Arrogance Attitude Humility Pride and Are We Having Fun Yet?

After Monday's Conehead game, which we lost 15-12 to the Waitlisters to go 0-2 for the first time certainly in my time with the Coneheads, perhaps in team history, and certainly in the 'modern age' of the Heads, I went out to dinner at the Hofbrau in Orinda with my girl.

Across the restaurant were Johnny's Gang - a team that has never finished with more than three wins in a season for as long as I have archives of the standings and probably any time in my 13 years in the league and beyond. They had just lost, yet again, to the Usual Suspects, the other bottom feeding team, 18-15. It must have been frustrating - a game they clearly had a chance to win, only to lose once more. These guys were chatting away, drinking beer, eating sandwiches, having a grand old time. You would have thought they won by a landslide.

Across town a few minutes earlier, after Chopper got ignominiously tagged out trying to stretch a single into a double with two outs in the seventh and the tying run coming to the plate, the heavens opened up and it was raining steadily by the time we got to the parking lot. The Coneheads parted one by one, no beer, no eats, barely a goodbye.

The two teams were, by the end of that night, tied for last place at 0-2, the only teams that had not won a game yet. Setting up a match tonight whereby the loser would be in last alone. Alone. How the mighty fell.

I sometimes wish we were made up like Johnny's Gang. We take losing so damn seriously. It's only rec league softball. Why can't we go out on the town, win or lose?

It is who we are - we are Coneheads and we expect to win every game, and we don't like it when it doesn't happen.

Oh, we had our excuses - We had too many players in the lineup in the first game, we were missing four of our power hitters and best defensive players in the second, the new mat is too small, keep 'em coming. But we just weren't playing well, like the team that has won five straight championships. We were tight, and I don't mean like a tight defense.

So tonight the stars seemingly could have been aligned for the most embarrassing loss of all, to the lowly Gang. We still were missing both Gregs, Lefty, Dizzy D, and Chopper. That's a lot of firepower. Not to mention D's bat which a lot of us use. And Haz is still hobbled, leaving us with really just two true outfielders. On top of that we had that insane umpire who was actually voted out by the managers, and somehow managed to keep his job torturing us. He actually made up yet another rule tonight - if you stretch over home plate, scoring becomes like a running back breaking the plane of the goal line in football, any part counts if it beats the ball. Really? And the mat is still too small.

We started off well enough, batting around and scoring six. Sting had the biggest hit, a triple (was that a Conehead triple?). As it turned out that was enough, but we didn't know it. We gave away three in the bottom of the first - of course our outfield was playing in the next county, and they snuck in a couple of soft liners and bloopers and we contributed with a couple of errors, and they closed to 6-3. The next four innings almost no one scored. In fact just the Heads with two. In the second it took us two hits and two outs just to get a single run - certainly not a Conehead Inning. Same in the fifth - took us five batters to get a run. It was as if we were waiting for Johhny's Gang to come up with the upset.

But in the top of the sixth we finally, finally, broke through with a Conehead inning late. Joe and Haz started it with singles and after Chuck hit a hard fly ball for a sac fly, we got five straight hits and seven of the next eight reached base. Don got a clutch two out two run single in there.

In a bit of comic relief, Will the Pill umpire decided the game was over - the ten run mercy rule after six. The guy really wanted to go home. I was sure that he was making up more rules. I looked it up - dammit if he wasn't right - fifteen runs after five innings, ten after six. But the teams have the option of finishing the game if there is time, and we took that decision right away from Will the Pill, we had tasted of the Conehead inning and it was good.

Of course what did we do - one, two, three, and nothing across. But then so did the Gang, aided by (finally) our signature double play Chuck to Chuck to first. Game over 15-5. Disaster averted.

Who knows, perhaps we are over our funk now. We will find out Monday against Bay Alarm nee Pennini's, in what should have been our first real test of the season - now they all will be.

Kinda glad - will keep us on our toes. And perhaps Monday, since we can't drink at the JM field any more, we will go enjoy life, and a few of us will take in a roast beef sandwich at the Hofbrau or pizza at Round Table. Relax and even enjoy each other's company, life is too short to just hop in our cars and go off into the night.


Milestones:
6/17
Gene        350 r (#10)
6/24
Chuck      350 g (#2)
6/27
Joe           1150 ab (#3)
Ol' G        300 rbi (#13)

MVP Season

Post Season awards are voted on before the playoffs. So it is time to select the best of each category for Transdyn's FIRST UNDEFEATED season in team history.

We came close in the fall, but now we have done it. Tonight we got a scare against perhaps the next best team. We had a 5-0 shutout through five, and Sir Guy was dealin', and our defense was solid - Hama made a leaping catch at SS, Rene made a running catch in shallow RC, and Pauly snared a very hot shot right at his head. But the two infield line drives were the only hard hits through five, that's how good Bill was. There were a couple of warning track fly balls as the Brews Brothers tried to hit five run home runs time and time again, but Timmy and Rams kept us out of trouble by tracking them down.

