WWZ Week: Day 4. – Unbelievable Gray Bats Blogging.

2009 Ducks Baseball, NABA, pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball
BP Friday at 6pm.

Since you probably don’t read their site without provocation…
The Gray Bats are calling out the Ducks foil in the Campbell Conference, the PGH Bulldogs.
GrayBatsBlog-Reprise


If for some reason we had a blogger who didn’t also play on our team, or i was smart enough to be anonymous from jump street.


it would open the door for the blog to say things like who we’re going to beat etc…
but I didn’t and we don’t.

I’m just glad I’m not thinking about how I’m going to avoid a first round match-up with myself, and hoping to get forfeits from the Matadors, and hoping other teams lose etc.
Those were bleak times.

I don’t know how I’d feel if I were a player and our defact-o team spokesman specifically said we were going to lose 3 of 7 games.

(Any Duck who wants admin access to our blog is welcome to it, the more variety we have in the voice of this site the better.)

and I would sure as hell be pissed if I were Dr. Radical, and a 2-12 team said my team was one of 4 he expected to beat.
The odds are they won’t lose to them twice.
The Gray Bats figure to be active at the roster deadline.

My take on the rest of the Ducks schedule is that every game individually is winnable.
We went 9-3 in the first half of the season, and to improve that by one game and finish 19-5 seems reasonable.
The big picture goals are to advance in the playoffs, make a run at the conference title and the championship.

Kenny Powers will be out for blood the next time we face them.


Kenny Powers is a bullet-proof tiger.
(I don’t think I’m getting that recap,but if he wanted a guest spot to post some league news, or something, we could probably work that out.)

To list individually which games i think we will win is not something I would do.

The South Oakland Ducks (11-3) of the North Side have won 6 straight – a franchise record.

DR. RADICAL4Life!

This Comment thread is still active and full of spite.

Quack.

Warriors, Warriors, Owlz Week: Day Three. [re-edit] – batting practice

2009 Ducks Baseball, NABA, pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball
COMMENT THREAD FROM TWO POSTS AGO

batting practice tomorrow at 6:30 PM at Pitt IM fields. Hope to see everyone there. Ben could you put a post about this. Thanks.

***
Big Weekend ahead

The Warriors (6-5) currently hold 2nd place in the Cambpell Conference.
According to the Warriors site Craig Boley recently celebrated a birthbay.
Congratulations, Craig…

What can we expect from the Warriors this weekend?

Plenty of Don Stetzer.

They are very possibly hoping we overlook them on our way to our division game against the Owlz on Monday.
They play the Eagles Wednesday night.

Steve Heckman, the Warriors co-manager who runs his team with life partner Jason “Phil Lesh”-er, had probably the most comprehensive statistical database in the league for his team.

That’s one regret i have is being such a mess for the first two Ducks seasons that there is not much record we even existed except for our 2003 Championship trophy, and a few ancient player of the week blurbs on the league site.

I’ve been trying to calculate our all-time W-L record as it is most likely nearing the .500 mark.
I just don’t count well.
At least this season’s Ducks know I did not imagine Britton, our ss/sb from the Ducks’ early days.

Anyway, unfortunately the Warriors official homepage has been out of commission (too bad there were some very photoshop worthy pics on that site). Possibly due to Tipper Gore taking offense to the Heckman thong, which was available for purchase, and petitioning to have sale of this item banned, and the site removed.

If it wouldn’t get me banned from the pgh naba, I’d wager a ducks t-shirt vs. a Steve Heckman thong on this one -it would be the creepiest pine-tar rag ever.
(That could be a wonderfully disgusting metaphor as well.)
It is kind of a niche item.

How horrifying would it be to take home some lucky lady from Spice Cafe and then right when the moment of truth was upon you, in your drunken half-comatose state, she takes off her pants and you see Steve Heckman grinning at you.

Would you still have sex with her after you vomited all over the place?

The answer to that question will tell you a lot about yourself.

The Ducks Warriors rivalry is one that is as old as the Pittsburgh NABA.
We basically owned these guys back in the Ambridge days – when they were called the Pirahnas.
They still have nightmares about Ian Dickman.
I still have nightmares about Dickman blowing out his arm.

I hit my first lcareer home run off the Warriors’ Jason Baker, who i think pitched at Baseball Factory: Waynesburg College – no one ever asks how big the field was when you tell them you hit a home run.

League News:

The Bulldogs lost to the Electric Light Orchestra last night. Just when it looked like they had turned the corner.
Playmaker must have made his dramatic return.

