HELPIN' THE LITTLE RASCALS PLAY...

HELP THE KIDS PLAY TOURNAMENT.

Helpin' the Kids Play.

JULY 4-6, 2014


Coventry Park- In seasons past, I found that the HTKP tournament helped the Hurtin' Units teams to play a little better down the stretch to the playoffs. And if there was ever a season that we needed a change for the better, this would be the one. Where we really need to tightened things up is defensively. I looked at the standings on the Friday afternoon of the HTKP tournament (not sure of why I looked at them, it's not like something has changed for us) and it wasn't pretty. The Units still remained at the bottom of the barrel with a 0-9-0 record and a -96 plus/minus differential. I can't remember any team being this deep in the minus.

13	Dusty Cleats	11	3	8	0	6	140	176	-36
14	Brew Jays	9	2	6	1	5	101	117	-16
15	Hurtin' Units	9	0	9	0	0	101	197	-96

These numbers indicate more than just your average curse or jinx, this is more like a voodoo doll kind of spell cast on to the Units team. There are several ways to remove a spell like this one. Change the look on the field would be a good start. So I decided to make up some HTKP t-shirts for the tournament. And with 4 new players in the lineup, this could change things a bit. Added to the Hurtin' Units for the tournament were Andy G., Jim R., Brad W., and Phil G. Now that is some added fire power. I changed the colour of the tape on our bats to yellow (it was green for the last couple of years).

Hurtin' Units get mew equipment manager.

I purchased a little red folding wagon as our teams equipment manager. I also smudged the lineup and myself before game one. One more thing that I thought might change our luck was to bring out the Sambuca. We have used the sweet, slicky, licorice tasting beverage in previous seasons and this would be the first time for this season. I'm not sure if any of these things will help, but there has never been a better time to try.  

Game # 1 vs. Gruesome Devils

It's just their team name Buckwheat!!

Friday July 4th, 2014 at 8:15pm

Hurtin' Units lose 11-10

Coventry 3- This is probably my best season for pitching since I started in 2011. On the season, I have walked only 4 batters and have struck out more, either swinging or foul out than I can remember. I know the -96 doesn't look good, but really my pitching hasn't been the problem.

But with all that said, I thought it would be in the best interest of this team to start Andy G. in game 1. We needed a good start in this tournament and I hoped this could get us started. 

We did get a good start and at one point we had a 10-6 lead, but the speed of the Devils was too much (that Skippy guy can fly) and Roman is no slouch either.

I'm here for the beer.

Our defense was good in this game, we held the Gruesome to only 10 runs, but our bats were not firing on all cylinders. 

Going into the seventh inning, we had a chance to go ahead when Phil hit a triple with one out, but he was caught off the third base bag and was called out. I came up next and hit a single, which would have scored Phil. The next batter came up and hit into a fielder's choice for final out for the Units. The score was still tied going into the bottom of the inning. 

The Gruesome's lead off hitter Robin D. hit a single, the next batter hit a grounder to me between 1st and 2nd, I threw to first for the out and Robin advanced to second base. The next Devil batter also hit to me, I threw to first for the out and Robin advanced to third base. Two out winning run at third base. The next batter (Frasier) hit to Dave Mc. at short, Dave bobbled a little, but recovered, threw to first, but the ball went off Mike's glove and batter was safe, Robin came in to score and the game was over. 

We played a great game and we had a chance to win, we are getting closer and with 13 games left to play on the season, we could be looking at a win sometime in the near future.

Game # 2 vs. Tap Masters.

Only 9 runs all game...shocking.

Saturday July 5th, 2014 at 11:00am

Hurtin' Units lose 13-9

Coventry C1- I was a bit rushed before leaving home for this game and in my rush I must have put on two odd socks. I didn't realize my error until I was stretching my back just before the game. Well, all the other things I did before game #1 didn't seem to help us, so an odd pair of might be something to change our luck.

Yep it changed our luck alright... but not in the way I wanted. The Hurtin' Units bats went stone cold in this game against the Tap Masters. The Units only managed 5 runs in the first 6 innings and we put up a 4 run inning in the 7th falling short of the Tap Master's 13 run game.

You only need one bat.

The Units defense was pretty good (best I've seen all season, but we're not going to win many games scoring a single run an inning. 

