The Ducks look to avoid being swept by D2, and clinch second place tonight in Elliot. South Oakland has struggled this season against D2, losing 4-0 and 6-4 in two earlier matchups. Today’s game will determine whether the Ducks will get the 2 or 3 seed and D2 can still finish between 7 and 9 depending on tie breakers. These two teams could meet again on Saturday in the playoffs.
D2 will throw one of their seven starters, maybe the same guy who shut us down twice already this year. I don’t know if they’re trying to save arms for Saturday or what.
D2 may have based the color scheme of their new unis off the red, white, and blue team USA jerseys in D2: The Mighty Ducks. Also went with white primary color to honor the jersey change to the Anaheim home Ducks jerseys at intermission during the finals that brought the team together. I think it’s a great homage.
South Oakland opens its the season tonight at the Duck Pond vs the winless South Side Eagles. I think there are six teams that have a legit chance to win the title this season, including the Eagles and Ducks. South Oakland will start last year’s workhorse, Randy Patton who earned the victory over the Eagles in the playoffs last year. The Eagles will have their full pitching staff at their disposal after a week off between their opening day loss to BIG OIL. It should be a good game.
It’s the tenth anniversary of the Ducks blog. I’m a novelist and professional writer, and I’ve been giving this content away for a decade. Thank you to the five of you who still read it. I’ll feature some greatest hits from the blog this season.
Historical notes
This will be the Ducks seventeenth season in the Pittsburgh NABA. The Eagles were an early expansion team, starting in 2005 when Whittaker and Jesse Jones starred for them. South Side used to beat us even though they had a lefty shortstop for a while there. South Oakland’s best lefty shortstop was Rob Swanger, who played the position for a few games in the pre-TC Jones era of 2005-06. I wish Rob would’ve been able to stick around for the revival. He wanted to win as much as anyone.
My favorite photoshop of all time. NBD, we just have grey uni’s and are called the Rebels
Above is Ray Finkle and the Rebels winning the ’07 title, lead by Jesse Jones, former Eagle. That Rebels team also had Matt Daulton, the first former minor leaguer in league history, I believe. They were an off-shoot of the Black Sox, one of several Black Sox splinter groups that formed over the years. Ex Sock, Dan Stell, who maybe hates me, played on that team. He left when they folded to join the Militia with Tremel. That Militia team featured a bunch of current Ducks.
Every off season, I look for pitching, and usually I just draft guys. This year we had a bunch of pitchers come our way, and how many of those guys pan out will likely dictate how our season goes. I think they are all high floor high ceiling guys, compared to the one kid who blew his arm out in his first outing in 2015, effectively ending that season and forcing Doc to pitch pretty much every game. That season the Eagles knocked us out of the playoffs. Never turn away pitching.
We also needed to get younger.
So we added a few arms that will hopefully hold up and a couple guys from the Express, another Black Sox off-shoot that folded last season. We will see how it all plays out.
Since the end of the first Fago era, I’ve tried to strike a balance between doing as much as I can to make the team better vs. fucking over guys who have been here for years. The best way to strike a balance was to bring back an old friend who played in South Oakland for years, and will make us better. Here’s to the second Fago era in South Oakland.
After defeating the Carrick Express 7-2 last Sunday, the Ducks travel to Moon Park tonight to take on the third-seeded Eagles for a chance to advance to the loser’s bracket semifinals.
South Oakland won the season series 2-0, but they also swept the Oilers this season, who knocked off the Ducks in the opening round of the playoffs.
I think the Eagles were missing some guys the first couple times we played them. This should be a tough game between two good teams.
Win or go home. This is an exciting time of year. Hopefully our run will continue with a win tonight.
Getting out of spring view field was long over due. I think it’s incredible we are playing in the old Homestead Grays park.
No metal spikes.
Here’s a link to pretty cool site that shows how destroyed the field was before the renovations. Dead Baseball.
In stead of discussing this game, in honor of our 15th anniversary, I’m going to look through old score books and write about my findings. I am bored with half assed inflammatory previews.
This would probably be better as video, but i assume people only read these at work and that might be prohibitive. Still, maybe Germani and I can get together and create some amazing Pittsburgh NABA content.
Some of these old books are insanely rough. I think during the league’s first two seasons, I gave Boley our scorebook and he entered the stats, so there are many missing pages. Check this out from 2005.
These are consecutive pages, first a Maulers lineup, with Joe Graff leading off, then a Knights lineup, a Warriors lineup and a Ducks lines with the header: Ducks vs. Phantoms. There is no phantoms lineup anywhere though.
Naba legend Vinny Gala batting cleanup and playing 3rd. This was before Graff took over the league. We held them to one run. I don’t know how we managed that. Swetz must have pitched.
