Red Wings to March in July Fourth Parade

The Red Wings will gather at Greene's Field at 8:30 on Monday, July 4 and prepare to march in the Needham Fourth of July Parade. The parade will leave Greene's at 9:00 and should arrive at Memorial around 10:00. Parade route:

Red Wings should wear jersey and hat. Shorts are fine.

If you are around and can make it, it'll be a lot of fun. If not, no worries.

I will bring trophies for those who have not received them.

See you there!

What a Season!

The AA League Championship Game between the Owlz and the Red Wings will go down as one of the best ever played in Needham Little League history. I heard this from several observers who have been around Needham baseball for a long, long time. The quality of play on the part of both teams, the way the game played out... You just don't see it very often from 9 and 10-year-olds. It was great baseball!

While the Red Wings came out on the short end of a 6-4 extra-innings thriller, and finished the season in second place, there is absolutely nothing I'd take back about the game. I have no regrets. We played our hearts out and, as a team, played our best baseball of the season. I am a proud coach.

The Patsios Family was very kind to host us on Sunday for a festive end-of-season cookout. It was a great way to wrap up what has been an amazing season of baseball. Between games of pickle and wiffle ball, Coaches Gage, Patsios, Shapiro, and I presented awards to our Red Wings. We spoke briefly about each player. I will try to remember more or less what we said.

• The Greek God of Walks Award: Alejandro Diaz. Kevin Youkilis, before he established himself as one of Major League Baseball's premier hitters, spent a few years bouncing back and fourth between Pawtucket and Fenway. What the Red Sox loved about Youkilis during this time was his plate discipline. He had the potential to be a great hitter one day, but at that early point in his career he was already one of the best on-base guys in baseball. His nickname was "The Greek God of Walks." Alejandro practices the same kind of plate discipline. All season, he has made great decisions at the plate. He lays off pitches outside the zone, but always swings at the ones he can hit. As a result, he gets himself on base. He keeps the inning alive, keeps the line moving, and scores runs. Alejandro is our Greek God of Walks.

• The Six Tool Award: Will Dorion. A good all-around baseball player is called a five-tool player. He is a player that excels at each of the five tools of baseball: hitting for average, hitting for power, throwing, fielding, and running. I believe there is a sixth tool of baseball that is just as important as the other five--maybe more important. It's attitude. Will is an excellent all-around baseball player. He's a great hitter, he is reliable anywhere in the field, and he has emerged as one of the better pitchers in the league. He has the five tools. But one of the most impressive parts of his game is his attitude. Will is mentally tough and he is all about team. He's the guy you want in a pressure situation. He's the guy who always has something positive and encouraging to say to a teammate. Every coach in the world wants a guy like Will on the team.

• The Future Francona Award: Drew Patsios. Baseball is a thinking man's game. On the surface the game may seem simple: you throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. But take a closer look, and you see there's a whole lot more going on. Some players thrive on the thinking part of the game. They imagine all the different scenarios is a given situation: With a 1-run lead and a man on third with one out, do you pull the infield in and play it home to prevent the run or go for the easier play at first and get the sure out? Does it depend on what part of the order is due up? Does it depend on how your pitcher is throwing? These are the kinds of things Drew thinks about. He has quite an impressive baseball IQ for a young player. I am certain that if none of the coaches were able to make it to a game, Drew would step up and manage the team to victory.

• The David Ortiz Award: Sam Berezin. Big Papi needs no introduction. Time and time again, Red Sox fans have rejoiced in the heroics of a guy whose smile is big as his bat. Red Wings fans have also rejoiced in the heroics of a guy whose smile is as big as his bat: Sam Berezin. Sam's swing is all power, like Papi's (only I think much better mechanically). I don't know of any other AA player besides Sam who has hit two home runs in one game. Like Papi at Fenway, there's nothing more exciting than watching Sam step in with runners on base in a close game.

• Mr. Clutch Award: Parker Kirstein. Baseball statisticians say there is no such thing as clutch hitting. They say that if you play the game long enough, eventually you will get lucky and hit that walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth with two strikes and two outs. But when that sort of thing happens over and over again, can you really call it luck? Parker Kirstein is living proof that clutch hitting is real. How many times have we seen him tie the game up or put us ahead with one swing of the bat? The Red Wings came from behind to win more than their share of nail-biters during the regular season and especially in the playoffs. In almost every case, Parker played a key part knocking in the runs that made the difference. There was no luck involved. Parker is a great clutch hitter.

