And so it ends!! The 25th anniversary season has come and gone, and all that remains are the memories, a bunch of sore, achy muscles and the banquet. It was a great season, a season that was a success. A season that saw Keogh Park get a much needed face lift, a season where former players got a chance to relive the glory days during the HTKP tournament alumni game, a season where the Tottenham Oldtimers all stars lost to the Youngtimers all stars (where is that chicken suit, Chris?), and a season where the defending champions, for the first time in 25 seasons, repeated to win the T.O.T championship...
I like to believe it was a success for the Hurtin' Units also...A first place finish and a fun season with a great group of guys.
Mike and I would like to thank all the players of the Hurtin' Units for a great season. You guys all made our jobs as captains a great experience... The end results were not quite what we were hoping for, but still a great year and a season we will remember for years to come... I have finished off a brief summary of the playoffs games. I hope you enjoyed the blog over the season...Can't really do too much more without any games being played...See you guys at the banquet and hopefully the AGM... JIMMER.
Hurtin' Units vs. The Rusty Rebels...
Tuesday September 21, 2010.
Game # 1 of the 2010 Playoffs.
Units lose 27-12
The last official day of the summer was fantastic for baseball, the temperature during the day was 26 degrees and there was some humidity that kept the warm temperatures in to the night. The issue of the lighting not working got me into an irritated state before the game even started, but fortunately the lights finally came on at Coventry #2.
At game time we had our whole team (12 guys).
The final score of 27-12 was the highest number of runs we allowed all season. We are not completely to blame for this loss. The Rebels hit the ball really well and at times made us look really inept. The Rebel defense was also good, I remember being on base three different times and never coming around to score and I'm sure there are others on our team that can say the same thing.
I'm not sure if we had done something different they the results would have been different. The Rebels had a awesome night, with the stars all aligned and the full moon beaming down on them, and the Hurtin' Units had the exact opposite...The Rebels bats were hot in this game. The big guns were just that “ the Big Guns” and the lower rated players were major contributors. Peter S. went 5 for 5 on the evening ( at least that is what I'm told) and I do remember him running by me on several occasions.
Maybe, just maybe we were not as bad as the score would indicate; we did get 12 runs, had runners on and scored in almost every inning and made some nice defensive plays. Mark C. of the Rebels did his part at making us look bad, two towering homeruns to the left field, one hitting the top of the fence before going over. Whatever we did wrong and they did right, the end result was not pretty and this is really the bottom line. 27-12 is uncharacteristic of the Hurtin' Units, both defensively and offensively. Wednesday is another game, a chance to redeem ourselves and get back in the race... UNITS UNSTABLE...
Hurtin' Units vs. The Dodge City Rounders...
Wednesday September 22, 2010
Game #2 of the 2010 playoffs.
Units lose 22-11
An uncharacteristic stat to observe, and if you were new to this site and saw a 49 runs against and 23 runs for, you would think that the Hurtin' Units were not a good team with very little chance of going anywhere in the league. Over the course of the regular season the Hurtin' Units gave up on average 9.11 runs per game. In our first two playoff games our runs against average is almost 25 runs per game....OUCH!! So what's happening? I don't know, we all know we are capable of beating anyone and during the season we had an unbeaten streak of 14 games and a winning streak of 11 games.
So what has happened over the last two playoff games? Was it the fact it was a full moon this week or was this game the result of a Kevin Moon... Mooner had a great game against us, he had numerous ground balls hit to him at second base and his bat was hammering balls around diamond # 3 at Coventry Park.
This game was almost as bad as Tuesday night's game except for 5 fewer runs. At game time we had 11 batters, Chris N. was the only missing player...
We can't blame the weather, it was still comfortably warm at game time and the sky was clearing as the full moon shone bright. For the first time since last May, I changed the batting order, hoping it would get us going again...Not so much! We did have some chances to score and we did score eleven runs, but something seems to be missing... Confidence?? That first game against the Rebels really deflated us and we really need a shot in the arm...The defense is not clicking like it did most of the season, we seem to be fighting the ball, a tick off a glove, an easy catch off the palm of the glove, balls lost in the night sky and the opposition batters who were once routine outs are dropping in single and doubles that make the top rated players envious.
Looking at our roster, we decided to go with our best bats at the front end and take our chances at the bottom of the order, we also decided to position everyone and have Tom and Nyzee rotate through the infield and outfield. This is the plan Stan!!
We have these two remaining games to this thing turned around, if these changes don't work and we don't get on the winning side, we will be watching on Sunday... UNITS UNDER the gun!!
Hurtin'Units vs. The Dislocated Joints...
Game #3 of the Playoffs.
Units win 16-9
On Saturday morning, the clouds were still hanging around, in fact as we were walking up to the diamonds a light rain was blowing sideways, but the sun was also streaking through, a real mixed bag of weather to be sure...There was still a strong wind creating problems for the pitchers in this game, it must have been a nightmare for the pitchers and players on Friday with very strong winds blowing the balls around, dirt off the infield impairing vision and creating noise making communication difficult.
