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Surprisingly, it was a beautiful night for two games.  There was jealousy all around for the new SFRCGG beer holder which was still hot off the presses.

You can only keep a lion in a cage for so long.  When said lion comes out of its cage, it may snack on a small bunny or a dirty rat (see Game #1 vs. Goodfellas), but only until it identifies the largest water buffalo (see Game #2 vs. Midwest Realty) to attack.

Game #1 vs. Goodfellas

Goodfellas is an interesting name.  The team certainly has a couple of “fellas” who seem like good people.  They also have two or three of the biggest Jack-O’s in the league.  These are the same goons who chose to yell at Patsy a few weeks ago for blowing her horn instead of their own players for popping out and booting balls.  In summary, this is a fun team to beat.  How do I know this?  Because that is what we do.  Yes, the SFRCGG beat the Goodfellas regularly.  That’s just what we do.  It doesn’t matter that they kick fence posts after losses and talk about “losing to one of the worst teams in the league.”  Maybe I’m missing something, but in most leagues (of any sport) wins and losses are the distinguishing numbers between which teams are better than others.  Currently, the SFRCGG are two games up on Goodfellas.  Maybe I heard them wrong.  Maybe they were upset about losing to H-Bombs (second worst team in our league) back on May 11^th.

On to the details of Game #1….

Sans took the bump for the first time in 2011.  He admitted to having a few jitters.  After walking the first two batters, Sans was locked in and pitched a very good game.  With the first two batters reaching base, the SFRCGG fielders took over and shutdown Goodfellas in the first inning.  We answered with two runs in the bottom of the first.  The game was low-scoring as neither team could get things going.  The SFRCGG took a 5-3 lead into the top of the seventh inning.  After getting two outs Goodfellas put together a little rally and scored three times to take a 6-5 lead.

Karma and the SFRCGG came to bat in the bottom of the seventh.  Matty started off with a solid single.  Cinco followed up with a line drive single of his own.  Mr. Clutch came to bat with two on and no outs.  Surpringly, contact was made, and although Mr. Clutch stood and watched what he thought was a HR, he made it to first for a single off the fence that scored Matty. With Cinco on second and Mr. Clutch on first, Ryan hit a solid single loading the bases.  CW made a sacrifice taking the “last out” rule and a game winning SAC fly.

Karma was caught winking to the right side of the infield.

Final Score: SCHLITZ GUSTO GUYS 7 – Goodfellas 6

Last out: CW (Game winning SAC fly)

Game #2 vs. Midwest Realty

The lion (SFRCGG) was tired of snacking on a small rodent and they were ready for a real meal.  This came in the form Midwest Realty who was tied for first place heading into the evening.  It is difficult to single out an individual leader for this game.  It may sound cliché, but it was Leader, Leader, Leader, Leader, Leader throughout this game.  The worst stats for the game were two players who went 2×4 (which is very good).  The best went 4×4.  As a team, we were 30×43 for the game.  That is a 0.698 average.  When the team bats around .700, you are going to win most games.  Numbers don’t lie.

We plated three runs in the top of the first inning and shut them down defensively for a 3-0 lead after one.  The second inning was one for the record books.  It went like this: walk, double, single, walk, single, single, single, single, single (first out of the inning was thrown out at the plate after we had scored seven runs), walk, single, single, single, double, error.  Some fun numbers for the inning:

• ·        19 plate appearances
• ·        All but one person batted twice
• ·        There were only two walks
• ·        We had 14 hits in the inning
• ·        We scored 14 runs

That really took the fire out of Midwest Realty.  It did not, however, take the fire out of the SFRCGG’s.  We went on to score one run in the third, four in the fourth and three in the fifth on our way to a 25-8 victory.

Final Score: SCHLITZ GUSTO GUYS 25 – Midwest Realty 8

Last out: Mr. Clutch whilst running from second to third on a ground ball (yes, #35 has the beer holder per the new rule “Last out of the second game brings a 12-pack AND the beer holder”)

Post game:  It went something like this:

• “We are out of beer.”
• “No, really?  Let me look [helping himself].”
• “Can I have another [putting a couple in the back pockets]?”
• “Remember that play in the Savage, NM tournament?”
• “We are chasing a pennant.”
• “How old are you?”
• “28.”
• “I’m 50.”

 

Final Score: SCHLITZ GUSTO GUYS 18 – Ziegler 20

Ziegler started out hitting the ball very well scoring 11 runs in the top of the 1^st inning.  As is the case in many of the SFRC games, we’ll bend, but we will not break.  We answered with 13 runs of our own in the bottom of the 1^st inning.  After that, the defense of both teams locked it down.  A few runs were scored by both teams and with two outs in the bottom of the 7^th with two on, trailing by two runs Ol’ #35 walked to the plate.  No need to finish reading, we know what happened….He got out.  Clutch.