• Jason Varitek Award: Noah Schwartz. Jason Varitek is not a very good hitter anymore, but the Sox keep him in the lineup because pitchers love to pitch to him. He does his homework. He knows what each pitcher should throw to each batter in any count. Pitchers feel more confident and more relaxed when he's behind the plate. There's a reason he holds the record for most no-hitters caught. Noah is the Jason Varitek of the Red Wings. All season our pitchers have felt very comfortable with Noah catching. He offers a steady target for every pitch, stops nearly everything, frames pitches, and hustles after the few that do get past him. He's got a bright future behind the plate.

• Cy Young Award: Jack Morgan. The Cy Young Award goes to the best pitcher in the American and National Leagues. It's no surprise that our Cy Young winner is Jack Morgan. We heard the same comment from every team we faced this year with Jack on the mound: "that kid's the best pitcher we've seen all season." He was consistently dominant. Not a single run all season--earned or otherwise--crossed the plate on his watch. A 0.00 ERA for the season! Cy Young himself never came close to that. By the end of the season Jack was probably throwing in the low 60s, and he could command. How many 9 or 10 pitch innings did we see from him? It became routine. Most importantly, though, Jack was a leader in the dugout and an excellent teammate, always supportive, always cheering on the other guys. Jack was not only a great player himself, but he made the guys around him great, too.

• Hustle Award: Eric Gage. If no one else showed up and we had to play only one guy in the field, Eric could handle it. If he wasn't striking guys out, he'd cover the rest of the diamond. This guy is the very definition of hustle. We saw it over and over again. Going after every pop foul at first or third. Ranging everywhere. He'd rather put himself on a stretcher than give up an out. Eric has the drive and the smarts, but also the speed to make good on it. He was a beast on the base paths for us, regularly scoring from second on balls that didn't make it out of the infield and from first on balls that did. You can't help but be inspired by this guy. He plays the game the way it's supposed to be played.

• Joe DiMaggio Award: Josh Shapiro. Joe DiMaggio had the longest hitting streak in Major League history -- 56 games in 1941. I don't know how many other games he hit in that season, but I'm willing to bet that our Josh Shapiro hit safely in a higher percentage of games. Josh hit safely in 12 out of the 15 games we played (including playoffs). That's 80% if my math is right. Amazing! There's only one way to achieve that kind of consistency at the plate: hard work. At every practice and warming up before every game, we all saw how hard Josh worked to improve his swing. What we didn't see was the hours he put in between practices. We didn't see the extra batting practice he took every week in addition to the work he did at Red Wings practices. Josh, like every great hitter, is truly dedicated to his craft.

• The Carl Yastrzemski Award: Tom Berkley. In Major League Baseball, a hitter earns the Triple Crown if he leads the league in batting average, RBI, and home runs. Carl Yastrzemski of the Red Sox was the last player to win the Triple Crown. He did it back in 1967, and no one has been able to do it since. It is a very difficult distinction to achieve because it requires a hitter to hit very well for average and hit with a lot of power at the same time. Like Yaz in '67, Tom hit very well for average this season and also with a good deal of power. He put in a lot of time outside of Red Wings practices working on his swing.  He took extra batting practice on his days off. He worked very hard at it because one of his favorite things in the world (besides sliding) is to swing the bat and crush the ball.

• The Vladimir Guerrero Award: Micah Bernat. Orioles DH Vladimir Guerrero is one of the most aggressive hitters in baseball history. All he wants to do is hit the ball. So he swings at almost everything, and he can hit almost anything. As aggressive as he is, he does not strike out much. He hits. That's Micah. When he steps into the box, the only thing he wants to do is hit the ball. He's not thinking about who's on the mound or even what the count is. He just wants to put wood on the ball--and he's got the bat speed and vision to do it. Keep swinging away, Micah! You've always got the green light as far as we're concerned.

