...end of requirement that she shower at the truck stop. There is a long-standing Slugs tradition requiring the coach to shower at the oddly-named Silver Nugget truck stop if the team goes undefeated. It was beginning to look like Slugs skipper Tamara Keith might have to start getting the flip flops ready as the Slugs started off the summer season with a stellar 2-0 record. But Backseat Drivers had a message for the Slugs last Thursday night "put away those flip flops."
Other than Ellen's stellar hitting, the rest of the Slugs had cold bats Thursday night. We just couldn't catch a break. How many of us hit a grounder to the first baseman? Coach Keith says: "I lost count, but I know he grabbed every single one of them." Our defense was totally solid, but without our usual good string of swings, we just couldn't defeat the Backseat Drivers. But, former coach Kepley says "It was close...and if we had kept playing a few more innings, we would have beat them."
Center fielder Ahmed Ortiz said many things after the game about learning moments, overcoming adversity, playing well as a team, etc...but this reporter was too upset about the loss to write down the quotes.
Frustrated by her own batting, Coach Keith went on an E-Bay rampage Friday night. She purchased a $90 bat (which totally kicks butt, just wait) and a special cover so she can use it at the batting cages without destroying it.
Any Slugs interested in hitting the cages some night this week?
Monday, July 30, 2007
Friday, July 13, 2007
Who's Your Daddy?
By Neurotic D-Leaguer
When they took the field Thursday evening, the Slugs didn't know they would rally in the last inning for victory over Papa Flanagan's.
In fact, one Slug didn't even know this after playing in the game.
Before a record-setting crowd of seven for the 2007 season, the Slugs defeated Papa Flanagan's, moving their record to 2-0 in Summer League.
While Coach Tamara Keith served her second suspension of the year for bringing a pink water bottle to softball, the Slugs' good play extended up and down the available roster. From Jim Miller's dazzling outfield play and brilliant hitting in the lead-off spot to Ellen "Sproutsy" Chrismer's gritty game behind the plate, the home team kept it close all game before locking down the Flanaganses in the top of the last inning and coming back from a three-run deficit in the bottom half.
The game was so close that the Slugs' right fielder didn't realize her team had won.
"We won?" Judy Lin asked after the celebratory handshakes.
Her confusion might have resulted from ex-Slug-turned-turncoat Chris Bryce pitching and hitting cleanup for the Flanaganses, with a newfound Zen and needing only one shirt for the entire game. Or she just might be that confused all the time.
But she wasn't confused when a Flanagan hit a rocket shot to right in the last inning. Lin knocked her hat off like a pro, charged in and made a sweet one-handed grab. The roar of the crowd sounded like at least 10 people were there.
Lin joined an outfield of Ed Fletcher, Miller and Ahmed Ortiz that combined for nearly flawless play. Other defensive highlights were Christa Hunter snagging some wicked liners at third; shortstop John Kepley combining on a double play with Harrison Sheppard, who played a great game in his inaugural appearance at first; and Erin McGuire's usual outstanding pitching performance.
The only lowlights were another bite by the injury bug (this time a mosquito, not five wasp stings) and Matt Coldwell not showing up again. Kevin Yamamura, resting a sore Achilles' tendon, provided insightful analysis from the bench and expertly managed the baserunning in the decisive final inning.
What we do know is that the Slugs -- at 2-0, in first place, with momentum and improved teamwork, and Yamamura and Chrismer getting extra time from next week's bye to heal up -- are poised to rekindle the venerable Slugs tradition of the undefeated manager taking a shower at the 49'er Truck Plaza after the season.
When they took the field Thursday evening, the Slugs didn't know they would rally in the last inning for victory over Papa Flanagan's.
In fact, one Slug didn't even know this after playing in the game.
Before a record-setting crowd of seven for the 2007 season, the Slugs defeated Papa Flanagan's, moving their record to 2-0 in Summer League.
While Coach Tamara Keith served her second suspension of the year for bringing a pink water bottle to softball, the Slugs' good play extended up and down the available roster. From Jim Miller's dazzling outfield play and brilliant hitting in the lead-off spot to Ellen "Sproutsy" Chrismer's gritty game behind the plate, the home team kept it close all game before locking down the Flanaganses in the top of the last inning and coming back from a three-run deficit in the bottom half.
The game was so close that the Slugs' right fielder didn't realize her team had won.
