recently received a rather unpleasant e-mail from someone who was angry with me over some personnel decisions we have made. The e-mailer reminded me that there have been several players who did NOT like me and that, if we do have another winning season I……. “won’t throw one single pitch, or take a single at-bat”.  Of course, he’s right.  It’s not my job to pitch or bat.  I was only an average athlete, at best, in my youth and now that I am nearing my 60th year, any semblance of athletic ability would relate to the ability to JOG!  Lest you think that golf is my game, you can ask my friend and our former Amarillo broadcaster, Ted Barker about that sorry mess called my golf swing!But the part about players, or other former employees “not liking” me.  Ouch!

I’ve learned a few things about leadership from so many of my mentors, such as the owners and many co-workers I’ve worked for over the years.  The first lesson one must learn is that when you are in a position of leadership, you will be forced to make decisions which are dead-on certain to make someone unhappy.  It is the hardest and most unpleasant part of running any business.

But…. Lois and I take a lot of pride in the many, many friendships we have made over the years.  One of the neatest things about spending a life in baseball is the lifetime bonds which seem to survive over long periods of time and separation. 

Along those lines, here is a”blog” from one of the newest members of our Cats’ front office staff…. Dave Moharter.  Dave and I were co-workers with the Texas Rangers some 25 years ago when I worked in minor league administration and he was one of our pitching coaches after retiring as a player.  We are glad to have Dave back in the baseball business.  Read on……..    

JPD

Back in the game I love…. by:  Dave Moharter
My association with the Fort Worth Cats is probably a unique one, as I had been away from professional baseball for twenty years before being recruited to come back to the atmosphere I loved by John Dittrich in December, 2007. After having spent fifteen years in the Rangers organization and two more with the Pirates, I left baseball to spend more time with my wife, Marcy, and growing daughter, Shannon. It was an extremely difficult decision for me, after having dreamed my entire life of being in the Major Leagues, but once I had made the decision, I essentially severed the cord and put baseball as far out of my mind as possible. I spent the next twenty years in the automobile business, with no previous background, and did remarkably well for most of those years.

The farther I got from organized baseball, the thinner the chances seemed that I would ever return to it in any capacity. Before the 2007 season, John Dittrich and I spoke for the first time in many years, and he suggested the idea to me of being the pitching coach for the Cats. At the time, I felt I couldn’t afford the job financially, and in reality dragged my feet too long in making a decision. John re-contacted me this past December, inviting me to a Christmas party, and though I was unable to attend, I found an e-mail the next morning which simply said “Question ?” John asked if I was still looking to make a change, as there was a Corporate Sales position available, and I immediately responded by saying “YES” and “Please don’t think you’ll underprice me !!”
So, I’m back in baseball, at probably the purest level of baseball in the country. All of us who have had the opportunity to play at every level look back most fondly on those years when everyone struggled to survive on minor league pay and meal money, and animosities over huge pay discrepancies were few. Friendships formed then were the strongest, and still continue. This time, though, there’s an entirely different perspective for me. In all the years I spent on the field, I put on my uniform and just assumed everything else took care of itself. NOT SO ! The constant preparation and off-season work required to present the quality entertainment product that the Cats deliver is beyond description. The Fort Worth Cats, tradition and all, are truly an on-going community project which changes itself every day. There are sponsorships, advertising, signage, promotions and every other facet of beautiful LaGrave Field to sell for the upc oming and ongoing season. There are special guests to enlist to provide fans with a taste of baseball’s storied past as it relates to the Cats’ history. And there are scripts for every night at the ballpark that may run 20-30 pages long, to make sure that Cats games – wins or losses —are an enjoyable and memorable experience for all of the fans and their children..
The involvement of our various sponsors is possibly the most rewarding area of the entire enterprise. No owner, president or general manager in minor league baseball will ever become independently wealthy, and that’s a fact. The love of the game, the opportunity to mingle with baseball people and to enjoy the atmosphere of this great game is what keeps the various clubs moving forward. The most successful clubs are those whose communities embrace them and recognize the values they represent to their cities and families. We have sponsors from nearly every business arena, large and small, and if you asked any one of them, they’d tell you very frankly that if they were looking for a dollar-for-dollar return on their investments, they’d be involved elsewhere. It’s truly a contagious and thrilling thing to have someone come onboard as an advertiser or sponsor and watch them get excited as we are as they visualize ways in which they ca n pres ent their products or services in such a fun, wholesome and family-friendly environment. We value each and every one of them and appreciate their dedication and time in assisting the Cats’ efforts and in developing lasting relationships with us.

