Tonight the Beavers take the field against the 2-4 Scared Hitless. That is weather-permitting. The forecast calls for scattered thunderstorms in the area all afternoon and evening. Let's hope that, once again, the rain misses Clayton.
Scared Hitless sits near the cellar in the summer league standings. They started off 0-4 before sweeping CJC Transportation last week. CJC Transportation is 1-7 for the record and in last place.
In all 4 of Hitless' losses they have allowed 20 or more runs. They did show a little spark against the other undefeated team in the league, Desloge, by only losing 22-18 in their second game to them. So, maybe Scared Hitless is coming around. They battled against the 2nd place team, then rattled off 2 straight 10-run wins. I would not take them lightly.
And the Beavers won't take anyone lightly. After struggling in the opening game in each of the last two weeks, the lineup may get a little bit of a shuffle to spread out the boppers and get some runners on before the meat of the order. Look for Sabo in the leadoff spot tonight and Sonoma to be dropped down a bit to offer some power deeper in the lineup.
The Beavers are off to an 8-0 start in 2009. Dating back to 2008, the Beavers have won 14 straight and 33 of the last 34. This is a winning streak that has not been matched before in Beaver history (to the best of my memory).
The Beavers are also looking at sporting new jerseys for the remainder of the 2009 season. Beavers will be asked to request their uniform # tonight so that we can have the new duds in time for the June 10th games.
Game time tonight is 8 & 9pm on field #6 (by the high school).
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Meet Your Beavers - That is if you can see him
Our third highlighted Beaver has been on the team since 1995. Since joining the squad, and adding to the Kirkwood contingency, he has primarily manned left field. Craig "Dupper" Dupske and his trademark baseball pants has been a steady offensive and defensive force for years. During his tenure he has amassed more hits, doubles and RBI than any other Beaver as well as topping the leaderboard in Sacrifice flies.
Not a game goes by that Dupper does not find himself sliding to catch a flyball. I am sure that he is doing this purposefully ala Jim Edmonds trying to make it look better - but whatever...he catches the ball, so who are we to judge.
Several years into his career Dupper was donned with another nickname; White Shadow. He earned this nickname as he always seemed to disappear after the games. His childhood home just a nine-iron shot from home plate at the old Kirkwood fields, you would hear the screen door slam shut at his parents house before you knew that he had once again pulled his disappearing act. The White Shadow was born.
In 2007 Dupper brought home the coveted MVB hitting .622 with 10 HR and 35 RBI. It was his first MVB and further established himself as one of the stars of the Beavers.
When not roaming in left field, Dupper can be found filling in at SS, 3B or even pitching. Offering a unique defensive alignment as he throws from the left side.
So come on out to the ballpark and watch for Dupper playing leftfield, you can't miss him. He'll be wearing his baseball pants with grass-stained knees and most likely sporting a Beavers jersey from the late 90's. He may not have fashion sense on the softball field, but does it really matter if when you turn around to see him he is already gone?
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Beaver Times 2009 Edition 4
Maybe you recall last week when I bragged about our defense...maybe I should have kept my mouth shut. Ugh, we started off a little rusty to say the least. Not to take everything away from Bi-State Meat, they also did a great job of lining balls up the middle - just over secondbase. You combine perfectly placed singles and doubles with several fielding errors and you have yourself a bad start to a softball game. And so it was, 6-0 Meatheads before we got a chance to prove what we could do.
The Beaver half started strong with Belle singling, Rake reaching on an error and Kid doing the same - bases were loaded on none out. Sonoma grounded into a fielder's choice - 1 run, 1 out. Dupper lifted a sac fly - 2 runs, 2 outs. That was all there was in the first. In the top of the second the Meatheads again placed some hits up the middle, forcing the Beavers to contemplate using a "short centerfielder" instead of a left center and right center. Beavers answered with nothing in the 2nd, capped by a Jimmy-D K.
The offense started again in the 3rd with a double by Belle, that is labeled in the scorebook "softest double ever" (it looks like Tanners scribbles if you ask me). Rake doubled him in, Kid tripled in Rake...then the center of the lineup went cold again. We just could not sustain a rally. We plated 3 more and trailed this 2-4 team 8-5. Then it got ugly.
Defensive let downs and well-placed hits again tormented the Beavers. Bi-State Meat basically batted around and scored another 5 runs. They were hitting the ball well. Mobilly, making his first start on the mound due to Keith's absence, was not used to the "unlimited arc" rule. His pitches were in the customary 6'-12' arc and they were ready for them. They plated 5 more runs.
On the other side, the lefty going for them knew exactly how to throw a high arc pitch and that 15'-20' arc he was throwing was really bothering the Beavers. He would get 2 strikes on us and had this pitch that seemed to hang in the air forever, then land close enough to the plate/mat that you had to swing. We had a lot of ugly swings - either driving the ball straight into the ground or replicating the arc on a hit - leading to a harmless fly ball. We were stymied.
In the 4th we were able to once again get runners on and in, only to have guys later in the inning strand them. The killer to this inning was a doubleplay ball for Jimmy-D. His frustration was mounting. Leading to the comment, "I don't understand what is going on, I kill the ball at the cages". Jimmy, life cannot be lived in the cages...
In the 5th something happened, something changed. Mobilly began fooling their hitters. Our fielding sharpened. They stopped hitting the ball where we were not fielding. We held them to 1 run for the final 3 innings. Maybe their pre-game BBQ was wearing off, but they lost their energy and their stride. They were up 13-7 going into the bottom of 6th. The Beavers were in trouble still.
Again in the 6th the Beavers started off hot, the first 5 guys reached base - only to be followed by 3 straight outs. As hot as it was at the beginning of the inning with a HR by Mobilly and a couple singles and a couple errors, it was equally as cold at the end of the inning with Rage, Belle and Rake all retiring 1-2-3. Bi-State 13, Beavers 11 after 6.
Bi-State plated one more in the top of the 7th, as Mobilly and the defense behind him effectively shut the door. We entered the bottom of the 7th.
Kid flies out, one down.
Sonoma singles, dupper reaches on an error, Mobilly singles - bases loaded.
Jake reaches on an error plating two. Bi-State 14, Beavers 13
Sabo steps to the dish and comes through...a linedrive to right center dropping in-between 2 of their 3 outfielders (yes, they were playing a man down all game). Sabo touches them all, a game-winning 3 run HR. BEAVERS WIN!
For obvious reasons Sabo picks up his second Beaver of the Game honor. Beavers 16, Bi- State Meat 14. Beavers move to 7-0 and truly earned that victory. It did leave us to wonder though, would the game have turned out differently had the Meatheads had that 4th outfielder? Who cares, we are still undefeated.
Rage, who arrived at the game in the 4th, pointed out that since his arrival we outscored them 11-1. Maybe he is like our good luck charm. We'll continue to watch for trends.
Also, somewhere buried in the game, was another Belle-ism. This time our lovable plumber mistakenly said "Ergonomics" instead of "Economics". Don't ask me why we were talking Econ in the middle of a comeback victory, that is just a glimpse of the odd dugout conversations that take place with the Beavers...it's all about Ergonomics...
In game two we took the role as visiting team and started off with a 3-spot. For those of you not at the games, we "roll over the lineup" for the second game. Meaning that whomever was ondeck when the last play took place in game one, is the lead off hitter for game two. This accomplishes two goals; 1) everyone should get to hit the same amount of times over the course of the night and 2) Rake does not have to labor through mixing up two lineups. Everyone is happy.
Jimmy-D, back to batting left-handed, drove a ball over first and down the line. Even he was able to leg it into a double. I should insert something here about how Jimmy reminds the team that back many years ago (maybe 9 or so), Jimmy raced Mobilly and Lumpy (an ex-Beaver) at Kirkwood Park after a game. Jimmy won the race, but the others both claim that something interfered with their running - beit slipping or whatever. That is Jimmy's claim and he brings it up monthly. He is fast, if only in his own mind.
Back to the game, Belle followed Jimmy's double with an opposite-field triple and Rake followed that with a HR to rightcenter. Not a bad start.
