HURTIN' UNITS WERE LIGHTS OUT WITH THE TAP DANCERS...

HURTIN' UNITS VS. THE TAP MASTERS.

Game # 10 - June 25, 2012

Hurtin' Units reschedule
Make-up game July 4th

Team Record - 2-6-1

Keogh Park- This week we were to have two games, I believe it would have been for the first time this season. We did have a two game week earlier in the season, but the second game was postponed against the Dusty Cleats. I really like the two games a week, I think it helps us get in to the games more and when we're in to the games more I think we will play better. Our first game of the week was to be against the Tap Masters, another first year team captained by Tim Shrank and Jason Bowers. 

I looked at the standings and I was stunned to see how these guys are tearing things up. Now bare in mind that they have played 3 more games than us, but they still have some impressive numbers. They currently reside in 3rd place with 13pts after 12 games and only 1point out of second place. One number that really stood out for me was the runs for, the Masters runs for, is a whooping 192, that is 70 runs greater than the Hurtin' Units, but I did say they have played 3 more games... If we ( Hurtin' Units) were to score 13 or more runs per game over our next 3 games we would be close... 13 runs a game, piece of cake! The next closest team for runs scored in the Red Dogs with 167 runs...The Hurtin' Units have played the least amount of games in the league... 

The weather for this game was excellent, sunny skies with a few clouds blowing around, there was a strong breeze, and the temperature was hovering around 18 degrees. I love playing in these weather conditions...

At game time we were down some of our own players... Gord R., Craig S., and Dave were missing for action. Mike stepped up to play and we arranged for a couple of subs for the game. Thanks go out to Mark K. and Piero D.

This game was a lights out dud. The Tap Masters and the Hurtin' Units only got 3 innings completed before the umpire called the game due to darkness. I thought I would mention a little about the game, it is after all, part of our season. The stats don't count and the score doesn't matter, but to those of us who were there we have a few memories to recall in the future...




"Lights out boys"

 In the first in the Hurtin' Units went down quickly and in the bottom of the inning,  the Tappers scored 2 runs. In the second inning, the Units 2 runs to tie things up, but in the bottom the inning the Taps scored 3 runs to take the lead again. In the top of the inning the Hurtin' Unit bats thundered to life, pounding the ball all over the field and scoring 7 runs capped off by a Mike O. home run over the right field fence. This was the second time in the game Mike crushed the ball, we really miss this bat in the lineup. In the bottom of the third inning, the Units' defense closed the door on the Tap Masters. The score after 3 complete innings Hurtin' Units 9, Tap Masters 5.

Darkness had fallen on the playing field and after a short discussion with captains and umpire, it was decided that the conditions were unsafe and the game would have to be rescheduled... The Hurtin' Units vs. Tap Masters rescheduled make-up game is July 4, 2012 at Keogh Park at 9:30pm.

RED DOGS HOLD OFF HURTIN' UNITS...

HURTIN' UNITS VS. RED DOGS.

The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it’s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again.-Field of Dreams

Game # 9 - June 18, 2012

Hurtin' Units lose 19-17

Team Record- 2-6-1

Coventry Park - Well,  it's back to Coventry for another kick at the can. The Hurtin' Units don't really have a lot of history with the Red Dogs, over the last couple of years, we have played each other, but there really have been no memorable moments that I can recall. I looked at their roster and there were 3 players that I have played with since coming in to the league in 2006. I played on teams with Rick H., Gary C. and Rob Mc. over the years, these guys I have some memories with, but really that's about it. In 2008, Rob McCarron and I played for the Lucky Stiffs and won the T.O.T championship, we did have a little help from our friend Sammy Buca, which we will call upon in the near future...

One memory I do have of the Red Dogs, it was Game # 1, May 4, 2010 and the Hurtin' Units were playing their first ever game against the Red Dogs, we went on to win the game by a score of 14-10. I looked back at what I wrote back then about that game and thought I would share a couple of paragraphs of my babblings with you, from this time....

Our game was not a stand out by any means, but it did have certain hang around the beer cooler topics to discuss post game. What topics you ask? Well, there were the five strike outs by the Units, which leads to five frosty jugs of beer at the Legion and this made the eyes of Chris, Robin and Jerry light up like little kids in a candy store. There was the nature call by an umpire who found relief in the meadows of Coventry Park and of course, there was the game. Yes the game, the first ever game for the Hurtin' Units.

