HURTIN' UNITS LICK THE RED DOGS...

HURTIN' UNITS vs. RED DOGS...

Game #16 - July 21, 2010

Hurtin' Units win 7-4

Team Record 14-1-1

Keogh Park- The sky was clear and the sun shone into the eyes of most of the players facing to the west. The weather forecast had been calling for thunderstorms again today, but again they didn't come, I'm not complaining, but whenever you play a sport outdoors, the weather forecast is something you watch more closely...


For the second night in a row, we had to call for a sub, it is after all holiday season. We were fortunate to pick up Ed McDowell as a sub. Our thanks go out to Ed for filling in...Missing in this game for the Units were Uncle Tom Perry, Chris Nyers, and Don Curran...

Unlike the game on Tuesday evening, this game was a low scoring affair at least by T.O.T standards. We were the visitors tonight. In the first inning neither team scored, the second inning saw the Units score a single run and held the Red Dogs to nothing. The Units scored 2 more runs in the third, 2 more in the forth and 2 more in the sixth. The Units defense held the Red Dogs of the score sheet for the first five innings and 6 of the 7 innings. The Red Dogs did manage to score 4 runs in the sixth inning, but for the most part we managed to keep them in check for most of the night.


If you recall, the Red Dogs were the team that knocked the Hurtin' Units out of the Help the Kids Play tournament, in the semi finals, by a single run and a score of 17-16 Dogs. The Red Dogs are not lacking in the explosive offense department with the likes of Mike Candy, Matt Forester, Glen Gray or Mike Roche to name a few...With these players they can quickly run up the score board and for the Hurtin' Units to shutout these offensive weapons in 6 of the 7 innings played, speaks volumes to the Units defense.

Boxscore:

                         1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th  7th    Total

Hurtin' Units.   0       1      2       2       0       2      0          7

Red Dogs         0       0      0       0       0       4      0          4      


There were probably more highlights (defensively anyway) in this game then the game on Tuesday night against the Grisslies, at least more then I can remember. There were 4 plays that stood out for me in this game....Al Hayward tagged a ball over the head of Glen Gray into left field for a standup double.... Robin made an outstanding, over the shoulder, in no mans land, catch for a fantastic out.... Matt Forester hit a towering fly ball to Ed Mcdowell, which Ed couldn't quite catch, the ball was relayed to myself and I turned with a throw to home plate to Al Hayward to catch Bill Cloutier running home, for the out. There was also a play in LF/LCF where Jens and Jimmy Mac could not decide who wanted the ball and it skipped between them.....opppsss.

There is one more thing I would like to mention before I put this addition of the blog to rest. Sometimes if we have something good it tends to get overlooked or taken for granted. I would like to tip my cap to our teammate Jerry Wallace. Jerry has been a model of stability for our team this season (except when he doesn't show up for the games). He is (in my opinion) one of the premier pitchers in our league. Game after game, he battles hard against the other team's top hitters, some nights he struggles, on occasion he'll pull himself out. Jerry's defense is very solid, catching line drives and ground balls up the middle, he can bat the ball to all fields, but it's Jerry's acumen of baseball that impresses me the most. You will always see Jerry backing up other players on the field, he is constantly adjusting the other player's positions on the field based on his experience, he is the first to go coach on the bases, and he continously encourages others to play better.

In 2008 I played with Jerry on the Lucky Stiffs championship team, he was always encouraging me to play, bat and field better and I think I'm a better player today because of him... Thanks Jerry! Most of us know Jerry probably won't read this blog... we all know Jerry is not online all that often, probably because the Commodore 64 takes 12 hours to boot up and 11 hours to shut down, that only gives him an hour each day to login, dial up and use the function keys to the internet....LOL.

On Wednesday evening, our defense was in the zone, we stopped a pretty good hitting team for the first 5 innings, not allowing a run and I was really hoping we could pull off a shut out. I have never seen a shut out in this league, it has probably happened, but I think a shut out in a softball league like this, is equivilent to a no hitter in the major leagues. I was hoping we could pull it off, but unfortunately it was not to be. We did get another win and we have been playing some good ball, I look forward to the stretch run of the season...UNITS UNBELIEVABLE!!

HURTIN' UNITS LIGHT UP THE GRISWOLDS...

HURTIN' UNITS vs. GRISSLIES...

Game #15 - July 20, 2010


Hurtin' Units win 15-10


Team Record 13-1-1

Coventry Park- It was a beautiful evening for baseball. The storm clouds that were around earlier in the evening had pushed through and the skies were almost clear. At game time, the clouds were gone , but now the sun was shining into the faces of the players. Thankfully, we were on diamond # 3 and the tree line, on the west side of the diamond shielded most of us as the game progressed...

At game time, we had 9 players, I knew Tom, Chris N. and Chris R. were all going to be away, so I arranged for a sub. We picked up Wilf Roblin as a sub...The Grisslies only had 8 players at the start of the game, and after the first half of the inning we traded our sub Wilf to the Grisslies for a first round draft pick and a player to be named Later... I've never personally met anyone named Later, so as chances of seeing a player in this transaction are quite slim...

