FL BOMBERS POST ABOUT PG

I see Perfect Game events as being about getting kids exposure for the next level. This team has nine position players. Their agenda is obviously different. I'll bet if most teams went to East Cobb and Fort Myers just to win, the championships might be more dispersed.

The Bombers were in our Connie Mack division when my son played travel ball in HS. The Florida Bombers were able to recruit very good players, because they charged no fee for their program. I remember one year some of the players on sons team left because they got an invite to be on the Bombers, why not, it was free vs. 3000K for the summer. I am assuming that hasn't changed.

Once Baseball America did away with their team for tournaments, the Bombers dominated. They play to win and they have the talent to win.

Kind of like the Yankees, they have a winning record because they can afford to pay well, the Bombers have the money to choose who they want, perhaps that is why they don't get the recognition.

JMO.

it is my understanding that all the other bomber teams and the admission they charge for home games pay for the main bomber team roster. If you recruit kids from all over gods creation like them and a few other "nationally known" teams, you better win and win and win alot as that is what their main objective is.

Unfortunately, their class and dignity falls well short of the talent level. Bunch of cry babies if you ask me. Poor Bombers, feel slighted by Perfect Game...boo hoo!

Very classy...and so eloquently written.

I'd suggest a quick refresher of William Strunk's classic, "The Elements of Style." It's one thing to come on a message board and take liberties with the English language; but, it's quite another to publish an article on one's website and murder the language in the process.

Do you ever notice how some of the negative things you read seem to say much more about the piece's author than its target?

How interesting that the slogan "Rise Above Hate" is so prominently displayed on the same webpage.

I know a lot of kids (and their folks) that have been Bombers, and they have never had anything but good things to say about the organization. Most of the players we know that played for them went onto play at top college bb programs or drafted (either out of HS or after college). I think that alot of people don't like them because their kids just don't get interest from them, that is my opinion. I don't think they recruit much out of state.

Not sure what the issue is between them and PG, I don't see PG as an organization that endorses speicific teams (that not what they do), that would seemed biased and unfair to me.

Prepster,

...

quote:

Do you ever notice how some of the negative things you read seem to say much more about the piece's author than its target?

Yes, as a matter of fact I do notice that. I was thinking the same thing as I read the Bombers post.

Julie

quote:

Originally posted by oldmanmoses:
it is my understanding that all the other bomber teams and the admission they charge for home games pay for the main bomber team roster. If you recruit kids from all over gods creation like them and a few other "nationally known" teams, you better win and win and win alot as that is what their main objective is.

You are correct.

The Bombers recruited my son when a guy named Josh was in charge(not the owner). He gave me the speech about how they were the best team in the nation, won all sorts of tourneys, etc. At that time my son still played the field and had a decent bat, so he was supposedly going to get plenty of time to play a position as well as pitch. However Josh claimed that he could only play on the Bombers "A team" as a pitcher.
We decided that he would like to play both, so we were assured he would be put on a team where only one other kid played 1st base. Well as you might suspect he was on a team with no less than six other 1st basemen. They also had four SS and six 2nd basemen. Combine that with about 9 outfielders and it was obvious very early on that many parents had been duped into thinking their kids would get plenty of playing time.

To make a long story short, this team was a disaster and I requested my son be able to get on the A team as a pitcher only. Josh claimed that he no longer had a position on that team and that we would need to finish out the season on this B team(one of at least 4 others). When I pointed out that he had essentially lied to me and other parents about the situation, he resorted to very unprofessional behavior by not returning calls/emails. The poor coach said he was contacted two days before the season opener, and was put in an impossible situation in his first experience with the Bombers organization.
I quickly pulled my son off that team, and refused subsequent offers for him to play "for free on the A team". I also attempted to contact the owner(who I understand has a good reputation) and let him know how unprofessional Josh was, and that his actions were tainting the Bombers overall reputation.
I later came to find out that their business model is to have multiple kids on the B teams to help support and fund the primary team. That is fine if they disclose that to parents up front. Instead Josh made promises he never intended to keep and wound up hurting the organizations reputation in the process.

My understanding is that Josh is now co-owner of the Florida Pokers. The other owner is a decent guy named Ryan Combs.

Anyway, to finish my story, this guy Josh watched my son pitch at a tourney and approached me to ask if he would play for the Pokers. He said he could play for free even though most other kids had to pay. Needless to say I had a few choice words for him, and he did not understand why. I basically told him I would not trust him as far as I could throw him(no small task as he looks like Jabba the Hut), and that he had attempted to screw us over when he was with the Bombers. All of a sudden you could see the wheels turning in his puny mind, and he realized who I was(we had never met in person), and he wisely walked away.

The bottom line is that if Josh is still affiliated with the Bombers or any other team like the Pokers, you want to run, not walk, and find your son another program.

