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.