Bonus BLOG: Playoff Stats

Rob:  Well buddy....that was a pretty good year!
Doug:  I suppose.
Rob:  Why so glum chum?  We made Sunday, we acheived our goal.
Doug:  I guess.
Rob:  Seriously!  Snap out of it!  What's up?
Doug:  Ah....it didn't end how I wanted.  I'll be fine later, not so much now. 
Rob:  What the heck?  You need help and I mean PROFESSIONAL help!  Have you thought about going to see The Rapist?
Doug:   Huh?  The what????
Rob:  The Rapist.  Have you thought of seeing him?
Doug:  What in gods name are you talking about?
Rob:  Doug, seriously.  Get your feet back on the ground will you?  The Rapist is a person that you tell your problems to and they help guide you to a solution. 
Doug:  Are you talking about a THERAPIST???
Rob:  Is that how you say it?
Doug:  Yeah Rob, that's how everyone says it.  There is no space between the "e" and the "r" in therapist. 
Rob: I've learned so much this year. 
Doug:  Me too.
Rob: There you go, getting all glum again .... want me to mess up another word?
Doug: No.  I'm just going to drink my wine and think things that we can do different next year?
Rob: Oh yeah?  Any ideas?
Doug:  A few.  I've thought of a few new victims for next year's BLOGs. 
Rob: Any you care to share?
Doug: Well....I may have a clue or two in the "Thank You" BLOG.  But I've got to make sure its cleverly worded and not too obvious.  Know what I mean?
Rob: Okay, sure....I get it.  I've got a cleverly worded one for you, really subtle.  You can use it if you want. 
Doug:  Did you just stay subtle?
Rob: Yeah, why?
Doug: Whey didn't you say 'subtext' or 'subtitle' or 'suffragette city' or something like that; how you normally do?
Rob:  I told you dog...I was just clowning with the word stuff. 
Doug:  Dog?
Rob:Woof!
Doug: Okay, what is your subtle idea to give a hint about one of next year's BLOGs?
Rob: Okay....you're doing your thank you wrap up right?
Doug:  Right
Rob:  [pretending to type] thanks Pete, thanks Steve, thanks Tony....
Doug: Yeah.....
Rob: Blah, blah, blah....and then right in the middle [still pretending to type], you go "next year I'm doing a BLOG on Doris.
Doug:  Oh, that's subtle.  I'll just tell them. 
Rob: Yeah!
Doug: That's stupid.
Rob: No its not...because Doris will read that and go, "Doug's never that obvious, now I don't know if he's going to do one about me or not." and other people will go, "Oh wow, Doris is going to plowed on the BLOG next year, but wait, that was pretty obvious.  Maybe its not about Doris, maybe its about me!  Maybe Doris is an anarchist or a phobia!"   Now that's clever, isn't it?
Doug:  I'm amazed you got subtle right.  Its acronym not anarchist and its pseudonym not phobia.  
Rob: I know....see how I distracted you right there?  Even you don't know if you're doing one on Doris next year. 
Doug: You make my head spin. 
Rob: Right round like a record baby, right round!

I understand that only the 'hardcore' are left reading.  So this is probably for Scott, Radar and Mark mostly.  I suppose we could have done this at the Legion, but matching schedules is tough.  I thought it would be fun to take a look back at what our collective league picks were and how we fared against reality.  Also, I can support or poke holes in all the statistical data and where it lead me.  The other thing is that this is the second year with this playoff format of 15 teams and 3 pools and there might be a trend or two emerging from the format.  Or not. 

But before that, lets look at the actual playoff stats in the same manner we looked at the regular season numbers.  If we do this year over year (provided we continue to find a victim who will do it) we'll start to see "playoff performers" emerge; and this year we have some stand outs! So lets go!

Lots of great playoff averages here to brag about.  14 of the top 25 hit .800 or better and no doubt that Holmann was nothing short of awesome at .920.  However, I didn't need to look at this to know that Matt Foerster had an absolutely insane playoff. His 29 playoff hits were more than twenty one of our players got during the entire regular season!  That's a pretty good week!  And every ball he hit was a rocket. 

The Brew Jays played one more game than everyone, so its not surprising to see more of them on lists that are just totals and not percentage based.  Jamie, seemingly led off every game with a single and wound up scoring.  And nice to see Bill Cloutier high on this list and nudging a .700 average. 

You have to go to the 17th spot to find a player that isn't a Hurtin' Unit of Brew Jay and that's Beer Bros. lead off man Winston Gayle.  In all, there are only four teams represented as Don Curran sneaked in there at the end on behalf of the Dog Catchers. 

Clayton Avery had a magical year hitting .800 during the regular season and the production continued as he scored a league leading 17 runs in the playoffs. 

 Pendlebury.  17 hits, 16 runs.  Yeah, sure.  That's defendable!
  

Everyone in pool B, plus the Dog Catchers, Dodge City and Brew Jays would have no trouble whatsoever in believing the top of this list.  If Neil didn't kill you, Winston did.  If Winston didn't kill you Neil did.  Just for fun, sometimes they'd both kill you.  I could only find one instance over 7 games where the Beer Bros. lead off and #2 hitters made consecutive outs.  Geez. 