To Find out more about this game check out their Blog.

He belongs on the Gray Bats, he’s a lifetime .370 something switch hitting catcher, someone put these two parties in contact.

All Star starters and pitchers were voted on by the managers.

I don’t remember everyone, but among the Ducks (11-3) who got the nod are:

  • Tony Casale -SS -who raised his avg. to an even .500 in our win over the Gray Bats
  • Adam Smith – P – 4-1, ERA 2.00, 28 IP, 29 K
  • Dr Jones will be the bench coach.

Will Kenny Powers also be an assistant to head coach Rob Cool?
Will Rob Cool finalize his roster by “acquiring” half of the Mon all-starz?
What will Black Sox and Owlz fans do when they are forced to cheer for the same team?
Will Kenny Powers pitch this season?

Will the Ducks finally get some fans at our games?

We need a harem.

Quack.

Warriors, Warriors, Owlz Week. Day Two

NABA, pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball

Be ready, Mars.

If anyone who has admin access to the blog, who has a different opinion on the Owlz than I do, I suggest they write a blog post.

I’ll post basically anything emailed to me by other teams as well, as long as it’s baseball relevant, and/or can get discussion going. Or its about the Pens.

If we need this blog to get us fired up to play against the first place team in our division, we’re jokes.
It helps against the last place team though. Thanks, Tipper.

If you have 20 min to kill check out this youtube.

Sweet hate-filled comment thread
HERE

If the Matadors or Rebels forfeit one more game, they will be dissolved.
There are 40 available free agents, yet teams still can’t get 9 on a given day and refuse to add players.

Tremmel is a beast.

We’re gunning for a bye, all the games are big from here on out.

It starts Saturday with the Warriors.

Quack.

League Newz: Owlz Black Sox Recap,

2009 Ducks Baseball, NABA, pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball
Since Our humble Ducks blog is read league-wide, and the BSox and Owlz are the two teams standing in our way of a Division title, and two of the best teams in the league, this recap is appropriate.

The Ducks are neutral in this affair, I am anyway. Both teams are, for the most part, comprised of solid human beings, and have plenty of talent.

Kenny helped get this league where it is today by putting a team out there in the old days when
Craig Boley umped every game, and if you were in the stands, there was a good chance of playing.

Rob has recruited some of the best talent this league has seen, and has made a few enemies on the way.

The Ducks concede nothing.
This will be a phenominal playoff race in the Whales Conference.

This ought to get some discussion going.

Quite possibly the inspiration for the Owlz 3rd jerseys

Here’s an unedited Owlz B-Sox recap in its entirety.

By Rob CoolRivalries. It’s why we play the games. It’s the trash talking, the hatred, the adrenaline, the competitive edge that makes these games so important to each team. It’s that desire to come up with that big play so that you can give your team bragging rights ’til the next round. It’s this type of game where you want to play your very best. It’s where heroes are made by those who back it up on the field, and fools are made by those who can talk the talk, but fail to walk. But most importantly, rivalries are why we play the game.

The Imperial Owlz and Brookline Blacksox rivalry is all of the above. The history dates all the way back to the RMU club days. A rivalry where trash talking and hatred have led to fights on and off the field. A rivalry where Pittsburgh NABA legends have been born (Dunn). A rivalry where so called all-stars have continuously failed to show up (I’ll refrain from this one). The Old vs The Youth. The NOWS vs the HAS BEENS. The team who talks the talk vs the team who walks the walk. This is THE rivalry in the Pittsburgh NABA.

Since Gwin runs a censor free blog, I’ll finally have the chance to post the Owlz feelings towards the Blacksox. WE FUCKING HATE THEM. It’s not even the guys on the team that we hate; all are pretty cool dudes. It’s just a hatred that happens once we both take the same field. The way they carry themselves about by chirping from their dugout, or acting hard by staring you down on the field. Or how they bring fans just to talk shit on us during the game. It’s just one of those things.

Putting those feelings to the side, Saturday night was no different than previous meetings. Another game filled with a great pitching duel, flawless defense, and cluth hitting.

The first inning flew by with both Dunn and Slavicek mowing down two batters a peice. Beatty recorded the first hit and run of the game when he doubled down the line to start off the 2nd, later scoring on Hazel walk. Spicer came through with a clutch two out, two RBI single to make the score 3-0. The Owlz would then add another on an RBI single by Spina.

In the bottom frame, St. Amant gave the Sox their first hit of the game, crushing the hopes of another Dunn no-hitter. With guys on 1st and 2nd, no outs, Dunn would go on to strike out the net three batters, killing the momentum.