In the bottom of the sixth, the BB's suddenly discovered our secret - the long balls are good but so are grounders past the infield and line drives with runners on. They plated seven, and with our last chance looming and the Brewsers holding the hammer, it didn't look good. We just weren't hitting. But Rams and Heffe and Pauly set it up with three singles and up strode Mario, mired in a sort of season long slump (although as I told him he has gotten clutch RBIs all season - he is among the team leaders even though he hasn't hit for average as usual). He put the hurt on the Brews Brothers, clearing the bases with a drive over the right fielder's head, and then we added enough insurance that made a final comeback impossible for the Brothers. We led 11-7, and their lead-off hitter tried to hit a four run homer with no one on, and although he hit it out, they couldn't get another run, and the undefeated season is ours.

Dizzy D had a game with a towering home run and a laser double for an insurance run in the seventh. Hama couldn't let D overshadow him so he made it back to back after D's big blast. Rene proved he could lead off, getting on three times.Timmy had his usual three hits, and Pauly and Heffe two each.

There is only one vote for these awards so they are all unanimous. Some of the awards are easy: Rookie of the year: Rene. Comeback/Most Improved: Monty. Coach of the Year: Yours Truly. Cy Young: Of course Sir Guy. (Note, no competition in last two). Best Season derailed by injury: Jason.

Best Defense: hmmm, Tie, Nick and Rene. Nick still gets to balls no one else does, and has the best arm around. Rene has those young legs and has had chances to show off his speed and done so.

But MVP...you could make a case for Sir Guy. We just aren't where we are without his pitching, he has guys reaching all game just to hit cans of corn and weak grounders. You could say Timmy for his consistency at the plate and in LF. He actually caught a ball tonight without falling down or running into the fence, although he did the latter too. You could say Cage for his presence in LC - guys just don't run on him. And you could say Monty for his hot streak, 12 for 13 with two walks thrown in, and for making my mantra true - the bottom of the lineup hits, we win. Don't overlook the way he works with Bill behind the dish too - it's 'only slowpitch softball' but he and Bill have some chemistry as a battery. And he talks the other team and the umpire to death.

Jason was certainly on his way to an MVP season when he got derailed by injury. He finished the shortened season at .900. And then there are the two best hitters around any softball park anywhere. Hama hits the ball wherever he feels like in any situation. If you need a pooch single he's got that. Grounder through the 5-6 hole, got it. Home run over the fence, AOK. You don't hit .700 or better every season for no reason. And then there is Dizzy Heavy D. Guys lose sleep worrying about his swing. He almost never gets a pitch to hit, and when he does he hits these frozen ropes that have movement that causes good and great defensive players alike to lock up. That happened tonight on his double - if the RC fielder got a good read he might have been able to chase it down near the fence - but he just couldn't move. And it was hit so hard he probably had no hope anyway. D just completely ran away with the team RBI lead this season, tying Cage (last fall) for the best season ever with 34.

The rest of the team showed a lot of consistency this season, Pauly, Rams (who almost singlehandedly won last week's game and seems to never miss a fly ball), Heffe with his bloopers, Coop who always does what's asked, and of course Donnie Softball, who was a Great add for hitting and all around talent and his team first attitude (and by the way I have been opposite him enough times that it was sure great to be on the same side for once), and his patience and leadership.

Who did I leave out - just Rene, but he is already Rookie of the Year and his time will come.

So bottom line - my vote for MVP is divided into 14 pieces - everyone contributed - was patient, played defense, got their hits, and played unselfishly all season. That's how you go 12-0.

Enjoy the season ending stats but remember we still have something to prove next week - two more, double cotton and the rare undefeated season - we have half of it down, now let's do the rest.

Too Much Fun

No one should be allowed to have this much fun without sex being involved. Transdyn records are falling left and right and this on top of being pretty successful leading up to this point in team history.

One more win, most in team history in a season (tied now). I don't have to do the research for this one (and it would be a chore): Twelve walks in two games in a row. Five walks with the bases loaded, including Donnie twice. You say, is that really fun? Walking your way to an undefeated season? Are you real men or what?

Well try .641 as a team, if we keep that up, we will finish thirty seven points ahead of the current team record, just set in the fall.Team OBP - .666 (the devil made us take all the walks).

