Show no Mercy! TPG beats MGA 20-0

The hour was getting late.  Between deadlines, jury duty, and a frigid forecast team TPG was desperate for a 2nd female player (our league requires at least two female players at all times).  When an emergency email went out to the NY office, a hero was born, and the TPG C for last night was Gal "The Hero" Vaknin.  Whew, with about an hour to spare TPG avoided playing a female short - something our team prides itself on never having had to do.

standings after last night's games

With unseasonably cold weather, team TPG gathered as many coats and sweaters as we could find, and huddled around the backstop of Great Lawn 3 waiting for a close game to finish between GA and FXF (GA would break the tie in a late inning and go on to a 12-8 victory).  Since this was the first "late" (6:45pm start) game of the season, TPG had a huge turnout (among the male players at least) as over 15 people showed ready to play.  As we were itching to take the field, we looked to our right and realized our opponent for the evening - MGA - only had 7 players, the bare minimum to start a game.  As two more MGA players arrived late, the vast majority of the game allowed MGA to field 9, which is only one short of the max allowed in our league.

TPG P Derrick "The Mouth" Blocker took the mound in the top of the first, and never broke a sweat.  Stellar pitching, strong defense, and a diving catch by TPG RCF Simon "Kung Fu Panda" Yeung resulted in the first TPG shutout of the season.

The powerhouse offense of TPG (who came into the game averaging just under 17 runs scored per game) was on display from the very beginning as the first nine batters of the game scored en route to a 12 run inning (16 batters came to the plate), capped off by a monster 2 run HR blast by SS Tommy "Guns" Anderson (3-3, 3 R, 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI).  With 12-0 lead after the first inning, and an 11 run mercy rule (game is over after four innings if a team has an 11 run lead or more), TPG could have chosen to run on auto pilot.  But that is not our style.  After getting three quick MGA outs in the top of the second, TPG put up another rally, this time sending 12 people to the plate and scoring 7.  The highlights of this second inning rally were TPG Rookie DH Norman "Cricket" Ha's (3-4, 3 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI)  first ever career HR, and Tommy "Guns" Anderson's 2nd monster HR of the game.

One more TPG run would score in the 3rd, and after a fourth consecutive shutout inning, the game was over, and TPG won by a final score of 20-0.

Game balls go to Derrick Blocker, Tommy Anderson, Norman Ha, and Gal Vaknin

BACK TO BUSINESS

After a somewhat controversial winter away that included an extensive doping allegation (no charges filed), a visit to the White House and very light off-season workout program, the HMBA/RAMSA Orange Crush returned to their office in Central Park to kick off the 2012 campaign.  The one-time "bridesmaids" of SLAM have become (to some) the Bridezillas of the league.  Make no mistake about it, in 2012 this team has a bullseye squarely aimed at its back.

 Facing a much improved and highly motivated Perkins Eastman team to open its second defense of the trophy, the SLAM champions were flat and rusty.  PEA came right out of the box with a run in the first inning (and threatened for much more).  On the flipside, it took four innings of softball for the HMBA/RAMSA squad to scratch out its first hit of the young season.  And four batters later, with two outs and two runners on base, cleaner hitter Brian Barney roped a single to center to give the us a 2-1 lead.    Two innings later with a little more hustle than muscle (and the help of a throwing error), an important tack-on run was added  as they closed out the game 3-1, Good Guys.

Two weeks later - and sporting the debut of brand-spanking new uniforms since 2006 - a rejuvenated team complete with a new crop of rookie talent returned to the Great Lawn against MGA.  Unlike the first game of the season, this version of the players somewhat resembled the championship formula of seasons' past--timely hitting, solid defense across the field and just enough pitching from their aging captain (who nearly paid a visit to Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Alabama this winter).   Most notably the offense came out firing in this game with 4 runs in the top of the first inning.  In fact, the offense scored runs in each of the five innngs of play.  Highlights from the game include the newly crowned quadragenarian, Eric Hofmann's 3-3 evening with 3 runs scored and 1 RBI, Addie Suchorab's 2-2 (1 RBI) performance and Josh Barkan's 2-2, 2 RBI performance which included his first career home run in SLAM ("No joke, that's the first home run I've ever hit - at any level!" he proclaimed in post-game comments).  Final score, Good Guys 12, MGA 1.

Next up on the schedule is the Mayan-endorsed, undefeated (and over-photographed) Blue Storm of TPG - the #1 ranked team in SLAM sporting a formidable 23-1 run ratio in the early part of the season.  Better get your cameras ready, boys and girls....

Opening Day - will the Mayans be Right?