The Hurtin' Units played a solid defensive game with few errors which is good news for the first game of the year. Robin made a fantastic play near second base, picking up a well hit ground ball, crawling toward second, getting to his feet, stumbling again to his knees, crawling to the bag for the out, a solid effort indeed. There were some nice catches in the outfield and the infield didn't look to shabby either. I have a feeling I might be repeating this line several more times over the course of the season (not the Robin crawling back line, although given enough beer... no, I mean the team looked good line).

  

I really do enjoy going back and reading the stuff I wrote about our games from the past, I think it is probably because I was at these games and remember how the plays actually went down... I really hope that sometime in the future, everyone on the current (2012) roster will go back and read what I said about our games... I know that this has not been a memorable season as yet, but I really, honestly believe we have a solid, solid team and we are about to turn things around... And if I am wrong about the turning it around thing, I hope we still walk away with great memories of playing together... I sometimes get bored with writing out or trying to find an angle or just putting this blog together, but I do look back once and awhile at old postings and find it's fun to recall games gone by... Some of you may have noticed that I have use this picture of the kid eating popcorn and watching the game in previous blogs, I really love the innocence of this picture and I like to include it in a blog in every season... 

The Red Dogs look like they are off to a decent start in the 2012 campaign sitting in 7th place with a 4-4-0 record, so basically a .500 team which we could see a lot of this season...If any team (other than the Joints) could get on a winning streak, they could walk away with the league this season... I was perusing the standings this morning and the difference between 2nd and 15th is 5 points... If the Units were to win 3 games in a row and the Dodge City Rounders were to lose 3, the Units would take over sole procession of 2nd place, now there are a ship load of other teams in between us, but I was really just trying to illustrate a point about how close the standings are and how easy it would be to get back in the race... EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEAZY!

And so the drought ends... I have to mention my Nascar favorite Dale Earnhart jr. for ending the 143 cup race drought without a win. The victory came almost exactly four years to the day after his last trip to Victory Lane . Dale's last win was also in Michigan on June 15, 2008. It was great to finally see Junior win. I was actually a Dale Earnhart senior fan unitl Dale Sr. was killed in Daytona, in the last lap of the Daytona 500, in 2001... I know I speak for all the Dale Earnhart jr. fans, congratulations for a long overdue victory...

The weather for this game the Red Dogs was hot, 30 degrees at around 3:00pm and with the humidity it felt like 38 degrees. At game time it had cooled down to 28 degrees...

At game time we had 10 players, all drug free, (Advil, Aspirin, Moltrin Midol and A535 are not performance enhancing) ready to take on the Big Red Machine. Gord R. (3rd) was unavailable (back on afternoons) and Mike was ready  to play if needed. We were the home team in this game...

BOXSCORE:             1      2       3       4       5        6        7           TOTAL 

HURTIN' UNITS         6      2       1       1      0        7         0               17      

RED DOGS                2     4        7       0      2        3         1               19     

      

Hurtin' Unit score sheet

In seasons past I may have thought that we were jinxed or cursed or that someone had cast a spell upon our team. I don't feel this way this time around. I really think that it's a matter of time before we start chalking up some more wins. We are definitely competing in most of our games. Our record could just as easily be 6-2-1. We have lost 3 games where the score was within a single run  and now in 1 game where we lost by 2 runs. If a hit or a catch or a foul tip had gone in a different direction, in these games, we could be sitting in a different position now. If Mike was not injured and his bat was crushing the ball the way he can, we might be in a different position. But would it be a better position?

If the playoffs were to begin today, based on the same format as last season, we (15th seed) would play the 1, 6, 7, 12 seeds and those teams would be Dislocated Joints, Tap Masters, Grusome Devils and the Dogcatchers...We can play with any of these teams.

Red Dogs score sheet

I sometimes think the universe just plays   with us to make us stronger or to make us appreciate what we have. I use Dale Earnhart as an example. It has been four years, 173 Nascar races, numerous cars and engines and piles and piles of worn down tires since Dale jr. has been to victory lane. Over this time I'm sure there was some doubt that he would ever win again, he probably thought he was jinxed and if he wasn't the most popular driver in Nascar I would venture to guess he would have been looking for a new team. There were some tough times, but he kept competing and with the support of his teammates and fans all the tweaking, adjusting and practise finally paid off...

