Chiniqua's Sons Playing Pop Warner Football

Jelani and Jeremiah are playing youth football for the Richmond Eagles. Perhaps we can get some group outings organized and watch them play.

No Contest

Richie has a new team playing Thursday nights in Napa's fall league. The team is known as No Contest. Richie has Tanya and Mariza playing with his team. They played their first game on September 2nd and won it, 16-8. Richie has taken up pitching and he did well in his first game, holding their opponents to only eight runs.

We have links to No Contest's website so you can keep up their season. I was thinking we might work out a field trip or two to see them play.

All-Star Game & BBQ

The game and barbecue have been pushed back two weeks to September 11th. Also, the game time has been changed from 1:00 to 12:30. While this may have been good for the league, it certainly wasn't good for our team. We selected Lena and Gena to represent us at the all-star game and neither will be able to attend on September 11th. James has Army Reserve duty that weekend so he and his daughters won't be able to attend either. In all, the change in dates will cause us to lose nine participants including family and friends.

All-Star Game & BBQ Update

Our representatives for the All-Star game this Saturday will be Carlos, Lawrence, Lena, and Gena.

The game will be played at Seawright Field and it begins at 1:00.

The barbecue begins immediately after the game ends (probably about 2:15-2:30).

The barbecue is free for FHFB softball players and coaches. For all others, the cost is $5.00.

Our team is responsible for providing four or five side dishes for the barbecue.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, ALL-STAR GAME, & BBQ

We played our last game of the season but we still have a couple of league events on the calendar. First, the league championship game will be played next Wednesday, August 25th. Let's get out there and show some support for our league. I'm going to keep score and write up a full game report. I hope some of you with digital cameras will come and take lots of photos and maybe even some video.

Round 1 Playoff: Outlaws 14, PC Bricks 7

One team came to the park today hungry for a win. They arrived early, warmed up together, took some batting practice, and played with purpose.

One team barely showed up. A handful arrived on time. Many came straggling in just before game time and some after it started. They weren't prepared to play.

It's Playoff Time (Isn't It?)

We have a playoff game Thursday. Less than half the team showed up for yesterday's practice. Once again, we couldn't run the drills we needed to prepare ourselves for the game. Those who were there worked hard. I'm really disappointed in this team. I don't see the level of interest and commitment we had in the past. If we can't even get up for a playoff game, maybe it's time to pull the plug.

Terminal Digits 13, PC Bricks 8

The TD's made the big plays when they needed them and we didn't. We didn't give up a lot on defense but we didn't hit after the first few innings. A big part of that was Ellery's pitching. He did a good job keeping us off balance and keeping his team in the game until they could get their bats going. He struck out five batters which I had never seen in a slow pitch softball game before. Nearly one quarter of the outs we made were strikeouts (five of twenty-one).

Down to the Wire

Today's games will wrap up the dressed rehearsal known as the regular season. The games that count will begin next week. The outcome of today's games will determine who and when we play next week. The only way we can finish first is if we beat the TD's and the Untouchables beat SWAT. Here are the possibilties:

Mod Squad 10, PC Bricks 5

"I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it."
--Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States

"It's a funny thing. The more I practice, the luckier I get."
(After listening to critics claim he had as much luck as skill.)
--Ben Hogan, professional golfer

The Mod Squad outplayed us in just about every phase of the game. If the past month hasn't convinced this team it needs to practice in order to play well, I don't know what will. This is the last you will hear from me on this subject.

Two Fantastic Games

Those who made it out to Nicholl Park today were treated to their choice of two stellar games. I chose to sit in the warm sunshine at Seawright Field and watch the Terminal Digits play the Master Batters rather than shiver in the cold shade of Nicholl Park #2 where SWAT was playing Richmond.

Preparing for the Mod Squad (Not!)

We've lost two of our last three games. The only win in those three games was a lucky one in which we put out our worst effort of the season.  With all that, we had six people show up for practice today. The six who were there put out a great effort. There's not much else to say except that if we play another sloppy game and lose, we'll deserve it (again).

