Author: mightyeskimo

Ducks vs. Warriors tonight at 9pm, Spring View Field

South Oakland Ducks Baseball

Last year the Ducks went 1-2 against the Warriors. The Ducks won an 8am game by forfeit, and lost a barn-burner at home, 14-8. The Ducks 2007 season opener was a disastrous 15-0 loss to the Warriors. For the entire history of the Ducks vs. Warriors, go to Steveheckmanonline.com.
Heckman is a work horse of a Warriors historian.

The Warriors always manage to find new pitchers who have played at a high level of baseball. Guys who have more than one pitch, and throw strikes. I blame this on Craig “Ultimate Warrior” Boley.

I suppose the five year anniversary of the Ducks, and the’03 Championship, make it worthwhile to reminisce. Baseball is like that, timeless, its history feels infinite; a lazy game that demands hustle, and respect. It is why the Ducks never changed their name. Even in a five year old rec. league, gnawing away at respectability in the Pittsburgh amateur baseball spectrum, there is still baseball tradition, and maybe for a team struggling to find .500 with one player left from the old days in Ambridge shooting the breeze about”tradition” slips down the slope of the has-been, but its there and it’s undeniable.

Sometimes I feel like an old man whose backside is permanently imprinted on the corner stool of some dive in South Oakland, a grizzled “townie” slurring stories about bar- fights and that time he fucked two girls at once, stories that crescendo and pulse, growing more and more heroic with each telling.
What baring any of this has on the 2008 Ducks is debatable, but it’s good to know your history. So to get to the point, here’s a story, and since it is our 5th anniversary, it will be the first of many, or at least several. This one gets better every time I tell it.
The greatest play in Ducks history occurred during the 2003 season against the Piranhas, who would later become the Warriors. Back in the early days of the Pittsburgh NABA, when we played in a rock-covered, 270 foot band-box in the middle of nowhere (Ambridge), the Ducks were kings.
The Ducks lead by one in the seventh, top or bottom, I’m not sure. In fact I’m not even sure it was the seventh, but it was late in the game. I am certain there was one out, the bases were loaded, and the Warriors were up to bat trailing by one run. Craig Pelat was playing short stop, Britan Dickey was at second. Pittsburgh NABA legend, Ian Dickman, was on the mound.

It was 100 degrees outside if it was 70, and Dickman was laboring. I was sitting on the bench next to Matt McCarthy, he was drinking a beer–a common occurrence among Ducks’ players at the time, as the batter worked a 3-2 count. Dickman threw the pay-off pitch. Matt and I cursed in unison, at the crack of the bat. A sure single up the middle, but not that day. Pelat dove to his left and gloved the ball, from his stomach he flipped the sure single with his glove to Britan, who bare-handed the toss, spun and fired a one-hopper to first to complete the “oh-my-god” double play. It happened right in front of me and Matt. Matt stormed the field raised his Pabst pounder and shouted, “Put that shit on the internet”.

I remember with perfect clarity, Craig telling me, “I’ve never made a play like that in my life. I didn’t have time to get it out so I just threw it with my glove.” In all my years of baseball I’ve never seen a smile as big as Craig’s after he made that play.

That’s why we play. Not for any kind of homage to the guys who came before us, or to sit on the bench wishing for a middle infield that showed up every day, but to make a play. To save a victory, to win a game to be a teammate again, to see the smiles that coaches and baseball politics and crazy little league parents stripped from us, to bring the fun back.
Every one on the roster has the chance to jog back to the bench, smiling, and say, “I’ve never made a play like that before”

Enough Melodrama for this week.

Go Ducks.

Ducks, vs. Warriors Monday, 9pm, Spring View Field

Uncategorized

The Warriors have been in existence since 2004, they played the 2003 season as the Piranhas. That first season, the Ducks were 6-9 in the regular season, and 3-1 vs. the Piranhas.

It was during the 2003 season that Craig Boley took over as league president. It is due in large part to his hard work during the first two years of the Pittsburgh NABA that the league is still in existence. So in many ways he is…
Along with the Black Sox, with whom the Ducks engaged in a bench-clearing brawl in the final regular season game of the 2003 campaign- when the Sox were still the Stampeders, the Warriors are the Ducks oldest rivals. But when the league expanded and realigned, the blood feud waned when the Warriors and Ducks found themselves in different divisions. Interesting that Boley would align the league to minimize Warriors Ducks games, eh?

