Tuesday, September 30, 2014

2013 Wrap Up: Playoff Recap

As we near the first anniversary of the closest the Empty Pitchers have ever come to being a part of the playoff finals, the book's stats will have to tell the tale of the Pitchers destroying TAP in Round 1, rolling to an 11-1 win over the higher seed, and then engaging Ruben's Angels in an epic Round 2 battle, before falling 5-4 in extra innings. All that aside, to Koach K, the day still remains most memorable as the closest she's ever come to starting a fistfight, following her offer of common-sense advice (e.g. take a chill pill) to a crazy-eyed Sub & Heroes banshee regarding the controversial finish of the preceding playoff game.
PLAYOFFS
Round 2 Box Score
11/2/2013
TEAM   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  FINAL
EP     1  0  3  0  0  0  0  0  4
RA     0  3  0  0  0  1  0  1  5
PLAYER AB R H RBI BB AVG* 'On the Day' Damian RCF 4 1 1 0 0 .500 (3-6) Alicia RF 4 1 2 0 0 .400 (2-5,w) Greg P 4 1 3 0 0 .857 (6-7,w) Brooke 1B 4 1 0 1 w,s .167 (1-6,w,s) Sam SS 4 0 3 2 0 .857 (6-7,s) Nicole C 4 0 1 1 0 .167 (1-6) Richie 3B 3 0 1 0 0  .500 (2-4,w) Katie 2B 3 0 0 0 0  .000 (0-5) Brendan CF 3 0 0 0 0 .200 (1-5) Brian LF 2 0 0 0 0 .200 (1-5) Pete 1 0 1 0 0 1.000 (3-3) Alex - - - - - .000 (0-4) Lisa - - - - - 1.000 (1-1,w) Matt - - - - - .500 (1-2) Tara - - - - - .250 (1-4,s)
Round 1 Box Score 11/2/2013 TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 FINAL EP 0 0 3 1 0 4 3 11 TAP 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
PLAYER AB R H RBI BB Brian LF 3 1 1 0 0 Damian 2 1 2 3 0 Tara 2B 5 1 1 2 sac Greg P 4 0 3 2 1 Nicole C 2 0 0 0 0 Lisa 2 0 1 0 1   Alex P 4 0 0 0 0 Alicia RF 2 0 0 0 1 Katie 2 0 0 0 0 Richie 3B 2 1 1 0 1 Brendan 2 1 1 0 0 Brooke 1B 4 1 1 0 0 Matt CF 2 0 1 0 0 Pete 2 2 2 0 0 Sam SS 4 3 3 4 sac
2B - Greg (1), Pete (1,2), Richie (1), Sam (1), Tara (1); 3B - Greg (1), Damian (1)
*Playoff averages separate from regular season.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Week 8: Split against that stupid Fontana's Bar

After pulling off a win in a Game 1 2-0 nail biter, the Empty Pitchers settled for a split against Fontana's Bar, losing Game 2 by a run, despite having a healthy turnout, and a balanced enough attack to post 9 runs.

Richie had a superb game at third, making several key outs and delivering a couple of key hits in Game 2 and using his speed to keep the scoring pace up. Brendan and Greg continued a disturbing trend of over-the-fence outs, which I now see as a bit of a pattern (unfortunately two weeks too late) as I finally get the stats current. With the playoff match ups already set, perhaps the biggest news to come out of the game is David and Damian (both 3-5 on the day) maintaining a lead over Greg (4-6) for the 2013 batting title...with playoffs stats having historically been kept separate from the regular-season stats, it may be too late for Greg to make up that ground.

