Rants from the Dugout

End of Season Rant

8/11/2004

Well the end of the season has come upon us, but not before the Barnstormer could lay one more beatin' on one last team of the Thursday night North Division League. The final victim in the Stonegrey landslide was those group of keystone cops, Doolittle's. The last week of the season always presents a special challenge due to the fact that hardly anyone ever shows up. This game would be not different. We would take the field without Anvil and Chaz, who were at WeFest. Slurvy, Barry, Shane, and Jeff would also all be MIA for the league finale. But the game must go on, and the legend of the Barnstormer must grow.

The game started out like any last game of the year. I was scrambling to throw together a defense with only nine of us showing up. Luckily, Snake showed up as the first pitches were being thrown to give us a complete 10. It didn't matter because they were outclassed, out talented, outplayed and out hustled. The only out they had on us was outnumbered. Dammon led the game of with a single to right, and then Donnie hit his team leading 6th or 7th homer to left field to put us up 2-0. We would continue to hit and plate runners to the tune of 4-0. The second inning was much like the first. We would get 6 runs on nine hits, with the highlight being Nadia making two outs in the same inning. But Mike would save hit best for his last at bat. They would get as close as five runs but would end up losing by 11 in only five innings. Back to the nights highlight by Mike. Mike was up with one out and a man on first. The pitcher threw the first pitch across the belt. Mike swung with all his might and made contact with... nothing, Strike One. The next pitch was on it's way, Mike dug in with the intensity of an inside linebacker and let go a Babe Ruth like cut, only to make contact with... nothing. There he was two pitches, two swings and misses. What was in store for the next pitch. The next pitch was on it's way, Mike gave it a good look and guess what he did??? Nothing! Strike three looking. Way to sell the drama. We did manage to score six that inning so it wasn't a total bust. Good Guys - 18 Doolittle's - 7.

So the season is a wrap and we did manage to salvage a portion of the league title for the second time. It is kinda a foul taste in my mouth, due to the fact that if I had played that game against Fargo H2O we would have won. Trust me. That is only fuel for the fire for next season. Don't forget about the croquet tournament and party at ET's place in late September, stay tuned to the site for time and date. We will continue to put updates and schedule get togethers during the winter. So see you at the yard, next year, Meat!