someone had thankfully turned down the central heating!!

I'm not sure exactly what our Wildcats lineup has been in the absence of the Claxton Shield boys, but I will start with the team news for our mate 'Bonnas' in Europe (G'day Bonnas!): Celebrating Victorian Aces Andrew Russell, Daniel Berg and Donavon Hendricks would not return home in time for this fixture. James Beresford was making a welcome return after enhancing his status as an emerging Australian star with the well-performed Australian Provincial team at Claxton 2007. Also temporarily absent was another of our infield stars Anthony Reinke. The starting lineup was Karlsen (c), Reeman (1b), Maurer (2b), Beresford (ss), Mascoll (3b), Geduld (lf), Hodges (cf), Kim (rf), Dawes (dh) and starting pitcher was Fisher.

Under the circumstances, we can be very proud and thankful for the fact that we can still field a team of this quality... it is the tremendous loyalty and versatility of our players that enables Waverley to maintain such great depth... and how valuable that is at times like this! It may be just a personal opinion, but I'm betting that many Waverley fans would agree with what GREAT news it was to see Jarrod Hodges back at his natural home in centrefield and how strong the batting card looks with coach Scotty Dawes swinging the lumber as designated hitter.

Had he been available I'm sure that 'Hodgo' would have been celebrating with the Victorian team, but I reckon he would have enjoyed being back out in the middle of the outfield tracking fly balls in his usual confident style and showing that his arm troubles are hopefully behind him. 'Rolla' Dawes probably doesn't get as much time as he'd like to concentrate on his own baseball these days and he has given up his playing time to younger players this season, but for we fans of baseball and the Wildcats it is great to be reminded what a naturally talented batter he still is!

Both Hodges and Dawes supplied two hits in this game and all of a sudden let's take a look at the batting averages. We don't often mention those in these reports but someone pointed out how low 'Hodgo's' average was when he was struggling before Christmas and I had a private bet that he would still end up well above .300... he always does!! From limited at bats, 'Dawesy' is above .500 but his performance is put into perspective by that fact that his head-coaching partner David White actually leads the batting averages for our SECONDS... it's all in fun fellas!!

I am delighted to report that the other multiple-hitters for the Wildcats in this game were Glenn Mascoll, Grant Karlsen, James Beresford and Chris Maurer who somewhat typify the loyal and versatile players at the club that I mentioned earlier. Near the top of that list is 'Ferret' Mascoll who pounded 3-5 with two doubles in this game while playing at third base... I can't remember him playing at first base this year, but if he does he will have filled every infield position for the team!

One thing that hardly seemed to change in my absence was the splendid form of 'Nolan Ryan' Fisher as the club's regular starter this year. It was not the first time that 'Fish' has had to cope with early adversity and this was another occasion when Bonbeach's leadoff batter deposited what I think was the first pitch of the game high over the left-centrefield fence. In fact, the Blue Jays never stopped coming at the Wildcats in this game and their resilience made sure that the fans in the Waverley clubhouse never got too complacent about the result.

What has typified Ryan Fisher's pitching this season is the determined way that he has been able to battle his way out of difficulties and never to let the pressure of the game situation to take him out of the game-plans that have been so successful for both he and the club this season. 'Fish' has always had the physical talents and now that he has added the mental toughness that comes with a bit of maturity and confidence he is a pretty tough customer... and he will get even tougher!!

After an outstanding start to the season Steve 'Carlton' Hood has has to endure a roller-coaster ride during the middle part of the season. This seemed to be at least partly due to some of the natural downward movement on his pitches "flattening out" and thereby leaving a few too many up in the zone... you pay a pretty hefty penalty for that at this level. However, 'Hoody' has never stopped giving his all for the Wildcats and it was great to see him getting back on track in this game. The way that he and catcher Grant Karlsen kept the ball in "tight" to the hitters to minimise a bases loaded jam late in the game was a fitting reward for their skill and concentration under pressure. They induced two ground balls towards third base in a clinic of thinking baseball.

Our own James Beresford is not really small when you meet him, but he looked like exactly what he is while playing at Australia's highest level at the Claxton Shield in Perth this week... a young player who is not yet fully developed physically. Take this from me folks, 'Jimmy' was still at least as good as any of the short stops on display in the tournament and better than most. It came as very little surprise to see that he hardly missed a beat in returning to club baseball with a brilliant overall display of defence that included two of the best examples of attacking the ball to make important outs that could not have been produced by an average player. I used to refer to Victoria's Ben Utting as the "Rolls Royce" of short stops during his young days with the Waverley Reds in the ABL and James Beresford is very reminiscent of Utting defensively at a similar age.

I loved witnessing the Aces triumph in Perth, but it was also great to be back supporting the Wildcats to another important win in Melbourne. Congratulations to our manager David White, his predecessor at Waverley Dan McConnon, 'Rusty', 'Danny' and 'Donnie', along with all the other coaches and players with the Victorian Aces team, for confirming the strength of our baseball.

WILDCATS SETTLE FOR SPLIT WITH ESSENDON
Thursday, 18 JAN, 2007 and Sunday, 21 JAN 2007

First and foremost, many thanks to my good mate and colleague Adrian Dunn for keeping me updated with scores... along with that GREAT Waverley character and Life Member Peter Wood who never ceases to amaze me with his love and dedication to all things Waverley and baseball, probably in that order!!

At first I may have been getting an early dose of home-sickness when I heard a summary by phone of Waverley's very significant 5-1 win over our closest rivals Essendon in the mid-week fixture at Melbourne Ballpark. We had flown to Perth that same morning but, I'm told, our Claxton Shield boys played their part in getting the better of the Bombers before leaving town.

According to my source, the man of the hour ONCE AGAIN in the mid-week game was 'Tommy John' Rynberk who kept the Bombers' batters quiet for five solid innings. It may be a good thing that I was not here to report the game, because I might have run out of superlatives to describe the value of Tommy's efforts for Waverley this season... and I might need more later this year!!

Unfortunately, the pleasure of this victory might have been somewhat overshadowed by the pain of our unexpected loss to the Essendon team on the following Sunday. I'm pretty sure that the last text message I received from Adrian Dunn reported that Waverley were in control with a 7-3 lead and Ryan Fisher looking strong on the mound when a fierce storm hit the venue. He also tipped that there would be no chance of further play with just four innings in the score books. I clearly remember griping with a few Victorians in Perth that we had been deprived of a CERTAIN WIN by the bloody weather and that the game would have to be replayed later in the season.

I thought that 'Woody' might have been mischievous when he phoned me the next day to tell me that the Wildcats' relievers had been shelled with a barrage of home runs that flew like missiles out of Essendon's large diamond with the added distance supplied by a howling wind tunnel. I've never seen Waverley beaten with a scoreline anything like 8-18 and, thankfully, I still haven't!! 

I'm going to suggest that this would not have been remotely possible had the game continued under normal circumstances. The enforced change of pitchers and the opportunity to reverse the momentum would have been welcome news for the Bombers' camp.

What cannot be disputed is that Waverley lost a golden opportunity to grasp a decisive lead over the Essendon Bombers at the top of the State League Division One table... that's baseball!

WILDCATS FEAST ON MELBOURNE VISITORS 7-3
Sunday, 14 JAN 2007

Compliments of the season to all of our wonderful Wildcats fans and, as Jeff Fenech might have said, we also "love youse all" to any other Victorian baseball followers who may not love the Waverley Baseball Club as much as we do. It was just another of those brilliant warm, wistful sunny afternoons at Napier Park yesterday... tailor made for our marvellous sport of baseball.
Lest we forget that the simple joy of following our great game is one of life's pleasures that we really should not take for granted.

Sometimes the New Year brings something different and occasionally some unwelcome changes but, I'm very delighted to report for Waverley Wildcats supporters that, on yesterday's evidence, it is a matter of "business as usual" for our players and that normal service has been restored since one of Santa's helpers (I think it was Chipper Maurer?) signed off at our Napier Park Christmas function late last December! The momentum has been maintained by our boys.

It was a case of "same old, same old" for our splendid 2006/07 pitcher 'Nolan' Ryan Fisher and our premier pre-Christmas hitter Andrew 'Rusty' Russell who doesn't seem to have missed a beat over the festive break. Russell seems determined to challenge the recent lofty batting averages of his former outfield partner Jarrod 'Hammer' Hodges who complimented his own hitting with some timely RBI's yesterday. 'Rusty' doubles... 'Hodgo' drives him in... it made the difficult job of scoring runs in baseball look elementary! If there is a better two-three punch than Russell and Hodges in Australian baseball I will be very surprised... these guys are a genuine "wrecking crew".

I saw Andy Russell crush a couple of hits at Newport while carrying a common social illness that, in the words of his father Jimmy, made his eyes look as small as some sort of holes in the snow that I just didn't quite hear exactly? Yesterday, I'm told, our Claxton Shield star 'Rusty' was battling to recover from a nasty stomach bug that has resulted in a complete grease and oil change of all his bodily fluids. This must be his excuse for a sub-par effort that delivered only two screaming doubles into the alleys at right and then left field. This bloke can HIT... healthy or not!!

Terrific once again on the hill for the Wildcats was the consistent presence of lefty Ryan Fisher who also picked up right where he left off at the end of 2006. As he has shown all season, 'Fish' refused to become rattled when threatened by base runners. His increasing ability to "bear down" under pressure and secure the third out of the inning without scoreboard damage is what has turned him from a promising youngster to a State League star this season... GREAT stuff Ryan. 

Only in one inning did Fisher allow the determined Melbourne team to mount a significant rally when they tied the game with a three-spot in the fourth. However, from where I was standing, there was not too much wrong with Ryan's pitching. He may have drifted into the fat part of the plate on a couple of occasions, but you shouldn't always take the credit away from the hitters!

After some customary "team offence" had quickly restored Waverley's lead in the game, there was a perfect opportunity for the dynamic Donavon 'Drysdale' Hendricks to get a nice little pre-Perth Claxton Shield tune-up. It may be just my imagination, but young 'Donnie' seems to have responded superbly to the recent setback in his pro career with an even more focussed determination to pursue his baseball career. Hendricks turned out the lights on another valuable Waverley victory in impressive style. He is looking very sharp for those scouts in Perth!

One other bloke who will also be headlining the ACES at Perth next week is our rising pro star Daniel 'Bambino' Berg who is currently trying his best to fast-track his recovery from a finger injury and while he will probably still be somewhat underdone, there was no way that Victorian selectors could ignore his pure quality and the defensive versatility that he provides to the squad. This is not to mention his stunning and ever-improving offence. 

We would do well to remember that 'Bergie' did bat a fantastic .323 with 11 walks at Claxton 2006 and the power that he started to demonstrate during this past US pro season makes him a most daunting customer. Just ask the wiliest of veterans, Melbourne's masterly Brendan Ratcliffe, who tried everything he knew to take some of the sting out of Danny's bat yesterday but to little avail when he saw one of his off-speed offerings "stung" out of the deepest part of Waverley's yard. You had to be watching closely, because the ball disappeared from view in a heartbeat... KABOOM!

Hodges (3-3), Russell (2D) and Berg (HR) were ably supported by our other multi-hitters Ian 'Ichiro' Geduld and Anthony 'Rolen' Reinke on this occasion, while I also clearly recall a typically unselfish and superbly executed sac-fly RBI from catcher Grant Karlsen. It becomes redundant but important to note that, as very often this season, there are plenty of contributors in this Team with a "Capital-T" and it is not always those same few who are needed to get the job done.

Finally, having mentioned all of the other Claxton Shield Wildcats, I must not leave out our young star 'Jimmy' Beresford who will be playing with the revamped Australian Provincial team in Perth this year after making his debut with Victoria last season. And, for anyone who may be wondering why 'Jimmy B' was missing from action yesterday... nope, nothing to do with his typical starring performance for Victoria at the just completed 'AAA' Championships. You'd never guess if I gave you six guesses. While taking a deep breath, James copped a three-game suspension for his part (???) as the obvious victim in that unfortunate incident during our pre-Christmas game versus Geelong. The identical penalty as that received by the Geelong player involved... Hmmmmmm?

I asked that tremendously colourful and insightful chap who was my report writing predecessor on this web site if he could contribute his views on the justice of the suspension but he didn't want to see these reports "shut down" again... so he declined... ungracefully I must say!!

Our very best of luck to the VICTORIAN ACES (and the Aussie Provincials) at the Claxton Shield in Perth that starts later this week. Your writer will be taking a leave of absence for a couple of games while trying to ply the same trade in Perth. By a quirk of fixturing I'm disappointed to be missing two games against our near rivals from Essendon. Please make sure that you support the WILDCATS an extra bit more while I'm away. See you again in a week and a bit!

It was this writer's idea of paradise yesterday... digesting a great game of baseball at my favourite Napier Park venue while enjoying the festive cheer with some terrific baseball people. Those people would not only comprise our usual friends at Waverley but our most welcome visitors from Geelong who always bring a healthy and convivial crew for these fixtures. Our mates at Baseball Victoria certainly did us a huge favour with the pre-Christmas scheduling of this game, not only because of the quality of the competition, but also because of the tremendous spirit that seems to have become a tradition among fans of these two fine baseball clubs.

