POLICY CHANGE

A pathetic coward has recently seen fit to post a personal attack upon one of our teammates. This will force me to restrict permission to comment on our blog. In the past I have allowed anyone to comment but obviously that has to change. I apologize to those who were exposed to the pack of lies recently posted on this site. The posting has been removed.

MORE OLD PHOTOS

This isn't directly related to our softball team but I thought you might find some amusement in these old photos taken long before many of you were born.

That's me at age 12

I'm in the back row on the left. We won the championship that year.

OLD SCHOOL WNPSC SOFTBALL

Donnie Stance of Crittle's Critters.

I located some photos I thought you might find amusing. They were poached from Dave's Mack's AFGE Local 1122 Group on Facebook. (Clicking on the photos will enlarge them.)



When WNPSC relocated from San Francisco to Richmond in the mid-1970s, our office building wasn't home to the San Francisco Regional Office, the Teleservice Center, the Richmond Field Office, the gym, or the childcare center. All of those things came much later as our office was transformed from WNPSC to the Frank Hagel Federal Building. But we did have organized recreational sports. There were track meets, several bowling leagues, a volleyball league, and of course, a softball league.

THANK YOU, PETE SPENCER

I snapped a few photos at Pete Spencer's retirement party today. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get everyone together for a team photo with Pete. We did manage to gather a few members of our Richmond Bombers tournament team for a photo. We can only hope our next Regional Commissioner will be a man of the people (unless he's a she) and a supporter of our softball league the way Pete was. Pete was at Nicholl Park the day before his retirement shindig to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at our league's championship game. I'm adding some photos from the championship game as well as some shots from Pete's appearance at our game with the Mod Squad. So long, Pete.We'll miss you.

STATS

I saw Quinton at the championship game yesterday. He mentioned that some of you guys had a bet on who would have the highest batting average this season. Maybe there were some other bets too. For the record, here are the stats:

BATTING AVERAGE (BA)
.821 Carlos
.771 Quinton
.683 Brandon
.680 Richie
.615 Derrick

PLAYERS CHOICE SOFTBALL

Mariza plays Tuesday nights in Hercules with a team called "Players Choice." Her teammates include several women from our FHFB softball league. Among them are Rachel from the TD's, Khala from SWAT, and former Bricks, Darlene (Str8 Ballin), Lena and Gena (Str8 Ballin). Gena's husband, Darryl (Str8 Ballin), is also on the team. Their league championship game was played last night at Hannah Ranch Park. Unfortunately, they came up on the short end, 13-7. (I thought I heard the umpire say the final score was 12-7. If so, he missed a run, not that it really matters.)

A group from the office came out to show their support. Richie (with son), Mamie, Leretha, Kathy, Mavis, Ken, Regina, The Coach, and myself were in attendance. Here are the photos I shot at the game:

LEAGUE ALL-STAR GAME & BARBECUE

Our annual All-Star game and barbecue were held this afternoon at Nicholl Park. I think we set a new record with our All-Star game starting only about thirty minutes late. Once we got it going, the game was a lot of fun for players and spectators alike. As usual, it was more of a pick-up game than an All-Star game as anyone who wanted to was able to play..

Once the game concluded, the hungry players and spectators marched over to the picnic area of the park to enjoy an enormous selection of ribs, burgers, links, salads of all sorts, baked beans and desserts. The feast was incredible and it was great to spend the afternoon hanging out with our friends and colleagues from the office.

PREPARING FOR THE UNTOUCHABLES

The only feedback I received about this week's practice was four requests to skip practice on Monday and hold a light workout on Wednesday. That's what we will do..I'd like to get everyone a few swings and a few reps at the position they're likely to play on Thursday. We'll be playing without Richie and Mariza throughout the playoffs (as long as we remain alive) so there will be some defensive adjustments.

So let's make every effort to be at Washington Park on Wednesday at 5:00. If we can get started on time, we should be done in time to zip over to Nicholl Park and catch the end of the playoff games.

