Two lumps of coal?!

Dutch St. Nick by artist Ila LaFever

Probably my favorite holiday tradition, one that is a little unique to my family (which, looking back, is probably the reason I love it so much), is our annual celebration of St. Nicholas Day on December 6th. Every year, St. Nicholas visits our house on the night of December 5th.  During his visit, he fills our stockings with candies, fruits, and nuts. There is usually a book, a game and a Christmas Tree ornament included in the stash St. Nick brings for us. He also tends to add a stuffed animal along with some school supplies, toiletries, and other "essentials" (underwear and socks in particular). Most of these St. Nicholas gifts are meant to be shared, not hoarded for oneself (so most of the candies, nuts and fruit get co-mingled right away, and used throughout Advent).

St. Nicholas also takes the time to write us a letter each year. The letter is filled with praise for each family member, praise for all of the good things they have done that year, and how they are growing (or have grown) into wonderful young adults. But the letter always ends with a "however." In that paragraph, St. Nick reminds us that we can always be a little bit better, that there are things to improve upon for the next year, and that doing so is our gift back to him.

I know that the kids enjoy this special holiday tradition (as I did when I was their age) in part because very few other people we know celebrate St. Nicholas Day, and that makes it more special (even if they have to explain it to their friends every year). But also, because St. Nick's letter serves to make each of the children each feel special and unique -- which is the part I really like.

So, for those of you who are St. Nick noobs (and if you are, be sure to check out the St. Nicholas Center) here is a crash course...the historic Nicholas was born on the southern coast of what is now modern-day Turkey. He was born into a wealthy Greek family, and was raised to be a devout Christian. When his parents died in an epidemic, the young Nicholas followed Jesus' word to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," and spent his inheritance to assist the needy, sick and suffering. He became the Bishop of Myra early in the 4th Century, and had a reputation for secret gift-giving.

Although the celebration of St. Nicholas Day is largely unknown in the the United States, there are some enclaves where the tradition carries on. In particular a large swath of the Midwest, between Chicago (where my family is from) and Milwaukee, celebrate St. Nicholas Day each year, in addition to any communities with large populations of Dutch descendants, and it is that tradition that my family largely follows...

In much of Europe (both Christian and Orthodox), parties are held on the eve of St. Nicholas' feast, December 5th, and shoes or stockings left for St. Nicholas to fill during the night. Good children will find treats of small gifts, fruit or nuts, and special Nicholas candies and cookies. This is especially true in The Netherlands, where my grandfather's family is from. In the Dutch tradition, St. Nicholas arrives on a boat from Spain, with his white horse, and servant "Zwarte Pieten". The trio (how can you possibly separate St. Nick from his horse?!) travel the countryside filling the wooden shoes (or at my house their Christmas stockings) of good children, with treats and small toys, but leaving lumps of coal for children who haven't been so well behaved!

Illustration from envelope, Bar-le-Duc, France

Candy, toys, and treats, what could be better than a visit from St. Nick? Yet each and every year, St. Nicholas (unwittingly) fosters some level of angst prior to visiting our house. This has much to do with those lumps of coal. You see, in my family, there is plenty of grey. No one is (or really can be) all good, or all bad, hence the "however" clause in St. Nicholas' letter. In addition to his words, St. Nicholas often leaves things that (he hopes) will remind the kids (and adults) to try and be better people every day of the year. These "naughty" tokens include potatoes, onions and yes, lumps of coal (and my kids would argue the underwear and toiletries as well)...

The problem, that seems to crop up each year, is that while there are four of us in the house -- St. Nick always seems to have five lumps of coal to distribute when he arrives... As a result, my kids have come to see getting the second lump of coal as a "sign" from St. Nick that they have been particularly naughty (at least in comparison to their siblings). Which of course leads to arguments and additional naughty behavior that clearly is not desirable.

Over the last few years, I know that St. Nick has struggled to try and figure out what to do... The first, most obvious solution, was to get rid of one of the lumps of coal. Easy enough, but the one year he tried that, the kids figured him out, and decided to line up their lumps and see who had the biggest lump of coal (because the two smallest lumps are roughly equal to the largest lump in size/mass). Clearly that person was the naughtiest one this year... oi vey!

