batteh blog-o-rama

Sorry that I was late on the blog post. I didn’t get around to it after the big win over Fenders, then the laptop screen died, and then the blog was hijacked. Thanks to Charlie for letting me know. Guess I need to upgrade my Wordpress install.

Anyhow, excellent work in the win over Fenders. The 13-6 victory was our first win against them in a while. We played a solid game with the bats and gloves. They decided to intentionally walk Jesse every time but once- and the one time he tomahawked a high pitch for a HR. Plus Chris W. and Pete made them pay by getting hits behind Jesse. In fact, we hit up and down the lineup, repeatedly staging rallys with hit after hit. We went one base at a time just like the A’s. The gloves were solid too even with the brutal sun for the left side of the field- Ben managed to snag a smash up the middle (perhaps in self-defense) and Pete made a nice relay throw to get an out at 3rd. Nice way to end the season with a win over the top team in the league. The tourney is in two weeks so enjoy the week off and then come back strong to make one last run in the summer session (I can’t believe it is almost over already).

Here are this week’s points as best I can remember- feel free to self-assess as needed. As always feel free to comment, correct, add, etc. Thanks to Matt who also kept the score and the points- I may have to return to his sheets to confirm as it seems like more points were earned. I brought beverages this week and Ben will provide following the tourney (and if his beverages are acceptable, we’ll reset his record point total).

Ben W. (8.5) [+1 for walk, -0.5 for K, -0.5 for catching line drive]
Ron (6.5)
Jon L. (4.5)
Chris W. (4.5)
Dan W. (4.5)
Todd (2.5)
Charlie (2) [+1 for walk]
Matt (1)
John B. (1) [-5 for beverages, -0.5 for 9-6-5 PO]
Pete (0) [-0.5 for 9-6-5 PO]
Chaz (0)
Tony (-0.5)
Jesse (-3) [-0.5 for HR (Matt suggested that you buy beverages whenever you are 5 points away from zero in either direction- I like it!!)]

Very annoying loss last night to a classless, bush league team. After playing them in the first game, we pretty much knew they were idiots. In the vein of Elizabeth Barrett Brownings “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…” here is my list of “How bush league are you? Let me count the ways…”:

• You decided to take infield while the other team is warming up on the IF. When Jon L. asked if they were taking IF and if they were going to ask us to move, you respond “No. I thought you would notice.” Jon L.- feel free to correct the quote.
• You take the bench even though the other team has already put their stuff there.
• You don’t allow your opponent to add their guy who showed up late to the end of the roster even though every other team (and even the umpire) ignores the rule that you can only add someone before you have gone through the entire lineup.
• You run into an IF who was clearly in the baseline and then argue that you shouldn’t be called out for obstruction.
• You don’t pitch to Jesse the entire game (which is fine, I suppose) but then intentionally walk him without even throwing a pitch when you are up by 9 runs in the 5th inning.

There were some sweet plays- Jon L. had a nice triple and made some spectacular plays with the glove, and Pete knocked in our two runs with a liner down the line. Oh well, on to Fenders next week in the last regular season game.

Here are this week’s points as best I can remember- feel free to self-assess as needed. As always feel free to comment, correct, add, etc. Thanks to Matt who provided beverages this week and to those who stayed to enjoy them after a late game. After last night’s sorry performance, I’ve jumped ahead of Jon L. and will bring beverages next week.

Ben W. (8.5)
Ron (6.5)
John B. (6.5) [+1 for horrendous throw, +1 for failing to score Jon L. from 3rd]
Jon L. (4.5) [ -0.5 for great stop in the hole and putout at first]
Chris W. (4.5)
Dan W. (4.5)
Todd (2.5) [+1 for getting doubled off first]
Matt (1) [-5 for providing backup beverages]
Charlie (+1) [+1 for mistimed jump on ground ball up the middle]
Pete (0.5) [+1 for failing to score Jon L. from 3rd]
Chaz (0)
Tony (-0.5)
Jesse (-2.5)

The excellent work with the gloves and the bats continued in a 10-5 win over Cubs AC. Jesse provided the big hit with a 2 out grand slam and the gloves did the rest. The left side of the IF was just tall enough as Jon L. (thanks for the correction, Todd) and Tony snagged two leaping liners, Tony also made a great diving stop, and the OF caught everything.

