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)

Standings: Angels Fall from Perch

Through the first four weeks of the season, it's still anyone's crown to win. In a shocking twist, perennial league champ Ruben's Angels are no longer undefeated, having fallen in both games last weekend to the Dragons:

T1 - Ruben’s Angels (6-2)
T1 - Dragons (6-2)
T1 - Fontomas (6-2)
T1 - Sub & Heroes (6-2)
T5 - Empty Pitchers (5-3)
T5 - Dirt Dogs (5-3)
T7 - Team Jason (4-4)
T7 - Jaguars (4-4)
  9 - Joe's Team (3-5)
10 - Hot Cousins (2-6)
11 - Scott's Team (1-7)
12 - Brewsual Suspects (0-8)

This year, only the top 6 teams are making the playoffs, which I had been unable to decode from previous Commish missives, but now I understand from looking at her one-day playoff schedule, set for Saturday, Nov. 5. The top 6 teams will be slotted in following Old Timers' Day in two weeks.

At the moment, we'd be in, but just barely. So let's not take anything for granted this weekend versus the Hot Cousins, and next weekend, versus the Dirt Dogs. View our full schedule.


P.S. My apologies to Team Kaitlyn, whom I thought had named her team the "Bruisual Suspects," as in black-and-blue bruises. In actuality, it's the "Brewsual Suspects." At 0-8, I don't know which is more fitting.

Keko Jones Regrets Naming Team After Herself

The Empty Pitchers took two from Keko Jones last weekend, by scores of 21-4, and 10-7, giving a boost to both the Pitchers' confidence and batting averages.

In Game 1, the Pitchers scored 11 runs in the top of the first, tacked on another 8 in the second, and never looked back, even giving up their 'ups' in the fifth inning and allow the rout to come to its merciful conclusion. Felix was on fire, providing rock-solid defense at shortstop and lighting up Keko's pitcher for 3 hits (including a triple), and 6 RBIs. Brian and Alex B. saw their averages climb above .500, with Alex contributing a pair of doubles, and Eric dealt a death-blow to Keko with his team-leading fourth home run of the season.

Game 2 featured a lady-heavy Pitchers' lineup, that kept the game interesting (and close), until the time arrived to pull away. Alicia went 2-for-2 with a couple of walks and Debbie continued to focus on raising her OBP by drawing a trio of walks. David helped his own case with another multiple-hit game and a home run of his own in the sixth that put the game out of Keko's reach for good.

With the pair of wins, and a somewhat respectable record of 6-10, the Pitchers find themselves in the middle of the ADW pack, but have a tough test ahead of them with a game against the No.2 team, Da Firm, next week.

ADW League Standings through June 13:

      Gorillas (15-1)
      Da Firm (14-2)
      Designated Drinkers (14-2)
      No Fear (10-6)
      Titans (9-7)
      Empty Pitchers (6-10)
      La Familia (6-10)
      Salute All Stars (3-13)
      Keko Jones (1-13)
      The Mavericks (0-14)

Getting Back into the Groove

With only a couple of rained-out regular season games left to go, the Empty Pitchers are holding on to a tie for first place with the NY Dirt Dogs, whom they split a doubleheader against in the first weekend of the regular season:

         1. Empty Pitchers (8-2)
         2. NY Dirt Dogs (8-2)
         3. Ruben’s Angels (7-1)
         4. Hot Cousins (7-5)
         5. Phantoms (6-2)
         6. K.V. Kings (6-4)
         7. Averages (6-4)
         8. Remainders (6-4)
         9. Hurricanes (3-7)
       10. Sub & Heroes (3-9)
       11. Jeff's Team (Gave up)
       12. Honey Nut Ichiros (DOA)

The Pitchers will have a better idea of exactly where they stand after Nov. 2, when a slate of rained-out Saturday games from earlier in the season are played, and Ruben's Angels -- the league's perennial front runner -- gets a chance to catch up.

The weekend of October 18, the Pitchers split two against the Avengers. The early game was a brutal one, with the Pitchers falling behind early and often, eventually losing 17-9 (and that with having scored a face-saving four runs in the home half of the seventh). The game wasn't without some positives though, Nicole boosted her average in a big way, going 3-for-4, and scoring two runs. Greg, Alex, Alicia, Matt and Damian also had multiple hit games, and Alicia posted 3 RBIs on the day. David even threw pitching nemesis Raul a run-support bone, going 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs.

In the second game, a 6-3 Pitchers win, the hits were fewer and further in between for both teams. With the score scoreless heading into the top of the third, Alex was able to get things going with a double, eventually crossing the plate on a single by Alicia. The Pitchers tacked on another run in the fifth, with a triple from Greg, and an RBI single courtesy of Kristine. The Pitchers were able to give themselves a four-run cushion in the sixth inning to seal the win. Undefeated Pitchers pitcher David again led the way, helping him help himself, and posting a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate in the lead-off slot.



Next game: Check the 2008 Empty Pitchers Schedule for the latest on the dates/times of their playoff run.

Six Weeks In, Pitchers In First

At the kinda-sorta, not-really midpoint of the season, the Empty Pitchers are holding on to first place in the league:

     1 - Empty Pitchers (7-1)
     2 - NY Dirt Dogs (7-2)
     3 - Ruben’s Angels (6-0)
     4 - OMD (4-3)
     5 - Hot Cousins (3-2)
     6 - The Honey Nut Ichiros (3-3)
     7 - Remainders (2-7)
     8 - Phantoms (1-3)
     9 - Sub & Heroes (1-4)
   10 - Arup Green (1-5)

The league's traditional (and somewhat non-sensical) playoffs begin next weekend -- all single-game contests. The Pitchers will take on the winner of Arup Green vs. the Hot Cousins Saturday, Oct. 13, at 11 a.m.

If they get the win there, they'll play again the following Saturday (Oct. 20) at 9:30 a.m., against the winner of the Remainders vs. Ruben's Angels. And, if the Pitchers can take that hypothetical match-up, they'll play in the league championship game, which happens the same day at 1 p.m.