amateur baseball

Ducks Ride Three-Game Win Streak into Holiday Break

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South Oakland rallied from a 5-1 deficit to beat the South Side Eagles, 11-5 in Ross Tuesday night. The game was close until the bottom of the sixth inning when Cody Quinn iced the game with a bases laded 2-run single. Brandon Blackstone (W, 4-2) scattered 9 hits over 5 innings and struck out 5. Ryan Myers recorded a two-inning save (1). The Ducks record improved to 10-7-1 with the win; the Eagles dropped to 12-7-1.

The Ducks are now 5-0 at John Herb Field since acquiring the permit in June, and are a game back of the Eagles for the fourth seed which would keep the team out of the play-in round.

Catching up

Butler’s split from Cranberry turned the Juice into an at-times dominant team, and arguably led to a shift in personnel philosophy from Cranberry’s manager as they have loaded up with high-pedigree pitching, and have the arms to make a deep run. Did Butler’s defection lead to one of the nicest guys in the league saying fuck it and adding guys who should probably be in AAA? That is up for debate, but it would be a fun storyline if I had the bandwidth to dig into it.

  • We need to start voting teams up or AA is going to get top heavy.
  • The Ducks split the 3 game series with Butler, going 1-1-1. That team is a bad matchup for us.
  • KO has a better record, but I think the title is Cranberry’s to lose.
  • D2 with a solid choice of 80s Phillies-inspired, new jerseys.
  • Kenny Rayl for MVP and Billy Welsh for POY. Both are having standout seasons.

There was a brawl in the Lions/Marlins game. I only know third-hand what went down, but its a joke, and a black mark for the league. When the umps don’t control games, and managers don’t control their players, it was bound to happen eventually. This is how we lose permits.

I’m for getting rid of the handshake line or having the umpires stay to watch the handshake line like they do in NBHL (deck hockey) games. The umps left immediately after the Marlins game, so there was no one there to objectively report what happened. League officials are in a holding pattern trying to gather information before suspensions are leveed.

This has been a tough summer for me. After a long bout with dementia, my dad died on May 17th. I’ve been pretty fucked since then. I’m grateful for my teammates for their support and for the league for giving me a reason to get me out of the house. But it’s been frustrating. At times, the game that is supposed to be a release has added stress as I play poorly, and then it starts to compound as I press. Then I feel bad for even caring so much about adult baseball when my dad just died, and it’s a really fucked headspace a lot of the time. It’s hard. I don’t feel washed, and I hope I’m not physically unable to contribute anymore, but I have to at least entertain that is a possibility. I’ll play indefinitely, but I don’t want to be a mascot.

So that’s basically why the blog has been quiet, and I’ve been busy with other shit. I’ll try to keep up better for my five loyal readers. No promises though.

My dad was solid. He was like me but not an asshole. I miss him.

The Ducks play next on Sunday, 5pm, at Cranberry.

Quack

Golf, New Uniforms, and Springview’s Swan Song

2024 South Oakland Ducks, NABA, pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball

Thanks, Tom, for writing a solid preseason blog. We should be good this year. How good? I don’t know. Personally, I’m always worried I will suddenly just not be able to hit anymore, but I feel great. I’ve been a Duck for almost half my life, and I’m looking forward to riding the coattail of my younger, more accomplished teammates to one more title. Hopefully that happens this year. We should have the pitching. If we get solid middle infield play this year, we will be tough to beat. I’m optimistic.

The point isn’t just winning a title, it’s winning a title with this core. It’s about winning with these guys who have been here for years while we can still contribute. Every off season, we try to figure out how to improve the roster without forcing guys out who can still play. It’s a tough balance, and the toughest part of being a manager.

We’re having a golf outing on 4/20. It will be great. We will raise money to help out our team and the youth league that is also getting kicked off our field after this season.

I’m golfing with my uncle and two Ducks legends. It’s bittersweet. Like most of us, my dad taught me to golf. My dad has been sick for the last year or so. I’m entering that purgatorial stage of life that involves caring for my kid and my parents. It’s kind of surreal and makes me question my mortality. Watching my dad wither away, I am determined to play baseball as much as I can, as well as I can, with as much reckless abandon as possible, until I can’t. I only have so many good years left. I will spend those summers running around in the outfield at Springview and then wherever our new home turns out to be.

