MontanaRon

An English teacher's blog about his travels and his digital art.

Category: Baseball (Page 11 of 12)

Steroids

December 14, 2006 /

Yikes, it looks like one of the players I taught English to in Oct.-Nov. has been banned for using steroids. I just read the article on Yahoo! Sports. Click here to see it. [EDIT FEB 12 2010: Article no longer available.]

My first workshop turned out ok, so I’m pretty free until next Thursday, when I’ve been scheduled to go to the Agricultural Institute up in Santiago to talk to one of the officials there about instituting an English Language Program at their facility. If I can swing it, I might try to make reservations for several days afterward at one of the resorts a little further up on the coast. That would be a fun place to spend Christmas! It depends on whether I can get a reservation and on the price. Rex Moser and Ana Maria, his secretary, told me that this time of year is the “low” season for tourists, and getting a reservation and a good price shouldn’t be a problem. Seems that everyone wants to stay home for the holidays.

The Univ. of Montana Griz football team lost in the semifinal game of the National Championship, 19-17 to some team from Massachusetts. Too bad. More later.

More Yankees Visit

November 18, 2006 /

So, what’s new in Yankeeland, you ask? Robinson Cano, another Yankee superstar, is here. (See photo below) In fact, he and Melky Cabrera are working out with the team and DHing in games, tuning up to play in the high-caliber Dominican Winter League. I watched Cano yesterday, and you can tell by the sound of the crack of the bat against the ball that this guy is a world-class player. He went 1-3 with a very hard line-drive single yesterday, and the day before he smashed a homerun, though I missed seeing it. Many Dominican major leaguers play in the winter league, and The Lonely Planet guide book describes watching games in Santo Domingo:

“Steaming barbecue chicken, free-flowing rum, marimba breaks and bets shouted out at breakneck speed; watching a baseball game in Santo Domingo’s Quisqueya Stadium is more than just a day at the park, it’s an event reminiscent of a raging party, an off-track betting office and the World Series combined. It is one of the best places in the world to watch a baseball game.”

I definitely plan to take in a game or two after I move back into SD in a few weeks. I’ll be there until the camp reopens near the end of January. Meanwhile, I’ll be doing some teacher training at the Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo
 (UASD), the oldest university in the Western Hemisphere.

On Wednesday, during the coaches vs. scouts game, I had a visit from the Public Affairs Officer, Bill Millman, at the U.S. Embassy in SD, who was showing around two ladies from the State Dept. in Washington, D.C. Both Liz and Mary Dean were instrumental in getting this pilot program of teaching with the Yankees off the ground and were very interested in what I was doing so far. They offered suggestions and support and toured the facilities here. They had been interested in observing one of my classes, but we gave the players the day off so that they could watch the coach/scout game.

One more ex-Yankee superstar is supposed to be in camp today. Reggie Jackson will be here over the weekend to give the players a pep talk. I’ll certainly try to meet him and to get a photo or two. More later.

Robbie Cano steps in to take a few swings
Cano_1

Here are some richly-colored clouds lit by the setting sun.

Clouds_1

Boca, Player Contracts

October 31, 2006 /

I finally made it into Boca Chica with a couple of the coaches this past Sunday. It’s not all that impressive, pretty run down, and the beach was extremely crowded and a bit trashy from all the weekend activities–nothing like Thailand, but it wasn’t beach hell, either. Again, the beaches on the east coast of the DR are supposed to be truly spectacular. First, though, we visited a resort just a few miles down the road from Boca at Playa Guayacanes, a hotel that the coaches and players stayed in last summer, courtesy of the Yankees, just before moving onto the new campus. I guess there’s still a fairly close relationship between the hotel and the Yanks, since they gave us some free snacks and drinks. Aniuska, in charge of the day-to-day running of the campus, was also there with her husband, enjoying the swimming pool. It wasn’t too bad, although a bit small, with a nice little beach. I didn’t have my camera, so there are no pictures.

