Melb Aces Vs Adel Bite Semi Finals 27-29th Jan

[Goblin]

At this point of the season past results count for zilch.

It just comes down to a shootout with both sides looking to nail down a win in the 1st game.

Happy to say that I will now be heading to Norwood Oval to cheer on the Aces.

Great game preview by kc

www.baseballvictoria.com.au/?Page=72565

Go you good things.

Hopefully we will have a good contingent of supporters heading over to help spur on the boys.

goblin

[Goblin]

For those who like to check it out.

This is a link to nearmap which will display an aerial shot of Norwood Oval with the diamond set up.

Surprisingly the dimension are not that much different than the showgrounds in the corners. Main difference is an extra 20-25 ft at center.

Should be familiar to the Aces.

www.nearmap.com/?ll=-34.920084,138.630673&z=19&t=h&nmd=20101213

[moose]

Well the first game is over and Bite up by 14 - 2.

Unfortunately no mercy rule in post season play.

Usual story since Christmas I'm afraid. Pitching just not up to the job and once again found wanting.

Its a real mismatch and looks like a embarrassing series to the Aces and the type of finish to the season that you'd like not to have.

Neil W

[stuartcapel]

Great night for baseball tonight. Just couldn't get the lead-offs out and establish anything with the bats.

Tomorrow's a new day though. Backing our Aces to come out strong and send it to game three on Saturday.

[texasleaguer]

Wishful thinking Stu ?


Tough for Aces now but I give them a slim chance of fightback but Aces Bullpen is now short already, need a top #2 starter?

BUT WOW.. SOX throw their top 2 Starters in GM 1 and come up short. Bonehead management IMO, I understand the need to win GM1 but I'd go with number 1 starter, THEN every relief pitcher I had to use for win #1 and NOT burn my #2 starter.

[Goblin]

Agree with Stu, lot of game left here.

Whilst tonight was a blowout I must hand it to the Bite that got on the roll early and hammered it home with the rowdy and noisy home town crowd behind them.

We have the bats to do the job and hopefully tomorrow is the time that it will click for them.

On a wonderful summers night for baseball i thought it was a disappointing crowd number, 1,600. For a finals ma tch up here I would have expected nothing short of 3,000.

But as someone pointed out, they wern't all able to post bail in time to get to the game.

I also noted Sydney only got 1,000 to theirs, more disappointing numbers.

We have a small but loyal band in Adel supporting the Aces and we will all be back there tonight to help spur them on.

goblin

[moose]

Goblin I blame the low crowd on the fact that the game is streamed on the INTERNET.

Whilst thats good for the likes of me and others, interstate and not able to get to the game, its also perfect for the lazy locals who don't have to go to see it Live. Contrary to most people I see a great threat to the viability of the ABL from INTERNET coverage and believe that all coverage should be delayed until after the game is completed.

The old ABL IIRC didn't have the live streaming to contend with and drew far bigger and better crowds.

Neil W

[Journeyman]

Jan 28, 2011 8:09:57 GMT 10 moose said:

Goblin I blame the low crowd on the fact that the game is streamed on the INTERNET.

I have to disagree with you moose. I watched the Aces - Bite series in November, but only because I was out of the country. Crappy online coverage, which is better than no coverage, will never replace being there. Until the games are broadcast on TV, I doubt people would choose to stay home unless they had a good reason.

Just my opinion, for what it is worth.

[madball]

Jan 28, 2011 8:09:57 GMT 10 moose said:

Goblin I blame the low crowd on the fact that the game is streamed on the INTERNET.

Wrong. IMO

[Ace]

Thursday night perhaps?! Wait for tonight's crowd in what could be their last home game of the season.

[theslammer]

Jan 28, 2011 8:09:57 GMT 10 moose said:

Goblin I blame the low crowd on the fact that the game is streamed on the INTERNET.

Whilst thats good for the likes of me and others, interstate and not able to get to the game, its also perfect for the lazy locals who don't have to go to see it Live. Contrary to most people I see a great threat to the viability of the ABL from INTERNET coverage and believe that all coverage should be delayed until after the game is completed.

The old ABL IIRC didn't have the live streaming to contend with and drew far bigger and better crowds.

