DT Rants

After last week's stellar congregation, the baseball gods beamed down their pleasure on us, blessing us with a perfect field and perfect weather. It had rained on Friday afternoon, moistening the ground and giving the grass a lush green texture. Because of the harsh sun over the last few days, the field did not turn soggy after the downpour, there was a lovely bounce to the earth and every step had a spring to it.

Sadly, with the temporary departure of Marvelous, and the sickly absence of Diana, our numbers came up short. We only had 12. Normally, with 12, we would shut down one field (usually right), and play with 4 infielders and 2 outfielders. Recently, we've even used cones to shut down centerfield, leaving left and right open (also known as Rubane rules) However, since our creative juices have been sparked over the last few months. We decided on some role reversal. We shut down left field instead, and played a 3 infield (SS, 2nd 1st), 3 outfield formation. We also implemented Prof Zen rules, meaning one had to score from 2nd base, and once the runner had stepped on 3rd base, he was committed to going home.

Shutting down left field will now be called "Rube Rules", for two reasons. 1. This rules totally suits his hitting style. He completely dominated the game hitting deep into right/centerfield with back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back (thats 5) home runs. And 2. Because when we play this game, Rube rules. As Rickey mentioned in the last post, Rube scored 12RBIs in the first game and 3RBIs in the second. Considering the final score, the games should have been much closer without Rube's dominance. The best (or worst part depending on the team you're on) was that no matter how deep the fielders stood, Rube managed to send the ball past them. It didn't matter how much hustle Jason and The Mick showed to get the ball and it didn't matter how quick the relay was turned. Rube made it over the plate to score, and advancing both runners ahead of him. We even tried to Kill the Rube to stop him from scoring. Jason smacked a hard liner up the middle towards Rube's chest, but somehow Rube caught it, protecting his own life, and making the out (It was exactly like the one he pulled last week). The ONEs had no chance. It was ONES vs The Rube, rather than ONEs vs TWOs. Even with the difficultly of scoring from second base, the TWOs scored 15 runs to mercy the first game.

There was a new guy on the field yesterday. Bertrand, a Frenchman who grew up in Switzerland (but from now on, we'll call him Swiss to avoid complications), recently arrived in Singapore for a 6 month internship at one of the NUS research faculties. He's a friend of Fabien's so his soul has been promised to SAS even before he touched down at the airport. It helps that he played a year of baseball in the US when he did an exchange programme. He has a solid swing, a good arm and glove. He did strike out 3 times, but that was because his bat was too quick for the ball. He's going to be a power hitter once he acclimates to our slowpitch speeds rather than the hardball's 80mph delivery.

I haven't ranted about myself for a while, and I must say, I had one of the worst defensive games of my life...for my team, and one of the better games, for the other team. Frackazoids. I fielded every ball for the other team when I pitched for them, but missed everyone when I was on my own. Frack!

After ball at Joes, amongst the strings of karaoke, a discussion of bowling came into play. I'm not sure what happened, but a gauntlet was thrown down from the Mick to the Rick. Rickey claimed a game average of 147, the Mick challenged him to a duel. Though we've threatened to go bowling after softball for years now, it has never come to fruition. For the first time in history, the bowling gods got a piece of the softball gods' action. 6 of us piled into my car to throw another kind of ball. Rube, Rickey, Seven, the Mick, H and I popped down to the brand-sparkling new lanes at the SAFRA at henderson road (built over the location of our former alternate, alternate field) for a showdown of epic proportions between the Mick and Rickey. Just like the ONEs vs Rube, Rickey had no chance against the Mick. He didn't have any fancy hook shots, or curve spins down the lane, but he had power and accuracy, nailing the ball down the center with laser precision. He had more strikes than Rube had HRs. The first game was a fight for second place, but no one could even break a 100 nor could anyone sniff the Mick's score.

The second game on the other hand was much closer. The Mick did not run away with the win this time. Seven, to the suprise of all attending, showed some decent bowling skills too. He fought the Mick tooth and nail for the lead throughout all 10 frames, and it came down to the wire in the last frame. The Mick had 115, and Seven had 105 with his last frame to bowl. His first ball only managed to drop 1 pin, and there was a huge gagging cry from the crowd when everyone put their hands on their necks and yelled "choooooke". Somehow, Seven pulled some magic dust from his pocket and spared the next ball, tying the game with the Mick. All he needed was 1 pin to fall for him to win. To the loud cries of "choke, choke, choke,", Seven rolled his last ball, taking down 5 for a 125 total and the win. The others weren't that far behind either. I rolled a 108, and Rickey a 105. Rube and H had high 90s. Great Game

Sadly, we had to stop our fun after the second game as Rube, the Mick, H and Seven had a date with a microphone at a Karaoke bar. But that's something completely different...

Some Post Softball Pictures

Rickey in Action

Rube trying to pick up a split


And NOW, for Something Completely Different

As far as we know, Rube only gives lap dances when you buy him a drink.

Insert your own Brokeback jokes

Do the hustle....ahhh. do the hustle

1 April 2006 - Rube en Fuego

ONES: 1B: Guppy; 2B: Burma Girl/DT; SS: DT/Burma Girl; OF: The Mick (Patrick); Jason; John
TWOS: 1B: Rube; 2B: The Venezualan Jaguar; SS: Rickey; OF: Heidi; Grandpa; Bertrand

Game One (4 inning mercy):
ONES: 4
TWOS; 15

Game Two (5 Innings):
ONES: 0
TWOS: 5

We played on the regular field with Prof. Zen rules. Left field was dead, and runners had to score from 2B. The game was completely, utterly, absolutely dominated by Rube. In Game One, he hit 5 (that's right "five") home runs, and had 12 RBIs. It was so bad that Heidi, who was always on base, was begging off batting in front of him because he was hitting so many homers. The Mick and DT both were high blood pressure candidates during this period. The rest of the TWOS did very little; they just rode Rube to victory. In game two, if you subtract a three-run home run by Rube, the final score would have been 2-0.

NOTES:
1) It good to have the Burma Girl and John back. Also good to get the new blood Bertrand. He shows skills, and once he settles in will be a fine addition; 2) Heidi made a great Willie Mays catch in the outfield off a boomer from the Mick; 3) The Jaguar made a great infield play. Going to his right to get the grounder, he snags it and in mid-air turns his body for a throw to first; 4) DT made a number of great defensive plays when he was pitching; 5) Six people went bowling after the game. The Mick and Seven dominated on the lanes, but Smokey stepped over the line. Mark it down a "0".

MBP: Rube
Biggest Bat: Rube
Best Bat: Rube
Play of the Day (infield): The Venezualan Jaguar
Play of the Day (outfield): Heidi
DY: DT
And for those who went bowling... Out of his element: Donny

When you can't win, fight

Welcome to the redsoxnation

Click the link below to watch the frame by frame that a photographer took of the fight.
Punch

DT Rants

When I talk about the baseball gods, some of you might take me for an evangelical idiot, preaching about my heathen gods, but if you have doubts that the baseball gods exist after yesterday's game, then there's nothing I can do to save your soul.

Yes, we lost the field to cricketeers. Yes, we were forced to play in the alternate field that was riddled with bumps and potholes, the earth cracked in places because it was soiled in clay. Rocks and debris strewn along the base paths. Yes, it looked like we were badly short of numbers. We were tested, but we showed our mettle. The clouds loomed overhead and threatened to open a downpour of herculean proportions, but we stayed. And the baseball gods looked down on us, saw the mighty 15, proudly worshipping the holy game, and they were pleased. The chorus of the faithful resonated to the heavens. In return, they blew away the storm, and they hid the sun behind the clouds, leaving us with clear weather. I have never seen the like. One moment, it looked like a thunderstorm, the next, the winds changed and the clouds were swept away. In return, they made the ball bounced, hopped, skipped, jumped, fooling infielders and outfielders alike. In return, they gave the meek strength, big bats and basehits. They taught the strong humility and showed irony to the skilled. In return, they let both teams win with mercy scores. The baseball gods had no favourites this day, blessing both sides with brilliant plays, bonehead errors and monsterous hits. It was a wonderful game. It IS a wonderful game.

Jason had a career day, pounding out two homeruns, numerous basehits and making good stops at third. He is the man to watch out for in the near future, and while he is still a good ultility man to put in any defensive position, he needs to find a place to call his own. His fiance (We just found out) Diana, has carved her niche at second base. She's got a good glove and arm, and as she proved yesterday, a hell of a bat. She was batting in the high 800s in the first game and got on base 5 out of 6 times. All she has left to do is to stop Rube's opposite-infield-homerun. Not one to settle for second place, Horfun turned around and showed her bat in the second game, taking a leaf out of Diana's book. Horfun's may be improving slowly, but she's doing it at her own pace, and slow and steady does win the race. She has amazing reflexes behind the plate, catching foul tips with aplomb. All she needs now is more power in her throw and we'll soon have a celebrity deathmatch at second base.

