Game 6: Marine Mammal Murder
Storm lose in bottom of the 9th, 14-13. More scathing reviews to follow.
Game 5: Irradiated
The Isotopes put a severe hurting on the Storm. 10-2, loss. More scathing reviews to follow.
Game 4: Bad tidings.
Storm win 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth, after a blown save and some very quiet offense on the day. More scathing reviews to follow.
Game 3: They Might Be Red Giants...that's it, that's all I have for a clever headline...I'm really sorry.
With a doubleheader against the Red Devils rained out the previous week, the Storm traveled across the Bay Bridge to take on the Red Giants at Raimondi Park. Startlingly beautiful weather leaves me thinking that I no longer need to commenton it, as the Bay Area clearly is blessed by Springtime Sunshine, and any mention of the pea soup troposphere will only bring puzzled glances nowadays. The birds sang, the grass was green, and the day held the promise of a beautiiful game.
Thud, clank, "Ball Four", clank, "Ball Twelve", WTF?, thud, "Ball twenty-eight", plink, "Where's the Maalox?" That series of loosely associated terms could describe the first four innings. Porous defense, a VERY questionable strike zone, and troubles on the hill found us trailing six to three after three innings. The Red Giants took advantage of every opportunity afforded them by a Storm club that looked like as though they thought a baseball was a shiny new toy which should not get too many fingerprints on it. There was nothing pretty happening from the Storm side of things, while the Red Giants made theplays and took advantage of Storm mistakes with timely two out hitting. This was not how anyone wanted to spend a Sunday morning.
Fortunately, the urgent restroom trips taken mid game by a couple of players seemed to unburden us from the pox on our ballclub. Strong relief pitching quelled the merry-go-round of Red Giants baserunners. Heady plate appearances and nine stolen bases created run scoring opportunities that were cashed in. The Storm held the Red Giants scoreless after the third inning, and put up seven runs in the last three innings. An ugly start that ended well, marrying jovial moods with brilliant sunshine.
Strong performances from:
J-Hawk, who picked up another win despite every attempt by the coaching staff to keep him from doing so. Did not keep his cool for five minutes, maybe next time I will have orange slices and juice boxes ready.
Sexual Chocolate, who stole five bases and scored five runs with only one hit.
Tums, broke a six-six tie with a two run shot.
Danger, picked us up early with an RBI single, pitched two innings for the save.
Cap'n, who walked four times, providing many opportunities for the hitters behind him, continued to prove would be base-stealers foolish.
Next week: Saturday 9:30AM at Flood Park against the Blazers.
Game 2: No Fog at Moscone
Before I get to the recap I would like to say that my reading public knows no bounds in their petulant whining for updates. The harrassment I have suffered this week at the hands of these nconscionable brutes left me feeling like a piece of bruised, well-sculpted, handsome, intelligent, witty, benevolent, man meat.
Despite Tums' insistance that Moscone is an unpleasant venue for a ballgame, the Storm found themselves playing on a bright, clear Saturday afternoon. A complaint? It was freaking cold! Two teams of a water-based persuasion were left scratching their heads as the weather was equivalent of a dry Nor'eastern autumn day.
The Storm, resplendent in their newly purchased uniforms (only a week late, thanks Goetz Bros.) again started things early with 6 runs in the first two innings, including an eerily similar start to the previous week's contest. Face singled sharply up the middle, BK1 ripped a scorcher down the 3rd base line, and El Presidente hit a sac fly. The next inning was the brightest spot of the day, as the first five men reached safely, with a show of great patience and hitting proficiency (read: another Tums infield single). Five runs scored, and the lead looked comfortable.
It was a different game from then on, as the Fog decided to try a different arm, and for the next six innings the Storm did little against Ed Davila, who had the velocity if not the control to keep the Storm lineup in check. Combine that with the six errors the suddenly porous Storm defense made, and one might think that there was somthing to worry about.
Not so. Backed by Adrenal's majestic bird call, J-Hawk picked up where he left off the week before, and seemingly forever. Supported by an enthusiastic home plate umpire, J-Hawk did his thing for seven innings. Perplexed by the smack talking from the opponent's dugout, J-Hawk pondered the mysteries of ego and self doubt, shrugging off the porous defense behind him and DOMINATED...again. Seven innings, three hits, one earned run, no walks, ten strikeouts. Most impressive was his continued abillity to rake the ball, blasting a double in his only trip to the plate, leaving him perfect at the dish so far. His overall game score goes down because Bambi was in the stands wearing a sweet Giants jacket, and wouldn't share with me.
The Storm prevail 7-2, beating two tough opponents in the opening weeks of the season. The defense could use some fine tuning, as well as attendance, but there isn't a whole lot to complain about, even for me.
Notes:
A new arrival, Ya Kid K (no one listened to Technotronic?), took his first turn on the hill, battling three walks in two innings, striking out two. Iron Gut had the big hit on the day, with a bases loaded double in the second ining. Special mention to Vengeance, for picking up a sombrero after impressing everyone with his opposite field power against the Beavers. Cap'n hosed two would be base thiefs, with only one actually being retired.
