On Saturday we drove to Vilnius to match up against Vikingas. We were missing four of our starters; I was most worried about Mantas because it meant that we had no catcher, and old Marius (35 year old) had to do it. The Ukrainian pitcher was pitching for Vikingas, and it was a close game. We lost 5-3, though four of the Vikingas runs were unearned. And there’re was one brutal out call at the plate where our guy was clearly safe, ending a potential rally. In arguing over the call, Marius (the player called out) called the umpire a series [View Full Entry]

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More thoughts on baseball............ I have been thinking hard about baseball while I’ve been here. And about sports, why we play them, why they are important to us, and how they become important to us. And I think about how structured sport is in the US, even at the youth level (YMCA, Rainbow Soccer, Challenger, Little League, Pop Warner football…). Take little league baseball, for example. There is a clear structure for how it works. There is the coach. He is in charge of bringing the balls, helmets, gear, some bats….he is in charge of making sure the field is [View Full Entry]

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Interesting story from a few days ago...... One interesting topic of discussion that often comes up when I’m out having drinks with people here in Kaunas is the difficulty of getting to the US for Lithuanians. It is the same conversation that could be had in any number of countries involving applying for a visa into the US; we are a very difficult place to get to. Many Lithuanians have come to the US via a work visa, for anywhere from 2 to 4 months, but any longer is very difficult to come by. And often it becomes more difficult the [View Full Entry]

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I have been around and in more saunas in the past three weeks than I have ever been in my life. I don’t know if it is a Lithuanian thing, or a European thing, or I’ve just missed out on something because I’m me, but they keep taking me to saunas. “What are your plans today? Do you want to go to sauna?” is a common question asked of me by my host family. So far I have been to two ‘spas,’ but they just call them ‘saunas.’ Each one has had three different kinds of saunas—some are Finnish, some are [View Full Entry]

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So I finally figured it out, why my host brothers' room smells so familiar. It smells like Adam! Yep, that sweet-smelling boy that many of you know, and that I got the privilege of smelling on a daily basis for two out of my four years in college. It was really getting on my nerves not being able to figure it out.... and it is actually kind of comforting getting a wiff of Adam Hetland. every time I walk through Mendaugas' (host brother) room. You smell great, Adam. [View Full Entry]

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This has been a flurry of blogs, none of which have had much substance. But here is one of substance. Just an update of my plans. So this weekend are my final two games with the Kaunas Lituanica team, and then my pro ball career ends abrubtly (unless of course I return next year). But seriously, it is sad for it to be ending. It has been an incredible experience and I just appreciate so much getting to know the team, and the people who have taken care of me for the past month. On Monday I leave for Riga, Latvia, [View Full Entry]

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So this evening I went on my first ever blind date. And by blind, I mean that I didn't even know I was on a date until I got into the car and it was only I and a girl I was meeting for the first time. Those of you who know me know that I’m an extremely positive person (most of the time), so I’m not going to say that is was not a worthwhile experience. But it was awkward, and I was a bit frustrated with my host mother for arranging such a meeting. So here’s the scenario. Usually [View Full Entry]

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I am back in Kaunas, my Lithuanian home away from home. The bus ride from Prague to Kaunas was only about 20 hours this time, because luckily we managed to not get lost this time. We did, however, stop almost every hour for cigarette breaks and such. I have never played on a sports team that smoked so much. So all of this is very undramatic (is that a word?) since I have been unable to get pics up yet. But bear with me. One story to tell you. In my eyes, the tournament was a success even though we only [View Full Entry]

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So the unthinkable has happened. The Kaunas Lituanica baseball team, fresh from Lithuania, has made it into the semifinals of the european baseball championships. We beat the Czech team on Thursday, 10-1. This evening will be the semifinals, against Holland. Their team has many players who played in the minor leagues, and a few from the World Baseball Classic. They are very good, everybody says they will win the tournament. It is hard to believe that Lithuania is now one of the top teams in Europe!! I had planned to include some pictures in this entry, but the computer does not [View Full Entry]

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I never thought I would do this, but here it is. I am entering the world of blogging, ever so reluctantly. I am writing from Prague, where I am currently representing the Kaunas Lituanica baseball team in the European Cupwinners' Cup Baseball competition. Basically, it is one of two European Baseball Championships held every summer. I came here with the Lithuanian team, along with two other Americans, on a bus crammed full with 30 people, a twenty-four hour ride from Kaunas, Lithuania, to Prague, Czech Republic. The story of this Lithuanian team at this tournament is the classic story [View Full Entry]

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