At game time ( 10:15 am), on Saturday morning we had our full squad and we even had a small cheering section, there to support us in our moment of desperation... I looked in to the crowd and saw some familiar Hurtin' Unit supporters, I believe I saw Tina Dickson sitting there with her sister ( could have been her mother, but she looked to young for her mother), I saw Claire Wallace leading the cheers and I saw Paul's friend who's name escapes me at this time, all sitting nervously waiting for the Hurtin' Units to get the job done.
As I mentioned in the section on the last game against the Dodge City Rounders, we needed to change things up and so we did and the changes in the batting order and in the rotation of players positions, I think these changes helped in this victory, we'll probably keep the same setup until we are eliminated...Mike and I did what we thought was the best we could do to win and hopefully it pays off....UNITS UNFALLING!!
Hurtin' Units vs. The Wild...
Saturday September 25, 2010Game # 4 of the Playoffs..
Units win 8-4
Well the overcast skies were still with us for this game... I even felt a few sprinkles when we were on the field. The temperature high for the day was supposed to be 16 degrees, I'd be surprised if we reach it...
Our support group ( the crowd) was at this game also and I think it even got bigger with Don's wife and some other supporters cheering us on. Claire was there, with my camera and hopefully she got some pictures I can use on this page of the blog.
The new batting lineup seems to be paying off, we managed to win this game by a 8-4 score...The defense also looked pretty good in the game, holding off the likes of Chuck Cragg, Steve Ross, Tony M. Etc...
Mikey Boy, Nyzee, Robin and Jerry were hitting the ball solidly for the Hurtin' Units today... Mikey in the third slot hit a triple, which was followed by Robin hitting another triple, I joked with both of them as I was coaching 3rd, “is a triple the best you can do”? Great hitting by these guys all day... The win gives us two wins and two losses, there are some teams with 1 win and 3 losses, our wins today gets us into at least the elimination round, there is a slight chance we could get a bye, but the stars and the universe with have to align in the right order to have this work out... I'm just happy to have a chance at getting into Sunday...
The elimination games today are at 5:45pm and 7:00pm, we won't know until the round robin games are finished where we will finish and our next game time and opponent. A bye would be really nice...UNITS UNDOUBTED!!
Hurtin' Units vs. The Wild... Elimination Game.
Saturday September 25, 2010.
Game #5, Elimination Game...
Hurtin' Units vs. The Wild again...
Units lose 18-15
This game started by the Hurtin' Units getting down early. The Wild scored 5 runs in the first inning, more than they scored the whole previous game against us. The Units battled back in the bottom of the inning with a couple of runs, but were snuffed out by some good Wild defense.Well we made it in to the elimination round and seeded ourselves at 8 place. Unfortunately 8 place meant two things, first we would have to face the Wild again, a team that makes me very nervous and second is that we would not play until 7:00pm, which meant standing around for a couple of hours...To sit or stand around a couple of hours watching baseball would normally not bother me, but the temperature had started to drop and after playing two games earlier in the day I was starting to feel the effects of playing earlier. I really wasn't prepared for such cool temperatures, a Hurtin' Units Jersey and a thin windbreaker really don't cut the mustard...If the high of the day was 16 degrees, by the time we played our final elimination game the temperature must have been under 10 degrees, I remember seeing my breath after the game...
This game started by the Hurtin' Units getting down early. The Wild scored 5 runs in the first inning, more than they scored the whole previous game against us. The Units battled back in the bottom of the inning with a couple of runs, but were snuffed out by some good Wild defense.Well we made it in to the elimination round and seeded ourselves at 8 place. Unfortunately 8 place meant two things, first we would have to face the Wild again, a team that makes me very nervous and second is that we would not play until 7:00pm, which meant standing around for a couple of hours...To sit or stand around a couple of hours watching baseball would normally not bother me, but the temperature had started to drop and after playing two games earlier in the day I was starting to feel the effects of playing earlier. I really wasn't prepared for such cool temperatures, a Hurtin' Units Jersey and a thin windbreaker really don't cut the mustard...If the high of the day was 16 degrees, by the time we played our final elimination game the temperature must have been under 10 degrees, I remember seeing my breath after the game...
I was not about to let Tito end the Hurtin' Units season in the same manner, I did however watch the first pitch hit the board dead centre. The next pitch, I swung and made solid contact, a line drive over Chuck's head toward left center field. Tony M of the Wild, who had been quite busy this game, came from his left to his right and made a nice catch to end the Hurtin' Units season.
The season had come to an end, but it wasn't for lack of trying, we never gave up, and battled until the final pitch of the game...Great job Units...
End of Season...
I can still remember clearly preparing for the draft, the wish list of players I wanted to pick, some of which we chose and some I'm glad were substituted with players we ended up with. I think that Mike and I ended up with a great group of guys in this our first year as Captains. I can only hope that future teams are as easy to manage.
