Who's Got It Better Than Us?
Conebody!
Seven Cotton Championships in a row, 2 cities, 3 1/2 years!
Conebody!
Who can win six in a row in a double elimination tournament...somebody...who does it twice in a year, in two leagues in different cities?
Conebody!
Who doesn't even make a single out in the entire season and playoffs?
Joe-body!
Who can hit the pitcher THREE times in a game and the guy doesn't want to fight you?
Chopbody!
Who can hit a laser shot so far into the night that he can hobble around the bases on one knee and get a home run?
Derekbody!
Who can take a year and a half off, be rusty as hell for about one game, and then hit balls the opposition is still looking for, and everyone on our bench says, 'he didn't even get all of that one'?
Pope-body!
Who gives it his all, plays his heart out, gets phased by nothing, and finally finishes a playoff series without hobbling off the field injured?
Ol' G-body
And so on...
So it just isn't fair...I'm going to wax arrogant, and probably jinx the hell out of future seasons but here's the thing - no one stops the Coneheads, except, occasionally the Coneheads themselves. The other team doesn't have a chance. Jinxes no longer matter - we could stop here and it's been the best run probably anyone on this or any team has ever seen since the Yankees in the 50s. I don't even think they won seven in a row though.
I mean, this was a year for the ages...no one wins two postseasons in a row from the losers' bracket. It just doesn't happen. We won 15 games in the two regular seasons, and then nearly as many in the playoffs - 12. We got to play the maximum number of games possible - 33. Only in 2002, when we played three seasons, did we play more games. We won 27 games, matching last year's total, but remember they shortened the Orinda season by three games.
There is no way to top this...who can do it better than that? Nobody, including us.
So, there are only two choices, hang it up, or just add some 'extra challenges'. Well, as the coach in the summer season, I say that next year we are going to have to take on some extra burdens. I hereby declare that next year there will be three designated runners, who will run whenever anyone else gets on base - me, Joe and Derek. That will slow down the Conehead train.
On second thought that won't hold us back at all - in a Conehead inning, everyone hits, so we would just move around the bases one at a time. We had innings of 15 runs and 16 runs in the two championship games against DubMD to salt them away for the long off-season - do you really think it mattered who was running?
So we have to go one step further...Pope has to bat right-handed. I'd say Derek too, but I'll bet he hits it just as hard from the other side. Joe has to pitch lefthanded, and Gene has to run on stilts. Johnny and Randy - they have to go play on another team, say the Old Scouts. Reggie has to try to jack the ball over the outfield every time. Lefty has to drink and herbalize before and during the game, wait, he already does that. Markley has to carry his future twins in matching baby packs, one in front and one in back. Larry has to pitch without the use of any eyesight correction mechanisms. Chuck has to play without getting dirty, one dive and he's suspended indefinitely. Knight has to play in full armor. Ol' G has to run into a concrete wall before every game so he plays concussed. Speaking of Chopper - well, the Chopper school of baserunning is already, um, shall we say non-standard? So don't change a thing.
There - now we have a challenge. But you know what - we'd still win, cause as we demonstrated this year, it doesn't matter the adversity, we will find a way. It's the Conehead Way.
Of course I kid you - the thing about the Coneheads is every single season we are back, and believing that no one will stop us this season either. And so it will be in June and September next year.
DubMD was the hot team in the playoffs - they have added some new talent. They showed us in the first game that they have the means to beat us - once. They had us behind in the second game 11-7, 12-9, and 17-13. Chuck did have just about the clutchest hit of the night with a bases loaded triple in the fourth. When he scored on Sting's single, it seemed like that was going to be the hit of the game. But after BudMD took back the lead with five in the bottom half, it turned out all that was a warmup to the first of the great Conehead innings. Fifteen runs followed by a Larry shutdown fifth, and it was all over at 28-17. The highlight of that inning was the sight of Derek hobbling around the bases for a two run homer while they searched for the ball he hit in Clayton. Even though BubMD rallied for nine runs in the last two innings, we might as well just have gone to the final game at that point, as we finished 32-26.
In the finale, they had us down 8-2, scoreless for two innings in a row. Then Sting hit a colossal home run to start the fourth, and it was off to the races. We had nine straight hits sandwiched around a walk to Ol' G, then two quick outs followed by seven more in a row. This was the best Head rally and tally of the night - sixteen runs all told. Five players had two hits in the inning. The other key hit was a bases loaded triple by Lefty. Up 18-8.
DudMD again rallied, closed to four down twice the next two innings. But at that point the only drama was when were the lights going out on them, figuratively and literally. When they finally did go off in the bottom of the sixth, it was the kindest kind of mercy rule - they knew and we knew, they were beat. 32-26 and 25-19 sounds like they were close but it was truly a beatdown.
And so history was made - Conehead History. When we won four titles in a row early in the last decade we thought this would never happen again, and here we stand with seven in a row. Was this year the sweetest? We have gone seasons undefeated before, and we have won the championship from 3rd and 4th place finishes. But two in one year from the losers' bracket, somehow the sheer surprise value makes this year the highest of the highs. Markley brought up a very interesting and fun stat - in this tournament we ended five of the seven teams' (that lost) seasons - the Swingers and Shenanigans got off easy - they didn't have to face us with our backs against the wall.
Or was this the greatest just because it's the latest? Check back next year; we will find out then.
All I know is I didn't want this year to end, and I don't want this run to end.
Milestones:
Game 1:
Larry 130 bb (#2)
D 200 rbi (#17)
Game 2:
Gene 500 h (#10)
Ol' G 400 h (#13)
Chopper 200 rbi (#18)
Lefty 250 ab (#20)
Randy 10 2b (#28)
Game 3:
Heffe 600 r (#2)
D 250 h (#17)
Chopper 100 g (#18)
Randy 50 r (#28)
Conebody!
