Editor’s note: The Rise, among other U.S. teams, have taken a bit of a beating on one particular message board that we won’t credit by naming here, suffice it to say that knowledgeable people in the game know that the Rise are a quality team and will be heard from come the ToC. The following is from Rise GM and pitcher Tom Vogel.
To those who have been inquiring.
The Rise Team have added 2 pickups for the ToC. From the Lancaster County Motors Team, catcher Ted Simes will be joining us. Ted played for the Rise at the Snapper Shoot-Out and also this past weekend in Allentown. He’s a very capable receiver and has some punch in his bat. (When he’s not breaking them. Ouch $$$$). And from the restricted Ontario pitchers list, Ben Blonde will be suiting up for the Rise. The last time I saw Ben pitch was with Norwich in Fargo. Gutsy lefty and he comes with good credentials. Ben will be with us for our last travel weekend July 14-16 in Lyons, PA. We look forward to what he brings to the circle.
As far as our team taking a flop at the ToC, you know nothing about us. OK, we didn’t hit last year and had a sub-par showing; check out previous ToC’s and post that. We don’t rest on our laurels and have made additions when needed, and our team measures up nicely to any of this years’ participants. We ‘Americans’ don’t make excuses; we come to play and in the end, win or lose you’ll know that we were in your face.
So, keep posting your predictions, berating the American teams, and general gibberish that we find so amusing. Maybe you can buy me a beer and we’ll talk about what a great game it is that we play. Won’t be hard to find me; I don’t hide behind a keyboard.
Tom Vogel
GM Rise Fastpitch Team