You Know…
Quack.
Here’s the official recap of games 2 and 3 from the league site. 
Blues Make Strong Showing in Tournament
The Commish also handed out official team awards and such. I don’t ever refer to the score book when i write these things so Joe may be a bit more accurate in his assessment.
Either way it was a blast, and as far as I can tell, the tournament experience has left us all wanting more.
The Ghostbusters play the Orange Crush at 9am this Saturday at Pie Traynor field.
Fall Ball starts this weekend, time and place TBD. There is still time to sign up at the league’s home page. Pittsburghnaba.com
The fall season will run until Thanksgiving, by then most of us will be caught in the iron clad grip of the NFL, and the Penguins’ season will be well underway. Then it is only a few months until winter meetings, and possibly a winter tournament for the Blues. I’m going to make fund raising for the Blues and Ducks and off-season priority. I have sponsorship request forms if anyone wants them. Email me at penwin66@yahoo.com, for sponsorship info, and any other ideas or questions for future tournaments.
The Metros won the Blue & Gray Classic, beating the Rangers 13-11. I don’t believe it. I hope they plan on playing in next season’s Atlantic City tournament. I want another shot at that team. I think we all do.
Metros utility player
The Pittsburgh NABA grew in leaps and bounds this season. The high level of play during the regular season helped prepare the Blues for the trip to VA. We were not overwhelmed by anyone, and a lot of that is due to the consistency of the pitching and overall team play by all the Pittsburgh teams this past year.
A lot of guys on the Ducks ask me why I don’t hate the Black Sox, and I tell them it is because I’d played alongside Kenny and Matt in AC and Phoenix. The return of Pittsburgh to the tournament circuit, will bring the league closer together, and perhaps decrease some of the animosity we’ve seen over the past seasons. It’s hard to hate guys who you have played alongside while representing your city. At the same time it intensifies the rivalries in a different way. Players from the Rebels, Matadors, Eagles, Phantoms and Owlz all declined invitations to play on the Blues.
Bringing a title home to Pittsburgh would mean as much to me as it would to bring a title home to South Oakland. I would be hard pressed to chose one over the other. In 2009 I’m hoping to accomplish both, after dominating the fall league with the Ghostbusters.
Cy Young: Ben Sorosky
My conoslation prize for an unreal performance in a game that defined the term “hard-luck loss”
Co-MVP: Craig Boley, Jason Ashcroft
The battery for our lone win in the tourney; Boley lead caught two nine inning games, was among the team leaders in OBP, and Ashcroft threw a gem in our game one victory.
Offensive Players of the Tournament: Kenny Rayl, Brian Strom
Kenny played an inspired game against the Metros, and scored our only run vs. the Rangers. Strom had the game winning RBI vs. the Illusion, and the only RBI vs. the Rangers
Outstanding defensives performance: BJ Rankin, Jason Goldie
This could have gone to anyone, but I think they stole the most hits, and played the two most important positions with incredible consistency. As is the case with the MLB gold glove award, Jason Goldie lead the team with five hits in three games, which should be noted somewhere. Goldie also threw out two runners at home.
Go Blues
Quack.
My dog died today. Her name was Zoe, she was an Akita a breed used to hunt bears. Some people have cats who bring dead moles or mice to their front door as gifts. One time Zoe broought back half a deer. In her honor, and as an ode to the Blues, the best Pittsburgh travel team on which i’ve ever had the honor of playing, here is Robert Johnson’s Hell Hound Blues.
There is an empty feeling in the pit of my gut. We should be playing today.
It would be much easier to lament the few mistakes we made and view our two narrow losses as an end for a great team ( I know I’m having a hard time getting the vision of a couple at bats from our last game out of my head), than it is too view this tournament loss as a springboard for future success. Pittsburgh has a legit travel team that can compete with anyone. The Florida Rangers can play year-round, and New York has open tryouts for anyone in the city to join their team, they also draw from a much larger pool of players. Neither team overpowered us, a few bounces the other way and we make it to the Championship today with a rested pitching staff against a beatable opponent.
The Blues are a competitive, tight-knit group who take pride in representing their city. I named Craig Boley the captain of this team and he is most certainly a leader, but leadership is ingrained in the dirt and pine tar stains which cover all 15 Blues uniforms. The hustle and the attitude of everyone was phenomenal. This is not the last the NABA tournament circuit has seen of the Blues.
