It was beautiful out on the evening of June 2, 2010. A night which couldn’t be matched since mid-2009. Dare I this evening was gorgeous (a.k.a. Mrs. H)? It was almost too nice out. The Schlitz Gusto Guys were ready early. We had a full squad of 13 leaders about 15 minutes before game time. These early arrivals lead to a pre-game jog (see below) for a few of the Gusto Guys. Unprecedented. Not as unprecedented was the 118 cans of adult beverages available for consumption by the Schlitz Gusto Guys (a quick note to the good folks at Schlitz – apparently we have upped the purchasing). This leads to an enjoyable evening of softball with the Schlitz Gusto Guys. We are nothing if not a team that enjoys a nice summer evening with a large number of adult beverages.
With the pre-game runs in a couple of Schlitz Tall Boys down, we were ready to play. This game was a textbook Schlitz Gusto Guy softball game. We fielded our positions and hit the ball all over the park. We turned a less-than-smooth double play moved runners around the bases. The Gusto Guys played so well this game ended in the 6th inning because of the “Mercy” rule. Better yet, we didn’t have any outs in the 6th when the game ended. That leaves the last out to Greg (FNG) back in the 5th inning. Never make the last out of the inning, it could count as the last out of the game! Everybody hit the ball well.
Final Score: Schlitz Gusto Guys 18 – Edina Realty BCO 3
Last out: FNG got forced out
Play of the game: CW going back and to his right…looking at the ball….staring at the fence…looking at the ball….winking at the fence…grinning….jumping….making the catch in right-center.
Game #2 vs. Celts Pub
Game #2 was the inverse of Game #1. The sun was out in full force. Apparently the Gusto Guys were impacted more than Celts Pub. Ol’ 35 booted countless balls (including a couple of triple play opportunities). We did come about a step and a half of turning a triple play. Potentially the second closest the Gusto Guys have been to turning a triple play (see the archives for the other). We were one Kurty lighter for Game #2 as he hopped on a team that was short for the 7pm game. We definitely could have used him since Ryan may have been the only Gusto Guy with two hits in our second game of the night. Sans did let out a solid grunt for a line drive hit in the last inning.
Final Score: Schlitz Gusto Guys 6 – Celts Pub 14
Last out: Lars
Fan of the night: We had a very solid showing. Potentially the largest crowd in Schlitz Gusto Guy history. However, the winner of “Fan of the Night” goes to 2’s niece all the way from Chicago (potentially our second longest commute for a fan – Pappa Lars has made the trip from Arizona in the past)
Facts:
The average age of the Schlitz Gusto Guys on June 2, 2010 was 44 years old
At 10:30pm (4.5 hours after the first pitch) we could still field a team of nine leaders
The average age of the Gusto Guys still at the fields at 10:30pm? 46 years old
It never makes sense to park in the upper ramp at Lac Lavon. This is true for countless reasons, but one reason stands alone. That reason was clear just west of the beach circa 1998. BABUSHKA my friends….babushka. Again, NEVER park in the upper ramp.
An unscripted highlight from our friend Walt (you may need to listen closely / turn up the volume):
We’ve been waiting for a night like May 19th. It was “Mrs. H.” The temperature at game time was about 74 degrees and sunny, with very little breeze. May 19th is a good day for a few reasons. It is Kevin Garnett’s birthday. May 19, 2010 is the 6th anniversary of one of the greatest Game 7 performances in NBA history. KG went off for 32 points, 21 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals and 5 blocks in an 83-80 Timberwolves win.
May 19, 2010 was also a night where the Schlitz Gusto Guys did what they do. Hit, run, hit, run, make plays, hit some more, come back from trailing, and potentially most importantly, shut down the field at around 11:15pm after finishing our last Schlitz Tall Boys. Delicious.
Game #1 vs. Beer Me
First and foremost we’d like to recognize our opponents as fellow Schlitz Tall Boy drinkers. It was nice to see another squad with Schlitz Tall Boys enjoying some D/E Class softball on a beautiful evening. The game was back and forth throughout. The Shlitz Gusto Guys took an early 3-1 lead and extended it to 4-1 by the 4th inning. Beer Me put a run of their own together and took the lead 9-8 heading into the top of the 7th. The Gusto Guys have no quit in them. Heard as we approached the dugout, “We need two to take the lead.” We have been over this before, but you will never hear “one to tie” from a Gusto Guy dugout. We are more optimistic. It is simply “Two to lead” or “Two to win” for us. And so, we went on a hit parade. Leader = Single, Leader = Single, Leader = Single, Leader = Single, Leader = Single, Leader = Single, Leader = Single….One at a time the Gusto Guys stepped up got a hit and moved the runners, got a hit and scored a runner. As we took the field in the bottom of the 7th we were up 13-9. We locked them down and completed the win.
