INTRO
Alright, maybe its the tiniest little bit dramatic, but what the hell. Last night's game against the Hot Tub Woody's marked my 100th consecutive game in the league. Personally, I think that's kind of cool. I know its not the longest "all time" streak, but it just might be the longest current streak. If anyone knows a longer run of no missed games, let me know. I think that could be a fun thing to track.
I don't know if I've ever really talked about myself in this section. I usually only do the "self-mention" in the GAME section below. And only then if screw up, so it tends to come up a lot. But I don't put all my screw ups in there because then it would be a freakin' diary and who needs that?
At any rate, I thought it would be fun for both you readers to know a little a bit about the man, the myth, the legend....Double D; the Blogger, Doug E. Fresh or the white Tony Fernandez as I'm often called. Yeah, I've never been called the white Tony Fernandez, but I continue to hope. The following article was kindly written by Mark Doyle and I didn't even have to ask twice! I think you'll find that this puts everything nicely into perspective.
BLOG contribution from: Mark Doyle
Tottenham (AP): When it comes to being an “Iron man” in sports there are only two thing we look at: How many consecutive games did they play and how long did the streak last? The only issue with that is there are injuries in sports and, some are completely unexpected.
Doug Dwyer of the The Tottenham Grisslies has a streak going of 100 games and is aiming to break the all time record. Seeing that Dwyer came into the league in 2009 when the club was struggling and in compete disarray, he got to start right away and has been “Mr. Consistent” ever since. (Hitting .500 is consistent, right?)
It is believed that Rob Farah holds the all time record (certification needed) of 297 consecutive starts, and Dwyer has to deal with the fact that he's only a 1/3 of the way there and not even the career leader on his own team. The white Tony Fernandez has been battling through a host of injuries this year and has been ordered by medical staff to only play games and NOT practice. Knowing first hand what Double D's work ethic is; I can tell you that this does not sit well with the Iron Man.
Dwyer was told again earlier this week that he could not return to practice, and despite that, he leads the team in at bats and errors. Two critical stats that show a player's engagement in the game itself.
It makes more sense from the horses mouth, here is what Doug E. Fresh has to say when asked about his team leading 23 errors. "Its funny....people go on and on and on and on about errors. To me, they are just part of the game and demonstrate your level of commitment. A lot of guys will just let balls get by them and slip through to the outfield without really even trying. I think it takes a REAL player to bother to come up with the ball and THEN throw it away. I know the pitchers appreciate it for sure. I can tell by the way Rob shakes his fist at me in a 'way to go' manner after a particularly critical error. Even when I sub, I notice it with veteran pitchers like Frank Laird. When I throw it into the dugout and Frank shakes his head, I know that HE knows that I'm really into the game. Then you really feel like you're part of the team."
Well, if that's the case, all this reporter can say is that Brett Mabee must be the most committed player in the league!
Lets put this Iron Man Streak in perspective. The last time that the Grisslies played a game without Dwyer, the price of gas of .73/L; the only black president was David Palmer on the TV show 24 (he's still the best president of any colour by the way); a loaf of bread was .30 cents cheaper; Serena Williams was the #1 tennis player in the world; there was no such thing as an iPad; a pound of potatoes were half the price, unemployment was at 5.4%, the Jays were in 4th place with Tampa leading the American League East and the Leafs were out of the playoffs. Okay, so not everything has changed, but LOTS has!!!
THE SPEECH
Doug: Hey, you got the speech sorted out for this week?
Rob: Yeah, the whole "go back to your roots" thing has really worked. Thanks for the tip. I've got my mojo back, I'm all good now.
Doug: So what did you pick for this week.
Doug: So what did you pick for this week.
Rob: Oh I'm down to 3 or 4 different songs. Still narrowing it down, but don't worry, we'll be fine.
Doug: Okay. Look, I know you don't typically do requests, but I was wondering if you could do something about me this week. The only reason I'm even asking is that the intro is about me and I thought we could write the same theme throughout. You know, make us look coordinated.
Rob: No.
Doug: No? Just like that? You won't even consider it?
