Print this post (the others are in a book!)

The now graduated Lions got together one last time as a team (less Ryan, already in TX for an LAX Tourney) Friday night to eat tacos, drink virgin Margaritas (one hopes), and toast themselves:

A team for all seasons (& one little brother)...

Stephen E, Nick, Joe

Ryley, Stevie P, Andrew

John C, L-I am, Morgan, John K

Their coaches:

Coach "E" & Coachie, flanked by Christine and Bill

And their drivers (er, parents):

A motley crew...

Les, Jill, Dan, Elaine, Marjorie

'lil sister Kelly, Henry, Christine

Lisa, Patsy, Joe, Margaretta, Doug

Team Parent Marjorie presented to the Coaches gifts from the parents - gift cards and a bound book of the season that included both this blog and a medley of Jack's pictures, and a laminated picture sheet produced by Adrienne.

The book's dedication read: 

"With heartfelt gratitude to Coach Glen Bowers and Coach Dennis Estrada 
It was our boys' dream to have you coach them this Final Season. By giving so much of yourselves in this effort, you allowed them to play the game they love, not just in front of you, but for you. They will never forget. Nor will their parents.
-Your Lions"

In honor of her tireless efforts keeping this bunch organized, as well as the season supply of sunflower seeds she and Bill provided for the team and parents, Marjorie was presented with a box of sunflower themed note cards and the everlasting thanks from grateful parents.

For the pics and blog, Jack and Dan were presented by Henry a book on classic baseball photos and classic sports writing:

Wow! Thanks so much!

The boys made incredible speeches, the parents made astute observations, and financing is being pursued in order to settle the bar bill. The party went late and a good time was had by all!

Look for future updates to this blog as these fine young men of ours make their way into high school, and even beyond.

Now and forever,
Go Lions!

 PS - our deepest sympathies to Jack, who was in Chicago for the funeral of his brother. And our thanks to Adrienne ("Jackette") who took all these great shots at La Barca.

Lions party wipes out blogger!

A great, great party last night that will need to be deservedly documented with pics (courtesy of "Jackette") and a well-put together post. In the meantime, Jack and I are incredibly grateful for the gifts (I've read the first New Yorker story already) and all are so grateful that we were able to be together as a team, with our Coaches, Ms. Yuen, and a rich full room of players and parents. Well done, Marjorie!

To be continued...

Lions declared ineligible, allowed to keep Championship

In a stunning turn of events yesterday, the 8.1 Lions, along with their 8th grade classmates, graduated from SHB and were immediately declared ineligible for future 8th grade competition.

With 8th grade behind them, the Lions will be taking their skills onward and upward:
Lick Wilhmerding
- John K, baseball (& basketball?)
- Stephen P, continuing his mastery of surf dogdom (and hopefully answering the siren call of baseball that brought him back these past two seasons)

St. Ignatius
- Ryan C, slotting back over to his first love, Lacrosse
- Andrew F, baseball
- Joe L, golfer/thespian extraordinaire (and one would hope, baseball)
- Nick S, another Lacrosse player who loves baseball, and will have a tough choice to make

The Hall
- Ryley A, basketball, baseball
- Liam C, basketball, baseball
- Stephen E, basketball, baseball
- Morgan L, another surf dog who will likely be logging water time with Stevie P.

Thatcher
- John C, baseball, riding horses, and working on his Eagle Scout.

The team has decided to console themselves over the ruling by heading to La Barca, tonight (Friday 10 June) at 6 in the back room.

Party on, Lions.

What a day for a Field Day!

PS - Check out "Jack's Pics" (left column) for link to Father/Son BBQ at Ocean Beach Mon night!
PPS - Check out "Jack's Pics" (left column) for link to Field Day Pics! 

The annual Stuart Hall for Boys Field Day took place today in The Presidio's Ft. Scott, by Golden Gate Bridge. What an amazing day of athletic competition by the K-8 boys, organized by their "families" into 4 colors. In a first ever for the event, Green and Blue tied for overall honors followed by Gray and Red. The all school relay race (two participants per grade per team) went to Gray with the Lions' own Stephen E. pulling away on the final length.

However, this was all prelude to the annual Faculty vs. 8th grade Softball Game, a game almost always won by the faculty (captained, naturally by the Lions own Coachie and Coach "E"). This year, the Faculty came in decidedly nervous, knowing full well the heart of the Lions order would be this year's League Champions, and hoping like crazy that this bunch of participatory classmates would field 30+ players, keeping the Lions to only one at-bat. The Lions, captained by the 8.1 team, were joined by 24 fired up eighth grade classmates, and took the field determined to make a go of it.

Being generous souls, the Lions limited their pitching to one inning each for Andrew and Stephen E, wanting to give classmates a chance to pitch as well. The result? No runs scored against Andrew or Stephen, naturally. In the end, the Faculty did manage two runs (1 "earnedish"). And were fortunate to do so, given their only meaningful hit was a double down the first base line (just fair) by Coachie.

As to batting, the Lions saw that the Faculty's prayers were answered in the big 8th grade turnout - they were only going to get one pass through the order. So, they stacked themselves in their usual batting order to start the bottom of the first. The result? Two runs in the first (Ryley- single and Nick- double) driven in by Stephen E.- RBI single and Andrew- deep RBI Sac Fly. Sound familiar?