The proposed renovations on Springview Field are long overdue, and are also being completely botched. The city wants to move the fences in to little league depth, which makes no sense as there are no little league teams that play there. This will also force out the pony league teams to another field, and futher congest the permit situation which is already bad.

There will be pickle ball courts put in where the basketball courts are – a gentrification move that would make the Oilers blush. They supposedly want to put a walking path around the outfield. Idk. It’s dumb, and not in the best interest of the kids, and it also fucks our team.

We’ve put more work into that field than the city ever has, and we’re probably going to have to play elsewhere after this season. But we will look good doing it. New uniforms, which are like our 2008-2010 ones but nicer, will be in before the season starts.

Around the League!

I don’t really know what personnel moves have been happening elsewhere in AA, so this, as always, is based mostly on vibes.

The Bandidos promise not to be super good again, they swear. No way should they have been voted up. In surprising twist, Greg Friend turned down a multi-year offer from the Ducks to run Bakery Square who have a garbage time slot. I can’t think of a worse place to be at 9:30 am than under the fucking glare of that stupid building, surrounded by Seattle transplants and people going to watch that big outdoor TV and day drink in Shady Side.

Cranberry will win games because of Jon Hart, and because no one wants to drive to Cranberry. They will lose in the playoffs in crushing fashion.

KO is gonna be a tough out. Good mix of young and fast kids with grizzled vets. This is also our recipe. They have the second worst time slot, but a nicer field than Bakery Square.

D2: I predict a 11-13 regular season and a deep playoff run when they shorten the bench. It helps to get this team when they’re batting 14 guys in May. I think they have new management now, so who knows.

The Devils could not agree to terms with former Duck Randy Patton. They must have some pitching if they’re turning away a guy who is at worst a solid innings eater, and a top of the rotation starter on most teams. If the Devils don’t fight each other, they will probably win games.

Butler is maybe folding. They will likely just ask their parents for money and get their fees in at the last minute. I hope they fold. I hate driving to Cranberry.

The Eagles are trying to figure out a way to cheat and bring in college kids as I write this. Their success this year will depend on how well they recruit and skirt league bylaws.

Sheraden/Warriors/Lions will probably give us a couple bad losses that fuck up our playoff seeding. There’s some bad blood between all three of these teams from back in the Single A days. The renewed Sheraden vs. Ducks rivalry should be fun.

Good luck to everyone. Thanks for another summer in the sun.

Quack.

Gameday 4: Ducks vs Warriors

2023 South Oakland Ducks, Gameday, NABA, pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball

South Oakland Ducks of the North Side (1-2)

vs

Plum Warriors (2-3)

8:30 pm

Springview Field

South Oakland and Plum both have a chance to get back to .500 tonight in Spring Hill. South Oakland is well rested coming off a rain out over the weekend while Plum will play its third game in three days. If tonight’s game comes down to bullpen depth, the Ducks should have the edge.

Tonight’s game is a rematch of the 2003 championship, which the Ducks won 9-8 or something. That contest saw the Warriors (then the Piranhas) field a lineup with several active college players including their starting pitcher who we did not see during the regular season. The roster rules were more relaxed then. The Ducks held off a late rally and won the inaugural Pittsburgh NABA championship as the five seed in the six team league.

The Warriors, led by all time stolen base leader, Justin Newman, have won 3 of 4 Single A titles and were forced to finally move up. They seem to be acclimating themselves fairly well with a handful of close wins scattered between lopsided losses. Tonight should be another exciting matchup. I like our chances playing at home with a rested pitching staff.

Bad News for the Warriors

Gameday 1: Ducks vs Cranberry

2023 South Oakland Ducks

South Oakland Ducks of the North Side (0-0)

vs

Cranberry (0-1)

8:30 pm

Springview Field

The 2022 Finalist South Oakland Ducks open their season at home tonight vs. Cranberry. Cranberry always plays South Oakland tough, and tonight should be no different despite a tumultuous offseason for Cranberry which led to significant turnover for the team from Butler County.