I really enjoyed this game against the Red Dogs, sure we lost, but the bottom line is we competed, we showed we can play with the big boys and I think everyone on the Hurtin' Units knows that we are not as bad as the record shows. There is a lot of baseball left to play and we will get a second chance with some of the teams we have already played, I also look forward to our game against the Dislocated Joints...Let's see how do against these guys.

The Red Dogs really are the big, red machine. They have a solid hitting and defensive team. With bats like Brad Y., Mike C., Rob McC., and Mark K, I can see why they now sit in second place in the standings.

Game Time: In the top of the first inning, the Red Dog batters jumped on us quickly scoring two runs. In the bottom of the first, the Hurtin' Units came out swinging (I know we always come out swinging, but this time we were hitting too) and we went through the lineup and when it was all said and done, the Units had scored 6 runs. In the top of the second inning, the powerful Dogs were back to their old tricks, spraying the baseball all around the diamond. Brad Young was the Hurtin' Units killer and Craig was forced to do some serious running in right field. The Dogs brought 4 more runs around to score. In the bottom of the inning, the Units tacked on 2 more runs and take an 8-6 lead.

In the top of the third inning, Dave (Kidder) made his Hurtin' Units 2012 pitching debut. Kidder came in to pitch an inning and he struggled a little trying to find his range and when the dust had finally settled, the Red Dogs had put 7 runs on the board. I had expected Kidder to have a few issues, after all it was his first pitching appearance this season, I didn't let him know he was pitching until game time and the Dogs were a tough hitting team. I really thought it was time for him to get in to a game even if it was tough Dog sledding... Kidder had ribbed me in the inning earlier about using more than a centimeter of the board and we had a laugh when Karma came back to bite him pitching in the third...LOL.

In the bottom of the third inning, the Units scored only a single run. The score at the end of three innings 13-9 for the Red Dogs.

In the top of the forth inning, the Units muzzled the Dogs allowing no runs. In the bottom of the inning, the Units scored another single run. In the fifth inning, the Red Dogs scored 2 runs and the Units were stopped putting up a zero. In the sixth inning, the Red Dogs cranked out another 3 runs, but in the bottom of the inning, the Hurtin' Units' bats were recharged and 7 runs came in to score... The score at the end of six innings, the Red Dogs led 18-17.

In the seventh inning, the Red Dogs would tack on a single insurance run and would take a 19-17 score in to the bottom half of the inning...
In the bottom of the seventh the Units would send Rob R, Cam C, and Dave to the plate, the Units would go down 1,2,3 and the Red Dogs held on for the victory... I could almost cry because of this loss...I'm kidding, just watch the video.

Jimbits: 

There are not a lot of things to recall here, you would think with a 19-17 score there would be...Go Figure.

• I do remember the diamond being very dusty and after every infield play there would be this cloud of dust drifting across the diamond...
• Craig was hitting the ball really well, I had lent him a bucket of balls, a bat and a batting tee the week before, I thought this was why he was crushing the ball, it turns out the stuff never left the trunk of his car... Craig had some troubles in the field, Brad Young sent him running toward the fence on numerous occasions.
• We had 3 strike outs in this game, all foul outs. Jamie, Jimmer and Clayton ( Clayton? have I got that right?) all had some troubles with Eric Hipkin's pitching. Damn! I had just paid up my tab...
• Rob R. made a nice running catch behind second base. When you hear Rob tell the story... he had to run 150 feet, through knee high grass, in a dust storm, in bare feet and then made a dive through the air making a snow cone catch. I believe a 10 year old girl, with no glove, could have made the catch. 
• Dave (Kidder) made his 2012 pitching debut.
• Al H., playing first base, got hit in the shin on a hard shot that took a strange bounce.
• Clayton, playing at third, made a great grab on a ground ball, touched third for the force play and then threw home for a double play... Wait, the umpire called the runner at third safe because he didn't leave the bag, when Clayton touched third, the base was open again...It was definitely a strange play, confusing to most of us... live and learn. I believe if Clayton had gone home first and then the ball was thrown back to third it would have been a double play... There was no harm done, we got the next batter out to end the inning.

There was one more thing that happened on the night: Post game the Hurtin' Units gathered in the parking lot for a refreshing beverage or two. Eight players had come back and we drank merrily on this warm evening, almost summer don't ya know... After a few sodas and some game discussion, some of the players headed home...Rob, Cam, Mike and I were the remaining bodies, still yukking it up and telling stories of the victory that twas almost ours. 