Not only did we end up with a great group of guys, but we also got guys that could play the game... Our season record reflects the type of play we had on the field. A 19-5-2 record with 40 points and a regular season title win was probably more than we could have ever expected.
Along with the regular season title I think we had a pretty good playoff run. We started slow, still blaming the full moon thing, but our Saturday turned out, in my opinion, to be a good day with 2 wins and almost coming back on the team that won the championship..
I think we ( the Hurtin' Units) were the toughest competition for the Wild once the elimination games had begun. After the Wild defeated the Hurtin' Units on Saturday evening, they went on to defeat the Lucky Stiffs, 18-4 on Sunday morning, the Hottub Woodies in the semi-finals 8-2, and then the Dodge City Rounders in the finals by a score of 13-3 . The Wild were on cruise control on Sunday...
The Wild were the 6th seed going in to the playoffs and on the first night they played the Hot Tub Woodies (11th seed) and came away with a 16-16 tie. Their second game was against the Dusty Cleats (14th seed) and they came away with a 14-11 win. The Wild then lost their next two games 15-10 to the Lucky Stiffs (4th seed) and 8-4 to the Hurtin' Units (1st seed) to end the round robin with 3 points and a -6 plus/minus.
The Wild were reseeded at the end of the round robin at a 9th seed and the Hurtin' Units were reseeded at an 8th seed which meant the two of us would meet in an elimination game at 7:00pm on Saturday. The rest is history...
I would like to thank, the president of our league, Chris Ross for all this hard work over the last 6 years. I have only been in the league for 5 years and Chris is the only president I have ever known in this league...I was very impressed this season, at the Captain's meetings, how Chris took and kept control of the meetings...He was truly a professional when dealing with the captains and co-captains and running the meetings.... At the draft, I was really glad when I picked Chris to play for the Hurtin' Units, he was one of the guys on my wish list. It was great having him playing on the Units, always willing to answer any questions I would bother him with...Sometimes he was a pain in the ass, but for the most part he let Mike and I run the team the way we wanted. I'm sure there are some people that are a little nervous about a new president coming in, but Chris is still going to be playing in the league and I'm sure he will do all he can to make the new president's transition an easy one...
There is one more person I want to say a few words about...Tom Perry came back to the league this season, after being away for eight years...The Hurtin' Units are very fortunate to have drafted Tom. I absolutely loved having Tom on the team, he was a steady, knowledgeable and calming influence on all the Hurtin' Units players and just an all round great guy to have in the dugout... In a recent conversation with Tom, he indicated that he probably will not be back for the 2011 season, he will be 65 years old next season and he would rather fill his exercise quotas with his first love... hockey, which he plays approximately 100 games per year... I wish Tom all the best in his future endeavours and I'm sure our paths will cross again in the future... Tom, thanks for being part of the Hurtin' Units this season...
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Hurtin' Units OBA On Base At Bat
Al Hayward 0.476% 40 84
Chris Ross 0.600% 45 75
Christopher Nyers 0.609% 28 46
Don Curran 0.712% 47 66
James Taylor 0.527% 58 110
Jens Lepa 0.689% 73 106
Jerry Wallace 0.596% 59 99
Jim MacDonald 0.673% 74 110
Mike Olliffe 0 0.637% 65 102
Paul Gyori 0.559% 52 93
Robin Dickson 0.784% 76 97
Tom Perry 0.686% 48 70
Hurtin' Units Team Average 0.642%
Al Hayward 0.476% 40 84
Chris Ross 0.600% 45 75
Christopher Nyers 0.609% 28 46
Don Curran 0.712% 47 66
James Taylor 0.527% 58 110
Jens Lepa 0.689% 73 106
Jerry Wallace 0.596% 59 99
Jim MacDonald 0.673% 74 110
Mike Olliffe 0 0.637% 65 102
Paul Gyori 0.559% 52 93
Robin Dickson 0.784% 76 97
Tom Perry 0.686% 48 70
Hurtin' Units Team Average 0.642%
2010 Final Standings.
Position Team Games Wins Losses Ties Points
1 Hurtin' Units 26 19 5 2 40
2 Brew Jays 26 19 7 0 38
3 Rusty Rebels 26 16 8 2 34
4 Lucky Stiffs 26 16 9 1 33
5 Banshees 26 14 11 1 29
6 The Wild 26 13 11 2 28
7 Torn Ligaments 26 12 10 4 28
8 Dog Catchers 26 12 13 1 25
9 Dislocated Joints 26 12 14 0 24
10 Grisslies 26 11 14 1 23
11 HotTub Woodies 26 10 14 2 22
12 Dodge City 26 9 17 0 18
13 Red Dogs 26 7 17
14 Dusty Cleats 26 3 23 0 6
1 comment:
I meant to comment earlier, but nice job throughout. I particularly like the pics that accompany the stories, they add a lot to the whole flavour!
Doug
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