IT'S OFFICIAL!!!!

It's been a long journey, starting at age 4 when we first played catch. Thousands of hours of practice, thousands of miles in travel, countless ballpark hotdogs and endless days in the summer sun in an effort to achieve every young baseball player's dream to play D1 baseball. Congratulations JD on achieving your dream and playing for SIU-E Cougars baseball!! We are very proud of you! GO COUGARS!!!

 

We're back from a quick trip to the St. Louis area where JD visited two universities who had invited him down to check out their campus, meet the coaching staff and get a feel for what it would be like to play baseball for their team.  For the time being, I'm going to withhold the names of the schools only because he is still receiving/interest/offers and knowing who is recruiting him could affect future offers/interest.

The first visit was to a NCAA Division I university.  Upon arrival we were met by an assistant coach (the one who recruited him from here in KC) and we were given a tour of the baseball stadium and the clubhouse.  The infield is already turf and the outfield will be turf by the time he would get there.  We then drove to the campus and took a tour of the buildings which included the student center, dorm, basketball arena, sports training facilities, classrooms, etc... There was a pretty big WOW factor for JD and he was very impressed.  We then were taken to meet the head coach in his office.  He talked to JD about some of his expectations, what JD was looking for in a program and then prior to leaving, he gave JD a very nice scholarship offer to come play baseball for him at the university. 

The next day we visited a NCAA Division II university.  We were greeted at the stadium by the 5 members of the coaching staff which included the head coach.  They had asked JD to throw a bullpen for them on the visit since only one coach had seen JD throw in person and the others only on videotape.  The head coach sat with Jodi and I while JD warmed up with the pitching coach on the field.  They had the pitching mound perfectly manicured for him as he made his way onto the field and took the mound for the throwing session.  We talked more with the head coach as we watched him throw about 25 pitches for those in attendance and needless to say, they were impressed. 

Once JD got toweled off a bit, they took us around the campus in a limousine style golf cart that seated 6 and was painted up in school colors.  They showed us the brand new clubhouse they were finishing up before taking us to the admissions office to talk about the enrollment procedure and cost to attend.  We then visited more of the campus buildings, weight training center, etc... before going to the office of the head coach for a sit down.  He told us about his coaching staff and their roles in the program.  He told us of his expectation of his players and what opportunities would be available to JD if he would attend there.  He then made JD a very good scholarship offer to attend the university. 

JD has a lot to think about for the next week or two.  One offer is only good for two weeks.  The other is good until the university gets the pitching commits they need.  He'll be going to another university on Monday to pitch there and see what interest is there.

JD's summer team played their last game together as a team yesterday and they went out with a bang by bringing home the championship with a 1-0, seventh inning walkoff victory.  After being presented the tournament trophy, the coaches and players gathered for an emotional meeting and a lot of hugs were shared along with some tears.  It will be exciting to follow these young men as they pursue greater things in college and beyond.  They are very talented individuals and we are proud to have shared a couple years with them.  We wish them all the best of luck in the future.

JD and I will hit the road for a couple days and visit a couple universities that have invited him to visit this week.  He will get campus tours and the usual VIP treatment for recruits.  I think he's going to have some fun and get a lot to think about while considering where he wants to go to college.  He is also going to attend a camp at the Univeristy of Central Missouri next Monday and showcase for them.  It gave me a chuckle when he said he was in "Beast mode". 

JD threw great yesterday and was immediately invited by a couple coaches to visit their schools to see their baseball facilities and meet the coaching staff of each school.  One is an NCAA Division I school and the other a Division II.  He also has a couple other schools interested as well and is expecting invitations to their campuses.  It appears we will visit the Division I school next week.

JD threw a bullpen on Tuesday for some college coaches at the tournament he is playing in this weekend.  He said he was the last to throw that day and most of the guys throwing in front of him were throwing in the upper 70's to around 80.  Apparently the coaches weren't seeing much they were interested in and had migrated away from the bullpen area.  When it was JD's turn, he said he threw his first fastball and after that the coaches all moved up to the bullpen fence to watch him throw.  He said he threw really well and upon leaving, he was approached by a coach for his name and phone number.  He also received a phone call from a D1 coach yesterday morning wanting to know which game he would be pitching this week.  Apparently several coaches will be coming to watch the game he throws Friday morning.

