LET THE PLAYOFFS BEGIN.

And so it ends...

Okay, so let me Tarantino this blog a little bit, starting with the end and then going back to the order in which our final games of the season were played.

Unfortunately, the Hurtin' Units season has come to an end.The Hurtin' Units were defeated by the Sons of Pitches on Sunday morning in the quarter finals. We played a good game (not great, and I think great is probably what we needed), but the Sons of Pitches got on a roll and rode that wave all the way to the championship.

I would really like to thank all of my teammates for a fantastic season. As I sat here writing this blog, I thought about how fast the season seemed to go by, I probably could have played a few more weeks. We had a really good season. A season filled with fun, great memories and some excellent baseball. I thought we had a team that meshed together very well. We had a good balance, we were strong in the outfield and infield, and our batting lineup was as good as any in the league. In fact we beat every team in the league in either the HTKP tournament or regular season.


Our season was successful on the field, in the standings and on the scoresheets. It was a season that saw the Hurtin' Units finish in fifth place (only the second time that we finished that high in 7 years), we won the HTKP tournament for the first time ever, won the BEER CUP for the first time ever and we finished first overall in the Round Robin portion of the playoffs for the first time ever. And although we did not advance to the semi-finals or the finals we can take some comfort in the team that knocked us out, went on to win the championship.

This was a year that introduced a several new team things. The first thing we did was to change our shirt colour and logo. I also had a Hurtin' Units banner made (thanks go out to Peter H. for making it for us) and I also bought some hats and had them embroidered with "Hurtin' Units" on the front.

I would also like to thank our 2016 sponsor, TOTTENHAM PHYSIOTHERAPY. I know some of the Hurtin' Units players spent some time getting treatment at the clinic.   

We gave it a great great run 2016 Hurtin' Units and it was my pleasure to have gotten to know all of you and it was my pleasure to have played with each and every one of you guys. Have a great off season.  


HURTIN' UNITS BEGIN THE 2016 PLAYOFF RUN...

Week of September 12th, 2016.

The 2016 playoffs will begin on September 12th and finish up on Sunday September 18th. 

The Hurtin' Units will play 4 round robin games, 2 during the week and another 2 games on the Saturday September 17th. The 2 games during the week will be played on Wednesday September 14th and Thursday September 15th. 

The Hurtin' Units would finish the regular season with a record of 15-11-0 and a plus/minus of plus 81.

This record would put the Units in 5th place after the final results and would see the Units in the second playoff pool with the Dusty Cleats, Beer Brothers, Tap Masters and the Inglorious Batsters. 

Congratulations go out to Hurtin' Units players Jon D. and Peter H. for finishing in the top 10 in batting. Great season guys!!

HURTIN' UNITS VS. INGLORIOUS BATSTERS.

Game # 1 Playoffs.

September 14th, 2016

Hurtin' Units win 18-11

Team Record- 1-0-0

Coventry Park- Coming in to this game, it had been more than 2 weeks since the Hurtin' Units had played a game. We had a little practice last week, but only 6 Unit players were there and we didn't really get a great practice in, however we did get some at bats. 

Before this game, with the Batsters, several Hurtin' Units players did some batting practice on Coventry # 1, I found it difficult to hit anything, but I was okay in our game. 

The weather for this our first playoff game was good, mostly clear skies, and temperatures in around 16 degrees. 

At game time we had 11 players dressed to take on the Basters. The only missing player was Mark B.

The Hurtin' Units were the home team. 

The game was close. In the first inning the Batsters would get off to a quick start scoring 4 runs. In the bottom of the inning, the Units would score 5 runs and it looked like this was going to be a battle to the end. 

It was a battle, the score was close thru the first 3 innings, but the Units would score 6 runs in the bottom of the 4th inning and this seemed to deflate the Batsters. The Units defense would shut the door and the Batsters would only score another 3 runs. The Units would win 18-11.

