THE WILD HOWLING AT THE MOONER...

HURTIN' UNITS VS. THE WILD...

Game # 18- July 25, 2011

Hurtin' Units win 22-14

Team Record- 7-10-1

5:00AM Game Day: For those who were up and about at 5:00am on game day, we were treated to an amazing lightening show, accompanied by loud cracks of thunder and heavy rain. I'm really surprised with all the heat and humidity, we have had over the last week, that we haven't seen more of this type of activity. I'm happy to see the rain, it will certainly help the diamonds, at least this was my thinking until we got on the field...When we got on the field it was rough, the field had not been graded and the rain hardened the surface, a rough and hard surface leads to many strange bounces... Yikes!!

I think we need a baseball video in this edition, click here to go to video.

We are at game number 18 on the schedule, where has the season gone, we only have 6 games remaining and then the playoffs...

At 9:00pm on game night the temperature was a comfortable 23 degrees with much less humidity than our last game. The conditions were almost perfect for a good hitting night.

At game time we had 10 players for the game, I had called for a sub earlier in the day, but he wasn't needed and he went to the legion with his team instead. They had been playing the 8:15 game...

The Wild currently hold down 2nd place in the T.O.T league standings with a record of 10-4-0. They are a solid team defensively and offensively. I have subbed for them twice this season, they won both the games...

This game was the second of our two scheduled 9:30pm games, we played the first on June 15 against the Dusty Cleats and lost 20-19. We also had a make-up game at 9:30 against the Dislocated Joints and won 17-11... We seem to play quite well in the 9:30 games with a record of 2-1-0.

Our game was the third game played on the Keogh Park diamond this evening and the infield playing surface was awful, ground balls were skippin' and a jumpin' and going wild all over the place.

In our game we had to do some shifting around with our players. Cal S was nursing a sore leg, so he went to catch/first, we were also missing Cal and Richard, so Mike and Mooner played in the outfield...

We were the home team in this game  and in the top of the first inning the Wild came out swingin', scoring 5 runs and making it look like it might be another long night for the Units. In the bottom of  the first the Units sent 9 batters to the plate and 3 came around to score.

In the top of the second inning the Wild scored another 2 runs, but the Units rallied in the bottom of the inning to score 7 runs. The Wild were shut out in the third inning and the Units added another 4 runs, highlighted by a grand slam homerun, over the center field fence, by Mooner to make the score 14-7 for the Units after 3 innings....

In the forth inning, neither team scored. In the fifth inning the Wild tagged the ball around the park scoring 7 runs, but the Units answered with 7 runs in the bottom. In the sixth inning the Units defense would shut down the Wild and in the bottom the Units would tack on an additional run to make the score 22-14 Units after 6 innings... In the seventh inning the Units would again shut down the Wild, the bottom was not needed, Hurtin' Units win 22-14. UNITS UNDERESTIMATED!!

Boxscore:       1    2    3    4    5     6    7         Total   


Hurtin' Units   3    7    4   0     7     1    X          22    


The Wild         5    2     0   0    7     0     0          14   

JIMBITS:

• This was a great team effort again, fueled by little Sammy Buca... We love ya Sammy!
• It was great to see Bill J. (Billy the Kid) back in the lineup after missing the last three games with an upper body injury...
• The ball was traveling well in this game, everyone was hitting well, especially Mooner and Mikey Boy. They were crushing the ball!
• Mooner went 5 for 5, Mikey went 4 for 5, Jimmer went 4 for 4, Bob went 4 for 5, etc. refer to the game sheet if ya want to more, it's at the bottom of this blog....We were hitting really well...
• Chris L made two nice grabs at third base and two tosses to first, one that Roman remarked " pull the pin" because it was so soft it was like tossing a hand grenade...
• Paul E went perfect in right field and hit really well.
• The Wild had zero lefthanded batters in the lineup for this game.
• Mooner was a offensive machine- went 5 for 5, scored 5 times, hit a grand slam homerun and later crushed a ball foul in to a tree in the lawn bowling courts ( that poor tree didn't even see it coming).
• This win moved us up in the standings by 4 or 5 positions (according to the posted standings).