Beer Me was more than just a little impressed / jealous of the Schlitz uniforms. The Gusto Guys were looking GOOD!
Sans hit well and Cinco made his 2010 debut without getting out.
Final Score: Schlitz Gusto Guys 14 – Beer Me 10
Last out: Matty
Game #2 vs. Televant
We witnessed a SFRC / Schlitz Gusto Guy first. Please read the next sentence slowly and make sure you understand the significance…..Sans started Game #2 on May 19, 2010 with a Snapper Mow’em down inning. Yes, he struck out the side. He struck out batters 1, 2 and 3.This may not have only been a SFRC / Schlitz Gusto Guy first, this might be a first for the State of Minnesota.
The Gusto Guys jumped to an early lead 14-1 after three innings. Televant mounted an impressive comeback and plated 10 in the top of the fourth. Hanging on to a 14-11 lead, the Schlitz Gusto Guys did what they do….hit, hit, hit, hit and score, hit and score, hit and score, hit and score and on and on and on. We pushed 10 of our own.
After the offensive onslaught on Cinco de Mayo the Schlitz Gusto Guys came back down to reality. We played the top two teams in the elite Burnsville D/E Recreational league on 5/12/10 and we simply could not get it going. Even a Ferrari needs to stop for gas from time to time.
The forecast called for upper 40’s and rain and thunder storms. It started raining by about 3pm. However, there was a never a fear of a rainout because we were playing two at SFRCMP (Skyline Fighting Red C*** Memorial Park). It simply does not rain on the Gusto Guys at SFRCMP. Numbers don’t lie.
We did have a few compliments paid on our striking Schlitz uniforms. We also generously offered a “tall boy” to the opponents of Game #1, you know, to spread the love. Here’s to Schlitz and here’s to turning it around next week!
Game #1 vs. Team Ziegler
I don’t know much, but I do know we have not lost a softball game in 2010 when Pub Krull starts off the night with a homerun. Numbers don’t lie. In Game #1, this trend came to a stop. The Schlitz Gusto Guys just couldn’t put any hits together. Luckily, CW legged out a groundball to the shortstop and the rest of the Gusto Guys moved him around the bases to manufacture our only run of the game. This game simply lacked enthusiasm, hits and “Gusto,” you know, the things that make up the Schlitz Gusto Guys on most nights. We had 12 leaders and a few of them only had one at-bat in this game. This game ended in about 25 minutes. Yuck, yuck and yuck.
Final Score: Schlitz Gusto Guys 1 – Team Ziegler 16 (five innings)
Last out: Brian Niehaus was forced out on a fielder’s choice. This has been a 15 year rule for the Schlitz Gusto Guys. Simply put, the last player out owes a 12-pack.
Game #2 vs. Moose Knucklers
We simply started where we left off in Game #1…Getting out, missing balls, etc. We did manage to put a few runs together and made a game of it. However, in the end we just didn’t have enough. I believe Pauly, Niehaus and Brain may have been the only three players with three hits for the evening. This is in contrast to all of the guys who had four or more hits last week.
Final Score: Schlitz Gusto Guys 8 – Moose Knucklers 14
Last out: Silkey
Fan of the night: Nary a fan on this cool evening.
Quote of the night: “Beat it! Beat it! Beat it!”……”And get on base too.”
The Schlitz Gusto Guys did stick around and enjoy the refreshing taste of ice cold Schlitz (no cooler necessary on this evening), PER THE NORM!
The good news is that the forecast for 5/19/10 is calling for upper 70’s and sun. That is usually the recipe for the Schlitz Gusto Guys to get back on track.
The Gusto Guys lost their Schlitz uniform virginity last night. Numbers don’t lie. The Schlitz Gusto Guys have never lost whilst wearing their Schlitz uniforms. Worth noting, at least 90% of the squad looks sharp, svelte and dare I say, SEXY, in their new uniforms. She was chilly and breezy for the 8pm and 9pm games on Cinco de Mayo, 2010. But the Gusto Guys have never let the conditions dictate their play. They simply persevere. They fight. They battle. And on Cinco de Mayo on Skyline Fighting Red C Memorial Park (SFRCMP), they WIN.