Before I run out of space, a little on the baseball side. It took me some time to both adjust to and gauge the quality of baseball I was watching, after having been away for so long. Since the majority of my time had been spent coaching pitchers at every level, that’s my main area of focus as I watch the games, and this is what I’m seeing : There are a few outstanding arms in the American Association, many good ones and a few below-average. Many of these pitchers make typical mistakes, such as trying to throw an average fastball by a hitter too often, not working the inside of the plate enough, or they just have mechanical problems to solve. You’ll see vast improvement with the majority of our pitchers as the season progresses and James Frisbie has the opportunity to work with them individually over the long haul. The league has many hitters who try to pull pitches that they shouldn’t, and that’s why you see so man y ground ball outs. And there are some players who have yet to master the ability to control their emotions to the point where natural ability can take over. But by and large, the quality of play you’re seeing when you come to LaGrave Field is more than worth the price of the ticket, and you’re undoubtedly seeing some stars in the making.
From my personal point of view, I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am on every game day, or how closely I listen to Emil Moffatt broadcast our road games on 1460AM. I’ve never been one to be late, but I can’t get here early enough when the Cats are in town. And when the games starts, and the music plays, and the fans react to what’s going on both on and off the field, and Dodger makes his grand entrance, and Ralph displays his flag and his patriotism during the singing of “God Bless America,” and when the Cat Dance plays every time a run is scored, and when the fireworks go off ……………. You get my drift. I hope you enjoy every inning of it as much as I do !