And so it ended, a very rare 2-2 tie, with Middle Form Dean Dennis Phillips and Science Teacher Arnaz Raj remarking with obvious relief, "that's a result this faculty can happily live with!"

Now, if the Lions could have just found a last opportunity to scrimmage the undefeated 7th grade League Champs (the Lion cubs)! Alas, it is not likely to be.

Go Lions!

A season on the blink...

At the end of last season's 6-2 loss to St. Cecilia in the 8.1 Championship game (cue eerie music), the Lions 7th grade team members (all 7 of them) vowed they'd get Coaches Bowers and Estrada, and 3 or 4 more classmates to replace the departing 8th graders, and come back for their 8th grade year with a vengeance. Well, well... what can we say?

the 2011 SHB 8.1 Lions

In serious conversation throughout the Fall, usually over a refreshing beverage or three, it was decided by the Dads that there was the possibility of epic-ness at play here with this team (just go with me on the grammar, Mr. Estrada, I'm on a roll) that could not, nor should not go unchronicled. Final discussions were made during the celebration of the 8.3 Soccer championship at the Ferrero's bar house and this blog was born. Similar to that old Mickey Rooney movie ("hey, we can use my Father's barn for the theater!") it was decided that Jack liked to take pics and Dan liked to talk, so we already had as much talent as most bloggers out there have (except for those little details such as knowing how to create a blog)!

But we had something else going for us that few other blogs can claim:  we had Subject Matter!! And we had it in spades!
We had teachers and administrators for fans:

Christine & Daniel

Raj & Dennis

We had groupies! (ok, Moms and classmates' Moms):

But most of all, we had a group of talented ballplayers who were more than capable of creating their own story lines during 3 months of an incredible season, even if somehow it was over in the blink of an eye:

The boys of Spring...

And create, this gang did. Nine games. All different. None boring. After the first, a two (or one!) run nail-biter against Salesian, there followed 5 wins of varying degrees of dominance, leading up to the Regular Season finale for the Regular Season title, the epic 9 to 8 victory against Epiphany that left parents drained while boys were just hitting their stride. Just days later, and into the playoffs, the guys took on an inspired St. Stephen, who were determined to make amends for a 14 run beatdown the previous week. Tied 2-2 after 7 regulation innings, they held in the top and produced the thrilling winning run in the bottom of the 8th, setting up Wednesday's finale against St. Cecilia for the championship, after the Cec's had obliterated Epiphany, 17-4 in their first round playoff game. Fittingly, and not surprisingly, this final game encapsulated the entire Lions season:

Pitching. You face a worthy opponent, as the Lions did in St. Cecilia, and you will take a punch in the mouth. Starting in the first, they put the ball in play, ran the bases hard, and did everything in their power to generate runs. And they did, managing to plate 2 in that first inning, but none after that. Nick (3 innings, 6 strikeouts, 3 hits, no walks, 2 runs (one earned)) and Andrew (4 innings, 6 strikeouts, 1 hit, 1 walk, no runs) combined to keep them off balance all game long. St. Cec's never got that big hit when they needed it with guys on base, and 9 of their 11 batters struck out at least once.

Fielding. The Lions made a couple mistakes in the game, but both were execution mistakes (fielding or throwing) and not mental mistakes. They played within themselves and when it counted, executed big, big plays:
- Morgan made a play in Left Field that had the stands buzzing when a single hit his way in the 3rd inning took a bad hop toward the third base line and he reached out and bare-handed it (!!), hitting his cut-off and sending the runner scampering back to first. That ball was humming, and if it gets by, a runner scores or is on third.
- Stephen E ended their 6th inning with a cross-charge/short-hop/glove-in-stride throw to Nick from Short that got the runner bang-bang at first. Web gem.
- But perhaps the play of the season occurred in the top of the 5th, when St. Cec's got a lead-off single and a walk. Down 5-2, they had to get something going and went for a double steal. From behind the plate, John C gunned the pitch (a strike from Andrew!) to Ryley at third so hard, and so accurately, it stopped and turned the runner, sending him sprinting back toward second. Ryley fired a strike over the runner to Stephen E., who was furiously backpedaling to avoid contact with the runner (a collision would have been interference on us). Ryley's throw lands in Stephen's glove just as the runner bowls Stephen over back at second. Runner is out; the other runner is forced back to first. With the threat avoided, Andrew proceeds to strike out the next 2 batters. For all intents and purposes… that was ball game.

Batting. The Lions didn't have an extra base hit. But they did have seven Singles (Nick got two). And, of the 6 runs scored (Nick scored 3), 5 runs were "batted in" (2 each Andrew and Stephen E, 1 for John K). The whole team put the ball in play and got their teammates around and home, whether they got on themselves or not. And this includes the Lions trademark 10+ stolen bases ("we're gonna run and run and run some more!"). How on was this team? We're talking only 4 strikeouts in 28 at bats! Only 4 walks as well - this team hit the ball (and unlike last game, had the advantage of a strike zone that did not reward pitches that bounced)! The Lion offensive juggernaut was a clinic in team offense this final game.

And in the end... 

...the guys walked off the field with their 6-2 (!!) victory and all objectives met:
1. Regular Season Title
2. Undefeated Regular Season
3. Won Playoffs
4. Undefeated Season (i.e, 2 + 3 = 4 and you can just hold that comment on my math, Ms. Yuen!).