While there was plenty of tension, and even a touch of controversy, on the field, there was not the slightest sign of ill-humour or angst among rival supporters who each enjoyed the hospitality of the Waverley Baseball Club that always does itself proud on big occasions like this. Of course it is the people who make any occasion and, as we have come to expect, there was quite a number of those on hand for this game... probably three or four times as many fans as we would normally see at a Division One game and there really wasn't too much room to spare in the Waverley clubrooms... it was a really MARVELLOUS advertisement for Victorian Baseball.

An early Merry Christmas for our overseas mate Adam Bonaddio with the "team news" that he likes to hear so much from home: After resting last weekend following his trip to Perth with the ACES squad and his most successful series with the same team in Adelaide, Grant 'Varitek' Karlsen was welcomed back behind the plate. Making way for Grant, even though there would be a place for both to play, was Daniel 'Kendall' Reeman who, rumour has it, made it easier for selectors by putting his hand up to help the SECONDS on this occasion. While we cannot verify the accuracy of the rumour, it would be so typical of this selfless, team-man to sacrifice himself when he has been in such good form... what a quality individual 'Reemo' is! Besides, Dan got the unexpected opportunity to "double up" when he was forced into action quite early in the FIRSTS in addition to his sterling game with the "twos"... more on that later.

Also sneaking back into action almost unnoticed was Daniel 'Bomber' Berg who has been nursing a damaged finger since his return from his OUTSTANDING season as an emerging Minnesota Twins professional in the US of A. 'Bergie' made a quiet cameo appearance near the end of the SECONDS game. You can bet your life that a determined Berg will make plenty of noise when he gets back into the swing of it after Christmas. His form during 2006 at the Claxton Shield and in pro ranks has elevated him among the most exiting prospects in Australian baseball. Watch this space...

For real baseball purists there is nothing quite as enjoyable as a nine innings feast of a cliff-hanging pitcher's duel where fortunes fluctuate and the outcome is never decided until the last out is made. Waverley sprung what may have been a mild surprise with their pitching, especially in the order of appearance. While most probably expected that Donavon 'Drysdale' Hendricks would start, he was ultimately used in relief behind our increasingly impressive mid-week ace 'Nolan Ryan' Fisher.

'Fish' once again demonstrated the type of composure and resilience that has seen him emerge as one of the brightest new stars on the Victorian baseball scene. One can almost visualise the influence of pitching maestro David White as head coach in the way that Ryan has summoned the confidence to "trust his stuff" and not to vary from his game plan even when he is allowing a few hits. Once again Fisher did a tremendous job for the team to tip-toe around eight hits for a quality six innings start. If Waverley was to receive an unexpected early Christmas present it has probably come in the form of Ryan Fisher's emergence as a senior pitcher!

Unfortunately our Wildcats were trailing in the game 1-2 when Ryan had completed his superb stint, but if ever we needed someone to give us a chance of a comeback we could not have possibly found a better man for this occasion than Donavon 'Drysdale' Hendricks. He appeared to be a "man on a mission" while supplying his team with three invaluable zeroes on the end of the Geelong scorecard. Hendricks looked determined and very sharp from the moment he strode to the mound at Napier Park yesterday.

Perhaps he was motivated a little more than usual to remind anyone who may have doubted what a terrific young prospect he still is, even after the disappointing news that the Atlanta Braves had decided to bring an end to his time with the famous US club this past week. This might be a good time to remind everyone that 'Donnie' Hendricks is still just 20yo, as he can be a victim of the expectation of some people that forget how young he was when he first hit the headlines on the local baseball scene. This talented young lefty is far from finished and we would be very surprised if he doesn't find another professional baseball home soon!

While these reports are not supposed to be a soapbox for opinions about things outside of Div1 baseball in Victoria, I cannot help but venting my own frustrations in support of some young Aussie baseballers who may not have received a "fair go" in the US professional system like recent Waverley pitchers Simon Beresford and now Donavon Hendricks. These guys never or rarely got a decent chance to show their proven worth as STARTING pitchers in the States when they have been used almost exclusively as brief late-innings relievers. This is a situation where there is not much else that you can achieve other than failure... it's a tough gig!

Another former US professional who, for some reason, wasn't able to showcase his real batting talent while with the Phillies is our mighty young catcher Grant 'Varitek' Karlsen. Karlsen is also just 21yo and while he has always been a spectacular prospect, he is another guy who is literally a baby in terms of catching years and we sometimes expect so much from these players far too soon! We haven't got to witness Grant's breathtaking throwing arm for some time as local teams know better than to contemplate running when he is behind the plate... it's a near certain suicide mission for would-be base runners. 

A word of advice... Grant Karlsen will always supply a pretty rude shock for anyone that may have been ill-advised that he can't hit. This young fellow loves to prove his detractors wrong and he will continue to do so for many more years at the highest levels of Australian baseball. Grant banged out a "lazy" 3-4 with two ringing doubles against the tough Giants pitching to headline the Wildcats offence. He is currently batting around the .350 mark and with genuine extra-base power he is a hitter to be feared in pressure situations. I reckon that he is still going places and the last chapter of his baseball career will not be written for a very long time.

One bloke that we will never be surprised to see among the multi-hitters is Jarrod 'Hammer' Hodges who is slowly, but ever so surely, rising from the ashes of a season that almost stalled earlier this summer but now appears to be clicking back into high gear. It is not news to anyone that the reigning BV Batting Champion and Co-MVP from last season is a "blue chip" hitter of the highest standard and, like others mentioned, it is hard to believe that he has just recently celebrated his 24th birthday. This guy already owns a "career" Claxton Shield average of .350 for Victoria and the ACES will be eagerly awaiting the day that he can make himself available again! Hodges delivered another warning that he is on the way back with his potent 3-4 yesterday.

After a game of that quality it would not be fair to by-pass the magnificent opposition that we have come to expect from the talented and dedicated Geelong Giants who also boast a team comprised of some exceptional young prospects. They too played an important part in a first-class baseball exhibition and we suspect that we may yet be meeting these "old mates" again around finals time when they will, no doubt, make everyone battle to the death to wrench the Premiership cup from their grasp.

It surely doesn't get much better for Waverley fans to herald another Christmas break with our Division One team sitting proudly atop the BV table... it has been a great half-season for the club to date and we can't wait for the season to resume with another home fixture against Melbourne on 14 January 2007... I'll see you there!

Oh, and just in case you think that I have completely overlooked the unfortunate incident that saw young Waverley star James Beresford ejected from the game as a "retaliator"... I haven't and I won't. While I am unable to comment on such controversies like the previous writer on WBCWEB, what I will say is that I saw nothing to change my opinion that young 'Jimmy' remains an impeccable model of sportsmanship and a genuine role model for any young player... this having followed Beresford's brilliant career for nearing ten years. I don't think that I can say much more so... MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! 

The players and only those most addicted of fans who arrived at Newport for the afternoon senior baseball yesterday were given a sample of what life must be like for anyone trying to inhabit the Sahara Desert! The temperature had been high-30's in the morning, but by early afternoon the heat was radiating up from the parched ground in the plus-40 range... it was SEARING! Some of the younger guys, who had also played juniors in the morning, were looking bedraggled and listless as they tried to summon the energy and motivation to play another game in the SWELTERING heat! 

The hot-plate on the barbeque outside the Newport clubrooms was sizzling and the thing wasn't even turned on!! Inside the rooms the slightly overcrowded mass tried to maintain a jovial mood in the complete absence of any air movement. Popular Newport identity Darren Malthouse tried to get everyone to see the irony of why their air-conditioning system would fail on this, OF ALL DAYS, but there were few smiles forthcoming... nobody had the energy to laugh! One wag suggested that the Newport club had turned it off deliberately because they were convinced that the robust Rams players would handle the adversity better that those Waverley "softies". I must admit that there were a few of the Waverley contingent that were grumbling about the conditions, but the only bit of good news is that those same grumbles were coming from both sides!!

Not long after our arrival the dutiful umpires braved the direct sun to make a visit to the pitcher's mound on the main diamond and they soon returned to confirm that the early SECONDS and THIRDS games would be cancelled under Baseball Victoria's "Heat Policy". The 38deg maximum had been slightly exceeded by the number on the thermometer that said... phew, only 43deg! While those who had "been excused" didn't need a second reminder to venture straight home, they did their best to pretend that they would rather be hanging around with their team mates for the later afternoon games... yeh, right!! I saw one of our finest, who shall remain nameless, punch the air as he drove off with his car air-conditioning on full blast! 

Those who were consigned to the long haul were none too excited to learn that the earliest time for any decision to be made on the FIRSTS and FOURTHS would be 30 minutes after the scheduled starting time... that's right 4pm... that seemed like a 25-year sentence in an Indonesian jail. The players were totally convinced that the games would all be cancelled as they completely ignored weather bureau predictions of the impending cool change. Sure enough, a short while later our starting pitcher Tommy Rynberk took a walk outside and returned with the assurance that he had caught a whiff of a cooling sea breeze and he advised his disbelieving team mates that they had better get ready for game time... of course he was dead right! Another supporter said that he saw the wilting flowers in the neighbouring cemetery spring back to life as people filed out of the clubrooms to enjoy the respite of the cooler air that had thankfully started to circulate.

By the time for normal warm-ups the temperature had plummeted to "warm" and a strong breeze from the south would have some supporters suddenly wondering if they had brought enough clothing? Nobody was taking bets on the number of home runs that would be hit into the teeth of the wind to right field. Waverley coach David White quipped that he would offer $100 for anyone to hit a home run in the conditions, on the proviso that he would take $50 from anyone who was stupid enough to try and fail!! He had no takers. 

Returning to the mound after his mid-week heroics not too long ago was our surprise-packet pitcher 'Tommy John' Rynberk who was entitled to nurse a bit of arm stiffness following his unusually high pitch count in that epic twilight game against Malvern. Tommy himself didn't seem too sure how he would respond on this occasion but, one thing is for sure, we knew that he would give everything he had... Tommy knows no other way! About two-and-a-bit hours later Tommy would be wearing a satisfied smile as he accepted the congratulations of his team mates when he walked off the field with a tremendous COMPLETE GAME victory!

Pitching guru and head coach David White was monitoring Tommy's body language carefully during the game and after each inning he would enquire how he was feeling. In his usual laconic way Rynberk would simply flash his infectious smile and answer that he was OK to continue. It would have been close to the heart of 'Whitey' who is universally respected as the most durable pitcher many of us have ever seen in his hey day... and long beyond! 

Rynberk would have made the original Tommy John (of surgery fame) proud of the way he pitched within his strengths and, as usual, he allowed his defence to do their jobs behind him. This win may not have been quite as exciting as his fireman job against Malvern, and the conditions were much friendlier for pitching, but we were once again left in awe of the big-hearted efforts that Tommy continually produces for the Waverley club. It was a bit of a shame that he couldn't quite find the arm strength to keep a clean sheet in the last frame because he really deserved to maintain the SHUTOUT he had going for the first six innings. You beauty Tom!

One thing that would have helped to keep Tommy locked confidently into the game was the solid and productive offence that our team supplied to back him up. Right from the second inning when we cashed in four two-out runs the boys, not for the first time, all batted unselfishly for the team. Trying to cycle each of the players through my mind, I'm pretty sure that I can recall offensive contributions of some form from every one of our batters, including drawing walks. It would hardly surprise me to find out later that no less than seven players had rattled off 15 safe hits during the seven innings game before the mercy rule was applied!

I know that I've mentioned it often before, but it is most reassuring that we don't have to highlight the same players doing the bulk of the hitting in each game. On this occasion the offensive stars were Adam 'Burton' Kim with a superb 3-3, Glenn 'Ferret' Mascoll who contributed 3-5 and Anthony 'Rolen' Reinke who had two of the most critical hits. These relative youngsters have been close to the core of Waverley's somewhat unexpected success this season. 'Kimmy' making a sensational "conversion" from pitching, Glenn making a wonderful recovery from serious injuries that hampered him last season and the underrated Reinke returning to the club in most impressive style.

Adam Kim has been a complete revelation for some of us that were unaware that he had any credentials as a hitter. He has been amazingly consistent so far this season with a solid average and occasional power while, most importantly, also driving in runs at the most opportune times. He has been a terrific impact player with the bat and we have not lost anything defensively with Kim patrolling the outfield. He has added further versatility to our squad.

Much like 'Reemo' last Thursday, all Waverley people have a very soft spot for loyal players like Glenn Mascoll who always put the overall benefit of the club above themselves. 'Ferret' has also ridden the highs and lows at the club with various injuries and a variety of positional changes over the years, but none of this has ever seemed to dampen his enthusiasm and commitment to the Waverley cause. Like Reinke at third, the transition of Mascoll from a top quality short stop to the quite different position of second base has only proved to strengthen the Wildcats' infield that must rank very highly in this league.

