Playoff Results

PT Wins it again!  OFJ made a nice run though.   Sooo, based on the fact that we beat OFJ by 7, and they only lost to PT by 1 in the championship, doesn't that mean we would have beaten PT by atleast 5??? 

2011 Fall Recap

This little 3 minute clip pretty much sums it up...

Playoff Bracket... if your interested.

Week 6 and 7 Scores

Here are the scores from the last two weeks of the year.  Much like the rest of the season, one good, one bad.

Week 4 and 5 scores

Week 2 and Week 3 Scores

Fall Ball Week 1 Scores

Here you go.  Ballz Deep loses two right out of the gate...

2011 Summer Recap

I will try to put together a better summer recap over the weekend but wanted to let you know I have finally finished updating the stats and quite a few records have fallen.  Brian now holds the Doubles and Triples records (with 15 and 6 respectively).  Hof now holds the the Hits record (56) and sneaks ahead of Derek (who I know is devastated!!)  Hof also snagged the Runs scored record...touching home plate 45 times.

Guys from this year made it into the top 5 of all time in every single category....especially Doubles were 4 of us beat the old record.  All of the records can be seen on the right hand side.  Congrats to everyone for a strong season as a team, and to all the new record holders.

One last thing.... we are the only team to score over 300 runs in the summer league in the 4 years we have played.  We finished with 317. By comparison, Dead Money got 278 last year in 22 games (we played 21 this year). Check out the previous standings page to compare.

Fall League starts next Tuesday at 7:00 against PT General Mortgage.... we will have our vengeance.

PT are the Champions?

Here is the final playoff bracket....  Congrats to PT who somehow crushed Ballz Deep in the Championship...

Here is the reaction from Ballz Deep....
"We lost 2 guys to injury and they just went on a hitting streak. No excuses but it sucks having to sit out for over an hour in between games and then try to get your legs back. The shitty part is that they really didn’t win shit because we both had 1 loss in the playoffs. There should have been another game (double elimination)."

Backs against the wall...

Last night did not go completely as planned.  Even though we played well enough to beat the Amish Donkey's in game one (by a score of 11-5), we knew that our bats had to get hotter to hang with Ballz Deep.  Unfortunately, our mini hitting slump continued this week as we continue to struggle just to break double digits.  You have gotta give Ballz Deep credit though.  As always, they hit well, but they really showed extra effort on defense and made a lot more plays than we are accustomed to seeing out of them.  A small comeback by us in the 7th made the score look closer than it really was.
Final score: 11-15

Moving on.  So now the path the championship may be more difficult, but by no means is it impossible.  If you look at our record, we have not lost a game to a team not named Ballz Deep since the end of May!   We should now focus squarely on getting a shot at redemption against them, and ulitmately walking of the fields as champions next week.  It could be a long night, but nobody ever said this would be easy. We should have our squad restored to full-strength though, and that will definitely help.

Lastly, for any of the competition who happens to be reading this, any outdoorsman will tell you two things when you are in bear country.
#1. Don't piss off a grizzly... 
#2. Don't back them against a wall...

Well, both things happened last night, and the picture below pretty much summarizes what will happen next Tuesday starting at 6pm.

First Round Results....

It wasn't ideal, but this thing is long from over....  I will get the stats updated over lunch.

2011 Playoff Preview

We all know that this season has been a battle. Blood has been shed (mostly on our knees from sliding). Lives have been lost (mostly mosquitoes). And we all have had to sacrifice time away from our families in a strange, desolate land (Hopkins). Furthermore, by the end of the playoffs in two weeks, 7 teams will be dead. Only 1 team can claim victory and all others must either surrender or face the consequences. Our job is to do everything in our power to ensure that the last team standing is the Dirty Grizzles. Not just for us, but for all those we are fighting for. For all those who came before us, and for those who will come after us in the future. Let's not just beat our competition, let's destroy their will to even exist.

With that in mind, here is the 2011 playoff preview:
#2 Doublewide (9-6-1) vs #7 Team Striechers (5-11)
Doublewide is a well balanced team with the 3rd ranked offense (13.9 runs per game) and defense (11.9 runs allowed per game).  They have not been the most consistent team though and must be delighted to have the #2 seed.  Their opponent has actually caught fire as of late, knocking off many teams down the stretch including Park Tavern.  Their roster has seemed to have been boosted in a few key areas and when thier leftys connect they can cause trouble.  Doublewide did make it to the championship game last year so it's hard to imagine them losing this first round game.

