Team Cobra Kai

In The Air

Jason — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 12:30:46 +0000

This past week was about first place. Going into the week tied with Minutemen for first place, Cobra Kai looked to gain control of the division.

With a full team for the first time since the first week, Cobra Kai looked to bring full onslaught to gain first place, but that was very much up in the air as game time approached.

The battle for first place this past week resulted in more questions than answers. Cobra Kai, barely able to field a team, stepped onto the field with only 9 guys for the first several innings. Minutemen were also short guys as well, but Kai jumped out to a 12-10 by the end of the 3rd. But unfortunately, Cobra Kai was unable to put Minutemen away due to an uncharacteristic lack of defensive awareness, led by 3 errors on consecutive plays by SS Jason Resnick. Cobra Kai threw the ball around the field, misplayed routine balls, and gave too many outs to the Minutemen for them to come back from, resulting in 22-19 loss for the first game. Not only did they lose the first game, they lost their starting LF Mike O’Neill due to a pulled hamstring on an infield hit.

“We can’t get down guys, let’s go out and score just like we know how. We fought back in that last inning, let’s get this next game,” Resnick told the team before the second game, after scoring 6 runs in the last inning of the first game. Cobra Kai came out scoring in every inning but the second to take the nightcap 11-5. With aggressive base running, hitting singles, and solid defense, Kai played their game and ended the night in a tie for first place in the division.

With the loss of O’Neill, indefinitely, and P Joe Varlack, out for the next 3 games, it leaves some tough decisions to be made in the field. Jim Bouschor has looked good pitching and will be slotted to fill in for Varlack over the next few games. “Having Mike out is big to not only the lineup, but also the defense. It’s tough to replace your cleanup hitter who’s right there atop the team’s offense in most categories. But he’s also a rock out there in LF and we’ll have to figure out the best way to fill that spot, ” says Resnick. Cobra Kai has called up OF Jon Moss to play LF this coming week.

Lesson Learned

Jason — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 11:11:08 +0000

Cobra Kai had a rematch of their first week losses against Murderers Row this week. Kai came on for pride, revenge, and most of all to show that they belong.

With last week’s disappointing losses to the last place team, Cobra Kai wanted to show Murderers Row that the first time around wasn’t the real Cobra Kai.

With more than a few weeks under their belt, Cobra Kai has gelled together, and they know that they can fight and play with anyone in this league. Mgr/SS Jason Resnick, as well as the rest of the team, was not happy with the results of last weeks performance. So before the start of the game, Resnick called everyone into the dugout, and told the team to play aggressive, and just stay behind the ball and hit like we can hit. Not sure how it would take affect, since Resnick has been in a massive 3 week slump, which hit rock bottom last week by being the 3rd out in 5 ABs, he hoped that the team would do as he said, not as he does.

Cobra Kai did just that. Went out in the Top of the 1st, batted all 10 guys and scored 5 runs. Cobra Kai turned on the scoring machine and didn’t turn it off all night. Scoring in every inning, Kai mercy-ed Murderers Row, 26-13 in the 6th. Hitting 4 HRs, 26 hits, and just about everyone getting at least one RBI, it was a huge team effort and coming out party. 7 RBIs by both RF Mark Plonski and 3B Kevin Weinisch capped the offensive show of the first game.

Knowing that Murderers Row was not going to just roll over, Kai needed to stay on form in the second game. Row came out, just as Kai did in the first game, and put up a 5 run 1st inning. Kai answered with 5 of their own in the bottom half. The game would go back and forth like this all the way through. Kai took the lead in the 5th when they score 4 in the bottom half to make it 15-11. Row came right back in the top of the 6th to score 5 runs. Cobra Kai did not get down on themselves and C Rich Rafferty and 2B Ken Oliver each got on with 1 out singles. Then leadoff hitter, Morgan Rothblat only his 2 game back from injury, hit a clutch double which plated Rafferty and pushed Oliver to 3rd. RCF Jim Bouschor came up next and hit a sacrifice fly to score Oliver to take the lead for good. Kai shut down Row in the top of the 7th to win 17-16.