Dave Moharter

Looking out over LaGrave Field as Tuesday’s stormy weather continues to swirl around, placing tonight’s game in question.  We’ve had some good luck with the weather so far this year.  Our good luck is much deserved after what we went through with our weather last season.  It was one of the most difficult of our 35 seasons where the weather is concerned.
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Here are some thoughts on the just completed road trip:
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The Cats were 4-6 on the ten game trip.  Not what we had hoped for, but not bad after starting the trip 1-5.  The “big three” starting pitchers, Pedro Flores, Joel Kirsten and Dan Grybash, came through with some nice work in the clutch, winning the finale in Wichita and the first two in St. Paul.  That put us in a position to come out of the trip at .500 if we could pull off the sweep of the Saints at their ballpark.  But it was not to be.  A tough order, to defeat the Saints three straight in their own ballpark.  It was made even more difficult by the fact that they had a crowd of 7,000 on Sunday night.
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It was the night of the famous “bobble foot” promotion.  There may also have been fireworks.  If you haven’t seen our official position on the “bobble foot” promo from Cats’ owner Carl Bell, just click on this link:  http://www.fwcats.com/feature_display.cfm?id=201   There is also a lot of opinion on the “Deep Thoughts” blog of Channel 5 sportscaster, Derek Castillo.  Here is the link to that…  http://deepthoughtswithderek.wordpress.com/2008/05/25/cats-want-no-part-in-bobblefeet-doll/   I would love to know what you think about all of this.
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The other interesting thing that happened on the road trip was a play on the final night in Wichita.  It was the Cat’s only win in the series… final score 11-3.  But early in the game, the Cats successfully pulled off the old “hidden ball trick”.  The Cats were protecting a 3-0 lead and Wichita had runners on second and third with one out.  The next batter hit a fly ball to center and both runners tagged up.  The runner on third scored and the runner on second, Heath Keel, advanced successfully to third base as our third baseman, Aaron Sisk, took the throw from the outfield.  Meanwhile, pitcher Joel Kirsten was standing off the mound (I will explain the significance of this in a moment) and Sisk was still holding the ball.  Then, Keel made the fatal (for a baserunner) mistake of not knowing the location of the ball in play.  He stepped off the bag at third to talk to Wichita manager and third base coach Kash Beauch amp at which time Sisk tagged him with the ball and he was OUT!  The Cats had pulled off the “old hidden ball trick”!  Now, the significance of the fact that Kirsten was NOT standing on the dirt of the mound is in the fact that a “balk” would have been called if he had stepped onto the mound without the baseball.  So, the art of the trick is that the baserunner must think that the pitcher has the ball even though he is standing on the grass.
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What makes this story even more interesting is the way in which the Wichita newspaper writer, who was providing the story to our Fort Worth Star-Telegram, chose to portray and “slant” the story.  In the Star-Telegram the next morning, the writer portrayed the Cats as “desparate” and “amateurish” because they used the hidden ball trick.  He even went so far as to quote Kash Beauchamp (Wichita manager and third base coach) saying that something to the effect that it was “unprofessional” and that we were probably desperate because we had lost three in a row, etc.
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Now… the part about wanting to break a losing streak…. I will accept that.  WHO DOESN’T WANT TO BREAK A LOSING STREAK?   Losing three in a row is never good.  To use the word “desperate” is a little extreme, but again, I admit we didn’t want to lose FOUR in a row for sure!  But “amateurish” or “unprofessional”, absolutely NOT.   Here’s why the hidden ball trick is ANYTHING BUT “amateurish” or “unprofessional”…..   #1 because a “professional” baserunner should always know where the ball is when in play…. it is expected.   #2 because a base coach’s job is first and foremost to remind the runner of the situation at hand, including knowing where the ball in play is located at all times.  #3 because a big part of PROFESSIONAL baseball involves “dekeing:” or “faking” by the defense.   Just the other day, one of our Cats’ runners was rounding second base an d  ;could have easily made third on a ball hit to the outfield, but he held up because the second baseman and shortstop “deked” or “decoyed” him into thinking that the throw was coming in to second and he would be caught off the bag.  You see this several times a game in all PROFESSIONAL games.  This kind of “faking” or “dekeing” is against the rules in KIDS leagues, but not in PROFESSIONAL baseball.   That play is really nothing different than the hidden ball trick.  It is players acting like they are catching the ball when they are not…. IN ORDER TO TRICK THE RUNNER.  We (the Cats) don’t hold it against the other teams for “deking” or “faking”…. we know that it is our own fault if we don’t pick up the ball or our coaches don’t help us as they are supposed to… it is the runner’s job to know where the ball is at all times.
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Just yesterday, I was watching a MAJOR LEAGUE game on television in which a runner was on second base with one out.  The batter hit a soft liner toward right field which fell in front of the right fielder for a hit, BUT THE RUNNER ON SECOND DID NOT ADVANCE TO THIRD BECAUSE THE RIGHT FIELDER “DEKED” OR “FAKED” AS IF HE WERE GOING TO CATCH THE BALL and the runner kept his foot on the bag thinking it was going to be caught, thus he was unable to advance.  This was in a “professional” MAJOR LEAGUE game.�
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Final thoughts on “desperate, amatuerish, unprofessional” hidden ball trick….    It is the job of a professional baseball player not to get “tricked”.  The battle between the pitcher and the batter is nothing if not a series of mental exercises in which each is trying to “trick” the other.  What will the pitch be?  Where will it be located?  What will he throw in this count?   What about “faking” bunt and then pulling back and swinging away?  Is that “amatuerish, desperate, unprofessional”?   Hardly….   it is a great game…. you have to have your head in the game at all times…. or you might get tricked!
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I am reminded of a story I once heard about the great Ty Cobb.   It seems that on this particular day, Cobb was on second base and fell victim to the “old hidden ball trick”.  The second baseman made a throwing motion back toward the pitcher and the pitcher smacked his glove as if to catch the ball.  Cobb strolled away from second to take his lead at which time the second baseman smiled at him and held up the baseball!!!    …Cobb looked at him and said “If you tag me with that ball I am going to beat the s— out of you!”   The second baseman tagged him out.  I don’t recall if a fight ensued, but you can bet that the spikes were flying high the next time Cobb slid into second against that player.  As I said, it is a mind game out there on the baseball field.  �
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Anyway…. it was a long, difficult, road trip and we are glad it is behind us.  We had hoped to come home at 9-8 after a 5-5 trip and we fell one win short of that goal.  The standard theory in baseball is that we must play .500 ball on the road and have a nice winning record at home in order to be in the pennant race.�
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Now, we will be home for 13 of the next 19 games and we are optimistic.  Optimistic that we will play our game tonight…. and optimistic that the team is coming together.  