We were the home team again tonight. In the top of the first inning we had a difficult time with the hitting of the Grisslies. The Griswolds came out swinging, spraying the ball all around the field and when the half had ended, the Gris had scored 6 runs. The Units first at bat saw the team only score a single run... 6-1 Grisslies at the end of one...

In the second inning the Units defense tightened up and shut down the Grisslies. In the bottom of the second the Units scored 4 more runs and made the score 6-5 after two innings. The Units also left the bases loaded in the second.


The third inning saw the Gris score a single run and the Units countered with 7 big, juicy runs... Somehow this just sounds wrong, not the 7, but the big, juicy runs, sounds more something you do when you have the flu.. doesn't it? In the forth inning neither team could score. In the fifth inning the Units scored 3 more runs and shut down the side defensively...

The sixth inning was the open inning due to time restraints, and the Grisslies rallied to score 3 more runs, but in the end it would not be enough and the Units would go on to victory by a 15-10 score.

Boxscore:

                         1st     2nd    3rd    4th    5th    6th    7th   Total

Hurtin' Units     1        4        7       0       3       X      X       15   

Grisslies            6       0         1       0       0        3      X        10   

With the exception of the 1st inning the defense was solid again, in fact we were good in the first inning, but the Grisslies managed some good, timely hitting to score their first inning runs. We continue, as a team, to make smart decisions on the field, and stay out of trouble by not throwing the ball away, our communication on the diamond is great and our batting lineup can get us back into most games... Units United!!

                

HURTIN' UNITS SMOKE THE JOINTS....

HURTIN' UNITS vs. DISLOCATED JOINTS...

Game # 14 - July 13, 2010

Hurtin' Units win 8-7


Team Record 12-1-1


Coventry Park – I am thankful that we got our games in this week. There was a real threat of thunderstorms over the last 2 days and it was very hot and humid, which on Monday made the ball fly off the bats, but tonight the ball was not lively at all. What up with that?

At Coventry tonight the lights actually worked unlike last night at Keogh Park. There was not the sense of urgency which we experienced the night before. On this night, all 12 of our players were present for the game, pretty good considering how much we played over the last. Tonight's game was a low scoring affair. Only 15 runs in total scored between the two teams. It looked as though the bats were taking the night off after a 17 – 5 win against Dodge City on Monday. We played a lot of baseball over the last week (8 games) and we deserve the break until our next game, which is next Tuesday July 20, 2010 at Coventry Park at 7:00 pm...

This game was a quiet game and a lot of 3 up and 3 down innings. With 12 players on the roster, it took us 3 innings for everyone to get up to bat for the first time. The Hurtin' Units scored all their runs in 2 innings. Four in the third, four in the forth, and the Joints scored all of their runs over 3 innings, one in the forth, four in the fifth and 2 in the sixth . The Hurtin Units players only had 3 at bats each.

Boxscore:
                                     1st     2nd      3rd       4th     5th      6th      7th      Total

Hurtin' Units                0         0          4         4          0          0          X          8      

Dislocated Joints       0         0          0          1         4          2          0          7       

There were not a lot of memorable moments in this game. We did play well defensively, and we managed to squeak out a win. Tom and I both had good night at second base making some good defensive plays...Jens was stinging the ball hard again, like last night...with little effort I might add. Donny Curran was again consistent at bat and in the field. Al had a good game at first base.

Chris Nyers daughter renamed the team players throughout the game...she seemed to be our good luck charm on this night.

When I arrived home Tuesday evening and checked my emails, I was saddened to see that our teammate Chris Ross, President of the TOT Oldtimers League will be resigning at the end of this season. It will be a challenge to try and replace a man whom was the best of the best. Chris was a great President and we wish him well in his future athletic endevours.

I knew Chris was going to resign, he had mentioned his resignation and reasons to us during the season, but until you actually see it in writing, well, there was always a chance of him staying on...Chris is the only president I have ever known in this league, we can only hope that the next is as devoted, caring and dedicated as Chris has been... UNITS UNDERSTAND!!!

HURTIN' UNITS WERE LIGHTS OUT AROUND DODGE CITY...

Hurtin' Units vs. Dodge City Rounders...

Game # 13 July 12, 2010

Hurtin'  Units win 17-5

Team Record 11-1-1

Keogh Park- On another hot and humid evening, the Hurtin' Units have reached the half way point in the 2010 T.O.T season. Tonight's game was our 13th and how quickly it goes by... On this night we didn't only have the heat and humidity, we also had lighting conditions to contend with. Keogh Park is much improved this year, the new fencing and backstop, the regraded outfield, the trees down the foul lines have been cut back, and even though the lights were re-aimed, re-lamped and cleaned we have had problems with them... Last night we had no lights working in left field, two lights on the third base line by the bleachers out, and several single lights in other parts of the diamond were also not working...