OUTLAW TOURNAMENT

Another Outlaw Tournament was held this weekend. This time it was in Fresno and several of us participated. We return from Fresno with good news and bad news. The good news is, we won the tournament championship. The bad news is we lost Richie and Mariza for the rest of the season.

It's a pity this tournament couldn't have been held after our season was done. We've already been hit with season ending injuries to Lawrence and Gabrielle and now we have to carry on without Mariza and Richie in the playoffs.

PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

The results of yesterday's games confirmed that our opponents in the first round of the playoffs will be the Untouchables. We play next Thursday, 5:15 at Nicholl Park #2.

Our last meeting with the Untouchables was our low point of the season. We had to play with six of our women absent and we lost Gabrielle to a season ending injury before the game was called by the umpire for conduct issues instigated by one of our opponents.

For our rematch, we need to be prepared. We know they have a player who will attempt to disrupt our focus.. It's imperative that we tune him out and ignore all attempts to distract us. We can do our talking with our bats and gloves. If we have a good practice and stick to our game plan, we can win this game and keep playing for another week. If we show up unprepared and let their antagonist provoke us into another meltdown, our season will be over.

TD's 20, PC BRICKS 18

It was a noble effort yesterday. We almost pulled it out despite being extremely shorthanded. A special tip of the cap goes out to Mamie and Stephanie who stepped up for us once again. Without them we would have forfeited the game.

Luckily, it was a game we didn't need. We were going to finish in fifth place whether we won or lost. From here on out, the games mean something. The experimentation time is over.

It's almost a lock that our first round playoff game will be next Thursday against the Untouchables at Nicholl Park #2.

It's important that we get everyone to practice Monday. We continue to shoot ourselves in the collective foot with the kinds of mental mistakes that are common of teams that do not practice. Gentlemen, you know we have a surplus of male players. If you skip Monday's practice, don't come to the park next Thursday with expectations of playing. That goes for all of us.

We have a solid core of about six players who show up to our practices regularly. That isn't enough for us to perform our drills. When you don't come to practice, you are not only hurting yourself but you're hurting your teammates whose sharpness is dependent upon your participation. For your team, PLEASE get to work early enough on Monday to reach practice at Washington Park by 5:00. The same six players can't carry this team through the playoffs on their backs. We need EVERYONE to pull together and contribute.

LAWRENCE'S THUMB SURGERY

The surgery on Lawrence's thumb was performed yesterday. Evidently, Lawrence found the only surgeon in the country who wasn't playing golf on a Sunday morning.

PC BRICKS 17, WESTERN LEGENDS 9

Unfortunately, the video came out blury on the camera I aimed at the left side of the field so I can't give you much of a highlight show this week. Also, the umpire shielded my fully functional video camera part of the time.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

It's interesting how so many people who weren't present at our game with the Untouchables think they know what happened that day. People who should know better offer up idle speculation about our team. We've heard it all. Some of the gossipers had four of our players clamoring to play for the Untouchables. Others had the entire team packing it in and folding up. And almost all of them are blaming US for the incident that caused the game to be halted.

COACH'S ATTITUDE RATING

Please grade the Coach/Grandpa attitude for yesterday's game against the Western Legends. The rating scale if A+ to F. I will have a prize for the winner at practice on Monday July 25. Who ever matches what i think i did wins.

WEDNESDAY'S GAME - WESTERN LEGENDS

You already know about Brandon's departure and Lawrence's injury. We'll also be playing without Richie tomorrow.  Richie is playing.

On the positive side, Mandi, Nina and Kedi will be back.

Let's show everyone the chatter about our demise was premature.

PC BRICKS NEW THEME

THE NEW PC BRICKS THEME WILL BE: LET'S HAVE SOME FUN!!!!!!!!!!!

