WE ALL NEED A WING MAN.

HURTIN' UNITS VS. THE DUSTY CLEATS.

"No Shirt, No Runs, No Winner...but there was a chicken dinner".

Game #24- August 25th, 2015

Hurtin Units lose 8-3

Team Record  11-12-1

Coventry Park- When we get to this point in the season, it becomes a little more difficult to keep the blog going, unless of course the Units are tearing up the league. And we all know that this is not the case. I can only say "the Units are the greatest team" so many times. So sometimes my interest in doing this, gets put on the back burner, I lag a little in getting it done, and the quality drops off to some degree. It did not drop off in this posting. What I really need is a different opinion, maybe from a teammate...or a wing man. 

I know this posting took a little longer than most, but I was very busy last week and I couldn't find the time to get my typing shoes on. I did manage to scribble down a few notes on Wednesday morning post Tuesday night's game. 

On the surface, the two teams, in this game, seem to be going in opposite directions. The Dusty Cleats have been winning recently and the Hurtin' Units are on a 3 game losing streak. The Units are still playing well and we will find our bats. 

The Hurtin' Units have only 2 games remaining and both game are against tough opponents, Dodge City Rounders and the Sliders (sounds like the name of a country band), "now put your hands together for Dodge City Rounders and the Sliders". The Hurtin' Units still have a good team and we are going to turn it around before the playoffs. 

I blame myself for this loss. It was about 6:10, on game night, when I realized that my team shirt was in the washing machine (it was washed), but I didn't think it could have been dried in time for the game. I jinxed the team by not wearing my shirt... CRAP!!

I ended up just wearing a t-shirt and when the game started I was fine, when the game concluded, I wished I had worn another top over it. It was frickin' cold for an August evening and my sweating during the game made it feel even colder. I was glad we were going back to the Legion for chicken wings and not staying at the pavilion for beverages. 

The weather for this game was okay to start, but like I mentioned it got frickin' cold, 17 degrees to start the game, it felt colder. There was a chance of rain, but we didn't see anything, although when we were leaving the Legion, at 10:00pm, there was a light rain coming down and we could see our breath. Frickin' cold I tells ya!!

At game time, we had 9 players dressed in  Hurtin' Units shirts (I was the 10th player, but without my shirt on. Remember I jinxed the team by not wearing it). There was a suggestion made at the Legion about wearing a white t-shirt for one of our remaining games, that would be fun, maybe the last game of the season. Missing on the night were Bo (maintenance day) and Dave Mil.

The Hurtin' Units were the Home team. The umpire was a new guy (he called a good game, even though there were only 11 runs scored in total). 















The game was the lowest offensive output by the Hurtin' Units this season, with only 3 runs scored. I really thought that post T.O.T. tournament, the Units would come out the gate firing on all cylinders, not misfiring like we are. It's time for a tune up!! 

Darrell pitched this game and I played 2nd and 3rd on the night. I also made a few other changes; I changed the batting order a bit, leading Cookie and Vince. These guys have been at the bottom most of the season and they deserved a game near the top of the order. I will probably set up a playoff lineup in one of the next 2 games to see how we stack up against two tougher opponents. 

I will not go in to much detail about this game; we were not hitting well at all is really the story. The Dusty Cleats were not much better. The Units defense has been solid all season long and in this game we were pretty decent. Stopping a team at 8 runs, on most nights, will probably have that team, in a position for a win. 

I did a spreadsheet with runs, hits and at bats for each inning to show how poorly we were offensively. Maybe, too many guys were thinking about wings and beer. It was a good night back at the Legion as 9 guys came back for wings. Next week will be better games, I guarantee it.

Golf Tournament.

Over the past weekend (Sunday to be exact) the league put on the HTKP Golf tournament at Woodington Lake Golf Club. Myself and my Hammell Toe buds, Cam, Mike, and Glen participated and we finished with a score of +2 this year. Last year we were a -4, but this year we had no consistency and faltered on numerous holes. Still a great day on the course and thanks go out to all who were involved in the organizing of this event.  

I asked for a different opinion and low and behold, I got what I asked for. Scotty realized that I was struggling with blog content and helped out with his positive view point. Here is Scotty's version of the blog for this game. I added a few pictures for effect. 

Hurtin' Units, game whatever. We played the Dusty Cleats and Al Mcmullen was umping, a decision he'll regret for many months. The weather was crappy, a stupid night to play baseball. 

The Units had a few players missing, but I don't remember who, and I don't care. We sucked all night. 

The game started with us giving up a bunch of runs. What else is new. Then we came to bat. Cookie led off with a lousy pop up to the first baseman. He sucked. I don't know who the next batters were, but they ‎sucked too. 

We did have a hitting highlight in the second inning when Scotty popped out to the left fielder, the first ball he's hit out of the infield in 42 games. Things were looking up. 

Another good thing is that everyone in the outfield caught a ball. It didn't make any difference whatsoever, but I'm trying to focus on the positive. 

The best hit of the night came on a fly ball by Todd. He got out, but who cares, he at least made them run a bit. 

The best player on the night was Jimmer. He went 3 for 3 with 2 runs scored, and threw out a runner at the plate with an epic throw. Statcast estimated that the ball traveled 28 feet ‎at a top speed of 13 mph. It didn't matter much in the long run, but whatever. Way to go Jimmer. 

All in all, it was a rotten night, but the Units have a lot to look forward to heading into the play-offs. I can't think of anything, but that's because I'm too busy trying to stay positive. 

The End. 

I hope you like that Jimmer. I personally think it really emphasizes all the good stuff, don't you. 

On a side note, I figured out my hitting problem. I'm a left handed batter and I've been batting right all year. That's what you get for practising in the mirror I guess.  

‎Anyway, guys, seriously, I'm looking forward to our next game, we have a great team with two great captains and a fantastic supporting cast, and I think we'll have a good play-off run. I hope you're all enjoying your weekend. 

Cheers,

Scott.

Good Stuff Scotty, thanks for being my wingman.