As we were enjoying the evening, a police car turned in to the parking lot, someone yelled "it's the cops". As quickly as the words were out, the beverage cans were hurling though the air like hand grenades with the pins pulled. The police cruiser, with two female cops came to a skidding stop, Cam panicked and started running for the long grass. The officer in the passenger side jumped out and started after Cam. The other officer kept the us in her sites, while watching her partner catch up to Cam.

The officer caught up to Cam, grabbed him by the back of his green Hurtin' Units shirt, the shirt torn from top to bottom as he tripped over his own feet and did a face plant in to the grassy dirt. Cam tried to get back to his feet, the officer pushed Cam face first back down, yelling " stay down, stay down", she straddled over top of Cam and forced her knee in to his back, while reaching for her hand cuffs. When Cam was cuffed, she got him to his feet, there was grass still sticking out from his hair, his torn shirt hung askew and there was trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth, she walked him back to the police cruiser, opened the rear door and pushed him inside... At this point in the evening, there was a loud beeping sound and I realized that my alarm had gone off and it was time to get up for work...

Yes, I was having a dream, but it was based on some true facts, there was a point in the parking lot on Tuesday night when the police did drive in to the Coventry Park, we did toss the beverages, but the officer was cool and told us to be discreet with our activities... When we were leaving there were 3 cruisers sitting out by the water tower, we gave a friendly wave and headed for home...  
   ,
Next week we play two games: On Monday we take on the Tap Masters and on Thursday we are in a rematch with the Grusome Devils. ...

LAB- Kidder.

GRUSOME BATS BITE THE HURTIN' UNITS...

HURTIN' UNITS VS. GRUSOME DEVILS...

Game # 8 - June 11, 2012

Hurtin' Units lose 16-8

Team Record- 2-5-1

Keogh Park- Our game against the Grusome Devils brings back some familiar faces. Four of the Grusome players played for the Hurtin' Units over the last two years, Robin D., Bob Mc., Richard G. and Jens L. all were on the Unit's rosters. The Devils are captained by rookie captains Jens L and Steve D. I was looking at the standings on the weekend, the Grusome were sitting in 8th place with a record of 3-3-1 and 7 points. If the Hurtin' Units were to win the game on Monday evening we would have the exact same record and would vault ourselves from the bottom of the standings to a tie for 8th spot. There is unbelievable parity in the league this season. In the standings, only 5 points separate 2nd place from 15th place... Unlike last season, no team is really walking away with the lead, the Dislocated Joints finally lost a game and it could mean things might get a little more interesting...

Fine Swedish Quality - Jens L., Matts Sundin and IKEA

The Devils have assembled a good looking team (good looking in a baseball term) and their lineup is peppered with solid bats and guys who know what to do with the ball in defensive situations. In 7 games played this season, the Devils have 83 runs for (a little on the low side) and only 78 runs against (the best in the league) so we know the defense are making the plays... Mike and I had the pleasure of playing with Robin and Bob Mc. and these guys are both solid, steady infielders and when Jens played for the Hurtin' Units he was rated an 8, I think Jens would have been a steal at a 4 rating. In 2010, at the conclusion of the season, I believe I rated Jens a 4 or a 5. There was no way that a guy who could hit, throw, catch and be a all around team guy like Jens, was going to come back to haunt me on another team.  Jens is a scary player, probably explains the team name The GRUSOME DEVILS, he may still be under rated at a 4... 

And speaking of Jens, I was at the legion last year (it might of actually been draft day), Jens was there was a handful of other guys sitting around having a few beverages, Jens had a pair of tickets for the Leafs vs. Bruins for that evening, he asked me if I wanted to go, I accepted his offer and he gave me the tickets for the game... I was excited about going to the game, I am a Leafs fan (I think Jens is a Habs fan) and Boston was a great team to go watch... The Leafs kicked Boston's ass all around the rink, I believe the score was 6-1 Leafs, probably one of their best games all season... And if many of you don't remember (I know Cam and Dennis S. do) Boston Bruins went on to win the Stanley Cup in 2011. This was the first time I had ever seen a hockey game at the ACC, a memorable evening to be sure, thanks again Jens... 
  

The weather on game day was for our game against the Grusome Devils was frightening, it was hot and sticky, the temperature topped out at 28 degrees, but with the humidity it felt like 33 degrees. There was also a threat of rain and thunderstorms heading in to the evening hours...When we started the game it a light drizzle was beginning to fall, it would get a little heavier and then let up allowing us to get the complete game in...

