MASTER BATTERS BEAT HURTIN' UNITS.

HURTIN' UNITS VS. THE MASTER BATTERS.

A Hurtin' Units season is always a wild ride. 

Game # 5- May 28, 2015

Hurtin' Units Lose - 22-9

Team Record - 2-3-0

FINALLY... IT'S THE HOME OPENER!!

Keogh Park- Since the start of the season the Hurtin Units have been the visiting team. Over the 4 game stretch, we have a 2-2 record and we have played in to the seventh inning in every game. A 2-2 record after playing 4 games as visitors is decent, if a major league team came home 2-2, on a 4 game road trip, it would definitely be considered a successful trip.

In our first 3 games we had to defend our leads going in to the bottom of the seventh innings. In the game against the Beer Bros, we took the lead in the top of the seventh, we had to defend and almost came away with the win. After defending the lead so many times, it will be nice to go in to the bottom of the open inning not having to play or with a chance to come back for the win.

Gord and Dave are our buds.

This game against the Master Batters will be a challenging match. The Master Batters have a 3-2 record coming in to this game. The master Batters are T.O.T league's newest team, voted in to the league in April. The Batters are captained by Gord T. and Dave F.

With 2 sets of captains packing it in this season, the door was opened for Gord and Dave to step up. The captains that did not return were Bo and Roddy (Brewjays) and John and John (Blues Bros.). Bo and Rod are still playing in the league. Bo with the Hurtin' Units and Rod with the Grisslies.

Since the Master Batters are new in the league, the Hurtin' Units have no history with this team. So this game is the maiden voyage for our teams to play. We may have no history with the Master Batters, but Mike and I are very familiar with the captains of the team. Dave F. (Home Hardware - "home of the handy man") and Gord T. (Tanners Self Storage - "Smokin, hot storage deals") have been in the league for awhile, we have played together, played against each other and we even play hockey together. These 2 guys are very competitive and I expect a tough game against them.

Standings after 4 games for the Hurtin' Units.

So, here are the standings, after the first 4 games, for the Hurtin' Units. Last season, we started off in last place and rode that wave all the way in to the playoffs. In the playoffs, after the round robin portion, we managed to beat out the Hottub Woodys with a slightly better plus/minus for last place. It was still nothing to be proud of. The standings are so close at this time of the season, so close that a win or a loss could catapult a team in to first or a loss could drop them in to 14th, I only post this standings now, because it looks so good not to be at the bottom for the first time in over a year. The Units short term goal is to win 4 games on the season, bettering last year's record by a win. After this goal is accomplished, then we will set a new goal and progress through the season one step at a time.


I find it a bit difficult to get in to a rhythm when our games are so far apart. It has been over a week since we were on the field last. We played last Wednesday night (loss to the Tap Masters) and this game is 8 days later. I think teams need to play more often, to stay in a groove. Next week we have 2 games on the week. We play at Coventry on Tuesday and Keogh on Thursday. I'm looking forward to a week with 2 games. Hopefully the rust is not too thick for this game. 

Quagmire, we said Master Batters.

The weather for this game was perfect, there was a sunny sky with a few fluffy clouds peppered around thoughout. At game time, there was a slight breeze, but it would not factor in to game play. 

At game time we had 10 Hurtin' Unit players warming up on the field. Dave M. and Todd (Hicks) were the only missing personnel. Todd was a last minute bow out, and I'm not sure what happened to Dave.    

This game was reminiscent of most of the Hurtin' Units games last season. Last season, our opponents would crush the ball all around the diamond (usually out of the range of our fielders) and the bats would go ice cold, we never seemed to be synchronized, hence the high plus/minus and losing record last season. 

By far this is our worst loss of our young season. This Unit's team batting is much better than a 9 run night. Yes, I did say a 9 run night; for the second straight game, I found a gaff on the scoresheet. The scorers (they were basically everyone on the field) missed or failed to tally 2 runs on the scoresheet scored in the fifth inning. Last game the scorekeeper missed Todd's monstrous homerun. The 2 runs missed really would not have changed things in the end, but it might have made us feel a little better. 

