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| Coach Bland's Corner |
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May 25, 2004 - The Night of the Cicada Last night marked the 2004 debut of Bada Bings as we took the field against last year's league champions, Ocean Pride. Playing as the away team in the first game, Bada Bings came up to bat in the top of the 1st inning and jumped on the opposition early with 7 quick runs, after 8 of the first 10 batters reached via hit or walk. As the game progressed, it appeared as though the cicadas would put up more of a fight than Ocean Pride, as many of the Bada Bing players were continuously attacked and fornicated upon by the hordes of cicadas around the bench and in the field. Ocean Pride, though, still tried to match the fight in the cicadas by duplicating Bada Bings' 4-run 3rd inning with 4 of their own in the bottom half. Bada Bings 8-run fifth inning highlighted by Jamie "My Nuts Are OK Now" Murphy's triple, put away Ocean Pride for good and capped a 21-7 victory in the first game of our 2004 season. The second game of the night saw a tweak in the lineup with the addition of Rashaad "I Can't Play Like This" Johnson in left field. Regardless of the addition of fresh legs to the outfield, it became obvious early on that Bada Bings was losing it's desire to play with the same kind of energy it had in the first game of the night. The late hour of the game, along with the dive-bombing kamakazi cicadas, made it nearly impossible to stay focused on the task at hand. The Bada Bings hung in for awhile, only trailing 6-3 by the end of the third inning, but a 3 run 4th, and 10 run 5th by determined Ocean Pride team put the game out of reach for good, ending Bada Bings hope for an opening night sweep with a 19-3 loss. All in all, not a bad start to the season boys. Certainly d�j� vu with the way that we split with OP. Thanks to everyone that showed up last night, and a special shout out for those troopers who braved the late hour for a showing at Padonia Station for a couple of icy cold beverages. We do not have a game this Monday (May 31st) due to the Memorial Day weekend (Rashaad�please note this) :) Stetler will be running the team in my absence on June 7th. I'll coordinate with him before I go. Thanks and enjoy the Memorial Day Weekend. Coach Bland |
June 14, 2004 - There's something about a Lumpy in Baseball Pants Game 1...APEX, new to the Monday Night League, was next on the menu for the Bada Bings. This game turned out to be a battle of wills and defense as the score stood at 3-2 with the Bings leading after 3 full. Not until a short motivational speech by coach Bland, did the offense rev up the engine with 4 runs in the bottom of the 4th to take a 7-2 lead that would stand as the final score. Special props go out to: � James "Big Mac" McDonnell, who shut down the APEX offense by only allowing 2 runs through 6 innings. � Lump-Dawg, who, with the absence of Smy who was laid up with a hang-nail, put the lock-down on shortstop with a spectacular display of fielding prowess. � Pat and Wiz, who led our offense with a 2-2 and 1-2 performances, respectfully, and for Wiz starting a trend with the first dinger of the season. Game 2�APEX must have been feeling pretty good about themselves after keeping the game so close in game 1. Pity them. In an effort to get the offense back to form, coach Bland tweaked the lineup signifigantly, highlighted by Rashaad's move from his traditional bottom-of-the-lineup spot to #2 in the order. This move paid dividends immediately as Rashaad followed Boothe's lead-off walk with a home run to begin a 4-run 1st inning. What would ensue after that was an onslaught of extra base hits and runs by the Bings, scoring 8 in the 2nd, and 7 more in the 3rd to go on to a 21-1 victory. Special mention to the following: � James McDonnell, who is quickly earning the title of "staff ace" with ERA of 1.46. � 'Shaad, Murph, Big Mac, and Boothe, who kept Wiz's game 1 trend going in game 2 with home runs. � Stetler, who is quickly taking the team lead with base hits via dropped fly balls by the opposition. Run those out big guy! � Last, but not least, special thanks to Lump-Dawg again, who with his new softball pants and cat-like skillz, give guys with beer guts hope with his outstanding performance at SS. Coach Bland |
June 21,2004 - Turning Terpaholics into Bingaholics It was a much anticipated match-up between Bada Bings and the Terpaholics last night, as Bada Bings led them in the standings by one game. The Bings had the opportunity to put some distance between themselves and this young team, as well as gain ground on two 5-1 teams that had slugged in out earlier in the night� Game 1: Bada Bings were primed for game one, as the newly indoctrinated ace-of-the-staff, James "Big Mac" McDonnell took the "mound". The Bings knew they had to jump on the opposition early and began in the top of the first with 3 runs to stake a 3-0 lead after 1 full inning. With 2 more in each of the next 2 innings, Bada Bings were slowly adding to what would amount to an insurmountable lead, and cruised on to the 13-0 victory. Game 2: The second game of the night saw some changes in the lineup, as Jay "Check out Tyler's Schilling shirt" Brennan, Michael "Rockhead" Radcliffe, and Sampson"ite" joined the fray. After swallowing their pride in game 1, the Terpaholics began the 2nd game much more spirited with 5 runs in the top of the 1st. No matter, as the Bings answered right back with 5 of their own in the bottom of the 1st, and with 6 in the 2nd, posted an 11-6 lead after 2 full. Fast forwarding to the top of the sixth, the Bings had a 17-10 lead. Aided by some misplayed balls, The Terpaholics came storming back with 6 runs, until finally the Bings got the final out, stranding Terpaholics on first and third. Final score� 17-16 good guys. Notes: � After "Big Mac" lowered his ERA to a ridiculous 1.13 in game 1, he dropped back down to earth a bit by allowing 9 earned runs in game 2 and raised the ERA back up to a respectable 3.27. Still the ace� � Lumpy went apeshit with in game 2 with 5 RBI's, capped by a line drive grand slam that weaved its way past 2 of the Terpaholic's outfielders. He now holds the team-lead with 10 ribbies. � Stetler returned to form at the plate in game 2 with two doubles, a triple, and 3 RBI's. If it weren't for the construction site in left center, one of those doubles would have been his first dinger of the season. Stetler also set a team double-header record scoring 3 times from second base on deep fly outs to the outfield. "Big Mac" and Neal created some "ohs" and "ahs" with their mammoth shots over the fence in the second inning of game 1. Too bad they count as outs fellas�but the Terpaholics Female conglomerate were very impressed with your guns! Coach Bland |