Well gents, this is the last time you'll be referred to as rookies!  Hmmmmmm......Maybe Handley doesn't have enough regular season plate appearances to shed the rookie tag.  I'll have to see about that.  Six Rookies in total over .800 for the playoffs!  I knew it was a great crop!! 

This is a little different than normal.  For this I compared everyone's regular season average to their playoff average and tried to isolate those that had great playoff performances.  I'd like to comment on all of them, but I'll just pick out a few at the risk of offending the rest.  Sorry.

First, Bones!  Leading the charge hitting a wicked .765 for the playoffs!  That was huge.  Skipping down to Dave Fleming who got stronger as the playoffs went on.  He hit through shifts and legged out doubles hitting a cool .800.  Anyone who saw the Grisslies run last year isn't surprised by Gord Robertson's September performance.  Gary Cox is a really interesting one.  Gary hit .624 last season and raised his average this year by .101 points to .725.  That alone is impressive, but he wasn't done.  He brought his "A" game to the playoffs and jumped his average another .142 points to .867!!!  Nice work!  And one of my favourite players, the only Beer Bros. to play all 31 games this year, Al Bales.  Between attendance and his raised playoff performance I hope he gets an extra cut of the playoff share!  A great week for all those on the list. 

Now, this section still deals with playoff stats and it focuses on contributions to each team.  It measures and ranks OBA, Total Hits, At Bats, Runs, Runs Per Hit, Runs Per At Bat.  The numbers you see in those columns are the person's percentage or number, not their rank.  Their rank on the team totaled and on the right hand side.  The lowest you could possibly get is 6 which we haven't seen.  However there are a handful of single digit numbers which are off the charts incredible!.  Top 4 on each team plus ties are included.

 

Okay.... I think we're done with the playoff stats.  Mostly.

This is where it goes a little sideways.   First, I wanted to take a look at how we measured up in our predictions for the playoffs byes and try to judge the value of the regular season stats being used as a harbinger of what can occur in the post-season. 

There are two camps on the whole stats thing.  1) there's too much.  2) there's not enough.  People in camp 1, tend to believe that there is no statistical value in the regular season and that a 5 seed is totally capable is upsetting a 1 seed in the playoffs.  The truth is that I agree with them to a point; but my contention is that while a 5 can upset a 1, the numbers can give you a hint that its coming.  The people in camp 2 are usually too busy chewing the end of a pencil and creating complicated excel formulas to really get into the argument.

I guess we'll start with our voting.

A quick run through ... We predicted neither bye team from Pool A, 1 from Pool B and 1 from Pool C.  33% overall.  That sucks.  If we take the top 10 as teams to make it through the round robin we had 80%, missing on the Hurtin' Units and Dog Catchers. 

That's the "emotional voting".  The not using the regular season stats as a bench mark.  Lets see if those results would have spun things any differently. 

So lets look at Pool A and see how it matched up.   

So, strictly statistically, the team with the best record against their competition was the #2 seed, Grisslies.  Not coincidentally, the Grisslies did finish 1st in Pool A.  The 2nd bye went to the Hurtin' Units who, by record, should have been the last place team in the pool.  (1/2)

You can flip a coin between the Gruesome Devils and Brew Jays for 3rd place as the Jays played one less game in the division; however both made the wild card game Saturday.  I'm prepared to call this a wash.

Where I find this most interesting are things like the opening night match of the Brew Jays and Hurtin' Units and most people thinking that it would be a beat down of 1 over 12.  Sure, it could have been, but the Units had lost 2 one run decisions to the Jays this season.  That doesn't mean they'd suddenly win or win large, but it did mean (to me) that they didn't sweat them like I did.  To the Units the Brew Jays were just another team.  Then their next team was the Cleats who HAD beat them AND the Gruesome Devils who beat them twice!  I don't know if a first place club could have a tougher round robin set up and they survived it.  Surviving was a bit of surprise to me, but it also made them more dangerous. 

Lo and behold!  Two for two on the best regular season record getting the bye!  This time the second bye, but a bye nonetheless.  The Woody's were the four seed but they were the only club in the division to register 5 wins against the rest of the group.  Hell, no one even had 4!  So the Woody's Vs. Red Dogs game didn't surprise me, that made them 3 for 3 against them.  Their only loss in the playoff pool would be against the Beer Bros., who I hear are pretty good.

Speaking of those Bros., they had the second most points in the pool going in AND the best plus minus and the stats assuredly pointed to them getting the bye.  Not necessarily a brave prediction picking a second seed, but this is the 2nd of 2 pools so far where the 1st place wasn't the obvious choice to get the bye.

The Red Dogs looked solid to either get the second bye or an elimination game going in, but they were clipped by the surprising and opportunistic Banshees, who were the only team to get through to the wild card game with 3 points.  They had to be considered a huge surprise not only getting through on 3 points, but entering the playoff pool with the fewest points and worst plus/minus.

This pool is a WIN in stats bearing out, at least in my mind.  So one win, one split. (3/4)

I let it be known that, personally, I was cheering for the Rusty Rebels despite all the statistical data against them.  I voted for them in the friggin' poll.  The stats were right.  I was wrong.  The stats showed the Joints having a pretty easy time with this.  They showed that the Rusty Rebels were in really tough.  They showed that you could throw a blanket over Dodge, the Stiffs and Dog Catchers and there wasn't much to choose from between wins and losses.  However, Dodge had the best defense of the 3, but for a club that had so many offensive weapons, they had trouble scoring against these particular teams, averaging only 9.5 runs per game.  So what happened in the playoffs, the Rounders would score only 10.75 runs a game (down 2 runs from the reg season) and it cost them as they slipped to 2-2 and got the second bye by the skin of their teeth.

