Behind the Scenes

Found this April footage http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/video?id=7362827
on eyewitness news. Very cool, you gotta admit they do try in Central Park

Weekday Day Softball Games out of "The Man's" reach

For years I was under the oppressive corporate veil and did "The Man's" dirty work all day long on Wall Street as my soul slipped slowly away. During the softball season, I would hurry out to play a week night softball game and then either party, go home, or even pathetically sometimes go back to work (major loser). I was like many people who work long hours for "The Man" in that after work softball was a means to forgetting the stress and worry of the real world.

Nowadays I work from home and I've been able to check out some weekday day softball leagues in Central Park (show league) and Inwood (taxi driver league) and have been shockingly surprised at the organization, competitiveness, intensity, and enthusiasm it has to offer. In fact, I feel like a corporate snob/asshole for always thinking that weekday softball wasn't news worthy. I was dead wrong.

Top Ten Positives About Weekday Day Time Softball

10. It gives people who work nights a chance to play during the week - duh
9. You avoid tight corporate goons who play at night
8. Guys who show up really want to play, they work later in the day and are motivated to get their swerve on
7. It's in the day - you still have all night to do something else
6. If your lucky you can sneak out of work and play and then go back (Hopefully you have a shower)
5. Softball is like a box of chocolates you never know what your gonna get
4. Solves a Softball problem for people with bad night vision
3. Unemployed & Self-Employed friendly on many levels
2. It's a NY thing - check that in Miami senior citizens play in a daytime ARC league in Coral Gables called "Los Veijos" as well - very cool

and the Number One Positives About Weekday Day Time Softball

1. Who the hell wants to work for "The Man" anyway.. Play Ball

Add/Drop Rosters

Being the legendary and prestigious commissioner of the Big Apple League Jeff Marcus has his responsibilities

and one of his more serious duties is collecting all Final rosters !!!!!!!

At this time of year, all managers are scrambling to see which last minute wringer they can add/drop onto their roster to hopefully shore up a weakness, strengthen the squad even further, or even better yet softball "cock" block another team from acquiring an impact player b/c as of today

all Rosters are final!!!!!!!

Here's a breakdown of which Big Apple teams are most likely to make shiesty waiver wire moves in reverse order

12 Contact - Never Never Never - No fucking way - loyalty. legacy, and honor is the Contact way

11 Bombers - non applicable - in fact classy manager Teddy deserves to do whatever he wants to keep his team going

10 Skins - No way - classy manager and sportsman of the year winner Jay G has a good loyal crew that comes out and competes each and every week

9 Revolution - same as skins - solid group of regulars

8 Saphire - are you kidding me ??? Jeff Marcus would rather listen to hip hop than steal another teams players or lie about eligibility

7 Empire - good young crew - not enough information or history to say anything about them

6 Brother Jimmy's - another good loyal crew, I know them well they might not steal another player but if they had to tweak the number of times a guy showed up to sneak them into the playoffs they would. That's the softball way

The above teams are mostly on the up and up but the final shiesty 5 all follow the Nororious B.IG's philosophy of "On the road to riches and diamond rings. Real **** do real things"

Final Cut Throat 5 for Rosters

5. Diesel - c'mon I'm on the team you know I've always got something diabolical up my sleeve

4. O'Hanlons - Honest as the day is long, that is if the day is the dead of winter and in Alaska - MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR Shiesty alert

3 Choice Parts - They ain't called the evil empire b/c the show mercy

2. Working Class - Ruthless and hungry to make playoffs

and by far the shiesty most cut throat team of them all

1 Mayaguez - Are you fucking kidding me? Their roster is a fucking joke they have new guys each and every week. I would bet my mortgage that the Mayaguez Mount Rushmore
http://softballinsider.blogspot.com/2010/05/softball-mount-rushmore.html brian trust couldn't even name 3/4 of the players on their rosters. It's a joke

In addition, speaking of shiesty, my senior softball analyst John Sheppard gives him opinion on the Big Apple's shiesty "grandfather rule" which allows a player who has played in the league 3+ years (non-pitcher) to only show up 2 weeks to qualify for the playoffs

nuff said as I got to get back to making calls and shore up our roster

Morty's Game

Everyone knows how special Morty Gilbert is as he goes back to the 1940s, when he began playing softball on Central Park HECKSCHER FIELDS check out
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/TheRegulars/the-regulars-documentary

Special Thanks to loyal insider reader Fran Levitt for this clip

Rude Statistical Interuption b/c Numbers can be deceiving

They say men lie, women lie, but Numbers (4 8 15 16, 23, 42) don't.