Our tropical wave turned out to be more of a ripple, but there was another spectacular, early-morning light show.

Lightning1
In an earlier post, I mentioned that the Yankees couldn’t legally sign the players that are here. Wrong. They can’t sign them until they’re 16 and they can’t let unsigned players stay at the facility for more than 30 days, so most of these guys have contracts. In fact, a couple of them have signed for sums of $2.5 and $3 million, I’m told. Again, no names.

Classes continue to go well, though I’m very busy designing my own materials. I’ve ordered a bunch of books which, hopefully, will help reduce the workload. I managed to make some time yesterday, however, to watch the first intra-squad game. Thursday sees the start of the action between the different teams based in the area. The players on the Yanks have been split into two teams, with one team going on the road to the other teams’ ballparks and one staying here to play each day. Should be fun. I’m going to work late at night to get my lesson plans done so that I can watch all the games, which run from about 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

I also found out that my apartment is exclusively mine, meaning no roommate. With all the books, clothes, printer, etc. crammed in here, there certainly isn’t much space left for someone else.

Time to go out to the balcony and watch the dew glitter under another golden tropical sunrise before breakfast. However, I’ll leave you with another beautiful sunset below. More later.

DR_Sunset_2

With the Yankees . . . At Last

October 14, 2006 /

Finally, I’m with the Yanks. There are few people here right now, but some of the young players are supposed to arrive today and the rest tomorrow. I’ve got a very nice apartment, shared, I believe. I met 3 fellows from Venezuela–Tonito, JJ and Andre. JJ is a sports medicine specialist and he and Tonito work in the training room. Andre is one of the coaches, I believe. I think I’m rooming with Tonito; they all speak English, but their accents are a bit difficult to understand at times.

This is a beautiful campus–reddish-colored infields and sparkling green grass elsewhere. There are 4 fields, 2 for practice and 2 for actual game use. Were way out in the sticks, probably not too far from Boca Chica and the beach, but too far to walk. There are no houses, markets or anything else except for trees surrounding the place, which seems to be self-contained. We have wireless internet connectivity, cafeteria, laundry and maid service in the apartments. The food seems pretty good and plentiful. I’ve been told that I’ll have 3 classes per day starting in the afternoon, with about 7 students in each class. The size of the classes makes it much easier to teach. I’m happy about that, but each class will probably be at a different proficiency level, meaning I’ll have 3 lessons plans to prepare each day. Not to mention that there are no textbooks, so I will be developing my own material. This makes for a LOT of work, but that’s what they’re paying me for (plus, there’s not a whole lot of anything else to do.)

I pretty much have run of the place, able to use all the facilities, including the weight room. The complex is large enough that jogging won’t become too boring. All in all I’m happy about the whole deal, as you probably can guess. Below are some photos I just took of the place. More to come.

This one is looking toward home plate of one of the main playing fields.

YankeeCampus1

The outfield of the same playing field.

YankeeCampus2

Looking across the way at the other main playing field. The two practice fields are behind the main playing fields and not very visible in the above photos.

YankeeCampus3

The main building where all the offices are located.

YankeeCampus4

My apartment is on the 2nd floor, all the way to the right. There is a good-sized bathroom, but with 2 king-sized beds they are a bit cramped.

YankeeCampus5

Baseball

October 10, 2006 /

Yup, the Yanks are out again in the first round of the playoffs. Very disappointing. I sometimes think that baseball is all about failure and how to handle it. Think about it–good hitters, traditionally those with a .300 batting average, fail 70% of the time. The most famous baseball poem, Casey at the Bat, is all about failure:

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright.
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light.
And, somewhere men are laughing, and little children shout,

but there is no joy in Mudville —
mighty Casey has struck out.

Well, the Mighty Yanks have struck out, but I’m not going to dwell over it. Baseball is also about hope, so “Wait until next year.” Who am I rooting for in the AL playoffs? Certainly not for a team that has just bested the Yanks, so I’m going with Oakland. I’ll only root for Detroit if it makes it to the World Series, since I can’t stand the National League and would NEVER cheer for ANY of its teams.