When the conditions are not ideal, i.e lighting, gigantic puddles of water on the field, sun streaming into our eyes, it seems to steal something from the game. Last night I felt that way, at times I felt we were rushed and we were. I felt the banter between the teams was not there, there seemed to be this sense of urgency hovering over the later innings, which really kept things moving along, but made me feel like we were not getting what we came for, not taking the time to make sure the job was done right... Sure we won the game, but I felt something was missing. According to the President of league, the lights should be fixed on Tuesday, making the Wednesday games more enjoy for whom ever is playing...

At game time, we had 10 players and the Rounders only had 9. Uncle Tom and Nyzee were away. We supplied the Rounders with a catcher for the evening.

Boxscore:   ( My Camera battery is dead, update later)
                                1st         2nd        3rd         4th       5th        6th        7th    Total
Hurtin' Units.                                                                                                           17 


Dodge City                                                                                                                5


We  played a solid game, our defense held the Rounders to only 5 runs, and our bats were ripping the cover off the ball...The ball seemed to be rocketing off our bats, probably the most solid hits this season... Jens and Robin really hit hard and the results were 17 runs total for the Units over 6 innings played... UNITS UNLIT !!

HURTIN' UNITS play HTKP Tournament...

HURTIN' UNITS PARTICIPANTS IN HELP THE KIDS...

In the fast paced world we live in it is easy to overlook some of the hardship  that goes on right under our noses...There are families, for what ever reason, that are faced with financial problems. These financial problems can be hard on families and it can be hard on the children. When kids are in school and their friends are talking about playing hockey or baseball or soccer, it can be hard for them to explain, maybe even embarrassing, why their parents have decided that little Jenny or Johnny are not going to participate in this years local recreational sports activities.

The children who do have the opportunity to play in the community, form a bond with their teammates and fast become friends, creating a lifelong common bond with each other, a bond that is probably remembered forever...I'm sure that most of us who played sports growing up, still can remember events, parties, games, sleepovers, etc. with teammates. When we participate in sports we also participate in social interaction...Think about any team you ever played with and how it molded you into the person you are...

For families that can not afford to put their children in organized sports, the kids are not only missing out on physical activity ( which is healthier than playing X-box), but they miss out on multiple other social skills as well.  

Most of us playing in the Help the Kids Play tournament, probably played sports most of our lives ( with maybe the exception of The Pieman, who lived in a bubble for 45 years). We have all had the opportunity to play with others in sports throughout our lives and remember the good times we've had...

By participating in this tournament we are giving the less fortunate kids of our community a chance to play. To date, this tournament has helped 73 kids in our community and will help many more with our continued support for a great cause...I tip my hat to Ed Hopkins and Jeff Dancey for all their hard work in putting this tournament together, this is probably my favorite tournament in the summer and I'm glad the Hurtin' Unit players decided to participate. 

The Hurtin' Units have 11 regular roster players playing this weekend, a fantastic turnout, and we added another player to help with the individuals who wanted to play, but didn't have a team participating this weekend... Fortunately we picked up Anicete Goncalves...

OUR GAMES...

Friday July 9, 2010.

Game # 1 vs. The Dusty Cleats...

We had a great night for baseball on the Friday, the storm clouds that had been around in the late afternoon were clearing out and later in the evening the sky was filled with stars...

We had a good first game when we faced the Dusty Cleats...

The final score was 18-7 for the Hurtin' Units...

Saturday July 10, 2010.

Game # 2 vs. The Hot Tub Woodies...

Our first game on Saturday was at 1:15pm, following an emotional dedication of the Pavilion for Micheal Worrod. Our opponents were the Hot Tub Woodies and again these guys played us tough...

The final score 14-9 for the Hurtin' Units... This made our record for the tournament 2-0.

Game #3 vs. The Torn Ligaments...

In our pool of 4 teams we had won 2 games and the Torn Ligaments had won 2 games which assured us of a berth in the Sunday semi- finals. I was goofing around pitching before the game and Jerry was okay with me starting the game. I thought I through some good pitches, many making contact with the board for strikes, but the Torn Ligaments pounded the baseball around the diamond and around the fifth inning, I thought it was time to pack in the pitching and put Jerry back in... By this time the Torn Ligament had tacked up a pretty good lead and our batting had taken a break, the Torn Ligaments cruised to an easy victory...

The final score Torn Ligaments win 15-3.

Sunday July 11, 2010.

Game # 4 - Semi final game vs. The Red Dogs...

All games from this point were elimination games, lose and go home, win and go to the finals... The game was close from start to finish, each team trading runs, the lead went back and forth, in the sixth inning the Units were down by 2 runs, and scored 7 runs to take the lead, the Red Dogs fought back with 7 runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to take the lead again. In the open inning, down by 2 runs, the Units scored a run and had the tying run on 2nd base before the Red Dogs shut the door for the victory and a berth in the finals...

The final score Red Dogs win 17-16.


The Red Dogs would lose in the finals to the Torn Ligaments. Congratulations to the 2010 HTKP Champions the Torn Ligaments...

HURTIN' UNITS COME UP BIG WITH WOODIES...

HURTIN' UNITS vs. HOT TUB WOODIES....