Rob: No.
Doug: Why not?
Rob: There's a couple of reasons. One is that I don't really want to be too closely associated with the other stuff in the BLOG. I'm sure you understand.
Doug: Understand? Not really. Why not?
Rob: Let's be honest here Doug. You're offensive. Apparently Steve Ross is having anxiety attacks thinking that you're going to do something mean when we play the Beer Bros. in July.
Doug: Come on Rob, sometimes my humour goes sideways, but I'd never purposely be mean.
Rob: Really Doug? Tell that to Lance. He almost quit the league after that Joe Dirt crap for god sakes. And don't even get me started with Dude. Or Dube if you will. Do you like to make grown men cry? I just think its best if I distance myself from your "humour" as you call it.
Doug: Wait a minute, you wrote the "Hey Dube" song, not me!
Rob: I know. He loved the song, because it was written with sensitivity. What he DIDN'T love was the fake picture you put in the Don Swabuk BLOG of Donnie with his Dad.
Doug: I do fake pictures all the time. They're harmless.
Rob: Yeah sure they are. Dube went up to Donnie in the Clubhouse last week and said, "hey, nice picture of you and your dad". Donnie says, "what are you talking about, my dad's passed away". Dube freaks out, Donnie's bawling and I get phone calls from no less than 4 other captains saying your out of control. Does that sound harmless????
Doug: Man! Sorry, I didn't know.
Rob: No, you wouldn't would you.
Doug: Wait a minute, you wrote the "Hey Dube" song, not me!
Rob: I know. He loved the song, because it was written with sensitivity. What he DIDN'T love was the fake picture you put in the Don Swabuk BLOG of Donnie with his Dad.
Doug: I do fake pictures all the time. They're harmless.
Rob: Yeah sure they are. Dube went up to Donnie in the Clubhouse last week and said, "hey, nice picture of you and your dad". Donnie says, "what are you talking about, my dad's passed away". Dube freaks out, Donnie's bawling and I get phone calls from no less than 4 other captains saying your out of control. Does that sound harmless????
Doug: Man! Sorry, I didn't know.
Rob: No, you wouldn't would you.
Doug: Fine Rob. By the way, what's the other reason you won't do a song about me?
Rob: Oh, right. I thought crying players would be more than enough, but if you must know; I need to be responsive to my fans.
Doug: To your what?
Rob: My fans.
Doug: Okay fine. Your "fans" don't want you to write about me?
Rob: Its not that so much. They just really want me to write more about me because I'm interesting. And because you are not me - you are, how do I say it.....you're uninteresting.
Doug: Interesting.
Rob: You mean uninteresting.
Doug: No, I mean this conversation, while ridiculous, is interesting. This is for real though? People have said they want more about you?
Rob: Oh yeah. I can't walk through the legion now without people clamoring for me to stop and sing.
Doug: Wow. I had no idea. You really have your ear to the ground on this.
Rob: Yeah, I'm a man of the people.
Doug: So with the myriad of Rob Farah topics to choose from, what are you going to sing about? Swordfish? Niagara Falls? How to get from Tampa to Orlando in 11 minutes?
Rob: I might go with my track pants.
Doug: You're going to sing about your track pants rather than my "iron man" streak? How is it that I'm losing a popularity contest to this?
Rob: Weird eh? I'm thinking of starting my own BLOG. I might call it "Doug Sucks; but I'm Pretty Damned Funny"
Here is Rob's soon to famous track pants song. Its of course to the tune of the Burno Marrs (avec Travie McCoy) song, Billionaire. The music is ===> HERE
Sportswear
I like sportswear and I'm so freakin' glad
Collecting all the track pants I've ever had
I wanna be on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine
Smiling next to A-Rod and Kareem
Oh, every time I close my eyes
I see myself wearing high top Nikes
Yeah, a different city every night
Oh, I swear the world better prepare
For when I'm showing off my sportswear
Yeah, I would have a show like the Bob-Cat I would be the host of
Everyday Christmas, give Robbie your wish list
I'd probably pull an Mrs D. and Robby F.
