more to the picture than meets the eye

The Canes were ten runs better than South Oakland on Monday.
Not a great way to open the season. The Hurricanes never trailed. The Ducks couldn’t get a key hit.
Rafalski had 11 RBI.
I’m not a believer in games being closer than the score indicates.
One positive, Ducks pitcher Mark Guthrie pitched four solid innings allowing 2 earned runs, striking out MVP Andy Rafalski 3 times. Captain’kept us in it.

The Fightin’s in their terrifying ninja-black uni’s led 2-0 going into the top of the fourth, after an infield hit or an error or maybe a walk had runners on first and second with one out. (It was hard to see them, like playing against smoke and eye-black and stirrups).
The Hurricanes’ seven and eighth batters singled in two runs and probably stole a couple bases putting Sto-Rox up 4-0.

Guthrie was lifted and the Ducks bullpen had trouble with command, allowing 7 runs, several maybe 5 earned, in the last two innings.

That’s the first time i faced Rafalski. He’s tough. He shut us down.
the MVP recorded something like 16 K’s, and I think we only had one or two hits.
Not the guy you want to face for your first live pitching of the season.
Hats off.
I hope we get another shot at these guys. We didn’t give them our best.

Mike Cimera (sp.) was 1-2 with a walk, 2 stolen bases and a run scored.
no one else, aside from Guthrie did much.
Kirk walked twice i think. Solid OBP%

We’ll be fine. But the intensity has to pick up.

South Oakland has a week off before facing the Edmonton Oilers Monday the 26th at 9pm.

I think Ducks legend, Matt Swetz, is an Oiler now.
If he had the same number all 3 years as a Duck I’d have retired it.

Losing is no fun.

We can still finish somewhere between 18-6 and 22-2, as has been projected by various sports books.
It’s important to peak at the right time.

quack.

Ducks vs. Hurricanes
9pm
Spring View Field

Solid.

We get the Fightin Rafalski’s right out of the gate. The defending champs, probably with last year’s MVP on the hill.
unrelated? you be the judge.

Opening day is a crap-shoot. It’s gonna come down to which team can shake the rust off first. Who’s in better shape after a long winter of watching the Steelers disintegrate and Pitt disappoint us in the tourney.

The Hurricanes eat kittens. They fight old ladies. They are responsible for the Jehovah’s witnesses showing up at your house and banging on the windows while you’re in the middle of watching Terminator and getting a hand job from that girl who works at the coffee shop.
Last year we beat them 2-0 behind Homa’s one-hit shutout.
They have nice orange uni’s.
And they have the belt.
We have half a new team, a re-tread coach, and haven’t made it past the quarter finals since 2004.

We’ll come out fightin’

Mantis’ spot in the rotation has been filled, but his absence leaves an irreconcilable void in the shadowy recesses of our collective subconscious.

Bad News for the Hurricanes

VS.

Home Plate, Catcher’s Gear, Helmets.
We need these things for the game tomorrow

Also we need a new Keeper of the Helmets.
Godspeed Sir. Gies.
You will be missed.

***
Check email, and spam folder for the eteamz invite to register online.
sorry for the confusion on that end. I’m old computers confuse me.
BP at 6:30 tomorrow at the Pitt IM field.
leave for the field at 7:45

2010 marks year 3 of the blog, and season eight for the Ducks.

South Oakland for Life.

Quack.

Practice this Sunday 1:30pm Pitt IM fields

Opening Day:

Monday 4/19/10
9pm
Spring View Field.

South Oakland Ducks of the North Side
vs.
The Fightin Rafalski’s

Brian Rafalski, Olympic Medalist, Stanley Cup Champion, Patriot.

Only Kenny Powers’ new bff, Cane’s head coach, Randy Shannon, knows if we’ll get reigning League MVP Brian Rafalski on the hill when we play the Fightin’s

Fightin’s Head Coach ponders the Sto-ROx opening day starter

The Hurricanes couldn’t have won two best of three series en-route to the title if they were a one man team.

Unable to get past the Fightin’s for the title last season

Ask the Sox how it was trying to hit Rekker with the title on the line last season. Regardless of who they throw, this game will give us an idea of how close we are to a championship caliber team.

Three days till the first pitch.

I’m lookin’ for writer in residence, Swoosh, to give us a post between now and Monday.

Quack

Keep your head on a swivel.

Monday April 19th, 9pm Spring View Field

South Oakland Ducks of the North Side vs.Fightin’s

BP at Pitt at 6:30
Leave for the filed at 7:45

Practice Sunday at 1:30pm at the Pitt IM Fields.

Bring the rest of your dues.

