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Stars of Mon, 8/27/01
@Angelica Hardball, 6:15 p.m. vs. Copperheads (Div.IV)
(Win 10-4)
Record after game: 24-9
|
Dickie
Delp
2-for-3,
3 RBI, 1 run
(Click on photo for
a larger picture) |
Dave
Engle
3-for-4,
Triple, SOE,
2 runs
(Click on photo for
a larger picture) |
Chris
Hunter
2-for-3,
1 RBI, 1 run
(Click on photo for
a larger picture) |
Game Summary/Notes:
It was looking like we'd have a chance to lose three straight games,
but Hangen decided to forfeit our rain-out make-up game on Friday,
8/24. That left us with the last two rain-out make-ups again two
Division IV teams, Copperheads and Kenhorst Fire Co., both scheduled to
be played on Monday, 8/28. Kenhorst decided to forfeit, but
Copperheads wanted to play even though the game meant nothing to either
of us in the standings.
And we played like it didn't mean anything. Copperheads went up
4-0 after 1-1/2 innings, but we answered right back with EIGHT runs in
the bottom of the 2nd, sending 13 people to the plate. Chris
Hunter was 2-for-2 in that inning. We had 10 hits in that frame,
all of them singles - SIX of them consecutively with two-outs!
Oddly, there would be only TWO more runs scored in the game by either
team, and the final score ended in a 10-4 sleeper. As a whole we
hit terribly - we were only 16-for-35 as a team (.457), and against a
Divsion IV team, that's pretty bad. But get this!: Take out
that 2nd inning and we were only 6-FOR-22 (.272)!!!! Damn that's
horrible.
Jamie "Rachiro" Schleisinger lost his car keys for the second
consecutive game. |
Stars of Thu, 8/21/01
@Sinking Spring Fire Co., 6:30 p.m. vs. Steelers (Div.III)
(Loss 20-8 in 6 innings)
Record after game: 21-9
|
Chris
Hunter
3-for-3,
2B, solo-HR,
RBI, 2 runs
(Click on photo for
a larger picture) |
Scott
Metcalfe
2-for-2,
2 RBI
(Click on photo for
a larger picture) |
Dave
Engle
2-for-2,
Sac-Fly,
2 RBI, 1 run
(Click on photo for
a larger picture) |
Honorable
Mention:
Jeff Schaeffer (2-for-3, run scored)
Steve Julian (2-for-3)
Game Summary/Notes:
We were winning for a little while anyway, leading 4-3 going into
the bottom of the 3rd. That's when it got REALLY ugly.
Steelers scored TWELVE in the bottom of the 3rd thanks mostly to THREE
home runs, two of which were GRAND SLAMS. There was no recovering.
Since this is the last season of my illustrious career I'd like to use
this opportunity to leave y'all with some words of wisdom on running the
bases in Softball - it's late, I know, but maybe someone will listen to
this logic for next year...
I'm all for "being aggressive," but there is a fine line
between "being aggressive" and running yourself out of an
inning. In baseball you can afford to take chances because extra
bases are so precious in baseball where a .300 average is a good one.
I contend that this is NOT the case in Softball. When hitting .550
and slugging .750 is merely average, anytime you give the other team an
extra out by poor baserunning you are giving them a HUGE HUGE HUGE boost
since outs are more rare than hits. Taking chances on the bases in
Slow-Pitch Softball is just not worth the risk, mathematically its
insane.
Why is going from 1st to 3rd so important? It's not - its
importance is a myth created by the fact that it IS important in
baseball because any advancement on the bases is rare (relative to
making outs). Think about it - in slow pitch, what is the
difference between being on 2nd vs. being on 3rd when there is a 60% or
better chance the next guy is going to get a hit and drive you in
anyway?
Disagree if you want, but if there was a way to somehow mathematically
calculate it, I'm sure that the conclusion would be that if you are
going to "be aggressive" in Slow Pitch you better be 100% sure
that you are going to be safe. I'm not at all saying you should
take one base at a time as a rule. You should ALWAYS "be
aggressive," but if there is a chance you might be out and it's a
close game, I say just stay where you're at and the odds are good you
are going to score anyway. [Chris steps down from his soapbox.]
I bring this up because we gave Steelers THREE outs in the first three
innings on Tuesday which is hard to do. That's right, count 'em...
1st inning, the third out was recorded when the bases were loaded and
the runner on first was out trying to advance to second on a
Sac-Fly. (This concept seems particularly not worth the risk -
what is really the big difference between having runners on 1st-and-3rd
vs. 2nd-and-3rd? Again, be aggressive and go for it but you better
be darn sure you are going to make it...if not, I say stay you are
better of staying where you're at.) [OK, now I'm off my
soapbox.]