Rube and Gilbert proved that hustle is all you need to score runs. Rube, scoring a homerun off an opposite-field-infield-grounder. Gilbert was outstanding, he led the TWOs to a mercy win in the first game, and then, when he got traded, he led the ONEs to a mercy win in the second. He is our own version of Ichiro, taking extra bases on singles, and scoring at home on doubles. He runs down every ball in the outfield, and he never lets up. It's too bad we don't see him very often. His work ethic is amazing. Seven aka Scooterboy proved again, that he swings the other way. He batted 5 for 5 on the left side of the plate, and 0-3 on the right. He's not a switch hitter. He's a lefty. Come out of the closet Dom.
There was a face-off in the TWOs outfield, with Marvelous and P-Daddy dueling each other for the tinglove. In the end, Ironman ran away with the award for the ONEs. Most of it was not his fault though, the ground played havoc with the bounce, and many a easy one-hopper was deflected or veered away from his glove at the last minute. All the outfielders were tormented by the ground. Most of the time, they had one eye on the ground watching for potholes that would sprain ankles, and the other eye on the ball, and the third eye on the bounce. Needless to say, a double into the outfield usually meant a homerun for the batter. The infield was equally plagues by bad hops, but not as much. In fact, the best fielding position was the pitcher's as he didn't have to deal with an erratic bounce.

The kill-Rickey award goes to Gilbert and Rube. Gilbert hit a linedrive right up the middle, towards the pitcher's chest. That hit would have blown a hole in anyone's body. If it had been Rickey at the mound, he might have died. As it were, Rube made one of the best reflex catches I have ever seen. He seemed to have plucked the ball out of the air nanoseconds before it made contact with his body. It looked almost like Darth Vader's deflection of Han Solo's blaster shot on Baspin city. The ball was struck so well by Gilbert that the ping of contact and the thump in Rube's glove was almost instantaneous.

Overall mercy wins for both teams meant that the teams were quite even. The only difference was Gilbert playing for the winning team in the first game, then being traded to the winning team in the second game. The TWOs also lost Guppy in the second game. Mostly, the ground was the deciding factor for both games. The ball bounces both ways and for the first game, the ball bounced for the TWOs, and it turned around and bounced for the ONEs in the second game.

Road Trip

Look at this picture. This is the beach on Bohol, Philippines. Doesn't it look simply lovely. On Bohol, San Miguel beer costs about $0.50 on the street, and $0.85 at a bar or restaurant. For $50 a day, one can live and eat like a King (or Queen). Street vendors sell freshly barbequed pork and chicken, marinated in a succulent gravy of fresh herbs and spices. Freshly caught seafood is in abundance, costing a fraction of what we'd pay for in Singapore.

Barbequed Chicken

Lechon

Meat on Sticks

ALOT more meat on sticks

Seafood Buffet

Point, Grill and Eat

All you need is Beer

25 March 2006 - JEFFY likes to eat apples

ONES: 1B: Rube; 2B: Horfun; 3B: Jason; SS: DT; LF: Heidi; CF: Iron Man/Gil the Gazelle; RF: Seven
TWOS: C: Guppy; 1B: Rickey; 2B: Diana; 3B: The Generalissimo; SS: Clement; LF: P-Daddy; CF: Gil the Gazelle/Iron Man; RF: Marv-elous

Game One (4 Innings, mercy)
ONES: 11
TWOS: 26

Game Two (3 Innings, mercy)
ONES: 17
TWOS: 5

There was a formal cricket match on the field, so we went to the alternative one (opposite Rube's place). On that rough ground - the land of insane bounces - we had our first real game of the year. Thanks to the Montfort alumni, we had 15 players and didn't have to shut down a field. As the scores reflect, it was fairly ridiculous. Any ball to the outfield had the opportunity to skim, bounce, go left, go right, smack Marv-elous in the face, etc. It got ugly in both games, but in the karmic nature of Saturday softball, both teams got a chance to suffer and a chance to make it look easy. But, the real news was the joy of being able to play with a full field.

NOTES:
1) Diana was on fire in game one (5-6) and Horfun was on fire in game two. They made the difference when their teams were batting, playing the key role in mercy-ing the other teams; 2) P-Daddy (Patrick) better learn to keep his trap shut. When he started yelling at Marv-elous about a blown outfield play, he gets it worst. Karma, baby; 3) Gil was his usual speedy self; 4) DT made some great DY-style plays while pitching against his own team. He also fought off a ball against the shins (as did Horfun too) to throw out a runner at 1B, but perhaps the weirdest one was an easy grounder from Rickey that bounced over his head; 5) Rube had another infield homer; 6) Blood pressure check: Rube, DT and Heidi all looked like they were would burst a blood vessel in their heads in game one when the twos scored 12 or 13 in one inning. 7) Hey, Iron Man.. wake up. Gil caught you sleeping with a patented Venezualan Jaguar move (and the Jaguar also almost burst a blood vessel on that one too); 8) Seven continues to bat well from the left; 9) Jason got his usual quota of homeruns.

MBP: Gil the Gazelle
Gold Glove: Clement
Best Bat: Diana/Horfun
Biggest Bat: Rube
DY: DT
Drama Mama: Rube (catching a line drive at his chest while pitching)
Bonehead: Iron Man

Japan are the TRUE World Champions

Japan won the WBC by beating Cuba 10-6 in a very exciting game. I'd love to be able to watch it.
You can find a lot of coverage here.

SI winners and losers
SI New World Order
SI Good Show
SI Top of the World
NYtimes


My favourite line comes from the NYtimes article. The last paragraph to be exact.
"Despite having only two major leaguers, Japan won the tournament. Despite having no major leaguers, Cuba finished second. The United States feels it has the best players in the world. In this tournament, that was untrue. Japan, as the flying flags showed, was the class of this classic."

Brokeshin Mound

When one Man

With a Large Stick

Swings the Other Way

Words will be Spoken

Issues will arise

There are no secrets between them

DT Rants

Beautiful sunny, lovely empty field, short numbers. That's the new war cry of saturday softball. But as usual, the few, the strong and the brave will prevail. And with Gretzky, Diana and Rube volunteering to play all time defensively, we managed to put together a good game. With three out of nine players taking the field, it left each team with only 3 batters, so ProfZen rules (so named in memory of Prof Zen who invented it) and Rube rules were in effect, we played reverse double of nothing. Horfun did a great job recruiting by getting her vietnamese language classmate from Canada to show up. And Stephen brought his fellow exchange student Stephanie as well. They both contributed significantly to the game and we really hope they show up again. Sadly, they will only be here till May, but they were here since Sept. I guess it takes Horfun a couple of months to get her courage to ask a guy out ;).
When I say they contributed to the game, we have to mention Stephen allowing Rickey a homerun (bad leg and extra slow baserunning considered). Rickey hit a deep fly ball past Stephen and somehow, managed to limp all the way home. To make up for the humiliation of the new guy, Stephanie extracted her revenge on Rickey by hitting a shallow pop fly just over his head at 3rd base. It was perfectly weighted and perfected struck to reach a trajectory just out of his glove.
Gretzky and The Generalissimo had the biggest bats all day. They were beating the stuffing out of the ball, and going deep and into the empty spaces. I swear Heidi was going have an aneurysm our there in LF. I could hear that vein in her forehead throbbing from way over in the infield.
We switched around a little in the second game. Removed Rubane, and shut down RF instead. This worked out slightly better for the ONEs at first, but in the third inning, the TWOs big bats were simple overpowering. The ONEs were shut down mercilessly.
Play of the game must go to that Indian-National-Foreign-Construction Worker. He pulled a liner high into the sky that never came down... literally. The ball got stuck in a tree, wedged perfectly between two branches. Everyone took turns to knock the ball down, and EVERYONE missed. A foreign construction worker finally came along, weighted the ball in his hand, and let it fly. His first throw, hitting the branch holding the ball, and it was released from its grasp to finally fall to the earth. How ashamed should we feel that this guy just steps up and makes an accurate throw, while we, who play every week, cannot make the same?

18 March 2005 - Just another day

ONES: C: Horfun; P: Dom; SS: DT; 3B: Horfun/Rickey/Heidi; OF: Heidi/Nigeypooh/Rickey
TWOS: C: Steph; SS: Venezualan Jaguar; 3B: New Guy (Stephen); OF: Patrick/Marvelous
All Time: 1B: Rube; 2B: Diana

Game One: (6 Innings)
ONES: 6
TWOS: 18

Game Two: (3 innings):
ONES: 0
TWOS: 6

It was a good old fashioned butt-kicking. The TWOS had the Jaguar, Patrick and Marvelous batting back-to-back and they were too much to handle. Add in the newbies, Stephanie and Stephen (what's with all the Chinese-Canadians?), who occassionally got on base, and the ONES were done. Played "Rube Rules".

NOTES:
1) Heidi was having trouble in the outfield. If she waited for the bounce, it skimmed along the ground; if she got down to take the grounder, it bounced over her head. Space in LF was huge too. Lots of running.; 2) Rickey played OF with no major snafus; 3) Props to Diana and Rube for playing all time in the field; 4) The Generalissimo was on fire yesterday; 5) Patrick was trying to be Smoov P with his new teammates; 6) Rickey hit a massive homer to right field, should have gone home after that; 7) All the guys on the ones hit at least 2 homers each.