The 'surprise' team shouldn't have been much of a surprise as after wins and loses, the Dog Catchers had the best plus/minus in the division AND the most runs scored.

I think this is pretty much a win for the stats, but we'll call it a tie for the sake of argument and call using the Stats being 4/6 in predicting the bye teams, while our league voting was 2/6.

Just for fun, and because I'm a geek, lets look at wins and losses by seeding over the past couple of years and look for other season by season trends.  Considering that we've only had two years under this format, trends might be tough to establish, but interesting tid-bits may emerge.  .

In 2011, the 1st place teams combined, wins, losses and +/- dominant over the rest of the league.  So much so that the 2nd thru 5th spots were all minuses and only the 2nd place group was even .500.  I suppose you'd have to say that this "is the way its supposed to work". 

Well not so much this year.  The 2nd place teams had the best record this time around and the 1st place clubs were only a single win ahead of the collection of teams in 3rd!  The year before, 1st and 3rd were separated by 5 wins.  Also the 4th and 5th place clubs jumped over the teams in 3rd and 3 of the 5 groups had positive plus minuses.

2012 was clearly more balanced.  There wasn't really a lot to chose between from top to bottom in the league.

So here are some interesting (to me) bits of information that have fallen out of this format:

• In both years the team that got the 1st bye from Pool B won the Championship.  
• In both years the them that won the Championship had to defeat the regular season Champions in the final.  
• In both years, the team that won the Championship was the first team eliminated from the playoffs in the previous year.  That makes the Rusty Rebels the early odds on favourite to win the 1st bye in Pool B next year and win it all.  
• In combining the 2 years, there have been 20 teams survive the round robin portion of the tournament.  12 have been byes and 8 have moved to elimination games. 
• The Dog Catchers are the only team to play in the elimination game in both years and they are 2-0 in those games. 
• Of the 13 teams that have played each of the last two seasons, only the Rusty Rebels and Banshees have not Played a Sunday game.  
• In the last 2 years, four teams (2011 Dusty Cleats, 2011 Lucky Stiffs, 2012 Beer Bros., 2012 Dislocated Joints) have gone 4-0 through the round robin.  
• In the last 2 year, no team has been held to zero points.  (the low is 1 point by the 2012 Tap Masters)
• Under this format, only one team has made it passed the round robin with an under .500 record. (2012 Banshees, 1-2-1).  
• 13 teams over the last 2 year have finished with 2-2 records.  All have moved on, 6 as byes to Sunday and 7 to elimination games. 
• Runs were down dramatically in the playoffs .... During the round robin last year there were 785 runs scored by 15 teams; this year there over a 100 fewer for a total of 670.
  Hopefully you're reading this in stages....because this has been a lot of writing!
  
  Here's one for you....I keep hearing that its a new team every year...blah, blah, blah.  Do you believe there is no bearing on the team?  Just a name?  I'm not sure.

The Joints have had completely different teams over the passed two years and the best record in the round robin!  You could say, sure, but they were the 3rd seed overall, they were supposed to be good!  True, but they were 14th overall last year and still went 2-2 in the round robin. 

• This is (the white) each team's record under the last two years under this format.  
• Does not include Tap Masters, Gruesome Devils, Torn Ligaments or Wild (not "The Wild).  
• 6 of the 13 teams list have +500 records, 2 at .500 and 5 below.  
• Only 6 teams have positive +/-'s.  the last column (blue), indicates how many games the team has played after the Round Robin portion over the last 2 years.  This DOES NOT include the elimination game.  For example, in both years, the Dog Catchers won the elimination game and then lost in the Quarter finals, so that's 2 games played after the round robin.  
• The Brew Jays have had the worst defense in the round robin over the last 2 years and have played the most post round robin games (tied). 
• The Joints have the best overall record over the last two years and the second best plus/minus and they've played one post robin game each year with quarter final loses both times.   

And that IS IT for stats until the 2013 prediction BLOGS come out....In the meantime, I continue to work on the "thank-you' edition.

Cheers.

The Finals - All The Marbles

NOTE:
For those of you asking, no the BLOG does not die tonight.  There will be at least 3 more editions.  1) a thank you BLOG (that's my therapy edition), 2) the banquet edition and 3) the AGM edition, although I reserve the right to bail on that one.

On to the show....

INTRO

Doug:  Wow, the finals!  I can't believe that we're already here.  It seems like we just had the draft! 

Rob:  I know!  Another great season.  I'll tell you what, as much as this year was different, a lot of things stayed the same.

Doug: Oh yeah, like what?

Rob:  Well one thing is that our Draft System was proven to be successful once again.

Doug: Really?  How do you figure that?

Rob:  You're supposed to be the stats guy, just look at the standings.  The #1 team had only 2 more wins than the second and third place teams.  The 13th place team only had 3 wins fewer than the number 5 team and the everyone was afraid of the number 15 team coming into the playoffs.  I'd say that's pretty balanced.

Doug: Holy!  Do you have a fever, I've never seen you delve into stats like that before. 

Rob:  There's lots of stuff you don't know about me.