The game started off well enough, the Units allowed 3 runs in the top of the first and in the bottom, the Units countered with a 2 spot to keep it close. Over the next 2 innings the Batters would put up two 4 run innings and the Units would countered with only a single run. The score after 3 complete innings was 11-3 for the Batters.


In the top of the 4th inning, the dagger was plunged deep in to the belly of the Units as the Master Batters put up 7 runs on the scoreboard and Units only managed 2 runs (the missing 2 runs, I might add). The fifth inning was the only inning, on the night, that the Hurtin' Units would win, by a 4-2 margin. We can't gain much ground with only one inning outscoring our opponents. The score after 5 complete innings was 20-9 for the Master Batters (although we thought it was 20-7),  knowing about those 2 runs could have made a difference. 

It was going in to the top of the sixth inning, when I said to Mike I'm going to work on some pitches, I think a line was " nothin' but knuckles" and I did start playing around with some junk pitches. The Batters would only score a single run. In the bottom of the sixth we were shut out, sending 5 batters to the plate. RATFARTS!! 

In the top of the 7th (open) the Batters would only score another single run, but the downside was the Units would be shut out again. Make the final... Master Batters 22, Hurtin' Units 9. 

It was not the Hurtin' Units finest hour (1.25 hours actually), but there were a few bright spots. Al made his first 2 catches of the season, Mike handled 3 pop flies at first, Vince made another shoe top catch on the right field line. At bat, we had a rough night, but we are very capable of bashing the ball around the park, it will come together. For most of us, our batting averages will take a shit kicking because of this game, Darrell might come away unscathed with a 3 for 4 night. UNITS UNITE!!

The Hurtin' Units next game is Tuesday June 2nd at Coventry Park at 8:15pm. 

MASTERS OF THEIR DOMAIN...

HURTIN' UNITS VS. THE TAP MASTERS. 

Game # 4- May 20th, 2015

Hurtin' Units lose 22-15

Team Record 2-2-0

Over the past weekend, I started thinking about the Hurtin' Units upcoming game vs. the Tap Masters. The Tap Masters always seem to have the Hurtin' Units number. I think that every team, whether professional, amateur or recreational has that one team that is their nemesis (i.e Montreal Canadians vs. the Boston Bruins), for the Hurtin' Units, I feel that team is the Tap Masters. I can't remember ever beating the Masters in regular season, tournaments or playoffs. I can honestly say, I don't know what the Units all time record, against the Tap Masters is, so I decided to do a bit of research on the topic.

Intense Research Results.

After some intense research, I discovered my feelings regarding the Tap Masters are valid. Since the Tap Masters came in to the league in 2012, they have dominated the Hurtin' Units. In the seven games played, the Tap Masters have a 6-1-0 record. And they have outscored the Units by 127 to 67 runs. Yikes!! You have to think that sooner or later things have to balance out. Right?

This game is the final game of our 4 game road trip to start the season. We have been on the road since May the 5th and I think everyone will be happy to get home, eat a delicious, home cooked meal and sleep in their own beds. I don't think there is anything more uncomfortable than trying to sleep on the team bus. The Hurtin' Units home opener is next Thursday Night vs. the Master Batters. 

The weather for this game was still a little on the chilly side, with a high temperature on the day of only 15 degrees, a brisk northwest wind making it feel cooler and mostly sunny skies... so we had that going for us. It's an 8:15pm game you say, the sun we be going down during the game...D'oh!! or should I be saying " what the deuce?". Family Guy fans should know this one. 

At game time we had 12 players dressed in navy and white shirts, although some of those shirts were covered up with a warmer outer layer. All 12 guys again, probably another good night for a team picture, forgot again...D'oh!!

The Masters de Tap have once again shown their dominance over the Hurtin' Units. I didn't mention, to the Hurtin' Units players, about the record vs. the Tap Masters until after the game. Maybe, if I had, there may have been more incentive to want a victory against these guys. I will definitely bring it up before the next game with the Tap Dancers.