Not only has Anthony Reinke solved what may have been a defensive headache with his consistent and often brilliant defence at the third base "hot corner", but he has also been a very important cog in the offensive wheel. He might lift his average a few points by the end of the season but he has certainly gained a lot of kudos from the supporters and team mates alike for his valuable ability to produce some important hits in the big games and at the most important times. He gives the appearance of a guy who is inspired by the bigger occasions and he may well be looking forward to the finals pressure at the end of the season. We sure are glad that you chose to return to Waverley Anthony, you have been an important addition to the team chemistry this year.

James Beresford and 'Chipper' Maurer continue to impress with two hits each while Ian 'Ichiro' Geduld has been recorded with one although I can clearly remember a line-drive safe hit and a clever bunt that may have been scored an error?... whatever, there was some very good team orientated batting. While Beresford is an emerging junior prodigy who also starred last season Maurer, Kim and Geduld are the "new breed" who have injected some fresh energy and attitude into the Wildcats lineup this season. I must say that 'Chipper' did a very good job to back-up after his inspirational performance at the Waverley (Juniors) Christmas Party the previous day... what a "trooper" he is!

And, yes, I deliberately left out Andrew 'Rusty' Russell who also (YAWN!) connected for another multi-hit game. I'm told that Andrew was more 'Dusty' than 'Rusty' after enjoying the company of his Victorian Aces team mates during their weekend pre-Claxton jaunt in Perth. Apparently a jet-lagged Russell was taking the opportunity for a quiet "recovery session" with his feet up at home when he was phoned with the sobering news that the weather had turned and that he would be required to play. Thankfully 'Rusty' lives just a home run or so distance from the Newport venue and he was able to dash into the fray of the pre-game while still arranging his uniform. It is a measure of his natural talent that he was still able to pry open his eyes wide enough to crush a couple more hits!

Make no mistake about this, and I will not need to spell it out for anyone who has followed Waverley over the past several years, we will not take for granted any win over those most respected of rivals at Newport. The Rams have rarely failed to provide the sternest of opposition over the years and, although they may be just a little down on personnel at the moment, we know that giving an inch is not in their play-book! This was a very good result for our team and we will be grateful of the points on a day when playing was a much better option than looking ahead to a log-jam of postponed fixtures when you need them least.

Don't forget Waverley baseball fans and others that we host a BIG pre-Claxton Shield selection game for the Victorian Aces, along with an under-age clash of Victorian State teams this coming Wednesday evening 13th December at the fantastic new "twilight time" of 6pm... BE THERE for the action and another great social occasion at Napier Park!

We round out the 2006 part of the season with a most welcome reciprocal visit of our "mates" from Geelong this coming Sunday, 17th of December. The mates will be mostly inside the Napier Park clubhouse while the friendly hostilities will be happening on the baseball diamonds outside. Some great skills will be on display and quality competition is guaranteed for anyone who attends. In the time-honoured tradition, the Waverley club will be welcoming the folks from Geelong with the opportunity for convivial after-match meals. All others are also welcome and encouraged to join us for a terrific afternoon of top level baseball.

Look, I don't know about everyone else, but I reckon that I can speak for most of my fellow "baseball junkies" when I say that I really enjoy these local mid-week games on a warm Melbourne evening. It sort of reminds me of those halcyon days when eastern suburbs baseball fans used to love taking that short drive out to VFL Park (anyone else remember that venue?) to watch the home town Reds playing in our dearly departed National League. It was always something to look forward to... getting a mid-week fix of quality baseball without too much travelling or too much time taken out of your hectic life... does it get any better than this?

This week we found ourselves camped under the loosely barked gum trees at Melbourne's quite pleasant Surrey Park home, waiting for the last bit of ultra-violet sting to go out of the setting sun. There was a hint of breeze coming from the south and favouring right field, but just enough heat to make sure that it never really got close to being chilly. Once again, baseball's weather gods smiled kindly on Melbourne's east for our second taste of local twilight baseball.

Welcomed back from having washed away his memories of a long school year was our 2006/07 ace mid-week starter 'Nolan Ryan' Fisher who picked up where he left off with another terrific platform for an important Waverley victory. Just as he has done in almost every game this year, the talented young lefty worked down in the zone, stayed away from the middle of the plate and changed speeds most effectively. When Ryan is pitching in this type of mode he really does make the difficult job of pitching at this level look deceptively easy. Another fine 'W' for 'Fish'!

Also bouncing back in impressive style was former Melbourne junior player Stevie 'Carlton' Hood who, I am delighted to say, proved what tremendous composure and attitude he has. Readers of these reports would know that Steve has been a real star this season, but his confidence had taken some dents lately with tough hitters taking maximum advantage of some rare "mistake pitches". As pitching supremo David White would tell you, getting hit is all part of the trade... everyone, no matter how good, has rough patches and it is how you respond to the adversity that shows whether you you have the mentality to be a top line pitcher... a lot of it is between the ears!

To my eye Steve was back pretty much where he had been for most of the season, following Fisher's lead by keeping the ball down and enticing a lot of ground balls with his heavy sink. I thought that I noticed a bit of confident bounce returning to his presence on the mound. I can't quite guarantee that 'Hoody' collected another save without perfect recall of the score when he came into the game, but he certainly pitched like he deserved a save anyway!

Yes mate, I've only been teasing you 'Reemo' by leaving it this long to mention our fabulous 300-gamer Dan 'Kendall' Reeman... you didn't think I'd forgotten did you? How could any serious Waverley devotee fail to recognise the MAGNIFICENT, loyal contributions of Danny Reeman over the recent history of the club. While players and coaches have come and gone during his time as a senior player at the club, Dan has ridden the highs and lows of playing all over the place just to help his team to find the best formula for success. 

While some players can be a bit "precious" about where they play and how they are treated by coaches, Dan Reeman has been an object lesson for others about how to selflessly put the TEAM ahead of your own ego and aspirations. And, when others might be inclined to sulk or become introverted when things don't always go their way, NO WAY for Dan Reeman... next time you see him playing in a Wildcats shirt he is the same ultra-competitive and upbeat guy, constantly cajoling and encouraging team mates to secure another win for his beloved Waverley club.

There have been MANY great and decorated players who have worn the famous red (and white) Waverley shirt over the club's history, but there would not have been too many who have given so much of themselves. I reckon that I've probably only seen about 180-or-so of Danny's games for Waverley but I know one thing for sure, in EVERY 180-or-so of them he has given 100%-plus for his team and I'm prepared to bet that it would have been the same in the others I missed. There he was last night in his 300th, same as ever, exhorting and supporting our young pitching staff to give everything they've got to do a job for the Wildcats. I can assure you that on the occasion of your 300th game 'Reemo' you have the appreciation and admiration of everyone at Waverley. 

Offensively, our team did a much better job of taking our opportunities than on Sunday at Blackburn. While Melbourne always "pitches us tough" we did manage to secure a handy lead early in the game and, while we would have liked a bigger cushion, it was a pretty comfortable win in the end. Once again it was a good balanced offensive performance with some notable efforts like 'Chipper' Maurer's leadoff single in one innings and 'Jimmy' Beresford's master class on bunting  to move him over. As we know, 'Jimbo' never really sacrifices when he bunts, he always bunts for a safe hit... and he usually makes it happen!

I know that I have been unable to disguise my glowing praise for our unassuming hitting-machine Andrew 'Rusty' Russell lately, but on this occasion I must report the light with the shade... what a major disappointment it was that he ONLY managed two more hits last night after his 4-4 against the Orioles... fair dinkum, if you're not careful 'Rusty' your average might drop below .450!! And, while I'm on the subject of quality hitters, I thought that I detected the awakening of a slumbering giant who opened one eyelid and showed a flash of that familiar steely glint in his eye!

Of course I speak of Jarrod 'Hammer' Hodges who spanked the ball towards all parts of the diamond last night with a hint of his customary timing starting to return. Yeh, remember him?... You know, the reigning Baseball Victoria co-MVP and Batting Champion... 'Hodgo'! He banged one ball effortlessly into the right-field gap for a stand-up double and he was just millimetres away from doing some more serious damage on a couple of other occasions. It will be a great boost for the team when, not if, Jarrod finds his stroke... look out when his confidence starts to rise!!

On this occasion I have really left the very best until last by delaying to mention that the backbone of Waverley's victory last night was some solid and occasionally spectacular defence that really helped out our pitchers at important times. Undoubtedly leading the way on this occasion was the "general" of the infield, our mercurial short stop 'Ozzie James' Beresford. This "veteran", who is still eligible to play Junior Under 18's (can you believe that!?) showed us all once again why he has always been rated such a special talent.

Fans like me are drawn to follow sports for occasions like last night when you see something that quite literally gives you an emotional high. We always enjoy the routine stuff like good pitching, good batting and scoring runs, but every so often you see something that is quite extraordinary and you are just glad that you didn't miss out on seeing it! So it was last night when we enjoyed another fielding clinic from young 'Jimbo'. James, I'm quite delighted to say, has that something else that separates the great from the good and the superstar from the star... that intangible thing that you can't find the words to explain but you know what it looks like when you see it!

Like all gifted players Beresford junior also makes the difficult look easy and he doesn't quite understand what the fuss is about when he makes a never-easy double play look like a work of art... as he did a couple of times last evening. Yes folks, we were watching a genius at work at Surrey Park last night, gliding across the left side of the infield like he owned it, cleanly picking up hard grounders, directing the play for his infield colleagues and delivering unerring throws to first base like he was born to do it. 

Of course, this is not too far from the truth... it sort of started when our erstwhile junior coaching favourite Rod Paton asked if he could pluck young 'Jimbo' from his mother's pram to play with his U12 Wildcats in the Victorian State League at the ripe old age of EIGHT! As the Beresford family would hasten to tell you, young James certainly did have the benefit of SECOND TO NONE coaching at Waverley from Rod and Dave Paton during his four-year term in the Under 12's and in David Warren's renowned Under 14 program after that. These guys can take a lot of the credit for the skill, positioning and dedication that has been embedded in James Beresford, but I can't help thinking that one of the plays we witnessed last night came more from a "god given" source. 

Not long after our young catching prodigy Grant Karlsen had been given a "late run" at third base he was tested with a scorching one-hopper that he did well to touch with a stretching glove as we expected the ball to deflect toward the left-field alley. Ghosting across behind Karlsen was the ever alert, head-in-the-game presence of James Beresford, doing his best impression of Ozzie Smith to back up the play. However, special players never simply "back up" plays, 'Jimbo' proceeded to make an athletic re-direction to snare the deflected ball and to fire a spectacular rifle-shot across the diamond to MAKE THE OUT! As I said, it was one of those plays that you had to see to believe and we were sure glad that we were there to see it first hand.

I can just imagine James, if he reads this report, claiming that the play was not such a big deal and that I have exaggerated the event... this is what makes star players what they are! I always thought that James Beresford would go all the way as a pitcher, but on the evidence of his development as a short stop so far, Howie Norsetter and the Minnesota Twins may have just got themselves another bargain from the Australian baseball talent pool.

PS: I mentioned in my last report that "Newport local" Jimmy Russell had offered to shout during our game this Sunday... not so, apparently we all misheard him when he said that he would have the FIRST shout... OK, fair enough Jimmy... make sure they are COLD!

WASTEFUL WILDCATS LOSE 4-7 AT
BLACKBURN
Sunday, 3 DEC 2006

I happened to bump into that insightful chap who used to write those marvellously colourful game reports on this web site a few years back. He was mumbling and grumbling about "close calls, wasted opportunities and hard luck stories" as he trudged out of Blackburn's Billabong Park late yesterday afternoon. It was typical of him to wear his heart on his sleeve while bemoaning a rough loss by his beloved Wildcats who were topped 4-7 by the home standing Orioles, but on this occasion I sort of knew how he felt... pretty darn deflated! 

I asked him if he had any comments to help with this game report, but he brushed me off with "don't bother, I never read any of the sugar-coated clap-trap they write on our web site these days!" Poor fellow just can't seem to move on with the times!

It started as another typical bright and sunny day at 'Blacky' as a healthy gathering of local baseball fans clamoured for the available shade on the steep grassy slopes of the "amphitheatre" that is the Orioles main diamond. Once again there would be an ominous warning from our performance in the SECONDS game when our young lads looked disturbingly similar to the way they did at Sandringham on our last travelling venture, dishing out the runs on a platter to the opposition with innumerable defensive clangers. When our offence finally realised that the game was still there to be won too much time had already elapsed. It was a sobering portent for the day ahead!

On this day our Waverley Wildcats could aptly be renamed the "Wasteful Wildcats" as we far too graciously allowed our friends and rivals on the home team to stay in touch on the scoreboard, just so that they could bite us right near the end to snatch the victory. We've had some really uplifting wins ourselves this season, but this loss has removed the gloss from some of them with the disappointing de-briefing of our demise.

Just about the worst, or most annoying, thing that you can do in baseball is to consistently strand hard-earned base runners on the diamond while the fielding team gains strength from every occasion that it happens. If my memory serves, it all started in the first or second inning when we loaded the bases with NONE OUT and failed to register a score, nup, not even a sacrifice fly could be found. It would simply be the first of several occasions when we failed to find a decisive blow at the most vital times... it was unremitting agony for Wildcats' fans!