I don't think I could have had a better birthday weekend.  I spent all day Saturday in the heat setting up and shooting a fireworks show in Smithville.  It was my buddy's annual 4th of July show a couple weeks late since he was busy the 4th weekend shooting city shows.  Not may people get to celebrate their birthday with a big fireworks show so I was lucky to do so.  I think I lost about 10 lbs to boot!  I don't recall ever drinking that much water in a day in my life. 

Jodi took me to dinner and a movie on Sunday and we had a great time.  We saw the movie "Horrible Bosses".  It was pretty crude but hilarious.  Jason Bateman has really gotten big in the last few years and he can be real funny playing the straight guy.

JD gets back on the bump this week in a tournament down in Lee's Summit.  Today he is throwing a bullpen in front of coaches from Mizzou, KU, Central Missouri, Creighton, William Jewell, Emporia State, Missouri State, and about 15 other colleges expected to be there.  He will then pitch in a game on Friday.  He has also been invited to attend the Atlanta Braves tryout in Bloomington, IL next month. 

JD turns 18 in a few weeks and wants to have a blowout birthday party, or a "Rave" as he calls it.  We're converting the basement into a "club", complete with laser, blackout and strobe lights as well as a fog machine so he and the 50 (it will wind up 100 or more I'm sure) friends can listen to music and dance all night.  This should be interesting. 

I attended the Liberty Board of Education meeting last night and in the public comments section of the meeting, I spoke to the need of raising the needed revenue to build new schools and a football stadium for the district.  Typically there are several regulars who get up and talk about the district spending too much, etc...  I was the only one to speak last night so my view was heard loud and clear.  I also gave praise to the Board and the district administration for the work they've done to date.  Afterward, several Board members, the district Superintendent and JD's principal came to me and thanked me for my view and comments.  I've been invited to attend a meeting next week to discuss the stadium issue and brainstorm ideas on the best way to get it built.

JD threw for a second day on Sunday and we long tossed it out to 150 feet or so.  He was throwing pretty hard with no issues.  We took Monday off to rest his arm a bit and he'll get back after it today.  Still on target to pitch in the last tournament of the summer. 

I'm happy to report that JD had no pain/discomfort yesterday when we played catch for the first time after his injury one month ago.  He's been doing PT three times a week and hasn't picked up a ball in a month so his arm should be well rested.  We'll continue a daily catch session until next weekend when he will throw a  brief bullpen.  If all goes well, he'll throw another bullpen a few days later and then we'll determine if he has the green light to throw a few innings in the tournament scheduled for the 20-24th.

When injustice becomes law, rebellion becomes duty.



Illegal Immigrant kills 12 year old girl and her mother in KC

A drunk, illegal immigrant drove 14 miles in the wrong direction on Interstate 435 here in Kansas City before striking a vehicle, killing the driver and her 12 year old daughter.  He was found to have multiple forms of identification on his person when arrested.  He remains in the hospital and your tax dollars are at work.  Thank your President and his appointees for turning a blind eye to our border issue.

It felt great to have 3 1/2 days off work and I was able to get rested up a bit.  I spent Friday evening and Saturday morning with a friend of mine I hadn't seen in awhile.  He flew his plane up from St. Louis and landed nearby at Mosby Air Center.  I picked him up and we came by the house for a visit with Jodi before driving up to St. Joe to watch his son play for the St. Joe Mustangs.  We had a great time talking and watching baseball.  The next morning, we went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and then I took him back to the airport.  After readying his plane, I stood out near the runway and took photos of him taking off and flying by.  Here's one I got as he passed me.

 

We traveled back to St. Louis on Saturday to attend Jodi's sister's annual 4th of July party. It was hot but we enjoyed some good food, music and of course, fireworks. The next day, we paid a surprise visit to my mother and then went to Jodi's aunt's to hang out for awhile before driving back to KC.  The weather got real interesting right before our departure when a microburst hit and took out some trees near us.  The rain was coming down sideways in sheets.  As we passed through Warrenton on the drive home, we saw part of the roof was taken off the Super 8 hotel and other businesses had roof and other damage.  We also saw a couple fireworks tents that had gone down in the storm.

We went to two parties on Monday and shot fireworks off in the neighborhood this year.  I took some of my "good stuff" and did some e-firing.  I'm shooting the fireworks after the T-Bones game on Saturday and then I have another shoot to do the following week in Smithville.

It should be relatively quiet at the plant this week since we are down for vacation.  The end of Escape production is now planned for April of next year. Employees are being offered opportunities to :follow the product" and transfer to Louisville.  We're waiting to hear how many have decided to go.  An official announcement has not be given as to what product we are getting to replace the Escape here.