2016 Record vs. The Inglorious Batsters.
June 7th, 2016 - Hurtin' Units win 26-15
July 8th, 2016 - HTKP Tournament Hurtin' Units win 19-6.
July 9th, 2016 - HTKP semi-finals- Hurtin 'Units win 20-10
August 18th, 2016 - Hurtin' Units win 20-9

HURTIN' UNITS VS. THE BEER BROTHERS.

Game # 2 Playoffs

September 15th, 2016

Hurtin' Units win 15-14

Team Record 2-0-0

Keogh Park- This game was the toughest of the Hurtin' Units round robin playoff. The Brothers have a solid defense and their batting was not to shabby either. 

The Beer were a little better than the Units over the first 2 innings, with a 7-5 lead. But after 5 complete innings the Units had fought back and the score was tied at 12s. Going into the top of the 7th inning the Units had a 15-12 lead, but the Beer Bros. kept coming, scoring 2 more runs. 

I would intentionally walk Laurier P. to get to Vince, but that move didn't quite pan out after Vince hit a single.
The Units would get the 3rd out and hold on for the win. In the bottom of the inning (still batting for plus/minus) the Units would get a few base runners, but could not bring them around to score. Final score 15-14. Hurtin' Units up 2-0 in the playoffs. 

Ted B., Jon D., Clayton A., and Gord D. were all 4/4 in batting on the night. Nice game guys. 

2016 Record vs. Beer Bros.
June 20th, 2016 - Hurtin' Units win 11-7 (only 1 game during the regular season)

HURTIN' UNITS VS. THE TAP MASTERS.

Game # 3 Playoffs

September 17th, 2016

Hurtin' Units win 12-8

Team Record 3-0-0

Coventry Park- In the regular season the Hurtin' Units would defeat the Tap Masters on both occasions. The 2 wins were both close, a 16-15 win and a 11-9 win, and going in to this game I was not exactly comfortable playing the Tap Masters. My worry was amplified when the Tappers came out in the first inning and put up 3 runs and in the bottom shut the door on the Units bats. 

The Units defense showed up in the second inning and closed down the Tap Master for the next four innings. The Units offense also showed up and scored 14 runs over the same four innings. 

The Tap Masters would score 5 more runs over the final 2 innings, but could not get back in to the game. Going into the bottom of the 7th inning, the Units were up by 6 runs and had the win. The teams the would play the bottom of the 7th inning for the plus/minus. The Units would score the single run needed and end the game. 

The Hurtin' Units would be 3-0-0 in the round robin. 

2016 Record vs. the Tap Masters.
May 12th, 2016 - Hurtin' Units win 16-15
July 19th.2016 - Hurtin' Units win 11-9 

HURTIN' UNITS VS. THE DUSTY CLEATS.

Game # 4 Playoffs.

September 17th, 2016

Hurtin' Units win 

Team Playoff Record 4-0-0

Coventry Park- For the second time, on C#1 this season, we have got to play the Dusty Cleats in the rain. What up with that? In the HTKP tournament we played in a heavy downpour and this game was almost a carbon copy of that game.

Robert was the only missing player for the Units.

This game would only be played for 5 complete innings, before the call was made to end the game. It was a strange game (they always are in the rain) and in the end the Units would prevail.

I did not get a picture of the game sheet or record a boxscore. I do know the Hurtin' Units were ahead by about 10 runs when the game was called. The Units would win their forth game of the round robin and would finish first overall in the standings. The Hurtin' Units would get a bye in to the Sunday morning quarter finals vs the winner of the Sons of Pitches vs. the Inglourious Batsters elimination game. 

2016 Record vs. The Dusty Cleats.
May 26th, 2016 - Dusty Cleats win 11-8
July 10th, 2016 - HTKP Tournament - Hurtin' Units win 15-9
August 3rd, 2016 - Hurtin' Units win 25-16

  

HURTIN' UNITS VS. THE SONS OF PITCHES.