What seemed to make things worse during the plethora of wasted RBI opportunities was that we failed to even test Blackburn's defence by putting the ball in play. What was very untypical of our team this year is that our normally consistent hitters too often struck out... and too often this came via a called third strike... LOOKING! There are only three rational reasons why this might happen in baseball... either the pitcher has fooled the hitter on each occasion or the hitters have lost their awareness of the strike zone or... well, I'm just not touching the third possibility! Let's just say that it happened FAR too often for the liking of Wildcats supporters.

We could suggest that our coaches will have the eye charts out at training this week to test the vision of our batters and a big picture of a home plate to remind the boys what it looks like. But if we are to be charitable we should give most of this credit to Blackburn's pitchers who managed to wriggle in and out of trouble like seasoned veterans... and that is EXACTLY what they are... some of the most experienced and well respected names in Australian baseball... and each with the undeniable pedigree of having played in the mighty Australian Baseball League.

Talented starter Cameron Hardy is only 28yo, but he has the experience of having started in Australia's 'big league' way back in 1997 when he pitched for the Hunter Eagles and then the Melbourne Monarchs and he has more recently starred for the Australian Provincials at the last few Claxton Shield competitions. Cameron walked the tightrope on a few occasions yesterday but he always found the class and confidence to make the important pitches at the most important times. Let's give him the credit for keeping his team in the game.

Next out of the bullpen was the lethal Lee 'Smith' Hogan who loves nothing better than to remind his former club Waverley what a quality pitcher he still is. You could almost get the sense that 'Hoges' came into the game for one important inning just to rub salt into the wounds of his former club. There have been few more popular players at Waverley than Lee Hogan in recent history, but he has certainly delivered some pain to his former club since his disappointing departure. As you would expect, the highly competitive Hogan didn't hesitate to lead from the front as the manager of the Blackburn team. Most would already know that Lee Hogan was a terrific young relief pitcher for the Waverley / Melbourne Reds, making his ABL debut in 1993.

Concluding the trio of former ABL hurlers was Blackburn's undoubted man of the moment Peter Moylan who was perhaps better known as a journeyman utility slugger with the Perth Heat and Sydney Storm during his National League days. 'Big Pete' became one of Australia's best baseball stories last year when he first impressed as a side-arm closer for the Victorian Aces at the 2006 Claxton Shield. His overwhelming velocity "from the side" earned him selection for the AROOS to compete in the inaugural World Baseball Classic and, more notably, a healthy contract with the famous Atlanta Braves. It is history now that Peter Moylan was to become the 22nd Australian to play in the US major leagues during 2006. Suffice to say that, even during his off-season break, Moylan was not going to make life easy for Waverley's hitters yesterday!

And, if having three former ABL pitchers is not enough, the man who ultimately hit the game-snatching three-run homer for the Orioles was none other than former ABL import player Derek Shumpert who was a New York Yankees minor league prospect when he first arrived in Australia to play with the Melbourne Reds in 1998. 'Shump' may have lost a yard or two of speed and some "style" in the outfield, but he can still turn on a fat fastball and deposit it in the adjoining suburb!

For a Waverley team that didn't do a lot wrong apart from fail to score enough runs from many, many opportunities, there were also some star performers. Young Atlanta Braves' professional Donavon 'Drysdale' Hendricks is looking sharper and more composed with every start as he seems to be enjoying the opportunity to throw a decent quantity of innings. 'Donnie' did a terrific job of keeping Blackburn's dangerous hitters under control for the most part and, on another day, he would have deserved to collect the win. Steve 'Carlton' Hood was pretty good too, even if he was given a painful reminder of Thursday night when Mr.Shumpert left the yard... he is not the first and he won't be the last pitcher to suffer that fate!

It becomes almost redundant to mention that Andrew 'Rusty' Russell was again the flagship of our inconsistent offence on this day. While most of our batters struggled to impose themselves on Blackburn's pitching, 'Rusty' simply went about his business in his usual unassuming way to show his team mates how it can be done if you don't allow yourself to become rattled or intimidated. Russell, who is now batting over .400 for the season since an error in his statistics was corrected, should have been the game winning hero for Waverley again with his 4-4, including a line drive two-run 'dinger' over right-centrefield... it just wasn't to be yesterday I'm afraid.

While there is not yet a large enough sample of evidence, it will be haunting some Waverley fans that the experienced Blackburn Orioles continue to provide us a nemesis since my good mate Lee Hogan decided to "jump ship" after the 2004/05 season. They beat us three out of three during the regular season last year when our team lost only six games, before we gained a slice of revenge in the semi-final. This year they are responsible for two of our four losses. We will stop short of suggesting that there is a "monkey on our back" or an "Oriole on our shoulder", but it is time that we put an end to "Hogan's Curse"... and SOON!!

This THURSDAY EVENING we have the second of our mid-week twilight games AT MELBOURNE'S SURREY PARK - 6 to 8PM. PLEASE continue to support these attractive mid-week games at local venues so that we continue to emphasise their value and popularity with Melbourne baseball fans. Next SUNDAY afternoon we pay a visit to 'Neighbourly Newport' where there always seems to be plenty of action for we Waverley visitors. Jimmy Russell said that it will be "his shout" because he is a Newport local... good on you Jim!

WAVERLEY SNATCHES LATE 11-9 WIN v MALVERN AGAIN!
Thursday, 30 NOV 2006

Apparently the editor left off the last important paragraph from last Sunday's report where I mentioned the Division One debut of Waverley's junior star, the 15/15 man, Joshua 'Ortiz' Hendricks. Yep, the younger brother of pitching ace Donnie Hendricks sneaked onto the field as a late game defensive replacement at right field. I'm told that he took a couple of fly balls and that he also drew a walk from his only plate appearance in what constitutes a very decent 'big league' debut. I must have missed it while socialising with his proud father 'Stu' Hendricks... I'm blaming him anyway! Why the 15/15 man you ask?... well folks, would you believe that this young fellow, who is already as big as most of our senior players, was just... wait for it... 15 years and 15 days old!! And, if this young stud continues to develop and to hit the way he has this season, he may become nearly as fearsome to opposition pitchers as Boston's 'Big Papi' David Ortiz.. he is a player to watch! 

Moving on to the eagerly-awaited and innovative Thursday twilight fixture at Napier Park last night when we were privileged to host our traditional hard-nosed rivals from Malvern. The weather was warm and balmy with good seeing conditions... it was just about made to order for the early evening timeslot. Fans of both Waverley and Malvern would not have forgotten our recent meeting at the same venue when our Wildcats came back from the near dead to snatch a dramatic victory on the back of Adam Kim's walk-off home run. If anyone, quite understandably, thought that it would not be possible to witness another contest of such exciting and dramatic proportions, then they would all be proved very wrong! This was another BARN BURNER!

These two games would bring to mind two of the most famous catch-phrases from fabled New York Yankees' legend Yogi Berra... "it's just like deja vu all over again", and... "it ain't over 'til it's over!" Once again, to the rare delight of Wildcats fans, we would be reminded about the spirit and character of this "new breed" Waverley team who have, more than once, demonstrated the admirable quality of being able to rise above adversity and to turn a negative situation into a positive one. Trust me folks, there are not very many teams who can consistently do this at the highest level of sport... and those who can are usually quite special teams.

The team news would be that the only player "missing" for the Wildcats was our new mid-week pitching ace 'Nolan Ryan' Fisher who is away re-hydrating and honing his social skills after a tough school year at what has found its way into common language as "schoolies week". It just shows how far advanced we have become since my day when all this was completed in less than 24 hours and all within a 10km radius of your school!!

I mentioned the hot and balmy conditions that, coupled with a prevailing breeze from the north, would combine to make the cosy confines of our left-field bleachers seem a lot nearer to home plate than usual. We freely admit that our left-field dimensions are a little more "claustrophobic" than we might like, but in these conditions it would give us the same feeling that Texas Rangers' fans often get at Arlington, Texas in the mid-summer... it was a bit like what the yanks would refer to as a "bam box"! Routine fly balls were disappearing over the fence quicker than the smiles were disappearing from the faces of the Waverley fans in the clubhouse! Worse still, the runs were adding to the Malvern total faster than when Adam Gilchrist is firing in a one-day cricket match!

On the receiving end on this occasion was Waverley's starting pitcher for the big contest Steve 'Carlton' Hood, who has been nothing short of terrific coming out of the bullpen this season, but he did not pick a good time to try his luck at his first Division One start. Stevie would not want anyone to make excuses for him after what could only be described as a nightmare outing where he was shelled from the mound after two innings of near-total torment. But, while I will not make excuses, I will say that he wasn't nearly as bad as the game details will record. 

Sure, he flattened out a few too many pitches and his sinkers were not biting down in his usual style, but he was snake-bitten with the long balls, some of which would have been routine outs on other occasions. We guess that 'Hoody' might be licking his wounds today but let me assure him that we do not judge a young pitcher of his quality on ONE disappointing outing, especially when he has been so consistently good this season. He has plenty of "brownie points" in the bank and besides, as a real team guy, he was still a part of a sensational team victory... that is the way baseball goes sometimes. We know that he will hit back hard next time out!

Enter from stage right the undoubted hero of the night, 'Tommy John' Rynberk, who stood like a beacon, even on a night when Waverley (and Malvern too for that matter) had many heroes! It would be hard to imagine a more challenging situation for a guy who has not been a lifetime specialist pitcher than that confronting Tommy at about 6:35pm last night. Not only was he facing a rampant and power-laden Malvern Braves lineup who had already savaged six home runs and who were luxuriating with a 8-3 lead in the game, but he would also have the uneasy knowledge that there was no (read ZERO) bullpen backup behind him... he would either sink or swim! What we may not have suspected at the time was that Tommy would swim like Grant Hackett!!

Even in the third inning Rynberk was most unfortunate when he retired the first two hitters but then the hot-hitting Braves got a little lucky with some "seeing-eye" grounders that poked through tiny gaps in the field and a couple of bad-hops that ended with bases loaded and another run on the bulging upper line of the scoreboard. It was very typical of Tommy this season that he found the poise to put a halt to that innings with what was surely a hard-luck solitary earned run. It will no doubt remain one of the best stories of the season that the popular and easy-going 'Tommy John' Rynberk showed the heart of a lion (or perhaps Wildcat?) to stem the flow of Malvern runs for SIX mighty innings of crafty variation and persistent good location. Few have ever more richly deserved the standing ovation that Tommy received in the clubhouse after the game when he was awarded the game MVP award... he was HUGE!

Waverley had quite a few offensive heroes that could have taken awards on other nights, but as any baseball aficionado would tell you, there is no way back into a game from a deep hole unless your pitchers can stop the bleeding FIRST... Tommy Rynberk did this in the most courageous and spectacular way! For those who haven't worked it out yet, under his casual exterior is the calm mentality of an extremely determined competitor. His sub-2.00 ERA so far this season is absolutely sensational. Head-coach and pitching great David White would be more than happy with those brilliant numbers.

So, there we were trailing 0-3 after the top half of the first innings, 3-8 after two innings and 5-9 with the two-hour clock winding down towards a deflating defeat for our team. But, if anyone thought that the heart of the ballclub was failing, there was a positive pulse still beating in the Waverley dugout. On a night when NINE different Waverley players combined for 15 hits, it would not usually be my preference to individualise those who had the most impact from a situation that, very obviously, required nothing less than a total TEAM commitment to nibble away at Malvern's dominance in the game. 

Virtually all of our hitters contributed in some way to what was, in the end, a truly magnificent fighting triumph. It would be good enough for me to repeat that we, once again, did not leave the big job up to the same few stars. However, I wouldn't be doing justice to our "big boppas" in this game unless I gave them special mention... I'm sure the other boys won't mind just this once!? Just before I start on those I want to also pay tribute to Glenn 'Ferret' Mascoll who nailed two invaluable hits just when they were needed most.

I wonder if Grant 'Varitek' Karlsen was sending a message to anyone who may have forgotten what an fantastic catcher he is when he not only continually nursed our young pitchers through difficult situations from behind the plate, but he also did mighty big damage with the bat. Grant's scorching 3-4, including a crushing clutch RBI double, was a tremendous contribution and it couldn't happen to a better man. It's just great for Karlsen personally and for the Waverley club that our young star has seemingly recovered from his winter arm soreness and I'm tipping that he will play a vital role in how far our team will progress this season.

Next in line would be my current MVP for this season so far, Andrew 'Rusty' Russell who always seems to be at the heart of most Waverley rallies. This level-headed and intelligent young hitter has the marvellous ability to bat the same way regardless of the game situation and he never seems to be fazed by the pressures of playing from behind, or to be distracted when the team is in front. Rusty's 3-5 included a double and a home run and, as mentioned, he has the most uncanny knack of delivering at just the right time to lift his team mates and the offence in general. His two-run bomb gave the Wildcats a real sniff of an unlikely victory... Great job AGAIN Andy!... He epitomises what Dan McConnon would call "a gamer"!