Surprisingly there were lots of points to assess this week in a win. Oddly we hit into 2 3U-6 DPs. Once again Ben was a 5 tool points-earning machine as he tried to earn points in all categories. We almost had to take him out to provide beverages immediately. Due to his exceptional performance, we decided to take Ben back to 0 points the next time he provides beverages no matter how many points he accumulates in the mean time- go for the record!! We also decided to only assess one point for walks in a game. Here are this week’s points as best I can remember- feel free to self-assess as needed. As always feel free to comment, correct, add, etc. Thanks to Charlie who provided beverages this week and Matt who provided the backup beverages. Excellent work by the crew on the beverages- very few brought back home. Tony, Jon L., and Danny were especially noteworthy with the beverages (I still think we should have an outing to a skate park to thrash). Matt will bring again next week.

Ben W. (8.5) [+1 for walks (there were 2 but we’ll limit), +1 for grounding into DP, +2 for K]
Ron (6.5)
Matt (6) [-0.5 for providing backup beverages]
Jon L. (5) [+1 for failing to drive in run from 3rd, -0.5 for solid defensive plays]
John B. (4.5) [+1 for booted grounder]
Chris W. (4.5) [+1 for getting thrown out at 3rd]
Dan W. (4.5) [+1 for failing to drive in run from 3rd]
Todd (1.5) [+1 for failing to drive in run from 3rd]
Chaz (0)
Charlie (0) [-5 for beverages- thanks!!]
Pete (-0.5)
Tony (-0.5) [+1 for grounding into DP (I would give -0.5 for great leaping catch but you are already negative!!), +1 for error (self-assessed)]
Jesse (-2.5) [-0.5 for grand slam (I suggest we only subtract points for grand slams until Jesse gets back into positive territory]

Excellent work with the gloves and the bats in a 17-13 win. Jon L. had several key 2 out hits and Jesse hit 3 HRs. It was the revenge of the gloves- we turned 3 DPs, Tony made a great diving stop in the hole to get a force out at 3B and turned 2 DPs including an awesome turn on a ball hit up the middle, Chaz made a great stop on a ball up the middle to save a run, and Pete (or was it Todd?) made a great throw from CF that Ben cut off and threw to 2B to get a putout. I think the awesome glove work can be attributed to Tony’s use of duct tape on his pants- it should be mandatory for all IFs.

Here are this week’s points as best I can remember- feel free to self-assess as needed. This time it is hard to remember all the negative points. Wow!! It seemed as if Ben was trying to get 5 points by himself in the first inning. We decided on a new rule: if anyone gets 5 points in one game, they will be removed from the game so they can go purchase beverages immiedately. As always feel free to comment, correct, add, etc. Chris W., any OF points to assess?

Ron (6.5)
Matt (6.5) [+2 for errors two weeks ago (see comments)]
Charlie (5) [+1 for walk]
Ben W. (4.5) [+1 for walks (there were 3 but we’ll only count one though I know they weren’t intentional), +1 for getting thrown out at home, -0.5 for cutoff and putout]
Jon L. (4.5) [+1 for fielding (self-assessed), -0.5 for 5-4-3- DP, -0.5 for 2 out RBI idea]
John B. (3.5) [-1 for 2 DPs]
Chris W. (3.5) [+1 for error two weeks ago, +1 for being late with the OF points (see comments)]
Dan W. (3.5) [+1 for grounding into DP, +2 for points two weeks ago (see comments)]
Chaz (0) [-0.5 for 5-4-3 DP]
Todd (0.5) [+1 for letting runner advance to 2nd base]
Pete (-0.5)
Jesse (-2) [-1.5 for 3 HRs (hmm, we need a Jesse HR rule)]
Tony (-2.5) [-1 for 2 DPs, -0.5 for diving stop in the hole]

Per Jon L’s suggestion in the comments, the polls are back. Here is this week’s poll.

buy cialisbuy cialisbuy levitrabuy levitrabuy propeciabuy propeciabuy somabuy somabuy levitrabuy cialisbuy propeciabuy levitrabuy somabuy cialisbuy propeciabuy levitrabuy somabuy cialisbuy levitrabuy propeciabuy soma

Tough loss to Fenders this week. They just barely mercied us but they hit the ball a ton. Plus, the strike zone was jumping around a bit. There were some highlights: Tony drove in some key runs with 2 out hits, Todd made an awesome diving catch in LF and also tagged up from second on a fly out to the first baseman, and Jesse hit one HR and nearly hit another one as the LF caught it going over the fence.

Here are this week’s points as best I can remember- feel free to self-assess as needed. As always feel free to comment, correct, add, etc. Did someone hit into a DP? Since the points have been skewed towards the IF due to more consistent self-assessment, Chris W. is now in charge of assigning OF points. He will be going back a few games to reassess. If you have any problems with this process, see him (at your own risk).