Hurtin' Units game sheet

  Our next game is Wednesday August 3, 2011 vs. The Grisslies at 8:15pm. The Hurtin' Units and the Grisslies are having a fan appreciation night at this game. We encourage players to invite family and friends to come out and watch our game...
More information to come regarding this evening....

HURTIN' UNITS SQUEAK BY THE BEER BROS...

HURTIN' UNITS vs. BEER BROS...


Cooling down with a cold beer...


Game # 17- July 20, 2011

Hurtin' Units win 14-10

Team Record 6-10-1

Keogh Park- It's stinkin' hot outside!!The weather seems to be the hot (no pun intended) topic this week. At 6:30pm on game night the temperature was at 33 degrees and feeling like 39 with the humidity... I seem to work up a sweat in mild temperatures, so tonight I expect to be soaked...

At game time we had 10 players eager (okay, maybe not eager, but ready) to play this game and the only missing bodies were Cal R and Bill J.

The was game # 17 on our schedule and as I mentioned in the last post, we don't have any chance to win the league, which means the pressure is off us. The pressure may been off to win the league, but there was still the pressure of the case of beer bet made with the Beer Bros earlier in the season. The Hurtin' Units won the first game on May 16, 2011 and the best the Bros could do would be to tie...

44 days between wins...

 44 days, this is my estimate since the last time we won a the regular season game. Our last win came way, way back in game # 7, on June 6, when we defeated the Rusty Rebels by a score of 14-13. Since that time we have a record of 0-8-1, probably the coldest team in the league. Our record when this slide started was 5-2-0 and going into this game our team record was 5-10-1. Ouch!! The good news is we could play .500 baseball by the end of the season, either way we all make the playoffs and it's usually the team that gets hot going in, that gets on a roll...

The long losing streak was finally over when we tied the Dislocated Joints on July 12 and despite a loss in our last game , we have played much better since the HTKP tournament . The tournament certainly restored our confidence and showed us that we have a competitive team that is capable of winning against anyone...

The game against the Beer Bros. had a lot of things going on, not in the game, but more around the game. Before the game there were discussions about the case of beer bet, we had the Sambuca ( yes, I finally remembered to bring it) shooters set up for pre-game and Mike was taking orders for chicken wings for the post game wing feast at the legion.

We were the visitors in this game. Similar to the last two games, we got off to a good start offensively, scoring 3 runs in each of the first, second and forth innings and only allowed the Beer Bros 2 runs in the first and shut them down in second, third and forth. After 4 innings, the Units had a 9-2 lead.

In the fifth and sixth innings the Hurtin' Units only scored a single run, but the we only allowed the Bros to score 2 more runs. The score after 6 completed innings, 10-4 for the Units...

Boxscore:        1    2    3     4     5     6     7       Total 

Hurtin' Units    3     3    0     3     0     1     4         14   

Beer Bros.       2     0    0     0     2     0     6         10          

The was my third start in a row at pitcher and I like believe that I'm improving, but I still don't like to walk guys, love to strike or foul ball them out ( right Pieman?), but the walks bug me... Last night I walked more batters than I would like (one is more than I like), but sometimes walking a batter is not such a bad thing, especially if the batter can hurt you.

Last night I struggled at times to find the plate and as a result I walked several batters... I really don't mind walking the good batters, it's a single on a guys that could hurt us, but I have to get the weaker batters, I have to throw them strikes. In the bottom of the seventh inning we had a 14-4 lead, I couldn't seem to throw for strikes, it was time for relief... How do you spell relief ?? B.O.B. Bob came in with one out and managed to close the door. The Beer Bros scored 6 runs in the seventh and got a little closer, but in the end it was the Hurtin' Units with the victory. Final score 14-10 Units.

