High School Baseball- CSAT versus Medina

Greg Twarozek

Event driven assignment                                            

                                                            CSAT versus Medina

                        A no- hitter is seen as a special feat.  Usually it is something that doesn’t happen every day. Like a perfect game it is a goal that seems almost impossible to reach. That doesn’t mean a team cannot come close to doing it. A no hitter can be something great for one team and for the other team it may be the worst thing in the world. The CSAT Varsity baseball team was close to being the victim of it on Wednesday afternoon.

                        Baseball is a game that can be played in perfect harmony. Some days you have it and some days you don’t. Then there are days where one team is clicking on all cylinders and the other team looks as if they didn’t want to be there. The conference game on Wednesday afternoon between the Medina Mustangs and CSAT Eagles held that to be true. It was a game that started off on the right foot for the Eagles but after the first inning it all went downhill. CSAT struggled mightily in their nine to one loss to Medina on Wednesday.

            For the Eagles it was a very rough day on offense and a forgetful one at that. The Eagles had one hit and only three baserunners for the entire game. Medina’s pitching completely shut them down for seven innings. CSAT scored one run in the first on two walks and an error and they held the lead for an instant. Then after the inning was over CSAT could not solve the riddle that was Matt Reimer, a senior and the starting pitcher for Medina. Reimer mowed down the Eagles inning by inning on his way to a complete game one hit, one run masterpiece.

After walking the first two batters of the game Reimer settled down into a grove that made him almost unhittable. The Eagles only had one baserunner after the first. Reimer’s no hit bid was broken up in the fifth inning by a CSAT single and after that it was all she wrote. Reimer had eight strikeouts and two walks. Reimer was one of the two Medina players with a multi - hit game. The other was eighth grader Isiah Rhim who had two hits in four at bats including a three run double in the seventh and final inning which put away the Eagles for good.

The Mustang bats put on an offensive show accounting for nine runs on seven hits. Medina had a big fourth inning scoring four runs on three hits. They later added to that total with two in the fifth and three in the seventh. Medina dominated the game with good pitching and timely hitting leaving the Eagles with their first loss of the year at home.

CSAT was coming off of a four to three win earlier this week on Monday versus Royalton Hartland in a game where they stormed back from a three to nothing deficit. Medina came into the game on a hot streak of their own beating Albion on Monday nine to one. With the loss the Charter School for Applied Technologies moved to one and one while Medina moved to four and two on the year. Medina will play Barker at home on Friday and CSAT will do the same versus Albion.

CSAT is coming off of a rough season last year but after talking with sophomore left fielder Zack Kiblin and senior Peter Grunzweig, the optimism for this year’s team is very high. Peter who is a first basemen and a pitcher, has played on the team for four years. He’s excited for the season as he believes the Eagles will accomplish a lot when it’s all said and done. “I think this team will be really good.” said Grunzweig. Kiblin said he is looking forward to his first year with the team and he believes they can be something special. “We have all the pieces, now it’s time to just win games.”

Peter and Zack are not just baseball players, both play basketball and Peter is currently on the soccer team. Zach started playing at a young age and he likes it more than basketball because in the end “baseball is just easier.” Peter and Zack have baseball in their blood and both intend to play at the next level. “I want to go as far as I can possibly go.” said Kiblin. Peter said he would “no doubt” try to play at the college level because baseball has always been his favorite sport. Peter has played his entire life and said “Baseball is the best sport I have ever played it’s by far the most fun. I started playing when I was little and it was because I had nothing else to do.”

           

           

            

Opinionated Piece

Greg Twarozek

Opinionated Piece

                                                Steroid Use in the MLB

            We all know what happened to Alex Rodriguez years ago. Does Barry Bonds ring a bell? It’s pretty hard to forget Mark McGwire. The Steroid Era would change Baseball forever. Major League Baseball is hyped up for all the wrong reasons.

            Baseball is a sport that has arguably produced some of the greatest superstars of all time. It is a sport that has captured some heroic feats and athletes all over the world have left their mark on the game. From Mark McGwire to Sammy Sosa and all the way to Barry Bonds in the late 2000’s, there were plenty of brand names that would make baseball into America’s pastime. Unfortunately, these players were just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Steroid era. Players that were once perceived as role models, turned out to be cheaters whose legacies will forever be tarnished.

            The “Steroid Era continues to hang over the MLB” was an article written by Steve Keating that explains the era and how it impacted professional sports. He said it began back in the 1990’s and it continued into the early 2000’s. Keating says that 13 players were found as cheaters in the MLB, from past All-stars to MVP’s. The article which explains the era and the incidents of doping in the history of the MLB showed that no good deed goes unpunished. The MLB needs to do a better job with its own drug testing.  Keating said that if the process is fixed to rid athletes of doping, then suspensions will decrease and the respect for the game will only increase.

One of the things mentioned was Senator George Mitchell and how he was brought in to do a report on the athletes like Rodriquez, and Barry Bonds. The investigation led to a 20 month, 409 page document known as the “Mitchell Report” which identified 89 players, including Roger Clemens as steroid users. Selig said it was “a call to action” and he vowed to clean up baseball but years later more doping scandals occurred. Keating stated names in the article like Manny Ramirez who was found guilty in 2011, but retired before he got suspended and current players like Ryan Braun and Melky Cabrera were each suspended 50 games as a result of the Biogenesis investigation. The era pushed athletes to the brink and it was an issue that had to be dealt with. Near the end of Keating’s article MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said “Major League Baseball is proud of the enormous progress we have made and we look forward to working with players to make the penalties for violations of the Drug Program even more stringent and a stronger deterrent.”