The 3rd and 4th frames were the pitching duel at it’s finest. 10 total strikeout combined, Dunn 6 and Slavicek 4. A single by Klayko and a triple by Cool were the only two hits in those innings. Klayko eventually made his way to second on a steal, while Cool nearly scored on a squeeze bunt off the bat of Theobald.

The Owlz would go on to add two more runs in the top of the 5th, when Dunn and Lamont both added RBI singles to their night. But the top of the 5th was where the offensive production for both teams stopped. Both Dunn and Cannon would go on to strike out 3 a piece in the final two innings.

Slavicek ended the game with 8 strikeouts in 4 innings pitched while Dunn sat down 15 Blacksox batters. Klayko is a ball player. He came up with one of the four Blacksox hits and had a huge putout at home. Spicer came up big for the Owlz going 2-3 on the night with 2 RBI’s.

The win now brings Dunn’s career record to 5-0 vs the Blacksox. in 31 innings pitched, he has given up only 3 earned runs while striking out 55. An even more impressive stat; only 13 total hits.

Final Score- OWLZ 6- Sox 0

***

What happened on the squeeze?
The Ducks are quietly 11-3, while these two teams beat the shit out of each other.

Kenny if i get something from you I’ll put it right in this space.
Or give you a new post tomorrow or something, whatever you’d prefer.

Quack, Quack.

Game 14 Recap. Sober Enough to be Effective: Ducks 5, Gray Bats 0

2009 Ducks Baseball, NABA, pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball
The anticipation leading up to this game was worse than waiting for the methedone clinic to open.
After a week of smack talk, 8am was finally upon us.
Sorosky is now 1-1 in guarantees, which is better than his W-L record this year.
(WOOOOOOOOO!)

The rational baseball talk pointed to a pitching advantage for the Gray Bats, and all South Oakland Ducks pitcher Mike Fletcher (2-0) did was show up and toss a complete game shutout, against the highly touted and talented Gray Bats starter, Ben Sorosky (1-2).

The Ducks got on the board in the first when Mark Captain America Guthrie hit a bases loaded, 2-out double to put South Oakland of the North Side ahead 2-0.


Nick Homa could not score from first, due to the leg injury that has kept him off the mound the past few games.

The Gray Bats threatened in the third, but Benji the Hunted hit into a 3-6-1 double play.

then he shit on the carpet and was put to sleep.

There was a time not too long ago, when the Ducks were literally incapable of turning such a double play.
Depo is a machine.

The Ducks added two more in the 5th or something when Casale and Gwin had back to back hits and wound up on second and third before Sorosky wisely pitched around Kirk Gibson to load the bases for Captain America.
Whom he also wisely pitched around.

try not ending that sentence in a preposition.

Captain took the free pass for his 3rd RBI.

Keeper of the Helmets hit a blistering shot to deep short, for an RBI fielder’s choice.
Then RolandThompsonGunner shot a Sorosky changeup into left for an RBI single, he never takes vacations.

5-0 Ducks and Fletcher was cruising.
later in the game he struckout Altmeyer with a runner on second.

After an explosive hitting display by Murphy,

and some good pitching by Sorosky to keep his team in it, The Gray Bats finally threatened in the top of the seventh.

They loaded the bases after a couple errors by the Ducks 4th-string 3rd baseman (one by Tipper Gore himself – “How was I to know she was with the Russians too?), and an infield single.

Fletcher struckout a guy in between somewhere and induced a game ending 6-3 double play.

The Ducks improved to 11-3, and the Gray Bats (who lost a 2-1 nail-biter to Kenny Powers and the Black Sox today) had their winning streak snapped before it started, and now sit at 2-14.

It is now impossible for the Gray Bats to finish with a better record than the Ducks, who have outscored them 13-0 in two games and have defeated their two top starting pitchers.

The BSox lost to the Owlz, Saturday 5-0.
The Ducks sit in second place thanks to our win over the Black Sox back in April.

Scott Dunn may get my vote for Co-MVP with Jesse Smith if he keeps this up.

The Ducks went 11-9-2 last season thanks to a 7-2-1 finish.
We are 18-5-1 in our last 24 regular season games.

Kirk, how about some bullet points for tomorrow’s post.

Quack.

Ducks win

2009 Ducks Baseball, NABA, pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball
Ducks 5, Gray Bats 0


13-0 combined in two games.

Mike Fletcher (2-0) has pitched 14 consecutive scoreless innings.