We were the home team for this game, Phil called it and won the coin toss. Lou R. was our umpire. We were missing Dave Mc. from the tournament team for this game. 

I was originally planning on starting the game pitching, but I really wanted a win so I changed my mind at the start of the game. I put Andy in again. The Tappers got off to a good start, scoring 6 runs in the first. They scored again in the second, so I suggested to Andy that I come in to pitch and give them a different look. We slowed the Tap Masters, but without run support we were fighting an uphill battle. 

Late in the game, Bill C. took a ball off the shin which would slow him down for the rest of the tournament. 

As I mentioned before, the Units would rally in the bottom of the 7th, with 4 runs, but it would not be enough and the Tap Masters would get their 2nd win of the tournament. The Tap Masters would go on to win the HTKP tournament vs. the Dog Catchers by a score of 19-10.
   
Game # 3 vs. Sons of Pitches.

We need a win to stay in.

Saturday July 5th, 2014 at 5:15pm.

Hurtin' Units lose 9-8

Coventry C2- After the loss to the Tap Masters, we had to work the bar, side by side, with the team that basically knocked us out of the tournament. We now still had a slim chance to get in, if we could win a game, keep our plus/minus down and with a lot of help from other teams playing each other.  

There were 2 teams with 2 wins and a bunch off teams with a 1-1 record after their second game. With a slim chance still remaining, we turned our attention to the Sons of Pitches.

Art Lord-Stafford is dreamy...
he's my favorite player. 

Again, we had a chance to win our first game of the season and possibly sneak in to the top 4 of the tournament. By the time this game had started, we were all but out of the tournament, another team had a 2nd win and 2 of the teams with 1 win were playing each other and worse case scenario was a tie and that would give each team 3 points. All we could hope for was a win, for our first win on the season. 

We got off to a great start in this game, scoring 5 runs in the first inning and keeping the Sons off the score sheet. But the bats went cold again and the Units could only score 3 more runs in the whole game. The Son of Pitches would chip away at the Units lead and when the open inning was called (4th...way to early) the Units found themselves in a tie...at least that what we thought...We didn't score in the top of the inning and when we went on the field to defend the tie, the scorekeeper announced the the Sons actually had a 9-8 lead. The game was over. 

Dogglehead Day.

This was a tough way to lose, but  I guess it is the way our season has gone! I'm really proud of the team we fielded this weekend, we were in every game, our defense was good and I think it was a great experience for the new guys on the team...I think this tournament is going to help us down the stretch run.       

HURTIN' UNITS BATTLE HARD AGANIST REBELS...

HURTIN' UNITS VS. THE RUSTY REBELS.

Chewy rallies the Rebels for the victory. 

Game # 9- June 26, 2014

Hurtin' Units lose 24-18

Team Record 0-9-0

Keogh Park- Okay, it wasn't a win, but there were some promising moments and any positive signs are good signs. 

This game was our second 9:30pm game on the season. The weather was perfect for this game; the temperature was mid 20s and the humidity was gone, there was a slight breeze and there was no rain anywhere near Tottenham.

A 9 game losing streak is starting to take it's toll on the Units players!

The Hurtin' Units were still missing a couple of bodies...Bill was a no show, Clayton was a last minute scratch, Kevin was working and Rick was on vacation. We picked up Dave F. and Cal R. to fill the roster spots.  

The Hurtin' Units were the Home team, Roman D. was our umpire.

Rebels battled tough for their victory.

Unlike the majority of our games, we actually competed against the Rebels. In fact it was a see saw battle most of the way through. In the bottom of 5th inning, the Hurtin' Units took a 16-14 lead. Unfortunately, we couldn't keep the Rebels down and they managed to score runs in the last 2 innings of the game, for the win. 

Benders friends were there for support. 

The starting pitcher for the Rebels was Peter H. and we were working him pretty good for some walks and a string of hits. Andy G. was at a graduation and showed up a little bit late. The Units went through the batting order multiple times. I was the lead off batter, for the Units, and I had 6 at bats (5 for 6). 

May the force be with the Units. 

I think this game was the best we hit all season, the Units managed to string hits together all game long, which lead to a 18 run game. If we can tighten things up defensively, we might see a win somewhere in the future. 

Bender is back...after missing a blog posting. 

The HTKP tournament is fast approaching, this will be a great opportunity for the Unit players work on their baseball skills. Looking forward to the Tourney. 