This year, I am sure St. Nick planned to use a more empirical methodology. Certainly he knows, as do I, which of the kids was most troublesome this year - doesn't he? Perhaps one of the kids is really more deserving of an extra lump this year...Well, my oldest daughter can be quite bossy, and just this week tried to bully her little sister into "behaving" in a certain way (so as not to be embarrassed by her). That would qualify as naughty, but does it deserve a lump of coal? I'm not sure, that seems more like a "two onion" infraction. My son, on the other hand, just this week didn't do the dishes when I asked him to, and decided to fight with me about doing them when I re-asked him to do them. Hmmm, that one seems more like an extra potato offense. Well, what about my youngest daughter? She tried to get her brother into trouble just today, by tattling on him... is that worthy of an extra lump of coal? Maybe not... but I think and extra pair of underwear would be in order!

Wow, I started to realize just how tough it is for St. Nick to do his job! Before bed last night, I thought a lot about what he might do, but it was late, and I was tired, so I left my thoughts until morning. I knew that reading St. Nick's letter to the kids in the morning would reveal how he decided to assign coal lump number 5...

Morning came too early today, and my youngest was up bouncing on the bed and begging me to go downstairs so she could open her stocking. All of the kids know that before we open St. Nick's presents we have to read his letter together. So they sat on the couch and I began to read. The letter went over well, the kids nodded and smiled, surely St. Nick got things right this year! Even the "however" paragraphs got nods of approval, until the last one, which was directed to me, and read:

You have done such a good job taking care of the kids and making sure that they are growing up well, and I am very proud of you for that.

However, sometimes you have the tendency to want all of the children to be a little more grown up than they really are (which is why you get the extra lump of coal this year...). Remember, they are all good kids, and while they sometimes make mistakes, so do we all. This year, I would like to see you use your big heart to relax and enjoy the kids, in the moment. To not worry so much about everything having to be just, equal, and fair, just enjoy them for who, what, and where they are.

Until next year, I love you all,

St. Nick

St. Nick's words to me are very true. This holiday season, and for the rest of the year, I promise to do my best to live up to his "however."

St. Nicholas Day is one of those traditions that was passed down from my Mom to me. It connects me to my extended family, our cultural heritage (a little bit at least), and makes me remember many of the good times I had growing up (thank you Mom and St. Nick). Our celebration has also has created some wonderful memories for my children, and me. Despite (or maybe because of) St. Nick's "however" this year, I really hope that I am passing on, to my three children, what my Mom created for me. I hope that they will look back and continue the St. Nicholas tradition for their (future) families and have years and years of fond memories as well.

Hey, and maybe next year, I'll only get one lump of coal :)

Just wait 'til next year!

Today is the day that all true Chicago Cubs fans dread...today is the day that our beloved Cubbies were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs (worst of all, by the hated Cardinals). Today is the day that the season officially ends for all true Northsiders (even if there are still 8 games remaining in the season).

Yes, it is true that the Cubs still have an outside chance at the National League wild card, and yes the remainder of the season schedule is pretty soft, but for a team that came off the 2008 campaign touted as the best team in the National League, 2009 has been nothing but an abysmal disappointment. But why am I disappointed? Am I really disappointed? I mean for the last 40 years, I have felt the same pain, and endured the same taunts from Dirtybird fans come October. Is 2009 so different from all of those other seasons?

Now that the season is (nearly) over, I find myself going through my annual ritual of second-guessing my pre-season optimism and trying to answer Skyler Fishhawk's question (with all do respect to Jeff MacNelly, who penned the comic Shoe).

First off, was this year any different? No, not really, I go into every season expecting the Cubs to win it all. Yes, the Cubs won the NL Central title the last two years and so there was some expectation on my part that they'd repeat this year as well, but really history wouldn't bear that out, and even the Yankees and Braves have had some poor seasons in the midst of good runs... Besides, I really can't remember three years in a row where the Cubs had a winning record (so 2007-2008-2009 are good from that perspective).

