Coach's Corner

June 8, 2009

Hello everyone and first let me apologize for not keeping the blog as up to date as I should. I will do a much better job, a couple if you have e-mailed me and reminded me that it’s the only way you have been able to keep up. I appreciate the interest.

Since I last wrote, we still had a chance at the playoffs. That is no longer the case. We played a really rough stretch of baseball where we couldn’t get our offense and pitching going at the same time. Most of the games were close games, some were not. Our defense has been quite a weak spot for us, but I’m hoping that it will steady as we try to get some guys settled in at positions.

This season has been tough so far, mainly because we had higher expectations. I will give credit to our opponents too. There has been some tough competition in the 1st league. Last weekend we played in an international tournament with teams from Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany. There were 8 teams and we played well enough to win the tournament. The evenings were fun to, all the players let loose and had a good time.

Yesterday we played cross-town rival Cologne and swept them in a doubleheader. Nice to get back on the winning track. We have this coming weekend off, then we finished up the regular season against a tough team from Paderborn.

I’ll write again soon. Check you all later.

-Ben Bizier

April 24, 2009

Hello again, some bad news here from Pulheim… We lost our doubleheader last weekend against the league leader, Solingen Alligators. We dropped to under .500 for the first time this season, and we hope to get back on the winning track this coming Sunday with a doubleheader against our rival, Cologne Cardinals.

The first game of the DH didn’t look good from the get-go. We gave up runs early and did zero on offense. Credit to the pitcher from Solingen, he had a no-hitter going through 6 innings. Our defense was solid and the opposing team put the ball in play a lot, they were just a solid offensive team and they wore us out. We found ourselves losing 9-0 after 3 innings, not a good place to be on the road.

The second game offered a few glimpses of light. A pitcher’s duel with our defense once again holding its own for the first 5 innings. Unfortunately, we didn’t crack the scoreboard until the 5th as we once again faced a pretty good pitcher. A couple defensive miscues in the wrong spots caused some heartache, and we faded as the later innings wore on. We lost 8-2.

Overall, Yes I am unhappy with dropping two games of a doubleheader. All is not lost however in my opinion. Defensively we needed to be challenged and in my opinion, we played better defense than the opponents did. As far as pitching goes, our staff has made it a major goal to challenge hitters and they succeeded in this feat this past weekend. So two losses, but also two things to build on for the next couple weeks.

In my personal life, I am glad to say that my good friend Morgan Chick has finally flown overseas to visit. She arrived yesterday morning and she is excited to see the city of Cologne and also see the team play. Like I said before, old Guilford teammates and long lost friends from Maine alike… Come visit Europe! You will always have a place to stay with me.

I will touch base again early next week where I am hoping that I can report to you that we are back to .500 and maintaining our spot for playoff contention. See you.

-Coach Bizier

April 15, 2009

Hello again, a busy week here in Pulheim. We traveled to Hamburg last Thursday to play against the HSV Stealers. We practiced at one of our friendship clubs fields on Friday. The weather up in the north was really nice. Unfortunately, Saturday wasn’t so nice.

We didn’t play very well at all that day. Our pitching staff couldn’t find the strike zone, our hitters couldn’t hit with runners in scoring position. There were numerous times where we had the opponent on the ropes, but couldn’t do anything. To their credit, the Stealers made all the right plays at the right time and they deserved to beat us. We lost both games of the doubleheader and we were definitely feeling down when we left Hamburg.

There wasn’t much time to wallow in our sorrow. On Monday, we were visited by the Bonn Capitals. They are a young team but they play pretty hard. The Capitals are also pretty fundamentally sound, they don’t really make the spectacular plays, but they make most of the plays they are suppose to. In game one, we struck out 17 times against a pretty good pitcher. Once again, walks and giveaways on defense were the achillies heel. We lost the first game by 9 runs.

So, after starting 2-0, we had now lost 3 in a row and were facing the last game of the doubleheader against Bonn. Lucky for us, we woke up from our weekend slumber and lit up the scoreboard. We scored 21 runs in 6 innings and our pitcher held the Capitols to one hit and he gave up just one walk. I was even more thankful that the defense had zero errors. When we play like that, we can beat anyone in the league.

We stand at 3-3 and are in 3rd place, but we have a tough stretch in front of us. This weekend we travel to play against 1st place Solingen. Should be a good test. Then we play a home derby against the Cologne Cardinals. Sorry this is such a short blog entry, the weather has been uncharacteristically nice, so I have to try to spend as much time at the field as I can when the sun is shining.