***
After opening the tournament with a 6-3 win over David Copperfield’s Mennonites, the Blues had to win one of two games on Sunday to advance to Monday’s championship. The Blues lost a 2-1 heart-breaker on the game’s final at-bat to the heavily favored Florida Rangers, and a 9-7 game to the classless New York Metros who tried to cheat and talked more than group of auctioneers on crystal-meth.
The Blues finished 1-2; We beat the Illusion who beat the Metros who beat the Rangers. Pittsburgh allowed 14 runs and scored 14 runs, a far cry from the AC and Phoenix Pittsburgh teams who gave up over nine runs per game.
The pitching and defense was phenomenal for Pittsburgh all weekend, only three errors were committed all tournament. The Blues pitchers threw two complete games, Ashcroft’s game one victory, and Sorosky’s game two gem, in which he allowed a run in the first, and a run in the ninth to bookend seven consecutive scoreless innings. Unfortunately the Rangers second baseman stole at least three hits from Pittsburgh, leading a flawless defensive effort by Florida, in a game in which neither team committed an error. Jaosn Goldie threw a runner out at the plate flatfooted, after bobbling a base hit to center, Gwin threw out runners at second and home, and Vinny Gala played first base with the agility of a young Andres Galaraga. Dustin WInston was tremendous behind the plate, and the infield made all the plays. Despite clawing out a run in the top of the ninth, the Blues fell to a pinch hit walk off home run in the bottom of the ninth that barely cleared the rightfield wall. We just couldn’t string the hits together. Sorosky deserved better.
The Rangers are a classy group of players, they talked and chatted and cheered on their team. Conversely, the Metros taunted, cursed in Spanish, and harassed our guys and our manager when Joe called them out for bending the pinch running rules. That was a hard game to lose. We took a 2-0 lead in the second when Jason Ashcroft singled in two runs, and the game went back and forth Kenny Rayl gave the Blues the lead in the fifth with a ground rule double over the left field wall at the Potomac Nationals, single A stadium. until New York took a 7-6 lead in the 7th, and added two insurance runs in the bottom of the 8th. Rayl hit another double in the ninth to cut the lead to two runs. both those hits would have been home runs at the other park. Kenny had a great two games after missing the first, and played a solid game at third base against NY.
Collectively we started to press a little towards the end of the second two games, I know I did anyway.
Had Kenny made it to game one, and hit in the same manner, he’d get my MVP vote.
I have to give co-MVP honors to Jason Ashcroft and Craig Boley, Ashcroft won us our first tournament game in four years, and had two hits against New York.
Boley led the team in batting, caught two good games and played an error free game at second base against the Rangers.
Despite the sour feeling after coming so close in Virginia, I’m anxious to put on the powder blues again and represent the city.
Players on the current roster will be given the first opportunity to play in future tournaments, any opening will be filled in as necessary. We are definitely playing in the 2009 Memorial Day Tournament in Atlantic City and next year’s Virginia tournament. The Blues are strongly considering a trip to Florida in January for the Palm Beach Citrus Classic, start saving/raising money now.
I’d like to thank everyone who helped make this team and this trip a reality. I had a blast.
-Ben Gwin
one Amish disemboweled
Ashcroft (1-0)
9 IP, 3ER, 8, 4h
six dismemberments
two Amish speared with flagpole
Pittsburgh NABA Pitcher of the Year. Jason Aschroft (1-0) pitched a complete game victory, scattering four hits over nine innings as the Blues overcame deficits of 2-0, and 3-1 to defeat the Illusion in the Blue & Gray Tournament opener.
The visiting Illusion jumped out to a 2-0 lead in he first inning.
Blues CF, Jason Goldie singled and stole second in the bottom of the second Vinny Gala singled to put runners on first and third with one out. Goldie scored the Blues first run on a double steal by pinch runner Ben Gwin who entered for non-runner Gala.
The game was fast paced; solid defense by the Amish and a good pitching performance by Henry VI kept Lancaster in the game early.