Left until last, but by no means least, is youngster 'Ozzie James' Beresford whose father is almost as hard to please as Jimmy himself, perhaps harder?... yet, on this occasion, there was a rare moment of unrestrained joy for Ian Beresford when James smacked the booming three-run jack that put his team in front for the first time in the contest and into what would turn out to be a winning lead. I believe that this was Jimbo's first Division One homer and for a young guy with yet-to-develop power it was a superb piece of timing... not to mention clean, CLUTCH hitting. With another double during this game, and 3-4 last Sunday, these are the type of performances some of us have been seeing from James Beresford throughout his stellar junior career and he may just be ready to really impose himself offensively at this level, and beyond! Did I mention that he is also an OUTSTANDING right-arm pitcher... phew, what a talent!!

Our thanks and congratulations go to the Wildcats coaches and players who have entered the season with a disrupted and, some said, depleted lineup. While there is a long way to go yet, I think that I speak for most Waverley fans when I say that it has been a very enjoyable ride so far this season and the team chemistry that has been evident from the injection of some vibrant young players is as good as I can remember for quite some time. These boys play like they have taken note of another Yogi Berra gem, "You give 100% in the first half of the game… and if that isn’t enough, in the second half you give what’s left!… and you don’t look back to add things up!”  Way to go WILDCATS!

Another well-worn saying that springs to mind on an occasion like this is that you can't have a great game or a memorable victory unless you have a great opponent. We should not forget that the Malvern Braves have been tremendous opponents for us in these two most memorable epic games this season. While it is fine for us to enjoy the spoils of dramatic victories, it always pays to spare a thought for our rivals who have been a tad unfortunate to be on the skinny end on both occasions. They say that lightning doesn't strike twice, but try telling that to our friends from Malvern who would be entitled to curse their Napier Park fortunes this year. It won't be the last opportunity for them to seek revenge this season. How often would you lose a game after you have belted six home runs?... man, that is a tough one to take!

Finally, Baseball Victoria don't always get the most positive feedback for their decisions, this is the nature of the tough job. However, let us be quick to send our sincere congratulations to those at BV who agreed to "trial" these mid-week fixtures at local venues. The very healthy gathering of an estimated 250 baseball devotees at Waverley's Napier Park last night was a pretty good indicator of instant success. There is nothing sarcastic or controversial in the accuracy of the statement that it represents a large multiple of the number of spectators watching this game than other mid-week games that we regularly attend. 

Furthermore, on this evidence, it has the potential to be even better attended than Sunday games, unless the "novelty factor" has applied in this case? The undeniable bottom line is that it is a most worthy progression for the league and tribute must be paid to those who have had the good sense to listen to respected people in the game who have been suggesting these types of things for some years. Our thanks to Baseball Victoria for providing us with great fun last night... Victorian baseball is the clear winner!

WILDCATS SHOW NO MERCY FOR WOUNDED EAGLES!
Sunday, 26 NOV 2006

One brief note of sadness this week before we start our own report: The Waverley Baseball Club and this writer join the Australian baseball world in sending our condolences to Blackburn's TIERNEY family following the passing of Robyn Tierney this past week. Husband Paul Tierney is known to all in the baseball community as one of the really "good guys" in the game, while talented sons Andrew and David are not only fine players but very nice lads too... with apologies to anyone else in the family that I may not know personally.

What a difference a week makes in our beloved game of baseball... one week a rather bedraggled feather duster, the next a strutting and confident rooster! Or so it was for our Waverley Wildcats who bounced back impressively from our upset loss at Sandringham last week to show little mercy for our visitors from Sunshine. It was another bright and sunny day at Napier Park with a hint of the summer swelter that is surely coming soon. A festive atmosphere was the initial greeting from the Waverley clubhouse with a couple of our finest supporters having stayed behind after the U18 game in the morning for an early social kick-off to the afternoon seniors!

Of course, while it would be easy to point to a big change in the attitude and confidence of our own players for this fixture, we must also consider the condition of our opponents. Last week we ran into a really "up beat" and quietly confident wolf-pack of Sandringham Royals while, it must be said, our opponents from Sunshine yesterday did not stride into Napier Park with the confident swagger of gunslinger with all weapons blazing. Nonetheless, we will be content with the manner of our 12-0 "mercy killing" of the marauders from the wild, wild west.

With no disrespect to those who took the field for the Eagles yesterday, I don't think that too many Victorian baseball supporters would argue with the fact that the Sunshine club has two players who are universally recognised as stand-out performers. Victoria's Claxton Shield pitching ace Greg Wiltshire had apparently thrown during the week and would not be taking the mound on this occasion as very good news for the Wildcats' hitters. Team leader and professional catcher Matty Kent also arrived at the ground sporting his latest arm adornment in the shape of a large plaster cast encasing a broken hand... OUCH! From a Victorian perspective we certainly hope that both of these quality guys are in top shape for the ACES early in 2007!

One thing that would certainly have provided a significant lift for the Wildcats from last weekend was the much more favourable team news. Recovering quickly from illness and injury were important infielders Glenn Mascoll and Chipper Maurer who were welcomed back into FIRSTS action. Pitching ace Donavon Hendricks was fresh back from his terrific performance for the AROOS at the Intercontinental Cup and Jarrod 'Hammer' Hodges made a most welcome return to the batter's box where he clearly belongs! The positive "filter down effect" from the availability of these players was evident in the performance of both Waverley FIRST and SECOND teams this weekend.

A highly regarded chap who scrutinises these reports each week was "all over me" yesterday to knock off the player nicknames which he says are an "insult to the major league players involved"... he reckons that he likes the reports, but hates the nicknames? Funnily enough, the bloke who used to write reports on this web site a couple of years ago was heavily criticised because people liked the nicknames but not the content of the reports!... you just can't win, can you!? Anyway, not to mention the name Dan 'Mantle' McConnon, or is that Dan 'Eckstein' McConnon, we can't delete the nicknames or there won't be anything left worth reading?... what happened to your sense of humour mate?

We digress... back on the hill for Waverley yesterday was our ace Donavon 'Drysdale' Hendricks who settled back nicely into his starting role with five very effective innings to add another W to his WIN column. 'Donnie' struck out five and scattered only three hits to play the major role in an impressive combined SHUTOUT performance by our young pitching staff. With half an eye on our big mid-week fixture this Thursday, Stevie 'Carlton' Hood and 'Tommy John' Rynberk were each allowed one inning of action to keep Sunshine's scoreboard blank. As we have become accustomed to expect, both did very competent jobs for the club.

While on the subject of Waverley's pitching, I'm sure that the boys really appreciated the re-build of the pitching mound this week as a most important feature of the baseball workplace. With club stalwart TONY GERRATY once again doing the "hard yards" behind the scenes to obtain the special fill material, Whitey and the boys were able to restore our pitching mound to a condition worthy of this level of competition. Thanks a million TONY and to head-coach David White for making sure that it all happened.

One young fellow who is clearly appreciating the end of his school commitments this year is 'Ozzie James' Beresford whose bat is obviously heating up lately to compliment his stellar defence that has never been anything less than clinical. Like a few other Wildcats' players we have mentioned, 'Jimbo' is also a very harsh critic of his own performance and he has been frustrated with his relatively quiet offence so far this season. However, with a little more time to take some "hacks" since his exams finished, it is evident that he is hitting the ball with more authority and confidence. Knowing James though, his team best 3-4 still would not have fully quenched his thirst for hits and he will be looking to get on a sustained roll now!

We enjoyed a return to the type of offensive output that has featured in our best performances this year with another 12 hits flying off the bats of seven different players... it is the balanced team contribution that brings some warmth to the hearts of Wildcats fans who know how vulnerable a team can be when it relies too heavily on too few! Young tyros Ian 'Ichiro' Geduld and Adam 'Burton' Kim continue to set the pace with each adding two hits yesterday to enhance their excellent .300-plus averages. Our other notable plural-hitter was ever popular catcher Dan 'Kendall' Reeman who has turned back the clock to some of his best hitting form and it is a real tribute to his dedication that he can work so hard behind the plate, yet still make a big team contribution with the lumber! It would not surprise anyone to see the quality bats of Russell, Hodges and Reinke also among the safe hitters.

Yes folks, the good news about supporting a talented baseball team is that you don't often have to wait long for a disappointing performance to be replaced in the memory by a pretty good one. I don't think that our team is cocky enough to be regarded as roosters, but they definitely don't enjoy playing like feather dusters either! Once again our FIRSTS and SECONDS played very well with the quality of our emerging youngsters very much at the forefront of the club's long-term planning.

Before we sign off another round of Divvy One baseball, one final plea for ALL WAVERLEY SUPPORTERS and ANYONE ELSE for that matter, to take a couple of hours to attend a top-quality baseball fixture in pleasant conditions when our own Waverley Wildcats host the tough Malvern Braves this THURSDAY EVENING in an innovative new fixture at NAPIER PARK - 6 to 8pm. 

PLEASE SUPPORT THIS EXCITING NEW FEATURE EVENT THAT WE HOPE TO HAVE PERMANENTLY EMBEDDED ONTO OUR BASEBALL CALENDARS FOR MANY YEARS TO COME!

WILDCATS HUMBLED 1-4 BY RAMPANT ROYALS!
Sunday, 19 NOV 2006

Let's start with the most important order of business and that is to congratulate the Sandringham Royals for their determined effort and persistent performance that was just too good for Waverley's visiting Wildcats at Tulip Street yesterday. And, before we leave the subject of the Royals to concentrate on the Waverley perspective, further congratulations to the Sandringham club for the presentation of their nice new clubrooms. It represents a tremendous upgrade of their previous conditions and it must now rate among the better facilities for spectators in Victorian Division One baseball.

OK folks, before we get carried away with the obvious impression that some may get of an over-confident bunch of Waverley Fat-Cats taking too much for granted against a lowly opposition from the other end of the Division One ladder, I can only reassure you that the coaches and players were well aware of the dangers that come with this type of fixture. Outwardly at least, our guys were ready for a serious challenge from a team who were clearly hunting a big scalp with not much to lose! Obviously, while it is great to give the outward impression that there is no complacency, this doesn't always mean that players will be at the peak of their desperation on any given day.

So, let's be honest here for Waverley fans, right from the opening minutes of our SECONDS game there was a serious hint that the day was going to produce a real uphill battle for our teams. For some reason or other, many of our players were as "flat" as one of those proverbial hats that used to be worn by sanitary workers who removed toilet pans from houses in a bygone era! Or, if you don't like to interpret that one, as flat as a pancake that fell under a passing steamroller!

The overwhelming impression of "flatness" might come partly from the fact that our Wildcats have been very much on an emotional high lately with some terrific wins from our "kindergarten" SECONDS team and some uplifting come-from-behind performances from our embattled FIRSTS. Something that would not help the mood and stability of the Waverley teams yesterday would be the late team changes forced upon us in each game.

Still absent for the Wildcats were leading stars Donavon Hendricks, who returns from the Intercontinental Cup this week, and Jarrod Hodges, who is thankfully now ready and raring to resume his disrupted season next weekend. The class of these players will be a great boost for a team that has battled on with great spirit during their unavailability. But, as we know, you can cover for top players for a short time, but ultimately there is never any adequate substitute for pure quality. Our other pro star Danny Berg is still some way from making his return appearance for the Wildcats this year and, it must be said, we probably cannot expect to see too much from him this season under the circumstances.

Our team balance was to be quickly thrown into further turmoil with news at the ground soon after the start of the SECONDS game that our star infielder Glenn 'Ferret' Mascoll had been taken to hospital with acute appendicitis and there had to be a quick re-jig of both teams. Youngster Wade 'Boggs' McConnon was immediately taken out of the SECONDS and elevated to the FIRSTS. Pressed into action as the stand-in second baseman in the seconds was our usual starting pitcher Matt 'Morris' Gerraty who is a former junior catcher, but he may not have played in the infield for a considerable time?

As the baseball gods would surely dictate, the elusive white ball seemed to follow Matty during the SECONDS and he could not be blamed entirely for showing some cobwebs with the glove and the bat when he had been expecting a day off from pitching following a heavy recent schedule. Adding further to the disruption would be a disappointing hamstring injury to first baseman Chris 'Chipper' Maurer in the early innings of the FIRSTS. 'Chip' had been in terrific form lately with both bat and glove and it is a most unfortunate blow for a guy who has been so patient in waiting to get his opportunity to cement a position in the "Ones". We can only sincerely hope that it is not a long-term injury as we wish him the very best for a speedy recovery... thumbs-up 'Chip'!

Press-ganged into premature action would be the familiar figure of one of our head-coaches Scotty Dawes who would not have enjoyed the unexpected duty of taking over at first base with zero baseball under his belt this summer. Once again, those baseball gods would be at their very worst for 'Rolla' with a succession of throws in the dirt that would have tested a specialist first base gloveman at the peak of his form! It was just going to be ONE OF THOSE DAYS I'm afraid and we simply couldn't find a way to turn it around! Of course it would not surprise anyone who has followed Dawesy's career that he did manage to deliver one of only four Waverley hits for the game... fair dinkum, this fella could fall out of bed in the morning and hit a baseball in the most pressurised situations, with or without the benefit of any solid practice!

