Statmaster

Good to see.

Russell wins the suspended game 9-8. Lewis pulled some bone-headed running blunders. Russell tried the ole fake to 3rd and try to pick off runner at 1st trick. Not only did they get the runner at 1st, but Lewis had called a squeeze and ended getting both runners thrown out. A double play. Funny to see..... i didnt think that play ever worked.I wasnt at the game Monday,but others said that Russell also picked off a Lewis runner Monday with same fake.:lol:

Raceland's center fielder is not bad. I've watched a few games, and he does very well. He's made some catches that a lot wouldnt get to. Raceland is weak in left and their infield struggles. If Wilson is really on,Raceland can give GC a battle. But I think GC wins the 16th.

We are ok with each other. I respect you very much on here. It bothers me that Racelands youth leagues are faltering. Times are tight now. Money is in short supply. Everything costs so much now. I still think money(the lack of it) is what has hurt Racelands youth leagues. Other leagues seem to be able to get money from business and even the state. But Raceland has always had a hard time getting sponsors. When I was over there,we tried getting money from the state.Was told no because the railroad only gave us a year to year lease on the fields. We worked hard on the fields to keep them up and I think improved them a lot. But it got to where we couldnt even get parents to work the concession. And that is money needed to pay electric and for umpiring. The community needs to pull together if they want to have a youth league. With the youth leagues strong again,we wont have fundamental problems.Until it happens, they have to be worked on in the spring. I heard from some of the parents say that Raceland didnt even get to work with infield practice until florida. Coaches will have to teach. The coaches at Raceland are very capable of doing this.

What are the right reasons? Nearly every coach in youth baseball has a kid playing. Are they wrong if they no longer coach after their child outgrows it? How about more parents taking an interest in working with their child? I worked with every kid on my teams. Sad to say,but a lot of parents see youth sports as a free babysitter. I couldnt tell you how many times I'd stay at the field after practice with a kid waiting on someone to pick them up.

The games that I've been to,Sargent was very upbeat with the kids. You can listen to him from the dugout and tell that he knows what he is talking about. I dont know him personally, but seems to have a very good knowledge of the game. Definately an asset to the team.

Raceland will be fine. Don't forget that just 2 seasons ago Raceland was in the regional finals and set the school record for wins with 25. A very questional call cost them the game in extra innings.Many think Rams should had and did win that game. Hoof will be ok, he now has Hall working with his pitchers.

I didnt say he needed replaced! I just said he may need to change his focus in the spring and teach more fundamentals. He hasnt had to do that because the youth leagues were teaching it.

The problem with basic little league is that some things dont get taught until 13 yrs old (now 14). I've seen little league players struggle with holding runners and base leading. Usually AABC players are better prepared for JV baseball. Raceland's problem is that their AAbc cant get enough financial support to exist. There's no money to keep things working at the fields. As far as coaching, I dont know. I haven't been over there myself since my son out grew baseball there. Now. At Raceland,I think Vanderhoof treats the game like the majors. He fills out a lineup and coaches the game. He doesnt spend a lot of time teaching fundamental. He has always gotten prepared players. With the younger leagues faltering, he may have to use his spring practices to work on situations and fundamentals.

Raceland had at least 2 hits. Martin led the game off with a hit and got caught trying to steal 2nd.

He's still hurting. Had to play 1st base. Too sore to run in outfield.

I was at the game. There were not 8 unearned runs. Lewis got legit hits. I remember a couple of errors but I'd say at least 10 of the 13 were earned. Umpires strike zones seem to be getting smaller. Have to throw it perfect to get one. Both ways, not one-sided.

In high school,you multiply by 7 , not 9.

