South Oakland sits at 2-2 after defeating pre-season favorite Keystone Oaks 13-5 in a rain-shortened game last Tuesday night at John Herb Field. Brandon Blackstone (W, 1-0) pitched 4.2 innings for the win. Cody Quinn recorded the final out in the top of the fifth.
TJ Morgan, Tom Pulice, Anthony DeFillipo, and Ryan Myers all had multiple hits for the Ducks.
The game was rained out after five full innings, and started late after a scheduling miscue with the umpires. Keystone Oaks dropped to 3-2 with the loss.
The Ducks next game is Tuesday night at John Herb Field.
The Ducks open the 2024 playoffs at home vs the one-win Marlins.
Big missed opportunity by Sheraden by not going with the Jeff Conine-era unis.
Those are sharp.
I’m gonna have a longer post about ringers and cheating after the season. I tried to work it in here, but it was long. I’ll post it mid-week so people can kill time at work reading it.
I don’t think there’s a ton to say about this game. We didn’t get out of the play-in round, and this bracket is terrible, so here we are. We should win, but we can’t take them lightly, etc.
What hurt us this year were injuries to three or four pitchers who we were counting on to make significant contributions.
I think we can still make a deep playoff run if we get some bounces.
South Oakland rallied from a 5-1 deficit to beat the South Side Eagles, 11-5 in Ross Tuesday night. The game was close until the bottom of the sixth inning when Cody Quinn iced the game with a bases laded 2-run single. Brandon Blackstone (W, 4-2) scattered 9 hits over 5 innings and struck out 5. Ryan Myers recorded a two-inning save (1). The Ducks record improved to 10-7-1 with the win; the Eagles dropped to 12-7-1.
The Ducks are now 5-0 at John Herb Field since acquiring the permit in June, and are a game back of the Eagles for the fourth seed which would keep the team out of the play-in round.
Catching up
Butler’s split from Cranberry turned the Juice into an at-times dominant team, and arguably led to a shift in personnel philosophy from Cranberry’s manager as they have loaded up with high-pedigree pitching, and have the arms to make a deep run. Did Butler’s defection lead to one of the nicest guys in the league saying fuck it and adding guys who should probably be in AAA? That is up for debate, but it would be a fun storyline if I had the bandwidth to dig into it.
We need to start voting teams up or AA is going to get top heavy.
The Ducks split the 3 game series with Butler, going 1-1-1. That team is a bad matchup for us.
KO has a better record, but I think the title is Cranberry’s to lose.
D2 with a solid choice of 80s Phillies-inspired, new jerseys.
Kenny Rayl for MVP and Billy Welsh for POY. Both are having standout seasons.
There was a brawl in the Lions/Marlins game. I only know third-hand what went down, but its a joke, and a black mark for the league. When the umps don’t control games, and managers don’t control their players, it was bound to happen eventually. This is how we lose permits.
I’m for getting rid of the handshake line or having the umpires stay to watch the handshake line like they do in NBHL (deck hockey) games. The umps left immediately after the Marlins game, so there was no one there to objectively report what happened. League officials are in a holding pattern trying to gather information before suspensions are leveed.
This has been a tough summer for me. After a long bout with dementia, my dad died on May 17th. I’ve been pretty fucked since then. I’m grateful for my teammates for their support and for the league for giving me a reason to get me out of the house. But it’s been frustrating. At times, the game that is supposed to be a release has added stress as I play poorly, and then it starts to compound as I press. Then I feel bad for even caring so much about adult baseball when my dad just died, and it’s a really fucked headspace a lot of the time. It’s hard. I don’t feel washed, and I hope I’m not physically unable to contribute anymore, but I have to at least entertain that is a possibility. I’ll play indefinitely, but I don’t want to be a mascot.
So that’s basically why the blog has been quiet, and I’ve been busy with other shit. I’ll try to keep up better for my five loyal readers. No promises though.
My dad was solid. He was like me but not an asshole. I miss him.
Thanks, Tom, for writing a solid preseason blog. We should be good this year. How good? I don’t know. Personally, I’m always worried I will suddenly just not be able to hit anymore, but I feel great. I’ve been a Duck for almost half my life, and I’m looking forward to riding the coattail of my younger, more accomplished teammates to one more title. Hopefully that happens this year. We should have the pitching. If we get solid middle infield play this year, we will be tough to beat. I’m optimistic.
