Never has an interim manager felt so much like Rodney Dangerfield. Despite constant heckling from the team, I was able to cobble together a line up that saw us put together our first two wins of 2010!
The first game saw us jump out to a nice lead, which was at 17-11 going into the top of the last inning. Hit Squad decided to finally start hitting, and scored six runs. In the bottom half, Alan Boyd led off with a double. Greg Spears was intentionally walked, and Dan lined out to first. Jeff Morris flew out, which left the game in the hands of Jeff Donald, making his 2010 debut. Jeff came through with his 4th RBI of the game, a clean single to right center, and we won 18-17. The defensive star of game one was John Shollhead, as he made a stabbing catch of a line drive down the line, and also threw out a fast base runner from deep in the hole. Ed, in his final appearance for us this spring, pitched a great game and also went 3 for 3
Game two got off to a bizare start, as we hit into a triple play in the first. Dave Buttner was on third, Chris was on first, and Al Boyd hit a ground ball. Dave waited for the third basemen to throw to second, then broke for home. After Chris and Al were thrown out, the ball came home, where Dave's slide was hampered by the astroturf around home plate. The catcher tagged him "out," even though the ump signaled "safe" before the out call.
The rest of the game was a different story, as we scored a season-high 19 runs. Dan hit a grand slam over the right field scoreboard, and Al B. added another grand slam over the left center field fence. Dan finished the two games with 7 RBI and 6 runs scored. Al finished with 7 runs scored and 5 RBI. Ramon Toledo, who played a few games for us last year, had two clean singles up the middle, prompting the team to call for him to replace me in the line-up permanently. Eleven out of 12 players ended up scoring a run in game 2.
Not only did Jeff Morris hit well in the six spot, his defense was stellar all night, as was Jeff Donald at second. Our entire outfield was solid, keeping everything in front of them and holding our opponents to a bunch of singles rather than doubles.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Season Roundup
After a disappointing season that ended with the Stripes going 5-13, we'll have a long winter to rest up for the Spring Season. I would argue that at least half of those losses could have been wins if not for a few bounces, etc.
I am waiting for Tom's address but again, he laid out a lot of money for us to be able to play this season. I hope you will consider sending Tom some $ once we get all of the info.
Have a great winter and see you in the Spring.
I am waiting for Tom's address but again, he laid out a lot of money for us to be able to play this season. I hope you will consider sending Tom some $ once we get all of the info.
Have a great winter and see you in the Spring.
Final Fall 09 results and standings
For posterity's sake:
Standings
Final Fall 2009 Standings - As of 11/10/09| Standing | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hit Squad | 14-4-0 |
| 2 | Crystal City Clouts | 13-4-1 |
| 3 | Caribbean Breeze | 13-3-0 |
| 4 | Dukes | 11-6-1 |
| 5 | Big Sticks | 11-5-0 |
| 6 | Mexicali Blues/CCR | 9-7-2 |
| 7 | Team Turmoil | 8-10-0 |
| 8 | Medium | 7-8-1 |
| 9 | Stardust Lounge | 7-8-1 |
| 10 | Ninos | 7-11-0 |
| 11 | Stars & Stripes | 5-13-0 |
| 12 | PubZ | 5-12-1 |
| 13 | Fifth Base | 4-13-1 |
| 14 | Medium Pace | 4-14-0 |
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
"Don't Go There"
WHat more can really be said than the headline? Baby Huey was our umpire. The Stardust hit the shit out of the ball. We didn't for big stretches. Our defense wasn't as good as last week.
Special thanks to Ed for the great pitching. Good luck at Club Med.
From Tom:
Last week, we reversed course and played as poorly as we had played well
the previous week. Collectively, we didn't hit, particularly in the
clutch, and didn't field. The one special defensive play that I remember
was Patrick at third base diving to his left to smother a ground ball in
the hole, then getting up, running down and tagging out the base runner
coming from second. With very good reason, the base runner expected the
ball to go through.
Unfortunately, this was Ed's last game with us for the season. It wasn't
a very satisfying way to send him back to the Mid-East.