I think Brandt and Sorosky became Knights the next season. The Warriors won the title in 2005, I think. Maybe it was the Black Sox. Craig Boley: 2-3 and reached on an error, 2 SB, 2R. Solid production from the 8 spot.
We had a decent lineup. Hartranft, Swetz, Swanger, Adam Oliver. Eric Lee was the fastest guy I’ve ever seen. I think he’s on the lamb somewhere. We didn’t have a natural shortstop or enough pitching. We had like 3 second basemen who couldn’t throw. It was rough on defense.
It was recently brought to my esteemed attention that a certain TEAM!!! in the NABA attempted to bribe a previous Ducks regime into throwing games for a measly $50-$100. Because that TEAM!!! is still in the league, I wanted to set forth guidelines for how to bribe Ducks super-utility and leading home run hitter Anthony Ciccone (#2). The following actions will be undertaken at the stated cost below:
$10 – #2 will steal a base if currently on first or second. No determining whether he will be safe or out, but you can hand over a $10 and call a pitch out.
$20 – #2 will take the first two pitches of an at-bat, no questions asked.
$50 – #2 will get drunk for the game. Probably whisky. Alcohol choice subject to change, paying party responsible for all related expenses.
$100 – #2 will initiate a proceeding in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania to have the TEAM!!!’s manager’s criminal record expunged. After filing, the billable rate will jump to $200 an hour.
$150 – #2 will bat right handed for the remainder of the game.
$200 – #2 will fight down a member of the TEAM!!!’s DUI charge to a simple traffic violation/public nudity.
$500 – #2 will get thrown out of the game by arguing with the umps on an out call on a clear force play.
$1000 – #2 will incorporate the TEAM!!! as an LLC or LLP in Pennsylvania and/or Delaware to shield them from personal liability.
Please note that for a contract to be valid, there must be an offer, acceptance and consideration. While this may constitute an offer, and payment may constitute acceptance, the legal consideration of a contract for semi-pro amateur NABA players to throw games is under current debate with Ducks upper management.
Also, Wandy Rodriguez might be signed by the Ducks this week.
The single A teams that moved up are getting massacred. The Pirates are surprisingly bad so far, and the Express off to a solid start. Other than that, it’s about as expected. West End apparently won’t play in April. Good luck with the pitching down the stretch when you have 4 games a week.
Standings as of May 23rd. Look at some of those run differentials. Jesus.
Ashely Shaffer Kia of Northern West Virginia (6-0) is undefeated, and has only played one close game, a 3-2 win over the Black Sox (5-2).
The Cherokee are once again dominating the regular season. I predict a 22-2 record before their annual playoff letdown. At least a bunch of those guys still have a 2010 title to their credit.
Such an odd mix of fonts between the hat, jersey, and lettering on the picture.
The Bulldogs Blog was off to a decent start, but has been quiet lately. They’ve had Christmas pictures up for the last 3 weeks. I can’t figure out how to link their site in our blogroll, or even where our blogroll is or how to make it visible. Sorry, guys.
18A
Standings as of May 23rd.
The Warriors are off to a slow start but I expect them to pick it up.
They were missing some guys when we played them earlier this week. They also have Starting Lineup figures made for their team.
The Senators managed to beat the Bombers 3-2 last week.
The Lions and Monsters, I assume, lack pitching depth given some of the scores of double headers they’ve played in.
The Titans score about 5 runs a game and allow just under 7. When we play them, it may look like a football score. They took 3 of 4 from the monsters, but have lost to the senators and warriors. Kerry Collins is my favorite Titan.
Before they were the WOLFPACK!!!
they were the Matadors
and the sharks
That one side-arm pitcher was on our team for half a season. Effectively wild.
The Matadors were part of a ridiculous scandal involving an attempt to bribe the Owlz into forfeiting a game so the Bulldogs would miss the playoffs. Matador management was certain the Commish was out to get them, but I don’t think that guy runs the team anymore.
There was some bullshit involving the Sharks one year and some other team, but I forget what it was exactly. Maybe the Hurricanes were involved.
We play them Wednesday at our place. We need to get some Ducks fans in the seats that night. Tell people we have the bathroom key now. That may help.
Your South Oakland Ducks (7-2) are in first place. The team has come together pretty well. Nothing helps chemistry like winning. If our pitchers keep throwing strikes, we should remain competitive. We will see how we handle a stretch in July when we have like 8 games in two weeks.
Iceberg will give us some innings at some point.
I’m still waiting for Culp, Swetz and Faust to be added to the league site so I can get their stats in. So far our stats are pretty good.
Strom has hit six batters in 21 innings pitched.
Also:
This site outlines how to build your own bobble head doll.
I think we should get stirrups.
It was great when people used to leave comments after these posts.
South Oakland returns from the bye week to face the Bombers at home tonight.