THE NEW PC BRICK COMPACT

Our team meeting at Washington Park was a fruitful one. We were able to discuss the things we felt were in need of change and come to an agreement. I think all of us were pretty close to being on the same page so it took only a little refinement. I didn't bring my notepad but this is the new PC Brick Compact to the best of my recollection:

ROSTER SHAKEUP

Brandon has decided to leave the team effective immediately. He has his reasons and if he wishes to share them, I'll leave that to him.

As Lena left the park last Thursday, she said she won't be back. I assume she hasn't changed her mind.

I'm not inclined to persuade someone to stay somehere they don't want to be. The door is open should they change their minds. I wish it hadn't worked out this way as I have enjoyed having Brandon and Lena as my teammates and I think we're a better team with them than without them. But what's done is done.

From here, we have to prepare for our next game with the players we still have. That course will determined at today's meeting.

CARLOS'S GRAND SLAM (WITH HOT SAUCE)

Here's a video I know everyone will enjoy.

UNTOUCHABLES 15, PC BRICKS 12

Mamie saved us from a forfeit but
she couldn't save us from ourselves

Just about everything that could go wrong in yesterday's game did just that. We already knew we'd be playing without Mandi (honeymoon) and Rita (detailed to downtown SF). But Nina, Taylor, Kedi and Stephanie were unavailable too. We were in danger of forfeiting but we were able to pull together just enough women to play, thanks in particular to Mamie Berry who came out of softball retirement to save us.

WHITHER THE BRICKS?

Thank you to the handful of players who showed up to practice yesterday and to the couple who let me know in advance they couldn't attend.

We have less than of a third of our team showing up to practice. Almost nobody responds when Gary or I try to take roll call. Our players show up late for the games or skip them entirely.

PC Bricks 8, Str8 Ballin 6

I hear we had a some struggles but pulled out an 8-6 win. I'm encouraged by some of the things I heard about the game though some of you are feeling disappointed. Let's use this as a building block and get ourselves on a roll starting next week.

(Did anyone take pictures?)

JUNE 23 STATS VS MASTER BLASTERS

SORRY FOR THE DELAY. HERE'S THE STATS FROM THE GAME AGAINST THE MASTER BLASTERS. 1. QUINTON : 3-4, 1 HR, 1 3B, 2 RUNS; 1 RBI 2. LENA: 3-4, 1-2B, 3RUNS, 1 RBI 3. BRANDON: 3-4, 1 HR, 3 RUNS, 4 RBIs 4. MARIZA: 4-4, 1-2B, 3 RUNS, 1 RBI 5. CARLOS: 4-4, CYCLE, 2 RUNS, 4 RBIs 6. GABRIELLE: 1-4, , FIELDER CHOICE, 2 RUNS SCORED,1 RBI 7. RICHIE: 2-3, BB, 1 HR, 4 RBIS 8. MANDY: 0-1 8B. KEDI: 0-2 9. LAWRENCE: 2-3 2 2BS, 3 RBIs 10. STEPHANIE: 1-3 11. BOOKER T: 1-3 12. NINA: 1-3 FIEDER CHOICE; I RUN

INFORMATION/PRACTICE

I GUESS MOST OF THE BRICKS ARE STILL ON VACATION. WE ONLY HAVE 5 PEOPLE WHO ARE AVAILABLE TO PRACTICE JULY 5,2011. ANYWAY THE GAMES RAINED OUT ON JUNE 29 AND JUNE 30 WILL BE MAKE UP ON CONSECTIVE MONDAYS JULY 11 AND JULY 18.

GAMES CANCELED WEEK 06/29 & 06/30

DUE TO THE STRANGE WEATHER IN THE BAY AREA (RICHMOND) TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY, THE CITY OF RICHMOND DEEMED THE FIELDS UNPLAYABLE DUE TO SAFETY CONCERNS. THE GAMES WILL BE RESCHEDULED.