9 Years ago together in Kindergarten; next year off to 4 different high schools!

So that's it Lions, Lions fans, and Lions Parents. "Stuart Hall Baseball - The Final Season" concludes as we had all hoped. Thanks to some incredible players and their incredible coaches.

Will there be more posts? It's possible. After all,
END does mean Entirely New Direction...
... doesn't it?

Production Note - All pics, clips are from final game, for this final game post. Great job, Cap'n Jack!

Game Over???

"Let's treat this just like any other game..."

Over? Really? But there's so much more to say...

And it will be said... but not now, not while the finality of it all refuses to sink in... stunned parents wandering the field, taking pictures, shaking hands, hugging, trying to figure out where it is we're supposed to go now, do now, take our boys to now.

The transfer of carpool-phenalia, thoughts of an unplanned dinner at a late hour, realization that there is no game this weekend, or practice next Tuesday. Realizing the chance was missed to thank all from the school who came to celebrate the end of our era with us... Ms. Yuen, Mr. Phillips, Mr. Fishman, Mr. Raj -  true friends of parents, successful molders of our young. Classmates and their parents, coming just because these were their classmates, and their classmates' parents. You know... this was family.

The too-brief thanks for Coach Bowers and Coach Estrada, who honored these boys with their knowledge of the game, yes, but so much more than even that, through such generous giving of their precious time. In this one instance it is the parents who truly understand this sacrifice, while our sons were focused on the joys of playing their game for their beloved teachers.

So yes, there is more to say. Tomorrow then, when the "overness" of it has sunk in a bit. When we have had a chance to share a smile at drop-off or pickup, or an email or text (or heaven help us, a tweet?).

Till then, Congratulations Lions, on an outstanding season. You were magnificent.

Final Score 6-2. Final Record 9-0. Unbeaten. Untied. Untamed.

It's Game Day!! Yessirr!!

We're so there!

It's the Final. Literally. Last Game. Last Sport. Last Year.

vs. St. Cecila, the school (not the team) responsible for the Lions' last loss, in the 8.1 Finals last year (yes, this is most of the Lions players' 2nd visit to the 8.1 final!). The team that gave the Lions fits in an early season meeting at McCoppin Park. The team that ran Epiphany off the field 17-4 in the first playoff game. Records mean nothing right now. Both teams are 1-0.

Today. W. Sunset. 5:30 PM.

Game on.

Hello Kitty...

A funny thing happened on the way to today's cat fight between the Lions and the St. Stephen Cougars. The first playoff game saw #3 St. Cecilia mercy rule #2 Epiphany, 17-4, ending our big rival's season! So much for any observations from the preceding post about meeting in the finals!

Perhaps sensing this change in the (gale force) wind at W. Sunset, the Lions began their own playoff run today against the team they mercy-ruled in 3 innings last week, and proceeded to spend eight tense innings trying to catch, hold off, and contain this inspired opponent, before finally persevering in the first extra inning, 3-2.

The Lions - young men secure in their "baseballinity"

In this cat vs. cat confrontation there were many contributions to the home team's less than beastly performance, starting with 14 strikeouts (10 of them not swinging!) out of 26 at bats (yes sports fans, over half the at bats). Now until the season ends, this cannot be the subject of a blistering post, so let's just leave the topic with the simple observation that a bunch of good, smart hitters don't strike out 10 times on pitches they believe are not strikes unless the strike zone itself is awarding the pitch. And let it not be said the strike zone was inconsistent, as the Cougar batters struck out 13 times (8 of them looking) themselves.

So call this a "draw." And what of other things that matter? How about walks? Well the Cougars walked 8 times to the Lions 6 - again very close. And again, there were plenty of pitches in those walks for each team that a reasonable observer would have considered strikes (i.e., the normal knees to numbers strike zone appeared to be more ankles to hips).

And how about hits? Well, here we start to see what made the difference in the game. The Cougars were held to one hit in eight innings, and no RBI's, getting both their runs through defensive mistakes. The Lions scattered 4 hits, but two of them were RBI's. Advantage Lions.

And a favorite Lion statistic - Stolen Bases. Again the larcenous Lions stole 6 to 2 for the Cougars, and each of the Lion's SB's put them in position to score on an RBI. Advantage Lions.

Mistakes? Both sides made costly mistakes, base running and with the gloves. Call it a draw.

So with the game tied 2-2 at the end of regulation, here's how it went down:
Top 8, Andrew pitching:  Their #7 hitter walks, Andrew strikes out the next (looking). Their #9 hitter is hit by a pitch; guys on 1st & 2nd with one out. Their #10 hitter lays down a nice bunt that John C charges, bare hands and fires to Ryley at third to force out the runner - huge play! And with 2 outs, Andrew gets their #11 hitter looking for the strikeout that ends their inning with 2 base runners stranded, still 2-2.
Bot 8, Cougars pitching: after an out, Stephen E rakes a hard grounder that 2nd can't handle - safe! With two outs and Andrew up, Stephen E steals 2nd, and the Cougars' Coach calls for an intentional walk of Andrew to create a force out situation. The plan is disrupted as Stephen E steals 3rd on the second intentional ball (!!) - a play almost never seen nor called for by a coach (??). The Cougs finish the intentional walk (fear the 'drew!) and now there are men on first and third. John K steps up, and while battling, Andrew advances to second. John is deep in the count and fouls off to protect the plate with two strikes. Two out tension? Yep, got your two out tension! But then John K hits a gorgeous fly ball that drops exactly between a converging shortstop, second baseman, and center fielder, allowing Stephen E to score. Game over, Johnny K!!
[Note: A tightly edited clip, with sound track and Ken Burns effects, to follow, but till then, this is a nice clip of the ending, including raucous crowd and on-field celebration]

The Lions again bent, but did not break. Stephen (5 innings, 9 strikeouts, no hits, 6 walks, 1 run) and Andrew (3 innings, 4 strikeouts, 1 hit, 2 walks, 1 run) turned in another great pitching performance. A very worthy opponent gave the Lions their all, and for the second game in a row the result was a 1 run win.