As to the way that site is worded, I suspect Josh might still have a connection to that team.

I chose to rise above the hate while reading their website. So I laughed instead. Very loud, in fact. And so much so that I almost fell off my chair.

I've seen a lot of pompous, self-serving websites before but I think this one takes the cake!

Josh and dad are no longer co owners of the Pokers.

The original Florida Pokers (which still exists) was founded by Mike Roberts, his son Lenny is still involved in the younger divisions and completely seperate from the team owned by Combs.

Indeed Vector. Josh remains affiliated with the Bombers, but as TPM stated, Josh is no longer with the Pokers. However, I noticed that on the Bombers site, he was removed as "recruiting coordinator" and his phone number removed as the contact for interested prospects. Wonder why??? Hmm....

Ryan Combs is the sole owner of the Pokers and has that program headed in the right direction. I looked on their website, and looked up some kids, and they seem to have very solid players, especially the 18u.

my son is currently being recruited by the bombers...any current info on them would be greatly appreciated...we don't want to lose the summer to a chaotic situation...all of our communication with the team has been with coach fernandez and he seems ok..thanks

quote:

Originally posted by roar!:
my son is currently being recruited by the bombers...any current info on them would be greatly appreciated...we don't want to lose the summer to a chaotic situation...all of our communication with the team has been with coach fernandez and he seems ok..thanks

As far as I know I have never heard negative comments about the organization, other than what one most likely might hear complaints of for any organization, too many players the player has to compete with. My opinion is get used to it now, and learn to compete for your position because you are going to do a whole lot of that past HS. And for most of the players/parents that I know, their communication was only through Fernandez, which didn't carry anymore players that most high profile travel teams.

Most travel teams such as these carry a large amount of players, do your homework to find out if it is a right fit, sometimes a smaller team may fit and most of all consider the league, can't beat Connie Mack competition.

In all the years that my son played Connie Mack and 18u, we have never heard a bad word about the Bombers or the Pokers. Both teams had excellent reputations. All the large stories programs, I would include the Scorpians out of Orlando, require exceptional players, and you had better be one if you expect ample playing time. These teams are in it to win, which is what you would expect playing in the Connie Mack League.

I always heard that "showcase" teams sub a lot, and I guess our team The Renegades and Team Adidas did do substitutions, but not all players were subbed out. Some players were always in the line up.

Roar,

If you are talking directly with Mr. Fernandez, then I am assuming your son is being recruited for the main 18u team. In that case you are probably ok. It's the other teams which seem to have the problems. The main 18u team is the only one that matters to their organization.

Well, I guess the talent is on the field and not in their story writing. Sounds like an 7th grader wrote that.

In the Summer of 2009, my Son's team, the St Louis Pirates played the Florida Bombers in a semifinal game in the 18UBCS Championship in Ft Meyers.

As usual, their team was loaded with draft choices and top D1 talent. Our starting pitcher pitched the game of his life, we got a few timely hits and we ended up winning the game.

Their Coach, a very large Hipanic gentleman, made a complete *** of himself and was tossed midway through the game. I mean this guy was in a rage, knocking over trash cans, swearing, etc and had to be physically escorted from the field. Their fans were the rudest, most distasteful group I have ever seen in all the years.

All we heard after the game was how the ump gave us the game, and that their star catcher was hurt, wah, wah, wah!

I had heard that they were going to be banned from further PG events, but not sure if that happened?

The good news is we went on to win the Championship with a decent group of kids that played good baseball for that week.

A quick check of the PG site shows that there are articles about the FL Bombers. I am not sure why they would take this stand when its not really even true. Anyone who is involved in high level summer baseball knows who the FL Bombers are. Do they really need an article or two written about them every year by PG to think they get the respect they deserve? Just another thing that makes me shake my head. Here is one of the articles written about them:

Florida Bombers Top 18U Rankings

My head hurt from reading that.

No, it did not happen. They still play PG events and, in fact, won the 18u WWBA in 2010. Also, I found this very nice article by PG from 2010 giving the Bombers plenty of "love".

http://www.perfectgame.org/Art...ew.aspx?article=4988

I also found a facebook page entitled: I f----ng hate the Florida Bombers, which seemingly was posted by some kids from the Memphis Tigers 18u back in 2006. http://www.facebook.com/#!/gro...id=2209140716&v=wall

I realize it was over 5 years ago, but it goes along with gitnby's story.

Sorry guys, I didn't realize shortnquick posted the same article

I've never been a fan of people/organizations who need to tell you how great they are.

quote:

Originally posted by twotex:
I've never been a fan of people/organizations who need to tell you how great they are.

thank you all so much for the info!! i hang out here all the time and have learned so much from you folks...keep up the good work!!

quote:

Originally posted by twotex:
I've never been a fan of people/organizations who need to tell you how great they are.

