Woooooo! (Spoiler Alert: We Won.)

RECAP: Monday 6/16 vs. South Philly Tap Room

There was point early in the game when I started to regret my not-so-bold claim in the last blog post that we were “mostly competitive” in the league. It was after I popped up a lazy fly-ball out in top of the first inning, where TGT scored two runs but could have threatened for more. I think it occurred just before I misread a fly ball that fell for a single late in the bottom of the same inning, where SPTR scored ten runs and it seemed like they were never going to let us hit again.  In the hindsight of that particular moment, it occurred to me that perhaps even with such a mildly positive statement I might have been guilty of hyperbolic overreach, or at least extremely poor timing prior to a scheduled game against one of the league’s perennial contenders (SPTR lost in the CCSL Championship Game last year to Catahoula). As it happened I had nothing to worry about. 

TEAM	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	TOTAL
TGT	2	7	3	0	6	0	0	18
SPTR	10	0	0	2	0	0	0	12

 Our lineup and production on the evening:

• Dusty : 3 for 5, 3 runs
• Rafter: 4 for 5, four runs (didn’t make an out until the sixth inning!)
• Adam P: 3 for 5, run
• Special Sauce: 4 for 5, 2 runs
• TGTfan: 2 for 5, run, strikeout
•  Adam F: 3 for 5
• Grace: 2 for 5, 2 runs (first game played for TGT!)
• Paul: 2 for 5, run
• Max: 2 for 4, 2 runs
• Cassie: 4 for 4, 2 runs  

The top of our order was phenomenal at getting on base and driving in runs. Dusty and Rafter were essentially unstoppable at the 1-2 slots, with both scoring in each of the first three innings as we clawed back from the early deficit. Our scorekeeper doesn’t record RBIs, but Special Sauce knocked in at least a handful. 

The bottom of our order just kept starting rallies. Cassie found her stroke with an incredible 4-for-4 night, crushing line drives to right field and even going opposite field once. Newcomer Grace had to dash home before the game just to get shoes in order to play, swung a bat for the first time in who-knows-how-long during a brief BP session 5 minutes before the game, and then knocked out a couple hits and scored twice.

Our saving Grace. Amazing Grace?

On the other hand we had TGTFan in the middle of the order… Christ, who invited that guy? Even casual observers (We had one! Shout-out to Papa Schwartz!) probably noticed that both of his “hits” were weak infield ground balls that should have been turned into outs by a less-than-sharp SPTR defense. I hear he even dropped a routine fly in the outfield in the fifth inning. A swinging strike-out in the sixth inning? Quite frankly: embarrassing. I think we all know who’s bringing the beer next week, because he owes the rest of the team for carrying his dead weight in the lineup all night.

Paul doesn't think I deserve that beer. He's probably right.

The story of the game: a terrible defensive first inning, followed by six innings of inspired softball where we outscored the Tappers 16 – 2 and won relatively easily, holding them scoreless over the final three frames. SPTR had some defensive struggles that helped us out, but we also did our part to create them, with quality ABs and far fewer lazy fly balls than we've been used to. It was a nice way to break out of a five-game losing streak and pick up some momentum heading into the final stretch of the season.

Victory Photo!

Various Notes and Observations:

• Walk-up music was in full effect, and went smoother than the trial run against P&P. Love it!
• Big defensive stand in the bottom of the seventh after an error allowed SPTR to turn the lineup over with two outs and subsequently load the bases. Paul snagged the hot shot at third and won the footrace to the bag (I’m not sure but I think his hat even stayed on his head.) to close out the game...
• Thanks to Rafter for providing the game beers, and thanks to Kyle from the Nomads for fueling the post-game celebration by unexpectedly showing up with a cooler of booze left over from their loss to Catahoula. Condolences on losing the bid for an undefeated season, but appropriate that last year's undefeated champion took it from you.
• Our Russian surveillance expert went missing for the second straight contest. We’re hoping he hasn’t been “picked up for questioning." Please report any tips, leads, or reported sightings to the blog. 