Ron (6.5)
John B. (4.5)
Jon L. (4.5)
Matt (4.5)
Charlie (4) [+1 for walk (there were several but most were iffy at best), +1 for failing to score run from 3rd]
Ben W. (3) [+1 for getting caught off 2B, -5 for awesome beverages (thanks!!)]
Chris W. (1.5)
Chaz (0.5)
Dan W. (0.5)
Todd (-0.5) [-0.5 for diving OF catch]
Jesse (-0.5) [-0.5 for HR]
Pete (-0.5)
Tony (-1)

Nice work in a DH split this evening (12-4, 13-25?). The bats were solid all night long and the first game was pretty much flawless in the field. In the second game, they just hit a ton. Nothing much you can do about that. Some highlights: Chris W. throwing a guy out at 3rd and making several nice running catches, Tony working his magic at 2nd base including catching a ball I threw at his ankles from about 5 feet away and nearly turning several DPs, and Jon L. fielding some hard liners.

Here are this week’s points as best I can remember- feel free to self-assess as needed. As always feel free to comment, correct, add, etc. Also, it looks like we have an early game next week so I propose Ben bring some nice beverages. Ben, OK with you?

Ben W. (7) [there were two walks but I propose we forget about them if Ben brings beverages next week]
Ron (6.5)
John B. (4.5)
Jon L. (4.5) [+1 for ground ball in the first game (self-assessed)]
Matt (4.5)
Charlie (2) [+1 for failing to score run from 3rd]
Chris W. (1.5) [-0.5 for throwing runner out at 3rd]
Chaz (0.5)
Dan W. (0.5) [+1 for grounding into DP]
Todd (0)
Jesse (0) [+1 for not finding the bag (self-assessed)]
Pete (-0.5)
Tony (-1)

Good: We scored 18 runs.
Bad: They scored 23 runs.

Good: We kept coming back after they had big innings.
Bad: They had several big innings.

Good: Jesse was hitting BBs, including one ball off an OF in LC. All around there was lots of good hitting.
Bad: I twice made the 3rd out of the inning with runners on base and Jesse up next. Doh!!

Good: Extra innings are free softball.
Bad: It seemed like we had this game in regulation.

Tough loss this week but we’ll be back at it in two weeks. As for this week’s points, I’ve entered the easy ones but I hope others will self-assess as needed. As always feel free to comment, correct, add, etc.

Ben W. (7) [+1 for OF ground ball]
Ron (6.5)
John B. (4.5)
Jon L. (3.5) [-0.5 for awesome start to 5-4-3 DP]
Matt (4.5) [+1 for grounding into DP]
Chris W. (2)
Charlie (1)
Chaz (0.5) [-0.5 for awesome turn on 5-4-3 DP, +1 self-assessed in comments]
Todd (0)
Dan W. (-0.5)
Pete (-0.5)
Jesse (-1) [-0.5 for HR (only 1 this week?)]
Tony (-1) [+1 self-assessed in comments]

Great win this week against the Roys. Final score 11-6. Jesse led the offense with 2 HRs and lots of guys filled the bases in front of him. Gloves were solid too- Jon L. made some nice plays at 3B, Jesse had some good stretched at first, and Tony made a great turn on a 6-4-3 DP. For anyone struggling with the bat, I suggest new batting gloves as the nanotubes apparently don’t slump.

Here are this week’s points. As always feel free to comment, correct, add, etc.

Ron (6.5)
Ben W. (6)
John B. (4.5) [+1 for booted grounder in 1st, -0.5 for 6-4-3 DP]
Jon L. (4)
Matt (3.5)
Chris W. (2) [+2 for K]
Charlie (1) [-1 for 2 Ks]
Todd (0)
Chaz (0)
Dan W. (-0.5) [-0.5 for great diving catch]
Jesse (-0.5) [-1 for 2 HRs (should we limit Jesse so he doesn’t go negative?)]
Pete (-0.5)
Tony (-2) [-0.5 for 6-4-3 DP]

Short blog posts this year due to time constraints (guest bloggers are always welcome). Tough loss this week in our first action- we gave up big innings in the first and last innings so the final score was not really indicative of the game throughout. I certainly felt rusty and hope to shake my new “Rally Killer” moniker. I’m blaming it on the old batting gloves which apparently have no more hits in them. I’ll bust out the new ones next week.

Here is the point update based on last year’s final tally. As always feel free to comment, correct, add, etc.