I woke up on Tuesday morning with a extremely tight lower back, I could barely bend over, I popped a muscle relaxant and hoped for the best. When I finished work on Tuesday, my back was still tight, fortunately I had a massage booked and let my therapist work her magic. The next morning (Wednesday), I woke up and my back was feeling good, the only problem was, my neck was stiff and my shoulders not much better. I popped another muscle relaxant and again hoped for the best. Later Wednesday afternoon, I started thinking about asking Darrell to pitch and at game time I asked him to go in. 

I probably should not have asked him to pitch, not because he's not a good pitcher (he is, he's super awesome), but more because he is also an awesome second baseman and if he had been at second we probably would have been out of the first inning sooner. I really enjoy playing second base, I can usually hold my owe, but Darrell is so solid in this position.

In the top of the first inning, the Units would score 5 runs. Awesome!! In the bottom of the inning, the Tappers would score seven. Crap!!

In the second inning, the Units would score only a single run, but the upside is the defense would hold the Masters off the scoresheet. 

The bad news is that over the next 4 innings, the Tap Masters would out score the Units, in every inning, to the tune of 15 runs to the Units 5 runs. The score after 6 complete innings was 22-11 for the Masters. The Units would rally in the top of the seventh with 4 more runs, but it would not be enough, the final score 22-15 for the Tappers. 

We played a decent game on the night, we had one inning when we threw the ball around, allowing several runs to score and runners to advance a base or two. The Tap Masters really hit the ball hard, getting it by our infielders and on one occasion just getting the ball by Scotty, in the outfield, who almost made the catch. Scotty also had to run in to make a spectacular sliding catch in shallow LCF. On this play, I thought the Tapper's runner, at second base, left early on the tag, but Roman was honest about not seeing it because he was watching Scott for a fair catch. I can live with that, only one umpire, can't watch everywhere.

The Units also hit the ball well; Cookie screamed a line drive to the first baseman, Vinny lined out to short, I was caught again, in this game, in left field and Dave Miller continues to impress me with his hitting and defense. Hicks (the birthday boy) hit a homerun over the left field fence, he also struck out for the final out of the game (homeruns cancel out strike outs for jugs of beer). Cookie made a barehanded catch, at catcher, for an important out. Vince made a scary good catch in right field, crashing in to the chain link fence. 

Over all, I thought we played pretty well; we had one bad inning defensively and our batting was not quite where it should be with 4 innings of only 1 run or less. I don't think we should push the panic button yet. Scotty is looking forward to the Units getting their 4th win of the season to surpass the Hurtin' Units record of 2014. We have 22 more games to get ur done boys. Let's set a goal of 4 wins and work upward from there. 

Thanks to Gina for score keeping. 

The Hurtin' Units next game is Thursday May 28th at 7:00pm at Keogh Park. The Units first home game of the season.     

GAME OF GROANS...

HURTIN' UNITS VS. THE BEER BROS. 

Game # 3- May 14, 2015

Hurtin' Units lose 24-23

Team Record- 2-1-0

Keogh Park- We are still on the road for two more games, the clothes in our suitcases are starting to get a little ripe. It's a good thing we have only worn the new shirts once and the night we wore them, it was cold and we didn't really work up a sweat. 

The weather for this game was quite good, at least much better than our previous two games. The temperature, at 7:00pm was 19 degrees with a light (15km/h) south wind and mainly sunny skies.  

At game time we had 11 players dressed in navy blue, warming up for the battle with the Beer Bros. The only missing player was Al F. 

The Brothers of Beer are one of the teams that the Units played twice last season... Unbalanced schedule don't ya know. On May 26th, 2014 the Units playing game # 3, would lose to the Bros. by a score of 19-14. On July 30th, 2014, game #17, the Hurtin' Units would defeat the Beer Bros. by a score of 23-20 for their 3rd (and final) win of the season.

