The Rules

To keep the amount of time wasted squabbling over the rules during our games to a minimum, I want to cover some of them here. Not that I anticipate any funny business with the Mod Squad as they typically display a high level of sportsmanship. Still, it's always good to know the rules. First, in the discipline department, we have this: Casual Profanity: Foul language is not permitted on or around the playing field by any player at anytime. Players using profanity will be warned by the official after the first offense and will be ejected after the second offense. NOTE: Officials may eject a player without first giving a warning depending on the nature of the remark. So watch your language. And should you find yourself ejected and you want to play again in the next game, it will cost you $50.00: Any participant who is ejected from a game is automatically suspended for the next game and will be required to pay a $50.00 (CASH) ejection fee before they will be allowed to continue playing in the league. A player ejected from a second game will automatically be suspended from all current AND future City of Richmond sponsored leagues until further notice. Getting into the game play, here's the strike zone rule. The “Mat & Plate” will be used to call balls and strike. Any legal pitch (fairly delivered within the height of six (6) feet to twelve (12) feet from the ground that hits either the mat or the plate will be declared a strike. Dimension of the mat 23” width and 24” length with the home plate cut out. In other words, so long as the pitch is delievered at least six feet high but no more than twelve feet high and it hits the plate or the mat, it's a strike. The traditional letters to knees strike zone in baseball does not apply here. And here's the controversial two-base rule for walks to male batters: On a walk to a male batter (intentional or not) the batter is awarded two (2) bases. The next batter, a female, must bat with less than two (2) outs. If there are two (2) outs she has her choice of hitting or taking a walk. Last year, a male batter who walked got two bases only if he was thrown four straight balls without a strike. The rule has been changed this year. Any walk to any male batter is two bases. The female batter who follows him can take a walk to first base only if there are two outs. The pitcher has the option to start his/her delivery up to 6 inches in front of the rubber. The pitcher will need to be set before delivering the pitch to the batter. Pitcher flexibility is a must to prevent injury consider pitcher helmet. What Sammy was doing last week was illegal. He started nearly a foot in front of the rubber and took three steps to deliver the ball. Our local rule provides only a six inch allowance in front of the pitching rubber. Other than that, the pitcher has to conform to the ASA rule rule that provides that at part of one foot remain in contact with the pitching rubber until the ball leaves his/her hand (Rule 6, Section 3.A). So if he's starting six inches in front of the rubber, his pivot foot has to remain in contact with that spot six inches in front. He can't stroll a quarter of the way to the plate before delievering the ball. Here's another rule that's likely to come up often: Courtesy Runner: One courtesy runner is allowed per inning in all leagues. The courtesy runner must be the same sex as the batter. If the courtesy runner’s turn to bat comes up while on base, the runner will be called out and the player will come to bat. You can't get much clearer than that. Each team gets only one courtesy runner per inning. Choose wisely. Here's another big one that's a drastic change from last year: 2. Fielding: A) Outfielders (including rovers / buck shorts) must remain behind the restraint line and infielders must remain in the infield until the pitch reaches the plate or is hit (The restraint line is a line of cones in the outfield at an arch 150’ from home plate). PENALTY: Failure to abide by this rule will result in fielder’s interference. A delayed dead ball will be called by the official. If the batter reaches the base safely, the play will stand. If an out was made, the batter will be placed on base safely. 1.) Must have at least two women in the outfield. In essence, the rover position has been eliminated. You have to play four outfielders behind the markers. You can still call your fourth outfielder a rover if you wish but what's the point? He/She can't do any roving. And don't forget that last point. Every team must have at least two women in the outfield. That's it for now. If I can identify any others that are likely to cause confusion or controversy, I'll try to cover them here later. Everyone on the team should become familiar with the local rules. I have posted them on the Rules page of our website.

The Mod Squad is Huffin' & Puffin' to Bring Our House Down

If we play up to our potential, they should be as successful as the The Big Bad Wolf was when he employed that strategy against the third little pig's brick house.

From the Mod Squad's Blog:

fxebrwn Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:58:09

TODAY IS GAME DAY

I GOT MY GAME FACE ON

IM READY TO BLOW DOWN SOME BRICKS.....LETS HUFF AND PUFF TO THEY ALL COME FALLIN DOWN..

GO MOD SQUAD As for the game face, the Lady Bricks say, "Bring it on!"