“Let’s play again!” said Bouschor, who seemed pumped after the game. Resnick was happy after the offensive showing of the team, and with himself. Who seemingly hit his way out of the prolonged slump, along with his pants. Reminiscent of Steve Lyons of the White Sox, LF Mike O’Neill hit a double off the fence in RF and as Resnick was rounding second and coming into third, his pants caught a cleat, unsnapped and was found around his ankles by the time he got to 3rd. Seemingly unphased, he just pulled them up, snapped them together, and scored on the next hit. “I’m just glad he had Under Armor on,” said 1B Chris Anello, who was coaching 3B at the time. Needless to say, there was tons of laughter and comments coming from the bleachers.

Happy Birthdays go out to a bunch in the Cobra Kai Family for early June. Ken Oliver, Nick Gozdziewski, and team photographer, Kara all had a birthday in the past week.

The Name of the Game

Jason — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 10:31:56 +0000

In slow pitch softball, it’s all about the hitting. If you don’t hit, you can’t win, bottom line. Cobra Kai knows this going into each game.

With Kai on a 4 game win streak, the young team looked to putting on a show going into this week’s game against the last place Old Men.

The average age of Cobra Kai is 29.7 years old. Being one of the youngest teams in the league they have many assets on their side, speed, quickness, strength, and endurance. One of the assets that the vets of Cobra Kai know is that the experienced guys in the league can hit. More importantly, they can hit the ball where ever they want to. Old Men, being the elder statesmen of the league, can definitely punch the ball into any spot on the field.

Kai jumped out on top of Old Men quickly in the first game. Going into the bottom of the 4th, Cobra Kai was up 10-2. That’s when Old Men started to chip away with what seemed to be about 45 singles between both games. They broke Cobra Kai’s rhythm by taking time on the mound and in the batter’s box, almost to a point of frustration for some players. With a 6 spot in the bottom of the 4th and then 8 more in the bottom of the 6th, Old Men took the lead for good and won 16-13.

The nightcap was a back and forth game, scoring in every half inning until Cobra Kai blanked Old Men in the top of the 5th. Kai tied it up at 15-15 in the bottom of the 5th with 2 runs. As time was winding down, Mgr Jason Resnick would keep reminding the team and umpire of the timer on the lights. Sure enough, with RF Rich Rafferty reaching on with a single to LF and 1 out, the lights went out in the bottom of the 6th. The game ended in a tie.

With the game ending in a tie, playoff seeding may require this game to be completed at a future date. Another side note to the game, LF Mike O’Neill, strained his hamstring on a play in LF in the second game. O’Neill has been restricted in previous seasons due to various injuries. Cobra Kai needs their cleanup hitter, so the team will keep an eye on the situation and list him as day-to-day.

Putting together 4 in a Row

Jason — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 11:37:32 +0000

Cobra Kai is running smooth with another 2 wins this past week against the Dirty Dozen. Showing grit, toughness, and consistency, Kai is running on all cylinders.

Cobra Kai has put together 4 wins in a row and seem to be finding their groove after the hiccup in the first week.

Everyone on the team is contributing and that’s what Kai was looking for this season. Cobra Kai went up 5-0 quick in the first 2 innings of the first game of the night, then the bats went a bit cold for the rest of the game. Dirty Dozen crawled back to a take a 2 run lead into the final inning. SS Jason Resnick, mared in a slump as of late started the inning off with a single up the middle, LF Mike O’Neill came up with a double to LCF to become the winning run on second. RCF Mark Plonski, was intentionally walked to load the bases for P Joe Varlack. He hit a sac fly to LF to score Resnick from third. 3B Kevin Weinisch walked to bring up C Ken Oliver. Ken fought singled of LF to score O’Neill for the winning run to close out the game.

“It’s great to have everyone hitting and playing a huge part in every game. It seems that each game someone else steps up to get the big hit and push us over the top,” says Mgr/SS Jason Resnick. “I would’ve put [Plonski] on too, and would been wrong just like they were. He’s been crushing the ball,” says P Joe Varlack.