At game time we had 10 players ready to play, Anicete was away and Mike was there if we needed him, we went with 10 players and Mike kept score again...Mike finally got an MRI scheduled for his knee and he will know the extent of the damage within a couple of weeks. 

Hurtin' Units Scoresheet

This game (#8) marked our one third point of the season and if we were project our end of season record it would not be pretty, our record would end something like 6-15-3. We all know this is just a projection and we are going to get better as the season continues, we will not go down in flames...We are a much better team than this.

I was looking at the standings and noticed that there are 2 other teams with 5 losses this season already, and their standings have not been updated for this week. I also realized that the scores are all over the place, there are really close games, games with huge differentials and games with unbelieveable low scores, this is anyone's season to win... 

I really underestimated the hitting power of the Grusome squad. I knew the hitting power of Bob, Robin and Jens, but Richard G. (a Hurtin' Unit last season) was crushing the ball hard and in placing it in all the right places. Where was that power last season Richard? There were some new faces on the Devils that could certainly bring it also and when I give them some free passes (4 walks) this was a recipe for embarrassing loss. 

We are a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde team. On any given evening we can score bunches of runs and our defense could stop an all-star team from scoring. The next night we might play like we're a different team, fouling out (for jugs of beer), hitting pop ups, little weak flares into perfectly positioned defender's gloves and then our opponents seem to hit every pitch hard or just over our heads or through the gaps. I should go through our previous games and see who we were, Jekyll or Hyde, in each game and determine if there is a pattern to our play... Who will we be next game??? 

Boxscore:                1     2    3     4      5     6      7          Total   

Hurtin' Units             0      0    5     0     1      0     2              8       

Grusome Devils       3      0    2     3     5      3     X            16     

HTKP TOURNAMENT.

I asked everyone about playing in the HTKP tournament and I was elated to hear that everyone was committed to play. This is great; the tournament will give us a chance to play together as a full team and in a relaxed atmosphere I think our batting will improve. This will also give me so much more pitching experience and in the long run it can only improve our odds of winning more games and a
 better stretch run heading toward the playoffs...

"WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS" is what I would like to write on this blog, either after the T.O.T playoffs have concluded and/or after the HTKP tournament. We have a great group of guys on this team with skill and talent, we have the potential, with the parity this season, to step up and win it all... I would also like to congratulate the Los Angeles Kings who clinched the Stanley Cup in game 6 of the finals.

For the second year in a row, the Hurtin' Units played on the evening that the Stanley Cup Champions were decided. Last season it was the Boston Bruins...

For the Los Angeles it was there first ever Stanley Cup victory in their 45 year history...Los Angeles came in to the league the last year the Maple Leafs won the Cup...1967. D'oh!!! At one point in the 2011-12 season it didn't look like the Kings would even make the playoffs, but they managed to edge out Calgary to get the eighth seed in the Western Conference and thirteenth over all in the standings. 

Every team in the T.O.T league makes the playoffs, I think we could be the L.A Kings of our league, we have the bats and gloves to do the task, we just need a little more seasoning and a  bit  more  confidence...

Our next game is Tuesday June 19, 2012 at Coventry Park at 8:15pm.

UNIT'S BIG GUNS WERE SMOKIN' IN DODGE...

HURTIN' UNITS VS. THE DODGE CITY ROUNDERS...AGAIN.

Stephen King's The Gunslinger.

Game # 7- June 2, 2012

Hurtin' Units win 19-10

Team Record- 2-4-1

Dodge City - Our weekly schedule puts us in Dodge City for a one game road trip to take on the Rounders in a back to back series. Last Thursday night we faced these same Rounders and came away with our first win of the season winning by a score of 16-6. We now head into Dodge City where these Rounders are in their comfort zone; sleepin' in their own beds, relaxin' on their front porches, eatin' grits and just becomin' ornery. This will be a different team come Monday night, same players, but a team with the support of their home town crowd gettin' all up in the faces of da Hurtin' Units...

Last Thursday evening we (the Units) got off to a good start putting up a bunch of early inning runs, something that had been lacking in most of our other games. In almost every other game we have played so far, we have had to battle back in the later innings to keep the games close. In our game against the Rounders, the Hurtin' Units defense really stepped up and shut down the bats of the Rounders. Sure, they got some hits, I gave up some walks, but in most of the tight situations we bared down and stopped the Rounders from having the big inning...I was really surprised when I heard the final, 16-6, we only allowed 6 runs to pretty good offensive team. 

