Beavers Year in Review

2012 was a very different year for the Beavers.  As the years pass by, the injuries pile up.  Injuries this year kept Jimmy-D to 12 games, Kid to 14 games and PT to 18 games.  Beyond injuries, travel and personal decisions also sapped the lineup; Tanner played only 18 games, Mobilly played only 21 and Gee did not once step foot on the field (more on that in a bit).

To fill the voids the Beavers reached out to several "rookies".  Link, Louie, Jeremy and Sean were all penciled into the lineup 10 or more times.  This new blood definitely helped fill the void as three of the four of them were 1-2-3 in batting average this season.

Despite the lineup shuffling and the and new blood the Beavers strung together their longest winning streak to start a season at 18.  It helped that we did not play the #2 or #3 team in the league until the playoffs, but it was an impressive streak none-the-less.

The final record for the Beavers for Summer and Fall was 25-6 but that was a bit misleading as four of the losses were due to forfeits when we were playing for the championship in Clayton.  We later finished a combined 3-1 in games-played against those two opponents we had to forfeit to.  So, it is safe to say that we could have added a few more wins to the record had we had the opportunity to play.

A new hitter emerged this year in Protege.  While he only his about .460 in his 2011 rookie campaign he followed that up with an impressive .614 average in 2012 and owned 6 "yellows" (i.e. led the team in 6 categories).  Another hitter returned as Dupske shed his disappointing 2011 campaign where he hit sub-.400 and led the team in 2012 in RBI (and of course SACs).

A new power hitter was found in Jeremy (aka "Ron") as he hit 9 HR in only 32 AB for a monstrous 1.469 SLG.

But even with all of those impressive hitting numbers, pitching was the name of the game early in the season.  Over the 19 total games in the summer session (including playoffs) only 4 times did an opponent score in double digits.  And when they did; twice it was 10 runs and twice it was 14 runs.  Unfortunately our offense did not step up in the championship game where we only plated 6 runs.   

The summer league championship means another trophy gets awarded this winter at the annual Beavers N Hooters Winter Warmup.  Speaking of the winter warm up, a poll will be sent out shortly to choose a date for the event.

As always, career stats will be shared at the winter warmup.  Here's a sneak peek at a few interesting stats I noticed while tallying them up:

• In 2011 Dupper overtook Belle as all time games-played leader.  After two straight dormant years by Belle, Jimmy-D has now overtaken him as well.
• Dupper leads in Games, AB, Hits, Doubles, RBI, Runs, SAC
• We have a 2-way tie for the lead in triples with 49
• Mobilly and Kid have now both played more games than Gee thanks to Gee's year off.
• No one's leadership in a category is in jeopardy for the 2013 unless a leader sits out - leads are all substantial
• Kid is only player with at least 1000 AB to have a career average OVER .550 - Dupper is at .550
• The last time Jimmy-D hit over .400 was 2006.  That year he hit .405.  Just wait for his proclamation for him hitting .500 this year soon.
• For the first time since at least 2006 neither Kid nor Mobilly hit a HR this season
• PT still has more triples than HR

Happy New Year!  I'll be signing the Beavers up for Clayton this coming week.

Come Out Swingin'

After having to forfeit for 2 straight weeks, the Beavers were rewarded with a combination of hot bats and an opponent who is misplaced in this league.  Here's the box score for our first game (AB/R/H/RBI)

Protege   6/5/5/5
Tanner    6/5/6/3
Sean       6/4/4/4
Mobilly  5/4/5/5
Dupper   5/3/5/4
Big John 5/0/3/3
Tim         5/3/3/1
Jeremy    5/4/4/7
Rake       5/4/4/0

After the first inning we lead 10-0.  After two innings it was 24-0.  After three innings it was 32-0.  Ballgame!

DOUBLES:  Protege, Tanner, Sean, Mobilly 2, Dupper
HOMERUNS:  Jeremy 2, Protege (GS)

July 6 Lineup

In the spirit of Tony LaRussa posting his lineup early, here's tonight's Beavers lineup.

Beavers (11-3) vs. Team America (6-8)

Gee - 1b
Sabo - 3b
Kid - ss
Mobilly - rf
Tanner - 2b
PT - p
Allan - lc
Big John - c
Rake - rc
Dupper - lf

Other games of note tonight:
Golden Sombreros (11-3) vs. Dogs in a Bathtub (8-5-1) 6pm Field #6
Bi-State Meat (10-4) vs. NISA (1-13) 6pm Field #1
Team USA (10-5-1) BYE

Beavers 2011 Summer - So Far...

It's been an interesting summer. Starting with a couple of rainouts wrapped around a bye week, we have finally reached the last week of the season. Travel schedules have taken their toll on the everyday lineup. There have been "scrubs" in 10 of the 14 games. Those scrubs are hitting a combined .432. We need to look for a new class of reserves!

In fact, only one Beaver has played in every game this year. You'll be surprised to learn that the only one to do so is Big John. He's kinda good, you know. But, like the scrubs, his .450 average is not raising the team average. Big John also leads the club in walks. I am sure that will spark Sabo to watch a few more pitches this Wed. Big John has 9 walks, Sabo 5. Speaking of Sabo, he is not quite hitting in typical Sabo-fashion but his .531 average is still respectable and his 22 runs lead the club (one ahead of Kid).