#3 PT General Mort (9-6-1) vs #6 BMW of Minnetonka (5-9-2)
PT was cruising toward the #1 seed, but back to back tough weeks have left them gasping for air (figuratively and literally).  Word has it that their players cannot handle the hot and humid weather.  Unfortunately for them, my girl Belinda Jensen predicts more of the same Tuesday night.  BMW may smell blood in the water as they rebound from a miserable stretch in the middle of the season that included a 7 game losing streak.  They have been playing better lately and that could cause this game to be much tighter than anyone could have imaged weeks ago when it looked like these two would meet in the 1 vs 8 game.

#4 Wild Turkeys (9-7)  vs #5 Ballz Deep (9-7)
This is your classic 4 vs 5 match up between two teams that don't like each other very much.  The Turkeys (who actually have a -17 run differential) swept BD during the season series, but only outscored them by 4 total runs in the process.  It should also be noted that this is also a repeat match up of the 2010 4 vs 5 game, in which Ballz Deep emerged victorious by a score of 15-4.  It is tough to beat a team 3 times in one season, especially when the team your playing averages 14.3 runs per game and you are only getting 11.2...  These games aren't played on the internet though, so we will have to see what happens.

#1 Dirty Grizzlies (11-5) vs #8 Amish Donkey Mob (5-11)

First off, let me say that the Amish Donkey Mob is not your prototypical #8 seed.  They have power, they can play D....and they have a former college football player leading off.  They have already beaten us once this season back on May 17th, by a score of 24-20....and you know they will be looking to do it again.  Furthermore, alot of their players wear baseball pants....and when you wear legit pants to a softball game it is clearly a sign you mean business.   We do have the #1 ranked offense on our side (15.6 runs per game), but we all know that we live and die by our D....giving up 19.0 runs per game in our 5 losses, and only 7.4 in our 11 wins.  It is time to erase last year's disappointing playoff run and replace it with a run to the championship, from there we will have a chance to hang our second banner in 3 years.  Remember...You gotta bring some to get some.  So let's go get some!

Get Some!! 11-5

Here are last tuesdays recaps.  We did secure the #1 seed but in no way are we gonna say "mission accomplished".  We have reached the compound but we still need to storm the building, gun down Osama, and dump his body in the ocean.  With that in mind, I will post a playoff preview sometime this weekend or early Monday... stay tuned....it will not disappoint. 

In the first game against Balls Deep we were very lathargic.  Our bats were cold, our fielding was sub-par.  We only had scored 4 runs going into the 7th inning. Despite a mild comeback at the end of the game with a GS by Wunder, we still fell quite short of victory.  Wake up call.
Final Score: 9-13

 In game two against the Wild Turkeys we had much more energy.  Our bats were still not has hot as they had been in previous weeks, but our defense was much more solid.  Our D is our key to victory, and when that is tight, we can even hold solid hitting teams like Wild Turkeys to low scores.  Much better game that should give us some positive momentum heading into playoffs.
Final Score: 8-4

Not a great night at the plate for hardly anyone, but one guy did manage to have a very consistent night...

B-Dubs Playa of the Week
Eric Fosmo
7-8 with a double, 6 singles, 2 runs and 3 rbi.
Solid couple of games dude!

Week 11 Scores

Couple upsets during the last night of the regular season... Playoff brackets should come out later today, should be interesting.

Toasty Tuesday: 10-4

It was as humid as it has ever been in the twin cities yesterday...and it could of been a struggle to keep the energy level high.  Fortuanatly for us we were able to do that in a huge game that had major implications on the #1 seed in playoffs.  As a team we kept on battling, and battling, and we placed the ball well and played pretty darn good D.  It was a big win for us, but I am sure that if we meet these guys again in better conditions the game will be much, much tighter.  Hopefully thats not until the championship round of the playoffs though.
Final Score: 14-4

With our best player gone this guy filled in at the 3 hole very well by spraying the ball all over the field and driving in the most runs, thus earning his second such award in 2 weeks...
 
B-Dubs Playa of the Week
Brian Wedewer
3-4 with a double, triple, 1 run & 3 rbi.
Nice game in tough conditions!

Week 10 Scores

Not alot of runs scored last night by anyone....

Week 9 Scores

Ballz Deep wins twice, We win twice, Park Tavern gets upset....things are looking tight at the top of the standings.  Big game next week!

Our Chili is Hot: 9-4

Tim Brewster would be proud of our squad.  Our chili is on fire right now... its boiling!  It's all over the damn kitchen!!  The first game of the double-header got off to a great start.  We scored 11 in the top of the first and crusied to a early victory.  The donkeys didn't look like they had thier full squad intact, as a couple of thier subs looked as if they didn't know a softball from a soccer ball, but regardless, we will take it.
Final Score: 20-3

Game 2 was alittle more interesting.  Fresh off a big win at 7 over Park Tavern, Doublewide's confidence had to be at a high level....that is, until they had to sit on the picnic tables for an hour and watch our drubbing of the Amish.  Early on, thier legs seemed to be somewhat cold, as were thier bats.  Thier defense was rock solid however, holding us to only 4 runs in 5 innings.  Fortunatly for us, we finally got our big inning in the 6th, putting 8 on the board, and then followed it up with 5 more in the 7th.  The score was 17-4 heading into the last half-inning of the game as we seemed poised to cruise to a victory....