Quarter Finals

Hurtin' Units lose 19-10

Team Record 4-1-0

Coventry Park- At the end of the round robin, the Sons of  Pitches had a 2-2-0 record and it was not quite enough for a bye in to the quarter finals. The Sons would have to play an elimination game. With all the rain on the Saturday, the games started to get pushed back, and a decision was made that the elimination games would be played early Sunday morning. The last games played, on Saturday, were the rain shortened round robin games, even though the rain had cleared out by about 4:30 and the skies were beginning to clear.

The Sons of Pitches would play an elimination game at 8am on Sunday morning vs. the Inglourious Batsters. The Sons would defeat the Batsters by a monstrous score of 32-10. A solid win going in to the quarter finals vs. the Hurtin' Units.

It is my opinion that the Sons gained a lot of confidence and momentum from their 8am game against the Batsters. The Sons would carry that momentum into the game against the Units. The Sons of Pitches were on a roll going into the quarter finals. 

The Hurtin' Units and Sons of Pitches might have been a little closer if the Sons had played their elimination game on the Saturday afternoon. I like to think , if the Sons had played on Saturday, that the momentum would have diminished a bit and that the Sons of Pitches players might have woken up a little bit more sore and achy for the Sunday morning tilt in the quarters. The games did not play out that way and the Sons played an awesome game. 

The Sons of Pitches scored in every inning but one. 

The Hurtin' Units season would come to an end and the Sons of Pitches would go on to win the T.O.T championship. Congratulations Sons!!

Mark D. and Winston G. were both on fire in the Hurtin' Units game. 

The 2016 season comes to an end. 

SLIP, SLIDE AND AWAY IN TO THE PLAYOFFS.

HURTIN' UNITS VS. THE SLIDERS.

Game # 26- August 30th, 2016
(Last regular season game)

Hurtin' Units win 32-15

Team Record 15-11-0

Coventry Park- By this point in the season, I am all blogged out. In actual fact, I'm tired of doing this about 2 weeks in to the season. I keep it going because it really is a documentation of the Hurtin' Units team history. The blog goes back to the very beginning, since our first season (2010) and I have documented every game from the time Mike and I became captains. 

The funny thing is, in the very first blog (2010), my opening line was that I was debating whether or not to even do a blog. As of this blog, this will be the 205th posting for the Hurtin' Units team. By the end of the season, they seem to get a little weaker and I find myself getting a bit lazier. My first kick at a blog was when I was playing for the Rusty Rebels during the 2007 season. I blogged every game of that 2007 Rusty Rebel season. If you want to check out the Rusty Rebels' blog click this link http://rustyrebels.blogspot.ca/ 

The other things I like about the blog is that I can go back and get reference material that is relevant to the game that I'm going to post. I can also go back and look at team rosters for every season going back to the beginning. If you view the rosters tab, on the left hand side you can see every player that ever played for the Hurtin' Units during the regular season and playoffs. I believe, in my last count, there have been approximately 56 players play on the Hurtin' Units in the last 7 seasons. 

There is one thing I would like to do before the season ends, is to get a full team picture. We have a picture from the HTKP tournament, but we are missing a few players. Someone (on our team) suggested we do a team picture, sign it and give it to our sponsor. I think it is a good idea and she will probably hang it up in the clinic. We will work on getting a full team shot over the next couple of games. 

I can't believe another season has almost come to an end. The regular season, for the Hurtin' Units has already come to an end. It seems like only a month ago that we were at the draft selecting our roster, 26 games played in the blink of an eye.  

Time to grow the playoff beard.

This season was awesome, and hopefully there is more to come. We went the entire season without a rain out and without a tie. Every other season, since the Units joined the league we have had at least 1 tie and a weather related cancellation of a game during the season. We finished the season with a 15-11-0 record, 5th place overall and 4 games over .500. The playoffs are here and it's time to start growing our playoff beards.