2012.  The year the world is supposed to end.  Well if it's gonna end, TPG wants to be on top.  And the first game of the season gave us just a little bit of hope.  Squaring off against MGA, the team who narrowly beat us last year (and effectively ended our postseason aspirations), TPG had some revenge in mind.  It was Hecksher field, a sunny day, and TPG came out in full force ready to play.  Although the game got off to a late start (ump was "caught in traffic"), when the first pitch was thrown we were ready, scoring 3 runs in the top of the first.  Hopeful, excited, it was time to play some defense. 

And then we got a bit nervous.  MGA's leadoff batter hit an opposite field home run to start the game.  And the next two batters got hits.  Oh,oh, would the TPG lead quickly vanish?  NO.  Stellar defense all around, and TPG held MGA to only that one run, and at the end of the first it was 3-1 TPG.

Top second, and the first two TPG batters made outs.  Guh.Ugh.  Looking like a long game.  But... then an historic 2-out rally that saw 12 batters, and 9 runs.  Included in that barrage was a HR blast by new SS Tommy "Guns" Anderson that bounced and hit the fence on the opposite side of the park (beast mode = on).

No one scored after that rally, and the game ended via the mercy rule with only 4 innings played, final score 12-1.

top row: Dave Beauchamp, Ray Dominguez, Lynee Hastings, Tony Franzese, Tommy Anderson, Omar Bustamante, Sara Laurence, Alessandra Belfiore.  bottom row: Alison Hopke, Shyam Kumar, Derrick Blocker, Princess Salvacion, Josh Ginsburg, Simon Yeung

Game balls go to Tommy "Guns" Anderson for his monster HR, Josh "Shufflefoot" Ginsburg and Dave "Speedy" Beauchamp for each going a perfect 3-3 on the day.  And honorable mention goes to Tony "Married to the Firm" Franzese for introducing us to his old childhood buddy Tommy.

Could this be our year?  Maybe the Mayans are right.  Because if TPG did win it all this year, many of the other teams would indeed think the end is near.  Fine, it's only one game, but we can dream, right?

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.

HMA ROLLS TO 3-0 WITH BACK-TO-BACK SHUTOUTS

After a somewhat rocky start to the season against RRA/DBB, HMA/RAMSA has once again taken its familiar spot atop the SLAM League standings. There had been many whispers through the trees of Central Park that HMA/RAMSA would suffer a mental hangover from the bitter disappointment of last season’s SLAM finals. If that’s the case, it sure hasn’t shown on the field…yet. And some members of the team will say there’s a new edge to the Orange Crush this season--a chip on their collective shoulders for coming up short each of the last 2 post seasons.

GAME ONE RECAP (April 15th): The final score of the first game of the season (14-7) doesn’t do justice to how close and competitive the first game actually was. Down 1-0 after the top of the first inning, HMA/RAMSA started the 2010 campaign with a bang as they put up 4 runs in the bottom of the first inning for a 4-1 lead. Included in the hit parade was former ROY Mike Sargent’s homerun to deep left center, marking the second time in two seasons that Mike homered in his first AB of the year. After a scoreless second, RRA/DBB continued to pound the aging two-time pitcher of the year, with 4 runs in the third inning, followed by one run each in the fourth and fifth to take a 7-6 lead into the bottom of the 5th inning…when the HMA/RAMSA bats woke up from their slumber.

After the leadoff men got on base in the 5th inning, Doug Neri came through with a 2-RBI single up the middle to put the Orange ahead 8-7 (a lead that would not be relinquished). Two batters latter, aging pitcher David Solomon who couldn’t get it going with his arm on this day, decided to find redemption in the form of his bat with a 2-run HR down the leftfield line. Scouts clocked his time around the bases somewhere around 45.5 seconds, a new personal record.

HMA/RAMSA tacked on 4 more runs in the 6th inning to secure the 14-7 victory. Game balls were handed out to Doug Neri (3-3 with 3 runs and 3 RBI, one awful defensive play)

GAME TWO RECAP (April 19th): With a new starting pitcher and revamped batting order, HMA/RAMSA shook off the Game One rust and returned to 2009 form as they dominated MGA with an 11-0 victory on the Great Lawn.

Doug Neri made his SLAM League debut on the mound as David Solomon could only watch from the sidelines in this one. Neri did nothing to disappoint as he threw 4 innings of shutout softball, walking only one and relying on his stellar defense behind him. Offensively, HMA/RAMSA controlled the game as they have so many times in the past few seasons with runs early and often. With 3 consecutive doubles from the middle of the lineup, HMA put up 5 runs in the first inning yet again; and followed that up with another 4 runs in the second inning to stake a 9-0 lead. From there, the defense and pitching took care of the game as Neri continued to baffle the MGA bats.