I can skip past our offensive effort very quickly by simply mentioning that our other safe-hitters for the day were the consistent producers Andrew Russell, Anthony Reinke and Adam Kim... with only Reinke and Dawes connecting for extra base hits with a double apiece. To be perfectly honest Sandringham's crafty American pitcher (Saunders) was in sparkling form during this game and, regardless of our adversity, he was always going to make it tough for us to mount any significant offence in this game... he was OUTSTANDING!

It must also be said that Waverley's dynamic young pitching duo of 'Nolan' Ryan Fisher and Steve 'Carlton' Hood each did very little wrong for the Wildcats and, while we didn't really look likely winners at any stage, we were never really out of the game either! These young guys did not enjoy the best of Waverley's defence behind them on this occasion and the determined Sandringham team put on a clinic for grasping and making the most of their opportunities. They took any half-chance to stretch an extra base and to keep the pressure on our team and it often paid dividends.

Never let it be said that we enjoy losing at Waverley, but we can also be realistic enough to admit when we have been beaten by superior opposition. Forget the ladder positions and Waverley's "team troubles", we tip our caps to the team from Sandringham who deserved their victory yesterday. We can only hope for a reversal of fortunes when next we meet. We will also have confidence that our boys can bounce back quickly from what will be a genuine "wake up call"!

This coming SUNDAY we host another dangerous opponent from Sunshine. This will be followed by our long-awaited mid-week HOME fixture in the tantalising form of a twilight game against our traditional rivals from Malvern on THURSDAY 30 NOVEMBER at 6PM. This is another game that EVERY WAVERLEY SUPPORTER MUST NOT MISS! It is a tremendous opportunity to show Baseball Victoria that we fully support their decision to introduce these mid-week fixtures at local venues. We can go a long way to cementing the future of these fixtures by making sure that the game is well attended... Waverley people one and all PLEASE don't take this for granted!

NO-QUIT 'CATS CLAW BACK TO BEAT GEELONG 5-4!
Sunday, 17 NOV 2006

Did I mention that it was a bit cool and windy again at Melbourne Ballpark tonight... well, would anyone expect anything else for our late Thursday night encounter with the in-form reigning premier Giants from Geelong... nup, didn't think so... we move on quickly!

So let's rekindle the baseball quiz... How can you be sure that the team you support has good chemistry and strong mental application? There is really only one answer to this one, and that is when they have, more than once, demonstrated the ability to battle back from tough situations when the scoreboard is squarely against them.

This brings me conveniently to discuss the tremendous team spirit and resilience of our 2006/07 Waverley Wildcats who have had many challenges to face this season so far, yet they still seem to find ways to win games against genuine quality opponents. 

To start with 'Bonnas Team News'; missing tonight was our ever-faithful infielder Glenn 'Ferret' Mascoll who has injured a finger, Donavon Hendricks (who continues to star for Australia at the Intercontinental Cup) and Jarrod Hodges who, we are told, will be returning to the team in the not too distant future. By the way, we still await the imminent arrival of Daniel Berg but his availability has also been delayed by a finger injury... good luck for a speedy recovery Danny!

Once again doing the "hard yards" for the team as the starter on the mound was 'Tommy John' Rynberk who looked very likely to be headed for an early shower after Geelong had posted five successive hits and three runs on the scoreboard before he secured the second out of the game. However, the easy-going Rynberk is made of much sterner stuff than he might portray and he did another magnificent job of "adjusting" and keeping his team in the game tonight. 

In fact, a glance at the scorebook would show that those five early hits were the only ones allowed by Tommy and even those included an "infield squibber" and a "Texas Leaguer" that short-hopped the third baseman and the centre fielder respectively. The fact that 'Tommy John' was able to limit the damage to three runs in the first inning, then no more after four innings was a gutsy effort that richly deserved the winner's 'W' next to his name tonight. Nice job 'TR'!

Swooping in again, but just too late to snatch the "Big W" for himself on this occasion, was the familiar personage of Steve 'Carlton' Hood who continues to grow in impressive stature as Waverley's No.1 gun out of the bullpen this year. Stevie may not be quite ready to assume the mantle of Hall-of-Fame closers like Lee Smith, Bruce Sutter or Dennis Eckersley, but he is certainly getting the job done for his team and this is the only thing that matters right now! 'Hoody' started a little shakily tonight with a couple of hits from pitches that he left "up in the zone", but he quickly re-composed himself to keep the lid tightly shut on another important victory. No win for Stevie tonight, but we suspect he would be just as happy with his super SAVE this time! 

Of course you cannot overcome a 0-3 "hole" without some good, disciplined offence and, not for the first time this season, not all of it would come from the same or the most likely sources. Just to contradict myself, one of the most likely sources who shouldered much of the offence yet again was the ultimate, unassuming "team guy" Andrew 'Rusty' Russell who had two of the most important hits in this game. He got the ball rolling for Waverley with our first hit, then he later delivered a HUGE 2RBI triple to really put us on the road to victory.

The unlikely source of youngster Wade 'Boggs' McConnon stepped up BIG to drive in our first ice-breaking run while, not such a surprise, was the sweetly timed bat of Grant 'Varitek' Karlsen who whacked a deep RBI double, just before the underrated Chris 'Chipper' Maurer drove him in with a line-drive RBI single. Add this to the "pesky" bunt-single hitting of speedsters Ian 'Ichiro' Geduld and 'Ozzie James' Beresford and you can see the development of a varied offensive lineup that can find more than one way to beat the opposition... it's all really good stuff!

And, just a very quick mention for another young Waverley debutant Matt 'Morris' Gerraty who has been our ace starting pitcher in the seconds this season, but he made his first rookie Division One appearance tonight when pinch-running for catcher Danny Reeman under the speed-up rule... you can bet that it will not be the last we see of Matty at this level over coming years.

Let's finish another most worthwhile night with one last easy question for baseball fans. What is just about the only thing more satisfying than having a star-studded team that usually dominates the opposing teams? Answer: When you have a young team with some developing players that all seem to find a way to contribute and when they don't need to rely on a few individuals to carry you over the line! Give me the latter any day... down 0-3 tonight and down 0-5 last Sunday to earn two unlikely wins against genuine quality teams is quite a unique achievement in a league as strong as the one we are competing in. You gotta love these Wildcats!

KIM MAKES WILDCATS WALK-OFF WINNERS 6-5 v MALVERN!
Sunday, 12 NOV 2006

I cannot talk about the really "good old days", like the 1980's and early 90's, when our Waverley Wildcats won EIGHT Division One Premierships and when Club Championships were expected every year... no doubt there have been many glorious days at Napier Park prior to the construction of our new clubrooms. Since that time, maybe hosting the Claxton Shield game on 6 February 2002 has been our finest moment? But, let me assure you that nothing has raised the roof of the Waverley clubrooms anything like the moment when Adam Kim's come-from-behind, game winning walk-off home run against Malvern sailed over the fence at around 5:20pm on Sunday, 12 November 2006!

In baseball, like many other sporting contests, winning is always somewhat satisfying, but there are times when the context and the manner of the victory is more special than at other times. This was one of those times when the taste of the victory was especially sweet. Not because we take any greater pleasure from overcoming our fierce rivals from Malvern, we have many great friends there, but because of the tremendous fighting spirit shown by our team in slightly adverse circumstances.

The adverse circumstances would come mainly in the form of the current disruption afflicting the team with undoubtedly one of our finest, if not the finest, players struggling for motivation and deciding not to play for the time being... obviously I speak of the reigning Baseball Victoria Batting Champion and MVP Jarrod Hodges... a little more on that later. With 'Hodgo' unavailable and Donavon Hendricks still performing splendidly for the AROOS at the Intercontinental Cup in Taiwan, Grant Karlsen stepped in as designated hitter and Ryan Fisher was back as our starter on the mound. 

Your writer had the dubious honour of line-umpiring an U18 game at Napier Park on Sunday morning and after constant drizzle throughout the game in gloomy conditions I was cold and soaked to the skin. A couple of hours later at the same venue I was reaching for the sun screen just to get from my car to the clubrooms... it was warm and sunny... almost perfect conditions for summer baseball. Apparently Waverley was the only place in Melbourne where it rained on Sunday morning, but that is nothing new for us!

The big game against the most dangerous and experienced Braves from Malvern had barely begun when I commented to a fellow Waverley supporter how good 'Nolan' Ryan Fisher had been for us this season, but how we must not expect the emerging youngster to produce that form EVERY week at this level of competition. Moments later Malvern had, somewhat fortunately, two runners aboard and a subsequent three-run bomb had silenced the Waverley clubhouse. The visitors had posted a three-spot on the scoreboard before we secured the first out of the game! The fact that 'Fish' battled out of that first inning jam with only four runs against us was a pretty good effort in itself, but there was even better to come!

Of course those four runs would look like a mountain on the scoreboard for the first four innings of the game as our offence tried hard to rally but they were turned back by the solid pitching and defence of the boys in blue. Fisher, to his increasing credit, cast aside any psychological damage from that nightmare start and he showed some real character to handcuff the confident Malvern bats for seven and two-thirds innings. It was another tremendous landmark in the maturity of 'Nolan' Ryan Fisher that he showed the temperament and talent to battle back for his team in tough conditions. Only one other solo home run from the Malvern team in the fourth inning would interrupt an otherwise brilliant sequence of "goose eggs" on the top line of the scoreboard.

Some of the players after the game told me that they have coined a new nick-name for Steve Hood, who they now refer to as "The Vulture", because he always seems to swoop in late to snatch the spoils of the WIN from the gallant starter. To say that Stevie 'Carlton' Hood has been lucky to pitch at the right times recently would not do justice to the pure quality of his relief pitching this year. While Fisher was terrific once again, 'Hoody' is becoming one of those relievers / closers who gives you the cosy feeling that the game is pretty secure in his young hands. It may be premature to say that he is "lights out" for the opposition, but he is certainly being very stingy about allowing opposition base runners lately and this is a great habit to have!

So there we were folks, FIVE huge runs adrift against a talented opposition who had the confident appearance of a team that was cantering to the winning post without too many problems. The man for that moment, as far as Waverley was concerned, was a guy who has so often been the "heartbeat" of the Wildcats and a guy who hasn't heard the word "quit" in Daniel 'Kendall' Reeman. The highly competitive 'Reemo' took it upon himself to break the ice on the Waverley scorecard with his slashing home run over the left field fence. It was early days, but one could sense from the intensity of his return to the bench after touching all bases, that something special might be brewing. 

At the end of the game we would have to be impressed with another double-digit total of safe hits from our team orientated offensive effort. Grant 'Varitek' Karlsen, 'Jimbo' Beresford and Ian 'Ichiro' Geduld each supplied two clutch hits for the Wildcats as we continually threatened in each of the next few frames, but we couldn't quite get over the "hump" of a 4-5 deficit. Most supporters were feeling that our chances had maybe slipped away when we failed to convert another promising inning in the bottom of the eighth and the one run gap continued to favour Malvern when we began our home half of the ninth.

While the memory is a little hazy, I'm pretty sure that it was a one-out walk that revived some hope for Waverley fans before our newest batting surprise-packet Adam 'Burton' Kim took his stance in the box. 'Kimmy' had been hitting literally everything hard so far this season, but he had been finding the fielders lately. In a most exciting moment for the Waverley team and its supporters, there was no fielder to be found on the other side of the left-centre cyclone wire fence at Napier Park as the ball sailed over into the drainage channel. His two-run homer had snatched the points from a disconsolate Malvern team and sent the Waverley contingent into raptures... it was certainly a moment to remember for a very long time... take a curtain-call Adam!

I have no intention of "sobering" the uplifting news of this memorable triumph by making this report into a forum for personal comment on the Jarrod Hodges "situation", but I feel compelled to provide some perspective for any Waverley fans who may be struggling to understand his position. I make no secret of the fact that Jarrod is a personal favourite of mine and I chatted with him at length after the game yesterday. In a nutshell, Jarrod has been feeling some pressure from his new career outside of baseball and those time constraints have not helped. However, he has simply found that he is not enjoying playing the game at the moment and he cannot allow this to result in performances that do not live up to his own lofty standards. 

Let this be absolutely clear for anyone who does not know Jarrod as I do... he may not be the type of guy who shows his feelings in what may be regarded as the usual demonstrative way, but please don't let this disguise the fact that he loves the Waverley Baseball Club and that he burns inside when we lose as much or if not more than most of us. As mentioned so often in past, there is nobody harder on or more critical of 'Hodgo' than Jarrod himself and it would be a complete misconception for anyone to think that he is giving less than 110%, regardless of what the momentary body-language might indicate.

The team spirit and "chemistry" in the club with the emergence of many fresh young players this season is fantastic and it would only be made BETTER if we can nurture Jarrod Hodges back into an environment where was enjoying the game and playing for Waverley the way we know he can. I certainly hope that he realises his importance to the team and how much support he has from within the club for him to continue. As much as we might like to think that the club is so much more important than any individual, and it is, we are not the New York Yankees and players of the calibre of Jarrod Hodges don't often walk through our front door seeking to play... I'll say no more!