And dress a bunch of local kids up in track stuff
Give away a few sweat tops, like here lady have this
And last but not least grant somebody their last wish
Like providing the whole season line of Reebok gear, so
You can call me Robbie Claus minus the Ho Hos
Get it? I'd probably visit where they make shoes
And damn sure they wouldn't let me in without union dues
Yeah, can't forget about me, stupid
Everywhere I go I'm a have my own theme music
Oh every time I close my eyes
I see myself in brand new shiny Nikes
A different city every night
Oh, I swear the world better prepare
For when I'm showing off my sportswear
Oh oh, oh oh, for when I'm wearing my sportswear
Oh oh, oh oh
I'll be playing basketball with the President
Dunking on Jamie's net
Then I'll compliment him on his political etiquette
Toss a couple track pants to him just for the heck of it
But keep the hoodies, socks and sweat bands completely separate
And yeah I'll be in a whole new tax bracket
We in a recession, but let me take a crack at it
I'll probably take whatever is left and just split it up
So everybody that I love can have a couple outfits
And not a single tummy around me would be missing a fleece top
Playing warm, sleeping soundly
I know we all have a similar dream
Go in your pocket pull out your wallet, put it in the air and sing
I like sportswear and I'm so freakin' glad
Collecting all the track pants I ever had
I wanna be on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine
Smiling next to A-Rod and Kareem
Oh, every time I close my eyes
I see myself in high top Nikes.
Yeah, a different city every night
Oh, I swear the world better prepare
For when I'm showing off my sportswear
I like to wear sportswear....so freakin' bad.
THE GAME
What a night!!!!!!!!!
Talk about your legends. Art Sagert's 1500th hundredth time on base. He is quite likely the active leader in hits in the league, although Bob Candy might have something to say about that. And between Art, Bob and Bill Clark (on hiatus) one of them is almost FOR SURE the all time leader.
Special thanks to Jamie McClean, Jeff Dancey, Ed Hopkins and all the Hot Tub Woody's who participated in the festivities in the bottom of the 1st when the monumental event occurred. I'll post some pictures when the lovely and talented Samantha Del Greco forwards them off. Thank you as always Sam for capturing these moments for us. You do spectacular work.
The Grisslies may have been a little pumped up for what was about to occur because we sure played brutal in the top off the 1st inning. It happens. We got the first out of the game on a line out off their 1st hitter, then gave up 3 straight hits. Then we got another out. Then 4 more hits. The Woody's scored 6 runs in the top of the 1st. That stung a bit. We got one back in our half of the 1st as All Star (yeah, I said All-Star) Rick Cudnik scored his 1st of 2 runs on the night.
This game is exactly the type of game I think of when I speak to people about this league. It was a close affair (I'll tell you about that soon). There were ridiculous moments, like 4 outfielders in right and right center against Brooks. Hilarious moments, like Brooks striking out while trying to hit off field to a completely empty outfield. Great defense from Dancey, Argue, Stike and I had a couple of moments. And tense moments like Ricky-Bobby coming up in the 7th with the tying run on third and the winning run on second. And through it all were the cat calls, the pats on the back between teams acknowledging good plays and good hits. If every game were like this, I'd be a really happy guy. That's instead of the MOSTLY happy guy that I am.
So....how did we get to a meaningful 7th after trailing 6-1 after one? Let me tell you. We shut out the Woody's in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th innings. That was pretty cool. The Woody's did cash in a Chuck Cragg lead off triple in the 7th for their 7th run and first since the 1st inning. I'll be the first to admit that we got a little lucky. Dancey was doubled off at second when a little humped back liner was caught by our center fielder right behind the bag. Chuck just missed a ball that looked destined for the chain link off the bat but became a 3rd out. Chris Larkin and Cliff Tucker both hit balls that should have been doubles had they not been aimed perfectly for my glove. So while we had a little good fortune, I do have to hand it to the boys for playing some pretty sound defense overall particularly after a rough 1st inning.
