"I went to the field reluctently last week.  It was too damn cold to play baseball and would have been better to sit at home in front of the fire with Barbie and a few pops.  Anyways, I get to the field and talk to the team about what we need to do to win and the response was "15 run'em early and go home".  Boy were we wrong!  The Royals came to play, got timely hits and took advantage of their walks to stay in the game until the bitter end.  A cold and sloppily played game.  But, in a turn from usual events the bottom of the line up got on base for the top to knock them in.  We had very good relief pitching from Billy Wunder and Craig Jones followed by the closer, Tom Dugas; who by the way, also was the man to ice the game with a 7th inning line drive home run that cleared the fence and is still going; and going, and going.  Final score was Sox 14 and Royals 11.  Next week those pesky, old A's who seem to keep getting older and heavier as time goes by.  BTW, the Longhorns, in a break from tradition, actually eeked out a win over the Dodgers on Saturday."

4/17  This year's Black Sox team is for real.  It has pitching and it has an incredible lineup.  In the season's second game, they beat the Cardinals by the 15 run rule, 18-2.  Winning pitcher Ed Stylc helped his cause with a homer and Dan Ridley added another for good measure. Lefty Kevin Brittingham pitched some scoreless relief and the Sox introduced their newest weapon, reliever Tom Dugas to close the game. On the injury front, Merv Davis missed the game after a Saturday car accident.  We all hope he gets better soon.

2004 Wrap-up

•  We  took advantage of Paco's absence to win 14 games and finish second in the league.
•  The  league debuted a new web site with a popular discussion group.  The proliferation of trash talk, (which Mike McGee vociferously insists he had nothing to do with) caused the discussion group to have to be relocated to a seamier part of the Internet.
• Rookie Dan "Bo Jackson"  Ridley hit a bunch of homers.  Somebody had to pick up the team with Paco on the DL.
• Team mascot Jobu was accused of steroid abuse by Jose Canseco in a recent book.  When asked, Jobu just shook his head.  (Hey, he's a freakin' bobble head, for crissake!)
  
• The league changed its established and successful new player draft so that John Nazelrod's new team could be stacked with talent.  Now for some reason, you get two protected players plus free agents.  Rec league?  Parity?  Nutz.  (I can say this--I'm not running for office.)
• In the off season, the league asked me to tone down the web site.  Seven years into this, I did what they asked out of concern that somehow my rantings would hurt the league's reputation with the LTRC and allow good ol' Stuart Fishelman and his failing Over 40 League to take field  permits away from a thriving, expanding Over 30 Baseball program.  Why can't we get past this man?
  

2003 Wrap-up

• Keita "Lew" Lewis returned to the team after a two year absence to add some pop to our line up.
• Rookie Jeff Mosteiko became the new manager of the team, and returned us to winning (and drinking high test beer.)
• Webmaster  Paco Rodriguez tore his left ACL in an outfield collision on July 25th.  Because of his advanced age, the injury puts his legendary career at risk.
• We finished the regular season 6-12 in sole posession of seventh place with a two game winning streak going into the post season.
• "It's Playoff time!" was the chant in August, and for a brief moment, we shone.  In the playoffs, we beat the Cardinals and the Rockies.  We lost to the Marlins and the Dodgers.  Oh, well, there's always next year.
• Just a few days after our playoff win against the Cardinals, their manager Kevin Mozelack died in a motorcycle crash.  The entire league was stunned. 

2002 Wrap-up

• Manager Mike McGee promised that we would win 10 games and dag nabbit, we did--in one season.
• Greg Schanck did not return to the team, opting instead to work as a furniture tester at Barnes & Noble in Towson.
• Former second baseman, Don Gury, was sent back to the big house.  It seems his idea of fantasy baseball struck out with Baltimore County prosecutors.
• We folded in the Playoffs.  Those cocky Orioles, fresh off testosterone therapy, won but then refused to play us in the post season, afraid of getting thrashed yet again...

2001 Wrap-up

• The Sox wowed the league with our new white uniforms and Baltimore Black Sox hats.  Somehow, our playing didn't match our looks.
• In a surprise move, manager Mike McGee maneuvered to pick up utility outfielder Greg Schanck from the Dodgers. 
• We didn't win our first game until June 27th, but that was against the first place Indians.  Our victories shook up the standings as we successively beat a number of first place teams--including the Cardinals, whom we beat three times including when we knocked them out of the playoffs.  (It took a long time to be able to write that!)
• In July, we were hot.  We went 5-4 (including a tournament victory).  Now that may not sound like much, but we were in every game and we were certain we could win.
• We finished the regular season with 5 wins, tied for last place.  Because of the cumulative score of our two regular season games against the Royals, we get the honor of being dead last in the standings and getting the first pick in the draft.
• The post season tournament ended in a tie between the Schanck-free Dodgers and the Indians.

• The Sox started strong before taking a long slide in the month of July.  It's got to be those black  shirts!  To make matters worse, it rained incessantly and we were rained out seven times.  The team finished the season in seventh place with a record of 6-11.
• The Orioles (with whom we split our season series) won the post season tournament, defeating the Cardinals.
• We played a match game against the Orioles under the lights at Joe Cannon Stadium in October... and won.  Ha!  Wait 'till 2001!!
• Mike McGee was elected the new manager of the Black Sox.  Hey Mike, bite me!
• Dan Santiago, our Shortstop moved to New York City.  The women of Baltimore can come out of hiding.

1999 Wrap-up

• The Sox began their long awaited comeback by losing the first thirteen games in a row, then like in the movie Animal House, we slapped ourselves in the heads and something changed.  We started playing like winners and won three of our last six games.  Having missed out on the playoffs, we played the Hapless Royals in an exhibition game and crushed them
• The Black Sox are back.
• The Phillies won the post season tournament, beating the Cardinals.

 

• The Sox didn't exactly shine in 1998.  We won only one game.  So what?
• The Cardinals won it all again.

1997 Wrap-up

• The Sox went slightly under .500.  Many considered the team's chances severely hurt when Stuart Fishelman, the league Commissioner and manager of the Royals, expelled Jordon Myers, our star pitcher, from the league at the start of a game against the Royals.  No explanation was given for the move.  The Sox never fully recovered.
• Ten of the team's fifteen players refused to return for the 1998 season.  Many cited the shabby way that Jordon Myers was treated.

 

Field Practices
There's nothing worse than a fat ballplayer.  Put down that cheeseburger and pick up the telephone.  Call someone and go down to the field for a workout.  Now!

Videotapes Available
You're never too good to learn. (Especially if you're on this team.)  Talk to Paco.  Shoot, it's been like seven years and one person took me up on this.  Then he claimed his dog ate the tape.

Batting Practice
It's now up to you to make time each week, either alone or with other members of the club.  While the season is young, you should try to go at least twice a week, but not the day before a game.  During the season, feel free to use the batting cage at Orchard Hills with a friend (our league paid for it.)