Before the last two games, I have stopped by Coventry Park and thrown a couple of buckets (25+ balls per bucket) of baseballs for practise pitching. I'm now wondering if this routine could be hurting me later in our games. If I'm throwing 50+ pitches before a game, and at least 12 pitches per inning in a game, that would be over a 120 pitches by the seventh inning. I'm not a robot or a pitching machine, perhaps it's time to stop practising the day of a game...

Highlights of the night: Bob was a vacuum on the field in this game, scooping up ground balls, he also made the guys playing first base earn their paycheques by stretching them like Rubberman... Chris L. made a nice stretch and hold, on a play at home plate, for an out, on a throw from Mooner... Richard made a nice catch in left field and was hitting the ball hard at bat... Most of the Hurtin' Unit players were hitting the ball really well... Good solid team effort....Units Universal!!

HURTIN' UNITS LOSE WITH WOODYS...

HURTIN' UNITS vs. HOT TUB WOODYS.

Game # 16- July 18, 2011

Hurtin' Units lose 18-13

Team Record 5-10-1

Keogh Park- Well it's official, we not going to repeat as league champions. With only 8 games remaining and the Dusty Cleats still defeated , we are officially out of the running, I'm pretty sure we were out around game 9 or 10, but I didn't have the heart to tell you guys... So with the pressure off , we can now focus on getting ready for our playoff run...

I actually think we should be having a bit more fun these days , we have nothing to loose, so let's crack open the Sambuca and let our hair down ( those with hair) and let loose... Party on Garth!!
 

Starting with our game on Wednesday, we should shake things up a little and see what happens. Speaking of Wednesday, we are supposed to have a wing night after the game, should be a good, little, bonding night...

The weather for this game was hot and sticky, in fact it's been this way for the last 5 days and by Thursday this week the temperature is going to be 38 degrees, feeling like 44 degrees with the humidity. Welcome to the dog days of summer! On game night it was 28 degrees at 6:30pm , I was sweating just thinking about the temperature...

At our 7:00pm game time, we had 9 players sweaty to go, Bob, Cal S and Bill were missing from this game.

This was a close game and we were in it until the final inning . We started off strong with 6 runs in the first 3 innings, but the Woody's scored 4 to keep pace. 6-4 Hurtin' Units after 3 innings...

In the forth and fifth innings is where we lost this game. The Woody's scored 11 runs in the next 3 innings and even though we rallied in the bottom of the sixth, with 6 runs, it would not be enough. The score at the end of six innings was 15-13 for the Woody's. In the top of seventh the Woody's would tack on 3 more runs, we were still within range, but as luck would have it, we went down swinging hard with a couple of line drive outs and a hit to the pitcher. Woody's win 18-13.

With Bill still out injured, I started this game pitching again and felt definitely more comfortable and confident than the last game. I thought I pitched pretty well, but still got hit hard. I'm hopeful that the third time's a charm.

Boxscore:                1    2    3    4     5    6     7      Total

Hurtin' Units             4    2    0    0     1    6     0       13   

Hot Tub Woody's      0    1    3    5     6    0     3       18  


This was a tough game , the Woody's are one of the hottest teams in the league and we gave them a good game. We had our chances , but just fell short... The Hurtin' Units have proven that we can play with any team in the league, our remaining games should be spent preparing for the playoffs and having fun....Units United!!

HURTIN' UNITS FIT TO BE TIED....

HURTIN' UNITS vs. The DISLOCATED JOINTS...

Game # 15 - July 12, 2011


Hurtin' Units tie 23-23


Team Record- 5-9-1

Coventry Park- It has probably been quite some time since we have seen a game like this. In fact we had not scored 23 runs in any game this season, the closest we have came was on May 16, 2011 against the Beer Bros. in a 22-15 win. We have however had more than 23 runs scored against us in one game this season. On June 11, 2011 we were beaten by the Red Dogs by a score 25-11.

Our game on Tuesday had tons of hitting, close plays, excellent pitching (well at times it was okay), this game had it all, right down to the nail biting seventh inning finish...And not only did it have all these things, it also had a couple of firsts on the season. This was the first time I had pitched a complete game in a long,long time and it was the first time the Hurtin' Units have tied this season.