One of the beauty's of baseball/softball is that it is a game of numbers. Typically most players are judged by the numbers/statistics they put up. As

everyone takes pride in their statistics

as it can be a frustrating, humbling, hard game where the best players are the ones that minimize their "failures" . Nothing wrong about tracking/checking statistics in fact I encourage it if :

• Your having a great season - very fun
• Having a bad season - maybe make adjustments/changes?
• Want to see how your performing vs. other players
• Historical Analysis
• Managing

Lead Softballinsider.Net Analyst John Sheppard feels the following way about statistics:

He is right they can be very useful, but before you accept your MVP I would like to take a Que from rude rappers like

Kanye West

and Old Dirty Bastard

and interrupt your award ceremony and remind you that softball numbers can lie:

Some necessarily Ride Softball Statistics Interruptions

1. No Stat for hitting in hard luck - How many times do you center a ball up and get nothing to show for it while someone else hits a bloop or dribbler and gets a hit. John Carter on Diesel has hit in ridiculously bad luck this year. Their is no statistics for solid contact/centering a ball up, which is every hitter's goal b/c that is what gives you the best opportunity to succeed over a long season. A hit is a hit and an out is an out, but you still go to try and go about hitting the right way


2. Softball is made up of many mini-season. For example, Sunday league, Tuesday League, several off days, or 6 games in one day, so statistics can very very skewed at times. One hot or not day can really taint statistics


3. Level of Competition - Are you hitting against top pitching or beating up on

   sleepy starters

   

I could go on and on about other important things like defensive ability/savvy, walks, fields, lineup protection factor, advancing runners, clutch hitting, working counts, chemistry, but the fact remains that when judging a player, managing, or making a lineup numbers can be deceiving.

U luv it When they Call U Big Poppa!!!

Just want to give a big shout out to all the Father's out there on Father's day, anyone can be a biological dad but it takes a real man top be a father!!!

Hope you had plenty of sex, food, and softball today!!!

41 .. My Blogger's Gone Crazy

Today is my birthday

http://softballinsider.blogspot.com/2009/06/today-is-my-birthday-6-feet-over.html as my age is now the same number worn by arguably the greatest Met ever Mr. Tom "Terrific" Seaver - The Franchise - nerdy but true

While I love baseball/softball as I get older I realize that life is all about development, stages, and how important it is too always trying to take the very best of what's inside of you and progress forward - "It's all about Progression".
One of my favorite most inspiring songs "It's My Life", is a remake

Cool 80s Version

Excellent No Doubt Remake

That's Progression, then again anything with one of my favorites Gwen Stefani in it is bound to have progression :))))))))

Going forward I promise that when I stop having the desire to progress I will simply Fade to Black, but until then I promise to follow/keep the spirit another one of my favorites Eminem songs "My Daddy's Gone Crazy "

as I promise that "My BLOGS can make you cry, take you by surprise And at the same time, make you dry your eyes with the same line See what you're seeing is a genius at work Which to me isn't work, so it's easy to misinterpret it at first, Cuz when i speak, it's tongue in cheek I'd yank my fuckin teeth before id ever bite my tongue I'd slice my gums, get struck by fuckin' lightning twice at once And die and come back as MR Johnson's son And walk around the rest of my life spit on And kicked and hit with shit, every time i sung Like R Kelly as soon as "bump n' grind" comes on More pain inside of my brain, than the eyes of a little girl inside of a plane Aimed at the World Trade, till clouds gather and that's pretty much the gist of it, control freaks, umpires, leagues, managers, commissioners are pissed, but the players love it ..... I don't blame you, i wouldn't let Yorkoff read me neither"

Holler!!!!!!!

Player Profile : Catcher in the Rye

When I was in high school one of the books they made me read was the classic "The Catcher in the Rye"

by J. D. Salinger. At first I didn't want to read it, but after a few pages I couldn't help but really like it (damn I wish I had someone that gave me a mandatory reading list nowadays). The book has so good even Catholic School made you read it.Anyway, I really identified with the books main character Holden as he cursed a lot and hated phonies. Holden always wanted to be a hero and had a weird fantasy about being the only guardian of numerous children running and playing in a huge rye field on the edge of a cliff. His job is to catch the children if they wander close to the brink; to be a "catcher in the rye".

