Blue Gray Tourney, Game 1.Smoke and Mirrors: Pittsburgh Blues 6 Lancaster Illusion 3

Goldie, 3-4, 2-r

one Amish disemboweled

Ashcroft (1-0)
9 IP, 3ER, 8, 4h
six dismemberments
two Amish speared with flagpole

Pittsburgh NABA Pitcher of the Year. Jason Aschroft (1-0) pitched a complete game victory, scattering four hits over nine innings as the Blues overcame deficits of 2-0, and 3-1 to defeat the Illusion in the Blue & Gray Tournament opener.

The visiting Illusion jumped out to a 2-0 lead in he first inning.

Blues CF, Jason Goldie singled and stole second in the bottom of the second Vinny Gala singled to put runners on first and third with one out. Goldie scored the Blues first run on a double steal by pinch runner Ben Gwin who entered for non-runner Gala.

The game was fast paced; solid defense by the Amish and a good pitching performance by Henry VI kept Lancaster in the game early.

Lancaster added a run in the top of the fourth. Lancaster lead 3-1 going into the bottom of the fifth when Gwin tied the game with a two run single, tying the game 3-3.

i'M CALLING ON BEN SOROSKY IS PINCH-BLOG FROM THE DAYS INN IN DUMFIRES, VA WHILE I SMOKE A CIGARETTE.

While I lay here and pinch blog, I would like to give a personal shout to Ben Gwin for his amazing play in RF today. Reminded me of a Grady Sizemore type play. 2B Joe Graff was leadoff hitter today and was like Jose Reyes getting on base everytime. Jason Ashcroft aka Brandon Webb pitched a gem of a game today and I enjoyed all the groundballs that I received at 3B. It's fun when the pitcher throws strikes and keeps the fielders in the game. There is a reason why he was the NABA pitcher of the year. BTW, Ben Gwin was right with his prediction of cheaper prices in Virginia. Gas is 3.35 a gallon and most importantly, Blue Moon, my favorite beer, is 6.75 a 6 pack. Well, Gwin has returned and I will let him return to his blog.......

So in the bottom of the seventh I made a diving catch in right, then SS, BJ Rankin made a barehanded play on a bad hop when a ground ball hit off the infield lip.

Highlights of BJ Rankin vs the Illusion


The game was tied at three until the bottom of the eighth, when Brian Strom, after two failed bunt attempts doubled home two runs to put Pittsburgh up 5-3.
Strom would later score on Garrett Moore's broken bat ground out, and Ashcroft shut the door in the bottom of the ninth preserving the 6-3 victory.

The Blues will secure a spot in the championship with a win over the Florida Rangers tomorrow at 8am.

Ben Sorosky is on the hill tomorrow,


Bad news for the Rangers


***

In his quest to find the Dicks sporting goods in Manasses, VA, Garret Moore got lost in the back woods of Virginia for literally three hours and arrived forty minutes late to the game. He had Guthrie, Homa and Christian's equipment in the trunk of his car. It was a bad scene.
Garrett Moore has been owned at paper-rock-scissors and has slept on the floor for two nights.
Moore had an RBI in the game.

***

Jeremy Barchie has demanded his 2009 Ducks contract include Redman.

(profanity)



Go Blues
Quack.

Blues

The Middlesex Pirates have dropped out of the Blue & Gray Classic.
the Blues are now guaranteed three games, and have to finish in the top two of the four team pool to make the Championship game.
I disagree with this format, I'd rather have a semi-final game.
Saturday at 12:30 pm, it's Bad News for the Lancaster Illusion.

Sweet Virginia

Without Chuck Berry there is no rock 'n' roll, without the Blues there is no Chuck Berry.
Without the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance, there is no Marty McFly.

It is likely the Blues' schedule will change again, as the 18A schedule link on the national site can not be selected. That is one potent disclaimer, it is almost as if linking the temporary schedule on yesterday's blog post has caused a tear in the NABA space/time continuum.

Much of the Back to the Future soundtrack is written by Huey Lewis and the News.
Weird Al, parodied Huey Lewis and the News' "I want a new Drug" with this number.

Great stuff.

Theoretically which event do you think is more likely to cause the universe to collapse on itself, should it happen again :
The Ghostbusters crossing the streams, or Marty McFly meeting himself in the past?





The Blues will leave for Virginia tomorrow, and begin play on Saturday. The schedule is still in flux.
Look for Ben Sorosky's travel-blog tomorrow night when you get home from your Friday evening activities.

***
The South Oakland Ducks have had seven players selected to compete in national tournaments, the most of any Pittsburgh NABA team.

Ben Hartranft
Matt Swetz
Rob Swanger
Ben Gwin
Mark Guthrie
Nick Homa
Garrett Moore

Quack.

Unofficial Blues Schedule,

Go Blues

The Pittsburgh Blues officially have no history; unofficially, it starts Saturday at 12:30pm. the Blue & Gray Schedule was posted, with this disclaimer:

2008 Blue & Gray Schedule

This is a preliminary schedule and is subject to change. A final schedule will be produced and provided to manager's at check-in.

DO NOT duplicate or distribute this preliminary schedule. Only a schedule which reads "Final Schedule" should be used for tournament purposes.

I'm guilty of possession of preliminary schedule with intent to distribute.

The Blues are one of five teams in the 18A pool.
As of now, the Blues are scheduled to play the Middlesex Pirates as 12:30 pm at Prince William Stadium, Home of the Potomac Nationals, the single A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. Personally I'm looking forward to playing in a stadium names after a fellow Welshman.

No word on whether or not this blue mascot will be in attendance, ironically, he's also a fellow Welshman.

The Blues are scheduled to play two or their four guaranteed games at Prince William Stadium.