Kid rode 2 monsterous games (in the same night) where he mashed 2 grand slams and drove in a total of 12 runs. That was just shy of half of his season RBI (26 total). Those are also the only 2 HR for the season for Kid - though he is leading the team in that category. As a team, we have hit only 5 HR, but have hit 18 triples. Not a stat line you would expect from a team whose average age is 37.1 years old. The triples are well disbursed. PT and Sabo lead with 3 each. In total 9 Beavers have fallen just 60 feet shy of a HR.

PT is having a big season at the plate. He is flirting with the .600 mark (just shy at .595) and finds himself in cleanup spot occasionally to get some of that production in the heart of the order. Some people hit better higher in the order, others don't want the pressure. Take Rage for example...he always is asking to hit last and catch, but his .652 speaks otherwise.

There are but two constants in the Beavers lineup; Kid bats third, Jimmy - last. Here's how that is working out. Kid is, well, hitting like Kid at an impressive .681 (leading the club in that category as well). In fact, that means that Kid is pacing to win the Beaver Triple Crown (.681/2/26). Jimmy-D is hitting not quite half of that. Coming in at .308 with all 12 of his hits going for singles.

Unfortunately, Jimmy is not bringing up the rear in avg though. The hits are just not falling this year for Dupper. Struggling at just .294, he's even having a hard time getting the SAC flies (3), tied with Rake.

Rake is having a below average season coming in at .462. And that carried over to SS last week when he tried to hide himself at SS for an inning or two. It is painfully obvious that infield practice would have been as helpful as another visit to the cages. Someone who has hit well this year is the younger of the Richmond brothers. Tanner is slightly outpacing Rage by .003 in the batting avg race (.655 / .652). Tanner also benefited from a huge night when he drove in a total of 11 runs. Outside of that night, he has 5 additional RBI. That night he went 8 for 8. But that was bested by Gee's string of 10 hits without an out. That string of hits raised Gee's average to .541 - quite respectable for someone with one eye. I think he would say that he should be hitting 1.082.

To round out the team you have Allan and Mobilly. First of all, we need to get Allan a nickname. He has played 12 games and nothing has exactly stuck yet. I believe "Protege" is being tried on for size this week. We'll see if that sticks. Allan should focus on his hitting and let us worry about what to call him. He is hitting .475 in his rookie season with the Beavs. Mobilly has been hitting well when he shows. He has made less than 50% of the games so far (6 in total), but is hitting a strong .650 in those few games.

It all comes down to the last 2 games of the season. Beavers play the 6-8 Team America. They might be better than the record implies. They have played the tougher teams in the league with the exception of the Hillitary (who has lost every game, save one against us). So with first place on the line (Beavers and Golden Sombreros are tied with 11-3 records) the showdown is set for 8PM on field #1 (near the tennis courts). The team will be shy our catcher, JImmy-D, and our catcher wannabe, Rage. The other 10 of us have the fate of the season in our hands.

Now you know the stats. Now's our chance to improve upon them.

Only Week 3?

Here it is the 1st of June and we are just entering our 3rd week of the season. 2 rainouts have hit us so far. Weather looks promising for the June 1 games against the winless Hillitary. May be just what the Beavers need after a few weeks off and several of the main-stays out of the lineup.

Stay tuned for the Beaver Times to make a comeback for the remainder of the season...

Beaver Times 2011 - Edition I -PreSeason

Welcome back loyal readers. The 18th season of Beaver softball is almost upon us, though it looks like mother nature is going to force us to wait another week before starting the season. 5 straight days of "April Showers" may force the season to start in May this year.

As we begin to handicap the summer session we see that many of the same teams are back again for the 2011 campaign. Teams like The Golden Sombreros, Team USA, Dogs in a Bathtub, Bottom of the Fifth, Bi-State Meat and Sportsman's Park all have reappeared. But there are also 4 new teams this year; The Hillitary, Team America (makes you wonder if Team USA had to split), NISA and Mountain Top. Notable omissions from this years schedule are teams like CJC Transportation, Ivey-Selkirk, FDPD and Cousin Hugos. But let's be honest, only Ivey-Selkirk ever even really showed up...so maybe the league will have additions by subtraction. Does anyone recall opening day last year when the Beavers played FDPD? The combined score for the two games was 40-4. Good to have those public workers protecting the city, not playing ball.

Here's the 2011 Schedule for the Beavers along with Career record against that team
4/27 - 8PM Bi-State Meat (3-0)
5/4 - 6PM Sportsman's Park (4-4)
5/11 - 6PM Bottom of the Fifth (1-1)
5/18 - BYE
5/25 - 8PM Team America (0-0)
6/1 - 6PM The Hillitary (0-0)
6/8 - 6PM Mountain Top (0-0)
6/15 - 6PM NISA (0-0)
6/22 - 6PM Golden Sombreros (5-0-1)
6/29 - PLAYOFFS

The teams in the league not on the Beavers' schedule; Team USA (3-2), Dogs in a Bathtub (5-0-2)

One notable loss for this summer will be the lack of Belle'isms around the ballyard. Belle has decided to spend his Wednesday's with family instead with his adopted family, the Beavers. We'll need to get him out at least once this summer so that he can continue his streak of playing in every year of the franchise.