The second game wasn’t close. Kai took the game invoking the mercy rule in the 6th, 13-1. The 4-7 batters (O’Neill, Plonski, Varlack, Weinisch) went 9 for 11 with 11 runs scored. Cobra Kai looks to remain on track in the upcoming week against the Old Men.

Team Photos from the game

Take Two

Jason — Tue, 31 May 2011 16:18:43 +0000

“2″ seemed to be the number of the day for Cobra Kai this week. Second week, 2 games, 2 fill ins, 2 inches, and most importantly 2 wins.

With the second week on deck, some beat writers were already saying that after the first week it was the same old Cobra Kai, that the reboot was nothing more than a marketing spin on the same team.

Mgr/SS Jason Resnick seemed calm and confident that the team would come together for the second week and show what the team was capable of. Then only a day before the game he received a phone call informing him of two players, Chris Anello and Jon “JR” Rivera were taking an unexpected and unsanctioned trip without the team knowing about it. Resnick reached out to former Kai 1B Nick Gozdziewski, who is on the Cobra Kai roster, but due to family obligations isn’t on the Active Roster. Jim Bouschor reached out to Jon Moss, who has played with Cobra Kai before, and filled in nicely. Resnick was confident these guys would produce and they most certainly did. The loss of OF Morgan Rothblat due do an injury, hurt the defense and the spark at the top of the lineup. Resnick slid Bouschor into the leadoff spot and over to LCF, moved C Rich Rafferty to the second hole in the lineup and 1B Mark Plonski to RCF.

Once again Kai fought hard to come back and take Game 1. P Joe Varlack has some initial trouble finding the plate due to the size of the field. He seemed to be hitting the black on the plate everytime. But after the first inning, he found the spot and it was almost a signal to the rest of the team to say, “ok, now let’s get some runs and take this!” Plonski put on yet another stellar game hitting 2 HRs and driving in 7. Gozdziewski also drove in 4 and Moss went 3-5 and an RBI, as took the Kai lead in the 5th and held on to win 17-15.

Game 2 was just a continuation of the hot hitting from the first game. The highlight was the Back-to-Back-to-Back Homeruns in the 5th by Rafferty, Resnick, and LF Mike O’Neill. Rafferty was asked after the game how he felt after the rookie hit his first HR, and laughed “those guys just couldn’t let me have my moment”. Later, in that inning Varlack hit a HR to left as well and it seemed to demoralize the other team. The final score of 15-7 didn’t even seem that close, but it was a fitting ending when the final out was made by Resnick on a pop up to short and no sooner than the ball hitting the mitt, this happened.

The team came together nicely. The additions of Gozdziewski and Moss to the team will surely be a great add to the team in the upcoming weeks. Cobra Kai looks to keep the momentum rolling as they take on Dirty Dozen next week.

Week 1, Warmup

Jason — Thu, 12 May 2011 15:18:17 +0000

The Kai showed some signs of the good offense they are hoping for. Fundies need work though. First 2 games in the books as losses.

As the season gets underway, Cobra Kai made a few errors that led to 2 losses, but the team looks to shore that up for next week.

With about half the lineup playing together for the first time, week one had some growing pains. A few guys playing in their first game ever, and others playing in their first game in a couple of years, SS/Mgr Jason Resnick has a few things to figure out with regards to defense and the lineup. “Seeing as this is the first time the guys have all played together, definitely impressed with the offensive output, and as we gel together the defense will get there as well” says Resnick.

Game 1 showed that Cobra Kai has that fight and grit they’ve always had, but fell short 19-14. Chris Anello and Mark Plonski showed why they are on the team, as they went a combined 6-8 with 4 doubles. Mike O’Neill showed that he’s healthy and ready to go after a couple of seasons with injuries to his legs. He went 2-4 with a HR and 5 RBI. Kai held tight until the end, then with one of the strangest endings to a game. Jon Rivera was safe on a swinging bunt, but thought he was out and walked off the field for the final out of the game. “He felt bad about the play, but I just told him ‘No sweat, bound to happen to all of us eventually’” says Jim Bouschor.

