batteh blog-o-rama

Nice work in the intraleague tourney this evening. It was a great comeback win in the first game. We were down early 9-1 after their big 7 run inning and managed to keep clawing back. Jesse dragged us along with two solo HRs and Brian shut them down only allowing 1 run through the latter half of the game. We went into the bottom of the 7th down 10-5. Tony led off with a hit to get us started. After some debate with two outs, they pitched to Jesse with a runner on and he tomahawked another HR to center. Then the hit parade started- Chris W. got a triple, Chaz got a hit, and everyone kept passing the bat. Danny delivered a big blow scoring the two tying runs with a triple deep to CF. We held in the extra frame and then Ben started the bottom with a hit, advanced crazily to second on a hit from Charlie, and then scored the winning run as Tony continued to hit line drive after line drive. Sweet comeback- way to use the hammer!!

The big comeback win got us another meeting with Fenders. It was a classic matchup with lots of good defense and timely hits. They just got a few more than we did, squeaking out a 5-3 victory. Tony continued to hit like a demon and the defense was solid all night. We turned two DPs and Danny made a great throw to get a runner advancing to 3rd. Pete made some nice catches in RF and managed to fight through a leg injury. Jesse made some great picks at 1B, saving me at least one point and the team two runs. Tough loss but glad we got a chance to play two.

Now that the summer season is over, it’s time to start thinking about the end of the year BBQ. We can host. After the games this evening, I threw out a date but we have commitments on 8/8 and 8/22. I heard a few folks say that 8/15 was bad for them. Let’s do this to find a suitable date- please leave a comment on this post with your BBW availability for the Sat. afternoons in August. We’ll then shoot for one that works for the most folks.

Here are the updated points. Wow, look at all those negative points. We’ll carry these over to the fall.

Ben W. (4)
Todd (3.5)
Chris W. (3.5) [+1 for failing to score runner from 3rd]
Pete (2)
Charlie (2) [+1 for walks]
Matt (1)
John B. (0.5)
Dan W. (0.5) [-0.5 for clutch triple, -0.5 for OF assist, +1 for grounding into DP]
Chaz (0.5) [-0.5 for 6-4-3 DP]
Ron (0)
Jon L. (-0.5) [-0.5 for 5-4-3 DP]
Tony (-1) [-1 for 6-4-3 and 5-4-3 DPs]
Jesse (-0.5) [-1.5 for 3 HRs]

Just realized I didn’t post after our loss a few weeks ago to Fenders. We just didn’t hit enough and they had a big inning. We’ll hopefully get another shot at them in the tourney next week.

Here are the updated points. Thanks to Jon for bringing a large quantity of delicious beverages.

Ben W. (4)
Todd (3.5)
Chris W. (2.5)
Pete (2) [+1 for misplayed ground ball]
Matt (1)
Chaz (1)
Charlie (1)
Jesse (1)
John B. (0.5) [-0.5 for 4-6-3 DP]
Tony (0) [-0.5 for 4-6-3 DP]
Dan W. (0.5)
Jon L. (0) [-5 for beverages]
Ron (0)

Excellent mercy win over the Roys this evening. The game was close for a while and then we broke it open with some big innings late. Thanks to Pete for his walk off single just as it started raining. The gloves were solid- Pete started us off on a good note with a diving catch in CF for the first out of the game. Matt made a great diving play in RF and kept the ball in front of him, saving at least a run. Jesse made some nice plays at 1B, including snagging a wild throw from me that only he could get. The bats were solid- Jesse hit the ball hard all over the field (including into me at 2B- my bad!!), Matt had his line drive stroke going, and the two lefties at the top of the order kept getting on base and scoring runs. Nice work!! Gotta gear up for the last game of the year against Fenders!!

Here are the updated points. Jon probably doesn’t deserve a point since he is injured but hey, we enjoy beverages.