Game # 12 - July 8, 2010

Hurtin' Units win 11-8

Team Record 10-1-1

For those of you that follow the Doug Dwyer blog site or even those who don't, in a recent poll conducted on the site, the question was asked " Who is Batman?", a mysterious blogger who has stirred up some controversy in the Grisslie lockeroom. I received an e-mail from Doug on Thursday morning, informing me that I was the poll leader at 54%. And even though this was just a poll, I felt that I should respond to Doug's e-mail...Here is my reply to Mr. Dwyer...

Dear Douglas, 

Holy Poll Question!! The poll results may believe that I may in fact be the Batman... Let me just start by asking a few questions?? Would the real Batman reveal his bat identity, even if a poll was correct?? I don't think so! Has anyone, including my nemesis The Pieman, ever seen me wearing a cape or tights?? I don't think anyone has seen me... Although my neighbors might dispute this answer. Has anyone ever seen a batmobile parked in my driveway? Many other vehicles, but never the batmobile... Does Mikey O. look like he could be the boywonder? Or would he even wear tights? And, has there ever been a blog posting on the Hurtin' Units Blog where I used a picture of the bat mobile or Batman related sayings in the blog? Tune in next week for more answers to other bat questions...Same bat time, same bat channel...I hope this e-mail has put to bed (with Batman sheets and pillow cases) the notion that I am the Batman... I must run along, my butler Alfred has lunch ready...

Regards, Jimmer.  

This link might help to shed some light on this situation.... http://hurtinunits.blogspot.com/2010/05/holy-bat-day-batman.html


I think I have made myself perfectly clear as to whether or not I am the Batman...You can check out Doug Dwyer's blog at http://tottenhamoldtimers.blogspot.com/. 

Now on to the really important stuff...

Keogh Park-The high temperatures and humidity were still hanging around on again on this night, not as bad as Tuesday evening, but still quite muggy. Sweat, sweat and more sweat was running downhill on most all of us, unless you were a robot...Hmmm, come to think of it,  I don't think I saw Paul break in to a sweat all evening, even though he was wearing those stripped, warm, insulated, long pants...Could he be?

There was a chance of Thunderstorms in the area, at 6:15pm I looked out my front window and saw a darkening sky, the wind had picked up and wondered if this game was going to happen...It did happen, the storm clouds were still hanging around at game time, but they didn't threaten us at all.

We were the home team again, my baseball supply was starting to get low, 5 balls left after tonight, 13 balls ( the number of balls each team receives) minus 5 balls means we have played 8 home games. I hope we play as well when we are the visitors....


At game time we had 11 guys ready to take on the Hot Tub Woodies, a team we had not seen yet this year...Tom could only play four innings because he has hockey on Thursday evenings, but he managed to get some at bats and had 2 innings at 2nd base and 2 innings at 3rd...I'm just happy to see him come out, even if it is only half a game... Tom is a great calming influence on the our team.

The Hot Tub Woodies actually played a tough game against us tonight, and although we came up with the victory it was not a walk in the park. All of the Hurtin' Unit runs came in only 2 innings, 7 runs in the 2nd inning and 4 runs in the 5th inning...It would be all that we would need, our defense came up solid throughout the entire game, allowing no more than 2 runs in any inning. This was certainly not the high scoring battle that we were in on Tuesday, when we had to scratch and claw are way back into the game. The Hurtin' Units seemed to have this game under control most of the evening, never really under a lot of pressure, it was certainly a close game, but I think we could have taken it to another level if it was necessary. I don't want to sound cockie, and I'm not, but we are capable of shutting teams down defensively and when our offensive is firing on all cylinders, we can put a pile of runs on the scoreboard...I really don't have to even mention this, we have played together for almost half a season (12 games already) and we have all experienced what we can do as a team... 

Boxscore:

                                   1st     2nd    3rd    4th    5th    6th    7th       Total


Hurtin' Units              0         7       0        0       4        0       0            11 


Hot Tub Woodies       1        2        2        0       1        2       0             8     

This is a team game and some nights, for what ever reason, guys have off nights. It may be a brain cramp and run off the bag, bad throws, missed catches, bad at bats, etc. We've all had these nights, sometimes we get a little down on ourselves. The nice thing about the Units this season is that when someone is having a bad night, this team seems to pick the slack, play as a team, and pull us through...

Every game is different, even playing the same team is different, there are never two games the same, we all know this and understand about the off night...I mentioned in one of my first blog posts for the Hurtin' Units, that I like to mention only the positive events or plays in our games (sometimes I'll mention the funny events), we are not professional baseball players ( I've never seen a paycheck for playing), we are recreational softball players and if someone has a bad game, it's usually forgotten by the next game. I am thankful we have such a great league to play in and good guys to play with, this is a team game and I like it that way...

We didn't have a great night tonight, but we played well enough to win. Don made several nice, running catches in LCF...Jerry caught a line drive back up the middle and through to first for a double play (Steve W. was down, but still a double play)... Jens caught a couple of line drives in LF... Al made a play that I thought was great, in the top of the 7th, while playing first base, he knocked down a hard it ball, recovered it and through, from his knees, to second base to Robin for an out, Robin through back to first to Jerry covering and just missed the double play...and the rest of us just did our best to play well... Good game guys...