2nd inning, the 3rd out was a runner caught advancing too far rounding
thirdbase after a single and was picked off.
3rd inning, the 2nd out was recorded when a runner attempted to score
from second on a single and was out at the plate. |
Stars of Thu, 8/16/01
@Angelica Hardball, 7:15 p.m. vs. Galvin Associates (Div.II)
(Loss 7-4)
Record after game: 21-8
|
Dave
Engle
2-for-3,
2 runs
(Click on photo for
a larger picture) |
Steve
Julian
2-for-3,
1 run
(Click on photo for
a larger picture) |
Chris
Mal
2-for-3, Pitched
one of my best
games of the year
(Click on photo for
a larger picture) |
Honorable
Mention:
Jeff Schaeffer (2-RBI Single, threw runner out at the plate trying
to score from second)
Game Summary/Notes:
Well, this is what they call "sinking to an all-time
low." We were missing Mike Capilo and Pete Gabrielli, but
still...11-for-33 (.333) as a team??????????? That's pretty
pathetic. It only gets worse when you consider we had ZERO
extra-base hits, walked ZERO times and were safe-on-error just
once. Yuck.
This game dropped us a game behind Steelers in the loss column. We
play them on Monday for what will likely decide who finishes first in
our division.
Jamie lost his keys.
Only 8 major league players hit 50 home runs in a season from 1990 thru
the present. Who were they? |
Stars of Tue, 8/14/01
@Baer Park, 7:15 p.m. vs. G.L.Evans (Div.III)
(Win 13-3)
Record after game: 21-7
|
Jeff
Tantum
3-for-3,
Home Run,
3 RBI, 2 runs
(Click on photo for
a larger picture) |
Dave
Engle
2-for-3, Walk,
Home Run,
2 RBI, 2 runs
(Click on photo for
a larger picture) |
Mike
Capilo
2-for-3, Walk,
Double,
2 RBI, 1 run
(Click on photo for
a larger picture) |
Honorable
Mention:
Chris Malinowski (2-for-3, RBI, 2 runs, pitched a 3-run game with no
walks and 1 foul-out)
Game Summary/Notes:
Based on the hits by each team it would seem this game should have
been A LOT closer than 13-3. Giovanna's had only 16 hits
(16-for-36, .444), while G.L.Evans had just 4 less. They helped us
out a bit by walking two and allowing FOUR Giovanna's runners to reach
on error.
Jeff "Lou Gehrig" Tantum made his debut at thirdbase giving
Dickie "Wally Pipp" Delp a rest, and proceeded to smoke three
base hits including his 4th home run of the year, and fielded every ball
hit his way.
The lovely and enchanting Beverly Malinowski was in attendance for the
second time this year. We are now 1-1 in her presence. She
was impressed - none of us swung and missed. (She doesn't have
high expectations, that's why I love her so.)
Dave Engle has now walked an amazing NINE times this year. |
Stars of Thu, 8/09/01
@Baer Park, 7:15 p.m. vs. Kenhorst Fire Co. (Div.IV)
(Win 21-8 in 5 innings)
Record after game: 20-7
|
Tom
Barzd
4-for-4,
double,
3 RBI, 3 runs
(Click on photo for
a larger picture) |
Mac
Zeigler
3-for-4,
double,
2 RBI, 2 runs
(Click on photo for
a larger picture) |
Chris
Mal
3-for-4,
3 RBI
(Click on photo for
a larger picture) |
Honorable
Mention:
Steve Julian (3-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 runs + a pop-up home run behind the
firstbaseman)
Jeff Schaeffer (2-for-3, SOE, Sac-Fly, Home Run, 5 RBI, 3 runs)
Mike Capilo (2-for-4, 2 triples)
Dickie Delp (2-for-3, 3 runs + first walk of the season)
Chris Hunter (2-for-3, walk, SOE, RBI, 4 runs)
Game Summary/Notes:
This game was no-contest. Giovanna's scored 21 runs on 23 hits
in just five innings. Kenhorst didn't have much of a chance.
And, the game was even more out of hand than the score would
indicate. A walk, a costly error, and a fluke home run that
actually bounced in front of Mike Capilo and then over his head plated 5
runs in the 4th for Kenhorst, to make the game at least remotely
respectable from their standpoint.
As a team we were an impressive 23-for-38 (.605). If you include
errors and walks, we were on-base 28 of 40 times (70%). You don't
beat a team getting on base 70% of the time ... 8 out of 11 starters had
2 or more hits.
Dickie Delp walked for the first time this season. It only took
him 91 at bats.
John Cressman and I pondered just how many times in his life Ed had
someone say that he was "the key."