As we look down proudly from the top (or is that the summit?) of the Summit Holden State League table this week we will see the red-hot reigning premiers from Geelong waiting to ambush us with some more pain at Melbourne Ballpark this Thursday night in the late game... we will be hoping for better things than the last time we met at that venue <GROAN!>... please don't bring that up again!! I'll save you a seat!

WILDCATS NAIL NEWPORT 6-1 AT BALLPARK MID-WEEK!
Thursday, 9 NOV 2006

Unlike most baseball devotees, this writer has never fully subscribed to the well worn theory that baseball is all about pitching and defence. While I certainly agree that this is a very vital component of the game, it is equally true that you need to score more runs that the opposition team to win. However, our game against Newport at Melbourne Ballpark last night provided a pretty solid case for the "pitching and defence" theory! 

It was quite a pleasant night at "The Ballpark" for the early game yesterday without the usual wind-chill to which mid-week fans have become so accustomed over the years. The evening was to become increasingly pleasant for the hearty bunch of Wildcats supporters as our team rode the back of some splendid pitching and defence to grab two more vital competition points with our solid 6-1 win over the Altona "locals" from Newport. Yes, and they also delivered enough offence too!

Once again some team news for our mate 'Bonnas'; missing again was Donavon Hendricks (who pitched a tremendous three innings of relief for the Australian team in their unlucky loss to Japan at the Intercontinental Cup last night), while returning to the team was our unassuming star Andrew 'Rusty' Russell. The versatile 'Chipper' Maurer shifted to first base and Jarrod 'Son of a Gun' Hodges started as designated hitter.

In the absence of 'Donnie', and with 'Nolan' Ryan Fisher taking over the Sunday pitching duties, the man to take the mound first for the Wildcats was 'Tommy John' Rynberk. The ever popular Tommy had "cranked up" his pitching over the winter with Waverley's Blackcats but he remained better known to Waverley fans as a clutch hitting outfielder of genuine quality. On the few occasions that your writer had seen Tommy throwing over the winter it always seemed that he did a competent job, yet he often ended on the receiving end of some punishment with not enough defensive support behind him to quell the metal bats in that competition. 

As Tommy would quickly realise, it is a much more enjoyable experience to pitch with a first-class infield backing him up. Rynberk is never likely to overpower hitters with his pure velocity, but he does have an effective array of off-speed and breaking pitches... and he uses his experience as a hitter to choose the right pitch for the right moment. In short, he put on a brilliant display of smart "control pitching", while using the tools that he has to maximum effect.

To simply state that Tommy threw only 60-odd pitches for a high-quality five-innings start, while allowing only one run, paints a pretty accurate picture of just how good he was and what a vital performance it was for his team. Without the benefit of the scorebook, I'm not even certain that the run allowed was earned as I seem to recall an error during the inning? Of course the modest and self-effacing Rynberk gave most of the praise to his catcher Dan 'Kendall' Reeman for calling a great game and for his typical motivation and encouragement.

No doubt 'Reemo' did the same job to steer the team home with Stevie 'Carlton' Hood rarely in trouble during his terrific three innings of complete closure. 'Hoody' is really on a roll at the moment, with increasing confidence at this level helping to bring out the natural talents he has always possessed. Once again his heavy sinking pitches and good location made him a very nasty proposition for the Rams' hitters towards the end of the game. The form of Steve Hood in relief would be a great comfort to Waverley's coaching duo with not too much depth to spare in the bullpen.

OK, OK, before those observant Wildcats at the game get on my case... yes, I did notice that 'Reemo' took a break for the final innings of the game and the man (or is that lad?) who took over the catching duties was none other than 16yo Wade 'Boggs' McConnon who looked every bit a Division One catcher during the final frame of this game. Long-time Waverley fans might recall that young 'Waydo' was a regular catcher in State League U12 competition and he had only moved out of catching because of his own value in other positions. It is another pleasing thing for Waverley supporters to realise how many versatile players we have developed to provide a healthy depth at the club for the longer-term. 

As mentioned, both Waverley pitchers would have enjoyed the protection of some really outstanding infield defence last night with each of the four Wildcats producing some quite superb plays and combining for an overall excellent defensive effort. A revelation for me at "hot corner" on the left side is Anthony 'Rolen' Reinke who seems to pick up everything cleanly and then he showcases a very "Rolen-like" rifle of an arm that never looks likely to miss its target. Standing to his left at short is the gifted glove of 'Ozzie James' Beresford who has a young arm to match Reinke and almost as much range as his freakish Hall-of-Fame namesake 'The Wizard' Ozzie Smith. One ball that 'Jimbo' retrieved up the middle last night was to be seen to be believed and his off-balance throw from deep in the hole almost produced a miracle out at first!

Settling nicely into the second base position is the quality glove of a former Divvy One short stop and Waverley club stalwart Glenn 'Ferret' Mascoll who makes 2b look easy at times with his poise and throwing precision. His double-play combination with Beresford is likely to delight Wildcats' fans for many years to come. Versatile, all-purpose catcher and anywhere-fielder Chris 'Chipper' Maurer did a great job at the right corner last night and he enhanced his defensive effort with another fine hitting performance.

Apologies once again for the absence of batting details without the scorebook but it did seem to me that our Wildcats gave another good, balanced team hitting effort last night. I don't want to risk leaving out anyone I may have forgotten but I do recall important hits from the usual sources this season. It would be better for me to assure Waverley fans that there were not too many that didn't contribute to our offence last night, which has been one of the real bonuses for the club this season.

In a league that provides no respite for complacent teams, our next challenge will come from the visitors of Malvern who will test our mettle again at Napier Park this coming Sunday... BE THERE!

WILDCATS' HANG TOUGH FOR 4-3 WIN @ BONBEACH!
Sunday, 5 NOV 2006

Sport, as we know, can often imitate life itself and, as the old saying goes, what comes around often goes around. And so it was for our Waverley Wildcats who kept battling away to grab those valuable competition points at Bonbeach yesterday. The Bonbeach club that earned promotion to Division One this season certainly lived up to their good early season form and we dip our caps to them for making us battle right to the end. We can expect them to remain in D1 for some time!

It was another very bright and sunny day in Melbourne's south but, while it wasn't particularly hot, it was another of those days that wasn't too friendly for pale skinned caucasians like your writer... alright VERY pale then! If there is a hole in the ozone layer somewhere above the southern hemisphere then it is surely centred pretty much above Bonbeach!

For our good mate Adam Bonaddio who is studying the action from far away destinations, missing from the team this week were pitching ace Don 'Drysdale' Hendricks who is away with the 'AROOS' on Intercontinental Cup duty and Andrew 'Rusty' Russell, our batting average leader, who was away with the family for the weekend. Taking the mound was our latest midweek specialist 'Nolan' Ryan Fisher while the versatile Chris 'Chipper' Maurer was deputising at right-field in very effective style. 

The increasingly impressive Ryan Fisher was again terrific for the Wildcats, allowing only two runs from his poised six innings quality start. He did everything the coaches asked of him by taking us deep into the game and shutting down most of the Blue Jays opportunities to mount a rally. Perhaps even more impressive than 'Fish' on this occasion was Stevie 'Carlton' Hood who strode in to close the last three innings in superb style and he collected a richly deserved win for his efforts. The two emerging youngsters are doing a magnificent tandem job for Waverley.

'Hoody' apparently didn't quite realise that his arm angle was as "three-quarter" as I reported previously and he is making a conscious effort to raise his arm slot a little higher. The experts tell us that when the arm angle is more "over the top" the pitcher usually gets some heavier sink on his pitches and this seems to be helping Steve to be even more effective that he was earlier. I wouldn't know too much about the sophisticated mechanics of pitching, but I can tell you that whatever is working for Steve Hood this year is a credit to his perseverance and determination. 

This week Waverley missed out by only one hit from compiling double-digit hits for the fourth straight game, but the thing that will probably please the coaches and fans most is that the hits didn't all flow from the bats of the "usual suspects". With 'Rusty' Russell away, Anthony Reinke walking more than he hit for a change, and 'Son of a Gun' Jarrod Hodges having a rare quiet game it was left to others to produce enough offence for the club to win by one run.

Stepping up the plate, both figuratively and actually, was Daniel 'Reemo' Reeman who picked a very good day to recapture some of his best batting form. A very astute batting coach standing next to me, our popular former head-coach Dan 'D-MAC' McConnon, noticed that 'Reemo' was keeping his body more "quiet" in the batter's box and that he had stopped his, perhaps inadvertent, shuffling of his feet. It figures that this is more than a coincidence as to why Dan pounded the two most decisive hits of the game. Of course, in between batting, Dan did his usual upbeat and inspirational job of calling the game and doing the defensive hard work behind the dish... it could hardly happen to a more deserving guy... way to go 'Reemo'!

Not far behind Reeman offensively were 'Chipper' Maurer and 'Ferret' Mascoll who also maintained their solid recent form with two most important hits each, the latter featured a memorable triple at a most critical time. Still contributing with safe hits were our younger stars Ian 'Ichiro' Geduld, Adam 'Burton' Kim and Grant 'Varitek' Karlsen... nice job fellas!

Not to finish on a negative note, but we cannot gloss over the nasty number SIX in our errors box after the game. A few of those would involve some "misadventures" with plays at first base where our Batting Champion and former superstar outfielder Jarrod Hodges is currently patrolling. Let's not be too hard on 'Hodgo' for trying to master a position that is clearly much more difficult to adapt to than some might believe... there is no need to be hard on him as we know only too well that he will be hard enough on himself!!

We mentioned recently that our young pitcher Ryan Fisher could be his own harshest critic... well folks, when it comes to being tough on yourself and your own harshest critic, let me assure you that Jarrod Hodges probably wrote the book on setting high standards and not tolerating anything less! If I know Jarrod he might still be dwelling on what should have happened during a couple of those awkward moments and I have no doubt that he was carrying the psychological burden of those errors when he stepped into the batter's box. 

So, now we return to where we began with the chance to explain why "what goes around comes around", even in baseball. 'Hodgo' may have had a torrid time at first base, but when the game was squarely on the line and his team was teetering on the nervous brink of a delicate one run lead in the bottom of the last inning, there was Jarrod Hodges cleanly picking up a scalding shot that hugged the first base line to force the final out of the game unassisted. Baseball, as we know, is a team game and while Jarrod may have been a little low on defensive confidence, he found the natural talent to make an important play when it clearly counted most! 

And, just to show that life often has its own way of "equalising" things, it was partly due to defensive mishaps from the solid Bonbeach team at first base that Waverley was able to grab the decisive two run lead in the top of the ninth inning... sport sometimes imitates life!

Just one final word of encouragement for 'Hodgo'. Everyone at Waverley knows that you are giving your all for the ballclub and that even the greatest players take some time to settle into unfamiliar positions. Just remember the undeniable fact in all sports... the cream ALWAYS rises to the top and we know that you are too good to be down for too long!

Having said that we didn't like to end with a negative tone, here's a REALLY positive outlook for Waverley supporters with the splendid performance of our Senior SECONDS yesterday. As some would know, our SECONDS team is largely comprised of our finest young and junior players who have been elevated to test their skill at a very high level, some perhaps prematurely. 

The departure of some quality senior players this season has forced a situation that may have long-term benefit to the club. Leading the way are emerging pitchers Matt Gerraty, a first season U18 star, and Josh Hendricks who still plays U16's! Among the batting stars yesterday were Reid Staples, another first season U18 who we welcome from Fitzroy this season, with 3-5 and Jake Dunn (son of club great Geoff Dunn) who also delivered two hits. The future of the Waverley Baseball Club would appear to be as bright as it has ever been!

WILDCATS' TWO NOT ENOUGH AGAINST ESSENDON'S FIVE!
Sunday, 29 OCT 2006

After everyone did so well with the mid-week baseball quiz, let's try another one that was very relevant to yesterday's game... and quite probably to many other sports besides. Your multiple choice question is: If the team that you support is beaten, is this because? (a) They didn't perform as well as they are capable; (b) The opposition team was better on the day; (c) They didn't have as much luck as the opposing team.

I can be quite confident in reporting to Waverley fans that, on this occasion, our frustrating 2-5 defeat by the strong visiting team from Essendon was at least partly due to all three factors. So, you may say that if you answered (a), (b) or (c) you would be not be incorrect, but in my view the most accurate answer was probably (b) The Essendon team performed slightly better on the day!

From where I was standing, it did appear for a while that some of our inexperienced players were slightly "overawed or intimidated" by the quality and reputation of the more seasoned Essendon players and that they did not quite perform to the level they have set so far this season. But, as the game progressed, it also appeared that some of the self-belief was returning and that maybe the Wildcats were finishing the game stronger than the Bombers, although they were unable to translate this onto the scoreboard.

The use of the word "luck" in baseball has always been a contentious issue because our sport is well known as a "game of inches" and many baseball contests certainly hinge upon one or two pivotal moments or plays during the game. It has always been a game where little events can be magnified and where momentum swings do affect the result. To say that Waverley had "no luck" yesterday would be a slight exaggeration, in just the same way that you would not be doing proper justice to Essendon's performance by claiming that they had "all the luck". What we can say, from a pure Waverley perspective, is that the "baseball gods" were certainly not smiling upon us during some important moments of the contest. Frankly, it was not much different during the previous two hours when we watched our SECONDS also go down somewhat unfortunately 1-2!

