Summer Classic

I woke up on Saturday Morning @ 6:30 am. Should have slept for another 2-3 hours, but my excitement for the Championship game that day kept me up like I was 8 years old on Christmas Day again.

The game was in Maryland and when we arrived the field we were disgusted. Apparently, the decided to find the most disgusting field in the Washington/VA/Maryland area and have them host the championship game. The infield was essentially cement, and their were no dugouts. Things were not looking good.

The Blues bats fell silent for most of game 1. They were down 2-0 entering the 7th an final innings of game 1. Top 7th, down 2, meat of the order coming up for the NV Blues. Back to Back doubles and the Blues are suddenly down by only 1. Was this a real game or just a made for TV movie? Our next player hit a towering 2 run shot over the left field fence and the Blues had just gone up 3-2! They headed to the bottom of the 7th needing to just hold the Dodgers and walk away with an unbelievable game one victory. Unfortunately for the Blues, and this fairytale season, the Dodgers had other plans.

A solo homerun in the bottom of the 7th tied things up. Things got real salty as the man trotted around the bases muttering, "That's how its f'ing done!" We were headed to extra innings and after a scoreless 8th, the Blues got the go ahead run in the top of the 9th. It was the same song and dance in the bottom of the ninth as the Dodgers evened up the game, and eventually we walked in the go ahead run. Devastating loss of game 1. Heart wrenching.

The Blues had to somehow figure out how to shake that game, in the 90 degree heat, and come out to play a 2nd game. The emotional roller coaster of game 1 proved to be too costly as the Blues got spanked game 2. I believe the highlight of the 2nd game had to take place in about the 3rd inning. Our catcher was hit by a foul ball in the hand and the Dodger bench was trying to claim he interfered with the batters swing. Our pitcher, who was already on edge, mouthed back to the Dodgers telling them to shut up. Things got pretty heated an our pitcher walked to the foul line point his mitt and screamed out "F You!" Coaches were called to home plate and warnings were issued. If the Blues were smart they should have just had a bench clearing brawl and ended the game and hour earlier so we could have all gone home.

All in all, a great season by the Blues. The DCMSBL could not have seen this run coming from such a ragtag bunch of players. The league, working in similar fashion as premier soccer leagues, will shift teams up and down divisions next year based on their standings. The Blues will no doubt catapult into the A league next year. As for now, I am personally drained from baseball and am looking forward to enjoying the rest of the summer in peace. And by peace I mean the air condition just broke in my house and its 90 degrees and I lost 5-10 lbs in pure sweat all ready. Thanks for kicking me when I am down.

Saturday Action

After seeing ESPN put Vladamir Guerrerro literally hitting a pitch off a bounce into mid-left field for a single in 7th place on the Top 10 today, I just wanted to say, ESPN YOU"RE FUCKING STUPID.

While we all wait with bated breath for the conclusion of the NV Blues season, I'd just like to wish the Millman and the rest of his clan good luck, even if they have the Pewchest formed shortstop in the "league."

Probably making a run to either the Woodstock 40th year anniversary celebration at Bethel Woods today (as many of you know my dad works there and can get me in). Otherwise it's off to the OTB, with surprisingly four horses on my watch list running today...this is pretty strange since my watch list is about 10 horses long. One of my all-time favorites, Better Talk Now (horse is like 11 years old, still running) is running in a big stakes race at Saratoga at 5-1. Back up the trucks everyone.

Motivational words for the Blues

NV Blues were busy contacting each other via Email regarding the Championship games slated to take place tomorrow. Let's take a look at one of the stellar exchanges below: Written by 3rd basemen/3 hitter/my roommate Timke:

Hey boys, I think we're all excited for the big day tomorrow. We arguably have the toughest set of games that we've had all season ahead of us. I think it's only fitting to forward on to you some words of encouragement I received today as a few of my good friends stopped by:

Denzel Washington stopped by the house today and told me to pass this along: "In Greek mythology, the Titans were greater even than the gods. They ruled their universe with absolute power! Well, that baseball field out there tomorrow is YOUR universe. Rule it like the Titans, and you make sure they remember FOREVER, the day they played the NV Blues!

Sylvester Stallone dropped in to say, "Go the distance! Nobody's ever gone the distance with these Silver Spring Dodgers, and if you can go that distance, you see, and that bell rings after the 7th inning and you're still standin', you're gonna know for the first time in Blues history that you're League Champions!!