Jon L. (5) [+1 for grounding into DP (this one is dubious due to injury but our next game is at 6:15 against Fenders…)]
Ben W. (4)
Todd (3.5)
Chris W. (2.5)
Matt (1)
Pete (1)
Chaz (1)
Charlie (1)
Jesse (1) [+1 for failing to score runner from 3rd]
John B. (1) [+1 for throwing error, +1 for getting hit by Jesse’s ground ball]
Tony (0.5)
Dan W. (0.5)
Ron (0)

Nice 8-4 win tonight. It seems as if we hit just enough- 5 runs in the first and then 3 in the 6th. It was a tight 5-4 game for most of the affair. Jesse hit some BBs down the 3B line and just missed a HR. Ben drove in a couple of runs with SF (and didn’t earn any points). The gloves were solid too- Tony made a nice play on a grounder in the hole near first, Chaz had a great pickup and force at 2B on an in-between hopper, and the OF tracked everything down. Nice work!!

Here are the updated points. I am perplexed by the scarcity in points this year. We are just too good? In an effort to take advantage of the nice weather and an early game, I brought beverages in a proactive strike. I think we should initiate a new scoring rule to encourage this behavior in the future- anyone that brings beverages before required gets -6. What do you think?

Jon L. (4)
Ben W. (4)
Todd (3.5)
Chris W. (2.5) [+1 for failing to score runner from 3rd]
Matt (1)
Pete (1)
Chaz (1)
Charlie (1)
Tony (0.5)
Dan W. (0.5)
Ron (0)
Jesse (0)
John B. (-1) [-5 for beverages]

Tough two run loss tonight to our archrival Fenders. It was a tight game- a few plays here and there and the outcome might have been different. I felt like we hit lots of line drives right at them (plus Mel kept catching everything up the middle!!). I sure hated making the last out as I would have loved for them to have to deal with Jesse and Chris with the tying run on base. Doh!! Gloves were solid- Tony made a nice catch of a line drive and Jesse caught a pop foul crashing through the fence.

Here are the updated points for this week based on what Jon L. noted in the scorebook and subsequent explanation.

Jon L. (4)
John B. (4) [+1 for lining into DP]
Ben W. (4) [+0.5 for bad baserunning, +1 for harping on Jon L. to “give more points!” for the first half of the game, then complaining about his base-running point, and begging Chris to take half of it. (the word was “begging”)]
Todd (3.5)
Chris W. (1.5) [+0.5 for coaching error]
Matt (1)
Pete (1)
Chaz (1)
Charlie (1) [+1 for walks]
Tony (0.5) [+1 for failing to score run from 3rd, -0.5 for great catch]
Dan W. (0.5)
Ron (0)
Jesse (0)

Sounds like a tough night- sorry to bail on short notice. Here is Charlie’s report and the updated points..

The bats fell silent, making for a tough but brief night. A collective 7 for 28 evening six singles and a walk) led to a 7-2, 44-minute loss to Cubs Third Base Tavern. Tony, Jesse, and Chris were on base twice; Chaz picked up the other hit and scored both runs.

A tip of the cap to Edward Evans, David Ratner, and Brian Roddy for subbing on short notice.

Jon L. (4)
Todd (3.5) [-0.5 for throwing out runner]
John B. (3)
Ben W. (2.5)
Matt (1)
Pete (1)
Chris W. (1)
Chaz (1)
Dan W. (0.5)
Tony (0) [-6.5 for beverages]
Charlie (0)
Ron (0)
Jesse (0)

Sounds like a great win on Monday. Sorry I missed it!! Here is Charlie’s report and the updated points..