Neil W

Will have to disagree with you here. What we have found in the west is that most people will go to the game live.

Most of the people who are tuned in are from the eastern coast or people due to distance who cant get there.

I will find out how many people at one time have been watching the streamed games. I doubt it will be in the thousands.

[Journeyman]

A much better crowd turnout in Adelaide tonight, 3,124 according to the ground announcer and the scoreboard on the website.

Maybe as was said by Ace, Thursday night was the main problem.

A good game too, a real crowd pleaser!!

[stuartcapel]

Tremendous team effort by the Aces tonight - you couldn't have asked for much more from your team. Was disappointing that the go-ahead run came home the way it did, but sometimes that's baseball.

So you all know, the team had some pretty vitriolic abuse coming from behind them for both games and they did well to keep their focus and play the standard of baseball they did tonight.

Well done to all players, officials and staff who made the trip over - all worked their butts off to get us a result - unfortunately it wasn't to be.

Was fun sitting with two rows of dedicated Aces followers as well. We, unlike the rest of the crowd, were able to finish sentences over the course of the two games without using the words 'Your Honour'!

See all you Aces fans next year.

[Goblin]

Wow, what an edge of your seater.

Full dues to the Aces boys for fighting back after the 1st night blowout.

It was cruel to lose that game in then bottom of the 11th and especially in the way that we did it.

But in they we can only blame ourselves. We had multiple opportunities thru out the game to grab it by the neck and shut the door on any Bite comeback opportunity.

The Bite had a lot better crowd in attendance and they were very loud and vocal in their support. The only negative was the vitriol that they were spewing out to the Aces players. This was obviously fueled by the fact that they were selling half price beer everytime JD struck out. Unfortunately he did it 3 times. The majority (Part) of the crowd was well under the influence by the half way mark.

As someone who has made the both the Perth and SA road trip I can recommend it to all. I had a ball.

Thanks to all the Aces fans that made the trip to Adelaide, made it more the enjoyable.

Good luck to the Heat in their quest to take out the title. They are by far the most professional organization on and off the field.

Kudos to the Bite players on getting the job done and moving on to the next stage of the playoff.

[billybaroo]

im not a fan of the old "but we were copping personal abuse from the other supporters" card.

this is just a by-product of adversarial elite sport.

during the NLCS last year lincecum copped it from the phillies fans big time but i never heard him/giants complain.

we all cop it in division one club ball from the other supporters on sunday arvo games especially after few beers have been consumed, things can get a bit personal. you hear it but you have to ignore it. in fact, a player should treat this as a compliment. the fact that you are playing and the abusive fan is merely a spectator.

happens in all sports in all locations not just norwood oval.

as a visiting fan i guess you were more aware than the players but im pretty sure its all "water off a ducks back" to the players. one has to be or you wont survive in baseball as a player.

[Journeyman]

Jan 29, 2011 11:00:22 GMT 10 Goblin said:

The majority of the crowd was well under the influence by the half way mark.

I don't really want to jump on the bandwagon but, I find offence at this remark Goblin, as someone who has attended nearly all of the games in Adelaide this season I believe it to be so far from the truth that I can't just let it go undefended. I'm sure that there were some who were under the influence, but to say the majority is just another attempt to justify the fact that your team lost. Give credit where it is due and just suck it up and accept that this wasn't your season to shine.

Get over it and come back with renewed enthusiasm for next season.

[stuartcapel]

Agree with you to a point Billy but I thought a group of spectators crossed the line, especially last night.

Why a group of 20 people would simply go to the baseball and spend 95% of their energy denegrating Melbourne players and 5% supporting their own is beyond me.

One even had the temerity to throw something in the very near vicinity of the Aces bullpen coach after the game, this, after one of the Aces relievers had personally handed his mate sitting two seats away from him a foul ball.

Some of the abuse in game one, less than 24 hours after Australia Day, was puzzling. Funny how many of the same people who would have been cheering David Hussey's wickets at the Adelaide Oval on the 26th were loudly calling an Aces pitcher a type of sex act on the 27th.