This was a fun game and despite going into the bottom of the seventh inning with a 4 run lead and only coming out with a tie. I'm also glad to say that our 7 game losing streak has finally come to an end. Bill's new shoes could still have something to do with this, but let's not think about it. Speaking of Bill, he was hurt worse than we had orginally thought and hopefully he is back sooner than later.

I looked at the standings before this game and realized we have dropped down to the 13th place tied with the Dislocated Joints, but the Joints have two games in hand.

Kevin M. playing in the HTKP all-star game.


I really had thought about asking Bob to pitch again in this game, but stayed away for two reasons , one I like pitching and will never improve without game situations and two, I always think that if Bob wanted to pitch he probably would have signed up for a P1 or P2 during registration. Some people are really good a doing things, Bob was excellent on the HTKP tournament weekend for us, but my thought goes something like this- maybe Bob would rather play shortstop than pitch...I really liked pitching this game and came away with a handful of experiences that I will be able to apply in my next pitching start, experiences like covering first base, playing more balls up the middle, backing up other plays, etc. etc.

The weather for this game was excellent, perfect temperatures and if it wasn't for a little bit of cloud cover to the west the sun in the eyes of the players could have been worse...The sun was still a bit of a problem, but once it got behind the trees of diamond #3 it wasn't too bad...

We were missing 2 players in this game... Bill is on the injury list and Paul has been away for the last couple of weeks. We had been wondering where Paul E. had been, but I remembered after this game, that he had sent me an e-mail that he would be gone on July 5 and 12..My bad!

Okay, this game had so much action and adventure in it that I'm not even going to try to remember what the heck went on this game (you guys realize that all of the game descriptions are based on my memory and game sheets, if I get one). I will include the game sheets in the blog and if anyone needs to or wants to figure it out, I say all the power to you! Our next game is Monday July 18,2011 at 7:00pm at Keogh Park...

Boxscore:         1    2    3     4    5     6    7        Total 

Hurtin' Units     4    4    1    7     6     0    1         23    

Dislocated        1    6     1   3     2     6    4         23    



HURTIN' UNITS



DISLOCATED JOINTS



 



HTKP TOURNEY-HURTIN' UNITS GET STIFFED...

HELP THE KIDS PLAY TOURNAMENT...

Coventry Park- The weekend is a little bit fuzzy at this point! Lots of baseball, a lot of beer being consumed (not by me), and lots of fun... We had a good tournament, we played well, our bats were working pretty good, and we managed to make it to the semi-finals, only to lose, to the Lucky Stiffs by a single run ...

I really can't remember game details, so I'll just throw up a few pictures and the games scores and we'll make this edition of the Hurtin' Units blog a short and sweet one...

Speaking of short and sweet, there was one thing we did that was really team bonding thing, before every game we would all get together for a single shot of Sambuca...Doing this seemed to calm us a little or at least distract us and take the pressure off  the game at hand...Something we might continue doing for the rest of the season...

Game #1- July 9,2011
18-11 Win vs. The Grisslies


Game #2- July 10, 2011
13-11 Win vs. The Dogcatchers


Game #3- July 10,2011
17-9 Win vs. The Lucky Stiffs


Game #4- July 11,2011
12-7-Win vs The Dodge City Rounders


Game #5- July 11, 2011 
10-9 Loss vs. The Lucky Stiffs in the semi-finals

There were a lot of game pictures taken, I've put together a short movie on youtube if anyone is  interested. Just click on the link below to view... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCTl7oNOmdAe

I would like to thank the players who subbed with us this weekend, Dean C., Steve D., John T. and Chris R., thanks guys, it was a fun weekend...

HURTIN' UNITS CAUGHT BY DOGCATCHERS...

Hurtin' Units vs. The Dogcatchers...