Kurt Russell came dressed as Coach Brooks from "The Miracle" and went on to say: "Great moments are born from great opportunity. And that's what you guys have Saturday, boys. That's what you've earned, boys. 1 more series, fellas. Tomorrow you will hit with em'. Tomorrow you will throw with em, and you shut them down because you CAN! Tomorrow you will be the greatest Blues team in the World. You were born to be baseball players; every one of you. You were meant to be there tomorrow. This is your time. Their time is done. It's over! I'm sick and tired of hearing of what a great baseball team the Silver Spring Dodgers have. Screw em! This is your time! Now go out there an take it!"

It was a long day today having 3 visitors, but I had to take the time to let ya know about it. Let's go out there and take what's ours boys. See ya at the ball field around 11.


Classic.

Going to the Ship

(Lock it up, the millman with another strike to first)

Last inning. Blues lead 4-1. 3 outs away from a trip to the Championship.

Error. 2-run home run. walk. 2-run home run. Blues trail 5-4 heading to the bottom half. What a sucker punch that inning was. Had the game wrapped up, 3 outs away from victory and Blues totally collapsed. The Blues were staring a one run deficit in the face, with hitters 6-10 due up. The season was over, there was no way this Blues team could muster up a victory...and then I remembered this was a team of destiny.

Lead off walk. Pitcher is relieved and a new guy throwing gas, but erratic steps in. Hits the next two batters. Extremely rattled and can't seem to find the zone. Bases Loaded, zero outs, down 5-4. Our 9 hitter nubbs a ball down the first base line. Just as the 1st basemen scoops up the ball he has this indecisive look on his face because he doesn't know if he should tag the runner then go home, or just go home. Clearly the man should have gone home as the pressure mounts on him and he boots the ball. Blues tie the game 5-5 with the bases loaded and zero outs still. 10th hitter steps to the plate. Nub city again. This time its a slow roller down the 3rd base line. So slow and right on the foul line that the 3rd baseman has no play for it. He waits for it to roll foul, and the ball stops dead on the line. Fair ball. Blues advance with the most unimpressive walk off victory in history!!

They are now set to face the top seed in the tournament the SilverSpring Dodgers, first place team in the A League. Best of three is set to take place Saturday, with a third game on Sunday if necessary. Let's see if these NV Blues have a little left in the tank to take home the Gold.

Final Four

Just exactly who are these NV Blues? Is this the Tampa Bay Rays all over again? The Blues were a pitiful 4-11 last year and had a first round playoff exit. This year, the Blues are a force to be reckoned with. A solid 4-1 victory last night over the Class A Springfield Rifles affirmed the belief that the Blues could compete with anyone.

Former UCF pitcher N. Perkins pitched a hell of a game. The man was dealing from the start and scattered a few hits and only one run through 7 innings of ball. The Rifles had a hard time getting solid contact all day off Perkins and he managed to have a double digit performance in K's (10).

Millman broke a scoreless game in the 4th with a rbi groundout to 2nd to make the score 1-0. A few more runs that inning, and some clutch hitting by the Blues plated 3 more, as they scored all 4 runs in the 4th. Only 4 teams remain and the Blues will face off against a familiar foe on Saturday. They face a B league team in the Yardbirds. The blues crushed the yardbirds in the first meeting by 7 runs. The second outing was the classic bat throwing incident game. That ended in a tie, but don't forget the Blues started the game with a handicap (they pitched the millman).

The Blues will be sending a legit pitcher to the mound on Saturday and they have to be heavy favorites to move on to the best of three finals the following Saturday. The yardbirds could be a tough test, but this might be a Blue year...

Elight Eight

As I eluded to yesterday the Blues destroyed the over matched Blue Jays last Saturday 11-2. The Blue Jays were a middle of the road 'C' team and the Blues were the top ranked 'B' team (FYI....I edited out all the fans in the picture above so you could focus more on my form).


There are now 8 teams remaining in the tournament field and the Blues will be squaring off against the third place Springfield Rifles in the 'A' division. Blues will be sending their Lefty Perkins on the mound. Perkins, a former University of Central Florida pitcher has had some arm troubles in his career, which landed him on the Blues roster in the first place. Hes got some serious talent and should keep us in any game while on the rubber.

