Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Offseason Update: Cryan's reading
It has come to my attention that Cryan recently completed Angels & Demons, the first book he has read since high school. He is planning to read The Da Vinci Code next, as soon as he can borrow a copy from someone. Please feel free to use this blog to provide additional reading recommendations for Cryan.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Team Keg Kill
So I'm a bit late commenting on this, and I have no doubt forgotten many of the entertaining moments that occurred, but we had a team championship celebration/keg kill on November 7th. Come to think of it, my memory was pretty hazy the next day, so I'm not sure my recollection would have been that much better even if I had posted sooner.
Anyway, it was a joyous event. I braved the traffic at the Total Wine & More on Little River Turnpike and picked up a keg of Yuengling. Sidenote: seriously, that shopping center has one of the worst parking lots in the Arlington/Alexandria area. The only one that rivals it in its ability to infuriate me is the one at the Price Club in Pentagon City... that one is worse because they charge you to experience the clusterf**k that inevitably ensues. There was some debate as to whether or not we should continue with the keg kill idea... after all, we only had like 14 "yes" replies on the evite - one of which was Queeney, and a few others were girls. But we decided it was worth a shot.
We tapped the keg around 5:15, and Cryan officially got things started with a beer shower. The first guests showed up shortly thereafter, and we decided it was wise to resurrect an old idea: the beer tally list. Few things do a better job of facilitating peer pressure and drunken arguments. We actually did a pretty good job of tracking things until the drinking games began. That point coincided with many of us hitting double digits, so perhaps that was part of the problem as well.
We started a game of baseball (for those who don't know, it's beer pong/flip cup hybrid). Normally it's a good time, but we probably started a few beers too late, as the main things I recall are poor shooting and drunken arguments over poorly defined rules. Conflict resolution proved difficult.
At some point in the evening, we took a look at the beer tally, and looked at the reinforcements that had arrived (including Gigantor, Gandia and Henley), and realized that we might have a real shot at kicking the keg. The forces had aligned, with a few Lollygagger alumni making appearances, and Gandia channeling his rage at extremely expensive tire repair.
One of the real highlights of the evening was Royden's attempted kegstand. He made the questionable decision of bringing in Marisa to hold one of his legs. After about a second in the air, Royden bellyflopped on my kitchen floor, and I believe Marisa fell down in laughter behind him (at least that's how I choose to remember it). Not to be easily defeated, Royden recruited a new spotter, and took another shot at glory. I don't know if he developed Brad Lidge syndrome or what, but the guy was rattled, and only got through about five seconds before tapping out. He then spat beer all over the place.
I am pleased to report that the keg was successfully kicked shortly after midnight. In hindsight, there are a lot of parallels to be drawn between the keg kill and our C-league softball championship... in the beginning, we viewed the keg/standings as a seemingly insurmountable task. But through teamwork, dedication, and, well, beer strength, we were able to power our way to victory. Nice work, gentlemen. Continue that offseason training, and I'll see you on the field in about four months.
Anyway, it was a joyous event. I braved the traffic at the Total Wine & More on Little River Turnpike and picked up a keg of Yuengling. Sidenote: seriously, that shopping center has one of the worst parking lots in the Arlington/Alexandria area. The only one that rivals it in its ability to infuriate me is the one at the Price Club in Pentagon City... that one is worse because they charge you to experience the clusterf**k that inevitably ensues. There was some debate as to whether or not we should continue with the keg kill idea... after all, we only had like 14 "yes" replies on the evite - one of which was Queeney, and a few others were girls. But we decided it was worth a shot.
We tapped the keg around 5:15, and Cryan officially got things started with a beer shower. The first guests showed up shortly thereafter, and we decided it was wise to resurrect an old idea: the beer tally list. Few things do a better job of facilitating peer pressure and drunken arguments. We actually did a pretty good job of tracking things until the drinking games began. That point coincided with many of us hitting double digits, so perhaps that was part of the problem as well.
We started a game of baseball (for those who don't know, it's beer pong/flip cup hybrid). Normally it's a good time, but we probably started a few beers too late, as the main things I recall are poor shooting and drunken arguments over poorly defined rules. Conflict resolution proved difficult.