I’ll expand on the history of Ducks vs. Warriors in the days leading up to Monday’s game. For now I’ll leave you with this: the Warriors are such a renowned team, they inspired Richard Greenberg’s Broadway hit, Take Me Out. It is a heart warming taled based on the Warriors 2005 Championship season. Click on the picture below for a synopsis of the play.


Quack, quack

Game nine: Sometimes you eat the bar, and sometimes, well, he eats you… Ducks 7, Eagles 10

pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball

This video is not for little kids, Mormons, or people easily offended by profanity.

That’s about how it feels right now.

In what has become typical Ducks’ fashion, South Oakland spotted the opposition a seven-run lead, then put up a furious rally in the game’s dying moments. The Ducks brought the tying run to the plate with one out in the seventh, but on this night, it was not to be.

The Ducks led 1-0 going into the bottom of the first, then the Eagles scored eight straight runs. Trailing 8-1 in the top of the fifth, South Oakland cut the lead to five when Gwin singled ahead of McCray’s walk, then on a well executed double steal, the Eagles’ catcher threw the ball into left field allowing Gwin to score, and McCray to advance to third. On the next pitch the Eagles would balk McCray home.

Trailing 8-3 going into the bottom of the sixth Ducks’ reliever, Smith, after throwing two scoreless innings, had two outs with two runners on, when a somewhat routine fly-ball to right field allowed two Eagles to score. The ball dropped and the Ducks’ right fielder chose to watch the runners instead of throwing the ball to the infield, then he blamed the infielders for not telling him what to do.

I wouldn’t throw that guy under the bus if he didn’t try to blame his teammates for the two runs that scored while he stood around demanding the ball be called foul. I was playing first and I ran out to make a play when it dropped in front of him, I said to him, “CUT FOUR”. I suppose there was a miscommunication. Everyone makes errors, be they mental or physical, but it takes a certain kind of person to blame someone else for their own misreading of a pop-up and not quickly getting the ball into the infield.

He somewhat atoned for this blunder with a single in the top of the seventh.

It was not because of one play or one player that we lost this game. The little things continue to eat us alive.

The late comeback was frantic, the Ducks torched the Eagles’ bullpen for four runs in the seventh, but came up inches short when a would be double skipped foul, before the game ended in a deflating 1-6-3 double play. The inning started when Les Geis (sp.) drew a walk, followed by a single, and a fielders’ choice by Jim From CMU. KT Murphy reached base via walk for the third time in the game, then Wojoton delivered with an RBI single. Gwin walked, then Jesse followed with an RBI single of his own. Then just like that, it was over.

The first three innings were filled with booted grounders, and bat at-bats, for the Ducks.
I don’t think we’ve played a game this year with our best starting infield. (our starting second baseman hasn’t shown up since the third game of the year).

The baseball always seems to find the guy who doesn’t want it, never fails. The outfield was uncharacteristically, fundamentally terrible, except for Wojoton’s 8-3 double play in the sixth.


Bullet points

  • We’ve got fifteen games left, I don’t know if that’s a lot or not. The rest of the division has approximately three games-at-hand on us, and it will be hard to gage where we stand until some games get made up and the games-played get squared.
  • 3-5-1 is an ugly record, and I mean ascetically as well as in terms of personifying our under-achievement.
  • We are much better than we were last year.
  • We have to start playing in the first inning, not the fifth.
  • I’ve grown weary of alluding to our absent players, I feel as though it takes away from the guys who show up. Still, we played without both our home run and batting average leaders; the two of whom are the starting left-side of our infield.
  • We don’t need to hit the panic button, but we have to put a few together before July rolls around and slams us in the balls with a 6-10-2 record.
  • Rick played hurt tonight.
  • Smith rebounded from a rough start against the OweleZ. He held the Eagles to two runs over three innings, and gave us a chance to pull another one from the jaws of defeat.
  • It seems as if we’ve played the whole season tip-toeing around the jaws of defeat.
  • Jesse threw out six guys and no one could hold onto the ball, he also had a clutch hit in the seventh.
  • KT was on base every time I turned around.
  • Jim the mysterious pitcher from CMU will fit in nicely, he plays a mean game of pepper, and he hustles.
  • I have as many walks through nine games as I did last season.
  • There were many broken bats.
  • Where are you, Brett and Chris?