June 28,2004 - Anyone up for some Elk Hunting? Game 1: It's obvious the Elks are more concerned with getting away from their wives for the night, than trying to win games. It probably wouldn't matter either way as we 10-runned them with a final score of 13-3. Game 2: Much of the same as we pounded them with a 10-run 2nd inning en route to a 17-2 victory. Notes: "Big Mac" has officially been annointed the starting pitcher for the LTRC All-Star squad. With last night's outings, his ERA has been lowered to a miniscule 2.90. Sampson has come alive with the bat. Two doubles, a triple, a dinger, and the guy must have been fast as hell when he was in his 20's cause at 48, he still got wheels. The guy can drink too�God bless him� Radcliffe saw some time at 1B, and proved he is much more graceful there than in the outfield. While Lumpy's baseball pants have given him super-human powers, it seems depth-perception is not in the super-power repertiore. Triples, however, remain sexy. Fred Neal's absence was met with disappointment as fans of all ages came out just to see their favorite player. During the PA announcement announcing Neal's no-show, some raucous fans were seen throwing "Fred Neal" autographed paraphenalia onto the field. At the post-game watering hole, future uniforms were discussed. The possibility of prison uni's were considered�how fitting. Coach Bland |
July 19, 2004 - Bada Bings go looking for Charlie...come up short Game 1: It was obvious from the beginning of this fine summer night that Tully's was serious about their games against Bada Bings as they showed up with all of their ringers. Bada Bings themselves had their all-star lineup intact, save for a minor switch in the order, due to Lumpy's thumb injury suffered two weeks ago. As the game began, Bada Bings took the early advantage with a 3-1 lead through two innings. Tully's exploded for 5 runs in the top of the 3rd and to stake a 6-3 lead, but the Bings came right back with 2 of their own in the bottom of the 3rd to keep it close at 6-5. After Tully's tacked on 2 additional runs in the top of the 5th inning, the Bings came up looking to have a big inning. Pat "Does Tully's still have naked party freaks?" Welsh, who had been pressed into the clean-up slot due to Lumpy's injury, came through on the big stage and hit a clutch 2-out double with Smy and Neal on base to bring the Bings ever closer at 8-7. After shutting down Tully's in the top of the sixth, the Bings offense sputtered with consecutive ground-outs to Tully's pitcher and came up short in an 8-7 loss. Game 2: After getting beat by 1 run in the first game, Bada Bings was ready to take what was rightfully theirs�a game 2 victory. Tully's however, was standing in the way and getting their cockiness back with anticipation of having "the hammer" in Game 2 and expecting their 2nd victory of the night..As the game wore on, it proved to be a see-saw battle with both teams tied at 6-6 after Bada Bings came back with 2 runs with 2 outs in the top of the 5th after shutting down Tully's in the bottom half of the fourth. With the pressure on them, Tully's miraculously came up with 5 huge runs to stake a 11-6 lead heading into the top of the sixth. The night however, wasn't nearly over. Murph started off the sixth with a home run which paved the way for a storybook inning for the Bings. Subsequent hits by Sampson, Wiz, Lumpy, Pat , and an induced error by Bland paved the way for a 6-run 6th inning and put the Bings on top 12-11 heading into the bottom of the sixth. Tully's, noticeably fazed by the Bings resilience, came up and quickly made 1 out. Then, after a single and another out, Tully's came through with a double to tie the score at 12-12. A quick conference at the mound between Bland and Big Mac helped to decide to intentionally walk the next batter...the man that had done the most damage for Tully's on the night. This move proved pivotal as the next batter flew out to 'Shaad Johnson in RC and sealed a hard-fought 12-12 tie. Notes: Shout out to Pat Welsh who represented in the clutch in game 1 with his 2-out double which plated 2 runs and put a scare into Tully's. Props go out to Jamie "My Last Hit will be a Dinger cause I'm on Vacation next Week" Murphy as he led off the sixth inning by crushing a long fly ball over Tully's token chinaman (coincidentally named Charlie) in left field. As Murph rounded the bases, he was heard saying "Sorry Charrie", and subsequently jogged home to glad-hand his teammates. The Bada Bing outfielders, who with their collaborative defensive effort and rocket arms, showed what it means to wear the red and blue. Special shout out to Fred Neal who used his Spidey Sense to detect that it may be to our advantage to start putting 'Shaad Johnson in right center as teams are consistently avoiding them on the left side of the field, citing "once they go black�they never go back". Chris "I suck, but I write the damn notes" Bland in Game 2 with his third batted ball of the night (bringing the total length of his hits to 15 feet) that totally confused the Tully's infielders and scored 2 runs to tie the game at 11. Special shout-out to Amy Bland for keeping score for us. I didn't even notice til this morning that she was calling their shortstop "Hitler". That's some funny stuff� Coach Bland |