The Ducks welcome back some familiar faces this season, sparking a non-controversy over stealing players that ignited an argument in the preseason league meetings. We will return pretty much the same roster with a few additions. We hope to win more games in the regular season this year so we don’t have to win six straight playoff games in the losers bracket to get to the finals again. We should be in the mix late, but there are some great teams in our division. Lets have a look.

Off-Season Happenings Around the League

Bandidos steal Bulldogs manager from Bulldogs, improve uniforms. Eric and John Friend are being fined for player tampering after engaging in premature negotiations with former Bulldogs manager, and occasional Ducks tournament player, Colin “Cups” Dougherty while he was still under contract with himself to play for the Bulldogs. Gregg Friend was quoted, “I don’t know what my family is doing.”

Pittsburgh D2 added mercurial slugger and perennial MVP candidate Luke Gapinski [sic] from Sheraden. This addition brings a solid middle of the lineup bat, and makes a great pitching staff even better. I’m sure they will all get along just fine.

Speaking of the Jays, after their waiver requests were denied, along with their initial attempt to play in A, they decided to play in AAA with three active college players on their roster rather than stay in AA with one active college player. When asked for comment, the jays manager said, “SCARED!” Stunning lack of accountability.

Speaking of college players, the Eagles are off to an 0-2 start. They stayed in AA after winning the title, but supposedly had to cut two of their ringers. But at least they have last year’s MVP who was probably the fifth most valuable player on his own team and maybe the fourth best catcher in AA. I guess he got on base a lot for the Point Park kids. The Eagles will be good again this year, but our catcher is better.

Speaking of the Devils, I think they will surprise some teams this year. Or maybe they will continue their slow, steady decline since their 2019 title. In a parallel universe, they would still have Luke and that guy from Carrick and they would fight everyone and then be forced to move to the Daily News League due to a brawl in the stands or an on-field stabbing.

Tonight’s opponent, Cranberry, saw half their roster leave and form a new team, the Butler Buccos. There is still a non-zero chance both Cranberry teams fold, though I imagine they will both pull it together and play .500 ball this summer. Butler will probably be good, but they don’t have a field permit yet. They have one of the worst nickname and uniform combos I’ve ever seen in an adult sports league. It’s offensive. Though they only narrowly edge the Warriors for worst uniforms.

Speaking of the Warriors, they cheat. The have a storied history of questionable roster moves in the playoffs. They get away with it because no one will call out other teams on having illegal players until the game is over, which is not how the rule works. The only team I’ve seen successfully challenge an illegal player is the Warriors, who did it last year in the Single A Finals against the Lions who were super pissed. Be ready to ask for IDs.

I’m not writing about Keystone Oaks in protest of their 6:15 weekday time slot. I may be forgetting a team entirely. If so, I’m sorry.

This is our 20th anniversary season. I’ve been a Duck for 20 years. Our youngest rostered player is 19. I am humbled to play another season with and against much more accomplished players than myself. This is an unforgiving game, and I’m happy I can still contribute at 42.

We have a couple question marks with Tony and Casen on the shelf with arm injuries to start the season, but we have contingency plans in case they can’t get on the field. Hopefully they heal up by June and get their 7 games in before playoffs.

I think we will be motivated this season after coming so close last year. If we get some bounces, we could make another deep run. We have pitching depth and a solid lineup.

Bad News for Everyone.

Gameday 23 and Bandidos Recap

2021 South Oakland Ducks, Ducks win, Gameday, NABA, pittsburgh NABA, Recap, South Oakland Ducks Baseball

South Oakland split a weekend set with the Bandidos, winning Friday’s game 5-2, and dropping Saturdays game 2-1. On the season, the Bandidos won the net runs by 1, and took two of three from the Ducks. They also won the negotiating rights of disgruntled, pitcher/outfielder Greg Friend who is set to become a restricted free agent after the season.

“Maybe after next year,” a source in the Ducks front office said. “We wish him the best.”

“Is this real?” Friend asked. “I wish I’d known about this before the game.”

Bandidos management was not available for comment.

Friend made a great catch in Friday’s game and converted the save on Sunday. 

 

South Oakland Ducks of the North Side (12-10)

vs

Pittsburgh D2 (7-12-1)

9pm

Springview Field

Over the weekend, the Ducks clinched a non-losing record with their twelfth win. After a rough start, the team has rounded into form winning 9 of 12 down the stretch.

