Month: June 2009

Controlling our own Destiny: EDIT WITH Sweet Joke at bottom

2009 Ducks Baseball, NABA, pittsburgh NABA
{Ducks: Practice Friday at the Pitt Field at 6:30}
“One thing I know is that I know nothing.”

Starting with the game against the Eagles on Saturday the Ducks (12-5) have seven games remaining, including two against the Black Sox (12-4) who have a game at hand, and are 1/2 game ahead of us for the 2nd seed in the playoffs and the all important first-round bye.
We have to win on Saturday to keep pace with Kenny Powers and the Black Sox, we can’t count on the Sox losing.

The Gray Bats (3-15) are planning a victory parade after defeating Don Henley and Co. (4-10)
9-1 last night.

The Eagles will not want to fall out of the 5th spot, we will get their best on Saturday and we just quacked by in a 3-2 thriller last game, thanks in part to a stellar pitching performance
By The Eagles’ Joe Walsh, who threw last night against the Gray Bats.

The Bulldogs are calling out the Ducks and Owlz’es MVP candidate Scott Dunn on their blog.
They are full of malice and hate over there.

I guess losing 2 games to fall to 12-5 1s considered a tailspin for a 7 win team that should have won 11 games by now.

WOOOOOOOOODRRADICAL4LIFEOOOOOOOO!!!

Wonder if they won last night against the new look Matadors?
Did the new Matadors’ regime also [allegedly] offer bribes?
Doubtful.
I’m glad all those guys get a chance to play.

Party at Guthrie and Keeper of the Helmets’ on Saturday
all ducks blog readers are welcome.
6pm-3am.

lots of booze and meat.
hopefully a quality ratio of women to men.
Dr. Jones’ sister is a “maybe” at this point.
It’s a cookout

Vote Jesse Smith for the All Star team at the link below.

All-Star Reserves Announced: Vote now for 25th man!

Quack

Ok here’s the joke

It is the month of August, a resort town sits next to the shores of a lake. It is raining, and the little town looks totally deserted. It is tough times, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit. Suddenly, a rich tourist comes to town.

He enters the only hotel, lays a 100 dollar bill on the reception counter, and goes to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one.

The hotel proprietor takes the 100 dollar bill and runs to pay his debt to the butcher.

The Butcher takes the 100 dollar bill, and runs to pay his debt to the pig raiser.

The pig raiser takes the 100 dollar bill, and runs to pay his debt to the supplier of his feed and fuel.

The supplier of feed and fuel takes the 100 dollar bill and runs to pay his debt to the town’s prostitute that in these hard times, gave her “services” on credit.

The hooker runs to the hotel, and pays off her debt with the 100 dollar bill to the hotel proprietor to pay for the rooms that she rented when she brought her clients there.

The hotel proprietor then lays the 100 dollar bill back on the counter so that the rich tourist will not suspect anything.

At that moment, the rich tourist comes down after inspecting the rooms, and takes his 100 dollar bill, after saying that he did not like any of the rooms, and leaves town.

No one earned anything. However, the whole town is now without debt, and looks to the future with a lot of optimism .

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the United States Government is doing business today.

Quack, Quack

Midweek youtube, All Stars announced.- UPDATED

NABA, pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball
vote for Jesse Smith for 25th man at the link below.

All-Star Reserves Announced: Vote now for 25th man!

Thanks, Depo.

Quack.

2009 South Oakland Ducks of the North Side Monongahela Division All-Stars:
A.Smith – P
Tony Casale – 2b
Mike Fletcher – P
Andrew McCray – 1b
B. Gwin – OF

Depo will announce this week’s practice schedule in the comments section of this post.

If I had the technological know-how, I probably would have spammed the ballot box, but I don’t so don’t look at me.

Interesting that Dan Morgan got all those votes over Rafalski.

Keep clicking on the adsense banners, we’re up to $8.20
Quack.

A look ahead.

2009 Ducks Baseball, NABA, pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball
The Soth Oakland Ducks of the North Side (12-5) face the Eagles (4-9) this Saturday.
The Ducks are coming off their worst loss of the season, and are looking to get back on track against the 5th place Eagles.

The Black Sox (12-4) play the Bombers (5-12) at 8am that day, a potentially dicey proposition.

The Ducks will know the outcome of the game before they take the field that afternoon.
They will either be tied with or a full game behind the Brookline Bullies.

Regardless of the result of the morning contest, a Ducks victory over the Eagles will set up a showdown for second place when the Black Sox travel to SpringView Field the following Monday.
Naturlly the Black Sox are the home team Monday night

The Ducks have defeated the Eagles 3-2 and 9-2 in two previous meetings, and have never swept the Eagles in a season series.

Practice today 6pm at John Herb Field.

Vote for McCray, Murphy, Guthrie, J. Smith, Dowling, and Fletcher for All Star reserves at the league homepage.

click on the ad sense banners to help the Ducks raise money so we can get sweet windbreakers and alternate, nightgame, away jerseys like the owlz, those (talented) sons of bitches.

This is crunch time, we have hit bottom and it’s time to bounce back.