An Underwhelming Turnout

Our next opponent is 2-0 and the only team that has ever beaten us. One would expect us to have an enthusiastic turnout Monday afternoon to prepare for such a big game. We had a great practice last week and I was expecting more of the same this week. But no. There were only five of us who could be bothered. I postponed an appointment I made months ago so I could be there. I was getting real pumped up for this game but after seeing how little the team cares about it, I'm kind of depressed. Is it wrong to feel let down? Perhaps I'm looking at this the wrong way. Maybe most of the team is so good, practice isn't necessary. Is that it? Thanks, Gena, Bobby, Lynecia, and Chiniqua for coming out. We weren't able to do much but at least we got to work on catching some high flies and pop-ups. I'm pretty sure we weren't the only ones who needed it, though. On the positive side, those who were there worked really hard and made some pretty good progress. If we can get that kind of effort from our entire team week after week, I'm certain our outfield coverage will improve substantially. Oh, and thanks for trying Coach. (Gary arrived just as we were on our way out of the park.) (SIGH)

PCBricks.com?

I'm quickly running out of space on my free Earthlink site so I started investigating other options. Can you believe www.PCBricks.com is already taken? And it's not even a brick making company. It's a company in New Mexico that makes computer cases! But the name PCBricks with .net and .info aren't taken yet. I may try to get one of those. But don't think about changing the team's name on me if I do!

Pop Ups and High Flies

Our first two games have made one thing about our team very clear -- we need to work on turning fly balls and pop ups into outs. We're giving away way too many outs and runs by letting playable flies drop. We have the players to turn these batted balls into outs but we're just not executing. I'm not saying this to point fingers or place blame. It's nothing like that. I think it's the natural result of the way we've conducted our practices. We've spent too much time on hitting when we probably should have been devoting a lot of that time to our fielding. At our last practice we shook things up a little bit to improve our infield defense. I think it was successful as our footwork and handling of short throws on the infiled was pretty good in the game against the Master Blasters. Now we need to put that same kind of focus into our outfield play at Monday's practice. In my opinion, the main thing we need is a lot of repetition. We have players with the ability to catch routine fly balls. There's no doubt about it. We just need to work on judging the flight of the ball and getting into position to catch it. I know from experience that when I go a long time without practicing, I lose my sense of judging the flight of a ball. I can't tell if it's hit right at me or if I need to charge it, or if it's going over my head. I try to hold my position until I can figure it out but most of the time, that hesitation costs me. By the time I can tell where the ball is headed, it's too late for me to get there in time to catch it. I feel disoriented and I lose confidence. But when I go out to the park with some friends and we hit each other a few buckets of fly balls, it comes back to me. After I get the chance to follow the flight of the ball off the bat several times, it becomes easier to tell if it's going deep or falling in front of me. I reduce that period of hesitation when the ball is first hit and I can recognize more quickly if I need to turn and go back or charge the ball. I think that kind of repetition is primarily what we need now. The tricky part is to find a way of doing it that allows our outfielders to get in the work they need without it resulting in a bunch of standing around for everyone else. I think I have some drills that will help us in that regard --sort of like the infield drills we ran last week. Everyone will be participating and constantly shifting positions and tasks. There should be very little (if any) dead time. By the time we're done with practice on Monday, everyone will have seen a lot of flies, worked on getting under them, executing the catch, and making a quick throw to the infield. I want to make it fun but without taxing us so much that we don't have enough gas for Tuesday's game. Assuming my hamstring is okay, I will be available on Wednesday for those who want to reinforce the work we do on Monday. We'll also have time to work on other things as needed.

Hey Mark is it just me or are we all alone!! We are like MJ.. and I sing - YOU ARE NOT ALONE , I AM HERE WITH YOU... THO WE'RE FAR APART YOU ARE IN MY HEART... YOU ARE NOT ALONE!! LMAO

Ethan

That was way too funny!!! I almost peed my pants on that one!!! Very good LJ!!

Master Blasters Tamed

It wasn't easy but we're sitting pretty at 2-0 after our 20-19 victory over the Master Blasters in come-from-behind fashion. Though we came out on top, I think the MB's exposed a couple weaknesses in our game. But these weaknesses aren't anything we can't patch up with a little extra work and fine tuning at our upcoming practices. I'm confident we will adapt and overcome. Our next game is against the Mod Squad who are also 2-0. Marcus and Lee did a lot to improve their team in the off-season and they look rock solid in 2009. Combine their improvement with our loss of Derrick and we could well have a difficult match on our hands. If we play as sloppily as we did against the MB's, we could easily come out on the short end of this one. So let's have a spirited practice on Monday and come out Tuesday with all guns blazing. If we play up to our true level of ability, I think we'll be fine.

Game #2 vs Master Blasters

We're playing at Nichol Park #1. The game begins at 5:00 PM. Try to be at the park by 4:30 so you can warm up and stretch before the game begins.

