How do you summarize the 2014 Roy Hobbs World Series for the Orlando Blazers? It all came together perfectly in so many respects, we just came up a run short when it mattered, and we were headed home. I’m sure we all feel a little shell-shocked, but I suppose that’s what makes the week so compelling.

No need to wax philosophic about it, it was what it was. As disappointed as we all feel, I think it’s important to thank all of you once again for making it happen, I feel we had a helluva team, and a bunch of great guys who played their hearts out, we just came up a run short, and we were done for this year.

We hit, pitched and played defense exceptionally well, it just didn’t work out this time. In the dozen or so incarnations of the Blazers over the years, no team outperformed this one in any aspect of the game.

Individual kudos go to each of you. I don’t think there was a ballplayer on the roster who we could have done without. Pete Correa threw 4 innings of shutout ball, made all of the plays at 2^nd, and even though he was late for his playoff start at the plate, hit the ball hard in his too brief plate appearances.  What can you say about my pal Tony Caruso, he never got his magic wand working at the plate this year, tough for a guy who is a career .500+ Hobbs hitter,  but he more than made up for that with some great catches and a save in Game 1. He was also rested and ready to shine had we won the first game Friday, but that didn’t happen…Mattie Conrad remains my favorite player, he caught 40+ innings in 5 days, hit the ball hard, and tossed in a shutout inning on the bump for good measure…BTW he also threw about 100 rounds of BP, thanks Mattie!

Our pitching scholarship guys, Rick Sanders and Jose Tavarez were critical, Rick won Game 1 against some tough hitters from Tampa, then came back and threw great against the Puerto Rico Yankees in the playoff game, enabling us to keep our pitching rotation in perfect order had we been able to prevail in Game 1. He also drove back and forth to the other side of Leesburg to help us out. Jose pitched his tail off in his start, and made some fine plays at 2^nd as a bonus. He would have been set to start the semis or finals fully rested had we been so fortunate. Thanks men.

I ended up shorting Tim Lysik and Bill Musacchio some plate appearances, somebody always seems to take that hit, but both were critical. Tim made all the plays in left, ran when we needed it, and had a wonderful team-first attitude about the whole thing, I hope he will continue to play with us. Billy caught a great game, (ripped a double the other way, haven’t seem too many of those out of that guy!),played some quality first base,  kept the bullpen in good order and kept a great book, all with his great attitude and plus his wife Nancy was our lone fan for much of the tournament, thanks Nancy, and Happy Anniversary!

Scottie Donelick pitched what may have been the best game of the tournament for us in the seeding game on Thursday. Unfortunately their guy held us down and we couldn’t get him a richly deserved win. I know he wasn’t happy with the way he was swinging it, but I thought he was just hitting into some bad luck, the sample size was too small. Just a great guy to have on the team. My other old pal Carlos Ruperto was also hitting into some bad luck, but he manned the third base coaching box with skill and patience. Other than wanting Tony to bunt with 2 strikes in the fateful game, I agreed with every call, J! Sometimes it’s difficult to sit back as a coach and let the hitters take care of things, but with an offensive juggernaut like we had, you had to, and he did, great job C!

Chad Wilson and Jose Rosado were solid performers in the outfield, and tough outs at the plate. Chad came up lame with a couple of hammies, but battled to the end, and had a big hit in the final game to push us ahead one more time. It’s not easy combining squads, like we did this year, but Jose facilitated that with grace and dignity, making every guy feel a part of the Blazers, I thought that was remarkable and seamless. Also, please, if you haven’t gotten with Jose and Tony for the uniform/practice $30, that would be much appreciated. It’s easy to put this one in the rear view mirror, but please make that right as soon as possible.

Dave Gushleff was a revelation, made all the plays in center that Tony didn’t and had one of the dominant performances in the playoff game, going 4 for 4. He hit .500 for the tournament, stole 8 bases and gave us a critical weapon on the paths the games he didn’t hit.  David (DJ) Johnson had to play most of the innings at 3^rd, made some outstanding plays, and drilled the ball all over the yard, getting hotter as the week wore on, finishing at nearly .400 and 4^th on the team in RBIs.

George Kerst was his usual fantastic self, with a couple of great performances on the mound, some incredible play at short, that arm that won’t quit, and line drives everywhere, while scoring a team leading 7 runs. Steve D’Ercole made up the other half of the impressive shortstop tandem, such an important part of tournament success, making all the plays, turning a ton of double plays, hitting a cool .368 and while he would tell you he thought things could have gone better in the playoff game, I thought  most of the hits were better placed than struck, fortune just didn’t smile on him or us that day.

Which brings us to the Big 3. Roy Hobbs has a provision for a small award to go to the team MVP. How do you choose between these guys? In alphabetical order, Freddie Cardenas was flat scary. The guy hit .647 (not a misprint), earned a win in one of the pool games on the mound, and drove in 5, with four extra base hits.  Joe del Valle was a beast, hitting 2 homeruns, including a bomb in the playoff game at a crucial point, slugged 1.056 to lead the team with 5 XBH, and drove in 9 men to lead the team.  Rick Scheetz hit .579 with 6 doubles, and even his outs were hit hard. The guy just hits the ball hard every time, it’s truly uncanny. How do you choose between these guys for the right to be team MVP? Frankly I would vote to share it amongst all of you, but it’s only a small token of gratitude from Hobbs, and given the limitations, I’ll award it to Rick, given the fact that he also had a high quality start, (1.29 ERA), and was set up to pitch the semis or finals when/if we got there. But that takes away nothing from anyone else on this team, every one of you played an essential role, and I’m truly grateful for each and everyone of you.

Thanks for a great week, I was honored to watch, manage and play alongside you, I’m sorry we couldn’t extend it into a championship. Looking back, as the shock wears off, I have no regrets, I hope you don’t either.