We have the HTKP tournament this weekend, I might blog it or summarize it in the next blog, it's sometimes tough to stay on top of this stuff. We have 11 of our own players and we picked up Anicete Goncalves as our 12th player. It would have been great to have the whole team, but unfortunately Don C. wasn't available... Have a great weekend Don... UNITS UNWIELDY!!
  

HURTIN' UNITS PECK AWAY AT BREW JAYS FOR THE WIN...

HURTIN' UNITS VS. THE BREWJAYS...

Game # 11- July 6, 2010


Hurtin' Units win 20-16


Team Record 9-1-1


Coventry Park- The temperature and humidity over the last couple of days was brutal, the temperature at 3:30pm was around 32 degrees C. and the humidity made it feel like 38 degrees. At game the temperature had dropped, but the humidity was still there, just moving around slightly was enough to get the sweat running down our backs... This was definitely a night for cold beers after the game...I know Babe Ruth would agree...This is Babe Ruth in the picture.... Right??


The Hurtin' Units were facing the league's leading team the Brew Jays. The Brew Jays have lost only one game all season and they come into this game with a 10-1-0 record and 20 points in the standings...The only loss the Jays suffered was to the Hurtin' Units on May 27, 2010, when the Hurtin' Units won by a 10-7 score. On the night the Units defeated the Jays, Jerry W. the Hurtin' Units ace pitcher was missing and Tom Perry (P3) and Myself (P2) pitched a gem of a game coming up with the win...


The Hurtin' Units currently hold the second position in the standings, a slight lead over the Banshees, a team we beat twice in the last couple of weeks. After a great couple of weeks and with a 5 game winning streak going in to tonight's game, the Units were in for a good battle against the league leaders. And a good battle it was...


I have recently found out I could include videos into the blog, it's actually a new thing, and since I don't have any videos of the Hurtin' Units and I wanted to try out the video thing, I have included a favorite of mine, a video that has been viewed by many of people about 120 times, featuring The Pieman ( Piero D. of the Grisslies and he played for the Wild last season) playing golf for the first time. Pieman was the guy who came to our practise wearing the designer jeans....The video is titled " Pieman goes Golfing"... If it doesn't play for you, you can also view it on u-tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0Ws7jAmHj4 , probably a better view on u-tube...Enjoy.

Now back to the game...
At game we had 11 players suited up and eager to do battle with the league leaders, everybody likes to get up for the top guns, I think it's a measuring stick as to how well you're playing. Don Curran was our only missing player this evening.

This was a really good game and a great win for the Units, defeating the Brew Jays for the second time this season. The Brew Jays only two losses come from the bats of the Hurtin' Units...This was not an easy win and at times it looked very bleak for the Units, the Blue Jays built an early lead on some early, sloppy Hurtin' Unit defense. Both the defense and the offense would come through in the later innings for a heroic come from behind victory.


The Hurtin' Units were the visitors in this game for only the second time this season. In the top of the first inning the Units offense looked solid, we had scored 4 runs, the based were loaded with 2 out and Tom Perry was up to bat, unfortunately, for the first time that I have ever seen, Tom struck out watching as the 3rd strike nipped the board. The Brew Jays scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 1st.


Over the next two innings, the Brew Jays defense kept the Units off the score sheet and only 2 unit players actually reached base. The Blue Jays scored 6 runs in the 2nd and 4 more in the 3rd inning... At the end of 3 innings the score was 12-4 for the Brew Jays...


The 4th inning saw each team score runs, the Units scored 4 runs and again left runners on base, the Jays scored 3 more runs in the bottom of the inning. The fifth inning was quick and painless, neither team scored, the Units defense shut down the Jays 1, 2, 3, change em up boys!  Score after 5 innings  Jays 15- Units 8...


I went over to the score keeper to ask the score at the end of the 5th, 15-8, we were down by 7 with 2 innings to go. We could tie the score with a good offensive inning. Tom Perry got the inning started with a base hit, Jimmy Mac followed with another base hit, Al Hayward with another base hit, Jerry forced Al out at second, but brought around Tom to score... Jim, Jerry, Jens, Paul, and Robin all also came around to score, Robin was scored by a sacrifice fly hit deep in to right field by Chris Nyers. Unfortunately, it was not my best night at bat and the inning ended with me flying out and with Chris Ross on second. The Unit defense held the Jays to only a single run in the bottom of the 6th. The Jays lead was cut to 2 runs...16-14 going into the open inning...


In the top of the 7th inning the Hurtin' Units offense went back to work. Down by  2 runs, Mike started the inning reaching first, Tom followed with a single and took a runner (Jimmer), Jimmy Mac got another single and advanced the runners, Al and Jimmy got out in a double play, Mike came into score, I was at third ( the tying run), two out and Jerry hits a single bringing the tying run across to score...Jerry, Jens, Paul and Robin all came in to score and give the Units a 20-16 lead... In the bottom of the inning the first 2 batters got out... a fly out and a ground out, the next 2 batters reached as far as second base and with Francis at bat, Jerry managed to induce a foul ball strike out to end the game...Hurtin' Units win 20-16 in a dramatic comeback....


