Captains Corner with Tim Kalczynski
3/31/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Part of the Journey Boys
TUESDAY | MARCH 31, 2009
Hello Michigan baseball fans. It's been a long time since I wrote my last blog, but with everything that happened in our Big Ten opening weekend (both on and off the field) I figured now was a perfect time to catch you all up on what is going on with us.
As I begin to write this, we are currently in Iowa or Illinois; it's tough to tell. All I know is that we just blew out a tire (see photo evidence below).
The bus had to pull over as soon as possible, so we are in a poorly lit Mobil station and everyone is a little bit anxious. Did I mention that we still have about seven hours until we get back to Ann Arbor
I want to try to paint a picture for all of you that don't know. When we're on the road, we travel everywhere as a team. Since there are 25 players on the travel roster, plus 4 coaches, a trainer, two managers and our SID, we need a ride that can hold at least 32 people. Sadly, Kevin Cislo's spicy-orange clown car only holds seven at the most. Therefore, we ride in a bus.
For the most part, the buses have everything we need; overhead compartments sturdy enough to hold Alan Oaks, WIFI internet connection, T.V. screens clear enough to enjoy the newest movie releases such as Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and sometimes even satellite television in an option. It's an experience that I know I'll miss when I'm done playing.
This was an interesting weekend so I'll give you a play-by-play.
Friday (March 27th, 2009)
8:15 AM -- I hear the hotel phone ringing. It must be our wake up call. Coley Crank, my roommate, hears it and turns away from the phone. Nice move, freshman.
8:30 AM -- I head downstairs to the Riverside Grille for breakfast. Awesome spread; fresh fruit, hot coffee, and omelets-to-order. Matt Gerbe is drinking his usualfour cups of coffee. It's a pretty standard Michigan road breakfast.
11:30 AM -- We arrive at the Olive Garden for pre-game lunch...yes, lunch. According to our nutritionist, an athlete performs his/her best when he/she eats four hours prior to competition. Mike Dufek gets spaghetti and meatballs.
12:25 PM -- The bus stalls out and will not start. According to Mike Kittle, we snapped a belt.
12:27 PM -- The bus driver walks around to the back. We hear some banging around. The kind you hear when your air conditioner breaks and your dad goes outside thinking he can fix it by hitting it mercilessly.
12:40 PM -- Ryan LaMarre starts working on his slider...in the aisle of the bus.
12:41 PM -- My cat nap is disturbed by a baseball to the throat. Ryan's slider needs a lot more work.
1:03 PM -- Coach Maloney gets up in front of the team. "This is part of the journey, boys. We're gonna run into some snags and this is one of them. Make sure someone blogs about this." CHECK
2:00 PM -- We have to call an audible and evacuate the bus...we hop into shuttles provided by the hotel and by Iowa so we can get back to the hotel and changed for the game. Everyone does a great job dealing with the situation, and we are only a few minutes late by the time we get to the field! Great job Blue!
4:15 PM -- First pitch at Duane Banks Field...The Big Ten opener is underway. Iowa scores three in the first off Fetter, but he responds by settling down and retiring 20 of the next 21 Hawkeyes, while our offense scraps its way back into the game. Cislo provides the gamewinner on a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning. We win the Big Ten debut, 4-3.
7:00 PM -- We exit the stadium to see our original bus back in operation...SID Matt Fancett confirms with the bus driver that we did indeed "throw a belt"...nice call Kittle! If this baseball thing doesn't work out you might have a future in diagnosing bus trouble.
7:25 PM -- We get back to the hotel from our 4 p.m. game. Pizzas and Gatorade are in room 633, Mike Cantor's room.
7:50 PM -- I head down to the hot tub to meet up with Kenny Fellows and Anthony Toth. Coach Maloney is already there with little Nicki, his son. The hot tub serves its purpose...my muscles start to loosen up.
10:00 PM -- Time to start some homework. Actually, I've been here five years. Homework can wait a little bit.
10:30 PM -- Time to start some homework. Actually, I think I hear Mike Kittle pinning LaMarre in the room across the hall.
10:45 PM -- Kittle won 3 out of 5. Well, time to go to bed.
Saturday (March 28th, 2009)
8:45 AM -- Wake up call. Coley's unresponsive. You're lucky the phone's on my side of the bedstand, Coley.
9:00 AM -- Mike Wilson orders an omelet with chicken, peppers, and spinach. Cheers you big healthy Canadian.
10:40 AM -- We get on the bus.
10:43 AM -- The bus stalls out. Here we go again.
10:50 AM -- The bus driver comes through. We're on our way. Nice job, Steve!
