2012.. fade to softball black

No this blog isn't about a universal amusement park ride disguised as modern cinema in the form of the recently released 2012 Movie
(Yeah I saw that wack ass movie, it rained every weekend and I had nothing else to do).

The Year 2012 has become synonymous with impending doom/disaster as most everyone knows that the 2012 phenomenon comprises a range of beliefs/proposals, which prophesies that cataclysmic events will occur on Decemberr 21st or 23rd 2012. Not exactly a cheery view of the future eh?? Luckily scientists and astronomers have vehemently disputed the idea that a global catastrophe will happen in 2012.

More importantly, I know your asking (if your even still reading) what the Fuck does this have to do with softball/baseball????? Well yesterday the MLB Hot Stove moves of top pitchers Roy Halladay going to the Phillies and John Lackey signing with Red Sox was the off season equivalent of a 2012 baseball disaster event for my favorite baseball team the NY MESS.. I mean Mets... same thing
The Mets should take a que from many new age interpretations of the 2012 posits that, during this time, the planet and its inhabitants may undergo a positive physical or spiritual transformation. In other words, 2009 was a disatser, lick your many player wounds, stockpile minor league talent, and rebuild to compete again in the year 2012.

On that note, I think I will actually take my own advice for once and try and learn from my mistakes and move on from my many disastrous 2009 moments. Now don't get me wrong, in the grand scheme of things "it is only a game" and the word disaster is only relative. 2009 was no 2012 end of the softball world experience, but overall I consider it very disappointing season on many different aspects - performance, weather, winning, politics, etc. but I will try and live in learn in 2010 and beyond.

On a positive note, at the end of the 2009 softball season, my Friends Gubi and Gil treated me to a softball vacation in Puerto Rico after Thanksgivingwhere I got to purge some 2009 demons and look forward to playing and blogging in 2010 and beyond.

Enjoy the Roy Halladay - Met shell shock moment there sorry :))))))))))))) ... I mean Enjoy the Holidays Everyone and Like Jay-Z raps "if you can't respect than your whole perspective is wack maybe you'll love me when I fade to black"... see you in 2010

DYNASTY DEFINED!!!!!!!!

Yesterday Citysoftball.com's all in one day Semi-Final and Championship day experience backfired big time on Knockout "KO" and The Trojans as they were crushed by Bonao and the Westlanders. Knockout did their best J Lo at the AMA's imitation,

as they completely fell on their ass. The only difference is J Lo's ass is a hell of a lot nicer too look at. KO is most likely done unless legendary captain Johnny Castillo, who celebrated his birthday Sunday, returns to live in Manhattan and save the team, otherwise we're done. Translation, KO is done.

Much more importantly, after easily deposing of the #1 seed Trojans, the Westlanders clearly Defined their Dynasty, as the team of the decade for Citysoftball.com , by completely dominating Bonao in a 8-1 and 4-0 series sweep.

(Writer's Note: Qbaseball.com has spelling issue, but thanks for the picture brother)

The Westlanders consist of two teams - West and Highlanders, and in the last 10 years they have won 7 championships.

Well earned and deserved gentleman. Their victory made the normally cranky Champions smile

and ready to celebrate

the conclusion of a truly fantastic 2009 softball campaign.

Westlander accomplishments in 2009 included:

(1) Making the Finals in the highly competitive Chelsea league

(2) Winning the Saturday Central Park Softball League Championship

http://softballinsider.blogspot.com/2009/08/westlanders-vs-cardinals-semi-final.html

http://softballinsider.blogspot.com/2009/08/picture-is-worth-1000-westlanders.html
(3) Winning a Jersey City Tournament

(4) Standing up to cancer in another Jersey City Tournament

http://softballinsider.blogspot.com/2009/10/westlaners-stand-up-against-cancer.html

(5) Winning Citysoftball.com for the second season in a row where in game one of the finals, Westlanders Ace Franny Donovan went the distance and was backed up by battery mate Bobby Thompson who blasted a game clinching home run.

In game two, Andy Muldando (shown left below enjoying a beer) teamed with his brother Nellieto throw a complete game shutout and earn Series MVP honors. Citysoftball.com salutes Andy who used to run a team called La Familia in the league as he patiently waited his turn on the talented WL staff

and when he got his opportunity he was brilliant.

The League would also like to thank the Westlanders for reestablishing the fun and picture friendly Championship Belt tradition by creating/providing a new belt.

Again, congratulations gentleman.