John K - post walkoff

Big congrats to the Lions for surviving to fight another day - and the last day, at that, of their season, and of any sport their 8th grade year, and of their grade school sporting careers!

Play will resume, and conclude, Wednesday evening, 25 May, at W. Sunset again. Versus the team that defeated the Lions in the Finals last year. It's funny how a rival can sneak up on you when you least expect it, isn't it?

Go Lions.

To be continued?...

As expected, the Lions met their match tonight in the regular season finale against Epiphany, with the Regular Season Championship and Top Seed in the playoffs on the line. And at the end of 5 1/2 absolutely bruising innings, the Lions had persevered (just) in a thrilling 9-8 game that ended with one run in, the tying run on third, and a strikeout.

How close was this game? Think two prize fighters, trading roundhouse punches inning after inning. It was so dramatic, I've summarized the fight below for those interested in the blow-by-blow. For those not, let's draw a few conclusions:
1. Crocker Amazon #2 is a flat-out beast, and your mistakes will be more costly there than anywhere else.
2. Epiphany is every bit as good a team as the Lions. This was anyone's game, and any satisfaction in the win must be tempered by the knowledge that on this day the Lions were the better team. Barely. On this day.
3. The Lions bend. They don't break. These young men play together as a team, play through their mistakes, keep their head's about them, and are a reflection of their Coaches, their school and their parents. Win or lose, there is much to be proud of here.
4. The Lions are regular season champs. Oh yeah, there's that. Their Coaches' first objective? Make playoffs. Check. Second? Win regular season. Check.
5. The Lions will be the #1 seed in the playoffs Sunday at W. Sunset, 4PM vs. St. Stephen

Be there, or be square!

6. The Lions are undefeated. Oh that's right, they didn't lose in the Regular Season. Coaches' third objective? Undefeated in the regular season. Check.

Fresh from the fight...

7. The Lions will likely meet Epiphany again. While neither team should (nor will) look past the first round, Epiphany and Stuart Hall are the class of the League and will likely meet in the finals. An Epiphany Dad remarked wryly as I left the field, "we'll be seeing you next week."
8. The Lions have a following. Hey, what's not to like? They're exciting; they're good guys who play the game at a different level, and play it with joy, intensity and sportsmanship. 1,000+ page hits to this blog and a twitter following can't be wrong - there are more than just parents and opposing coaches following this team!

Teachers Christine (rockin' the flops) and Daniel - two of our groupies!

The Prizefight, by Round:
Top 1 - Punch. Epiphany plates 2. A leadoff triple followed by an RBI single serves notice. Epiphany can hit. And run, as their baserunner steals 2nd, advances to 3rd on a missed catch [backstop]*, and scores on a failed attempt to stop him.
*NOTE: here we see the game's third contestant enter the picture - Crocker Amazon #2's and its deep, deep backstop (i.e., "[backstop]"). Unlike the other fields this year, a ball that gets by the Catcher is one or two bases for the baserunners! In addition, Crocker presented an infield so treacherous (wood chips!) that whenever you see "[infield single/error]" know that horrendous bounces were the likely culprit.
The Lions starter Andrew then collects himself and gets the next 3 batters (2 strikeouts!).
SCORE - Epiphany 2-0
Bot 1 - Counterpunch. The Lions punch back. Ryley walks and steals second. Stephen E drives him in with a single to center. Stephen E steals 2nd, steals 3rd, and scores on the bad throw to third.
SCORE - Tie 2-2

Top 2 - Punch. With 2 outs (1 strikeout) Epiphany gets another run that starts with a single and ends when the runner advances two bases (failed attempt to catch him at first gets into the outfield), then scores on a pitch that gets to the [backstop]. Again, Andrew collects himself, striking out the last batter.
SCORE - Epiphany 3-2
Bot 2 - A Lions quiet inning, with 3 up, 3 down.
SCORE - Epiphany 3-2

Top 3 - Punch. After a strikeout, Epiphany's last batter is "hit by a pitch" that no one sees, then advances to second [backstop] and is driven in by an RBI single to right. That runner steals 2nd, gets to 3rd on a groundout, then scores [backstop]. Side is retired with a groundout to 3rd (nice play Ryley!).
SCORE - Epiphany 5-2 [Lions largest deficit of the season]
Bot 3 - Counterpunch. Morgan walks and gets to second [backstop]. John C and Ryley walk to load the bases. Nick grounds to short but instead of a possible double play, 2nd baseman misses the catch and Morgan and John C score! With Stephen E batting, Ryley and Nick advance to 3rd & 2nd [backstop], and Stephen E drives in Ryley with a groundout that moves Nick to 3rd. Andrew walks, and the Lions run their "steal 2nd, score from third" play, but head's up play by Epiphany catches Nick in the rundown for an out, with Andrew safe at 2nd. John K moves him to 3rd with a timely single and then comes possibly the play of the game as Stevie P crushes a 2 RBI double down the first base line, scoring Andrew and John K!
SCORE - Lions 7-5