MBP: The Venezualan Jaguar
Gold Glove: The Venezualan Jaguar
Drama Mama: Nigey-pooh (caught a foul ball barehanded)

Combating Obesity in America

Eat UNTIL you die.


15 pound burger
Restaurant overdoes it once again, with 15-pound burger

Wednesday, May 04, 2005
By Alana Semuels, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

CLEARFIELD, Pa. -- It foiled even the doughnut-eating champion of the world.

Andy Starnes, Post-Gazette

Dave "Coon Dog" O'Karma can eat 80 doughnuts in under six minutes, but even he couldn't manage a 15-pound cheeseburger.

Concocted by the chefs at Denny's Beer Barrel Pub, the burger might help the pub defend its Guinness Book of World Records status as the restaurant with the world's biggest hamburger.

Denny's big burger lineup includes a 2-pounder, a 3-pounder and a 6-pounder.

If you can eat the 6-pounder in under three hours, you get the burger for free, along with a commemorative T-shirt and your names on a wall of fame. So far, the only winner has been a 100-pound female college student.

But owners thought a 15-pound burger would attract more customers and be a good option for families, parties and anyone who up for a challenge.

The challenge is simple. Just polish off the newest monster burger in under five hours and you win $350, a T-shirt and your name posted on the pub's wall of fame.

You also get the burger for free, which is not bad, considering it costs $39.95.

Fries are extra.

"Every restaurant needs a gimmick -- ours is big burgers," said Dennis Liegey III, son of the restaurant's owner, and its vice president.

Visitors have come from as far away as Australia and California just to see the 6-pounders and try to eat them. They sell about 30 a week.

The newest burger, dubbed the Beer Barrel Belly Buster, is as big around as the inside of a car tire and should be approached with relish.

A cup and a half, that is. It also comes with a cup and half each of mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup, a head of lettuce, two onions, three tomatoes and 25 slices of cheese, which go on 101/2 pounds of ground beef and a bun that is made by a local bakery.

The burger starts out, as burgers typically do, as a large slab of raw ground meat -- 280 ounces of extra lean beef shipped up from Pittsburgh. That's enough beef to make 70 McDonald's quarter pounders.

Kitchen manager Matthew Williams mixes in eggs and bread crumbs and other ingredients he won't disclose to hold the beef together, and then puts it into an auto sham -- basically a big broiler -- for 21/2 hours while the grease sizzles and jumps in the pan.

After it is good and cooked, he lifts the Jabba the Hut-like lump of meat with a pizza shovel to the grill to charbroil it. From there, the burger is lifted again to the condiments counter, where it receives its dressings, which weigh another 5 pounds.

"I'm a little sore," said Williams about the heavy lifting. "It's a workout." He made the first burger Friday night and has perfected the system to prevent the beef from crumbling.

The comment he most often hears about his giant burgers?

"Holy Cow!"

Professional eaters tried to team up to eat the first burger on Saturday, but were stymied by its sheer size.

Coon Dog, the doughnut champion from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, brought a copy of "To Kill a Mockingbird" to the restaurant to distract him while he ate, but it was not enough.

"The only thing that got killed was my appetite," he said.

He's eaten doughnuts, wings and hot dogs faster than you can say Coon Dog, but couldn't even finish the burger with a partner.

In the next few days, the Belly Buster will appear on national television morning shows, in newspapers and on the Internet. It's great publicity for a small restaurant in a tiny town in mid-Pennsylvania, but not so great for anyone who dares to consume it.

"What's the point of having a hamburger that's 15 pounds?" said Madelyn Fernstrom, associate professor and director of the UPMC Weight Management Center. "It's ridiculous. There's nothing that is redeeming about it."

The caloric value of a burger this size means that it should be consumed by about 30 to 40 people, she said. Healthy or not, if you grill it, they will come.

Retired schoolteachers Alice and John Kirn from Wappingers Falls, N.Y., stopped by the restaurant on their way to a family reunion in Minnesota to see the 6-pound burger. The couple have eaten ostrich, camel and crocodile in their journeys.

Just the sight of the burger, which they at first thought was plastic, made their drive worthwhile.

Gushed John Kirn, "It's one of the seven wonders of the new world."

What's better than a Cheeseburger AND a Doughnut?

A Cheeseburger MADE with a Doughnut


For all underweight, malnutritioned, skinny americans the world over. The Final CURE.

Gatewaygrizzlies
GRIZZLIES INTRODUCE NEW FOOD ITEM FOR '06


March 8, 2006 - The Gateway Grizzlies are proud to announce that they will be adding a new concession item to GMC Stadium for the 2006 season.

The Grizzlies and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts have teamed up to create "Baseball's Best Burger." The burger, which was introduced at Gateway's December 10th sale, consists of a thick and juicy burger topped with sharp cheddar cheese and two slices of bacon. The burger is then placed in between each side of a Krispy Kreme Original Glazed doughnut.

The Grizzlies have added a unique concession item each of the least two seasons. In 2004 "Baseball's Best Hotdog" hit GMC Stadium. It consisted of a 1/5 pound Farmland 8 inch All Beef Black Angus Hot Dog, topped with two strips of freshly cooked bacon, 1 oz. Sautéed Onions, 1 oz. Sautéed Sauerkraut and ½ oz. Cheddar Cheese Sauce, all on a fresh baked bun. In 2005, the "Swiss Brat" was introduced. The "Swiss Brat" was made up of a Landshire Bratwurst with a slice of Swiss cheese in the middle of it. The cheese was then melted and 1oz. of Sautéed Sauerkraut was placed on top.

"We have had the opportunity to bring in a new concession item for the past two seasons and each of them have been very successful. We look forward to Baseball's Best Burger and the excitement it will bring to the ballpark," said Grizzlies General Manager Tony Funderburg.

"We are excited to work with the Grizzlies this season on Baseball's Best Burger," said Tina Bryan, Vice President of Marketing for Sweet Traditions, the local area developer for Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. "Our doughnuts have been used in such things as wedding cakes, bread pudding, fondue, and now a hamburger bun. What a fun and unique way to offer our signature Original Glazed doughnut to Grizzlies fans."

Casey At the Bat

Casey at the Bat
by Ernest Lawrence Thayer ©
Published: The Examiner (06-03-1888)

The Outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day:
The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play.
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game.

A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest
Clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, if only Casey could get but a whack at that -
We'd put up even money, now, with Casey at the bat.

But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,
And the former was a lulu and the latter was a cake;
So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat,
For there seemed but little chance of Casey's getting to the bat.

But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,
And Blake, the much despis-ed, tore the cover off the ball;
And when the dust had lifted, and the men saw what had occurred,
There was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.

Then from 5,000 throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It knocked upon the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.

There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile on Casey's face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Casey at the bat.

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;
Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt.
Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
Defiance gleamed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip.

And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,
And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.
Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped-
"That ain't my style," said Casey. "Strike one," the umpire said.

From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar,
Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore.
"Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted someone on the stand;
And its likely they'd a-killed him had not Casey raised his hand.

With a smile of Christian charity great Casey's visage shone;
He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on;
He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the spheroid flew;
But Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said, "Strike two."

"Fraud!" cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered fraud;
But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again.

The sneer is gone from Casey's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate;
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate.
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville - mighty Casey has struck out.

"Phin"

The Reason for Rainbows

The Reason for Rainbows
A Song to Baseball
by J. Patrick Lewis
Published: Baseball Almanac

There was an Old Man of Late Summer
Met a Winter Boy out of the blue,
And he whisked him away
From the city one day
Just to show him what country boys do.

He taught him three whys of a rooster,
And he showed him two hows of a hen.
Then he’d try to bewitch him
With curveballs he’d pitch him
Again and again and again.

He taught him the reason for rainbows,
And he showed him why lightning was king,
Then he fingered the last ball—
A wicked hop fastball—
He threw to the plate on a string.

Oh, the Old Summer Man and the Young Winter Lad
Spent the light of each day—every moment they had—
In the wind and the rain, or the late summer sun,
Where he taught him to pitch and he taught him to run
In the wind and rain and the late summer sun.

But when that Old Man of Late Summer
Met the Winter Boy out of the blue,
He said to him, “Son,
You can pitch, you can run,
But to hit here is what you must do:

Just pretend that the stick on your shoulder
Is as wide as a bald eagle’s wing.
You’re a bird on a wire
And your hands are on fire—
But you’re never too eager to swing.

Stand as still as a rabbit in danger,
Watch the pitch with the eyes of a cat.
What will fly past the mound—
Unforgettable sound—
Is the ball as it cracks off the bat.”

Oh, the Old Summer Man and the Young Winter Lad
Spent the light of each day—every moment they had—
In the wind and the rain, or the late summer sun,
Where he taught him to pitch and he taught him to run
In the wind and rain and the late summer sun.

Shortstop

SHORTSTOP
by Charles Ghigna ©
Published: Boyd Mills Press (2003)

The slits of his eyes
hidden in shadows
beneath the bill of his cap,
he watches and waits
like a patient cat
to catch what comes
his way.


