Game 1 - Yikes

My goodness THE TEAM was rusty.  There were lots and lots of errors and very little razzle dazzle at the plate.  Outs became singles and singles became home runs.  It looks like having only one practice game does not agree with THE TEAM.  THE TEAM hit only .357 and had only two extra base hits.  Heather and Aerial are probably wondering what the hell they signed up for.


THE TEAM did manage to shake off some of the rust and held the 5150s to a couple of 1-2-3 innings.

Oil Can!

Another nice detail is zero strikeouts and that is always encouraging.

Of course not everybody was creaky for Game 1.  Peter went 3 for 3 with a Double, a Home Run and 3 RBIs.  He gets some fake tanning spray from Alex Rodriguez and a Biogenesis T-Shirt. 

Natasha went 3 for 4 with an RBI on top of pitching a superb 4 innings.  Did she walk anybody?  Let's say no.  She gets a Jamba Juice coupon with the Jhonny Peralta boost.  ( What a stupid way to spell your name) You know what, screw that guy.  Natasha gets a Nelson Cruz replica jersey with a Livestrong Band.  Yeah!

GO THE TEAM!!!

Playoffs

 

Lucky for THE TEAM Peter was smart enough to check the standings after the season was over otherwise the surprise trip to the playoffs would have ended up as a 7-0 forfeit.  Lucky for THE TEAM it was only an 18-5 loss. 

 

 

Maybe lucky is not the right word.  The game started off pretty tight.  It was 1-0, it was 1-2, it was 2-4.  THE TEAM kept it within reach and then...

 

Lou did a great job pitching and held it together when they took their walks but THE TEAM hit a mere .467 with only 3 extra base hits so that was not really the path to sweet sweet victory.  It was still fun to get an extra game out of it.  Right?  Mike got to play and he was 2 for 3 with an RBI which was 20% of the total offensive output for THE TEAM.  More importantly, Melody took some pictures that he turned into masterpieces that brought THE TEAM and all of facebook closer together.  Those pictures were probably more fun than the game.

GO THE TEAM!!!

THE TEAM - Fall 2013

That was an extra grouchy season of softball but THE TEAM sure did finish strong.  The Ballers were undefeated in the second round until they tangled with THE TEAM.  Natasha went 2 for 2 with a walk and 4 RBIs.  Doug went 2 for 2 with 2 walks, a Home Run and 5 RBIs.  Welcome to Lance Armstrong's medicine cabinet.  The game ended on a heads up play by Lou and Peter to get the last out at third.  That was a great big deal considering the game ended 15-14. 

So THE TEAM finished 6-4 scoring 132 runs and allowing 125.  THE TEAM batted .586 with 13 Home Runs 36 Doubles 6 Triples 28 Walks and 16 Strikeouts.  Let's also tip the cap to Sandy and Mike who helped out when THE TEAM needed them.  Kelly was also a sub but it kind of seemed like she was still on THE TEAM.  She had an OBP of .500 and an RBI in 4 games including one where she was there to watch and ended up playing.

Now let's check you out:

Summer made some fantastic plays in the outfield while hitting .621 with 7 RBIs and a Double in 8 games.  She never struck out and ran like hell.

Lou played in all 10 games.  He led THE TEAM batting .789.  He led THE TEAM with 28 RBIs.  He led THE TEAM with 13 Home Runs.  His 13 Doubles and 3 Triples were also tops.

Jenny played in 3 games but they were great games.  She batted .700 with 5 RBIs and a walk.  Fear the cardigan

Melody played in 8 games.  She had 5 RBIs, 2 Doubles and hit .476.  She led THE TEAM with 10 walks giving her an OBP of .645.

Natasha pitched lights out in her 9 games.  She hit .457 and led the ladies with 14 RBIs.  She also had 2 Doubles and a Triple.

Samantha played in zero games.  She batted .000 but hey, she never struck out.  Oh well.  She seemed nice that one day when we met her.

Rick 10 games .536  14 RBIs 2 Home Runs 3 Doubles 1 Triple

Doug  played in all 10 games.  He batted .655 with 15 RBIs, 1 Home Run, 5 Doubles and 6 Walks.  He led THE TEAM in complaining when this blog was not submitted in a timely manner.

Peter played in 8 games.  He hit .667 with 13 RBIs, 2 Home Runs, 3 Doubles.  Peter is a solid citizen and a key ingredient to the success of THE TEAM.

Dora cranked out another 10 games of crazy pull hitting.  She batted .472 with 3 RBIs.  There were also some great plays catching foul balls from her spot at catcher.

Victor played in only 6 games but he gave THE TEAM 10 games worth of noise.  He batted .700 with 2 Home Runs, 15 RBIs, 6 Doubles and 1 Triple. 

Jeff played in 9 games.  He hit .552 with 7 RBIs, 1 Double and 1 Walk.  He legged 'em out with his jersey flapping in the wind.

Sharon played in 6 games.  She hit .421 with 2 RBIs.  Her follow through was exquisite.