But from the beginning, personnel issues were clearly going to dominate the 2009 season, and not in a good way. First was the team's decision to trade DeRosa, and then the decision to pick up the mercurial free-agent Milton Bradley. By the way, to everyone who told me that the Milton Bradley acquisition was going to end badly, you have been vindicated (and I'll be the first to admit that I was too Pollyannaish about him), then the whole where do you bat Soriano fiasco. Adding to those sagas were injuries to Aramis Ramirez, Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Ted Lilly, Giovani Soto and Alfonso Soriano and you have the makings of a sub-par season (which would be "normal" for us true die-hards). The fact that Lou (as in Pinella) has been a kinder, gentler version of himself, at least in public, is also of some concern.

But still I remain optimistically disappointed...

The drama around Cubs ownership also weighed heavily at the start of the season. Others have compared Sam Zell (current Tribune Co. Chairman, and Cubs owner) to Henry F. Potter, the Lionel Barrymore character in It's a Wonderful Life and I am starting to believe them. If ever there was a question about why the MLB owners get to screen and approve new potential team owners, Sam Zell has to be the answer. So, like most die-hards I crossed my fingers that the sale would be accomplished quickly -- to whom was irrelevant -- practically anyone would be better. But as the bidding dragged on, and the team entered the season with Zell still at the helm (and all of the drama about selling Wrigley Field), I should have realized that things would be the same. Still, I remained confident that this year, 2009, was going to be our year.

With the perspective of 20-20 hindsight, I can see that I had no reason to be optimistic: The facts show that the past off season was perhaps the worst in Cubs history (or at least in my memory) and that the Cubs current ownership is among the worst in baseball. But that wouldn't have deterred me in any case.

I have many fond, albeit bittersweet, summer memories that recall the Cubs failing to live up to my (our) expectations. As a matter of fact, twenty years ago today, I was glued to the television watching the Cubs clinch their last NL East title (during the 1989 campaign). That post season series ended up being dominated by the Giants (and then the World Series by the Loma Prieta earthquake). But the late September days of 1989 were heady times, as have been the late days of the last two seasons (and 1984, and 1998, and 2003...).

Twenty years ago next week, during that fateful series against the Giants, Mike Royko typed his famous column: Sins of the Fathers. The column expresses the life-long, and even generations-long, suffering of Cubs fans everywhere and how our "optimistic pessimism" is passed from parent to child. Royko implores fathers not pass on the disease of "optimistic pessimism" to our sons, but it is too late for me. I am the Dad telling his son that tomorrow is a new day. And I do believe that there is always next year, and I always will. Royko, and Cardinals fans, may call me a sucker (Royko wouldn't really mean it) but I do have faith that the 2010 season is going to be the Cubbies year.

I am painfully aware that legions of die-hard Cub fans, including Mr. Royko, Mr. MacNelly, and my great-grandmother, have passed from this earth without seeing the Cubs win a world series... and tonight, I find myself disappointed that, once again, my Cubbies won't play into the depths of October.

But, to answer your question Skyler... As painful as it sounds, there is always another next year. For us die-hard Cubs fans, our "next year" starts tomorrow, September 27, 2009. That is the day I will start to dream about April 2010 and the chances for the Cubs to win a World Series after 102 years of drought...

P.S. Oh, and if Tom Ricketts happens to read this, I'd love to help you re-build the team!

2009 Station Fire

This week has been a doozy in the foothills North of Los Angeles, where I live. A wildfire dubbed the "Station Fire" has been burning, for over a week, in the Angeles National Forest. The fire started as a relatively small event, isolated in the foothills above La Cañada Flintridge, off the Angeles Crest Highway (State Route 2) on August 26th. However, the fire, fueled by over 60 years of unfettered growth on the mountain, expanded uncontrollably on August 29/30th -- septupling in size. The unchecked fire growth forced evacuations in my La Crescenta neighborhood and La Cañada Flintridge. Then, later in the week, the communities of Acton, Altadena, Sunland, and Tujunga also faced mandatory evacuations, and the fire raced up Mount Wilson, threatening the observatory and most of the telecommunications infrastructure in the Los Angeles basin).

