NOBOBY PUTS SKIDMORE/SWANKE/COOPER IN THE CORNER

Throughout the history of this great land, from its small towns to its big cities, the people have been sustained - through good times and bad, by their national pastime. Through world wars, natural disasters, economic turmoil and personal heartbreak - a couple hours at the ballpark has been a tonic and an elixir for generations - a welcome escape and distraction from the world around. And so it was again this year, when jobs were lost, businesses disappeared and a troubled and desperate people looked for answers and a reason to cheer and believe. And under these gray clouds, he appeared - promising to turn the old-world order upside down and piling victory on top of victory until the momentum seemed unstoppable and change - inevitable. The people were impressed and many inspired as they awaited the changing of the guard and the birth of something new! But alas, David Solomon and the perennial bride's maids of RAMSA would ultimately fail to live up to the dream (and their hype).

After an impressive regular season, in which they led the league in most runs scored and fewest allowed, first place RAMSA would once again leave the playoffs without the big prize. Instead, it was Skidmore/Swanke/Cooper, the darlings of the league, who took their 9-2 record and their devil-may-care attitude into the playoffs and found a little redemption - beating the only two teams who'd blemished their season. The Semi-Final series against defending champs, Gensler, was one for the ages and as for RAMSA, well, let's just say that it seemed like only yesterday that David Solomon had blogged about his team's "convincing 9-2 (regular season) victory over the once-mighty triumvirate that is, SSC... ." But the "diss heard 'round the world" would soon come back to haunt Solomon - like the bare-chested ghost of Patrick Swayze at his pottery wheel.

Just as Taylor Swift knows that revenge is a dish best served cold, SSC laid low until the Finals, clinching the best of three series with two back-breaking one-run victories. And in the deciding game, it was nothing less than a dramatic 7-6 come-from-behind extra-inning win in which Steve Vargas' 2 homeruns and 4 runs batted in, gave the champs their fourth SLAM championship in the past seven years and placed them back atop the NYC architecture softball heap.

Is it too soon to anoint them the "SLAM Team of the Decade"?
Maybe.....................Nah.

EIGHT IS ENOUGH: HMA/RAMSA HOLDS ON TO WIN GAME ONE, 8-7

On the eve of the 2009 SLAM League Finals, Commissioner Robert Fuller was kind enough to pull some strings down at 350 Fifth Avenue to light up the New York City skyline to honor the all-orange match featuring the Orange & Black of SSC vs. the Orange & Blue of HMA/RAMSA. No joke, it really was orange ...

For five strong innings, SSC was able to quiet the mighty bats of the league's top scoring team thanks in part to some stellar defense and stiffling pitching by Scott Habjan. Much like the previous playoff series against FxFowle, HMA/RAMSA was silenced for much of the game; unlike that first series however, HMA/RAMSA did not wait until the 7th inning to rise to the occasion. For the thousands in attendance, it was a 6th inning rally that leaves HMA/RAMSA only one game away from the championship.

SSC jumped on the board quickly in the first inning with a pair of runs to take an early 2-0. Things could have been much worse in the inning but 2B Addie Suchorab turned a nifty doubleplay on a hard-hit line drive that helped minimize the damage. The pitchers exchanged empty frames for a couple of innings but SSC struck again in the top of the 4th with another run for a 3-0 lead. The score remained that way until the bottom of the 6th when HMA/RAMSA mounted another historic rally.

After Cara Statile and Josh Barkan got on base to start the 6th, Doug Houstoun - limited all season long by a series of injuries to his old body - delivered a rope of a single up the middle to score the first run of the game for HMA/RAMSA. After another single by Seth Burney, leadoff hitter Jon Fukutomi lined a single down the left field line to score 2 runs as HMA/RAMSA tied the game at 3-3 with one out in the inning. After a base hit by Pete Garofalo, Eric Hofmann stepped to the plate with the bases loaded.

With the second-longest tenure on the team, Hofmann recalled the "lean years" when the team regularly recorded more errors than runs scored in a game. With anger in his bat, Hofmann lined a double into the leftcenter field gap to clear the bases as HMA/RAMSA took a 6-3 lead. The inning would not end there however as Doug Neri and Mike "The Rookie" Sargent tacked on another pair of runs as the lead grew to 8-3. The 8th run seemed so innocent at that time, but proved to be all-important in the top of the 7th.

Not going down without a fight, SSC mounted a rally of their own in their final at bat. After the first batter of the inning was retired, SSC strung together 4-5 consecutive hits to cut the lead to 8-7 with two outs in the inning. HMA/RAMSA shut the door, however, to take the first game of this best of three series.

Weather permitting, Game #2 of this series resumes tomorrow (Thursday) on the Great Lawn #4 at 5:30 PM, where HMA/RAMSA will try to secure for their first-ever SLAM League title.

HMA/RAMSA RALLIES TO REACH ITS FIRST SLAM FINALS

“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

--George Santayana, Spanish philosopher, essayist, fan of SLAM League softball

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The 2009 playoffs…..SLAM-tastic!

(Great Lawn, Central Park) A season ago, HMA/RAMSA finished the regular season at 10-1 and were promptly eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. On Tuesday evening in Central Park, a mere 20 hours after winning Game #1 in their best of three battle with Fox+Fowle, they were faced with a very similar and very disappointing fate. That is, until the rally began. . .

With all due respect to the equally epic battle between Skidmore/Swanke/Cooper and Gensler, it is hard for this reporter to imagine a series having more drama, more comebacks, more controversy and more SLAM-tastic play than the FxFowle vs. HMA/RAMSA series, which saw all three games decided by a single run.