One of those 15 wins (2 actually if you include this win) was against the Sliders. Back on June 20th, 2016, in game # 11, the Hurtin' Units and the Sliders played for the first time this season and the Units would come away with a close win. The final score would end up 18-17 for the Units. 

Game Time:

The weather for this was still hot, I looked at the weather network and the temperature was hanging around 28 degrees and the humidity was high. I remember it wasn't long before we were working up a good sweat. I've said this line many o' times over the last couple of months. 

At game time we had 9 Hurtin' Units players dressed in 2016 Units' attire. Missing for this game were Jon, Mark and Gord. We picked up Jimmy Mac. as a sub. 

In this game, the Units would have an easier time, at least in the later innings. 

UNDER THE BASES:

• The Units would have 4 seven run innings in this game.
• We had 3 Jimmers in the lineup for this game. There was a game 2 years  ago when we had 3 Rickys in the lineup. It was Rickety.
• Clayton, Jimmer T. and Peter would all have 6 for 6 nights batting.
• Ted, Jimmer R., Brad and Mark would all have 5 for 6 nights batting. 
• Ingo, when playing catcher, would catch 2 foul tips in for 2 huge outs in the game. Everyone was hoping the next batter (Lou) would do the same, but Lou would hit up the middle for a base hit. No hattrick tonight Ingo. 
• Al F. would go 4 for 6 in batting. 
• In this game the Hurtin' Units would defend for the Beer Cup, which they won against the Draft Kings on Thursday August 25th. 
• I believe the Units won the Beer Cup for the season, but can't confirm, I haven't seen anything on the website.
• 
  

Beer Cup Games Defended. 

2  Draft Kings

2  Rusty Rebels

3  Master Batters

6  Dusty Cleats

Beer Cup Games Played. 

1  Grisslies

1  Dog Catchers

1  Inglorious Batsters

2  Beer Bros.

2  Gruesome Devils

2  Sons Of Pitches

2 Dodge City Rounders

3 Hurtin' Units

3 Hot Tub Woody's

4 Tap Masters

6 Draft Kings

6 Master Batters

6 Rusty Rebels

8 Dusty Cleats

The Hurtin' Units have an optional practise game on Thurday Sept. at Keogh Park at 7:00pm vs. the Rusty Rebels. 

HURTIN' UNITS HAVE A DUSTY, GRUESOME, GRISSLIE, RUSTY, BEERY, TAPPING, MASTERFUL, WOODY, INGLORIOUS, DODGIE, DOGCATCHERISH, SLIDERISH, SONNY, GAME AGAINST THE DRAFT KINGS.

HURTIN' UNITS VS. THE DRAFT KINGS.

Game # 25 - August 25, 2016

Hurtin' Units win 15-3

Team Record - 14-11

Keogh Park- Back on June 14th, in game # 9 on the season, the Hurtin' Units and the Draft Kings met for the first time. The game was actually quite close, within 3 runs at the end of the 6th inning. In the end the Units could not string enough hits together to pull out a win. Here is how I described the final 3 innings of that game back then. ( I don't know why this first part is red again, it happened last time we played the Draft Kings, it's a Draft Kings thingie).

In the top of the 5th inning, the Draft Kings continued to pound the baseball around the diamond. And again they would score another 7 run inning. In the bottom, the Units would fight back with 3 runs. The score at the end of 5 complete innings- Draft Kings 16, Hurtin' Units 8. 

In the top of the 6th inning, the Units would shut down the Draft Kings and in the bottom of the inning, the Units would score 5 runs. The score at the end of 6 innings- the Draft Kings 16, Hurtin' Units 13. 

In the 7th (open inning) the Draft Kings would tack on another 3 runs. In the bottom of the inning, the Units were only down by 6 runs, but the Draft Kings would shut the door and the Units would be defeated by a score of 19-13

Coming in to our second game with the Draft Kings, I was a little nervous. The Draft Kings were in first place, they could clinch the league title with a win and they were defending for the Beer Cup. This was pretty strong motivation to come out strong. 

