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Here's a list of the game dates in a format that's easy to cut and paste:
March 1 - Loss 13-1 - Team Motto: Don't Suck
4 James "Mo" Bonney
Right Center
3 Kenneth "MCI Reject" Kay
1st
42 "Mighty" Drake Christensen
2nd/DH
33 Bruce "Better Bring 'em Home" Allsop
Catcher/Right
2 Kevin "$$$$$" Spaeth
Left
45 Jay "Jesse" Owens
3rd
41 Scott "Lacrosse This" Warren
Short
0 Scott "Big O" O'Neal
DH/2nd
1 Todd "This Won't Hurt Too Much" Miller
Pitcher
00 Greg "Wad" Rodenroth
Left Center
16 Ross "It's not a Mini-Van" Miller
Right/Catcher
Near-disaster. At the beginning of the year Bruce asked Toad to be sure to send the softball info as soon as he got it. The second week of Feb Toad told Bruce that he had received the info a few weeks earlier. When Bruce called, he learned that we got the last E league slot (two people had called and asked for info.) And that the season started in just two weeks. So Toad is officially the target for heaps of abuse.
Some good, some bad. Our hitting early on was pitiful. I think both of our first two innings we got one person on and then the next three were fielder's choices. The third or fourth inning we had a nice two-out rally. Loaded the bases and worked some people in. Going by the score, if we could have been more consistent with our hitting then it might have been an interesting game.
Part of our problem was their phenomenal short stop. One in particular, he snagged one that had passed nearly over second base, and within half a step had flicked to the second baseman without turning. He did bobble a few due to the funny bounces on that infield. But they did turn one double play and they reacted with, "Yeah, our first of the year!" as if they expect to turn a bunch. Hmm, could they be sandbagging?
I hit one for three. The first two were fielder's choices that were nearly double plays. My third was a nice uncatchable line drive up the middle. My second time up I pulled my hip flexor ligament on my right leg while running to first. That's the ligament at the front of your leg right where it hits the hip. I didn't quite tear it, but it got really tight. I made it to first. That was the inning we loaded the bases. I think even if I weren't hobbled I probably wouldn't have made it home from second. In the end it didn't matter. I got knocked in and Bruce nearly caught up to me. After that inning I sat out both to rest the ligament and to get Scott in the game. When I didn't stress it the ligament felt fine. When I DH'ed later in the game it tightened right back up.
They had a few power hitters. I've gotten so used to it that I didn't even bother to keep track of how many. The league added a new home run rule. In E league, if someone puts it over the fence then everyone currently on base stays put, but the other team gets the runs that otherwise would have been driven in by the hit.
Early in the game, one right hander pounded one down the right line. Rosy probably should have had it, but he hasn't played outfield for several games and he misjudged the fade toward the line. I came out for the relay, but screwed it up. If I had turned the correct direction I might have made it a close throw home.
After that inning, Bruce decided he should be in the outfield rather than Ross. That's fine for catching. But he can't throw it far enough to get a deep one in. While he was out there, one got over his head. Fortunately, it was foul. But Mo didn't go over to back him up. Mo thought it was well foul. From my position it appeared foul by only a few feet.
Jay was a defense machine. One was a Stretch Armstrong to catch a sizzler over his head. He got one grounder that he threw to me. As I was approaching second I stumbled a little and was worried that it was going to smash into my face. But I managed to catch it and make the play. Our outfielders appeared to be doing a good job talking to each other. The other team was towering the high enough that our guys managed to get under many of them. If that team learns to flatten them out and place them a bit better then they'll be a B or C league team. Toad walked one or two, which is disappointing because there was no wind. But that 1-and-1 count is pretty unforgiving.
In addition to Jay's throw I had one line drive right at me, and a grounder that didn't bounce funny and I made the throw to first. New Scott made one relay to me that was too high. I managed to catch it, and we never would have made the play even if it had been on target. In all, a busy game for me, especially since I sat out the last coupla innings.
March 15 - Loss by 3
I was out of town. I'm told we lost by 3.
March 22 - Loss 22-3 - E League's
Welcome Mat
We were prepared for a really awful game. Bruce said that this team had run-ruled its way through the season so far.
Up through the first two innings we stuck with them. We were only down 5-2. Then, The Big Inning came.