click here for hilarity

Quack, quack

On Pepper and the Eagles

pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball

The Ducks (3-4-1) have a road game against the Eagles (4-3) Thursday at 9pm, at Moore Park in Brookline. A win vaults the Ducks into a tie for third place in the division and gives them a 2-0 record against the Eagles, assuring South Oakland of the first tie-breaker against a tough division opponent.

The Ducks beat the Eagles 4-3 on Garrett Moore’s walk-off single, for their first win of the season. That win is the Ducks only division win thus far, South oakland is 1-3 in division play.

“It’s been a long night, and I hate the fucking Eagles, man“
-J.L.

Ted Williams, the greatest hitter of all-time, coached the Washington Senators after his playing days were over.

“Pepper is a great warmup game for any hitter, and as a coach I’m going to insist the Senators do more of it“
-Ted Williams

Also, Barry Pepper played Roger Maris in the film 61*

In an unrelated note; there is no excuse for the “Owlz” using a “z” in their name. take a peek at their team page, try not to vomit.

Inspiration.

Game eight: It’s all right now, Ducks come from seven down to win in last at-bat.

pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball

Ducks 8, Matadors 7

This is the kind of win that can change the course of a season.

The Matadors scored seven runs in the first two innings. Ducks’ starter Nick Homa (2-1) was struggling with his command, and the South Oakland infield looked shaky, committing key errors, forcing Homa to throw too many pitches to work out of bases-loaded jams in the first and second.
Entering the bottom of the sixth inning, South Oakland trailed 7-0 and had recorded only one hit, an infield single. Going back to the bottom of the first inning of Sunday’s loss to the Owls, the Ducks had been outscored 24-0 over the last nine innings, and at 2-4-1, they were swimming on the fringe of the playoff picture.
For five innings, it seemed as though everything the Ducks hit went to the Matadors’ shortstop, who played like Troy Tulowitzki. Homa had settled down, and was lights-out after the second inning. No more than 3 of the Matadors’ runs were earned. The Ducks were poised to waste another solid performance, but this time there were no excuses, we had almost all of our regulars in the starting lineup, and we were getting handled by a finesse pitcher and an NL rookie of the year shortstop.
Then it started, it started slowly when Coby was hit by a pitch, then Wojoton was beaned, and Guthrie singled. Ryan Novak drew a bases loaded walk to drive in the first Ducks run, and that was it for the Matadors’ starting pitcher.
Just when the Ducks were liking their chops at the chance to face the Matadors starter for the third time, Tulowitzki came into pitch and the infield was shuffled. Troy was throwing noticeably faster than the starter. Jesse Smith welcomed him with a marathon at-bat, fouling off twelve pitches and working the count full before drawing another bases loaded walk, cutting the lead to 7-2, bases still loaded.

Ben Gwin was 1-13 with 2 RBI heading into the game; the worst slump of his baseball existence, earlier in the game he’s made an error at first which lead to two unearned runs, he had grounded out weakly in two earlier at-bats, five innings and nothing more than a broken bat for his efforts.

Redemption came in a three-run double to right center. 7-5. Tulowitzki would load the bases on a walk and a hit-batsman, but worked out of the jam by getting CF, Eric Lee to pop-up, and striking out two Ducks. He hadn’t seen the last of Eric Lee.

The top of the seventh came and went with a walk, a double play, and a strike-out.
Chris Wojoton lead off the Ducks’ half of the inning with an infield hit to deep short, Tulowitzki maybe makes that play, but Chris booked to first, barely beating the throw. Guthrie was hit by a pitch, bringing the winning run to the plate. After a fly-out, and a questionable called third strike, the Ducks were down to their final out.
Gwin came through again, singling to center, driving in Wojoton. Eric Tans drew a walk to load the bases, and Eric Lee came to the plate.
Down by one bases loaded, two outs, Eric Lee was a super hero.
The Play of the Game:
Lee smashed one to the right side the ball hit off the Matadors’ first baseman and dribbled into shallow right field, Guthrie scored to tie the Game and Gwin raced around from second to score the winning run.