Game 15 Box Score
10/27/2013
TEAM   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  FINAL
FB     0  0  1  5  2  2  0  10
EP     0  1  4  0  3  0  1  9

PLAYER    AB  R  H  RBI  BB  AVG 'On the Day'
David P    4  1  2   1   0  .739 (3-5)
Julie C    4  1  0   2  w,s .313 (1-3,wlk,sac)
Brendan SS 4  1  3   1   0  .536 (2-6)
Alicia RCF 4  2  0   1   0  .292 (3-6)
Greg CF    3  0  2   3   0  .703 (4-6)
Tara RF    3  0  1   0   0  .276 (1-7)
Pete LF    3  0  1   0   0  .433 (3-5)
Nicole EH  3  0  0   0   0  .258 (1-6)
Damian 1B  3  0  1   1   0  .778 (3-5)
Katie 2B   3  0  2   0   0  .189 (0-6)
Richie 3B  3  2  2   0   0  .455 (3-5,walk)
Brian EH   2  1  2   0   0  .450 (3-5)
  Sam      2  1  2   0   0  .500 (3-5)

2B - Alicia (1), David (5), Greg (10), Katie (1),
Sam (6); OTF - Brendan (4), Greg(3) Game 14 Box Score 10/27/2013 TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 FINAL EP 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 FB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 PLAYER AB R H RBI BB Brendan CF 2 1 1 0 0 Damian 2 0 1 0 0 Tara 2B 4 0 0 0 0 Greg P 3 0 2 1 0 Katie RF 3 0 0 0 0 Sam SS 3 0 2 0 0 Alicia RCF 2 0 0 0 0 Julie 1 0 0 0 0 Pete LF 2 0 1 0 0 David 1 1 1 0 0 Nicole C 3 0 1 0 0 Richie 3B 2 0 1 1 1 Brian 1B 3 0 1 0 0 2B - Brendan (4), David (4), Greg (9), Sam (5);
3B - Greg (1)

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Week 7: Pitchers hold onto No. 6 seed with split against Ninja Pirates

In what sounds like a truly nerve-wracking doubleheader, the Empty Pitchers split with the Ninja Pirates (formerly the Dirt Dogs), thanks to Sam and his Baseball God. The report from Sam below:
Game 1:
We were tied going into the bottom of the 7th.  Had 2 outs.  But gave up a single.  Then their 2nd spot girl hitter (who was pretty good) hit a liner to right that was perfectly split between our fielders, went to the fence, and it was enough to get the runner from first home. Loss.  
Game 2:
We were up 5-0 going into the 6th inning, where we gave up 3 runs. Then in the 7th inning they had 2 outs and a runner on 2nd; an easy grounder to me and I choked and threw the ball into the dirt. Run came home. Their No. 3 batter came up to bat and hit a liner to right field but God was looking out for me and the runner from 1st decided to go from 1st to 3rd and was thrown out at 3B. Game over. Thank you baseball God.
Brendan won the game ball.  He was ripping it and also made the last throw to get the runner out and saved the game.
Good games. Better than wedding dress shopping.
I couldn't agree more. Stats to come once I retrieve the book this Sunday... (updated, stats below!)

We'll go into the playoffs as the No. 6 seed and take on TAP again. I like our chances; provided we beat them in the single-elimination game on Saturday, Nov. 2, game, we'll play the winner of Sub & Heroes and Rubin's Angels later that afternoon. Here's the full league standings to date:
1 - Sub & Heroes (10-0)
2 - Check Swingers (7-3)
3 - TAP (6-4)
4 - 99 Problems (6-4)
5 - Young Guns (7-5)
6 - Empty Pitchers (7-5)
7 - Ninja Pirates (5-5)
8 - Rubin's Angels (4-4)
9 - Dragons (4-8)
10 - Hot Cousins (4-8)
11 - Fontana's Bar (4-8)
12 - MediaCom (3-7)
Game 13 Box Score
10/19/2013
TEAM   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  FINAL
NP     0  0  0  0  0  3  1  4
EP     0  0  3  2  0  0  X  5

PLAYER    AB  R  H  RBI  BB  AVG 'On the Day'
Brendan RC 4  1  2   3   0  .591 (5-7)
Brooke 2B  3  0  0   0   0  .143 (0-7)
Greg P     3  0  3   1   0  .710 (4-7)
Stacey 1B  3  0  0   0   0  .280 (0-6)
Matt LCF   3  0  2   0   0  .560 (3-6)
Katie RF   3  1  1   0   0  .189 (2-6)
Richie 3B  3  1  1   0   0  .429 (2-6)
Kelly C    3  0  0   0   0  .167 (1-6)
Pete LF    3  1  2   1   0  .400 (4-6)
Sam SS     3  1  2   0   0  .481 (3-6,walk)