Fast forward to May 14th, 2015 and our first of 2 games scheduled against the 2015 edition of the Brothers de Beer. 

1st Inning: In the top of the first inning, Scotty started off the game with a solid lead off triple. Dave Mill. hit a single and scored Scotty. It looked the Units were going to continue where they left off on Tuesday night when we scored 26 runs. The run production came to an abrupt end when Dave Mc. was forced out at second on a double play getting Darrell at first, Bo flied out to end the Units half of the inning. In the bottom of the inning, I started the game off walking Stef, I followed with a strike out of Anicete, Gary R. hit a single and Neil P. brought the 2 base runners around to score. The next two batters would fly out and the inning was over...it looked like it was going to be a tight, low scoring game. 

2nd Inning: In the top of the 2nd inning, the Units would send 5 batters to the plate. No runs would come in to score. Todd and Bill would be left on base. In the bottom of the inning, the defense struggled and we came off the rails. Scotty counted 6 errors and I would agree that was probably close to right. I do remember balls hitting off and out of gloves the entire inning, this was very usual considering how well we have played in our previous 2 games. The one positive, in the inning, was Bo caught Stef in a run down at second. The Brothers would score 7 runs on only 1 out. 

3rd Inning: In the third inning, the Units would send 6 batters to the plate, but nobody would score. I would be left stranded at 3rd base. In the bottom of the inning, the Brothers of Beer would put up another 5 runs, but this time they were all earned on well hit balls sprayed all over the Keogh diamond. No errors, just good ole fashion put it where they ain't hits. Nutin' ya can do about these ones boys. The score after 3 complete innings of play. 14-1 for the Brothers. 

4th Inning: 14-1 after 3 innings, we might as well pack up the tents and head to the Legion. 
Right?? Bo would lead off the the 4th inning, and when the diamond dust settled, at the end of the inning, the Units would score 5 huge runs. In the bottom of the inning, the Units defense started to come around, Darrell pitching, we slowed down the Brothers, only allowing 2 runs.

5th Inning: The Units would score another 4 runs in the top of the inning, it could have been more, but the Beer Brothers left fielder made a spectacular catch on a well hit ball by me (Jimmer), that looked like it was going to go over the fielder's head.  In the bottom of the inning, that defense thing was a little wobbly again and the Beer Bros. would tack on 6 more runs, leaving the seventh stranded on 3rd. The score at the end of 5 innings was Beer Bros. 22 and Hurtin' Units 10. It was at this point that I inquired about the score, I thought Paul had told me it was 22-12, this is what I said when I went back to the bench... my bad!! It was actually 22-10.

6th Inning: In the top of the inning the Units, would start off with the top of the order (remember I flied out to end the 5th), the top 6 batters would come around to score highlighted by a towering homerun, by Todd, over the left field fence. Bill would also come around to score, on an RBI by Cookie. The Units would score a impressive 7 runs. 
In the bottom of the inning, the Brothers would send 5 batters to the plate, but the Units defense would shut the door and leave a runner stranded at third base. The score at the end of six innings was Beer Brothers 22, Hurtin' Units 17.

7th Inning: In the top of the seventh inning (open inning) the Units would send 10 batters to the plate and score 6 runs. The Units would take the lead, for the first time, in the game. 23-22. 

In the bottom of the inning, the first batter flied out, Stef and Anicete would get on base, Gary R. would pop out to Mikey Boy at first, Neil would hit a single and score Stef and advance Anicete to third base. The game was tied, the winning run was on 3rd, Mike Douglas was the next batter. Mike D.

would hit a hard ground ball toward Hags at second base, the ball would take a huge bounce, Darrell had to catch it over has head (tough bounce for sure), Darrell would throw to first, the ball and runner would arrive at the same time...Roman made a safe call, the runner at third came in to score, the game was over. The call at first could have gone either way, it was that close, it was disappointing to lose this game, but it was a great comeback by the Units. Close but no cigar this time boys. 

The Hurtin' Units next game is Wednesday May 20th at Keogh Park at 8:15pm.

