Our Bat Problems Could be Over...

...or only getting worse. I just learned from reading the blog of Tuesday night team (and friends of the Slugs) The Luck Dragons that next season there will be a dramatic change for D league co-ed softball. We won't be able to use our own bats anymore. The league will be providing bats. They no doubt have tired of constantly updating the banned bats list. So...Goodbye Ultimate Weapon. Goodbye yellow bat. Goodbye brand new pink bat, green bat, and burgundy bat. It's the end of an era.

I plan to begin lobbying the league right away to make sure they supply bats in the appropriate weights for our needs. If you have a strong preference, please let me know. I will send a list of weights and lengths to league director Ron right away. He certainly hasn't requested that info, but I'll make sure he knows where the Slugs stand anyway.

Slugs Continue Winless Streak

The Slugs game last night against the Bad News and Review Bears at Tahoe park set a record...but not the good kind. For the first time in Slugs history the team went scoreless. More than halfway through the game, the team had only one hit. It came from Jim Miller who had to leave the game early. There were some beautiful fly balls hit directly to some very speedy muscle bound dudes in the outfield. There were some well hit grounders that found their way into fielders gloves. And there were straight up strike outs. It wasn't pretty. After 55 minutes of play, the Slugs made it to base just 5 times. The Bears had 5 runs.

"The really depressing thing is our defense was solid," said a rather glum Coach Tam. "5 runs isn't insurmountable. But it is if your bats are as cold as ours were."

Sometime in the 4th inning, the word "curse" started to cross the lips of several Slugs. There is simply no other explanation. The Slugs are cursed.

After the game, in an attempt to exorcise the demons in the team's bats, team members put all the bats on grass and formed a circle around them. It was a modification of the team's usual post-game ritual of forming a circle around the game's MVP, counting to 3 and shouting "Slugs!" This time the team formed a circle and former Coach Kepley yelled "I am going to destroy all of you if you don't start fu**ing performing." Then he counted to 3 and the whole team shouted "slugs." As they stepped away, the Slugs noticed a 7 year old (or maybe she was 4) standing in a nearby dugout with a shocked looked on her face. Former Coach Kepley saw no need to apologize. This is softball and sometime softball requires a little profanity.

There are many ideas circulating to help the Slugs break their curse. They include: getting really drunk before the next game (it worked for Beer:30), recruiting the shortstop from the SoCal's Force and burying the broken red bat in center field in the middle of the night.

Coach Tam is immediately calling on all female Slugs to wear athletic skirts to the next game. "We won the last game where we all wore skirts, so it's worth a try," she said. "Secure men are also encouraged to wear skirts. They're on clearance at Target this week." Even former Coach Kepley said he would support this plan despite his conviction that skirts shouldn't be allowed in softball.

Goodbye Harrison

Slugs utility outfielder Harrison Sheppard recently (OK it was a month ago but this blogger is slow) left the Slugs and Sacramento for sunny Southern California, Reseda actually. Harrison is really crying behind that smile. This photo was taken at his final post-game Luigi's outing. We miss you already!

From the Coaches Corner: Calling the Ball

Hey Slugs - As someone who has suffered a little vocal paralysis in the outfield, I thought it might be good to go over some general rules of thumb for calling a fly ball. For starters, staying silent when a ball is headed for you (as I have been known to do) isn't a good idea. Calling a ball if you're going to catch it minimizes injury risk and maximizes the number of outs we get...all good things.

1. Call it if you’re going to catch it. This claims the ball. First person to call it has priority. Be confident here. It’s doubtful that there’s anyone on the team who hasn’t dropped a ball, so don’t worry about that. Physical errors will happen, but it’s frustrating to have balls drop because of miscommunication. Also, calling it greatly reduces the chances of someone concentrating on the ball barreling into you.

2. Defer to the person calling the ball. If someone else calls it and you didn’t, let them have it. Move out of the way in the direction opposite to which you heard them.

3. Don’t call someone off if they’ve called it. See rule Number 2. We don’t want to deny anyone the opportunity to make a catch if they’ve called it.

4. Don’t call it if you’re in doubt. See rule Number 1. Only call it if you’re going to catch it. If you have a marginal shot at catching it, you don’t want to discourage someone who has a better shot.

5. Be loud and clear. Generally, “MINE!,” “I GOT IT!,” or “BALL!” will get the job done. You can also yell “HELP!” if something goes awry so someone with a better angle can jump in. Yelling anything else usually results in confusion. And you have to be loud enough to be heard by people running at full speed, with heart pounding and breathing heavily.