Stretch-run City.

Recap of last night’s horror film a couple posts down.

Quack.

john herb tomorrow

Uncategorized

I talked to Joe after the game, he said that John Herb field will be open around 6. If any duck wants to practice a little I will be there. I probably won’t be able to get there until 6:30 though.

Im not gonna talk too much about tonight’s game. I’m disappointed that we lost, but to be honest I wasn’t all that disappointed in the way we played. It wasn’t as if we had a bunch of errors or anything like that, and we did have some real good ABs against an ACC pitcher. Everyone who played tonight played with heart and wanted to win. Even the guys who came and didn’t play gave the team their full support. I am a little disappointed that not everyone was able to come tonight to support their team, but we all have busy lives and I understand that.

–the skip

Game Seventeen Recap: Ducks effectively lure Owlz into false sense of security for potential playoff matchup

2009 Ducks Baseball, NABA, pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball

This recap is going to be dogshit.
If you want to know how this feels, go into the bathroom slam yourhead off the toilet and piss yourself while your passed out.
Then wake up and repeat.

I could give a gray bats ass about beating some of the teams we play I want to beat the best.

It sure didn’t look like we were a second place team playing our 17th game of the year, we were tight to start, we missed plays we usually make.

“It looks like were here for a business meeting“
-Dr. Jones.

Mike Fletcher started, after pitching 4 innings yesterday when – in a last minute decision, – coach decided to scrap the knuckle-baller idea.
He pitched well the defense was uncharacteristically bad.
We were down 4-o before That loud lady in the stands could get her voice warmed up.
Kirk almost went yard, wound up with a double. They loaded the bases on walks, KT hit a hard grounder to first. Kirk took out their catcher when the first baseman threw home.
they cried foul.
Then they threw at Mars, well over his head, almost over the back stop.
he walked in our only run.
That was a hard baseball play, I would have done the same thing.
I have done the same thing,
and i’ve had it done to me as a catcher.
I don’t think it was dirty or done with intent to injure.
If hadn’t gone 0 for 3 like a joke, (2k’s and a broken bat on a double play) I might have gotten the chance.
I give them credit for arguing the to try to get the out.
That was about as exciting as it got.

4-1. after two
Fletcher battled.
Some kid hit a shot up the middle our secondbaseman made a diving stop, but rifled one from three feet instead of flipping it.
these things happen.
Some pop-up dropped in right center.
This is what happens when we play sloppy baseball against the best team in the league.
The Ducks got out of the inning down 6-1.
We continued to not hit.
Then we ran out of pitching and they effectively dominated us in a display reminiscent of the 2006 Ducks.
Guthrie and Jesse Smith also had hits.

that Sinclair kid is the real deal, a little wild, and we weren’t (I definitely wasn’t anyway) as patient as maybe we could have been.
But he’s got an extra gear when he needs it, and basically owned us.

I’ve never wanted to play a double header so bad in my life.

What a shit show.

I could have done without the guy in the stands who was loudly asking if they could call the game without us having our last at bat, so we “wouldn’t get embarrassed,” as if it wasn’t embarrassing enough.

I have No idea who that guy is and i wouldn’t write it here if I did.

It isn’t as if the Owlz didn’t put on a hitting display.
they hit it hard and often, and to give a team like that extra outs is a recipe for disaster.

but at the end of the day, we are 12-5, 1/2 game out of the coveted 2nd spot.
We play the Black Sox twice, and they also play the Owlz twice.
We are owlz fans now, until we face them again.

A loss is a loss, a 2-1 loss would have counted the same in the standings.

I’m disappointed in myself, and that we, collectively, didn’t play our best, which is what it will take to beat this team.

It’s important we keep our sense of humor, it’s one loss, it might not even be the last.

Bullet pointz

  • We still have seven games left and are in a battle for a first round bye.
  • I think Mars gets his chance if we see these guys again.
  • If anyoen thinks I, or the Ducks have made any excuses go _uck yourself, we got our ass beat fair and square.
  • D is the missing letter
  • I’ve gotten my ass beat by worse teams, I’ve K’d against worse pitchers.
  • (pause for you to make a joke to yourself)
  • Scoscia, bwp model 243, 32 1/2 in.
  • Thank you to the fans who showed up to support both teams.
  • We need Novak back on as permanent a basis as possible.
  • Mantis’ ERA took a bit of a hit.
  • I really like the way Watson plays second, there was some rust tonight, but if he continues to show up everygame, that shot up the middle will turn into a sick double play when we really need it.
  • this is only the second worst loss to the owlz in ducks history
  • at least they didn’t run it up, no stealing or bunting or whatever, we just sucked.
  • If you think we can’t make a run at this Ill take your jersey and give it to some guy who can pretend to be you for the rest of the season.
  • I don’t think we were intimidated, just nervous, I take some of that blame.
  • apparently there’s something going on in the post after this one.
  • What a game of the week, eh?
  • Dr. Jones 4Life

Take the good with the bad, and hope we get a chance to redeem ourselves in the playoffs.