Practice @ Nichol Park Today (June 22nd)

Practice is at 5:00 today. If you can't make it by then, just come on out when you can. I'm usually able to get to the park early and grab one of the diamonds for us but today isn't one of those days. I won't be off work until 4:45. I'll see you at Nichol Park at 5:00.

How Many Ways Can An Umpire Be Wrong?

You might recall a play in our game against SWAT on Wednesday in which one of their batters with an 0-2 count fouled off the next pitch which arced slightly upward and was caught about head high by Darlene. Whether or not it was ruled a foul ball or a foul tip, the batter should have been called out. Instead, the umpire called it a foul ball. We tried to appeal to the umpire but he yelled "FOUL BALL" even louder. I tried one more time to calmly reason with him and again, he yelled even louder, "FOUL BALL!" I knew he was dead wrong on two counts but I didn't make a big issue of it because I didn't want to antagonize him or delay the game. Anyway, this is straight out of the Rules Supplement of the ASA Official Rules of Softball, page 110: 22. FOUL BALL/FOUL TIP The reference of the "height of the batter's head" as it relates to a Foul Ball or Foul Tip no longer applies. This change, instituted in 2006, allows more opportunity for the catcher to obtain "outs" by catching foul batted balls, the same as the first and third base person who is playing closer to home plate. Umpires only need to judge whether the ball moves from the bat "sharply" and "directly" versus a ball that has a perceptible arc and/or if the catcher moves their glove/mitt to catch the ball after contact with the bat. The definition of a foul ball has not changed. However, a foul tip in now defined as a batted ball that goes sharply and directly from the bat to the catcher's glove/mitt or hand and is legally caught by the catcher. It is not a foul tip unless caught and any foul tip that is caught is a strike, and the ball remains live in Fast Pitch and Slow Pitch with stealing. It is not a catch if the ball rebounds off the catcher, unless the ball has first touched the catcher's glove/mitt or hand. Again, a foul tip can only be caught by the catcher. Examples of a foul ball and foul tip follow: A. A foul ball with a "perceptible" arc goes toward the catchers left and the catcher moves their glove/mitt to catch the ball. In this situation, the batter is out and the ball remains live just as it would when any other fielder catches a foul fly ball. B. The foul ball rebounds from the bat with a "perceptible arc" shoulder high and the catcher moves upward with the glove/mitt to make the catch. In this situation, the batter is out and the ball remains live just as it would when any other fielder catches a foul fly ball. C. (Fast Pitch example snipped) Darlene's catch clearly falls under example B and the batter should have been called out. But even if the umpire missed that rule, there is also this: Rule 7, Section 4 - A strike is called by the umpire E. for each foul tip. EFFECT: (Slow Pitch) The ball is dead and the batter is out if it is the third strike. When the SWAT batter fouled a pitch with two strikes and Darlene caught it before it struck the ground, the batter should have been called out whether it was a foul ball or a foul tip. The umpire was wrong. But he was worse than wrong. By shouting us down when we attempted to point out his mistake, he was wrong and arrogant -- not a good combination. I understand the umpire's need to maintain control of the game and keep it from breaking down to a endless stream of arguments. However, we didn't come running in ranting and screaming like a certain team in brightly colored uniforms is prone to do. We approached him calmly and tried to reason with him but he refused to listen. In my eyes, an umpire loses credibility when he does this. If his ego and knowledge of the rules are so fragile that he refuses to be questioned, he shouldn't be umpiring. We're adults and we shouldn't be shouted down like children when we question one of his decisions. When he is dead wrong and we are 100% correct, it only makes it worse. Luckily, this occurred in a lopsided game and the batter struck out on the next pitch. It didn't have any affect on the outcome of the game. Can you imagine how things would have turned out if it had been the tying or winning run in the last inning of a game involving that previously mentioned team in the brightly colored uniforms? Richmond may have been forced to call out the real SWAT team along with the riot squad.

Hey, Team!!

I Just Want to wish you all a great day and congrats to Mariza & Nancy... YYYAAAAAAHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOO!!

One Day To Go!

We're practicing today at Nichol Park #3. Obviously, this is the only practice left before the season starts so let's get as much out of it as we can. So far as I know, everyone but Derrick will be there. I'll set up the Hurricane for those who wish to get some extra swings on the side. I sure hope Derrick's wife is doing okay. And before any of you wiseguys say it, I don't just mean that for the selfish reason of getting Derrick back on the field with us. As someone who has broken nearly as many bones as Evil Knievel, I know the kind of pain and inconvenience she must be going through.