Comeback complete.

WOOOO-HOOOOOO!!!


Bullet Points:

  • I’ve never been so happy to be hitting .250
  • Gutsy performance by Homa, who was rightfully upset at how we played the first five innings of this game, he hung in there and he bailed us out when a lesser pitcher would have quit. That is leadership.
  • This is the second game that we’ve won on our last at-bat.
  • The Matadors hit seven batters, Garrett almost charged the mound, that would have forced TC to pinch run, no one wants that.
  • This is our highest run total of the season
  • The Ducks are undefeated in June
  • 3-4-1 and we’re right in the thick of things
  • We beat a good team, the Matadors are no joke, they play the game the right way
  • Jim, the pitcher from CMU, does exist. Go Pens.
  • I don’t think they had more than four hits to the outfield.

    • Ducks vs. Matadors tonight at 9pm, Spring View Field

    pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball


    The Ducks are eager to get the foul taste out of their mouths after a historically bad 15-run loss to the Owls on Sunday. With almost 1/3 of the season in the books, and a scarcity of rain dates, every game has playoff implications in the highly contested Monongahela Division. South Oakland will look to fire-baller Nick Homa, and the infusion of Ducks starters who were unable to compete in Sunday’s game, to stop the losing streak before it starts.

    Last season the Matadors beat the Ducks on a seventh inning home run to eliminate South Oakland from playoff contention. That might mean something to the five returning players from last year.

    Either way, it’s gonna be bad news for the Matadors.

    Game seven: Ducks 2 Owls 17

    Uncategorized

    My American Legion coach once called my team a “disgrace to veterans”, that’s about how it feels after this loss. The Ducks (2-4-1) have been blown out before, but never in this fashion. The game was called with one out in the bottom of the third, and the Owls won by the seldom enforced, 15-run mercy rule.
    The Ducks lead 2-0 in the top of the first, after Mark Guthrie Doubled in Gwin, advanced to third on a ground out, and then scored on a wild pitch. The Ducks proceeded to surrender 17 unanswered runs, maybe five or six of which were earned.
    The Owls like to bunt, there were at least six bunts in the first two innings.
    They squeezed with an eight run lead.
    If I saw our team take infield practice before the game, I would have bunted all day as well.
    The Ducks played without five starters.
    The next Ducks, Owls game will be different.

    South Oakland plays the Matadors tomorrow at 9pm, at Spring View Field.

    Game six: Ducks 7, Phantoms 3

    pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball

    The Ducks have finally started hitting. All but two South Oakland players recorded base hits, and the Ducks overwhelmed the undermanned Phantoms at Pie Traynor field, 7-3, to raise their record to 2-3-1.

    For the second consecutive game, South Oakland’s slow-starting offense has posted seven runs. Coach Jones knocked in his first RBI of the season, and Garrett Moore, Mark Guthrie, and Andrew McCray added extra base hits, to back up Guthrie’s solid performance on the mound.
    Guthrie (1-0-1)scattered six hits and surrendered two earned runs over five innings.
    Nick Homa pitched two scoreless innings in relief for his first save of the season.

    The Ducks travel to the Findlay Sports Complex. To play the expansion Owls today, at 3pm. A win would put the Ducks at .500 and move the team into 3rd place in the Monongahela division.
    I know little about the Owls and nothing about the Findlay field.

    The Owls (2-2) screeched past the Rebels 14-9, yesterday. Knowing the Rebels, I bet they set their rotation to have their ace going against the BlackSox today, still the Owls had 18 hits.
    I found this on America’s most reputable news source

    Supposedly wise, Owls live in barns, and eat rodents.
    Number 13 might be coming down from the rafters today, either way, it’s gonna be bad news for the Owls.

    Bullet points

    • Momentum, keep it going, build on it.
    • McCray hit a Gibsonian shot off the wall in center, 418 feet away
    • This was the most complete effort of the season
    • showing up is 80% of Pittsburgh NABA baseball
    • We still haven’t had all our starters at a ganme at the same time, this has allowed coach Jones to get a look at everyone, and get everyone playing time.
    • Last game marked the end of Gwin’s 108 consecutive games played streak.
    • the Monongahela Division is Log Jammin’ right now, it’s going to be a battle all season.