Then things got interesting...  Line drive after line drive, Doublewide was finally warmed up and they started crushing.  After what seemed to be 15 minutes of hit after hit and countless base runners we finally got our first out, eventually we had to ask the ump the score.  DW had put up 10 runs so far and had 2 more guys on base.  Our lead had dwindled to 3 and the situation was looking sketchy.  Fortunatly for us, our defense stayed tough and we got a couple balls hit at us as we then got back to back outs to prevent the would-be collapse.  An easy going victory turned into the biggest nail-bitter of the season.  Needless to say we were all very happy to escape with a victory and keep our winning streak alive.  Good game played by everyone on both sides though for sure.
Final Score: 17-14

Alot of guys played well last night...Jon played some amazing D in the outfield, Fosmo hit 3 bombs on the night and went a critcal 5-5 in game 2, but one guy has been playing great all year, and had a 4-hit cycle which included a grand-slam in the first game.

B-Dubs Playa of the Week
Brian Wedewer
9-7 with a double, 2 triples, GS, 5 runs and 9 rbi.
Awesome game man...keep it up!

Hot and Heavy: 7-4

It was a bit steamy out last night, and a few guys were gone on vacation this week... and our oppenent had to borrow a couple guys to fill out there team, but we still managed to maintain our focus and get our 3rd straight victory.  Due to the distraction of Derek and Cary showing up in the middle of the 1st inning we were losing 1-3 after 1, but we then scored 19 runs in the next 3 innings to push the lead to 20-11...7 more in the 5th gave us enough to end it early.

Final Score: 27-12
Our bats have been on fire since the unscheduled mid-summer break... scoring 58 runs in the last 2 games. One guy has been especially hot at the plate lately...


B-Dubs Playa of the Week
Brent Wunderlich
5-5 with a double, HR, 3 runs and 4 rbi.
Nice game...way to not kill anyone in the outfield too.

Week 8 Scores

Not many surprises this week. PT won twice to give themselves some breathing room... holding thier oppenents to only 3 runs all night.

Week 7 Scores

Looks like a very interesting evening at the ol' softball complex last night.  Every team ahead of us in the standings lost atleast 1 game... Enjoy.

Offensive Explosion: 6-4

We had the full squad on hand last night, and its safe to say everyone had fun.  After being down 2-8 after the first, about bats came alive in an explosive way.  We scored runs in nearly every inning, going 2,7,4,5,0,3,10.  We ended up scoring 31 runs...an all-time team record.  Congrats everyone. Even those of us at the bottom of the order got in the action...us 4 went a combined 15 for 20. Our defense played well too after giving up 8 in the first, shuting them out the final 4 innings.  It was good to finally play again after all the rain outs, and maybe the time off has helped us refocus and get back on track for our impending championship run.
Final Score: 31-13

Three different guys batted one thousand last night...Jon went 5-5 with 3 runs scored, Hof went 6-6, batted the cycle and had 6 rbi, and Derek went 6-6 with 8 rbi, 2 doubles and a trip.  It was a tough call, but I don't think Derek had 8 rbi all last season, so let's give it to him.

B-Dubs Playa of the Week
Derek Berube
6-6 with a 2 doubles, triple, 4 runs and 8 rbi.
Way to get your chili hot.

Rain-out Debacle...

Here are some of the emails that got sent in to the softball director and her response at the end....

It sure looks like we could have played some of the games. :)

ya, I think we're getting a little paranoid (do ya think)the warning's were for north of us and right now it's sunny ,not to mention we've played with storms coming in many times -that's why we have ump's to decide when games should be stopped. It's not like we need another reschedule for tuesdays "sic",,,,, maybe we'll have fall ball tuesdays and wednesdays whooohooo.

I agree with some of the managers that it seemed pretty strange to cancel tonight’s games…. What is even more frustrating is that I live in Minnetonka just down from the youth sports complex on 101 between Minnetonka Blvd and Hwy7 and the 10-12 year old little leaguers have been playing all night.

And her response........

Managers:


I obviously made a poor decision last night by calling the games as early as I did. I am very sorry and will try not to make the same mistake again. As mentioned yesterday, I will send out make-up information by the end of the week.


Again, I apologize for my mistake.
Ann

Week 6 Scores

Looks like Doublewide has finally figured things out... just in time for our match-up next week too.  Sure would have been nice if BMW could have knocked off Ballz Deep too...but they didn't and thier losing streak extends to 6 straight.