Game balls were handed out to CF Brian Barney drove in 5 runs on the afternoon with his 2 hits and RF Pete Garofalo scored 3 runs on his 2-2 afternoon.

GAME THREE RECAP (May 6th): After a very heated best-of-three playoff series in 2009 which saw all three games decided by one run, HMA/RAMSA and FxFowle renewed their rivalry on Thursday afternoon. Unlike so many of their recent regular season matchups however, this one was pretty much over early as FxFowle was clearly without several starters from a year ago, including pitcher Manny Morales who arrived late to the field and missed the first inning (and by that time the damage had been done).

After scoring 22 first-inning runs a year ago, and 9 already in their first two games this season, HMA/RAMSA sent 13 batters to the plate in the first inning, setting a team record for runs and AB’s in an inning. It was not a pretty inning all around with 4 walks, 2 reached on errors and a few hits sprinkled in. When the dust had settled HMA/RAMSA plated 8 runs. An inning later, with 2 runs already scored in the inning, Mike Sargent stepped to the plate and hit a booming 2-run HR to left center for a 12-0 lead. It was Mike’s second homer of the young season.

In the field, things were just as sharp as HMA/RAMSA kept FxFowle off the scoreboard thanks to some flawless defense and timely pitching. It marked the first time in the team’s history that back-to-back shutouts had been thrown (no less by different pitchers) as HMA moved to 3-0 atop the SLAM league standings.

Next up on the schedule: The Big Red Machine of Gensler (also 3-0) in a battle of unbeatens on Monday, May 17th. The World will be watching.

Polshek Partnership write-ups

here are excerpts from game write-ups of PPA's last four games...

The Polshek Breeze
Substitute-Editor: David "Stretch" Coxson
Mid-Day Edition
Team Polshek Back on Track:
Return of ‘His n’ Hers Flood Pants’ Chang Emboldens Group for Victory
The seas were angry last night, my friends. Well, at least the skies were. But luckily the showdown between Team Polshek and Team Mitchell Giurgula went off without a hitch and ended without a hitch. (It did end an inning early, but none seemed too displeased to head to their respective après-softball locales before reaching the seventh inning).
Playing shorthanded with only 9 players in the field, Team Polshek looked sharp in the field and aggressive at times at the plate. Newcomer Frank "G$" Guittard had a nice base-knock down the right field line— as he ran down to first, I couldn’t help but think that those short shorts could be slightly longer…but they do make him look like a 7-footer rather than 6’-8". So, I guess for intimidation purposes, keep wearing those in the future, Frank. In other standout play, Natasha is now hitting the ball hard and straight rather than hard and backwards—which is good.

-------------------------

The Polshek Gazette
Rainy Days and Mondays Edition
Editor-In-Boxers or Briefs: Adam Mead
They came quick and they came often, before team Polshek new what hit them, we were facedown on the matt sucking wind, 6 quick runs came flying from Pei Cobb Freed/Hart Howerton something like the fists of Sonny Liston. Our heads were spinning, if it weren’t for losing, we’d be winning. Well I’ll make this short and sweet, we got one big hit, in the end it didn’t matter one bit, but it kept our heads from falling, you see here I’m stalling. Standing side by side it was obvious our opponents were on steroids. By the end of the game I couldn’t even tell if I had any deltoids. One thing became clear, if it weren’t for the beer, my memory of the game would be clear. As we left the field, we knew at 16-6, we had been forced to yield. Losers or winners, it’s all the same, for in this game our real talents are shown later, when we take pints of beer, and continue to show such great balance without a once of fear. Here’s hoping we get some more cheerleaders next game, you can all look on as I personally take on a wild lion, with one challenge, to tame!
See you then, same Bat time, same Bat channel!

--------------------------
Polshek Post
Late-Afternoon Pre-Holiday Rendition
Volume 1 of 1
Substitute Editor- David "Gimpy" Coxson
The Polshek bats came alive against local foe Gruzen Samton on a sunny, warm Thursday evening- an evening that brought out our first fans of the year! Under the shadow of Foster’s Hearst building, the marketing team and a few other good souls from the office came out to cheer on team Polshek with wild, reckless, raucous abandon. Oh, and they brought cookies and Fritos—nutritious and still delicious. What they saw was softball at its finest—base hit after base hit, great outfield snags, some gutsy pitching, and Matt(ingly) Dionne’s throw from the outfield that hit a wandering spectator on top of the head. Good aim!
Gruzen’s one and only run came after a routine pop-fly somehow made it beyond our left-fielder’s (*name withheld for embarrassment purposes (Dionne)) field of vision. But after that, it was all Polshek! Like the good sportsmen we are, we ran up the score and refused to enact the ‘Mercy’ rule, winning 13-1. In fact, there really wasn’t anything clumsy or overly embarrassing that I can relay…hmmm, well except for Graeme falling down again and doing some sort of roll in centerfield and Hillary’s catch-and-throw routine (she’s lefty and played with a righty’s glove). That’s really it…well, except for Dionne’s trip and tumble at home plate with all of his catcher’s gear on. But seriously, that’s it. (Steve is still wearing his flood pants).
We fought like titans and played fundamentally-sound softball in unbearably bright and hot conditions—conditions that made us run for the local bar where we were called sinners by some suits and had some good, cold beer and snacks—a general merriment of mingling Polshekians reveling after a good win.
For this year, the elevator bragging rights belong to us...