Top 4 - Missed punch. Epiphany starts with a single. The runner advances to 2nd [backstop] before Andrew strikes out the next batter. Next comes a hit by pitch, putting runners at 1st and 2nd. Then a missed pickoff attempt at 2nd advances runners to 2nd & 3rd. With tension ratcheted up to an "11," Andrew strikes out the next batter and induces the 3rd out with a pop up to 2nd, leaving both runners stranded.
SCORE - Lions 7-5
Bot 4 - Punch. Everyone knows by now a two run lead by either side will not be enough. With one out, John C walks, and steals 2nd with Ryley at bat. On his way to stealing 3rd, another [backstop] and John C keeps right on going, around 3rd and in for the score! Ryley is then hit hard in the ribs by a pitch, collects himself at first, and steals 2nd while Nick is at bat. On to 3rd [backstop] and Nick walks. Stephen E drives in Ryley with a grounder to short and is safe on an [infield single/error]. The inning ends with Nick and Stephen E on 3rd & 2nd [double steal] but the damage is done.
SCORE - Lions 9-5

Top 5 - Counterpunch. First two runners walk, and advance on a [backstop] before Andrew strikes out the third. An [infield single/error] then loads the bases. Another strikeout. And then a [backstop] scores the runner from 3rd and advances the others. Next batter gets an [infield single/error] that scores another run before Andrew gets the third strikeout of the inning!
SCORE - Lions 9-7
Bot 5 - Missed punch. A two out walk by Morgan, who steals 2nd, followed by a John C walk puts two on, but that's as far as they go this inning.
SCORE - Lions 9-7 

Top 6 - Punch. Andrew has hit his innings limit, and Stephen E comes in for the 6th. Time has expired, so this will be it. Leadoff hits a single past first, and is then caught stealing! Huge play, John C to Andrew for the tag out at 2nd. Next batter [infield single/error] is safe at first. Next batter singles to Center (1st & 2nd). Runners advance [backstop]. Drama increasing. Strikeout! Two outs. Runner scores [backstop], other runner advances to 3rd. Tension at fever pitch. Strikeout! Three outs. Game over.
SCORE - Lions 9-8
SCORE - Crocker Amazon #2: [backstop] - 13; [infield single/error] - 4

To be, or not Epiphany...

Ok folks, so the game 1 rain out against St. Cecilia way back in March became an official cancellation today, due to, naturally, rain. This is bad on so many levels - the Lions kept Sunday short, were ready to play today and tomorrow, and the standings took a beating.

In a nutshell, the possible three way tie for third (and only two get into the playoffs) would appear instead to have become a clinch for third by St. Cecilia (a loss today to the Lions would have put them in that tie). To compound the misery, Salesian was slated to play St. Philips today, and had they won, would have also earned part of that 3-way tie for 3rd. Instead, if today stands as a cancellation for them as well, Salesian remains in 5th place, and St. Stephen (from the Lions Sunday victory) clinches 4th place. If this is how things pan out, then what a tough way for Salesian's own final campaign to end - not even on the playing field.

That, happily enough, will not be the case for the Lions, who will hopefully get to play the game of the year against #2 Epiphany tomorrow, "Weather and Field Conditions permitting." If not, the Lions clinch the #1 seed without ever having had their mettle tested against Epiphany (nor theirs tested against the Lions). If the game goes on as scheduled, the Lions and Epiphany will be playing for the #1 seed (loser will be #2).

Either way, the Lions will be playing on Sunday. In the playoffs. Objective 1 met.

The Lions have a couple of things going for them at this stage in the season. First, the two best coaches in the League (see sidebar - yes, this is an audacious plug for the upgrade in the site's design - thanks for the suggestions, Elaine!), and second:

"Our Moms are so much cooler than yours!"

So take heart Lions, cooperate, weather, and let's get this thing done!

Keeping it short and sweet...

Ahh the Sunset... Jackets and Shorts

Faced with 3 games in 4 days, the Lions executed their "less innings played = less pitches thrown" plan to perfection, resulting in a three inning (!!), 14-0 decision against St. Stephen today in this first game of the season-ending gauntlet. In doing so, they got a taste of what they'll be seeing the rest of the season and in the playoffs. St. Stephen showed up with 13 players but batted only 9, wanting to "turn the order over" and get back to their top hitters as frequently as possible.

Coachie - a step ahead of opponents

While the Lions are proving themselves to be a potentially dominating team, even they are beginning to run into end-of-season nagging issues. Ryan (day-to-day) missed again today with a sore arm while guys playing in different leagues have been racking up the pitch counts. John C (100 pitches yesterday) and Stephen E (75+ pitches yesterday) were either unavailable to pitch or needed to be kept on a short string for their arm's sake. Fresher arms in the stable (Ryley and John K) were going to be needed at some time today or during this week (there will be 3 games including the first playoff next Sunday), so the Coaches went with a strategy that paid off - they started Nick, he of the no-hitter last game.

First, the Visitor Lions batted and put a quick 3 on the board with RBI hits by Nick (2 RBI's) and John K as the team batted through the order.

Nick promptly struck out batters 1-3 in the bottom half of the first, and it was right back to the Lions. RBI hits by Nick (a 2 RBI Dingah! to deep left Center!), and John K highlighted a 5 run outburst where the Lions once again batted through the order.