Crack!
and he pounces
upon the ball,
his hands flying
above the grass,
flinging his prey
on its way
across the diamond
into a double-play.

A Swing and A Miss

A Swing And A Miss
by J. Patrick Lewis©
Published In: Light Quarterly (1954)

The fastball
that you hope to poke
is smoke

The curveball
that you thought was there
is air

The knuckler
wobbling up to you
can dipsy-do

The screwball
an ironic twist
hits your fist

The sinker
comes as a surprise:
it dies

The let-up pitch
you can't resist?
you missed

The spitball
that by law's forbidden
(is hidden)

I love the Internet

The faces change, but the game remains the same

This is the face of the guy Rube picked up on the street to play Ball.
He was walking along NUS, towards NUH, when Rube yelled to him. "Hey! You're wearing a yankees hat! You must play ball!" Truer words have not come from Rube's lips. He's been making a fine contribution to SAS. But if you make fun of the hair, he will hit the ball into your shins.

Addendum
I was kinda bored at work saving the world from malicious viruses, so I dug up a little more dirt on our TNG.
Check out THIS picture


And his ice hockey stats
Player Stats
Season GP G A P P/G
2002 3 1 2 3 1.00
2001 9 11 13 24 2.67
2000 2 5 7 12 6.00
Totals 15 20 22 42 2.80

DT RANTS

It was another lovely day. The field was a little dry and hard, but otherwise, a perfect day... except... we were short on numbers again. In fact, we only had 8 to start off, which was too short for even double or nothing. We decided on coning off CF and RF, and playing with 3 infielders (SS, 3rd and 1st) and 1 LF. But Patrick (We need a nickname for him soon) came up with a brilliant idea to hit switch instead. Everyone had to bat lefty. Considering that Heidi and the Sandman usually get the short end of the stick when we shut down a field, this was a fair arrangement so that Everyone else would be disadvantaged instead. As the cones were already laid, we decided on 2 infielders (2nd and 1st), and 2 outfielders (RF and CF). Anything to the left of the cones was dead. And to make up for a missing third baseman, we decided to call 3rd base the scoring base.

This arrangement worked brilliantly for the TWOs as they pulled 8 runs from this arrangement, taking a 8-1 lead by the 5th inning. But it was Prof Zen's idea that finally made our game perfect. He suggested a reverse double-or-nothing rule. Instead of being forced to reach second on a hit, the runner on second was forced to round third and head for home. However, the runner can still turn back to second if he had not yet stepped on third base. This made the game much more interesting, as it got much more difficult to score. The ONEs owned this rule, scoring 4 runs to the TWOs 2. But the ONEs could not rally for the win, and the score ended at 10-5.

Thinking that they had the second game in the bag, the ONEs faltered in the second game and only managed to bring in 1 run to end the game at 3-1.

The low numbers do bring out our creativity, and while it is definitely fun to be creative once in a while to mix up the game, it is still nice to enjoy a proper fully-manned game once in a while. We haven't had more than 16 show up in one day for months, and that's hard to stomach. Everyone needs to chip in and do some recruiting.

Hitting left was quite an experience. Everyone swung and missed at least ONCE. (everyone except Heidi of course.) Grandpa, Prof Zen and Marvelous struck out swinging. The ONEs finally started connecting with the ball, but the ball always ended up at the Generalissimo's feet. He had 4 double plays, and more than a dozen put-outs. The TWOs could really smack the ball though. Almost every hit from them went into the outfield. Seven was dominating. I've never seen him hit with so much power and consistancy. It's pretty clear that he's a closet lefty. It's time to come out of the closet Dom. Marvelous may have had the biggest hit of the day, but Prof Zen had the most beautiful. It was as if the ball he hit was laser guided to run straight down the fair side of the cones. It's proof that many of us can swing both ways.

There should be a new award in the blog. It will be called the "Hit Rickey Award". It seems that every week, for the past couple of months, someone has tried to hit, maim (and possibly kill) Rickey. My cousin Joanna started it with her killer line drive to stop him singing the backstreet boy song, DY tried the week after, and Dave the week after that, and I tried last week. The recipient of the first "Hit Rickey Award" goes to Patrick. He put a liner right up the middle when Rickey was pitching, and caught him in the left shin. Kudos to Rickey for staying with the ball, and making the play to get Patrick out. That was a stunning play, and it was also a stunning bruise on the shin. Let's see who can win the award next! The only downside of the hit, was that we lost our only "official" switch hitter. Patrick was so traumatised that for the rest of the game, he just hit the ball to the Generalissimo (and into three DPs).

Gunz, if you're reading this, we want photos of the restaurant that your colleagues have brought you to eat steak. Also, we want photos of the chicken fried steak that you ordered.

Cool Papa, if you're reading this, Rickey wants some soiled panties from the vending machine, and I'd like some pictures of your groupies.

11 March 2006 - Jug Ball

ONES: C: Rickey 1B: Rickey/Grandpa; 2B: DT; OF: Patrick, Marv-elous
TWOS: C: Big Dick; 1B: Heidi; 2B: The Generalissimo; OF: Prof. Zen (or Johnny Cash), Seven

Game One:
ONES: 5
TWOS: 10

Game Two (3 Innings):
ONES: 1
TWOS: 3

We have invented a new game, and it ultimately will develop our hitting skills. Left field, and anything to the left is an out. So, you have to hit to RF or CF, or basically right of 2B. When you are base running, you cannot stop at 3B. So, you have to score from 2B (thanks to Andy for figuring out that variation). Plus, we all batted left. Thus, there were some strikeouts, and there were some jugs served at Joe's. The weather was hot, and all had a really great time making fun off the bad swings.

NOTES:
1) Big Dick is back, at least for the week. It was good to see him strolling up in the 3rd inning; 2) Seven is a leftie and doesn't even know it. He was getting some great hits. He actually batted better than he usually does from the right; 3) Okay. Rickey's had enough of this hitting at him. Patrick hit a boomer at ankle height when Rickey was pitching. Damn, it hurt. Still does. Curses flew. But, Rickey stumbled to the ball and got Patrick out. Huge swelling on the left shin right now; 4) Marv-elous had a monster homer from the opposite side; 5) Of all the bad swings, Rickey had to have the worst. But, he always made contact, straight to the Venezualan Jaguar; 6)Prof. Zen was hitting them right down the line of cones in CF. He knows how to Walk the Line, just like the Man in Black.

MBP: Seven
Gold Glove: Venezualan Jaguar
Play of the Day: Rickey
DY: Rickey
Hit of the Day: Marv-elous

Lessons from Mr B

How NOT to behave on a date.

I found this post on this local food critic's blog. She's not a "official" food critic, just someone who loves to sample delicious food. Her blog is a lovely read and a must see for people who want to get some insights on dining in Singapore. Check her out. DimSumDolly.

Anyway, her original post is about one of her recent blind dates (Read it here ) which spurred this list. She has some wonderful advice for men on dates.

I quote ad verbatim :

Lessons from Mr. B

1) Do not be late the first time you're meeting someone. A good first impression it does not make I'm afraid.

2) Do not talk only about work--it bores the hell outta people.
- But then again, in Mr. B's case, I suppose he didn't have anything else to talk about.

3) Do ask your date questions about herself.
- It's rude to talk only about yourself and not ask questions in return. This is NOT an interview thank you very much. You're not the interviewee and your date isn't the interviewer.

4) Do not keep shifting your eyes and looking at other people going in and out of the restaurant all of the time, just because you want to look out for people you might know and so you can "network".

5) Do not be so desperate to network such that when you think a lady sitting outside to be your company doctor, you go outside to say "hi" only to discover you've made a mistake.

- I nearly wanted to laugh in his face when I heard it. But mainly I was disgusted at his pathetic attempts to network. He was telling me earlier how important it is to just say "hi" to people even if it's just an acquaintance. Pls, give me a break. I would only say hi to a family doctor I've been seeing since a kid and not a doctor at a clinic whom I see once in a blue moon.

6) Again, do not be so desperate to network with other people in the restaurant when you're on a date. Identifying correctly the senior banker at your bank who comes 15min later after the booboo with the "doctor" doesn't make the first botched attempt less pathetic. So he goes up to say "hi" to the senior banker. From my observation through the glass window, the man had no clue who Mr. B was. I bet Mr. B must have name-dropped some other senior banker's name and so the man was seemingly cordial to his networking attempts.

7) Develop some balls.
- Don't tell me you really don't like drinking and smoking, but you do it only to fraternise with the traders and brokers you have to work with. But really, your cigarette is in your hand most of the time. Please, at least be daring and man enough to say "No" and stop being such a phony.

8) If you don't already have a life outside of work, please get yourself one NOW.

Party at Andy's and other misc pictures.