"We won?" Judy Lin asked after the celebratory handshakes.
Her confusion might have resulted from ex-Slug-turned-turncoat Chris Bryce pitching and hitting cleanup for the Flanaganses, with a newfound Zen and needing only one shirt for the entire game. Or she just might be that confused all the time.
But she wasn't confused when a Flanagan hit a rocket shot to right in the last inning. Lin knocked her hat off like a pro, charged in and made a sweet one-handed grab. The roar of the crowd sounded like at least 10 people were there.
Lin joined an outfield of Ed Fletcher, Miller and Ahmed Ortiz that combined for nearly flawless play. Other defensive highlights were Christa Hunter snagging some wicked liners at third; shortstop John Kepley combining on a double play with Harrison Sheppard, who played a great game in his inaugural appearance at first; and Erin McGuire's usual outstanding pitching performance.
The only lowlights were another bite by the injury bug (this time a mosquito, not five wasp stings) and Matt Coldwell not showing up again. Kevin Yamamura, resting a sore Achilles' tendon, provided insightful analysis from the bench and expertly managed the baserunning in the decisive final inning.
What we do know is that the Slugs -- at 2-0, in first place, with momentum and improved teamwork, and Yamamura and Chrismer getting extra time from next week's bye to heal up -- are poised to rekindle the venerable Slugs tradition of the undefeated manager taking a shower at the 49'er Truck Plaza after the season.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Things are looking up already
After a few touch and go hours, with the lineup in question, more than enough Slugs showed up for our first-ever bout with Amara. Amara is a solid team made up of residents of one apartment complex, so some on the bench started calling them the "Melrose Place" team. Coach Tam, having never watched more than 3 minutes of that fine evening soap, still agrees that it's an excellent nickname.
Lessons learned: Many of their women pack a lot of power with their bats. Many of their guys are also powerful hitters. Some are not. All of them appear to be getting a hang of the rules of D-B League Co-Ed Softball.
Things we learned about ourselves: hitting cutoffs is a good thing, and we did it well. Another thing we did well, backing each other up in the outfield, and calling flies when we had them. You all looked very solid out there. Also, it is critical to have a good pitcher. Erin, we love you.
Big thanks go out to Ed for bringing a cooler full of ice, and water. We needed it. Did that 106-degree day break some kind of Slugs softball record? I hope so...because we sure seasoned our jerseys with a heavy dose of sweat.
Then, I came home to a 90-degree house. It seems the Gordon AC is broken. :-( Perfect timing.
Next week: We take on a tougher opponent, with one hell of a pitcher. That is, Papa Flanagan's featuring the pitching/batting powerhouse of Chris Bryce. Fielders, you can't play this man too deep.
Mark your calendars - Papa Flanagan's V Slugs, 9:30PM (thank God), Tahoe Park
Lessons learned: Many of their women pack a lot of power with their bats. Many of their guys are also powerful hitters. Some are not. All of them appear to be getting a hang of the rules of D-B League Co-Ed Softball.
Things we learned about ourselves: hitting cutoffs is a good thing, and we did it well. Another thing we did well, backing each other up in the outfield, and calling flies when we had them. You all looked very solid out there. Also, it is critical to have a good pitcher. Erin, we love you.
Big thanks go out to Ed for bringing a cooler full of ice, and water. We needed it. Did that 106-degree day break some kind of Slugs softball record? I hope so...because we sure seasoned our jerseys with a heavy dose of sweat.
Then, I came home to a 90-degree house. It seems the Gordon AC is broken. :-( Perfect timing.
Next week: We take on a tougher opponent, with one hell of a pitcher. That is, Papa Flanagan's featuring the pitching/batting powerhouse of Chris Bryce. Fielders, you can't play this man too deep.
Mark your calendars - Papa Flanagan's V Slugs, 9:30PM (thank God), Tahoe Park
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Summer Schedule
Slugs - Please bookmark this post. Below is our summer schedule.