Back on the mound, Nick started to show some residual fatigue from Wednesday's outing (as well as a lot of LAX since then!) and a couple runners got on base via walk. Here the Coaches made a decision you don't see enough of these days, bringing Stephen E to the mound to finish out the inning. Three strikeouts later, the side was retired with the two runners left stranded on 2nd and 3rd.

In the third, the Lions put together their best inning of the game, once again batting through the order for 6 big runs. RBI's by Nick, Stephen E and John C (2 RBI's) as well as Liam and Morgan led the charge, putting the Lions in position to win early with a 14 run lead.

In to finish, Stephen E struck out the first batter; the second hit a grounder to Ryley at third with a solid throw to Liam for the out (the only ball put in play against the Lions); and the last batter went down swinging. Stephen E's 5 strikeouts, no hits, no walks, combined with Nick's 3 strikeouts, no hits, and two walks concluded three stellar innings of pitching and another big win for the 6-0 Lions.

Next game Tuesday, St. Cecilia, and then Wednesday, the big one against #2 Epiphany. And on a side note, it was great to know that Coach E. was on his way to check out Epihany's win against St. Philip right after our game, and that he and Coachie will have a little more than the standings to go on by way of preparation for Wednesday. Thanks, Coach E!

The wrong day to show up short-handed...

There are three ways you can lose to the Lions:  You can be out pitched. You can be out hit. Or you can be out defensed. On a day when all three happen together, the results will be devastating.

Let's start by showing some respect for today's opponent, Salesian. They had to play without their two best players (one missed the game to go to the Stuart Hall High School Ice Cream Social, which Liam, Morgan, Ryley and Stephen E cut short/missed to make their game). In spite of that, they played hard, kept their heads up, and showed a lot of class and poise. This was clearly not the rematch they had hoped for after dropping the previous meeting 8-6 (or 8-7, depending on who was keeping score).

To compound their troubles, our Coaches put Nick S. on the mound this afternoon, where he retired the first 9 batters he faced. By the time the 4th and final inning was complete, via a strikeout, Nick had pitched a no-hitter (a couple walks, a missed double-play and an error spoiled his perfect game). At one point, somewhere around retiring the 6th batter, Nick had only thrown 3 balls. What a performance!

Defense? Thanks to Nick's outing, there wasn't as much a need for it as last game. However, Stephen P's running catch of a ball struck deep to Center Field, a great dig at 2nd by John K for the throw out, and solid work all game by John C at Catcher demonstrated that the Lions have maintained focus - and for a change, the Lions didn't even spot their opponent a first inning run!

So a "no-no" backed by solid defense leaves only hitting... and wow, how to describe today's performance? The term "juggernaut" has been applied to these guys earlier in the season, and we have seen tastes of it in all of our games. But today, the Lions moved their offense onto another level entirely. Some highlights:
- Everyone scored. At least once (there were 20 runs).
- Batters 3 through 5 (Nick, Stephen E, Andrew) went 12 for 12 at the plate, scored twelve times, and drove in 13 runs.
- There was a home run (Stephen E), two triples (Nick, Stephen E), a number of doubles, and singles (when guys couldn't think of anything better to do).
- In 4 at bats, Stephen E hit for the cycle (Home Run, Triple, Double, Single) had 7 RBI's, and scored 4 times.

Here's a taste from one inning. They all went something like this:

Oh, and a final piece of news. With their 5-0 record, the Lions now hold sole possession of first place by 1/2 a game over 5-1 Epiphany. Let's keep this up!

Go Lions!

Predatory Practice...

Who are these other hunters on my turf?

The Lions' gloves and arms have become the place where base runners' aspirations of runs go to die!

Our guys returned to Palega #2 Wed night to face St. Philip and after coughing up their usual quick run, they settled down and got to work.

Think of Jon Stewart doing his mobbed up New Yorker voice...
"So we're gonna spot yous guys a run... and we're gonna let yous hang around for a while... while we get our legs under us, so ta speak... but c'mon, we all know what's gonna happen here... by the end we're gonna take yous down, bada-boom!"

And get to work they did, choosing this time around to get the job done with spectacular defense, which as everyone knows starts with pitching. The Lions got great innings from John C (3 innings/3 strikeouts/2 hits/2 walks), Nick S (2 innings/3 strikeouts/0 hits/2 walks) and Andrew F (2 innings/4 strikeouts/2 hits/2 walks). For the game? 10 strikeouts, 4 hits (!) and 6 walks in 7 innings of work. Great job!

John C (innings 1-3)

Andrew F (innings 6, 7)

Nick S (innings 4, 5)

Backing up this effort was some of the Lions best defense of the season, including great plays in every single inning:
1st:  an inning ending double play (grounder to Nick at first, tags base and throws to Stephen E for the tag out at second)
2nd: Stephen E's back to back put-outs on well struck balls to Short
3rd: Andrew's great inning ending play deep in the hole at 2nd base with throw to first, stranding 2 runners
4th: Stephen E's inning ending web gem backhand with long cross-diamond side arm to first, stranding a runner on 3rd
5th: Ryan C's inning ending running catch in Center Field, stranding 2 runners
6th: The Predatory play of the game![TM] - With no outs and a runner at first, Morgan dives for a well struck liner to Right Field that gets by him, runs it down, throws to his cut-off John K who relays to Andrew, who guns to John C at home to put the runner out, which also stops the hitter at third. Andrew strikes out the next two batters to strand that runner, getting out of the inning with no runs scored!
7th: And another Predatory play! With no outs and a runner at 3rd, Ryan runs down a deep fly ball in Center Field, and then uncorks a cannon of a throw to home, scaring the runner back to third, where he is eventually stranded after Andrew strikes out the last two batters.