It was a friendship
That became a secret

There are places they can't return
There are lies they have to tell
There are truths they can't deny

Brokeback Stadium

DT Rants

It was a scorcher. The field was not as bad as Rickey made out. It was relatively bumpy, but definitely playable. The sun was out in full force though. Numbers were bleah. We managed to get 12, and with Grandpa and Sandman volunteering to play all-time defensive positions, we worked around the shortage of numbers. Jason wore his big bat pants again. That's two weeks in a row that he's dominated offensively. He wasn't too shabby at defense either, making a heartbreaking tag on Seven at home to prevent the TWOs from running away with the game. That was one of the greatest plays I've ever seen. Gunz's throw was spot on. The velocity of the throw certainly helped Jason make the tag, but it was also Jason's glove and reflexes that sealed the play. Outstanding. It only goes to show that playing a REAL game every week is a lot more beneficial than running laps, and practicing repetive plays. No doubt, training in fundamentals would certainly help, but when it all boils down to it, there's no better substitute to real gameplay. Jason and Diana have both improved by leaps and bounds just by playing with us every week (though I suspect they have secret trainings in batting and throwing/catching). How lovely it is to have a loved one to play catch with.

The ground did contribute to many missed plays and weird bounces. But it was fun. Rubane did not get much work as the batters are starting to wise up to "The DEAD ZONE". It's really helped batters with their pull hits and opposite field drives. We saw only 3 hits into "The DEAD ZONE" all day.

The Generalissimo is starting to flash some major speed on the bases. With the recent weight loss, he's not only gotten healthier, but fitter and faster as well. Glovework is gold and the bat is still big, but the speed is now killer. Coupled with his experience and intelligent baserunning instincts, he's getting extra bases almost everytime.

Thanks to Grandpa and Sandman for playing all time. It helped even out the teams and at the same time, allow us to "simulate" greater numbers than we actually had. Seriously though, we need to do some serious recruiting. Everyone should try and bring a friend or two to come play. A colleague, relative, friend or even someone picked up at a party. Now that we've lost Gunz, Cool Papa and Prof Zen, we need to make up the numbers desperately.

This week is Gunz last week for a year. He will be spending the next year exiled in Iowa. Though, with softball imbedded deep in his soul, he's managed to sign up for a league down in Des Moines. We wish him the best of luck. Memorable quotes that will be heard. "goshdarnit ma, that injun can hit", "did ya see that arm on that fella? I din know they played ball in pakeestan", "hey pa, can we get him to marry our sister?"

Postscript
We moved on to Prof Zen's place for his farewell party. There was plenty of food, and way, way too much booze. Rube and Gunz spent the night chatting with a Kiwi. (how drunk must Rube have been to do that?) Horfun brought, no... not horfun, a Deep Fried Pig Knuckle. Rickey brought his puu puus (which turned out to be one of his better batches). Sandman ate grapes all night. Marvelous showed up with a date (yes ladies, the most eligible bachelor this side of Asia may be off the market). Mrs Prof Zen is a Pilates instructor, so the party was FILLED with Milfs. Each of us even managed to pick our own personal milf, and with varied tastes, there was no competition over anyone. Of course, no one got any digits... much less speak to the milf of their fancy. WAAAAIT....... ONE person did get some digits. And that person didn't even have to try. Instead of picking someone up, that Someone got picked up while signing the autograph book, and with the promise of showing up on saturday (good job recruiting), the fellow who did the picking up managed to get the digits from the individual, who's name we shall not mention. Our baby's all grownz up.

Addendum
DT has added another scalp to his "Thrown Balls At Head" list. Sandman was a victim of DT's knoblochesque arm with a relay throw that took his spectacles off, but did not draw blood.

4 March 2006 - Bouncy, Bouncy Balls

ONES: 1B: Heidi; 2B: Horfun/Jason; 3B: DT; OF: Rube, Seven
TWOS: 1B: Rickey; 2B: Diana; 3B: Venezualan Jaguar; OF: Gunz, Jason/Grandpa
All Time SS: Sandman
All Time CF (first 5 innings): Grandpa

ONES: 22
TWOS: 20

We played a variation of Rube Rules, etc. as players came and went. Sandman and Grandpa played all time SS and CF until Horfun had to leave to get her pig knuckles cooked. We played at the "new field" near Rube's place. It was really hot, and the field was bumpy and nasty. Both teams had a hard time handling balls once they hit the ground. No way to predict where they were going to bounce. Sandman even got hit in the face, glasses flying, once. At other times, to handle the sudden angle of the ball, he looked like a patient receiving electro-shock therapy.

Notes:
1) Jason started the game with 2 homers. Was completely on fire. He's becoming a dangerous batter; 2) Heidi was clutch. She also had 2 homers. The best one was a walk-off game winning 3-run homer in the bottom of the 9th. She was so hot, guys were asking for her digits. She's money; 3) Rube struck out; 4) Seven went to Bangkok last week, and even got past passport control; 5) DT made an emergency drinks run in the middle of the game to get water and other drinks, using Heidi's money. We were wilting in the heat; 6) One of the best plays I've seen. Gunz fields a ball in RF, and throws it home, as Seven is rounding 3B. Gunz misses the cut-off man; Gunz don't need a cut-off man. Jason is catching and in perfect position. The ball hits his glove - at shoulder height - with such force that it whips the glove backward and it slaps Seven's shoulder as he is centimeters from touching homeplate. All were stunned for a few seconds, then a roar rose up from both sides. The perfect going away moment for Gunz, as he is leaving for an Iowa exile for a year. He will be missed; 7) Andy's party was a good time. Plenty of food, much happening.

MBP: The Field
Gold Glove: Sandman
Biggest Bat: Heidi
Play of Day (and perhaps year): Gunz/Jason
DY: DT

Brokeback Stadium

Kevin Millar: I'm gonna tell you this one time, Mark fuckin' Bellhorn, an' I ain't foolin'. What I don't know - all them things I don't know - could get you killed if I come to know them. I mean it.
Mark Bellhorn: Yeah well try this one, and I'll say it just once!
Kevin Millar: Go ahead!
Mark Bellhorn: Tell you what, we coulda had a good life together! Fuckin' real good life! Had us a place of our own. But you didn't want it, Kevin! So what we got now is Brokeback Stadium! Everything's built on that! That's all we got, boy, fuckin' all. So I hope you know that, even if you don't never know the rest! You count the damn few times we have been together in nearly twenty years and you measure the short fucking leash you keep me on - and then you ask me about Mexico and tell me you'll kill me for needing somethin' I don't hardly never get. We've only one championship, you cocksucker! You have no idea how bad it gets! I'm not you... I can't make it on a one world series ring in my life! You are too much for me Kevin, you sonofawhoreson bitch! I wish I knew how to quit you.
Mark Bellhorn: [crying] Well, why don't you? Why don't you just let me be? It's because of you that I'm like this! I ain't got nothing... I ain't nowhere... Get the fuck off me! I can't stand being like this no more, Mark.

Our Very Own Indy Mentioned Online...

...no fedora in sight.

Lost Civilisation found in Indonesia

My only question... isn't vulcanology the study of Vulcans? hahahaha! (yes, I know, it's also spelt volcanology, and its the study of volcanos.) I'm sure that there are many *coughgeekcough* trekkies who are vulcanologists.

Indiana sends his greetings from chilly UK.

Farewell to Prof Zen

DT Rants

What a beautiful day, and even in my drug-induced-pain-killer-overdosed state I was raring to go. It looked like the baseball gods had heard our pleas, and forgiven us. The frisbee idiots in their complacent confidence came late, and so we managed to grab our usual corner of the NUS field. Of course being the inconsiderate idiots that they are, they tried to infringe on our space. Guppy the salesman, went over to negotiate with them. I don't agree with this, as when they come early, they refuse to negotiate with us. They told us flat out, 'why don't you move over there.' (meaning the far corner). But when the tables are turned, it seems that WE have to negotiate with THEM NOT set up THEIR cones in OUR left field. It pisses me off and I'm sure this angered the baseball gods too, as the moment that Guppy negotiated with them (instead of telling them flat out to fuck off), the phones start buzzing with messages of people not being able to show up. GREAT! A beautiful day, beautiful field, and up to that point, beautiful numbers. UP TO THAT POINT. You may say I'm being irrational, as those people probably wouldn't have come anyhow. I say NO. The baseball gods were angry and they punished us.

No Matter, with 10 players, we still managed to salvage a good game. Two good five inning games in fact. We shut down centerfield with cones, and Grandpa and I played all time defensively. Both teams hit well, and fielded well, and the scores do not do justice to the standard of play on the field. The two ladies at second base must be lauded for their outstanding glovework. Both Horfun and Diana were superb at 2B, making great stops and excellant plays. Jason was wearing his big bat pants today, he hit magnificantly. I bet his legs are really sore now, he must have rounded the bases at least 5-6 times, with about a dozen RBIs, including a grand slam HR right along the fair-left-cone-line. Rickey had one of the best hits of his career too, pity centerfield was dead and if you're dying to know which is slower, a 6-5-high-arc-slow-throw-3 double play or Rickey running to first, we have the answer for you... Rickey running to first.