I will get back to you either later this week, or early next week. Hope all is well with everyone, and please keep writing to me by e-mail or facebook with your thoughts on the blog. See you…

-Coach Bizier

April 6, 2009

Wow! What a weekend. Saturday and Sunday was filled with great weather and some pretty good baseball. Overall, I have to smile at the end of it all because even though I saw a lot of things that drove me to the edge of insanity, all the guys in the club did something this weekend to contribute to the overall good of the club.

On Saturday I traveled to Dusseldorf with our 2nd men’s baseball team. Most of the guys were really excited to get outside and have fun. We did. In both games we played OK, but we couldn’t take advantage of the other team’s miscues, not to mention we had some of our own at the worst possible times. We hit well, it surprised me a bit as it was the first time a lot of these guys had even seen live pitching this year. We came up short in both games, but I wasn’t displeased with the guys because they brought their game and they are still learning a ton about what it takes to be successful when you are not playing your best defensively. I hope they carry this lesson with them through the rest of the season.

Sunday was the day a lot of people were waiting for. We opened the season with our 1st Bundesliga team at home against a playoff team from last year, the Dortmund Wanderers. We came out nervous, and it was easy to see. All of our pitchers were shaking, I haven’t seen something like that in a while, but I don’t think it’s something that will last. The guys see now that they are not pitching because we don’t have anyone else, they are pitching because they are good. Our position players came out shaky too, which I didn’t understand b/c normally we are a very solid defensive team. The only place we didn’t come out apprehensive was at the plate. Our guys were patient and aggressive, which was great to see because that’s exactly what we have been working on.

We faced two pretty good pitchers, and we beat both of them. The first game was shaky as we lost our starter in the second inning due to ineffectiveness. So our work was cut out for us. We stayed in the game and just hung around until we had their pitcher on the ropes. Once we got him on the ropes, we went for the knockout punch and it landed. We went into the 9th with a 13-8 lead, and I was actually beginning to wonder if we were scared to win when Dortmund got the tying run to first base before we shut the door on them, winning 13-10.

The second game saw us losing our starting pitcher in the 2nd inning again, this time to injury. We had our young guy Markus Solbach step in and throw admirably. He kept us in the game and we scratched our way back to a 3-3 tie before the Wanderers scored 3 more runs to put us back down 6-3. Into the 7th inning we went and to me it was clear the starter for Dortmund was gassed. He began to lose a bit of control and his curveball flattened out. Surprisingly, he stayed in the game. We scraped our way to 4 runs that inning, the crowd really got into it which was awesome. After the 7th, we led 7-6. Even though Dortmund had the tying run on in the top of the 9th with one out, our closer Philipp Spade came in and struck out the final two hitters.

Our guys were excited, understandably. There was some doubt about whether or not we belonged in the 1st league, and we showed that we do. I told the guys after the game that when you make as many mistakes and giveaways as we did and you still win, you’re not a bad team. Was that our best team? NO. Not even close. In my opinion we played uncharacteristic defense and had a few baserunning blunders, not to mention at times our pitchers couldn’t find the zone. But we won, and that’s baseball.

After the game, the 2nd teamers were able to enjoy the two victories with us. This was so great, we look at them as if they are members of our team too. We barbecued and had some drinks as we hung out together and talked about the success and failures of the day.

So this week is also a tough one. On Thursday we drive to Hamburg to play the Stealers (game is Saturday), we return Sunday and play a doublheader on Monday against the Bonn Capitals. Our goal is to keep our momentum going as long as we can.

I’ll check back in with everyone next Tueday.

-Coach Bizier

March 30, 2009

Sorry it’s been a little while since I wrote, it’s been a busy couple weeks. Here is a quick review of the last 10 days…
Last weekend, we played at home against a team from Belgium, we did OK. Offensively I thought we were a little apprehensive, which I didn’t like but we made adjustments as the game went on. Pitching was pretty good, we threw three guys and they all did pretty well.

The following day we played against crosstown rival Cologne. This day our defense was sloppy and I wasn’t impressed with our execution. We didn’t really look sharp like I hoped we would, but then again I can’t complain too much about our offensive approach because it was definitely better than I had been seeing. As far as Cologne goes, we play them four times during the season so it was nice to get familiar with them, even though I know they were trying to shield what they will look like during the season. We did the same.