While originally controversial and a bit under rated Salinger brilliance in provoking thought and reaching out and identifying with the nerdy awkward teenagers audience, like myself, made him and his novel a legend.

Ironically softball version of the "Catcher in the Rye" is also named Salinger, that is Jeff Salinger

the smart, sure handed, steady, line drive machine hitting second basemen (not a catcher) of Diesel Express. Jeff has helped the land of misfit toys Diesel Express players from falling off the softball ledge for years and I would like to commend/recognize him for his playing ability and leadership.

A true under the radar Softball Warrior and never a phony

Player Profile : Lil' Wayne

Is Lil' Wayne in jail? Most people think so but I'm not so sure. I've never seen softball player extraordinaire

Morganand Lil Wayne

in the same place at the same time. Make you go hmmmmmmm???

Besides being one of the better all around players in the game, Morgan is Never Boring and is one of true characters of the game

Today, June 18th, is Morgan's Birthday and I just want to give him a real life and softball shout out. So in honor of his birthday and softball here is Morgan performing the song "the Game"

Not for the Birds and the Bees

The Beatles famously sang the best things in life are free

but you can give them to the birds and bees b/c I want Money!!!!

Now deep down family, health, friendsare so much more important than money, but there is nothing wrong with wanting/enjoying some of the finer things in life like wine, Cuban cigars, cars, and beautiful women

But if you have the money (about $180 with free shipping) one of the finer things in softball that you should treat yourself to is the Miken Ultra II


Somewhere out there I can hear bat aficionado/expert Johnny Castillo snickering about composite bats, but if you play in a league that does not have a national affiliation, this is the bat for you! We all know it's the Indian, not the arrow, that makes the hitter but http://softballinsider.blogspot.com/2010/06/indian-who-invented-arrow.html but still the Miken II is the hottest bat on the market;

Miken’s Velocit-E Ultra II is unbeatable in performance.

Key Features of the Miken Ultra II Softball Bat:

1. 100% Composite Construction
2. Excellent Sweet Spot
3. 13/16 Inch Handle
4. Approved for SSUSA, SPA, and LVSSA Play
5. Carbon -X Shell Technology
6. E-Flex Ultra Technology
7. NO WARRANTY - translation IT BREAKS!!!!!!
8. Non-ASA Approved
9. Non-USSSA Approved
10. Ultra Bond Grip
11. Perfectly Balanced
12. Vacuum Transfer Technology
13. Never use in under 50 degree weather - Why? It Breaks - duh
14. Never use in batting practice - as get this "It Breaks"

As a side note, for you end loaded bat lovers out there a max-loaded version is also available.

Great Bat. use it wisely, to see some arc ball performance aspects of the bat take a peek at the video below - enjoy

Broken Clock "I still got it"

Last night playing for my new team, Pershing, in the Wall Street League,
http://www.eteamz.com/wssl/index.cfm? I homered at the Mary Benson ("MB") Complex Field in Jersey City. MB is a very cool small field under the lights in Jersey City, NJ (I will post a picture at a later date) that I highly recommend everyone play at some point in their softball careers. The Westlanders have played tournaments http://softballinsider.blogspot.com/2009/10/westlaners-stand-up-against-cancer.html there in the past and have had an amazing time.

The infield is immaculate and so much fun to play on as the outfield dimensions are small and it is completely fenced in (you didn't think I ran around the bases for the homer did you?). No lead is truly safe.

As I ran around the bases, I felt like Mike Tyson in the instant comedy classic Hangover as "I still got it"

(I love that scene)

I only wish I could have heard funny sarcastic comments from Gil or Edgar Jr instead, but afterwards SBI's lead Softball analyst John Sheppard was reached and he had the following to say

2 Man Set Mistake

In my last blog, http://softballinsider.blogspot.com/2010/06/post-game-reaction-stop-bleeding.html I did a brief recap poking fun at my good friend John Sheppard (play and turn audio on)

In response to that blog, Eric Brown (he signed his comment) who pitched a gem and lost 1-0 in the nightcap of the doubleheader wrote probably one of the fairest comments I've come across on my blog:

Eric Brown Comment/Quote "Why didn't you say anything about the awful umpires who just wanted to get out of the rain and made an obviously wrong call to prevent the game from being tied in the 7th? You always rail on the umps when the calls go against you. "

I love fair thoughtful comments like this as Eric is right I never complain when I get a call. No one does. No one

On the play in question there was 1 out and a man on 3rd, a ground ball was hit to the 3rd and the fielder threw to 1st. The ump called the runner out and Brother Jimmy's contended the 1st baseman's foot came off the bag.