Last out: Mr. Clutch (#35)

Game #2 vs. Goodfellas

Less than six minutes after the SFRC lost to Zielger, Ol’ #35 walked to the plate with a similar, but very different, situation.  Two on, two outs in the top of the first.  What happened?  #35 hit a HR.  Again, clutch.  When the SFRC need a big hit in a scoreless first inning game, nobody is better than #35.  This game saw all kinds of things a softball field has never seen.  We saw the “Lars shift,” which is simply moving the shortstop about 50 feet back so he is playing a shallow left field whilst the left fielder and left-center fielder pinch together.  Only to see Lars stick it to them as seen here:

Lars beats the shift from Tom McInerney on Vimeo.

We had the opposing team yelling at Patsy for blowing her horn.  Patsy, don’t give in to the bullies.  In my opinion, they were yelling at the wrong things.  Their team was down by a lot and they were booting balls and not getting hits.  Somehow they blamed Patsy.   This game also saw a very pretty / “make it look routine” double-play with Kurty scooping the ground ball, stepping on second and tossing to Cinco at first.  Get a look:

Kurty Double Play from Tom McInerney on Vimeo.

Final Score: SCHLITZ GUSTO GUYS 24– Goodfellas 6 (and Patsy won the mental game)

Last out: Cinco

It was significantly warmer in Week #2 than Week #1.  Temperatures were in the mid to upper 50′s.  Earlier in the day the forecast called for a 70% chance of showers.  Again, that may have been true at Burnsville Mall, but certainly not at the park.  It was nice to be back at SFRCMP “Away,” otherwise known as Neill Field B.  We welcomed a new SGG, Evan.  How did we know he was the FNG?  He parked in the outfield of SFRCMP.  It’s okay, I think he can be trained.

Game #1 vs. Ziegler

Brain manned the bump for the third straight game due to Sans’ “minor should hitch.”  Pub Krull started the game with a solo homerun to center.  Clearly the most clutch hit (0-0 game in the bottom of the 1st) since Mr. Clutch (#35) himself.  Nice work Pub Krull.  The started the momentum and allowed the Schlitz Gusto Guys to take an early 4-0 lead.  Ziegler wasn’t intimidated and pushed seven runs in the top of the 2nd inning and another four in the top of the 3rd.  The Schlitz Gusto Guys batted around in the 4th and 5th innings scoring six and seven runs respectively.  Part of the seven runs was an extremely clutch “no-doubter” grand slam by Pub Krull scoring 2′s, Evan and Lars who had all reached on singles.  We fell just a little short in the end.

Final Score: Schlitz Gusto Guys 18 – Ziegler 22

Last out: Evan

Game #2 vs. Goodfellas

Goodfellas made the transition from the fall league into the ever competitive Burnsville Wednesday night D/E Recreational league.  The Schlitz Gusto Guys pushed one run in the top of the 1st, but allowed 10 in the bottom of the 1st.  Goodfellas was sure the game would be over early.  What they did not know is that there is no “quit” in the SGG.  We have plenty of “want to” on our squad.  We fought back a little at a time.  We managed eight runs in the 5th inning and seven more in the 6th and final inning.  Unfortunately the game was cut short due to time.  Brain and Ryan both took a turn on the bump and did what they good to make the defense play.

Solid hitting by all of the SGG’s.  It is not difficult to see how was scored 22 runs.  Pub Krull went 5-5.  Brain hit the ball hard as well and got robbed at least twice ending up 2-5.  Matty hit the ball hard all game, but had a 2-5 to show for it.  Cinco was on 4-5 five times.  #35 was 4-4.  Nate got after one that went well over the left-fielder’s head on his way to a double.  Pauly was an impressive 3-4, Ryan was 3-4, Potter was 3-4, 2′s was 3-4, Evan was 3-4 and Lars was 3-4.  If my calculations are correct, the SGG hit 0.673 (35/52) for the game.  That could be some kind of SFRC/SGG record.

Final Score: Schlitz Gusto Guys 22 – Goodfellas 25

Last out: Cinco on a line drive to second

Hightlights of the game: Evan got robbed of an extra base hit by the Goodfellas left fielder making a diving catch towards the line.  Evan was also part of a little league homerun as Goodfellas played “hot potato” with the ball.  Another highlight: Lars sent a ball deep, well over the left-fielder’s head.  Way to earn some respect Lars.

Lowlights of the game: Ol’ 35 booted far too many ground balls, one resulting in the picture to the left.  Lars took a ball off the forearm in left-center that had a nasty tail on it.  We are still waiting on a picture from that mess.

Per the norm, we shutdown the fields as the last team to leave.

Game 1 vs. Franchise Sports (2-2)

The FRC started out on fire, batting around in the top of the first scoring eight runs. Four of those runs came on another clutch HR by 35. Just to clarify, when the word clutch is used in the same sentence as 35, we are defining clutch as “first inning, no outs.” In the bottom of the first 35 accounted for more runs as he threw a ball in the dirt and let a pop up over his head hit the glove and find grass. The game went back and forth with one team scoring two runs, the other coming back with three. Cinco hit a blast that got lost in the night somewhere for a HR. The FRC booted balls everywhere and couldn’t score when we needed to. The FRC finished on the short end of this battle on Neill Field B.