Master Batters 12, PC Bricks 10

We had some good moments today but we were too mistake prone to pull out a win. The MB's took advantage by combining some timely hits with our charity to come away with the victory. They played like they wanted to win and frankly, we didn't.

Master Batters Up Next

This week we have our second matchup of the season with the Master Batters. Last time we played without Lawrence and this time we'll go without James. I believe Dale and Chiniqua are still unavailable because of injuries and Nancy will likely have to miss the rest of the season because of other commitments.

PC Bricks 12, Outlaws 11

I don't know that I've ever experienced a win that felt so much like a loss. I'm struggling to find the words to properly describe how ashamed I feel about being a part of the selfish, undisciplined display of softball we put on today.

Preparing for the Outlaws

This week's game is with the Outlaws. I'm sure Brandon and James will be getting an earful from their colleagues in the TSC all week. After a slow start, the Outlaws have been coming on strong and they're now in third place with a record of 3-2-1.

It would be nice to have a good turnout for this week's practice. Only about half the team showed up last Tuesday. I'd like to think the Independence Day holiday preceding it was the reason. We definitely need the practice. Today will be a good test of our commitment.

Game With Untouchables Postponed

Once it was learned the verdict in the Johannes Mehserle trial would be announced at 4:00 PM yesterday, many of our employees had to leave work early. It was expected there would be more rioting in downtown Oakland after the verdict was read so BART commuters and those with kids in Oakland child care facilities were urged to make themselves scarce before things got out of hand.

Should We Continue Practicing On Mondays?

We need to make a decision about our practice schedule. At the beginning of the season, I agreed to come out Mondays and Tuesdays because it was clear we needed some extra work and there were some who weren't able to practice on one day or the other. I think this schedule has outlived its usefulness.

SWAT 12 PC Bricks 10

SWAT outplayed us. We certainly weren't sharp defensively and we ran ourselves out of two inningss with critical baserunning errors but our ultimate flaw was our hitting. SWAT played with only eight people, leaving the right side of the field virtually wide open for us and we simply refused to take advantage of it. Success breeds arrogance and that's what we showed yesterday. We played as if all we had to do was show up and we would win. SWAT played smarter than we did and they earned their victory playing shorthanded. There's not much else to say right now except that I expect everyone to be at next Tuesday's practice at 5:00 sharp.

Richmond Strikes Again!

At the end of my post about the Richmond game, I warned the teams who will be playing Richmond in the future to bring their rule books to the park. I was right on the money. Today they tried to pull one over on the Master Batters.

Monday's Practice With Mod Squad

I apologize for neglecting the blog of late. Now that I'm almost done setting up the new website, I should soon be able to chime in here regularly again.

We had a long workout with the Mod Squad yesterday, wrapping it up at 7:50. We didn't have a big enough turnout to hold the baserunning clinic we planned for the day so we devoted ourselved to batting practice. I brought the Hurricane so those who wanted some extra BP could take some swings on the sideline.

PC Bricks 15, Richmond 7

Despite rumors that Richmond has been supplementing its roster with ringers who don't work for the city (rumors which were later found to be true in at least one instance), I came to the park with expectations of a big game between two undefeated teams. It didn't take long for those expectations to be dashed. By game time (5:00) there were only a few Richmond players present. They had fifteen minutes to get the minimum of eight ready to play or they would lose by forfeit. As 5:15 drew near, Richmond still didn't have the minimum number of players present to start the game.

PC Bricks 10, Master Batters 6

We pulled out to a 10-2 lead with some timely hitting and fielding. Perhaps we got a little too content and comfortable with our lead because it appeared we let up. There was chatter in the dugout like the game was over in the fifth inning and we got sloppy in the field. The Master Batters, to their credit, kept plugging away and they rallied to make it close in the late innings. Luckily, we played just well enough to hold them off and earn our third straight victory.

