Softball Week in Review: Week 13; July 15 - July 21

Softball Week in Review: Week 13; July 15 - July 21

July 15, Sunday

The Pirates finished Lynn's Sunday League regular season with a ridiculous 28-4 rout of the woeful St. Peter's Hospital. "At least you guys started going station to station in the first..." commented the umpire, whose strike zone expanded to galactic proportions when the Pirates were (frequently) at the plate as the game progressed. To celebrate their perfect season, manager Deryl B popped a couple bottles of fine Yellow Tail sparkling the Pirates recently plundered off the coast of Australia. "Now it's time to continue this run through the playoffs" said Deryl. Unfortunately, the Pirates will have to wait a week before the playoffs begin.

July 16, Monday
Game 1, 6:00P at FoD: Toyota of Clifton Park vs. The Goodfellas. With a final score of 24-6, one might think this game was a laugher from beginning to end--exactly what should happen when a good team plays a struggling team. Such a thought, however, is a mistake as the score belies the schizophrenic nature of the game. Through the first four innings, the score was 5-3 in favor of The Goodfellas with Toyota having problems in the field and at the plate. The official count of three errors doesn't fully capture Toyota's defensive futility that also included some poor routes on fly-balls. Defensive futility, on the other hand, was completely overshadowed by Toyota's offensive ineptitude as they collected only four hits over the span. "His head was ready to blow off..." noted the ever alert Deron S regarding Toyota manager John C, adding "I could see the veins bulging in his neck...he was ready to blow..." "The poor defense was one thing..." said manager John C, "but not hitting and the constant chasing of his blooping high pitch...wow. Tough to watch."

Then, like shifting from Park to Drive, Toyota remembered who they were in the top of the 5th and pasted 13 runs on the hapless Goodfellas. Toyota followed their big offensive inning by dropping a 1-2-3 goose egg on The Goodfellas in the bottom of the inning. In the top of the 6th, the offense picked up where they left off and scored another 8 runs. "You knew it was going to happen..." said Toyota 3B Jim C, "...sometimes it takes a few innings before we get rolling." John C was less than sharp after two long innings on the bench when he went to pitch the bottom of the 6th, but the damage was minimal as The Goodfellas could only plate 1 run despite loading the bases. "I should've went to the pen..." said John C, "The long layoffs eventually iced me, I was done. I need to monitor that better in the future." Regardless, in the end, Toyota amassed 22 hits--7 for extra bases and 7 walks. Offense was the star of this game.

Game 2, 9:00P at Mullen's Park: Poppy's Place vs. Dirty Pirates rescheduled to Thursday, July 19.

July 17, Tuesday
Game 1, 6:15P at Nott 5: J.T. Designs vs. Anarchy; 11-7, Anarchy. "I'm sick of this Punch and Judy {garbage}, let's get some hits and beat the {stuffing} out of them." That simple statement by Anarchy SS Justin R perfectly summed up Anarchy's early going futility with J.T. Designs at Nott Road, Field 5--the sun field. Both teams battled 95^O+ heat, high humidity, and intense sun/haze in the batter's eyes. Anarchy's bantam blonde manager, Stacey D, succumbed to the intense conditions: "I was hit in the chest and I had trouble breathing. I needed to sit out the last inning or so." This, however, did not stop Anarchy's firebrand manager from vociferously and colorfully protesting a close play at the plate with an exclamatory shout not intended to boost the morale of the umpire. "He was wrong and I wanted him to know that..." said Stacey D.

J.T. Designs took an early lead on Anarchy by playing solid D, by hitting soft line drives up the middle, and with a pitcher who was smart enough to take advantage of a low strike zone and flat pitches. J.T. Designs held Anarchy hit-less through the first two innings until Phil smacked a hard grounder to the right side in the 3rd. Anarchy's next hard hit came from John C--a hard line drive to right--with a runner on. Ugly base running on his part, however, truncated any hope for a rally. "I was frustrated..." said John C, "...we were flat and everything seemed to go their way. I wanted to spark the team..." Strangely, Anarchy seemed to recover from their malaise after his blunder. Employing a different defensive scheme in the outfield, Anarchy shut down J.T. Designs up the middle, soft line drive attack. From here, Anarchy's offense went to work securing and then maintaining the lead for their 9th victory. 