So when you go on a recruiting trip and the coach tells you how great the program is you won't send your son there because of that? Maybe I am not understanding.

In all the years we played Connie Mack, we never heard bad stuff either, how come all of a sudden, in one post.

I say parents be careful of what you post and make sure that you got your facts correct before you do.

I am not sure that the FB link was necessary, kids hate rivals when they lose, JMO.

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:

quote:

Originally posted by twotex:
I've never been a fan of people/organizations who need to tell you how great they are.

So when you go on a recruiting trip and the coach tells you how great the program is you won't send your son there because of that? Maybe I am not understanding.

In all the years we played Connie Mack, we never heard bad stuff either, how come all of a sudden, in one post.

I say parents be careful of what you post and make sure that you got your facts correct before you do.

I am not sure that the FB link was necessary, kids hate rivals when they lose, JMO.

First, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it, and the Bombers' post is certainly the wrong way.

When was the last time your son or you (since you said we) played Connie Mack?

Why do you have to nit pick twotex when you know exacly what was meant by the comment?

quote:

When was the last time your son or you (since you said we) played Connie Mack?

I believe the poster you're referring too has a fair amount of experience with FL Connie Mack and the teams being discussed. I consider her comments relevant to the discussion...moreso than nearly all of the others.

quote:

Why do you have to nit pick twotex when you know exacly what was meant by the comment?

I didn't think the poster you referred too 'nitpicked' anyone. I thought she raised a provocative question. College recruiting sometimes includes someone telling you how great their school is...or conversely, how un-great their competitor is. As a parent/player, you just have to filter through all of that stuff even though sometimes it feels 'unprofessional.'

quote:

Originally posted by 2013 Dad:

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:

quote:

Originally posted by twotex:
I've never been a fan of people/organizations who need to tell you how great they are.

So when you go on a recruiting trip and the coach tells you how great the program is you won't send your son there because of that? Maybe I am not understanding.

In all the years we played Connie Mack, we never heard bad stuff either, how come all of a sudden, in one post.

I say parents be careful of what you post and make sure that you got your facts correct before you do.

I am not sure that the FB link was necessary, kids hate rivals when they lose, JMO.

First, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it, and the Bombers' post is certainly the wrong way.

When was the last time your son or you (since you said we) played Connie Mack?

Why do you have to nit pick twotex when you know exacly what was meant by the comment?

I did say we and that was wrong and that is what I get for not rereading my posts.

I wasn't nitpicking, I don't know what was meant by the comment. I like twotex, she's pretty smart and knows her stuff but in relation to this board, I was thinking about sons recruiting experiences. One coach told him how wonderful their program was (and why) the other coach told him how awful the other programs were (and why). Son chose the program where the coach made him feel like it was a great program (with backup). Not sure how far you have gotten in the recruiting process, but you will understand that when you get to that point.

I think most of us here know when someone is so full of themselves that the converstaion is unbearable, but I have to be honest, knowing the Bombers since 2000, I have to say that they do have a really good program and they have had lots of players that now play MLB or have gone to top programs come through their program and they have a right to be proud of that. Whether you, me or others think that is being full of themselves is irrevelant. It is what it is, and you and I know that most parents would give anything for their kids to play with a team like that (good or bad). So let's stop the BS because when all is said and done, if you send your son off to play in a really big program someday, you will realize that what it comes down to for most is baseball is business and business is business. The article was written poorly for sure, but after seeing that PG has written them up not really sure of what agenda is going on within the organization, would you not agree. Do YOU KNOW for sure who posted that article? There is NO name attached.

Last I checked, baseball is baseball, Connie Mack being one of the better leagues around the country, running good programs. Can't beat getting a chance to go to the CMWS, a really awesome experience. Other than the Omaha, anyone know of a better bb venue?

I am going to be straight forward, my nit picking was not at twotex. I just had a question for her.

I do have to wonder about your original post though, the purpose that is. Do you have an agenda with The Bombers? And then someone posts info that may be inaccurate, now this can hurt a program or an individual, then you post some rantings on FB by kids back from 2006. Six years ago? Is this helpful?

When your son goes off to play college baseball are you going to nit pick on everything that you do or don't like in the program, or if you see something that bothers you from another program are you going to call them out and come here and write about it. I was just wondering because I think that I could write a book about a lot of negative stuff, but that just isn't productive is it? Example is that you guys already have a ersponse from a parent of a player that is having interest wondering what's going on? It kind of reminds me of the parent who wanted to identify programs (here) that are dishonest to players, I am not sure I get that.