A win tonight would clinch the fourth seed and ensure a home game in the first round of the playoffs. We’d also stay mathematically alive for the three seed, depending on the outcome of the Cranberry (11-11-1) and South Side (13-9) game. A Ducks loss tonight keeps the six seed in play.

We want to stay hot heading into the meat grinder of an opening round next weekend and what looks to be an inevitable rematch with the new look South Hills Devils.

D2 has been a tough matchup for us historically. This one could go either way as both teams empty their bullpens, but we have a slight edge playing at home. Our record at the Duck Pond has been great this year. 

Bad news for D2

 

Ducks Win: South Oakland 14, Bauerstown 4 (6 inn.)

2021 South Oakland Ducks, Ducks win, pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball

Ducks Starting pitcher Randy Patton (W, 3-1) threw four strong innings, and Tom Pulice drove in three runs to lead South Oakland to the win yesterday in Spring Hill.

The game was close until the bottom of the fourth. The Grizzlies led 4-2 before the Ducks sent ten players to the plate without recording an out. South Oakland scored nine in the fourth behind a three-run double by Tom Pulice. They added two in the fifth and one in the sixth. Brandon Blackstone pitched two scoreless innings in relief.

The Grizzlies clinched first place with a 13-0 win over the Eagles in the first half of the split double header yesterday. They ran out of gas in this one, and saved arms for Tuesday.

We were playing without most of our starting infield, and four starters. Tuesday’s game should be a good one against a rested Grizzlies squad with hopefully most of our starters. We need to take wins any way we can get them down the stretch, and we played well in this one.

Stats n’at

Ben Sorosky: 3-for-4, BB, 2 RBI

Hayden Hoffman: 2-for-4, 2 RBI

Matt Mullen: 3-for-4, RBI

South Oakland improves to 10-8 with the win.

The Ducks next game is Tuesday, 8pm at Springview Field vs Bauerstown.

Quack.

Gameday 18: Ducks vs Grizzlies

2021 South Oakland Ducks, Gameday, pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball

South Oakland Ducks of the North Side (9-8)

vs

Bauerstown Grizzlies (17-2)

4pm

Springview Field

South Oakland opens up a two game series with Bauerstown today in a rare late afternoon game in Spring Hill. The Grizzlies are playing a split doubleheader today. they play the Eagles at 12pm at Herschel Park before barnstorming their way across two rivers to play the Ducks on the North Side. I give them a lot of credit for making the effort to get the game in.

 

Around the League

Standings as of 7/10

Bauerstown can clinch first place with a win or a Bandidos loss.

Cranberry has a double header against Bakery Square today.

The Devils have the easiest remaining schedule with four against the bottom two teams in the division.

The Eagles finish with Bauerstown, Cranberry and two against D2. 

We have a brutal schedule down the stretch. Starting on Tuesday, we have five games in six days (we will play the Piranhas on Thursday the 15th) with the D2 game still to reschedule. If D2 gets scheduled for Monday the 19th, that would be six games in seven days.

Individually, each game is winnable. Winning four of seven will keep us in the top half of the standings. 

The last time we played Bauerstown, the Grizzlies won on a walk-off sacrifice fly. I like our chances in a close game at home.

Bad news for the Grizzlies

Ducks Win: South Oakland 8, South Side 1

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Billy Welsh (W, 2-4) pitched a complete game, and the Ducks offense came to life as South Oakland beat the Eagles Friday night in West End. The Ducks lead 1-0 early on a TJ Morgan RBI groundout, and scored 7 runs over the final three frames of what was a close game up to that point.

Mike Brandt, Dillon Williams, and Matt Mullen hit doubles for South Oakland. Brandt (3), Stef Blackstone (2), and Mullen: (2) also had RBI.

The eagles scored a run in the sixth.

dave-parker

The Ducks head into the 4th of July break having won six of their last seven games. They play next on Wednesday, 9pm at Springview Field vs D2.

Quack.

