Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Netanya Tigers!

I'm a Netanya Tiger! And their first pitcher drafted! That's a lot of responsibility. In baseball, each team looks to one pitcher in particular to be their 'stopper' - the guy who can single-handedly stop a losing streak, or provide a strong performance when the team really needs one. I don't know what they were thinking when they took me, but I am preparing this preseason to be that guy - I want the ball, and I intend to shut down the batters when they step in against me. I've been working on my mechanics and physical conditioning a lot this off-season. I've been throwing every third day or so; run 6+ miles every few days; refining my different off-speed pitches (everyone/anyone out there know what the difference between a two-seam and a four-seam fastball is? What a changeup looks like? Anyone seen a split-fingered fastball that looks like a knuckleball?) and focusing on hitting my spots. I've always had a good arm and great movement; it's up to me now to put it all together and put the ball where my catcher wants it - and where the batter least expects it! The strategy of baseball pitching is a game within a game, and I love every minute of it. Now let's hope the rest of the Netanya team and fans do as well.