Rage took the hill for game two to see if he could master the +12' arc allowance. He was able to keep Bi-State relatively quiet with the bats allowing one run in each of the first two innings. He would later point out, as is customary for any Beavers pitcher, that both runs were unearned. I think I will give him the benefit of the doubt on one of them. Here's what happened.
With runners on 1st and 2nd a line drive was hit between Sonoma in right and Rake in rightcenter. Sonoma didn't seem to think it was too close to him, so he stayed put. The ball, however, was slicing back to rightfield. Rake tried to cut it off, but took a poor angle at it and it skipped by. The runner on 2nd was going to score on the hit. The runner from 1st tried to score while Rake chased it down. A relay throw from Rake to Jake (2B) to Tanner (C) nailed the second run. Our pitchers would argue that Sonoma or Rake should have dove like superman to catch that ball, thus unearned. I will call it earned.
The Beavers scored another 3 in the second inning. Sonoma launched his 7th HR of the year followed by three straight hits by Mobilly, Jake and Sabo brought in 2 more.
The Meatheads were done at this point. Their bats went cold and Rage did not allow another run (earned or unearned) for the last 3 innings. The Beavers were just starting to get things going again. Their pitcher all by abandoned the extremely high arc pitch and the Beavers jumped on him. Four in the 4th, five in the 5th. In the 4th two triples did the damage; one by Jake the other by Rage. Inbetween, Jimmy-D k'd again. He said his goal was two hits for the night, he was halfway there with the 1st inning double - don't give up yet, Jimmy!
In the 5th Rake led off with his second HR of the game. Basically to the same spot as before - right center. Kid tripled, Mobilly tripled (you do realize that 4-5 years ago this would all have been homeruns...we are getting old and slow). Jake doubled, leaving him only the HR shy of the cycle. The inning ended with another K, this time to Rage, and this one a legit swing-and-a-miss. Before Rage, Jimmy-D came to the plate. He drove a ball between first and second, driving in a run and reaching his target of 2 hits for the night. His first 2-hit game. This could be the beginning of Jimmy-D breaking out of his slump. You are no longer just hitting in the cages my friend.
Another glimpse into the Beavers dugout brings up this quote. Mobilly's triple in the 5th was like putting english on the ball as it hit off the end of his bat, over first base and spinning into foul territory. Jimmy chimes in with our word for the day, "masse' ". I believe the line was "he put some masse' on that ball", or something to that effect.
Beavers win again. Beavers 15, Bi-State Meat 2.
Beaver of the game goes to Rake with 2 HR and an outfield assist.
What has not been documented until now is the beer selection that was brought to the game by Jimmy-D. Let's see if I remember this correctly...Strohs...yep, Olympia...yep, Old Style...yep, Natural Light...yep one 24oz, Bud Light....yep (wait, how did that get in there!?) Let's just say Thursday was not so pleasant. Keith, you have beer duty next week, please make up fo this...
Next games are May 27th at 8pm on the same fields (near the highschool).
The Beaver half started strong with Belle singling, Rake reaching on an error and Kid doing the same - bases were loaded on none out. Sonoma grounded into a fielder's choice - 1 run, 1 out. Dupper lifted a sac fly - 2 runs, 2 outs. That was all there was in the first. In the top of the second the Meatheads again placed some hits up the middle, forcing the Beavers to contemplate using a "short centerfielder" instead of a left center and right center. Beavers answered with nothing in the 2nd, capped by a Jimmy-D K.
The offense started again in the 3rd with a double by Belle, that is labeled in the scorebook "softest double ever" (it looks like Tanners scribbles if you ask me). Rake doubled him in, Kid tripled in Rake...then the center of the lineup went cold again. We just could not sustain a rally. We plated 3 more and trailed this 2-4 team 8-5. Then it got ugly.
Defensive let downs and well-placed hits again tormented the Beavers. Bi-State Meat basically batted around and scored another 5 runs. They were hitting the ball well. Mobilly, making his first start on the mound due to Keith's absence, was not used to the "unlimited arc" rule. His pitches were in the customary 6'-12' arc and they were ready for them. They plated 5 more runs.
On the other side, the lefty going for them knew exactly how to throw a high arc pitch and that 15'-20' arc he was throwing was really bothering the Beavers. He would get 2 strikes on us and had this pitch that seemed to hang in the air forever, then land close enough to the plate/mat that you had to swing. We had a lot of ugly swings - either driving the ball straight into the ground or replicating the arc on a hit - leading to a harmless fly ball. We were stymied.
In the 4th we were able to once again get runners on and in, only to have guys later in the inning strand them. The killer to this inning was a doubleplay ball for Jimmy-D. His frustration was mounting. Leading to the comment, "I don't understand what is going on, I kill the ball at the cages". Jimmy, life cannot be lived in the cages...
In the 5th something happened, something changed. Mobilly began fooling their hitters. Our fielding sharpened. They stopped hitting the ball where we were not fielding. We held them to 1 run for the final 3 innings. Maybe their pre-game BBQ was wearing off, but they lost their energy and their stride. They were up 13-7 going into the bottom of 6th. The Beavers were in trouble still.
Again in the 6th the Beavers started off hot, the first 5 guys reached base - only to be followed by 3 straight outs. As hot as it was at the beginning of the inning with a HR by Mobilly and a couple singles and a couple errors, it was equally as cold at the end of the inning with Rage, Belle and Rake all retiring 1-2-3. Bi-State 13, Beavers 11 after 6.
Bi-State plated one more in the top of the 7th, as Mobilly and the defense behind him effectively shut the door. We entered the bottom of the 7th.
Kid flies out, one down.
Sonoma singles, dupper reaches on an error, Mobilly singles - bases loaded.
Jake reaches on an error plating two. Bi-State 14, Beavers 13
Sabo steps to the dish and comes through...a linedrive to right center dropping in-between 2 of their 3 outfielders (yes, they were playing a man down all game). Sabo touches them all, a game-winning 3 run HR. BEAVERS WIN!
For obvious reasons Sabo picks up his second Beaver of the Game honor. Beavers 16, Bi- State Meat 14. Beavers move to 7-0 and truly earned that victory. It did leave us to wonder though, would the game have turned out differently had the Meatheads had that 4th outfielder? Who cares, we are still undefeated.
Rage, who arrived at the game in the 4th, pointed out that since his arrival we outscored them 11-1. Maybe he is like our good luck charm. We'll continue to watch for trends.
Also, somewhere buried in the game, was another Belle-ism. This time our lovable plumber mistakenly said "Ergonomics" instead of "Economics". Don't ask me why we were talking Econ in the middle of a comeback victory, that is just a glimpse of the odd dugout conversations that take place with the Beavers...it's all about Ergonomics...
In game two we took the role as visiting team and started off with a 3-spot. For those of you not at the games, we "roll over the lineup" for the second game. Meaning that whomever was ondeck when the last play took place in game one, is the lead off hitter for game two. This accomplishes two goals; 1) everyone should get to hit the same amount of times over the course of the night and 2) Rake does not have to labor through mixing up two lineups. Everyone is happy.
Jimmy-D, back to batting left-handed, drove a ball over first and down the line. Even he was able to leg it into a double. I should insert something here about how Jimmy reminds the team that back many years ago (maybe 9 or so), Jimmy raced Mobilly and Lumpy (an ex-Beaver) at Kirkwood Park after a game. Jimmy won the race, but the others both claim that something interfered with their running - beit slipping or whatever. That is Jimmy's claim and he brings it up monthly. He is fast, if only in his own mind.
Back to the game, Belle followed Jimmy's double with an opposite-field triple and Rake followed that with a HR to rightcenter. Not a bad start.
Rage took the hill for game two to see if he could master the +12' arc allowance. He was able to keep Bi-State relatively quiet with the bats allowing one run in each of the first two innings. He would later point out, as is customary for any Beavers pitcher, that both runs were unearned. I think I will give him the benefit of the doubt on one of them. Here's what happened.