Game # 14- July 6, 2011

Hurtin' Units lose 11-6

Team Record 5-9-0

Keogh Park- The last time we played at Keogh Park was the game against the Dusty Cleats on June 15, and going into the game we had a winning percentage over .500, in fact we had a record of 5-4. We played the Dusty Cleats tough and our bats were on fire in the first 3 innings of the Cleats game scoring 16 runs, but as most of us remember the Cleats came back in the bottom of the seventh inning with a walk off home run to win the game...It seems like a long time since we have played in the Keogh Park, it seems like a long time since our bats have connected like that, maybe the game against the Dogcatchers will be the game that changes our fortunes...The good news is that we have only 2 more Tuesday night games on the schedule at Coventry Park, the park were we have had mediocre success, with 4 of our losses coming in the last two weeks, maybe a change of venue is just what the doctor ordered...

The weather for this game was similar to the game on Tuesday night, overcast skies, but with the sun causing a little bit of havoc for players facing the western sky...The temperature was hot and there was a lot of humidity...

At game time we had 11 players suited up, ready to play. Paul E. was missing again tonight. In the first inning Bill was running to first base, tripped and took a spill, scrapping his knee, elbow and hurting his ribs. Bill would try to pitch again, but would come out of the game with discomfort in his ribs...Bob Mc. came in to pitch...

There is a point when things get bad enough, that we are more than just frustrated, but almost angry with the situation...I think we are almost at this point and I like it...We had been playing a little softly with teams recently and getting ourselves in a defeated state of mind early in the game. We are solid, good players and we should be giving the teams we play a more difficult game than we have shown recently... I think we need to play tougher and harder, we need to get mean and play to win, even if we don't... Recently we have played the best teams and we completed hard, we need to complete hard with every team we play... Last night's game was a good start, although we still seem to be getting down on ourselves a bit early. We have the horses to come back in any game, we just need to be mentally tough...This upcoming weekend tournament is a chance to really turn this thing around, we are playing some tough teams, I think we can beat anyone of them...It's time to step up and play hard...

The game against the Dogcatchers, we played much better, but still not good enough to win...We were robbed of some base hits, by a strong Dogcatcher outfield, but we hit the ball hard and well...

In the top of the first inning we scored a single run, but Bill went down hard over first and this worried us a little bit ( I called him today, his ribs are still sore and probably couldn't play this weekend if he wanted to, but he is doing okay and will hopefully be ready for Tuesday's game). In the bottom of the inning the Dogcatchers scored 2 runs...We didn't score in the second or third innings and the Dogcatchers scored 2 more runs in both innings... 6-1 Dogcatchers after 3 innings...

We were shut out again in the forth and fifth innnings and the Dogcathers scored 4 in the forth and 1 more in the fifth. In the sixth inning we managed keep the ball away from the Dogcatchers fielders and actually put 5 runs on the scoresheet and not only that, we stopped the Dogcatchers in the bottom of the inning... Unfortunately, the rally would not continue in the seventh for us and Paul G got out, Richard hit a solid single to left center field, Bob flied out and Brad did the same, game over, Dogcatchers win 11-6...

Boxscore:       1    2    3    4    5    6    7       Total  

Hurtin Units   1    0    0    0    0   5    0            6    

Dogcatchers    2    2   2    4    1   0    X           11   

This game was a better game for us, but I still think we are a much better team, we just need to restore our confidence and play our opponents tougher... Looking forward to the weekend....

HURTIN' UNITS BEAT UP IN DODGE CITY...

HURTIN' UNITS vs. The DODGE CITY ROUNDERS.



Game # 13 - July 5, 2011

Hurtin Units lose 18-4

Team Record- 5-8-0

Dodge City- Maybe a three game road trip is what we need to get back on track. The pressure of playing in front of our home crowd, while on a 5 game losing streak, is probably making us grip the bats too tight and try too hard...Heading to Dodge City could be the tonic that the Hurtin' Units need to get back, get back to where we once belonged. The three game road trip starts with Dodge City and then the Dogcatchers the next night and then finishes up with the Dislocated Joints next Tuesday July 12. In between the Dogcatchers and the Dislocated Joints will have the HTKP Tournament to play, with 4 regulars unable to play we added 4 new players to our roster... I'm looking forward to playing a lot of ball this week...Like to play, what can I say...