6. If two people call it at the same time: Priority in the OF goes to the CF. If the CF isn’t involved, LF has priority. In the infield, SS has priority. But remember, this is only if two people call it at the same time. If the RF calls it before the CF, it’s still the RF’s ball. If it’s between the IF and the OF, it’s typically much, much easier for the OF to catch the ball because they’re not running backwards. But really, our problem has rarely been too many people calling the ball, and this is a little confusing - so focus on 1-5 and we'll make some serious strides.

-Coach Tam

(beware, this may become a recurring feature on slugssoftball.blogspot.com)

That's it, the Slugs are just unlucky

Perhaps it was a sign. Before the first pitch was ever thrown, one Slug was already down. In a scene reminiscent of the famous "Kepley ball to the head incident" or the slightly less dramatic "Ellen ball to the head incident" Coach Tam took one on the top of the head. Kevin and Kepley were tossing the ball when all of the sudden it seemed very clear to everyone except Tamara that an errant toss was headed straight for Tamara's crown.

After falling to the ground, crying and laughing simultaneously and correctly identifying how many fingers Ed was holding up, Tamara said, "this is why I won't get my big break reporting in Baghdad. I have absolutely no self preservation instinct."

Despite the pre-game incident, the Slugs were feeling good headed into their match against Beer 30. It was one of the player's birthdays and Beer 30 arrived smelling like beer. Though that may have all been radiating from one particular player. The birthday boy was so utterly smashed he was left out of the lineup. Meanwhile, the Slugs had followed Coach Tam's advice arriving at Tahoe Park sober. It seemed like a distinct advantage.

The Slugs played valiantly, with conviction and enthusiasm. There were solid hits, and some excellent fielding. There were also a few missed plays and a couple of questionable calls. But, heading into the final inning Beer 30 was up by just 2, not a problem for the Slugs. Unfortunately, with momentum on their side, tragedy again struck the Slugs. This time it was Molly.

After hitting a glorious shot up the middle, and making it safely to first base Molly was struck in the ribs by a quick moving throw. It all happened in a split second. Molly was over running the bag, as you're supposed to do when a ball intended to get her out, instead struck her down. The strike to Molly's ribs knocked the wind out of her. She was up within moments grabbing her side and hurrying the hell off the field. She wouldn't return to the game, but it wasn't long before she was back on the bench, bruised and cheering for the Slugs.

A Beer 30 player was also injured running to home plate (piling on the runs against the poor losing Slugs). It's unclear whether it was a hamstring pull or some sort of calf cramp but it looked very painful.

So, the Slugs continue their losing streak...determined not to let it last long. Next week everyone will be carrying rabbits feet, 4 leaf clovers and wearing dirty socks. Whatever it takes to turn this season around.

Shocking news: Slugs lose to Socals...again

For the winless Slugs, losing to the powerhouse Socals wasn't as disappointing as one might think. Why? Because it was actually a very good game. Despite being matched against the best team they're likely to see all season, the Slugs played better than they have against lesser opponents.

There was solid play all around, with a big shout out to the ladies of second base and Kim in the outfield. Nick hit one real deep and worked his cardiovascular system a bit more than it would have preferred. New Slugs men Ryan and Mark also did an excellent job in the field and at the plate. And Judy Lin deserves credit for tagging out a player at home plate...never mind he thought the inning was over. Judy was on her game and made sure he was really really out. With an assist from Ryan in the outfield and more than one infielder, this was the Slugs first right field to home double play.

Obsessive former coach Kepley had all kinds of strategies and excel spreadsheets, but I (Coach Tam) would argue the real difference between this game and our previous losing efforts was the tone on the bench. We focussed on our fellow players, cheered them on and kept the energy high throughout the game. We need to do that with every game. So, repeat after me "fire it up big cheese!"

Red Bat Competition

Two weeks ago the little red bat, let out its final yelp with Erin McGuire at the plate. As she hit the ball somewhere into the outfield, the bat hit a sour note. Back in the dugout she inspected the bat, long a favorite of Slugs women and some men. There was a crack, a big clear one. The little red bat was no longer legal to play.



Which leaves a question...

What should we do with the little red bat?

Should we get it bronzed? Perhaps dipped in copper? Could it be an award...to the player with the best hitting record this season?...to the player who goes to the cages the most? Should it be awarded each week to the player with the best hit, or the worst?

Slugs, please leave your ideas here by posting comments. The person whose idea is chosen by the coaching staff gets a free Jaeger shot after our next win (if you're into that kind of thing).