Here lies Froggy’s - yet another story of too much success too soon. We bagged a B-league Trophy, and before we knew it, the train went off the tracks.
But success on the field did take time, and Rob L was typically on his negative rail before the experiment even began. “I think there's a game Thursday, but I haven't practiced or played myself. It looks like we are already a half game lead behind Forbes. The good news, according to the softball website, is we are both still on the roster, and Dean was cut.”
The actual results weren’t far behind,
and who better than Herman to foretell the season long controversy. “Your right fielder has always been a gamer, and he’s had two singles so far tonight. But could you see the usual exit velo just wasn’t there,” Herman said as he made conversation with nobody in the third base coaching box.Still, a 10-9 loss was no cause for alarm, and Rob L’s demise seemed the furthest from the truth. His solo homer tied game versus Baird, and we went on to an 8-6 victory.. But afterwards, he didn’t feel so comfortable sharing the home run lead.
“Tied with hammer,” he lamented, “I not sure I will be able to keep pace with my markedly lowered exit velo. It makes me wonder if the Bank needs a utility right fielder with occasional power. Plus C league is a great place for a legend to die.”
He was obviously still inside his own head when the defending champs rolled in and handed us an 11-3 loss. “Damn, that pitcher just eats me up,” Rob L said as he held hands with Biondi for strength.
But Rob wasn't the only one going through menopause. The merger meant change, and Sal reluctantly acquiesced to being usurped as the standard bearer at short. "Steve R is pretty tall,” Sal commented. “But that just means he has to bend more to field the ball.”
Steve R was also restrained in his game time reaction. "I play short?” he barely mustered.
Strokes had the same reaction, and after four errors, the kids ran away with a 22-10 victory.
In Steve’s defense, the archives - which are housed in the basement of Forbes Insurance - do show a worse performance.
From July 17 1987 Issue of The Patent Trader
The usually steady John Fitzpatrick committed six errors at short on Wednesday night. In a rarely cited rule that states a player can only use his own glove, Fitzpatrick was forced to play barehanded when he showed up without his leather. “Hey, it’s right there in the rule book," the pitcher said afterwards.
Still, Fitzpatrick did manage to turn a double play and recorded two putouts. Something that did not go unnoticed by rookie phenom Herman. “That Fitzy is some competitor,” said the right fielder, who hit for the cycle and threw three guys out at the plate.
Either way, we were 1-4, and Rob was reportedly seen filling out a job application at Mahopac National Bank. He flatly denied the allegation. “I saw LuLu at the ATM machine and just wanted to say hello,” he deflected.
Otherwise, the rest of us mostly kept it together in the parking lot. But then the dreaded road to success kicked off a cleat, and the trouble began. “I knew the ball would hit the runner as soon as Jake threw it,” said Rob L. “I walked off the field and picked up a bat.”
The break gave us a much needed win, and no one was complaining when Somers Pub served up a forfeit. “I could see where this Froggy’s thing was going and set designs on my own merger,” said Dink and Dunk.
Unfortunately, we wasted a Mike Biondi grand slam in a 17-15 loss to Forbes. “Hey I always said, there’s two things you’ll never see. Mike Biondi hitting a home run, and Mike Biondi striking out,” he boasted.
That turned out to be a blip, though, and led by Sal at short, we knocked off the dogs. The only downside was Hawk selfishly refused to take over for Sal in the 5th. “If I say I’m taking a knee, I’m taking a knee,” he asserted.
Spilling over into the parking lot, Rodd pulled out his game notes and stat book to make his case. Despite all the vehemence, the matter was behind us by the time the squabbling couple returned from Foxwoods for our match up against Strokes. “Guess who took a knee this weekend,” Hawk flexed his pipes.
The pivotal game featured a two out rally that saw 11 runs cross the plate. The key stroke coming early on with runners on second and third. “That was the most important hit of the season,” Hammer said of his double down the left field line.
Known also to have conversations when no one is listening, he was taken aback that Andy was actually paying attention. In truth, Andy was more attuned to the misdirection. “Hammer goes opposite,” he was clearly surprised.
So Rodd took pride in laying out the team history. “Hammer goes all ways,” the co-manager said with a wink.
Interestingly, the first baseman was benched for the victory over Baird. But Kaufman denied it had anything to do with the elder statesman’s refusal to spend the weekend at Foxwoods to discuss the future of the team.
Again the situation was left behind, and it was Forbes that was left on the wrong end of another
two out rally. “That was the most important hit of the season,” said Hammer who was right in the middle again.Still, Jake would have none of it, and wins were obviously having a negative impact. “A sacrifice fly does not count as an at bat,” he threw down Andy’s mic.
Threatening to join a coed bowling league, Rodd was forced to relent and got his interns on the problem. Pulling out the past five years of scoring, Jake’s average climbed from .712 to .757, and the team as whole saw their averages rise .039 points.
The revelation didn’t immediately effect, but following a 25-23 loss to Riverdogs, Froggy’s ran off four straight wins. The playoffs seemed a lock. That is until four straight losses had Forbes staring us down and looking for payback.
And losing 7-2, the experiment wasn’t looking good. But a 9-8 victory had the pitcher licking his wounds. “I got to check the rule book to see whether you can actually roll the ball,” he said. “If there isn’t a rule, there should be one.”
The victory, of course, brought controversy, and 100 points separating Steve R and Rob L lay at the heart of it. “If we counted sacrifice flies all year, there would be no discussion,” reasoned Jake.
Nonetheless, Rodd went beyond the stats to make Rob L’s case. But Steve D was not convinced that a picture in the Somers Record provided enough edge.
As always, Rodd was ready in retort. “His picture is right next to Herman the Somers Legend.”
Steve had no choice but to give in. Either way, both came up big in the playoffs. The same goes for the JB train, Joe F and Biondi, while Jake had no shortage of sacrifice flies. However, the game ball really goes to the pitching and defense.
Hawk and Steve on the rubber and Jay, Sal, Todd and Rodd all dazzled. Of course, Andy on the receiving end cleaned up any of their messes and also had a sense of history. “I felt like a young Hammer out there,” said Andy. “I wish I could say the same about cougar night. The stories I hear from back in his day almost make me weep.”
Of course, I did not forget Scops. The greatest catch in the history of Somers Softball. “Hey, I’ll climb a wall, but just don’t make me coach third.”
JB agreed. “If scopsy, dropsy doesn’t send me home on Monetti’s single against Somers Pub, we win that game, and it’s the most important hit of the season.”
No matter, the best part didn’t come until later when Scops was surprised by a phone call from Herman. “Hey Scops, I heard about your catch…By the way, is it ok, if I call you Scops… I made a catch like that once. I think it was during my 9th championship run. But it wasn’t during the finals, and there was only one out. I was lucky because when I came down, I threw the runner out at third…Hey, I got to go. I have to refrigerate my glove until next year. There’s no better system… I can’t wait to see you guys next year.”
Ok, that might not be true, but more importantly, are we dead? On a breakup, I definitely like the idea of having a 13 man team with 9,10 and 11 guaranteed for each game. On the other side, I equally like the idea of having a year of bonding behind us as the team is situated - with only more to come.
And as a kicker, it’s pretty cool that the more we are at each other’s throats, the better we are.
Either way, great season guys.