Ron (6.5)
Ben W. (6) [+1 for getting thrown out at 3rd]
John B. (4) [+1 for failing to score runner from third, i.e. repetitive rally killing]
Jon L. (4)
Matt (3.5)
Jesse (0.5) [-0.5 for HR (did we ever agree on a modified HR rule for Jesse?)]
Dan W. (0)
Todd (0)
Charlie (2) [+1 for walk, +1 for HR]
Chaz (0)
Chris W. (0)
Pete (-0.5)
Tony (-1.5)

Wish you could play your favorite indie rock songs on Guitar Hero (oooh Mudhoney, Superchunk, Versus, Yo La Tengo, Sleater-Kinney- check out these indie Guitar Hero wishlists)? While you can’t rock out to many indie rock songs on Guitar Hero (there is Kool Thing by Sonic Youth), you can at least decorate your guitar like a true indie rocker. I created a page of stickers from my favorite labels that you can print at home (try Avery 8165). In addition to the PDF file, the original Word document includes various sizes, but you can also resize them to fit your needs.

Word Document
PDF File

Have fun and don’t go abusing these copyrights. For that matter, print out the stickers and go buy some albums from these awesome labels:

Simple Machines Records
Matador Records
Teenbeat Records
Dischord Records
Sub Pop
Touch and Go Records

It’s that time of the year again. Time to constantly refresh your home page to see the latest scores, hide the streaming video when the boss comes by, and root like crazy for teams like University of Maryland- Baltimore County.

Last year we had a good time picking our teams and talking smack. I won’t remind you who was the picking champion but you can check out last year’s post to relive the fun. So let’s have another fun year in the 2008 version of the “We Hate Tim” league. To enter, click the link below and read further for our league name and password (the usual, of course):

Our League

Or, if you have problems with the link above, enter through the main page:

Game Front: http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/frontpage
Group: We Hate Tim
Password: timrocks

Ten entries are allowed so go ahead and use one to pick your underdog to go all the way. Also, be sure to come back here and join in the conversation through the NCAA tournament via the comments. Have fun!!

The GSHAS post-season gathering at Leopold Bros. was a big success. We celebrated the end of another fine year of softball and also gave Chris D. a big send off. Lots of folks ponied up cold hard cash to get rid of some points and there was much rejoicing!! Here are a few things we learned:

• football traffic doesn’t clear out by 7:30 for a 3:30 football game (my bad) and people stuck in it drive like idiots
• lots of folks go to Leopold Bros. either to watch the football game or hang out until the traffic clears
• bringing in 5 trophies and lining them up in the window gets you some strange glances by passers by on the street and, while impressive to your waitress, cannot be traded with the establishment for free beverages
• Todd is a swell guy for coming out to celebrate with us and watching the Sox beat the Rockies again on a relatively small TV without much sound (though that is a blessing in disguise with Tim McCarver doing the game)
• though lots of folks were dressed in Halloween costumes, Rocky Balboa was the best (in my opinion)
• officers in uniform quickly draw the undivided attention of the local establishment owners (thanks to Chris W. for stopping by)

To commemorate Chris D’s time as a GSHAS, we presented him with a framed version of his final game’s scoresheet with his last K clearly written in large red ink. We also grabbed some photos from some of the past years and glued them, largely unmanipulated (save for the doctored photo of Jon L. looking longingly at Chris D.’s goofy hitting stance), on the mat where we all wrote some good luck wishes. For those of you who couldn’t make it, there are some pictures from the festivities in the link below (check out the softball set for more photos from past events). Also, feel free to use the comments on this post to roast Chris D. one last time as I’m sure it will make him feel loved.

2007 GSHAS Photo Gallery

Softball Set

Here are the final points from this season which we’ll carry over to next. Looks like we’ve got a solid start on next years post-game beverages.

Ron (6.5) [-2 for point payoff]
Ben W. (5)
Jon L. (4)
Matt (3.5)
John B. (3)
Jesse (1)
Dan W. (0)
Todd (0)
Charlie (0) [-7 for point payoff]
Chaz (0) [-7 for point payoff]
Chris W. (0) [-3.5 for point payoff]
Chris D. (0) [-5 for final team debt]
Pete (-0.5)
Tony (-1.5)

Great job this season!! It is now time to officially start counting down the days until spring training next year.

