Month: July 2015

Ducks Lose. Season Over.

2015 South Oakland Ducks Baseball

South Oakland lost 12-5 to the Eagles today in Shaler. A couple key errors led to seven unearned runs.

This was a really frustrating game. We were missing our ace, and a couple starters, but we played poorly and the Eagles took advantage of our mistakes. They put the ball in play and we missed it and every error led to runs. Apparently the Eagles beat the Express today too.

This was a microcosm of the whole season for us. We got down after a few errors and we could not come back. Something was off this year and it’s hard to pinpoint. I think if we had some success early in a couple games we blew in the late innings, we could have had a better mentality throughout the season in tough spots. I don’t know. It was a rough year. Collectively, we underachieved right to the end.

But we will be back next year, and with little turnover and a season playing together we will be fine if we can add a couple arms to the top of the rotation. If the Black Sox disband, it might help up in this regard.

I take the blame as manager for not doing more to put guys in o to succeed this season.

My personal highlight of the season was the game at Pie Traynor when my daughter came to watch and I hit a ball about as far as I’ve hit one in ten years, for a triple to center. She was so fired up about it. Her dad hit a triple. That was worth all the hassle of running the team for me. That’s while I do it again next year, because my daughter likes watching her dad play baseball, and that won’t last for much longer.

One time she said to me, “Dad, remember when you lost ten to nothing? That wasn’t very good. But it’s OK. It doesn’t matter if you win or lose.”

So there’s some perspective, I guess, as I sulk in front of the TV, trying to muster the energy to shower.

Thank you, Ducks for giving me another year of baseball, and keeping the team going. Thanks, Joe Graff for doing the thankless job of running the league, again.

Thanks, Bob Faust and Garrett Moore for your years of service to the Ducks. Both Bob and Garrett retired folowing this season. Bob played for a total of five years in 2005-07 and 2014-15, while Garrett logged six seasons at various intervals between 2006 and 2015. Both guys showed up and helped out and played hard. You will be missed.

Thanks, to the fans who showed up every so often, sorry we couldn’t give you something better to watch this weekend.

Big thanks to the Limbachs who kept score and provided all kinds of support and positivity during a tough season.

I hope Jefferson Hills looses, whatever else happens in the playoffs.

Here are the team awards:

MVP:

Pat DiPaola

Defensive Player of the Year:

DJ Dover

Offensive Player of the Year:

Brandon Culp

(with a nod to great seasons at the plate by Morgan, Strom, Koshzow and Tuomisto)

quack.

Ducks Swim Into Playoffs

2015 South Oakland Ducks Baseball, NABA, pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball

South Oakland of the North Side has won three straight and four of their last five games to finish with a semi-respectable 10-11 record. The Ducks clinched the 5th seed with a 10-0 win over the Devils, last Sunday.

The Ducks have won their last two games by a combined score of 26-6.

Our game vs. the Bulldogs tonight was cancelled becuase the city gave our rain date to the youth league that plays at Spring Hill, didn’t tell anyone until this afternoon, and we couldn’t find an open field anywhere else tonight on such short notice.

I guess it’s fitting. The regular season was somewhat disappointing (as was the blog), but high points include beating the defending champion WOLFPACK 7-1, the wild, 13-12 walkoff win vs. Cranberry, and the walkoff come-from-behind 3-2 win against the Eagles last week.

We can make up for all that mediocrity with a couple wins this weekend.

Our lineup matches up well. We scored 121 runs in 21 games. If we keep playing sound defense, we can make a run at it, especially given the playoff format. We just have to get past the play-in game. The one and done round is intense.

Here is the bracket:

Screen Shot 2015-07-12 at 4.26.01 PM

Here are the standings, pending the outcome of tonight’s Carrick / WOLFPACK! game

Screen Shot 2015-07-15 at 10.19.14 PM

On Saturday morning we will play the Eagles, with whom we have split a pair of really close games this season.

If we lose to the Eagles our season is over.

If we win, we will play the winner of the Cranberry vs. Oilers Game immediately following the Eagles game.

I remember when the Eagles had a lefty shortstop for like 3 years and routinely beat us anyway. Bad times.

Hopefully we have 3 games next weekend for me to not recap.

quack.

So Much Rain

2015 South Oakland Ducks Baseball

As of now, the Ducks (8-11) have three games left. The Clinton and WOLFPACK games don’t look like they’re getting made up. I’ve not heard from the West View coach, and there isn’t an open day for the Cherokee game with the current make-up date log jam.

The rainout today actually helps us, as we would have been playing with 9 guys and without several starters. We should have just about everyone for the makeup game Monday.

Upcoming schedule:

South Oakland plays tomorrow at 11:30 vs West View Apache at Moore Park.

I don’t think I’ve ever played a day game at Moore Park.

We will make up today’s rainout vs. the Devils, 8:30 Monday night at Hershel Park.

We will finish the season against the Bulldogs, Wed, 9PM at Spring Hill. In a game where both teams will just try not to burn pitching before the playoffs. Mike Brandt is getting an appearance on the hill in this one.

The playoffs start next weekend.

Top 2 teams get a bye to the semis

3 seed gets a bye to the quarterfinal

4 vs. 9

5 vs. 8

6 vs. 7

We will likely finish 5th or 6th, setting up a first round matchup against one of the Devils, Oilers or Eagles. If we win that game, we will play either the 3 seed or the winner of the other first round matchup for a spot in the semi finals. I don’t know if the brackets re-seed every round or not.

A couple early season losses in winnable games really changed the complexion of things for us. We’d be playing for a bye this week if we had a couple bounces go our way. Those are the breaks, though, and when things aren’t going well, it feels like every close call and bad hop goes against you. We needed to do a better job with the stuff in our control and we didn’t. I managed us out of a few wins. But none of that really matters now. If our pitchers throw strikes and we make the routine plays, our lineup matches up well against anyone. We’ve won a few close games in the last couple weeks, despite a couple ugly losses. We can make a run at it. Maybe we’re due for a couple good breaks.

 

quack.