Is that grass on the infield?

Judging from the GoogleEarth pictures of Prince William Stadium,I linked we are probably playing our other two games in the complex surrounding the stadium, but I'm not sure.

the Stadium has actually been renamed,

G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium
7 County Complex
Manassas, VA 20110
703-590-2311

Know Your Enemy: Scouting report for the other teams in the Blue & Gray Classic 18A Division

As I mentioned yesterday, the Florida Rangers will fight .

The Rangers came in second in the Cooperstown 4th of July Tournament.

There was once a Pittsburgh NABA team named the Rangers, they became the Phantoms and played a key role in the development of South Oakland Duck, Chris Wojoton.
Coincidentally the Texas Rangers used to be the Washington Senators, the team that replaced the first Senator team that left to become the Twins. The second Senators were replaced by the Washington Nationals, whose minor league park will be the venue for half of the Blue Gray Tournament games.

Judging by their website the New York Metro's don't mess around. By taking advantage of deep player pool of the densely populated NY metropolitan area, they probably have assembled a nasty squad.

All business.


Metro's second baseman, has an astronomical OPS.

***

The Middlesex Pirates Myspace page.

This team is from New Jersey, but I'm guessing there's a Pittsburgh guy with a man-crush on Andy VanSlyke on the roster somewhere.

Perhaps it is Steve Bovo (via. Middlesex Pirates Myspace)

Other reasons they could be named the Pirates include; cheapest jerseys available since the Pirates are terrible, or maybe they just like Pirates.

leaf blower with stocking.

We have to beat the Pirates

***

The enigma of the 18A Pool is the Lancaster Illusion.
The folks at NABA National HQ said they were a team of eight, that filled out their roster will pool players/mercenaries.

I've been to Lancaster, and I'm guessing we'll see this guy on the hill. His stuff is filthy

Those of us familiar with Richard III know the house of Lancaster was dominated by the house of York. Look for the New York Metro's (and the Blues) to beat the Illusion.

The Lancaster Illusion is the Ducks blog favorite non-Blues team in the division. Here's why, besides the obvious, creative, non-plural name.

There is a chance their front office is operating on this kind of a level.

Richard III is my favorite history play by Shakespeare.

The house of Lancaster was represented by a red rose.


Guns 'n' Roses also incorporates the red rose in the band's logo


Guns 'n' Roses' third double album is none other than

Use Your Illusion.

Note: Use your Illusion II contains the ballad Civil War, which I have alluded to in relation to the Blue Gray Classic.

Video "Don't Damn Me", (profanity)



Your satisfaction lies in your illusion.

Coby this is solid Rock 'n' Roll.


There are also the obvious connections between Axl Rose and Richard III and the dastardly things they did in their respective quests for glory, which I may develop into a thesis.
If these guys from Lancaster did this on purpose they are my heroes.

Go Blues.

***
Quack, quack.

Links

this is a ridiculous article from ESPN, gotta love Little League parents

The Florida Rangers are sending a team to Virginia for the Blue & Gray Tournament.
This is the league write up of a bench clearing brawl in their Championship game in the Palm Beach NABA where the Rangers get most of their players. "Law enforcement officials were called to the scene..." Interesting.

Sign up for Fall Ball

If you are free this evening come scrimmage with the Blues and some players from the Butler County league.
8pm, John Herb Field.

The Blues leave for Virginia this Friday.

From the album Exile on Main Street.

Stormy Monday (this is a long one)

Check out Albert Kings 'stache

A Brief and Painfull History of Pittsburgh NABA Tournament Play




I was shagging flies in cargo shorts after score keeping a 2005, Black Sox Eagles game. The Black Sox won by the ten run rule, and were drinking in their vacated dugout, a few of Eagles decided to stay late to hit.that was my unemployed, newly sober summer, and I figured I'd take advantage of the half hour before the lights turned off on Moore Park. I spent a lot of time that season not knowing what to do with myself aside from playing on the Ducks, and practicing.
As was the case with most games in 2005, Craig Boley, then acting league commissioner, had umpired the game. After he peeled off his umpire's gear, he jogged out to left field, and asked me if I wanted to go to Phoenix to play on an all-star team and if I could bring fellow Ducks, Ben Hartranft, Matt Swetz and Rob Swanger.
The Burgh, that was our team name; stitched in block letters across our black jerseys which looked like the kind you might buy off a street vendor in Homestead. We played in Phoenix donning our sweltering black sweaters and posted a deceptive 1-4 record. memories of one game from the trip still linger and surface on the occasional summer night when I'm riding home from a game dehydrated and covered in the Spring View infield. A deflating 11-10 loss to a team from Utah.
Early in the game I misplayed two balls in right field that lead to two Mormon runs. When I got up to bat against Team Karl Malone, I crushed. I was 3-4 with three RBI, including the game tying and go ahead runs in the top of the eighth. One of which came off a balk, the other when I lined a hanging slider over short stop John Stockton's head. After my error cost us the lead, I thought I hit the game winning RBI. We were up 10-9 going into the bottom of the eighth. Chris Feathers had pitched the whole game in 90 degree heat
Under an auspicious ruling the Mormons were allowed to use a bat with a 3/4barrell, the type which had been outlawed in all levels of play two years before.
The contest flirted with the three-hour time limit and when we turned a double play to end the eighth inning, we jumped, hugged and cheered our come from behind victory. I had redeemed myself and we stood at 1-2 for the tournament, still alive for the playoffs.
But the umpire and Karl Malone's Mormons demanded we play on, and in the bottom of the ninth the kid with the illegal bat hit a game winning double and broke the Burgh's back for the tournament. There was no going back after such a deflating loss. Team Malone, finished 4-1 in pool play.
We were beaten thoroughly in a game that evening by a team no more talented than we were.
Our lone victory came on the final day of the tournament against a California team who called themselves the Black Sox.