In the nightcap, the conditioning and lack of playing time together shined through with a number of errors. Vets and Rookies all made errors, not the way Cobra Kai likes to play for sure. Resulting in a loss of 22-8, Resnick will have to figure out where people fit in the field and shuffle some guys around. “It’s tough to get down on the errors as we all made them, throwing and bouncing off my chest, balls bouncing out of gloves, landing on people’s feet. [Explicative] happens. We’ll get it together for sure, we never played together before and this is the best group I’ve played with in years. I can’t wait for the rest of the season to laugh at this game,” says Resnick.

Cobra Kai Reboot

Jason — Thu, 12 May 2011 14:00:45 +0000

This offseason, Cobra Kai looked to revamp the entire team. Management and coaches got together and wanted to fill some of the holes that were left in the field and lineup.

Management wanted to mix in some up-and-coming young talent with a veteran presence. Looking to the farm system for that talent was only going to go so far, so deals had to be made.

Being a young team already, getting any younger was going to be tough, but there are a few prospects that Cobra Kai was looking at to bring up to The Show. Top prospects, Mark Plonski and Rich Rafferty were picked from the minors and bought to the big team. Plonksi, a young 1B/OF, has a nice mixture of a big bat and speed. The tall 6’5″ frame gives a nice target to the infielders over at Firstbase as well. SS/Mgr Jason Resnick said, “With the departure of Nick, I was a bit worried over there. In playing with Mark during the spring, he can pick it and stretch with the best of them. It’s great to be able to just throw it over there knowing that as long as I get it there, he’ll grab it.”

OF/Utility, Rich Rafferty, brings a good bat to the lineup and should provide solid defense in a number of roles. Rafferty, was drafted very young and brought up quickly due to the raw talent. Kai is hoping he will gain great experience by playing with the big club and bring that bat they’ve seen with him.

In the offseason, a few signings were made to fill in the rest of the holes in the lineup. With winning the Championship in 2009, Kai was not happy with the major lack of performance in 2010. Seeing many needs, at 3B, RF, and C, Kai looked to fill those roles with veteran presence and pop. Kevin Weinisch, Chris Anello, Jon Rivera, and Ken Oliver were all brought in.

With the returns of Resnick, Mike O’Neill, Jim Bouschor, Joe Varlack, and Morgan Rothblat, Cobra Kai is looking to get back to 2009 form and make an impact on their new division.

Fall Champs Looking For Repeat

Jason — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 14:10:55 +0000

The expansion Cobra Kai took the Fall 2009 Championship. Looking to repeat the feat in the Spring / Summer and with some additions to the team, The Kai is looking strong.

“This team gelled really well at the right time last year in time for the playoff run. Finding that was key and looking forward to bringing that attitude to the summer.” said Mgr Jason Resnick

Cobra Kai being the young upstarts, sprinkled with some veterans, ended their inaugural season as champions. With the winning run coming from C Charlie Many, Cobra Kai took home the championship in the third, and final game of the Championship Series. “This team pulled together at the right time, showed some real fight during the season and I knew that these guys could pull together to do something special, I’m proud of them” said Resnick.

With the Spring 2010 season forthcoming, Cobra Kai has some lofty expectations. With their number one draft pick, Louis D’Elia, plucked from the Boston Red Sox farm system, and rookie Ryan Shanley, Kai is looking to repeat. Placed in a pretty tough division, Cobra Kai will have to play tight and much like they did throughout the playoffs in order to accomplish that feat.

Only a couple of weeks away until Opening Day, Spring Training has already begun and IFs Resnick and Jim Bouschor have played well in a few practice games and the team seems to be hitting the ball hard. The first test will come this weekend when the Cobra Kai will be playing in a tournament in Cantiague.

What Happened? No Bite Left?

Jason — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:46:03 +0000

Against a 1 win team, Cobra Kai looked to bounce back and take 2 against The Unknowns. With some injuries to the lineup, Kai had to fill some gaps, but wound up giving the first game and almost throwing the second as well.