Doug:  I thought I knew all of your stories.

Rob:  I've saved a few.  Like the one about my delirium.   

Doug: Seriously?  Is that diagnosed?

Rob:  By diagnosed, do you mean registered?

Doug:  No, I mean certified by a doctor.

Rob:  By certified to you mean enjoyed at a Saturday afternoon BBQ?

Doug: Are you trying to prove your delirium?

Rob: You don't even know what a delirium is.

Doug: "A" delirium?

Rob: Yeah, its a drink I invented with Donini, Eggnog, Lemon Liqueur and Rum.  D-E-Li-RUM.  Duh.

Doug:  I should have known.

Rob:Yeah, you probably should have, but I'm used to you being slow on the updraft. 

Doug:  Uptake?

Rob:  whatever. 

Doug: So, what do you say Robbie, one more song?

Rob:  Maybe I can think of one that's a haberdasher of the finals. 

Doug:  Haberdasher?  Are you trying to say harbinger?

Rob   Doubt it.  Harbinger sounds stupid.  Haberdasher sounds smart. I only use smart words like 'flummoxed', 'mollycoddle', 'wombat', 'lackadaisical', 'shenanigans' and 'haberdasher'. 

Doug: Those are tremendous words Robbie.  Its the context that's questionable.   

Rob: You know I've just been screwing around with words all year, I'm actually quite a linguist.  

Doug:  I know where you're headed with that one Rob, just move onto the song. 

Rob:  Okay....I'm using your favourite.

 

THE SPEECH

The final speech of the year is always my favourite.  This is the 4th year running with this song and it still sums up baseball for me.   The music from this song can be found HERE

Little boy, in a baseball hat,

Stands in a field, with his ball and bat,

says "I am the greatest, player of them all"

puts his bat on his shoulder, and tosses up his ball.

And the ball goes up, and the ball comes down,

he swings his bat all the way around,

and the worlds so still you can hear the sound

as the baseball falls, to the ground.

Now the little boy, doesn't say a word,

picks up his ball, he is undeterred,

Says "I am the greatest, there has ever been,"

and he grits his teeth, and tries it again.

And the ball goes up, and the ball comes down,

he swings his bat all the way around,

and the worlds so still you can hear the sound

as the baseball falls, to the ground.

He makes no excuses, He shows no fear,

He just closes his eyes, and listens to the cheers.

Little boy, he adjusts his hat

picks up his ball, stares at his bat,

says "I am the greatest, the game is on the line,"

and he gives his all, one last time.

And the ball goes up, like the moon so bright,

Swings his bat, with all his might,

and the worlds as still, as still as can be,

and the baseball falls, and that's strike three.

Now its supper time, and his Mama calls,

little boy starts home, with his bat and ball,

says "I am the greatest, that is a fact,

but even I didn't know, I could pitch like that."

Says, "I am the greatest, that is understood,

but even I didn't know, I could pitch that good."

 

THE GAME

 

A few words about this final match up before recounting the tale of the tape.   I will come clean and admit that I had a side bet with a number of people on predicting the semi final teams.  We did this just after the final standings had been sorted out and before the first play off game had been played.  Oh, and by "a number of people" I mean precisely 11 representing a broad cross section of the league.  There were Grisslies, Woody's, Stiffs, Devils, and a few others. (I don't want to incriminate too many people here).  But the point here is this:  the two most frequently picked teams were the Brew Jays and the Beer Bros. 

 

Not that I advocate gambling, but we appear to have some pretty able handicappers in the league.

 

The visiting Brew Jays had gone through a wild playoff ride, dropping their opener to the Hurtin' Units 29-6 and then losing their next game 21-14 to the Dusty Cleats.  With their playoffs in Jeopardy, we then saw the real measure of the Brew Jays.  They won a close match to the Grisslies 13-6 and took care of the Gruesome Devils 16-8 to earn their way into an elimination game. 

 

In that game they faced the surprising Banshees and they played the bashing kind of game we've been used to this year winning 20-7 to fight there way to Sunday. 

 

In the Quarter finals they would play their first game against a team ranked better than 6th when they matched up against the Dislocated Joints.  The Joints were the league's best defensive team and a tough match up.  But the Brew Jays proved they could win playing little ball and with smart glove play in downing the Joints 5-1. 

 

In the semi's the Brew Jays came full circle playing the team that had got the best of them by 20 runs in the opener.  But they wouldn't let it happen twice, this time dispatching the Hurtin' Units by 14-8 count. 

 

The Beer Bros. path to final was a little more direct.  They opened the round robin portion with a 13-8 win over the Hot Tub Woody's and followed that up with another sound and low scoring game against the Tap Masters; winning that 13-6.  Things got tighter against a Banshees squad that had been playing very well, but they would prevail 9-5.  The round robin wound up against the Red Dogs and they had a more offensive game in that one, winning going away to a 17-10 count and earning a pass through to Sunday. 

 

The Quarter Final match up pitted the Beer Bros. in a match up against the Dog Catchers who had won an elimination game against the Gruesome Devils.  It took a little time for the Beer Bros. offense to get rolling but their defense never wavered and they won this game 9-4. 

 

In the Semi's they would face their stiffest test thus far in the playoffs.  The Beer Bros. and Dodge City Rounders promised to be an epic match and it did not disappoint!  The Beer Bros. won, 9-8 to earn their trip to the final. 

