With the benefit of a couple weeks to heal and ponder, I just wanted to say thank you for a great week of baseball. The Blazers were up against it from the jump this year. A combination of our great performance in the pool games of 2005, and some of the 4A teams moving to other divisions this year had us squarely lined up to face the very best from the beginning of the tournament. It was fun, but when the dust cleared and the results were in, we came up a run short in our 3A alternative game, and the week once again ended on a Friday. While this was disappointing, it was a great week in Ft. Myers with some of the best guys to hang with that I know.

Special thanks to Jose Tavarez and Rick Sanders for coming down to help us out. We were short-handed in many ways this year, and we’d have been in the soup without their solid pitching and contributions in limited plate appearances. Thanks for driving down twice guys!

Andy Sorenson made his return this year, and ended up catching the lion’s share of the innings. That isn’t easy in the best of circumstances, but considering how long it had been since he played regularly, it was remarkable. I owed him some AB’s in more playoff games, but he took it like a champ and was a great guy to have on the team.

Billy Mussacchio got hurt in the very first game, and not only wasn’t able to help us out at catcher or 1st, but missed three games trying to heal up. Still he hung with us for the week, brought his wife, hereafter known as “The Fan”, and was just getting back to full strength when we bowed out.

Carlos Ruperto was critical, he of the broken ribs…I know how much he missed playing, but it was great to have him down for the week, telling stories, laughing it up.

Scottie Donelick threw a great game, he seems to raise his game at tournament time. He also made some dandy plays in the field. Great stick as well, better guy.

Lilio Alvarez never got his bat going the way he would have liked, but he looked like he was starting to swing it, I would have liked to see how he did over the weekend. Some great plays in the field as well. Additionally, threw a complete game at a time when we really needed to realign the pitching order, he gave us a chance, and that’s all you really can ask for.

David Johnson (DJ) banged it out at a .364 clip, toughed out a couple of games behind the dish, nursing injury, which isn’t easy to do, and made all the plays at third when he was out there. Great dude, awesome teammate.

Guy Robinson made his Hobbs debut this year, may not have got the results he wanted, but played a heckuva 1st base, never got exposed with that arm he’s toting around, and definitely hit the hardest ball of the tournament, a one-iron double to the wall that never got more than 5 feet off the ground. He even abstained from the Buttery Nipples, to my knowledge.

Tony Caruso was his fantastic self, didn’t get it going on the mound or at the plate this year, but if you know Tony, you’ll take him to one of these tournaments any time, I’ve seen him have ridiculously good weeks down here and at other tournaments. Plus one of the best guys I know.

Ruben Correa was wonderful, 2^nd year we’ve had him on the team, and it was a pleasure. Hits, made all of the plays, steals bases with a seriously painful plantar fascia foot (sic?) Plus ate up some innings for us in whatever kind of game you call that second one of the 4A deal. Hope you come back Ruben!

Dennis Smith was a kick to have on the club again. He ran into some bad luck with some “at ‘em” balls while hitting, but made all the plays in the outfield, and he’s always fun to hang out with.

Jeff Shebovsky had a solid tournament, hit .316, ate some innings for us in the stadium, and made several good grabs in the outfield. Plus he adjusted Tony a couple of times for free!

David Gushleff is my new favorite player, at least until we can get Mattie Conrad back. He stole 6 bases, (what a weapon that is in old men baseball!), made some nice plays in the OF and set the table from the lead off position. He missed a few holes, didn’t hit as well as he would have liked, but was ready to take over if we had continued to advance.

Tim Lysik couldn’t stay the whole time, but was a great guy to have on the field, happy to fit in and fill in wherever needed. Hopefully his niece had a great wedding on Long Island, we missed him towards the end.

But our MVP this year is a repeater. You know him, you love him, it’s George Kerst, Hobbs Blazer veteran, winner back in 2012. It wasn’t close, really. He hit .421, 50 points higher than anyone. Slugged .632, 250 points higher than the next guy, plus he led the team in ERA while pitching, had one of the 2 wins, and made a ton of gorgeous plays at short. Hands down, the 2016 Hobbs Blazer Most Valuable Player.

Thanks to all of you for making another indelible memory for me, and for taking time away from your families and jobs for a few wonderful days playing ball!