The Gunslinger by David Naman

Since draft day, I have thought we have a solid batting team, and when we had our first practise I realized that I was correct in my assessment, over the last couple of games I've seen our batting climb to a new level, the level I really thought we were capable of...We have become the a new group of Gunslingers... In our last two games  (Dodge City and Brew Jays) we have scored 37 runs, an average of just over 18 runs per game, compared to an average of 10 runs per game over our first 4 games... Our hitting confidence is increasing game by game and our defense is getting more and more comfortable playing together, I also continue to practise pitching and improving in game situations, we're headed in the right direction... 

This second game of a back to back against the Dodge City Rounders will be a true test of what I was just talking about with our hitting and defense...The Rounders are still in second place in the standings with a record of 5-2-0. Dodge City will not back down easily in this game, we will have to be quick on the draw to get out of Dodge with our second win of the season...

Showdown Day:

The weather over the past weekend was not good, it rained off and on all weekend, there were overcast skies and cool temperatures. On game day (Monday June 4th) the overcast skies still lingered and there was a threat of rain, but at game time (7:00pm) the ground was still dry and we would get our game in, a full 7 innings. Overcast skies for a 7:00pm game are actually a welcome site, it saves the right fielder and first and second basemen from looking directly into the sun...  

We had 11 players saddled up and to take on the Dodge City Rounders, Mike was at the game, but he had played a doubleheader on Sunday night and his knee was bothering him again and it was probably for the best to take the night off... 

We started the game off a little bit slow only scoring a single run in the first two innings while the Rounders scored one in the first and two in the second. In the third, our bats came to life and we scored 7 runs capped off with a 3 run homerun by Tumble, our defense held off the Rounders and at the end of 3 innings the score was 8-3 Units.

Dodge City would stop us in the fourth and score a single run, in the fifth both teams scored a single run, in the sixth the Units defense would again shut down the Rounders and the offense hit for another 5 runs, at the end of six innings, Units 14- Rounders 5.

In the top of the seventh (open) inning the Hurtin' Units would score another 5 runs, but the Rounders would not roll over and die, they would fight until the bitter end, scoring 5 runs before the Units final finished them off...  

I would be willing to wager that the Dodge City Rounders are happy to see our trail dust in the distance, as we ride in to the sunset, back toward Tottenham. We played another solid game. Our hitting was working great again and the defense with stellar. In our two games against the Rounders we scored 35 runs, an average of just under 18 runs per game and our defense allowed 16 runs against (5 in the final inning of  the 2nd game), an average of only 8 runs per game. When you can hold your opponents to only 8 runs a game, in the Oldtimers league, you put yourself in good position to win a majority of your games. 

Our game against the Dodgers on Monday was designated the Game of the Week on Doug Dwyer's blog, to view what Doug had to say about the game go to    http://www.tottenhamoldtimers.blogspot.ca/2012/06/game-of-week-week-6.html .

Boxscore:        1    2    3     4     5     6      7       Total 

Dodge City      1    2     0     1    1     0     5         10     

Hurtin' Units    1    0    7     0    1     5     5          19     

QUICK SHOTS:

There were a handful note worthy things that happened in this game, I thought they should be recapped in a bullet form...

• Clayton (a great old west name) when playing second, made a great diving catch going to his left, got up made a strong throw to second base to get the lead runner.

• Al Hayward caught a smokin' line drive down to first base, hit by Beechy, the bees were buzzing in his hand, for a little while, after this shot...

Photo by Samantha Delgreco

• Cam and Jamie both made excellent catches in the outfield, Jamie was captured in a photograph by our friend Sam D.

• Duelling Gords- Both Gords were hitting the ball really well, Gord Robin... hit some long shots, one in to the lawn bowling courts, but they were just foul, the homerun ball is getting closer...These Gords were really steady on defense also.

• Rob (Tumble) R. hit a three run homerun in to the tennis courts, the first homerun for the 2012 Hurtin' Units...That ball is probably worth a lot on ebay now...

•  Jamie was told what his stats were just before his first at bat, he went 2 for 4 on the night with 2 foul out strike outs, hence the nickname JUGS... Jamie's wife receives equal payment from him, what ever he spends in jugs of beer, she receives in cash. Jamie doesn't want to know his statistics, it costs too much...