Tonight was the season debut for Jesse and Pete and Jon?s new knee brace, and we got Todd back from a short vacation. The top of the order led the way, with the first four hitters (Tony, Todd, Jon, and Jesse) collecting 14 hits in 16 at bats, including HR in Jesse’s last two at bats, and Chaz kicked in a 3 for 4 night as well. Overall, we hit a collective 28/42 (.667 for those of you who remember your ?times seven? table). Pete won the award for the hardest hit out of the night, fortunately caught by the pitcher, thus avoiding injury to a very delicate part of the anatomy. The defense was solid all night; the highlight was Todd?s throwing out a single-stretching runner at 2B in the bottom of the 5th, and Chaz hanging on to his glove, which in turn hung on to the ball. Brian pitched the first four innings and Charlie closed, neither ever going to a three-ball count. The final was 20-4. Both Jesse and Tony brought beer, but Jesse got his cooler opened first, so Tony will be bringing next week.

Tony (6.5)
Todd (4) [-0.5 for throwing out runner at 2B]
Jon L. (4)
John B. (3)
Ben W. (2.5)
Matt (1)
Pete (1)
Chris W. (1)
Chaz (1)
Dan W. (0.5) [+1 for stranding runner at 3B]
Charlie (0) [-0.5 for K]
Ron (0)
Jesse (0) [+6 for bringing beverages (wow, that sounds funny)]

Good work in a DH split last night. We just didn’t hit quite enough in the first game, a frustrating 8-7 loss to a team we usually beat. Nice comeback in the last inning- we scored 4 but couldn’t push the last one across. The between game BP must have helped as there was lots of hitting in the second game- a mercy win after 5. The gloves were solid- Dave made some nice plays in the OF and Chris W. tracked down a few deep ones. On the offensive side, it must have been throwback night. The Wus hit like it was 1999 with both getting inside the park HRs. Then Charlie was hitting like it was 1974 as he took second on a base hit to RF. Good to see Jesse out at the games last night- get well soon.

Here are this week’s points . Looks like Tony’s “first K in 12 years” has elevated him to the buy zone. So plan on staying after the next game (next week is Memorial Day, no game) to enjoy Tony’s beverages.

Tony (6.5) [+2 for K]
Todd (4.5)
Jon L. (4)
John B. (3)
Ben W. (2.5) [+1 for being late, -0.5 for inside the park HR]
Matt (1)
Pete (1)
Chris W. (1)
Chaz (1) [+1 for grounder at 3B]
Charlie (0.5) [+1 for bobbled grounder, -0.5 for K]
Ron (0)
Dan W. (-0.5) [-0.5 for inside the park HR]]
Jesse (-6)

Great job tonight in a 15-3 mercy win over 10 Guys Named Roy. Our bats showed up in a big way- lots of hits up and down the lineup. Chaz continued his hot hitting and most everyone found some green somewhere. Gloves were solid too. Ben managed not to earn double points in his inning where he asked to play 3B. Todd made a great sliding catch in LF and Tony had a lightning quick turn on the game-ending 6-4-3 DP.

Amazingly, I don’t think anyone earned any points this week. Charlie brought postgame beverages and since there were such high quality, he now has a clean slate.

Tony (4.5) [-0.5 for 6-4-3 DP]
Todd (4.5)
Jon L. (4)
John B. (3) [-0.5 for 6-4-3 DP]
Ben W. (2)
Matt (1)
Pete (1)
Chris W. (1)
Dan W. (0)
Chaz (0)
Charlie (0) [-8.5 for beverages]
Ron (0)
Jesse (-6)

Excellent start to the season in a 17-5 mercy win over the team with the annoying pitcher. Lots of hits up and down the lineup. Chaz continued his hot hitting from the preseason tourney. Plus, he along with Jason really made them pay for intentionally walking Chris W. Sweet!! Nice work in the field too with Jon L. fielding some wicked shots at 3B and Todd making a fine running catch in the OF.

Here are this week’s points (just Charlie?). Looking back at the final post from last fall, it sounds like we were going to make Jesse bring beverages for being 5 away from 0 on the negative side. Perhaps we can get him out to watch and provide. Otherwise, it looks like Charlie is up too. Any up for postgame beverages next week?