07/05/07 - 6:30 Amara V Slugs
07/12/07 - 9:30 Papa Flanagan's V Slugs
07/19/07 - Bye
07/26/07 - 9:30 Slugs V Backseat Drivers
08/02/07 - 7:30 Slugs V *itten *ats
08/09/07 - Bye
08/16/07 - 6:30 Slugs V Amara
08/23/07 - 8:30 Slugs V The Oddballers
08/30/07 - 8:30 Backseat Drivers V Slugs
09/06/07 - 7:30 *itten *ats V Slugs
07/05/07 - 6:30 Amara V Slugs
07/12/07 - 9:30 Papa Flanagan's V Slugs
07/19/07 - Bye
07/26/07 - 9:30 Slugs V Backseat Drivers
08/02/07 - 7:30 Slugs V *itten *ats
08/09/07 - Bye
08/16/07 - 6:30 Slugs V Amara
08/23/07 - 8:30 Slugs V The Oddballers
08/30/07 - 8:30 Backseat Drivers V Slugs
09/06/07 - 7:30 *itten *ats V Slugs
Monday, June 18, 2007
Hit Your Cutoff!
Hi Sluggies – Coach Tam here, posting from NYC…or JFK International to be more accurate.
Before our loss to Beer 30 becomes too faint a memory, I wanted to share some notes about the game. We could have won, seriously. Our bats were hot. We scored 6 or 7 runs in the first inning, and followed with another excellent showing later in the game.
Our problem is fielding. And it’s not even really a catching issue. The balls are only very rarely getting over our heads. We missed a few fly balls, but that’s normal, A-OK for D1 co-ed softball. We do a good job of getting our hands on the ball. BUT, then we sort of fall apart.
Fmr. Coach Kepley has been talking about this for years. “Hit your cutoffs,” he would say. “OK, sure. That makes sense,” I thought but it didn’t truly register until our game against Beer 30.
In most cases, if a ball comes to you in the outfield, you should throw it to the shortstop. Getting the ball safely into the infield is critical. It essentially stops the base runners in their tracks. Now, that base runner may be headed for 3rd base, and throwing it to the shortstop isn’t going to get us an out. But 9 times out of 10, throwing it to third base from the outfield is going to lead to a run rather than an out. It’s really really hard to get that big ball accurately to third base. It doesn’t matter how good your arm is our how totally awesome out third basewoman is. We’re just inviting trouble. The 3rd base case was merely an example. Throwing it to 2nd base or home plate is just as perilous. Even, throwing it to third from first to catch an advancing runner is risky.
The point here is it’s very very easy to get caught up in the moment. You have the ball, you’re thinking “Oh crap, the runner’s taking an extra base, I shouldn’t let that happen.” It may hurt not to make the play…but until we get much much better at actually making the play, we will have more success just bringing the ball into the shortstop, getting it to the pitcher and stopping play…or stopping the bleeding whatever the case may be.
If we had been just a little smarter with our ball management, we could have beaten Beer 30. They were the top team in the league this season, and we had them scared. So,
Please be kind to coach Kepley and kick the *itten *ats asses. Let’s finish this season off with another win.
Then, I am very much looking forward to next season, when we will take on some new opponents (including Chris), and start our reign as the champions of the D1.5 league (I am not yet willing to admit that we’ve been demoted to D-2, but the only other team from our spring league in this one is the dreaded Weezer doppelgangers themselves).
Friday, June 8, 2007
Slugs Beat Punker Emo Band
We are the Slugs - we are mighty. Thanks to one very good inning, we have defeated the one team in the league with a record worse than ours.
Tahoe Park, June 7 - The Slugs were a little rusty after a bye week and a couple of tough injuries and it showed in the first inning. The team's bats were cold. Ice cold. 3 up, 3 down. Then out in the field it wasn't much prettier. There were missed grounders, overthrown balls and mental errors. "I was worried," said Slugs manager Tamara Gordon. "I was thinking, Oh Crap, we're going to lose to the one team the league director promised me we could beat."
Those concerns were misplaced. By the second inning the Slugs were beginning to show a little of their old spark. Then in the third inning, or maybe it was the fourth, the Slugs bats went wild. The Slugs sluggers could do no wrong. Suddenly the Slugs led by ten. There were a few tense moments at the bottom of the final inning as the *itten *ats tried to rally. But the Slugs held them to just a few runs, not nearly enough to knock down the 13 point lead the Sluggies had going in.
Notes about our opponents - (take note, we're playing them again on June 21 at 6:30)
Don't be fooled by their flashy uniforms...
Skinny jeans are the *itten *ats bottoms of choice.
As for footwear - they scoff a cleats...
Their pitcher prefers Doc Martins.
Watch out for their left fielder - he can really hit and catch...
