TPG Beats Ennead 11-0

Team TPG took the field yesterday against Ennead.  When Polshelk Parnership changed their name to Ennead, the meaning had something to do with the "power of 9".  Unfortunately for Ennead, last night they only showed up with a "power of 8" - as in 8 players to take the field.  TPG led off the game, and our first nine batters scored before we even had an out.  Two innings later, a 2-run HR by SS Tommy "Guns" Anderson, and that was all the  scoring we needed, as TPG won via the mercy rule 11-0 after 4 innings of play.

We were lucky enough to have TPG's official team photographer Vu Tran tag along, so we took the educational opportunity to illustrate what to do, and what not to do on the softball field.  For example, here's a breakdown of the correct batting stance vs. the incorrect batting stance:

Tommy "Guns" Anderson demonstrating the correct way to swing a bat

Simon "Muscle Ninja" Yeung showing us the, uh, not so correct way to swing a bat

We also learned that jumping in the air while swinging was not very effective:

Josh "Shufflefoot" Ginsburg teaching us the "jump-swing" technique

And anger can be a powerful tool, the more you grimace, the harder you hit:

Derrick "The Mouth" Blocker

Princess "Peanut" Salvacion

Sara "All Star" Laurence

Tony "Married to the Firm" Franzese

You can see all of the pictures from the game here:  https://plus.google.com/photos/109111179680946945239/albums/5737579785253901553?authkey=CIOVkdzk94qCPQ

Our next game is against 2-time defending champion, HMB/RAMSA.  We look forward to the challenge.

Game balls go to Derrick Blocker for pitching a shut out, Tommy Anderson for another monster HR, and Vu Tran for all the awesome photos.

TPG Wins under the Power of 9

As the city saw it's ninth straight day with some level of rain, teams were not optimistic that yesterday's games would be played.  The commissioner was stressed.  Weather.com's local radar map was open on tabs across the city.  A 6 minute downpour on 34th Street and 10th ave led to a single one word ("oops") email by the league office that all but gave up hope for SLAM action on Monday, May 23rd.

But then there was the power of 9.  As has been well documented on this blog, Ennead Architects (EA) was named after 9 dieties coming together as one.  Perhaps those dieties fended off the rain and were the reason softball was played on this day.  The 5:30pm match up on the Great Lawn pitted EA against TPG Architecture (TPG), and something in the air (humidity, fog, deadlines in the office) was causing players to drop like flies.  Last minute cancellations and late in-house meetings led to a starting lineup of 9 vs. 9 as both teams took the field. 

The power of 9 was with TPG last night as they scored 5, 5, and 4 runs in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd innings to take a commanding 14-1 lead going into the top of the 4th inning.  After three more EA outs, the game was over, final score 14-1, mercy by the power of 9.

Even David Solomon - our esteemed commissioner - came out to take in this game.  And his awesome videography skills (spygate anyone?) led to the above rare footage of an RBI single by TPG Manager Josh Ginsburg.

Game balls for this win go to everyone who showed up at the field on a day when it seemed nobody would (Thank you Derrick Blocker, Princess Salvacion, Adam Woods, Alison Hopke, Tony Franzese, Ray Dominguez, Justin Aharoni, David Beauchamp, Josh Ginsburg, and a late arrival by Omar Bustamante).

History and Spring elevator battles of Epic proportions

Spring is in full swing and we haven’t had the chance to catch up with the S.L.A.M blog. So, in order to do so we will cover a battle of epic, deity proportions and a historic win. Let us start with the epic one:

It is undoubtedly good when victory happens 2 years in a row against the same team, and it is especially good (in epic, Egyptian mythology proportions) when our opponent’s new name signifies the presence of 9 deities. That would be the newly Christened “Ennead Architects”, our downstairs neighbor. One would think that Gruzen Samton would succumb to the wrath of the so-called Gods, right? Well no, the story went more along the Greek-pop mythology of Perseus in Clash of the Titans: The deities succumbed to the power of their opponent. It was a close, well-fought battle that ended up in a 10-9 Gruzen Samton victory over Ennead.