The point isn’t just winning a title, it’s winning a title with this core. It’s about winning with these guys who have been here for years while we can still contribute. Every off season, we try to figure out how to improve the roster without forcing guys out who can still play. It’s a tough balance, and the toughest part of being a manager.
We’re having a golf outing on 4/20. It will be great. We will raise money to help out our team and the youth league that is also getting kicked off our field after this season.
I’m golfing with my uncle and two Ducks legends. It’s bittersweet. Like most of us, my dad taught me to golf. My dad has been sick for the last year or so. I’m entering that purgatorial stage of life that involves caring for my kid and my parents. It’s kind of surreal and makes me question my mortality. Watching my dad wither away, I am determined to play baseball as much as I can, as well as I can, with as much reckless abandon as possible, until I can’t. I only have so many good years left. I will spend those summers running around in the outfield at Springview and then wherever our new home turns out to be.
The proposed renovations on Springview Field are long overdue, and are also being completely botched. The city wants to move the fences in to little league depth, which makes no sense as there are no little league teams that play there. This will also force out the pony league teams to another field, and futher congest the permit situation which is already bad.
There will be pickle ball courts put in where the basketball courts are – a gentrification move that would make the Oilers blush. They supposedly want to put a walking path around the outfield. Idk. It’s dumb, and not in the best interest of the kids, and it also fucks our team.
We’ve put more work into that field than the city ever has, and we’re probably going to have to play elsewhere after this season. But we will look good doing it. New uniforms, which are like our 2008-2010 ones but nicer, will be in before the season starts.
Around the League!
I don’t really know what personnel moves have been happening elsewhere in AA, so this, as always, is based mostly on vibes.
The Bandidos promise not to be super good again, they swear. No way should they have been voted up. In surprising twist, Greg Friend turned down a multi-year offer from the Ducks to run Bakery Square who have a garbage time slot. I can’t think of a worse place to be at 9:30 am than under the fucking glare of that stupid building, surrounded by Seattle transplants and people going to watch that big outdoor TV and day drink in Shady Side.
Cranberry will win games because of Jon Hart, and because no one wants to drive to Cranberry. They will lose in the playoffs in crushing fashion.
KO is gonna be a tough out. Good mix of young and fast kids with grizzled vets. This is also our recipe. They have the second worst time slot, but a nicer field than Bakery Square.
D2: I predict a 11-13 regular season and a deep playoff run when they shorten the bench. It helps to get this team when they’re batting 14 guys in May. I think they have new management now, so who knows.
The Devils could not agree to terms with former Duck Randy Patton. They must have some pitching if they’re turning away a guy who is at worst a solid innings eater, and a top of the rotation starter on most teams. If the Devils don’t fight each other, they will probably win games.
Butler is maybe folding. They will likely just ask their parents for money and get their fees in at the last minute. I hope they fold. I hate driving to Cranberry.
The Eagles are trying to figure out a way to cheat and bring in college kids as I write this. Their success this year will depend on how well they recruit and skirt league bylaws.
Sheraden/Warriors/Lions will probably give us a couple bad losses that fuck up our playoff seeding. There’s some bad blood between all three of these teams from back in the Single A days. The renewed Sheraden vs. Ducks rivalry should be fun.
Good luck to everyone. Thanks for another summer in the sun.
South Oakland was swept out of the 2023 playoffs after losing to Butler and D2, two weeks ago in Spring Hill. The Ducks had a clear lead-off home run by Mark Lombardi ruled foul in the bottom of the first against Butler, and they never recovered. South Oakland went on to lose their opening round game 5-4 after another blown call on a play at the plate. After the tough loss, D2 beat the Ducks 10-0 and South Oakland was eliminated. There would be no miracle run to the finals.
This year’s team suffered two key injuries that we couldn’t overcome. Last year’s starting shortstop hurt his arm in the offseason, and our starting center fielder hurt himself early in the season. Then our new shortstop and our best pitcher were unavailable for the opening round of the playoffs. Overall, we did pretty well with the things we could control this year, and during the second half, we played some really good baseball. We won 9 of 10 to close out the season with a winning record. It was fun down the stretch. We won the season series against everyone but Keystone Oaks and our new nemesis, Butler.