At some point in the evening, we took a look at the beer tally, and looked at the reinforcements that had arrived (including Gigantor, Gandia and Henley), and realized that we might have a real shot at kicking the keg. The forces had aligned, with a few Lollygagger alumni making appearances, and Gandia channeling his rage at extremely expensive tire repair.
One of the real highlights of the evening was Royden's attempted kegstand. He made the questionable decision of bringing in Marisa to hold one of his legs. After about a second in the air, Royden bellyflopped on my kitchen floor, and I believe Marisa fell down in laughter behind him (at least that's how I choose to remember it). Not to be easily defeated, Royden recruited a new spotter, and took another shot at glory. I don't know if he developed Brad Lidge syndrome or what, but the guy was rattled, and only got through about five seconds before tapping out. He then spat beer all over the place.
I am pleased to report that the keg was successfully kicked shortly after midnight. In hindsight, there are a lot of parallels to be drawn between the keg kill and our C-league softball championship... in the beginning, we viewed the keg/standings as a seemingly insurmountable task. But through teamwork, dedication, and, well, beer strength, we were able to power our way to victory. Nice work, gentlemen. Continue that offseason training, and I'll see you on the field in about four months.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Engagement
Congratulations to Lollygagger outfielder Joe Morse on his engagement. Soon, he will be able to show up at games and officially make comments like: "I had to get out of the house... the old lady was driving me crazy."
I'm still seeking confirmation on the rumor that Joe will be wearing his jersey during the ceremony.
I'm still seeking confirmation on the rumor that Joe will be wearing his jersey during the ceremony.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Final Standings
Looks like the Rounders won out, so it's a good thing we took care of business. Also of note: the Kodiak Bears beat another team!
| 1 | 11 - Lollygaggers | 16-2-0 |
| 2 | 07 - Rounders | 15-2-1 |
| 3 | 05 - Waterproofers | 13-5-0 |
| 4 | 03 - CCSP Empty Pitchers | 12-5-1 |
| 5 | 09 - C.A. Jabronies | 11-7-0 |
| 6 | 14 - Dawgs | 10-6-0 |
| 7 | 02 - Gray Plant Mooty | 10-8-0 |
| 8 | 10 - Bottom of the Fifths | 9-9-0 |
| 9 | 08 - Hot Action | 7-11-0 |
| 10 | 12 - Sponsor Needed | 7-11-0 |
| 11 | 13 - Foul Balls | 6-12-0 |
| 12 | 04 - Masterbatters | 3-15-0 |
| 13 | 06 - The Draught Picks | 2-14-0 |
| 14 | 01 - Kodiak Bears | 2-16-0 |
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Reflections from 10/20
-Helluva way to close out a season... after dropping a game against one of the league's bottom-dwellers, the Lollygaggers came back strong to take two from one of the top teams in the league, 12-4 and 24-8. With the wins, we finished alone atop the league standings with a 16-2 record. Since there are no playoffs in the fall, we are officially C-league champions for the first time in Lollygagger history. Excellent work, gentlemen;
-Without Bill in the lineup, I came in a little concerned with our ability to hit the ball for power... so naturally we ended up having probably our greatest power hitting night in team history. In game #2, three of our first six hitters went yard (I almost killed a tennis player), which was pretty awesome, but also put us in the unfortunate predicament of being subjected to Arlington's stingy "+3" HR rule. It came back to haunt us, as for whatever reason, we couldn't stop hitting HRs... in fact, three of our first five outs came on would-be HRs that were ruled as outs. Fortunately we adjusted shortly thereafter, and continued our hitting barrage with singles and doubles within the confines of the Quincy fence;
-Erick is the king of the solo HR... way to be selfish;
-Queeney and Mark have slightly different approaches at the plate, but they were absolutely raking last night;
-With our two regular pitchers missing, Jim stepped in and did a great job - that team had some good hitters, but he had them off-balance all night;
-It was uncomfortable, and yet oddly amusing to watch another team completely implode and resort to yelling at one another and throwing equipment (after all, this is rec league softball...). Watching a more dysfunctional team just makes me feel that much better about our squad;
-Thank you Marisa for being the only fan in attendance, for chasing down all of the fouls and HRs, and for putting up with the 7th grade maturity level jokes about holding our balls;
-Thanks for a great season. Information on a postseason celebration will be distributed shortly. It's worth noting that Chuck E. Cheese is out as a possible location... something about Quast and restraining orders. Speaking of which, why did Quast park his brown van so close to the field?
