27 Mar 2010 - And then there were twenty

On the Fence (L to R) : Indiana, The Mick
Standing (L to R) : Horfun, Ripken, Rugburn, Rickey, Jor-El, HiTea, Uboat, H, Geok
Knees (L to R) : Mauneau aka VoodooChild, Bumblebee, Sin, Ziegler, Johnny Upton, Dumi, Big Dick, Cool Papa
Sitting : ChanoPark

20 March 2010

Ones: 2nd Jor-el, 3rd Ripken, LF Rugburn, CF H, RF Ziegler
Twos: 2nd Horfun, 3rd Sin, LF Mick, CF Voodoo, RF Uboat
All-time: 1st Rickey, SS DT
Spectators: Indiana, Geok

Final Score Ones 23 : Twos 22

The rain must have scared away most of our numbers, cos we only had 12. At least it had stopped raining by the time we started. If February was the driest month, March might be the wettest. Even with the rain, the ground was still nice and even from the intense heat of Feb. The rain only served to moisten the top layer of grass, making the ball slick. Combined with the hard earth underneath, it was like playing tennis on a grass court. The ball would bounce and take off at high speeds.

Short of numbers meant 2 guys played all-time defense, with 5 per team batting. Rugburn put up one of his classic homerun shows. Drilling them into the gaps between the outfielders. It was a case of hit and run home for both teams as they combined for a total of 43 runs in 9 innings.

Its not that our defense has gotten worse, its just that our bats have gotten bigger. Everyone hits, and hits well now, so short of an ground ball to the infield or a fly ball directly to an outfielder, batters are getting on base, and scoring. We really need to take part in another tournament to guage our progess. Frankly, I haven't seen so many good bats at the same time in one generation of saturday softballers.

No box score this week as I stayed in the field and wasn't able to take notes.

On to next week

13 March 2010

Ones: 1st Upton, 2nd Geok, 3rd Rugburn, SS Indiana, LF Voodoo, CF Dumi, RF Bumblebee
Twos: 1st Uboat, 2nd Jor-El, 3rd DT, SS Ripken, LF Mick, CF H, RF ChanoPark

Box Score:
Ones 6 2 1 4 5 4 0 1 2
Twos 8 1 5 6 1 6 0 0 x

Final Score
Ones 25 : Twos 26

6 March 2010 - Hot, Dry and Dusty

Roster
Ones: Pitch ChanoPark, Catch Uboat, 1st Ziegler, 2nd Jor-El, 3rd Mick, SS Chris, LF Shane/Voodoo,CF Dumi, CF JC, RF Matt
Twos: Pitch Rickey, Catch HiTea, 1st Upton, 2nd Geok, 3rd Indiana, SS Ripken, LF Rugburn, CF Bumblebee, CF Cool Papa, RF H/Sin

Box Score
Twos: 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1
Ones: 3 1 2 3 2 1 0 0 X

Final Score
Ones 12 : Twos 6

Highlights
Top 1: Chris-Ziegler 6-3 dp
Bot 1: Ziegler long solo HR into left-center-field
Bot 1: Rickey gets unassisted dp at first
Top 2: Chris-Ziegler-Mick, 6-3-5 dp, force out at 1st, and bullet throw from Z to mick to tag Geok running into 3rd.
Top 4: ChanoPark steps in to replace Uboat on the mound. Proceeds to pitch 5 & 2/3 shutout innings before allowing a HR to rugburn in the top of the 9th.
Bot 5: uboat 2RBI HR, 'ohshit' moment over Bumblebee
Top 6: JC-Chris-Uboat relay to beat Rugburn's monster hit to homeplate.
Top 9: Rugburn finally gets his monster HR.

Another week of no rain meant the field was dry and dusty. I was half-expecting to see tumbleweeds drift across our outfield. We seriously need a little rain, not too much, maybe a Wednesday or Thursday downpour to moisten the ground.

Upton did it again. He brought another new body to the field. He is amazing. If we could give an MVP for recruiting, it would go to Upton. It's going to be just awful to lose him in May. We definitely need to start planning his farewell party. We have to reinstate the Yard rule, just for him.

We numbered 22 by the 2nd inning, so both teams played with a rover, pitched and caught, and had to sit one out every inning. I honestly don't remember the last time we had such consistent numbers so many weeks in a row. I'm not complaining, its fantastic.

No rain does mean the field is properly hard, and tamped into a nice flat surface with an even bounce. Infield work meant a quick predictable hop into the glove with plenty of time for the throw, but the outfield had to work harder as the ball would take off like a bullet when it hit the ground.

