From: PeterJPorcelli(at)aol.com Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2006 21:28:35 EST Subject: Lil Smokers Go to the Finals at the National's To: fastball(at)pmihrm.com
Tampa Bay Li'l Smokers go to Final in National Tournament I know this is a softball list and I hope I do not try your patience when I gleefully report that the Tampa Bay Li'l Smokers, fire division AAU club baseball team have had a great run in the winter National Championship Tourney held each year during the last week of the calendar year in sunny Florida! There is not a lot of good news to report lately in our sport, mostly people jockeying for position, clout or political advantage, so I thought I would give you a bit of heart warming drama, like the type Hollywood used to craft and does so little of any more. This is the team my son, Trey played with until this fall season, when his mom and I decided to allow him to drop down to his own age group, yet still compete with the best players in the world, albeit with 11 year olds. When the decision was made, Trent Rubley, became the head guy on the field of this 12 and under team, and I dropped down to assistant. This enabled me to spend time watching my son play on the 11 and under East Coast Blue Devils going forward, and for Trent to take the Liâl Smokers on a crusade to see just how far they could go. When a coachâs son leaves, usually the team folds, but Trent & I refused to look at these kids as road kill. They were not playing their butts off week after week and making great strides under Rubleyâs careful tutelage, just because my son was there. So we went forward this fall, and took on all comers. The regular season was filled with bitter lessons of what it is like to have lack of experience, what it means to practice good mechanics in games as well as practice, all without much return on the investment leading to the big climax of the season, the State & National tourneys. It also was marked with the reality that if you are green and work hard, you will play and get the aforementioned hard lessons, while if you have talent and you refuse to work your hardest, you get left behind, either on the bench or off the team. Perhaps the hardest lesson these kids have to learn is that just because they sign up and just because you might make the team in try out, is no guarantee you will still be there after any given week if you do not produce what is demanded from you in effort and attitude. That being the case, the Liâl Smokers barely qualified for the Nationalâs after a mediocre State Tourney, finishing seventh, preceded by a less than spectacular 2-9 regular season. But that was all forgotten when the 10 remaining Liâl Smokers, who wear the identical uniforms the big Smoke Boys did, took the field this past week for a run at immortality. Originally the roster was 16, but Trent Rubley saw to it that overconfident cocky talent was told âDonât Bother coming,â that those who resented new players with less talent but strong desire were also left home, and even parents who thought their kids indispensable, were told they need not show up, and it was their job as parents to explain it to their sons, who their kids were really supposed have listened to on the field. That left the remaining ten eager faces with a seemingly bloated eight ranking and nobody to blame for whatever was going to happen as the tourney unfolded. In the round robin, the first game was a close win and a gratifying one, as the kids played well but the bounces did not go their way, yet they still prevailed. The next game saw the face the number three team and fight back from a 5-0 early deficit to lose 8-6 but make a statement, that the Smokers were there to play. I saw a spark there, and knew that this group was going to do damage. In the third and final round robin tilt, the number 2 team eked out a 2-1 win over the Liâl Smokers but another warning message had been fired over the bows of the respective competition for the little men in black. Because the Smoke Kids had not allowed many runs, they squeaked into the playoffs and played the very first playoff game on the same day as the round robin with just nine boys, as we had an injury to the heel of our catcher and regular season MVP. In that game the Liâl Smokers bats came alive in the fifth and final sixth inning and they ran away with an 11-5 win. That put us into the quarter finals against an undefeated number 4 team who had a first round bye and an entire day off. Well, we fell behind by a run, then two, and it seemed like lights out and an excellent effort with a familiar ending, when the coach of the opposing Diamondbacks decided to pull a âBarrie Penmanâ and try to run out the time allotment instead of pitch to our little but nervous boys. Rubes objected to the lack of sportsmanship