FINAL SCORE: TGT 18, SPTR 12

NEXT GAME: Wednesday, June 25th at Edgeley #3 vs. NCC

Rainy Days

Continuing our seemingly interminable slog through the CCSL version of Murderer's Row, Tuesday evening we faced off against the 2013 League Champion Catahoula Refugees.  Sadly, the better half of our dynamic blogging duo was unable to make the game - he mumbled something later about a fever, generic Nyquil, and hour-long imaginary conversations with his mother - and we have no photographic documentation of the game.

Yeah. Y'all are stuck with me and Chuck. Feel better soon, Sasha! And take it easy on the cold medicine, OK?

Back to the game. We were originally slated to play on Dairy #2, but some players on both sides felt that a swimming hole had no place on a softball diamond. Maybe they never learned to swim - it happens! We moved over a better-drained Dairy #1 after consultation with the proper authorities.

The rosters for both teams were a bit thin as 6:30 neared, and Schwartz was even trying to convince us that he could play despite having started drinking hours earlier and not yet being cleared to run by his doctors. The game was saved by the arrival of softball Nomads Joey and Johanna, who drove by the field after a rain-out with the Franklin Institute and happily agreed to stick around and play in our game instead. Johanna went to Catahoula, Joey hopped on board TGT, and the players took the field.

We were the Away team, and batted first. It was raining, Catahoula was missing some key players, and maybe we forgot what our respective records are. TGT batted all the way through the order, scoring four runs through a barrage of mostly singles. It was more runs than we've scored in an inning since - well, actually I don't know. Maybe we can get Pen & Pencil to start keeping our books. It wasn't the first time everyone in the lineup has come to the plate in an inning, but it might have been the second. It hasn't happened very often.

Then things got crazier. We took the field in the bottom of the first, and despite some funky bounces and crazy spin, we emerged *still* in the lead, having given up only two runs. Same in the second, or maybe the third - when we faced runners on second and third with two outs, but made the play to escape the inning unscathed. Francis, who arrived just after the third out in the top of the first, made a slick charging play on a grounder at shortstop for a bang-bang out at first. We were rolling! The bats had been quiet, but the defense was strong, and we were hanging in there! We had a chance! We--

The Refugees got a four-run fourth, or maybe it was the third(?) - on the strength of some well-struck fly balls over the outstretched glove of our outfield. Possibly catchable, but nonetheless impressive, they went for a two-run home run and a triple. After that, we held our ground, our bats continued to fail at replicating the early success, and we hit the later innings down just two runs. 

Cassie proved to be a better fielder than Charlie Brown, snagging a wicked comebacker for the second time in two games to close out the bottom of the sixth. But there was little drama in the seventh, as we got a runner to first but no further, with a couple relatively easy ground balls for the last two outs of the game.

Well, it rained for large portions of the game, and before. The rain wasn't bad, actually - I'd have traded more of it to get rid of the damn gnats that were swarming everyone's faces.  

Heroes of the game would probably include our one-day guest Joey, who played an excellent outfield (notwithstanding a missed catch in the first due to some wicked spin on the ball) and picked up a hit/RBI in our first inning rally. Cassie pitched effectively despite challenging conditions including a wet ball, vicious (albeit polite) Catahoula hitters and fielders trying to take her out, and gnats in her eye.

Goats have to include Rafter, who is caricatured by the unfortunate Lucy above. We'll cut him some slack though, given that he definitely wasn't feeling his most chipper self before the game and was probably distractedly brooding about his mortality as the clock of ages is about to tick up a notch for him. Wish him a happy birthday next time you see him! Mac came very close to goathood, calling off Cassie on an infield fly that dropped two feet in front of him, but was saved by the Catahoula player failing to run it out (There's a classic lesson in hustle, kids! Pay attention!). Additional goat status to everyone, including myself (but not Rafter), who failed to pick up a single base hit after the first inning. There were a lot of goats. It was like the goat races of beer-league softball! (We can do this every week, Sly Fox. You should co-sponsor us.)