They didn't hit all that great, really. They had a few right up the middle. And our outfielders let two get over their heads. But it looked like about half was hitting and half was errors. Our infield booted a bunch. Scott at short bobbled several. Bruce couldn't get a handle on at least two. Jay had two hot line drives that the wind pushed away from his glove by an inch. (Very strong wind tonite.) Toad had one grounder when there was only a runner on 2nd. He took so long holding the runner that he didn't make the throw on the batter. No throws to home.
I think most of our at-bats were infield flies. We managed to get a few on, but it was usually with two out and we couldn't get them around. Toad, Mo, Jay and Rosy each had at least one good line drive up the middle. Rosy was our third run. From the dugout we could hear Bruce yelling, "Turn and look." but Rosy just kept on going. Later he said that if it was close enough to think about then he was going to go ahead and push it.
My hitting was mediocre. I popped out, (shouldn't have swung at the high one) singled and had a line drive to right-center hang in the wind for an out. The one time I made it on base, Bruce grounded to short who bobbled the ball a little. If I had set myself up for the slide I could have at least made it close. But I was a bit slow. I think the up-and-down at catcher tired my legs.
Toad's pitching was okay, considering the wind. I think he only walked one. Though in the second inning he got a three-inch gift from the ump for the strikeout.
March 29 - Loss 10-8 - Pray for Rain
We sure didn't expect to play tonite. The ground looked really wet. I think it even rained today. The infield was packed really hard. It became a factor a few times during the game. Nobody wanted to slide, and those that did weren't able to slide well.
We should have had them. They're one of the few D League teams we've seen in the last couple of years. They had a few people that got good contact but only one or two could place it. And they made a few running errors.
We had some errors, but in general we played a much better defensive game than usual. We had several smart/lucky plays. Greg caught one on a dead run. He also gunned a couple in to third, one for an out. Toad got a grounder when there were runners on 2nd and 3rd. He looked the guy back at 3rd and threw to me. For some reason, the runner at 2nd ignored what was happening in front of him and ran to 3rd. The guy at 3rd got flustered and headed for home. It was an easy throw to get him.
I had one ball I could go for. A somewhat hard one between me and Scoo. I couldn't tell if he had a better play on it than I did (he said he probably did,) so I stabbed it as I was hitting my knees. I was expecting to slide and was balanced for that. The wet ground stopped me immediately, so I rocked forward onto my glove hand. It felt like I fumbled forever trying to get my weight back and get a handle on the ball. Since I was facing 2nd I couldn't tell if Toad had covered 1st (Scoo said he was headed that direction and probably would have made it.) I finally managed to fling the ball at Scott at 2nd. It mostly luck that the throw was on target. And somehow it got there in time.
Our outfield did let a couple of grounders get under their gloves. And Scott let a couple under his glove at short. A few mis-thrown balls that weren't to somebody, but I don't think any of those ended up mattering.
Hitting, Rosy is getting good contact on the ball. They're a little to high, allowing the outfield to get under them. But if he can keep that up then pretty soon he's really going to nail one. Scoo hit one that looked like it definately got over the infield. Somehow, the shortstop climbed a ladder and managed to snag it. His last at-bat, he hit a weak one that was pretty much at short, but somehow the pitcher got to the side quick enough to snag it. It's amazing how many he has had stolen from him. My own hitting sucked. I had one solid hit grounder to short. But I think all my at-bats were fielder's choices.
Our own running was good and bad. We had a couple of people hustle to 1st and either beat the throw or take advantage of the 1st baseman getting pulled off the bag. On the bad side, Rosy was running from 1st to 2nd. The throw was in time, but the 2nd baseman bobbled the ball and dropped it. Rosy had given up on the play and so wasn't set to stop at 2nd. He overran it and couldn't get back in time. On one hit that Toad made, Bruce told him to turn and look. The outfielder muffed the ball. Bruce said he told Toad to go, but Toad stood there for another couple of seconds. He ended up getting thrown out at 2nd.
The highlight of the game was when Greg whiffed a pitch that sent him on a 360 spin and then he asked the ump, "Did I come around?"
April 5 - Win 16-12 - Infield Flyers
Whoa! A win! It's been a long time.
It looked sad the first inning. The other team dropped several right in front of our left and center fielders. It wasn't until the end of the first that we moved them up. So they scored 6 on us to start. After the outfield moved in I don't think they put any over our heads. They had a few hitters that looked like they were capable, but they ended up hitting them up instead of deep.