Fortunately, my home was just South of the mandatory evacuation area. Still, a firefighter told me that because there is a 180+ foot tall pine tree in my front yard, I should be prepared to leave immediately because if the tree caught fire, our whole cul-de-sac would go up! Not comforting news, but important to know all the same...

I am very appreciative of all of the firefighters who defended our homes, as well as the Cal Fire crews who worked on the fire proper. They did a great job protecting our Foothill communities, and everyone living here is grateful.

During this very long week, I took a bunch of photos from around my house; below is my Flickr slide show documenting the fire and all of the action I could see (click on a picture to see the caption):



Also, be sure to check out other Flickr images of the fire.

As a postscript, the fire burned for over 6 weeks (finally being declared "out" on October 16th). It resulted in some spectacular pyrocumulus clouds, destroyed almost 100 homes, and was responsible for the death of 2 firefighters. On September 3rd, authorities confirmed what most of my neighbors and I had already surmised; the fire was set deliberately, and an arson investigation had been initiated...

Babe Ruth - 2009 PSW Regionals, Game #4

Sunday, August 9, 2009
Eureka Babe Ruth Field, Eureka, CA

La Crescenta          1 0 0  0 5 0  7 – 15 14 5
Madera                0 0 0  2 3 2  1 –  8 10 4


La Crescenta       ab  r  h rbi
White ss            4  2  2  1
Okimoto 2b          3  2  0  0
Sullivan c,p,c      5  1  4  0
Tavizon lf          3  2  1  1
Alonso p,3b         2  2  1  1
Ha rf               3  2  0  1
Boeke 3b,c,lf,1b    5  3  3  2
Wang cf             4  1  3  6
Rea 1b              2  0  0  0
 - Cook p           2  0  0  0
Totals             33 15 14 12

Madera             ab  r  h rbi
Garcia cf           5  1  1  0
Mendrin ss,p        5  1  2  1
Roberts rf,1b       5  1  1  0
Bertoncini c        2  0  0  0
Martinez, A. lf     3  2  0  1
Coronado 2b         4  2  3  4
Cappelluti 1b       1  0  0  0
 - Gallardo 3b      1  0  0  0
 - Mosqueda ph      1  0  0  0
Martinez, S. p,rf   4  1  2  1
Granado 3b,p        2  0  1  0
Totals             33  8 10  7

E–La Crescenta-Sullivan (2), Boeke (1), White (1) Rea (1); 
Madera-Martinez, S (1), Martinez, A (1), Bertoncini (2)
2B–Madera-Garcia (1,off Cook), Roberts (1,off Tavizon).
3B–La Crescenta-Wang (2, 1 off Grenado, 1 off Wang).
Sac–Madera-Cappelluti (1,off Sullivan).
SB–La Crescenta-White (1,3rd base off Martinez/Bertoncini),
Okimoto (1,2nd base off Martinez/Bertoncini), Tavizon (1,2nd
base off S. Martinez/Bertoncini), Boeke (1,2nd base off 
Granado/Bertoncini), Rea (1,2nd base off S. 
Martinez/Bertoncini); Madera-Mendrin (1, 2nd base off 
Cook/Sullivan), Martinez, A. (2,2nd base off Sullivan/Boeke
& 2nd base off Tavizon/Sullivan, Martinez, S. (1, 2nd base 
off Cook/Sullivan).
CS-White (1)

Pitchers

La Crescenta   IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO
Alonso        3.0  0  0   0   1   0
Sullivan      0.1  2  2   2   1   0
Tavizon       1.2  3  3   2   0   0
Cook (W)      2.0  5  3   3   4   4

Madera         IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO
Martinez      4.1  5  5   4   7   3
Granado (L)   2.0  7  5   7   3   2
Mendrin       0.2  3  3   3   1   1 

WP–La Crescenta-Sullivan (1); Madera-Martinez, S. (1), 
Granado (1)
Balk— Madera-Granado (1).
PB—La Crescenta-Sullivan (2).
BS-La Crescenta-Cook  

