Thursday, July 26, 2007

Bring on the Bulls . . .

Tonight the Bulls run into Fulton and we begin the final 3 games of the regular season with them. The Greyhounds, who remain one behind us, beat the Bulls twice the last 2 nights so I’m sure they will want to take it out on us. We can’t let them do that. With the Hounds so close, we need to keep the steam pressure up and the throttle wide open to finish first. The dogs are running to Owensboro for their final 3 and the Oilers, who I think will slip the canines up with a couple of losses. The race for first seed has narrowed to two, them and us. The Greyhounds continue to chase us from behind by 1 game. With 2 wins and 1 Greyhound loss, we’ve got it!

I want to see everyone out at Lohaus Field in support of the Railroaders. Especially tomorrow night when I’ll be there with Hoghead’s Honeys to throw out the first pitch. Maybe they’ll let me finish the game and get our first place victory. Wish I could wear my matador suit for the Bulls, but I have to return it to the rental place before 4 pm on Friday.

30 comments:

  1. now that the tradewater boys are all going home there is no need for the play offs...all the boys on the railroaders are tired and ALL of them want to go home. the team that wins first place in the regular season should just win there is no need to have the play offs

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  2. i agree the play offs are pointless now

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  3. Where's the info from the Pirates that their players are going home? I know there was talk of it, but their website indicates and I quote, "Regular season games remaining in the KIT- 3..... Home- 0 Away- 3 <><><>Playoffs Begin July 30th!>> Arrrghh!...... "

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  4. THE Pirates ,despite their trouble last night and a few other issues, are one of the "classy" teams in the league, i really dout they are threw,yet to be determined.

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  5. A agree, the Pirates are a classy team. I don't want them to give up, if they do, they let one player's bad behavior ruin it for everyone. I don't think they will.

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  6. well once this dj kid leaves they will be left with only 10players on their team...that is if hunter decided to stay...so for the record the tradewater guys HAVE gone home...because 5 of them were spoted in fulton today and said "we are on our way home"

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  7. THE BOYS SHOULD BE ABLE TO GO HOME THIS WEEKEND!!!

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  8. the playoffs are essential to the success of the league and the development of each player in the league. playoffs expose the players and the league to college and professional scouts. it also provides a stage for future players to want to play in the KIT league. without the playoffs, the league is not as attractive to college coaches to send their players to. the playoffs also allow the players to rise to another level of competition that will help them with their home school next year when they hopefully reach their conference playoff...i know the players are tired, hurt, miss their girl friends and want to go home, but the fans and future ball players that have followed them and cheered for them for the past two months deserve to watch them have a chance to bring a championship banner to Fulton...it has been a great season, so lets not let an incident that happened on another team ruin it for the rest of the league...reach down and get what is left in the tank and go get the Bulls this weekend and bring on the playoffs next week....each one of you deserve to have a shot at the championship...you have had a great season, win or lose....GO RAILROADERS!!!

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  9. i think if five players left today without being released that will hurt the pirates organization and the reputation of the schools they represent. also the playoffs are for the fans and for the organizations. for the league to survive we have to finish our commitments

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  10. YOU DARN SKIPPY WE NEED PLAYOFFS,THESE GUYS HAVE BATTLED THREW JUNE AND JULY,EVEN THE TEAM AT THE BOTTOM HAS A CHANCE TO WIN,ITS BASEBALL,AND ITS WHY WE PLAY THE GAME,SOMETIMES A WIN LOSS RECORD CAN NOT BE THE ONLY THING LOOKED AT, THE PLAYOFFS CAN REALLY TELL THE STORY OF WHO HAS GUTS,WILL AND DETERMINATION TO RALLY THEIR TEAM TO THE TOP AND PROVE WHO REALLY IS A TEAM.ANYONE DEALING WITH SPORTS KNOWS SOMETIME YOU GET A BAD APPLE AND IT HAS TO BE CULLED,THIS DJ FELLA LOST HIS COOL AND SHOULD NOT HAVE DID WHAT HE DID,BUT JUST WATCH TV,HECK THE CUBS HAVE HAD ALL KINDS OF ISSUES, HOPEFULLY WE CAN OVERCOME THIS AS A LEAGUE AND FINISH WHAT WE STARTED. FANS COME ON OUT TO LOHOUSE FIELD TONIGHT THREW SAT.NIGHT ,STAY TUNED FOR THE PLAYOFFS ,WE GONNA FIRE IT UP!
    ROLL TRAIN!!

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  11. I am sure all the teams got together many months ago and agreed on when and how the season would be played. Those agreements should be honored by everyone in the league. This is important not only for the franchises and their fans but also for the players.

    Nearly every adverse situation can be turned into a learning experience. Each owner and manager in the league should just simply "pay attention." Obviously, at Dawson Springs this year, something or some things got out of hand and escalated to the point where it all boiled over last night with unfortunate results. Hopefully, the events at Tradewater will give everyone connected a reason to "pay attention" in the future and therefore, hopefully, learn from the experience.