Waverley's pitching ace Donavon 'Drysdale' Hendricks was not quite at the peak of his brilliance during this game and he may have felt the pressure of trying to pitch "too fine" to some dangerous hitters. Whereas he had been very miserly with walks so far this season, he did issue three free passes to the Bombers and these would, as usual, always come back to haunt. On a few occasions 'Donnie' and catcher Dan Reeman seemed convinced that they had retired hitters with strike three, but those close calls did not seem to be going his way on this day... that's baseball! 

In the end Donavon had nothing to be ashamed of, sure the seven hits were a few too many, but he did strike out five and you need to give credit to the quality of the opposition hitters. Both Waverley relievers 'Steve Carlton' Hood and 'Tommy John' Rynberk were terrific again in this game, holding the fort for the Wildcats after Hendricks provided six solid innings. Neither of these bullpen team mates allowed the Bombers to add to their lead in the game and they did all they could to give their team a shot at rallying late. 

While watching the game it did appear that Waverley's hitters were finding it tough to get the better of Essendon's impressive pitching, but at the end of the day we would have to accept the statistics that showed our boys had again compiled double-digit hits and that they actually out-hit Essendon 10-9. As often, this bland statistic dazzled to deceive because few in attendance would dare to claim that Essendon did not hit the ball with more authority than Waverley in this game. In complete fairness, Essendon jumped out in front early in this game and they always looked to have the upper hand in the contest, even though our guys can take credit for never giving up.

Waverley's 'Comeback Kid' Anthony Reinke continues to remind Wildcats fans why they were so disappointed when he left the club with another two-hit performance to maintain his healthy average so far this season. Also producing two "knocks" in the tough contest was Glenn 'Ferret' Mascoll who has very often been the man to find something when the going gets toughest. This loyal Waverley infielder never quite seems to get the plaudits he deserves, but he simply goes about his business in his typically unassuming and determined way... good on you Glen!

In the wash-up, when the mild disappointment subsides, we should remember that it was a pretty high quality contest of baseball at its toughest level in this state and that there was not much separating the two teams. Essendon took the points on this occasion but we will fancy our chances of overturning this result with the potential of an even stronger Wildcats team next time we meet. What we can say with a fair degree of certainty is that Essendon should be right in the mix when the season gets to the "pointy end" and, on this basis, we should also be in the hunt.

Our visit to the somewhat unfamiliar Division One venue of Bonbeach next Sunday promises to provide us with another "form line", especially given that the Blue Jays own the same 4-2 win / loss record as we have at this moment. We can expect to perform a fair bit better than during our pre-season venture to Bonbeach for the recent "Spring Championship"... and we will need to!!

WILDCATS SHINE IN 10-0 MERCY WIN v SUNSHINE!
Wednesday, 25 OCT 2006

It was a typically frosty night at Melbourne Ballpark for our mid-week fixture against Sunshine but, thankfully, there was plenty about our Wildcats performance to warm the hearts of the faithful Waverley contingent in attendance.

This was a game where the undoubted highlight was the superb shutout pitching performance of ‘Nolan Ryan’ Fisher who is taking a leaf out of (former Waverley star) Lee Hogan’s book by making these mid-week games at Altona into his own “hitter’s graveyard”. However, leaving ‘Fish’ aside for a moment, Waverley’s offensive efforts would be equally heartening for most long-suffering Wildcats’ fans.

A quick quiz for devoted Waverley supporters: Who can remember when Waverley last compiled a total of 31 hits in two successive games? When was the last time Waverley put up double-figure run totals in successive games? How long is it since we last saw so many “crooked numbers” in the innings boxes, including a seven-spot?

The answer to all of those is a very long time, even allowing for the fact that we have had some very talented teams and some highly credentialled hitters over the years. So friends, the great news is that while we may have been distracted by concentrating on the players that might not be available this season, we did not allow for the quality of those who could rise to the occasion when given the opportunity.

It must be said, with no detriment to previous Waverley teams, that there seems a noticeable adjustment by our hitters this season with impressive patience, plate discipline and team batting very much in evidence. Whether this is due to a renewed coaching focus or more simply because of the new players in the team is uncertain, but the results are most pleasing so far this year.

The “new guys” we are referring to are Ian ‘Ichiro’ Geduld, Adam ‘Burton’ Kim and Anthony ‘Rolen’ Reinke who have given the team a slightly new dimension with what might be described as “youth and exuberance”. Certainly they have added some speed and hunger to our overall offence. And, don’t think that we are overlooking players like Jason Cousins, Chipper Maurer and Wade McConnon. As we said last week, youngster Wade ‘Boggs’ McConnon continues to look the part defensively, but he is yet to gain confidence at the plate in Victoria’s ‘big league’… it will come. ‘Chip’ and ‘Cuz’ are slightly more experienced and have already produced some excellent batting.

Under the sub-heading of “there is no substitute for quality” we welcomed the return of Jarrod Hodges last night who served up a three-hit reminder fresh back from injury, just in case anyone had forgotten who is BV’s reigning Batting Champion. It is becoming redundant to mention ‘Rusty’ Russell’s offensive contributions but he has also become a cornerstone in the lineup and a guy who very often delivers the clutch hit. It was no different last night when he stepped up to hammer the game-breaking 2RBI single with bases loaded and two out in the fourth inning.

Nine different Waverley players hit safely last night with Anthony Reinke and Dan Reeman joining ‘Hodgo’ as the multiple hitters for the game with two each. Adam Kim did not have multiple hits for a change on this occasion but his bases-clearing 2RBI triple in the fourth effectively killed the game for Sunshine during our seven-run frame. It just overshadowed Jason Cousins’ booming RBI double later in the game.

With such an impressive offensive display we may not have needed the pitching heroics performed by our teenage lefty Ryan Fisher, but this did not stop him focussing on the job and pitching a virtuoso shutout victory. Not to exaggerate his performance, but it truly was the type of effort you would only see from the very best pitchers over the years in Australian baseball. Obviously, ‘Fish’ would need to do this many more times in future before we would compare him with past greats, but it was the type of performance which confirms that he has the potential and the raw talent.

Not only did he throw an unassisted seven-innings shutout with EIGHT big strikeouts and only four hits allowed, but he also worked with a nice tempo and his economy of pitches suggests that he could easily have gone the full nine innings if required. Ryan worked almost exclusively down in the strike zone, changed speeds effectively and he featured a really nasty “hook”… most importantly, he threw a predominance of strikes and he always seemed to be ahead in the count. It was SUPERB stuff!

To emphasise his growing poise and maturity, it was not all plain sailing for Fisher last night and his heroics in the third inning when the game was still scoreless was another indicator of a pitcher who “has the right stuff”. Sunshine’s leadoff batter skied a rain-maker to left-field that became lost in the murky early evening lights and our poor left-fielder Ian Geduld could do nothing but wait helplessly until the ball landed about 10m from where he was positioned, still hoping to catch sight of the baseball.

The result was a potentially soul-destroying leadoff triple and, with none out, many young pitchers could be excused for losing the plot. Ryan simply re-focussed to deliver a strikeout, followed by two infield pop-flies to keep Sunshine from opening the scoring and thereby providing a significant boost to our team spirit at the time.

Waverley supporters will be delighted to know that we received an e-mail from one of our favourite sons Adam ‘Bonnas’ Bonaddio who is presently in England after spending recent weeks in Europe. It won’t surprise you to hear that Adam is thirsting for news about his beloved Wildcats and he likes what he is hearing so far this season. ‘Bonnas’ is keen for team lineup news, so just for you mate:- last night it was Hodges IN (back from calf injury) and Jim Beresford OUT (study commitments). As much as we would love to have you playing with Waverley this season Adam, we know that we can look forward to seeing you back fully re-charged sometime in the future.

A little more “team news” for all Waverley supporters: Grant Karlsen said last night that his injured arm has just been re-assessed and that he has been told not to throw for at least another two weeks. Grant is not entirely happy with having to settle for a DH role at present, but we know that it is a LONG season and that he will have plenty to contribute before the end of this campaign. 

On Scott Dawes’ playing situation… Scotty said that he preferred to give some of the younger guys a chance to display their wares, at least in the early part of the season. David White speculated last night that Scott will probably put in some solid practice over Christmas and he hopes that he will be able to contribute offensively in some capacity after Christmas… time will tell.

A couple of other vital pieces to the Wildcats long-term puzzle are the imminent returns of Danny Berg and pitcher Justin ‘Big Train’ Johnston. ‘Bergie’, our spies tell us, is absolutely craving the opportunity to get back and show Waverley fans how much he has continued to develop this past US pro season. ‘Johnno’ may not be too well known to followers of senior baseball, but let me assure you that he was an outstanding Victorian representative pitcher in U18 State League last season and that he was Waverley’s Junior Club Champion for 2005/06… he will be a great boost to our pitching depth when he has completed his university exams.

With our healthy season record of 4-1, we await the next challenge of having ALL SENIOR GRADES at HOME against Essendon this coming Sunday… don’t miss it!

WILDCATS MAKE MERRY AT MELBOURNE!
Sunday, 22 OCT 2006

It seemed like another one of those days in marvellous Melbourne that are becoming increasing common thanks to the hole in the ozone layer where the sun had more “sting” in it that you might expect on what was otherwise a fairly cool, but sunny day. The quite numerous Waverley contingent on the southern hill at Surrey Park certainly knew what to expect from a Melbourne team that has always given us a great contest with the all too familiar figure of Brendan Ratcliffe on the mound. The fact that the Demons owned a 2-0 record so far this season also gave us further cause to respect the opposition.

In another lifetime, way back in 1995, the very same Brendan Ratcliffe was the preferred closer for Paul Runge’s ABL Championship winning Melbourne Reds when he bamboozled the nation’s best hitters in 26 appearances out of the bullpen. These days I don’t think that the good humoured and likeable Ratcliffe would mind us saying that he is perhaps past the peak of his physical condition, but he can still contain and frustrate the best batters in Victorian baseball.

However, on this occasion our Waverley Wildcats seemed determined to execute a game plan whereby they tried to get on top of Brendan from the start of the game with a bit of “small ball” and lots of “plate discipline”. In past years some of Waverley’s big hitters have allowed themselves to become entangled in the web of Ratcliffe who knows better than most how to take the power away from eager bats with his off-speed, off-off-speed and no-speed subtle left hand pitching.

Right from the moment that Jim Beresford perfectly executed a leadoff bunt for a safe hit in the opening at bat of the game, one could sense that there was a real purpose to the way that the Wildcats would approach their offence. Most of the Waverley hitters contributed to an impressive 19-hit performance on the day and there was plenty of solid batting up and down the lineup.

Once again we would be delighted with the batting of some previously unheralded players, in the continued absence of heavy hitters like Jarrod Hodges, Danny Berg, Scotty Dawes and Grant Karlsen who are each close to being available again. Stepping up are the lively Ian ‘Ricky Henderson’ Geduld, who batted 3-5 and, not for the first time this year, Adam ‘Burton’ Kim, who contributed 3-6 in another terrific display of line drive hitting. 

Not in the unheralded category is our 2006 Claxton Shield star ‘Rusty’ Russell who has simply picked up where he left off last season with tremendous consistency, having a three hit game yesterday. James Beresford, Glen Mascoll, 'Chipper' Maurer and Kerry Gassner were Waverley’s other plural-hitters for the game.

Young Donavon Hendricks celebrated his selection in the Australian team to contest the 2006 Intercontinental Cup with another immaculate display of starting pitching. The maturing left-hander cranked it up a notch and extended his pitch count this week to pretty much ensure another victory for the Wildcats. ‘Donnie’ allowed only two hits from his five innings of controlled variation. Our congratulations on your 'AROOS' selection Donnie!

Once Hendricks had done his stint the Demons’ hitters seemed to appreciate the “pressure release”, even though our relief crew of ‘Stevie Wonder’ Hood and ‘Tommy John’ Rynberk did little wrong. Stevie gave up a few more hits than he might have liked, but he had enough poise to pitch his way through some tight spots. Tommy continues to provide us a pleasant surprise with the quality of his pitching at this level of competition when he put the lid on the valuable victory.

The Melbourne team, as we would expect, never gave up trying to turn the tide in the game. One player who helped our pitchers make sure that this never quite happened was our mercurial short stop ‘Ozzie James’ Beresford. ‘Jimbo’ put on a defensive clinic on the left side of the infield to go along with his two safe hits for the game. Not only did he demonstrate his range by gloving hard-hit balls that most others wouldn’t touch, but his extraordinary athletic balance and laser-like throwing were a sight to behold. At least three of his important outs in this game were genuine major league standard!

3-1 represents a pretty solid start to our season, but a true acid test is on our horizon this week with a mid-week fixture against Sunshine, for those of us that still remember the disappointment of our corresponding loss last season, and a home game against the highly fancied Essendon this coming Sunday.  

NO SHAME IN 0-4 SHUTOUT DEFEAT BY HOGAN'S BLACKBURN!
Thursday, 19 OCT 2006