Walk Watch- G-1, S4. Steve R. 

GLORY DAZE...

HURTIN' UNITS VS. THE GRISSLIES. 

Game # 8- June 23, 2014

Hurtin' Units lose 27-11

Team Record- 0-8-0

Keogh Park- Over the last weekend, I was going through a pile of papers and I came across a game sheet. The game sheet was from the Hurtin' Units first season and it was almost 4 years to the day, way, way back on June 22, 2010. 

I thought it would be cool to post it and think about those glory days again. I went back and looked at the team record at the time of this game. The Hurtin' Units record on June 23, 2010 was 6-1-1. NICE!!!

On the game sheet, the only missing players were Chris N. (no show), Chris Ross and Al H. I'm wasn't sure what happened to Chris N. and Al H., so I read the blog. Al thought the game was at 8:15 and I don't know what happened with Chris N. It turns out we only had 9 players, so we asked for a catcher from the Dusty Cleats. I spotted Brett M. in the stands and asked if he wanted to play. Permission was granted by the Cleats and Brett subbed in. Al did show near the end of the game, but it was too late to get in.

Glory Days... Hurtin' Units in 2010. 

We (the Hurtin' Units) could really pound out the runs. In the game in 2010, Mike O. (before the knee problems) went 5 for 5 and five other guys went 4 for 5. In this game we had two 7 run innings and a total of 25 runs without even playing the 7th inning. These were definitely the glory days. 

Almost all the players on the game sheet still remain in the T.O.T baseball league. Tom Perry only played the one season with the Units and called it quits, really prefers hockey, easier on the knees. And Jerry Wallace played last season, but did not come back this year. 

Jens and Paul are both captains in the league now. Don C. is back with the 2014 Units after taking 2013 off. And everyone else (except for Mike and I) are scattered around the league on other teams. We were a solid team in those days and I hope we can get back there in the near future.

The Hurtin' Units logo back in the Glory Days (2010) was a cartoon guy sliding in to, and falling short of, a base. The next season we changed our logo to Bender, the lovable shiny robot from the show Futurama. Since that change of logo (in 2011), I have included a picture of Bender in every posting of the blog...I'm not going to do it in this one...hoping it will change our luck. I will also have the Bender logo smudged to remove any bad energies it may have at this time. 

I said to Mike maybe we should wear our shirts from our first season and see if it changes our luck. I found mine, I will ask Mike to find his...Mike did find his 2010 shirt and we both wore them for the Grisslies game...As the score would indicate, it didn't really change our luck. 

In 2010, the Units were a solid team and with a record of 19-5-2, and 2 of the losses were by 2 runs and another was by a single run.    

2010 Final Standings.

  Position Team        Games  Wins  Losses  Ties  Points  

 1 Hurtin' Units          26         19        5          2        40     

 2 Brew Jays              26        19        7          0        38     

 3 Rusty Rebels         26        16        8          2        34   

 4 Lucky Stiffs            26        16        9          1        33    

 5 Banshees               26        14       11         1        29   

 6 The Wild                 26        13        11         2       28 

 7 Torn Ligaments     26        12        10        4       28     

 8 Dog Catchers         26        12       13         1       25  

 9 Dislocated Joints   26        12       14         0       24      

 10 Grisslies                26        11       14         1       23    

 11 HotTub Woodys   26        10       14         2       22   

 12 Dodge City           26         9        17         0       18  

 13 Red Dogs              26        7        17  

 14 Dusty Cleats         26        3       23         0        6        

This season we are not off to a great start. Do I think we will go 0-22-0? I don't think we will, but the way things are going, it's going to be a tough season. Looking at the 2010 roster and comparing it to the 2014 roster...I can't see a major difference in player personnel. We can only continue to go out there, play hard and hopefully things will turn around.

The weather for the Grisslies game was a little sticky. The temperature at 7:00pm was around 23 degrees, but with the humidity it was 28. At game time (8:15) it had dropped slightly. There were a few drops of rain late in the game, but we missed any real bad weather.


We were missing a few of the regulars guys. Missing were Rick (sick), Esau (bad weather), Don C. (holidays) and Kevin (working). We picked up Bob P. as a sub. We had to ask the Grisslies for a backcatcher for the game. 