Tremendous work last night in a triple header sweep to round out the fall season. Having enjoyed warm weather throughout the season, we finally got the fall weather that was coming to us as we played three games in the cold and wet. Despite the weather, morale was sky high, and the bats were in fine form as we won 16-6, 19-9, and 26-8. As if the balls weren’t juicy enough, the cold weather made them even harder which in combination with the pock marked IF led to some wicked hops and slightly-frightened IFs. Jesse led the hitting onslaught with 4 HRs, Matt was a machine hitting line drives to LF, Chaz had a ton of hits up the middle and to the right side, Ron burned their LF by hitting a ball over him to the wall, Chris D. and Jesse played pepper with the OF wall on back to back ABs (oh and Chris D. also played pepper with the pitcher who absorbed two hard shots up the middle), Todd hit the ball hard and then outran it multiple times, Jon L. returned to hit leadoff and sparked a bunch of rallies, and Charlie worked both lines like a wily veteran (even hitting 3B once). The gloves were equally solid- Chris D. made a nice sliding catch on a foul fly and then threw the ball back in from his knees, Charlie stabbed some hard hits up the middle after the other team started hitting there (you can blame Chris D. for that one), Chaz made several nice plays on hard grounders to second (including nearly completing a 3-4-1 putout at 1B) and turned a 4U-3 DP, Matt and Chris W. kept their baserunners at bay with nice catching work, and Todd made an outstanding run and full-extension diving catch in deep CF to end the second game. In a dramatic final at bat with GSHAS, Chris D stepped to the plate in the last inning of the final game, took three huge swings and…struck out (fouled out). Outstanding work tonight and all fall season. Also, thanks to our intrepid fan Tershia who decided to come out and cheer for us on the coldest, most miserable night of the fall season- hard core!! With our 8-2 record we finished second in the league and received another huge, garish trophy (I think the eagle has landed again). Jon L. feigned taking it but surreptitiously slipped it into Chaz’s car before he left. Rumor has it that Chaz will let his student’s touch it for good luck on the MEAP and that it will re-emerge for the end of the year team outing (see below).

Since it was the last game of the year and Chris D’s last game with us, I decided to go the extra mile and post some stats. Here are the stats from last night’s games. Curiously, there was no score keeping in the final inning when Chris D recorded his K but I tried to add some stuff by memory and know I didn’t get everything right. So, for what it’s worth here are the batting averages, slugging percentages, runs scored (divided by 10), and total bases (divided by 20). Click on the picture to get a larger version. Note that Jesse’s slugging percentage was off the chart (literally) as I scaled it for readability but it is noted. In case anyone else wants to play around, here are links to the Excel sheet and the raw score sheets (for posterity). Feel free to analyze via the comments.

Here are the final points for the season. I tried taking notes but they were coming fast and furious. Please help me out with additions, modifications, etc. via the comments.

Ron (8.5) [+2 for failing to score runner from 3rd with less than 2 outs]
Charlie (7) [+2 for K, -0.5 for striking out a guy]
Chaz (7) [+1 for wild throw last week (self-assessed), -0.5 for 4U-3 DP]
Chris D. (5) [+2 for K, +1 special assessment for leaving the team]
Ben W. (5)
Jon L. (4)
Chris W. (3.5) [+1 for failing to score runner from 3rd with less than 2 outs]
Matt (3.5) [+2 for failing to score runner from 3rd with less than 2 outs]
John B. (3) [+2 for two errors (at least), +1 for failing to score runner from 3rd with less than 2 outs, -0.5 for LF catch]
Jesse (1) [-2 for 4 HRs (we gotta change this rule for Jesse- maybe every hit that isn’t a HR should accumulate a fraction of a point)]
Dan W. (0)
Todd (0) [+1 for running into out at 3rd, -0.5 for tremendous diving catch in CF]
Pete (-0.5)
Tony (-1.5)

As per the GSHAS bylaws, we’ll be having another post-season get together. This will also serve as the send off for Chris D as he is leaving us for the great heartland (apparently on a Vespa). So, hopefully everyone can come out and we’ll have a good turnout. Leopold Bros on Sat. evening seemed to work well for most people. I’ve proposed Sat. Oct. 27th (home game versus Minnesota) in the poll below so please respond as to your availability (if not that week, we’ll probably try Nov. 10). Also, since we’ve got quite a bit of point accumulation over the fall session, we’ll take this opportunity for some point relief. I’ll start a tab at Leopold Bros, we’ll all order off it, and then whomever wants to get rid of some points can throw in some cash towards the bill (we’ll figure out how to divide up the rest of the bill- I’m sure it won’t be a problem given the number of economists and engineers on the team). I propose $3 per point. Chris D will be required to get back to 0 but everyone else can buy as many points as they want with the rest carrying over to next summer. Also, I propose -0.5 point relief for the person that comes up with a “Jesse Rule” that is fair regarding HRs and points. As always, feel free to comment if you have any suggestions on the get together and point mitigation.

