Grizzlies.... DEAD.

The season is over, ending in a game against the "Wild Turkeys" that was both frustrating and heartbreaking.  As of right now I don't have much to say... but feel free to post your comments below....  Overall, it was a fun season though... 14-5.  Thanks to everyone for playing.  Fall ball starts on August 8th.

Alittle Inspiration for next week...

Playoff Action: We gotta keep battling...

Sorry for the delay in posting this,  I am actually busy at work again (which should be good news to you guys in the construction industry).  Here it goes...Playoff Style.

Round 1, weather is sunny, field in great shape, Alliance looks more pissed off than usual. The game started out tight... we were down early and only had 5 runs after 3 innings...down by 1 at that point.    In the fourth thier pitcher seemed to lose control of the zone and proceeded to walk the bases loaed, our bats found some gaps as we proceeded to score 4 in the 4th and then exploded for 8 in the 5th to put it away.  With the exception of Prince Fielder hitting 2 bombs we basically held thier offense punchless down the stretch.
Final Score: 17-7

After an hour break (enough time for Nelson to eat 3 king size Snickers and take 2 dumps) we were on the field against Dead Money for Round 2. Early on things looked promising.  After 2 quick outs in the first, we proceded to load the bases and then Brian ripped a liner to the right-center gap, clearing the bases and giving us a 3-0 lead.  We shut them down in the bottom.  In the second we were shut down in order, and they scored 2.  Top of the third 2 more for us, but it could have been more though as Mr. Snickers was doubled-off of second for the third out... Middle of three, 5-2 Grizzlies.
Then came the trouble...

The nightmarish bottom of the third went something like this.... Dead Money gets a couple hits, we get an out.  Couple more hits, they score 2 runs.  They hit a couple that should be outs, but we make some uncharacteristic errors loading the bases.  Then they hit one to the outfield and we nearly throw the ball over the top of the back fence trying to gun down someone at home...  I blacked out after that.  At the end of the nightmare Dead Money scored 7 runs....5 of which we basically handed to them on silver platter.

After that inning our bats were nearly silent.... going 4-16 in the last four innings.  Without a 2 run bomb by Timmy in the 6th we would have been shut-out down the stretch.  The thing is, we shut them down as well, holding them to 0 runs and setting them down in order atleast twice.  Unfortunatly our bats couldn't take advantage and the one inning of below average D cost us.  The question is, did they beat us, or did we beat ourselves??  Well, they probably beat us, but I always love that one.

Final Score: 7-9

Back to Mike Tice for some inspiration... next week is gonna be a street fight, we better start getting ready now.  We have proven that we can beat any team in the league....as long as we keep battling, and battling.  Its double-elimination for a reason, and we are now the team the nobody wants to play.  We played well against Dead Money, and a few more hits or tighter defense that one inning could have changed everything.  But now it will take 3 wins next week to get us to the Championship... if I need to find a poster of that chick in Major League I will.... maybe I will just have to find a picture of Scotty... oh wait, he will be back from Germany next week...we will be fine.

Playoff Preview: Bottom 4 Seeds

#5 Seed: Ballz Deep
2010 Record: 7-9 (Current Streak: 1 Wins)
Scoring: #5   Defense: #5  Diff: -37
10run Wins: 2   10run Losses: 5
Big Wins: 17-4 vs Wild Turkeys
Bad Losses: 6-22 vs Doublewide, 2-23 vs Doublewide
Ballz Deep is a scary team to play because of thier power.  But this year they been more inconsistant than years past...fortunatly for them the one team they always play well against is thier first round opponent: Wild Turkeys.  They are 3-0 against the Turkeys in 2010 outscoring them by a 40 to 21 margin.   Unfortunatly if they win they have to play Doublewide in Round 2... a team they have not played well against.

#6 Seed: Team Alliance
2010 Record: 6-10 (Current Streak: 2 Losses)
Scoring: #6   Defense: #6  Diff: -58
10run Wins: 1  10run Losses: 6
Big Wins: 12-6 vs Ballz Deep
Bad Losses: 5-16 vs Wild Turkeys, 3-13 vs Dirty Grizzlies
For the second week in a row Allaince will go against the Dirty Grizzlies.  Considering last weeks nail-biter, this week should be very tight as well.  In-fact, 2 of the 3 games against the grizz have been close, losing by the score of 12-14 both times.  Alliance has only won 2 games against teams seeded higher than them this year however, and both of those wins came against Ballz Deep.  They have been close many times though, and they did win a playoff game against the Dirty Grizzlies in 2008...a team not to be underestimated.