Like the last 2 weeks, lots of double plays from both infields. The quick ground allowed plays to be turned fast and nary a ground ball made it out into the outfield. ChanoPark dominated the Twos from the mound, and from the moment he stepped in for Uboat to the long homerun from Rugburn in the 9th, he did not allow a single run. That's 5 shutout innings. For Saturdaysoftball, that's no mean feat. Worthy of an MBP award. No doubt his defense tightened around him, but his wiry pitches induced many a groundball and infield flyball.

It was the textbook relay in the 6th that sealed ChanoPark's victory. Rugburn hit a liner into right centerfield that took off like a bullet. It should have been a homerun, but somehow JC snatched the ball before it could get behind him. Fired a bullet to Chris who relayed it to Uboat at home to tag Rugburn out. It was textbook and perfectly executed, and morale-sucking for the other team. Rugburn had no chance. He did finally redeem himself with an even more monsterous hit in the 9th, same spot, but further. JC had no chance to get the ball this time.

Another great game. Looking forward to next week.

Game 2
Ones: 2 3 1
Twos: 2 0 4

Final Score
Ones 6 : Twos 6 (Tie game, 3 innings)

27 Feb 2010

Roster
Ones: Pitch Ziegler, Catch HiTea 1st Upton, 2nd Horfun, 3rd Rickey, SS DT, LF Rugburn, CF Dumi/H, RF HiTea/Dumi
Twos: Catch Geok, 1st Uboat, 2nd Ling, 3rd Indiana, SS Ripken, LF Shane, CF Bumblebee, RF Geok/JC

Box Score
Twos: 4 2 2 2 0 1 0 0 0
Ones: 0 0 0 6 0 0 3 2 1

Final Score
Ones 12 : Twos 11

Highlights
Top 4 - Chris-Upton 6-3 DP
Bot 4 - 3 back-to-back-to-back 2 RBI HRs, reminds me of the 'score from home' games we had to play not that long ago.
Bot 5 - Rugburn-Ripken-Uboat, 1-6-3 DP
Bot 7 - 2RBI HR between Bumblebee's legs
Top 8 - Ziegler unassisted DP at 1st
Bot 9 - Chris opposite field walkoff single to score Horfun from 1st

It looks like 2010 is starting out better than we've had in years. We're getting better than average numbers, with a high level of quality play and nice (albeit hot) weather and hard, even ground. Upton has definitely contributed to this with his strong recruiting. We will certainly be very sad to see him go when his term is up. Hopefully the guys he's managed to rope into our little weekend game will stay and play even when he's gone.

It was another week of strong comebacks and flashy glovework. Many a doubleplay was turned, including an unassisted DP from Ziegler. He caught an opposite field liner and pounced on 1st to get the leading runner out. It was a magnificent play, considering that the guy just recovered from knee surgery.

The Twos took an almost unassailable 10 run lead going into middle of the 4th, many a 'mercy' whisper was heard and we were even figuring out who to trade to make the teams even. Little did anyone expect the 3 HRs and 6 runs that were to follow. 6 batters came up and 6 batter scored from 3 2rbi HRs. It was almost like our 'score-from-home' games, not too long ago, were being put into practice.

With the lead whittled down. The Ones tightened up their defense and opened up their offense. An unheardof 0 runs were scored in the 5th, and it looked like the beginning of the end for the Twos when the Ones scored another 3 runs in the bottom of the 7th thanks to a rare E8 from Bumblebee. The One finally pulled even going into the top of the 9th, 11 runs apiece. Three innings of solid defense ensured that the Twos could not get back on board. Heading into the bottom of the 9th holding a tie score, Horfun led off to get on base. Chris then hit a perfectly placed opposite field single (kudos to H for that inspiration from previous week) that scored Horfun for the walkoff victory.

As it was still early (who'd have thought we could finish our first game by 5pm), we decided to go another 3 innings. That was a huge mistake as the sun had practically worn our energy levels to 0. We played on nonetheless, but decided to call it a game after 3 innings and a tied score.

Interestingly enough. Game 2 seemed to be a mirror of Game 1. The Twos took an early lead in the first 2 innings, finally leading 6-0 going into the bottom of the 9th. It was the Ones who came back from a 6 run deficit to tie the game before the end.

Is it wrong to pray for a little rain? Maybe on Thursday or Friday. Just a little mind you, not a lot. Just enough to moisten the ground, not enough to make it muddy.

For those interested, it seems that Febuary 2010 has been the driest month in 140 years.

Second Game
Ones 6 : Twos 6 - Tie 3 innings