And the thing is when we do swing, it counts. Rams gets tired of taking ball after ball, swings at a ball three feet over his head, and it becomes a two run double when it sails over the left fielder's outstretched glove. Donnie walks his first three times up, then a bingo for two runs. Rene won't walk, but laces a couple of line drives in front of the center fielder. Then the poor bastard plays him shallow, and Rene burns him for a bases loaded triple. Timmy is Timmy with four straight hits, he tied the team record for hit in a season with two games to go. They don't want to pitch to Dizzy D - he was one of the five bases loaded walks; so he gets a couple of hits and absolutely crushes a ball to deep center, but the mush ball stays in, and he has to settle for a sac fly. Heffe hits a couple where they ain't, walks a couple of times, and slides like a 25 year old one time, and another time hustles home from first to get Rene his sixth RBI on the triple, and they all said NO you didn't (is it really showing the other team up to hustle when you are up 26-5?). Cage knocks the cover off the ball one time for a double en route to also going 2-2-2 (two abs, two hits, 2 walks). Hama gets three hits including one if his patented half swing pooches over the third baseman one inch from the foul line.

I won't even talk about Monty. OK, I will. The guy is on fire with ten straight hits or walks. He even beat out an infield hit on a great play by the SS on a grounder in the 5-6 hole. Can't get the guy out.

We're hitting on all cylinders, or walking, and playing the best D in the league, and not to mention we have the best pitcher in the league. Rene made the class play in LC diving for a ball tonight, and Dizzy D actually went DOWN to snare a grounder backhanded at third that was ticketed to left field to make an easy toss to get a force at second to end the game. Those youngsters in the other dugout must just be in awe.

I know I am.

Milestones:

Cage          350 rbi (#2)

Timmy        550 h (#3)

Hama         100 h (#21) (but probably the fastestto 100)

Business As Usual, and the Business is De-Construction

It used to be that we geared up for Advance Construction. Before my time in the league (and Pinky's), word is that we traded off every year with JFT the champions in the odd years, and Advance in the even (or was it the other way around?). As recently as last year they actually ended the regular season in first place. Then something happened - in the playoffs we and Pinky's drubbed them by a combined score of 40-10 (it was the highlight of our season when we smothered them 26-4, taking out all our Pinky frustration on them).

Steve who runs the league either has a sick sense of humor or is from another planet (I lean to the latter, I wonder what his birth certificate says). He rewards poor Advance by giving them three games against the undefeated Pink's and two against us. After Sunday there is no doubt that they will go 0-5 in those games. And, in Steve's Advanced Senility, he predetermined that Advance is one of the top three teams and so gets to face us and/or Pinky's again in the playoffs - no matter where they end up in the standings. And at the moment they are tied for sixth.

And let's face it we have their number now as we showed Sunday with another 14-5 rout.

We did it with the usual assortment of good defense and pitching and a couple of our patented long innings, and saved the great play for the last inning to stomp them out.

In the first we spotted them four runs, but answered with four to match. The fuel was Lefty's two run double, which accounted for half of his game high four RBIs. The next inning the bottom of the order produced two more and even though it remained close until the bottom of the fifth, there was never any doubt after that. But Advance hung in there until we batted around starting with our leadoff man Chico. Lefty had another two run hit and Ol' G hit a gapper for a two run double.

And to top it all off we turned a patented sharp 6-11-3 double play to snuff out any hopes of a rally in the top of the last inning. Chuck and Greg and I are getting to be quite the habit, and it's a good habit. The two of them work together like no other combo up the middle in the league.

Besides Lefty, Greg was the hitting star - he had four hits and two of them were laser drives down the left field line. Chopper had his usual 3-3 but no Goose that night, all singles. Too hard to go inside the park with the fence on field three. A bunch of us had two hits and Dizzy D combined them with two walks since they really didn't want to pitch to him, for a perfect night.

Now we have to make it through three games that should be ho-hum before we end up against Corona's and Pinky's to finish the season long quest to upend Pinky's out of first place. But one thing we know - we will probably face Advance Construction again in the playoffs, and there will be no fear in Creekville.

Milestones:

Chico        400 ab (#1)

Heffe         350 ab (#3)
Lefty         200 h (#4)
Sting         150 h (#6)

Sting         250 ab (#10)
Timmy       50 rbi (#12)

Dizzy D     10 bb (#12)

Just Another Notch On The Belt

C'mon guys, give me something. It's just been too easy. No controversy, no adversity. Where is Jason jawing at the other pitcher when we need him?

"In just another day at the office, Transdyn pummeled the Ringers 22-7."

"In just another Tuesday in paradise, Transdyn walked to a 22-7 win over the so-called Ringers."

"The Ringers proved to be just another obstacle in the path to a rare and hoped for accomplishment - the perfect season. Transdyn took advantage of 12 walks (!), waited for the opposing pitcher to groove it in his desperate attempts to throw a strike, clubbed the ball when he did, and routed the Ringers 22-7."