***
The next season The Burgh played in the 2006 Atlantic City Memorial Day tournament. The Ducks were represented by myself and OF/P Rob Swanger.
We did not win a game. I played an error free right field, and both Rob Swanger and I hit close to .500 for the tournament.
We had better pitching this time around, and were in the wood bat division.
The memorable game in this tournament was a 16-15 loss to Clifton, during which I went 4 for 5, but was thrown out at first base from right field.
The Burgh Trailed 10-0 in the bottom of the sixth. One of the pitchers we brought down, who is currently on the Oilers, couldn't find the zone, the game crawled along; our black jersey's baking us like foil around a potato on a campfire.
Rob Swanger came into pitch in the fourth and kept Clifton of the board, temporarily stifling the lineup which had put ten on the board.

We were staring a ten run mercy beating in the face, when we started hitting. Dustin Winston, who had been 1 for the tournament hit a home run and a double in the same inning. I singled twice, John Tremmel Homered. Matt Slavonic singled, Rob Swanger entered for the DH and delivered a pinch hit double to left, it was contagious we rolled that inning. The Burgh scored ten runs in the sixth to tie the game.
costly errors in the seventh lead to a 15-10 Clifton lead, but The Burgh battled back and tied it at 15. I remember a pinch hit, 2-run double by Andy Zatman.
I don't remember how the winning run scored, but again the loss was too much to overcome and we wouldn't win a game in the tournament.

***
Note: The South Oakland Ducks have the best batting average for a team in tournament play. Hartranft, Swanger, and myself combined to hit over .450 in Phoenix, and Rob and I both hit .500 in AC.

Feel like I talked about myself more than I would have liked in that post.
***

Pittsburgh is 1-9 in tournament play, there has never been anything on the website, we really don't talk about it much except with each other.

Two seasons separate the current team from the league's last tournament foray, the past bares little impact on the current group except for a core group of five tournament veterans, captain Craig Boley, Dustin Winston, Brian Strom, Kenny Rayl, and myself, Ben Gwin. This Pittsburgh team has ten new players.

The Burgh is gone, enter the Pittsburgh Blues.
The Blues are lead by a strong young pitching rotation of Duck's ace, Nick Homa (76 K's), Raker/Duck?) Ben Sorosky, and Pittsburgh NABA, ERA leader (1.40) John Ashcroft of the Oilers.

Where there once was that kid from the Oilers, there is now a bullpen anchored by Captain America, Mark Guthrie, along with, Strom, Winston, closer, Rankin, and Gutrie's PCB pitcher whose name i don't know, but he's playing fall ball.

The Bulldogs are represented by Head Coach, Joe Graff, SS, BJ Rankin, OF/P Brian Strom, and 1B Vinny Gala.
The Ducks will send four players to Virginia; Homa, OF, C Gwin, Guthrie, and OF Garrett Moore.
The Black Sox are represented by CF Jason goldie, and player/owner 3B, Kenny Rayl.
Craig "Ultimate Warrior" Boley is the Blues captain and starting catcher, the lone Warrior on the team.
Utility player Dustin Winston, is a Python/Bulldog. He hit .750 in 2005 prompting the league's conversion to wood bats. He also is the Pittsburgh NABA's all time tournament home run leader. He earned the win on the mound in 2005 when we beat the Black Sox in Phoenix.

The Burgh's nine losses are littered with winnable games.

The black, hot-box uniforms are history, replaced by the new powder blues.
A strong showing in Virginia is not assured, but the title is there for the taking.



This Labor Day Weekend it is going to bad news for everyone who plays the Blues.

Play Baseball Today. 6pm John Herb Field

An open invitation for anyone who wants to scrimmage today, 6pm at John Herb Field.
The Pittsburgh Blues look to get into game shape in the final week leading up to the Blue & Gray Tournament in Virginia. All '08 Fall Ball participants are encouraged to attend.

Blues

The Pittsburgh Blues take the field in the NABA Blue Grey Classic in one week.
Potential member of the South Oakland Ducks Team of Destiny '09, and Blues starting pitcher, Ben Sorosy, will live blog from his i phone on the trip from Pittsburgh to Fairfax, VA.
It should be fascinating.

Coby, feel free to put something worth reading up here, I'm running on fumes.

Everyone loves fantasy football

I'm commissioning a free yahoo league.
If you would like to play, go to yahoo sports and figure out how to join an existing league.
Info for League- Name: Civil War Land, (ID# 512325)
Password: quack.
the live draft is tentatively set for Tuesday September 2nd at 7:30 pm, and is subject to change.
all are welcome.

sign up for fall baseball here: Fall Ball
If you can't play, tell your ball playing friends to sign up.
I'm coaching, my team is the Ghostbusters, it will be great fun.

Environmentalist, Larry, coach of the Gray Bats, wants the containment unit shut down, claiming it poses a threat to the air and water quality in NYC.
Bad news.

Duck Profile of the Week

The Black Scooter

Latin: Melanitta nigra americana
Average length: M 19.7", F 18.5
Average weight: M 2.5 lbs., F 2.2 lbs.

Description: Black scoters are among the most vocal of waterfowl species.

Males: Male black scoters are entirely black except for a yellow protuberance on the base of the bill and the gray lower surface of the flight feathers. The legs and feet are dusky and the iris is brown.

Females: Female black scoters are dark brown with light whitish cheeks, chin and throat, which contrast with a dark crown. The legs and feet are dusky and the iris is brown.