With runners on 1st and 2nd a line drive was hit between Sonoma in right and Rake in rightcenter. Sonoma didn't seem to think it was too close to him, so he stayed put. The ball, however, was slicing back to rightfield. Rake tried to cut it off, but took a poor angle at it and it skipped by. The runner on 2nd was going to score on the hit. The runner from 1st tried to score while Rake chased it down. A relay throw from Rake to Jake (2B) to Tanner (C) nailed the second run. Our pitchers would argue that Sonoma or Rake should have dove like superman to catch that ball, thus unearned. I will call it earned.
The Beavers scored another 3 in the second inning. Sonoma launched his 7th HR of the year followed by three straight hits by Mobilly, Jake and Sabo brought in 2 more.
The Meatheads were done at this point. Their bats went cold and Rage did not allow another run (earned or unearned) for the last 3 innings. The Beavers were just starting to get things going again. Their pitcher all by abandoned the extremely high arc pitch and the Beavers jumped on him. Four in the 4th, five in the 5th. In the 4th two triples did the damage; one by Jake the other by Rage. Inbetween, Jimmy-D k'd again. He said his goal was two hits for the night, he was halfway there with the 1st inning double - don't give up yet, Jimmy!
In the 5th Rake led off with his second HR of the game. Basically to the same spot as before - right center. Kid tripled, Mobilly tripled (you do realize that 4-5 years ago this would all have been homeruns...we are getting old and slow). Jake doubled, leaving him only the HR shy of the cycle. The inning ended with another K, this time to Rage, and this one a legit swing-and-a-miss. Before Rage, Jimmy-D came to the plate. He drove a ball between first and second, driving in a run and reaching his target of 2 hits for the night. His first 2-hit game. This could be the beginning of Jimmy-D breaking out of his slump. You are no longer just hitting in the cages my friend.
Another glimpse into the Beavers dugout brings up this quote. Mobilly's triple in the 5th was like putting english on the ball as it hit off the end of his bat, over first base and spinning into foul territory. Jimmy chimes in with our word for the day, "masse' ". I believe the line was "he put some masse' on that ball", or something to that effect.
Beavers win again. Beavers 15, Bi-State Meat 2.
Beaver of the game goes to Rake with 2 HR and an outfield assist.
What has not been documented until now is the beer selection that was brought to the game by Jimmy-D. Let's see if I remember this correctly...Strohs...yep, Olympia...yep, Old Style...yep, Natural Light...yep one 24oz, Bud Light....yep (wait, how did that get in there!?) Let's just say Thursday was not so pleasant. Keith, you have beer duty next week, please make up fo this...
Next games are May 27th at 8pm on the same fields (near the highschool).
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
May 20 Matchup - Preview
I have a few minutes while I devour my lunch to offer a look ahead to tonight's games. The Beavers will take on Bi-State Meat at 8pm & 9pm on field #6.
Bi-State Meat enters the 4th week of the season with a 4-2 mark. They have taken care of the opponents they should have and lost to those above them. In week 1 Bi-State took on the Golden Sombreros and handed them a 10-run loss in game one, only to squeak out a 2-run victory in their nightcap. In week #2 Bi-State took on the only other still-undefeated team in the league, Desloge, and suffered two losses. In game one they were handed an 18-10 defeat and in game two the suffered a 15-9 loss. In week #3 Bi-State swept CJC Transportation, one of the two worst teams in the league, 18-2 & 14-4.
So, against teams above .500 they are 0-2 and against teams at .500 or below they are 4-0. They show the ability to hang double digit runs on the scoreboard, as they have scored 10 or more in 4 of 6 games (3 of them victories).
Which Beavers offense will show up tonight? The offense that scores near 20 runs a game, or the offense that eeked out 2 runs in a pitching duel victory? Either way, we are hoping the opposition lives up to their name and brings along plenty of food for the pre/post game BBQ.
Bi-State Meat enters the 4th week of the season with a 4-2 mark. They have taken care of the opponents they should have and lost to those above them. In week 1 Bi-State took on the Golden Sombreros and handed them a 10-run loss in game one, only to squeak out a 2-run victory in their nightcap. In week #2 Bi-State took on the only other still-undefeated team in the league, Desloge, and suffered two losses. In game one they were handed an 18-10 defeat and in game two the suffered a 15-9 loss. In week #3 Bi-State swept CJC Transportation, one of the two worst teams in the league, 18-2 & 14-4.
So, against teams above .500 they are 0-2 and against teams at .500 or below they are 4-0. They show the ability to hang double digit runs on the scoreboard, as they have scored 10 or more in 4 of 6 games (3 of them victories).
Which Beavers offense will show up tonight? The offense that scores near 20 runs a game, or the offense that eeked out 2 runs in a pitching duel victory? Either way, we are hoping the opposition lives up to their name and brings along plenty of food for the pre/post game BBQ.
Monday, May 18, 2009
A Glimpse Inside Our Career Stats
As was mentioned in the 1st Edition of the 2009 Beaver Times, we are in our 17th season...ouch! Over 16 years for several of adds up to quite a few ABs, Hits, RBI and even ejections. Gee and Rake have been tag-teaming the stats since the first game in 1991. Before releasing the complete stats to the team in a week or two, here is your sneak peak at some of the career highlights and of course a few low lights.
Without further ado...
Leading in games, AB and Runs - BELLE - 357 games, 1199 AB and 518 runs - he is also sporting a .504 lifetime average.
Leading in hits, doubles and RBI - DUPPER - 659 hits, 202 doubles and 572 RBI - Dup is carrying a .577 avg into the 2009 season.
Leading in K's and swinging bunts (un-official stat) - JIMMY-D - 26 k's & probably 325 swinginng bunt hits - his lifetime average is .418
Our leader in HR, Avg, Slg and Ejections - KID - 100 HR, .631 avg, 1.220 SLG and 2 ejections
Leading the team in walks - BIG JOHN - 80 BB - had he swug the bat a little more he might be closer to Kid in the HR race, instead he is 31 behind.
Other Avg. for the 2009 starters: Rake .530, Gee .514, Mobilly .517, Big John .586, Tanner .554, Sabo .570, Rage .667 (39 AB), Keith .469 - Jake and Sonoma - no AB prior to 2009.
In an ode to Beavers Gone By:
Seavus .584 avg in 153 lifetime games
Coon .468 in 151 games
Pudge .690 in 130 games (2nd highest lifetime slg with 1.086)
Lumpy .529 in 128 games
Rookie .553 in 76 games (averaging 1 HR every 4 games - Kid 1 every 2.4 games)
Ripper .455 in 19 games
Jaws .367 in 23 games
Juice .711 in 14 games with 14 HR
2-Buck Chuck .214 in 10 games
Finally, for the team we have a lifetime .524 avg and have hit 491 HR with 5,379 runs scored. Our career record is 234-138-2 for a .626 winning percentage. We have won 13 championships and ask any of our pitchers...we are still without allowing an earned run - IMPRESSIVE.
Without further ado...
Leading in games, AB and Runs - BELLE - 357 games, 1199 AB and 518 runs - he is also sporting a .504 lifetime average.
Leading in hits, doubles and RBI - DUPPER - 659 hits, 202 doubles and 572 RBI - Dup is carrying a .577 avg into the 2009 season.
Leading in K's and swinging bunts (un-official stat) - JIMMY-D - 26 k's & probably 325 swinginng bunt hits - his lifetime average is .418
Our leader in HR, Avg, Slg and Ejections - KID - 100 HR, .631 avg, 1.220 SLG and 2 ejections
Leading the team in walks - BIG JOHN - 80 BB - had he swug the bat a little more he might be closer to Kid in the HR race, instead he is 31 behind.
Other Avg. for the 2009 starters: Rake .530, Gee .514, Mobilly .517, Big John .586, Tanner .554, Sabo .570, Rage .667 (39 AB), Keith .469 - Jake and Sonoma - no AB prior to 2009.