We were the home team and the umpire was Don S. Bill C. was the starting pitcher for the Units, my shoulder was sore (I blame it on my weed wacker) and I wasn't able to go. Bill's start was similar to most of the other starts this season, runs fast...runs furious... Bill pitched part of the game and Bob P. (sub) took over in the later innings. 

This game was almost a carbon copy of most of the other games we have played this season. We got down early (7 runs in the first, 7 runs in the second) and the remainder of the game was just stopping the bleeding. 

In the bottom of the 1st inning the Units, actually scored 6 runs to get back in the game, but after the second 7 run inning by the Grisslies, the Units tires were deflated and it was tough to get back on the rails.

This was another tough game, I could see how it was starting to take it's toll on our team. We have another game on Thursday evening versus the Rusty Rebels and hopefully we can get this thing turned around.   

Walk Watch G-0, S-3.

DOG NAB IT .... GOT BIT AGAIN.

HURTIN' UNITS VS. THE DOGCATCHERS. 

Game # 7- June 12, 2014

Hurtin' Units lose 26-6 

Team Record- 0-7-0

Keogh Park- This game was our 2nd on week and I was hoping for better results than Tuesday night when we lost to the Brew Jays by a score of  20-7.

The weather for this game was a little strange, there were dark clouds peppered all around the park, threating to open up at a moments notice. The temperature was around  23 degrees and with the humidity it felt like 30 degrees. There was a weather forecast of thunderstorms, but they held off and we managed to play this game.

For this game we had 8 Hurtin' Units players and we picked up Andy G and Dave F. as subs. Missing were Mike, Clayton, Don, Kevin. 

It seems that every game is a challenge. 

This game was played at Keogh Park at 8:15pm and our umpire was Donny S. This game got cut short and we didn't get to play our open inning. I don't think the open would have helped us anyway. 

I was perusing the standings and it wasn't looking good for the Units. Not only are we the last place team in the league (someone always holds the last place position), but we also have the highest runs against and the lowest runs for with a -74 run differential. Despite these numbers I still believe we are capable of playing much better. 

I had a feeling that we would have a difficult time with this game, after all we were missing four solid bats from our lineup. We were missing our 1,3,4 and 7 rated players. All of which are solid defensively and can hit the ball hard.


We did pick up Andy and Dave, who played really well for us and I was thankful for Andy because my shoulder had tightened up and Bill's legs were bothering him. Andy came in and pitches 2 or 3 innings.

It's definitely an up hill battle.

We as a team, are on a bit of a learning curve; we have a rookie outfield and the infield is still trying to figure things out. The outfield guys are still trying to figure out where our opponents are hitting. We have watched more balls drop in to gaps and holes than most teams have all season long. I have confidence in all of these guys, that we can all get better, we will be a better defensive team by the end of the season.

We're just not hitting well... 

We have a total of 72 runs for after 7 games,

just over an average of 10 runs per game. With the lineup and the firepower that the Units have, I have a hard time believing that we will not get better in this area of our game. I think every player on this team is capable of hitting better, it is just a slow start.

This game was a tough one, the Dogcatchers hit the ball hard and in to the right spots, it was hard to watch this game unfold and sometimes I feel for the other guys on the team, everyone is doing their best, but it is just not clickin'. Mike and I will continue tweak and help in any way we can, and hopefully we will turn things around.     

Walk Watch G-1, S-3, Randy H.

DESPERATELY SEEKING SOLUTION.

HURTIN' UNITS VS. THE BREW JAYS. 

Game # 6- June 10, 2014

Hurtin' Units lose 20-7 

Team Record 0-6-0

Coventry Park- I have found even more evidence that the Units have been thrust in to Bizzaro World. On Monday evening, I looked at the T.O.T standings and wasn't difficult to find the Hurtin' Units; there we were sitting at the very bottom with a 0-5-0 record. No team in the league has a worse record. This is another first for the Units...Bizzare! 

Why is it that the new teams in the league always seem to do well? Last season new captains Chuck and Stike (Draft Kings) powered there way to the top of the standings and rode that wave to win the league and T.O.T championship. 

When the Tap Masters and the Gruesome Devils came in, they both did well. This season the Sliders and Son of Pitches are both hovering around the top of the standings; mind you it is early in the season.

