Wednesday July 29th 2009
Dear Friends...We are excited about the direction of the Tiburones organization.  2009 had many questions...questions that since then have been answered.  As 2009 comes to a close we look forward into the future...2010!!  2010 brings alot of promise especially when this organization came so close in 2009 towards doing huge things!!!  The concentration for the Tiburones in 2010 is going to be adding some more pitching and addressing our offense. 

This year All STar/ACE Louis Meinscher pitched his heart away and has agreed to return to the Tiburones in 2010!!  Fhernando Offerman, our STAR shortstop and Huge All Star Snub, has happily agreed to return to the 2010 team.  Both Fheno and Lou Lou have earned the right to become corner stones to the Tiburones team.  The New York Mets have Reyes and Santana...the Tiburones have Fheno and Lou Lou.  Many of the returning players are looking forward to progressing forward and continuing to prove themselves in the league! 

As 2009 comes to a close we see it end looking back on all the improved nature of the team.  Many players have enjoyed their hard fought out season and are looking forward to building a stronger 2010 club.  General Manager James Mojica is close to signing a fresh face as Manager...one with Major League Experience and is also currently in negotiations with prospective 2010 players.  2009 is leaving us but not without the fight and determination we all left out on the field.  2009 is leaving us with the bright notion of bigger fresher things to come.  2009 thank you for all the great players we ran across....2010...we getting stronger!!!  



Sunday July 25th 2009
Dear Friends…Today I would like to talk about “CHOICE.”  Each year teams come into the Metro League with hope of a great season.  Each year there are several teams that believe they have signed or added those players placing them over the top or just within contention.  Some players workout….others do not and vice versa with Managers.  But it is ultimately “choice” that defines our season and our lives!  “Choice” is where seasons and games are won and lost. 

I have heard from many players on different teams as well as on my own at times..that are unhappy with their situations.  Players may at times be unhappy with certain things on the team and Managers perhaps upset at how a player handles certain things on the team.  My question is this….why don’t they think about choice??  Why don’t they empower themselves to choose rather than stick it out and blame others for their misfortunes??  Don’t cha realize this feeling will only fester into something more perhaps negative and destructive?  Why not just walk away and find yourselves another situation where you’ll be happy?  A situation where you can have a fresh start…a new beginning?  And if you choose to stay do so with a smile and positive nature.  Nobody needs to hear about your unhappiness…its not cool to bring down moral…why not just play by the rules then at the end you can walk away with your head up high knowing you played by the rules and didn’t have to insult anyone along the way.  Is it because of the ways we were brought up?  And if it is the ways we were brought up do you realize “your life” is made up of “your own choices” and not the choices your parents/guardians have made? 

When I was younger I used to watch my father overreact, scream and yell at the many misfortunate things that happened around him.  He would blame other things for what was happening to him rather than look at himself and what he could do to better himself.  Now don’t get me wrong…my father was a great man as are all the fathers in the world but I didn’t learn to talk things through because I didn’t come from a family that spoke things through.  I was quick to learn that overreactions were a common and normal thing in life….so I thought.  Screaming and yelling about being late to school or screaming because I could not find my pants in the morning or screaming because I missed the bus because its all the bus drivers fault became as common as brushing my teeth because I “learned” and “thought” this is the way.  This is the way to be.  To be in control I need to be out of control…huh…somehow this made sense back in the day.  In order to get what I wanted I needed to scream and yell…therefore I would come off as more believable and agreeable and eventually be able to get what I wanted…Huh.  Didn’t make sense then and it certainly does not make sense now.

We have forgotten our GOD given right to choose.  We mold our own reality but yet some of us go throughout our days reflecting and acting on someone else’s experience.  Get a grip!  Basically just because Person X is angry doesn’t mean Person Y needs to agree and follow.  Choice.  Choice is what separates us from everything else.  The right to choose and we can choose to be more positive about things rather than dwelling and being angry. 

A few years ago I fell into a deep depression and was living off my savings.  I quit my job and realized summer was coming.  A mutual friend of mine mentioned how great it would feel to form a team and play baseball with people we knew.  My friend told me he knew of a lot of players who would play….basically the whole….I’m gonna get this guy and that guy speech…..I fell for it and I agreed to form the team and be Manager of it!  And a few weeks later “the lower east side” baseball team was born!  I thought this team was going to be great because my friend knew so many players and I thought they would come through big time.  Now granted I knew some of these too and I thought these guys would come through and pay their league fees and umpire fees.  I should have known better.  Before the season started players were struggling to bring in their fees so I agreed to spot it for them and they would hit me back…LOL…what a disaster!!  ONE…ONE…Again…ONE Person paid and I got stiffed for the league fee.  Then I said…alright…well atleast they’ll come and play and pay the umpire fees.  Man listen…nobody paid umpire fee ever….it came out of my own pocket.  When I asked for umpire fees people literally pretended I was not there and still expected to play and I put them to play too because I had faith they would turn it around and help me out eventually.  Then there was the inconsistency of players showing up to each and every single game.  One game I would have 9 and the other 8 and the other 16.  Finally…the day of the Puerto Rican Day Parade came and we had two games….5 people showed up.  Three of which were smoking weed, one was 15 and not old enough to play in the league and me.  The umpires turned to me before the game started and asked for their umpire fees and I remember turning around and walking off the field by myself leaving the pot heads and the youngin alone on the field.  The long train ride home was humiliating because I loved the game soooo much that it hurt me that others did not feel the same way. 

I love baseball.  I love talking baseball.  I love being in a league.  I love the smell of the grass on a beautiful field.  I love the feel of a new ball.  I love the look some of my guys get when they make a great play.  I love the look of a stolen base and the feel of a good homerun.  The Sound of the glove pop’ing and the sound of “StriKe ThRee..yourrr Out!”..when its in my favor ofcourse.  If you love baseball like me then you’ll understand that baseball to me is not about who’s right and who’s wrong…its about playing the game with a respect for the people around you that love it just as much as you do.  Its about understanding the honor we all must have for every single player who broke the color barrier so that we can now have blacks, latinos, and asians playing on the same diamond without there being an issue.  Its about the majesty of knowing when we are all on the field…it doesn’t matter what team we are on so long as we play respectable ball.  Its about the “choice” we make to commit to a team and the teams vision and abiding by it no matter what.  Its about respecting everyone involved…..from the Managers to the players…everyone deserves respect. 

For this reason “choice” is sooooo powerful.  So if you….Manager or player…..Owner or Renter….President or Worker are ever unhappy with the situation you are given please know you always have the “choice” to stay or move on..there is no in between.  Take care and PLAY BALL!!!