Lancaster added a run in the top of the fourth. Lancaster lead 3-1 going into the bottom of the fifth when Gwin tied the game with a two run single, tying the game 3-3.
i’M CALLING ON BEN SOROSKY IS PINCH-BLOG FROM THE DAYS INN IN DUMFIRES, VA WHILE I SMOKE A CIGARETTE.
While I lay here and pinch blog, I would like to give a personal shout to Ben Gwin for his amazing play in RF today. Reminded me of a Grady Sizemore type play. 2B Joe Graff was leadoff hitter today and was like Jose Reyes getting on base everytime. Jason Ashcroft aka Brandon Webb pitched a gem of a game today and I enjoyed all the groundballs that I received at 3B. It’s fun when the pitcher throws strikes and keeps the fielders in the game. There is a reason why he was the NABA pitcher of the year. BTW, Ben Gwin was right with his prediction of cheaper prices in Virginia. Gas is 3.35 a gallon and most importantly, Blue Moon, my favorite beer, is 6.75 a 6 pack. Well, Gwin has returned and I will let him return to his blog…….
So in the bottom of the seventh I made a diving catch in right, then SS, BJ Rankin made a barehanded play on a bad hop when a ground ball hit off the infield lip.
The game was tied at three until the bottom of the eighth, when Brian Strom, after two failed bunt attempts doubled home two runs to put Pittsburgh up 5-3.
Strom would later score on Garrett Moore’s broken bat ground out, and Ashcroft shut the door in the bottom of the ninth preserving the 6-3 victory.
The Blues will secure a spot in the championship with a win over the Florida Rangers tomorrow at 8am.
Ben Sorosky is on the hill tomorrow,
Bad news for the Rangers
***
In his quest to find the Dicks sporting goods in Manasses, VA, Garret Moore got lost in the back woods of Virginia for literally three hours and arrived forty minutes late to the game. He had Guthrie, Homa and Christian’s equipment in the trunk of his car. It was a bad scene.
Garrett Moore has been owned at paper-rock-scissors and has slept on the floor for two nights.
Moore had an RBI in the game.
***
Jeremy Barchie has demanded his 2009 Ducks contract include Redman.
(profanity)
Go Blues
Quack.
Much of the Back to the Future soundtrack is written by Huey Lewis and the News.
Weird Al, parodied Huey Lewis and the News’ “I want a new Drug” with this number.
Great stuff.
Theoretically which event do you think is more likely to cause the universe to collapse on itself, should it happen again :
The Ghostbusters crossing the streams, or Marty McFly meeting himself in the past?
The Blues will leave for Virginia tomorrow, and begin play on Saturday. The schedule is still in flux.
Look for Ben Sorosky’s travel-blog tomorrow night when you get home from your Friday evening activities.
***
The South Oakland Ducks have had seven players selected to compete in national tournaments, the most of any Pittsburgh NABA team.
Ben Hartranft
Matt Swetz
Rob Swanger
Ben Gwin
Mark Guthrie
Nick Homa
Garrett Moore
Quack.
The Pittsburgh Blues officially have no history; unofficially, it starts Saturday at 12:30pm. the Blue & Gray Schedule was posted, with this disclaimer:
2008 Blue & Gray Schedule
This is a preliminary schedule and is subject to change. A final schedule will be produced and provided to manager’s at check-in.
DO NOT duplicate or distribute this preliminary schedule. Only a schedule which reads “Final Schedule” should be used for tournament purposes.
I’m guilty of possession of preliminary schedule with intent to distribute.
The Blues are one of five teams in the 18A pool.
As of now, the Blues are scheduled to play the Middlesex Pirates as 12:30 pm at Prince William Stadium, Home of the Potomac Nationals, the single A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. Personally I’m looking forward to playing in a stadium names after a fellow Welshman.
No word on whether or not this blue mascot will be in attendance, ironically, he’s also a fellow Welshman.
The Blues are scheduled to play two or their four guaranteed games at Prince William Stadium.
Is that grass on the infield?
Judging from the GoogleEarth pictures of Prince William Stadium,I linked we are probably playing our other two games in the complex surrounding the stadium, but I’m not sure.
the Stadium has actually been renamed,
G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium
7 County Complex
Manassas, VA 20110
703-590-2311
Know Your Enemy: Scouting report for the other teams in the Blue & Gray Classic 18A Division
As I mentioned yesterday, the Florida Rangers will fight .