    I am sure the Tradewater organization is a classy one. From the way the fans act, they certainly have more class than the franchise located just 10 miles from here. However, every organization encounters problems now and again. This extends to each individual team as well as the Kitty League as a whole.

    Organizations with class overcome their problems by "sucking it up" and going on with life.

    The league collectively turning its tail now and failing to complete the season would be a sign of a total lack of class, would set a very poor example and jeopardize the future of the teams and the league.

    Shame on anyone who suggests we should fold our tent for the season.

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  12. I don't agree that the playoffs are a good idea. These teams have played each other enough throughout the summer to determine who the winner of the league should be. I don't think it would be fair for these boys to play hard all summer and then lose the championship to a 5th or 6th place team just because that ended up that way in the playoffs. Shame on you for suggesting that these boys need to "suck it up" for the playoffs and bring a championship to Fulton. They have played hard all summer and "sucked it up" all summer and right now they are winning in this league. Be proud of them for that! The ownership of this team is awesome and very supportive of these boys, nonetheless, it is a grueling summer to play ball almost every day. They have been playing hurt, tired and have given their all to bring the championship to Fulton. They want the championship for Fulton and for themselves, but I think they have earned it already by playing day in and day out and are already one game ahead in the league standings.
    Give them credit for that and appreciate them for that!

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  13. i am certain no one would ever take anything away from these young men,they are warriors, some think baseball is non contact safe sport,bullsh%#@, this game is tough and all these guys on all the teams have done a great job, you have players and you have "ballplayers" at the end of this summer season after a tough season with their schools,let me tell ya what ,you know who the "ballplayers" are and these guys are here for the luv of the game,just ask them.......

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  14. If you just want to play some more games, fine. Crown a league champ at the end of the regular season and play a "tournament" at the end to give one of the other teams a chance to come away with something. To allow the regular season winner (playing 50 games) to lose the championship because of the outcome of 3 or 4 games is ludicrous. Theoretically, the last place team can win it all - - not right!

    I haven't seen a scout(pro or college) at a regular season game, and saw very few at the All-Star game. What makes you think they are going to show up for these play-off games?

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  15. I agree that you have a league champion and a tournament champion if you want to play a tournament and it is not a bad thing to provide a team that has not done well all year to at least have one chance at maybe putting together a few good games to end the season on. This is done a lot of places.

    The overriding consideration here what is best for the players I think. The onslaught of games this past week has created a lot of injuries and wore out arms and even if Scouts would show up for the games, I don't think your going to see the best performances anyway. And I don't think the colleges care one way or the other. One thing I do know is they don't want their top pitchers hurt.

    Single elmination tournament is enough at the most at this point. They love baseball and want to play but they go back to school in a few weeks.

    And I agree, this DJ fellow needs to not be allowed to detract from all of the great things that has gone on this summer. If all of this has been going on, he should have been gone long ago. He obviously has a very serious problem and the worst is yet to come for this kid.

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  16. oh wow all of yall are over reacting about all of this...why dont you just ask the boys how they feels...because i know for the most part all the boys on the team want to lose so they can go home....you all need to GET A LIFE!!!

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  17. let them free!!!!

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  18. The info (unconfirmed) I have is that one of the owners of the Pirates said they were forfeiting the rest of their games after the incident at the game last night. I suspect that is the reason the Pirates players were seen "on their way home" today. So do you still go on with a 5 team playoff? Seems pointless.

    Agree that the college coaches don't care one way or the other about a playoff or tournament. The primary purpose for sending their boys to play in summer leagues is to get their work in. This ensures they don't lay around all summer, get rusty and out of shape, and there is no substitute for game experience - - you can't get it in practice or a batting cage. Some of the players may actually improve over the summer. So if you think the there is more to it than that, you are dreaming.

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  19. I think the info is bogus. The Pirates are listing their games and playoffs. They seem intent on playing. Their website confirms all this.

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  20. The home page of their website states that 5 of their players have left the organization. I'm not sure how many players they have left.

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  21. well let me say the play offs were decided long ago and all of you knew about them. the one that sends emails in CAPS we know who you are. if you are tired then stay home. "THE BOYS" are here to play and they knew in advance what was expected. these are young men that are doing what they love to do "play baseball" remenber "there's no crying in baseball" i agree they are tired are beat up but thats part of it.so lets suck it up and win it all.

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  22. I understand the winner of the reg season is the penant champ anyways is this correct?

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  23. I feel that the Railroaders certainly have a team of "BALLPLAYERS". These guys are tired, no one can dispute this...

    I hope they will think about the committment they made at the beginning of this season. It was a committment to play to the end. No one said it would be an easy road or ALL fun. It is your "job" for this summer. The Fulton community, your coaches, and your parents have all sacrificed and supported you so that you could play ball for the summer. We are all so proud of how you have played and come together as a TEAM. Try to remember how excited and honored you were to get asked to play. So many boys would give anything to be given this chance.