Game #1 vs. Edina Realty BCO
Leading off for the Schlitz Gusto Guys is a badge wearing Schlitz Gusto Guy member (Pub Krull). Worth noting, Pub Krull was also the Schlitz Gusto Guy of the month for March, 2010. On the first pitch of the game, on the first swing in a Gusto Guy jersey, BAM, a homerun to centerfield. This was the second week in a row that Pub Krull started the SGGFRC night off with a homerun. Numbers don’t lie. That immediately put the opposition on their heels. The Schlitz Gusto Guys kept the heat on kept hitting and running and scoring and hitting and running and scoring and hitting and running and scoring. All 10 leaders hit well and everyone had either two or three hits as the team accumulated 26 total hits, scoring 23 times. Matty also had a “no-doubter” over the fence in left-center. Pauly was a solid 3-3 and had a nice sac too. In the field nice plays were made by Niehaus, CW, Ryan and Brain turning a double play. Sans recorded another strikeout on the mound.
Final Score: Schlitz Gusto Guys 23 – Edina Realty BCO 6 (five innings)
Last out: There is a 15-run rule after five innings. In the bottom of the 5th, the run to go up 15 scored, then the run to go up 16 scored and then the run to go up 17 scored. The rally stopped when Ryan smoked a line-drive to third for the final out of the inning. As we were taking the field, the ump let us know the game was over by the 15-run after five mercy rule. In theory, Ryan should never have batted in the inning, the game was already won. However, a team-rule is a team-rule and Ryan got the last out of this offensive explosion of a game.
Game #2 vs. Celts Pub
We simply started where we left off in Game #1…Hitting, running, scoring…hitting, running, scoring…again and again and again. We batted around in the first inning, the second inning and the third inning. At one point in the first inning the Celts Pub pitcher asked, “Is there a 20 run 1st inning rule?” I think he was serious. Ryan had two triples to revenge his last out of the first game and Pub Krull had another homerun enroute to a 4-4 game. Niehaus was also 4-4 in Game #2. Sans was ripping the ball all evening.
Defensively we were solid with only one error on record. Al made two nice defensive plays on the same ball throwing to first and then jumping off the mound to cover first as the ball went by Pub Krull. Kurty also made a couple of nice plays in the field.
It was 71 degrees, not a cloud in the skies and winds from left to right. It was absolutely “Mrs. H” for a season opener. Without question the SFRC were in mid-season form. Physically and mentally. That only happens in Week #1 when teams spend 12 months a year together. This only happens by running the SFRCP hills in January and keeping the chatter going watching pitches in the cage in March.
Game #1 vs. H-Bomb
There are a few certainties in SFRC softball. One is “numbers don’t lie.” The other is that Pub Krull will have grass stains by the end of the evening without exception. In 2010 this happened on the first batter of the game. It was a blooping pop up to shallow left. Pub Krull got a good jump on the ball, used his world class D/E speed and made a nice diving effort on the ball. A single. The first inning looked promising for Ol’ 35 at short, making two putouts in two attempts (it went downhill from there).
How many times do you see it? How many times do you see a guy dive for a ball (and miss it) in left field to start a game, then lead off the top of the 1st for the home team? How many times does said left fielder lead off the bottom of the first and the first AB for the 2010 FRC watch the first pitch and then hit a HOME RUN? Hey, there aren’t many firsts for the SFRC anymore (we’ve been going strong for 20 years), but I think it is safe to say Pub Krull’s 2010 leadoff HR is a SFRC first. This does not happen by taking HGH in early April. This only happens when HGH is used as your daily vitamin. Pub Krull has been sharing his secrets as the FRC hit FOUR homeruns in Game #1. In addition to Pub Krull, T-Mac had 1+ (more on this later) and the FNG (Silkey) had a HR for an out.
As mentioned earlier 35 made the first two plays hit his way after taking a bad hop in the fact last week. After those two plays, the flood gates opened. We had another SFRC first. Three straight errors on three straight batters. All by Ol’ #35. Not exactly how someone wants to go down in the SFRC record books. These errors allowed the H-Bomb crew to stay in the game. H-Bomb had a two run lead heading into the bottom of the last inning (6th inning due to time). Per the norm you did not hear “we need two to tie.” Not on this team. Not in the SFRC dugout. Rather, a number of guys were making the “We need three to win!” call. Truly a sign of winners.