Seven Cotton Championships in a row, 2 cities, 3 1/2 years!
Conebody!
Conebody!
Joe-body!
Who can hit the pitcher THREE times in a game and the guy doesn't want to fight you?
Chopbody!
Who can hit a laser shot so far into the night that he can hobble around the bases on one knee and get a home run?
Derekbody!
Who can take a year and a half off, be rusty as hell for about one game, and then hit balls the opposition is still looking for, and everyone on our bench says, 'he didn't even get all of that one'?
Pope-body!
Who gives it his all, plays his heart out, gets phased by nothing, and finally finishes a playoff series without hobbling off the field injured?
Ol' G-body
And so on...
So it just isn't fair...I'm going to wax arrogant, and probably jinx the hell out of future seasons but here's the thing - no one stops the Coneheads, except, occasionally the Coneheads themselves. The other team doesn't have a chance. Jinxes no longer matter - we could stop here and it's been the best run probably anyone on this or any team has ever seen since the Yankees in the 50s. I don't even think they won seven in a row though.
I mean, this was a year for the ages...no one wins two postseasons in a row from the losers' bracket. It just doesn't happen. We won 15 games in the two regular seasons, and then nearly as many in the playoffs - 12. We got to play the maximum number of games possible - 33. Only in 2002, when we played three seasons, did we play more games. We won 27 games, matching last year's total, but remember they shortened the Orinda season by three games.
There is no way to top this...who can do it better than that? Nobody, including us.
So, there are only two choices, hang it up, or just add some 'extra challenges'. Well, as the coach in the summer season, I say that next year we are going to have to take on some extra burdens. I hereby declare that next year there will be three designated runners, who will run whenever anyone else gets on base - me, Joe and Derek. That will slow down the Conehead train.
On second thought that won't hold us back at all - in a Conehead inning, everyone hits, so we would just move around the bases one at a time. We had innings of 15 runs and 16 runs in the two championship games against DubMD to salt them away for the long off-season - do you really think it mattered who was running?
So we have to go one step further...Pope has to bat right-handed. I'd say Derek too, but I'll bet he hits it just as hard from the other side. Joe has to pitch lefthanded, and Gene has to run on stilts. Johnny and Randy - they have to go play on another team, say the Old Scouts. Reggie has to try to jack the ball over the outfield every time. Lefty has to drink and herbalize before and during the game, wait, he already does that. Markley has to carry his future twins in matching baby packs, one in front and one in back. Larry has to pitch without the use of any eyesight correction mechanisms. Chuck has to play without getting dirty, one dive and he's suspended indefinitely. Knight has to play in full armor. Ol' G has to run into a concrete wall before every game so he plays concussed. Speaking of Chopper - well, the Chopper school of baserunning is already, um, shall we say non-standard? So don't change a thing.
There - now we have a challenge. But you know what - we'd still win, cause as we demonstrated this year, it doesn't matter the adversity, we will find a way. It's the Conehead Way.
Of course I kid you - the thing about the Coneheads is every single season we are back, and believing that no one will stop us this season either. And so it will be in June and September next year.
DubMD was the hot team in the playoffs - they have added some new talent. They showed us in the first game that they have the means to beat us - once. They had us behind in the second game 11-7, 12-9, and 17-13. Chuck did have just about the clutchest hit of the night with a bases loaded triple in the fourth. When he scored on Sting's single, it seemed like that was going to be the hit of the game. But after BudMD took back the lead with five in the bottom half, it turned out all that was a warmup to the first of the great Conehead innings. Fifteen runs followed by a Larry shutdown fifth, and it was all over at 28-17. The highlight of that inning was the sight of Derek hobbling around the bases for a two run homer while they searched for the ball he hit in Clayton. Even though BubMD rallied for nine runs in the last two innings, we might as well just have gone to the final game at that point, as we finished 32-26.
In the finale, they had us down 8-2, scoreless for two innings in a row. Then Sting hit a colossal home run to start the fourth, and it was off to the races. We had nine straight hits sandwiched around a walk to Ol' G, then two quick outs followed by seven more in a row. This was the best Head rally and tally of the night - sixteen runs all told. Five players had two hits in the inning. The other key hit was a bases loaded triple by Lefty. Up 18-8.
DudMD again rallied, closed to four down twice the next two innings. But at that point the only drama was when were the lights going out on them, figuratively and literally. When they finally did go off in the bottom of the sixth, it was the kindest kind of mercy rule - they knew and we knew, they were beat. 32-26 and 25-19 sounds like they were close but it was truly a beatdown.
And so history was made - Conehead History. When we won four titles in a row early in the last decade we thought this would never happen again, and here we stand with seven in a row. Was this year the sweetest? We have gone seasons undefeated before, and we have won the championship from 3rd and 4th place finishes. But two in one year from the losers' bracket, somehow the sheer surprise value makes this year the highest of the highs. Markley brought up a very interesting and fun stat - in this tournament we ended five of the seven teams' (that lost) seasons - the Swingers and Shenanigans got off easy - they didn't have to face us with our backs against the wall.
Or was this the greatest just because it's the latest? Check back next year; we will find out then.
All I know is I didn't want this year to end, and I don't want this run to end.
Milestones:
Game 1:
Larry 130 bb (#2)
D 200 rbi (#17)
Game 2:
Gene 500 h (#10)
Ol' G 400 h (#13)
Chopper 200 rbi (#18)
Lefty 250 ab (#20)
Randy 10 2b (#28)
Game 3:
Heffe 600 r (#2)
D 250 h (#17)
Chopper 100 g (#18)
Randy 50 r (#28)
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