Boxscore:

                        1st      2nd     3rd     4th      5th      6th     7th     Total

Hurtin' Units    4         0         0         4         0         6         6          20   

Brew Jays       2         6          4        3         0         1         0         16     


This was a great character building win, to beat the number one team in a come from behind win speaks volumes to the we think of our team. There were some rough innings in this game, we managed to survive the adversity and come away with a second win against a very strong team.  This is something no other team has managed to do even once against the Brew Jays this season. This is a special win... come from behind, beat the #1 team in the league for the second time this season and we gain some ground in the standings... This game had some special moments worth mentioning... Mike O. hit an in the park homerun to lead off the 4th inning, Al H., Jens, Paul, Robin and Chris R. all went 4 for 5 at bat, Chris N. made a nice running catch in the field, I had a nice defensive game at 2nd base and we never stopped believing we could win... Special thanks go out to Zack on the Hurtin' Units bench, giving high fives and keeping the team spirit alive...UNITS UNRELENTING!!

HURTIN' UNITS GHOSTLY GOOD AGANIST BANSHEES...

HURTIN' UNITS vs. THE BANSHEES...

Game # 10  June 29, 2010 


Hurtin' Units win 25-5             


Team Record- 8-1-1    

Coventry Park- Whenever I think about the name Banshees, I conjure up images of the paranormal or the spiritual world floating around the baseball diamond, sometimes playing around with the baseball, sometimes just making strange things happen in the game...And when I think about the strange and unusually things happening, I think about Stephen King novels and short stories. I am a huge Stephen King fan, I have read more books written by King than any other author and if you were to enter my house (you would be captured and tortured, just kidding!!), if you were to enter my house you wouldn't have to look very far to find a King novel or story kicking around...Most people think of Stephen King as a strange, and twisted horror story guy, and in his early years it certainly paid the bills, but his books have never been the mindless slasher crap that is so common in movies these days. The stories he writes are actually very suspenseful and well thought out. In the early years he also wrote some good stories, many made in to some good movies...Stories like the Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me (originally named "The Body").

So what does Stephen King have to do with baseball? Mr. King is also an avid baseball fan (a Redsox fan mostly) and has also written several books with baseball as a theme... Billy Blockade, The Girl who love Tom Gordon (Tom Gordon was a closer for the Boston Redsox) and others with baseball written in as part of the story... I mention the Stephen King stuff because we all have things in common with baseball and we have all seen the strange events that can happen in the game... The missed sure catch, the perfect throw that suddenly drops and curves away, the lazy fly ball that picks up speed and sails your head, the knuckle ball and the other mysterious events that can happen in the game of baseball. The aphorism " It's not over until it's over" was probably written because strange things can happen in the game of baseball. 


Sometimes we don't even notice the spooky events that happen during a game. Maybe, just maybe, there are spirits playing along side us, although I doubt Keogh or Coventry Parks have enough history to produce any such ghosts or spirits, but anything is possible... Just about every clubhouse buzzes with stories of ghosts, legends, curses and eerie unexplained events...Players are very superstitious and fans have also developed folklore about their favorite teams and players. There are numerous movies about baseball with ghosts, spirits or angels. Major league players still talk about ghostly goings-on at Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, and Dodgers Stadium. There is also the historic Spring Training ballpark in St. Petersburg, where Babe Ruth and his teammates still roam the field as spirits.

The movie Field of Dreams is based on the ghosts of the 1919 Chicago Whitesox and the eight players kicked out of baseball for throwing the World Series. Who doesn't remember the spirit voice saying " If you build it, he will come"?

There is a book called "Haunted Baseball" written by Mickey Bradley and Dan Gordon about ghosts, spirits and the other paranormal in the game of baseball.


None of us really knows if there are spirits amongst us, some of us may have had experiences that lead us to believe that there are...Our minds can play tricks on us and make us believe things...The television is peppered with shows about ghosts and the paranormal. Shows like the Ghost Whisperer, Medium, X files, etc. The interesting thing is that these shows all get there ideas from somewhere, are they based on fact or fiction??? 

Tonight we played the Banshees, for the second time this season, a team who's very name conjures up visions of spirits foretelling of future events...Scary stuff and a scary team. Would we see anything strange in this game?

The Banshees and The Hurtin' Units are both near the top of the standings. In our last game vs. the Banshees on June 21, the score was only 6-5, with the Units squeaking by with the win...Last time we met, we were the home team, tonight we come in to the amusement park as the meddling visitors...Scooby Doo where are you??

The weather on game day was very breezy, there were clouds scattered across the sky, but the sun was sneaking a peek periodically and the forecast was calling for clear sunny skies by game time, which meant bring your sunglasses. The skies were clear at game time and on diamond #2, the right side of the field was constantly staring in to blinding rays of the sun. Any balls hit to the right side made it an adventure...