The home plate umpire was asked to help and the out was upheld.

Whether the 1st baseman was on or off the bag the real issue was that the umpires in questions did not use the proper 2 man set mechanics. This morning I called my umpire instructor and guru John Smith

to explain the proper 2 man mechanics. I explained to John that the field umpire was in the "C Position", meaning he was between 2nd and 3rd base, John stated that he should have been in the

"A Position" , meaning on the 1st base line b/c his responsibility was the batter. He also stated that the home plate umpire should be used as a resource in an off the bag judgement issue arises, and in this instance he was asked for help. As a side note, the "B Position" is between 1st and 2nd, an the field umpire should be there when their is either a man on 1st or 2nd.

Perhaps if the umpire was properly positioned it would have made things easier on everyone.

Special Analyst Post Game Reaction : Stop the Bleeding

Diesel spilt a double header against Brother Jimmy's thanks to Edgar Jr 1-0 shutout in game 2. The win stopped the bleeding and halted Diesel 3 game losing streak. Afterwards Special Softball Analyst and former Edgar Jr manager John Sheppard had the following analysis

The Indian Who Invented the Arrow

Deep down we all known it's the Indian (Hitter's) skill not that the arrow (bat) that determines performance, but we cannot deny the hitter-bat relationship is a special one.

The late Great Ray DeMarini realized this as he was more than a stud softball hitter as he developed bat technology that set the standard for an entire sport. Just look around your bat rack and his impact is undeniable. DeMarini emerged on the professional softball (arc) scene at the age of 40, a veritable geriatric among younger players. With a scientific approach to training, a batting speed of 96 miles-per-hour and a bombastic attitude, DeMarini fast earned a reputation as a savage competitor. In 1989, having garnered national recognition as the star of ESPN's best-selling instructional video, Ray DeMarini's Reflex Hitting System, DeMarini turned his efforts toward designing a high-performance bat for the masses. He left a well-paying cubicle job to make softball bats in a crusty old barn. He was passionate and that gave him a competitive edge. DeMarini focused on making one line of high-performance bats for pros and amateurs alike. With $10,000 in seed money, an engineer for a partner, and a lifetime of pent-up passion, DeMarini took the softball industry by storm. when asked "how do you think you can compete against the Giant Bat Companies Ray responded as the true smart psycho he was “HOW DO YOU THINK THOSE CUMBERSOME GIANT COMPANIES CAN COMPETE WITH ME.” He delivered a series of industry firsts: by 1992 he and his partner Mike Eggiman created the first high performance multi-walled bat, The DOUBLE WALL, and it changed the game of softball FOREVER.

(Doublewall Distance),

the first high-performance bat for huge players (Fatboy),

the first high-performance youth bat (Black Coyote) and the first technology to yield virtually indestructible bats (FLi).

He made millions by providing the opportunity for every softball player (mass appeal) to own a Custom Factory Bat.

True Marketing Genius.

He parlayed product innovation with marketing flair by staring and creating the classic slow pitch TV SHOW “ULTIMATE SOFTBALL - dude this guy was a good player and had cojones. A True softball legend and one of my hero's - both as a player and business man.

P.S. In future blog, I will review some current softball bats out there

On to the Next One Much Easier Said than Done

I've always believed that losing hurts more than winning feels good, but baseball/softball being the long season/multiple game sport it is most players learn to cope with certain failures and take Jay-Z & Swizz Beat's advice and move "On to the Next One"
but that's so much easier said than done as certain losses make you sick to your stomach and as the saying goes "sticks in your craw".

Last Sunday, Revolution (7-5) beat Diesel"AKA Land of Misfit Toys(7-5)" twice in the Big Apple League. Fucking Twice. Before I go on I would like to clearly say they earned both victories as they simply made more plays in all aspects of the game and should both be congratulated and commended for a winning effort.

All that good classy good sportsmanship shit aside after this game I was

• Annoyed!!!!!!!
• Angry !!!!!!!!
• Irritated!!!!!!!!!
• Hurt!!!!!!!!!!!