Breeding: In North America, black scoters breed in western and southern Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, and scattered areas in central and eastern Canada, including southern Keewatin, northern Quebec, and Newfoundland. They also are found (and may breed) from southern Yukon and Mackenzie east to Labrador and Newfoundland. Black scoters prefer to nest in large clumps of tundra grass and lay 8 to 9 eggs.

Migrating and Wintering: Major wintering areas for black scoters include the Pacific coast from the Pribilof and Aleutian Islands to southern California, the Great Lakes, and the Atlantic coast from Newfoundland to South Carolina.

Population: Numbers of wintering scoters of all three species along the Atlantic coast have shown a gradual, but non-significant, decline between 1954 and 1994. However, available population data are generally inadequate for reliable determination of a population trend.

Food habits: Black scoters dive to feed on mollusks, crustaceans, and small fishes found in marine and freshwater habitats. Their diet also includes small amounts of eelgrass, muskgrass, widgeon grass, pondweeds, and algae found in inland habitats.

Fall Ball etc...

The Ghostbusters fall ball team is still recruiting players, and will begin play on September 9th with an eye towards ultimately bolstering the Ducks' 2009 lineup. South Oakland Duck, Captain America, Mark "Last Thoughts on Woody" Guthrie will play on Brian Strom's Orange fall ball team, in an undercover effort to attract free agent pitchers drafted by the Bulldogs assistant coach.

Fall Ball spots are still available sign up here: Fall Ball


***

NORTHERN AGGRESSION
The Pittsburgh Blues all-star team will invade the Virginia boarder on August 30th, and begin their domination of the Blue-Grey Classic, wood bat tournament, which appears to have been named by a person who doesn't realize the Civil War was not so much a "classic" as it was an abomination. Clearly the darkest time in American history. There's even a confederate flag on the tournament logo. The tournament takes place south of the Mason Dixon line, and Virginia is the relative latitudinal center of the east coast, but why continue to divide the north and south into Blue and Gray? Why not just call it the North-South Classic? or The Battle for Control of the Area Denoted by a Sudden Shift to a Heavy NASCAR Fan Demographic?


We need to break down these barriers.
In addition to a fun weekend of baseball, I'm excited about purchasing cheap tobacco products in Virginia.

The Blues are excited about the addition of Bullpen Catcher, Designated Hitter, Garrett Moore.
Moore was the runner up for the Ducks' 2007 Garrett Moore Hustle award, and the 2008 Garrett Moore Mustache award.

***

Slash is amazing.

Go Blues

Jimi Hendrix, Blues fan

Jimi Hendrix - Red House -gibson-
Uploaded by fuzz59

Blue Grey Tournament Art

Ducks, Owlz, and Chickens

Only two Owlz made it to yesterday's scrimmage vs. the Blues, which turned out to be a glorified intra-squad with several Ducks taking part in the game. Jesse Smith, Ryan Novak and Eric Lee practiced with the Blues, who have tenured Jesse Smith an offer to travel to Virginia with the team. Novak is unavailable to play in the tournament, because of academic responsibilities. Is Andrew McCray's knee up to the trip over labor day weekend, (Aug. 30-Sept. 1)? He'd help the team.

The Blues thank Rob Cool for his efforts in rounding up the Owlz, many of whom backed out at the last minute. The Blues may face the Owlz at some point before the Blue-Grey Classic in Viginia.

Thanks to everyone who showed up yesterday, it was a solid practice.



The framework of the Ghostbusters' fall ball roster was laid out last night. Head coach Ben Gwin was unable to draft as many Ducks as he wanted, due to rules mandating the players who had already paid be taken first.

2008 Avalon Ghostbusters of the North Hills

Head Ghostbuster, Ben Gwin, C, 1b, OF

Dan Morgan, P, Bulldogs
BJ Rankin P, inf., Bulldogs
Adam Smith, P, inf. Ducks
Vinny Gala, 1b, SS, Bulldogs
Garrett Moore, of, C, Ducks
--------Free Agents-------
Ron
Mark
Watson
Gregg

The Ghostbusters are still looking to add to their already dominant roster. Spots are still available on all NABA fall ball teams. Tell your friends.
signup here: Fall Ball

Howlin' Wolf has forgotten more about the Blues than Jim Morrison ever knew.


Go Blues

Duck Flies North? The mother of all bulletin board material

To err is human, to quack is divine

Traded to the Dodgers
We'll miss you, Andy.

Sad News from Ducks Headquarters
SS/2B Andrew McCray is flying south for the late summer, so far south he will traverse the globe and land back home in Erie, PA. The poor Pittsburgh job market has robbed the Ducks of another middle infielder. The same thing happened in 2005 when original Duck #2, SS, Craig Pelat left for Tennessee to find employment.
McCray is one of the best infielders I've ever played alongside. He was always positive, kept things light. He got fired up to play baseball in a good way.

Birds of a Feather








I know McCray would be fired up about this bit of second hand information:
According to all-star pitcher, Duck-on-the-Fence, Ben Sorosky, a conversation similar to this occurred between Ben and Owlz coach Rob Cool:

Rob: I hear[from the Ducks blog] your deciding between the Ducks and the Rakers next season.
Ben: yes
Rob: Well, if you'd like to play on a Championship caliber team, maybe you would consider playing for me on the Owlz next season.
Ben: no
Rob: why not? we have sweet uniforms and are the only team in the league with a "z" in our team name. (this may not have been said) Plus we won the championship
Ben: Because I'd rather play on a team who beats them, quack, quack. (Sorosky may or may not have quacked upon rejecting Rob Cool's offer)

***
the Owlz front office has been busy headhunting the best players from around the league. We will see some of them in the Owlz vs. Blues scrimmage on Sunday, 5pm at John Herb Field.
With all the new Owlz next season, logic would dictate a few displaced members from the 2008 championship squad.