However, the best part was that coveted “elevator bragging rights” title. The following day, those rights were fully embraced (yet again) by adding some life to the elevator of our building in the form of celebratory street art; the type that would make Banksy recoil with envy.

We wish Ennead good luck for the rest of their season and look forward to future matches in this now classic rivalry that can only be compared to that of the NY Yankees against the Boston Red Sox (only really, really small in comparison).

And now, on to the historic one:

After our victory last night against Gensler I later found out at the bar that Gruzen had never beaten Gensler before; and to that historic effect many names should be highlighted through the game coverage:

- Starting with 2 runs in the first inning we intended to get an early advantage over our opponents.
- On the second inning, our secret British weapon; Simon Smith, crushes a ball deep in between left and center field for a home-run with 2 RBI.
- The offensive attack continued in the 3rd inning with the help of Vickie Vigil taking a walk to load the bases. Then, our newcomer Diane Moseley (at her second time batting ever!) grounds a ball for a 1 RBI, followed by Jeff Gillers for a single with 1 RBI.

All in all it was a good battle, with Gensler having a comeback of 4 runs in the last 2 innings backed up by one of the better pitchers of the league. However, the defensive game of Gruzen Samton was in full swing with great plays by Jeff DeLong in 1st base (with great backwards fly-ball catches and on double duty at home plate for a nail-biting out); Joe Illuzzi with several clean plays as well as good plays by Vickie and Anthony Colella on 2nd and Shortstop respectively. Adding to that, several struck-outs by our pitcher Jeff Gillers and a good outfield defensive game (by Robert Lucas, Ed Bolivar, illich Mujica and the secret British weapon) ensured that one of the better teams fell short of a victory. In the end Gruzen Samton won 6-5 over Gensler.

It is Spring, and our 9th button of the elevator trumps any group of 9 deities.  
It is good to press that button. Everyday.

Down the Stretch they Come (TPG vs. PEA)

With 5 consecutive losses going into last night's game, the once-promising season was on the brink for team TPG. Was it the rainouts, poor league scheduling, or just simply bad playing? Feeling the pressure, team TPG came to play last night against PEA. Former team MVP Omar "No Practice" Cevallos made his return to the lineup for the first time since April, and played a sensational 3B getting the first 5 outs of the game.



The TPG offense finally showed their stuff ripping off 4 runs in the 1st inning to stake a lead they would never give up. Newcomer Ray "Sparky" Dominguez played SS, led off the game with a hit, and seemed to spend the whole game speeding around the bases. The final score was 7-4, as TPG beat PEA.

5 of the 6 playoff teams are already decided (although the final seeding is still up for grabs): RAMSA, SSC, PCF, GA, and FXF.

The 6th and final spot is between TPG, MGA, and EA, and it looks like it may come down to the last week of the season. TPG is in the driver seat as the only team left who controls their own destiny (TPG beat both MGA and EA during the season). Two wins by TPG against PCF (Thursday) and GSA (Next Monday) clinch the 6th seed. TPG also gets in with one win and an MGA loss (MGA has two games left - GSA and SSC). MGA gets in with two wins and a TPG loss. EA is the long shot getting in with two losses by both TPG and MGA.

A lot is riding on these games for the other teams as well. If TPG beats PCF on Thursday, GA becomes the 3 seed, moving FXF up to 4, and PCF down to 5. A win by PCF gives them the 3 seed, and GA/FXF remain at 4/5 respectively. SSC's loss yesterday to EA put RAMSA back in the fast track for the 1 seed - provided they can pull off a victory in the final game of the season against arch-nemesis KPF. SSC will need a victory against MGA and a loss by RAMSA to reclaim the 1 seed.

Could this be the first year in recent memory that the 6th seed has a below .500 record? Will TPG keep the momentum and return to the post-season for the first time since 2008? Will MGA reach the post-season for the first time in team history? Will an epic collapse by both TPG and MGA boost EA into the playoffs? Stay tuned.