Author: mightyeskimo

Ducks Lose. Mound Destroyed.

2012 South Oakland Ducks Baseball

Playing without team MVP, and number one starting pitcher James Fago (and three other regulars) South Oakland dropped its most important game of the season 13-11 to the Clinton Cherokee Wednesday night. We fought hard and came up just short. Clinton led 4-0, after one, 7-1 after two and we brought it to i think 9-8 in the third.  Then they scored three in the fourth, and one in the fifth before we put up three in the bottom of the sixth. I could go get the book out of my car to make sure, but I won’t.

I’m not one for moral victories. We had a chance to win the division and we didn’t. Maybe we still allow 13 runs if we have a couple guys in on defense, but we only made a few errors, a pop-up and two grounders. Everyone who showed up played hard. Guthrie and Strom played especially well, and maybe those two don’t get in if everyone’s there, so who knows. Clinton ran on us all day, if we have another infielder we can maybe make defensive moves to address that. It’s frustrating.

They also hit like fifteen home runs.

We split the season series with Clinton and aside from our first matchup we’ve played them tough every time. I don’t think they expected that.

One positive I take from the loss is that we battled, and we were patient at the plate against that kid who threw at least 120mph and let him walk us.

We had the winning run at the plate in the bottom of the sixth.

The game was called due to time limit. I definitely managed the pitching as if we were playing seven, and that’s my fault for not realizing we were going to come up against the time limit, which I should have figured out when it was 9-8 in the third.

We’ve got to retire the Duck Pond next year. That field is getting dangerous due to neglect by the city, and their reluctance to let us work on it or get us the keys to the equipment shed.

Tessyier removed the rubber in the fifth and both teams pitched without it.

We open the playoffs next Sunday July 22nd, agains the 3 seed in the other division, which will be either the Bulldogs or the Militia.

Commish says the cross-divisional playoff games are a means to not punish the stronger division, which makes sense, but I think it may cause issues in the second round if both two seeds advance there isn’t a way to properly re-seed, since all season we’ve been playing for best division record. No matter what Joe does someone will be unhappy. Playoff seeding won’t be what keeps us from playing for another championship, if we don’t get out of the semis it will be lack of pitching depth necessary to win a 3 game series.  We’ll figure something out.

The Ducks play the Black Sox Sunday night at 9pm at Moore Park.

Nothing substantial comes up when you google, “militia bomb baseball field”

2012 South Oakland Ducks Baseball

What a shit show.

Most of the Ducks starters enjoyed the MLB home run derby last night, the Militia put on one themselves.

Really awful all the way around. last night’s game was literally the worst loss in team history, edging out our earlier 17-1 loss to the Bulldogs. We’ve never allowed 21 runs before.

The Militia are going to be tough to beat when they have all their guys there.

I will say that the problem with the unbalanced value of the division vs. non-division games, in the case of our team, is we tend to lose them by double digits since no one shows up.

I guess we lack depth.

The division is on the line Wed. we need to play a bit better if we expect to win.

Despite losing games 17-1, 17-2, and 21-4 this season, we are in contention for a division title with three games left in the season, and we’ve clinched at least the two seed in the opening round.

The Ducks play the Cherokee Wednesday night, 9pm at SpringView Field.

quack

Back From Vacation

2012 South Oakland Ducks Baseball

It’s hot in Texas and the Gulf of Mexico is green and surrounded by mosquitos…

Also, the Ducks lost 8-3 to the Black Sox last Monday. I was not in attendance, but it seems like a couple big errors did us in. The loss is very frustrating as we could have put ourselves in a situation where we only needed to win one of our two remaining division games against the cherokee and sox respectively.

We still control our own destiny, and are 1.5 games up on the Cherokee who are currently playing a scalding double header in Clinton against Cranberry.

They could drop one, stranger things have happened.

If they win both, they are half a game back and can clinch the division with a win against the Ducks on Wed.