2 things to bring tonight

+
Your A Game

Weekly Recap...sort of.

For those of you who were lucky enough not to be there, here is the short version of how the game went this week.  It was 6-6 after 2, we were leading 8-6 after 4, then our defense got real sloppy and they scored 19 runs in the last 3 innings.  It was extremly windy and that didn't help, but its not like the wind stopped blowing for them... we just sucked on tuesday.  Plain and simple.
Final Score: 9-25

Moving on...
So far this season we are averaging 14.3 runs per game, which is actually higher than last summer.  Our bats have been ok. The big problem is our D.  We are giving up 13.3 runs per game, and that is over 5 runs  higher than last year.  Furthermore, in our 4 losses we are giving up a staggering 20.5 runs per game.  20.5! It seems pretty clear that we need to improve the D for us to start winning.  We have always had one of the top defenses in the league (last summer we allowed 7.9 all season), so there is no reason we can't turn it around.  Lastly, every time we played solid defense we have won.... giving up only 25 runs in those 4 games combined... (6.3 average).  Bottom line, lets start playing defense every game, let's run off some wins, secure the #2 seed... then copyright PA, let's play.

Right now we are at the part of the movie when Ricky can't see,  next week let's be at the part when he starts wearing glasses.

Week 5 Scores

As much as it pains me to do this, here are the scores from last night.  It will try to update everything else later...

Week 4 Scores

Donkey Mob and Ballz Deep had good nights.  PT won again.  Doublewide continues to struggle...



Tournament Recap: 2nd Place

After the rain cleared out it turned into a decent day... although quite long due to the delay.  The high point was probably the lower case d that decided to streak through the outfield during the championship game, followed close behind by Sam falling backwards out of her chair.  We took 2nd place, and apparently get a set of towels for our efforts... and no, they won't let us exchange the value for something we would actually use like hats or shirts.  Stats are up now on the the tournament stats page.

Wunder probably has the best tournment, going 11-14 with 2 triples and 2 bombs, followed close behind by Fos with a solid 12 rbi. Thanks to everyone for playing, it seemed like almost everybody had fun.

Click Here for complete results.

Tournament Directions

Fields are very easy to find....
Drive way South on 35W to exit 86 (first exit past Buck Hill)
Take a left at the top of the ramp, and drive east for 1.7 miles to Lac La Von Drive.
Fields on the right.  We play on Field F.  First game is at 12:15.

Up and down season continues: 3-2

The first game of the double header started at 6... well 6:15 since the Donkey "Mob" only really had a "small group" at gametime.  The whole team eventually showed up, and although it took a while to start, it seemed like it took forever for this game to finish.  It was a high scoring back-and-forth slugfest with very little defense being played by either side. After 3 innings, were were up 15-14.  The game was tied at 20 after the sixth..and they ended up scoring 4 in th 7th with 2 outs... we didn't respond.
Final Score: 20-24

Game 2 against BMW of Minnetonka/ Team Alliance / Team Dumbass was much smoother, well, until the pitcher started arguing balls and strikes with Hof. It was slightly funny yet awkward for all involved.  Fosmo and Tom picked up the slack by having 5 rbi's each.  Overall, our D tightened up and our bats were very consistant..scoring runs in every inning.  The game was never really close so tensions never got that high, although we play them in the first game next week so that could change.
Final Score: 18-9

There were alot of memorable moments during this up and down week, but seeing Derek running at top gear to third base on his triple is near the top.  For some reason, the play seemed like it was going on in super slow motion... it made it very dramatic.  Very nice week man.

B-Dubs Playa of the Week
Derek Berube
8-9 with a double, triple and 5 runs. Think about having Sam come to all the games...I've never seen you run so hard in your life!

Week 3 Scores

Sorry for the delay... Apparently the new ump is bad at getting the scores recorded in a timely fashion as well...  

Belated Game Recap: 2-1

Blogger had some issues this week and we are finnally able to post again... they even removed the stats update.. I had to re-enter them.  Anyway, we got a glimpse of Team Striechers last week (although it was hard to see them due to thier camoflauge jerseys).  Wah Wahh.  After a rough start, we handily took care of bizz nizz.  Down 5-2 after 2... we proceeded to score 7 runs in the third and played lock down D after that.  Our bats were very consistant as we totalled 26 hits in the game.  We play this team 2 more times later in the season so it is nice that we seem to match-up well against them.
Final Score: 17-6
Tom had his hitting streak snapped at 10 straight this week (nice run man), but Hof sprayed the ball all over the field, and over the fence to lead the offensive outbreak.

