batteh blog-o-rama

Great work in the 13-1 mercy win over the Cleveland Indians. The dynamic pitching duo of Charlie and Katie kept the hitters off balance all night long. Jon L. was masterful at 3B including plays involving tricky short hops and sharp backhands. The OF made several nice plays including some putouts at second. Once again the bats were strong- Matt C. blasted a triple over the left fielder’s head, Jon L. continued hitting line drives to all fields, Liz had a solid liner to RF, Michelle had a hard line drive that was caught (but experienced baseball karma by hitting a little dribbler that stayed fair), and Chris D. had a walk-off single to complete the mercy. Great work!! Also, thanks to Chris D. for providing post-game beverages (a drinks DH)- solid work on the opening technique sans an opener!!

The umpire showed, the weather was perfect, and BGBG had another mercy win- 13-1 over St. Banfields. The bats and the gloves were both solid. After giving up a run in the first, we shut them down the rest of the game- Alicia and Dani had nice catches in the OF, Jon L. made several nice plays at third, Charlie had a few Ks, and Liz was solid around first base. The bats were equally stellar- everyone hit up and down the lineup. I recall good hits from Jon L., Alicia, Dani (including a liner that the pitcher caught), Charlie, Ron, and Matt C. (love that perfectly placed ball behind 3B). Nice work!! Thanks to Jon L. for the excellent post-game beverages!!

At some point, we’ll actually play an official co-rec game again. This evening we were thwarted by the weather. The game was 14-4 in the bottom of the 3rd when the cloud-to-cloud lightning began. The bats were clicking again- we started off with two HRs with Alicia smoking a ball to the fence in LC. Then pretty much everyone hit as we hit balls hard all over the field- Ron and Chris D. hit balls to the fence, Dani had several nice hits, Jon L. smoked a ball to RF, Liz had a solid double, Katie hit the ball well- wow, that is lots of hitting in basically two innings. In addition to her HR, Alicia got robbed on a liner to 3B and then got screwed by the umpire on a ball down the 3B line that was clearly foul but was inadvertently called fair (Liz told the ump that she has studied lots of physics and there was no way that ball could have been fair). The defense was solid too- Katie had good stuff today and kept the hitters off balance, Chris D. gunned a runner out at 3B, we got another runner out in a rundown between first and second, and then got another runner out at 3B on a nice throw across the diamond from Dani. Excellent work in another unofficial outing!!

I’m planning on running the Race for the Cure again this year (if my slow pace can actually be considered running). Please consider helping me reach my fundraising goals by making a donation online via my secure personal donation page. I propose a competition between Family, Friends, BGBG, and GSHAS to see who has the most donors (we’ll have to figure out what to do with those who play on both teams). If one of the softball teams wins, I’ll provide post-game beverages. We’ll figure out something if the Family or Friends group wins. Feel free to leave your comments here and check back for updates on the effort. Thanks in advance for your support!!

Below is the updated donor count. Family is back in the lead with Friends just behind but the softball teams are coming on strong!!

Family: 8
Friends: 6
BGBG: 1.5
GSHAS: 1.5

The weather was gorgeous, and thanks to our super subs Lisa and Sara, BGBG was ready to go. Unfortunately there was no umpire. So, we decided to have an unofficial scrimmage and unoffically destroyed the other team. We didn’t keep score, but they didn’t score and we did…LOTS. Everyone had a bunch of hits up and down the lineup- Ron smoked a ball to the fence, Jon L. got hits batting left and right handed, Dani had several hits through the right side, Katie had a couple of hits, Lisa sprayed hits all over the field, and Charlie put the carbon nanotubes to good use. The gloves were solid too with everyone taking the opportunity to play a new position- Ron made some nice plays at SS, and Matt leaped to snag a liner at 3B and made another nice play and throw across the diamond to get an out at first. Fine work!! Unfortunately, when an umpire showed up, the other team didn’t want to start an official game (I think we frightened them) so this game will get rescheduled. Oh well, at least we had some nice beverages after our unofficial game.

Though we weren’t there last week, BGBG opened up with a solid 17-5 win. Reports from my inside sources indicate a solid effort all around. Nice work!!