 

The visiting Brew Jays got a couple of runners on in the 1st inning but couldn't manage to push across a run. 

 

The Beer Bros. who had scored more than 9 runs only once in winning their last 4 games came to bat and had 10 batters reach, scoring 7 runs in the inning and not recording a single out.  Runner plating that inning were Gayle, Pendlebury (both), Piellusch, Holmann, Ross and Conforti.   

 

The Brew Jays gamely game to bat in the top of the second and were able to capitalize on a couple of two out hits to cash Polny and make the score 7-1. 

 

The Bottom of the second began with the the first of Al Bales 4 hits and was immediately followed by the 1st of Len Wercholoz 4 hits.  Before it ended, Wercholoz, Gayle, Pendlebury (Niel), Piellusch and Holmann would all score. 

 

With the score 12-1 after only 2 innings the Brew Jays needed something dramatic.  They got it.  Gaudet, Duggan, Niederhuber, Presenza, Polny and Fleming would all score to bring the Brew Jays right back into the game trailing 12-7.  Now they needed a stop defensively.  

 

For the first time in the game, it looked like there was a chance for a momentum change as the Beer Bros. went down in order. 

 

Trailing 12-1, narrowing to 12-7 and then getting the stop was what they needed.  Now the Brew Jays needed to tack on a couple.  They almost did.  They got one to inch a little closer, making the score 12-8 when Jamie McClean led off with a triple and scored on Gaudet sac.

 

But the Beer Bros. were far from panicking.  They had lots of game left and would answer with 5 of their own in the fourth to stretch out their lead.  Another 4 in the 5th put the game out of reach and 2 more in the 6th were window dressing.  They wouldn't need the 7th as the final score was Beer Bros. 23 - Brew Jays 9. 

 

Some people will remember a lop sided score. But what I'll remember is a game that looked like a blow out.  A game that would have been very easy for the Brew Jays to lie down in and say, "we're done". But those Brew Jays fought back and got themselves game into a game that they were trailing by 11 early. I'll also will remember a team in the Beer Bros. that found an identity with sound defense, superior outfield defense, excellent pitching and blazing speed.  They used all those elements to their full advantage. 

 

Bo and Rod, you guys did a tremendous job this year.  Finding everyone the right spot to play is challenging enough, but to get contributions from all those spots is excellent!  How you managed through injuries, new players, and more injuries was with the quite dignity we've come to expect from you.  Finally, how you kept your team together after losing the first two is amazing.  The Brew Jays won 5 consecutive elimination games in this tournament.  I know you wanted one more, that that's more than anyone else had and I hope you realize that you had a fantastic year.  Excellent work gentlemen!

 

Paul and Steve.  You both have contributed your time and energy to this league in so many ways.  I know that neither of you are the least bit interested in accolades; but know you make us all better.  I've been trying to find information on teams that "ran the table" an I have one example form 1997 (or so) that needs to be substantiated, but regardless, it obvious that the feat is rare indeed!  What made it special was that your 7-0 run was done without boasting or intimidation;  just quiet confidence and determination.  Fantastic season Gere & Starsky! 

 

225 days until May 1st when you begin your title defense.

PLAYOFFS, Day 7 - Sunday, Bloody Sunday

QUARTER FINALS

(To read about Saturday's games, CLICK HERE)

The morning started full of promise.  Eight teams had returned for their shot at the championship, seven had gone home the night before.  You could make arguments for all the teams remaining.

• The Grisslies were defending champs, won the "A" pool an were largely playing their style of baseball.
• The Hurtin' Units had the biggest single win of the round robin and had both Clayton Avery and Gord Robinson playing incredibly well.
• The Brew Jays started 0-2 and then had a great run to get into an elimination game and win it, plus they Matt Foerster hitting better than anyone else in the tournament.
• The Beer Bros. had cruised through the round robin, sported the best outfield in the league and had more speed at the top of their lineup than anyone.
• The Hot Tub Woody's didn't know their fate getting the bye until late.  Their defense playing well and Moye setting the table and Handley cashing in. 
• The Dislocated Joints were the 1st team to get the bye as they sailed through their division.  With four batters over .700 and stellar defense, it was easy to picture them reaching the final.
• The Dodge City Rounders were living a charmed life getting the by with a 2-2 record.  Everyone was playing as normal except for Mark Bickford who was on a roll hitting over .800 with authority.
• The Catchers were the only #5 seed to Sunday, winning the wild card game over the Gruesome Devils.  Bob Pearce was pitching and hitting great to go along with Phil Glecoff and Larry Turner. 

The Woody's did what they needed to against Dodge City, surviving an Al Fry run in the 1st inning and then plating three of their own runs with Brad Moye, Chris Larkin and Jeff Handley all coming around to score in the home half of the 1st.

Neither team scored in the 2nd inning and then Dodge got 4 in the top of the third with Mason, Fry, Peters and Beechey all scoring. They Woody's would reclaim the lead by the end of their inning getting 4 of their own let by Captain Ed Hopkins who was following again by Moye, Larkin and Handley.  After 3 innings it was 7-6 Hot Tub Woody's.