that usually accompanies such moves, (but not in Barrieâs case) and was barking how this sends the wrong signal, and he nearly got tossed over it. Parents groaned and the Liâl Smokers quietly loaded the bases with 2 out. After another stall move by the opposition, Rubley saw little time to waste and ordered his base runner on third to steal home. He did! The Diamondbacks were yelling at each other on the field, nobody wanting to take responsibility, then on a 1-2 count with runners on second and third, Rubes started the runners, and the little shortstop, Gabe Lopez, went with a pitch and sliced it to right field scoring the runner from third easily but it was also enough for our runner on second to hot foot it home and try to beat the throw that had been bobbled with all the yelling from the right fielder. He did, sliding under the tag and it was lights out for the Diamondbacks, who had a former Liâl Smoker problem child as their shortstop crying over the outcome. No tears in Smokerland, we were going to the semi final against the Lakeland Renegades! Now our catcher is well enough to give it a go. We are playing our fourth game in 24 hours and we are tired. We fall behind 3-0 in the second, the the Lakeland team who we had never beaten did something I never thought they would. They went into cruise control. A fourth inning saw the Smokerâs get five walks and four hits to go up 6-3 as shocked Renegade parents started grousing and management arguing. In the fifth inning, Renagade bats produced two runs to come within a run of the lead, then the overconfidence came back with such a close score. Lakeland thought they could turn it on at will. So when the Renegades took the field in the bottom of the fifth, they thought it would be minutes before they took the lead their next at bat. However, Liâl Smoker bats work without razzle dazzle as well, and we put another run up that looked huge. Just as we were ready to put it away, our opponents protested a pitcherâs inning count and we were delayed for 45 minutes while all was verified. As it turned out, a player of ours in a game from two days earlier had come in for one batter and was charged the entire inning, house rules, totally correct. We lost the player and the coach for the remainder of the game. Now we are down to nine again with an outfielder with only little league experience playing third base, admittedly a weakness they could exploit. They did not, we got through the sixth and weâre going to the final. The Liâl Smokers had handed two teams in a row their first tourney loss and each one was a ticket home for that team. In the final, we held the opposition and defending National Champs to a scoreless tie for half the game, before we succumbed 5-0 using a pitcher from the fifth on, who had never pitched with runners leading before the pitch, had never pitched from further than 46 feet, as we play 50, and so on. No excuses. We played hard. We also got to see what it takes to be a national champ because we played a good one. What a run! And a very heartwarming experience for the leftover kids who never complained, learned a boatload from Rubes, and experienced competition and glory similar to that which they will hopefully see and enjoy again in the future. The Liâl Smokers are runner up national champions, but moreover they are great kids who ran through brick walls for coach Trent Rubley. One of them is a ten year old (a biggâun though) just to show what can be achieved! I hope you will take in this effort in hospitable fashion as I know I have burned up your fastpitch time with kids and baseball, but it is the type of life experience that paves the way for even greater achievement in the time ahead. Happy New Year to all, and congratulations to the Lil Smokers! My inspiration to post this story was learning that Al canât take a post down once it is up, and I hope he turns a blind eye to this, accidentally Cheers! bsp; Peter J.Porcelli Proud sponsor and assistant coach Reply to <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>PeterJPorcelli(at)aol.com PeterJ.Porcelli,II Reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] SILVERSTONE LENDING, LLC 727-572-7772 x 277 Ofc. 727-573-7728 Ofc Fax 727-446-7752 x 201 Res. before 8:00 PM 727-518-7383 Fax res Cellphone: 727-698-7259 Als Fastball List *Email: fastball(at)pmihrm.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.AlsFastball.com/ NEWS: http://fastpitchwest.com/alsfastball eScribe is down, but may be back soon escribe.com Holiday Greetings from Al's Fastball: http://ecard.e-axis.com/get_card.php?id=223 Our New Condo: http://www.rpt.ca/hunt/ for Sale or Rent _______________________________________________ Alsfastball mailing list Alsfastball@fastpitchwest.com http://fastpitchwest.com/mailman/listinfo/alsfastball_fastpitchwest.com