We had fairly good defense the entire game. We had a couple of near-mistakes in the outfield. On one grounder to Greg we yelled at him to throw to second. He started to throw to third and changed in mid-throw. I was surprised it was on target. Greg had one catch mid-way through the game that he bobbled but managed to hang on to. Another time, Rosy got the ball and we told him to throw to second and he ended up throwing it between first and second. I don't know if he was aiming for Bruce, but Bruce wasn't ready and looked up barely in time.
Our infield play was pretty good. We started off with some good throws to first by almost everyone. Scott, Jay and I each got a guy out with on-target throws. Late in the game, Toad had one that he had trouble handling. He got flustered and missed the throw to first. He's had so few opportunities since becoming pitcher that he hasn't learned that he has all day to make the throw.
I had a busier than usual game. I had a good back-hand stop in the first inning. I bobbled one off my glove but managed to stick with it. Toad got a piece of a line drive, slowing it down a little for me. Luckily, he didn't knock it off course, much. All those were for outs. Late in the game I got flustered and threw one too high. Bruce jumped for the catch, but we missed the out.
Toad had a good game pitching. At least three strikeouts. Two were against their catcher, who looked like he hadn't held a bat in years. One or two others were batters who hit two fouls on their last strike.
We had good, solid hitting all game. Others pointed out to me that Jay has been consistently hitting line drive singles all season, and he certainly did in this game. Apparently, the short stop left his ladder at home. He made a leap at one of Scoo's bloopers but came up a foot short. Later in the game, Scoo had some good heads-up running and scored an extra bag. Rosy actually slid into second once, though it didn't help in that instance. Later in the game, Rosy managed to get ahold of one. Their right-center fielder started to take a couple of steps forward and then turned because it was way over his head. If he had gotten the right jump on the ball he probably would have stolen it from Rosy with an over-the-shoulder catch that Rosy is so familiar with. The other team did manage to turn a double play on us, though.
As we started our last inning, the scorekeeper told us we had three minutes left. At one point, Bruce told Mo to step out of the box to waste time. Mo turned his back to the ump and didn't see that the ump was counting. We came close to an out right there.
My hitting was okay. I think my first was a fielder's choice to short. Then a hard grounder right at the pitcher's feet that got through. A weak popup to second. And then the exclamation point to the game.
I got a good pitch and went for it and managed to hit the sweet spot of the bat. Once again, the right-center mis-judged it and took a step or two in. Unlike Rosy's hit that stopped almost as soon as it hit the ground, mine was a line drive that carried forever. I'm told it rolled all the way to the fence. As I approached third it looked like Scott was thinking of holding me. But he told me to go. I heard Bruce telling me to slide, but apparently the throw wasn't all that close, nor was it on target. So, I made the home run just as time expired. Great way to end the game.
April 13 - Win 17-0
Woo hoo! Another win! Two wins in a row is known as a Winning Streak :-) Also, our first shut-out, and I think our first run-rule win.
Man, we hit great. A lot of line drives and grounders through the gaps in the infield. They had this young short stop who made about six different dives at the ball. He came close a couple of times, but most of our stuff was uncatchable. Their left-center missed two or three that he should have had. But I think all of them were late in the game. We scored 5 in the first and 4 more in the second. So by the time of his errors we had pretty much clinched the game. Their infield did make several errors in the first half of the game that kept us going.
We also had good running. Several people saw a slow throw coming in from the outfield and turned a single into a double. We had a couple of close calls because people didn't slide. I sent Kevin on to second on a slow throw and he would have overrun second, but he ran into the short stop who was standing on second. Jay overran third once by a few inches, but managed to get back in time.
On one grounder to short, Kevin, on third, saw the short start his wind-up for the throw to first. So Kevin took off. I thought he was just making the guy think, but Kevin wasn't watching the short stop anymore. So they got him in a run-down. They did a good job of bracketting him, and got about five throws. Finally, they dropped one and Kevin got in.
I hit two for three. Both of the first two I got to 2-2 or 3-2. Toad, our first up, had struck out looking. So when those pitches came I was primed to go for them. Both were a little low, but I kept my eye on it and punched good line shots through. The first inning, Bruce hit a tater to knock me in from first. My last at-bat I caught ahold of it. It went high and deep enough that the left-center had to go back a little for it. He was in position and simply muffed it. I turned that into a triple and then they overthrew home so badly that it went over the back-stop. So I got my extra base into home.