Captain America: 2-2, BB, 2 2b, 3rbi
Murphy: 2-3 2 2b
Casale: 3-3, 2 2b
Gwin: 1-3 2b
Gies: 1 rbi
Kolaja: 1-3 rbi
Depo is a beast, may or may not have shit his pants and still played fantastic first base.

The Ducks won without six starters.

The Ducks (11-3) have equaled last season’s win total with ten games remaining.

Quack.

full, offensive, recap to follow.

It’s possible I crossed the line in some of my comments in past posts, but I stand behind this blog, and won’t change the way I write it.

This was a victory for America.



Go Ducks

Gameday [Kunitz] : Ducks vs Gray Bats

NABA, pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball
Ducks (10-3) vs. Gray Bats (2-12)

8am John Herb Field.

Sorosky said he chose teh Gray Bats over the Ducks because he thought he’d have a better chance to win a championship.
Sounds a lot like Marian Hossa.

Any chance of the Ducks overlooking the 2-12 Gray Bats flew out the window during a ridiculous week of blogging.

A Ducks win guarantees that we gain ground on someone in the standings with the Owlz and Black Sox playing later tonight.

That’s the only guarantee that matters.

After dropping a double header to the Rebels, whomever used to write on the old Gray Bats blog defended the Confederacy and questioned my belief in Abe Lincoln.

That sounds exactly like something someone who wants to bring up blog etiquette at a league meeting, and try to censor our blog, would do.
(Things are only going to get more offensive I assure you.)

Abe Lincoln believes in free speech

So does Rage Against the Machine

Bad News for the Gray Bats


Quack, Quack, Quack.

Gray Bats, Weak – Day 6: Close Your Eyes and Try to Think About Baseball

NABA, pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball
DUCKS:
PRACTICE 5:30 Pitt IM Field
(Bulldogs Welcome)

Maybe you wrestled in high shcool, maybe you wrestled lightwieght and their was that one school who had some 80lb chick in that weight class. You had to wrestle her or take a forfeit.
It was a lose-lose situation.
Either you won and were supposed to, or god forbid you lost to a girl.

Maybe you got to touch a boob, and if you had as bad of acne as I did as a freshman in high school, it was a big deal.
The Gray Bats (2-12) are that 80 lb girl The South Oakland Ducks of the North Side (10-3) have to wrestle this weekend.
A 10-3 team is supposed to beat a 2-12 team 95% of the time.
This Saturday can not be that 5%

Thisrivalry has gone beyond baseball at this point.
A member of Gray Bats management is trying to lead us to believe that they are concerned for the league’s well-being and how the Pittsburgh NABA may be negatively effected by blogs done in poor taste.
How dare he attack the Bulldogs blog like that.
It is a fine site.

Really I think it’s just a matter of frustration at being called out for batting a .200 hitter in the 6th spot in the lineup, and thinking that’s a personal attack when the stats are available online.
And for posting a 2-12 record through 14 games.
And it could be argued that their was never an issue with taste until the Gray Bats were the brunt of it.
Or he thinks he should be the one who makes value judgments for the whole league.
just possibilities, not a personal attack.

(B-Sox, Owlz recap, by Kenny Powers by Sunday or Monday)

In big-picture league news the 10-2 Brookline Black Sox and the 10-0 Imperial Owlz play Saturday night at 9pm at Moore Park.
The Ducks sit at 10-3.
The top two teams in the division get byes.
In the second game of the season we beat the Black Sox 5-3.
Their only other loss is to the Hurricanes.
They have won ten straight, I think.

I am going to guess that the Black Sox and Ducks used last year’s Owlz team as the measuring stick for how much each of our respective teams needed to upgrade to win the Championship.

The Ducks added a couple arms and a few infielders, Darren Daulton, C, Mars, CF, and got stronger up the middle and moved some players who were playing out of position last year back into their natural spots, and that has lead to a 10-3 start.

The Black Sox added the Slaviceks, and Chalfin and a couple other pitchers and that guy who plays third, who used to be on the Phantoms.

The Owlz don’t have one player on their team who doesn’t play at least DIII basaeball.
The chance to play against and beat that team is what baseball is all about.
I know the Black Sox aren’t going into that game scared.
I know the Owlz are out for blood.
The former Gray Bats blogger has griped incessently about how unfair it is to have to play against the Owlz.
He also has lost 3 games to the Black Sox and Ducks by an average of about 7 or so.
No Coplaints about our teams.