In an ode to Beavers Gone By:
Seavus .584 avg in 153 lifetime games
Coon .468 in 151 games
Pudge .690 in 130 games (2nd highest lifetime slg with 1.086)
Lumpy .529 in 128 games
Rookie .553 in 76 games (averaging 1 HR every 4 games - Kid 1 every 2.4 games)
Ripper .455 in 19 games
Jaws .367 in 23 games
Juice .711 in 14 games with 14 HR
2-Buck Chuck .214 in 10 games
Finally, for the team we have a lifetime .524 avg and have hit 491 HR with 5,379 runs scored. Our career record is 234-138-2 for a .626 winning percentage. We have won 13 championships and ask any of our pitchers...we are still without allowing an earned run - IMPRESSIVE.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Beaver Times 2009 Edition 3
Before diving into the recaps from this week's games, let me quote an email from a guy on the opposition last week that was forwarded onto one of the Beavers.
Game 1, week 3 was karma getting us back. As the quoted email stated we were hanging 15 on the opposition just 7 days prior, this game was to be quite the opposite. The wind was blowing in as a storm was blowing through town. Somehow the rain missed Clayton and the games were on. In the first inning both teams went up 1-2-3. Not very Beaveresqe for our opening inning. It marked the first game that we did not score at least 3 in the first frame. In the second Sabo reached on an error that chased Big John in for our first run...and our only run until the 7th. In the field, though, we were playing as well as ever. Sabo fielded up to his nickname, scooping up anything that came near him - to the hole, to the line, charging - whatever, he was there to scoop and throw out the runner. I would take a guess that he had about 8 plays over at the hot corner. On the mound, Keith [still no nickname, but one might have rose to the top at the post game celebration - more on that later] also played an impressive game. Throwing two legit K's in the first 3 innings and keeping the opposition off base in most innings. He even fielded his position with a couple of come-backers.
In the 5th the Beavers were still clinging to a 1-0 lead when the visiting team, Cousin Hugo's, put a runner on second. A fly ball was lifted to left center and Belle took off after it. Now, he claims that he "overran the ball", all I can tell you is that it clanked off the tip of his mitt and fell to the ground, allowing the tying run to score. This was immediately followed by Dupper yelling from leftfield, "that's alright Mobilly, you'll get the next one". Keith shut down Cuz Hugo for the remainder of that inning and the next 2.
The game sped into the bottom of the 7th, the Beavers with only 4 hits so far. It was a amazingly sad display of offense, especially after circulating that email from the previous week. Something changed in the 7th though and the Beavers finally woke up at the plate - Sonoma singled, Big John walked, Dupper singled to load the bases and with none out Tanner delivered the game winning hit. As many baserunners in 4 at bats as the entire game up to that point - the Beavers walked away with a relieved 2-1 victory.
It is an on-going line from our pitchers that they have never allowed an earned run - an obvious jab at the fielding of this team and a glimpse into the ego of our pitchers, this was the first time that I can recall a true 0 ER game. For that, the Beaver of the Game goes to Keith for keeping us in the game long enough to mount that rally in the 7th.
Game 2 started immediately after the walk-off single. This time the bats stayed alive. Though not scoring a run in the top of the first we did load the bases, we were finally hitting again. In the second inning the damn burst open and we batted around, scoring 9 runs. Highlights in the inning were a 2-run HR by Sonoma, 5 straight singles by Tanner, Sabo, Keith, John "Rage" Richmond (making his 2009 debut in game one tonight), and Belle. All of this happed before the first out. Then Rake lined a bases clearing single (it should be a double to whomever was keeping the book). Beavers 9, Cousin Hugo's 0. Again Keith shut down their offense in the second with more spectacular plays from our third-baseman, Sabo.
In the 3rd and 4th the Beavers added on a total of 5 more runs, two off the bat of a HR by Kid. We were back on our game and getting good cuts. I think the wind died down a bit for game two which allowed for the balls to not hang up in the air forever. The Cuz kept pace with us in the 3rd and 4th, scoring 5 of their own - mainly on a handful of singles and doubles. They hit more balls that landed in short center - perfectly placed. Their achilles heal was their base running. Twice a baserunner tried to stretch an extra base. Both times against Belle. The first time was a play at the plate. Belle unloaded his throw for home which was plenty early to gun down their runner. The runner realized this and put on the brakes. Rake cut off the ball before it got to home and ran the runner back to Sabo at third starting the hot-box. We pulled it off to perfection saving a run. Later, a runner was going to third when Belle threw a strike to 3rd freezing the runner between 2nd and 3rd. Another hot-box, another out. Our defense was on for the most part.
In the 5th Tanner grounded out to the secondbaseman, prompting a teammate to yell out, "6 years ago Tanner would have beat that out!", only to be followed by "that's because he was getting laid 6 years ago.". You have to have thick skin to play on this team.
The game went into the 6th with the Beavers leading 14-5. In the Beaver half we plated 6 more, highlighted by an opposite-field 3-run HR by Rake, and capped off by a K by Rage (yes, it was a foul out, but that is a K in our book, Rage).
In the bottom of the 6th we needed to keep them from scoring 6 runs to end the game. Big John found himself in left center and was tested quickly. As only Big John can he was able to snap off a fly ball for the catch. It is not a thing of beauty, but it worked again. Imagine how a frog attacks a fly - that is the best way to describe Big John's catching style. He even told us that when teaching his son how to catch, he specifically told him "not to catch like Daddy" - the best advice you can give, Big John. Sonoma had been picking clovers in right field as not one ball had been hit to him in either game. In the 6th one found him and bounced a few feet in front of him...and skipped under his glove. His reaction was priceless - hitting himself on the forehead before turning and chasing after the ball. After all of the OF hijinx we held onto the victory and won 20-6.
Beaver of the game goes to Sabo and his gold glove night at 3rd. In addition to a stellar defensive showing he also went 4-5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs.
At the end of game two a new option for a nickname for Keith came from Jimmy-D. He called to him as "No nick", as in no nickname. Jimmy-D kept trying to get it to stick at the post game headquarters, Kilkennys. Not sure if it is going to stick just yet, but it seems to have more traction than the one that Big John is trying to offer up, "Big Unit" or "The Unit". I am assuming there is a reference in there to Randy Johnson, but yours truly does not see the similarities between a 6'-10" ugly-arse pitcher who throws upper 90s and our pitcher who sets up hitters with a knuckleball. But I refuse to get any further into Big John's head as to the real reason he wants Keith's nickname to have the word "unit" in it...for now, he still remains the enigma.
Next game, May 20 field #6 at 8pm and 9pm. Beavers carry their 6-0 record into the game against Bi-State Meat (huh?)
we played a team that was ridiculous last night
score 15 runs in the first inning we played....we didn't make one error.
on the fields that are right by shaw park tennis courts, one guy hit the other backstop on 3 bounces. Our outfielders were playing in the other infield.
Followed by this...
they were all ripped, baseball pants, each had their own bats / bagsGood stuff! The Beavers are back...or so we thought.
Game 1, week 3 was karma getting us back. As the quoted email stated we were hanging 15 on the opposition just 7 days prior, this game was to be quite the opposite. The wind was blowing in as a storm was blowing through town. Somehow the rain missed Clayton and the games were on. In the first inning both teams went up 1-2-3. Not very Beaveresqe for our opening inning. It marked the first game that we did not score at least 3 in the first frame. In the second Sabo reached on an error that chased Big John in for our first run...and our only run until the 7th. In the field, though, we were playing as well as ever. Sabo fielded up to his nickname, scooping up anything that came near him - to the hole, to the line, charging - whatever, he was there to scoop and throw out the runner. I would take a guess that he had about 8 plays over at the hot corner. On the mound, Keith [still no nickname, but one might have rose to the top at the post game celebration - more on that later] also played an impressive game. Throwing two legit K's in the first 3 innings and keeping the opposition off base in most innings. He even fielded his position with a couple of come-backers.
In the 5th the Beavers were still clinging to a 1-0 lead when the visiting team, Cousin Hugo's, put a runner on second. A fly ball was lifted to left center and Belle took off after it. Now, he claims that he "overran the ball", all I can tell you is that it clanked off the tip of his mitt and fell to the ground, allowing the tying run to score. This was immediately followed by Dupper yelling from leftfield, "that's alright Mobilly, you'll get the next one". Keith shut down Cuz Hugo for the remainder of that inning and the next 2.