Next week is going to be Andy aka Prof Zen's farewell party, details in the previous post. We're going to miss him. He was a fantastic all-round player, easily filling positions in infield or outfield, catching and pitching when the need arrives. He had a great arm and a big bat. Most of all, he was one of the stalwarts of the game. Come rain or shine, at 2.30pm on the dot, Andy would be at the sheltered walkway waiting for the stragglers to arrive. In fact in the past two years that tbat I've known him, I've only known him to miss less than a dozen, and that was because he was overseas. As long as he was physically present in Singapore, we would see him on the field. No excuses. No excuses. How do I wish we had more players like Andy. We are really sad to see him go, and wish him all the best under the capitalistic corporate regime of the United States of the Repulican Empire. I've seen so many loyal players come and go over the years, and every one strikes a painful chord in my soul.

The faces may change, but the game lives on.

25 February 2006 - My kingdom for some players....

We had beautiful weather, the field of choice empty, and too few players showing up. If you didn't come you missed a great opportunity. We played "Rube Rules" - with the cones making CF dead - and two players played in the field all time.

ONES: 1B: Heidi; 2B: Horfun; 3B: Rickey; RF: Prof. Zen (Andy); LF: Grandpa
TWOS: 1B: Guppy; 2B: Diana; 3B: Sandman; RF: Jason
All Time SS: DT
Game One Grandpa played all time LF
Game Two Rickey played all time 3B; Sandman played LF for TWOS.

GAME ONE (5 Inning Mercy)
ONES: 3
TWOS: 13

GAME TWO (5 Innings):
ONES: 11
TWOS 4

NOTES:
1) Jason was on fire in Game One. He must have scored 6 runs. He also had a perfect hit along the cones; 2) Diana plays some tough 2B on a number of plays, snags a Rickey line-drive; 3) DT played through some serious back pain; 4) Prof Zen had a good, quiet, all-around game. Same for Sandman; 5) When Grandpa came in to bat in Game Two, he was amazing. He fired up the ONES, and led them to victory; 6) Guppy can't pitch to save his life; 7) MBP comes down to Jason or Grandpa. Both played really well, but did drop some fly balls at critical times.

MBP: Grandpa
Biggest Bat: Jason
Gold Glove: Diana
DY: DT

SPECIAL NOTE: Prof Zen is having a going away party at Ft. Canning (the black box?) on Saturday after ball. Entrance fee is a photograph (of anything).

World Baseball Classic

Click here for the link to their homepage.

The groupings are awful. How can you put the Dominican Republic and Venezuela together? On top of that, they're in the same pool as Cuba and Puerto Rico. So instead of seeing a Latin American Final (unless Mexico makes it), we'll see exciting games in group C and group D in Pool2 right up to the semi-final. The US team should easily make it to the finals, from the looks of their grouping and pool, unless of course they decide to grab their board before the finish line. I honestly hope the Japanese beat them in the Semi-Final. I'm sure the placings of the groups and pools were stacked to help the americans cheat, though why they'd need to is beyond me. Then again, with the number of "stars" dropping out, maybe they do need to stack the odds.

They should've done a random draw like they do for the (gasp)soccer world cup. Talking about (gasp)soccer world cup, considering this is a "World" Baseball tournament, I don't understand why players are dropping like flies from the rosters.
In the (gasp)soccer world cup (or practically any international sporting event), players are clamouring to play for their country. So why is this "World" Baseball Classic any different? I think the reason is simple. It's because it's ONLY a "Classic" rather than a "Championship". Of course the term "World Series" and "World Champions" have already been taken by the MLB, which while having international players is hardly an INTERNATIONAL competition.

Oh well, all I'm asking for is that they show the games on TV.

DT Rants

The Baseball gods are angry with us. I don't know why. Maybe it's because we are starting later and later and not properly worshipping with two games, maybe because the faithful are diminishing in number, maybe because we have allowed the frisbee players to stomp all over our holy ground, maybe because so many of us seemed to have lost the love, the passion and the sprit for the game, maybe because precious blood has been spilled on the holy ground that did not return. Either way, the Baseball gods are angry with us, and they punished us with a downpour during the third inning of our game. They punished us with cricketeers on the main field, and archery on the lower field. They punished us with new signs at West Coast Park disallowing organised ball games, taking away our alternate field. They punished us with a uneven, lumpy, clay and mud ridden field by a large drain to use as an alternate-alternate field. And in three weeks, they are taking away three of our best players, and sending them to baseball homeland. One forever, one for a year and one for six months. Further depleting our numbers. The Baseball gods are very angry with us.

Since West Coast Park is now forever off-limits (till they take down the sign), our primary alternate field is now at Clementi, so when(not if) you're late, and there's no one at NUS, head down to Clementi. If you are driving, it's very close by, if not, grab a 96 or 151 towards Clementi, and get off after Kent Vale.



The Star is the carpark to Rube's place, or you can also park at the Multistory carpark at blk415

18 February 2006 - New Field

Nice turnout. We had full teams, but only managed to play 2 innings before the rain came. The most important announcement is that there is a NEW FIELD. Since "ball games" are not allowed at West Coast, the new alternative if we aren't at NUS is the field between the new NUS high school and Commonwealth. It is on Clementi Rd, and opposite Rube's place (you can park at Rube's). It is a huge field, a bit bumpy, but as we explore it we should find a fine place to play. But, meet at NUS first. That's always our first choice.

On to the game. The only two interesting plays were: 1) Heidi made a really nice grab in foul territory; 2) Rube had an infield homer. He hit it at Diana (who was playing 2B). She was perfectly positioned to field it, but the ball hit a bump and shot 2 meters over her head. Since the outfielders were so far back (for a Rube boomer), DT ran into right-center ran to get the ball, as Rube chugged his way around the bases for the play-of-the-day.

Other Notes: Nice to see Andy back. Our own Kenny Loggins had been away composing his own "yacht rock" with the Kitty in Cambodia.

11 Febuary 2006 - The Thong Song

ONES : 1B: Jason, 3B: Generalissimo, SS: Nomah, LF: Cool Papa, CF: Gunz
TWOS : 1B: Marshmallow, 3B: Diana, SS: DT, LF: Patrick, CF: Sandman

Final Score:
ONES 22 : TWOS 15

It was a hot day and even though the numbers were severly depleted, we still managed to have a great time. Real estate was at a premium as the frisbee idiots come really early just to monopolise half the field. And even our alternate-far-field was taken up by a bunch of female rugby players (and god knows we didn't want to mess with them). The cages were also taken up by cricketers so we made the best of the limited space by putting homeplate at the green monster, and batting towards the patch of bowling turf. With our numbers, we totally shut down the right side, and even took our the second base. Rather than play double of nothing, our "normal" game seemed most appropriate with so many big bats present. In the end, The ONEs had the bigger bats, sending it deep past Patrick and Sandman for numerous doubles and triples. And when Patrick and Sandman played deep, they hit shallow flys that still ended up in doubles. The TWOs were simply outplayed.


MBP : NA
Best Bat : Sandman (Who consistanly hit opposite field at every at-bat)
Golden Glove : NA
DY Play : NA
Drama Mama : NA


You might notice that there is, for the first time, a postscript to the SAS adventures. Well, as usual after every ball game, we proceeded to Joe's for a drink, and I must say, I have never laughed so much, and so hard in one sitting at Joe's for such a long time. Cool papa's wit was set on overdrive (must be the fallout from all the meds he's stopped taking), ragging first on the Generalissimo, then Rickey, then the Rube. No one was spared the whiplashing, and it was great to see Cool Papa happy again. Highlights include, crying "Racist" when the Generalissimo got a special bowl of peanuts while the rest of us ate mixed-nuts. Calling Rube "Marshmallow" because he's gone white and soft after hooking up with Jones (and then taking out his lighter to "Roast the Marshmallow" after the Generalissimo told a better joke than Rube). And his dream about Rickey. The Thong Dream as it will now be known, where Cool Papa (still high on meds) dreamt of Rickey in a white wifebeater, his red hat and a black thong, lying on his stomach giving Cool Papa the Daytona Wave....eerrrwwwwww). Patrick, TNG, showed his stuff on the field and off it. To put it in context, Gunz was so impressed with Patrick's arm that he offered to loan his "Gunz" jersey to Patrick while Gunz goes to Iowa. Off the field, Patrick proved his mettle by calling The Duke gay, and NOT backing down even when the Rube threaten him a pounding. Then again, since The Rube is now the Marshmallow, I think not many people will back down from his soft threats again. :) The Beer tab was $192. What a awesome night.

DT Rants

The theme of the day must have been Dom's impending doom marriage. First we played small ball (pre-marriage) because the field wasn't free (think about it), then when the space opened up for us to use, we found the paths drawn and the bases laid. We then played with the strikezone, but no balls (he gave them up ages ago). It was quite evident that the one ring does something to a man. Nigey had a field day a couple of weeks back when he first showed up after his marriage, and Dom was much the same. Dom really wielded his stick well even with the lack of use and showed some incredible control, spraying on all fields.