Under the bright lights of DeWitt Clinton Field #1, Game One of this series started off very shaky for the #1 seed as three batters into the game, SS Mike “The Phantom Menace” Ryan was ejected for attempting a phantom tag at 3B—an ominous start for sure. After falling behind 3-0 in the top of the first, HMA/RAMSA responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning, followed by 3 scoreless innings in the field. In the bottom of the 4th, HMA/RAMSA rallied with their own 3-run inning. The lead however was short-lived as FxF tied the game in the top of 5th at 4-4. The score remained the tied until the bottom of the 7th inning when firstbaseman Josh Barkan stepped into the batter’s box with runners on the corners and 1 out. Barkan delivered a hard groundball to first that was good enough to score the winning run. (HMA/RAMSA, 5-4)

A day later, the setting was moved to the Great Lawn #3—site of the historic doubleheader between SSC/GA just 24 hours earlier. The fields might have changed for these two teams but the game was much of the same—a close game throughout, dominated by stellar defense and very little offense (both teams combined for 12 hits in Game #2).

For the first time all season long, HMA/RAMSA did not score a run in the first inning; and for the second time all season (and in this series) Fox+Fowle jumped out to an early lead with a run in the bottom of the first. HMA/RAMSA chipped away with a run in the top of the 2nd and 4th innings for a 2-1 lead, which again, was short-lived. Helped by some shaky defense and timely hitting, Fox+Fowle scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 4th to take a 4-2 lead and control of the game. HMA/RAMSA scored one run in the top of the 7th inning, and had the tying run on 2nd base but were unable to mount a rally in this game. (FxF, 4-3)

Just 4 minutes after Game#2 wrapped up, the third and deciding game of the series began at 6:45 PM as the Great Lawn prepared to host its second ESPN Classic-worthy ending in two nights. As the sun disappeared below the tree lines, the tired pitchers exchanged zeroes for the first two innings. For the third consecutive game, FxFowle struck first with a run in the 3rd inning and then another in the 4th for a 2-0 lead. The air was clearly coming out of the sails of the SLAM's #1 seed as those in attendance wondered where this vaunted HMA/RAMSA offense, which scored a league best 125 runs in the regular season, had gone. After cutting the lead to 2-1 in the 5th, FxF tacked on another key run in the 6th for a 3-1 lead as the game headed into the bottom of the 7th inning.

For their efforts in the regular season as the #1 seed, HMA/RAMSA had earned the right to home field advantage throughout the playoffs—and in this series it proved all the difference in the world. In what I can only describe as “shades of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series” the demons from a season ago were exorcised with a comeback rally for the ages. Like Game 6 for the Mets, HMA/RAMSA entered their final at bats down two runs.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-video/648619/83279/Relive-this-exciting-ending-to-Game-6-of-the-1986

Rightfielder Doug Neri, who led the team in hits for the regular season, began the inning with a double to left. After a groundball out to the shortstop by Eric Hofmann (which advanced the runner to 3rd), The Phantom Menace - looking to redeem himself for Monday night’s blunder - delivered a single up the middle. That hit was followed by a single to left by an admittedly exhausted David Solomon, who was given an all-important courtesy runner in Eric Hofmann. Rookie Mike Sargent proceeded to tie the game with yet another base hit to left field which brought runners on first and second in a tie game.

After a fly ball out to left field, Game One hero, Josh Barkan once again stepped into the batter’s box to channel his inner Mookie Wilson. From there, I cannot really tell you what happened as I was admittedly too sick to my stomach to watch. But I’m told Josh hit a ground ball to the right side of the infield, which was fielded and bobbled slightly by the shifted infield, causing a somewhat errant throw to first base which was dropped (or maybe brought the firstbaseman off the bag—I couldn’t see with a towel over my head). In any event as Josh hit first base and the umpire screamed “SAFE”, Eric Hofmann—who never stopped running from second base—screamed his way home to win the game on a ball that never left the infield. GAME OVER, SERIES OVER….HMA/RAMSA wins, 4-3 with 3 runs in the inning.

Thankfully there are no more permits available for this week as we all could use a little rest this Labor Day Weekend. But if The Slam Finals are anything like the Championship Series, do yourself a favor and come out and watch SSC and HMA/RAMSA battle next week.

SKIDMORE/SWANKE/COOPER BACK IN FINALS

".....picking up the broad-tipped charcoal pencil, he drew a sweeping ellipse across the center of the great park. This, he said, will be the grand living room of the city, where the ordinary will be ennobled and the extraordinary - rendered immortal"

-from "Frederick Law Olmstead: Landscape Dude"

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Not since 80's pop icon, Prince, debuted his ass-less pants at a free concert in the park, has the Great Lawn been so abuzz. The semi-final match-up, between defending SLAM champions, Gensler and their arch-rival Skidmore/Swanke/Cooper, pitted the winners of the last 6 titles against each other with a trip the Championship Series on the line.

Last week's uncharacteristically high-scoring Game 1 had put SSC one win from the Finals, but alas Art Gensler's crew would not go gentle into that good night that is the off-season. A classic defensive struggle led to a come from behind 3-2 victory for the defending champs and with that intangible pendulum, that is momentum, swung to their side, the decisive Game 3 began.

As the three remaining trees, in Central Park, cast their long shadows across the field, a game for the ages began unremarkably enough - no hits, no runs - a scoreless frame. But as the innings went by and the scoreboard got crowded with "zeros", the hushed spectators began to realize that they were witnessing one of the great games of the genre (if you consider "nyc architecture league modified fast-pitch softball" a genre). After 7 scoreless, gut-wrenching innings of nearly flawless play on both sides of the diamond, SSC suddenly rallied for a 3 spot in the first frame of extra-innings and held on to win the battle 3-0.

At a short ceremony following the game, Parks Commissioner, Adrian Beneppe spoke these words about the contest; "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."