----------------------
Polshek Post
Earlier-Afternoon Rendition
Volume 1 of 1
Substitute Editor- David "Button-Down" Coxson
Polshek’s Rally Comes Up Short (or tall) Against SOM/SHCA/CooperRobertson.
Wow! It was a thrilling (at times) first game of the 2009 season. Donning our digitally-charged new jerseys, Team Polshek stormed the Central Park field against one of the league’s perennial powerhouses in SSC on a beautiful, sunny day—a day when all walks of life decided to plop down to sunbathe, chant in unison, read, have a picnic smack dab in the middle of our outfield. In fact one group of semi-clad soccer jugglers decided to practice their trade directly in front of Adam Sheraden (our new left fielder). Seemingly excited, he didn’t protest but actually joined in on the fun causing our manager Steve Chang to ruffle his flood pants.
As the game went on, SSC amassed a 6-0 lead by the 6th inning. We looked lethargic, rusty, just trying our best to shake the hibernation fog…then…it happened! We started to hit, run, slide, cheer, fall down all in one inning! The score was suddenly 6-4 as yours truly came to bat with 2 men on and 2 outs. I hit the ball as far as I think I could hit anything, but the SSC center fielder (all 6’-9" of him) wheeled back, pirouetting as he did, tripped on some Frisbee players and sno-coned the ball to cut the rally short. Gimme a break!
We played our Polshek hearts out and saw great strides of progress already in just one game. Our after-game celebration started the season off right as well: 7 pitchers of the finest lager and 6 platters of hot wings. Not bad.

HMA/RAMSA ROUTS MGA 21-2 IN SEASON OPENER

They heard the whispers all off-season: Could HMA/RAMSA could rebound from the heartbreak of last season’s crushing playoff loss to KPF?

.
Those whispers were quickly silenced as HMA/RAMSA took care of business in Game #1 with a 21-2 rout of Mitchell Guirgola Architects. While nothing could replace the sting of falling short last season, this was clearly a statement game by HMA/RAMSA that they remain a contender in 2009

Shortstop Mike Ryan rips his third hit of the game in the 6th inning

It was a bumpy spring training for HMA/RAMSA too with 2 rained-out practices followed by the news that starting All-Star shortstop, Doug Houstoun would be sidelined for the first 4 weeks of the season with a broken bone in his right hand. Nevertheless, the fireworks began early and often in the top of the first inning as the first five batters reached base and eventually scored en route to a 6-run inning which saw all 11 batters come to the plate. In the bottom half of the inning, the team flashed some equally impressive leather as they ended the inning on a nifty double play turned by back-up SS, Mike Ryan and 2B Cara Graf.

The hit parade continued in the 2nd inning as first 3 batters reached base and 4 more runners crossed the plate highlighted by David "Wheels" Solomon's 3-run "homerun" (admittedly it was generous scoring). For Solomon, it was rumored to be his first HR since 1986 and reportedly the farthest he had run in two years. Taking a 10-0 lead into the bottom of the 2nd, Solomon appeared to be somewhat winded as the leadoff hitter hit over the head of RF, Eddie Kung for an apparent homerun. Always looking to help out his team in any way possible, LF Eric Hofmann noticed that the runner failed to touch 3B as he rounded the bases--the appeal was made to the umpire and the shutout remained intact.

The Orange Crush tacked on 2 more runs in the 3rd inning and another 3 in the 4th as the lead was extended to 15-0 in a sloppy four innings. Though technically the game could have been called by the 11-run rule, both teams agreed to continue playing another two innings as it was the first game of the young season. MGA finally broke through for 2 runs in the bottom of the 6th inning as the shutout was lost. For HMA/RAMSA the 21 runs scored were a team record as 8 of the 11 batters scored at least twice.
.

Game Balls were handed out to Mike Ryan (3 hits, 3 runs and 2 RBI), Eric Hofmann (4 hits, 2 runs, 2 RBI) and David Solomon (6 IP, 3 hits and 5 RBI).