B-Dubs Playa of the Week
Scott Hofmeister
5-5 with a HR, triple, 3 runs and 4 rbi.
Nice game... if Derek wasn't so slow you would of had the cycle.

Week 2 Scores

Here are the scores from last night...  it looks like they got all the games in... not sure how, must have been a late night.  There were also a couple ties last night... and Park Tavern lost too.  I will try to get the stats updated over lunch...

Season has begun... 1-1.

In our first game against Doublewide in nearly a year, we came out swinging... scoring 10 runs in the first two innings.  For the most part our D was solid,  giving up 1 run or less an inning until the 5th when they heated up alittle bit.  After scoring 5 and cutting the score to 12-8...we answered with 7 the next inning (every hit coming with 2 outs by the way) and put the game away.  It was fun to play DW as they seem like a good group of guys, but it was apparent that they will be lacking swagger until thier new jerseys arrive.  I am sure the guy in charge of ordering those things is taking some heat today.
Final Score: 19-8

Game 2 against PT General Mortage was a completely different story.  We didn't get a chance to play them in the fall league last year, and we may have underestimated them because of that.  They have the appearance of a rag tag bunch of misfits with thier mis-matched jerseys older than average lineup.  Once they start swinging the bats though, your perception changes pretty quick.  These guys are for real... and thier lineup did not seem to have many holes.  With thier average age pushing AARP range, the thought was that thier defense would be lacking, but a few guys in the field have great range and fill the gaps pretty well....  They scored 5+ runs in multiple innings and kept us at arms length all game. We will see how things go, but these guys are the early favorites for the #1 seed. 
Final Score: 8-20

Overall, we played pretty descent this week, especially against Doublewide.  One guy in particular was very consistent.

B-Dubs Playa of the Week
Tom Barber
6-6 with a walk, 2 runs and 2 rbi.
Maybe that dislocated shoulder helped your swing huh??

Week 1 Scores

The season is finally underway...  Initial thoughts:  PT looks impressive.  The new guys Team Striechers look decent.  Doublewide looked rusty.  As for the Grizzlies... we looked really good...but that was mostly due to the new jerseys.

Opening Day!! (Finally)

One of the rare sunny days this spring finally falls on a tuesday....  It should be sunny and still close to 60 at gametime at 7.  Brian gave me an update on his concussion from this weekend.  He feels pretty good and is going to show up and give it a shot...  Well will have 11 guys so we should be ok if he can't go.  See you guys at field 5, second game is on 6.  Both these teams finished just ahead of us in the fall league so it should be a competive night....

Doublewide.... Destroyed by a tornado!
Park Tavern.... Liquor liscense revoked! 
We comin....  We comin!

Lock him up...

Well, since the rain has kept us from playing any meaningful softball this year, let's talk alittle nfl draft shall we.  This is who we need....  Your thoughts?  Post comments below...

"In his final 2011 NFL mock draft, Kiper has Locker back in the top-half of the first round. From what we've seen in the past few days, it appears Locker may be destined to come off the board when the Washington Redskins pick at No. 10 or the Minnesota Vikings pick at No. 12. Kiper agrees with the latter assessment and has Locker heading to Minnesota with the 12th pick, though he hints the Vikings may trade down with the belief Locker may still be around in the No 16 to No. 20 range."

Or should it be Andy Dalton?? 
http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/tag/_/name/2011-blogger-mock-draft
He sounds promising except for his red hair....
Red hair is a Red Flag

Chocolate Rain

Update 2:  The games were moved to the July 5th slot.

Update:  Just recieved an email... games are cancelled.  She will let us know when we are making them up later...  See you next week.

If I may steal a line from the Dereks favorite song...

Some stay dry and others feel the pain.  Chocolate Rain.

It is not looking good... they haven't officially called the games yet, but it will happen.  The rainout line says call back at 3:00...I will post official word then.  I am not sure when they will make up the games...In my opinion it would be smart to just slide the whole schedule back a week and extended the season.  But they will probably try to cram the games in on a day when half our team is out of town...  We'll see.  Later.

Tourney Recap

It was cold out there.  The rain wrapped up just before game time...but out of the 7 hours we were there, the sun came out for a total of 8 minutes...   Regardless, we got off to a great start.  A home run from Tom and 2 triples from Brian got our offense going.  We ended up winning the first round game 15-10.  2 hours later (and about 2 cases later) we were on the field against Jet Black (otherwise known as the New York Yankees).  I think they hit a total of 8 home runs.... luckily 6 of those were for outs.  Every ball was absolutely crushed... and our bats cooled off.  It was never close. The first game was alot more fun.  Final Score:7-18.  Moving on to the losers bracket we got the team that lost a tight close one to Jet Black in the first round. Our cold bodies started out slow and a bad first inning put us in a hole that we tried to claw our ways out off..  we were fighting to score runs to keep the game going...and did manange to make it to the 7th... but it was never close.  Final Score: 16-26.