“Giving up 15 runs there’s no way you can win, absolutely no way,” said Resnick, clearly upset with the results of the week

Mgr. Jason Resnick gathered the team up before the start of the first game to try and get everyone on the same page with stating 3 keys to the game. One, hit the cutoff man. Two, don’t throw it around. Three, hit the ball on the ground and have them make plays. Cobra Kai took the field in the top of the first and their lead off hitter wound up having a single turn into a Homerun. The first 2 of the 3 things Resnick asked for were literally thrown out the window. OF Morgan Rothblat wound up missing the cutoff man and then the IF threw the ball around as he ran around the bases. Resnick, playing SS with the injury to then 3B Chris Greco, was visibly upset with the way that the team started the night.

Cobra Kai just held on, not to lose by the run rule, to The Unknowns in the first game. Seemed to have no fight in them whatsoever. Resnick and OF Jim Bouschor definitely was trying to light a fire under the ass of the team. The team looked to be in disarray and Resnick tried all night to figure out a way to get it going.

With LF Mike O’Neill already sidelined with a groin injury and IFs Chris Greco and Resnick licking some obviously injuries, Cobra Kai called up Jon Moss, who played LF in the second game, while Bouschor came in from the OF to play SS. With a few run-ins with the umpire, Resnick looked to get run from the game in part to maybe get the team riled up and in part frustration. Cobra Kai took control of the second game, but as the later innings fell upon them, they gave The Unknowns some chances. They did hold on in the second game to win though.

“We can’t give them runs. When you give a team 4 and 5 outs in several innings, it’s just not going to happen,” said P Joe Varlack. “I don’t know what to do, I try and get everyone on the same page, but we go out there and blow our own heads off on the very first play of the game,” says Resnick when asked how he felt about the play of Cobra Kai. He continued to say “We play to the level of our competition for sure, but there’s no excuse for giving up extra outs and just letting the other team do what they will. I can only hope that we finish out the season strong, have some fun, and look towards next season with a positive note.”

The Kai Getting Swept

Jason — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:15:02 +0000

After a long week where The Kai won a 10 inning game and then tied, they ran into Venom and wound up getting more hurt and swept. The Mud Hens, being in last, put up a huge fight and matched Cobra Kai every step of the way.

Kai then ran into the buzzsaw and veteran team of Venom. Venom showed absolutely No Mercy on Cobra Kai.

Cobra Kai played in the longest game in league history, 1 hour and 45 mins. The end result was a 10 inning battle won by Cobra Kai. When one team plated a few runs, the other team bounced right back the next inning and answered back. The 21-20 win showed that neither team wanted to lose this game. The night cap was a rushed game to make sure that it would be an official game before league curfew came into play. Much like the first game, it was another back and forth game. This wound up being an official game, ending in a tie. Cobra Kai looked to win the game, but wound up giving up 6 runs in the fifth so that the Mud Hens could tie it up.

“It’s a tough one to let go in the end, resulting in a tie. That first game was a hard fought game by both teams, but we should’ve had that second game for sure,” said Manager Jason Resnick. “Just look to next week and hope we can steal some from Venom.”

Nothing could be farther from the truth. Venom steamrolled right over the Kai. The first game, Cobra Kai held within striking distance, they just couldn’t string together enough hits in one inning to tack on a few runs to jump out ahead. Cobra Kai wound up losing their SS Chris Greco to a leg injury, and Mgr/IF Jason Resnick to a wrist injury. Greco was pulled from the second game and replaced my Resnick at SS. Resnick obviously favoring the wrist since the first game was just hoping that he wouldn’t hurt the team. “I was going to sit out the very same inning that G [Greco] asked to be pulled. Once that happened I just knew I had to suck it up and play through it”

Cobra Kai wound up hanging their heads in a run ruled 14-1 loss. Looking towards a possible break in next weeks matchup against the last place team The Unknowns, they would need for sure to sweep both games in order for a shot at the playoffs.