SMALLS TALK: Getting New Equipment

There are few things in this world that excite me more than new baseball equipment. I'm like a little kid on Christmas morning- I try everything on, make sure everything fits, and then log a good amount of time in front of the mirror to make sure the whole ensemble works. It's pretty embarrassing, come to think of it.

But it gets me excited. I become anxious for the season to start so I can sport my new cleats, show off my new batting gloves, and crack that first homer with my brand new lumber. 

My preseason shipment of gear came in yesterday afternoon, and needless to say I'm pumped to begin the breaking-in process during today's training session. New glove, cleats, batting gloves, bats- all will be put to use today, collectively acting as another reason I'm excited to get to Spring Training and get the season underway.

So what will I be sporting heading into the 2011 season? Let's take a look.

Q & A : Response to Comment Section Questions from 'Owen'

This comment was posted under MiLB LIFE: A Typical Game Day [Part Two]

      Owen said...

Ha, ha! The part about the base running drills made me laugh so hard. I'm actually going to say that to my coach this spring. I'll let you know if he laughs or I wind up running wind sprints. Here are some questions: do you get free equipment and why don't players get to keep their uniform shirts? Does the team let you buy it if you want to? Do you get to pick your number?

      January 14, 2011 8:09 PM 

Owen, thanks for reading and I appreciate the comment. As far as my feelings about base-running drills go, I'd keep those to yourself- unless you have a hankering for your coach's favorite form of punishment, of course. 

As for equipment- I was given a free glove on my first day of Rookie Ball. It was the weirdest thing. I walked into the equipment room, got my uniform, team shorts and shirt, and at the end they asked my position. 'Outfield.' Here you go- they handed me a brand new black glove still in the packaging. I didn't have any say or get to pick- there it was. I looked down at some Wilson model I'd never seen before- for all I know it was a test model. I could barely get my hand into the thing- it now serves as decoration on a shelf in my bedroom. A teammate of mine made the point that they likely gave us these gloves simply so they can say they gave us a glove- I wonder how many actually see any action.

MOVIE RANT: Summer Catch

*I'd like to preface this post by saying that "Summer Catch" is just an awful movie. The Boston accents make me cringe, the baseball scenes make me wonder if anyone on set has ever played a sport, and the acting has me firmly believing that I could head to Hollywood right now, star in a movie, and become the nation's next heart-throb young actor..

Equipment is an area where a lot of movies lose their authenticity. For example, Freddie Prinze, Jr.'s glove in Summer Catch is too big. Way too big. He's supposed to be a bigshot pitching prospect and he's walking around with a slow-pitch softball outfielder's mitt. It's no wonder he got kicked off his college team with that Rick Vaughn replica glove. He walks off the field one out shy of a no-hitter to chase a girl (granted it was Jessica Biel, probably not a bad move), yet the size of his glove is the aspect of the movie that I find unrealistic. Attention to detail, Hollywood. You can have the most far-fetched plot in the world and I'll eat it up, unless you have a pitcher sportin' a 15-inch Rawlings. Clean it up.

In the same movie Matthew Lillard, who tries so hard to be funny it hurts, plays a catcher from USC who has some trouble adjusting to the wood bats of the Cape League. Sure, he's having a tough go but I think he gets a raw deal when in the FIRST GAME, after maybe two at-bats, he walks to the plate to the announcer saying, "Brubaker's really struggled with these wooden bats this year, he's had a real difficult time here on the Cape." He's 0 for 2 on the season! Ten seconds later he could've been batting .333. I would've turned around and flipped the announcer the bird right then and there. 

Lillard later breaks a bat over his knee in a tirade after striking out (1:32 mark). This is ridiculously hard to do. I mean really hard. I tried once and not only did I not succeed but I thought I broke my thigh in two. A Dominican on my team this summer did it, a brand new Maple M110. I'm still in awe. Forget stats, shit like that gets you to the Bigs.

One more critique: Freddie Prinze, Jr.'s character says "Come on Blue! Get off your knees your blowin' the game" under his breath on the mound after a questionable call. I mean come on. I thought that line was reserved for 12 year-old spectators trying to get a cheap laugh out of their buddies at the ball game, and even then the kids he's with are like "yeah yeah, good one dude..."

Some Hollywood nerd who's never played baseball definitely heard that line and thought it was pure gold, doing his best to force it into the movie with no regard for credibility. And then when the coach goes out for a mound visit, Prinze serves up that line's soulmate: "Does his wife know he's screwin' us?" I don't think I've ever heard one of those lines without the other being uttered immediately 2 seconds after, at most. Both just awful in-game chatter, laughable really.

(Check out the "Tip Drill" at the beginning of the movie's trailer. Are you kidding me? When have you ever heard of a baseball team- high school? little league? tee ball? wiffle ball?- tip a ball behind their heads and up to each other? What does that work on? How does that make you better? Was the only sports consultant available for this movie a former high school football defensive back? I can assure you every Chatam A would laugh in Coach Schiffner's face if he pulled that drill out of his ass for the team's first practice. Stuff like that gets you laughed out of the Hawaii League, never mind the Cape.)