Scoring Summary
Top 1st: La Crescenta
- J. White singled to right field
- C. Okimoto reached first on a throwing error by J. 
Mendrin, White to second base
- J. White stole third
- J. White scored on a wild pitch by S. Marinez.
Bot 4th: Madera
- A. Martinez walked and stole second base, then advanced 
on a wild pitch by R. Sullivan.
- R. Coronado hit an infield single to second, scoring 
A. Martinez
- W. Cappelluti sacrificed R. Coronado to second
- S. Martinez hit a single to right field, scoring R. 
Coronado.
Top 5th: La Crescenta
- C. Okimoto led off with a walk, and stole second base
- R. Sullivan singles to left field, Okimoto scores on 
fielding error by A. Martinez, Sullivan to second
- C. Tavizon singles to right field, Sullivan thrown out at
home, Tavizon to second on throw.
- B. Alonso walks
- T. Ha walks
- I. Granado relieves S. Martinez
- T. Boeke singles to center, scoring C. Tavizon
- B. Wang singles to right, scoring B. Alonso and T. Ha
- T. Boeke balked to 3rd base (Wang to second) by I. Granado
- T. Boeke scores on wild pitch by I. Granado.
Bot 5th: Madera
- S. Roberts doubled to right center
- D. Bertoncini walks
- A. Martinez reaches first on a fielder’s choice 
(Bertoncini out at second, Roberts to 3rd base).
- A. Martinez steals second base
- R. Coronado singles to right, scoring S. Roberts and 
A. Martinez, and advances to second on throw to the plate
- R. Gallardo advances Coronado to 3rd base on a fielder’s 
choice
- R. Coronado scores on a throwing error by R. Sullivan.
Bot 6th: Madera
- Cook relives Tavizon
- I. Garcia doubles down the left field line
- J. Mendrin singles to left, Garcia to 3rd base
- D. Bertoncini walks
- A. Martinez walks, scoring Garcia
- R. Coronado singles to left, scoring Mendrin.
Top 7th: La Crescenta
- T. Boeke singles to left field
- B. Wang hits a triple to right center, scoring Boeke
- J. White reaches first on a fielder’s choice, scoring 
B. Wang, White advances to second on a throwing error by
D. Bertoncini
- C. Okimoto walks
- R. Sullivan singled to left field
- C. Tavizon walks, scoring J. White
- B. Alonso singled to left field scoring C. Okimoto
- T. Ha walks, scoring R. Sullivan
- T. Boeke singles to right scoring C. Tavizon
- B. Wang triples to deep center field, scoring B. Alonso, 
T. Ha and T. Boeke. 
Bot 7th: Madera
- S. Martinez reaches first on an infield single and steals
2nd base
- I. Granado walks
- J. Mendrin singles to left field, scoring S. Martinez.

Babe Ruth - 2009 PSW Regionals, Game #3

Saturday, August 8, 2009
Eureka Babe Ruth Field, Eureka, CA

La Crescenta          1 0 0  0 0 7  5 – 13 13 2
Somervile-Yaqui (AZ)  0 0 3  0 0 0  2 –  5  5 1

La Crescenta       ab  r  h rbi
White ss            3  3  2  0
Okimoto 2b          2  2  1  2
Sullivan c          4  1  3  5
Tavizon cf,lf       3  1  1  1
Alonso 3b           5  0  3  1
Ha rf               3  1  0  0
Boeke lf,p          4  2  2  0
Wang p,cf           3  0  0  0
 - Marquis ph       0  1  0  0
Rea 1b              3  1  1  1
 - Cook ph          1  1  0  0
Totals             31 13 13 10

Somervile-Yaqui    ab  r  h rbi
Rosas cf            2  1  1  0
 - Beltran ph       1  0  0  0
Lopez 2b            3  2  1  0
Gonzales ss         4  0  1  2
Estrada c           4  0  3  1
Aguirreberrena 1b   3  0  0  0
Aguilar 3b          2  0  0  0
Miranda rf          2  0  0  0
Villegas p,3b       3  0  0  0
Esparza lf          2  1  0  0
 - Magana ph        1  1  0  0
Totals             27  5  6  3