The game sped into the bottom of the 7th, the Beavers with only 4 hits so far. It was a amazingly sad display of offense, especially after circulating that email from the previous week. Something changed in the 7th though and the Beavers finally woke up at the plate - Sonoma singled, Big John walked, Dupper singled to load the bases and with none out Tanner delivered the game winning hit. As many baserunners in 4 at bats as the entire game up to that point - the Beavers walked away with a relieved 2-1 victory.
It is an on-going line from our pitchers that they have never allowed an earned run - an obvious jab at the fielding of this team and a glimpse into the ego of our pitchers, this was the first time that I can recall a true 0 ER game. For that, the Beaver of the Game goes to Keith for keeping us in the game long enough to mount that rally in the 7th.
Game 2 started immediately after the walk-off single. This time the bats stayed alive. Though not scoring a run in the top of the first we did load the bases, we were finally hitting again. In the second inning the damn burst open and we batted around, scoring 9 runs. Highlights in the inning were a 2-run HR by Sonoma, 5 straight singles by Tanner, Sabo, Keith, John "Rage" Richmond (making his 2009 debut in game one tonight), and Belle. All of this happed before the first out. Then Rake lined a bases clearing single (it should be a double to whomever was keeping the book). Beavers 9, Cousin Hugo's 0. Again Keith shut down their offense in the second with more spectacular plays from our third-baseman, Sabo.
In the 3rd and 4th the Beavers added on a total of 5 more runs, two off the bat of a HR by Kid. We were back on our game and getting good cuts. I think the wind died down a bit for game two which allowed for the balls to not hang up in the air forever. The Cuz kept pace with us in the 3rd and 4th, scoring 5 of their own - mainly on a handful of singles and doubles. They hit more balls that landed in short center - perfectly placed. Their achilles heal was their base running. Twice a baserunner tried to stretch an extra base. Both times against Belle. The first time was a play at the plate. Belle unloaded his throw for home which was plenty early to gun down their runner. The runner realized this and put on the brakes. Rake cut off the ball before it got to home and ran the runner back to Sabo at third starting the hot-box. We pulled it off to perfection saving a run. Later, a runner was going to third when Belle threw a strike to 3rd freezing the runner between 2nd and 3rd. Another hot-box, another out. Our defense was on for the most part.
In the 5th Tanner grounded out to the secondbaseman, prompting a teammate to yell out, "6 years ago Tanner would have beat that out!", only to be followed by "that's because he was getting laid 6 years ago.". You have to have thick skin to play on this team.
The game went into the 6th with the Beavers leading 14-5. In the Beaver half we plated 6 more, highlighted by an opposite-field 3-run HR by Rake, and capped off by a K by Rage (yes, it was a foul out, but that is a K in our book, Rage).
In the bottom of the 6th we needed to keep them from scoring 6 runs to end the game. Big John found himself in left center and was tested quickly. As only Big John can he was able to snap off a fly ball for the catch. It is not a thing of beauty, but it worked again. Imagine how a frog attacks a fly - that is the best way to describe Big John's catching style. He even told us that when teaching his son how to catch, he specifically told him "not to catch like Daddy" - the best advice you can give, Big John. Sonoma had been picking clovers in right field as not one ball had been hit to him in either game. In the 6th one found him and bounced a few feet in front of him...and skipped under his glove. His reaction was priceless - hitting himself on the forehead before turning and chasing after the ball. After all of the OF hijinx we held onto the victory and won 20-6.
Beaver of the game goes to Sabo and his gold glove night at 3rd. In addition to a stellar defensive showing he also went 4-5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs.
At the end of game two a new option for a nickname for Keith came from Jimmy-D. He called to him as "No nick", as in no nickname. Jimmy-D kept trying to get it to stick at the post game headquarters, Kilkennys. Not sure if it is going to stick just yet, but it seems to have more traction than the one that Big John is trying to offer up, "Big Unit" or "The Unit". I am assuming there is a reference in there to Randy Johnson, but yours truly does not see the similarities between a 6'-10" ugly-arse pitcher who throws upper 90s and our pitcher who sets up hitters with a knuckleball. But I refuse to get any further into Big John's head as to the real reason he wants Keith's nickname to have the word "unit" in it...for now, he still remains the enigma.
Next game, May 20 field #6 at 8pm and 9pm. Beavers carry their 6-0 record into the game against Bi-State Meat (huh?)
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Meet Your Beavers - Mobilly/Mobility/Mobile
Our reigning MVB, Gary Mobley put together the best season of his Beaver career last year. Hitting over .700 in 20 games Mobilly brought home the hardware with an impressive 6:1 ratio of votes to any other singular Beaver. Adding to his 2008 hardware was the 2008 summer softball championship trophy. This trophy is handed out when we win the championship to the Beaver with the most tenure.
For many years, Mobility was the elder statesman of the team. He even threatened "this season will be my last" for several summers along the way. Something about bringing an older guy to the team in '08 seemed to have positive effects. Gary can typically be found in right center for the Beavers but he has also pitched his share of games.
Mobile is best known by his teammates for his popular sayings, such as... "oh...my...God", or "Do you guys want to go to Helen's?", or "I'm going to take a shower before going out after the game", or the trademarked grunt he makes when trying to hit the ball harder than usual. He is also known for his steel glove, but since he is the reigning MVB, we won't dig any deeper on that subject and cut him some slack this year.
He's number 13 on his jersey and number 1 in your hearts. Take your pick if you want to call him Mobilly, Mobility or Mobile...just don't call him Gary - that would lead to a Beaver fine.
For many years, Mobility was the elder statesman of the team. He even threatened "this season will be my last" for several summers along the way. Something about bringing an older guy to the team in '08 seemed to have positive effects. Gary can typically be found in right center for the Beavers but he has also pitched his share of games.
Mobile is best known by his teammates for his popular sayings, such as... "oh...my...God", or "Do you guys want to go to Helen's?", or "I'm going to take a shower before going out after the game", or the trademarked grunt he makes when trying to hit the ball harder than usual. He is also known for his steel glove, but since he is the reigning MVB, we won't dig any deeper on that subject and cut him some slack this year.
He's number 13 on his jersey and number 1 in your hearts. Take your pick if you want to call him Mobilly, Mobility or Mobile...just don't call him Gary - that would lead to a Beaver fine.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Beaver Times 2009 Edition 2
It started off innocently enough. Belle grounded out harmlessly to the secondbaseman. Then three straight singles brought in one run, another fly out and the Beavers were up 1-0 with two down in the first...then it happened. Thirteen straight Beavers reached base and when the dust settled the Beavers were up 15-0 after one half inning. Mixed into the hit parade were homers by Mobilly, Sonoma, Kid and Big John. To pour salt on the wound, the home team posted a goose-egg. In the top of the 2nd our newest addition, Sonoma's cousin Jake led off with a drive to right center, he was about to hold at third when he realized that he could beat the relay home, another homerun and an upset ondeck hitter, Pat "Tanner" Richmond yelled out, "YOU TOOK MY SAC!". Read into that as you may...
The Beavers added another four runs that inning and had a comfortable 20-0 lead after 1 1/2 innings. In the second inning our third-baseman arrived, Chirs "Sabo" Smuda. Until he arrived we played our lefty infield reserve, Dupper at third. With a runner on first a grounder was hit down the line of third. Basically, the only time a left-handed third sacker would be of benefit, Dupper fielded the ball while sliding and turned and threw to Tanner at second for the forceout. This play was glimpse of what was to come from our defense. Where the defense was a sore point in the opening week, it was incredibly sound this week. Sabo stepped in at 3rd in the second and fielded several balls without error. In fact, the only error was an over throw to first, which had minimal impact on the final score. Kid played an inning in the OF early in the first game and made a difficult play over his shoulder look routine. For the most part we were sound all the way around.
