Less than two weeks!

Hey guys, in this edition I will be writing about how the excitement is building up for the season, as well as what I am doing to physically and mentally prepare for the next couple of months. Let me first start by saying I've never been more excited for anything in my life. In college, we would play just about everyday, although there were some off days in the middle of the week. There were also classes that would always get in the way, and homework, and all that other nonsense. The idea of being able to play ball every day without having to worry about anything else is truly amazing. I am eagerly anticipating seeing our daily schedule. Everyone that I have come in contact with, be it teammates, league officials, media, or anyone has been fantastic. It is all very exciting.

I came home to Cleveland on Wednesday to see my friends and family before we leave. Before I go any further I'd just like to say GO CAVS ! If anyone out there wants a Daniel Gibson "Shoot Boobie Shoot" shirt let me know…The Indians are also in first place and playing some very good ball. One thing that I like to do to prepare for baseball is to watch games and try to think along with the managers to try to get into it mentally as much as possible. Luckily my father was able to get tickets to the Indians vs. Royals 'Businessman Special' 12oclock noon game yesterday (Thursday) so we were able to get in some great baseball (Indians 8 Royals 3). If you have been following Indians baseball this year, and I'm sure you have (sarcasm), you know that Paul Byrd is having much more success this year than last year, with pinpoint control (his last non-intentional walk was April 26th !) and a reinvented curveball. He credits this curveball to he and reliever Tom Mastny playing catch with a HOCKEY PUCK, to get the over the top, tumbling spin on the ball. Needless to say, I went and got a brand new hockey puck which I will play catch with later on today...I'll let you know how it goes.

Aside from the hockey puck, my physical preparation for this summer is pretty plain. I run a lot. Sometimes it’s in the neighborhood, sometimes its down at the field. I try and get my running in when it’s really hot out to get ready for the Israeli summer, but often times that’s tough to do because of work. I try to throw everyday. I'm not a big believer in pitch counts, arm rest, or ice after I throw. I figure, the more you throw, the stronger your arm will get. Pitch counts be damned, if you’re at 100 pitches and you are still locating down in the zone with good velocity, your staying out there. Ice? They never used ice in the old days when guys would routinely go on four and three days rest. Other than that I do some stretching, and core abdominal work, but that’s it.

The season is getting very close, and that is very exciting. We'll be in Israel in less than two weeks. Playing games in less than three. Phenomenal.

I'll be back soon for another update before we get there...

"22 Pitches"

My background is somewhat interesting as I grew up in Beachwood, OH, which is a suburb of Cleveland. I didn’t start playing organized baseball until the age of 12, for a few reasons. First and foremost was that my city didn't have a little league program, but there could have been ways around that. The more interesting reason, though, was that my family and I were lucky enough to spend the majority of each summer at my grandparents apartment in Tel Aviv. I attended sports camp each summer there which was fantastic, but was centered around soccer and basketball. During the Persian Gulf War, schools in Israel shut down for a few weeks, and were extended into the summer when they reopened. That summer my parents cut a deal with the Bet Bavli school system to allow me to go to school there for the rest of the year.

Now, since I did not play organized ball, what I would do was play in the front yard everyday with my good friends from the neighborhood, but when I would go to Israel, I didn't have that. So naturally I tried to teach my friends from summer camp there how to throw and catch. Although there was plenty of interest from my friends, it did not work out as well as I would have hoped, mostly because I didn't have enough gloves for everyone.

The final summer I went to Israel was in between 5th and 6th grade. Since then my summers have been spent playing baseball in one fashion or another. I went to Rich Martin's All Star Baseball Camp in New York for a number of summers and kept in touch with Coach Martin during the year. During the winter of my senior year of high school he was hired as the head coach at Ramapo College of New Jersey and invited me out for a late visit to see if he could convince me to go there for college instead of my chosen Tiffin University (northwest Ohio). I came, he did, and I played four years as a Roadrunner.

The final game I ever pitched was against national number 1 College of New Jersey. I threw a complete game but we lost 6-1. This left a tremendously sour taste in my mouth as the final competitive game I thought I would ever pitch was my only college loss. However, thanks to some unbelievable luck and being in the right place at the right time Larry Baras, Martin Berger, and so many others have given me the opportunity to play on a highly competitive level and for that I truly am grateful.


The excitement of playing for Petach Tikva is almost overwhelming. I am sure it has become cliché around the league for so many, but I must say that I am living my dream. The draft was phenomenal and playing for the Pioneers is quite an honor. I've been in touch with a few of my teammates in the states, they all seem to be genuinely good guys. Our manager is the legendary Ken Holtzman, who will be awesome to talk pitching with. The camps and clinics that we will be running for Israeli youth excite me because it is something I tried to do when I was little.

I hope this was an interesting read for you, and I can continue to write throughout the whole experience as there is a lot of stuff that I would like to write about.