Gameday 16/Senators Recap

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Gameday 16:

South Oakland Ducks of the North Side (8-7)

at

East Pittsburgh Piranhas (2-10)

8pm

Moore Park

South Oakland looks to extend its winning streak to six games against an improved Piranhas team tonight in Brookline. The Ducks won 15-0 against East Pittsburgh in the season opener. Tonight’s game should be a tougher test for the Ducks. The Piranhas beat second place Cranberry 3-2 in extra innings last week behind a solid pitching performance by Matt Gayda and Dustin Grabowski.

In 2003, the Piranhas rotation was lead by Lesher and Heckman. Heckman was an ass, but an effective hard throwing lefty. He was passed over for the start in the finals against the Ducks in favor of that guy from Waynesburg that we knocked around. He famously clashed with management in subsequent years.

Lesher was solid. Veteran move with the lawn chair.
Heckman is probably throwing at someone here

The Ducks and Piranhas had a solid rivalry in the inaugural NABA season. Craig Boley and Ben Gwin have not met in the playoffs since the league’s first year despite combining for close to 500 games played. The Ducks faded in the 2004 post season and had a few down years. By the time they were competitive again in 2008, the Warriors were at their peak but playing in the other division (At the time, we were split into Monongahela and Allegheny). I may have some details wrong. The death of the old website makes it hard to fact check.

The Ducks were on their way up, and the Warriors would start their decline. The leagues would split into A and AA, and the last chance for the franchises to meet in the post season ended when the Warriors forfeited in 2018 before a first round matchup with South Oakland.

Senators Recap:

Ducks 10, Senators 0

Matt Mullen (W, 1-0) threw a complete game, two-hit shutout as the Ducks rolled to their fifth straight win. South Oakland scored early and often in this one. TJ Morgan and Stef Blackstone are on a tear, leading a resurgent, opportunistic offense. With a few mid season acquisitions, and better attendance, South Oakland is playing like the team many considered a sleeper pick to make a run to the finals in the preseason. 

Realignment Watch 2021

This year we will keep track of how the Senators and BIG OIL fare after moving up a division.

screen-shot-2021-05-05-at-1.40.58-pm

BIG OIL has won two of its last three, and is holding its own in the middle of the AAA pack. 

  • Record: 5-9
  • Runs against: 73
  • Run differential: -29

The Senators have shown flashes this season, playing in some tight games and upsetting the top two teams in Cranberry and Bauerstown. 

  • Record: 2-11
  • Runs against: 119
  • Run differential: -92

So far it seems the Oilers are acclimating better to a higher level of play, but the Senators have yet to play two-win East Pittsburgh. Both the Oilers and Senators could play spoiler in the playoffs of their respective divisions.

razor-ramon

There’s nothing like a Thursday night at Moore Park. A win tonight puts us tied for third. NABA great Ben Sorosky is scheduled to start. The crafty veteran should keep us in the game until we can turn it over to the bullpen.

Gameday [12] Ducks (8-3) vs. Eagles (2-5)

Bad news for the Piranhas

DUCKS WIN AGAIN: SOUTH OAKLAND 5, D2 1

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The South Oakland Ducks of the North Side defeated a well-balanced D2 squad by the score of 5-1 in front of a packed bleacher of enthusiastic fans on a mild late Spring evening at Spring View Field, improving the Ducks record to 7-7 on the season. It was the second straight win of this home-and-home series across back-to-back nights against D2. It also marks four straight wins for this veteran club who seemingly have found our stride.

Brandon Blackstone took the mound for the Ducks and immediately recorded his quickest inning of the night. The Ducks got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first when Stef Blackstone led off with a walk and moved to second on a groundout by TJ Morgan who nearly beat out the throw (TJ’s hustle was rewarded with several hard ciders after the game). Stef moved to third on yet another groundout this time time by Tom Pulice which set up Mark Lombardi to do what he does best which is make stuff happen. Lombardi looped a single to right, scoring Stef. 1-0 Ducks heading into the second.

The second inning netted no runs for either side. Brandon cruised again in the top half and the Ducks’ Jason White hit into a double play to end the bottom-half of the inning. White’s mustache appeared to be safe but his foot was a fraction of a second behind the throw.