2B - Brendan (3), Greg (8), Pete (2);
OTF - Brendan(3), Sam (3)

Game 12 Box Score
10/19/2013
TEAM   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  FINAL
EP     0  2  0  0  0  0  0  2
NP     2  0  0  0  0  0  1  3

PLAYER    AB  R  H  RBI  BB 
Greg P     4  0  1   0   0  
Brooke 2B  4  0  0   0   0  
Sam SS     4  0  1   0   1  
Stacey 1B  3  0  0   0   0  
Matt LCF   3  1  1   0   0 
Katie RF   3  0  1   0   0  
Brendan RC 3  1  3   1   0  
Kelly C    3  0  1   0   0  
Richie 3B  3  0  1   1   0  
Pete LF    3  0  2   0   0

OTF - Greg(2), Sam(2)

Week 6: Empty Pitchers vs. Hot Cousins...Again

If half of the battle is just showing up, the Hot Cousins failed to meet that low threshold on Sunday, forfeiting Game 1, and then getting whooped with their rotating cast of ladies in Game 2, by a score of 8-4.

After the Commish caused a league-wide stir following her attempts to cancel a day and a half's slate of games 72 hours in advance (Tropical Storm Karen failed to make landfall), Tropical Storm Greg took full advantage of another week's worth of stat-padding versus the Hot Cousins, going 5-6 on the day. The Pitchers' started off Game 1 with a scorching 5 hits in a row (for the likely first-time ever), including a 2-run scoring double from Brooke. Alex added 4 hits on the day, Richie had a key two-out single to score a pair of runs when the trajectory of Game 2 was still in the air, and Lisa continued to lead the ladies in batting average, going &2-3 on the day and raising her average to an even .400.
Game 11 Box Score
10/13/2013
TEAM   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  FINAL
EP     0  1  3  1  0  0  3  8
HC     0  0  1  0  1  2  0  4

PLAYER    AB  R  H  RBI  BB  AVG 'On the Day'
David P    4  2  2   2   0  .778 (2-4,sac)
Nicole C   4  0  0   1   0  .280 (0-4,sac)
Greg CF    4  1  3   1   0  .750 (5-6)
Tara EH    4  0  1   0   1  .318 (2-5,walk)
Richie 3B  3  0  1   2   0  .455 (2-3,walk)
Brooke 1B  3  1  0   0   0  .190 (1-4,walk)
Brian LF   3  0  1   0   0  .400 (1-3,sac)
Katie 2B   3  0  1   0   0  .161 (2-5)
Sam SS     2  1  2   1   0  .476 (3-4)
 Matt      1  0  0   0   0  .579 (1-3)
Alicia RF  2  0  1   0   0  .222 (2-4)
 Lisa      1  0  1   0   0  .400 (2-3)
Alex EH    3  2  2   1   0  .560 (4-5)
Pete RCF   3  1  2   0   0  .316 (2-5)

2B - Sam (4); OTF - Matt (2)

Game 10 Box Score
10/13/2013
TEAM   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  FINAL
HC     0  0  0  0  X  X  X  0
EP     5  2  0  0  X  X  X  7

PLAYER    AB  R  H  RBI  BB 
Sam SS     2  1  1   0   0  
Tara 2B    2  1  1   0   0  
Greg CF    2  1  2   1   0  
Brooke 1B  2  1  1   2   0  
Alex P     2  1  2   1   0 
Lisa C     2  0  1   0   0  
Matt RCF   2  0  1   1   0  
Katie RF   2  0  1   0   0  
Pete LF    2  0  0   0   0  
Alicia EH  2  1  1   0   0  
Richie 3B  1  1  1   0   0  
Nicole EH  1  0  0   0   0 
Brian EH   1  0  1   1  sac
David EH   1  0  1   1  sac  

2B - Alex (2), Brooke (1), Richie (2)

I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.

