Fields Closed for the Weekend

The Town has made the call early: all grass fields are closed for the weekend.

So here's the revised plan for this weekend's practices:

• Saturday's 8 AM practice will be canceled. 
• Saturday's 2 PM pitcher/catcher session at Frozen Ropes is still on.
• Sunday's 12 PM practice is still on. We will move it from High Rock to Memorial Field at the High School (the football field). This field is turf, not grass, and should be open as long as it is not covered in snow.

We'll know more about the status of the Thursday April 7 practice later next week. Keep fingers crossed!

Pitchers and Catchers Report!

The following Red Wings have expressed interest in the pitching and catching session coming up this Saturday 2:00 at Frozen Ropes:

Will (Pitcher)

Eric (Pitcher, Catcher)

Alex (Pitcher, Catcher)

Tom (Pitcher)

Jack (Pitcher)

Parker (Catcher)

Noah (Pitcher, Catcher)

Andrew (Pitcher, Catcher)

The cost will be $20 per player. Please arrive 10-15 minutes early to allow time to fill out paperwork. If your son has already been to Frozen Ropes, you probably will not need to do the paperwork.

Note: Any player who plans to participate in catcher drills must wear a protective cup.

Also, please bring your glove.

Looking at this list, we have most of the team planning to attend this session, which is great. We will need a lot of depth in pitching and catching as the season unfolds. Please email me to let me know if your son is listed above but CANNOT make it this Saturday. Otherwise, I will see you there!

Will the Fields Be Open?

Sometime around 3:00 PM this Friday, the Town of Needham Park and Rec Department will give the final word about the status of High Rock Field, where we have practice this Saturday and Sunday. If the field is too wet on Friday afternoon, the field will be closed all weekend--even if it's 85 degrees, sunny, and the infield's dry as a bone by the time we are strapping on our cleats to practice.

If the Town closes High Rock, I will post an announcement here, send an email, and contact you by phone. You can also check the field status yourself at the Town website.

In the event High Rock is closed, we will implement Plan B. We will move practice on Saturday and Sunday to Memorial Field at Needham High School. We will use whatever space we can on the turf at the football field. We will keep the same practice times--only the location will change. If it's pouring rain, of course, we will cancel practice altogether. We'll call that Plan C.

The pitcher/catcher session at Frozen Ropes on Saturday will be on regardless of the weather. It's indoors.

But none of this will matter, since from Friday on it will be clear, sunny, 85 degrees, with a slight breeze blowing out to center field.

A Few Schedule Changes

Please note the following changes to our pre-season schedule. The schedule posted on this site has been updated with these changes.

• Sunday, April 3: Practice will now run from 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM (instead of 8 AM - 10 AM) and we will practice at High Rock (instead of Eliot). You can sleep in.
• Saturday, April 16: Instead of a practice, we will scrimmage the Rivercats. Same time and field: 4:00 PM  at High Rock.

Eight Shopping Days Left!

Chances are you need some new equipment for the spring. A couple weeks ago, Needham Little League emailed some information and coupons for a couple of baseball promotions at Modell's. Click here if you did not receive it. Modell's is offering 15% off all baseball-related purchases. 5% goes to Needham Little League. Seems like a good chance to save a few bucks and help Needham Little League buy a few more bags of quick dry for the fields.

Here's a list of required equipment:

• Glove
• Baseball cleats
• Baseball pants. Gray and preferably with a belt--a more professional look. Your Red Wing will want at least two or three pair. Baseball pants are required at every practice, scrimmage, and game.
• Protective cup. The boys are hitting and throwing the ball a lot harder than they were a year ago, and the longer your son plays baseball, the greater the likelihood that he will get hit there at some point. We are going to require all Red Wings players to wear a cup for all practices, scrimmages, and games.
• Water bottle

Here's a list of suggested equipment:

• Bat. We will have a large stock of team bats at every practice and game, but some players like to use their own bat. Cometely up to you. We will be using wood bats this year.
• Batting gloves. Many young hitters prefer them.
• Batting helmet. The league provides a few of them to each team, and there's usually a bag of them at each field, so if you do not want to invest in one, your son will be covered. However, if you are at all concerned about what your son puts on his head, you might consider owning rather than borrowing.
• Personal equipment bag. I recommend the ones that are designed to fit a couple of bats and a helmet and that have a clip so that they can be hung on the dugout fence. We are going to require each player to keep his equipment organized in the dugout. Tom struggles with this aspect of the game, but having his own bag really helps.
• Slide pants. These protective undergarments have a pocket to hold a protective cup and provide some thin additional padding.
• Baseball socks. I am not sure whether socks will be provided as part of the uniform. I'll look into it. The Rochester Red Wings of Rochester, NY wear red and black. I haven't seen our uniforms yet, but I'm guessing the Rochester Red Wings of Needham, MA will also wear red and black. If I were a gambling man, I'd bet on red or black for socks.

Here's a list of equipment that will be provided by the team/Needham Little League:

• Team jersey and cap
• Bats
• Batting helmets
• Balls
• Catcher gear
• Catcher glove

What have I forgotten? Please let me know if I've left anything critical off of this list or if you have any questions.

Welcome to the Red Wings Blog!

Wings Fans,

Welcome to the 2011 Double-A baseball season! We are very excited to get things started. During the month of April, we will hold two or three pre-season practices each week, along with a scrimmage or two, and a couple of pitcher/catcher sessions at Frozen Ropes. These preseason practices and scrimmages will prepare us to be in mid-season form by Opening Day, which will be May 1. A full pre-season schedule, with all practice locations and times for the month of April, is now available.

This blog will feature the most up-to-date Red Wings news, all collected in one place. Check the schedule, read highlights from the last game, view photos of your favorite Red Wing, see if today's game is rained out, and if it is, when we will make it up. This site should make communication between coaches and parents much easier. But, if you still prefer email, you may also receive a daily update from this blog vial email with all the recent postings. Just go to "follow by email" on the right, enter your email address, and click "submit." You will then receive a daily email with any new postings.

We are now less than two weeks away from our first practice. We can't wait to get out on the diamond, get the bats swinging again, the arms throwing, and the leather flashing. If you have any questions between now and then, please feel free to contact either of us.

Sincerely,

Dave Berkley dberkley@bostonprep.org
Charlie Patsios cmpatsios@verizon.net