Mama Knows Best

I'm sorry Mother Nature. I've learned my lesson a few blogs ago when I dissed Mama Nature http://softballinsider.blogspot.com/2009/10/sb-blueprint.html. I should have known better from those old school 70's commercials
that it is not nice to fool with Mother Nature and she let me know it by answering back with more rain outs. Never again Ma. Never again. As Tupac so eloquently sang
http://softballinsider.blogspot.com/2009/05/dear-mama-you-are-appreciated.html

"You are appreciated"

Please forgive your prodigal softball sons at http://citysoftball.wordpress.com/ and let us forge ahead and complete the season this Sunday. We will be humbly checking

http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/coldandflu/tenday/USNY0172?from=36hr_topnav_flu

all week in hopes you grant us forgiveness.

Speaking of this Sunday, "all good things must come to an end (maybe Inwood will end??)", and in a effort to bring the season to a fair conculsion we have taken a que from the Great Heath Ledger's Joker character http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfmkRi_tr9c and injected a little softball anarchy into the Championship.

The championship Schedule is as follows:

The Semi-Finals will consist of one 9-inning elimination game starting at 9:30 am.

Westlanders (4) vs Trojans (1), Field 3, 9:30am

Knockout (3) vs Bonao (2) , Field 2 , 9:30am

The winners will immediately proceed to a best of 3 championship series. The higher seed chooses the field and is home game 1st and 3rd game.

Not exactly normal and "according to plan", but the potential for drama and excitement is very much there if you choose to embrace this final Sunday.

As a final note, this decision was not easy, but when considering the time of year, permits, weather, field conditions, maintaining the quality of play, and competitive fairness to our customers it was in out best judgement that this decision was fair to all teams involved. Good Luck to All

Fantastic Four

Thankfully this Blog isn't only about the moderately successful nerdy superhero flick

The Fantastic Four

rather it's more about how the Fantastic Four SB teams Westlanders vs Trojans and

Bonao vs. Knockout, that will square off in the http://citysoftball.wordpress.com/ semi-finals this upcoming Sunday in Inwood Hill Park, relate to the powers of these legendary fictional Marvel characters. OK I lied, I couldn't resist the nerdy superhero softball connection.. throw me a bone it's November.

Key Fantastic Four Superhero Power #1 Needed to Succeed in the Inwood Semi-Finals

Reliability

In the Fantastic Four movie, I could never quite understand why they cast Jessica Alba as a brilliant scientist with the power of Invisibility

I mean who the hell would want her to disappear.

OK being the pervert that I am I got distracted from softball again... sorry. More importantly (sort of) it's the final four and you want as many of your players to show up as possible, as Vince Lombardi said "Talent is Important but reliability is critical". If you want to make your opponents disappear you need a strong turnout. So get that damn cell phone out and start getting people to appear.

Key Fantastic Four Super Power #2 needed to succeed in the Inwood semi-finals:

Flexibility

If something is not working be open to new ideas and thinking outside of the box. There is no tomorrow. New lineup, new defensive alignment, whatever it takes to get the job done right.

Key Fantastic Four Super Power #3 needed to succeed in the Inwood semi-finals

Composure : Controlling you Temper

The fire of the playoff intensity can burn you up if you let your emotions get the better of you.

Key Fantastic Four Super Power #4 needed to succeed in the Inwood semi-finals

Bruto Strength

It's Clobbering Time!!!!!!!!!!

Wining ugly is a lot better than losing pretty.

Enjoy the SB action this Sunday

Comic Book Nerd out

You Have To

It's rained 6 out of the 8 weeks this fall which has resulted in numerous late starts and rain outs. Wha!!! Wha!!! Wha!!! Yeah, I know it's brutal. Yeah, I know it sucks. So all the precipitation has drained your softball anticipation. OK that's normal. So now what? How the Hell do you get your swagger, energy, and enthusiasm back for the playoffs?

Top Ten Reasons to get your Swagger, Energy, and Enthusiasm back for the Inwood playoffs.

10. Pot Committed Approach - Too late to fold now, gotta play it to the end so that you can minimize the impact of the
9. Recession - you don't make that much money by winning, but at least you get your $$$$$$$$$ back. In the economy, the mantra "better than nothing applies" so you mimic a gambler who is chasing his wagers
8. On NFL games. Ask yourself what's better : Playing playoff softball or staying home all day and watching the Same Old
7. Jets torture you for three hours. As your team has a better chance of winning Citysoftball.com than they do of winning the
6. Superbowl - Citysoftball.com is your version of the Superbowl as you only have to be better than someone for one day. A golden opportunity for teams that have flown under the radar all fall now to
5. Capre Diem - "seize the day" - Now will never come again, and the
4. Winter - is almost here this is your last chance to embrace your
3. Love for Softball b/c
2. For a few hours at least it is more than just a game, you escape reality as the rest of the world doesn't exist/matter, and you put your talent, heart, and soul into it b/c

the #1 Reason to get your swagger, enthusiasm, and energy for the Inwood playoffs

1. YOU HAVE TO - You can't be like former Philly Ace Cole Hammels
and "Wish the season is over". Whether your having a great or terrible personal year it doesn't matter anymore. You can't quit. This is it. You owe it to yourself to try and finish out strong as anything else would be cheating yourself, your team, and the league.