And sometimes you lose five in a row. Hey, we're building a ton of character over here. And the schedule gets easier... soon... we think...

FINAL SCORE: Catahoula 6, TGT 4

It's probably time to send out some encouragement to a few folks who haven't been in regular attendance lately, because it has been a little more touch-and-go than we would like in terms of fielding a full team. We know, it's tough to make it out every week, and once you miss a game it's easier to miss the next one. Time to come back out! Comical losing streak notwithstanding, we've been reasonably competitive, consistently had beers to drink, and consistently had a pretty good time out on the field. Come on back out!

NEXT GAME: Monday, June 16th, Edgeley #8 at South Philly Tap Room

Editor's note: all images cribbed from the wonderfully bleak 3eanuts tumblr, without express permission of any kind. Check 'em out and perhaps gain a new appreciation for the original strip.

And Now, a Note for Our Sponsor

Yo!

Since this is allegedly a Center City league, I'm not sure how much of our readership pays attention to the news from out west, and it occurred to me that many of you may have missed this recent piece in West Philly Local covering the forthcoming expansion of The Green Tambourine Music Studio. Go check it out (the article) now, then go check it out (the studio) this weekend, during an open house on Saturday (9 am - 12 pm) and Sunday (2 pm - 4 pm).

Congratulations Ann! We wish you continued success in your endeavors, and we promise we won't show up to the open house drunk (again).

The Pen (and Pencil) Proves Mightier than the Tambourine

The second half of our double feature this week featured the gregarious guys and gals from the Pen & Pencil Club. Drew was back for this one, Francis made his debut, and the core of the regular lineup was intact -- so at least in theory this should have been the best team we've got, or close enough to it. However, putting theory into practice can be a challenge in any field of study, and Tuesday at Edgeley #8 we proved that there are still a few kinks to be worked out.

This is not to take away from an excellent game played by the Scribes. They hit up and down the lineup and to all fields, while we... didn't, including a distressing number of infield pop-ups. Smilin' Bob Ford's scouting trip on Monday might have paid dividends, because there were long stretches where we couldn't seem to BUY a hit. Of course, our usual gambit of bribing opponents with beer wouldn't have worked this time regardless -- As an experienced CCSL team, P&P defend against such tactics with an extensive supply of their own refreshment. 

As always against those folks, it was a relaxed game with plenty of friendly banter and shared beers at the end.  I encourage you to head on over to their blog and check out their recap. It's probably more entertaining and certainly more statistically accurate than anything you're going to get here.

Notable Quotes from the evening:

"Why won't you just take your walk!"
- Cassie, pitching to a very selective Scribe, after 9 straight balls

"Because we're no Art Museum!"
- Response from said Scribe, before belting a double to left

 FINAL SCORE: TGT 3, P&P 14

Your GIFs of the week...

Nice form!

Dusty getting dirty.

A note for our beer drinkers from the TGT Provisioning Dept: Schwartz ended up supplying beverages for both games this week. If you haven't brought a case yet, it's your turn! If you previously bought a round, it's time to start thinking about buying a second...

There are a few additional photos below the fold...

This week on "As the CCSL Turns"

It was a rough start to our double dip in the league this week, as we struggled to pull together a full roster for Monday's match-up against our arch-rivals, the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Blame Philly Beer Week, blame the routine scheduling conflicts that life brings, blame the perceived lack of fun involved in a game against the Grumpy Griffons. Whatever the cause, we were a few jangles short of a full tambourine and narrowly avoided an embarrassing forfeit. Thanks to newcomer Julia and the second coming of Max -- Heroes, both! -- We made it onto the pitch, down an outfielder but with our dignity, our pride, and our competitive spirit intact.

WHAT. A. GAME.