Judging by the Springfield Rifles just barely sneaking by the Arlington Arsenal 7-6 last Saturday, there are hopes around the Blues clubhouse that they had to use up some of their better arms to advance. With our pitcher only needed to go four innings last game, the Blues should have the whole rotation in play if needed. Game is Wednesday 8pm @ Dulles. I believe Comcast sports has decided to send its TV crews to the field as we will certainly garner more attention than any pathetic Nationals game that might be held that night.

Blues Playoff Baseball

The NV Blues finished first in their division, and nabbed the number 2 seed in the congested 23 team playoff for the DCMSBL cup (just made that up).

We play the Blue Jays who pounded the Alexandria Yanks by a wide margin in the #15 vs #18 seed matchup. For those of you interested, the game will not be televised (marketing rights, its complicated), but you are welcomed to join us at Langley High School for a 3 pm Saturday ball game. Blues should advance as they are the stronger, more experienced team, but a dagger of a ruling could shake up their chances. If you remember an earlier posting marked a day that a bat throwing incident took place. Ambulances were called, games were suspended, etc etc. Apparently the umpires or opposing coach reported the incident to the league and the commisioner of the DCMSBL wasn't to happy about it.

This email was to our Coach from the league Commisioner.

1)Yes I am schocked that this league actually has a commisioner (nice life)
2) The player is our starting LF and lead-off hitter.

The email read....

As of now, the League Committee has determined that Brian Simmons is suspended for the remainder of the season, meaning that he is ineligible for the playoffs. The deliberate act of throwing a bat out of frustration, anger, whatever will not be ignored by the league regardless of measures taken by the team.
Jerry Klemm, D.C.
Commissioner
DCMSBL

As you know Bud Selig is 75 years old so I heard Jerry Klemm is on the list of potential candidates to replace Selig when he leaves office. With rulings like this Klemm is well on his way to taking on baseballs important issues like Steroid use.

Something in the Water

Last night the NV Blues had one of the strangest most bizarre games in some time. I knew something wasn't right when we arrived at the field and there was an eerie sky above the field. It was extremely overcast, a mist of rain, and it looked like a hurricane was about to hit. The weather stayed pretty consistent all night and never affected the game. However, someone put a voodoo spell on this blues team, or the the team Gatorade jug was contaminated.

With the recent string of games we have had, and a lack of any pitchers to show up for the game, coach had no choice, but to use a positional player as his starter. Lucky for the other team, that guy was me (would have probably been more successful throwing the kid in this picture). I warmed up in the bullpen with my catcher and had a really good session. It started off with me hitting the backstop on an errant toss. Then proceeding to ask him how exactly I hold a runner on and pitch from the stretch. We then decided to run over signs. I told him to put a single finger down every pitch, line up over the middle of the plate, and pray.

It didn't really get much prettier from there on out. I gave up a first inning 2 run bomb to their 3 hitter (to my defense the guy crushed the ball last time we played him, and he hit it out on a rinky dink ballpark, 320 down the line are we serious). Third inning I gave up another 2 run donk that just cleared the fence as well. The man at the plate clearly had no respect for me as he jacked a 3-0 cock shot. It was then I was immediately yanked and assumed my normal position at shortstop. Final Stat line:

2 1/3 Innings Pitched. 4 Earned Runs. 2 Walks. 1 K. (The K was unreal, got him out with a sick fastball painted on the black).

Things got stranger. This had happened once already, but it is the 6th inning in a tie ballgame and Icky gets picked off at 2nd to end the inning. To his defense, he was clearly safe, and it was the second time this ump made a bad call on a pick off attempt. Dave gets up from 2nd base and absolutely loses it. He started screaming, "The ball beat me, but he never applied the tag!" "Your out of position sir." He then walks off the field giving the ump he referred to as Colonel Sanders a death stare. Gets to the edge of the dugout an just screams at the top of his lungs, "HORRIBLE."

He then lunges to the back of the wall running and throws his glove. While he is doing this he loses his footing and trips and his belly goes straight into the bench. He gets so bad that he punches the wall straight out of the St. John Fisher playbook (for those of you that don't know he broke his wrist in his college career pulling a similar move against Fisher). He then started to hyperventilate and had to be escorted back to CF to make sure he didn't lose it. Ladies and Gents, your 4th grade teacher molding the future of America.