E–La Crescenta Alonso (1), White (1); 
Somervile-Yaqui Lopez (1). 
2B–La Crescenta Alonso (1,off Aguilar); 
Somervile-Yaqui Lopez (1,off Boeke), Estrada (1,off Boeke).
3B–La Crescenta Tavizon (1,off Aguilar).  
Sac–Okimoto (1,off Villegas), Sullivan (1,off Villegas).
SB–La Crescenta Sullivan (2,2nd base off Aguilar/Estrada,
3rd base off Aguilar/Estrada)

Pitchers

La Crescenta    IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO
Wang*          2.0  0  3   3   5   3
Boeke (W)      5.0  6  2   1   0   5

Somervile-Yaqui IP  H   R  ER  BB  SO
Villegas*      5.1  5   2   3   5   1
Aguilar (L)*   0.2  7  11  10   3   0
Gonzales       1.0  1   0   0   1   0

*Wang pitched to 3 batters in the 3rd inning; Villegas 
pitched to 2 batters in the 6th inning and Aguilar pitched
to 5 batters in the 7th inning.

WP–Somervile-Yaqui Aguilar (1).
Balk—La Crescenta-Boeke (2).
PB—La Crescenta-Sullivan (2).  

Scoring Summary
Top 1st: La Crescenta
- J. White singled to left field
- C. Okimoto sacrificed White to second base
- R. Sulivan singled to left J. White scored.
Bot 3rd: Somervile-Yaqui
- E. Esparza walked
- M. Rosas walked
- I. Lopez walked, T. Boeke relived B. Wang
- T. Boeke balked home Esparza.
- J. Estrada singled to right, scoring M. Rosas
- T. Boeke balked home I. Lopez. 
Top 6th: La Crescenta
- B. Alonso singled to left
- T. Ha walked
- A. Aguilar relived F. Villegas
- T. Boeke singled to right
- B. Wang reached first on a fielder’s choice, B, Alonso
out at home.
- N. Rea reached first on a throwing error by I. Lopez, 
B. Wang out at second base, T. Boeke scored.
- J. White singled to left, N. Rea to third, J. White 
advancing on the throw.
- N. Rea scored on a wild pitch by Aguilar, J. White to 
third.
- C. Okimoto walked and advanced to second on defensive 
indifference
- R. Sullivan singled to left field, scoring J. White and C. 
Okimoto, R. Sullivan to second on throw
- C. Tavizon triples to left field, R. Sullivan scoring
- B. Alonso doubles to left field, C Tavizon scores.
Top 7th: La Crescenta
- T. Boeke singles to right center field, steals second and
third base
- C. Marquis walked
- J. Cook reaches first on a fielder’s choice, T. Boeke 
scores, Marquis to second
- J. White walked
- C. Okimoto singled to left field, C. Marquis and J. Cook
scoring
- A. Gonzales relived A. Aguilar
- R. Sullivan singled to left field scoring J. White and 
C. Okimoto.
Bot 7th: Somervile-Yaqui
- A. Magana reached first on fielding error by J. White
- I. Lopez doubled down the left field line
- A. Gonzales singled down the right field line, scoring 
A. Magana and I. Lopez.

Babe Ruth - 2009 PSW Regionals, Game #2

Friday, August 7, 2009
Eureka Babe Ruth Field, Eureka, CA

Tri Valley      0 0 0  1 3 0  0 – 4 6 1
La Crescenta    0 0 0  0 0 0  1 – 1 1 4

Tri Valley         ab  r  h rbi
Soltis cf           3  0  0  0
Anderson 3b         3  1  1  1
Sprugasci p         3  1  1  0
Dronkers 1b         4  0  0  1
Fernandez rf        3  1  2  1
Allman lf           3  0  0  0
 - Piscoty ss       0  0  0  0
Franco 2b           2  0  1  0
Jackson c           3  0  0  0
Pluschell ss        1  0  1  0
 - Robbins lf       2  1  0  0
Totals             27  4  6  3

La Crescenta       ab  r  h rbi
Okimoto 2b          1  0  0  0
Ha rf               2  0  0  0
 - Marquis ph       1  0  0  0
Sullivan 3b         3  0  0  0
White ss            2  1  0  0
Tavizon lf          3  0  0  0
Alonso c            3  0  1  1
 - Tremain pr       0  0  0  0
Boeke 1b,p          3  0  0  0
Wang cf             1  0  0  0
 - Moscicki ph      1  0  0  0
Cook p              1  0  0  0
 - Rea 1b,lf        1  0  0  0
Totals             22  1  1  1