Quack

Mon 4/19 at Spring Hill 9pm
Hurricanes at Ducks

Mon 4/26 at Spring Hill 9pm
Oilers at Ducks

Thu 4/29 at John Herb 8:30pm
Ducks at Maulers

Good news Ducks! Even though we’re not officially a 2010 NABA team (according to the league website) we already have teams jockeying to play us.

The Fightin’ Eddies of the Butler-Eagle County Baseball League have informed me that they would like to celebrate our nation’s past time by playing a game our two against the South Oakland Ducks. I received a request from occasional Duck, PCB alum and coach of the Fightin’ Eddies, Christian Necheff. A requested time for a game would be any of the upcoming Saturdays or Sundays. Location TBD.

As a baseball enthusiast myself, I’ve had the opportunity to play with the Eddies, so I figured I’d give you a little information about the team from Natrona Heights.

First of all, most of them are convicts:

But since this is can be a common theme in the NABA (read Black Sox), the Ducks should have no issues with this. And although their name might suggest otherwise, the Eddies do more than just Fightin’. This spokeswoman from Natrona Heights can verify that the Eddies enjoy an oat soda every now and then.

Yikes

The Eddies are a good team that can play some baseball and have fun at the same time, much like the Ducks. So anybody who’s in for playing some non-league games in the next couple weeks as a warm-up, let me know and we’ll get a game or two set up.

Speaking of non-league games, now is the time to start planning the Barnstorming Tour of ’10. Last year was a good start; the weekend in Erie was a great success. The tournament in Butler County was a rather different story. However, that should only encourage the Ducks to increase their barnstorming for 2010.

If for nothing else, there’s always a good possibility of this happening

What red-blooded American doesn’t want to watch that thing burn down?

Ducks Barnstorming Tour ’10 is set to begin.

Live from Sir Pizza the 2010 Pittsburgh NABA draft has had some unprecedented occurrences. The Hurricanes and Bulldogs pulled off the first ever draft time trade when the Bulldogs traded a pick for two future Hurricane picks. Vinny Gala of the Bulldogs was quoted as saying “F***”.

Rafalski vs. Ducks

The Hurricanes are out for blood against the Black Sox this season.

Rumor has it Kenny Powers neared fisticuffs with the Rafalski’s leader at a local watering hole over the weekend.

Who would have thought the Cane’s and Sox would engage in such behavior?
Shocking.
The ‘Canes manager must not know about Kenny’s training regime.

Things are going to get heated this season.
I can’t wait for more Eastbound and Down so i have some new youtube clips to use.

anyway, sincere congrats to the Canes for winning the title last season.
I look for the Buldogs to take the Campbell Conference this season, basically due to their collective sense of humor.
They are in mid-season form

The Bulldogs blog has been much more active than i have (
i’ll get back in the swing come the end of the semester ) and consider the Ducks and Black Sox the favorites going into the season.

The Militia will be tough.
The team with the best regular seaosn record last year has dispersed primarily into the Sox and Ducks, with a few guys scattered about the rest of the league.

Which leads me to the realignment issue.

Were going to A and AA this season.
this is a good move.

In Graff we trust

We will be able to attract and retain more players this way.

The AA Division will be broken into Wales and Campbell Conferences again.

Campbell Conference: Fightin’s, Bulldogs, Warriors, ? Bombers/Matadors/Pythons (?) I forget who the 4th team is, the Oilers have moved down to A where they will play with three teams about whom i know nothing.

The Wales Conference is a three horse race already with the Sox, Ducks, and Millitia looking to try to avoid losing 8am games to the Eagles, who are rebuilding, but should return a solid core of players and fans who will throw batteries at Santa if they have to.
Will the Eagles throw Adam Smith against us?
There’s a nice subplot there.

Ducks Team Preview will be up in April.

Added to the Ducks lineup is former Pirate, Chris Duffy,
Friend of Tony Casale

Congrats to former Skip, all time winningest Ducks coach, TC Jones for getting a short story accepted for publication.
The Ducks lead the league in published writers.
I’m not linking any work here.

There will be a best of three series between the Wales and Campbell Conference winners to determine the AA Championship and the top seed in the League Tournament.
We have to win our division to have a shot at the AA title, this adds to the regular season what everyone making the playoffs takes away, in some regard.

This will be fine. The Ducks will be right there at the end.
The division title is huge as is the AA title, but the ultimate goal is the league championship tournament.

I have always been more of a baseball purist, so i am sad to see the traditional playoff format go.
Still now we can win the AA title and the League title if things fall into place.

Artist’s interpretation of Ducks beating other teams in Pittsburgh NABA

I can’t wait to feel the hate in Moore Park this summer, it lets me know I’m alive.

Quack.