After days of rain, the weather cleared up enough to get our game in against the Puppies- well, save for the 15 minutes before the game where it rained on us while warming up. We gave up 3 runs in the first as the left side of the IF got used to the sloppy conditions. The bats started a bit slow, but we really poured it on the middle innings in route to a 15-3 mercy win. Everyone hit up and down the lineup- Ron smoked a ball over the LF’s head to the fence and ripped a liner to the SS, Chris burned both left side OFers, Alicia hit a ball over the LF’s head, Amy had two hits, Liz got her first two hits with the Synergy, Jon L. hit liners all over the field, and Charlie drove in the winning run with a 2-out hit. Plus, Liz got herself in a rundown between third and home and with her slick feet, managed to score. The gloves were solid all around despite the wet conditions- Jon L. perfectly executed a fake throw to tag out a runner at third, Amy made several nice plays at 2B, Liz had a great stretch to get an out and corraled a wide throw to save an error, and Chris had a nice sliding catch. Charlie was dealing today and had two Ks. Solid effort all around!! A few of us enjoyed a post-game beverage at Cubs, and Dani took the opportunity to remind us that we still owe her props for winning the NCAA tournament pool (see post for details). We’ve got an early game next week so let’s plan on going out afterwards.

After many years of solid service, the Scandium, forged from rare Russian ore, gave up the ghost last year (relive the tragedy with this post and recall the moving tributes from the Thursday team here). The bat (34/30) was beloved by many on both BGBG and GSHAS. The traditional mourning period was observed.

Following the demise of the Scandium, Ryan and Kenny from the Thursday team convinced me to “try a bat from this century.” So, I tried the Easton Synergy CNT Flex late last year and decided to buy one to replace the Scandium. The new bat (34/28) arrived yesterday, and the ceremonial torch has been passed. Gone are the days of Russian earth metals- hello Carbon nanotubes!! Check out the photo gallery for pictures of the new bat and Scandium’s fatal wound. Any ideas on a name for the new bat? Memories of Scandium?

Excellent work in the Jeremy Rose tournament this weekend!! Thanks to Jon L., Amy, Katie, and Michelle we were able to field a team and we had a great time!! All in all, we were solid in all phases of the game. Yesterday, we won our first game 8-6 in extra innings after a big 5 run first and then going a little cold with the bats. We then beat a good Legal Eagles team by two runs in another tight game. Our last game against the half-baked Bashers was a 15-0 mercy. Today we again beat Legal Eagles by three and then lost 6-4 in the semi-finals to to Grand Falloon, the eventual champion (thankfully they beat the team run by the dude with the super-tight coaches’ pants- this Thurs. I expect all GSHAS in coaches’ pants two sizes too small). The last game was a tough one as we came within one out of winning. Throughout the tournament, our team made huge plays. Chris D. and Chris W. made some awesome running grabs. Alicia and Katie played really well in the OF, making some great catches and throws. And Liz got into the OF action yesterday with her first OF catch (fundamentally sound with two hands). In fact, our OF really made all the plays today as the IF really didn’t have many opportunities. Michelle played really well at second base, making some very nice plays and showing incredible toughness as she took a laser throw from Chris D. off the shin (and even chased after the ball without even pausing). Brian and Charlie were a great pitching combination, keeping some really good hitters off balance and Amy did a great job behind the plate. Yesterday we even got a 5-3-1 out at first base as the hitter didn’t run out a ball hit to Chaz. Our Chris’ were really smoking the ball, hitting deep balls all over the field. Liz had two big 2-out hits as well. Dani hit into some really tough luck as her liners were caught by the pitcher and the RC fielder. Alicia had some great hits throughout, burning opponent’s OF several times.

I hope everyone had a good time in the tournament. It really is a big softball party with lots of food and drink and comraderie (I know I got my money’s worth). Thanks to everyone for playing (and for being great teammates with a great attitude about the rosters, etc.). Let’s make another run at it next year. The tournament will be held Sept. 16-17, 2006 (Michigan @ Notre Dame) so keep the date open!! Feel free to leave your impressions of the tourney in the comments.

We had our end of season BBQ on Friday. Morale was good and much food and beverage were consumed (well, at least it was after the gas in the grill ran out and a new tank obtained). Thanks to all who came out- hope you had a good time. It looks like a few of our veteran BGBG members will be leaving town before next season so good luck to Kristi and Towie on their move to Pittsburgh and to Holly and Jonnie as they move as well!! Thanks for playing with us- we’ll miss you!! Great season, BGBG!!

Tough 3-2 loss to Air Police in the intra-league tourney. While our bats weren’t as lively as they usually are, we hit into some bad luck as well. Their little dribblers seemed to get through while our line drives were caught. That’s the way it goes sometimes. The defense was pretty good last night. Charlie pitched a great game (only 3 runs!!). The OF was stellar with Dani, Ron, and KC all making nice running catches. The IF was solid as well- Nate made several nice plays at short while Kristi and Charlie combined on a nice 3-1 put-out. Good work!! After the game, we enjoyed some post-game beverages courtesy of Nate (thanks!!) who is leaving us for Chicago. We’ll miss you!! Make sure and check out the photo links at the end of this post!!