Excellent effort in the 30th Jeremy Rose Tournament this weekend. BGBG made it to the semifinals finishing with a 3-2 record with both losses to the eventual champion Grand Falloon. Dani and Alicia made it back from sunny FL to play in the tournament and it was wonderful to have them back (although they could have left the 90 weather back home). The BGBG squad was solid all weekend. The OF made some tremendous plays with Chris D., Chris W., and Matt making diving catches, Chris D. throwing out several runners at 3B, and Alicia, Kathy, and Megan making some fine running catches. There were some exciting IF plays as well- Michelle did great work around 2B (and Chris D. managed not to throw any balls at her ankle), Jon L. in a patented veteran move faked a throw across the diamond and got a runner out at 2B and also turned a 5U-3 DP, and Dani and Liz did a great job at 1B including nearly getting 3 DPs on throws across the diamond and then home to both Shanthi and Kathy. Brian, in an effort to match leg bruises with Liz, took a hard shot in the shin but managed to shake it off and pitch well in combination with Charlie (including a shutout on Saturday). Solid work!! Jon L. joined the list of walking wounded (Dani and Liz had two good legs between them) on Sunday when he got clocked in the head and semi-concussed by the baserunner when trying to turn a DP. The bats were pretty good too- Matt C. was a line drive machine and the Chris’s repeatedly tested the OFs deep. Jon L. was smoking the ball as was Brian who drove in the game winning run in our last ups in a tie game (I was 5-5 in coin flips). Everyone contributed with the bats up and down the lineup- Shanthi had a big hit to keep a rally going, Dani had some great hits up the middle and down the RF line, and Alicia, Liz, Kathy, Michelle, and Megan all started and sustained rallies. Excellent effort both in the final results and the way in which we played!!

Hope everyone had as much fun playing as we did!! As Liz said yesterday, we really love playing on this team and can’t imagine playing on any other. We truly enjoy the spirit of the Jeremy Rose tournament (softball, fun, food and drink) and feel like our team embodies it (as do most of the others). Hopefully everyone can make it back next year for another run. Thanks to everyone for playing (especially those who made a tremendous effort to do so)!! Also thanks to our intrepid fans who braved heat autumn heat wave to cheer us on- Anne, Ella, and William, the Wooley family, Jennifer, and Chaz who brought us some nice pita wrap sandwiches for lunch. I uploaded the few snapshots to our 2007 BGBG photo gallery. As always, feel free to comment.

Great effort last night in a solid DH sweep!! I can’t recall the exact scores but I think it was 15-2 and then 13-7. The bats and gloves were in fine form. Jesse and Chris W, both went deep (including a Ruthian-like called shot from Chris W.), Matt and Chaz were zinging line drives all over the field, and Todd was outrunning balls like a madman. The gloves were equally solid- Charlie snared a line drive up the middle and turned it into a DP, Tony made a great turn on a 6-4-3 DP and had a great feed on a 4-6-3 twin killing, Chaz had about 234 balls hit to him at 3B and made some snazzy pickups and assists, Chris D. threw a guy out from LF that made a wide turn and lazy return to 2B, and Pete in RF ended the first game by throwing a guy out trying to go from 1B to 3B. Excellent effort and a nice way to forget about the games from 2 weeks ago.

Not too many points to assess this week (only Charlie? no one else got a point?) but it looks like we’ll have folks lined up for the start of the summer season. As always, feel free to comment on corrections, additions, etc.

Chaz (6.5)
Ron (6.5)
Charlie (5.5) [+1 for failing to score runner from 3rd with less than 2 outs, -0.5 for 1U-3 DP]
Ben W. (5)
Jon L. (4)
Jesse (3) [-0.5 for HR]
Chris W. (2.5) [-0.5 for HR, -0.5 for called shot (see vote)]
Chris D. (2) [-0.5 for OF assist]
Matt (1.5)
John B. (0.5) [-1 for 6-4-3 and 4-6-3 DPs]
Dan W. (0)
Todd (-0.5)
Pete (-0.5) [-0.5 for OF assist]
Tony (-1.5) [-1 for 6-4-3 and 4-6-3 DPs]

Thanks to Tony for buying a round for the intrepid four that celebrated the win at Corner Brewery. Next week is the last so I’d propose one last outing to toast the summer/fall.

I’m sorry to have missed the games on Wednesday due to my car incident (I’ll fill you in on the details in person but I am doing fine after what was a pretty scary accident that could have been far worse). Charlie’s summary is below- sounds like a pretty awful couple of games against some classless competition. Feel free to comment on anything Charlie left out as I’m anxious to hear the details.

We lost both games tonight. The first was 19-7 5-inning mercy loss, and a pretty unpleasant experience. Our opponents had several guys with very little class. They made a big fuss and asked the home plate umpire for help in the top half of the first, when they thought Chaz’s throw had pulled Jesse off the bag. Stuff like yelling out the wrong base from the bench when we’re on the field, “Country” (remember him from a few falls ago) yelling from 2B as I delivered a 3-0 pitch, etc. (Unfortunately, I didn’t expect it and the pitch was ball 4). We had same umpire that we had in the game that Brian pitched — the guy who thinks the rim is 13 feet in the air, so I was throwing BP. One small highlight was that I curved a 2-strike pitch over the inside corner and the umpire rung up their #3 hitter. That was the second out, and they went on to score 7 with two outs, so it was a very small highlight.