PRACTICE MONDAY JUNE 27

WE WILL NOT BE PRACTING TODAY. ALL INJURED AND SORE BRICKS WITH BAD LEGS PLS TAKE THIS BREAK TO GET HEELED UP. WE WILL BE PRACTICING ON JULY 5,2011 TUESDAY. SO STAY OUT OF TROUBLE DURING THE FOURTH OF JULY HOLIDAY WEEKEND AND BE SAFE.
COACH/GRANDPA

GAME JUNE 23, 2011 - PC BRICKS 19, MASTER BLASTERS 4

GREAT GAME BY THE PC BRICKS. FINALLY OUR HITTING CAME AROUND AND OUR DEFENSE WAS GREAT. KUDOS TO ALL THE MEMEBERS OF TEAM. WE STILL NEED TO WORK ON A FEW THINGS AND WORK ON GETTING TO THE GAMES ON TIME. ME AND MARK CAN'T STRESS THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ON TIME FOR THE GAMES. IT MAKES EVERYTHING EASIER FOR ME AND MARK TO DO THE LINE-UP AND NOT RUSHING. SPECIAL THANKS TO THE MASTER BLASTERS FOR BEING GOOD SPORTS AND FOR WAITING FOR US TO HAVE FULL ALLOTMENT OF WOMEN TO FIELD A FULL SQUAD. I WILL BE SENDING OUT OFFICE COMMUNICATOR ON MONDAY FOR A LIGHT PRACTICE JUST HITTING TO KEEP SHARP. WE HAVE A BYE THIS WEEK BUT I'M WILLING TO GO PRACTICE AT WASHINGTON PARK. I HAVE THE EQUIPMENT FROM MARK WHILE HE'S ON VACATION. EVERYBODY LET'S BUILD ON THIS SUCESSFUL GAME AND NOT REGRESS.  THANKS.
COACH/GRANDPA

MONDAY'S PRACTICE - LET'S BE ON TIME!

I think the game with the Outlaws confirms that we have to put forth our best effort against the top teams in the league if we expect to win. The Outlaws practiced twice last week in anticipation of playing us. I offered to treat the team to pizza if we had twelve people show up on time for our practice. Only five were there at 5:30. At the game Thursday, the Outlaws had over a dozen players loosening up and preparing for the game at 4:45. We had six. It's obvious which team wanted that game the most and it wasn't us.

VIDEO OF GAME 2 VS. THE OUTLAWS

I finished editing some of the video from Thursday's game against the Outlaws.

Top of 1st

OUTLAWS 14, PC BRICKS 7

Don't be discouraged, teammates. We made some mistakes yesterday but we were plain and simply outplayed by our opponents. James is an excellent pitcher and he did a good job of shutting down our offense. For the most part, the Outlaws executed well on defense while we experienced several lapses. There was no single thing we failed to do that cost us the game. There were some things we did very well but it wasn't enough. We were beaten.

SAFETY REMINDER

This is a reminder about a few of the rules we need to follow or risk being ejected from our games. Before I get too deep into this, I wish to make clear that my intention is not to criticize or pick on anyone. I mean only to ensure that we have a safe, well played game. Just as much as I don't want any our players to be kicked out of our games, I don't want our opponents running over any of our players. Now, let's get started.

MORE ROSTER ADDITIONS

Readers of our regular website know that Tony "Booker" Smith has been added to our roster. Booker may not be able to play right away but he'll be with us before long. We'll soon have another woman joining the team as well.

NEW RULE FOR CATCHERS

Prior to our first game, the umpire told me there is a new rule for 2011 requiring the catcher to make all outs at home plate. I haven't received my copy of the 2011 ASA rulebook yet so I can't confirm if this is true.  For now we'll have to assume he's correct. If we have a different umpire this week, Gary or I will see if he is enforcing the same rule.

PC BRICKS 26, MOD SQUAD 9



For more photos from this game,
click the "2011 PHOTOS" tab above

We're off to a good start with yesterday's opener against the Mod Squad. Things were a bit unorganized at the beginning and I apologize for that. I'm usually at the park much earlier to have everything set up.

