The Dawgs is a Men's Fastpitch Softball team based in the center of Israel. We play in the framework of the ISA (see their link in our Links page). We take ages 16 and up, and play during the week, not on Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath), at Kibbutz Gezer and Baptist Village in Petach Tikva.

For those of you new to the sport, softball is similar to baseball, but a lot easier to play. Israel softball and baseball are fast becoming popular in the country.

Sign in to our Guestbook, we've got a whole bunch of teams already there . . .

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äãåâæ äéà ÷áåöú ñåôèáåì ùì âáøéí îîøëæ äàøõ. àðçðå îùç÷éí áîñâøú ääúàçãåú äñåôèáåì ìéùøàì. äîùç÷éí ùìðå äéðí áòé÷ø á÷éáåõ âæø åáëôø äáôèéñèéí áôúç ú÷åä.

ñåôèáåì äåà ñôåøè ãåîä ìáééñáåì, àáì äøáä éåúø ÷ì ìùç÷, åòãééï ëéó ìà ðåøîìé.

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In a season that started out poorly for the Dawgs, with the loss of fireballer Aron Kurz to greener pastures outside the country, the Dawgs were again in the market for an accurate fast pitcher. With Michael Moronov promising, and improving, but still wild after a couple of innings, and Shmuel Goldstein not quite having "it" back, the Dawgs were faced with an uphill battle.

The Dawggies nevertheless came back on May 13 at Kibbutz Gezer and won their first game of 2008 against the Shimshon Hi-Tech team, 12-11 in extra innings.

To make a long story short, Shmuel Goldstein came back with his windmill pitching, closing down the Shimshon bats after a shaky first inning in which they scored 6 runs. Backed by inspired defense (especially a clutch play by Mamma at short), the rest of the Dawggies responded to Shmulik's presence on the mound, and their defensive play was top notch.

 In the extra inning, Robert Even showed extreme cool at bat, with a single that pushed Dani Machlis forward, and a stolen base. Newcomer Yaakov Mandel then hit a sacrifice grounder that scored Machlis and put Robert at third, tieing the game at 11. Robert, in his haste, tried to stretch the play to a game-winning run, but was caught in a rundown. Fortunately for us, Shimshon couldn't handle it and Robert was left safe at third. Shimshon's Gadi Bossin then pitched a wild and high one, and Robert scored on the pitch, winning the game for the Dawgs.

Playing tonight was: Shmuel (P), Shaul Daya (1B), David Sommer (2B), Mamma Maor (SS), Robert Even (3B), Jeff Weiner (C), Dani Machlis (LF), Yaakov Mandel (CF), and Natan Mandel (RF). 

Jeff was solid behind the plate, and Natan Mandel was tonight's manager.  

Dawg players Dudu Zozin and Shmuel Goldstein played in the David Lelchook memorial game this past Friday, August 3, 2007.

See the following link for an article from the Jerusalem Post:  Click here.  

But this time, Ha-Aretz did a better job: Click here.

A more detailed and accurate account is below, from the game's organizer, Gadi Bossin:

It was advertised as the Dave Lelchook Memorial Softball Game to be played at Kibbutz Shomrat. The organizers of the event invited teams in the Israel Softball Association (ISA) league to send one or two or three players each to the game. The hope was that there would be enough ballplayers to play the game.

The organizers also hoped that perhaps two dozen spectators might show up. They got the word out through the newspapers and on the Web.

Friday, August 3, the day of the game, 42 players, coaches and umpires arrived in uniform ready to play and officiate. Ron Blumenthal made the trip the length of Israel from Eilat. A crowd of more than 100 was on hand, including Steve Goldman, onetime Adamit-Shomrat playing coach, all the way from New York City. Dave's mother Doris, sister Judy, brother Alex, and nephew Noah, all from Boston, and Estie Lelchook and daughters Yael and Michal of Kibbutz Saar were guests of honor.

There were moving opening and memorial ceremonies. There was music. Free ice cream and drinks were provided. There was a family atmosphere alongside the tribute to Dave Lelchook and his family.

Dave, a catcher on Israel's national softball team in the 1989 Maccabiah Games, was killed by a Katyusha rocket on a pathway just outside his Kibbutz Saar home during last summer's Second Lebanon War.