That night I woke up at 4:30 in the morning with an unpleasant feeling in my whole body. But the Harsh reality is that some losses hurt/bother me than others. Why? I mean it's only early June. Shit happens. I could go on and Top Ten why certain losses or this loss in particular hurts more than others, but it all really comes down to 3 things:

1. I EXPECT MORE!!!!!!!!!!!! so much more.
2. My main mission with this team is to make the Playoffs for Jimmy
3. Remove the stigma attached to Diesel that everyone thinks but only a few people say out loud : "It's a Pickup Team full of Pickup Players"

Sunday was an unacceptable step in the wrong direction on all three accounts. This was a total team failure. My favorite NFL team The Jets has had to deal with the "same old Jets" stigma and disappointment for years. Until they had a nice little late January run they didn't get any respect. It's the same way with Diesel, time to move forward. No excuses. Either become a winning team together or lose alone.

Good Job Blue Part 2

Gotta give more Umpire love
http://softballinsider.blogspot.com/2010/05/good-job-blue.html
but this time I gotta recognize Central Park ump Bobby (left below)

Like any umpire Bobby is not flawless but he posses the following outstanding officiating characteristics:

1. A solid knowledge of the game
2. Is fair/impartial
3. Is respected
4. Reliable
5. Excellent personality - totally non confrontational

It's always a pleasure to see him in the park.

A few days ago, he made a rare but correct call in a game when he called a batter out for not taking a full swing (AKA chop/bunt) during an at bat. It showed he has a clue and is aware of nuances and ebb and flow of the game. Good Job Blue - is now a sequel

FIGHT THE POWER REALLY DOES WORKS!!!!!!!!

SBI would like to Congratulate Big Apple Manager Andre of Empire who has championed a wining good softball cause. A few months ago, he broke the story about the closing of the Queensboro Oval , under 59th Street Softball field.
http://softballinsider.blogspot.com/2010/02/softball-injustice-fight-power.html Meaning The Sutton East Tennis Bubble had procured a signed contract with the City to keep the area under the 59TH Street Bridge as a Pay-to-Play Tennis Facility year round. Meaning: No more softball field.

The following is Andre account of the ensuing saga and his honorable victory:

"Now we all know that the field there is a bit of an eye sore and proportioned "uniquely" but the real issue was this was a public park and since when do we have a surplus of parks that we can just be selling them off? More importantly (and possibly selfishly) they're plenty of leagues and players that would be displaced and the ripple effect would more than likely bring more crowding to nearby Heckscher and Dewitt's fields. So during and after the meeting Andre and his brother began to realize that this contract the bubble had with the city wasn't as binding as they had feared and that if the Parks Department Commissioner (Adrien Benepe) wanted to throw it away due to public opinion - They could!!!

Following the initial Board Meeting some of the more "feisty" members of the public started gathering and meeting in preparation for the next meeting where the entire situation would be revisited. Andre told District Board Member Judith Schneider, in his closing comments, that "you're going to need a bigger room for the next meeting." Their were a total of three official meetings and he was right as each meeting got bigger and bigger. NY1 covered it along with The Post and The Daily News. A lot of players attended in softball jerseys. Andre even counted a couple of Empire jerseys. I think the final, and largest, meeting was on St. Patty's Day and was a complete slam dunk for the softball community.
Approximately 97% of attending board members, for District 8, voted on behalf of the ball players. Two days later Andre got the shortest and sweetest email in recent memory from a reliable insider: "Bubble coming down." And just like that- after all the months of meetings, emails, flyer's and the like. It was over. We had WON!!!!!
A lot of people helped right this wrong. From his perspective they were: Geoffrey Croft from the "NYC Parks Advocates" who gave them the legal perspective and gave his side some bite.
Ryan Donn from the (defending Champion) Cornell Alumni team-who got the word out to a large alumni audience.
Lee Morgenroth- Empire pitcher.
Graham Naud- who pounded the pavement with Andre hitting up what must have been every single bar/supermarket/boutique up and down the East Side pressing the flesh and passing out flyer's.
Ricky -who kept the story current on his blog. (I didn't do shit)
And Jessica Bondy and Bradley Cohen who maintained such a passion for the cause that they'd be out there right now dismantling the bubble with their bare hands if they could. But they won't have to.

The bubble comes down and goes into storage this Sunday, June 13TH.

2 related links at bottom for verification
http://dnainfo.com/20100416/upper-east-side/parks-department-kills-plan-for-year-round-tennis-bubble-at-queensboro-oval

http://dnainfo.com/20100409/manhattan/softball-players-win-bid-for-permits-at-queensboro-oval "

Again Andre congrats - well done

An Ump Grows in Brooklyn

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn

is a novel by Betty Smith that relates the coming-of-age story of its main character, Francie Nolan,and her Austrian/Irish-American family in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City. The book was an immense success, a nationwide best-seller that was also adapted into a popular motion picture.