South Oakland’s next game is a non-division contest against the Militia, Monday night, 9pm at Spring View Field.

quack.

Ducks Win: Ducks 7, Cranberry 6

2012 South Oakland Ducks Baseball

James Fago hit a walk off two-run single in the bottom of the seventh to lead South Oakland past Cranberry Wednesday night. South Oakland (8-1, 11-6-2) led 5-2 after the first inning, but Cranberry (1-7, 6-13) scored 1 run in the third, fifth and sixth innings to tie the game at 5 and took a 6-5 lead in the seventh.

In the bottom of the seventh with one out, Casale and Johnston hit back to back singles, then Morgan walked to load the bases for Fago who ended the game with a single to center.

With three division games remaining, the Ducks lead the Cherokee (6-3, 13-6) by 2 games.

The Cherokee have two games left against Cranberry and one against us.

We have two against the Black Sox and one against the Cherokee.

We lead the season series 2-1 over the Cherokee.

I’m pretty sure if we finish tied we lose the tie breaker.

Notes: Bring back Right Down Broadway. The plate ump last night was unspectacular.

The kid who pitched for Cranberry threw well. He also hit a solo home run in the first.

Good teams win close games. Cranberry had a chance to steal one, and I think it was Guthrie and TJ Morgan’s veteran leadership that pulled South Oakland through last night.

It’s going to be a battle for the last playoff spot between the Black Sox (2-6) and Cranberry (1-7).

South Oakland has won four straight and ten of twelve since starting 1-4-2

The Ducks are off until Monday when we play the Black Sox at home.

Quack.

Game Day 19: Ducks vs. Cranberry

2012 South Oakland Ducks Baseball

South Oakland Ducks of the North Side (7-1, 10-6-2)

vs

Cranberry (1-6, 6-12-1)

9pm

SpringView Field

 

Tonight the Ducks will attempt to sweep Cranberry, and win another important division game.

A victory puts us two games up on the Cherokee with three to play.

We control our own destiny.

 After that 17-1 loss to the bulldogs in the third game of the season, and the 11-10 loss to Carrick the following, it’s incredible we’re in this position.

 We’re undefeated in division games at home this season.

Bad News for Cranberry.

 

Ducks Clinch Playoff Spot, Defeat Black Sox 5-2.

2012 South Oakland Ducks Baseball

South Oakland (7-1, 10-6-2) defeated the Brookline Black Sox(2-6, 7-10) and long-time nemesis pitcher Pete Chalfin, by a score of 5-2 Saturday night to clinch at least the second seed in the Monongahela Division.

I wasn’t at the game, but apparently Fago hit a triple and Swartwout put one off the wall in right center, which is about a 400 ft shot. Ken Cool, I’m sure, was dominant.

Fago pitched a complete game and hit double digit strikeouts.

We were without four starters for this one.

Apparently, Saturday night was Chalfin’s last game in the league as he is moving somewhere to do something to better his life, so good for him and for the Ducks. He was one of the toughest pitchers I’ve faced, one of the few guys I really don’t like hitting against. Not that that means a lot coming from a guy who’s primary offensive weapons are the flare to right, and leaning in to inside curveballs, but players far better than I will tell you Pete was a tough competitor and made the Black Sox a lot better. He was also an avid reader and commentator on the blog, back when people avidly read and commented. So thanks for that, Pete.

Two of the most memorable and crushing Ducks losses came at the hands of Chalfin and the Black Sox, a 1-0 thriller in 2009 when he dueled it out with Mike Fletcher, and a 5-4 ten-inning affair in the 2009 playoffs the year the Black Sox upset the Owlz, and lost to the Hurricanes in the finals.

Two of the Ducks biggest wins were over Chalfin: Guthrie defeated Chalfin to clinch the Championship for the Ducks in 2010, and this year Fago out-pitched him to earn South Oakland a playoff spot and keep us out in front of the Cherokee in the division race. I’m glad we could send him out with a loss. Take that splitter and don’t come back.