Play-by-play announcers took turns calling the games in English, Hebrew and Spanish.

That's right, I said the games, with the accent on the plural "s." The number of players who came to play allowed for a quick realignment from a single game into a three-team mini-tournament. Players from different league teams combined to form the three tournament teams.

The managers of the teams were Ed Friedman and Yehuda Beinin, two of the founders of the ISA thirty years ago, and Rabbi Bob Samuels, a veteran softball league stalwart and an elected member of the Brandeis University Sports Hall of Fame. Each of the managers played in the games. All three reached base, Beinin and Samuels on solid base hits, and Friedman with his hustle causing a throwing error.

An outstanding defensive performance was turned in by Shmuel Goldstein of The Dawgs who made two half-diving, half-sliding game-saving catches in right field for Team Ed. Ron Blumenthal of Eilat Flames and Roni Bossin of the Tel Aviv Tigers alternated in left field for Team Bob. Both made fine running catches as if they were in mid-season form and not on a mid-summer break from softball. Tim Cummings of the Galil Twisters and Tal Beinin of the Israel Women's National Team combined on a shortstop to catcher throw and tag for a bang-bang put out for Team Yehuda. Beinin had just returned from the national team's successful appearance in the European Tournament in Croatia.

Cummings and Roberto Popowski (Cerveceros/Team Bob) had the tournament's key hits, each with a 2-RBI single, and Natan Tamari (Twisters/Team Yehuda) smashed a run-scoring double.

Ami Baran (Penticon/Team Ed), Bill Arscott (Twisters/Team Yehuda) and Shalom Menora (Shimshon Hi-Tech/Team Bob) sparkled in the innings they pitched, as did Gadi Bossin (Shimshon/Team Bob) and Yosi Ajzenwaser (Cerveceros/Team Yehuda) and Hezi Ganz (Cerveceros/Team Ed) in their innings. Ganz struck out the final batter of the tournament to give Team Ed the tournament championship.

The scores of the three abbreviated games: Team Ed 4-3 over Team Yehuda; Team Yehuda 1-0 versus Team Bob; 1-1 between Team Bob and Team Ed in the final game. Team Ed captured the tournament title with one win and one tie. Team Yehuda finished second with one win and one loss. Team Bob was third with one loss and one tie.

Calling the games were ISA umpires Howie Litz, Bob Kessler, Shmuel Goldstein, Brian Aron and Goose Gillett.

Gillett, of the ISA executive, presented the Lelchook family with two balls signed by the players. Gadi Bossin presented memorial tournament souvenir certificates to the family.

Rabbi Shimon Gorelik of Nahariya, a personal friend of Dave's, spoke and then chanted El Maleh Rachamim.

Jonathan Friedland, US Consul in Haifa, also addressed the gathering, as did Rabbi Bob Samuels and Alex Lelchook, Dave's brother.

Bill Arscott, Dave's pitcher and battery mate on the Shomrat Cubs during the 1980s and 1990s, shared his thoughts and feelings one year after: "In a way, this gentle giant is immortal to me. A day doesn't go by when I don't hear his voice in my head. I miss my catcher. I miss my friend. I miss my brother. I miss our Dave."

Photo below shows "Team Ed" in the game, including (right to left) Dawg players Dudu Zozin, Shmuel Goldstein, batboy Yona Goldstein, former Dawg Yechezkel Ganz, and (fourth from left) former Dawg Leandro Leon.  

The season is well under way, but as usual, there have been a few rain-outs. See the Games links for game summaries, and an up-to-date schedule.

Roster:

Lowell Blackman
Danny Epstein (sometimes)
Robert Even
Ken Goldstein
Shmuel Goldstein
Yan Kaminer
Aharon Kurz
Dani Machlis
Natan Mandel
Yigal Rozval
David Sommer
Jeff Weiner
Dudu Zozin

Sometimes:

Michael Moronov
Daniel Bar-Am
Aharon Goldstein
Nissim Eliezer

 In the photo: Yigal, Dudu, Aron, Yan, Danny Epstein, Dani Machlis,
Jeff, Shmuel, Robert, Lowell

"It always starts with pitching. The team looks so much better when you get good pitching."