The $3 beer for a strike out for a certain player to me flies in the face of all the responsible serving of alcohol regulations and funding from like foundations that our sport get. Yes, it gets the crowd involved, but it also gets them drunk on a hot evening like last night, and when their's no limits for the crowd to stick to, then away they go.

[billybaroo]

you have to remember that we are a few years behind places like melbourne and perth.

its kind of ironic that perth are called "alcohol go easy perth heat" and in adelaide we have the K-MAN for $3 pints.

if the fans cross the line then we have a problem. the players/coaches etc need to be protected at all times which is why they put up barb wire in some soccer pitches in europe/south america etc

as you said its only a minority and i agree these people are douche bags of the highest order and are public nuisances.

where was the secuity personnel - i wasnt there just follow online due to having 3 kids under 5 at the minute.

[stuartcapel]

VERY good question Billy. I saw security checking bags at the front and saw ONE security person during the game when I was getting ice cream. There was NO police presence that I saw throughout.

And for a crowd of over 3000, the lack of both, surprised me.

[billybaroo]

in hindsight theres hould have been some heavies there to nip this sort of behaviour in the bud and mitigate such behaviour.

ive been to melbourne heaps of times (footy trips) and the general police/security there is much more prominent in pubs/bars/staidia etc.

we are more relaxed in this area as a general rule - we are like a country town compared to you.

it just sux that these wankers exist but unfortunately they do.

[bballfan]

For starters the Thrusday nights low attendence would have had alot to do with every single Seinor baseball team in SA had training on that night!

On the issue of the alcohol, i do remember in Melbourne last year for the claxton sheild Grand final several groups of people down near the SA bull pen swearing at players, leaning over the fence trying to catch the ball as the catcher is throwing it back.... so for those who think the Melbourne fans all belong to a church group maybe think again before you rag on another states supporters... remember its sport... its going to happen no matter where you play!

[17starter]

Clearly you condone this behavior bballfan ,( just like Bite management). Just part of sport hey. If your daughter was a state level soft ball pitcher and was playing in adelaide and had guys 6 feet away screaming abuse at her what would you do, just say don't worry darling it's just sport, get over it, it's only because their drunk, drunks don't ever cross the line and do something stupid. They are only using those sexual references to put you off your game. The women and children around them know they don't mean it , it's just words. Sure they are calling you a s**t and a who*e but your a pro, roll with it. There are security everywhere so you will be safe. This behavior in Adelaide happened in the old ABL and nothing has changed with this ABL. Duty of care bite management, duty of care.

[bballfan]

Clearly you dont get out to enough professional sporting events such as the cricket, afl football, soccer games pretty much anywhere they sell alcohol, i definatly dont condone the behaviour but im not going to pretend it doesnt happen. "if" i had a daughter i wouldnt say to her "all the fans you play in front of are going to be so happy for you and cheer you on every step of the way including the opposition" why.. cause that wont happen!

What my actual point was it happened in Melbourne as well not just adelaide, the way your portraying it is it only happended in Adelaide..

[philallen]

Congratulations to everyone involved at the Adelaide Bite following the last series. They have a very committed team on the field, well coached and it appears well disciplined in all aspects of the game. The crown numbers were impressive especially on Friday night, and they really got into the game. I feel that the Bite have gone about presenting the game so as it will appeal to all baseball fans and the wider community, as have all of the other franchises. The Bite do it well. To any baseball person who has been around and has seen the rise and fall of the "old ABL" and the resurection of the league in it's new form, well I'll just say this. We were all crying out for it, it's back, it's a great product, it will continue to grow, and it needs everyone's support.

In response to 17 starter's comments I know that you are a man's man who will stand behind his words and actions, as would most decent people. Unfortunately there is, always has been, and always will be, people who hide behind a mask of anonimity. They will be found in Victoria, they will be found in Qld....your home state, and they will be found in South Australia. It's frustrating that these type of people have little or no respect for others, probably have even less respect for themselves, and in all likelyhood lead wretched, miserable lives. I received a piece of advice many years ago from a great man by the name of Ross Straw, that advice was "never argue with drunks or idiots" I wish I could follow that advice always but unfortunately I don't. That is a weakness on my part.