The teams again exchanged scoreless 4th innings but the Rounders would score in each of the remaining innings to run their total to 14.  The Hot Tub Woody's got 2 in the sixth to get as close as 11-9 but would ultimately fall 14-9.  There was a lot of great moments in this game including 3/3 performances from Moye, Handley and Cragg, but the biggest line on the score sheet may belong to Al (Bones) Nicholl who was 3/3 and continuously prolonged innings. 

A great season for the Woody's through injuries and all, concludes in the quarter finals.  They moved from the bottom 3 to the top 5 and everywhere in between.  Through it all, fun times an drinking pitchers ruled the day.  Well done!

Dodge moves to the semis, more on them later. 

The Hurtin' Units had lost 3 in a row this year to the Grisslies.  If they were worried about that, it certainly didn't show.  The Grisslies had a 3-0 lead after one inning on runs scored by Dwyer, Jeff Sagert and Cudnik.  The Hurtin' Units answered straight back however by wounding 3 runs in the 2nd inning by Clark, Butler and Allen. 

The Hurtin' Units had punch on this day, 3 in the second followed by 3 in the third, followed by 4 in the fourth, followed by 6 the fifth....there was no let up. 

Slater, Avery, Rumboldt, Clark and Butler all scored 3 or more runs on the day.

The Grisslies down 9 heading into the bottom of the 7th had one more breath of life, sending 9 men to the plate and counting three trim the margin to 18-12. 

The only perfect batting line for either squad was Art Sagert's 4/4. 

The Grisslie's yearly post-HTKP run ended a few games early this season, but it was a good year for the most part.  The 'shenannigans' tailed off a bit this year, we'll have to address that in the off season.  By the way, there are rumours that we could entering a rebuilding phase.   (Shhhhh)

The Hurtin' Units were full value for their win and moved to the Semis. 

 

On paper, this might have looked a bit like David vs. Goliath in this match up; with the leagues #13 team overall against #5.  David sure had a lot of fight in this one!

 

The Dog Catchers struck first when Don Curran and Bob Pearce both scored in the 1st inning.  Then they did something no one else had seemed able to do and that was get Gayle and Pendlebury both to make outs in the 1st inning!

 

Lou Conforti would score the 1st Beer Bros. run in this game in the second inning to make it 2-1 after two innings of play. 

 

The game would be tied at 4's after 3 innings of play as Curran would score his second run and Russel also plated for the Dog Catchers. The Beer Bros. got runs in the 3rd from Bales, Wercholoz and Gayle.

 

As close as the game was at this point, that would be all the scoring for the Dog Catchers. The Beer Bros. would get one in the 4th and 4 in the 6th to put the game away, winning 9-4. 

 

Leading the way for the Beer Bros. was Peter Holmann's 3/3, 1 run performance.

 

The Dog Catchers quarter final appearance out of the 13th spot has to recognized as an excellent TEAM playoff performance.  Losing one of their Captain's to injury didn't have them quit, they made it a rallying point!  Congrats, Larry, Randy & the rest of the Dog Catchers, job well done!

 

Meanwhile, the Beer Bros. run continues.  Too soon for acolades for these guys.

 

Brew Jays & Joints?  And its not the final?

 

These teams were picked by many to be playing late on Sunday, strange things happen in September in Tottenham.

 

The Brew Jays led off with Jamie McClean who would score the 1st run of the game in the 1st. In the 2nd, Tito Presenza and Dave Polney would both score.  Terry Doucet answered in the bottom of the inning to make it 3-1 for the Brew Jays after 2 complete.

 

The Brew Jays kept chipping.  Lynn Foerster getting one in the 3rd, Bo Niederhuber in the 4th. 

 

Then came the Dislocated joints opportunity in the 4th inning.  Down 5-1 in an excellently played defensive game, they had the their first three batters of the inning reach on singles. With the bases loaded and nobody out, the Brew Jays got the next three batters in order without allowing a run. 

 

It was only the 4th inning, but it had a visible effect on both teams. The game remained exactly as it was and finished 5-1 for the Brew Jays. 

 

Terry and Down Town brought us an exciting brand of baseball this year that featured timely hitting and superior defence.  And they had an awesome 1st half of the year!  Congrats boys.

 

For the Brew Jays, the monkey is off their back, last years quarter final loss (by doing noble thing) seems to be rewarding them this year!  Off to the semi's!!!

SEMI FINALS

The Brew Jays Showed everyone they could play a sound defensive game in the 5-1 victory over the Joints.  But they to beat up badly (29-9) in the frist go around with the Hurtin' Units and it would take their best game to quell those bats.

The Brew Jays started once again with McClean leading off and scoring.  This time he'd have company in the first at Gaudet, Duggan, Foerster (Lynn) and Niederhuber all followed.  The Unit's would only have a single bae runner in the 1st and 2 runners but no scoring in the second. 

After 2 innings it was 5-0 for the Jays and then the Units woke up!  They would get four runs in the inning from Avery, Robinson, Rumboldt and Clark.  That got them right back into the match.  The game stayed close, 6-5 for the Brew Jys going into their half of the 6th. 

In the 6th, the Brew Jays showed that power that led the league in runs this season.  They would get 7 runs from McClean, Foerster (Lynn), Gaudet, Polny, Fleming, Clouthier and Del Greco. 

The Units would counter with three of their own in the bottom, but the gap was too big at this point and the day too long. Make the final 14-8 for the  Brew Jays. 