Dogs in the Bathtub was the name of our opponent, a hold-over from last season. Though they came into the game with an identical record of 2-0 as the Beavers, they were absolutely no match. They plated a total of 7 runs late in the first game, but it was not near enough as the Beavers rolled to a 22-7 victory. Beaver of the Game is a tough call for game one. There were so many good box score lines and fat stats due to the 22 runs. Rake went 2-2 with a walk and a sac/error and scored each time, Kid missed the cycle by a triple, Mobilly hit the first HR of the first inning and really propelled the onslaught, Jake went 3-3 with a 2B & HR and Tanner went 3-3 in his first game of the season. I will give the nod to Mobilly with his big HR in the first.
Game two started off relatively the same way. The Beavers were able to chase around 7 runs in the bottom of the first, highlighted by the longest homerun of the year; Sonoma launched one to straight centerfield that rolled to the backstop of the opposite field. Needless to say, he was able to jog around the bases (maybe twice). It was his 4th HR of the early season and by far the most impressive. The first inning ended with a whimper as Big John took a hefty swing, only to dribble the ball back to the pitcher. Tanner appropriately labeled that AB in the score book as "Dribbler to Pitcher".
Big John's antics did not end there. After two fly balls soared past Belle, our left fielder, Big John yelled out, "I gotta tell ya, I'm a pretty good ballplayer!". Those of you who know Big John know that he is not on the team for his glove. Little did we know that his inflated ego would haunt him at the plate as well as in the field. After proclaiming his prowess as a ballplayer, we let him play left field as well as shortstop. For the most part the ball did not find him at either position...except for a ball to the hole at short. Big John lumbered over towards it and slid to make the play - only to have the ball strike his knee and bounce towards the left field line. He proudly showed off the immediate lump on his knee upon returning to the bench. At bat he fouled out for a strikeout and popped out to left field. Big John, just keep your machismo to yourself!
Back to the game...
In the second Sonoma launched yet another HR and extra base hits by Jake and Jimmy D (this week sans mustache...BOOOOO!!!!) brought in another four runs. The Beavers were able to score in every inning of the second game - putting a total of 20 runs on the board for a second straight game. About half way thorugh the second game we decided to start taking it easy on the Dogs. Balls that could have been HR or triples, were cut to singles and doubles...except for Sabo. This guy, I guess, does not know how to "play down". He kept stretching singles into doubles and scoring from 1st on singles. Good thing there are not bean-balls in softball.
Late in the game when the defense was shuffled significantly there was a single to left center. Rake was out there that inning and fielded the ball and let loose on the throw home to try to nab the runner headed for the plate. Tanner was playing C for this inning and caught the throw from Rake and applied the tag to a surprised runner - first put out at the dish this year.
To round out the game the Dogs were able to put together one strong inning where they scored 5 runs, but again it was not enough to over come the surging Beavers. Even with 4 K's against the Beavers; Kid & Keith in game one and Jimmy D and Big John in game 2 the Beavers were able to score a combined total of 42 runs in two games.
Final score of game 2: Beavers 20, Dogs in a Bathtub 9
Beaver of the Game: Sonoma for a 3-3 performance - 2 HR and a single (where he stopped running).
Next games are Wed May 13 at 6 & 7 on Field #6 (the good field). Also, it is Parties in the Park night in Clayton, so come join us for a double header and then roam over to downtown Clayton for the rest of the festivities.
The Beavers added another four runs that inning and had a comfortable 20-0 lead after 1 1/2 innings. In the second inning our third-baseman arrived, Chirs "Sabo" Smuda. Until he arrived we played our lefty infield reserve, Dupper at third. With a runner on first a grounder was hit down the line of third. Basically, the only time a left-handed third sacker would be of benefit, Dupper fielded the ball while sliding and turned and threw to Tanner at second for the forceout. This play was glimpse of what was to come from our defense. Where the defense was a sore point in the opening week, it was incredibly sound this week. Sabo stepped in at 3rd in the second and fielded several balls without error. In fact, the only error was an over throw to first, which had minimal impact on the final score. Kid played an inning in the OF early in the first game and made a difficult play over his shoulder look routine. For the most part we were sound all the way around.
Dogs in the Bathtub was the name of our opponent, a hold-over from last season. Though they came into the game with an identical record of 2-0 as the Beavers, they were absolutely no match. They plated a total of 7 runs late in the first game, but it was not near enough as the Beavers rolled to a 22-7 victory. Beaver of the Game is a tough call for game one. There were so many good box score lines and fat stats due to the 22 runs. Rake went 2-2 with a walk and a sac/error and scored each time, Kid missed the cycle by a triple, Mobilly hit the first HR of the first inning and really propelled the onslaught, Jake went 3-3 with a 2B & HR and Tanner went 3-3 in his first game of the season. I will give the nod to Mobilly with his big HR in the first.
Game two started off relatively the same way. The Beavers were able to chase around 7 runs in the bottom of the first, highlighted by the longest homerun of the year; Sonoma launched one to straight centerfield that rolled to the backstop of the opposite field. Needless to say, he was able to jog around the bases (maybe twice). It was his 4th HR of the early season and by far the most impressive. The first inning ended with a whimper as Big John took a hefty swing, only to dribble the ball back to the pitcher. Tanner appropriately labeled that AB in the score book as "Dribbler to Pitcher".
Big John's antics did not end there. After two fly balls soared past Belle, our left fielder, Big John yelled out, "I gotta tell ya, I'm a pretty good ballplayer!". Those of you who know Big John know that he is not on the team for his glove. Little did we know that his inflated ego would haunt him at the plate as well as in the field. After proclaiming his prowess as a ballplayer, we let him play left field as well as shortstop. For the most part the ball did not find him at either position...except for a ball to the hole at short. Big John lumbered over towards it and slid to make the play - only to have the ball strike his knee and bounce towards the left field line. He proudly showed off the immediate lump on his knee upon returning to the bench. At bat he fouled out for a strikeout and popped out to left field. Big John, just keep your machismo to yourself!
Back to the game...
In the second Sonoma launched yet another HR and extra base hits by Jake and Jimmy D (this week sans mustache...BOOOOO!!!!) brought in another four runs. The Beavers were able to score in every inning of the second game - putting a total of 20 runs on the board for a second straight game. About half way thorugh the second game we decided to start taking it easy on the Dogs. Balls that could have been HR or triples, were cut to singles and doubles...except for Sabo. This guy, I guess, does not know how to "play down". He kept stretching singles into doubles and scoring from 1st on singles. Good thing there are not bean-balls in softball.
Late in the game when the defense was shuffled significantly there was a single to left center. Rake was out there that inning and fielded the ball and let loose on the throw home to try to nab the runner headed for the plate. Tanner was playing C for this inning and caught the throw from Rake and applied the tag to a surprised runner - first put out at the dish this year.
To round out the game the Dogs were able to put together one strong inning where they scored 5 runs, but again it was not enough to over come the surging Beavers. Even with 4 K's against the Beavers; Kid & Keith in game one and Jimmy D and Big John in game 2 the Beavers were able to score a combined total of 42 runs in two games.
Final score of game 2: Beavers 20, Dogs in a Bathtub 9
Beaver of the Game: Sonoma for a 3-3 performance - 2 HR and a single (where he stopped running).
Next games are Wed May 13 at 6 & 7 on Field #6 (the good field). Also, it is Parties in the Park night in Clayton, so come join us for a double header and then roam over to downtown Clayton for the rest of the festivities.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Meet Your Beavers - "We'll Just Call You Belle"
It was the first ever Beaver game, summer of 1991. The roster was made up of mainly guys from Kirkwood High and Parkway South grads; with one exception. A roommate of Rake's from college was going to join the squad. Dave Petlansky go to the game and introduced himself to Gee, who was making out the roster. After several attempts of pronouncing his name, Gee says, "We'll just call you Belle". Dave just said, "whatever" and played the game. When Rake make it to the next game I had to ask why "Belle?", it made no sense that I could figure out.
Turns out all along Gee heard something like "Bellansky", not knowing how to spell that, he shortened it. Here it is 2009 and the name lives on. There have been many iterations of Belle, basically think of anything that has Belle or Bell in it and that was his nickname. One other nickname worth mentioning is "Boots" - he earned this moniker when he forgot his cleats to a game and had to play wearing his steel-toed work boots.