PSYCHO KILLER " Qu'est-ce que c'est ?"

HURTIN' UNITS VS. SONS OF PITCHES.

Showdown on Coventry 2.

Game # 2 -Hurtin' Units vs. the Sons of Pitches

Hurtin' Units win 26-15

Team Record- 2-0-0 

Coventry Park- The Hurtin' Units played the Sons of Pitches 3 times last season. The first time was in the regular season, July 8th, in the Units 10th game, and the Sons would defeat the Units by a score of 20-19. The second time was in the HTKP tournament and the Sons would again defeat the Units, by a score of 9-8. The third time, and the most painful time, was in the playoffs.  

Tuesday September 9th, 2014- The score of the game will read 24-17 for the Sons of Pitches. Going in to the bottom of the 7th inning, the Hurtin' Units had a 5 run lead. The Units would get the first two batters out on a great double play by Kevin and back ended by Mike at first. 

Two batters out, still a 5 run lead and then a bad break, as a game ending fly ball tipped off the glove of Dave Mc. to keep the inning alive. Six runs would cross the plate and that was the ball game. A deflated Units team started to walk off the diamond, when Roman informed us that we had to play out the 7th inning for the plus/minus. It was difficult to continue playing when you had just lost a heartbreaker like this one. We would give up another 6 runs (+7) without ever getting the final out. 

The three games that we played, against the sons, were all one run games, (the playoff game score was higher only because we played for plus/ minus) with the Units coming out on the losing end of all three. That really was the story for the 2014 Units. A real right hook to the ribs... eh Woody!! 

Definitely out performed. Definitely!!

Over the past weekend, Mike and I held a batting practice to help break in the newest bats. We had 7 guys show up to Coventry park and we all hit 2 buckets of balls each. 

The guys who showed up were Vince, Mike, Jimmer, Darrell, Glen T. Andy G. and Dan R. I think this turn out was pretty decent considering how hot and humid it was.

The 2 new bats (Psycho and Warpath, those are the manufacturers names, not ours) performed quite well the second time around. Most of us were getting in some really solid, deep hits from both bats, but Psycho definitely out performed Warpath. Definitely out performed, definitely.  




For this game we got our shirts, a navy blue jersey with white lettering and a new Stewie logo with new font style. Welcome to the new look Hurtin' Units. 

After such a warm (hot) and humid past weekend, the temperature and weather for this game felt like it was winter again. The temperature at 6:00pm was 12 degrees, with overcast skies and a strong, cold northwest wind...yuck!! There was also a chance of rain. 

At game time the Units had 10 players dressed in the new shirts, several with a jacket or sweatshirt over top. Dave and Todd both were wearing shorts. Mike C. and Dave Mill were the missing players. 

This game will be the first of 2 meeting with the Sons this season.The second game will be in on June 2nd, before we have even played some of the other teams. 

This game was the first of two games, for the Units, this week. I actually enjoy playing twice a week, but I'm not exactly thrilled about writing two blog postings in a week, especially when the games are close together. It's not the scribbling down the mindless dribble I throw on the page, it's more about trying to remember the plays and situations of each game. Did Scott hit a homerun or was it Darrell? Or maybe it was both. This kind of stuff. I usually jot down a few notes the morning after a game and with a game sheet or boxscore I try to piece the game back together in my head. 

The Units were the visitors again in this game. Our first two innings of the game were almost perfect. In both the first and second innings the Units scored 7 runs, in each, while going through the batting order in both. I say almost perfect because on the defensive side, of the first two innings, we gave up a run to the Sons in the first inning. 

In the third inning the Sons and Units traded runs, both teams with 2 runs. The Units would score 2 more runs in the top of the fourth inning, but the Sons would counter with 7 well earned runs. No cheap runs here, all earned on solid hits sprayed all around the diamond. In the fifth inning, both teams were held off the score sheet. At the end of five innings the score was 18-10 for the Units. Over the next 2 innings, the 2 teams would continue to score runs, the Units would score 8 more runs and the Sons would tack on 5 more. The final score 26-15. 