#7 Seed: Silver Bullets
2010 Record: 2-14 (Current Streak: 10 Losses)
Scoring: #7   Defense: #7  Diff: -131
10run Wins: 0  10run Losses: 8
Big Wins: 18-11 vs Team Extreme
Bad Losses: 0-11 vs Doublewide, 2-22 vs Wild Turkeys
The Silver Bullets are a team I greatly admire, mostly because they named thier team after my favorite beer...however, I do think they play hard all the time and thats not easy to do.  Dispite only 2 wins, they have played some close games against some very tough teams....losing many games by 5 or less runs, including a 3 run heart-breaker against the Wild Turkeys and a 5 run back and forth battle against Dead Money.  They have worn cinderella's slipper before however, upseting #1 seeded Dead Money in last years first round...and somehow fate has brought these two together again this year... a team to watch.

#8 Seed: Team Extreme
2010 Record: 0-16 (Current Streak: 16 Losses)
Scoring: #8   Defense: #8  Diff: -153
10run Wins: 0  10run Losses: 8
Big Wins: 1-5* vs Doublewide (*Moral Victory)
Bad Losses: 2-22 vs Wild Turkeys, 1-21 vs Dirty Grizzlies
When the schedule came out this spring everyone was wondering, "Who is this Team Extreme?" There name was alittle intimidating, and we naturally assumed that they were going to be extremely good.  As we all know, they aren't...but alot of teams struggle thier first year... just as Dead Moneys name harkens back to thier ineptitued from thier first season.  They have played some close games though, highlighted by a game where they held #1 seed Doublewide to only 5 runs on June 22nd.  If you can hold that team to such a low score once, they can do it again... and if you hold a team to a low score, its usually easier to score more runs than they do.  BUT, if  they do win a game in the playoffs I am sure they will celebrate like there is no tommorrow (which, considering the age of alot of those guys, is no guarantee. : ) 

FYI: Don't look for any future major playoff previews, recaps, or game by game descriptions in the future....this was way to much typing and I doubt I will do it again....unless of course the Dirty Grizzleis defend there title, then I will find a way write a new post every day for the next week and a half.  Also, If you are wondering if something controversial about a team was meant to be sarcastic...you can pretty much gurantee it was.  Good Luck!

Playoff Preview: Top 4 Seeds

The 2010 Playoffs are sure to be exciting and full of surprises.  Last year's #1 seed Dead Money lost in the first round to the 8th seeded Silver Bullets.  This years #1 seed Doublewide was 10 runned in thier first 2 games and knocked out early.  The eventual champions, as most of you remember, defeated Ballz Deep 14-13 in a do-or-die final game that was more intense than 3 game sevens played at once (not sure that makes sense).  Anyway, for a preview of this years playoffs see below...

#1 Seed: Doublewide
2010 Record: 15-1 (Current Streak: 11 Wins)
Scoring: #1   Defense: #2  Diff: +123
10run Wins: 8   10run Losses: 0
Big Wins: 5-3 vs Dead Money, 13-10 vs Dirty Grizzlies
Bad Losses: 9-12 vs Dirty Grizzlies
Doublewide got some sharp new uniforms this year.... apparently they got a new attitude as well since thier record last year was 9-8.  An upgraded roster along with a shift to a 5 man infield has seemed to help there defense immensly.  They are definetly a solid team, and as you can see they have a knack for winning tight games.  My only question is what thier name stands for... I am not positive, but I'm pretty sure one of the girls I dated in high school lived in a doublewide... maybe it has something to do with that.

#2 Seed: Dead Money
2010 Record: 13-3 (Current Streak: 7 Wins)
Scoring: #2   Defense: #1  Diff: +131
10run Wins: 10  10run Losses: 1
Big Wins: 17-2 vs Wild Turkeys, 16-3 vs Dirty Grizzlies
Bad Losses: 10-20 vs Dirty Grizzlies, 8-10 vs Doublewide
Dead Money doesn't hang thier banner on the fence anymore this year... which in my opinion, is the best move they have made in years.  Besides that, there team is very similar to previous years.  Solid defense, deep line-up, lots of power.  Doublewide has shut them down twice this year though, proving that it can be done.   They have been very hot lately though, and that may help them overcome last years let-down at the end of the season.

#3 Seed: Dirty Grizzlies
2010 Record: 13-3 (Current Streak: 2 Wins)
Scoring: #3   Defense: #3  Diff: +93
10run Wins: 8  10run Losses: 1
Big Wins: 20-10 vs Dead Money, 12-9 vs Doublewide
Bad Losses: 3-16 vs Dead Money, 11-18 vs Wild Turkeys
By all accounts we have lost some of our swagger from early in the season... but the playoffs are great chance to regain that. We have some positives going in our favor.. our offense is getting back on track, albeit slowly... our defense has started to tighten back up. We are the only ones who have beaten every team in the league besides the #1 seed. We have won close games and have blown people out. If we play up to our potential there is no reason we can't defend our title.