    With that said I hope that all of you will think hard about the true meaning of committment and following something thru to the end. Don't give up just because you are tired. Some of the most meaningful times in your life will come from the satisfaction of seeing a job thru to the end and doing your very best!!!
    Now is the time to be PROUD and show integrity - True Grit!!

    We all know that you can do it!!!
    Hang in there and Go RailRoaders!!

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  24. Very true, great speech! This is a great group of young men and I know they can do it! The owners, the Fulton community and your families back home are very proud of you. We know you are tired, but we also know you are fighters to the end! This championship might be meaningless to some, but is something that no one can take away from you. It will be a great accomplishment and will help you get to the next level. It's yours boys...go get it!

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  25. Update on Hunter Nolen - From Hunter's Mother. Hunter is safely home now and will be recuperating for at least another week. He still has some short term memory loss, a very sore jaw and inability to totally move his neck. We truly appreciate all the prayers the Fulton Railroaders, fans, players, and coaches extended during this incident. As a parent it was very difficult to be that far away and unable to do anything. Per doctor's orders, Hunter was NOT to go back on a baseball field for at least a week, possibly two, depending on how he felt. It was also understood when Hunter was released from the hospital that he had to be monitored by a responsible adult for at least a week. We were very fortunate since the boys were not living with a host family that a family of fans from Dawson Springs called us and agreed to take Hunter home from the hospital and monitor him until we could get him back to Texas. It would not of made any sense for Hunter to stay in Kentucky, besides as all you other parents know, no one but a "mother" can properly attend to their child. A side note, for any of you unware, that same night, Tyler Supak also was taken out of the game, he also suffered an injury, pulling the muscle from his thumb during a play and it was doubtful if he would be able to throw a baseball for a couple of days. When the boys from Texas (and they all live far away from each other, remember Texas is a big state!) came to Kentucky, Hunter and Tyler were the two that drove them there. They came together and felt they needed to leave together, besides the fact Tyler and Hunter were Chip's and Chris's source of transportation! We have always taught our boys to live up to their committments, but in this case it was impossible.

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  26. We know that Hunter Nolen is as tough as they come! We wish him all the best and he will remain in our prayers. We wish both Hunter and Tyler a fast recovery. Thanks for clearing up the leaving issue for everyone.

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  27. I hear that this kid DJ was not charged with any crime. If that is the case, letting this individual off from this crime he committed is sending the wrong message to this kid and to everyone else as well. I am not saying we should destroy this kid because of what he did. Everyone makes mistakes, but this person has a serious problem and could have killed this boy. It wasn't a matter of some hostile words and some pushing and sholving around, he hit that player with the intention of doing major harm to him and who knows, he might have. This kind of stuff needs to stop, in all of sports at all levels and allowing people to get away with this, is just saying to others, it is ok to do. Worst case this kid should be sentenced to some kind of long term counseling so he can understand that playing baseball on a field is not a license to intentionally injure others, as it is reported he often tries to do. But he should not be allowed to continue to play baseball until there is some certainty that this kid has solved his anger problem, or we will be hearing about this again and next time the victum might not be as fortunate. The people involved in this have a reponsbility to other players this kids might run to, to make sure something is done to assure as best can be done, that this kid doens't slug another baseball player in the head, for whatever reason. The next time it could be with a bat and then we have a dead player. There are laws against this and they were broken and he at least should have to answer to a court and be forced to get help.

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  28. I'll have to agree with you on that. Responsibility is a major of growing up, and he needs to know he's responsible for his actions. Teammates count on each other to have their back - he obviously doesn't understand that. To attack another player is bad enough, but this was a teammate... who's going to trust him now?
    And this wasn't just an anger issue - the viciousness of this attack spells rage. He's only a step away from tragedy. He NEEDS help.
    Mrs. Nolen, we can't thank you enough for letting us know the other side of things. Your son is in our prayers..
    The Pirates are a great team. I really hope the franchise is back next year. And we hope to see Hunter again next year.

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  29. Mrs. Nolen, I am so thankful that Hunter is okay. We were listening on the radio broadcast to the game when we heard that Hunter was injured. We were beside ourselves with worry, so we could not even imagine what the two of you were going through with being so far away. We had just seen Hunter at the all-star game with Kyle and got some great pictures of the boys from Texas that I will be happy to share. Again, we are so thankful that he is home with you and Mike and that he is going to be fine. We look forward to seeing you in Hillsboro this season. Go Hill Rebels!

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  30. We've been told that Tradewater is on their way to Farmington, so let's hope they can put this behind them, and make the most of the season left. They do a lot for their kids, and they have a great program. I'm pulling for them to come out great through all this.
    Go KIT League!

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