Well lately I have been coming-of-age as an Umpire working exclusively in the up and coming Red Hook and amazing Prospect Park Brooklyn neighborhoods. Where the nice people, park, fields, and brownstones pictured above can't but help remind me of beautiful Central Park and make me feel at home.

Excellent Wall Street umpire John Smith

has been a tremendous help in developing my umpiring skills, professionalism, and confidence.

An ump grows in Brooklyn

At Bat Songs

I'm a long suffering loyal Met fan ,but I must admit I like going to the New Yankee Stadium (especially if I get a free ticket) b/c I love hanging out in all the bars across the street (true NY feel) and think they have the most amazing LCD scoreboardsand sound systems around making it an excellent entertainment experience. At every game it always seems that Derek Jeter has the coolest songs played when he comes to bat like Empire State
and it got me to thinking what music would most softball players play when it was their turn to hit (Let's not get into how many people would get arrested if large speakers were ever brought into a below 96th street field).

So thanks to some research and my disturbing imagination here is what I think what songs certain softball players would play when it was their turn at bat:

Latino Theme:

Isaac "Gubi" DelgadoDo you really think someone who would wear a bright Jersey like this

would pick anything less than deep hardcore hick bachata music - His choice would be Anthony Santos

If you can listen to that entire song your a better man than most.

Moving on (thankfully) to other Latino Players like Stud Player Omar He would be down with trendy and energetic Reggaeton music like something "Pose" from Daddy Yankee

While other Latin Players like Angel "Tito" Vera

would use more commercial Spanish-English mixed songs like

"Yeah baby I like it Like That"

Classic Latin Players like Giberto Gonzalez

and Ralph Serrano would go old school and pick great artists like Gran Combo and Gilberto Santa Rosa to represent their national pride.

Other Americanized Latins like Juan "Blonde" Moreiras prefer rock

and hip hop
so I think he would pick "Encore" which is a song that Jay-Z's collaborated on with Linkin Park's hit single "Numb" . Nice Mix.

Switching music tastes Diesel "Land of Misfit Toys" Manger

Jimmy Bitros would pick something more classy let's say Frank Sintra's

"The Summer Wind"

WestLander player/manager Dio Jacksonwould represent pop music to the fullest by picking any Michael Jackson song as he loved the late great King of Pop.

Moving on to a Movie theme, Edgar "the Natural" Gonzalez would pick the Theme song from the movie "The Natural," while of course John Rosenmiller leader of the Choice Parts would make the no brainer selection of the Evil Empire

Theme Song from Star Wars. Where he and other Yankee fans on his team like Lorenzo would play when it was their turn to hit.

Impact Players like Assault's/Working Class's Power Hitter Anthony

would play Queen's powerful classic

"WE WILL WE WILL ROCK YOU!!!!"

every time he's up to announce his presence

Never Shy Championship Stud Pitcher Franny

would have Scorpions "Rock You Like a Hurricane!!!!!!" blare every time he came up or took the mound

On a social/bar theme http://www.boxcarlounge.com/ entrepreneur

John S from Contact/Lucky's would play Green Day's "Closing Time"

While Frequent nightlife Aaron "Harroo" Fernandez

would pick any song used in a Heineken commercial

Other player who prefer other forms of entertainment like like Jack "Bandana Man" Cutler would pick Kenny Roger's "The Gambler" song b/c he knows when to hold em and fold em - sort of anyway

When interviewed for this blog, Mike Peckins and Eric Zabarkuspicked the following At bat songs:

Mike - Any New Usher song - "so I can relax and vibe when I'm up"

Eric - Mobb Deep - "B/c when I hit line drives up the middle the pitcher gets shook"

Another below 96th street player - Gary

should play Aretha Franklin "RESPECT" song b/c he is one tough fucking out who no one ever gives props to. Gary has wondered out loud if he needed to be Hispanic to get on the blog so I made his wear my Puerto Rico cap(above) and now dub him the Juan Epsetin of Softball.

As for me, I would pick 2 songs dedicated to my wife Astrid

both our wedding songs:

(1) Frank Sinatra's "The Way You Look Tonight" and

(2) Fabolous - Young'n (Holla Back)

yeah I know those sound like 2 pussy whipped choices but she deserves props for many reasons, and as a side note, she came up with the idea for this blog at the subway series Much Love and Kudos!!!!