There were several highlights that I do remember from this game. I do remember Scotty actually hitting a homerun. I know Vince made a spectacular catch on his shoe tops, I know for the second straight game the infield turned an inning ending double play. Dave Mc (SS) was like a vacuum at short, a vacuum with a cannon attached and pointed toward firstbase, throwing out numerous Sons batters. We might have to change his name to McGlovin. Todd hit a towering shot to left field, sending Jimmy Mac scrambling to find the ball and spinning him around, it dropped in for a hit. Everyone was hitting the ball hard and the Psycho bat was creating havoc for the Sons of Pitches.

The Hurtin' Units are back on the field Thursday evening vs. the Beer Bros. at Keogh Park. The first time at Keogh this season.    

A SELL OUT CROWD EXPECTED FOR OPENING NIGHT.

HURTIN' UNITS VS. HOTTUB WOODYS

Stewie gets excited about his first game.

Game # 1 - May 5, 2015

Hurtin' Units win 13-10

Team Record -1-0-0


Last season, opening night was the beginning of an eleven game losing streak for the Units. We lost our first game of the season, in 2014, against the Blues Brothers by a score of 10-8. Maybe, if we had won this game, our season might have been completely different. I mentioned (probably 5 times or more already) that this was the first time, in team history, that the Units had ever lost our opening night game. I hope this doesn't happen again.

Opening night, this season, is versus the Hottub Woodys, with captains Jeff D. and Fast Eddie H., two of my favorite captains in the league. Fast Eddie is the reason that Mike and I are captains today. Way back when the Hurtin' Units were just a glimmer in our eye, Fast Eddie encouraged Mike and I to become captains and endorsed us to the executive. In 2009, we were next in line for captaincy, but the league went with one less team and we missed out. The following season (2010), The Recycled decided to call it quits, and Mike and I were voted in as captains. The Hurtin' Units were born. 

And so begins the start of The Hurtin' Units sixth season.

The Units were the visitors in this game. The Units are actually on the road (visitors) to start the season. In our first 4 games we are the visitors. And we are only the home team twice in our first 10 games. Our home games are back ended, 6 of our final 7 games we are the home team. I figure if we can weather the hostile crowds of our first 4 opponents, we might have a chance to get off to a good start. 
   

At game time (8:15), we had our full 2015 roster. This was probably a good time for a team picture, but the only problem was we didn't have our shirts yet. D"oh!! The league equipment manager has indicated that the shirts might be ready by the end of the week. The opening night lineup worked out for us, but after a brief discussion with Mike, we may make a few changes and see how much more offence we can generate. 

Our batting on opening night was what I think we might have expected. We had a practice just over a week ago and we had a couple of guys who had not even swung a bat this year, so I think there was a bit of rust, we'll brush that off with a couple of games under our belts. 


The new bats did not live up to all the hype (kinda like the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight), they probably need a breaking in period and they will probably be better in warmer temperatures. Scott suggested a "break in the new bats", batting practice. Mike likes the idea, so maybe we'll see if we can put something together.     

The Hurtin' Units offense definitely had some rust, but the defense I thought was solid considering that most of us had never played together. Both the infield and the outfield made some great plays. 

Bill was steady in RCF and probably had the bulk of the work out there. Dave M., who I had never seen before, went through the outfield and made several catches, one a spectacular catch on the shoe tops. I was really impressed by Dave's play. The other outfielders were solid and we looked like we've been playing together for months. 

The infield saw some awesome moments also. Mike ran back, at first base, to make a catch, tumbling into the dirty on the play. Dave Mc started a double play to Darrell to Mike. 

Darrell, Todd and Dave Mc. all snagged either line drives or hard hit ground balls. Darrell and I had a good night pitching with very few walks. 

Overall, I thought the play of the Hurtin' Units team was very good. I really liked the defense and I think the offense is only going to get better as the season progresses. Good start Units!!