Game 2, 6:15P at Nott 2: EYS vs. D&R Paving. In a completely different game than their first meeting, EYS lambasted D&R Paving 17-2. "We hit from beginning to end." said EYS manager Deron S, "It was never a contest." EYS cruised to their 10th win of the season with one regular season game remaining against the 2nd place Fiscal Hitters. EYS manhandled and booted Fiscal from the playoffs last year in a 16-6 laugher. "I wish it was a best of three..." commented Fiscal Hitters manager after the playoff loss. Now is their chance to make partial amends. 

July 18, Wednesday
6:15P at JCC1; Anarchy vs. Pitches be Crazy: Playing two games in as many days, Anarchy opted to earn both victories in stylistically divergent fashion: Tuesday was a hard fought 11-7 nail-biter, Wednesday was a 33-2 romp. Such a score is self explanatory--the result of Anarchy mashing and defeatist, disinterested defense by Pitches be Crazy. Anarchy tried not to run up the score and resorted to station to station base-running in the top of the 1st. Pitches be Crazy, however, asked for a little more abuse later in the game with complete lackadaisical play on defense--epitomized by a misplayed line drive to center field by Anarchy SS Justin D. "I was planning on staying at first..." said Justin D, "but he (the center fielder) came in on the ball and it went over his head. He never turned around to go after it...he just stood there. I had to go home after that..." "It was an ugly game..." said Anarchy's feisty blonde manager Stacey D, "...but it was fun to put it to them." With the blowout, Anarchy earned their 10th victory. 

July 19, Thursday
7:30P at Coyne Field; Poppy's Place vs. Dirty Pirates: In their best played game in awhile, the Pirates plundered Poppy's Place 15-4. The Pirates did it all tonight--solid defense and timely, smart hitting. "It was exactly what I like to see..." said Pirates' manager John C, "...plenty of hard line drives and hard ground balls up the middle." In fact, the Pirates only had 6 extra base hits, but good, opportunistic base-running made up for the lack of raw slugging. With staunch defense behind him, Deryl B pitched a gem. His only trouble came in the top of the 6th; "I let up a bit..." said Deryl B, "We had a big lead and I was trying to make them get themselves out..." A brief visit by John C was all Deryl needed to collect himself and to regain his focus. He shut Poppy's down for the remainder of the 6th and the 7th. The Pirates picked a good time to start to turn things around. They need a strong finish to make the playoffs in a competitive division.  

July 20, Friday
6:00P at Fireman's Field; Dirty Pirates vs. Glenmont Beverage: What should have been a laugher, turned into another stinker for the Pirates. The Pirates lost to Glenmont Beverage 9-8 for their 6th single digit score on the season and 5th loss. All 5 losses have come when the Pirates scored single digit runs. "I wasn't at the game..." said Pirates manager John C, "...but the scorebook said it all--too many fly-outs." The Pirates--who have played the majority of their games on large field--fell into the Fireman's Field trap: swing for the fences. "It's not necessarily that they were trying..." commented fill-in manager Deryl B, "...but the short fences get in your head. We needed the approach we had at Coyne yesterday--line drives and hard grounders." John C added "It's frustrating. There's too much talent here to lose like that. I think some players are pressing. Just let the hits come to you..." The loss increased the difficulty of the Pirates' chances at making the playoffs. "It's tough to win when you combine poor hitting with poor defense." said Deryl B, "We have to step it up." The Pirates need to step it up if they want to make the playoffs and can barely afford another loss.          
  

Records and Standings

Dirty Pirates Sunday: 10-0, Remain in 1st place in Lynn's Sunday League

Dirty Pirates: 8-5, A win and a loss drops the Pirates to 6th in the North

EYS: 10-1, EYS maintains their grip on 1st place in the Media League

Anarchy: 10-1, 2 wins moves Anarchy to 2nd place behind Farm Family in Lynn's Rec AL

Toyota of Clifton Park: 10-1, Despite identical records with the Dominican All-Stars, Toyota drops to 2nd inn Andy's League Men North

Softball Week in Review: Week 12; July 08 - July 14

Softball Week in Review: Week 12; July 08 - July 14

July 08, Sunday
Plundering as though the gold was pyrite, the Dirty Pirates went off half cocked on Half Cocked 15-6. The Pirates loaded only a few canons for this barrage and coasted to another victory.