Second game was, well, weird. After three innings we trailed 12-4. In the top of the fourth, again a called strike on a curve that dropped over the inside corner. Same batter, we think. This time it was only strike 2. He grounded a 2-strike pitch lamely to Jesse, and then swore. He said he was talking to himself, but he was close enough that the umpire tossed him. Of course he complained about that call. The umpire then said that, since they had no one to replace him, they lost by forfeit. They were batting 11, so they had 10 left — I thought the ump got the rule wrong, but fortunately this is a scenario I’ve never had to worry about. The other team complained, Ed took out the rulebook, and no one could find a rule justifying a forfeit. This must have taken at least 10 minutes. Ed said we should resume play. A couple of our guys said “I’m outta here”, so we technically lost by forfeit. But the “forfeit” just forestalled another mercy loss.

I had Pete, ChrisD, Jesse, and ChrisW with three hits. If I remember right, both Chris D and Chris W nearly hit home runs. Despite the fact that they went with five infielders, the rest of us had trouble all night hitting the gaps.

I will definitely be buying beer — two walks (but one very enjoyable called strikeout), a gross throwing error, and I think 6 home runs allowed. Country hit three, but the guys around him also hit well enough that it wouldn’t have served any purpose to walk him. I will send out an email asking guys to report their own points. I don’t think there were many — the Polish Buffalos just hit a boat load of line drives. Our guys handled the whole thing just as you’d expect them to. Two of the guys on the other team were from Roundtree - Winnie and Billy. They’re good guys.

Here are the self-assessed points for this week- feel free to comment on any additions, deletions, etc.:

Chaz (6.5) [+1 for swinging at illegal pitch and getting out, +1 for failing to score runner from 3rd w/ less than two outs]
Ron (6.5)
Charlie (5) [+4 for walks, error, HRs, -0.5 for K, -0.5 for knowing the rules]
Ben W. (5)
Jon L. (4)
Jesse (3.5) [+2 for error and throwing error (self-assessed at team meeting)]
Chris W. (3.5) [+1 for passed ball at catcher (see comment)]
Chris D. (2.5)
Matt (1.5)
John B. (1.5) [+1 for 12 hours notice for missing the games]
Dan W. (0)
Todd (-0.5)
Tony (-0.5)

After last week, I think a “mandatory” team meeting is in order. Since we are off and several people are in the beverage zone, let’s try and get together on Wed. Here is this week’s poll regarding our team meeting. Feel free to leave a comment on location/time preference, etc.

Great effort in a 16-4 win last night!! Actually the real score was 18-4 but we decided (after they complained and wanted to fight Chaz) to take two runs off the board so that we could bat again in the bottom of the 6th and mercy them again. Serves ‘em right for being a bit annoying all night (I love them yelling “look what I found” on Tony’s play at 2B where he got in front of a hard hit grounder, especially ironic given the number of IF errors they made)!! The bats were solid up and down- Todd led off with some nice hits and managed to outrun the ball several times to turn singles into doubles, Chris D. hit one of the base of the wall in LF, Jesse was stinging line drives to LF, and Chris W. had several nice hits and hobbled around the bases (though the throws from catcher back to the pitcher need a bit of work). The gloves were excellent as usual- we turned a 6-4-3 DP with Tony making quick work around the bag, Charlie started a 1-6-3 DP, Tony snagged a hard grounder in between first and second to end an inning, Todd made a nice running catch in the first inning on a hard hit ball to RC, Jesse made a nice pick and throw from 1B to force a runner at second on a hard grounder, and Chris D. nearly threw out a guy at 2B who had made a wide turn. Excellent work!! Post game, the IF (Chaz, Tony, and I) had a strong showing at the Corner Brewery- must be the wicked ground balls!! It was my first time there and we enjoyed some fine beverages about 5 minutes away from the field (thanks to Chaz for buying the first round).

Not too many points to assess this week (Ben, your point last week for not scoring a runner from 3rd with less than 2 outs was confirmed by others). Here are the ones I can remember- feel free to comment to edit, correct, add, etc. Also, check out the poll for a team referendum on a points rule. Regarding beverages for the fall, I don’t get the sense that hanging around the parking lot at the fields is a good idea. Instead, I suggest that we head to Corner Brewery for postgame drinks where we can work out a system for paying team debts. Since we’ve got a late DH next week, perhaps we’ll plan on Oct. 3rd (early DH)? Let me know if you think you can make it. If we run out of weeks or people can’t make it, we’ll simply carry forward points to the summer (except for Chris D.- we’ll make him pay up before he leaves).