With the bats....we'll, we probably shouldn't try to swing with gloves on. Those are just for the field. We got one in the 1st, one in the 3rd, one in the 5th and one in the 6th. 7-4 heading into the bottom of the inning. Dave Argue leads off and grounds out. Gary Basso gets on. He gets forced at 2nd by Bobby Veinneau who is safe at first.
Runner on first, 2 out, 3 run lead. Dave Doucette doubles over the left fielders head.
2nd and 3rd, 2 out, 3 run lead.
Lance Horgan singles, Charlie O'Leary singles, Scott Pritchard singles.
four consecutive two out hits, the game is suddenly 7-6, bases loaded, Ricky Bobby at the plate who is 8 for his last 8. But on this occasion he hit to the one guy who didn't have a single bobble all night, Stike. I should know, I hit two to him.
As I said, great game and I'd gladly play it again.
What a night!!!!!!!!!
Talk about your legends. Art Sagert's 1500th hundredth time on base. He is quite likely the active leader in hits in the league, although Bob Candy might have something to say about that. And between Art, Bob and Bill Clark (on hiatus) one of them is almost FOR SURE the all time leader.
Special thanks to Jamie McClean, Jeff Dancey, Ed Hopkins and all the Hot Tub Woody's who participated in the festivities in the bottom of the 1st when the monumental event occurred. I'll post some pictures when the lovely and talented Samantha Del Greco forwards them off. Thank you as always Sam for capturing these moments for us. You do spectacular work.
The Grisslies may have been a little pumped up for what was about to occur because we sure played brutal in the top off the 1st inning. It happens. We got the first out of the game on a line out off their 1st hitter, then gave up 3 straight hits. Then we got another out. Then 4 more hits. The Woody's scored 6 runs in the top of the 1st. That stung a bit. We got one back in our half of the 1st as All Star (yeah, I said All-Star) Rick Cudnik scored his 1st of 2 runs on the night.
This game is exactly the type of game I think of when I speak to people about this league. It was a close affair (I'll tell you about that soon). There were ridiculous moments, like 4 outfielders in right and right center against Brooks. Hilarious moments, like Brooks striking out while trying to hit off field to a completely empty outfield. Great defense from Dancey, Argue, Stike and I had a couple of moments. And tense moments like Ricky-Bobby coming up in the 7th with the tying run on third and the winning run on second. And through it all were the cat calls, the pats on the back between teams acknowledging good plays and good hits. If every game were like this, I'd be a really happy guy. That's instead of the MOSTLY happy guy that I am.
So....how did we get to a meaningful 7th after trailing 6-1 after one? Let me tell you. We shut out the Woody's in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th innings. That was pretty cool. The Woody's did cash in a Chuck Cragg lead off triple in the 7th for their 7th run and first since the 1st inning. I'll be the first to admit that we got a little lucky. Dancey was doubled off at second when a little humped back liner was caught by our center fielder right behind the bag. Chuck just missed a ball that looked destined for the chain link off the bat but became a 3rd out. Chris Larkin and Cliff Tucker both hit balls that should have been doubles had they not been aimed perfectly for my glove. So while we had a little good fortune, I do have to hand it to the boys for playing some pretty sound defense overall particularly after a rough 1st inning.
With the bats....we'll, we probably shouldn't try to swing with gloves on. Those are just for the field. We got one in the 1st, one in the 3rd, one in the 5th and one in the 6th. 7-4 heading into the bottom of the inning. Dave Argue leads off and grounds out. Gary Basso gets on. He gets forced at 2nd by Bobby Veinneau who is safe at first.
Runner on first, 2 out, 3 run lead. Dave Doucette doubles over the left fielders head.
2nd and 3rd, 2 out, 3 run lead.
Lance Horgan singles, Charlie O'Leary singles, Scott Pritchard singles.
four consecutive two out hits, the game is suddenly 7-6, bases loaded, Ricky Bobby at the plate who is 8 for his last 8. But on this occasion he hit to the one guy who didn't have a single bobble all night, Stike. I should know, I hit two to him.
As I said, great game and I'd gladly play it again.
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