During last week it rained and rained. I hurt my back so I was unable to participate for the preparation of our games Saturday and Sunday. Our assistant coaches Joe and O’B did a great job getting the guys ready. But then, we had to cancel our game Saturday because of the inclement weather. It was discouraging but I feel better about not destroying our field before the season starts.

On Sunday we had an intrasquad. It was great. Our 1st and 2nd team’s faced off and everyone got a chance to get the last bit of rust out. I was encouraged by what I saw, but we still need to clean some things up before we start our regular season this coming weekend.

This week is important. On Saturday we open the season with our 2nd team and on Sunday is the opener for our 1st men’s team. We play a doubleheader at home against Dortmund. The Wanderers made the playoffs last year and they have a pretty solid team. It will be nice to see how we match up against them, I’m very optimistic. I’ll try to let you know how things are going on Friday or Saturday. I’ll update when I can.

-Coach Bizier

March 19, 2009

So this past weekend I got a chance to see our guys in action. It was great. We traveled south about 2 hours to a small city called Bad Homburg for a pre-season scrimmage. They are a 2nd Bundesliga team but they were young and clearly have aspirations to play in the 1st league within the next few years. I liked their style.

We played about 12-14 innings overall (I really can’t remember), all of our pitchers threw atleast 2 innings and all of our hitters got atleast 3 plate appearances. We hit the ball suprisingly well, I was actually caught off guard at how far ahead we are this year then where we were last year. Defensively we were a little rusty, made a couple errors on some routine plays. Baserunning was also fairly questionable, but that will get better once guys realize they can’t just run around with reckless abandon. The highlight of the day was the great pitching. Our pitchers worked the zone the entire day and challenged every hitter they faced.

The last couple days of practice have been great too. We’ve had roughly 15 guys out there working a lot on individual stuff, plus the weather is finally good. This coming weekend we play some more pre-season games on Saturday and on Sunday. I’ll let you know how they go.

Here in Pulheim, we’ve got a couple of young talented pitchers. Their names are Markus Solbach and Sebastian Theobald. They are pretty entertaining guys also, they always make the game fun. Last year, they both pitched with our 1st men’s team as well as with the junior team and the recreational men’s team’s. Both of them really love baseball. This season, everyone is hoping they can contribute even more to the 1st team, and with the help of our new pitching coach, I think it could happen. Joe, our pitching coach, was just commenting on how entertaining the guys are sometimes. I hope I can keep you updated on the progress of these young guys as the season goes along.

I will catch you next week, after our weekend scrimmages. Thanks for checking back in.

-Coach Bizier

March 12, 2009

Well the weather hasn’t been cooperating lately, but things are still progressing. Last week we finalized our entire roster with the addition of two American guys from Carolina. I’m excited about both guys and they will be a huge addition with their skill and knowledge.

This weekend we play our first pre-season game. Everyone still seems to be hot, I’m happy about that. I never use pre-season games as a measuring stick, but it’s so different from facing your own guys because the competitive juices seem to flow a little more quickly. Plus, it’s time to forget about all the talk that you have been doing all winter and just get yourself physically and mentally prepared to battle all season long. As it is early, you are not preparing so much in the sense of getting hits and making plays, but it’s time to focus on all the adjustments that will take place. This is when you can really see what kind of players you have, because this is when you see how guys approach what they are doing wrong and how they plan on fixing it.

Our 2nd team opens there season on the 4th of April (the day before our season starts). And these guys are some characters… Just recently, we finished construction of the new dugouts on our field, and they were the ones who did most of the muscle work. The core group of guys have been friends with each other for a long time, and they really love baseball. They are always organizing things for the 1st league team, we are grateful. When fans come to see games, they see our 2nd team working concessions, the scoreboard, the DJ booth, the scorers table… You get the point, they take care of us.

What a cast of characters, but this week I want to pick out one of them. His first name is Xavi, and I have written his name in the lineup many times, but I still don’t know what his real last name is. I believe it is Mendietta but I don’t know for sure. Anyways, he is from Nicaraugua and he is a little party animal. He doesn’t speak any english at all, but our communication is great!!! About a month ago, in preparation for the 2nd team’s season, they wanted to travel to Dortmund for an indoor tournament. Since I also assist in coaching them, I obliged at their invitation. The manager of the team told me that he would pick me up at 7:30 at my apartment. When the doorbell rang I came outside and immediately felt how chilli it was. However, my attention was quickly taken to my left, directly next to the dumpster outside my apartment. I saw Xavi leaning over with his hands on his knees, throwing up. In between heaves, he stood up and said ‘Good morning coach!’ He was smiling ear to ear. Unreal ha? He stumbled over to the car, got in, sat down and went to sleep!!! He slept for the duration of the ride, but he actually played pretty good that day.