I hope our new players thoroughly enjoyed the experience of playing their first game. I was pleased to see the team come together and put out a strong effort. We still have some things to work on and we'll get to them Monday at our next practice.

SOME BASICS FOR OUR NEWCOMERS

I would have preferred to cover this at practice but we haven't been able to get everyone together at the same time so I'll have to blog it. Experienced players, you can stop here. You already know this stuff. But our new players who haven't played coed softball need to keep reading.

AFTER PRACTICE

OK PC BRICKS, THIS IS OUR LAST DRESS REHEARSAL BEFORE WE PLAY OUR FIRST GAME ON THURS AGAINST THE MOD SQUAD I HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL AT PRACTICE TODAY. AFTER PRACTICE WE'RE GOING TO EXTREME PIZZA ON THE COACH. PLS CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE WWW.EXTREMEPIZZA.COM. THE GREAT AMERICAN BURGER PLACE CLOSES EARLY ACCORDING TO THEIR WEBSITE THANKS COACH

PRACTICE - JUNE 6TH

We're practicing at Washington Park on Monday. We don't have a permit so Coach and I are going to get there early to grab the field before someone else does. Please keep in mind that two guys can't sit on a field for two hours waiting for the rest of their team to show up. We expect everyone there at 5:30. If you're not going to be there, you need to let us know.

As an incentive to get everyone out to practice on time, The Coach will treat those who arrive by 5:30 to a cheeseburger across the street at Great American Hamburger & Pie Co. BTW, that doesn't mean pulling up to the park at 5:30. That means on the field, cleats and glove on, ready to play at 5:30.

It would be great if we can get some early birds out to join us.. The Coach and I will be there at about 4:00 to claim dibs on the diamond and get the equipment in place. As many people have been showing up late or missing practice entirely, I'm sure there's at least a few who can use some extra work. I can usually stay until sundown to pitch some after-hours BP but my daughter's high school graduation ceremony is at 7:00 in Pleasant Hill so I'll be leaving early this time. Please arrive early for extra work. You don't want to miss out on this.

The Times They Are A-Changin'

There's a proposal before the league council to change our game times from 5:00 to 5:15. It would certainly help us if this change is approved as we have Nina and Kedi riding on BART from the Berkeley office. They're typically off work at 4:30. Getting changed and travelling to Nicholl Park in time for a 5:00 game would be nearly impossible. I suggested we make the new starting time 5:30 but 5:15 may be the best we can do.

RAIN STOPS PLAY - MAY 31ST

No practice tonight. The grounds are soggy and it will be cold and windy. We will practice on Thursday, June 2nd, at 5:30 PM. Pinole Valley Park.

2011 SCHEDULE

The 2011 Schedule is out and can be found here. That's the schedule for the entire league. You can also check the calendar and team schedule on our team's website. The upcoming games listing can also be found on the home page. You can even click on the SCHEDULE tab above.

I'm not going to have fifteen different people call or email me to ask when our next game is, right?

SOFTBALL GEAR FOUND CHEAP ONLINE

I was looking at softballsavings.com and spotted some pretty good deals. They have mens black softball pants by Rawlings (size XXL only) marked down from $25.70 to $5.93. They also have women's batting gloves by Under Armour for $8.48. It's a site that's worth a look.

MAY 19TH BATTING PRACTICE

It was a light turnout for Thursday's practice. Gabrielle, Nina, Gary, Brandon, and myself came out to play. I shot some video during batting practice so we can see how we're swinging. I didn't notice a spider web on the fence where my camera was set up so you'll see it blowing about in the wind. I hope you won't find it too annoying.

Following the videos are some still shots. Among them is a sequence from one of Gabrielle's first at bats followed by a sequence from one of her later at bats. In the first at bat she's just trying to get a feel for what she's doing. She's way out in front of the pitch and out on her front leg by the time the pitch arrives. All she could do was push her hands at it. There's almost no follow-through after contact. In the second sequence, you can see she stayed back on the pitch and put a hard swing on it with a nice follow-through. She made a lot of progress in just one practice session. Very impressive!