It was a defensive struggle early, with neither team able to cross the plate in the first three innings. We loaded the bases in the second on a series of dinks and dunks, but couldn't quite push anyone across. PMA had a lead-off batter thrown out while trying to stretch a double into a triple on an excellent relay from the outfield. Both pitchers were "effectively wild" and it looked to be shaping up to be a tight, low-scoring affair.

Then the 4th and 5th innings happened. PMA struck first, exposing some chinks in TGT's defensive armor, and a couple of well-struck drives went for extra bases. When we stepped to the plate at the "halfway" mark it was 3-0 Griffons. At the end of the 4th, it was 5-3 TGT. At the end of the 5th, it was 7-6 PMA.

These were dangerous waters. The PMA bats had come alive, and missing some of our own sluggers, we needed to stiffen up our defense to stay in the game. We held them scoreless in the top of the 6th, then evened up the game in the bottom half, when Special Sauce brought home Sir Adam with a booming double. At first and third with one out, we had a chance to retake the lead -- but failed. Alas. A quick and scoreless 7th inning for both teams meant extra frames. Free softball!

Farties Frank and Ray hit back-to-back two-out triples in the top of the 8th to score the first run in extras, but Julia -- Hero, I say again! -- struck back for TGT with a clutch two-out base hit of her own to drive in Sir Adam for the equalizer. And onward we went, through a scoreless ninth and to the fateful 10th.

Dusk was upon us, the cooler was nearly empty. I believe that both teams were becoming a bit fatigued. The Art Museum had the heart of their batting order up, but it seems some of the poor fellas were too tired to even swing the bat, taking some close (and a few not-so-close) pitches to garner a pair of walks in the inning. Our friend Frank, with the bases loaded and nobody out, couldn't even lift the bat to his shoulder. It dangled listlessly between his legs while the ball floated by, before he trudged down to first with a free pass and an RBI that put the Art Museum in front for good. Against the players that tried to hit the ball, our previously stout infield defense faltered, with nearly everyone making at least one fielding, throwing, or catching error in the inning, and our undermanned outfield was exploited as well. It was the classic big inning that wins CCSL games.

When the dust settled, PMA had scored 6. We took our hacks in the bottom half, but were unable to make up the deficit.

CONTROVERSY!

It wouldn't be a real TGT-PMA game without at least a smidge of soap-opera theatrics, but it all came out in the wash at the end. PMA vigorously protested a close play at second, and we more privately expressed our skepticism regarding a call at first a bit later in the game. Both teams tried to walk off the field prematurely in separate innings, and there was a brief delay late in the game while PMA complained about the location of home plate and we moved it for them.

All in all: ten innings, seven ties or lead changes, all the drama you could want in a beer league rivalry game, and not more. While there may have been some petty squabbles and disagreements on the field, nobody resorted to sophomoric name-calling or threats of physical violence -- at least not publicly. It was, dare I say, fun. And that, friends, is a WIN in my book.

...Except that we actually did lose. We'll get you next time, PMA! (shakes fist at sky)

FINAL SCORE: PMA 14, TGT 8 (10 Innings)

How I Met My Nickname

“Grandpa Mac! Tell us a story! Tell us the story about the ball!”

“You mean that neon yellow softball in the place of honor on the mantle, the one with all the signatures on it? That ball?”

“YES! Tell us the story!”

“Aren’t you little rascals supposed to be in bed? Besides, I’ve told you that story a thousand times. I swear, children these days have the attention span of a gnat. 

"Why, back when I was a young person we didn’t have these new-fangled brain implants. We had to get our information from our phones or tablet computers, just like God intended (Phones and tablets were things we had to use to communicate with other people and watch youtube videos because – ah, never mind). Why you kids barely comprehend the notion of storing information in your brain at all. 

"Leave Grandpa alone. He is tired and needs his bourbon.”

“Come on GRANDPA, we wanna hear the story. Pleeeease…”

“Fine, fine. I can’t say no to you little brats anyway. Ahem. Ok. Here goes. Are you paying attention this time?

