After some scheduling changes, Friday, October 21, 2011, is the last practice of Fall 2011. There is a lot of competition out there but a lot of questions still to be answered. Who will step-up and separate himself from the next guy? Who will be the best 3rd baseman, the best Short Stop, the best 2nd baseman, best 1st baseman, who are the best outfielders, will there be some quality depth at catcher to spell Lando, pitching, who is going to fill Huey's shoes as the shut-down closer, starting pitching, will there be 4 guys that can separate themselves and throw 7 innings of 3 runs or less baseball, will the hitting finally break-out after 2 years of poor production. You have got to have the WANT TO to get better. I'll judge my expectations on the year based on the number of times I have to hear the coaches talk about the "killer instinct." There are just somethings that will have to be understood instead of said/told if this squad will challenge for a MIAA championship. There are teams that can rake and mow down pitching in the MIAA. Whether Northwest will compete for a MIAA Championship depends on whether the players will accept mediocrity or poor performance on defense, on the mound, at the plate, or in practice.
The guys all seem like great guys. I'm looking for the seniors to bring some long awaited leadership to how the rest of the team will attack winter work-outs and the spring season. There is a mountain of difference between going through the motion versus getting better. Will they care more about the name on the front of the jersey, the emblem on the front of the hat, or more about their statistics?
Talk is cheap. Missouri is the Show Me State. The guys will Show Me what is important to them when the regular season starts on February 17th.
Stay tuned as I continue to feature returning Veterans over the winter off-season.
Go Cats!!
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