It was another great season. We won the regular season championship and got a nice trophy and cool blue water bottles (to the victor go the spoils). Nate is now the proud owner of the trophy and has promised to display it prominently in his new place in Chicago (or maybe put it in his office and tell his students it is an “economics trophy”). Furthermore, we had a great time throughout the season. Thanks so much for playing!! Also, thanks to Liz for doing a great job with the managerial tasks (and to KC for subbing for her while we were in Alaska)!! Don’t forget about the End of Season BBQ on Friday. Invites have been sent so please respond ASAP. For those that played with us and weren’t there yesterday, we have water bottles for you- remind us on Friday to distribute.

Also, if there is enough interest, there is a fun co-rec tourney in the fall called the Jeremy Rose Tournament- lots of food and beverages for all. So, try and keep the tentative dates of Sept. 24-25 open and let us know if you are available.

Team | Trophy | Nate and Fellas

Good split in the DH this week. We took care of unfinished business from the rainout a few weeks ago with a 12-1 victory over Narcoleptic Puppies. Both the gloves and bats were superb. Matt was a hitting machine with lots of line drive hits, Alicia cranked one over the LF’s head, Liz had a couple of good hits, and Chris D. came off the bench to hit at homer deep over the left field fence. I think everyone had at least one hit- great show!! We started off with 5 in the first and then kept it going from there. The gloves were awesome with Holly making several nice plays at third, Charlie pitching masterfully and making some nice plays in the field, Nate with a great 6U-3 DP, and Liz with lots of good picks and stretches at first. With the win, we clinched the regular season championship. Congrats BGBG on an excellent regular season!!

Between games, we celebrated Ella’s 3rd birthday with some yummy cake from Anne. After the long delay, we played a second game against the Underdogs. Not much to say about that one- it was bad and we got mercied. Unfortunately (and much worse than the loss), we suffered some freak injuries in the game. Chris hurt himself diving for a foul ball and then landing on top of the ball. Then Holly took a wicked line drive just above the ankle. Chris and Holly- hope you both are feeling better. Glad we got that one out of our system. I’ll chalk it up to Anne’s delicious cake (maybe she laced it with special ingredients- we could have used “The Clear”, I think), the desire to watch the AL beat the NL again in the All Star Game, or maybe it is the new beard. Let me know what you think. Also, I’ll post any injury updates that I get so that everyone can keep informed.

So, congrats on the regular season championship, forget about the second game, get healthy, and we’ll come back ready to play in the tournament next Tuesday!! Also, next week is Nate’s last game with BGBG and he will be providing post-game beverages for us to enjoy!!

Sounds like a great (and excitingly odd) win last week. Thanks to KC for taking up the managerial reins (and for dealing with the “old man in the stands” with Nate). Here is his summary of the game:

Great game last night!!! Thanks to everyone for making my managerial debut a success We had all of our scoring in 3 innings and were ice cold in the other three innings. But any game where you can walk away with a “W” is a good game. The story for both teams seemed to be little blooper singles that just dropped in front of the outfielders (or in Chaz’s case the infielders) Everyone did a great job eliminating extra bases by playing smart defensively, holding the ball when it would have needed a perfect throw + a kind umpire ruling to get the out. It was easy to see that Air Police thought they had this game won after the top of the 5th inning, leading at that point 9-6. The 4 obvious run plus Ron’s elusive 5th run was just too much for them to overcome in their last two at-bats, to overcome our 11-9 lead, which became the final score. The controversy that unfolded in the top of the 6th inning started to make this game a little more personal for me (and Nate), and I am glad that we ended up winning. For those who were not in ear-shot of our bench after we took the field in the top of the 6th inning, I will elaborate. Air Police’s lead-off batter came over to our bench and stated that they had only counted us getting 4 runs in the 5th inning, not the 5 runs that we claimed. We were willing to pretend to entertain the fact that we were wrong, so we asked to see their scorecard. He kind of dismissed that suggestion by wanting to read ours. Next I see the 3rd basewoman tell me that their scorer had only 4 runs, I then see her point to some old man up in the stands who is holding four fingers up in the air on one hand. I then hold up 5 fingers, and he yells at me from across the field that I am wrong. This man obviously is not on their team, and should not be lecturing to “the manager” about what is the correct score. I point to him and say, “who are you buddy?” Then go back to the debate with the lead-off hitter. I soon find out that Air Police doesn’t keep a scorecard, and seeing that we are the home team, it doesn’t matter anyway what they say about the score because ours will stand as the official score. Nate was keeping the books at that point in the game and was on his cell phone for the first at-bat which was Korbie getting a single, his call ended and went back to the book. The loud-mouth 3rd basewoman is still yelling at me asking if our scorer can get it right because he was on his phone the entire inning, and by the way “is he even on your team?” I yell that he is on our team, and she rebuttles with, “why isn’t he playing then?” I say, “because he took a softball in the eye a couple weeks ago.” She laughs at me, as if that is the best “story” I could come up with at that instant. The calmer mind of the lead-off hitter agrees with us and we go on to win the game. The old man in the stands gave me a dirty look, and when we shook hands the 3rd basewoman was looking in the dirt and said nothing.