If things couldn't get any worse, our leadoff hitter strikes out to end the last inning leaving the game tied and a runner stranded on third. He is so mad that he is heading back to the dugout, and hucks the bat against the fence. The bat obviously ricochets off the fence, strikes our helmet less teammate square in the back of the head and makes the loudest noise ever. Guy goes straight down and blood is dripping. 911 is called and 5 minutes later a fire truck arrives on scene.

Guy ends up being okay. We can't get another inning in because of the time. Game ends in a tie unless they decide to call it a forfeit because we sent our own teammate to the hospital and ruined the game. This team is a joke.

Best Team Ever??

STANDINGS
18 National North STANDINGS as of 07/15/09

Team W L T

NVBlues 8 2 0

OaktonOrioles 6 3 0
MGF Bandits 5 4 0
FairfaxRockies 5 5 0
Ballston Brewers 4 4 0

BeltwayBombers 4 6 0

Access Yardbirds 3 5 0
CentrevilleBlues 2 8 0

I suppose many of you are dying to know how the NV Blues are doing. Well take a look at the National North Standings and you will get a pretty good idea. The blues took a game from the Fairfax Rockies last night by a score of 5-3.

Only losses this year have come against the 2nd place Oakton Orioles (double header split), and the last place Centreville Blues. Bad loss against the 2-8 Blues, but we will chalk it up to being the first game of the season. We have swept the Bandits, one one against the Rockiest, and swept the Brewers last weekend. Can this Blues team be stopped??

After only a 4 win season last year this team has truly turned the corner and some of their young prospects have developed after a rigorous off season of training and calisthenics into full fledged ballplayers. This NV Blues team when they have their top guys in attendance are dangerous 1 through 9. Never have I seen a team assembled with such speed, power, situational hitting, and solid gloves.

A double header this Saturday, games Monday, Wednesday, and another two the following Saturday will be a huge test as arms will be short and legs will be sore. Oh Summer Baseball

The King is Dead

It looks like Nike can scrap the Lebron vs. Kobe Puppet commercials. It is always comforting to see a marketing campaign go straight down the toilet. If your pumped up to see a Magic vs Lakers NBA Finals then something is wrong with you. King James could not will his team to victory and the Cleveland Lebrons are no longer. People forget that Lebron is only a 24 year old man. So what if he has not won an NBA Championship yet, he still had a hell of a season (MVP) and will look to take Cleveland to the promised land next year before he jets to the Big Apple..

Speakin of 24 year old men and their accomplishments, I need to update you all on the opening double header of the Northern Virginia (NV) Blues. Let me first give you some background on this leauge so you can get a better idea of the competition level. We were playing on a field that has no drainage system, had standing water right in front of home plate, and weeds growing in the outfield (Though it was @ the highschool that Grant Hill attended: South Lake High Seahawks)! The team is composed of a bunch of guys, mostly in their mid to late 20's who have amounted to very little thus far. To get some outside perspective on the quality of games, my college buddy Kevin Malaney (aka Flamingo) attended and left after 5 innings. When I called him after the first game to see where he was he said "This league is terrible and I ran out of Bud Light so I went home."

Coach tells us the starting line up and what do you know but the Millman is starting at shortstop and batting cleanup (Little does Coach know, Millman hasn't played competitive baseball since 10th grade and was pretty lousy back then). Millman makes coach proud though going 2-3 with a walk, double, 2 RBI's, and an absolute shot that hit the right center field wall (almost my first career dinger).

My roomate Dave, 3 years removed from back surgery, is the starting Center Fielder. This kid refuses to stop playing sports even though he can't move his back or swing a bat. Just last week he had bloodwork and an MRI done because his back was killing him. I wish you all could have been at the game because it was a treat for all in attendance because there was a carnvial blasting music for all to hear. So I keep looking back at Dave in Center Field and he is doing the CHA CHA Slide in the middle of the game stomping his feet and clapping. The kid is a mental case. One inning after dancing in center field he is cursing out the 75 year old umpire for calling him out on a play to first. He starts screaming "I Know it's late, but we pay good money for this league." He then continues on to the guys in the dugout about how the 75 year old umpire is going to be in his trunk on his ride home"

Oh Summer Baseball. NV Blues Record: 1-1.