There were no strange or spooky events in this game, unless of course you call the Units scoring 25 runs and the Banshees only putting up 5 against us strange. The Units played another solid game at defense and the offense hit Frank hard and often. Frank was throwing the knuckle ball a lot and with the wind it would dance up to the plate, but our patience kept us back and most of us managed to pound the ball around the field...

This was our second and final meeting against the Banshees this season. I never like see a team beaten by such a lopsided score (most of us don't), the Banshees are a better team than what we saw last night and I wish them well the rest of the season...

Boxscore for the game...

June 29          1st    2nd   3rd   4th    5th    6th   7th  Total


Hurtin'Units    3        3       5       2        1       7      4      25


Banshees        2        0       1       2        0        0      0      5


There were a couple of nice plays in the game last night worth mentioning. Our bats were firing on all cylinders and the run total would indicate as such... Tom Perry made a nice double play at second catching the ball, tagging the runner running from first and then throwing to first to get the batter... Jimmy Mac. made some very tough plays in RCF while fighting the bright sunshine, one which was popped up very high into the sky... Al and Robin (our #4 rated player) made difficult catches and plays and I had couple of good snags at second, one of which I through Doris out... Paul had a couple of chances to turn double plays and just missed them...As I have heard Tom Perry say several times this season " Go for one, the second one is a bonus". Tom you are a man of wisdom and you bring a calming influence to the Units... SCARY, good win guys!  UNITS UNIVERSAL!! 
                                                

HURTIN' UNITS SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL ALONG...

HURTIN' UNITS vs. THE GRISSLIES.

Game # 9- June 23, 2010


Hurtin' Units win 14-8


Team Record- 7-1-1

 Keogh Park- Well it's been quite a week, 3 games two of which were scheduled at 9:30pm. On the day of the 3rd game this week, mother nature or the universe, really doesn't matter what you call it, was busy. She gave us more than enough to make things interesting. At approximately 1:40pm, on Wednesday afternoon, I was sitting on Rob Farah's front step talking shop; subs for tonight's game, severe thunderstorm warnings, what to do if the weather doesn't let us play, etc., when we began to feel the step vibrate beneath us. This feeling lasted 10 to 20 seconds. The vibration we experienced was an earthquake or tremor of 5.0 magnitude and it was felt by half the province. In addition to the earthquake, there was a chance severe thunderstorms later in the evening and further north ( the Midland area) a F2 tornado touched down around our game time.


The rain and the thunderstorms did develop, shaking and rattling their way through, but fortunately they came before the early game and all the games scheduled for Wednesday managed to get in. There was some controversy at the diamond when the first game ran late, making the second game run late, which was shortened by time constraints, making the 8:15pm teams a little rattled, but in order to get the games in, this had to be done. Brad the umpire, was misinformed about playing 7 innings and I'm sure that this won't happen again.


As it was, the Hurtin' Units and the Grisslies game was delayed by 20 minutes and we did not get started until 9:50pm, giving us only a hour and ten minutes until Keogh lights shut off.


At game time, humidity was brutal, just standing around made you sweat, and again the mosquitoes feasted on Chris Ross. There were plenty of dark storm clouds blowing through the area and several times I felt rain drops during the game. The rain held off and the game was completed by the skin of our teeth (10:58pm) and the Units completed a three game sweep for the week, final score 14-8. Final totals for the week, 6-5 vs. Banshees, 25-8 vs. Dusty Cleats, and 14-8 vs. The Grisslies. For the week, 45 total runs for and 21 total runs against, an average of 15 runs per game for and 7 runs per game against... Nice plus/ minus week...

When I took attendance at game time (actually around 9:30pm), we were all accounted for, at least the guys who said they were going to be here. Chris Nyers was working, Tom Perry was picking his wife up at the airport, and Don Curran couldn't make the game. I called for a sub, our thanks go out to John Tessier for filling in for us.


Okay, let's get to the game. The game lacked any flair or drama. There were no outstanding plays or real highlights. The Hurtin' Units (probably a little fatigued from playing 2 games over the last 2 nights), were not as sharp defensively this night, but still managed to hold the Grisslies to only 8 runs. In 9 games played this season, we have kept our opponents to 10 runs or less against us 8 times.


In this addition of the blog, I decided to try putting in a box score to show the runs scored.

                     1st    2nd    3rd    4th    5th   6th   7th   Total

Hurtin' Units   5      2       1        0       2       0      4        14
Grisslies          2      0       0        1       4       0      1         8 

This was a good week for us, going 3 wins for 3 games. There were no outstanding plays in tonight's game, there were good defensive plays, Mikey O. and Jimmy Mac made some nice catches in the outfield, everyone had some good a bats, Paul said it was his best game of the season and if he says it was, I believe him. Who would know better?


Our next game is scheduled for Tuesday June 29th at Coventry Park at 7:00pm against the Banshees, a team that we squeaked by earlier this week by a score of 6-5. Until next game... UNITS UNWIND!!

HELP THE KIDS PLAY

Hi Guys,

The following article was written by Doug Dwyer and I was asked to post it on this blog. Please take the time to read it... Thanks, James.