• Jose Oquendo Award: Kenny Crossman. Jose Oquendo was one of the best utility players in Major League history. A utility player is a guy that can play many different positions and plays wherever the team needs him. One day he might play shortstop. The next day he might play right field. Jose Oquendo played every position but catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. He could do this because of his excellent fielding skills and the fact that he was ambidextrous (he could throw and catch equally well with both hands). In fact, he had a custom-made glove that he could wear on either his right or his left hand. Kenny is our Jose Oquendo. He played everywhere for us. As a manager, you love to have a player who is happy and successful in any role. That's Kenny. When we needed him to catch for us, he was there, behind the plate, steady target. When we needed him at third base, he was there, glove down, quick scoop and fire to first. Center field? No problem. He'd line it up and make the catch. He could do it all, and he did it all happily. Whatever it took to help the team. Kenny is the ultimate team player.

• Cal Ripken Award: Alex Kaplan. "Iron" Cal Ripken holds the Major League record for consecutive games played--2,131 games in a row. Alex has not been alive long enough to play 2,131 games in a row, but something tells me he'll surpass that number eventually. The kid loves baseball, and that's the best kind of baseball player there is. He loves to hit, eagerly plays any position on the diamond--just loves every minute of it. He was often the first guy to arrive at practice and one of the last to leave. We've never seen him without a smile on his face. Up by two runs or down by five... It didn't matter, he just wanted to be there in the game doing whatever he could. It is not surprising then the phenomenal improvement Alex made between April and June. When you love the game, you work hard at it, when you work hard it it, you get very good at it. It has to start with the love, though. Alex definitely has the love.

Wings fans, it was a special season. 13-2, so many thrilling come-from-behind victories, playing for the AA Championship. As a coach, I am grateful for all of the success we were able to enjoy as a team. But, I am most grateful to have had the opportunity to spend my spring with such a great group of boys and crew of coaches. Everybody made new friends, everybody supported each other, and everybody had a lot of fun, and that's the only reason we play this game.

Wings Advance to League Championship Game

The Express had enjoyed an impressive playoff run powered by top-notch pitching, solid defense, and an explosive lineup.  Well-coached and battle-ready, they strolled onto Eliot Field with every intention of stepping right over the Red Wings on their way to Saturday's AA Championship Game.

But they would have to get past Wings starting pitcher Jack first. That would not be easy tonight, as Jack's fastball looked lively as ever and the young righty was hitting his spots. He struck out the leadoff guy with three pitches and got the next batter to ground to third, where Tom scooped and fired to first for the out. He struck out another to end a quick top of the first.

Eric led off the Wings' first with a walk. Tom walked as well, and just like that, there were two on with nobody out. Some nifty work at shortstop, though, would rain on the Wings' parade. Will hit a hot ground ball to short. The shortstop got a glove on it, had the presence of mind to tag Eric on the way to third, and then threw to first to get Will. The Express pitcher would strike out another to end the inning.

Jack had some help to get three outs on short order in the top of the second. He got the first batter to pop up to shallow right field, where second baseman Eric, ranging back, made a nice grab. He got the next to ground softly to first where Will scooped and stepped on the bag. Jack took care of the third out on his own, a full-count backwards K.

Parker got things going in the bottom of the second with a single to left. Jack moved him over with a single of his own, and Micah drove him in with a single up the middle. The Wings were on the board first. 1-0.

Top of the third. Jack continued to throw dominant stuff, and struck out the side. Nothing fancy, just fastballs. Hard. Low in the zone. Untouchable.

In the Wings' third, Drew sparked a rally with a one-out single hit hard to left. Eric singled next on a line-drive to right, and the Wings had two aboard with one out. Tom jumped on a fastball in and hit a rocket, but it found the glove of the Express shortstop. Will hit a shot up the middle, but the pitcher made a nifty snag to end the inning. Can't do anything about great defense. Still 1-0, Wings.

Top of the fourth. Jack stayed in his grove and retired the side in order. He would finish his start with four shut-out innings, striking out 8 and allowing only one base runner on a walk in the first. A masterpiece.