The Hurtin' Units and the Brew Jays came in to the league in the same year. That season the two rookie teams would battle, all season long, for the league title. The Hurtin' Units would prevail in the final week of season with a 19-5-2 record. Things sure have taken a 180 degree turn, for the Units, since that season... or have we somehow been thrown in to Bizzaro World.

Since that first season, the Brew Jays and Hurtin' Units have become pretty good rivals, with some great battles on the playing field.  

As recently as last year's playoffs, the Units and Brew Jays squared off in a game that saw a total of 45 runs scored. 

I remember standing on second base and the Brew Jay's shortstop, Rod D., asked me if there was going to be enough ink in the scorekeepers pen to finish the game...LOL. The Units went on to win that game with the final score 24-21.

The weather for this game (June 10) was perfect; the temperature was around 22 degrees, there was a slight breeze and the sunset that was giving us problems last week, was shrouded by a thick haze in the western sky. 

The Hurtin' Units had 10 guys in the lineup; Art strolled in a little bit late, but still made his first at bat. This was a 7:00pm game, we were the visitors and the umpire was Donny S.

Nothing like a good rivalry.

 This game against the Brew Jays was not as offensively charged for the Units as the last back in the playoffs, but the Jays still can bring it. 

The Units scored 2 runs in the top of the first inning and we were feeling good. The Jays scored a 7 in the bottom, without an out, and we drooped a little. The Jays were doing the same thing all the other teams, this season, have been doing, hitting the ball everywhere on the playing surface except to a Hurtin' Unit player. 

I started Bill C. at pitcher tonight, looking to change things up, but nothing changed defensively on the field, we were still watching the ball drop in all around us. The Jays scored 2 seven run innings on their way to a 20-7 win. 

I came in to pitch in the 4th inning and we managed to stop the bleeding, we had 2 stellar defensive innings, topped off with 3 straight hits to Bill at 3rd base, throw to second for a force out. It was like groundhog day, 3 times in a row. 

The Units would rally a little in the later innings, but it would be too little too late. The Units would go on to lose their 6th straight game to start the season. Our next game is Thursday evening vs. the Dogcatchers...Could this be the night for the Units first win? 

Walk Watch- G-0, S-2   

LIFES A BEECHY!!

HURTIN' UNITS VS. THE DODGE CITY ROUNDERS. 

Game # 5- June 3,2014

Hurtin'Units lose 25-15

Team Record 0-5-0

Dodge City- I could almost sense the vultures flying over head, waiting to swoop down and tear apart what was left of the Units after a vicious beating. Now don't get me wrong, the Units put up a hell of a fight, but in the end the Units could not overcome the strength of the lefthanded hitting Rounders.

I think that I would be overstating a fact if I said the Hurtin' Units are off to a rough start. We have never been in this position and I can't remember a losing streak this long. 




The weather in this game was not a friend to the Units and in fact it seemed to benefit the Rounders. The sunset really played havoc on the field and at times made it very difficult to see the ball coming off the bat and when it got up in the air...for getta bout it. The temperature during the day was about 28 degrees and with humdity felt like 31. The temperature dropped considerably by game time, down to about 18 degrees. 


This game was played on Coventry #2,the umpire was Lou and the Hurtin' Units were the home team. 

All but one Hurtin' Unit players was dressed for this game. Kevin was the only missing player. Our new player Joel H. was in the lineup. Joel was Coxy's replacement.Joel reminds Mike and I of a little younger, slimmer Kahuna.

I mentioned that the strong wind and sunshine played in favor the rounders. The Rounders are stacked in left handed gun slingers and all night long they pounded hit after hit over, or between or in front of the Units players. 

The Hurtin' Units had a few wind assisted plays of their own, I believe Mike O., Art S. both had in the park homeruns. There may have been another(Esua maybe?).

This may be the Hurtin' Units start in the history of the team, this group of guys in no different than any we have had over the previous 4 seasons. 

We may not be tearing up the league, but I still believe we have a good roster and hopefully with a few tweaks we will find ourselves in the win column. 

I'm going out on a vulturous sitting limb and making the bold prediction that the Hurtin'Units will make the playoffs despite an rough start.

Walk Watch- G-1, S-2, Beechy 

   

HOTTUB UNITS BEAT THE HURTIN' WOODYS.

