Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steven Brault is in New Zealand holding coaching sessions for young kiwi baseball players
After their introduction to the Australian Baseball League, the Auckland Tuatara might be finding solace in the wise words of Hannah Montana.
"Everybody makes mistakes, everybody has those days."
Some sketchy work in the infield cost the Tuatara in a major way in their first ever outing in the ABL, falling 8-4 against the Perth Heat in the early hours of Saturday morning (NZ time).
Former Major League Baseball pitcher Josh Collmenter pitched well, but got stuck with a loss next to his name - getting no help from his defence. Collmenter pitched 4.2 inning in the match, during which the Heat scored five runs - four were the result of fielding errors.
Shortstop Tsai I-Hsuan committed two errors in the field, while second baseman Luke Hansen and first baseman Guiyuan Xu committed one a piece. Xu, a prospect in the minor league system of the Baltimore Orioles, did make up for his fielding error with bat in hand - driving in three of the team's four runs.
Tuatara manager Steve Mintz has said from the outset that the team will need to settle in to the league, and that proved true in their opening match.
Auckland Tuatara manager Steve Mintz said opening day jitters were costly for his side. Photo / Photosport
"We were a little jittery," Mintz admitted after the loss in their opening game. "We were jumpy, we were swinging at some bad pitches and it took us a little while to get into it.
"Understandably, it's the first game, everybody's exciting and wanting to do this, wanting to do more than they can possibly do. We kind of expected it, and now we've addressed it and we're going to continue to work.
"We've got to keep getting better and we've got to cut out those mistakes. That's a ball game we should have won."
The Tuatara were always going to be short-handed heading into the series in Perth, which concludes on Sunday night, with a number of import player yet to join the team - one of who is Houston Astros infield prospect Nick Tanielu who has the skill and potential to be an instant game changer.
While being short-handed allows a few more local players to have the opportunity to get some game time, they're not likely to produce the best performance you'll see from them this season.
There were plenty of encouraging signs from the Auckland outfit, highlighted by the all around play of outfielder Eric Jenkins.
Eric Jenkins was aggressive at the plate in the Auckland Tuatara's ABL debut. Photo / Photosport
The American, who joined the Tuatara by way of the Texas Rangers organisation, was billed by Mintz as a speedy kid with a big bat when it was revealed he would be joining the team. He proved that with a stolen base, an aggressive approach at the top of the batting line up and some solid defence in the outfield.
The pitching performance was streets ahead of where the side were a week ago in their preseason hit out against the Brisbane Bandits. Using four different pitchers, the Tuatara only allowed two walks while striking out five batters.
"We've just got to clean up some areas, keep swinging the bat like we're swinging the bat, and when they hit us the ball we've got to catch it and throw it."