All business.
Metro’s second baseman, has an astronomical OPS.
***
The Middlesex Pirates Myspace page.
This team is from New Jersey, but I’m guessing there’s a Pittsburgh guy with a man-crush on Andy VanSlyke on the roster somewhere.
Perhaps it is Steve Bovo (via. Middlesex Pirates Myspace)
Other reasons they could be named the Pirates include; cheapest jerseys available since the Pirates are terrible, or maybe they just like Pirates.
leaf blower with stocking.
We have to beat the Pirates
***
The enigma of the 18A Pool is the Lancaster Illusion.
The folks at NABA National HQ said they were a team of eight, that filled out their roster will pool players/mercenaries.
I’ve been to Lancaster, and I’m guessing we’ll see this guy on the hill. His stuff is filthy
Those of us familiar with Richard III know the house of Lancaster was dominated by the house of York. Look for the New York Metro’s (and the Blues) to beat the Illusion.
The Lancaster Illusion is the Ducks blog favorite non-Blues team in the division. Here’s why, besides the obvious, creative, non-plural name.
There is a chance their front office is operating on this kind of a level.
Richard III is my favorite history play by Shakespeare.
The house of Lancaster was represented by a red rose.
Guns ‘n’ Roses also incorporates the red rose in the band’s logo
Guns ‘n’ Roses’ third double album is none other than
Use Your Illusion.
Note: Use your Illusion II contains the ballad Civil War, which I have alluded to in relation to the Blue Gray Classic.
Video “Don’t Damn Me”, (profanity)
Your satisfaction lies in your illusion.
Coby this is solid Rock ‘n’ Roll.
There are also the obvious connections between Axl Rose and Richard III and the dastardly things they did in their respective quests for glory, which I may develop into a thesis.
If these guys from Lancaster did this on purpose they are my heroes.
Go Blues.
***
Quack, quack.
this is a ridiculous article from ESPN, gotta love Little League parents
The Florida Rangers are sending a team to Virginia for the Blue & Gray Tournament.
This is the league write up of a bench clearing brawl in their Championship game in the Palm Beach NABA where the Rangers get most of their players. “Law enforcement officials were called to the scene…” Interesting.
If you are free this evening come scrimmage with the Blues and some players from the Butler County league.
8pm, John Herb Field.
The Blues leave for Virginia this Friday.
From the album Exile on Main Street.
Check out Albert Kings ‘stache
A Brief and Painfull History of Pittsburgh NABA Tournament Play
I was shagging flies in cargo shorts after score keeping a 2005, Black Sox Eagles game. The Black Sox won by the ten run rule, and were drinking in their vacated dugout, a few of Eagles decided to stay late to hit.that was my unemployed, newly sober summer, and I figured I’d take advantage of the half hour before the lights turned off on Moore Park. I spent a lot of time that season not knowing what to do with myself aside from playing on the Ducks, and practicing.
As was the case with most games in 2005, Craig Boley, then acting league commissioner, had umpired the game. After he peeled off his umpire’s gear, he jogged out to left field, and asked me if I wanted to go to Phoenix to play on an all-star team and if I could bring fellow Ducks, Ben Hartranft, Matt Swetz and Rob Swanger.
The Burgh, that was our team name; stitched in block letters across our black jerseys which looked like the kind you might buy off a street vendor in Homestead. We played in Phoenix donning our sweltering black sweaters and posted a deceptive 1-4 record. memories of one game from the trip still linger and surface on the occasional summer night when I’m riding home from a game dehydrated and covered in the Spring View infield. A deflating 11-10 loss to a team from Utah.
Early in the game I misplayed two balls in right field that lead to two Mormon runs. When I got up to bat against Team Karl Malone, I crushed. I was 3-4 with three RBI, including the game tying and go ahead runs in the top of the eighth. One of which came off a balk, the other when I lined a hanging slider over short stop John Stockton’s head. After my error cost us the lead, I thought I hit the game winning RBI. We were up 10-9 going into the bottom of the eighth. Chris Feathers had pitched the whole game in 90 degree heat
Under an auspicious ruling the Mormons were allowed to use a bat with a 3/4barrell, the type which had been outlawed in all levels of play two years before.