Tuesday's Practice -- Preparing for the Master Batters

After Monday's joint workout with the Mod Squad, we'll return to our regular practice routine today. We'll have some BP and run our fielding drills to tighten up our defense. We also need to cover some baserunning issues to resolve some of the rally-killing mistakes we've been making.

PC Bricks 22, Mod Squad 14

The score might give the impression we played football but this was definitely softball. With all of the scoring it was certainly a fun game to play.

We hit very well but our fielding was spotty and our baserunning....needs to be addressed at practice next week.

Mod Squad on the Horizon

Our next challenge is upon us this afternoon. The Mod Squad have a very good team and we'll have to play well to beat them. Don't think we can just show up and come away with a win. We had two good practice sessions this week so we should be well prepared. Still, I have some food for thought.

Preparing for Nicholl Park #2

A couple of notes about Nicholl Park #2 for those who haven't played there before -- the field is mostly in the shade and it's windy in the afternoon so it gets cool there even on sunny days. It may be wise to wear long sleeves under your jersey if you get cold easily. Also, the sun will be in the faces of the right fielder and right-center fielder. Besides your cap (which I will deliver tomorrow), sunglasses are highly recommended. If you have them, bring them.

Tuesday's Practice

We practiced at Nicholl Park #2 yesterday since that's where this week's game will be played. We didn't have a full squad but certainly enough for a good practice. Those in attendance were Carlos, Lawrence, Nancy, Mandi, James, Chiniqua, Lena, and myself.

Standings After Week #1

I confirmed that the Outlaws and Untouchables tied 15-15. Also, SWAT was defeated by Richmond at Nicholl Park #2 while we were playing the TD's. Click here for the current standings.

Monday's Practice

We had a lightly attended but effective practice at Seawright Field this afternoon. The attendees were Robin, Mariza, Richie, and myself with Mandi turning up a little later. Luckily, Robin got to the park early and claimed first dibs on Seawright Field. Mariza and I joined him and we got everything set up just before a pack of TD's showed up expecting to practice there. (The TD's moved over to Nichol Park #2.)

PC Bricks 15, TD's 10

We were successful in our first outing as we defeated the TD's with a solid effort. A wrap up of the game and scoresheet can be found here. Without The Coach present, Brandon, Darlene, and I had to keep score while in the game which is a pretty difficult juggling act. If you find we made a mistake that needs to be corrected, please let me know.

Getting Back to Softball

Gena, Chi Chi, and The Coach have done a great job of keeping me up to date with our team while I'm away. I learned that we're opening against the TD's this afternoon. I thought I would have to miss the first game while on my road trip but it looks like I'm going to get back in time to be there.

Rickwood Classic

This is the last game we'll see on this trip. It's the Rickwood Classic which I described in yesterday's blog post. The pregame ceremonies included speeches by the mayor of Birmingham and Hall of Famer, Harmon Killebrew. There were also intorductions of several players from the Negro Leagues who were in attendance. Here's a link to the preview and another to the following day's report from the Birmingham News.

Birmingham, Alabama

The rain was pouring down with lightning flashing above as we rolled into town. We're here for two games between the Birmingham Barons and the visiting Tennessee Smokies tonight and tomorrow afternoon.

Ancestral home of James K. Polk

While on the highway between Nashville, Tennessee and Huntsville, Alabama we spotted a sign inviting us to visit the home of James K. Polk, the eleventh president of the United States. All we had to do was take the next exit and travel about ten miles off the highway to the town of Columbia, Tennessee.

Georgia On My Mind

My brother and I landed in Atlanta at about 5:30 AM local time. By the time we retrieved our bags and got our rental car (a Chevy Malibu) it was about 6:30. So far as Civil War sites go, there's little to see in Atlanta since General Sherman had all of it but about 400 buildings burnt to the ground.

Out of Hibernation

It's about time I get our website and blog up and running again. We've lost a player, added a few, had some practices, ordered new uniforms, and we're just about ready to break into another new softball season.