Dawgs Softball in Israel | ñåôèáåì éùøàì - äãåâæ

Fall Season has started. We had a kinda weird first game against Shimshon (the Beit Shemesh boys). An experimental game, we learned several things. We'll not go into detail here, see the Games link. Bottom line: Dawgs are continuing without the players who went to the Brewers.

After their recent victory against Eilat, the Dawgs are 7 and 8, a position that they haven't been in since, well, since before they were puppies. For more details, see the Games link. See also a write-up in the Jerusalem Post here. In the photo above (click to enlarge), we have Zeke pitching against TTT's Jake Miller (Mar 20, 2006 @ BV), with TTT's Micah Winston the runner on second. Alberto Tascher is behind the plate for the Dawgs, and we also see Julio Mirabel at short, and Shmuel Goldstein way back in center. Finally, Adriana Luchansky is plate umpire, and Goose Gillette field umpire.

The Israel Softball Association is undergoing an expansion for Fall, 2006, and if everything goes well, for the regular season of 2007. The new team will consist of some Dawgs: Yechezkel Ganz, Alberto Tascher, Leandro Leon, and Julio Mirabel. You guessed it, it will be a "Hispanic" team. And Zeke informs this webmaster that he's got a whole bunch of other "Cubans" as well. The new team will be called The Brewers, but in Spanish: Los Cervaceros. See their new website at this link. This is good news for the ISA, if it works (and all indications are that it should). And it could be good news for the Dawgs, as that means that we have a few openings, especially for skilled catcher(s) and pitcher(s). Interested parties, send an email to: shmuel_goldstein@yahoo.com

Look at this video from Fall 2005. This is an excellent example of a double steal. Double Steal against TTT (file size is 1.5MB, so be patient while it downloads) The double steal works like this:

1. R1 (on 1st), and R3 (on 3rd), less than two outs, and a run is important, and might make the difference in the game.
2. On the pitch, R1 takes off for second base, and R3 takes a few steps off third. The batter either swings and misses, fake bunts, or doesn't swing at all. The catcher (we hope) then throws the ball to second, and they either get R1 or not. If he gets him, R1 is a sacrifice, if not, then all's the better.
3. As soon as the catcher makes the throw, R3 takes off for home. More often than not, he scores, and the fact that R1 might be out on the steal attempt is a price that the team is willing to pay for getting the run.

You don't see this too often in baseball, because the baseline there is 90ft, as opposed to 60ft, the ball is smaller and eaiser to throw. So it is harder to run and beat a baseball throw. But in fastpitch, this is almost standard order of procedure in a 1st-and-third situation. Got it? Now, the defence against the double steal:

1. The fielding team sees the situation and decides to defend against the double steal.
2. Optional: The pitcher can throw a normal fastball, or a pitch-out.
3. As a response to R1 leaving 1st, the catcher throws the ball to the shortstop or the secondbaseman, who is playing in, much too far from second to make the tag. Ocassionally, the throw can be made to the pitcher.
4. This throw fools (they hope) R3 into running for home, but the fielder who caught the ball is much closer to home, and immediately fires one to the catcher, who has plenty of time to make the tag on R3.
5. Thus the defense allows R1 to steal, but they make an out, and prevent a run from scoring.

This is what TTT tried to do in the video, but the catcher threw a bit too high, letting Alberto steal with impunity and allowing Shmuel to score. When they finally did make the throw back to the plate, they once again threw high, letting Alberto advance to third. Which is why a double steal is generally a good idea for the offense - there are many opportunities for the defense to screw it up. In fact, this writer has seen instances where the defense just ignore the runner stealing second.

Look at these video clips (click on the links). But watch your head, why dontcha? First Hit Second Hit