The expanded playoff format means that THE TEAM has actually made the playoffs so the last post where the Championship dream was formally introduced to the toilet can be shelved in fiction.

That's exciting

GO THE TEAM!!!

Eight and Nine

We started off with dinner at The Flying Pig in Little Tokyo.  That slice of town is really swingin' and so was dinner.  The service was nice.  We had Pork Belly Bao Buns.  There were onions and a pickle on them it was certainly tasty but all of that kind of ran over the pork flavor.  It was actually better to pull all of that off and let the pork belly work its magic.  We had Duck Fried Rice and Lobster Mac and Cheese.  The Mac and Cheese was excellent even without the Lobster.  It wasn't filled with overwhelming chunks, there were just nice pieces in there to give it a unique flavor.  It may have actually been crab or seasoned fish but either way it was still very good.

After that it was off to the Ahmanson Theater to see Danny DeVito and Judd Hirsch in The Sunshine Boys.  It's Neil Simon so it was hilarious.  It's Danny DeVito so that is also pretty hilarious.  The sets were good.  All the actors were good.  Judd Hirsch was doing some kind of weird Jackie Mason thing with his voice that was a little distracting but it was still a funny fast moving production.

Oh...  THE TEAM got swept in a doubleheader

Championship dream, may I introduce you to toilet

GO THE TEAM!!!

Game 7 - You Asked For It

This game had it all.  The late rally.  The Home Runs.  The tiebreaker.  The bench clearing brawl.  Morgana running out onto the field and planting a big wet smooch on Doug.  The flyover by the Blue Angels. 

Some of that might not be true.  The clipboard says that it all happened.

Let's give Melody some steroids for going 2 for 3 with a walk and an RBI.  Please share your steroids with Kelly who went 3 for 4.  And Summer who is proving to be a very valuable outfielder.  And Natasha who didn't walk anybody.

Peter went 5 for 5 with a Home Run and 4 RBIs so that is macho.

THE TEAM has not had to go to a tiebreaker in a few years.  Giving up a Home Run to Tiger Blood's first batter looked like the nail but two outs later and THE TEAM had a chance.

Peter hit a double.  Kelly scorched a line drive that was unfortunately caught.  Lou slams the door and THE TEAM wins after a game that had everything.

GO THE TEAM!!! 

Game 6 - The Full Garcia

I'd Hit That must have closets full of multicolored sportswear.  They were Fugitabouditt and then they became The Fockers and now, after a season off, they are back as I'd Hit That.  They are a nice group and we always had a lot of fun playing them.  Usually it would be a good close game and  THE TEAM would win.  So that adds up.

It was pretty tight and then Lou and Victor each hit a Grand Slam.  There was a late rally and some atrocities in the field but THE TEAM held on to win 15-14 with Natasha snagging the last out.  That's something that doesn't get a lot of attention in this blog that belongs to all of THE TEAM but only one asshole writes on.  Natasha always does a great job pitching but she also does a perfect job fielding her position.  That can be tricky adjusting to weak little bounces and sizzling rockets that can zoom past a pitcher.

Summer gets a George Teague jersey.  She went 2 for 4 and moved Peter into scoring position but she was an absolute hero in the outfield.  Summer is locked in.

The Hepatitis Steroid Cheese Dog goes to Victor with a side of Griffey elbow and Bagwell legs, knees, or whatever the hell he was doing.  Victor had two Doubles and a Grand Slam giving him 7 RBIs on the day. 

Not even an annoying (if adorable ) barking dog could stop THE TEAM 

The second round is ripe with promise

GO THE TEAM!!!

Game 5 - The Bats Aren't That Heavy

It's no secret that patience is important when hitting.  I'm sure everyone on THE TEAM has given away a couple of outs swinging at some stool sample of a pitch that they should have let bounce by.  However, waiting for the perfect pitch and hoping for a walk should not be the plan for the afternoon.  That was who THE TEAM played and lost to.

Of course scoring only six runs is almost always going to mean a loss so there is another slice of negative in a blog is supposed to be constructive and zany.  Let's focus on the positive!  Whatever.  Kelly was awesome at third and Summer was spectacular in Right Field. 

Let's award Sharon bumper trim for a 1980 Chrysler Le Baron covered in steroids for leading THE TEAM going 3 for 3 with 2 RBIs.  Welcome aboard Sharon.

Let's look at the First Round Leaders:

Batting Average Men

.889 Victor
.778 Lou
.692 Doug

Batting Average Ladies

1.000 Jenny
.625 Sharon
.600 Summer

RBIs Men

15 Lou
8 Victor
6 Peter

RBIs Ladies

5 Natasha
3 Dora
3 Jenny

Doubles

Lou (5)
Victor (2)
Doug (2)
Natasha (1)
Peter (1)
Rick (1)

Triples

Lou (2)
Natasha (1)
Victor (1)
Rick (1)

Home Runs

Lou (3)
Victor (1)
Peter (1)

So THE TEAM finishes the First Round 3-2 but there is still the second round.

So you're sayin' there's a chance

GO THE TEAM!!!