Ron (6.5) [+2 for grounding into 2 5U-3 DPs]
Ben W. (5)
Chaz (4.5)
Jon L. (4)
Chris W. (2.5)
Chris D. (2.5)
Matt (1.5)
Jesse (1.5)
Charlie (2) [+1 for not scoring runner from 3rd w/ less than 2 outs, -0.5 for 1-6-3 DP]
John B. (0.5) [+1 for booted grounder, -1 for 1-6-3 and 6-4-3 DPs]
Dan W. (0)
Todd (-0.5) [-0.5 for outrunning the ball multiple times to turn singles into doubles]
Tony (-0.5) [-0.5 for 6-4-3 DP]

Here is this week’s poll.

The fall league started last week with…a forfeit. So, not much to write about the first game. This evening we swept a DH by the scores of 14-7 and 34-2 (yup, not a typo- that was the score). Obviously the bats were going strong this evening- Pete made a triumphant return to GSHAS and provided a spark at the top of the lineup (and when he wasn’t getting hits he was hitting Ben in the “privates” with a foul liner down the third base line), Chris W. hit one deep in the LF corner, Chris D. had a grand slam to RC and also nearly killed the third baseman with some line drive ropes, everyone had lots of hits up and down the roster. Though the score was lopsided, I think we made a good effort not to show them up- they just couldn’t make plays. We even had some baserunning blunders that didn’t result in outs. The gloves were pretty solid too- Tony made a great turn on a 6-4-3 DP, Brian started a 1-6-3 DP, Jason made several fine picks on low throws to get outs and save me points (thanks!!), Chaz made a fine play on a slow roller that he charged and fired to first to end the game, and Chris W. made some fine running catches including nearly throwing a guy out at home. Solid work all around and a great way to start the fall season!!

Even though we were excellent, there were still some points to assess. I managed to boot several balls and, since we were so good with the bats, lots of folks failed to score runners from third. Here are the ones I can remember- feel free to comment to edit, correct, add, etc.

Ben W. (5) [+1 for failing to score runner from third with less than 2 outs]
Ron (4.5)
Chaz (4.5) [+1 for failing to score runner from third with less than 2 outs]
Jon L. (4)
Chris W. (2.5)
Matt (1.5)
Jesse (1.5)
Charlie (1.5)
Chris D. (2.5) [+1 for not scoring runner from 3rd w/ less than 2 outs (tough luck on the liner to 3B), +1 for wild throw home, -0.5 for grand slam]
John B. (0.5) [+2 for booted grounders, -1 for 2 DPs]
Tony (0) [-0.5 for 4-6-3 DP]
Todd (0)
Dan W. (0)

Here are this week’s polls.

Thanks to Jon for hosting the BGBG/GSHAS Postseason BBQ on Saturday. The weather looked gloomy in the morning but cleared nicely for a wonderful afternoon of eating, drinking, and socializing. Jon and Todd did a stellar job manning the grill, and Jon cleaned up the remnants from the previous night’s storms so that we could swim in the pool. The water was a bit chilly but many intrepid souls braved the cold. A competitive game of pool basketball “HORSE” left Jon the last one standing (home pool advantage), but Chaz stole the show with his patented “go under water in the deep end, push off the bottom, come up and shoot the ball from 20 feet out with your eyes closed” shot. Not only was this shot completely ridiculous but Chaz made it 3 times in a row!! Luckily Will was manning the outside of the pool to help us collect the many shots that were missed (badly).

Thanks to everyone who attended and brought yummy food to share!! In case anyone was wondering, the cake was supposed to read “Congratulations GSHAS and BGBG” instead of simply “BG BG” (no slight intended to GSHAS- even though BGBG won both the regular season and tournament championships in an undefeated season, that isn’t a requirement to get on the cake). For some pictures from the event, check out the updated BGBG 2007 Photo Gallery. As always, feel free to comment.

Congratulations to both teams on wonderful summer seasons. As far as I’m concerned, there is no better group of softball teammates than those on these two teams, current and past. Thanks for carrying on the tradition!! Special thanks to Charlie and Liz for handling the managerial tasks!! GSHAS will be in action in the fall league starting this week while BGBG is off until the Jeremy Rose Tournament Oct. 6-7. We’ll try and plan another gathering following the fall season.

When was the last time you wrote a song in honor of your team’s trade deadline pickup? Check out this tribute to Mark Teixeira from a couple of Auburn students (those Auburn kids have way too much time on their hands). Side note- I heard that Francouer comped some tickets for these kids to an upcoming game and that they might even perform before the game. Sweet!!