Belle has spent most of his Beaver career manning left field and left centerfield. Known more for his "Belleisms" than his bat he has been a steady player in the lineup from the beginning. He leads the team in games played as well as stories that seem to start out of no where and end much, much later.
Wearing #86, in honor of "86ing things", Belle gets the nod as our leadoff hitter for the Meet Your Beavers segment.
Turns out all along Gee heard something like "Bellansky", not knowing how to spell that, he shortened it. Here it is 2009 and the name lives on. There have been many iterations of Belle, basically think of anything that has Belle or Bell in it and that was his nickname. One other nickname worth mentioning is "Boots" - he earned this moniker when he forgot his cleats to a game and had to play wearing his steel-toed work boots.
Belle has spent most of his Beaver career manning left field and left centerfield. Known more for his "Belleisms" than his bat he has been a steady player in the lineup from the beginning. He leads the team in games played as well as stories that seem to start out of no where and end much, much later.
Wearing #86, in honor of "86ing things", Belle gets the nod as our leadoff hitter for the Meet Your Beavers segment.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Beaver Times 2009 Edition 1
Welcome to opening day, 2009, the 17th season of Beaverball. This summer the Beavers find themselves back in Clayton playing at Shaw Park. With all of the league's flaws, the Beavers decided that the close proximity to our sponsor, central location, Wednesday night games and last year's record of 14-2 warranted a return to this league. We were quickly reminded of what we disliked most about the league - playing on field #1 or #2 where the fields back up to one another and the outfielders basically stand shoulder to shoulder with the outfielders from the other field. It is just a matter of time before there is a bad collision out there.
Before jumping into the stories of the night, I want to shed a little light on the history of the Beaver Times. Started back in the early 90's, Shawn "Gee" Hagan would write a very descriptive and incredibly humorous recap of the previous night's games. This recap would be highly anticipated each week by players and fans alike. Unfortuneately this recap had its downsides - it took hours to prepare. Making the tough decision of work before Beaver Times, the Times met its demise after a few seasons. The legacy of the Beaver Times has remained strong. This is my attempt to honor Gee's huge contrinbution off the field to the Beavers. I hope that I can bring a fraction of the entertainment that the original Beaver Times provided. With the blog, we have a better means to capture and allow comments on the annals of the games. I hope that Gee can step in and even write some of these recaps as well. The Beaver Times is making a comeback.
This season started off like many of the past seasons - in a last minute scramble to field a team. Though carrying 13 players this year, we were already in need of a 14th. A mixture of poorly-timed trips, a last-minute injury and one player leaving after game one of the doubleheader to play hockey left us with an email frenzy at noon to find a 10th player for the game. Stay tuned for a "meet your 2009 Beavers post" to get to know the players better.
The Beavers jumped out of the gate in the first with 3 runs to answer the 1 run that the home team, Team USA, put on the board. Capping off that 3-run rally was the first homerun of the season by John "Big John" Meert. The make-shift defense responded with hanging a goose egg in the visitor's second inning and the Beavers stepped back up to the plate. Our newest addition to the team Will Summers, started the 2nd inning's hit parade with a single in his first at bat, then Jim "Jimmy-D" Haynes stepped up to the plate - left handed.
Jimmy-D had always been a right-handed hitter throughout his career - until last pre-season when goofing off in the batting cages he found that he hit the ball better left-handed. The team encouraged Jimmy to hit from the left side, stating that "you can't hit any worse than you do on the right". This switch hitting carried through most of the season and was on display again early in 2009. But Jimmy brought more to the game than just some switch hitting, he was also sporting a mustache that would have made Tom Seleck jealous. Thus, a new nickname for Jimmy; Jimmy-P.I.
Jimmy-P.I. reached safely on an infield error, then Dave "Belle" Petlansky followed with a walk. Serge "Rake" Traylor stepped to the plate with the bases loaded. A line drive to left froze the left fielder and the ball glanced off his glove - clearing the bases. Big John then did some damage again with his second homerun in as many innings. Beavers now led 8-1. In the 4th inning Team USA began their attack. Donned in white jerseys with collars (never seen that in softball before) they chased around 3 runs on top of the 1 they plated in the 3rd. The Beavers' defense began to spring a leak. Obvious that most of us have not thrown a ball or taken grounders since last fall several errors mounted, included a long fly ball to right field that Big John snapped at - deflecting down the hill and allowing the hitter to round the bases. This was a harbinger of what was to come in game 2.
The Beavers got back a few of their own in the 4th, back to back hits by the #3 & #4 hitters and drove in by Craig "Dupper" Dupske's 2-base error the score was now 10-5 Beavers. Team USA added single tallies in both the 5th and 6th innings, but fell short as the Beavers lumped on 6 more runs of their own. Highlighted by the first homerun of the season by our newest member - Will. It was about this time, that Will earned his nickname. While Will was at bat, Big John was searching for a nickname when the first thing that "Will" reminded him of was "Williams Sonoma". "Sonoma" was born.
Big John's glove did a little talking as well. To say that Big John is not a smooth fielder is an understatement. But every once in a while the blind squirrel finds a nut. Our squirrel found his late in game one. Playing rightfield and the steep drop-off that exists about 250 ft down the line a fly ball was lifted back to the edge of the drop-off. Big John lumbered after it. Worried, and rightly so, about a potential collision with the one tree that stands in rightfield. He got to about where he thought the tree was and lept (yes, he was off the ground for all of about 2") for the ball - amazingly coming down with it and avoiding the tree. As we learned from Sonoma, he was a good 10+' from the tree, but the real story is that he caught it, and saved what would have been a sure homerun.
In the bottom of the 6th, the frustration of Jimmy-P.I.'s left handed hitting climaxed. He grounded a ball to the right side of the infield for the 3rd time of the game (he also launched a ground-rule double). So disgusted with his groundball to first, he didn't run out the play - AKA Gary Templeton in the 1980 season. Jimmy did not end the at-bat with an obscene gesture to the crowd, but the razzing for not at least trying to run out the double play was relentless. Especially upset with the next batter, Belle who may have had one more opportunity to swing the bat before he abandoned the team to play a hockey game. Game Final - Beavers 16, Team USA 7. Star of the Game: Big John 3-3 with 2 HR, 5 RBI, one big catch, one bad error.
Game two followed immediately with the Beavers being the visitors this time. Another great first inning posted by the Beavers. The lineup was missing Belle our lead-off hitter and we were forced to play with only 9 guys in total. The first 4 hitters all reached safely and all scored. The inning once again was capped by a homerun by Sonoma, his second of the season and night. Beavers batted around, up 6-0 with Team USA coming to the plate. We must have been in a giving mood because we handed back all 6 runs. An incredibly poor defensive inning plagued most of the team. Rake booting some at first, Big John not catching some at first, Gary "Mobilly" Mobley dropping one in the outfield, the wheels came off in our patented poor-defensive inning of the night. Somehow we stopped the bleeding at 6. Game tied after one 6-6.
The defense was quickly shuffled. We needed more speed in the outfield as we only had 3 players out there. Our starting SS, Jerry "Kid" Farrar went to CF, Mobilly to 2B, Rake from 3B to SS and our superscrub, Pete "Pistol Pete" Anderson from 2B to 3B. The switch must have been intimidating as our pitcher Keith [still no nickname] Miller made all three fielding plays in the second. Over the next two innings the Beavers plated two and were answered by Team USA. We had ourselves a fight on our hands.
The bats awoke in the 4th with Dupper, Mobilly, Keith, Pistol Pete and Sonoma all getting consecutive hits. Three more on the board for the good guys. In the bottom of the inning Team USA chipped away for 2 of their own. It was time to take ownership of this game, and that is what the Beavers did in the 5th. The sun was setting (and since it was already cloudy it was getting very dark), and the top of the lineup started the rally. Rake doubled, Kid doubled, Big John walked. Dupper flied out, then came Mobilly with a double, Keith with a double, Pistol Pete with a single, Sonoma with a single - six runs scored as we hit around. Team USA was only able to counter with 2 runs of their own - the game was ours. Beavers 17, Team USA 12.