The Empty Pitchers started to show the wear and tear of 8 seasons at the Coleman Oval, dropping two games to Balls Deep, suffering injury on the field, and worse, a bad case of the hiccups on the way home from Jeremy's.

Game 1 was ugly from the get-go, with Balls Deep spending most of their pregame warm ups attempting to cover up the too-literal team logo on their jerseys with spray paint, in an act of Commish-mandated censorship. It was ugly in the late innings as well, with the Empty Pitchers narrowly escaping the Mercy Rule, and falling by the final of 9-0.

Fielding a team of 5 guys and 5 ladies, the Pitchers’ lineup was about to take another hit, as Damian felt the cold sting of being on the wrong side of 30, and was hobbled in the first inning by a pulled hamstring. After playing some stubbornly statuesque CF, a few innings later he proved he doesn't yet have the wisdom of his years, stupidly attempting to leg out a routine grounder to the second basewoman and officially placing himself on the DL in the process*, and leading the Pitchers to suffer the indignity of accepting walk-on help from passerby Hot Cousin Javier.

Game 2 was at least a game, with the Pitchers posting a couple of runs in the first following doubles from Sam, Greg and Pete, and clung to that meager lead through five innings. Back patrolling center, Greg had a couple of nice put-outs from the outfield, and Koach K regaled the Coleman Oval boozers with her patented brand of left-field fly outs and one wicked amazing Willie Mays-esque grab in RCF.

It was the Pitchers’ first dual loss of the season, and many sorrows were drowned at Jeremy's that evening, as Damian tried to sell the team on his ability to beat Nicole at a foot race, Julie's dog-chewed mitt was put out to pasture, and Pete got his first taste of the sweetness that is a Styrofoam quart of beer.


* Don’t worry too much folks, he managed the postgame walk to the bar with plenty of pep in his step.

Week 5: Empty Pitchers vs. CENSORED

Game 9 Box Score
10/5/2013
TEAM   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  FINAL
BD     0  0  0  0  0  2  1  3
EP     2  0  0  0  0  0  0  2

PLAYER    AB  R  H  RBI  BB  AVG 'On the Day'
Sam SS     3  1  1   0   0  .412 (2-6)
Alicia RCF 3  0  0   0   0  .143 (0-4,walk)
Greg CF    3  1  2   1   0  .722 (3-6)
Nicole C   3  0  1   0   0  .333 (2-5)
Peter LF   3  0  1   1   0  .286 (1-6)
Julie RF   3  0  0   0   0  .267 (1-6)
Alex P     3  0  1   0   0  .500 (2-6)
Stacey 1B  2  0  0   0   0  .368 (0-5)
Javier 3B  2  0  1   0   0  .500 (1-2)
Brooke 2B  2  0  0   0   0  .176 (0-5)
Damian     -  -  -   -   -  .846 (2-2)

2B - Greg (7), Peter (1), Sam (3)

Game 8 Box Score
10/5/2013
TEAM   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  FINAL
EP     0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0
BD     1  1  3  0  4  0  X  9

PLAYER    AB  R  H  RBI  BB 
Pete CF    3  0  0   0   0  
Julie C    3  0  1   0   0  
Greg P     3  0  1   0   0  
Stacey 1B  3  0  0   0   0  
Sam SS     3  0  1   0   0 
Brooke 2B  3  0  0   0   0  
Alex 3B    3  0  1   0   0  
Alicia RCF 2  0  0   0   1  
Damian CF  2  0  2   0   0  
 Javier    0  0  0   0   0  
Nicole RF  2  0  1   0   0  

2B - Greg (6); OTF - Alex (1), Sam (1)

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Weeks 2 and 3 Flashback: While Koach was Away