The contest flirted with the three-hour time limit and when we turned a double play to end the eighth inning, we jumped, hugged and cheered our come from behind victory. I had redeemed myself and we stood at 1-2 for the tournament, still alive for the playoffs.
But the umpire and Karl Malone’s Mormons demanded we play on, and in the bottom of the ninth the kid with the illegal bat hit a game winning double and broke the Burgh’s back for the tournament. There was no going back after such a deflating loss. Team Malone, finished 4-1 in pool play.
We were beaten thoroughly in a game that evening by a team no more talented than we were.
Our lone victory came on the final day of the tournament against a California team who called themselves the Black Sox.
***
The next season The Burgh played in the 2006 Atlantic City Memorial Day tournament. The Ducks were represented by myself and OF/P Rob Swanger.
We did not win a game. I played an error free right field, and both Rob Swanger and I hit close to .500 for the tournament.
We had better pitching this time around, and were in the wood bat division.
The memorable game in this tournament was a 16-15 loss to Clifton, during which I went 4 for 5, but was thrown out at first base from right field.
The Burgh Trailed 10-0 in the bottom of the sixth. One of the pitchers we brought down, who is currently on the Oilers, couldn’t find the zone, the game crawled along; our black jersey’s baking us like foil around a potato on a campfire.
Rob Swanger came into pitch in the fourth and kept Clifton of the board, temporarily stifling the lineup which had put ten on the board.
We were staring a ten run mercy beating in the face, when we started hitting. Dustin Winston, who had been 1 for the tournament hit a home run and a double in the same inning. I singled twice, John Tremmel Homered. Matt Slavonic singled, Rob Swanger entered for the DH and delivered a pinch hit double to left, it was contagious we rolled that inning. The Burgh scored ten runs in the sixth to tie the game.
costly errors in the seventh lead to a 15-10 Clifton lead, but The Burgh battled back and tied it at 15. I remember a pinch hit, 2-run double by Andy Zatman.
I don’t remember how the winning run scored, but again the loss was too much to overcome and we wouldn’t win a game in the tournament.
***
Note: The South Oakland Ducks have the best batting average for a team in tournament play. Hartranft, Swanger, and myself combined to hit over .450 in Phoenix, and Rob and I both hit .500 in AC.
Feel like I talked about myself more than I would have liked in that post.
***
Pittsburgh is 1-9 in tournament play, there has never been anything on the website, we really don’t talk about it much except with each other.
Two seasons separate the current team from the league’s last tournament foray, the past bares little impact on the current group except for a core group of five tournament veterans, captain Craig Boley, Dustin Winston, Brian Strom, Kenny Rayl, and myself, Ben Gwin. This Pittsburgh team has ten new players.
The Burgh is gone, enter the Pittsburgh Blues.
The Blues are lead by a strong young pitching rotation of Duck’s ace, Nick Homa (76 K’s), Raker/Duck?) Ben Sorosky, and Pittsburgh NABA, ERA leader (1.40) John Ashcroft of the Oilers.
Where there once was that kid from the Oilers, there is now a bullpen anchored by Captain America, Mark Guthrie, along with, Strom, Winston, closer, Rankin, and Gutrie’s PCB pitcher whose name i don’t know, but he’s playing fall ball.
The Bulldogs are represented by Head Coach, Joe Graff, SS, BJ Rankin, OF/P Brian Strom, and 1B Vinny Gala.
The Ducks will send four players to Virginia; Homa, OF, C Gwin, Guthrie, and OF Garrett Moore.
The Black Sox are represented by CF Jason goldie, and player/owner 3B, Kenny Rayl.
Craig “Ultimate Warrior” Boley is the Blues captain and starting catcher, the lone Warrior on the team.
Utility player Dustin Winston, is a Python/Bulldog. He hit .750 in 2005 prompting the league’s conversion to wood bats. He also is the Pittsburgh NABA’s all time tournament home run leader. He earned the win on the mound in 2005 when we beat the Black Sox in Phoenix.
The Burgh’s nine losses are littered with winnable games.
The black, hot-box uniforms are history, replaced by the new powder blues.
A strong showing in Virginia is not assured, but the title is there for the taking.
This Labor Day Weekend it is going to bad news for everyone who plays the Blues.
South Oakland Ducks Baseball 