Birds of a feather are flocking...

Fago, fly with us.

***

Happy Birthday, Coby




Quack

2008 Final Awards Travesty!

Despite the swell of support and campaigning from the Ducks blog, Nick Homa finished second in the Pitcher of the Year voting to the Oilers' Jason Ashcroft. While Ashcroft is a deserving candidate, who lead the league in ERA with a lights out 1.40 mark, he had 20 fewer strikeouts than Homa, and played in a weaker division. Homa came in second by two votes, he led the league with 76 strikeouts, (75 officially)

Ashcroft and Homa are teammates on the Pittsburgh Blues

Others recieving POY votes, Jeremy Barchie, James Fago, and "Duck on the Fence" Ben Sorosky. Sorosky has pledged allegiance to the Ducks should the Rakers fold (Larry, you can join us). If the Rakers do not fold it will take a solid counter offer by the Ducks to lure the all-star pitcher from Cyrila Landscaping and their sweet uniforms.
Negotiations will officially start during the winter meetings.

Ducks off season re-acquisition, Jeremy Barchie, has guaranteed the 2009 Pitcher of the Year Award. To Paraphrase an earlier quote by Barchie,
"I'm returning to my former team, and I'm taking the Pittsburgh NABA Cy Young.."

A Freudian slip by Blues manager Joe Graff occurred last night at practice when he referred to Blues' pitchers, Mark Guthrie and Ben Sorosky as "Ducks".

Another mind numbing debacle is the persistent absence of a Manager of the Year Award.
TC Jones is the unofficial 2008 Manager of the Year.

Ducks blog did help secure the MVP Award for the Owlz James Fago.

Congrats, James, there is always a spot for you on the Ducks.
Quack.

Join us next post for a recap of some bold smack-hooting by Owlz manager Rob Cool, who dismisses the possibility entirely of any other team challenging for next season's title. I will take remarks I heard second hand entirely out of context, in order to make the statement sound worse than it may have been. Fast51ball can help iron out any mistakes.
Cool led the Owlz to a championship in their first year of existence, he is a fierce competitor who will go to any lengths to strengthen his team. I was a little bit like him when I was his age. I admire his confidence, but anyone who has read any Shakespeare knows too much hubris can lead to one's demise

Congratulations to this season's award winners, many of whom I will have the privilege of playing alongside in the Blue Grey Tournament in Virginia.

PARTY AT COBY'S???

Yer Blues

The Pittsburgh Blues will compete in the 2008 NABA Blue Grey Tournament in Fairfax County Virginia, Aug. 30- Sept. 1.
The Rebels will not be represented on our team due to injuries, and treason.

Fairfax County is X-Files territory.

Worst possible team name: "RebelZ"

Thank you to Rob Cool who offered to design our T-shirt and hat logo, despite declining an invitation to play on the team due to academic and collegiate baseball responsibilities.

My only request is traditional spelling.
Quack.

2008 Season Retrospective

Buckle up, this is a long post.

The way I always do...

To begin, I wish to thank everyone who participated in the league this season: Especially the managers, players and administrators. Even the Umpires. Another thank you to everyone who has read the Ducks blog, and all the fans who came out in record numbers to support their friends and family in the NABA. Form this Ducks perspective, the league is as stable, and as fun as it has ever been and it is because of your/our dedication.

This past April, I went to john Herb Field to watch tryouts, before the preseason draft. I talked with a few guys from the Warriors.

“I’m amazed the league is still around,” Doug Ryba said. “After the first season I thought for sure it would fold.”

***

"Celebrate five years of marriage with gifts of wood or clocks, the traditional anniversary gifts. Silverware represents the contemporary alternative."

-e.How.com editor

The Pittsburgh NABA’s fifth anniversary season was characterized by unprecedented competitive balance. Expansion brought us the Pittsburgh NABA Champion Owlz, and the Hurricane-Carters, rounding out the league at twelve teams. Only three clubs won fewer than ten games, and only four teams finished under .500.

2008 brought significant change for both the South Oakland Ducks, and the Pittsburgh NABA. South Oakland's return to prominence coincided with a noticeable upswing in depth and overall talent in the league. Not only did the Ducks record their first non-losing season since the 2003 championship team, the Eagles, Rakers, and Oilers all enjoyed renaissance seasons.

I played in the first game in league history (losing pitcher), and have missed only two games in six seasons. Most of the players who are still around from the sandlot days will agree, the league has never run so smoothly and the players have never been this good.

There was a time when if you showed up to watch a game, there was an 89% chance you’d either play in the game or umpire.

Much of the credit for solidifying the Pittsburgh Chapter of the NABA, goes to League President Joe Graff, and his predecessor, Craig “Ultimate Warrior” Boley who laid the ground work during his turn as Commish from 2003-2005.

I am proud of my teammates for the way our team took the change in stride and made the fifth anniversary season of the South Oakland Ducks and the Pittsburgh NABA memorable, and most importantly, enjoyable.

The league is still in its adolescence making one NABA year about 3 human years.

The Bad News

No need to dwell here, the good outwieghed the bad by about 85-15 percent.

About once a month, we saw the sky open up and animosity, controversy and lameness drench the league.

The showers were sporadic, but when it rained, it came down in buckets.

My sources are confidential, and reliable:

Allegations too outlandish to print in this humble blog were aimed at managers and League officials. There were childish actions on the field leading to highly contested ejections, and the umpire situation was less than desirable. Due mostly to a 500% increase in attendance this season, there were a few senseless acts by fans.