Play of the Game: The SFRC were in the field. Franchise Sports had a runner on first and one out. There was a line drive hit down the first baseline. It smoked the runner standing on firstbase and bounced up in the air. An alert Cinco caught the ball. The ump called the runner on first out and the batter was awarded first base. At the end of the night a clarification was made. This was a live ball. Technically, the batter should have been out and the runner safe (assuming he never left the base).

Game 2 vs. Dragon Creek Carrier (4-1)

Again the SFRC brought it early taking a 4-3 lead after one. Unfortunately, the frustration in the field continued and continued and continued some more. Leading 10-5, DCC scored nine runs in the fourth and 10 in the fifth. This was as bad of a game as the SFRC have played in years. I think little jc summed it up best saying what everyone wanted to say. This clip may not be verbatim, but this is close…..

WARNING - The audio is not appropriate for an office computer.  You may want to listen to this in the privacy of your own home….Or, stop by SFRCP some Wednesday evening:

The 17 F-Bombs thrown in this clip may have been about a half of what we heard from deep right on SFRCP Wednesday evening, but the anger was comparable and the rest of the squad may have felt the same way (many errors on 9/3/08).

Play of the Game: N/A

Fan of the Night: N/A

Before our next games, we may start with a team hug.  “It’s just D” on three.  1-2-3….

Game 1 vs. someone

The FRC were undefeated heading into the second week of fowl ball. Of course the two wins came from the first base dugout. On this night, we were back to our old home on the third base line. That dugout didn’t work too well for us in the summer and it certainly didn’t work too well for us this night either. We scratched and clawed our way to a close game through four innings, playing a team that is quite a bit better than the FRCs. A big boost came from the freshly dusted off GC. Another big help was the grandslam by Cinco (nobody hits a ball at eye height better than Cinco). The entire lineup kept the game close (with the exception of 35, who absolutely awful). Heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, the game was knotted up at 11. Unfortunately, the hit parade was just beginning. After two outs (a third went under 35′s glove) and 15 runs, the game was over. The first loss for the SFRC on the fall season.

Last out: Sans – This happened to be the first out fall league for Sans.

Fans of the game: Trish, JoAnn and Patsy for braving the environment.

Game 2 vs. Speedy Turtles

The ump had fear in his eyes. He did not like the lightning in the sky. He called the game. Upon further review, we decided to give it a try. The SFRC took the field as the home team. One out, two outs….a ball off the top of the fence for a double, fly to left = 3 outs. The last time the FRCs played on Neill Field B (a.k.a. SFRCP Away) we scored 19 runs in the 8th inning. We picked up where we left off. We scored six runs, had two outs and a runner on third with Sans up when the ump decided he had seen enough. He called the game. Some know this as the six run after one rule. 35 hit another clutch HR, if we define clutch as first inning of a game that is called in the first inning because of weather. Speedy Turtles had no idea what they were in for if the Red hadn’t called the game.

Fan of the game: Cousin Nate

Last out: Lars (this is debatable, I know….we need a ruling….this was the last out of a game that was called due to weather)

Night: The FRCs stuck around to enjoy one of the most important events of any softball evening – the refreshments (per the norm). The newly upgraded dugouts offer shelter and the coolers still worked.

Game 1 vs. Bumpers (2nd place)

The post Memorial Day SFRC’s had their sticks ready.  Lots of hits and lots of runs with two outs.  The game was back and forth with the FRC holding a lead the entire game.  The lineup was solid all the way through.  Pub Krull hit his third double of the year and He created some runs.  The FRC were not given too many outs, the ball was just hit hard all over the field.  A big win for the FRC.  Final = 18-14, I believe.  Let’s hope “skin & play’s” arm is okay.  The last toss of the game for him looked painful.

And remember, nobody, at any level, hits more clutch HRs than 3-5.  And to be clear, we are defining clutch as “first inning,” “up 14 runs,” “nothing on the line,” etc. 

Game 2 vs. H-Bombs (3rd place)

With the sun doing very little to keep the field lit and the City of Burnsville saving money on electricity by not activating the lights until 7:59pm, it was dark.  “Like nightime in Alaska” as 2′s put it.  But the darkness didn’t stop the FRC bats.  More hits with no outs, one out and two outs.  More runs consistently.  The Brain had a bounty on the pitcher, which their 2-bag did not appreciate.  When the second baseman shifted over second base after four hits up the middle, Brain calmly placed it where the second baseman should have been playing, for another hit.  Clearly the H-Bombs do not spend enough time in the film room.  That has revolutionized the FRC defense over the past few years.  Anymore, if you want to compete in the Burnsville D/E Recreational league, you need to invest in the technology to watch film in January.  This was evident by Krull’s catch in short right-center, Brain’s game ending grab at third and the line drive caught at short.  Those plays were made in January….’06.  They were just executed last night. 

NOTE: Worth mentioning we missed Lars and the Miracle Whip cooler.  We had three FRC’s bring refreshments and nary an ice cube between them. 

ALSO WORTH NOTING: We are 3-0 without the MWC (Miracle Whip cooler) present.  Personally, 3-5 will take the .500 record with MWC onsite vs. the 3-0 record without the MWC every day of the week, and twice on Wednesday.