Yankees Shortstop Alex Rodriguez

"I just used my experience and threw strikes and got them swinging."

Mets Pitcher Pedro Martinez

Thursday, October 19
Dawgs Clean 'em up
A simple, but elegant video of Aron Kurz pitching against the Twisters on Oct 4, 2006. A good drop ball for a called strike, a high and outside ball, then another drop that is hit to second baseman David Sommer, who makes the play to Lowell Blackman at first to end the game. Video taken by Dawggie Yigal Rozval (800K, click on icon to view)
Three Pitches Aron Kurz by Shmuel

Wednesday, September 20
Weird Walla Video | ñøè îåæø îååàìä, îàú éåòã àìôøå
You know, when Israelis don't know something, they tend to make fun of it. Think it's weird. And that's weird. But hey, who's complaining? We've got a cute, funsy video from Walla, which is an Israeli site that is sorta kinda like the Detroit Free Press. They've got fun stuff, and off-beat stuff. Take a look at the video, which stars their host, Yoad Alperon, with the ISA's Goose Gillete, and our own Shmuel Goldstein, with the famous Dawg call, immortalized by the late, great, Jon Dym, z"l. It was taken at the Dawg-Tigers game of September 14, 2006 at Baptist Village. We also see glimpses of the Tigers catcher, as well as Dawg pitcher Aron Kurz, and briefly, Dawg firstbaseman Jeff Weiner.

It's in Hebrew, but if you don't understand Hebrew, just look at the pix, they are fun as well.

Click on this link.

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ñåó-ñåó éù îäùäåà áòáøéú ëàï. ìîøåú ùæä áà îååàìä, ìà îåëø ëàúø øöéðé, àáì àéëôè ìîéùäå? ìà àéëôè ìé.
áñøè, ëåëáéí âåñ â'éìè, åùîåàì âåìãùèééï ùìðå. øåàéí âí ä÷ö'ø ùì äèééâøñ åâí äôéö'ø ùì äãåâæ, àäøåï ÷åøõ. öåìí áîùç÷ áéï äãåâæ ìáéï äèééâøæ, î14 áñôèîáø, 2006, áëôø äáôèéñèéí.

ä÷ì÷ ëàï

Tuesday, September 5
Fall Season, 2006
Fall Season has started. We had a kinda weird first game against Shimshon (the Beit Shemesh boys). An experimental game, we learned several things. We'll not go into detail here, see the Games link.

Bottom line: Dawgs are continuing without the players who went to the Brewers.

Wednesday, June 14
ISA Undergoing Expansion
The Israel Softball Association is undergoing an expansion for Fall, 2006, and if everything goes well, for the regular season of 2007.

The new team will consist of some Dawgs: Yechezkel Ganz, Alberto Tascher, Leandro Leon, and Julio Mirabel. You guessed it, it will be a "Hispanic" team. And Zeke informs this webmaster that he's got a whole bunch of other "Cubans" as well.

The new team will be called The Brewers, but in Spanish: Los Cervaceros. See their new website at this link.

This is good news for the ISA, if it works (and all indications are that it should). And it could be good news for the Dawgs, as that means that we have a few openings, especially for skilled catcher(s) and pitcher(s).

Interested parties, send an email to: shmuel_goldstein@yahoo.com

Zeke pitches against TTT, Mar 20, 2006 (photo: D.Machlis)

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Saturday, June 17
Dawgs Play .467 Ball
After their recent victory against Eilat, the Dawgs are 7 and 8, a position that they haven't been in since, well, since before they were puppies. For more details, see the Games link. See also a write-up in the Jerusalem Post here.

In the photo above (click to enlarge), we have Zeke pitching against TTT's Jake Miller (Mar 20, 2006 @ BV), with TTT's Micah Winston the runner on second. Alberto Tascher is behind the plate for the Dawgs, and we also see Julio Mirabel at short, and Shmuel Goldstein way back in center. Finally, Adriana Luchansky is plate umpire, and Goose Gillette field umpire.

Battery mates Zeke and Alberto (photo: S.Goldstein)

Sunday, May 14
Strong Battery for Good Performance
The Dawgs are blessed this year with a strong battery in the form of Yechezkel (Zeke) Ganz on the mound and Alberto Tascher behind the plate. Bueno trabajo amigos !!