Photo by Samantha Delgreco

• Pitch Watch- we had a nice little run going until the seventh inning, we had only given up 5 runs until the seventh, where we gave up an additional 5 runs... I had a couple of walks in this game, I walked Beechy again in this game, I don't walk him on purpose, but I do try to pitch him up and inside, missing the board more than hitting it...

• Mike was missing again in this game- I can sense the frustration from not playing, maybe we could play him the minimum number of innings and he can bat the entire game... Just a thought.

• Cam retrieved a base hit to center field, a Rounder runner had stopped at second, a runner was going home, Cam threw a ball that looked like it was going to home plate, the runner at second thought it was going home and started for third, I cut the ball off at pitcher, I threw back to second base (Clayton, I think) tagged the runner for the out...

• A similar play happened when I was at second, the second baseman faked a throw to home, I broke for third, and was tagged out trying to get back to second base, missing the bag completely by 4 inches... Gord (SS) called it the Karma play.





Photo by Samantha Delgreco

• I also struck out a Dodge City batter, delicious beer for Dodge City team, compliments of Jimmer.

• Chris Nyers was the umpire of record for this game... Chris is a Hurtin' Units alumni, although he didn't seem to help with the number of outs per inning in this game, kept us guessing all night long... Good game Chris.

LAB -JIMMER

HURTIN' UNITS PLAY A LATE DATE WITH ROUNDERS..

HURTIN' UNITS VS THE DODGE CITY ROUNDERS...

Game # 6 - May 30, 2012

Hurtin`Units win 16-6

Team Record  1-4-1

Keogh Park- Well it's good be away from Coventry Park, where we have played some pretty decent baseball over the last little while, but with nothing to show for it. A change of venue could be just what we need to stop our streak. Some may look at the standings and say this could be a disaster, the Rounders sit second in the standings with a record of 4-1-0 and we play them back to back. I still think we have good team that can compete with any team in the league... 

The last time we played the Dodge City Rounders was on July 5, 2011. We had rode in to Dodge City looking to get out of a funk, a funk which was a 5 game losing streak. Our record was 5-7-0 and if you recall we had started the season 4-0-0, we were lookin' to get back, get back, get back to where we once belonged. I also thought, back then, that a road trip might be the tonic we needed to get back on track, I was wrong, dead wrong, we got beat up real bad in Dodge City with a final score of 18-4. We are a new band of gunslingers this season, but Dodge is ram tough, looking for a good fight tonight.

In our last game against the Brew Jays, we saw our bats come to life scoring a season high 21 runs and tying our most runs given up in a game. We have proven we can play good defense and the hitting power is definitely there, so all we need is a night where the defense and pitching slow our opponents down to  the point that our offense can out score them... This is called a win... 

After our game against the Brew Jays, in the Coventry Park parking lot, we had a good feel about how we are playing, most of us think that it is just a matter of time until this current streak comes to a conclusion and we start to put some wins on the board...This game could be the turning point.  

The weather for this game was really good, the daytime temperature had peaked out at around 17 degrees with some cloudy skies and at game time the temperature had dropped down to 13 degrees, a little cool, but good for hitting the ball. This game was the first of two 9:30pm games...

At game time we had 11 players in uniform ready to take on the Dodge City Rounders, Gord R. (3rd) was missing... We were the home team this game...

I really thought that we were on the road (visitors) for this game, but it turns out we were the home team again, oops my bad. I forgot to bring a new ball for the game, fortunately DD was at our game score keeping and supplied me with a ball...Thanks Doug, I'll reinburse you with a new ball next time I see ye...I also thought that Kidder was going to be away, so the lineup needed so revamping, not a big deal, but these were things that kept me off balance up unitl the start of the game...

For the first time this season, we got off to a good start and the defense slowed the Rounders batters with only 2 runs in the first inning... Our good start continued thoughout the game and the defense kept the Rounders bats at bay only allowing a total of 6 runs... I was unable to get a photo of the game sheet, but based on the score Units probably had control for most of the game. Clayton, Cam, Jamie, Anicete are on fire with the bats, Gord, Al and Dave had a great week batting, and the rest of us are really starting to come around... Great games this week guys... On Monday June 4, we go on the road to Dodge City for another game against the Rounders. It is great to have a win under our belt and hopefully we can keep keep it going...

Lab- Tumble