Stephen Schwartz, who is a professor in the sociology and natural sciences department at Buffalo State College said he is against steroid use and that it’s very dangerous. “While steroids are legal, if provided by a doctor they are too big of a risk in the game of baseball.” He said it’s when steroids are abused, that they become illegal. Schwartz said using these drugs is only setting a bad example for kids. “It’s all about the win at all costs mentality for some of these athletes, and a lot of the times, it’s the parent’s problem.” I asked Schwartz about the health risks of steroids and he said “Athletes use steroids to gain an edge they are willing to sacrifice their bodies, not realizing the consequences that lie ahead.”

Joel Reed, who is the athletic director for the Charter High School for Applied Technologies, said “Steroids bring out the worst in people.” He said steroid use starts in the lower levels of baseball like the minors and it leads up the major leagues. When asked if they should be legal, Reed said “No, because no kind of accomplishment would be genuine.” He later added that “You can’t choose a professional athlete as a role model anymore.” Steroids are a documented health risk, and when I asked him about the athlete’s decision to use them he said “Many athletes have a certain level of anxiety that makes them want to be better. None of them believe they will ever get caught, and as long as they have a successful career, they don’t care about the long term health effects.”

So take me out to the ballgame, buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks. Root, root, root for the home team, if they don’t win it’s a shame. The last line of one of our favorite songs has taken on a new meaning with the steroid controversy.

Personality profile

Greg Twarozek                                                                                               Personality Profile

                                                            “Mr. B”

            Chris Burzynski may seem like your average every day person, but in my eyes he is so much more. Burzynski, is 36 years old, married, has 2 dogs and teaches Physical Education and Health at the Charter School for Applied Technologies. “Mr. B” as he is addressed during the school day has taught 14 years, attended West Seneca East High School and then earned his degree at Canisius College. Burzynski spent much of his high school career playing 3 different sports, Hockey, Football and Lacrosse.

He accomplished numerous feats on the athletic field during his school days, including being an alternate for the Olympic Games as a power lifter and a weightlifting champion in Buffalo by becoming the first man to lift a 400 pound bar, which put him in the Buffalo Weightlifting Hall of Fame. He distinguished himself as a 4 time gold medalist in the Empire State games, “It’s something you watch on TV as a little kid and you dream of doing it someday,” Burzynski said on becoming a gold medalist. Even though his career in athletics is done, he still remains competitive in his free time while driving his race car.

            Chris’ most memorable sports moment though came in his sophomore year of high school.  He was on the Junior Varsity team for West Seneca East hockey and they were playing St. Francis in the Championship game. The game was tied 1-1 heading into overtime. Then minutes after the period started, Chris scored the game winning goal to help his team win the game 2-1 and the State Championship. He said it was really memorable because if he didn’t score that goal, “No one would have remembered us and everything we accomplished that year.”

            I asked him a few questions about the issue of steroids in sports and whether or not he has ever come into contact with anyone who has used them. He told me that he came in contact with those people but didn’t know them personally but the way they acted was clearly different than that of a normal person. “I saw some of the guys who were on them, they look pretty freakish.” said Burzynski. He told me that as a pro athlete, he can understand why the athletes do it, to increase their money intake but he said there is always the “risk vs reward” factor. His views on steroid use are pretty clear “When you see professional athletes using them, you can understand why drug use in sports is frowned upon.”

Burzynski stated that athletes using performance enhancing drugs should be suspended and punished because they are sending the wrong kind of signals to our younger generation. Chris said much controversy surrounds the use of PED’s with how many professional athletes get paid in the United States, that it’s an incentive to do steroids. “In our country, PED’s are illegal and do some people get away with it, yes they do, do they make tons of money, yes they do, are they going to stop doing it, probably not.” Chris ended by saying that many young athletes “don’t realize the consequences at the time” but eventually their careers may be destroyed due to PED use. “People do not take into account the long term effects that steroids can have on the body, so when people are caught for doping, they are not just cheating themselves but their ruining the sport in the process.”

            After speaking with Mr. Burzynski, I spoke with Doug Whitehead, who is not only a work colleague but a close personal friend to Mr. B.  He explained his relationship with him and what’s it been like working with him over the past few years. “I knew him before I started teaching here at CSAT and the one thing I love about him is that he’s got a lot of heart, really cares about the kids and what he does.” Doug has learned a lot during his time teaching at CSAT with Burzynski and when asked about what makes Burzynski a good teacher he was quick to point out that Mr. B is a very enthusiastic instructor who holds the kids to high standards. “Mr. B is very successful because of his organizational skills not just with teaching but with coaching as well.”

Intro to my Blog

Greg Twarozek

Com 303

                                                            PED’s

            The central idea and goal of my blog is to inform students on the dangers of performance enhancing drugs and why they are negatively affecting all kinds of student athletes. I intend to discuss how PED’s have ruined many sports in America today and why using them is considered cheating. I want to include the numerous levels of sport at which PED’s have been used, which includes from high school to college and all the way up to the pros.  I want to discover which age groups are more prone to the use of PED’s, as well as asking numerous student athletes their views on steroids.

            I believe this topic fills a need because the use of PED’s has continuously gotten worse over the years in sports and I fill it’s an issue everyone would want to read about, including those who have and have not cheated. You should definitely consider reading this if you’re an athlete involved in any college or high school sport because you might want to hear of the dangers of PED use and how these drugs can ruin your body and for some athletes, their entire career.

Steroid Use on the Rise: As Baseball Season Begins

Spring is near and for many athletes around the country, that means the start of another high school baseball season.

Unfortunately though these athletes are willing to take some health risks in the process. Many high school players are turning to steroids to help them prepare for the physical and mental aspects of another long year on the diamond.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/high-school-athletes-turning-to-steroids/