*

Huge win last night for South Oakland. Now the Black Sox are playing for their playoff lives, without their ace, and we’re in the driver’s seat for the division having won nine of eleven.

The Ducks next game is wed night at home against Cranberry.

Quack.

GameDay 18: Ducks at Black Sox

2012 South Oakland Ducks Baseball

South Oakland Ducks (6-1, 9-6-2)

vs

Brookline Black Sox (2-5, 7-9)

9pm

Moore Park

Typically the Black Sox start slow and pull it together 1/4 of the way through the season. It’s taken longer this year, but they’ll be tough tonight. Especially at home.

Our victory over Brookline earlier this season was our 4th straight regular season win over the Black Sox dating back to last season.

And it was the first time in a long time the Ducks and Sox met with both teams under .500.

The Ducks have won 8 of our last 10, getting it together a bit earlier that Brookline this year, after a similarly rough start.

Since dropping 3 straight to the Cherokee, the Black Sox have won 4 straight.

Kenny Powers must be coachin’ ’em up down there, or over there, whichever.

We can clinch a playoff spot and the second seed in the division with a win tonight, plus we’d gain a half game on the idle Cherokee. A Cranberry loss tomorrow would also clinch us a spot, but hopefully they beat Clinton.

The Ducks-Sox rivalry has been kind of lost in the shuffle with Ken Cool’s brother seceding from the Ducks with two-thrids of our pitching staff, but tonight in Moore Park it’ll be in full swing. I love playing there those fans make it feel like our games matter in a way that adult-league baseball in June normally doesn’t.

We can write ourselves a great story for this season if we keep winning and take the division, a win tonight gets us a lot closer.

Bad News for the Black Sox

Ducks Win. South Oakland 5, Express 1

2012 South Oakland Ducks Baseball, Ducks win, South Oakland Ducks Baseball

James Fago went 3-for-3 with 3RBI and Randy Patton earned his third consecutive win to lead South Oakland (9-6-2) to a 5 – 1 victory over the Carrick Express (2-13-1) Monday night.

Ken Cool and Gwin opened the game with back to back hits, Swartwout scored Cool on a sac fly and Fago doubled home Gwin to put South Oakland up 2-0.

The Express scored in the fourth to cut the lead in half, then Fago drove in two runs with a single to left in the top of the fifth inning.

The Ducks fifth run came when Tony Casale scored from second on a 6-4 fielder’s choice.

***

Some notes:

We’d be dead in the water without Randy and Jared, both of whom we picked up off waivers and have pitched well for us. Randy hasn’t lost in three starts.

Tony Casale is playing the best baseball i’ve seen from him since he joined the Ducks in ’08, and he and Houseman have been fantastic up the middle.

We’ve won eight of our last ten.

It’s probably going to take a 10-2 division record for us to win the division, unless Cranberry beats Clinton in one of their remaining three matchups.

We play Brookline in Brookline Saturday night then Cranberry next wed, before we finish Black Sox-Cherokee-Black Sox.

South Oakland’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 1.

quack

Ducks Win: South Oakland 12, Carrick 2 (6)

2012 South Oakland Ducks Baseball, Ducks win

That’s more like it.

With the Ducks (8-6-2, 6-1) leading 3 – 2 in the 4th, Ken Cool kit a bases clearing double to increase the lead to 6 – 2, and South Oakland of the North Side cruised to a 12 – 2 victory behind another strong pitching performance from Randy Patton.

Swartwout and Gwin had 3 hits a piece and every Duck reached base at least once.

Casale played an exceptional game at second, walked and scored 4 times and stole three bases.

On separate occasions, Begley was hit by a pitch and Moore walked and stole second.

The Ducks have won seven of their last nine games, and play Carrick again on Monday June 18th before resuming divisional play against a rejuvenated Black Sox team in Brookline on the 23rd.

quack.