So I hope you all enjoyed that story, and after the weekend I will let you know how it went. I also hope I can give you some insight to some of our 1st team members. Hopefully I have some positive news to report next week. See you soon.

-Coach Bizier

February 22, 2009

Back again, I was really happy to see all the people who wrote to me and said they enjoyed the blog. It is good to hear from all of you too. I will do my best to keep you updated on everything going on.

This past week was a hectic one here in Germany, both in baseball and socially. The city I live in is called Cologne. Every year they have a festival called “Karneval” where the city goes nuts for 5-6 days. If I could compare it to anything we have in the states, the best I could do is say that it is like Mardi Gras + Halloween + Steroids… It truly was ‘outta control.’ Needless to say, I enjoyed myself and got to see some sights I will never forget.
Besides Karneval, Cologne really is a great city. I would suggest to anyone if they are going to visit Europe or more specifically Germany, Cologne is a must see. I’ll give more specifics on traditions and festivities as we get into the summer.

As for baseball, things are progressing the way I hoped they would. We just finalized all of our winter transactions (for German players atleast). We have six new German players, all of whom I can see helping this years team in some way or another. The best part about it is, almost all of them are young. This makes me especially happy because one of my biggest goals prior to coming here was to leave the club better off than it was before I arrived. These players give the Gophers the chance to have that happen.

We also finalized our pre-season schedule, which starts in the middle of March and finishes the last weekend of the month. A lot of our guys already have our season opener on their minds(first weekend of April), but I am taking things one day at a time. There is still a lot of evaluation that I need to do. Playing time for this year’s club is wide open, which any coach will tell you they love.

It’s my goal to give my readers an insight to what kind of guys I am dealing with here. I remember all the teams I have been on, and the best ones are the ones with character. Each week, starting next month, I will attempt to give you some insight on an individual player or a group of players so you get a better idea of how baseball is here in Germany. Hope it makes the blog more interesting.

In addition, I also can’t help but mention my alma mater’s outstanding start to the season. Guilford College is off to its best start in a while, and I’m happy to see all of you guys doing well, especially my outfield guys (don’t want to forget Drew Ward either). Keep it going when conference play starts.

Check back on me in a week or two, I will keep you updated with what’s going on here.

-Coach Bizier

February 11, 2009

So welcome to the first edition of the 2009 season ‘Coach’s Corner’. My name is Ben Bizier and I have been the coach here in Pulheim for the last two seasons, and this season in my 3rd year, we embark on our return to the 1st Bundesliga North.

Like most teams, we are in the midst of preparing ourselves for the preseason. The past 4+ months have seen our guys working on a lot of conditioning and agility type stuff, basically trying to become better athletes. Winter training here in Germany is not like it is in the U.S., Players mostly work out only on weekends or do some conditioning during the week.
Our team is shaping up to look OK. We have some decent young talent mixed with some guys who have been wearing the Pulheim jersey since they were 10 years old, but that’s not uncommon at all for Germany. Since it is our first year back in the 1st League, I would not be surprised if most people expected us to finish near the bottom of the 7 team North Division (which doesn’t bother me!). But it truly is too early to pick where anyone will finish, so I don’t have any comments on how I think this season will go, but I will get back to you once the preseason gets under way.

For those unfamiliar with the European club system, there are no junior high, high school or college teams, so if you want to start or continue playing sports, you need to join a club (which usually costs around 200 Euros/year, depending on the level of the player). Anyways, that’s the VERY short version and my explanation doesn’t do real justice to how things actually work, but if I explained all that it would take up the entire blog space.

For all my old Guilford teammates, I think about how much fun we had all those years together, and every time I put on my jersey you guys are all their with me. For this year’s team, I wish Coach Black and his squad the best of luck to start their season.

Check back on me in about two weeks, we are currently working on shoring up some additional young prospects to help both our 1st team and our 2nd team. Thanks for checking in on me and see you soon.

-Coach Bizier