Charlie (8.5) [+1 for walk, +1 for HR (might as well pile on since you reset when beverages are provided]
Tony (5) [+1 for bad throw (self-assessed)]
Todd (4.5) [+1 for throw to 3B that got away]
Jon L. (4)
John B. (3.5)
Ben W. (2)
Matt (1)
Pete (1)
Chris W. (1)
Dan W. (0)
Chaz (0)
Ron (0)
Jesse (-6)

We were introduced to Settlers of Catan about 7 years ago by some colleagues at work and have been hooked on the game and German board games in general ever since. We have propagated the game to several other friends and family as well- now there is a copy pretty much everywhere we go. And we are always discovering that people we know are also into Catan.

I came across this interesting article in Wired magazine about the game designer, Klaus Tueber, and the design of Settlers.

Are you a Catan lover? How were you introduced to the game?

It’s that time of the year again. Don’t let the boss see you streaming the games as you “work”. The We Hate Tim league has been dominated by the Battehs so far:

John (2007)
Matty (2008)

So, here is your chance to be immortalized in We Hate Tim picking history. So let’s have another fun year in the 2009 version of the “We Hate Tim” league. Join the league, make your picks, and come back here to talk smack.

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!!

Excellent effort in the first game last night. We jumped out to a 9-3 lead only to give up the lead after a rough inning where we couldn’t quite get the last out. But we tied the game up 10-10, only to be behind again 12-10 going into the top of the 7th. But Todd started our rally in the 7th and we scored 5 runs with lots of great hitting to take a 15-12 lead. After they scored a run in the bottom, we got a DP with Jesse sneaking behind the runner to double him off after a caught line drive and Danny made a nice running catch for the last out. Also, thanks to Chaz for coming out to cheer us on- it was nice to see him as he is recovering.

After some discussion, it turns out that game was not a playoff game but was simply the last game of the regular season. Since we were both 8-2 with a 2-2 head to head record, we had to play another game to determine the league champion. In the second game, the hit a ton and made some great plays on the couple of balls we hit hard. It was a rather embarassing 15-0 mercy in 4.

Again, thanks for a great summer and fall season. Rest up for the spring and let’s try to plan a post-season outing.

Here are this week’s points and the ones that will be carried forward to next year. Thanks to Dan W. for providing postgame beverages and snacks. As always feel free to comment, correct, add, etc. Since Jesse is 5 points away from 0 on the negative side (first ever), we’ll have him provide beverages first in the spring.

Charlie (6.5) [+2 for K]
Tony (4) [+1 for missed ground ball, -0.5 for DP]
Jon L. (4)
Todd (3.5)
John B. (3.5) [+1 for missed ground ball, -1 for 2 DPs]
Ben W. (2)
Matt (1)
Pete (1)
Chris W. (1) [+1 for getting thrown out at home]
Dan W. (0) [+1 for misjudged fly ball, +1 for getting thrown out at 3rd, -8.5 for beverages and snacks]
Chaz (0)
Ron (0)
Jesse (-6) [+1 for wild throw, -0.5 for DP]

Excellent game last night with a 14-7 victory. The game was close throughout and was tied 6-6 going into the bottom of the 6th. Jon led off with a hit and we rolled from there scoring 8 runs to bust the game open. Jesse continued his HR streak with an opposite field shot and Chris W. made them pay for intentionally walking Jesse thereafter (including twice to load the bases). The gloves were solid too- Tony made an awesome leaping catch of a line drive and then quickly threw to first where Jesse made a nice pick and tag to complete the DP. Also, Tony managed to get his head out of the way after a ground ball took a wicked last hop. Charlie also snagged a hard line drive up the middle. Solid effort- we’ve got one more game next week with the good hitting team so let’s come to play.