Belle's absence opens the door for Dupper and maybe Jimmy-D to overtake the lead in all time games played. Currently, Belle has 401 games to Dupper's 384 and Jimmy-D's 373. Could be some movement at the top of the games played list this year.

So, let's play ball! See you all at Shaw Park...but most likely not until May 4th.

Beaver Times 2010 - Edition XII

With a summer championship added to the trophy room of the Beavers it was off to Fenton for some summer/fall softball. Last week the Beavers had to forfeit two games at Fenton while they made their play for the Clayton Summer Championship. While there is an outside chance that Fenton will allow the games to be made up at the end of the season, we have to live with the fact that the Beavers are most likely 0-2 going into the season.

The Beavers were up against the Long Shots for the first games since finishing 2nd in last year's fall season.

There was a last-minute raid on the active roster as Sabo called at 5pm to say that his sitter was not available and he could not make the games. Then Belle called about 30 minutes later to say that he would be running late due to a sick kid. With Tanner already out due to night court, the Beavers were down to 10 men on roster. The biggest hit was to the IF defense. Sabo has become a cornerstone to the D anchoring 3B, some shuffling was needed.

Santo has recently taken some shots off his body at 3B and admitted that he was a little "gun shy" and would rather play OF. Kid, though side-stepping many a grounder at Clayton said he was ready to play the IF in Fenton. After playing an inning on the IF, it was clear that the Fenton IF was worse than Clayton was. None-the-less, Kid took 3B, Dupper at Short and Rake at 2B. As it turned out, the left side of the IF was fine, it was Rake at 2B that was the gaping wound for this game.

Beavers started off with some early hits. Rake led off with a single and Santo did the same. Kid reached on a E that allowed Rake to score. Mobilly then singled in both Santo and Kid. It was quickly 3-0 Beavers.

PT was able to hang a scoreless frame in the first, but in the 2nd the first of Rake's errors led to a run. Beavers led 3-1 after 2.

The 3rd inning started with the top of the order again. This time Rake and Santo both got out, then came the damage. Kid singled, Mobilly singled and Dupper singled in Kid. Deuce then reached on an E to score Mobilly. 5-1 Beavers. That was just the beginning though. In the 4th, after another scoreless frame by PT, Gee and PT singled to start the inning. Rake singled as well to load the bases. Santo moved everyone up one base with a single and Mobilly singled in 2 more. Dupper followed that with a single of his own before Deuce found the gap in right center and used his speed to round the bases for an inside-the-park homerun. Beavers were up 12-1.

The Long Shots were able to add one run in the 4th and 2 more in the 5th after another E by Rake at 2B. It was a rough day for Rake, where he never could completely commit to a one-hopper or slow roller. It was 12-4 going into the 6th. Beavers kept adding to their lead in the top of the 6th. Santo led off with a single and Kid doubled him to third. With Mobilly at bat, Gee acting as the 3B coach, told Santo to "not score on a single". He was, of course, joking as he saw Dupper on deck and wanted to pad Dup's SAC stats. Mobilly lifted a deep fly to left and Santo was not running home. However, Kid expected him to easily score so he was bearing down on third...still occupied by Santo.

The entire dugout was screaming at Santo to tag and score for the SAC fly and Santo finally took off for home. The shortstop was surprised to see that he had a chance at the lead run threw to the plate where Santo narrowly snuck his foot onto home before being tagged. Dupper followed that mayhem with a single to score Kid. Beavers were up to 14 runs.

Long Shots were only able to chase in one more run, and the Beavers started their "first game" of the Fenton season with a 14-5 win.

Beaver of the game goes to Mobilly for this impressive hitting line: 3-3, 2runs, 5RBI, 1SAC

The tide quickly turned in the 2nd game. As the visitors the Long Shots jumped out to a 6 run lead. They consistently hit the ball up the middle for singles and their cleanup hitter drove one over the fence. Beavers responded with a couple of their own on a single-double-single by Santo-Kid-Mobilly. The Long Shots kept their hitting revival in the 2nd inning with 3 more runs. This time aided quite a bit by shotty defense by Belle and Rake.

Beavers kept chipping away one by one over the middle innings. Kid doubled in Deuce in the 3rd, Rake reached via an error in the 4th to score Dupper and Kid driving in Jimmy-D with a single in the 5th. Going into the 6th it was 11-5 Long Shots. Beavers had a chance to put up some important runs as Dupper led off by reaching on a E. Big John later found his swing and launched a HR. Belle followed that with a single, but was stranded. It was now 11-7.

Unfortunately that was how the game would end. Beavers could not come back from the hitting and E's early in the game and ended up with the split for the week.

Beavers play again next week at 6:30 & 7:30 against last year foes, the Nationals. Games to be played on field #2 this week (the first time for the Beavers).