JPD

We are right in the middle of our first road trip of the season.  As many of you know it is a ten game trip.  We are however 2-5 to start the trip.  We are hoping to be .500 on this road trip which means we need to be 5-5, so all you mathematicians out there know we need to win the rest of our games on this road trip to accomplish  this.  It can be done, we just need to start clicking and firing on all cylinders.

The trip started out on a good note because we got to fly up to Omaha, Nebraska before busing up to Sioux City, Iowa.  Now this is a treat for us, because almost every other trip will be by bus.  Yes that means bussing to El Paso (13 hours) bussing to Pensacola (12 hours), and so on, so you can see why a two- hour flight and then a two-hour bus ride makes this trip feel more like a work vacation instead of the normal long grinding bus ride.�
I want to use this first blog as a way to tell all of our loyal fans and even the fans in passing, to stay with us.  We may not be coming out of the gates and dominating like Big Brown (Kentucky Derby and Preakness Winner,) but we have a very solid club.  One thing that needs to be taken into consideration is the fact that we have never played together. 

We have an entirely new roster as I am sure all of you know.  So jumping right into a season with an entirely new team is hard on everyone, players and fans alike.  All of the guys are trying to figure each other out, build that important team chemistry that is needed to win championships.  We have had spurts showing what we are capable of, and it is a great thing to see when that happens.  We just have to weather this first storm and continue to play and get better.�
Besides, the last two years if I am not mistaken the Cats didn’t start off hot, and I believe we still won the Championship.  So it’s a long season, people like to use the phrase, it’s a marathon not a sprint.

-Charles Carter, Cats’ outfielder

Time to get back to the Cats.  We have been struggling in the early going.  There’s no denying that we are not playing as well as we expected at the outset of the season.  We are scuffling on all fronts.  Our pitching hasn’t been all that poor, but we are thin in pitching depth.  Our defense has been spotty and some of our hitters with proven track records have gotten off to a very slow start. 

It all started with the loss of our top starting pitcher, Lee Gwaltney, to the San Diego Padres organization on the day before opening day.  Then, Dan Grybash had to miss his first start and we were forced to use a couple of guys who were slated for middle relief in spot starting roles, thus depleting the relief corps.

We’ve been getting “quality starts” out of our big three (formerly the big four until we lost Gwaltney) of Pedro Flores, Joel Kirsten and Dan Grybash.  But it is difficult to compete in a league as tough as ours without at least four experienced, dependable starters.  Our younger guys have been doing a good job, but we are asking a lot of them right now.  Kelly Shearer gave us a good effort last night.  He kept us in the ballgame, but our offense is still sputtering and our defense was not great either. 

Yesterday, we signed a solid starting pitcher, Kyle Yates.  Kyle has joined the team in Wichita and will probably pitch out of the bullpen initially since he has not pitched for several days after being released by the Toronto Blue Jays organization.  Eventually, I expect that Chad will put Kyle in the rotation.  That should help with our pitching depth.

Our hitting should come around.  We’ve got some pretty good bats in Nelson Teilon, Jake Geautreau, Brian Fryer, Charles Carter and Ed Montague.  These guys have been proven hitters in our league or other strong leagues.  I feel confident that the bats will come alive.   