Special thanks to Ed for the great pitching. Good luck at Club Med.
From Tom:
Last week, we reversed course and played as poorly as we had played well
the previous week. Collectively, we didn't hit, particularly in the
clutch, and didn't field. The one special defensive play that I remember
was Patrick at third base diving to his left to smother a ground ball in
the hole, then getting up, running down and tagging out the base runner
coming from second. With very good reason, the base runner expected the
ball to go through.
Unfortunately, this was Ed's last game with us for the season. It wasn't
a very satisfying way to send him back to the Mid-East.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Oh So Close
Last week we played our long time rivals The Dukes. This time we came oh so close to sweeping both games from them. However, their number two hitter, after showing little power in his first three at bats, smacked a walk-off two-run homer with one out in the bottom of the last inning to beat us 13-12. Offensively, our entire team did well, with only one batter not getting a hit and 8 different batters driving in at least onerun. Lee was 3 for 3 with two RBI and two runs scored; Andrew was 2 for 2 plus a walk; Al Boyd had a two-run homer; and Greg, Dan and Patrick all had doubles.
The second game was more fun for us, resulting in a 16-11 win. We maxed out our 3 home run limit in the second inning, with Al Boyd and Dangoing back-to-back in the first inning, and Dan smacking a grand slam in the second after the Dukes walked Al semi-intentionally. Next to Dan with 5, our big RBI man was our 11th batter, Al Schneider, who was 3 for 3, including a double, and driving in 4 critical runs; batting in the second position, Lee was again 3 for 3, with a double and 3 runs scored; Dan was also 3 for 3 with his two home runs; Greg was 2 for 2 plus a sacrifice for 3 RBI; Dave, Andrew and Mike Chapman were each 2 for 3; this game only two of our batters failed to record a hit.
As with last week, what really contributed to our success in both games was our defense. Ed pitched two excellent games against a very strong team. Our infield defense turned three double plays, two in the second game, one a spectacular 4-6-3 play started by Lee and turned by Jeff
Morris, and the final one a 5-4-3 started by Patrick to end the game. All of our infielders played well, with all four positions busy, and Al Boyd saving several somewhat-errant throws again at first.
We also had excellent outfield play, with Jeff Donald busy all night in left-center, particularly in the second game. Mike Chapman made a tremendous over-the-shoulder catch against the left field fence, and another deep down the left field line. Greg saved a couple of runs in right center with a diving catch to his right on a deep line drive slicing away from him. Dan played a very solid right field, with especially strong throws to the infield to keep runners from advancing on at least two occasions. Overall our team defense was as good as I can remember it being.
The second game was more fun for us, resulting in a 16-11 win. We maxed out our 3 home run limit in the second inning, with Al Boyd and Dangoing back-to-back in the first inning, and Dan smacking a grand slam in the second after the Dukes walked Al semi-intentionally. Next to Dan with 5, our big RBI man was our 11th batter, Al Schneider, who was 3 for 3, including a double, and driving in 4 critical runs; batting in the second position, Lee was again 3 for 3, with a double and 3 runs scored; Dan was also 3 for 3 with his two home runs; Greg was 2 for 2 plus a sacrifice for 3 RBI; Dave, Andrew and Mike Chapman were each 2 for 3; this game only two of our batters failed to record a hit.
As with last week, what really contributed to our success in both games was our defense. Ed pitched two excellent games against a very strong team. Our infield defense turned three double plays, two in the second game, one a spectacular 4-6-3 play started by Lee and turned by Jeff
Morris, and the final one a 5-4-3 started by Patrick to end the game. All of our infielders played well, with all four positions busy, and Al Boyd saving several somewhat-errant throws again at first.
We also had excellent outfield play, with Jeff Donald busy all night in left-center, particularly in the second game. Mike Chapman made a tremendous over-the-shoulder catch against the left field fence, and another deep down the left field line. Greg saved a couple of runs in right center with a diving catch to his right on a deep line drive slicing away from him. Dan played a very solid right field, with especially strong throws to the infield to keep runners from advancing on at least two occasions. Overall our team defense was as good as I can remember it being.
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