Oh, sorry, wrong photo. That's a picture of Weezer. If you want to destroy my sweater...um I mean defense...pull the string as I walk away. Oh man, this is confusing.
Next Game - 06/14/07 vs Beer30 at 9:30 PM
Tahoe Park, June 7 - The Slugs were a little rusty after a bye week and a couple of tough injuries and it showed in the first inning. The team's bats were cold. Ice cold. 3 up, 3 down. Then out in the field it wasn't much prettier. There were missed grounders, overthrown balls and mental errors. "I was worried," said Slugs manager Tamara Gordon. "I was thinking, Oh Crap, we're going to lose to the one team the league director promised me we could beat."
Those concerns were misplaced. By the second inning the Slugs were beginning to show a little of their old spark. Then in the third inning, or maybe it was the fourth, the Slugs bats went wild. The Slugs sluggers could do no wrong. Suddenly the Slugs led by ten. There were a few tense moments at the bottom of the final inning as the *itten *ats tried to rally. But the Slugs held them to just a few runs, not nearly enough to knock down the 13 point lead the Sluggies had going in.
Notes about our opponents - (take note, we're playing them again on June 21 at 6:30)
Don't be fooled by their flashy uniforms...
Skinny jeans are the *itten *ats bottoms of choice.
As for footwear - they scoff a cleats...
Their pitcher prefers Doc Martins.
Watch out for their left fielder - he can really hit and catch...
Oh, sorry, wrong photo. That's a picture of Weezer. If you want to destroy my sweater...um I mean defense...pull the string as I walk away. Oh man, this is confusing.
Next Game - 06/14/07 vs Beer30 at 9:30 PM
Monday, May 14, 2007
Victory - So Close, Yet So Far Away
By Ed Fletcher - Center Field
THURSDAY, MAY 10, TAHOE PARK -- Another mighty pop from a Slug bat sent the team into another hopping, clapping, cheering fit.
The ball landed safely and the swift-footed Melody Gutierrez – the tying run – rounded third base, heading for home in the bottom of the final inning. The home team had trailed all night long and as Beer 30 relayed the ball home, the team and its loyal fans knew they play at the plate would be closer than two Alabama cousins.
Could it be a two-out game-winning single?
The ball arrived home as if shot from a gun. The catch. A slide. A puff of dirt. And a call. “Out,” said the ump.
The two teams lined up and congratulated their opponents is what had been a spirited, hard-played game. The game, a bit testy after Ed Fletcher and some of the powerful yet vertically challenged opponents exchanged “harrumphs,” was over.
After the game, around a table full of the best pizza and worse beer in town, someone asked Gutierrez if she was disappointed in how the game ended.
“I remember the times we were happy to score three runs and counted the plays where we didn’t commit consecutive errors as a victory,” said Gutierrez, as she shook her head. “I’ll take a good game over getting our asses handed to us any day of the week. Any day of the week.”
“Foshizy,” added John Kepley, who just returned from his near victory smoke.
THIS WEEK 8:30 VS SOCALS
Erin says she and Chris are "hungry for a victory."
THURSDAY, MAY 10, TAHOE PARK -- Another mighty pop from a Slug bat sent the team into another hopping, clapping, cheering fit.
The ball landed safely and the swift-footed Melody Gutierrez – the tying run – rounded third base, heading for home in the bottom of the final inning. The home team had trailed all night long and as Beer 30 relayed the ball home, the team and its loyal fans knew they play at the plate would be closer than two Alabama cousins.
Could it be a two-out game-winning single?
The ball arrived home as if shot from a gun. The catch. A slide. A puff of dirt. And a call. “Out,” said the ump.
The two teams lined up and congratulated their opponents is what had been a spirited, hard-played game. The game, a bit testy after Ed Fletcher and some of the powerful yet vertically challenged opponents exchanged “harrumphs,” was over.
After the game, around a table full of the best pizza and worse beer in town, someone asked Gutierrez if she was disappointed in how the game ended.
“I remember the times we were happy to score three runs and counted the plays where we didn’t commit consecutive errors as a victory,” said Gutierrez, as she shook her head. “I’ll take a good game over getting our asses handed to us any day of the week. Any day of the week.”
“Foshizy,” added John Kepley, who just returned from his near victory smoke.
THIS WEEK 8:30 VS SOCALS
Erin says she and Chris are "hungry for a victory."
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