The annual NUS IHG (Inter-Hall Games) Softball tournament was going on when we arrived on the field, and they took our usual corner and our not-so-usual corner. We were restricted to the little corner by the road and the vending machine. Due to the lack of space, and numbers, we decided to play small ball, and all batters were forced to hit the ball into the ground before the ball was deemed in-play. As long as the ball hit the ground once in the infield, the ball was live. It was quite fun, and though it sounds impossible to score or even reach base, the TWOs managed to pull it off. (H was playing in the tournament by the way, reached the semis, but their pitcher helped them walk away from the finals)

When both semi-finals finished on both fields, we moved to the far corner for our game proper. Since the bases were laid out and the strikezone marked out, we decided to play "Strikes, no balls" or in other words "Domball". It was a good game! we had fantastic weather, coupled with a brilliant, brilliant field (with lines). The field has fully recovered from the rain onslaught from the past few days. The grass was soft and moist. Perfect for diving.

Rube did some major recruiting for us, yelling at a guy walking down the street. "Hey! come play, you're wearing a yankees hat". Good call! Turns out, the one man the Rube recruited is also the one man that can shut Rube down. Patrick proved to be Rube's bane, holding his usually long hits to mere singles, and on one occasion, gunning him down with a brilliant throw to second for the tag out. That guy has got some arm and range! If we have him in CF, Gunz in RF, and Cool Papa in LF and weixiong or fei at Rover, the OF would become an immense impenetrable wall.
Add Rube at first, DY at short, DT at second and the Generalissimo at 3rd. Sprinkle on some of Dom or SWAT to pitch and Monk to catch and SAS could probably sweep this year's Montfort invitational with ease....And that's just a guys team. Though I'm pretty sure if we put together a girls team, they could take down the guys team easily....

It's been a long week and I'm kinda halfway down with this post. This has been sitting in the draft box for the whole week, so I thought I'd post it up first and update later.

BRB.

4 February 2006 - No Balls

ONES: 1B: Rube; 2B: Marv-elous; 3B: Rickey; SS: Sandman; LF: Grandpa; CF: Say Hey Kid; RF: Seven
TWOS: 1B: Heidi; 2B: Horfun; 3B: The Venezualan Jaguar; SS: DT; LF: Cool Papa; CF: Patrick; RF: Gunz

Game One:
ONES: 10
TWOS: 3

After a lot of false starts due to the inter-hall tournament, we finally secured the "opposite field" for our game, using the pull that certified "Hardest Working Man" (Quantitavely) has over his student, who was running the tournament (if you don't understand this last sentence, you weren't at Joe's). We didn't go to West Coast because the field was simply in perfect condition. Since the tournament bases, etc. were still there, we played "strikes, but no balls" on our pitches. The game was quite even, but the ONES would just score 1-2 every inning until they piled up. It was over when the TWOS loaded the bases in the bottom of the 8th with no outs, and only got one run out of it...

NOTES:
1) Everyone was competing for Drama Mama and DY. Sandman and Rube both made spectacular attempts at foul balls, but came up empty. Heidi - playing in her 4th game of the day - made a foul catch for the ages; 2) Horfun has some incredible snags on foul balls behind the plate. A natural catcher; 3) Rickey don't want to play 3B anymore. For the 3rd time this year, someone tried to castrate him for his - sometimes - taunting comments. This time it was Cool Papa hitting. At least Rickey didn't scream like a little girl this time. He is actually a good Third Baseman... to poop on!! (salute to video night at Rickey's after Joe's); 4) Patrick has got an arm. Damn!!! 5) Marv-elous was caught in a number of run-downs; 6) Seven is living up to the newly-married rule. He comes to the field and plays better than he has in ages. It must be the ring.

MBP: Seven (had to give it to him. It's the only thing he'll get for a long time)
Best Bat: Seven
DY: Heidi
Drama Mama: Heidi
Gold Glove: Horfun (while catching, not 2B)
Best Arm: Patrick, but a lot of competition here.

28 Jan 2006

No Game today. Happy Lunar New Year to everyone.
We're not allowed to say Happy Chinese New Year, as everyone knows, that's racist.
So is 'Merry Christmas', the correct nomenclature is "Happy Holidays".

Dom's Big Day

OMG! IT'S TRUE!!!!



Dom's REALLY getting married.

Holy Moley! THere's two of them

There's another living breathing RedSox fan in Singapore....

singaporesoxfan

DT Rants

New photos updated. Hit the links in the "Pictures" on the bottom right.

I didn't play, so nothing to rant about. The EH pitcher took too goshdarned long to make a single pitch. The only reason why we only played 4 innings was because he took like 10 minutes in between every pitch. He pitched too high as well. If I were the umpire of their games, I would give the team a technical for delay of game, then call every pitch from that guy a ball for "too high", till he wised up and pitched properly.

Meanwhile, the sign is open to interpretation. It did say "Team ball games are not allowed to be played", but it did NOT say "Team ball games are not allowed to be played ON THIS FIELD", for all we know, the sign is meant for the bicycle track (afterall, it IS on a lamp post ON the bicycle track and not on the field". Oh well, hopefully the sun will come out more and heal our hallowed ground at NUS. But I'm guessing "NO" because the Hall tournaments are on, so they will definitely be tearing up the ground.

We really need to find an alternate field. Does anyone living out in the west area have any suggestions? Any PUBLIC, open expanse of field we can play some softball?

Our numbers have really been dwindling. We had all of 14 today, and if not for Lloyd and the ex-montfort guys, we would've been in the double of nothing catagory. We really need to do some serious recruiting. Where's the NTU folks?

Next sat is CNY eve, so no game. We've never been successful trying to play on the third day even when it's a holiday, so no one bothered trying this time.

See you all again on February 4th.

By the way, for those of you who are interested, AND free. There will be a protest rally on Feb 2nd, at 10am at the Registry of Marriages down at 7 Canning Rise (S)179869. Don't worry, everything's been cleared with the Police, and the proper papers and warrants have been prepared. Banners have been made, and we just need to stand at the door and not let Dom in. Do your friend a favour and not let him make the greatest mistake of his life. This is a serious plea.

21 January 2006 - Ego Boost

The Team:
P: Seven; C: Rickey/Guppy/Diana; 1B: Rube; 2B: Sarah; 3B: The Venezualan Jaguar; SS: Clement; OF: Grandpa, Gil the Gazelle, Melson, JD
Reserves: DT, The Cheetah

The Other Team: Eusoff Hall, plus Heidi

Score (around 6 innings):
Saturday Softball: 22
The Other Team: 2

Another game at West Coast, where apparantly it is illegal to play ball games unless you pay someone. No wonder sports is messed up here. Where's the joy of playing? I'll let DT take over the rant on that one.

We dominated Eusoff Hall, but they did play better than most Hall teams we've faced. They had some good fielders, but had trouble getting hits. There was a rainstorm in the middle of all of it, but game continued.

NOTES:
1) We batted around, and more, in the 2nd inning. That's right 14+ people batted in the second inning; 2) Melson had some monster hits, each one sticking a knife in the heart of the other team; 3) The Other Team's pitcher had an arch of about 8 meters on his pitches, and we were calling balls and strikes. 4) Seven was pitching like a pro. Great job; 5) Rickey was running to 3B and was hit smack in the back of the head by the ball being throw in from rightfield. Everyone looked a bit shocked, but Rickey shook it off. He was surprised it wasn't DT throwing the ball. 6) Sarah is the real deal. Drop med school Down Under and come play for us full time; 7) Guppy had his first swinging bunt in years; 8) Heidi looked extremely angry during the second inning rally.

MBP: Seven
Gold Glove: The Venezualan Jaguar
Biggest Bat: Melson
Play of the Day: Rickey gets hit in head by ball
Most likely to have an aneuryism: Heidi

NO GAME ON 28 JANUARY. HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR.

Vacancy

Hey! Maybe our very own Nomah can apply for the position... Plus the party scene in bostan is much better than Singapore. He probably doesn't have to wait in line for MOS.

Vacancy

Sox Prepared to Start Season with No Shortstop

Vacancy_1In a shocking announcement yesterday, Red Sox co-GMs Ben Cherington and Jed Hoyer said that if it came to it, they were quite comfortable beginning the season with no one playing shortstop for the Sox. Hoyer and Cherington made the announcement together, speaking simultaneously in a show of unity.
“Everybody is so worried about what we’re going to do at shortstop,” laughed a smug Cherington after making the announcement. “Sure, Alex Cora is a possibility, and we might even make a trade for a shortstop. But let me…us…state quite clearly that we are perfectly comfortable with no one playing shortstop. Hoyer then explained that the team had reams of statistical evidence to back up its claim that a shortstop, while a convenience, is certainly not a necessity. “You could well argue that we played without a shortstop last year and still won 95 games,” argued Hoyer, referring to the calcified Edgar Renteria and his 30 errors. “For crying out loud, we paid another team $11 million to take our shortstop away, so I think that was a pretty strong statement that we believe we can make it without a shortstop. Who knows? Maybe we’ll play with four outfielders instead.”
When it was pointed out that the team also does not currently have a centerfielder—hence only two outfielders—Cherington and Hoyer, nodding at the same time, acknowledged that that could be a problem. “Statistical data does indicate that you need a centerfielder or you’re going to have a hell of a lot of inside-the-park homeruns on routine singles up the middle,” the GMs explained. “So we’ll have to take care of that.” Hoyer could then be seen writing on a notepad: “Get a centerfielder!”
Still, the GMs are convinced that the need to have some positions filled are vastly overrated. “Look, we had no GM for more than a month, and now we’re using this ridiculous co-GM scenario,” they whimsically noted. “And everything’s going just fine! Isn’t it?”