Next week: A double header against the Red Devils, starting at 1PM at Marchbank Park on Sunday, 4/11.
Game 1: Beavertown
For the 2nd year in a row, the Storm opened at Marchbank Park, on a beautiful day. Of our 19 man roster, 16 showed. Nice as that may be, let's not get used to this. There is a reason we have a large squad; people seem to have lives external to the arena of adult amateur baseball.
The game had the potential of starting poorly, as a few players were flummoxed and frustrated by the Sunday drivers that plagued all roads into the city. I was one of the tardy, only a big deal what with me lugging all the implements of the game around (carrying more than one base is a surprisingly unwieldy chore). Visions of forfeits danced in my head as I and my cohorts raced to the field only to find...a thing of such beauty that I dare not try and fully describe it. A full squad of ballplayers taking infield and getting ready to play a worthy opponent without their coach. A fully capable group of grown men who wanted to play baseball and made it happen without an excessive amount of coercion by a loudmouthed, whiny coach. I hid my tears of joy by pretending to be flustered and angry at myself for being late. I don't think anyone saw the glistening in my eyes.
The game started abruptly, as I hastily scribbled down a lineup. I'd like to thank Steve Avignan for giving me a bit of breathing room in terms of game prep, which I'm sure he graciously allowed since he needed to use our batting helmets, that's the SF NABA folks! Face led off with a shot up the middle, BK1 followed with one of his own down the third base line, and Vicious brought in the first run with another one up the box. The Storm plate 4 in the first, and that was all that was needed, but the bats stayed awake.
Everyone in the lineup reached base, with some outstanding at bats, working the count like a Sesame Street pugilist. Special mention to Will Gamble (new nickname Vengeance, since he was on the Beavers last year, though as much as I tried, I couldn't stir up any bad blood), who hit an OPPOSITE FIELD BOMB. Also worth noting, Iron Gut and J-Hawk both had broken bat singles, surprisingly clean ones too. Check out the statistics page to track your favorite players progress.
For the first time in our 3 year existence, our workhorse got the opening day start. J-Hawk is the assistant coach for Marin Acadamy High School, and today his students would have been proud. I will take this opportunity to invite the players for ISA (Cap'n, Face), June Jordan (Danger, Sexual Chocolate), as well as Marin Academy to come out and watch your coaches play, if only to laugh and jeer. I digress, back to the story. J-Hawk was his usual self, worthy of all the ill-fitting superlatives that have been written about him on this site. Changing speeds and locations is the mark of a strong pitcher, and J-Hawk was all over the place...in a good way. J-Hawk went 5, striking out 7, walking 1, and giving up a "home run" that his coach didn't feel was worth arguing about (shows all the Storm players that I don't have their back, that's Tums!). Vengeance follwed with two shutout innings, and the game was called after seven innings due to the ten run rule.
The Storm win on opening day against one of the best teams in the league in a convincing fashion, 12-2. Can't think of a better way to start the year, let's keep the good times coming.
Next week: Saturday at Moscone Park, 4:30 PM against The Fog.
Update: 3/26
Add a game against the Fog on Saturday, 4/3 at Moscone, 4:30PM, posted in the schedule section.
Update: 3/19
The first five games of our schedule have been posted in the schedule section.
Storm 2010: 3rd time's a charm
The flowers bloom, the snows melt, the great mammalian beast emerges from his winter den and thinks, "Baseball." I don't sleep that much anymore, my wife even less as our cubs' cries are ever more shrill and urgent.
As a year passes, change takes hold. We, like the tectonic plates as of late, are moving in different directions. Landline has defected to the All Blacks. Dr. K is in the Big Apple. Matty Nel, Bucky, Fatty, and Sustainably Bad have moved on through as well. A closing of the circle for some, but a beginning for others.
We have pilfered 3 LEGENDary talents from a now defunct SFNABA ballclub:
Chris Thornton, fitness guru, who will be whipping us into shape...hopefully
Jared Van Der Beek, a true lefty to displace J-Hawk's feeling of uniqueness
Anthony Beckley, a masher who knows better than to hang around these degenerates too often
Also joining the Storm in '10:
Matt Garrett, recommended by Cap'n, has a beard, therefore is my new favorite player
Jami James, back for a second go around...er, debut.
Kyle Hatzenbuhler, baby faced moundsman/assassin.
Rafael Ward, another hulking presence, ho-hum.
Will Gamble, no not from the same family tree as Danger, but carries the same pedigree on the mound.
All the other folks are back:
Hando, Iron Gut, Cap'n, Vicious, Sexual Chocolate, Sweet Lou, Danger, J-Hawk, Tums, Beardful, and Face. BK1 is undergoing radical aggressive treatment on his knee (read: dealing with the healthcare industry), and we anxiously await his return.
The season starts March 27-28, with a slightly condensed schedule ending before the start of September. More info to follow, as well as poor writing.