There is a right way and a wrong way to do things, I agree, not saying that the post on the Bombers site was right, but I think that sometimes we need to look at ourselves in the mirror before we judge what others do. And as JBB has suggested, sometimes you just have to filter through all of the stuff even though we consider some of it unprofessional.

quote:

Originally posted by 2013 Dad:
Has anyone seen this? Click here: www.floridabombers.net and read the first Article. Any thoughts? I think it is unfortunate the Bombers take this route.

On another note, they claim they were ranked #7 last year. By whom I ask???

It has come to my attention that perhpas the lack of invite to the ESPN World Series may have spurned this article. That's unfortunate, but not everyone acts the way we think they should when they get ****ed off.

But I think that you knew all of that before you even started this topic?

In case you get ****ed off again at my comment, notice that you DID ask "any thoughts".

quote:

Originally posted by roar!:
my son is currently being recruited by the bombers...any current info on them would be greatly appreciated...we don't want to lose the summer to a chaotic situation...all of our communication with the team has been with coach fernandez and he seems ok..thanks

Hello, and welcome to the forum.

I believe you will hear many good things about the Fl Bombers just as I did over the years. However keep my story in mind when you consider this as a team for your son. If a huge guy named Josh is still affiliated with them, I would seriously question whether you should allow your son to play for them. Most importantly, do not believe a single word he tells you, because I know him to be disreputable.
Also remember that if your son is recruited to play for one of their various B Teams, he is not actually playing for the Bomber team winning all the tourneys. Now if he is recruited for the A team then your son is probably considered one of the top kids in his area, and will most likely be playing with a bunch of other studs, and get plenty of exposure.

As an FYI, there is a team called the Pride which has a bunch of D1 kids, and their organization does not appear to have anyone like Josh in it. So you might want to give them a call to see if they are interested in having your son try out for them.

10 or so years ago our 9 or 10yo team which was basically our LL "all-star" team was playing against a travel team in a tournament. The other team had more talented players overall. Their coach was dressed in full uniform and was constantly yelling at the kids. Our kids were down quite a bit going into the last inning. They started coming back and the yelling, etc. got really bad. Then with our kids down a couple runs, two outs and 2 strikes on our weakest hitter their coach realized that we had batted out of order and marched up to the umpire and told him so expecting to have won the game right then and there. The umpire knew the rules and simply made us put the proper batter up there with a 2 strike count on him. The new batter promptly hit a game winning home run. You should have seen the writeup on the travel team's website telling about how the game and the tournament were stolen from them.

I realize this really doesn't have any bearing on the thread but it brought back some rather hilarious, in hindsight, memories.

I know nothing about the Bombers but wrt the posting on the Bombers website one should remember that such postings are typically meant for internal consumption and will tend to be somewhat biased and self serving.

Guys I'm a big fan of the Florida bombers yes josh and Emilio are hated but that's because there are the best recruiters/coaches im summer ball  and rumor on the street is the bombers are back with a 100 thousand dollar donation from there 12 big leaguers al the people that talk bad are parents of kids that never got the real bomber experience floridabombers.org

Oh and don't forget 12 national championship 6 WWBA championships most in summer baseball and 180+draft picks and 200+D1 players and 12mlb players

Thanks for the reminder ILoveBomberBaseball (see quote above).  I don't think anyone is questioning the baseball talent you put on the field. 

 

PS....2013 Dad - I vividly remember that Bombers 2010 18U PG WWBA win at East Cobb.  We stuck around for the game.  The Bombers were hitting a relief pitcher throwing in triple digits at the time.  Earlier in the week my son and I watched that same pitcher throw a bullpen with a ton of scouts in tow.  Actually, it was an epiphany for my son on how much talent there is in baseball and at that specific event.  The Bombers were impressive that day.

Guys this forum is bad mouthing josh and Emilio first of all josh is a great person he's helped so many kids out in his career nobody here knows him but want to bash the guy because of his weight or what he did when he got ejected from a game when he started coaching with the bombers in 2007 he was only 19 years old he's grown up alot but anyways you get bad mouth people and not say your real name it's so childish but I guess the truth of the matter is when your on top people will hate you when your the best people will talk about you it is what it is I love bomber baseball and yes they went away with putting together all of those scrub b teams because parents get so jealous there not on the big boy team that's where the problems happend very rare you'll here a bad story about the big team but anyways I think most of the people on this forum need to get a hobby because bashing people is

Very childish **

And another thing nobody bosts about anything when you have won over 30 championships it's on the site when you put up your records it's on the site like people need to get over it oh and the bombers are back!!!! Funded by there 12 MLB players

ILoveBomberBaseball- This has to be some kind of joke, right? You can't actually think that what you're saying here is helping the Bombers organization.

So ILoveBomberBaeball, are you Josh or Emilio?  You claim people here are childish for bashing someone and then you turn around and bash people.  Nice.