Here is Nate’s funny response as well:

I confronted the “Old man in the stands” after the game after he gave me a dirty look as I walked by. I told him that we did score five runs that inning. He got a bit animated, insisting that we only scored four runs. That’s when I threw a right hook that connected with his nose. Blood was everywhere. Then Chaz picked up this bat and just went crazy on the guy. Chaz really scared me with his level of violence. The man is now in the hospital thanks to Chaz. I don’t feel safe around Chaz anymore and think he should be kicked off the team and possibly lose his teaching job. Should a man like that really be around young kids?

OK, that actually didn’t happen. But I did talk with the guy after the game and he did insist that we only got four runs. However, after I went through each run with him (he was at this point convinced that Chris D was the last one to score) he was finally convinced that Ron scored the fifth run. He apologized and shook my hand. So, all is well that ends well. Chris, I don’t think you should wear shorts again because I think this guy was distracted by your sexy legs and was too busy remembering them jogging into home to see our fifth run score. Alternatively, Ron could start wearing shorts so as to show off his legs.

Excellent comeback against Narcoleptic Puppies before the lightning washed us out in the top of the 5th with an 11-6 lead- I guess the rain dance of the fancy-pantsed 3B finally worked (though it seems hard to do the rain dance while you are playing multiple positions, complaining about car lights in the parking lot, scanning the horizon for lightning, criticizing your teammates, and misplaying several ground balls)!! Our bats woke up in the 5th as we scored 9 runs and were still going when the game was called. Pretty much everyone got a hit in that inning as we really rallied, much of it coming with 2 outs. Our defense was pretty solid too with Ron making a nice diving catch in LF and Andrea making a nice running catch in RF. Though we might have to start the game over, I think we really demoralized them by coming back - the Puppies thought they were going to walk all over us. We’ll get another shot at them- details to follow. Good luck next week against Air Police!!

Well, we had another tie (9-9) last night against Air Police (but this one almost seems more like a win). Neither team could scratch out a run in the 2 extra innings. Our bats were fairly solid up and down the lineup- Josh was a hitting machine with some hard liners up the middle. Of course, Chris and I both got on base by barely hitting the ball past the pitcher but that is softball karma for you. Chris hit into some bad luck with a hard liner that the SS snagged in the 6th with runners on 2nd and 3rd. There were some tremendous defensive plays that really kept us in the game. Liz started it off with a nice stop at 3rd with Kristi making a good stretch at 1st. Korbie made several great plays at 2nd including multiple ground ball outs and a wonderful catch of a sky-high pop in a very tough sun behind first base. The OF play was superb with Chris, Dani, Josh, and Matt all making nice running grabs. Chris made a nice play off the wall of a blast to LF and then threw to Liz who then threw home to cut down a runner. There was another assist from RF as Liz made a nice tag at third just before the other runner crossed home plate. In the bottom of the 7th with a runner on second and 2 outs, Matt fielded a hit in RF and gunned it home to Holly who made a great tag to cut down the winning run and preserve the tie. Finally, in extra innings Holly made a tremendous catch on a foul tip, diving to catch the ball just as it was about to land (I thought there was no way that ball could be caught). Awesome!!

Thanks to Charlie and Chris (our normal subs) and Josh and Jen (our emergency subs) for playing last night. After the game, we headed to Dominicks and enjoyed the cooler weather. Conversation ranged from the toe-numbing nature of high heel shoes, appropriate attire for and “booth girls” at conferences, and the former meteorological work of two of our teammates- morale was good.