Seven games left, we still have hope.
No one is going to kick us out of the league for this game.
We are still going to be in the think of the battle for the bye.
We need to put this behind us and focus on our next game.
We have to respond by playing well down the stretch.
Hope is a good thing.

Bad News for the Eagles on Saturday, at the Confederacy’s home field in Monroeville.

DUCKS ALL_STARS

Write in votes Here:
All-Star Reserves

Also vote Joe Graff, he’s a beast and plays in the other conference.

RP – Mike Fletcher has only been with the team for half a season, but leads the team in ERA and is 2-1 with one save.

OF – Mark Guthrie – Captain America: batting .387 hits doubles.

3b – Jesse Smith. team leader in HR’s, our most talented player.

1b – Andrew McCray slick fielding, power hitting, solid numbers.

C – Chris Dowling solid defensively, hits the ball harder than Kenny wants to hit Rob Cool with his car.

DH – KT Murphy He’s hitting over .300. His .636 slg percentage is second on the team to Tony Casale.

Quack.

Ducks split weekend series with Warriors

Uncategorized
(this post will be somewhat concise for several reasons)

Following a Saturday when the division’s top two teams lost, the South Oakland Ducks (12-4) found themselves on the losing end  of a 6 to 3 final decision in the second game of a brief two-game weekend series with the Warriors. It is a rare weekend in the 2009 season when each of the Imperial Owlz, Ducks, and Brookline Blacksox each lose. The losses by the Owlz and Blacksox provided the Ducks with an opportunity to make ground on the division leaders, but the Ducks were unable to capitalize on Sunday afternoon. 

The main culprit for the loss was the Ducks’ inability to hit the baseball. Only one Duck recorded multiple hits (Gwin), and most struggled mightily in a game in which it would have taken at least 7 runs to win. After one, the score was tied at one, but the Ducks’ work was quickly cut out for them and found themselves in an early 6-1 hole. The Ducks had legitimate scoring opportunities in each of the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, but were only able to plate two more runs. The Ducks that did reach base safely today were mostly stranded. Hats off to the Warriors. 
In the first game of the series, the Ducks won 6-0 behind the golden arm of Adam Smith (5-1, 1.60). The Warriors were behind the 8-ball with only eight players, an automatic out in the nine hole, and a female outfielder with a desire to be mentioned on “the blog” (whose play was very commendable). The Ducks had several outstanding offensive performances, those of which can be found in particular on previous blog posts. Several Ducks remained to watch the Warrendale Hurricanes beat the Owlz. 
The Ducks have no time to rest, as an important matchup with the league best Owlz is imminent. First pitch is 9pm at the Duck Pond, Monday night. The timing of the Owlz matchup works well, as it should help expedite the memory of today’s loss from the players’ minds. 
Bullets:
-The Ducks are 12-4, surely the best start in Ducks history. 
-This weekend was circled on the calendar weeks ago, as the Warriors and Owlz were both to be considered formidable opponents. Three games in three days against these three opponents is rough. 
-All Ducks on hand versus the Owlz. Please see skipper Jones’ note below directly addressing the topic. 
-In the Ducks’ win on Saturday: pitching was finding the zone and batters were hitting.
-In the Ducks’ loss on Sunday: pitching was inconsistent at times, and hitting was just as sporadic. 
-Very good effort by the Warriors. Several factors contributed to the Ducks’ loss on this day including, but not limited to, the Warriors’ play, the Ducks’ play, and the Ducks’ (possibly) looking forward to the matchup with the Owlz. 
-It is rumored that the Ducks will face Zak Sinclair on Monday night, who, reportedly, “has a 93mph fastball and good command of his off-speed pitches.” Sweet. Bring it on. 
(sorry for the low content and the lack of pictures/videos. maybe the comments or something will be more interesting.)

note from the skip {EDIT} – footage of Dr. Jones’ postgame tirade

Uncategorized

How did we ever win 12?
Quack

I take responsibility for this afternoon’s loss. I lost my confidence and it effected my pitching and my managing. Tomorrow I will be back on track ready to manage our biggest game of the year to date. We will be playing to win tomorrow, so that means I will be starting what I feel are our best 9 guys. If you are not in the line-up tomorrow or maybe not even get into the game, it isn’t because I don’t like you or I think you suck. I’m just doing what I think gives us the best chance to win. If you can’t handle the fact you might not get into the game tomorrow then don’t even bother coming. The team needs every one’s 100% support, and as always the team comes before the player even if you don’t fully agree with my every managerial decision.

I need everyone at the field by 8:20. We are going to go over signs and strategy for the game.

Green and Yellow for Life

Ducks lose.

2009 Ducks Baseball, NABA, pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball
Warriors 6, Ducks 3.

This game was lost Saturday night, as much as it was Sunday afternoon.
I never thought I’d see the day our team got complacent.

Hats off to the Warriors, they deserved the win.

The only guy in the lineup who was at BP: 2 for 3, 2B rbi.

BP at 6:15 tomorrow before the owlz game.

We’re still the Ducks, and that’s a good thing.
12-4 is solid.

Weekend Recap to follow.

Quack.