“I remember it like it was just last Wednesday. Your grandpa was part of a softball team back then, in a small Philadelphia-based league of roughnecks and hooligans called the Center City Softball League. I don’t mind saying that your grandpa was kind of a star of that team, in his own right. 

“Anyway, that particular game, the one where I got the ball, it was on a somewhat rainy Wednesday at a field called Edgeley #3. Now, the CCSL wasn’t known for top quality groundskeeping, but Edgeley #3 was actually in pretty good shape, considering. The infield was all dirt, but it was mostly soft and generally smooth, not like that broken concrete at Dairy #4 that would tear chunks of flesh out of your leg if you tried to slide into second base, it was just a terrible—“

“GRANDPA! That’s boring.”

“Right, right. The point is that the field was in pretty good shape. Kind of a shame we only had one more game scheduled there the whole season. Anyway... We were playing a group of Nomads from South Philly. They were undefeated on the season to that point, and although the Green Tambourines – that was the name of our team – were not at the complete bottom of the league standings, we were coming into the game on a bit of a losing streak and most people didn’t think we had much of a chance to win. It was a pretty big mismatch, at least on paper.”

“Grandpa, was it like the USA vs. Russia in the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid?”

“How the hell do you know about that?”

“WikiBrain just suggested it as a related link to your story because it was a sporting contest that was also perceived to be a big mismatch on paper.”

“Maybe you should just pay attention to the story that you INSISTED I tell you, instead of playing around on WikiBrain. Anyway, sure, I guess it was sort of like that. The Nomads lived up to their reputation – they were excellent in the field and at the plate. They seemed to have a good strategy for hitting with wooden bats. See, a lot of CCSL players – including a few Tambourines, if I’m being honest – still hit as if they were using aluminum bats, trying to rip the cover off the ball. This meant a lot of easy fly ball outs, especially against teams with a talented outfield. The Nomads seemed to have a knack for placing the ball around the field wherever the fielders weren’t, and sacrificing power for accuracy. It worked.”

                “Is that what YOU did, Grandpa?”

“Oh, no… Your grandpa wasn’t some chump who had to throttle back the big guns in order to get base hits. I just looked for the gaps in the outfield, and then hit the ball there so hard that the fielders couldn’t get over in time to catch it. That’s how I was able to hit two home runs in that game. Yep! TWO HOME RUNS.”

                “Two REAL home runs, Grandpa?”

“Fine, if you little pains in the ass want perfect accuracy at the cost of a better story, I’ll admit that the first one was more like a triple plus an error on the Nomads. But that second shot was a fully legitimate home run. You should have seen it, kids! I was racing around the bases while the Nomads turned and chased after the ball that had just zipped past them. Credit to those guys, they didn’t give up on it, and there was very nearly a play at home plate. Unfortunately for the Nomads, but perhaps luckily for Grandpa Mac, the relay throw came in a little high as I slid into home and kicked up a spray of dirt. 

"We’ll never know for sure if a more accurate arm could have changed the outcome of that play, but between you and me -- they never had a chance. The Nomads were so impressed with my play that the entire team signed a softball and presented it to me after the game. That’s the ball up there on the mantle, kids. It’s one of my most cherished possessions from my days in the CCSL.

"They started calling me ‘Special Sauce’ after that game, because my play was so special, and um, saucy. At least I think that’s where the name came from.”

                “Grandpa, did your epic home run win the game for the Green Tambourines, beating the fearsome Nomads like Team USA beat Russia in 1980?”

“Err, no, unfortunately. We lost.”

                “Oh. It must have been close though, right?”

“Not really. Now go to bed.”                                                                         

Final Score: SPN 16, TGT 5

NEXT GAME: Monday, June 2nd at Edgeley #8 vs. PMA

Editor’s note: We’re glad that our team photographer made it back for this game, so we don’t have to try to compensate for shitty pictures with lousy editing. We’ll leave that to BC, as frankly they’re much better at it anyway. Also, it takes way too much time. More photos from Wednesday’s game below.