Brain led off the inning with a solid hit. Matty followed that up by smoking a ball to left center. Being the aggressive base-running team that we are, Matty went for three and had Brain making a late dash for home. Everybody safe. The FRC now were down one with a runner on third. T-Mac stepped to the plate hoping to get the “Mr. No Clutch” hex off his back. He managed to hit a wind aided game winning HR. Oh wait, even though H-Bomb had hit a HR the rules say you both have to hit two HRs before either team can hit another one. “Mr. No Clutch” came through again with a HR for an OUT! No matter, the SFRC don’t have quit in their vocabulary. Ryan got on with a game-tying RBI single. CW got on base on a fielder’s choice. Runners moved over to set the stage for 2’s (aka CP). 2’s came through with a walk-off RBI single, scoring CW.
SFRC WIN! SFRC WIN! OOOOOHHHHHHHH SFRC WIN!
The FRC are nothing if not dramatic.
Final Score: SFRC 17 – H-Bomb 16
Play of the game (aside from the open grass stained Pub Krull): Ol’ #22 with the walk-off game-winning single. As someone stated later in the evening, “CP was huge tonight. And he hit well too.”
Last out: Ryan on a fielder’s choice hit by CW
Game #2 vs. Televent DTN
The FRC started where they left off. The hits came early and often. We scored two in the first, a couple more in the second a few more in the third, and so on. In what turned out to be the last inning, the FRC went Peter North on the opposition en route to 20+ runs. After batting around multiple times heard from the opposing bench was, “No damage done, let’s go.” I guess that’s true if you define “damage” as the mess left in the Biffy prior to Game #1 by one of the SFRC faithful. We locked them down in the field ending the game with a double-play.
Highlights of the game: Pub Krull swinging and MISSING on two straight pitches for a K (I’d like to say this is a SFRC first – hitting a HR and swinging and missing twice in the same night, but I don’t think it is). Also, Pauly being the team player taking two walks.
Lineup call: I have written about how much I love softball. Here is an excerpt:
There are countless reasons to enjoy softball. Being outdoors, the laughing and joking during and after the games, the chance to be competitive and maybe the greatest thing is hearing the lineup called for each inning. Playing with the same guys for a number of years usually ends up in calling each other by their nickname. A lineup could read: Moose, Hollywood, Pig, Shooter, Flash, Shorty, Deuce…Based on names from a friend’s squad, their lineup could read: Cozzie, Moore, Moore, Byrnes, Whipple, Uber. Or, it could read: Moore, Cozzie, Uber, Bush, Moore, Whipple, Byrnes… Read that fast like you are calling out a lineup. You can’t make stuff like that up. Just fantastic. If you don’t see the humor in that lineup, well, stick with book club and avoid the softball field.
Well on 04-28-2010 if you listened carefully you would have heard something like this: Steve, Greg, Sampson, RON, JEREMY, Alex, Sprout, Eric, etc. There is something to be said about a lineup that can provide a stick like RON, JEREMY.
Final Score: SFRC 27 – Televent DTN 4
Last out: Ryan (twice in one night – ouch)
A shout out to the FNG for catching two straight games. Silk and Mauer are generally known as the two best catchers at calling a game. The calls from behind the plate led to multiple strikeouts thrown by Sans. All of the Schlitz Gusto Fighting Red C Gusto Guys hit well. Moving Brain over to short definitely increased the reliability of the team in the field. It’s worth mentioning again, the SFRC were in mid-season form on their chatter. Check out some of the best on the Quotes page.
Fan of the night: We had a very solid showing on Week #1. Mrs. CW was present, Patsy and friend, Merrie (Pauly’s sister), TO, et. al.
He’s our Darrin Nelson, our Barry Sanders, our Billy Simms, he’s Brian Schmoll. What do they have in common with the 2010 version of the SFRC? 2-0 describes them all perfectly. The Schlitz Gusto Fighting Red C Guys have never lost. Never. “Numbers don’t lie.”
We are already looking forward to “Cinco de Mayo con Cinco.”
It was beautiful out on the evening of June 2, 2010. A night which couldn’t be matched since mid-2009. Dare I this evening was gorgeous (a.k.a. Mrs. H)? It was almost too nice out. The Schlitz Gusto Guys were ready early. We had a full squad of 13 leaders about 15 minutes before game time. These early arrivals lead to a pre-game jog (see below) for a few of the Gusto Guys. Unprecedented. Not as unprecedented was the 118 cans of adult beverages available for consumption by the Schlitz Gusto Guys (a quick note to the good folks at Schlitz – apparently we have upped the purchasing). This leads to an enjoyable evening of softball with the Schlitz Gusto Guys. We are nothing if not a team that enjoys a nice summer evening with a large number of adult beverages.