Having all these accountants on the team finally pays off -- don't think that  I've never seen such an immaculately-kept book in all my life! With Sam at the helm, the Pitchers ran off a 3-1 record while Koach K was away; splitting a doubleheader against Gotham Sluggers in Week 2, 12-8 and 7-5, and then blanking the Hot Cousins over two in Week 3, 6-0 and 12-0.
Game 5 Box Score
9/21/2013
TEAM   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  FINAL
EP     1  4  0  2  4  0  1  12
HC     0  0  0  0  0  0  0  3
PLAYER    AB  R  H  RBI  BB  AVG 'On the Day'
Brendan RCF5  2  3   1   0  .533 (4-6)
Katie 2B   5  1  1   2   0  .115 (1-8,walk)
Greg SS    5  1  5   4   0  .833 (8-8)
Stacey 1B  4  0  1   0   1  .500 (1-6,walk,sac)
Matt LCF   4  0  3   1   0  .625 (3-7)
Tara RF    4  0  0   0   0  .294 (1-6,sac)
Richie 3B  4  1  3   0   0  .421 (3-7)
Nicole C   4  2  1   0   0  .313 (3-6,walk)
Brian LF   4  3  3   0   0  .417 (4-7)
Dave P     4  3  3   4   0  .857 (6-7,walk)


2B - Brendan (2) Dave (3), Greg (3,4,5), Matt (1),Richie (1); OTF - Brendan (2)

Game 4 Box Score
9/21/2013
TEAM   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  FINAL
HC     0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0
EP     2  0  2  1  1  0  X  6

PLAYER    AB  R  H  RBI  BB 
Dave P     4  1  3   1   1  
Katie 2B   4  2  0   0   1  
Greg RCF   3  1  3   2   0
Stacey 1B  3  1  0   1  sac
Sam SS     2  0  1   1   1 
 Brendan   1  0  1   0   1 
Tara RF    3  0  1   1  sac 
Matt LCF   3  0  0   0   0  
Nicole C   3  1  2   0   1  
Brian LF   3  0  1   0   0  
Richie 3B  3  0  0   0   0

2B - Brendan (1), Dave (2), Greg (1,2)
Game 3 Box Score
9/14/2013
TEAM   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  FINAL
GS     0  0  5  0  0  2  0  7
EP     2  0  0  3  0  0  0  3
PLAYER    AB  R  H  RBI  BB  AVG 'On the Day'
Richie 3B  4  2  1   1   2  .417 (3-6,2 walk)
Katie 2B   4  0  1   1   0  .111 (2-9)
Matt RCF   4  1  2   1   2  .778 (4-4,2 walk)
Stacey 1B  4  0  3   1   0  .750 (6-8)
Alex P     4  0  1   1   0  .571 (4-7,walk)
Nicole C   4  0  0   0   0  .200 (1-5)
Brendan LF 2  0  0   0   0  .444 (2-5,sac)
 Brian     2  0  1   0   0  .200 (1-5,sac)
Tara RF    2  0  0   0   0  .364 (2-4,sac)
 Lisa      1  0  0   0   0  .286 (1-3,walk)
Pete LF    3  1  1   0   0  .375 (3-5,walk)
Sam SS     3  1  1   0   1  .444 (1-5,sac,walk)

2B - Sam (2)

Game 2 Box Score
9/14/2013
TEAM   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  FINAL
EP     1  0  5  0  1  1  3 12
GS     3  2  0  2  0  0  1  8

PLAYER    AB  R  H  RBI  BB 
Pete RCF   3  1  2   0   0  
 Matt      2  1  2   2   0  
Katie 2B   5  1  1   0   0  
Sam SS     4  2  0   1  1+sac
Stacey 1B  4  1  3   2   0
Alex P     4  3  3   3   1 
Tara RF    4  1  1   0   2  
Brendan CF 4  0  2   2   0  
Lisa C     3  0  1   0   1  
 Nicole    1  1  1   1   0  
Brian LF   4  0  1   1   1  
Richie 3B  4  1  2   0   0

2B - Stacey (1); 3B - Matt (1); OTF - Brendan (1)