3:40 PM -- We get back to the hotel. No pizzas today. We're eating at Iow River City Power Restaurant, one of the nicest restaurants in Iowa City.
5:10 PM -- Jeff DeCarlo orders Prime Rib and asks for the fruitiest drink they serve...literally he said "what is the fruitiest drink you have". Nice.
5:49 PM -- Steve the bus driver lets the waitress know how a rare steak should be cooked. To his defense, his is a little on the dark side.
7:40 PM -- Time to do a little homework.
7:42 PM -- Text from Kenny. "Movie in my room. Ty and Toth r here." Looks like I'm watching a movie with the boys.
10:00 PM -- Time for some homework. Wait a second...We leave tomorrow. I gotta pack.
11:00 PM -- Better start some homework. Shoot, I still gotta write a blog.
12:00 AM -- Time to go to bed.
Sunday (March 29th, 2009)
8:30 AM -- My phone alarm goes off. I'm up.
8:35 AM -- I'm on my way down to breakfast. I know the wake up call is at 8:45. Have fun with the phone, rook!
8:45 AM -- Kittle raved about the Carmelized Banana Pancakes he had the day before. I give them a whirl. He's lucky. They were adequate.
9:05 AM -- Coach has an announcement. "Just cause it snowed an inch or so doesn't mean we're not playing today. Iowa's team is at the field right now, shoveling off the snow so we can play later on. Right now, we're in a holding pattern, but we're gonna try to get this one in. Every game is important and if we can play, we'll play."
10:00 AM -- Oaks gets a picture text message from one of the Iowa players that he played with during last summer. "Is that a tundra"..."No Timmy, that's Iowa's field."
12:20 PM -- Coach Husted ordered us subs. It looks like we're shooting for a start time of about 4 p.m.
4:00 PM -- After the three-hour weather delay, we take the field. Iowa has set up a snow fence because the warning track all the way around the field is mush. Oaks barrels through the fence in the first inning to make a catch...We prevail 7-5.
7:50 PM -- Short pit stop before we hit the road; McDonalds for me and half the team. The rest split up between Arby's and KFC.
8:30 PM -- We're on the road. Projected arrival time in Ann Arbor: 4 a.m. LaMarre is asleep on the floor of the bus. Nick Urban is studying for two tests in the morning. Travis Smith is preparing to lead a discussion for his class at 10 a.m. I am watching Annapolis...It's a movie.
8:35 PM -- LaMarre gets stepped on for the first time of the night. Sorry man. It must be karma for the slider.
9:15 PM -- There is a loud pop and the bus swerves a little to the right. We get off the highway safely.
9:17 PM -- Just what I thought. In technical terms, "the tire done blown right off dat der wheel."
9:18 PM -- Mike Kittle and manager Mike Cantor start throwing a bullpen...in the poorly lit parking lot ... this can't end well! John Lorenz starts up a game of "flips".
10:42 PM -- Help arrives. A truck pulls up with a ton of toys fit for the occasion. The technician pulls out a pneumatic wrench (the really loud, fast one). This guy seems like he should be in a NASCAR pit crew (photo evidence below).
10:50 PM -- The tire is on securely and we are back on the road.
10:59 PM -- LaMarre gets stepped on again but is unresponsive. Thank you Tylenol P.M....Don't fall asleep in the aisle and expect to not get stepped on.
1:30 AM -- I don't know where we are.
3:20 AM -- My computer dies while watching Superbad (it is also a movie). Nick Urban's and Kevin Cislo's lights are still on. They're probably still studying...Suckers.
5:30 AM -- I finally get somewhat comfortable and fall asleep.
5:50 AM -- The bus arrives at the tennis courts in Ann Arbor.
6:18 AM -- Kevin Cislo and I walk into our house. This is the latest we have ever gotten back from a trip. It's Monday. Kevin has class in less than 4 hours. Pshh. Rookie mistake scheduling classes on a Monday, Kev. See you when you get back. HAH!
All in all it ended up being a good weekend. We took two of three from Iowa to start conference play. We definitely did some team bonding with this trip. It is nothing that other schools have had to deal with before. I am sure other teams have had weather delays, flat tires and bus issues before, but it is how you deal with the issues that define you as a team.
As coach also says, "This is part of the journey boys."
Just seemed like this journey would never come to an end!
The good news is we are home for pretty much the entire month of April, which is one of the many perks to having one of the best stadiums in the country.
So come on out to see us this week. We have five games in six days, including conference action against Penn State this weekend.
Til next time,
GO BLUE!
Timmy Kal