Paintsville wins the All A sectional. Good game. I wish the sectionals used umpires from different regions. The 15th region has to have the sorriest umps in the state. Raceland gets hosed on ,not 1 but 2 calls. The phantom foul which cost Raceland 2 runs and the call at first that would had ended an inning . Instead Paintsville gets to continue inning and scores to take lead. Call it sour grapes or whatever, but once again Raceland gets hosed by the 15th region umps.:argue:

Rams win the 16th All A tonight. Shawn Reynolds pitches a complete game for Raceland. He kept the Bath hitters off balance all night. Rams get timely hitting and took advantage of walks and errors by Bath. Congrats Rams! Now its on to Paintsville.

Rams played really well tonight. Damon Thompson pitched great for the Rams.Didnt give up a hit until the 5th inning. Raceland probably had 20 hits.I know Reynolds and Carver had 4 hits each and Im pretty sure that Martin also had 4. Raceland is starting to turn it around. Only commited 2 errors and they were late after the game was no longer in doubt.:banana:

Wilson piched first 4 innings & Reynolds pitched the last 3 to pick up the win. We still made base running mistakes that cost us some runs. Defense played better. We were down 6-2 going into the top of 7. Offense comes alive with 5 runs. Shawn Reynolds ties game with a 2 out 2 rbi single and Loren Huffman follows with a 2 out rbi single for the go ahead run 7-6. Reynolds pitches a 1-2-3 inning in bottom of 7th for win. Great come back for the Rams. See boys you can win just relax and build off this you all are a talented team. Almost forgot to mention Keetons 2 run home run earlier in the game to give us our first 2 runs.That was a nice shot Dillon.

This team has talent.They are a lot better than how they are playing now.I agree with Ramcat they don't have a vocal leader right now.Someone needs step up and be that guy.What you got to remember is the Rams are only returning Martin, Wilson,Carver, & Keeton as full time varsity players with Shawn Reynolds playing 1/2 varisty & 1/2 jv. The new guys have been playing pretty good but still need some varsity experiece under there belt. It is true that a lot of the errors have been coming from the older players but IMO that could be from pressing and trying to do to much until the younger guys get some experience under their belt.They just need to relax and play their game and the younger guys will catch up as time goes on this season.Wilson has been out sick and Reynolds has been playing through some nagging injuries. This team just needs to get a couple of wins to get the monkey of their back. Once this team comes together it will be better than their record indicates there is talent on this team.Bobby Mckee has pitched well so far and once Wilson & Reynolds get healthy the pitching will be O.K. I believe this team can turn it around.

You are right. Situations has to be taught in practice. That last group, (06 and 07) , we went trough situations nearly every practice. Always worked on fundamentals. Hoof will need to devote more time on these now. Fair or not, most times in a youth league, a dad of a player is the one coaching and teaching. The last group of dads to really take an interest have moved on. Although, both Darby and Morris have a son coming up and both are coaching them.

The Raceland youth league is failing. It seems most parents are taking their kids to play at Russell or South Shore. The few people who were keeping it going ,no longer have kids playing, and no one else has stepped up to keep things going. It's hard to get parents involved to fix the fields or even work concession when the season starts. Also,since the league doesnt own the land, its nearly impossible to get money from the state for the league. A few business help some, but Raceland always has money problems. It's time for others to get to the fields and rebuild Raceland youth baseball. If it was football, there would be tons of people over there working and trying to keep things going.

Having trouble pitching,fielding,and hitting. That'll get you a lot of losses. This team better fix it, or they'll only beat the real bad teams this year. Right now, Raceland is not a top 10 team in the region.

Riverside must not be good.

What constitutes a power hitter? Is it hitting one every now and then? I dont think there is a true power hitter in 16th. But, there are some boys that can put it out on the right field, against the right kind of pitcher. Reed ,for Greenup, hit 2 out against East tonight.

Dont forget East. I look for the Raiders to win the region.

Raceland had a terrific hitting lineup in 2005. Tolliver(+.500),Miller(.400),Darby(.400 and a few homeruns),Morris(nearly .400),Phillips(over .300),Deskins with some timely hitting,Martin also timely hits and great regional tourney. Pitching was anchored by Morris,Reynolds,Grizzle, and Phillips in relief. Great season, wished for better result in regional final.