Parker led off the bottom half of the fourth with a single. Jack walked. Two on with nobody out for Alejandro. The team leader in walks, Alejandro simply had refused all season to be tempted by anything out of the zone. Excellent plate discipline. But, when challenged in the zone, he also knew how to respond. He took a big cut at a fastball over the heart of the plate and launched it into left center field for an RBI single. Wings were now up by 2. Josh would move Alejandro to second with a hard shot up the first base line. Unfortunately the Express first baseman would beat him to the bag by a quarter step. A great hustle, though. Micah then drove in one more with a single to left to put the Wings up by 3. Alex put himself on for the second time tonight with a single up the middle to put runners on the corners with two gone. Ken knocked one hard up the first base line, but the first baseman got to it and stepped on the bag to end the inning. Wings 3, Express 0.

The Express were bound to strike back, and with the top of their order due up in the fifth, the time seemed to be right. Tom came out to relieve Jack. The flamethrower had his usual stuff, but the Express were patient and worked two walks. Then their clean-up hitter sent a 2-2 fastball to the gap in left center for a double that scored two. The Wings sent Will to the hill next. He got the first batter he faced to ground up the middle. Ranging left, Eric had to dive to get his glove on it. Then, quick to his feet, he made a dash to the bag at first. The runner beat him by a hair, but the play was the very definition of hustle. A run scored, and the game was tied. Will battled valiantly, though, and struck out the next three to get the Wings out of the inning.

3-3 after four and a half.

This was familiar territory for Red Wings. They needed a late-inning rally to beat the Knights in the first round and the Mets in the second round. They would need to come back again tonight in order to come out ahead and advance to the AA Championship Game.

Noah, as always, understood the situation perfectly. He needed to make the pitcher work. Trouble was, the pitcher was throwing strikes, so Noah knew he couldn't work the count. Instead, he decided to swing away. Smart. With a 1-2 count, he fouled off three in a row and then sent the next one into left field for a double. A brilliant at-bat! Next, Drew would be hit by a pitch, and Eric would walk to load the bases for Tom. Tom took a big cut at the first pitch he saw and sent it past the shortstop into left field for a 2-run double. The Wings were back on top 5-3. There would be more. Will walked to set the table for Parker. Parker sent one up the first base line. The first baseman was there to make the play, but another run scored making it 6-3, Wings. With two outs, Josh would single, but since he was the ninth batter, the inning would be over.

Will returned to record the save in the top of the sixth. He shut the lights out, retiring three of four batters faced and ushering his team along to the Needham Little League AA Championship Game. 6-3 was the final score.

Congratulations to the Red Wings for a very exciting playoff run! We have now earned the chance to play for the Needham Little League title next Saturday at Greene's.

Tonight's win was typical Red Wings baseball. Every single player made good contact at the plate against some very strong Express pitching. We were consistently solid in the field, and our pitching, as usual, was excellent. Clutch hitting and our never-give-up attitude helped us overcome a tough Express rally late in the game. The coaches could not be more proud of our guys for hanging in there.

The game ball went to Jack. Four innings of shut-out, no hit pitching, outstanding play at first base, and a perfect night at the plate--1 for 1 with 2 walks and a run scored. The Hustle Award went to Eric for his spectacular stop at second base and tremendous effort to get to the bag at first.

The Red Wings will take on the Owlz for the AA Championship this Saturday, June 18 6:00 at Greene's. This will be a lot of fun!

Wings Advance on Usual Formula: Pitching, Defense, Clutch Hitting

In their previous match-up, the Red Wings were all over the Mets 13-2. The Mets had played three games in four days, and by the time they took the field to face the Wings, they had burned through their pitching staff. This time around, both the Mets and the Red Wings would have all of their pitchers rested and available. Rumors had been circulating throughout AA ballparks of a lights-out righty on the Mets' staff who, late in the season, had been shutting down some of the best hitters in the league.  He had been dominant in the Mets' 6-0 first round victory. The Red Wings knew this would be a very different kind of game than their first meeting.

Red Wings starting pitcher Eric came out throwing fire and struck out the Mets' leadoff guy. But a lineup like the Mets was not going to go down quietly. The next two batters would single. A couple more would earn walks. Eric showed good poise to strike out two more and kill the rally, limiting the Mets to only two runs.

In the Wings' half of the first, Tom singled on a hard shot to left. The left fielder made a good stop and throw to hold Tom at first. Will walked to put two on with one out. But the Wings' threat would end there. The Mets' starter was throwing dominant stuff, and he had great support in the field behind him.