Our fielding was pretty good, too. The first inning, Toad stopped one tricky grounder and caught a popup. Also early, Scott handled a grounder, took his time on the throw and got the runner. Late in the game, Bruce and Scott nearly turned a double play. Scott said the pitch from Bruce was perfect, but when he looked up at first the runner was only a step away. Mo made a diving catch on a fader and got the throw in to hold the runner. Jay snagged one, made the force at third and nearly got the runner at first, too.
I only had one play the entire game. A fairly easy grounder that may have taken a slightly goofy bounce right at the end. I think I took my eye off of it. Anyway, I was too slow.
April 19 - Loss 9-7
Bruce: I don't have the words to describe how much we sucked.
Unfortunately, I've put it upon myself to come up with the words.
We knew that this team was the worst in the league and that we should have wiped the field with them. Especially when we learned that they were playing with nine. Apparently we got way too complacent. We had our worst defensive game in three or four seasons.
Our outfielders muffed at least one fly each. They were having a really hard time judging it and were a step in the wrong direction. On top of that, several throws in from the outfield were halfway between two people. Everybody was throwing wild. The first two or three innings I think nearly every throw that needed to get in quick was off-target. Our infield play wasn't much better. Jay made a good stop on a grounder in the first inning and then missed the throw to first. I think maybe Bruce was a little slow getting to the bag and therefore didn't have time to adjust to it. Scott let three or four under his glove.
There were a few good defensive plays. The last inning Mo made some good plays. In one case the batter blooped one short. Bruce called for Mo to charge it and he very nearly shoestringed it. Then Greg did a good job catching it on the one-hop for backup. Toad caught a popup near third and nearly snagged a line drive.
Early in the game they hit a deep fly that we caught and the runner at second ran to third. As the ball was caught and was being thrown in, Bruce said to the ump, "I'd like to challenge that. Did he leave early?" The ump didn't answer. And neither ump called time. I managed to get Toad's attention as he was setting up for the pitch and he threw it to me at second and the field ump called the runner out. Apparently he did leave early.
I only had a couple of plays. Early in the game I had a fairly hot grounder hit at me. At the last second I flinched and took my eye off of it. I did knock it down, and I was able to scoop it up and make the play at second. But it was definately a mental error. The same sort of thing happened on a throw in from the outfield. It landed in front of me and bounced up and hit my chest. If the runner had pushed us on that play he would have made it. I did manage to catch a pitch from a ball that Scott stopped.
Our hitting was back down to our average. Generally we'd get a couple on base, but we couldn't keep anything alive. They were playing us deep and our best hitters were hitting it right to someone. The other team had a shortstop with an arm, but he never really had to use it. They did make several mistakes. A couple of overthrown or dropped balls. And I think their outfield did muff one or two. I do remember Mo having one really nice line drive in the last inning, but nobody could move him on. The next to the last inning Scott hit one to the fence for a three-run homer to bring us to within two.
Jay had one odd play. He popped up just about five feet from the plate. He thought it was going to land foul, so he stood there. The catcher apparently was standing in the field of play when he muffed the ball. The ump called it in-play and they tagged Jay or threw him out at first. If he had run on the hit, he probably would have made it. But I think I probably would have done the same thing.
What base running we had was okay, except for Scott getting himself into a run-down. And Toad made some mistakes on the basepath. We'll work on those.
My hitting was decent, but ineffective. My first at-bat I lined right to short. Both of the others went farther than I intended and went straight to the left-fielder.
An ignominious finish to the season. Except for one game, we were in the hunt the entire season. We're getting better. Just need to shame people into going to the cages more often.
| Summer '00 | 3-4 | Scott Warren came so close |
| Spring '00 | 5-2 | I'm the greatest manager this team has ever seen! * |
| Winter/Spring '00 | 1-6 | Scoo's "run-producing clusters" were no match for the sandbaggers |
| Fall '99 | 3-4 | Rosy couldn't match Mo's record |
| Summer/Fall '99 | 4-3 | Our first winning season! |
| Spring/Summer '99 | 3-4 | The Golden Boy debacle |
| Spring '99 | 2-5 | The season of taglines |
| Fall '98 | 0-7 | Toad probably won't manage again |
| Summer '98 | 1-6 | Couldn't put the Sharks away |
* Okay, maybe not
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