July 02, Monday
Game 1, 6:00P at FoD: Sun Devils vs. Toyota of Clifton Park. Billed as the game of the night, a couple of top Northern teams set out to rearrange the division landscape. In the end, however, the battle ended as an 18-3 5 inning mercy rule rout for Toyota of Clifton Park. John C, who has had some control problems as of late, struggled in the 3rd when he had trouble locating his fastball; ultimately this lead to the only 3 runs the Sun Devils would score. A strike-out and a weak pop to Dan R at short truncated the Sun Devils' only rally as Toyota hung zeroes on them for all other innings. The Toyota offense proved a mark of consistency, scoring in four of the five innings. Every Toyota batter reached base at least twice while Mike H was a perfect 4 for 4. Overall, Toyota racked up 18 hits--five for extra bases--and took 8 walks; a lethal combination of power and patience. "That's what this lineup can do..." noted Toyota manager John C. Toyota also played solid, if not stellar defense with impressive work all around. This was another important victory over a competitive division rival that will help set up Toyota's hopeful playoff seeding down the road.

Game 2, 6:15P at Nott 1: EYS slipped past Skyline Diner, 16-14, to sweep the season series. Skyline has played EYS tough and suffered another two run loss to the Big Blue Machine. Combined scoring for the season series is 29-25.

Game 3, 6:15P at Swift: Master Batters vs. Anarchy. This game was rescheduled to Friday, July 13 at JCC 2.

July 13, Friday
In a game Master Batters wish was rescheduled to never, Anarchy continued their mastery over their playoff foes from last year with a resounding 24-3 victory. "Our lineup really clicked.." said Anarchy's firebrand manager, the diminutive, blonde Stacey D, temporarily incarnating the legend of Captain Obvious. Despite an Anarchy lineup that simply raked its way through the game and the overwhelming lopsided nature of the score, Master Batters' manager offered his take: "How many soft bouncers did they have go through the infield? That was unbelievable luck on their part..." Apparently, 3700' of line drives and fly balls by Joe, Phil, John C, Pete G, Dale W, and Justin R were conveniently lumped into the "soft bouncer" category. In the Anarchy goodwill gesture of the game, Justin R launched a towering pop up behind the plate that the Master Batters' catcher athletically laid out for in an all star caliber grab--it was her first catch...ever. A round of applause from both teams saluted her effort. "It was a really great play..." noted Justin R, adding "I just missed it."


Records and Standings

Dirty Pirates Sunday: 9-0, Remain in 1st place

Dirty Pirates: 7-4, No game leaves the Pirates at bay

EYS: 9-1, EYS maintains their grip on 1st place

Anarchy: 8-1, Anarchy remains in 3rd place in Lynn's Rec AL

Toyota of Clifton Park: 9-1, the win moves Toyota into 1st for the moment in Andy's League Men North

Softball Week in Review: Week 11; July 01 - July 07

July 01, Sunday
The Dirty Pirates pillaged and plundered and looted the Grim Reapers 25-5 in a sun drenched bore-fest. After the game, the Grim Reapers manager offered this conditional to Pirates' manager Deryl B "If a few bounces went our way, we had you guys."

July 02, Monday
Game 1, 6:15P at Nott 2: EYS sweeps the two game season series by dominating The Infidels once again 16-1. Combined scoring for the series is EYS: 42, Infidels: 7. Ouch.

Game 2, 9:00P at Bleecker: Toyota of Clifton Park defeats Toyota of Clifton Park II, 9 - 0, to take the first ever Toyota Cup. A well played game by both sides that featured a combined 56 plate appearances, no walks, 1 HBP, 2 ROE, and 2 K's. Brevity was the order of the night as the game lasted a bit over an hour. John C was dominant in the circle facing 5 batters over the minimum in 7 innings of work. He issued one free pass when he hit Dave B on the derriere in the 6th. Dave B was also the only Toyota II base-runner to reach 2B. A good FB and effective use of off-speed pitches had Toyota II off balance all night that combined with stellar defense stunted the Toyota II attack. Despite the notoriously choppy infield at Bleecker, Toyota played fault free. Bob S was impressive at 1B ranging deep to grab 2 pop ups--one in the 1st and one in the 4th--and hoovering several scorched grounders. "Plays like that are huge..." said manager John C, "they shorten the innings and deflate the other team. He had an excellent night over there." The OF also stifled any hope for Toyota II. Pete G, Mike H, Garry S, and Brian S clairvoyantly roamed the OF--always standing where Toyota II placed the ball. Despite having only 30 PA over 6 innings, Toyota made efficient use of their 13 base-runners in plating 9 of them. Fred C added some pop for Toyota with a 3 run shot in the 4th.