Finding a new umpire association is on the agenda for this off-season. Hopefully we can retain the rights to “Right Down Broadway”.

I do not necessarily agree with every administrative decision Joe has made during his tenure, but I know for a fact there was never any conflict of interest or any bias in favor of his own team.

I moved to Pittsburgh in 2002. I did not think I’d play baseball again. To me, the majority of the complaints about the league are akin to a kid complaining about his Christmas presents.

As things continue to become more competitive, and the league’s flaws decrease the problems that remain will be blown out of proportion. This goes for both sides of the fence.

There is definitely room for improvement, but we played a lot of good baseball this summer. The Ducks never wound up as the center of controversy, really, so who knows how I’d feel if we missed the playoffs because we lost a game with no umpires or something to that effect.

Excitable Boys they all said...

If every team was well behaved, played hard in between the lines and went out for drinks with other after the games were over, things would be boring. We’d find ourselves in some kind of Vonnegut-like baseball utopia where everyone turned out to have mind control brain implants and lived on Copenhagen Long Cut ™ and Gatorade.

Without teams like the Confederacy, who can be found in the deep south of the Monongahela Division standings, or the OlwZ, who have the best collection of young talent south of South Oakland, and even the Black Sox who play like an All-State chain gang out on bail, the Pittsburgh NABA would not be anywhere near as fun.

2008 Brookline Black Sox

Without villains there can be no heroes.

A Shakespearean season in South Oakland
2008 South Oakland Ducks (11-9-2) Season in Review.

There was a different buzz around the Ducks' dugout this season, a thick yet understated feeling in the air; a feeling I think I knew in the late 90's when I'd embrace my girlfriend after American Legion games and the smell of pine tar and chew mingled with the scent of shampoo tinged with smoke. Excitement and a harmless sense of freedom which becomes most potent within the confines of a baseball field. A feeling almost drained from memory.

In late June, a loss to the Rebels put us in last place in the division with a 3-7-1 record. That's when the Ducks blog started the 2007 Rockies theme and we took off; going 8-2-1 over our last eleven games, which by my account was the tougher part of our schedule, to make the playoffs on the final day of the season.

The Ducks stretch run of 2008 was unprecedented in our five year existance, and will live forever in Ducks’ lore. We won our last four games to make the playoffs, only to be defeated by the Black Sox in the Wild Card game. The Ducks have as good a chance as any team to unseat
Claudius, the Owlz, from their throne in 2009.

Is it better to have loved and lost...?
There is a feeling of want heading into the off-season. As fantastic and improbable as the season was, there is still unfinished business. The loss in the playoffs has begun to settle like the aftertaste of a stale cigarette. The 2009 Ducks will add an all-star pitcher Jeremy Barchie and have OF, pitching, and catching prospects in the pond system ready to make their 2009 Ducks debut. As the league improves so do the Ducks, as the Ducks improve so must I to keep contributing. So it goes...

There is not much that hasn't already been said about the 2008 season.

Defensive Player of the Year, rookie right fielder Coby Kolaja gave his take...

I've listed all the game recaps before the blog archive at the bottom right of the web page.

Before the season started, Ben Gwin became a father, and TC Jones took over as manager. 2007 Offensive Player of the Year, Adam Oliver, left town.

The season began with nine returning Ducks with more than one year of tenure; Gwin, Smith, Whalen, Moore, Lee Murphy, Pusateri, Campbell and Roth. Jones, McCray, and Guthrie had a cup of coffee with the 2007 squad.

Roth, 2007 Co-MVP, and Pusateri, 2007 Defensive Player of the Year, would only play four games between them. No one has seen them since mid-May, they missed out on a great season. Will they be back next season? Rick played in only a handful of games, Gregg Campbell was touch and go for most of the season. The new blood brought life to the struggling franchise.

Ducks starting short stop Andrew McCray tore a collateral ligament of some sort in April. It was uncertain whether he would play at all, but he wound up being one of our most important players this season, solidifying the second base position, and coming up with clutch hits against the Eagles and the Rakers down the stretch, while hobbling around on one leg. That's leadership.

The highlight of the early going was Garrett Moore’s walk off single to beat the Eagles in the bottom of the seventh.

The Ducks would eventually be awarded a forfeit against the Rebels in the third game of the year. That was the event that really shaped this blog. The Rebels called the umps and the league president to cancel a Ducks home game, after I had spent three hours raking the field during the afternoon before the game. The Ducks were 2-2 before being dominated by the Owlz.

After the 17-2 defeat at the hands of Team Typo, the Ducks played the Matadors at home in what was our most memorable game of the season, the game which became the microcosm of the never say die Ducks. Trailing 7-0 in the bottom of the sixth, we came back and won 8-7 on the Flash’s game winning hit.

That was my best game of the year.

We waddled around for a while losing 4 of 5; three run losses to the Warriors and Eagles, the worst defeat of the year was the 6-5 loss to the Rebels. We lost to a team with eight players because our relief pitcher couldn’t throw strikes, and we didn’t make them take an out in the 9-spot.

While the Confederacy finished dead last in the division, the Ducks never had the chance to beat them on the battle field, they forfeited twice and beat us once.

After losing a heart breaker to the Bulldogs on the last at bat, McCray and Novak were freed from their little league coaching duties and were able to make the rest of the games, and we had a consistent middle infield. Then we went on our run.

I don't feel the need to rewrite the stretch run. It was amazing and I'm happy to have been a part of it.

We have momentum going into next season. The Confederacy must fall, the Black Sox loss must be avenged, the Owlz must go down, and they must go down hard.
2009 Team of Destiny.

BULLET POINTS

• A well rounded team by all means.
  