DT Rants

Sorry for the late rant. It's been a hectic week. For those of you who are interested, Microsoft released a couple of critical patches for their Windows systems last week. PLEASE install them on your PC.... NOW. look for MS06-001 and MS06-002. For more info, read February's HWM. There is a commentary piece on backdoors and what not (I'm sure Rube would approve of the title)

On to the Rant.
I can't believe I overran the ball. That's like impossible, but somehow it happened. One moment, I see the ball bloop behind second base, I run like crazy, turn around, and when I look up, it's gone missing. Next thing I know, the ball drops right in front of me. It must have been the weeks of no ball.

Rickey's "almost" play at third must have been the most memorable of the day. Rube's on third base, DY up at bat, Rube stands slouched over the baseline, so Rickey warns him... "Becareful, DY hits it right down the li......eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee". The scream is because DY hits one right at Rickey's jewels at the same moment. In half a nano second, the ball reaches Rickey before he can finish saying "line", Rickey sticks out his glove to protect his nuts, makes a catch, but drops the ball because he's still moving away from the path of the ball and screaming in a ridiculously high pitch.

It's great to have Cool Papa back. Although everyone seems to be trying to victimise him. Rube smacked a couple down the line, deep, deep down the line, and when he stayed close to the line, Fei would smack the ball up the middle, along Rubane's foul line. Cool Papa may have run his 5k that day.


footnote: Those of you who weren't at Joe's after ball, be prepared for a surprise when you meet The Generalissimo on Sat. His new nickname should be "Mr Expressions" or "Mr Marie France"

14 January 2005 - Short, sweet and dry

ONES: 1B: Heidi; 2B: Horfun; 3B: Marv-elous; SS: DY; LF: Rube; CF: Ru-bane; RF: Say Hey Kid
TWOS: 1B: Nigey-pooh; 2B: Diana; 3B: Rickey; SS: D-"I'm Quicker than I thought"-T; LF: Cool Papa; CF: Ru-bane; RF: Seven

GAME 1 (3 Innings):
ONES: 16
TWOS: 16

That's right: we played three innings, had 32 runs and it was not even the small ball. Played at West Coast, since the NUS fields are swampy, nasty. Played "Rube Rules", with the CF dead. Game started out with the TWOS getting 10 in the top of the first. The ONES fought back valiently and tied the game before the rains came (again). At Joes, Latino (and Gringo) Heat dominated on the pool table as the Generalissimo returned. He's back and in fighting shape...

NOTES:
1) Heidi was hitting with authority; 2) Diana made the only play in the infield all day, with a grounder that she tossed to Nigey-pooh; 3) Rube and Cool Papa were running all over LF. They got a good work-out and both had nice throws throughout the game into homeplate or the infielders; 4) DY had some masterful hits along the cones in RF, over 3B, and then trying to take his position back from Rickey, who screamed like a girl; 5) The Say Hey Kid was quietly (as usual) getting great hits and running all over the bases, always going for that extra base; 6) Rube had a hit that was leaving the park, but the winds from the sea blew it back in. 7) Rickey: Never out.

MBP: Ru-Bane (made at least 8 of the 18 outs)
Gold Glove: Diana
Best Bat: DY/Heidi (tie)
Biggest Bat: Rube
DY: Cool Papa (catching a foul pop)
Best Arm: Cool Papa
Bonehead: DT runs back for a high pop up, and runs too far.
Cisco (Protecting the Jewels) Award: Rickey

The Sun will come out tomorrow

The sun'll come out Tomorrow
Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow
There'll be sun!

Just thinkin' about Tomorrow
Clears away the cobwebs, and the sorrow
'Til there's none!

When I'm stuck in a day
That's gray, And lonely,
I just stick out my chin
And Grin, And Say,
Oh!

The sun'll come out, Tomorrow
So ya gotta hang on 'Til tomorrow

10 January - Damn this infernal Rain

3 days of almost nonstop rain. Oh baseball gods, why hath thou forsaken us?

DT Rants

1.50pm : Was leaving the House, received SMS. "The weather is very bad over here"
1.55pm : Replied SMS, "I'll wait for a little while more before leaving home"
2.45pm : Send SMS, "How's the situation"
2.55pm : Received SMS, "No one's here"

7 January 2006 - Convention of Sissies (but at least they showed up)

At 3:00 there were only 4 people there (Rickey, Horfun, Heidi and Rube). By 3:30 there were finally 10 (Nelson, Gil the Gazelle, Clement, Diana, Jason and Seven).

The field was a lake, due to the constant rain over the past week. By the time Rube made a very muddy survey of playing fields, all had pretty much given up. Dark clouds on the horizon, our spirit broken. We adjourned to Joe's, for perhaps the worst - and longest - game of pool ever played.

THERE WILL BE A GAME ON TUESDAY, 10 JANUARY (A PUBLIC HOLIDAY). MEET AT 10:00. I SUSPECT WE WILL PLAY AT WEST COAST PARK, BUT GO TO THE USUAL GATHERING PLACE FIRST. IF WE ARE NOT THERE, CHECK WEST COAST.

DT Rants

For the Record, the first Homerun of 2006 was hit by Jason.

2 January 2006 - Like Pigs rooting in s***

ONES: C: Guppy; 1B: Rickey; 2B: Diana; 3B: Don't-know-his-name; SS: Mr Wong; LF: Rube; CF: The Cheetah; RF: Nigey-pooh; Rover: Shaun
TWOS: P: Gunz; C: Horfun; 1B: Heidi; 2B: Don't-know-his-name 2; 3B: DY; SS: DT; LF: Gil the Gazelle; CF: Cool Papa; RF: Grandpa; Rover: Jason

Game ONE:
ONES: 21
TWOS: 12

Game TWO: (3 Innings)
ONES: 5
TWOS: 10

Man it was muddy. It was nasty on that field. DT was upset that his brand-new pillow bases - a nice maroon - were almost ruined. First base was a nasty, smelly, pig-sty. It stank of manure. It was bad. The first game was dominated by the ONES, while the second was by the TWOS.

NOTES:
1) Nigey-pooh was on fire. The wife sends him out of the house - welcome to married life - and he dominates with the bat. He gave the ONES the early lead, which Rube solidified. 2) Rube shows up late, and proceeds to hit 3 booming homeruns. He also caught a Cool Papa epic homerun in the middle of a soccer game. Amazing catch. 3) DY is back. Good to see him hitting well. 4) Horfun had nice smacks right up the middle. 5) Jason is on the 'roids. His homerun was something the Kitty would have hit 5 years ago. His highlight of the year, and it's only a day old. 6) While they are testing Jason, might as well check Heidi too. 7) Guppy made major league moves behind the plate. 3x he caught someone out on a foul ball in key, game-changing situations. 8) DT is still fuming over a foul ball he hit. He claims it was fair, and we await the rant on that one. 9) Heidi hits ball to Rickey. Ball stops next to 1B, and Rickey tries to pick it up. Ball is stuck in muck, and Heidi is safe. 10) Cool Papa had some rough moments in the field, but his arm held runners and in the second game he hit a game changing triple.

MBP: Nigey-pooh
Biggest Bat: Rube
Play-of-the-Day: Rube (catching Cool Papa's hit)
Golden Glove: Guppy
Hit-of-the-Day: Jason
DY: Has to be DY showing up.
Bonehead Play of the Day: Either Rickey not picking up Heidi's hit in the muck, or Rickey's base-running (does it qualify as base-"running" if he is going so slow?).

Lightning Crashes

Oh how the baseball gods mock us. 6 weeks without ball, and when we finally start our worship, the skies open. Heidi momentarily became Donald Blake, as she called down the lightning when her bat struck the ball. It was a magnificant line-drive, but no one saw it as everyone ducked and covered. The crack of her bat on the ball became the crack of thunder and the flash of lightning carried the ball down the line. We didn't see the hit, but we definitely saw the ball land way out in rightfield.

We welcome back Cool Papa, from his hiatus, though Rickey had of take advantage of his semi-medicated state. We also welcome back Fye from Changmai, and the missing couples, Jason&Diana and Paul&Thaddeus. We haven't seen them in awhile.

We play Monday, 2nd Jan, 10am. Hopefully the baseball gods will smile on us this time. DY is back and he'll be playing.

31 December 2005 - "Oh, how I wish it would rain"

For the first time in weeks we have plenty of people and mother nature laughs at us.

Final score:
Humans: 0
Mother Nature: 1

We were in the 2nd inning of the game, when the skies opened on us. Man, it rained. Lightning too.

NOTES:
1) Good to see Cool Papa back, even though Rickey had to school him on fielding; 2) New lady - a friend of Heidi - can play. Major skillz. She must come back; 3) Jason had a nice snag on a Cool Papa line drive; 4) Lightning was hitting a bit close to home; 4) Joe's was a nice refuge, although the pool playing left a lot to be desired