The Ducks (5-2) have won two straight, and need a win to keep pace with the WOLFPACK! (6-2)
Unexpectedly, the Bombers (3-3) have lost two straight. Allegheny dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker to the seventh place Ted Kennedy’s Sunday night in Brookline and lost 5-2 to the Colonials, Matadors, Sharks, WOLFPACK! on Saturday. The Wolfpack are so intense! is so intense? Whatever. WOLFPACK!!!
I still think the Bombers are the team to beat and will be a tough out come playoff time. And that Joe Graff is a beast. It’s also likely Allegheny didn’t throw their best pitcher over the weekend so we will probably face him tonight.
Below are the standings as of May 19th. A lot has happened since we last played. So much rain.
I’m surprised the Monsters are under .500. they’ve gone 2-6 after starting 3-0, and had some trouble with the Titans. Their season is almost half over.
The Warriors are struggling to score runs, but have between 4 and 7 games at hand over several teams.
The Lioins and Bombers run differential.
You can get a weekend where you have three games and some key guys missing and drop a few. In such a relatively short season, you just hope it doesn’t mean the difference between making the playoffs and not.
Ducks starter Brian Strom (w, 2-1) scattered 8 hits, walking 3 and beaning 4 batters over six strong innings of 2-run ball Sunday night in Moore Park, helping South Oakland (4-2) diffuse the Allegheny offense en route to an 8-2 Ducks victory.
Playing without the strong-bearded veteran leadership of the Commish, the Bombers (3-1) looked flustered out of the gate.
This guy took the hill for Allegheny*.
He allowed back to back doubles to Gwin and Culp and the Ducks jumped out to an early 1-0 lead. Culp stole third, Strom drew a walk. Matt Swetz collected his unofficial, team-leading 7th RBI of the season with a single to right.
one at a time. sometimes two at a time
Sorosky, formerly of the militia has been waiting for a chance to take out the Bombers for three years. He delivered a single to left to put the Ducks up 3-0.
Garrett Moore drove in a run with a single up the middle. 4-0 Ducks.
This is the best exclaimer image I could find.
With one out and runners on first and second, Alex Riley hit a ground ball to the shortstop who got the force at second. Moore sacrificed his pants with a hard slide and forced an arrant throw. Sorosky tried to score from second on the play, but the ball bounced hard off the wall behind first and came right back to the first baseman who blew up Sorosky at the plate. Classic 6-4-3-2 Double play.
Who’s laughing now? Those communion pants were durable.
Strom faced 5 batters in the first and stranded runners on second and third after striking out some guy to end the inning.
The Bombers scored 2 in the second, but Strom pitched out of another jam and the Bombers left the bases loaded.
The Bombers third baseman can hit a little.
Meanwhile, the Bombers pitcher had settled in and was in the process of retiring 9 straight Ducks with the help of a 4-6-3 double play. Judging by the Allegheny reaction, it was the first good play their infield ever made.
Fetter singled to lead off the fifth. He actually defused bombs in the military. After a Casale sac bunt, Gwin singled in pinch runner Shawn Dorsek to make the score 5-2 in the fifth.
In the bottom of the fifth, Strom allowed a triple a walk and struck out the side. The Bombers could not get a big hit.
In the bottom of the sixth, with Bombers on first and second, Tony Casale made a sick diving play in the hole between third and short to get the force at third. Best play by a shortstop made in the game. Two groundouts later, the Bombers again left two men on base with nothing to show for it.
In the top of the seventh, The Ducks scored three runs on five hits to put it out of reach. Strom, Sorosky and Moore had RBI.
Fetter pitched the bottom of the 7th and struck out the Bomber’s 3rd baseman looking, then induced a double play to end the game.
***
Big early season win for the Ducks, missing a handful of regulars.
That ump called strikes a foot off the plate.
I love playing at Moore Park.
I think there will be 3 more good games between the Ducks and Bombers.
For a bunch of kids who have no idea how cruel and grim the world after college will be, the Bombers carry themselves well, and are probably laughing at my dated references on some weird, next-level social media platform that I will never understand.
I found an orange and gray hoodie someone left after the game.
Stanley Kubrick.
Don’t google “suicide bomber images.” It will make you sick.
South Oakland’s next game is Wednsday night 8pm at Springview Field vs. the Senators.
The standings are now almost updated, basically. It’s the Bombers at the top, a bunch of teams in the middle with the Warriors and Senators still struggling to get into the win column.
The Ducks are coming off a frustrating walk-off loss the the WOLFPACK!!!
The Bombers swept the Monsters in a doubleheader last week, and apparently celebrate drone warfare and/or ted kaczynski.
Fascists.
South Oakland will be a down a few players tonight, but RBI collector, Matt Swetz is expected to make his return to the lineup after missing two games with a lower-body injury and closing bartending shifts.
South Oakland is undefeated when Swetz drives in a run.
South Oakland Ducks Baseball 