#4 Seed: Wild Turkeys
2010 Record: 8-8 (Current Streak: 1 Loss)
Scoring: #4   Defense: #4  Diff: +24
10run Wins: 4  10run Losses: 3
Big Wins: 18-11 vs Dirty Grizzlies
Bad Losses: 2-17 vs Dead Money, 4-17 vs Ballz Deep
The Wild Turkeys have always seemed to be one of the better teams in the league, but now poor managing has seemed to affect thier game.  While thier offense has turned it around lately, several negative factors have taken hold in their organization due to apparent lack of leadership.  The most noticable has been thier pre-game drinking, which has resulted in atleast 1 arrest (or citation) and slurred speech during thier trash talking.  But now they have started to completly forget about games, relying on opposing teams to stop them in the parking lot to keep them from driving away.  Lets hope thier front office can get these issues under control in time for a playoff run.

Week 11 Scores

No major upsets during the final week of the regular season....however, we have had a team make history.  Nobody thought that anyone would ever be able to match the Detroit Lions in '08, but Team Extreme has found a way to match thier 0-16 record.  I do have to say that there team has stayed very up-beat during what has got to be a miserable year, and dispite all the losses they seem to have fun and keep things positive.  Round 1 is there chance to make thier year memorable...and they did give the #1 Seed Doublewide a close game earlier in the year. Upset special..... ??? It has happend before...

13-3 Playoffs Next Week

The last game of the regular season was a very tight game against Team Alliance. Down by 4 after two innings, we stormed back with one of our best innings in a long time by getting 9 straight hits and scoring 7 runs in the third.  From there it become a very defensive battle, trying to limit each base and each run.  Late in the game, a 2 run triple by Timmy followed by a 2 run homer from Nelson gave us what we needed as our D tightened up to finish the comeback.
Final Score: 14-12

It looks like we will be playing Alliance again in the first round of the playoffs next week.  Our games have been tight against them, but our left fielder has been strong in all three games....combining for 6 RBI and 7 runs scored.  We will need another strong week from him to advance...

B-Dubs Playa of the Week
Tim Erickson
4-5 with a 2B, 3B and 3 RBI.
Every time he steps on the field he has a chance to make a play.

Week 10 Scorez

It seems like only yesterday when we were in sole possesion of the #1 seed, unfortunatly that is only a memory as the playoffs are only 1 week away and we have lost 2 of our last 3.  Our guaranteed win match-up against either Team Extreme or Silver Bullets in the first round is likely dead.  However, lets look at the bright side:

• We no longer have the pressures of an unbeaten season weighing on us
• We have gotten our losses out of the way before the playoffs
• Whenever we play an easy team we usually follow it up with a sub-par performance
• We have beaten both higher seeded teams this year
• We proved we can win it all last year
• We have yet to wear our championship T-shirts yet...idea for next week?
• We get our starting pitcher back next week who has been gone since mid june

As the great leader of men Mike Tice likes to say, once you are in the tournament, anything can happen... and, if your going to get ready for a street fight, you better start getting ready now... and  the good captain's got to pilot the ship through the rough waters and get it to home port. Go EAGLES...E.A.G.L.E.S... and last but not least... ok, calm down!

12-3 Now looking at the #3 Seed.

The long 4th of July weekend wasn't enough to snap us out of our slump as the Turkeys seemed to make solid contact on nearly every swing and scored 10 runs in the first.  We tried to crawl back into it but could never put together the big inning we needed.  Next time we will have to let them go when a team doesn't realize they have a double-header and begins to drive out of the parking lot...
Final Score: 11-18

Game 2 went much smoother as we got to play our favorite opponents.  We have never lost to the Bullets and this game was never in question after we scored 10 runs in the first two innings.  A walkoff HR by Tim put it away.  This game helped us stop our losing streak, but only time will tell if its enough to bust us our of our mini slump before playoffs.
Final Score: 13-3

B-Dubs Playa of the Week
Chad Nelson
5-7 with 1 HR and 6 RBI's.
Another solid week from Nelly who managed to get in his signature head first slide into 3 base.

Week 9 Scores

Not a lot to say here... we have 3 games left in the regular season and seeding is not set.  By my calculation, Doublewides magic number for the #1 seed is 2.  We are still in the #2 position, however Dead Money could pass us if we lose again since we are tied head-to-head and thier scoring differential is unreal.

11-2 Belated Update

The first game was completly one sided and Team Extreme didn't score a run until the last inning as we cruised to a very easy victory. 
Final Score: 21-2

Game 2 was the complete opposite was we were on the other end of the stick.  After leading 3-2 after the first, we proceeded not to score another run as Dead Money continued to place balls perfectly and run up the score.  The game was over after 5 innings. 
Final Score: 3-16

B-Dubs Playa of the Week
Aaron Miller
5-8 with 2 HR and 9 RBI's.
His bomb against Dead Money gave us a brief lead and kept us from being shut-out.