Remembering Sidd Finch

It was twenty years ago today that the late George Plimpton, writing in Sports Illustrated, broke the story of Sidd Finch, the New York Mets pitching prospect with a 168-mph fastball. Today's New York Times tells where Finch has been all these years.

Rainout Rescheduled

The game against Kilpatrick that was rained out on March 19 has been rescheduled for Saturday, April 2. Game time will be 11:00 a.m.

Back to Work

Practices resume on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m.

Uecker's Memorable Moment

When asked what he considered the highlight of his major league career, Bob Uecker said, "I walked with the bases loaded to drive in the winning run in an intrasquad game in spring training."

Saturday Workout

The Sharks' workout today is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at the high school.

Knocking on the Door

From Coach Gallo and the Malibu High School Baseball web site comes word that the Sharks are knocking on the door of a top ten ranking. To see the poll rankings, go to the CIF Southern Section web site, click on "Polls," and look for Division V Baseball.

SoCal Batting Leaders

Today's Los Angeles Times (Sports, page D8) lists Daniel Williams in a tie for 25th in batting average among Southern California high school players. Williams is hitting .588 (10 for 17).

(Malibu's nemesis in the first game of the season leads all SoCal pitchers in strikeouts.)

Baseball Links

With a gap in the schedule, this might be a good time to mention the mother of all baseball web sites, John Skilton's baseball-links.com. As of today, there are 11,499 baseball-related links on this site. (I'm hoping Sharks Baseball will be 11,500.)

Rained Out

Yesterday's game at Santa Clara and today's home game against Kilpatrick have been rained out. No make-up dates have been announced.

Meanwhile, MHS is on spring break. The next scheduled game for the Sharks is on Tuesday, April 5, at Oaks Christian.

Steroids

It seems like a good time to bring back one of Letterman's Top Ten Lists from last season.

Top Ten Signs A Baseball Player Is Using Steroids

10. This year he broke the home run record, last year he was a cellist.

9. Only signs autographs in exchange for clean urine sample.

8. Requests salary be paid in Balco gift certificates.

7. That guy who looks like the Phillie Phanatic is actually your shortstop.

6. Whenever team wins, dumps tub of Creatine on manager.

5. Exhibits erratic behavior like chewing on foul pole.

4. Can spit sunflower seeds 95 miles per hour.

3. Rush Limbaugh points at him and says, "That dude's messed up."

2. George Steinbrenner is scared of him.

1. Makes Schwarzenegger look like Carrot Top.

The Two Saddest Words

What are the two saddest words in the English language?

• I'm leaving?
• It's over?
• You're fired?
• You flunked?
• Lassie's dead?
• Michael's innocent?
• Bush won?

Nope. The two saddest words in the English language are RAINED OUT.

Mystery Solved

Several of us were thinking the signature might be Nolan Ryan's. But here's what that would look like:

This, on the other hand, looks more like the mystery signature in the earlier post.

It's Mark McGwire.

On the Ball

A friend and colleague has an American League baseball with a signature that the resident experts here at Pepperdine are unable to identify. Here's the ball. Leave a comment if you know whose signature is on it.

Sharks 13, Nordhoff 1

The Sharks began Frontier League play today against Nordhoff in the same way they closed out the Daily News-Victory Invitational tournament: with relentless hitting and dominating pitching. Phil Johnson gave up just one run on three hits in five innings on the mound and blasted a two-run homer in the third inning to lead Malibu to a 13-1 victory.

Nine different players notched base hits as the Sharks scored five runs in the first, three in the third, one in the fourth, and two each in the fifth and sixth innings. Meanwhile, Johnson was scattering three hits, four walks, and a hit batter. He got defensive help at several points. After Nordhoff’s lead-off hitter reached on a base hit, Michael Gwyn caught him stealing second. The second hitter walked and was promptly picked off first by Johnson.

In the top of the second, with two on and nobody out, the Nordhoff hitter lined a pitch to Brooks Fitch at first base. Fitch stepped on first to double up the runner.

The scoring got under way for the Sharks in the first inning. With two outs and the bases loaded, Jamie Van Soelen lined a single to right field to knock in Brett Weinstock and Phil Johnson. Jared Weinstock then singled to plate Jason Puklus. After Geoff Roth walked, Colbie Bell drove in the fourth run of the inning with a walk that ended the day for the Nordhoff starter. Daniel Williams then hit a bad-hop single to first to drive in Jared Weinstock and complete the scoring.

The third inning provided the most dramatic moments of the game. After two quick outs, Daniel Williams dropped a perfect bunt down the third base line for a base hit. With Brett Weinstock at the plate, Williams advanced to second and third on wild pitches. Then, with a 3-0 count on Weinstock, Williams stole home on ball four. After Weinstock stole second, Phil Johnson launched a 3-2 pitch deep to right for his first home run of the season.

The Sharks scored one in the fourth when a double by Bell knocked in Jamie Van Soelen who had reached on a walk. Van Soelen drove in two runs in the fifth with a single that chased home Fitch, who had walked, and Puklus, who had doubled down the right field line.

In the sixth, a lead-off walk by Gwyn and consecutive singles by Roth, George Azzi, and Williams led to two more runs.

Roth closed out the game on the mound with two scoreless innings in relief of Johnson. He entered in style, striking out the first four batters he faced.