• Guthrie playing Gregg Maddux to Homa's Roger Clemens en-rout to a 3-1 record this season.
• McCray, playing without knee ligaments, was our most consistent infielder.
• Novak hitting a home run in his first at bat as a Duck.
• Wojton homering against the Phantoms, his former team.
• Wojton's performance in the playoffs

• This post got me beaned

• It's been a long night...
  

• Sign up for Fall Baseball here

• Eric Tans' game tying single in the bottom of the 8th vs. the Phantoms
• Les Gies didn't score a run that wasn't huge, and along with Coby served as a nice foil to the intense Novak.
  
• I second the commendation of K.T. He sat for the entire Matador's game except to pinch run for Coby, he scored a run and Coby re-entered. When I scored the winning run an inning later, he was the first one out of the dugout to congratulate me.
  
• A.Smith dominating the Oilers.
• E.Lee's game winning RBI vs. the Matadors.
• Jesse Smith sharing his Red Man in the Warriors game
• I can't wait to see what Jesse Smith does with a full season's worth of plate appearances
• The outfield defense in the Rakers game
• The late inning heroics of Spagnola, Moore, and Murphy. all three made the most of their opportunities, and brought good energy adn a positive attitude to the team.
• C'mon Sorosky, quack.
  
• My photoshop debut:

• the encore

I'll get better

• The last game against the Bulldogs: 12 batters of domination.
  
• The Ducks front office can sleep when we're dead. Rob Cool of the Owlz is already on a recruiting trip in the Far East. The Owlz play to win, and they have made the league better. Congratz on a stellar season, and for being god sportz about all the "z" jokez.
• Fago for MVP
• Jones for Manager of the Year
• Nick Homa for Pitcher of the Year
• I'll be blogging about the Pttsburgh Blues travel team, featuring myself, Nick Homa, Mark Guthrie, and Duck on the fence, (Fast51ball?), Ben Sorosky. We will scrimmage the Owlz before our trip. We'd love to have some quacking in the stands.

Thank You

My daughter's middle name is Paige

Quack.

It bein' summer...

This is funny

Baseball and the blues are the two greatest, American contributions to the world at large.


Thirteen years ago today Jerry Garcia died.

I hate hippies, mind you, but the music of the Grateful Dead helped me through some bleak, bleak times, the depths of which I wouldn't wish on anyone.

Listen to some Dead today, even if it's just one of these songs. I have more bootlegs than your weird uncle the family doesn't like to talk about if you're interested.

The best American rock band of all time, depending on whether you count Jimi Hendrix as a band.

They spent a lot of time near Oakland.

League News and Ducks Awards

Bird Song

Miss you, Jerry

The Owlz are the 2008 Pittsburgh NABA Champions. I have no doubt that the only thing on Rob Cool's mind while assembling his team during the off-season was winning a championship, which he and hiz fellow Owlz did.

The Owlz won both the Division Series and the Championship series on walk off singles in third game of best of three series (once in extra innings). There was some great baseball down the stretch this year.

In 2009, would you rather be on the Owlz, or the team who beats the Owlz on the way to the title? Team of Destiny '09 is gunning for you next year, Z-Men. Enjoy it while it lasts. Quack, quack.

Seriously, congratulations on a season well played.

Fago for league MVP

Five Years Feels like Forever

• The Owlz won the Championship in their first year in existence. The first team to win a championship in its inaugural season; the 2003 South Oakland Ducks.

• The Owlz are the first team with a bird mascot to win the Pittsburgh NABA Championship since the 2003 South Oakland Ducks.

• The Owlz are the only team with a "Z" in their name to take home the trophy, this may remain fact for some time.

• The first team to win the title with a Confederate soldier for a mascot? The 2007 Rebels, who missed the playoffs this season.

***

Here are the Ducks 2008 team awards as chosen by Manager of the Year, TC Jones, who also wrote the summaries.

Team MVP: Nick Homa.

Without a doubt Nick deserves the MVP award. Not only was he arguably the leagues best pitcher, but he put up pretty good offensive numbers too. Without Homa we would have been an under .500 team.

Offensive Player of the Year: Ben Gwin.

This may have been the hardest award to pick. I think this award could have easily gone to Chris Wojoton or Jesse smith, but I chose Ben Gwin because of his clutch and timely hitting. Any time we needed to drive in important runs, Gwin was the one to do it. The +20 RBIs on the season prove it.

Defensive Player of the Year: Coby Kolaja.

Can we argue with the diving catches, the flowing hair, and the absolute cannon of an arm? I don't think so. Coby Kolaja surprised everyone on the Ducks with his good reads and surprisingly accurate outfield arm.

Quack Talker of the year: Jim Spagnola.

I give this award to the Duck who made his presence felt with his verbal antics. It was a close call between Jim and Rick Whalen (both had particularly disgusting topics to ponder on the bench), but my decision was made after Spagnola called out an "F--- You" to an opposing pitcher after getting a hit.

Duck of the year: KT Murphy.

I give this award to the Duck who best accepted his position on the team as a role-player. KT was at every game and never complained. He was also our most timely pinch hitter and made the most out of every opportunity he got.

Most Improved Player of the Year: Garret Moore.

To be honest, at the beginning of the season I wasn’t sure how much time I would be able to get this man. But his hustle and ability to put the baseball in play during at bats gained him the starting role as the DH.

***

My only complaint is that Garrett won an award instead of having another award named after him and given to someone else. ie. the Garrett Moore mustache of the year award, goes to James Spagnola.

I'm just happy to be here, and to be able to help the team.

No individual is bigger than the Ducks, except Rambo.

Nick Homa for 2008 Pitcher of the Year

TC Jones for 2008 Manager of the Year.