Here are this week’s points. Thanks to Chris W. for providing postgame beverages and snacks (actually it was the ghost of Chris W. as he had to run off after the game). As always feel free to comment, correct, add, etc. Also, since we have single 7:30 game next week, perhaps Dan W. could provide some post-game beverages?

Dan W. (6.5) [+1 for dropped fly ball]
Charlie (4.5) [+1 for failing to score runner from 3rd, -0.5 for K]
Jon L. (4)
Todd (3.5)
Tony (3.5) [+1 for missed ground ball, -0.5 for DP]
John B. (3.5)
Ben W. (2) [+1 for bad circa-1996 baserunning to make last out at 3rd]
Matt (1)
Pete (1)
Chris W. (0) [-6.5 for beverages]
Chaz (0)
Ron (0)
Jesse (-6.5) [-0.5 for HR]

Tough night yesterday with the injury to Chaz. We split and lost the second game to a good hitting team. We’ll get them again in a couple of weeks and will be ready to play better. The first game started with our top 4 hitters getting out followed by 11 straight hits, then an out, and then 9 more hits. Wow!! Jesse had three monster bombs and there was solid hitting up and down the lineup. Chaz’s HR was something else.

The games took second fiddle to Chaz’s injury. I’m glad I didn’t see it- it was bad enough to see the faces of those who did. Thanks to Chris W. for his help in getting Chaz some urgent care at the field. The whole scene was a bit surreal as Chaz was all geeked about the HR and seemingly oblivious to the injury. Bad ass!! Happily Chaz responded with an update and I talked to him today. His injury required 13 stitches and he is now on the road to recovery.

Here are this week’s points. Thanks to Ron for providing postgame beverages and snacks. As always feel free to comment, correct, add, etc. Also, since we have single 8:45 game next week, perhaps Chris W. could provide some post-game beverages?

Chris W. (6.5) [-0.5 for getting help for Chaz- thanks!!]
Dan W. (5.5)
Jon L. (4)
Todd (3.5)
Charlie (4) [+1 for walk]
Tony (3) [+1 for wild throw, -1 for 2 DPs]
John B. (3.5) (+2 for fielding miscues, -1 for 2 DPs]
Matt (1)
Pete (1)
Ben W. (1) [+1 for walk]
Chaz (0) [-0.5 for HR and -0.5 for sacrificing his body for the team]
Ron (0) [-7.5 for beverages]
Jesse (-6) [-1.5 for 3 HRs]

Nice work last night in taking two games. The first game was a 15-5 mercy while the second game was a hard fought, come from behind 14-10 win. Except for a few innings at the start of the second game, we hit the ball well. Jesse hit a towering blast against the wind in the first game and Chris W. followed with a big HR in the second game. The defense was great all night. Tony had a ton of balls hit to him, most hard and to his backhand, and had a great diving stop and a nice stab on a ball that was virtually past him. Nice work!!

Per last week’s proposal, those who attended the BGBG/GSHAS outing last weekend have a point amnesty this week (although negative points will still be awarded). I know that will save me at least +2!! Anyhow, for those who did not attend, please self-assess as required (I’m still waiting for OF assessments from last week too as I’m sure it wasn’t just IF and P that accumulated points). As always feel free to comment, correct, add, etc. Also, since we have 7:30/8:45 games next week, perhaps Ron could provide some post-game beverages?

Ron (7.5)
Chris W. (7) [+1 for dropping fly ball, +1 for missing throw at home, -0.5 for HR]
Dan W. (5.5)
Jon L. (4) [-0.5 for great play on slow roller]
Todd (3.5)
Charlie (3)
Tony (3) [-0.5 for a full night of great plays, +2 self-assessed in comments]
John B. (2.5)
Matt (1)
Pete (1)
Chaz (1)
Ben W. (0)
Jesse (-4.5) [-0.5 for HR]

Solid effort tonight in a split against a pretty good hitting team. We matched them blow for blow in the first game and won 18-16. The second game got away from us a little bit as they hit well and we gave them some extra outs. Jesse helped seal the deal in the 7th inning of the first game by diving to catch a line drive and then tagging out the runner on first for a DP. There were several nice defensive plays throughout the night- Ron made a nice diving catch, Jon L. snared a rocket ground ball that was nearly past him and fired across to get the PO at 1B, and Charlie had 3Ks. Anyhow, nice work to get a split- we’ll see these guys again, most likely twice if both teams win out. So, get the bats ready.