Alberto got married on May 5 to Maya. We wish them mazal tov and all the best.

(move mouse over photo below to change)


(photo: D.Machlis)




Sunday, May 21
New Feature: Dawggie Quiz of the Week
Each week, during the season (bli neder), we will publish a Dawg quiz. It is a multiple choice quiz (aka "American Test" as they call it here in Israel).

The first person to send in the correct response will receive a special prize: A seat of honor in the Dawg dugout for the upcoming game.

OK, here goes:

Look closely at the photo below, and choose the correct description of what is going on:

1. Jeff Weiner is in the middle of a sneeze, due to residue from nearby fireworks
   
2. Jeff Weiner just laughed at one of Shmuel's really really dumb jokes
   
3. That's not Jeff Weiner at all, it's his identical twin
   
4. Jeff Weiner is trying to catch a pop fly
   
5. Jeff Weiner is practicing to be chazzan for Yom Kippur
   
6. None of the above
   

Send in your replies to the webmaster.

What IS this man doing? (photo: D.Machlis)

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Wednesday, May 24
Alberto hits cameraman (almost)
Look at these video clips (click on the links). But watch your head, why dontcha?

First Hit

Second Hit


Wednesday, May 24
Coaching Corner: Double Steal
Look at this video from Fall 2005. This is an excellent example of a double steal.
Double Steal against TTT
(file size is 1.5MB, so be patient while it downloads)

The double steal works like this:

1. R1 (on 1st), and R3 (on 3rd), less than two outs, and a run is important, and might make the difference in the game.
   
   
2. On the pitch, R1 takes off for second base, and R3 takes a few steps off third. The batter either swings and misses, fake bunts, or doesn't swing at all. The catcher (we hope) then throws the ball to second, and they either get R1 or not. If he gets him, R1 is a sacrifice, if not, then all's the better.
   
   
3. As soon as the catcher makes the throw, R3 takes off for home. More often than not, he scores, and the fact that R1 might be out on the steal attempt is a price that the team is willing to pay for getting the run.
   

You don't see this too often in baseball, because the baseline there is 90ft, as opposed to 60ft, the ball is smaller and eaiser to throw. So it is harder to run and beat a baseball throw. But in fastpitch, this is almost standard order of procedure in a 1st-and-third situation.

Got it?

Now, the defence against the double steal:

1. The fielding team sees the situation and decides to defend against the double steal.
   
   
2. Optional: The pitcher can throw a normal fastball, or a pitch-out.
   
   
3. As a response to R1 leaving 1st, the catcher throws the ball to the shortstop or the secondbaseman, who is playing in, much too far from second to make the tag. Ocassionally, the throw can be made to the pitcher.
   
   
4. This throw fools (they hope) R3 into running for home, but the fielder who caught the ball is much closer to home, and immediately fires one to the catcher, who has plenty of time to make the tag on R3.
   
   
5. Thus the defense allows R1 to steal, but they make an out, and prevent a run from scoring.
   

This is what TTT tried to do in the video, but the catcher threw a bit too high, letting Alberto steal with impunity and allowing Shmuel to score. When they finally did make the throw back to the plate, they once again threw high, letting Alberto advance to third.

Which is why a double steal is generally a good idea for the offense - there are many opportunities for the defense to screw it up. In fact, this writer has seen instances where the defense just ignore the runner stealing second.

Tuesday, May 23
Who is that Dawggie in the Photo?

Leandro Leon, Apr. 2006 (photo: S.Goldstein)

Recent pix of Dawggies at play (Spring, 2006):



(above) Julio Mirabel comes into third, coached by Lowell Blackman.
That's TTT's Louie Miller at third base (photo: D. Machlis)



Jeff Weiner (photo:S.Goldstein)

Natan Mandel, Apr 2006 (photo: S. Goldstein)

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Friday, February 24
Second Dawg Training & Start of 2006 Season
àéîåï ä÷áåöúé äéçéã äìê áñãø âîåø òí çáøä îàã øöéðééí, úçú äðäìúå ùì éçæ÷àì âðõ

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Los uniquos - ejercicios generales del equipo de los Dawgs @ BV, mui bien   
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Our one-and-only team practice went pretty well, under the capable managemnent of Yechezkel Ganz. Attending were:

Shmuel
David Sommer
Jeff Weiner
Natan Mandel
Leandro Leon
Zeke
Dani Machlis
Alberto Tacher

Our first game is this Sunday, March 5, 9 PM at BV against the Tel Aviv team, formerly "Magic Homes" (Ed Freeman's team).