If you have any suggestions for off-season blog content, please post them. Perhaps reports on our extensive conditioning programs?
-Without Bill in the lineup, I came in a little concerned with our ability to hit the ball for power... so naturally we ended up having probably our greatest power hitting night in team history. In game #2, three of our first six hitters went yard (I almost killed a tennis player), which was pretty awesome, but also put us in the unfortunate predicament of being subjected to Arlington's stingy "+3" HR rule. It came back to haunt us, as for whatever reason, we couldn't stop hitting HRs... in fact, three of our first five outs came on would-be HRs that were ruled as outs. Fortunately we adjusted shortly thereafter, and continued our hitting barrage with singles and doubles within the confines of the Quincy fence;
-Erick is the king of the solo HR... way to be selfish;
-Queeney and Mark have slightly different approaches at the plate, but they were absolutely raking last night;
-With our two regular pitchers missing, Jim stepped in and did a great job - that team had some good hitters, but he had them off-balance all night;
-It was uncomfortable, and yet oddly amusing to watch another team completely implode and resort to yelling at one another and throwing equipment (after all, this is rec league softball...). Watching a more dysfunctional team just makes me feel that much better about our squad;
-Thank you Marisa for being the only fan in attendance, for chasing down all of the fouls and HRs, and for putting up with the 7th grade maturity level jokes about holding our balls;
-Thanks for a great season. Information on a postseason celebration will be distributed shortly. It's worth noting that Chuck E. Cheese is out as a possible location... something about Quast and restraining orders. Speaking of which, why did Quast park his brown van so close to the field?
If you have any suggestions for off-season blog content, please post them. Perhaps reports on our extensive conditioning programs?
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Reflections from 10/13
-The Lollygaggers played a pair of extremely competitive games, and came away with a split. In game 1, we rallied from a 12-5 deficit to take a 13-12 lead on a clutch 3-run HR from Bill. Unfortunately, they answered with a 2-run HR of their own, and we were unable to push anything across in the bottom half. In game 2, we fought off a late rally and held on for a 20-17 win;
-We ended the night with a 14-2 record. Coming into this week, the Rounders were immediately behind us in the standings at 11-2-1. So regardless of the results from this week, we control our own destiny. Win two next week, and we finish alone atop the standings. We're playing 10-4 Gray Plant Mooty though, so we have our work cut out for us;
-I have become spoiled by our winning. There was a time when I would have been pretty psyched with a split in C-League - particularly during that season when we only won one game. We have come a long way;
-Bill finished off his season with three HRs last night, and was absolutely crushing the ball;
-Meanwhile, Quast got absolutely crushed by the ball. He was the victim of a nasty hop at 2B, and ended up with a cut on his hand. I'm not entirely sure how you get cut by a softball, but it looked painful. Quast was flirting with disaster all night, as he narrowly dodged a bat I tossed to Erick earlier in the game;
-We had a couple of entertaining swinging strikeouts. There was a motion to start identifying those with Ks on the blog for future beer purchase enforcement, but we'll hold off on that for now... maybe we'll start fresh in the spring;
-It's a shame that the county has done such a poor job in maintaining Barcroft. It's a nice facility, but that field is in awful shape. The infield provides some nasty hops, and the outfield is absolutely atrocious, with huge patches of sand. It makes defense exceedingly difficult, and it's only a matter of time before someone gets seriously hurt;
-Special thanks to Lianne for being the only fan to brave the elements last night. Even if she is a curse to the team and Erick had to kick her out of the dugout, she was a big help in chasing down HRs and foul balls (thanks to Keller for the latter);
-Seriously, it's getting too cold for softball. One more week, gentlemen.