Also, don’t forget the annual BGBG/GSHAS outing at Jon’s place in Albion this Saturday. Be sure to respond to the evite if you haven’t already. I propose everyone who attends gets point amnesty next week.

I’ve only assessed a few points since I kind of lost track. Please self-assess as required. As always feel free to comment, correct, add, etc.

Ron (7.5)
Chris W. (5.5)
Dan W. (5.5)
Jon L. (4.5) [-0.5 for snaring hard ground ball, +1 self-assessed]
Todd (3.5)
Charlie (3) [+1 for BB, -1.5 for 3Ks, +1 self-assessed]
John B. (2.5) [+1 for booted grounder]
Tony (1.5)
Matt (1)
Pete (1)
Chaz (1) [+1 self-assessed]
Ben W. (0) [+1 for 3 walks (we’ll assess +1 for 1-3 walks, +2 for > 3)]
Jesse (-4) [-0.5 for awesome DP, -0.5 for HR]

Excellent start to the fall season with two mercy wins on what turned out to be a pretty nice night after some rain earlier in the evening. The bats were on fire- sure, they gave us some outs but we really hit the ball (Jon L. and John B each had 4 triples??). The gloves were solid too- especially Chris W. hopping out from behind the plate to run halfway up the first base line to field a ball going foul only to fire the ball to Tony to get a force out at second. I suspect the other two teams will be a bit more competitive so let’s keep up the good work next week.

Here are this week’s points as best I can remember (Charlie, Jon L. wrote them in the book so can you provide me anything I missed)- feel free to self-assess as needed. As always feel free to comment, correct, add, etc.

Ron (7.5) [+1 for hitting the ball to the SS when they didn’t have one]
Chris W. (5.5) [+1 for getting thrown out at home]
Dan W. (5.5) [+1 for now showing up to the game]
Jon L. (4) [-0.5 for showing up for the game all the way from Albion]
Todd (3.5) [+1 for making two outs in the same inning]
Charlie (2.5) [-0.5 for K, should we assess a point for pitching before Matt was in position in RF?]
John B. (1.5) [-0.5 for catch (thanks Jon)]
Tony (1.5) [+2 self-assessed in comments]
Matt (1)
Pete (1)
Ben W. (0)
Chaz (0)
Jesse (-3)

The bats went on strike this evening as we went one and done in the intraleague tourney. The score was 8-3 as we just couldn’t string enough hits together. They didn’t score a bunch but got a few key hits to score some runs. The gloves were solid as there really weren’t any errors- Tony made a great diving stop on a ball up the middle to get a force and Todd ran down a bunch of balls in LF.

Overall it was a solid season. We started slow but started playing good ball towards the end of the season. Now we’ll rest up for the fall. Stay turned for info about a post-season outing.

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 Ben who scurried off to get beverages after the game. Since he also provided peanuts, we’ll reset his record points total to 0 and give him a fresh start for the fall.

Ron (6.5)
Jon L. (4.5)
Chris W. (4.5)
Dan W. (4.5)
Charlie (3) [+1 for walk, -1 for K (looking), +1 for grounding into DP]
Todd (2.5)
Matt (1)
John B. (2) [+1 for getting hurt playing for another team]
Pete (1) [+1 for failing to score runner from 3rd]
Ben W. (0) [+1 for walk, -9.5 for beverages and peanuts]
Chaz (0)
Tony (-0.5)
Jesse (-3)

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!!)]