The Hurtin Units were another team that lost their Captain this year. Then they lost their replacement player for a good chunk.  Then lost another player, then lost another replacement, this time for good. Through it they stayed a fun club to play against or sub with.  Good season James and Mike!

And destiny seemes to be following the Brew Jays straight to the final. 

Wow.  This match up just screamed, "EPIC". 

I have said many times that these were two favourite teams to watch this year (yes, some of us do watch).  Dodge had the best infield, Beer Bros the best outfield. Of course those are just my opinions. 

The visiting Rounders went 3 up 3 down in the 1st and thought they allowed the Beer Bros. a couple of base runners in the 1st half, there was no damage.  The 2nd inning started with a Beechey single.  He owuld eventually come around to score the first run of the game. 

Still nothing for the Beer Bros in the 2nd.

The 3rd was another 3 up 3 down inning for Dodge as the defenses asserted themselves. 

Still nothing for the Beer Bros. in the 3rd. 

Dodge would get their 2nd run in the fourth and again it was Beechey doubling to start the inning  and scoreing on Luc Schryer's single.  2-0 for the Rounders. 

The Beer Bros.  got their mojo working in the fouth as Pendelbury (Neil), Holmann and Ross all scored to take a 3-2 lead.

The Dodge City Rounders sprung right back in the 5th inning as this game lived up to its promise.  Mason, Fry, Beechey (3), Barry and Nicholl (Bones) woul all score to make it a 7-3 lead for Dodge City.  When the Beer Bros. were retired (4 batters) in the 5th it was starting to look grim for a comback. 

The Rounders got Henry as far as 3rd base in the top of the 6th, but couldn't cash him in.  Then the Beer Bros. flexed their muscles in the bottom of six.  They would send 10 men to the plate, scoring 6 and taking a 9-7 lead.  Scoring in the inning were Pendlebury (both), Piellusch, Holmann, Ross, and Smith. 

The Dodge City Rounders didn't quit.  They would score in the top of the 7th to get within one and have the tying on base before the final out of their season was made. 

Congratulations again to Ed & Al who I've yet to hear anyone say anything but the kindest things about.  Awesome team, average team, lousy team, they give the same effort an enthusiasm.  Congrats on yet another spectacular season!

The Beer Bros.!!!!

Welcome to the finals!

PLAYOFFS, Day 6 - Saturday, Here in the Park

GAMES

It was all fun and games until today.  At 4:30 there would be five teams going home.  By 6:00 two more would be joining them leaving 8 quarter finalist to come back on Sunday. 

Round Robin

(5) Dog Catchers @ (2) Dodge City Rounders - The 5th seeded Dog Catchers aimed to prove that their opening win against the #4 Lucky Stiffs was no fluke.  They took on the #2 Dodge City Rounders and got off to a quick 3-0 after the 1st, 5-2 after the 2nd and 8-2 after the 3rd.  They would keep the Rounders offense at bay throughout winning 12-5.  Once again, Captain Larry Turner led the way  going 4/4 and he would by joined by Paul Hargreaves who was 4/4 with a run scored.  Adrian Barry (3/3) had the only perfect performance for the Dodge City Rounders. 

(5) Banshees @ (2) Beer Bros. - The Banshees had been playing some sound defensive ball and looked to keep it going against the #2 seed of their pool.  However they got down 9-1 after 3 and looked out of hit.  Then they shut down the speedy and power laden Beer Bros. the rest of the way.  the Beer Bros. would only send 15 batters to the plate over the final 4 innings, scoring no runs.  The defense was on both sides though, and while the Banshees chipped away, they would ultimately fall 9-5 in a well played game.  The only perfect game batting for either club was the Beer Bros. Lou Conforti who was 3/3 with a run scored. 

(5) Dusty Cleats @ (2) Grisslies - The Grisslies doubled the Dusty Cleats 12-6 in a game that was closer than the score would indicate.  The game was 6-4 through 4 innings before the Grisslies would get their last runs on the day by scoring 6.  The Dusty Cleats had a great day from Captain Dane who was 4/4 and Wayne Caldwell who was 3/3 with a run scored.  The Grisslies were led by the hot bat of Jeff Sagert who had the only perfect day going 4/4 with 3 runs scored. 

(4) Hot Tub Woody's @ (3) Tap Masters - The Hot Tub Woody's had their "A" game in this one, defeating the the Tap Masters 12-5 and keeping down what had been one of this year's most potent offenses.  The Woody's best bats on this day were provided by Jeff Handley (4/4; 1) and Chuck Cragg (4/4; 3).  The Tap Masters had 3/3 game from Tim Osmond and Dan Routledge who had 3 runs scored. 

(3) Lucky Stiffs @ (1) Dislocated Joints - The Lucky Stiffs may have had the best defensive tournament of all clubs as they only allowed 6 runs to a pretty potent Joints line up.  However they could only muster 4 runs of their own falling 6-4 in a well played game.  Doris Casullo (4/4; 1), Emeil Edwards (4/4; 1), Derryl Gaudet (4/4) Captain Terry Doucet (3/3) were all perfect at the plate.  For the Lucky Stiffs Justin McBain (4/4; 1) and John Barlow (3/3) led the charge. 

(5) Dog Catchers @ (4) Rusty Rebels - The Rusty Rebels had what may have been their best game of tournament defeating the Dog Catchers 19-3.  They scored in every inning of the game and were led by Steve Grenkie's 4/4 afternoon with a run scored.  The Dog Catchers were once again led by Captain Larry Turner's 3/3 performance. 