    Pretty tied up: Ducks comeback, even the score vs. Phantoms

    pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball



    ___7_______________7____________

    Chris Wojoton went 3-4 including a double, a home run, a single and a walk against his former team, and Eric Tans hit the game tying single in the bottom of the seventh to cap a frantic comeback by the South Oakland Ducks(1-3-1).
    The Ducks played the game without their starting center fielder, right fielder, DH, second baseman, third baseman, shortstop, and catcher. Rick’s biceps didn’t show up, which moved South Oakland’s starting first baseman behind the plate.

    Faced with a depleted roster, Coach Jones had his work cut out for him.

    As painful as it was, the reality is the glass is half full for the Ducks after the tie. South Oakland erased Phantom leads of 2-0, 3-2, and 7-3. The Ducks equaled the offensive output of the prior three games by scoring seven last night.
    Smith (0-2) pitched six strong innings, allowing three earned runs. Mark, “Last thoughts on Woody” Guthrie pitched two shutout inning in relief.
    The Ducks trailed 2-0 in the bottom of the first when Ryan Novak (lower left) hit a 2-run home run to tie the game, driving in Chris Wojoton.
    After the Phantoms scored in the top of the third, Wojoton hit a solo HR in the bottom half of the inning to make the score 3-3. Gwin threw out a guy stealing third by ten feet thanks to the tag by Wojoton, who played a strong game at third where he was filling in for Guthrie, who was filling in for Eric Lee in center field.
    In the top of the fourth, the Phantoms scored four runs on two hits, two walks and two errors, they would score again.
    It was 7-3 going into the bottom of the fourth. South Oakland scored one in the bottom of the fourth, two in the bottom of the fifth, and one in the bottom of the seventh to scratch out a 7-7 tie.

    Bullet points

    • Garrett Moore played a solid right field, he was 2-4, with an RBI, reached on an error, stole a base and was generally disruptive on the base paths. Speed kills.
    • Eric Tans had a great night at the plate, he doubled and singled in the tying run.
    • The Ducks are undefeated since KT switched to gray pants.
    • This is the kind of game we lost last year.
    • Novak and Wojo were huge last night.
    • Most of the runs we gave up were a result of guys playing out of position. Thank you, to everyone who showed up. Even Coby and Kirk Gibson, who arrived in the 5th after they spent the evening ice-sculpting for under-privileged children in Slippery Rock, came out to support their teammates.
    • Ben Gwin needs to start hitting like Ben Gwin can hit; he is 1-12 so far this season. Since we went to wood bats, he’s hit .485 and .493 in the past two seasons. Even taking into consideration favorable bookkeeping, he is doing poorly by his own standards. Ben Gwin will start hitting.
    • On Sunday I was reading my 9-month old daughter Tolstoy, she just kept saying “Da-Da-Da-Da, Baaaaa-WEEEE”, and then turned her attention to her book, “Animal Babies” which is a small 12 page cardboard book with pictures of baby animals. The hitting analogy is in there somewhere; instead of trying to write ten-line sentences about a wisp of smoke blowing over the Russian countryside, I should simplify things ie, “I have a bill, feathers and webbed feet, what animal am I?” At least I showed up and caught. I catch a good game for an outfielder.
    • If anyone is weary of my voice, and the inevitable Ben-centric semi-rants that pop up in this blog let me know and I will send you the admin. information and you can post stuff as well.
    • I’ll buy a drink for the first person to “edit” the Blacksox wikipedia page.
    • Smith and Guthrie both pitched well, do they both get a “no decision”?
    • that field umpire is hilarious, his presence and entertainment value just barely compensate for the missed calls. Rumor has it, he studied under this guy…
    • I wonder if we’ll finish this game on Saturday before we play the Phantoms again.
    • It’s nice that the Pens’ game won’t interfere with our game on Saturday, or vice-versa.
    • Our first rundown went horribly wrong.
    • We’re entering a stretch of five games in nine days including two important division games against the Eagles and Owls respectively. During this stretch we will discover the true fabric of our pitching depth.