Great effort in a 6-6 tie against Narcoleptic Pupplies last night. Going into the 7th, we scratched out three runs to tie and then held them in the bottom of the inning and the extra frame (unfortunately, they held us too). There were some key hits throughout the game. Liz’s bat came alive in a big way with several nice hits, and Dani kept the 7th inning going with a looper over first base that turned into a hustle hit. Ron, Nate, and Dani hit into some bad luck with some nice plays made on hard hit balls. Alicia sacrificed her knee skin on a nice slide to score a key run (hope it is doing better today). Our defense was outstanding. Charlie was masterful as he made two batters step out of the batter’s box to hit his wicked pitches. Dani made a great running catch in left and made a nice play to cut off a ball in the gap and throw to third to just miss an OF assist. Ron and Liz combined on a nice OF putout at home where the umpire called the runner safe, but Liz showed how she blocked the plate and got the call for the third out (meanwhile Nate and I were screaming our heads off as the other runner was heading to third). The play at second base was outstanding as Alicia made a nice leaping catch, and Liz handled several hard-hit grounders, including one that took a nasty hop. Nate made some nice plays at 3B too.

Thanks to Liz, KC, and Andrea who hustled over from their volleyball game. Also, thanks to KC and Matt who split time in the OF since we were gender unbalanced due to losing Korbie at the last minute.

Tough loss against Underdogs this week: 11-8. Our bats started to wake up at the end, but we didn’t have quite enough to pull it out (no excuse for my horrible baserunning in the last inning). Alicia started us off with a blast over the LF’s head (3B or HR- I can’t remember) in the first and then the hit parade started again in the later innings with Dani hitting a liner over the first baseman and Ron and Chaz hitting some nice shots up the middle. There were some stellar plays in the field. Korbie ranged deep into RF from 2B to catch a fly ball on the dead run, Ron made a tremendous diving catch in short center, KC made a good running catch and throw to third, and Liz made an awesome pick at first. Chaz was flashing the leather like Brooks Robinson at third. He made a nice tag and throw to second for a double play and had several nice picks and throws over to first, including one play on the line past the bag. Back at it next week against the Puppies…

Another nice victory over Air Police!! This time the score was much closer than the first week- 6-3. A few key at bats really paced us this week. Chaz blasted a shot over the left fielders head. Charlie hit a liner to right that skipped by the fielder for a HR (great wheels- makes up for the “hair issues”!!) Chris decided to stop testing the woman in RC with deep blasts and smoked a liner to LF that resulted in a double and a key RBI. Ron even got into the action shortly after arriving with a hard liner with two strikes to LC. The defense was super solid again. Chris started us off by throwing a strike to second to nab a suprised leadoff hitter with a great tag from Tony. Tony ended in the inning by catching a pop up and doubling the runner off of first. Later in the game Chaz turned a nice 6-4-3 DP with Liz making a nice scoop at first. Holly and Kristi combined for a nice 5-3 out with a good scoop and quick pickup at first. Dani started the top of the 7th with a nice running catch on a slicing liner- a key out with a slim three run lead!! Nice work, BGBG!!

Nice work in a victory over Narcoleptic Puppies!! We really brought the gloves in a 10-4 victory. Nate started it out with 2 nice pickups at 2B. Then Liz made a great catch and tag at first on my errant throw. Matt also had a nice pickup at 2B on a short hopper. Later he made a sweet pick at SS to start a 6U-3 DP with a nice spin and throw to first where Liz made another nice pick. Alicia made a nice play at 3B on a hard liner as well. The OF was solid too with Andrea making a nice running catch (and just missing another one). Charlie had a masterful pitching performance- working up/down and in/out in the strike zone. The bats were consistent with Nate smoking several balls including a liner to center that split the OFs for a HR. Matt C. hit a long ball over the LF for a nice triple.

Great win over Underdogs this evening!! The bats were solid again. Dani had one HR and almost another (but got the tough part of the cycle), Ron smacked a HR, and KC painted the third base line- everyone got lots of hits including lots of 2-out RBIs. The play in the field was solid too, especially with the wet OF grass. Dani had a nice running catch, and Nate tracked down a deep fly in RF for the key first out in the last inning. Matt showed cat-like quickness on the mound to start the game-ending 6-4-3 double play (in addition to what should have been another inning-ending DP) thanks to the great scoop by Kristi at first. Kristi had another great scoop on a throw from Nate. Nice work!!

Wow- what a first game!! I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a performance like that. The final count was 23-0 over Air Police after 4 innings (good to have a game shortened by the mercy rule on such a cold night). Charlie pitched a masterpiece (were there any hits?), and the defense was superb. Alicia and Danielle made some nice running catches in the OF, and Matt made a great backhanded stab and throw from deep short to nab a runner at first. And the hitting was awesome!! I think everyone had multiple hits. Chris and Charlie each had HRs- nice, offseason weight work!! A great way to start off the season!!