Overall everyone had a good time.  The beer went down smooth and it was alot of fun swinging the sticks.  If the weather Saturday would have been more like this Sunday it would have been an absolute blast.  Everything was well organized and it will be fun to get back out there in May with the full squad and see what we can do.  Thanks to everyone who came out and played... it was fun.

View the Stats for the tourney here: Tournament Stats

Burnsville Tourney Info

Lac Lavon Field Burnsville
Take 35W south County Road 42 exit
Go East 1.7 miles to Lac Lavon Dr
Sounds like parking shouldn't be a problem.

Our First game is at 9:00 am, lets all try to be there by 8:30. Field B.
If we win, our next game would be at 12:15.... lose and it's 11:10.
 

 
 
 

Denny Crine

Practice Field Directions

We are on Field #2 (East Field) from 5:30-7:00 this coming Monday, April 11th.  Hope you can make it.  I will pass out the new jerseys here as well and we can get the team photograph out of the way... : )

Central Park Field #2

It is located right off of Excelsior Blvd. between 169 and Shady Oak. Field 2 is the one on the right (east side).  Parking...there is a parking lot to the NW of the field, or there are spaces along 13th Ave S. along the east edge of the field.


View Larger Map

Batting Average Record Holder

Today we put the lid on record holders week.  We have basically worked our way around the bases and through all the major statistical categories and even heard from each record holder about thier accomplishments.  There is only one record remaining.... the crown jewel of all stats.  Batting Average.  One player has dominated this category almost every season, here's what he has to say...

Batting Average Record Holder
Scott Hofmeister 

.831 Average
(SUMMER 2010)

"When I found out I am the all time batting champ I was not blown away, but what really suprised me is that someone else actually snuck into the top 5. I figured since we have played 5 seasons I would be the top 5 spots, but I guess that boredom of always being on top got the best of me.

I started out this past summer with a different mindset. I knew Wunder was out, Fosmo couldn't do anything but pop out, and the team couldn't rely on poeple like Nelly for power. So I decided to take you guys on my back and try to hit some home runs. Little did I know, I am one of the few poeple in this world who can dominate the longball and the average. I had .900 in my sights for a while, but no protection behind me in the lineup allowed the other teams to pitch around me and throw me junk (and I kept swinging because I hate walking). It even got to the point where one pitcher said he was never gonna throw me a strike again. Even with all the heckling from Nelly trying to bring me down, I still coasted to the triple crown with relative ease.

Its doubtful you see this type of season again as my legs and the freak are getting older, but I will still be your fearless leader who you guys all look up to (not literally). I know you are all honored that they get to play on the same field as me, and I am honored that you will one day be telling your grandkids about my awe-inspiring summer."

RBI and Home Run Record Holder

Only 1 guy in team history holds more than one record, and today is his day to pay him the respect he so richly deserves.  The season was 2008, the player was Brent Wunderlich.  This is his long and somewhat rambling story...

RBI's Record Holder
Home Run Record Holder
Brent Wunderlich
21 Home Runs
70 RBI's(SUMMER 2008)

"Wow I don't know what to say, I would like to start like every rapper does with his Grammy speech and thank God. The physical talent he has given me has allowed me to become the softball player I am today.

2008 was a very average season for the Dirty Grizzlies. It was our first year and no one had any idea of what really to expect. The Dirty Grizzlies' 2008 season just further showed that a team cannot be carried to excellence by just one person. But it would have been great to see what would have happened had I not excelled the way I did. My bet would have been in the cellar at a Kansas City Royal's like record of 3-16.

However, I do have a lot of people to thank for the records that I hold (and unless I personally break them will continue on for many years). First of all I need to thank Derek for all of the "hits" he got in the 2008 season. His ability to continually get the guy ahead of him out without being turned into a double play allowed innings to continue resulting in people being on base when I came up.

Second I need to thank two people for their lack of ability to hit home runs. Scott, the fact that you refused to work out prior to the 2008 season allowed you to only hit the ball to the warning track (with a roll) but couldn't ever put the ball over the fence. Fosmo, thank you for using "heavy bats" prior to starting that year out. I just knew after that spectacular showing of power at the first batting practice that, I would be able to use up all three home runs in a game if I wanted to. You two personally allowed me to relax and drive the ball consistently over the fence.

Then there are the other people that were on the team in 2008 that are still on the team today that I need to thank...thanks Brad.  For the rest of the teammates that have come and gone over the last two years good riddance, we're better without you.