On the day, Williams was 3-for-4 with a walk and the steal of home. Van Soelen was 2-for-2 with two walks and four RBIs. Johnson was 1-for-5 with a homerun, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Fitch, Puklus, and Roth were all 1-for-3. Jared Weinstock and Bell were 1-for-2, and Azzi was 1-for-1.

Scouting Report: Nordhoff Rangers

The Sharks face the Nordhoff Rangers tomorrow afternoon at Malibu High in their first league contest of the year. Nordhoff (1-1) is coming off a 11-0 victory over Santa Clara in a game played in Ojai on Friday. The Sharks (3-2) are riding a three-game winning streak in which they have outscored their opponents 34-2.

Phil Johnson will be on the hill for Malibu. Game time is 3:30 p.m.

Sharks 16, Reseda 1

Aaron Westine pitched a complete-game one-hitter and the Sharks pounded out seventeen hits en route to a 16-1 victory over the Reseda Regents in the final game of the Daily News-Victory Invitational for both teams. Jason Puklus and Brett Weinstock led the offensive onslaught for the Sharks. Puklus was 3-for-3 with five RBIs, including a towering home run in the second inning that broke the game open. Weinstock was 4-for-5 with four RBIs.

Although Westine, who walked six and hit three batters, struggled with his control throughout the game, after the first inning he always managed to come up with a big pitch to keep the Regents from scoring. In the second, third, and fourth innings, Westine closed out the inning with a strikeout with two runners on base. His best inning was the fifth and final inning of the game when he retired Reseda in order on just ten pitches.

Malibu started quickly and kept the hitting going until the end, scoring at least two runs in every inning. Daniel Williams led off the first with a double down the left field line. After Brett Weinstock was retired for the only time in the game, Phil Johnson picked up the first of his two hits of the day driving in Williams. Puklus followed with a double to the right-center field gap, scoring Johnson. Two batters later, Jared Weinstock got his first varsity hit, a single to right, to knock in Puklus with the third run in the opening frame.

In the second inning, Stephen Williams led off with a single through the left side of the infield. Colbie Bell then reached on a bunt. After Daniel Williams fouled out, Brett Weinstock plated Stephen Williams with a bunt single. Johnson followed with a double that drove in Bell. Then, on a 2-2 pitch, Puklus homered over the football stands beyond the right field fence.

Stephen Williams led off the third with a double. Bell then walked. With one out, Brett Weinstock drove in Williams for the second time on the second of his four hits. After Johnson flied to center, Puklus drove in Bell with a single to left.

In the fourth, Jared Weinstock led off with a single to left. Alex Beck walked. One out later, George Azzi knocked in Weinstock with a single to right. Jamie Van Soelen singled to load the bases. Brett Weinstock singled in Beck and Azzi scored when Johnson grounded to second. Van Soelen scored the fourth run of the inning on a wild pitch.

The fifteenth and sixteenth runs for Malibu came in the fifth inning when Brett Weinstock knocked in Jared Weinstock, who reached on his third hit of the day, and George Azzi, who reached on a fielder’s choice after Michael Gwyn had walked, with a double to the fence in left.

Defensively, the Sharks played error-free ball for the first time this season and turned a double play to help Westine erase a leadoff walk in the second inning.

Scouting Report: Reseda High Regents

Reseda High enters the final game of the Daily News-Victory Invitational with a 1-4 record. The Regents have suffered three one-run losses--to Taft (4-3) and twice to Fillmore (2-1, 2-1). The victory came at North Hollywood last Saturday.

South Gate shut out Reseda, 5-0, in the Regents' season opener on March 2. South Gate pitcher Isaac Morales, who earned a save in the 5-4 extra-inning win over Malibu on March 5, struck out thirteen Reseda hitters.

Last season, Reseda finished with a season record of 4-22. Two of the wins came against Canoga Park.

JV Score: Sylmar 6, Malibu 2

The Sharks JV squad lost to Sylmar, 6-2, in a non-league game on Thursday. Jared Weinstock pitched effectively but was unable to overcome the effect of numerous defensive lapses. Stephen Williams tripled to knock in one run and later scored in the first inning, but after that the Sharks were unable to get timely hits.

Malibu hosts Fillmore on Saturday in the JV team's final game before starting league play on Tuesday at Nordhoff.

Post-Game Notes (March 10)

After making at least three errors in each of the three previous games, the Sharks committed only one error--on a foul ball--against Glendale. . . . Brett Weinstock has two hits on the season thus far. Both have hit the left field fence on the fly. . . . Jason Puklus had two of the hardest hit balls of the day for the Sharks, but both were line drives right at Glendale fielders. . . . Brooks Fitch struck out the side in the fourth and sixth innings. Two of the four hits he allowed in the game were infield singles.

Daily News-Victory Invitational Update

The Sharks will play their final game in the Daily News-Victory Invitational tomorrow against the Reseda Regents at Reseda High. Game time is 2:00 p.m.

The Regents (1-4) are coming off a 4-3 loss to Taft in a game played yesterday at Taft High. Malibu is riding a two-game winning streak having defeated Marshall by a score of 13-1 on Monday and Glendale by a 5-0 score yesterday.

For directions to Reseda High, go here.