As an aside, like I’ve noticed in other countries, Yankee hats are extremely predominant in the DR also. I did see one misguided soul wearing a Red Sox hat–I assume they let him out of the hospital for the day. 😀

It was a beautiful day this past Sunday, so, as has become my habit, I strolled along the Malecon. I went even later than last week, so many more people were out. Once the heat of the day dwindles, the place really gets hopping. I would like to have stayed into the nighttime, but I live quite a ways from the area and I’m not prone to walking in the dark by myself, though I could take a taxi. It was probably my last walk along the area on a Sunday, since I move to the Yankee baseball campus this coming Saturday, the 14th. I can hardly wait!

Another observation is about security guards here. You see them everywhere, guarding banks and other places of business, housing areas, and some private residences. Most of them are not armed, just like most of the official police are not armed, but there are quite a number of them who carry what look like sawed-off shotguns! Maybe it’s a “Barney Fife” situation–you only get one bullet, but you can’t put it into the gun. I don’t know, and I don’t want to find out! More later.

Along the Malecon, Part 2

October 3, 2006 /

Sunday was a beautiful day for another long walk, and again I headed for the Malecon along the Caribbean. I started out a little bit later in the day so that I might see the area when there were more people enjoying it. The surf was pretty rowdy, crashing into the rocky outcrops and seawalls, sending spray across the walkway. There was enough that I had to clean my glasses periodically and I had to be careful with my camera to ensure that the corrosive salt water didn’t have a chance to accumulate on the lenses or get into the electronics. Anyway, here are the first photos of the DR, taken along the Malecon in Santo Domingo. With winter not too far in the future in Montana, Korea, Boston and elsewhere, you may, of course, salivate over the gorgeous, year-round tropical weather enjoyed here. The big hotel in both pictures is the relatively new (and expensive) Hilton. Notice the calm sea in the first picture, taken the Sunday before, and the rough surf in the second, taken this past Sunday.

Hilton_2
Hilton_1

There were quite a few people out enjoying the day, some rollerblading, others riding bicycles, some strolling along the shaded sidewalks and others enjoying picnics with family or friends. Obviously, this section is closed to traffic on Sundays.

Along_Malecon_1
Along_Malecon_3

My walk ended near the old Colonial Zone, but not having my city map with me and not wanting to get too lost, I walked back the way I came. I stopped along the way to enjoy some fresh popcorn and a soda as I sat on one of the numerous benches, shaded by the palm trees and enjoying the breeze coming in off the Caribbean. This is a great place to enjoy a Sunday afternoon. I’m supposed to be moving out to the Yankee camp either near the end of this week or the beginning of the next. Hopefully, I’ll get to spend another weekend in Santo Domingo so that I’ll have some time to visit the Colonial Zone.

Speaking of the Yankees, the playoffs begin today. Yanks vs. Detroit this evening. I have a couple of relatives who are Tiger fans; all I can say is enjoy the Tigers while you can–Yanks in four games. More later.

Yanks-Sox

June 6, 2006 /

How the Yankees are maintaining their pace with many of their top-flight players being injured at one time or another or being out for the season is beyond me. I guess we Yankee fans can thank the “Baby Bombers” for coming of age at the right time. Like in last night’s 13-5 shellacking of Boston. Sweeeeeeet!

I took a short bike ride Sunday morning, when it’s quieter than usual. I felt in a “colorful” mood and took a few photos, some of which follow. More later.

Here is some detail of a lime-colored nursery school I thought was interesting.

Lime_Bldg

And then there is this pink apartment building.

Pink_Apt

It’s a bit past spring, but there are still many blooming flowers on bushes and trees. (Actually, this is true pretty much year round.) Here are a few examples.