NEWS

We have a new addition to our team. Jansa Williams, a BA in Mod 3, has agreed to join our team. She has a class on Thursdays through next week but she will be free to play Thursdays after that. Jansa is available to practice on Mondays so we'll see her at Fernandez Park next week. We now have seven women on our roster which gives us a greatly reduces the chances of a forfeit. It wouldn't hurt us to add one more.

That reminds me, our schedule will be made soon and Paul Martin wants to know if there's a specific week we would prefer to have our bye (a week without a game). We're going to be without Mandi from June 26 through July 21. I will out of the state from June 23 through July 8. Does anyone else have leave scheduled during the summer? If we have a week we know we're going to be missing some players, that's when we should have our bye.

The players from outside SSA we thought we had lined up to play with us had to drop out. So for now, we won't have any players from outside SSA on our roster.

OUTLAW TOURNAMENT - ROUND TWO

Brandon has been working on the second (no longer annual) Outlaw Softball Tournament for SSA offices in California. The games will be played on Saturday, August 6th and the location will be Fresno. I don't have much yet in the way of detail but you can check the tournament link above (you can also find it in the Softball Links to the right).

Assuming this tournament takes place, do we want to enter the PC Bricks in it? For the March tournament we had a mixture of players from our team, the TD's and the Mod Squad. Since this tournament will take place during our league season, we'll already be together and playing regularly. I was thinking me might try to get our own team in it this time. Who wants to play?

UM, WHERE'D YOU GET THAT IDEA?

I just learned that Stra8 Ballin' believed they were invited to our practice tonight (which has been rained out). What? Our former teammate, Gena Noble, was invited to practice with us -- as was Marcus Smith from Mod Sqaud. Since we've been getting no more than six of our players out to our practices thus far, I invited them so we'd have enough players to run some drills. There weren't any teams invited to join us. I know it wasn't Gena who expanded the invitation.

PRACTICE RAINED OUT

No practice tonight (May 16th). Our next practice will be Thursday, 5:00 PM at Pinole Valley Park.

BATTING PRACTICE VIDEO

I had the camera out at Thursday's practice. I got some video of Mariza, Carlos, Derrick, and Richie swinging the bat before my batteries ran out. Had I been paying attention, I could have changed them and got the rest of the team. Unfortunately, these video segments won't play on your computer at work. SSA's security software will block them.

BLACK SOFTBALL PANTS AT BIG 5

I stopped by Big 5 in Pinole earlier this week and saw they had black softball pants on sale for $16.99. If you need a new pair, this might be the time to get them. Their website also had this coupon for 20% off any non-sale item and/or 10% off any sale item.

PRACTICE - THURSDAY, MAY 12

This is a reminder about Thursday's practice at Pinole Valley Park at 5:00. If you don't know how to get there, click here for directions and a map. You can also check the "Park Locations" listing over in the right column. Scroll down a little and you'll find it



MONDAY NIGHT"S PRACTICE SESSION

Last night’s practice under the lights at Fernandez Park was a good one. Those in attendance were Nina, Carlos, Mandi, Gary, Rita, Richie, and myself. We fielded some flies and grounders and had a couple of rounds of batting practice before calling it a night.

We looked pretty solid for our first time out. The only negatives to report are some minor bumps and bruises and the annoyance of the numerous gnats that were drawn to the area by the lights.

I thought it was a good diamond for us to practice on until Nicholl Park opens up. What do you think about practicing here on Monday nights each week until our season starts?

FIRST TWO PRACTICES SCHEDULED

We have two practices scheduled next week. The first will be 8:00 PM Monday night at Fernandez Park in Pinole. Please try to arrive a little early so you'll have time to get your equipment ready and loosen up before we take the field at 8:00. We have the field rented for two hours and it would be a shame to waste any of that time on anything other than playing ball. I expect to arrive around 7:30.