2008 left us with a lot of good memories:
- Me breaking a Dirty Grizzlies Sub's (Creglow's?) back window of his car with a home run (there were 19 home runs others but I will limit it to this one)
- Nelly's first attempt at showing us his hustle with his head first slide into 3rd base
- Nick catching a ball with his eye
- I am sure Brad and Derek fought sometime during the season

I am glad to be in the Dirty Grizzlies Record Book, I am proud of my accomplishments and promise no asterisk is required.  So to sum it up...you're welcome."

Triples Record Holder

Today we are honoring Joey, who holds the record for triples in a season.  Even though he decided to no longer play with the team, we just can't forget about him and his achievments  Out of all the records, triples and doubles seem like the mostly likely to fall in the coming years, so we need to honor these guys while we can...

Triples Record Holder
Joey Lewis 
5 Triples
(SUMMER 2008)
"I can remember all five triples from that season like they happened yesterday.  I still get goosebumps thinking about them.  There is no feeling in the world like running 3 bases at full speed after crushing a round piece of leather to the gap.  For those of you who have never done such a thing, I would say its feels somewhere between scoring a touchdown on a kickoff return with only 1 shoe on, and being the captain of the space shuttle.  Maybe that's why they say that triples are the most exciting play in softball.  And since I lead the team in triples, well then it's safe to say that I am the most exciting player in Dirty Grizzlies history."

Doubles Record Holder

I really did try to find a decent picture of Fosmo... one where he wasn't wasted and falling over himself.  Needless to say it was a tough job, but I did eventually find this one, were it looks as though he has only had a few drinks to this point.  Congrat Fos... why don't you have a drink to celebrate.

Doubles Record Holder
Eric Fosmo 
10 Doubles
(SUMMER 2009)
"There once was a season in which I hit 10 doubles; if I was as fast as Scott I surely would be talking about triples. But good thing I have more speed than Berube, so first base wasn’t the only thing for me."

Hits Record Holder

Today we are recognizing Derek, the all time leader in hits... Due to the significance of this accomplishment, Derek was apparently able to convince the Twins beat writer for fish wrap factory west side of the river to do a article....

Hits Record Holder
Derek Berube 
55 Hits
(SUMMER 2008)
The phrase, "chick's dig the long ball" is as out as acid washed jeans. Everyone knows that every team needs a table setter....and I feel that is where Derek Berube lands. When remembering back to the 2008 season he remembers the ups and downs of sub 500 softball. Throughout the year one thing was constant, a lead-off man that got on base. With a combination of skill and speed, Berube was able to make a difference in a season that was as exciting as a New Ulm State Hockey Match-up. 

After a game Brent Wunderlich said, "without the top hit man in the league my records wouldnt be what they are" he continued, "without a guy on base, my RBI's would be way down."

The grizzlies #3 hitter, Scott Hofmeister, often praised Berube saying, "If I had speed like him, I would use it to my advantage....the kid knows how to play ball and his speed is what sets him apart"

"Every game Derek brought what was needed to this team. Heart, Skill and Speed." Coach Brad Neuerburg said. "Filling out the lineup card is very easy when you combine those three characteristics, all in one player"

What is more impressive is that Berube was able to gather all of those hits without hitting a single homerun. "Singles, doubles and triples are my calling card....I am trying to be part of a team" said the humble Berube. "if everyone does their part, this team can go far" he added.

With what may go down as the best hitting season of all-time all Berube could say was, "I would trade every hit for a win, that's what this is all about....winning" That attitude makes Berube not only very likeable, but a role-model for children of all ages.

We can all stand to learn a thing or two from Derek Berube.
Lavelle E Neil III - Star Tribune

Record Holders Week! (Runs Scored)

All this week we will be recognizing the members of an elite club...Dirty Grizzlies Record Holders.  Our team has finally been in existence long enough to establish "meaningful records", and since it looks like it will be weeks and weeks until we are actually able to step foot onto a softball field without winter boots, lets reminisce about these historic seasons...  I have asked them to send in there thoughts about there accomplish ment.  Lets start with Runs Scored and work our way up...  Here we go, in thier own words....

Runs Scored Record Holder
Tim Erickson 
41 Runs Scored
(SUMMER 2010)
"It’s hard to put such a great individual accomplishment into words. I mean when you have somebody hitting behind you with a horrific batting average it’s pretty incredible to score that many runs.

 I am very happy my leading off and steals could add to my record. This may be one that never gets beat unless someone is taking performance enhancing drugs and in that case I would like an asterisk by their name and my name to remain in the record book. Most of all I would like to thank my critics who didn’t think I’d ever score this many times, it really was my driving force…"  - Tim

Early Season Tournament

Burnsville Tournament
Saturday April 23rd (Saturday before Easter)
3 game minimum

Here is who is in so far...
Brad
Tom
Jon
Joran
Brian
Cary
Wunder (maybe)
http://www.ci.burnsville.mn.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=2125
Reply back to my email if you are interested in playing....