E–Tri Valley-Jackson (1); La Crescenta-White (1), Boeke (2),
Ha (1). 
2B–Tri Valley-Anderson (1,off Cook); La Crescenta Alonso 
(1,off Sprugasci).
HBP–La Crescenta-White (1,by Sprugasci). 
Sac–Soltis (1,off Cook), Anderson (1,off Cook).  
CS–Okimoto (1,2nd base by Sprugasci/Jackson), Boeke (1,2nd
base by Sprugasci/Jackson).
SB–Tri Valley-Sprugasci (1,2nd base off Cook/Alonso); 
La Crescenta-White (1,2nd base off Sprugasci/Jackson).

Pitchers

La Crescenta   IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO
Cook (L)      5.0  5  4   3   2   4
Boeke         2.0  1  0   0   0   2

Tri Valley        IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO
Sprugasci (W)    7.0  1  1   1   2   5

PB-Tri Valley-Jackson (1); La Crescenta-Alonso (1)
HBP–Tri Valley-Sprugasci (1,White).  

Scoring Summary
Top 4th: Tri Valley
- V. Fernandez singles to left field
- K. Franco singles to right center field, Fernandez scores
on fielding error by Okimoto on relay.
Top 5th: Tri Valley
- N. Robbins reaches first on fielding error by Boeke
- C. Soltis sacrifices Robbins to second
- R. Anderson doubles to right center field, scoring Robbins
- R. Anderson balked to third by Cook
- J. Sprugasci walks and steals 2nd base
- J. Dronkers hits into a fielder’s choice to short, Anderson 
scored
- V. Fernandez hits a single to center field, Sprugasci 
scores.
Bot 7th: La Crescenta
- J. White hit by a pitch and steals 2 base
- B. Alonso doubles to center field, scoring White.

Babe Ruth - 2009 PSW Regionals, Game #1

Thursday, August 6, 2009
Eureka Babe Ruth Field, Eureka, CA

La Crescenta    0 1 0 1 0 1 1 – 4 9 1
Eureka          1 1 0 0 0 0 0 – 2 2 1

La Crescenta ab r h rbi Okimoto 2b 2 0 2 2 Ha rf 4 0 0 0 Tavizon lf/p 4 0 1 0 Alonso p/3b 3 0 0 0 - Moscicki pr 0 1 0 0 Sullivan c 3 1 1 0 White ss 3 0 1 1 Boeke 3b,1b 4 1 1 0 Wang cf 4 1 1 0 Rea 1b,lf 2 0 2 1 Totals 29 4 9 4 Eureka ab r h rbi Raxa cf 4 1 2 1 Ables ss 2 0 0 0 Kirk c 3 0 0 0 Stone p 3 0 0 1 Snipes 3b 3 0 0 0 Swanson rf 0 1 0 0 Masten lf 2 0 0 0 - Crews ph,lf 1 0 0 0 Savage 1b 2 0 0 0 - Crews ph,1b 1 0 0 0 Maples 2b 2 0 0 0 - Martin ph,2b 1 0 0 0 Totals 24 2 2 2

©Rich Bickel/Times Standard La Crescenta's #21, Ted Boeke, slides safely into home in front of Eureka's Matt Kirk to score the tying run in the fourth inning.

E–La Crescenta Alonso (1); Eureka Snipes (1).
2B–La Crescenta Sullivan (1,off Stone), Boeke (1,off Stone), 
White (1,off Stone); Eureka Raxa (1,off Alonso)
3B–Eureka Raxa (1,off Alonso).
HBP–Swanson (1,by Alonso).
SF–Stone (1,off Alonso).
CS–Okimoto (1,2nd base by Kirk/Maples).
SB–La Crescenta Sullivan (1,2nd base off Stone/Kirk);
Eureka Ables (1,2nd base off Alonso/Sullivan), Swanson
(1,2nd base off Alonso/Sullivan).