Blue_Tree

Here’s one of the areas I go jogging. The building in the background is going to be the new city library, I’m told, when it’s finished.

Meknes_Trees-01

Come, Summer

May 29, 2006 /

It’s Memorial Day weekend in the ‘States–memories of the start of a long, beautiful summer. So, what better activity than to sit in the bleacher seats of a baseball stadium, sip on a cold drink, eat a few hot dogs and watch the game? Well, that was my plan–watching the Yankees-Tigers game on MLB.com. However, the power went off in my apartment building for about an hour-and-a-half. According to Brahim, the building superintendant, there was an “explosion” in the basement of the building. Ominous-sounding, to say the least. Whatever it was, the power was eventually restored and I got to see the Yanks whip up on Detroit 4-0. Sweet. The Tigers are/were in 1st place in their division, but . . . let’s cue Detroit’s descent from first place in 5 . . 4 . . 3 . . 2 . .

(That’s for my traitorous brother, Randy, a former Yankee fan who listened to one too many evil voices in his head.)

It looks like I’ll probably be signing on with Woosong University in Daejeon, S. Korea. I heard back from Andong today, but they want me to go through the same procedure that any other new hire would have to go through. I just don’t have time to do that, since they won’t even be posting for the position until the end of this week or the beginning of the next. I signed an offer letter (a letter of intent, more or less) with Woosong and emailed it back to them this evening. After they receive the letter, they will send me a contract to sign. What dissuaded me from pursuing other offers were a couple of emails to people who had worked at Woosong or who are working there now. One fellow is a former colleague from Andong and the other is a graduate of the University of Montana. Nice. Both said that Woosong is an ok place to work. There are better places, I’m sure, but their endorsements are good enough for me.

Congratulations to Tuve Floden, former Peace Corps colleague, on his successful Masters completion. That’s all for now. Someday I’ll post more comments about and photos of Laos, but since I am heading there about the 5th of July, those comments might not be forthcoming until then. More later.

Strike!

May 1, 2006 /

At least I think it was a strike. There was a BIG march today in Meknes, right in front of my apartment–people chanting, carrying banners, and escorted by police, with all vehicle traffic closed off. The apartment concierge told me that it was a strike of government offices, schools, etc. nation-wide, though I couldn’t understand the reason. I’ll have to check the newspapers to see what was going on. It was very peaceful, if noisy. Here’s one photo of it.

March_1

Now, look carefully at this second photo. Notice the yellow arrow in the middle on the extreme right hand side? What’s it pointing at? Yes, a Yankee logo on a baseball cap! Though it’s not an official-looking Yankee hat, it does have the MLB logo on it also. Again, another Yankee hat, and I didn’t see any other baseball team represented on any hat. Truly, the World’s Baseball Team!

March_2

So, what will I be doing tonight? Since my students, who were probably out there marching today, are out on practicum for two weeks, I’m going to stay up to watch the first game of the Red Sox-Yankee series. It doesn’t get started until 7:05 p.m. Eastern Time, which means 11:05 p.m. in Morocco at MLB.com. I’ll be interested to see the reaction Johnny Damon gets from his old team’s fans.

I’ve been busy today sending out applications for jobs in Korea. I sent out 4, with more to come as the month goes by. Most of the major universities will post their job needs on Dave’s ESL Cafe beginning the middle of May on toward the end of the month and into June. I should be able to find something, and the ones I applied to today look pretty good. More later (including the Luang Prabang photos).

More Praise for Big Sky Country

March 18, 2006 /

This is just a few minutes after the last post. I’m on the computer, doing other things, but I’m also tuned into the Yankee spring training game against Florida. Paul O’Neill, former star right fielder for the Yanks and now a broadcaster, was talking about his minor league career and he noted that he played for Missoula in the Pioneer League many years ago. He said that “it’s (Montana) extremely beautiful in the summer, a great place.” Not a big deal, but it’s always interesting to hear what other people think of Montana. Thanks, Paul.

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