Out
Miller
Derek
Kluge
Fos
Hof

Past Season Info Now Available

Well, here you go Miller...
All-time stats, standings, schedules/results and even the old postseason brackets are online now.  Check out the "past season info" section on the right side of the page...

Note: When going through this I realized that the last 2 games of 2009 were never put into the online speadsheet (must have been hung-over from the champagne)...I found the old scorebook and added the stats in.... as a result some of the all time records adjusted a bit.... example...Fosmo went from 11 HR's to 13, but his batting average went down slightly.  Nobody was moved out of the top 5 in any category though.

Website Updated

As you may have noticed, I have updated the 'ol website...

• Updated Top Section including the new logo and championship banner section
• Added Team Records area showing our previous seasons win/loss records
• Added Individual Stats area.... shows the stats of top 5 guys in each category since we started the team (Congrats to all of you who made the list)  For the rest of us, should give us some goals (how is the slowest guy on the team top 5 in triples??) :)
• Since Dead Money and Wild Turkeys are gone... I thought I would search for some more reading material... At the bottom right you will see that Doublewide started a blog as well as Amish Donkey Mob (who are apparently looking for a sponsor if you are interested).
• Updated link on championship poster...
• Last but not least, I added a page views counter to keep track of what is soon to be (no doubt because of these improvements) an extremly high volume of visitors.  I just hope Google can handle the traffic...

Hope you like the changes...  If you have any suggestions or anything else you would like to see on here, feel free to go suck it.  Just kidding, just let me know and I will see what I can do.  Later.

Look good play good right?

Everyones votes are in and the designer just got finished.  He had to make some tweaks to make it fit between the buttons on the front, but I think it looks awesome.  Thanks for everyones input the last few days!  Should arrive in 2 weeks or less....

Jersey Voting

If you haven't voted yet, be sure to send me an email.  So far two of the options are pulling ahead...  Still waiting for quite a few votes though.

Dead Money... disbanded!

Here is a list of the teams that have signed up for Tuesday Nights with us in Hopkins.... 

• Ballz Deep
• PT Genreal Mortgage
• BMW of Minnetonka
• Amish Donkey Mob
• Team Streichers
• Dirty Grizzlies
• Doublewide

You may notice Wild Turkeys are missing (remember their threats to leave last year after getting busted for consumption again), but more interesting yet, no Dead Money.  Dead Money has officially disbanded.... and the shake up has been much more drastic than the 2 team split described last year... Read below for info from a confidential source who emailed me this weekend...

"Yeah I kind of defected from the Dead Money team that you grew to love and hate. There is still some form (a shell) of the Dead Money squad that will be playing Thursday night in Minnetonka, and some of the guys are playing on a team Tuesday nights in Minnetonka called EagleStar, or EagleStar Plumbing...something like that.

 

I wanted to start my own team that would take things a little more serious and competitive, and I didn't feel right bringing in 'outside' guys that would displace original Dead Money players (since I'm not officially an original Dead Money player). So I created a new team, and partnered up with our shortstop (Nate Granum) in sponsoring the team (called Bulldog / Hose and Fitting Supply) and pulled the best players from Dead Money (Acker, the 3 lefty hitters, our pitcher, shortstop) and added some friends of mine, good players from some other leagues. The plan was to play Wednesday nights in Eden Prairie, but EP changed that night to co-rec, and made the most competitive league Tuesday nights...so we're playing Tuesday nights in EP now. We'll have to figure out some way to play against each other in a tournament or something.  

It was an easy decision cause I've always wanted to 'draft' my own team, but a tough decision cause of rivalries with you and Doublewide, the a-holes of BMW...

P.S. Early congratulations on your 1st or 2nd place finish this year! "

There you have it.... Dead Money....Dead.  As of last friday there is still 1 opening in the leauge, hopefully the Silver Bullets will make a comeback and fill the void.  Later.

Winter update

The snow is finally melting...just in time since I was starting to feel like this guy. In honor of the small patch of grass I saw today I thought I should show some signs of life on the softball blog.  We will be registering this week with the Rec Department.  Be ready to send in your league fees.  I will email you the final amount per person.  We are waiting for the last of the new jersey samples to come in to make the decision on those as well.  Looks like we will  have some good options.  The roster is starting to shape up as well... we currently have 10 for sure and with two more guys thinking it over.  Here is where we are at now...  Nelly is still unresponsive.

Brad #2

Derek #3

Tom #4

Brian #9

Joran

Wunder #24

Fosmo #25

Kluge #27

Hof #30

Cary #46

Tim (maybe)

Matt (maybe)

Nelly (who knows)