I probably shouldn't push it too far. The softball gods could get angry. We are just playing at a really high level right now. OK it's only D ball, but no one can touch us week to week. It's not over, and we have a lot left to achieve this season, but a 9-0 start is pretty fun.

Everyone, I mean everyone, showed patience. No one had more than three hits, because as usual we ended the game early, and all but two of us took a walk during the game. Four times with the bases loaded for an RBI. Some may make fun of taking a walk in softball, but it shows a level of unselfishness that leads to great team play.

Thanks to some pretty questionable baserunning (yes we do have something to work on), it actually was a game at 9-6 through three and then four innings. But we accomplished something rare indeed. In the top of the fifth, all twelve of us came up, got on base and scored - before there was an out. Talk about hitting being contagious. Cage started it with one of the hardest hits of the night, over the left fielder's head to the fence for a double. Donnie followed with his own two-bagger, and it was on. Not to be outdone by sonny boy, Sir Guy smashed his own double later in the inning for two runs. In total, there were ten hits and five walks and suddenly it was a rout at 22-6. One run allowed in the bottom of the fifth, and the slaughter was over.

Bill had his usual night of making the youngsters reach for balls dying on the corners, and on the front edge. Pauly had a day at third, throwing out a bunch of runners, as did Hama at SS. Our rookie of the year, Rene had the only perfect 3-3 game (with one of the bases loaded walks thrown in) and made a tremendous catch in left field. Timmy showed him how it's done with an even better one...and the amazing part was after he leapt up, caught the ball, and was falling down, he transferred the ball to his right hand to show he caught it to one and all. Greatest show on earth at that moment.

One more win, we clinch a tie for the regular season. Let's get that first. This is the third season in a row with at least nine wins after a grand total of two in the first 24 seasons in Pleasanton. But we won't be satisfied this season until we are the last team standing. Yes a good win, but we need to win one at a time for several more weeks yet.

Milestones:

Coop        1250 ab (#1)
Mario        450 ab (#10)

Mario        150 r (#10)

Goose Goose - Chopper Hammers Slammers 6-3

I'm not one to tell the coach how to set the lineup. Not much. I wouldn't dream of it.

However, let's just say that Chopper used to follow me in the lineup and we had this little game. I would get one of my patented little singles and he would follow up with a blast to the hinterlands of the outfield. Now some may have noticed I am a little on the slow side. He would chase me around the bases as the outfielders chased the ball, and get a head of steam around third and come into home just behind me and try to goose me.

I know, I know, this is way too much information on a public web site. But the situation is kinda hilarious and the fact that it has happened time and time again makes one think that this is the way the lineup should be.

What makes it even more fun is that there are real geese on the fields in Walnut Creek, and as Chopper's smashes scatter them, I try to stay ahead of him and get home before I become the goose.

Tonight with our depleted lineup - we only had ten players at game time - we were back to back as we should be. Twice he came up with me on first and another runner ahead of me on the bases, and twice he hit a blast, once to right and once to left center, and the result was six runs. It was more than we needed as we drubbed the Slammers 17-3.

This was also helped by our fabulous defense. Chuck and Greg in the middle infield had an outstanding game, turning three double plays, once from Greg to Chuck to first and twice from Chuck to Greg to first. On one of the latter Greg did a nifty pirouette and deftly fired a strike to first. It was something to behold.

Haz added a great catch on a sinking liner for the third out after one of the DPs. It came on a batter that had burned us on the only hit that really hurt as it split the right fielders for an extra base hit and a run a couple of innings earlier. So Jeff was playing deep and had to run a long way in to snag the third out in the fifth. He even did the tumbling rollover. Ten points, Jeff. Talk about a shutdown inning.

In a sideshow, the leadoff batter for the Slammers had hit a shot up the middle that Joe grabbed out of the air on the first pitch of the game. Later when Joe hit a grounder that the opponent pitcher nearly mishandled, the latter took umbrage, and even had some sore loser words after the game...what??? who went up the middle first?

It was mostly just the fact that the Slammers got slammed by too much JFT hitting and defense, and this was with us missing three of our best hitters. The Slammers with their 4-3 record going in must have thought they had moved into the league elite, and we had taught them a lesson.

Chopper with the heffe assist led the way with four hits apiece. Nomah was just behind with three hits and a walk and the game winner on a double in the first inning to plate Chuck. Randy and Timmy were right there with him with three hits. Chuck was his usual nuisance self with two hits and two walks. Special thanks to Gene for showing up to give us a full squad so that Greg could return to his schmiddler position, which led to the three DPs.

Next week Advance Construction, it's looking like a two team race, and beating them again will just reinforce that notion.

Milestones:
(last week)
Lefty        20 3b (#1)
Lefty        150 rbi (#1)
(this week)
Chuck      30 bb (#2)
Heffe        200 h (#3)