July 03, Tuesday
Anarchy swept the season series against rival American Legion with a close 9-7* victory. The game, however, did not play as close as the final score. "They had a lot of help from the guy wearing blue..." noted Justin R who took another shot off his body on the woeful infield at JCC 2, adding "He really kept them in the game..." Mike H powered a blast to deep RC into the volley ball court ultimately for an HR. When John C followed suit, it was ruled a grounds rule double. There was also a few suspect calls at 2B and 3B. "He should've been called out at 2B..." said Anarchy manager Stacey D referring to a 2nd inning play where Legion base-runner Josh took out Anarchy 2B Nicole R without trying to avoid contact. "That's the problem with this league, they don't know their own rules well enough to enforce them." added Stacey D. Regardless, behind a good pitching performance by Chris and some solid IF and OF defense, Anarchy was able to overcome both opponents.

*Anarchy has the score correctly as 9-7. The league has the score incorrectly reported as 9-8.

July 05, Thursday
The Dirty Pirates slumped their way to another woeful loss to long time rivals Paddy's Pub (formerly Cafe Hollywood, Bazooko Circus, and Underdogs), 11-5. "That was awful..." complained manager John C, "We handed them the game. Bad defense combined with non-existent offense is not a recipe for victory. They played well enough to not refuse our gift." The Pirates managed only 7 base-runners on 7 hits. "We had that many?" asked John C with a hint of sarcasm. Despite the poor overall affair, the Pirates managed a couple highlights including a horizontal layout catch by Pete G and a grand slam by Mike H.

July 06, Friday
Toyota played its second game of the week on a dusty and blistering hot Field of Dreams against old nemesis Balls Deep. It's been several years since both teams have played each other when Balls Deep embarrassed Toyota in a regular season fall game. This time Toyota would distance themselves from ugly history and grind out a staunch 15-11 victory behind the sturdy pitching of John C. Despite his slow start, John C collected himself, minimized damage and gave his team a chance to win. "After warming up, I was light headed and queasy. I couldn't throw with any velocity, so I started out exclusively throwing off speed. Not really a recipe for success..." noted the pitcher. The sun baked field also created some interesting defensive situations. "The OF was so hard, the ball just takes off..." said Steve F, adding "It was ridiculous." But after two innings of posting goose eggs, Toyota's offense started to heat up posting a run in the 3rd, 2 in the 4th, 2 in the 5th and finally tying the game at 8 with 3 in the 6th. After exchanging 2's in the 7th with Balls Deep, Toyota finally broke it open in the top of the 8th with 5 runs capped by a 2 run blast by Pete G. Offensive production was littered throughout the lineup with the majority of Toyota batters collecting 2 or 3 hits. Brian S got off the snide with a game winning 2 RBI hard bouncing double that pounded through the infield. "It wasn't a pretty game..." said manager John C, "but I was proud that we never quit and continued to grind especially in that kind of heat. The aesthetics of the game may have been lacking, but it was an impressive team win."

Toyota plays the undefeated Sun Devils next Tuesday, July 10 in a game that has major implications for the North standings.    


Records and Standings

Dirty Pirates Sunday: 8-0, Remain in 1st by 1/2 a game over Bourbon St Reloaded (7-0)

Dirty Pirates: 7-4, Another loss drops the Pirates to 7th in the North

EYS: 8-1, Their 8th win moves them 2 games up on Fiscal Hitters

Anarchy: 7-1, Despite the win, Anarchy remains in 3rd place in Lynn's Rec AL

Toyota of Clifton Park: 8-1, another week and another pair of wins moves Toyota up to 3rd in the North