Opening Week Is Here!

We're practicing Tuesday and opening our season Wednesday against SWAT. I'll have new softballs for us to practice with Tuesday. I should have taken care of this a few weeks ago. The two buckets of balls from last year have gotten pretty soft and don't play anything like the game balls we'll be using. Can we get one of our well-connected teammates to check with the Richmond Recreation Department about the availability of diamond #3 at Nichol Park on Tuesday? I'd really like to hold our practice on a diamond with a good infield. If the PAL baseball teams don't have dibs on it, I'll go over there early to make sure we get it. If necessary, let's rent it to guarantee it's ours for the afternoon. I don't want to unload the equipment from my truck, then pack it back up, move to another park and unload it again. I've done this several times the past few weeks and frankly, I've had enough of it. I also don't want to waste our time on a field that's in such wretched shape we can't really practice. The third diamond at Nichol Park is nearly perfect for us. It's near the office, it's in good shape and it's away from a lot of distractions so we can focus on what we're doing. What will it take to get this done?

Saturday BP

Do we have anybody besides Gary and I coming in to work OT today? I'll be setting up the Hurricane for some batting practice at noon. We'll be on the grass behind the cooling towers. Even if you don't feel like hitting and you just want to talk some softball, grab your lunch and come on down. Uncle Sam has provided patio furniture so we might as well put it to use.

Open Forum

What's on your mind today?

Making Our Practices Efficient & Fun

I believe the practices we've held so far this season haven't been very beneficial to the team. A big part of this has been the difficulty we've had getting a decent practice site. Bouncing from place to place and starting late on weed covered fields with gopher holes doesn't allow for much more than some throwing and hitting. Earlier this week, we finally got to practice on a good diamond, Nichol Park #1, but we didn't make optimal use of it. We sort of went through the motions before breaking into our intersquad game. Our play that afternoon made it evident we have a lot of rough edges in need of some polish. We didn't cover bases, we didn't back each other up, we didn't throw to the cutoff man, etc. We were sloppy! So what can we do about it? I have some ideas for structuring and streamlining our next practice to focus on basic skills and repetition. This is dependent on everyone getting to the park on time so we're on the same page. If some of us come straggling in late, we'll have to stop and explain things multiple times and it will throw us off schedule. We need to avoid the dead time. Anyway, the practice will go something like this: 5:00: Stretch & jog. 5:10: Warm-up tosses. 5:20: Break into two groups - infield & outfield. Both groups work on their drills simultaneously*. 5:45: Regroup to perform pop fly drill**. 6:00: Walk-thru to clarify positioning & strategy***. 6:15: Full defensive drill to reinforce walk-thru. 6:45: Quick BP session. 7:15: Done. Sure, it's easy to just show up, throw the ball around and swing the bat for awhile. But if that's all we do for practice, that's what we'll do in our games. We'll play sloppy like we did this week. If we develop our skills and prepare ourselves for the conditions we will encounter in a game, we will exectute better and minimize our mistakes. We all know from experience that it's easier to perform a task that we have performed numerous times in the past. That's what we need to devote ourselves to at practice. I am confident this sort of structure will improve our skills while remaining fun. *The infielders will work on a rapid fire drill that involves picking up grounders, covering bases, and short tosses. The outfielders will shag flies and work on a charge & throw drill. **The pop fly drill is similar to a quarterback throwing a lob pass to a wide receiver in football. It improves your ability to judge the course of a fly ball while also developing your ability to locate a fly ball on the run. ***We shouldn't be spectators on the field. When the ball is in play, we should be moving to field the ball, backing up a teammate who will field the ball, or covering a base. The walk-thru will detail these responsibilities.

Uniforms

Chiniqua is placing the order for our jerseys and caps today. I would guess that most of us who played last year aren't ordering a new jersey or cap. It's primarily our new team members who are being outfitted now. Last year, we wore black softball pants. Are we doing the same this year? Also, last year some of us wore black socks and belts while others wore maroon. I think it would be good if were all on the same page. What does everyone think? Should we put it to a vote or do we allow our Supreme Commander to decide? I prefer black pants myself. Getting the grass and blood stains out of white or gray pants isn't an easy task. It never seems so easy as it looks in the Tide commercials I see on TV. Stains aren't even visible on black pants. Besides, I think the black pants with maroon jerseys looks pretty cool. As far the socks and belts go, I have both colors so it doesn't much matter to me. I think maroon socks with black pants looks better than black & black but what do I know? I'm terminally unfashionable. I suppose the belts don't matter since it seems the team goes with shirts out. I was in Big 5 (El Cerrito) and Sports Authority (Oakland/Emeryville) after our practice on Tuesday and I found both stores had plenty of black softball pants for men and women.