Everyone who wants a chance to play baseball is allowed to play in this league it’s important we don’t lose sight of that.
But don’t base your team around the “we give everyone a chance to play ball” theory, and complain incessently that you can’t win.
You either win and try to get everyone in,
or you get everyoen in and try to win.
The way things have been headed it’s one or the other, and that’s why we will realign next year.

Last season I basically compared the Black Sox to a bunch of criminals, it was clearly done in jest, but they didn’t take it so f-ing seriously, and are some of my most loyal readers (the ones who can read, anyway – woooooooooooooo!).

A sense of humor and more importantly some self awareness can go a long way.
I know the definitions of slander, and liable and nothing I do falls into that category.
What one person thinks is offensive, another thinks is funny, or not, who cares.

(We’re Gonna Have Tryouts)

The bloggery has given life to a game between two teams who are nine games apart in the standings.
The gray Bats have nothing to lose, the best they can do is get to 4th in the standings.
All the pressure’s on the Ducks.

If I were the Ducks starting pitcher and I kept hearing how great Sorosky is, and how they have the edge in pitching I’d be pissed.


Censorship is wrong.

LET”S GO PENS!!!

Thanks for reading and leaving comments.

Quack.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

2009 Ducks Baseball, NABA, pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball
I wouldn’t normally post an email, but this is rediculous.

Got my Phish tickets in the mail, they do a great cover of this Beatles tune.

Let’s include discussion about blog etiquette too. Potential NABA players can view them. Much of the discussion is in bad taste.

This isn’t an issue of free speech if there isn’t a link to the blogs from the NABA site, but there are. Blogs should be clean and project a positive image. No personal attacks either.

I’m as guilty as everyone else, but I think things should change.

Just a thought. Thanks for listening I just want to make this a better experience for everyone.

[Anonymous Gray Bats manager]


I don’t moderate comments. I dish it out I can take it [sometimes better than others]. I think there should be more blogs, preferably ironic ones that make fun of the very idea of blogging, and new media vs. AP press clipping type stuff.


If Kenny Powers and/or Rob, “Razor Ramon” Cool, are reading, if either of you wants to email me, or post in the comments a preview, recap, or any other thoughts on your upcoming Black Sox vs.Owlz Steel Cage match, it would be greatly appreciated.

It will actually get read by the league players and interested parties on the Ducks blog.



I go out of my way not to make personal attacks, I use pronouns – nicknames whenever its applicable, if I wanted to attack people they’d know about it.

Who among us is so self righteous that they should decide what’s in good taste?

Boobs.

_Ben Gwin

Gray Bats Week Day 5

2009 Ducks Baseball, NABA, pittsburgh NABA
If it stops raining we’ll practice at 6:15 today.
5:30 pre-game[s] bp tomorrow.

SOLID DUCKS/BATS PREVIEW:
GRAY BATS BLOG REPRISE

They claim Lombardi is the best hitter in this contest.
He did rip a double off of Dunn last game, solid hit. He’s a ball player.
It’d be a shame if he got pitched around with no one protecting him in that lineup.

Leads both teams in all major offensive categories.
Once had a sweet mullet in junior high, just like “Dutch” himself.

Pitching Altmeyer would have been like throwing Sorosky again
If Sorosky and Ameyer are the same pitcher, it looks like another 8-0 Ducks victory.

They take obvious care not to insult the bottom of our lineup
Whalen has been batting 8th, he’s hitting .357, with a .912 ops and is tied for the team lead in triples.
Our team has 8 players hitting over .333

Captain America is ready to break out

We don’t get the “let’s throw this asshole who pitched once in little league” because this team has a win% under .200 pitchers.

  • Kirk Gibson our 6th hitter is batting .350 with a .885 ops
  • The Invisible Hand, Nick Homa and Wojton Clan are out for Saturday with non-hockey related injuries.
  • Britton Dickey leads the league in RE.

Some thoughts on the Owlz – Graybats trash talk from last week.
when an “automatic out” is talking shit, threatening to bean him is too easy. I agree with the owlz decision not to throw at anyone.
The way to go, in my opinion, is to throw at someone else for the indiscretions of the “automatic out”
Anyone but a pitcher, and not in the head.

like how your high school football coach would make everyone else do push ups if you went off sides in practice.

Not that the Ducks would do something like that, not when a team struggles so mightly to get on base in the first place.
Right?
***

Sorosky came to us wanting to play on the Ducks after a bad experience on the Rakers.
We couldn’t offer the same playing time as the Gray Bats.

This game is about the players who are on the Ducks not guys who could have been.

Depo left the Gray Bats becuase he couldn’t take the selfish management of Larry Z The Delusional.
***