Monday, September 29, 2008

1 and 1

This week's game was a dream come true for The Team. We won! That's right, we played for all of you that weren't there, we played our hearts out and we won! We ALMOST could have won by 10 points or more, but unfortunately there was a bit of a mixup mid-game that, with any other team (such as the Salem Heat) would have been ridiculously poor sportsmanship. However, with this team and our team combined, it ended up being a bit of confusion.

The scene:

There is a player on first and another on second. A pop fly is hit to the pitcher and it is caught (but to the ump it looks like it is just picked up because it is caught so close to the dirt). The runners are completely confused. The person on second doesn't touch back but runs to third. The person on first never runs. The ball is all over the place -- thrown to first (runner out), thrown to third (safe) thrown to second where nobody is (an out?).

Teacher Time AKA Forgetaboutit sees 3 outs and all the runners leave their bases but a new guy goes up to the plate to bat. There is confusion and a conference ensues between the coaches and the ump. The Ump says there are two outs--the Forgetaboutits conference and say it is possible three.

Finally the ump explains himself:
1. The ball was not caught
2. The batter is out at first
3. The people at 1st and 2nd should go back to where they were
4. There is 1 out

So in reality...there are at least 2 outs:
1. The ball is not caught but the batter was out at first by throw
2. The guy on first never ran to second and so when the base at second was touched the other guy should be out.
3. Even if the guy on first isn't out at second, he's out at 1st because he was still standing there during the batter force-out.

The Team continues to play and the Forgetaboutits make 6 runs against their foes who are immensely confused by the previous play. Luckily, like every other team we play against usually, we were up by a lot already. So, suddenly the score was 11-7 and we just had to hold 'em.

And we did! They got 1-2-3 outs on our batters and went up thinking they were tied but then disappointed when they learned they were losing by 4. We held them with some fabulous plays by everyone on The Team.

So next week, let's remember our victory and play like we mean it the whole way through. Go The Team!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Yes!

Do you guys think we could play at this field next week?

Awesome.


These guys really know softball!

Monday, September 22, 2008

Game 1 - Oh The Humanity

While I am no position to speak for THE TEAM, there were some stretches in game one that were quite the opposite of fun. Twenty six to four is not why we set out alarms to get out of bed and go to our games. (Yeah, I know the game was at 4:45. Some of us aren't morning roosters.)

On the other hand, Jenny made a sweet play on a hot line drive and the new guys (Peter, Rob and Dan) are making nice contributions to THE TEAM. Dave hit a home run although it was more like Dave hit a triple and stole home.

GO THE TEAM!!!

Monday, September 15, 2008

Strategy

After Sunday's game - the Pre-season game 2, I think we need to work on our strategy. There are some things that we did great in Game 1 that we forgot how to do in Game 2 under the pressure of massively losing. Sure, we know now why we are not placed in League C...we know that we are more comfortable playing the Amistar Allstars down in League E. It's more fun to play at our own level, don't you think? Great things can happen...like at Game 1. There's a better flow.

So what's this about new strategies? Even though we don't expect to play any more games against these high-level teams, it doesn't hurt to be prepared. I only have two suggestions to assist in a less painful defeat.

Strategy: Against all natural inclinations you may have, hold the ball.

Example: You are playing in the infield and get the ball and throw to one of the bases for an out. There's an overthrow or an error which that next infielder fields and tries to make things right by throwing it on to another base where the runner is now going. STOP. This is your chance to employ the new strategy. Hold the ball, throw to the pitcher, avoid further error.

Strategy: Throw to the easy base or the cut-off.

Example: You are playing in the outfield. The other team hits a roller deep. You rush to get it and throw as far as you can to nobody in particular. STOP. Throw it to the cut-off, whomever it is. Cut-off, this is your chance to make a good decision. Throw to the next closest and try to get the ball to the pitcher...don't throw to home, it's a lose-lose situation. Avoid the overthrow! In the softball clinic they gave us a tip that was spectacular. It was "If you can't throw the distance needed, try to make it with only one solid bounce in front of the intended." A good tip for all!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Pre-Season Game 1 Recap

Pre-season for THE TEAM!!! started off with a 10-6 victory against The Mighty Montage. Even though they were short a few players, they put up a good fight while we were shaking off our rust. We turned it around in the end and came up with a few runs in the last inning to seal the victory. We had some solid debuts from new players Dan and Peter, and it was great to see all the returning players. Pre-season continues with a 6pm game this coming Sunday.