SB BLUEPRINT

It's the Citysoftball playoffs and the goal in softball is simple WIN!!!!!!!!!!! But when your drawing up the SOFTBALL Blueprints you have to expect complications along the way. Rain? Fixing Fields? Angry Managers? Bad calls by umpires? Goons? Assholes? Looking for parking? Players dissing you? Collecting League/Ump fees? Losing games? Errors? Luck? Getting Players to Qualify/Show up? Not exactly an easy softball Blueprint to predict/build, but at least in the real world we have Jay-Z's Blueprint 3 Album which I highly recommend

Many of the BluePrint 3 Songs relate to the Citysoftball.com playoffs so

Top Ten Blueprint 3 songs that relate to the Citysoftball.com playoffs

10. Song : What We Talkin About

Marc and Kennedy are playoff ready

Are you?

9. Song : Thank You
Juan and I would like to thank the entire league for another successful season despite horrible fucking weather. Mother Nature is a Bitch

9. Song :D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tunes)
The words to this jam say it all "La, da da da, hey hey hey , Goodbye" - win or go home in the playoffs

8. Song : Run This Town
Ok no one in our league
looks like the lovely Rihana

but everyone is trying to Run this league by winning the Championship

7.Song : Empire State of Mind
Sorry but I can't imagine softball being an more fun to play in other state but NY. The combination of people from different backgrounds and the impending winter.. make fall softball special. So Jay-Z and Alicia Keys



are completely on point when they praise NY in this inspiring jam.

6. Song : On to the Next One
Westlanders won last year, now they're off to the next one.

5. Song : A Star is Born
Every year in the playoffs a softball star is born. Anything can happen and it usually does.

4. Song :Venus vs. Mars
Trojans vs O's
Danny Mac vs Westlanders
Bonao vs Fanaticos
KO vs Box Car
Venus vs Mars

3. Song : Already Home
This league is our softball home.

2. Song : So Ambitious
Gotta be hungry to win

and the number one song on Blueprint 3 that relates to the citysoftball playoffs

1. Song : Young Forever - best song on the album
That the way softball and playoffs make us feel

Tres Leches Myth = Three Games Myth

A funny old Hispanic wise tale says that if a woman wants to get pregnant she should eat Tres Leches

Tres Leches or Pastel de Tres leches (Spanish, “Three milk cake”), is a sponge cake,—in some recipes, - soaked in three kinds of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk, and sour cream. Obviously this myth isn't true, but it is very hickish, kinda funny, and in any case it is a very good tasting dessert. Good stuff

Another myth that isn't true is that tres "3" softball games is too many games to play in one day. Nonsense. Any true softball fievrue (person with the fever to play) loves to play 3 games in a day and that's exactly what's happening in Inwood this Sunday as due to multiple rain outs all teams will most likely play three games this week. What makes the three game scenario most interesting is that teams will be fighting for their playoff lives due to the shortened 11 game season. I mean where else can a 1-7 teamlike the Panthers have a shot to make it to the playoffs on the last week of the regular season if they run the table. Adding flavor to the 3 games in a day experience is that it involves playing multiple opponents. For example, another team fighting for their playoff lives will be George Alonso's Danny Mac's "DM" squadled by chain smoking Inwood legend Tommy Hegelson's (left below)DM has the daunting challenge of facing the defending Citysoftball's Champion The Westlanders in a doubleheader.
The Fran (above) and Tommy match up promises to be a classic. Depending on the outcome of this doubleheader, the DM's third game could be a batten down the hatches war elimination game against CHAOS!!!!!!!!!

More good stuff.

Another team fighting for their playoffs lives is the extremely talented Box Car ball club which consists of an array of Central park legends.

Box Car's young ace Phil Green might have to throw 3 tense late afternoon drama packed games against the likes of the

1st place Trojansand the hungry Orioles to get his team to November.

While some teams are fighting to make the playoffs other teams like Stud Hitting Bonao

will be looking to improve their playoff seeding. Bonao's experience and power will be pitted against Knockout's young double play combination of Alfi Hernandez and X-ManThese 2 teams might play each other 3 times depending on playoff ramifications.

More good stuff

So after a long day of 3 games softball on Sunday, sit back and have some Tres Leches to start a family, or at lest have fun trying :))))))))