Mac Zeigler's parents came to the game to see us play. Mac
responded with a 3-for-4 performance. Unfortunately, we played so
poorly in the 4th inning that the Zeiglers decided to leave.
In a moment you won't see very often, Schaeff misjudged a fly
ball. He then spent the evening directing traffic out of the
parking lot after the game. I'm glad I had a pull-thru space.
A pirate walked into a doctor's office with a stearing wheel sticking
out of his pants. The doctor said, "I've never seen anything
like it...you've got a steering wheel sticking out of your
pants!" The pirate said, "Ay, and it's drivin' me
nuts!" <--Funniest joke ever. Special thanks to Mike
Capilo who needed some Valium Thursday evening.
Chris Hunter thinks Wild Wings is a fancy restaurant. |
Stars of Tue, 8/07/01
@Baer Park, 7:15 p.m. vs. Steelers (Div.III)
(Loss 23-11)
Record after game: 19-7
|
Tom
Barzd
3-for-4,
Triple,
2 RBI, 3 runs
(Click on photo for
a larger picture) |
Dickie
Delp
3-for-4,
2 RBI
(Click on photo for
a larger picture) |
Steve
Julian
2-for-3,
Walk,
2 runs
(Click on photo for
a larger picture) |
Game Summary/Notes:
No "honorable mentions" for this game. That pretty
much tells the story of our offense for the night. Yet another
poor hitting display...just 18-for-41 (.439) as a team. 5 out of
11 hitters had just one hit or less, and we managed only two extra base
hits all day (a triple by Tom Barzd and Mike Capilo's team leading 14th
home run.)
On the defensive side of this game, I'm not sure there was much we could
have done to win this game. 23 runs sounds like a lot, but I
wouldn't say that they hit any better than we did, and I thought I
pitched an above average game. They might have set a Slow-Pitch
record for bloop hits - their #6 hitter alone had FOUR consecutive hits
that went higher than they did long.
The other story of this game was that it was hot as hell, reaching as
high as 96 during the day, and humid. It's really not fun to lose
a game when it's that hot.
Nicola brought her friend Dawn (who carries a machine gun) to see us
play. We played so poorly that she immediately made plans to move
to North Dakota so that she could be far away from us. |
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Stars of Thu, 8/02/01
@Baer Park, 8:15 p.m. vs. Hahn Exterior (Div.III)
(Win 15-7)
Record after game: 19-6
|
Mike
Capilo
3-for-3, Walk,
Triple, HR #13,
4 RBI, 2 runs
(Click on photo for
a larger picture) |
Dave
Engle
2-for-2,
2 Walks,
1 RBI, 2 runs
(Click on photo for
a larger picture) |
Tom
Barzd
3-for-4,
2 RBI, 1 run
(Click on photo for
a larger picture) |
Game Summary/Notes:
I'm not sure that I've EVER in all of watching or playing sports did
I hear anything more immature and unsportsmanlike than the comments made
by Hahn's catcher, Junior, early in this game. It's one thing to
be obnoxious, it's entirely another to be a poor sport - and just plain
mean. I think that's why it didn't get me as pissed as I would
have thought - just because it was so damn lame that I almost felt bad
for the guy for being such a loser. It made this win all that much
more satisfying. As someone said after the game, "How many
times to you have to beat a team badly before they shut up?"
Anyway, enough of that. Despite winning the game somewhat handily,
we didn't really hit all that well. I didn't realize that,
however, until I did the stats. I think the fact that our 1-3-4
hitters were on base a combined 11 of 12 times masked the fact that the
rest of the line-up didn't hit particularly well as a whole (everyone
else was a combined 8-for-25, .320, which is pretty piss-poor.)
Mike Capilo hit his team-leading 13th home run of the year, another 3-run shot
in the top of the 4th. Mike now has ELEVEN consecutive hits dating
back to 7/24. Of those 11 hits: 6 singles, 2 triples and 3 home
runs. He also had two VERY impressive grabs in right-centerfield
during this game. Mike is great, gave us the chocolate cake!
Mike, Jamie and Nicola are the only three people who hear me when I
talk.
Hahn's right-centerfielder took a fly ball right off of his head in the
7th inning on a ball hit by John Cressman - didn't get a bit of glove on
it. I've never seen anything like it. (Actually, I guess
Jose Canseco had a ball go off his head for a home run once...and he's
been DH'ing ever since.)
Bob Zradzinski was 1-for-4, and Chad Himmelreich was 2-for-4 for
Hahn. Meanwhile, Junior, who apparently is better than everyone
else that he can talk trash about everyone else's skills was 0-for-3 and
dropped an easy pop-up. He must've just had a bad day. |
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