danduquette's blog

Pitching,Pitching, Pitching

Everyone once in a while something comes along which explains things clearly and concisely and for pitching that times is now. For the past several years I have been searching for a partner at www.duquettesports.com to teach pitching, which is probably the least understood and most valuable component of any game. Until now I couldn't find the right fit but all that has changed with the advent of www.3psports.com.

When Bob Quinn was GM of the Cincinnati Reds they won the World Series with Norm Charlton, Rob Dibble and Randy Myers in the bullpen. When I asked Bob how he did it he told me that his father who used to be GM of the Braves always told him "Son it is a game of defense; and the first line of defense is on the mound." What Bob's Dad didn't tell him was how to quantify the defense which today is done masterfully and neatly with numbers.

On Sunday, January 10 at 10:00 p.m. ET I reccomend you tune into MLB Network to watch the documentary film called Holy Land Hard Ball.

Boston College graduates 96% of its student athletes yet maintains a top quality competitive athletic program whose football team annually competes in bowl games and its basketball team regularly makes the NCAA tournament. If you want to hear the secret to their success, listen to the first 10 minutes of this dissertation by BC AD Gene Defilippo. He will tell you in simple terms how the school combines Ethics with quality Athletics and graduates Champions who understand the Jesuit mission to give back to their community.

At noon today at Yankee Stadium next to the Babe Ruth Bat a group of friends of Tony Ferrara will gather to remember a man and pay tribute to his life which ended as we know it on Thursday after 84 glorious years. Ferrara is truly an ambassador for the game of baseball and he touched people on all levels of the game at their core with his heart.

In 2006 at the Dan Duquette Sports Academy we held the first ever tryout for a fledgling professional baseball league in Israel which was launched in 2007. We also held tryouts around the world in Los Angeles California, Miami, Florida, Dominican Republic and Israel. Apparently overlooked in tryouts for the league was a player who was right there under our own eyes for many of the talent sessions.....our PR consultant, the ubiquitous Marty Appel, former PR director of the New York Yankees.

Congratulations to the 2009 Lord Jeffs for an undefeated season, a NESCAC championship and a thrilling victory over Williams. We're incredibly proud of our team and their 8-0 record.
On Saturday November 14th the Amherst College football team defeated Williams College 26 to 21 on Weston Field in Williamstown MA. It was the first time since 1984 that the Lord Jeffs closed a football season with a perfect record and it was the first time that Head Coach EJ Mills got his team through an unblemished season. Said Mills,

Every year after Thanksgiving dinner we draw names for holiday gifts for the kids. We consider everything that most families do like toys, games, clothes, clothes, clothes and the latest electronics gadgets and video games. (ugh!) Each holiday season, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and god parents are all faced with the hard decision of what gifts to give children. This year, though, as part of your holiday gift list, I urge you to think a bit outside the box and consider to give the Gift of Camp.

After the final out of the World Series Wednesday night, George Steinbrenner's son Hal, Managing Partner of the New York Yankees, stepped to the podium and said "Dad, I know you're home watching with mom. This one's for you."

With his team's next win on the gridiron, Acton Boxborough High School's Bill Maver will have 200. The first 3 wins were for his hometown Quincy, MA: the last 196 for AB. Football in Acton MA is part of the fabric of the community and has been in its heyday for the past 15 years of Maver's 23 leading the High School.

7 Keys to the World Series

I believe this years World Series is going to be the most entertaining series of the last several years simply because it has the
most talented teams: the Yankees and the Phillies. The exciting thing is they matchup to each other like a mirror image.

Best Slugger Arod vs Howard
Best SS Jeter vs Rollins

Best 2B Cano vs. Utley
Best LHP & SP Sabbathia vs. Lee
Best Closer Rivera vs. Lidge

It’s amazing how swiftly and unpredictably things can turn around in this crazy game. In February, Alex Rodriguez was a pariah being fitted for sackcloth and doused with ashes. In October, he is verging on sainthood.
Clark Booth 10/16/09 Pilot

In the world of professional sports oftentimes we champion individual players but in towns and cities across America there are heroes on the sidelines working every day in youth sports to help kids learn life skills and to grow up. In my hometown Dalton Mass, we lost the school's athletic director this week, Robert "Boog " Powell, who was a natural coach of youth sports teams since he was in the 8th grade,a span of 40 plus years.

If you are a baseball fan you know we are coming up on the best week of the season. When the playoffs start and you can follow the top 8 MLB teams and watch 2, sometimes 3 games a day, it's awesome. Besides alot of late nights, bleary eyes,terrific drama and artistry, here is a quick take on what I think you can expect this fall.....

AL Yanks and Red Sox