Our second practice will be 5:00 PM Thursday at Pinole Valley Park. Again, please try to arrive early so we can maximize our two hour rental.

ROSTER UPDATE

As most of you have heard by now, James has opted to join the TSC Outlaws this season after three seasons with the PC Bricks. Also, Lena has decided not to play this season.

Chiniqua informed me that she most likely won't be able to play this year because of injuries and time constraints.

We picked up a new player as we added Kedi Seyoum to the team. She works with Nina and Brandon at FO 976 in Berkeley. (How much longer before they boot Brandon back to Richmond?) Welcome to the team, Kedi!

LEAGUE NEWS

There's going to be a vote on some important issues at this week's league meeting. Here are the notes I received from our commissioner, Paul Martin:
__________________________________
"We have some items to vote on for next week:
1- Allowing each team to have up to 2 outside women play this year.
2- Allowing the “Untouchables” to have 1 outside man this year only.
3- Game days to be on Tuesdays and Thursdays instead of Wednesdays and Thursdays.
4- Allow the City team to participate this year? (If not allowed and we only have 9 teams, each team will have 1 bye week during the season, and the last place team will have to be eliminated from the playoffs.)

During the meeting, 4 teams had a need for about 2 additional women, prompting the vote for next week to allow 2 outside women per team. Darriel’s requesting a woman’s husband be allowed to play as his team is short men due to last minute roster losses. (He states he’s not a “ringer”)

We are looking for registration fees by May 13^th (payday).  The fee is $35 per player.  I’m looking into what days we can have practice fields secured and will get back to everyone.  A few teams were requesting Thursday only games, thus is why we are voting for Tuesday instead of Wednesday game days next week.
_______________
 
Any thoughts?

SCHEDULING OUR FIRST PRACTICE

I'm off work this week for my daughter's spring break but I'm still working to get some practices scheduled. Brandon is going to get things sorted out with the diamond at MLK Memorial Park. If it won't be available to us right away, I'll resume my efforts to get us a diamond in Pinole. I expect our first practice will be next week at the latest.

ALL-STAR D30 INNER GLOVE - SoftballJunk.com



The d3o Inner Glove by All-Star



I saw this inner glove for fielders at SoftballJunk.com and wondered if anyone on the team has tried one. I wear a batting glove inside my softball gloves to protect the lining from the perspiration on my hand. It occurs to me that a glove such as the one shown here would be much better than a batting glove. A batting glove isn't always an easy fit inside the softball glove and this glove has padding to protect the wrist, palm and fingers from hard hit or thrown balls. Also, the fingers have a tacky surface to provide a better grip inside the softball glove. I think it's a very good idea and I might just have to order one..

IS IT PC FOR US TO BE THE PC BRICKS?

I wasn't involved in the naming of our team. I was told the name Bricks was inspired by the brick facade of the Frank Hagel Federal building. I'm not sure why "PC" was added to the name. The majority of us work in the WNPSC ("PC" for short) but we also have employees from the Richmond TSC and now the Berkeley FO.

Before the 2009 season I suggested that we drop the "PC" part of our name and just be the "Bricks." However, nobody else was interested in changing it. Brandon and I were talking about this last week and he agreed the "PC" part of our name doesn't really fit. He suggested I bring it up again.

Has the time come for us to stop being PC? We don't have to order new uniforms to drop it. We can do it in name only for now and drop it from the uniforms the next time we order a new style. What do you think?

WE HAVE A NEW PLAYER

Nina Makalena, a Service Representative at the Berkeley F.O., has joined the Bricks. She is an experienced player who should fit in very well with our team. Many thanks to Brandon for finding Nina while on his detail to the Berkeley office. We should be able to meet Nina in the next week or so when we get our first practice scheduled. Welcome aboard, Nina!

RUMORS, RUMORS, & MORE RUMORS

Hardly a day goes by without someone coming to me with a rumor about a player quitting our team or our team dropping out of the league. Mostly these rumors are completely false. A few have some basis in fact but have been so twisted and loaded with nonsense, they bear little resemblance to the truth. I urge you not to treat these unconfirmed rumors as the truth.