You're out! Liam stretches for the throw

Needless to say, the Coaches' focus on defense since those first few shaky games is beginning to pay off, and if the guys can keep this level of focus, they are not going to be an easy team to score runs on.

John C & K - You'd never guess they were stone-cold beasts

We'll talk offense the next post. We've already hit the major highlight (John C's big 3-run "dingah"). Till then, Go Lions!

P.S. - Big thanks to Jack the Photog for coming and taking the photos! Joe was at his practice for the school Play and couldn't even come to the game, but Jack was there for us anyways!

Dingah!

Consider this the "pre-cap" to the recap of the Lions 7-1 win over St. Philip tonight. A formal recap will follow as Jack and I are able to marry his pics to the game summary.

In the meantime... some things just can't wait, and this is one of them. Congrats to the Lions' own John C. for this epic at-bat culminating in an epic swing. A 3-run shot that pulled the Lions out in front 3-1 and they'd never look back.

If you weren't there, you want to see this. If you were, you want to see it again!

Yonder comes the Gauntlet...

Well, after a nice regular season break after a first half where the Lions only played 3 of 8 scheduled games (thanks to a rain out), the 2nd half begins. The Lions will need to get in two great practices this week, because after a leisurely 2 games in 6 days starting May 4th, the team faces an MLB-like Sunday/Tues/Wed grind to end the regular season.

*** "thanks, schedulers"

This will test both their stamina and pitching rotation, and includes the schedulers' dream scenario - a season finale against Ephiphany (the team tied atop the standings with the Lions). This one could be for the regular season title and a #1 seed in the playoffs! Provided of course, the Lions meet the rigors of the 4 games leading up to it. Is this enough end of regular season drama for everybody?

Meanwhile, the Parish League did miss out on a fun outing this year. They weren't able to come to agreement with the Giants on the game day and ticket prices in order to resume the annual Parish Family Day and Long-Toss Competition at AT&T Park. A real pity as it was so much fun last year and generated a lot of attention for the Parish League and SHB. Hosted and run by Giants PA Announcer Renel Brooks, the on field competition culminated in an awards presentation by Barry Zito:

May 2010 Winners - Barry Zito is a lot bigger in person!

SHB was the big winner last year: of the 3 Stuart Hall entries (Stephen Bird - 5th grade, Jack Hanley - 6th grade, and Stephen Everest - 7th grade), all made the two-man finals and Stephen Bird and Stephen Everest won, with our Stephen E. making the 2 longest tosses of the day for any grade.

This seems like too good an event to miss again, so please drop the league a note (Brian"at"Stableford"dot"com) encouraging every effort be made to make this happen next year. The current 5th, 6th and 7th graders will appreciate it, even if we'll be gone!

Jack the Photog, Version 1.0 vs. 2.0

To have a good blog you need a good subject. When you have a group of seasoned veterans playing a game we all love, for the last time together, and playing in never boring, often edge of the seat fashion, well it becomes pretty clear that even a trained monkey could produce quality with this group (or even a guy who loves commas the way these guys love playing baseball).

But even with a great subject, text alone can't make a good blog, and the success of this one is due mostly to the graphics. And those, dear readers, are due mostly to Joe's Dad, Jack.

And Jack is all about raising his game. How serious is he? Did you know we lost him for game 2 so he could go get some professional photojournalistic-type training? That's right, our guy Jack took himself off to some desert locale in Nevada or New Mexico or Arizona somewhere, meeting up with group of long-time colleagues (college drinking buddies) who share his same passion for photography (and companionable story telling). And these guys spent hours per day in intensive training (of a photographic nature). Frankly the results are incredible, lending total credibility to Jack's claim to Adrienne that he and the lads spent their week in serious study of photo taking, and not (just) drinking and playing cards.

Want proof? How about some before and afters, starting with the classic Profile shot:

Morgan L - batting, Game 1

Game 1 - Morgan L. Great looking kid, great subject. Now let's throw in some chain link, some backstop, a couple cars, maybe a house or three.

Morgan L - feel the sun, smell the cut grass, Game 3

Game 3 - Morgan L.
Field of Dreams, baby, Field of Dreams! Goodness gracious, you can hear the theme song from Chariots of Fire looking at this pic!





How about the classic Action shot?

John C - has to be on a base path, Game 1

Game 1 - John C. Another great looking kid, probably a base runner... on a basepath... focused! Ready to do... something,  just as soon as it's called for!

John C - Layin' down the tag!!! Game 3

Game 3 - John C. At second, playing second, having caught the throw on the fly (literally, he hasn't reached ground yet!), laying the tag on a base-stealer. Dirt flying, runner avoidin', tension everywhere! Wow!


And finally, the classic At Bat shot:

Joe L - Batting, Game 1

Game 1 - Joe L. at bat, waiting for Pitcher to throw pitch... maybe a catcher there too, blending into the background...

Nick S - Here it comes! Game 3

Game 3 - Nick S. at bat, ball on way, all eyes locked in, decision to be made, pre-swing movement underway...