The D2’s got on the board in the top of the third inning with a homerun ball that probably smashed into the hood of some busted-up and abandoned multi-colored Pontiac Fiero. Google Maps shows this ball likely landed somewhere along Mutzig Street which sounds like a made-up street but I promise you it is there. Mutzig St has no houses and leads to a dead end so that ball will live there for eternity because there is no way any of us are going there to retrieve it.

It is also a 12-minute drive from home plate to where the donger landed on Mutzig St.

The Ducks quickly quacked back in the bottom of the third as TJ Morgan drove in Stef Blackstone from first base on a hit and run with a deep drive to left-center. 2-1 Ducks.

In the top of the 4th Brandon Blackstone stranded a runner at third on a sick 1-2 pitch for a strikeout. In the bottom half, D2’s pitcher dominated and struck out the side. He pitched well and has a long beard. In the top of the 5th Blackstone flirted with danger once again by loading the bases but again stranded all runners. The bottom half of the 5th saw Ben Gwin lead off with a crispy grounder to second base which couldn’t be handled by the D2 second baseman. After a strikeout, Mullen grounded into a fielder’s choice when Gwin was thrown out at second. Then Mullen stole second base, followed by a bloop hit to left by Stef Blackstone which scored a speedy Mullen. TJ Morgan walked which brought Mullen back onto the diamond to pinch run. He then took second and Stef took third on a wild pitch. Tom Pulice couldn’t convert but the Ducks had already knocked in 1 run that inning. 3-1 Ducks. Note: prior to the game, Gwin played goalie for his dek hockey team (whose players seemingly range in age from 13 to 71 years old) and won 2-1 in overtime to claim the championship. Congrats to Gwin for standing on his head on the dek and then beating out infield singles in the dirt.

Gwin’s fundamentals are fun and mental.

Blackstone rolled in the top of the sixth and got some help on a hit-ball that deflected off his mitt and into a double play. The Ducks tallied two more runs in the bottom of the sixth off a new D2 pitcher. Lombardi walked and Kenny had a fantastic at-bat which resulted in a two-strike single. D-Will walked to load the bases. Ben Doak then hit a bloop single to left which dropped in and allowed Lombardi to score. Gwin hit into a weird double-play situation just behind second base which left both runners in no-man’s land. His at-bat did plate Kenny, which pushed the Ducks ahead for good at 5-1.

Stef Blackstone stepped in to relieve his brother Brandon in the 7th. Stef threw some smoke, but the first batter hit a spray hit to shallow right field where Lombardi raced in to make a diving catch to record the out. It was a dope display of athleticism. If that ball were to drop, it feels like the inning may have got away from us. Alas, it was not to be for D2. After a Spring Hill Hop over second baseman Brandon Blackstone (who was subbed in at second for Stef Blackstone who was subbed in to pitch for Brandon Blackstone), D2 had runners on first and second.

Blackstone watches on as Blackstone delivers a pitch. “Blackstone and Blackstone” may sound like attorneys at law but they are not; however, being from Sheraden, they likely have had legal representation at some point in their lives.

The next batter had a tipped third strike caught by Pulice for the second out.

If you zoom in close enough, you can actually see just how miserable Pulice is.

The final batter of the night hit a soft dribbler to third where Kenny Rayl made a slick scoop and toss. Ballgame: Ducks 5, D2 1.

Kenny awaits the dribbler; Kenny hates dribblers.

SOFT TOSS:

  1. The Ducks took the back-to-back games from D2 by a score of 8-3.
  2. These two teams square off one more time this regular season back at the Pond in early July, with South Oakland already claiming the series win in the best-of-three.
  3. D2 likely feels as if they had some chances where they didn’t cash in; two fairly matched squads.
  4. The fans were great. There were women, wives, babies, dogs, coolers filled with ice and beer, siblings, girlfriends and grandparents. All on a pleasant evening in June. Gosh it felt like a southern night and we were all back in 1986 casted in a music video for one of those great “Alabama” songs, not like the modern country music videos with the over-the-pants-handjob visuals and recreational fingerbanging references. This felt like good-ol’ wholesome, American fun.

The Ducks will enjoy a week off then look to keep the winning streak alive while staying back at the Pond to host the Senators next Wednesday.

Quack.

Guest Blogger: @donnieducko @lonzelle