(2) Beer Bros. @ (1) Red Dogs - The two clubs traded four run 1st innings before settling down to some solid defensive play through 4 complete.  In the 5th, tied at 6's, the Beer Bros. rolled a 7 and would never again be headed or tied, pulling away to a 17-10 victory.  The Beer Bros. were led by Winston Gayle's 4/4; 4 run performance out of the lead off spot.  Rick Hjelholt led the charge for the Red Dogs going 4/4. 

(3) Gruesome Devils @ (1) Brew Jays - For the second time in less that 24 hours the Brew Jays were staring at elimination.  The again kept their season alive with a convincing 16-8 win over the Gruesome Devils. Kevin Tobin (4/4, 2) and Gord Tanner (3/3; 1) were both perfect for the Devils.  Meanwhile the Brew Jays were once again led by Matt Foerster's 4/4 performance with 2 runs scored. 

(5) Dusty Cleats @ (4) Hurtin' Units - These teams met in a "winner stays" game with the Hurtin' Units prevailing with a 17-10 score.  Gord Robins (5/5, 3; Cam Clark 4/4, 3; and Gord Robertson (4/4, 1) were all perfect on the game.  For the Duty Cleats both Stephane Simard and Mark Doyle were 3/3 with 3 runs scored. 

(5) Banshees @ (4) Hot Tub Woody's - Yet another, close to the vest, epic game was played between the Woody's and Banshees.  This one saw the Banshees score 3 in the 7th inning to tie the game at fours, before the Woody's counted 2 in the home half of the inning to pull out the win.  Jerry Muirhead (3/3; 1) and Dan Chiasson (2/2) were both perfect at the plate for the Banshees while Brady Moye (3/3; 2), Steve Black (3/3) and Craig Davies (3/3) did the bulk of the Hot Tub Woody's damage.

FINAL Round Robin STANDINGS

Dark yellow indicates a Bye to Sunday, lighter yellow indicates a spot in the elimination game.

Dark yellow indicates a Bye to Sunday, lighter yellow indicates a spot in the elimination game.

 

Dark yellow indicates a Bye to Sunday, lighter yellow indicates a spot in the elimination game.

ELIMINATION GAMES

The Gruesome Devils came into the tournament as the 7th ranked team overall and got off to a good start beating the Dusty Cleats by 7.  They would then lose by 6 to the Grisslies and win by 6 against the Hurtin' Units to stand a 2-1.  A -7 loss to the Brew Jays squared their record and put them in an elimination game. 

The Dog Catchers were 13th overall in the regular season and showed up with a great playoff.  They opened with an upset win by four over the Lucky Stiffs.  They would drop a 14-4 decision to the Joints before shocking most people with a 12-5 win over the Dodge City Rounders.  Their 19-3 loss to the Rebels put them in the elimination game. 

The Dog Catchers got on the sticks early in this one.  They cashed in Don Curran, Bob Pearce and Phil Glecoff in the first while giving nothing up of their own.  In the second inning, Paul Hargreaves, Don, Bob, Cal Russel and Phil all counted to make 8-0.  Simon Smith and Gord Tanner got the Devils on the board in their half of the 2nd but it was too little, too late in this match up. 

The Dog Catchers would pull away to win the game 19-10.  The Dog Catchers had some super offensive games in this one.  Bob Pearce was 5/5 with 3 runs scored.  Phil Glecoff was 5/5 with 4 runs and Paul Hargreaves was 4/4 with 4 runs. 

The inaugural season of the Gruesome Devils ended with Bob McCullough and Kevin Tobin but having 4/4 nights. Bob scored twice will Kevin counted a single run. 

The Brew Jays had been on life support for a while.  The league's best regular season team got pasted in their opener 29-9 by the four seed, Hurtin' Units.  The followed that up with a 21-14 loss to the 5th seed Dusty Cleats. With games remaining against the Grisslies and Gruesome Devils, who should have been more difficult teams to play (just by standings), things did not look good.  But the Brew Jays got off the mat to dust off the Grisslies 13-6 and then staved off elimination a second time by beating the Devils 16-8. 

The Banshees were one of the surprise teams of the tournament.  They tied in their opener against the Tap Masters before surprising many people with a 13-6 win over the hard hitting Red Dogs.  They would lose their final two the Hot Tub Woody's and Beer Bros., but their 3 points would secure them a date in the Elimination game. 

The Banshees started the game out getting three runners on in the 1st inning, but couldn't push across a run.  That would be a sign of what as to come. 

The Brew Jays seemed to be back and back with a vengeance.  Having survived their round robin scare, they aimed to remind people who they were.  The Brew Jays would send 11 men to the plate in the 1st inning alone, scoring 7 run.  Only one out was recorded in the inning by the Banshees as the Jays set the tone early.

The Banshees wouldn't count their first run until the 4th inning when John Coopman cashed in Brian Richards.  The final score was 20-7.  The Banshees were led by John Tessier (3/3) and Paul Koolhaas(4/4; 1). The Brew Jays hot sticks were held by Roger Gaudet (4/4; 3), Rod Duggan (4/4; 3), Dave Fleming (4/4; 1) and Bill Clouthier (4/4; 1). 

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