YANKEES VS PANTHERS

It was time for some Richmond Little League action after work yesterday as Carlos's boys on the Yankees had a game with the Panthers. Actually, Ace was out of action with an illness but Lefty put on quite a show. Here are some shots of the grand slam he hit in his second at bat followed by a video of the game. Oh, yeah. There's a picture of Lefty with his pop somewhere in there, too.

TARA HILLS BULLDOGS

Chiniqua's son, Jeremiah, had another game yesterday. I shot some stills and some video of his two at bats. He wears #10. You'll see some shots of the pre-game warm up with the coach using my Accubat to hit the team some flies.

MARIZA & MANDI WITH THE SMOKIN' ACES

The Smokin' Aces played at College Park High School in Pleasant Hill tonight with Mariza catching and Mandi playing first base. Mariza gave the new facemask a test drive and she reports it was comfortable to play in. Here are some photos and a brief video of one of Mariza's at bats.

RIP-IT FACEMASK FOR INFIELDERS

 Many high school and Bobby Sox softball leagues now require pitchers and infielders to wear facemasks to avoid facial injuries such as those suffered by Mandi, Lena, and Lawrence last year. I found one that came highly recommended by the staff at West Coast Sporting Goods. It's called The Defense and it's made by Rip-It.

Mariza says she would like to give it a try. After some arm twisting, Mandi said she might also go along with it. If this model fits well and isn't a hinderance to performance, I may buy a few more.

WHITHER THE BRICKS?

We got some good news about Richie -- his ACL isn't damaged as severely as was originally believed. His doctor has cleared him to play softball this year.

We also got some bad news. Darlene let me know that she won't be returning this year.

We're now at a point where our roster is dangerously low on women. We're down to Chiniqua, Mariza, Mandi, and Gabrielle. We know we're going to lose Mandi for a few games in the middle of the season when she gets married. Lena might be good for a few games. I talked to Rita Akpan (who played with us part-time in 2008-2009) and she expressed a desire to play. If Rita is firm in her commitment, that gets us close to the minimum number of women we need to play.

LEFTY & ACE IN ACTION

Carlos's sons are playing for the Yankees in the Richmond Little League. I rode up to see them play the Cardinals on Saturday afternoon at Nicholl Park. As circumstances would have it, the Yankees' coach had a last second engagement so the team was left in Carlos's hands. Carlos led the Yankees as if he were the coach all along. Here's some video from the game at Nicholl Park #2. Ace wears #8 and Lefty wears #12. If you prefer to see the video directly from You Tube, you can do so here.

JEREMIAH WAS A BULLDOG....

I went up to Tara Hills yesterday to watch Chiniqua's son, Jeremiah, play. His Little League team, the Bulldogs, beat the Giants 10-0. I shot some photos and got two of his at bats on video. He really belted the ball to leftfield in his second at bat. It was fun seeing the abolute joy on the faces of these kids playing ball. We adults can probably learn a thing or two from them.

SMOKIN' ACES

Mariza is playing on Tuesday nights for a team in Pleasant Hill, the Smokin' Aces. They play on the fields at the back of College Park High by the YMCA. Here is the schedule if you're interested in checking out one of their games.

ROSTER CHANGES

As I mentioned last week, we're losing several players this season. Gena and Lynecia won't be returning to play with us in 2011. There's a very good chance that Tanya won't be back either. Lena's schedule may not permit her to play this year or she may be available only for a few games at best. Marcus Van Hook is forming a new team with a group from his BA class.

GETTING STARTED IN 2011

It's time to dust off the blog and get things rolling for 2011.

Paul Martin called for a league meeting on March 31st to begin charting our course for the new season. Most likely, we'll be starting in June once the Richmond Little League's season is over and the diamonds at Nicholl Park open up. I'll let you know what transpires at the meeting.