We got a tough draw in the playoffs in that D2 is probably the only team with enough pitching to get through the play-in round and the Bandidos and still have a really good starter for a third game. As usual, they were better than their record indicated. The “We have baseball jerseys at home” Butler Buccos certainly had our number this year for some reason. If they don’t fold, and we manage to beat them, there could be a good rivalry brewing. The atmosphere around games with them is certainly different with all the parents and shit.
Losing early this year wasn’t shocking given the guys we were missing, and the second-round exit in and of itself isn’t heartbreaking, but it makes me more mad about last year’s finals. We had the Eagles on the ropes in that series, and they beat us with illegal players. We took two out of three from them this year without their ringers, and our only loss was a meaningless game for us that they had to win to avoid the play-in game. I guess we should have protested their guys’ eligibility in 2022. That missed opportunity is a little starker after working really hard this year to get better playoff seed only to get bounced while our ace was at the beach. Oh well. Hopefully, we can figure out our defense up the middle in the off season, and make a deep run next year.
Personally, I feel like I still have some years left. I can’t run as well in the second of back to back games, but my (admittedly bloated) stats say I contributed. At 42 years old, I’m still punching above my weight class and leaning into pitches. I think we have a great core of veteran guys who play well together, and we are determined to win one before we all ride off into the slow-pitch softball sunset.
As always, I’m humbled to still have a team and a league to play in. I don’t know what else I’d do during the summer.
Congrats to the Bandidos for a dominant season and a title won without any illegal players. Also, Cranberry had a hell of a run after half their team left in March.
Billy Welsh pitched a complete game (W, 4-3) and allowed 0 earned runs, to lead the Ducks past the reigning MVP and the defending champion Eagles (7-13) last night in Spring Hill. Anthony DeFilippo continued his torrid pace at the plate with a 2-run double. Tom Pulice, TJ Morgan, and Jimmy Murray all had RBI for South Oakland. Ducks infielders Kenny Rayl and Mark Lombardi had extra base hits.
The win was South Oakland’s sixth in a row and improved their record to 11-10. The Ducks are above .500 for the first time this season, and hold the tie-breaker over the Eagles with the season series win.
Billy Welsh has an outside shot at 100 strikeouts this season and deserves Pitcher of the Year consideration.
Anthony DeFilippo is on pace to win the first batting title in team history and should be in the conversation for league MVP.
Tom Pulice will always be my Manager of the Year.
South Oakland plays next on Friday, 8:30 pm at Springview Field vs the Devils.
South Oakland scored six runs in the first inning and overcame a few errors to win 11-8 last night in Spring Hill. Brandon Blackstone (W, 4-3) pitched six strong innings and Billy Welsh recorded the two-out save after reliever Cody Quinn left the game with an injury.
The resurgent Ducks (10-10) have scored 39 runs in their last 4 games. They have won five straight, and six of seven.
South Oakland plays next on Sunday, 12pm at Herschel Park against the defending champion Eagles.
Last night in Spring Hill, Billy Welsh (W, 3-3) pitched a complete game, striking out 14, while allowing only 2 earned runs against the league’s top offense.
In the top of the sixth, South Oakland led 3-2. The Bandidos scored on a play where two errors were committed by the Ducks third baseman who threw a ball out of play after missing a grounder. (Typically this is where we would fall apart, but Billy shut them down, and then we scored a bunch of runs.)
With the score tied at 3 in the seventh, South Oakland scored 5 runs to put the game out of reach. The scoring was capped with a two-run sac fly by Dillon Williams.
Mark Lombardi, Tom Pulice, Anthony DeFilippo, Ben Gwin, and Jesse Iellimo hit doubles for the Ducks. The win was South Oakland’s fourth in a row. The team is now 9-10 on the season. The Bandidos fell to 12-4.
The Ducks play next Thursday night vs the Devils, 8:30 at the Duck Pond.
The Ducks beat the Warriors in Plum last night, 9-8. South Oakland scored three runs in the top of the seventh to tie, three more in the top of the eighth, and held off a late Warriors rally. Jimmy Murray had three hits, an outfield assist in the seventh, and a game-clinching diving catch.
Brandon Blackstone recorded his first save of the season, and Cody Quinn worked two solid innings in relief.
South Oakland Ducks Baseball 