See updated Roster & Games schedule at the links on the left.

Friday, February 24
Roster Changes, 2006
Veterans returning:

Lowell Blackman
Yoav Eliahu
Yechezkel Gantz
Shmuel Goldstein
Dani Machlis
Natan Mandel
Michael Moronov
Yigal Rozval
David Sommer

New members joining us:
Alberto Tascher (joined Fall '05)
Jeff Weiner
Leandro Leon
Julio Mirabel
Stas Orgayevsky

DL:
Avi Davilla, who was hurt in a motorcycle accident in the fall. Get well soon, and come back and give 'em hell !!
Robert Even

Leaving us this year:
Yossi Glickman (to the Eilat team)
Yaniv Gohary (to the Eilat team)
Danny Epstein (on our "B" list)
Yosef Gittler (on our "B" list)
Eli Krantman (wants to be a doctor)
Albert Sarkovitz (to the IDF officer's training course)


Friday, February 17
First Dawg Training for 2006
àéîåï çáèåú áéåí ùìéùé, 22.02.06, áéï äùòåú 20:00 òã 22:00
ðà ìàùø äùúúôåúê.

âí ðãáø ùí òì äàéîåï äáà åëîå ëï òì äìå"æ ùì äòåðä
àðé àùìç àñ.àî.àñ áìé ðãø òã îåöàé ùáú àåìé éåí øàùåï
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Ejercios de batear @ BV ,Martes de la noche, 22.02.06, en la hora 20:00 hasta 22:00   
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The weather this week is going to be better, according to the forecast.

Sooo, we are gonna do a batting practice at BV, Tuesday, Feb 22, from 8 PM to 10 PM. Tell me or Lowell what time you are going to come so we can stagger it and not have too many people waiting around.

The BV field is NOT playable, and won't be by Tuesday. So, we'll use some of the time to get our team organized, and decide on when and where the next real practice will be.


Spring Season 2006
It's just around the corner, though you'd never believe it.

Umpiring clinic starts Jan 22, and continues for 5 Sundays after that. 7 PM at BV.

Big news: The ISA has decided to change the format of play a bit. That is, the league will be divided into two divisions, A and B, by skill level. Each team will play each team in its own division three times, and will play each team in the other division once. This way, we will have more competitive games.

For the Dawgs, this is great news, as we don't have to play teams that are not at our level as much.

Division teams:

A: Penticon, Tigers, ZionTours, Dimona
B: Dawgs, Tri-United, Shomrat TTT, Eilat, Magic Homes

Jon Dym, z"l
After being diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor (glio-blastoma multiforme), and after a struggle for almost ...

Fall Season 2005
See the Games link for a full schedule.

Dawg Shmuel Goldstein calls games at the 17th Maccabiah
Dawg pitcher and outfielder Shmuel Goldstein called several of the softball games at the 17th Maccabiah this July, ...

Dawgs Finish Spring 2005 with 4 wins, and 10 losses
There are some good spots, some tough spots and some ugly spots.

The good spots are obviously, our three ...

Albert Makes Heads-Up Out
Check this video. Penticon batter hits to Albert at short, who tags out the runner going to third for the third out of the inning (look closely at the left edge of the screen). Click on the icon, and wait for the 500K file to download. Thanks to Yigal for the video clip.


Albert makes an out by Shmuel

Danny Epstein scores a run against Eilat
A bright spot in an otherwise weird game. This is an animated GIF, so there is no sound. Thanks to Yigal for the video clip.

Zeke Triples
In a recent game, Zeke hits a strong one to the outfield, netting him a triple.

view full size

Zeke Triples by Shmuel

Dawgs recover from TU loss with a win over MH
After our Passover break, the Dawggies came back barking, and topped Magic Homes for the second time this season, 13 to 8.

Star of this game was Avi Davilla, no question about it. For more, see the Games link.

But see (and listen to) this clip of Dani Machlis hitting a single: