8/29/11

JSL Banquet at Town Spa on 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 8

Just got mail from the Commish and my Captain, so it must be true.  The annual awards banquet is confirmed as noted in the caption above.

Now it is up to each of you.  Rearrange your life in whatever fashion necessary to get yourself to the designated location at the appointed time.  If you're not there, you will suffer greatly by missing out on:

    FREE FOOD -- It's free because you already paid for it.

    FREE DRINKS -- Well, they're free if your captain struck out swinging, like mine did.

    FREE STORIES -- Buy, sell, trade.  Stories are free, but the truth might cost you.

How can you even think of not going?  Be there, or be square!

8/25/11

Easton Wins 2011 JSL Championship!

In very fitting fashion, the 2011 JSL Championship wasn't decided until the very last inning of the third and final game, when pitcher Kenny lined a single to center to drive in the winning run from second base.

The final score of 7-6 made this the highest scoring game of the series, and yet, I don't think either side felt they were hitting poorly.  Once again it was a game characterized by great defense on both sides, and once again it was spiced up by some truly bizarre wind conditions.  While Sunday night's game on Field 1 featured a fierce and steady wind blowing in towards the plate, Wednesday night saw gusty, less-predictable conditions that, at times, greatly favored the hitters.  Both pitchers could only shrug when sudden gusts knocked pitches out of the air many feet short of the plate, and outfielders were dumbfounded when seemingly lazy fly balls just kept carrying far over their outstretched gloves.

Nonetheless, every big hit seemed to be balanced by two spectacular plays in the field, and so there wasn't anyone at all surprised when the sixth inning ended with the two teams tied at 6 runs apiece.  The bottom of the Stoughton 2 order could get nothing at all going in the top of the inning.  Easton also sent the bottom of their order up in their half.  The first batter made out, and the second up followed with a weak grounder to third base.  But wait, the ball is bobbled!  No play at first!  And with that uncharacteristic error, the door was opened and Easton proceeded to step through it like champs.  Two sharp singles up the middle, and it was another JSL Championship claimed for the boys in black pinstripes

Congratulations to Easton, and to Stoughton 2, as well, for a great season and a fantastic final series!

8/24/11

Stoughton 2 Takes Second Game to Tie Series

Don't count the defending champs out yet!  In another very well played game Monday night, Stoughton 2 was able to find just a little more offense than the Easton challengers, winning the game 8-3 and forcing a deciding game 3 tonight.

The top of the Stoughton line-up was on form early in this one, with Jeremy, David and Greg all contributing extra-base hits as Stoughton put together a couple of scoring rallies in the early innings to take a 5-0 lead.

Easton came back, as everyone knew they would, with a three-run rally of their own, highlighted by a blast to deep centerfield by catcher Mike G.  I suspect that if Mike had just kept running around the bases after he reached home he could have gained 2nd or 3rd base on lap 2 before the ball finally returned to the infield.

Stoughton's defense tightened, though, and Easton was retired with "only" three runs crossing the plate.  The home team then went out and scored three more of their own to push the cushion back up to five runs, and there it stayed for the rest of the game.

All of which means that tonight's game 3 is a winner-take-all contest for the JSL title!  First pitch is at 6:00 on Field 3.  Hope to see you there!

8/21/11

Easton Wins Opening Game (ed. Updated/corrected on 8/24)

Easton wins the opener 2-1 in a game that will be remembered for high winds, exceptional defense and a blown call on the last play of the game.

The first three innings were scoreless.  No one could generate any power with the strong winds blowing in from the outfield.  The infield play was solid and both sides.  Eventually, each side's stellar defense cracked just enough to allow the other team to score.

Stoughton 2 scored a single run in the top of the 4th, thanks in large part to an overthrow at first base that put a Stoughton runner on third base where he scored on a subsequent single.

Easton came back to score 2 in the bottom of the 5th, with both runs scoring when the ball escaped the Stoughton catcher on an attempted force at home plate.

In the top of the 7th, Stoughton 2 loaded the bases with one out.  The batter hit a hard grounder up the middle.  The ball deflected off pitcher Kenny's glove, but still the outstanding Easton shortstop, Greg, was still able to reach behind himself and snag the ball.  He stepped on 2nd base and winged the ball to first.  "Out!" cried the base umpire.  "No!" cried the Stoughton 2 bench, who could see that Jerry's foot was a good foot off of first base.  "Not my call," said the home plate umpire.  Game over.

Game 2 will be Monday night, August 22, at 6:00 on Field 3.

8/17/11

Stoughton 2 and Easton to Meet in Finals After Walk-Off Wins!

2nd-seeded Stoughton 2 came back from an early 7-3 deficit to defeat Sharon 1 by a score of 10-9.  With the score tied 9-9 in the bottom of the seventh, the middle-bottom of the order strung together four consecutive singles.  Joe C. capped the winning rally with a sharp single over the drawn in infield to score Russ K with the winning run.

About three minutes later top-seeded Easton finished their own comeback, scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh to defeat Stoughton 1.  Final score in that game was 12-11.  Stoughton 1 jumped out to an early lead -- as much as 6 runs at one point -- but they couldn't keep the Easton boys from clawing their way back and winning the game in their final at-bat.

The matchup between Easton and Stoughton 2 is a repeat of the 2008 finals, won easily by Easton.  Stoughton 2, however, are the defending champs from last year.  Should be a great series!

The finals will be a best two out of three affair, with the first game at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 21.  Game 2 will be the following Monday at 6:00, and Game 3 on Wednesday, if necessary, also at 6:00.

8/15/11 

Stoughton 1 Dominates in Play-In Game

Fourth-seed Stoughton 1 handily defeated fifth-seed Sharon 2 last night in the opening round of the JSL playoffs.  The final score was 18-4, and that's all I've been told.

That sets up the semifinal round of the playoffs as follows:

Field 3:    #1 Easton vs. #4 Stoughton 1

Field 2:    #2 Stoughton 2 vs. #3 Sharon 1

These are both single-elimination games, scheduled for Monday, August 15, at 6:00 p.m.

That's weather permitting, of course, and the forecast is not looking good.  The games will move to Wednesday night if they cannot be played tonight. 

6/8/11 Opening Day is This Sunday!

Opening Day

The first game of the 2011 features our two Sharon teams.  Game time is 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 12th, immediately following...

The HOME RUNS FOR HOPE Home Run Derby

(*** Postponed due to bad weather.  Rescheduled to 8/14, before the first play-off game. ***)

This very special event gives us a chance to kick off the season in style and to do good at the same time.  You should have already received the relevant info from your team captains, but here it is once again. 

Any questions?  Please contact Ron or Shoshana Czik by email:  ron.czik@gmail.com or siczik@gmail.com .

Better yet, sign up to participate:  https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dG8ycXJ4TnFJRXdCanpOV0FISnNvMmc6MQ#gid=0

Bye-Bye Brockton

A bit of sad news to start the year.  Team Brockton is no more.  After many years of struggling to put a full team on the field, the hard decision was made to pull the plug.  Word is that a few of the diehards, led by Jeff and Russ, will be absorbed into the Stoughton teams.

Schedule

The standard weekly schedule is the same as last year.

Sundays: 1 games at 7:00 on Field 1, with lights as needed.  Since we still have the field reserved from 5:00, we may end up moving games up, or using the extra slot for make-up games.
Mondays: 2 games at 6:30 p.m. in Stoughton, Fields 2 and 3
Wednesdays: 2 games at 6:30 p.m. in Stoughton, Fields 2 and 3.

Each team is scheduled to play 14 games in the regular season (barring rainouts).

Starting Monday, August 1, Monday and Wednesday games will begin at 6:15 instead of 6:30, due to the fading daylight.

The regular season ends on Wednesday, August 10, and Play-offs begin the following Sunday, August 14.

Check out the full schedule of games by clicking on the Schedules link on the left. Throughout the season I'll post the game scores here and you can track the standings.

Finally, please note that teams now have assigned dugouts for every game. By decree, the home team will take the first-base dugout/bench for each game.

Business Stuff

If you haven't done so already, please make sure to bring in a check. For only $100 you get a stylish uniform shirt, professional umpires, 14 games worth of bonding and athletic brotherhood, and finally, the fabulous awards banquet at the end of the season.

Checks should be made out to the ATC Brotherhood and turned in to your team captain or Alan Olans as soon as possible.

Blog-o-rama

Send me stuff!  Stories, jokes, tall tales.  I'll print practically anything.  Don't mistake me for proud, you know?

You can reach me by email at camorse22@yahoo.com, or just catch me out on the fields.

Good luck, have fun, and for goodness sake, don't forget to stretch first.