Our game against the Dodge City Rounders has stirred up a lot of interest in Dodge City. The Rounders have had a tough season and sit at the bottom of the T.O.T league standings, with a record of 1-9-0 and with the Units on a five game losing streak something has got to give.The Hurtin' Units played the Dodge City Rounders in our first game of the season(technically it was supposed to be the second,but if you remember the start of the season, our first game was postponed because the playing field was not useable)and we came away with a 16-11 victory...



Mayor - " I like their new logo"

This game has the folks of Dodge City putting down their pitch forks and baling twine and heading to the ball park to support their team. The Dodge City mayor has even decided to attend this game, the first time ever, although there are rumours on the streets and in the fields that he is a Hurtin' Units fan and he has been quoted saying he likes the Units new shirt logo... 

The weather in Dodge City was overcast and around 5:30 pm on game day there were several dark clouds lingering around the ball park.The cloud cover would be welcomed by the players on the field facing west,if not they would have been staring into the sun. The temperature was hovering around 30 degrees celius and there was a chance of late evening thunder storms...

At game time we had only 9 players in uniform, Bob Mc, Paul E. and Brad were missing. Brad did not make the trip to Dodge City, but will be meeting up with the team on Wednesday night against the Dogcatchers, I'm not sure what happened with Bob and Paul, maybe they went to the saloon and met up with the ladies or maybe they got into a bar fight and spent the night in jail...not sure?

Wherever Bob and Paul E. were it had to be better than diamond #3 at Dodge City Baseball Park, where the Dodge City Rounders took the Hurtin' Units out behind the drive shed and beat the tar out of us...

The Units are really having a difficult time getting hits and scoring runs and when you can't score it makes the opponents look pretty good... I believe Cal R. asked me the question " Do we bring out the best in the other teams?", well the other teams are certainly hitting us around, but our bats looked like they are on summer vacation. The Rounders were the home team and they certainly looked like they were prepared for this game... The Hurtin' Units lead off the game with no runs in the top of the first inning and the Rounders scored a single in the bottom. The Units went down quickly in the top of the second and the Rounders came out attacking, scoring 7 runs in the bottom of the inning,the third didn't get any better for the Units and in the bottom of the inning, the Rounders scored 7 more with Jimmer pitching...The score at the end of 3 innings... Dodge City 15, the Hurtin' Units O...

The Hurtin' Units were shut out again in the forth inning and the Units actually managed to stop the Rounders in the bottom of the inning. Finally in the fifth inning, the Units scored a single run, but the Rounders scored 2 more runs. In the sixth inning, the Units bats came alive and put up 3 more runs on the scoresheet and held the Rounders to only a single run in the bottom of the inning...The Rounders shut down the Units in the seventh inning and the bottom of the inning would not be needed as the Dodge City Rounders would defeat the Hurtin' Units by a final score of 18-4...And the Dodge City Rounders run us out of Town with another ugly loss...

Boxscore:      1   2   3   4   5   6   7    Total 

Hurtin' Units  0   0   0   0   1   3   0     4    

Dodge City     1   7   7   0   2   1   X     18    

After the game we were in the parking lot, drowning our sorrows with a whiskey(beer actually), discussing everything, but the game. We saw what happened afterall and it really needed no recall. I asked for suggestions to how we might get out of this slump and nobody really had any real answer... We can't make a trade, we can't sign any free agents and Bill threw out his old cleats,so we
are stuck will the new ones.I think we need a nickname for Bill, what do you guys think?- Wild Bill, The Jonk Man, New Shoe Sue, Billy the Kidder, something that will scare our opponents, I guess New Shoe Sue is not going to work...We are in this thing together and it's up to us to turn it around...We are a much better team than we have displayed in recent weeks, so we decided to have a little fun with the game against the Dogcatchers...We are going to make the lineup in alphabetical order and see if it changes things...We need a little distraction...See ya all at the next game...