-We ended the night with a 14-2 record. Coming into this week, the Rounders were immediately behind us in the standings at 11-2-1. So regardless of the results from this week, we control our own destiny. Win two next week, and we finish alone atop the standings. We're playing 10-4 Gray Plant Mooty though, so we have our work cut out for us;
-I have become spoiled by our winning. There was a time when I would have been pretty psyched with a split in C-League - particularly during that season when we only won one game. We have come a long way;
-Bill finished off his season with three HRs last night, and was absolutely crushing the ball;
-Meanwhile, Quast got absolutely crushed by the ball. He was the victim of a nasty hop at 2B, and ended up with a cut on his hand. I'm not entirely sure how you get cut by a softball, but it looked painful. Quast was flirting with disaster all night, as he narrowly dodged a bat I tossed to Erick earlier in the game;
-We had a couple of entertaining swinging strikeouts. There was a motion to start identifying those with Ks on the blog for future beer purchase enforcement, but we'll hold off on that for now... maybe we'll start fresh in the spring;
-It's a shame that the county has done such a poor job in maintaining Barcroft. It's a nice facility, but that field is in awful shape. The infield provides some nasty hops, and the outfield is absolutely atrocious, with huge patches of sand. It makes defense exceedingly difficult, and it's only a matter of time before someone gets seriously hurt;
-Special thanks to Lianne for being the only fan to brave the elements last night. Even if she is a curse to the team and Erick had to kick her out of the dugout, she was a big help in chasing down HRs and foul balls (thanks to Keller for the latter);
-Seriously, it's getting too cold for softball. One more week, gentlemen.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Player Profile: Erick
Nickname(s): Gigantor
Number: 8
Height: 6'8"
Weight: 228
Bats/Throws: R/R
Position(s): 1B
Hometown: Orange, CA
College: UC Irvine
Favorite Post-Game Hangout: We've got what, 2 places we go? I guess Cap City. We should add somewhere new. There's this Crystal City restaurant that's pretty close to VA Highlands...
Favorite Beer: Yuengling? I'm not too picky, as long as it doesn't really suck.
If you had walk-up music, what would it be? "I Like it Rough", by Lady Gaga
What was the highest level of baseball you played? One summer of high school ball
What other sports did you play in high school? Volleyball
What are your top softball career highlights? Well last night I caught a throw from Gandia while not paying attention and looking in the wrong direction. Anytime I turn any easy play into near-disaster and then back into success is a good time.
What are your favorite softball memories involving someone other than yourself? There are other people playing this game? I thought everyone just came to watch me. (self-absorbed asshole, or just couldn't come up with anything? You decide!)
What is your favorite field to play at? Least favorite? Favorite: Utah, because accidentally hitting the ball 100 feet past the fence is fun. Least: Barcroft right before sunset. I wasn't using those retinas anyway!
Who is your least favorite opponent, and why? Those douchebags from a few weeks ago. I don't remember their names.
If you were to describe your playing style in one word, what would it be? Iliketohittheballfar
What part of your game would you most like to improve? I'd like to eliminate these terrible no-hitting streaks I go through.
Do you have any superstitious rituals before/during games? I can't think of anything.
Do you prefer beer pong or flip cup? I kind of suck at both. I probably prefer beer pong, but my favorite game is the one where you sit on a couch and drink beer.
Number: 8
Height: 6'8"
Weight: 228
Bats/Throws: R/R
Position(s): 1B
Hometown: Orange, CA
College: UC Irvine
Favorite Post-Game Hangout: We've got what, 2 places we go? I guess Cap City. We should add somewhere new. There's this Crystal City restaurant that's pretty close to VA Highlands...
Favorite Beer: Yuengling? I'm not too picky, as long as it doesn't really suck.
If you had walk-up music, what would it be? "I Like it Rough", by Lady Gaga
What was the highest level of baseball you played? One summer of high school ball
What other sports did you play in high school? Volleyball
What are your top softball career highlights? Well last night I caught a throw from Gandia while not paying attention and looking in the wrong direction. Anytime I turn any easy play into near-disaster and then back into success is a good time.
What are your favorite softball memories involving someone other than yourself? There are other people playing this game? I thought everyone just came to watch me. (self-absorbed asshole, or just couldn't come up with anything? You decide!)
What is your favorite field to play at? Least favorite? Favorite: Utah, because accidentally hitting the ball 100 feet past the fence is fun. Least: Barcroft right before sunset. I wasn't using those retinas anyway!
Who is your least favorite opponent, and why? Those douchebags from a few weeks ago. I don't remember their names.
If you were to describe your playing style in one word, what would it be? Iliketohittheballfar
What part of your game would you most like to improve? I'd like to eliminate these terrible no-hitting streaks I go through.
Do you have any superstitious rituals before/during games? I can't think of anything.
Do you prefer beer pong or flip cup? I kind of suck at both. I probably prefer beer pong, but my favorite game is the one where you sit on a couch and drink beer.
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