So, I love the Game 1 pics (they're better than I could ever hope to take). And I miss the Game 2 pics (thank goodness the Flip was working and we got some good clips). But I am in awe of the upgraded Jack the Photog v2.0 that we got for Game 3. And as importantly... beyond! Well done Jack, and can't wait to see what you cook up for us next game!

We have a Pennant race!

Wednesday Night's Action:

Epiphany beats St. Stephen, making them mathematically tied with the Lions for first, but the undefeated Lions remain one up in the all important Loss column. Mark your calendars for Wed, May 18 - the last regular season game - Epiphany vs. Stuart Hall for their only regular season match up.

Also, coming off their strong performance against the Lions, St. Cecilia gets into the win column by defeating St. Phillip.

This means every team has at least 1 win, and no team is more than 2.5 games back, with lots of baseball left in the regular season. Things are tightening up. As they should. After all, the Lions aren't the only team playing together for the last time!

Go Lions

Why there will be no picture of a flooded field today...

UPDATE 3PM - The glorious weather since this morning's rain means practice is ON!

Remember when this wasn't a Lions baseball blog - it was a weather blog? Remember having one great practice and then having every other one, and our Opening Day, rained out? Looked out your window today, have you? It's pouring. Now the official word hasn't come out from Marjorie yet, but I'm thinking what you are - the likelihood of practice at Ft. Scott today is not high.

So, what's different today than those near panic days of March when a team of Lions wasn't preparing for their last season of baseball together, but were instead stuck inside doing meaningless non-baseball stuff, like, you know, studying and homework (hmmm, on how many levels did I just get myself into it with that one)? Or in Morgan and Stevie P's case, surfing, cause you can surf in the rain (which is why I grew up surfing and not playing baseball)!

1. The Lions have 3 wins. They've scored 8, 11, and 10 runs in those wins. They've given up 6 (or 7!), 1 and 4 runs respectively.
2. The Lions have no losses. They've been played tough twice, but are showing a lot of resolve and confidence.
3. The Lions are in first place. Even using that "half the difference in losses plus half the difference in wins" formula to calculate games behind, the Lions are half a game up on Epiphany and a whole game up in the Loss column (see #2).
4. We've got Coachie, and Coach E., and our opponents don't.

Our coaches watched a number of those galloping 12 stolen bases on Saturday end in awkward slides (or even, ahem, one non-slide). So for yesterday's practice, the boys were told to bring sneakers and old trousers, and they got themselves a lesson in proper sliding. I wish I'd been there - the photo ops would have been priceless.

It is very clear that these coaches sat down in pre-season and laid out a team development plan that was going to take a collection of talented players and turn them into a baseball team, executing in all facets of the game. In spite of the many missed practices, progress is apparent.

So let it rain today (but not for another 3 weeks straight, thank you very much). The Lions are going to keep getting better. And they had better, because so will their competitors. If there wasn't a target on the Lions' jerseys before, there is now.

Lions show up for baseball game, track meet breaks out!

Caption Contest! My entry: "I don't care about the streak, this rally thong is killing me."
to enter your caption: comment to this post, or email dan.everest@me.com

10-4 sounds like a solid win, but this one was anything but easy. St. Cecilia came to play and gave the Lions all they could handle Saturday at McCoppin.

How good were they? Over 6 defensive innings, they gave up 3 hits, rendering the Lion offensive juggernaut fairly toothless. Their 5 walks were also reasonable, for a total of walks plus hits of 8, or 1.33 per inning (WHIP this is called - and now you're on your way to being a stats geek!). This is a pretty reasonable number, and combined with the fact their pitchers struck Lions batters out 9 times means the Lions should have expected to score only one or two runs at best.

So how did the Lions win? St. Cecilia's spotty fielding meant the Lions got 9 guys on base via errors. This plus the other 8 means we had 17 base runners. And emphasis must be placed on the word "runners"! What the Lions did on the base paths this game was more akin to grand larceny than base stealing. We're talking 12 Stolen Bases! And this is not counting guys advancing to the next base because a catcher dropped a ball. Heck, there were 2 double steals! The Lions were running so much they were winded, and we're talking baseball here, not some track meet! So with all that running, one would expect some guys would eventually make it home, and that's what happened - a lot (heck, Stephen E. even stole home, which is a rarity in baseball!).

We're gonna run...

...and run...

and run some more...

Lesson for Lions opponents:  If you let us on base, we're going to run like crazy. We are fast, and have aggressive Coaches who seem to derive great pleasure and entertainment from sending guys. You really don't want us on your base paths.

What else? Oh... we're shaking the rust off too, and trying new things, such as:

Nick S - pitched for the first time since 6th grade, striking out 3 and giving up a hit in two innings of solid work.
Andrew F - took a game off from pitching and played 4 innings of shortstop including a couple of brilliant plays
John K - took over Catcher from John C (sore arm) for innings 3-6, and played brilliantly, including taking a collision at the plate for an out, and throwing to Andrew to put out a runner trying to steal second.

Joe - Focus!

This team also got what they needed this game. A defensive workout. They had to deal with their opponent's own base runners; there were hits and walks, and balls put in play. Outs to be made, errors to be avoided. And while mistakes were made, progress was clear.

Coachie

Coach E.

 

This team is coming together, and their coaches are pleased.

PS - to see all of Jack's fabulous pics... go here