Pitchers

La Crescenta   IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO
Alonso        4.0  2  2   2   5   6
Tavizon (W)   3.0  0  0   0   4   5

Eureka         IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO
Stone (L)     7.0  9  4   4   5  12

WP–La Crescenta Alonso (1), Tavizon (1); Eureka Stone (1).
HBP–La Crescenta Alonso (1,Swanson).

Scoring Summary
Bot 1st: Eureka
- D. Raxa tripled to deep center
- K. Ables walked and stole second base
- Z. Stone hit a sacrifice fly to left field, D. Raxa scored
Top 2nd: La Crescenta
- R. Sullivan walked, J. White walked, Nolan Rea walked, 
C. Okimoto walked, scoring Sullivan.
Bot 2nd: Eureka
- D. Raxa doubled to right center field
- E. Savage walked, D. Raxa hit a double to the right
Top 4th: La Crescenta
- T. Boeke doubled to right center field
- N. Rea singled to right field, scoring Boeke
Top 6th: La Crescenta
- B. Wang singled to right center field
- N. Rea singled to center field
- C. Okimoto singled to second, scoring Wang
Top 7th: La Crescenta
- B. Alonso drew a walk, Moscicki pinch ran
- R. Sullivan reaches first on a fielder’s choice, Moscicki 
safe at second on throwing error by Snipes.
- J. White doubles to right center field, scoring Moscicki.

This is Our Year!

Whew, boy! Hey-hey! Cubs Win! Cubs Win!! Cubs Win!!!

Day one of the 2009 MLB campaign and the Cubs are in first place with a 4-2 victory over the Houston Astros! A lead-off home-run from Soriano, coupled with "staff ace" Zambrano hurlig 97 pitches over six innings (his control wasn't too bad, 6 Ks to only 3 walks) to get the win, followed by closer Kevin Gregg's first save as a Cub (despite giving up 2 hits and an earned run) made for an exciting opening day game.

Wrigley, a photo by rpongsaj on Flickr.

I know it is too early to start thinking about the playoffs, and after the Cubs collapsed the last two Octobers -- I don't have any right to be optimistic, but despite my common sense, I know this is going to be our year! But, with a rotation that features Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Ryan Dempster, and Rich Harden, the Cubbies will have one of the better starting rotations in the division. I think keeping the starting pitchers healthy will be the key to a successful 2009 season.

Now, I wouldn't be a true Cubs fan if I didn't have a grumble or two, so the one thing I am disappointed about is that Sam Zell and the Tribune Company still own the team. The franchise has been on the auction block for nearly two years, but it looks like the Ricketts family will be the owners sometime this Spring, but the fact that Zell is still in charge is a huge disappointment (maybe more so than the playoff collapse against the Dodgers last October).

At any rate, there is light at the end of the ownership tunnel (finally!) As Tom Ricketts, a native Chicagoan and life-long Cubs fan, stated goal is to “...win a World Series and build the consistent championship tradition that the fans deserve.”  The change in ownership can't come too soon for me.

On the field side of the equation, I am sad that we lost Derosa and Wood.  I know why the Cubs let Kerry go, but really hope that Fontenot will be able to step up and replace Derosa at second base--our losses are Cleveland's gains... That said, the acquisition of Bradley, Gregg and Miles during the off season should be interesting. Jim Hendry is either going to look like a genius, or a complete fool.  I know Bradley was a headcase in Los Angeles (and everywhere else really too), but he can produce offensively, and if Lou can get his head straightened out, so much the better. Overall, I'll say that, on paper, the off-season's plusses certainly outweigh the minuses.

Some offensive tweaks, for a team that had the best 2008 regular season record in the National League, coupled with five Cubs' starters who can be dominant, and a combination of Marmol and Gregg closing out the late innings, means we should be in very good shape this year!

I hate to say World Series title contender in April, but 90 wins should lock up the Central Division and if the bullpen can step up and save some wear-and-tear on the starting rotation, the 101 year drought will be over. I know this is going to be our year!

That is of course, if we can get past the Curse of the Billy Goat, damn you Billy Sianis! Why did you have to go and bring a goat to the World Series?!