If you look at our schedule, we play the first 17 games of the season against the Northern Division.  That is a quirk that is not really favorable to us.  From what I can see, the Northern Division is pretty tough this year.  St. Paul is off to a 10-2 start and the Sioux Falls club that opened the season here in Fort Worth is clearly a very good ballclub.  Wichita is also a formidable team and difficult to beat in their ballpark.  The Wingnuts (I hate that name) are a very good addition to the American Association. 

To top it off… 10 of the 17 games are on the road, and this is a grueling road trip.  We left home at 4-3 and were hoping to be at least 9-8 after these 17 games  That would require a 5-5 road trip.  We are now behind the 8 ball on that because we’ve started off 1-4, and we have a tough weekend series in St. Paul with the Saints already out to a 10-2 start.  We can only hope that the law of averages will help us in St. Paul.  By “law of averages” I mean the law of averages would indicate that good hitters like ours will come out of their slump and that the Saints are due for a little slump!

You can bet that the Cats will be glad to get home this coming Monday for a homestand against teams in our own division.  As we all know, it is easier to make up ground in the standings when you win games against teams in your own division. 

Monday is Memorial Day and we will have another spectacular fireworks display on Monday night.  There should be a great crowd on hand to welcome the Cats home.  The home fans at LaGrave Field are definitely the best in the league.  Our fans appreciate the game more than any I’ve seen in the other cities.  We support our players and we always applaud good plays on the part of the opposition.  The idea that you should hoot and insult the visitors is not acceptable with our fans.  As the famous song says…  we “root, root, root for the home team”.

I’ve always been proud of the fact that so many players in our league have said that they would love to come play for the Cats because we have such a great city, a great little ballpark and great fans!

Now, all we have to do is get our boys home within striking distance, and let some of that Fort Worth / LaGrave Field “mojo” take effect!

JPD

With the Cats’ out of town this past weekend…. what would you expect a baseball guy to do?   Of course….  find another ballgame to attend! �
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We arose Saturday morning and headed for Arlington.  No, we weren’t going to see the Rangers play the Houston Astros… although that Saturday game was quite an affair…. we WERE however going to see the Rangers.   It was a 10 AM game.  The Rangers were playing the Cardinals.�
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Now, you are saying there is NO WAY that the Rangers were going to play the Cardinals and the Astros in Arlington on the same day.  You would be wrong.
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At 10 AM on Saturday morning, Lois and I were in the stands at the Miracle League field in Randol Mill Park as the MIRACLE LEAGUE RANGERS, led by star outfielder Jylian Bilbow took on the Miracle League Cardinals.  It was a “nail biter”!  The last game of the season for both teams and each previous game had resulted in a tie.  Who would win the season series between these two rivals?  We were anxious to see Jylian’s dad, Cats’ general manager John Bilbow, manage the Rangers. �
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Most of the readers of this blog know Jylian’s story, but for those of you who don’t, she is the oldest daughter of John and Kendall Bilbow.  Jylian was born on St. Patrick’s day five years ago and her life has been an inspiration to her parents, her extended family and pretty much everyone who has crossed her path.  I won’t go into detail about the physical obstacles she fights on a daily basis.  Suffice it to say that you can go to her website with this link:  http://jylian.com/index.html  I urge you to do that.
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The Rangers / Cardinals match this past Saturday would go down as one of the greatest ballgames I have ever seen… and as I’ve mentioned before, I’ve seen a lot of ballgames.  Jilly Bean, as she is known to many, or just “Bean” to her dad, plays the game with a joi-de-vivre that would put Sammy Sosa to shame.  Each player in the Miracle League has a “helper”.  Some players need more help than others because the players on each team face a wide range of disabilities.  Jilly’s helper is Eric Wilson, Eric is a baseball player at Summit High School in Mansfield.  �
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I cannot adequately describe how heart-warming it is to see these players on the field in their uniforms and to see and feel the love of the players and the helpers for one another.  The physical act of hitting the ball is handled differently for each player.  The helpers do.