After our game on Tuesday night vs. the Master Batters, I wasn't certain how the Units would respond when up against the league's power house. The Units responded like I hoped they would. We have had a bit of a rough patch recently (not sure why) but we needed a good showing going in to the playoffs. And we did. 

There were a few setbacks on the night, but they didn't play in to the final outcome. I forgot my shin pads and my phone at home for this game. I played without the shin pads (really didn't want to) and because I forgot my phone, I could not take a picture of the game sheet. I did managed to scribble down a boxscore from this game. Going old school.

Shin Pads:

Yes, that is a huge lump on my leg. 

Last season, just before the playoffs started, the Units decided to have a practise. During the practice, my teammate Scott P. hit a ball back to the pitcher's mound (is there really a mound?) and the ball hit me just above my shin pad. 

In the first game of the playoffs, I had to wear a hockey shin pad to protect the injured area. Let me tell you this, it's really difficult running the bases in a hockey shin pad and with a big boo boo.  

This injury was very painful and I had a flush of bad memories when I realized I had forgotten my shin pads on Thursday night. Fortunately, I managed to my glove in front of most of the balls, coming back to me, on the mound, on this night.  

Game Time:

The weather for this game was hot. During the day the temperature was up around 29 degrees, but the humidity was really the issue. At game time the heat and humidity were still around and I was feeling it. The shirts we have this season have been great, but on this night my shirt was drenched with sweat and there was one point in the early innings, I thought I might pass out from being so hot.  

At game time we had 10 Hurtin' Units players dressed in team shirts (yes, everyone was in the 2016 team shirt). Missing on the night were Gord D. and Mark B. 






Inside the Game:

• I forgot my shin pads and phone at home. "I never play without shin pads, I'm sure nobody will hit up the middle, right"? 
• I had 4 plays with balls hit up the middle (it's like they knew I wasn't wearing shin pads). There were 2 ground balls and 2 line drives, probably the most action, in a game, I've seen all season.
• This game was being played for the Beer Cup and the Units would become the defenders for the next game.
• Clayton was scheduled to play the outfield for 2 innings, but came to me and offered to play the entire game, since this game was so close. That's a team player!
• I smudged the bats before the game and it seemed to work. Also smudged my glove, this was the first time I've ever done this, seemed to work there also.
• Ingo made a couple of nice plays at third. 
• In our first game vs. the Draft Kings, Chuck was missing.
• Chuck and Jimmer made a "jug of beer" bet before the game (Beer Cup thing), Chuck wanted to bet for 2 jugs, but I wanted 5 to 1 odds since they were the #1 team. It didn't happen. Chuck is awesome!
• This win guaranteed the Units a .500 record or better for the season. This will be the 2nd time in the last 2 seasons the Units will finish over .500. Nice job guys.
• Clayton made a nice throw to home from left field, with Chuck running home, almost got him. Safe!!
• Jon made a great throw to Robert, at home plate, for a big out.
• The Draft Kings could have clinched the league title with a win. Not tonight boys!
• There was one inning when the ball was hit to Clayton in left field, next batter hit to Pete in left center field and the next batter hit to Ted in right center field. Change them up boys.
• I was unable to take a picture of the game

  

  Bookends.

  sheets because I forgot my phone.
• I had the first ball of the game hit back to me at pitcher (David P.) and I had the last ball of the game hit back to me (Wayne C.) in this game. Book ends. 
• Jon had a solid game at shortstop chasing down balls that look like they were going to drop in. On one hit, Jon caught a ground ball that looked like it going through the infield, fell down, got back up and made the throw to first for the out. 
• Pete made 2 awesome over the shoulder catches in left center field.
• Al was the only outfielder to not make a fly ball catch, made a great effort on one ball hit to right field. Nice try Al.
• I moved myself up in the lineup for the first time this season. I followed Jim R. in the order, back to back JIMMERS. 

The Hurtin' Units next game (final game of the season) is Tuesday August 30th at 8:15pm.