HELP THE KIDS PLAY

The easiest way to get lost in the shuffle is to allow yourself to be lost in the shuffle. The world is a busy place and we meet each day with many urgent and often conflicting priorities. For many people, there is the struggle between “do we work to live or; do we live to work”. We need to work to sustain ourselves and our families, but is our work so all encompassing that we miss out in spending time with the very people we are trying to support? It’s just one of life’s daily complexities.

Now add to that, job loss, overwhelming bills, unexpected expenses, cut back hours, a roller coaster economy or general anxiety over making ends meet. Imagine sitting down with your son or daughter and saying, “I’m sorry, but we just can’t afford to do swimming lessons this year” or “we’ll look at what we can do about hockey next season”. These are real situations and conversations that too many parents face.

These problems are not unique to our town or region. It would be very easy to allow this to be one of those lost in the shuffle moments and deem the situation to be too vast to tackle. You could be lost in the shuffle; or, you could be Ed Hopkins and pledge to make a difference.

As Ed describes it, the genesis of his idea was less ‘lightning bolt’ and more ‘dimmer switch working its way to the high setting’. Ed’s idea to help those in needs started with a relatively off the cuff conversation with Larry Turner in November of 2006. As Ed recalled the chat he said “we all enjoy playing ball in Tottenham, maybe we should donate money to kids where their parents are not financially able have them play”. It was just a simple statement and Larry replied, "Good idea, maybe we should do that". In the coming weeks, conversations around that simple idea morphed into planning sessions which turned into strategy meetings with family and close friends which quickly brought Ed to the precipice of diving in with both feet; or slowly moving back from the edge of the cliff.

Ed describes it this way, “some time had gone by and nothing of substance had really happened. A month later my son was visiting from Memphis and we talked about it over dinner and after hearing about this great idea and that his dad was not moving to make it happened, he reach in his pocket, pulled out $100.00 US and without saying it out loud, he laid down the challenge to get this off the ground. I have never been known to back down from any challenge my son throws at me so I resolved on that night to make it happen. With lots of help it has turn out to be a great success.”

In very short order, the Help The Kids Play (HTKP) program has become a smash success and there is great pride in the 168 members of the Tottenham Oldtimers Slow Pitch League because one of their own made this happen!

In 2007 HTKP was able spend $2000.00 and contribute to nine (9) children playing in sports that they would have otherwise missed out on. It was a great start! From that beginning to today, the HTKP program has raised in excess of $15,000.00 and helped 73 children participate in local sports! That is making a difference on a significant scale.

While there has been organization and leadership around this program, it is a true grass-roots initiative. There are private donations that are accepted, but no less than 85% of the total financial contribution comes from an annual baseball tournament held in Tottenham at Coventry Park. That weekend of activities has grown over the years much like the program has. This year (July 9th-11th) will see an oldtimers mens division, a young timers division and a ladies division. Additionally, there will be an “all star” game between the young timers and old timers and alumni game featuring past members of the old timers league and home running hitting contest.

But those are just the scheduled events. This doesn’t speak to the weekend of family fun spent at the park, the kids playing, the food, and the camaraderie. As the profile and awareness of the event has grown, more and more people have invited friends from elsewhere to play in the tournament. The theory being that “if my participation can help a child, then bringing others will only help more”.

When asked why he participates in the weekend tournament, Kevin Boston, Treasure of the Tottenham Oldtimer’s League said, “it’s a worthy cause for the long-term development of our community. Raising money to help children play sports within the community is important to the social and physical well-being of those individuals.”

The needs of children are something that should be and is at the forefront of the thoughts of many recreational ballplayers and that is a major reason why the participation rate is as strong as it is. Being on the ground floor as a participant in the weekend as well as financial contributor through entry fees and food and beverage sales, makes everyone keenly aware of those that may need assistance. The, ‘that’s too bad’ mentality quickly changes into a ‘how can I help’ mindset. Chris Ross, President of the Tottenham Oldtimer League offered this insight, “"The Help The Kids Play program has inspired me to reach out to families that I think could benefit from this initiative.” The view is from a different lens. A lens that now offers a way to overcome challenges that prevent children from partaking in what should be a right of all youth. Sports.

While this is a very real feel-good community endeavour, the participants give willingly of their time and money knowing full well that they will never know the beneficiaries of the program. The program itself is run with strictest of privacy for the sake of anonymity of applicants. Only one committee will ever know the name of the applicant. The approved contribution from HTKP can cover any or all of enrolment, equipment or other sports related expenses.

The link to this year’s HTKP tournament is www.tottenhamoldtimers.ca/HTKP.html

Please visit the site. Please enter a team if you can. Please join an existing entry if you cannot get enough people together to form a complete team. If you are unable to play for whatever reason, bring your kids for a hot dog and watch the alumni game. Have a cold drink and watch the all star game. Bring a friend and see the Ladies, Men’s or Young men’s finals.

Become a vital contributor to an exceptionally worthy cause. Enjoy your role in making your community a better place. Don’t allow yourself to be lost in the shuffle.