Hey! Am I All Alone Out Here?

What's up PC Bricks? Am I the only one on the team with anything to say? Coach must have something on his mind. Don't be shy. Look below where it says, "Posted by Mark at 10:49 AM 0 comments" Click on "0 comments" to add your 2 cents. I'm hoping by the next time I check in, the "0" will be replaced by a greater number.

Scrimmage with Mod Squad Canceled

We had to do some more park hopping yesterday which caused us to miss our scrimmage with Mod Squad. Washington Park's softball diamond was covered with kids playing kickball so that killed the scrimmage. Luckily, we were able to get the diamond at Nichol Park where we'll be playing our games. We fielded a few grounders and flies before splitting up for an intersquad game. We took some pictures which can be found on the photo page of the team's website. Wednesday's practice has been called off. Our first game will be held either Tuesday or Wednesday next week (the schedule still isn't out) so we'll probably practice on Monday.

Scrimmage vs. Mod Squad

Assuming we can get dibs on the diamond at Washington Park, we will indeed be playing the Mod Squad at Washington Park today at 4:45. I'm planning to be there at 3:45. If the field is taken, I assume the scrimmage is off. I'll need at least a couple of teammates to show up with me to get the field. If another team (besides Mod Squad) shows up, I can't tell them the field is taken if I'm the only one there. I'll have to let them take it if they have enough people to play or practice. Chiniqua said Mod Squad will try to send a couple of players to the park early, too.

Possible Scrimmage vs. Mod Squad

Chiniqua is trying to put together a scrimmage for Tuesday, June 9th. If it happens, we'll be playing Mod Squad. When and where hasn't yet been determined. We're practicing Monday, June 8th at East Shore Park. Practice begins at 5:30 PM. We should know if the scrimmage has been lined up by then. It would be nice to get a full squad workout before the scrimmage. I put a few notes about the workout Gary, Chiniqua and I had with the SKLZ Hurricane batting practicing machine on the team's home page.

Practice @ East Shore Park, 5:30 PM

Practicing at Nichol Park won't be an option until the PAL baseball season ends in a week or two. We're stuck at East Shore Park until then. We won't have Lawrence, James or Brandon with us today. We were able to get the "better" softball diamond at East Shore Park yesterday. It would be nice to get it again today because the "lesser" softball diamond is almost unplayable. But it's better than nothing. I'll see you at the park this afternoon.

Practice @ Nichol Park Today (June 2nd)

We're going to try Nichol Park today. Nobody has a permit for Diamond #1 so the first team there gets it. Gary is going over at about 4:30. If anyone else can get there at that time, please join him. Those on the late shift, please get there at your earliest convenience. Chiniqua will let you know if our plan fails and we have to switch back to East Shore Park. But for now, we're practicing at Nichol Park at 4:30 or as soon as you can get there.

Potential Practice Sites

Gary and I drove over to Wendell Park at 26th Street and Esmond Avenue after work on Monday. Unfortunately, the park was covered with kids playing baseball and soccer. Well, it's unfortunate for us. It's good that so many kids were out playing and exercising but I digress. From there, I drove by Nichol Park and found that nobody was playing on the diamond back in the far corner. That's the one beyond the left-centerfild fence of the diamond on which we play our games -- not the diamond closest to the school. Next, I stopped by Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park near the intersection of Harbour Way and Cutting Blvd, between Nystrom School and Cutting Gas (best name for a gas station, ever). BTW, that's where we played our league games in the 1980s. I broke my ankle on this diamond in 1985 when I played for The Shockers. Anyway, there were teenagers playing baseball there, too. I'm beginning to think the reason we're unable to find a good practice diamond is the late hour at which we start. When we wait until 5:30, all of the good diamonds are taken. I bet we could get one of the diamonds at Nichol Park if some of us on flex time were to get to the park by 4:00. Gary and I can do this. If we can get a few others to join us, I think we can get dibs on a good field. I understand that some members of the team can't get to the park before 5:00 or 5:30. That's fine. Just come on over as soon as you can. I have no problem playing from 4:00 until sundown. How's this for a plan? Gary and I will go to Nichol Park at 4:00 tomorrow. If we strike out at Nichol Park, we can try MLK Jr. Park I'll call Chiniqua to keep her posted so she can pass on the word to the rest of the team. If we can't get the field at Nichol Park or MLK Jr. Park, we can always fall back on East Shore Park. Though it's a terrible field, it's better than nothing.