It is Team USA's first year in the league and they are a decent team. I expect to see them high in the standings when it is all over. Their thirdbaseman's glove was just long enough to snare anything hit near him. Later found out that he was just filling in, which is good for us because he cost us about 5 hits and also launched a bomb onto the adjoining field.
Beaver of the Game: Sonoma with his 3-4 game including a HR that landed near secondbase of the opposite field and another shot that would have been ruled a HR on many teams, but the outfielder did get a glove on it - a 4-base error. Even Pudge and Rookie would be envious of the power Sonoma displayed. Maybe he will hit higher than #9 next week.
Next week's games are at 6 & 7 on the 6th. With a record of 2-0, the Beavers are off to a great start. Stay tuned for next week's 2nd Edition of the 2009 Beaver Times.
_rake
Before jumping into the stories of the night, I want to shed a little light on the history of the Beaver Times. Started back in the early 90's, Shawn "Gee" Hagan would write a very descriptive and incredibly humorous recap of the previous night's games. This recap would be highly anticipated each week by players and fans alike. Unfortuneately this recap had its downsides - it took hours to prepare. Making the tough decision of work before Beaver Times, the Times met its demise after a few seasons. The legacy of the Beaver Times has remained strong. This is my attempt to honor Gee's huge contrinbution off the field to the Beavers. I hope that I can bring a fraction of the entertainment that the original Beaver Times provided. With the blog, we have a better means to capture and allow comments on the annals of the games. I hope that Gee can step in and even write some of these recaps as well. The Beaver Times is making a comeback.
This season started off like many of the past seasons - in a last minute scramble to field a team. Though carrying 13 players this year, we were already in need of a 14th. A mixture of poorly-timed trips, a last-minute injury and one player leaving after game one of the doubleheader to play hockey left us with an email frenzy at noon to find a 10th player for the game. Stay tuned for a "meet your 2009 Beavers post" to get to know the players better.
The Beavers jumped out of the gate in the first with 3 runs to answer the 1 run that the home team, Team USA, put on the board. Capping off that 3-run rally was the first homerun of the season by John "Big John" Meert. The make-shift defense responded with hanging a goose egg in the visitor's second inning and the Beavers stepped back up to the plate. Our newest addition to the team Will Summers, started the 2nd inning's hit parade with a single in his first at bat, then Jim "Jimmy-D" Haynes stepped up to the plate - left handed.
Jimmy-D had always been a right-handed hitter throughout his career - until last pre-season when goofing off in the batting cages he found that he hit the ball better left-handed. The team encouraged Jimmy to hit from the left side, stating that "you can't hit any worse than you do on the right". This switch hitting carried through most of the season and was on display again early in 2009. But Jimmy brought more to the game than just some switch hitting, he was also sporting a mustache that would have made Tom Seleck jealous. Thus, a new nickname for Jimmy; Jimmy-P.I.
Jimmy-P.I. reached safely on an infield error, then Dave "Belle" Petlansky followed with a walk. Serge "Rake" Traylor stepped to the plate with the bases loaded. A line drive to left froze the left fielder and the ball glanced off his glove - clearing the bases. Big John then did some damage again with his second homerun in as many innings. Beavers now led 8-1. In the 4th inning Team USA began their attack. Donned in white jerseys with collars (never seen that in softball before) they chased around 3 runs on top of the 1 they plated in the 3rd. The Beavers' defense began to spring a leak. Obvious that most of us have not thrown a ball or taken grounders since last fall several errors mounted, included a long fly ball to right field that Big John snapped at - deflecting down the hill and allowing the hitter to round the bases. This was a harbinger of what was to come in game 2.
The Beavers got back a few of their own in the 4th, back to back hits by the #3 & #4 hitters and drove in by Craig "Dupper" Dupske's 2-base error the score was now 10-5 Beavers. Team USA added single tallies in both the 5th and 6th innings, but fell short as the Beavers lumped on 6 more runs of their own. Highlighted by the first homerun of the season by our newest member - Will. It was about this time, that Will earned his nickname. While Will was at bat, Big John was searching for a nickname when the first thing that "Will" reminded him of was "Williams Sonoma". "Sonoma" was born.
Big John's glove did a little talking as well. To say that Big John is not a smooth fielder is an understatement. But every once in a while the blind squirrel finds a nut. Our squirrel found his late in game one. Playing rightfield and the steep drop-off that exists about 250 ft down the line a fly ball was lifted back to the edge of the drop-off. Big John lumbered after it. Worried, and rightly so, about a potential collision with the one tree that stands in rightfield. He got to about where he thought the tree was and lept (yes, he was off the ground for all of about 2") for the ball - amazingly coming down with it and avoiding the tree. As we learned from Sonoma, he was a good 10+' from the tree, but the real story is that he caught it, and saved what would have been a sure homerun.
In the bottom of the 6th, the frustration of Jimmy-P.I.'s left handed hitting climaxed. He grounded a ball to the right side of the infield for the 3rd time of the game (he also launched a ground-rule double). So disgusted with his groundball to first, he didn't run out the play - AKA Gary Templeton in the 1980 season. Jimmy did not end the at-bat with an obscene gesture to the crowd, but the razzing for not at least trying to run out the double play was relentless. Especially upset with the next batter, Belle who may have had one more opportunity to swing the bat before he abandoned the team to play a hockey game. Game Final - Beavers 16, Team USA 7. Star of the Game: Big John 3-3 with 2 HR, 5 RBI, one big catch, one bad error.
Game two followed immediately with the Beavers being the visitors this time. Another great first inning posted by the Beavers. The lineup was missing Belle our lead-off hitter and we were forced to play with only 9 guys in total. The first 4 hitters all reached safely and all scored. The inning once again was capped by a homerun by Sonoma, his second of the season and night. Beavers batted around, up 6-0 with Team USA coming to the plate. We must have been in a giving mood because we handed back all 6 runs. An incredibly poor defensive inning plagued most of the team. Rake booting some at first, Big John not catching some at first, Gary "Mobilly" Mobley dropping one in the outfield, the wheels came off in our patented poor-defensive inning of the night. Somehow we stopped the bleeding at 6. Game tied after one 6-6.
The defense was quickly shuffled. We needed more speed in the outfield as we only had 3 players out there. Our starting SS, Jerry "Kid" Farrar went to CF, Mobilly to 2B, Rake from 3B to SS and our superscrub, Pete "Pistol Pete" Anderson from 2B to 3B. The switch must have been intimidating as our pitcher Keith [still no nickname] Miller made all three fielding plays in the second. Over the next two innings the Beavers plated two and were answered by Team USA. We had ourselves a fight on our hands.
The bats awoke in the 4th with Dupper, Mobilly, Keith, Pistol Pete and Sonoma all getting consecutive hits. Three more on the board for the good guys. In the bottom of the inning Team USA chipped away for 2 of their own. It was time to take ownership of this game, and that is what the Beavers did in the 5th. The sun was setting (and since it was already cloudy it was getting very dark), and the top of the lineup started the rally. Rake doubled, Kid doubled, Big John walked. Dupper flied out, then came Mobilly with a double, Keith with a double, Pistol Pete with a single, Sonoma with a single - six runs scored as we hit around. Team USA was only able to counter with 2 runs of their own - the game was ours. Beavers 17, Team USA 12.
It is Team USA's first year in the league and they are a decent team. I expect to see them high in the standings when it is all over. Their thirdbaseman's glove was just long enough to snare anything hit near him. Later found out that he was just filling in, which is good for us because he cost us about 5 hits and also launched a bomb onto the adjoining field.
Beaver of the Game: Sonoma with his 3-4 game including a HR that landed near secondbase of the opposite field and another shot that would have been ruled a HR on many teams, but the outfielder did get a glove on it - a 4-base error. Even Pudge and Rookie would be envious of the power Sonoma displayed. Maybe he will hit higher than #9 next week.
Next week's games are at 6 & 7 on the 6th. With a record of 2-0, the Beavers are off to a great start. Stay tuned for next week's 2nd Edition of the 2009 Beaver Times.
_rake
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