***

The season in review will be lengthy.

Briefly

Manager of the Year sent me the team awards, they'll be up soon.

I'm going to let Coby's post sit for a bit. It's right below this one, it is solid.

His hair was perfect

Here's Recap of the Warriors victory over the Owlz in Game two of the championship.
Game Three is tonight at 9pm, at John Herb Field. It should be an epic battle. Go check it out if you have time, last night was good baseball.

Owlz Pitcher Scott Dunn broke his arm playing first base in game one. I believe it was his non-throwing arm. The Ducks wish him a speedy recovery. Players of his caliber are good for the league.He strikes me as a good guy who enjoys the game, and plays the right way. He'd fit right in on the Ducks.

Sign up for Fall Baseball here
Hurry, spots are filling up fast.

Read the blog below, Pulitzer worthy.

The Ducks Revival from a Rookie Perspective

“The Ducks (3-6-1) season hangs precariously on the brink of irrelevance after a tough loss to their inter-division rival, The Warriors (6-2).” – Ben Gwin (June 9, 2008)

Straight Into (and then out of) Darkness

“I don’t believe the good times are over, I don’t believe the thrill is all gone… The weak ones fall, the strong (Ducks) carry on!”

Since it is now early August, it’s hard to believe Ben uttered those words as recently as June. I figured we had turned it around by then. Who would’ve known that Ducks would completely reverse that 3-6-1 record, but going 6-3-1 over their next ten? Sounds like something from a movie… a team that starts terribly, only to finish with a successful post-season run…



The tide didn’t turn easily, however, as the Ducks sunk four games under .500 after a short-handed loss to the Stars and Bars. Perhaps the Ducks loss to the talented Confederacy sparked some pride in the current Stars and Stripes as the Ducks really used the Fourth of July weekend to their season around (One would tend to favor the Eagles over this holiday weekend, but perhaps they were celebrating down at the Sunset Grill with the Boys of Summer, trying to get their Maserati up to 185, then deciding to Take it Easy by checking into the Hotel California).

The Ducks would go 2-0-1 over the holiday weekend, including a romping off the Oilers with only nine Ducks, a tie of the mighty Owlz, and an epic defeat of the Black Sox. Optimism was abound on the Ducks squad, signaling that finally the levee was broken, and a winning record was in sight.

When the Levee Breaks

Led Zeppelin & Neil Young crunch a few chords in epic fashion.

I don’t feel the need to recap the rest of the year, since Ben has done such a great job with his write-ups here, that nothing more on the matter really needs to be said. To his credit, this blog and his witty penmanship have given the Ducks many admirers and generated much buzz and excitement.

Random Thoughts:

-Ben suggested giving Mark Guthrie the “C” denoting him captain of the Ducks. While I agree, I also think Ben is being modest since he is a leader, perennial all-star, and founding member of the Ducks, thus also deserving of the “C”. My solution is to give both Ben and Guthrie the “C”, allowing them to alternate the letter nightly, much the way the Buffalo Sabres successfully did when they employed both Danny Briere and Chris Drury. Guthrie is the team’s Cal Ripken, always stoic, employs the same batting stance, and tells us when NOT to talk about certain subjects. Ben Gwin fits more of the Jason Varitek mold, a gritty catcher who may joke around with a certain dark sarcasm that makes one wonder if he’s just giving you a hard time or is actually serious.

-Eric Lee will still be the fastest Duck at the age of 50.

-The Black Sox probably contested our jerseys because they saw Novak playing short with his Oakland A’s hat and thought we had stuck Jason Kendall in there from his days with that squad.

-The Ducks should win the Goose Gossage Award for best team facial hair. This category was mostly won by Garret ‘Sonic’ Moore and James ‘Spags’ Spanolia as they truly brought the past back to life. We also can’t rule out Ben’s scruffy look, Novak’s cool and collected beard, as well as Eric Tans’ dabble in the Dennis Weaver mustache. In all seriousness, no other team in the league was even close in this category.

-One of my favorite moments of the year came against the Rakers as KT took offense to the previous hitter receiving a walk by slapping a shot between third and short before voicing his displeasure. Following KT, Spags also stood up for his character with his expletive which was slightly uncalled for, but also hilarious.

-Speaking of the Rakers, I can’t say enough about that team. They’re a fun team to play as well as a swell bunch of dudes. They read the blog, they either beat us or play us close, and then they wish us luck in the playoffs. I feel like we let them down as well ourselves by bowing out as early as we did. Larry and the Rakers, I salute you. If I ever need any yard work done, I will call Cyrilla thanks to your positive advertisement.

-Another shoutout goes out to the Owlz’ Fago and Dunn. Fago is possibly this years’ MVP and claims to check out Ducks’ games when they play at Spring Hill. For this alone he’s a darn good dude. As for Dunn (at least I think that’s his name), he could possibly be the best secret in the NABA this year. He throws extremely hard and sports a devastating curveball. And he also seemed to respect the game and the Ducks’, declaring in a 5-5 extra-inning stranglehold (with no umpires) with the Ducks, “I love games like this”. Me too, man.

-So much more could be said positive about this year’s squad (Teddy’s coaching, Jesse behind the dish, the comparisons of McCray to both Jake Taylor and Kirk Gibson, the suave demeanor of Les Gies) but I feel I’m beginning to ramble. I would just like to thank the Ducks for a great, fun season and I hope Ben doesn't mind me posting.




Also, make sure you support Ben’s Ghostbusters if you are able. Rumor has it that he’ll keep blogging about your treks of investigating symmetrical book stacking while still leaving time to enjoy his other hobbies: collecting spores, molds, and fungus. And always remember, when someone asks you if you’re a god, you say yes!!!