HURTIN' WOODYS VS.THE HOTTUB UNITS  

Game # 4 - May 28th, 2014

Hurtin' Units lose 26-10

Team Record -0-4-0

Keogh Park- At 6:00pm the temperature has hovering around 28 degrees Celsius and with the humidity it felt more like 32 degrees. The temperature and humidity were still hanging around at game time (8:15), it didn't take much movement before we were sweating. 

For this game we were missing Art, Clouch and Coxy. We picked up Stef K. and Peter H. for subs in this game. Earlier in the evening, Gary Cox called me and told me he had to pack it in for the season. Coxy's knee problem wasn't improving and he didn't want to hold the team back. I was a little saddened to hear this news, I think Coxy is a character guy and he would have fit in great with our team.

As I am writing this blog posting, I can tell you that Hurtin' Units have already played game # 5 against the Dodge City Rounders and lost again (what can I say, I'm a little bit in my blogging). 

The Hottub Woodys are really a solid hitting team and they can score runs in bunches. The night before this game, the Woodys were playing the Rusty Rebels and the Rebels were leading going in to the open inning. The Hottub Woodys would score 16 runs in the open inning to win the game...Yea, they can score in bunches!  I our game with the Woodys, we only played 6 innings and gave up 26 runs. The boxscore really shows how strong they are offensively. 

After the game, Mike and I were walking in to the league and Mike says to me " it's like we're jinxed" referring to the way that our season has started. I said " I forgot to smudge the bats this season". I like to smudge the bats before the season starts, I forgot to do it and I will do it before the next game.

The next day, I was thinking about how many strange things have occurred this season. I thought maybe the Hurtin' Units have somehow been thrown in to bizzaro world. The Units have played some good games, but are being beat by nickel and dime hits. The team has not thrown the ball all over the field, or made egregious errors, we are just being beat by good seeing eye hits and little flares all over the field. This doesn't happen 5 games in a row in the real world. 

Going in to this game (game #4) I had not walked a single batter (first came in this game against John) and in the past I was good for a couple a game, not this season...Bizzare 


Over the last 4 seasons, the Hurtin' Units never had a designated catcher (always catcher by committee) and this season we have 4 players who played catcher in previous seasons...Bizzare. 

This season, 75% of the Hurtin' Units roster lives outside of Tottenham. This has never happened in our 4 year history...Bizzare

This is the first season that we have the same shirt colours as any other season. This season we are playing again in the black and yellow. Our first season was blue with white lettering, second was blue with yellow, third was green with yellow lettering, and last season was black and yellow the exact same as this season...Bizzare. 

The Hurtin' Units have never started a season with a record of 0-5. In fact, the Units have never lost an opening night game...this season was our first season losing the opening game...Bizzare.

Throw in all the strange events around the start of the season (lights at Keogh, Coventry Park #2 field conditions and rain outs in week #2, the reduction of games on the season) and it all adds up to Bizzaro World. 

So if the 2014 Hurtin' Units are indeed now in Bizzaro World, what do we do to change things up in the win column? I assume that we need to do things differently (batting order, positions and pitching). The Hurtin' Units have to the opposite to what we have done in the past to get back on track...Bizzare. 

Walk Watch- G-1, S-1, John 

WHO NEEDS A SIX PACK, WHEN YA GOT A KEG...

HURTIN' UNITS VS. THE BEER BROS.

Game # 3 - May 26, 2014

Hurtin' Units lose 19-14 

Team Record 0-3-0

Keogh Park- This game was one of our three scheduled 9:30 pm games. I have to admit I don't remember alot about this game and I been quite busy over the last couple of weeks and have found it difficult to keep up with the blog. 

I can tell you this; This was a fun see-saw battle and in the end the Brothers would prevail. I thought the Hurtin'Units bats were really starting to come around, in fact we put together a 7 run inning. We certainly have some offensive, but I also think that our defense needs a little spit and polish to tighten it up and give us a chance to win. 

On the defensive side, in this game, Dwayne made 2 really nice back to back catches that probably kept the score closer. We're still looking for the right fit for the Units in the playing positions, this could take a few more weeks. We really haven't thrown the ball around, we've just been beat in alleys. 

It's a long season, were off to a bit of a rough start, but I truly believe we have the makings of a good team.  Lot's of season left, we'll keep working at it.

Walk Watch- G-0, S-0