2-0, Mets after one.

The Wings looked to work the count and make the Mets' fireballer throw as many pitches as possible. Easier said than done, but Alejandro put in an outstanding effort, laying off what looked to him like ball four after forcing 7 pitches. Strike was called, but this is exactly the kind of at-bat the Red Wings needed from him. Josh also worked the count full, fouled one off, and then connected to send one up the middle. The pitcher got a glove on it and fired to first to end the inning. The Wings did not put any runs up but smart at-bats forced many more pitches than the Mets would have liked.

Still down 2-0, Will took the mound for the Wings in the third, and he was sharp. Very sharp. He struck out the heart of the Mets' order--an inning of backwards Ks.

In the bottom of the third, Micah knocked one up the middle, but the pitcher put leather on it and he was out at first. With one out, Alex singled to left, and it looked like the Wings might get something going. Noah stepped in and worked the count full. Like Alejandro's at-bat an inning earlier, this one was an epic battle. Strike three was on the outside corner. Noah had to swing. He did what he could to put wood on it, but it was a very tough pitch. Noah succeeded in making the Mets' starter work, though, and the Wings' dugout could sense that he was starting to tire. Drew would make him work again, forcing six pitches, and even though he went down swinging, he did his part to set the Wings up for a big fourth.

Will owned the top of the fourth, striking out the side again and leaving no daylight for the Mets to pick up any insurance on their slim 2-run lead. He finished with 6 Ks over two innings of no-hit, shut-out ball.

Will was on fire at the plate as well. With two out in the bottom of the fourth, he ripped the first pitch he saw and sent it to deep left field for a double. With the way the Mets' starter had been pitching, their 2-run lead had looked more like a 10-run lead, but with one swing of the bat, Will brought the mighty Mets right back down to earth. A tense silence fell over their dugout as Sam stepped in. Yes, Sammy Whammy, Grand Sam, the Big Bang, Mr. Clutch. Sam fell behind 1-2, fouled one off, took a ball low, and then took a big swing at a 2-2 fastball. He crushed it, launching it over the shortstop into gap in left center--an RBI double, and the Wings were on the board, 2-1. With the tying run on second, Parker, who has been on an absolute tear during the second half of the season, drove the first pitch he saw over the head of the center fielder, way back and nearly onto the playground. A triple to score Sam and tie the game. The Wings' dugout erupted, but the inning wasn't over yet. Jack was not satisfied just to tie the game. He wanted to win it right then and there and proceeded to send the 1-0 pitch into left field for a single and what would be the winning run. Wings 3, Mets 2.

For Jack, a job well done at the plate, but there was still the business of protecting the Wings' lead for two more innings. That would be Jack's job, too. The closer took the mound in the fifth and struck out the side with 12 pitches. He had dominant stuff working for him and looked quite comfortable with a 1-run lead in his pocket.

The Wings went hunting for insurance in their half of the fifth. Josh walked to put himself on with nobody out. Micah would work a walk as well, and the Wings were threatening. Alex hit a hard line drive to short, but the Mets' shortstop was there to make the catch. Noah would walk, too, but with the bases loaded, the Mets' reliever got himself and his team out of the jam. 3-2 Wings going into the sixth.

The game was now in Jack's hands as he stared in at the heart of the Mets' order. He was throwing a searing fastball and locating it, and the Mets couldn't touch him. He struck out the side, all three looking, on 13 pitches for the save and the win.

The final score: Red Wings 3, Mets 2.

Another hard-fought win for the Red Wings and a great effort all around. The game ball went to Parker for his heroics at the plate. He tied the game with a triple in the fourth and then scored the winning run. The Hustle Award went to Noah for working the count in the third and doing his part to force as many pitches as possible out of the hard-throwing Mets starter.

With the win tonight, the Red Wings advance to the National Division Championship Game Monday at Eliot. We will be playing for the National Division title and a chance to play for the Needham Little League AA Championship next Saturday, June 18. We will take on the Express, with their arsenal of hard-throwing pitchers and punishing lineup. This will be a lot of fun!

Practice Moved to Tonight 6:00 at Eliot

The Red Wings' practice has moved to tonight, 6:00 at Eliot. I apologize for the inconvenience and really appreciate your continued flexibility and patience.