But I urge all supporters and fans of baseball in this country to continue to provide momentum to our great game through supporting the game at all levels, including the ABL. The Aces fans have been outstanding in their support of our ballclub this season and that support is greatly appreciated be me personally, and by the players and staff as a whole.

Let's not detract from the game and it's presentation by becoming involved in petty disputes and name calling. We are all in this mess together, and the sooner the person who threw the bottle at Lee Hogan Friday night realises that, the better off we will all be.

Supporting is great, passionate supporting is even better. There are no "sour grapes" in this post. In any contest, sporting or otherwise, there are winners and losers. To the victor goes the spoils. I hope this league becomes even more vocal and the the home fans become even more passionate. Just leave the personal abuse and obsenities out of it.

[billybaroo]

in defence of the bite management they have set the standard this year with all the KPI's that peter wermuth has asked of the general managers, ie, gate revenue, sponsorship dollars, marketing, food & beverage revenue etc.

i know for a fact that pat kelly and davo have worked their butts off all season to deliver this product and they also recruited well by bringing in some of the best players to ever play for our state, ie mcOwen, Latimore.

no one is condoning this neanderthalic behaviour and as phil said these morons can be found everywhere and are leading miserable lives anyway.

for all the work that the bite front office have put in - and the success they are now enjoying... for 17starter to say that they condone unruly behaviour is laughable.

[17starter]

Billybaroo, Ok then, Last time i played in adelaide was claxton november 09. Myself and matt timms were subjected to abuse, you and i spoke on this subject at the time. So now i ask you , please list in detail what the ADELAIDE BITE management have done to prevent this. What specific steps have they taken, what policies , what extra security measures, what abusive fan identification system has been put in place to meet the ABL on field players duty of care procedures. Please tell me what the bite have done. Judgeing by what has been seen and heard it would seem nothing has been done. Please correct me

[Deleted]

bballfan, the new ABL is a far more fragile commodity that any of the other sports that you mention.

The fact that rubbish happens at other events does not mean that baseball should accept it as just a part of professional sport. The ABL is obligated to set its own standards of crowd behaviour to ensure that the activity remains family-friendly and fan-friendly.

I realise that you are not condoning any of the sort of nonsense to which 17starter refers.

I wasn’t at the Semi-Final series in Adelaide, but from what I’ve been told by people who were there and from what has been mentioned in these pages, it seems clear that some people - only a few (but the few who can screw things up for everyone) - were more intent on getting pissed and being obnoxious than on enjoying the baseball and supporting their team with passion.

As billy says, morons can be found anywhere. Pat Kelly and his team will no doubt be unhappy with any crowd behaviours that detract from the outstanding work that they have done with the Bite franchise.

So whether this issue surfaced in Adelaide or elsewhere in the past, the ABL needs to get on the front foot and spell out its expectations to each franchise and its supporters.

Well done to the Adelaide club, which has clearly earned the right to play on. Best wishes for a tough and competitive series against Sydney next week.

[billybaroo]

and bball fan said the same thing happened in the claxton final last year in MELBOURNE so it happens everywhere - not just adelaide.

security measures would surely be on every ABL managements agenda but i am not privy to the bite's board papers so i cant make you a list.

it sounds like it was pretty relaxed - security wise - last night. and in hindsight maybe this was a mistake by bite management. maybe they cut back on security costs in an attempt to reach those KPI's. i dont know.

have you ever seen any footage of how pedro martinez gets abused at yankee stadium. it happens EVERYWHERE.

[bballfan]

KC your right, the only point i wanted to get across was that it was happening/happended in other states not just Adelaide.

Baseball in Australia should definatly not see this as a part of its game, i know in minor league games in the US and maybe the MLB games (dont quote me on that one) they stop serving alcohol in the 7th inning to prevent drink driving and incidents after the game...

[billybaroo]

yes i agree this should be stamped out completely moving forward. The ABL should get tougher and employ heavies to toss people out, ie, zero tolerance to alcohol related bullnutsto.

these perpetrators (refer mob mentality) have been doing the same thing in the SANFL in the winter for 100 years.
there is no place for this behaviour in modern sporting society.

having said that, a night at footy park for a port power game will make this incident look like the hillsong church christmas show.