PLAYOFFS Start Sunday Morning

The playoff schedule is done and it is with great regret we cannot get all the teams into the playoffs.  Because of the Daylight Savings time change and the fact that we have only three weeks left on our permits, we simply cannot accommodate more than eight teams.  The Parks Dept has already warned us that they will not let us play without permits.

PLAYOFF REMINDERS:

1. DALIGHT SAVINGS time change – set you clocks back an hour Sat night!!! 10am start time.
2. We will use 2 UMPIRES for each playoff series – $80 per double header
3. Higher seed is HOME team game 1 and game 3
4. Players must have at least 4 game appearances to qualify for the playoffs. Rosters will be handed out Sunday.
5. All the regular season rules apply (forfeits 20 minutes, mercy, courtesy runner, extra innings 9 man, etc)
6. $1200 for the champ, $600 for sub-champ.  No ties and No splitting prize.

Final Sunday – Schedule DONE

Its done – please check the schedule carefully. We simply made a minor change to the 4pm games.

Playoffs must start Sunday Nov 1st. Some important notes about our playoff system:

1. Top 8 teams make the playoffs – high seed vs low seed (1vs8, 2vs7, 3vs 6, 4vs5)
2. Tie breakers are determined by head-to-head record, then Run Differential
3. Players must have at least 4 game appearances to qualify for the playoffs
4. Teams will be re-seeded for the 2nd round (high seed vs low seed)
5. All series are 2 out of 3
6. Higher seed is HOME team game 1 and game 3
7. Top seed (#1) gets game-time and field choice, otherwise you must play at assigned time
8. All the regular season rules apply (forfeit, mercy, courtesy runner, extra innings 9 man, etc)
9. $1200 for the champ, $600 for sub-champ.  No ties and No splitting prize.

Week 5 Review

The big showdown between Knockout and the Westlanders was the big letdown.  Knockout beat up on a depleted and tired Westlander team and squeezed into a first place tie with the Trojans.

Chaos squeezed out a win against the upstart Orioles in extra innings. The Orioles came up short a run as the wining run was hit  by a ground ball to end the game. C’mon rookie!!!

Danny Macs finally got a decent team together but had trouble scoring runs and lost 2 of 3 games. I think this team could get it together and make some noise in the playoffs.

Bonao split with the arch enemies the Fanaticos.  They might have won both if 9 nine guys had shown up at gametime.

Boxcar split with Danny Macs while adding stud lefty ex-Knockout player Jack to their line up.

ROSTERS ARE OFFICIALLY CLOSED. Anyone playing who is not on a roster will be deemed illegal.

Westlanders vs Knockout – finally!

Knockout has dodged the Westlanders for two years but hey can’t run no more!  It’s time to face the music. This sunday, its: John Albert vs Juan Alberto (the white hispanics). Dio vs Ric (Jersey mafia). Fran vs Gil (english vs spanish trash talk). Edgar jr vs Gubi (pastelito showdown). Gonna be crazy.

Important Notes:

1. SCHEDULE has been changed a bit please check it.

2. FINAL ROSTERS ARE DUE: You will get a copy of your roster (with pictures) this Sunday.  This is the last day to make any changes to your Roster. Every player must sign the Rosters and have a picture taken. No exceptions.

3. RAIN DELAYS: If it rains heavy on Saturday, chances are we will move the start times back an hour or two.  Have your team prepared to play at any time between 9am and 3pm FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON.

4. FORFEIT: if your team wins or loses by forfeit, you must still pay the umpires and hand in a line-up card.

No Beer & No Urinating in the Park!!!

The Inwood Park Manager has received complaints of  baseball/softball players drinking beer and urinating in the park. He has threatened to revoke our permits.  These people are like the IRS, you don’t want to mess with them.  They will shut us down and the season will be over.  SO…….. please use the bathroom by the basketball courts and don’t bring beer to the park.  Managers – please tell your players.

The schedule has gone through a minor change.  We will start to try and use all three fields this weekend weather permitting.  There will be a double header on filed 4 at 2pm.  All other games will be on fields 2 &3 at their usual times.  IF there is heavy rain Friday or Sat, we will use only fields 2 & 4.

Check the new schedule here.

RULE CHANGE: FORFEITS, Teams that win by forfeit must submit a line-up card of all players present within 20 minutes of game time.  Only those players will get credit for the game.

Welcome Back – Inwood 2009 Fall Season

Apologies for the usual update delays. I’ll skip the rhetoric and get right to the important stuff…

1. The Schedule for the fist 6 weeks has been posted. A big thanks to Ric for his hard work trying accommodate everyone’s requests.  Please do not ask for any schedule changes as you will be struck by lightning.

2. ROSTERS / Attention Managers: Any new players who show up after week ONE must immediately see the commissioner to sign the roster and get a picture taken. You have the first 4 weeks to complete your 25 man roster.  Players must make 6 appearances to qualify for the playoffs; one of which must be during the first four weeks.

3. CONDUCT: We’ve added a new section to the rules which clearly defines suspensions.

4. EH & DH: EH cannot come on the filed; DH can only replace the player dh’d (Dh is then lost).

5. COURTESY RUNNER: You are allowed to use courtesy runners for 2 players for the entire game.  You must indicate on the line up card who gets a courtesy.  Once the line up card is handed in, no Courtesy runner may be assigned without approval from the opposing manager. If there is an injury during a game, you must use a substitution (if none is available, a courtesy is allowed one time).

6. PLAYOFFS & PRIZES: 8 teams will make the playoffs, champion $1200, sub $600.

2008 Champions – Westlanders

Written By Ricardo Ronda

Before we get to the championship we need to talk about the wild finish to the Westlanders (WL) – Criminals semi-final series.Game 3 was continued Sunday in freezing temperatures with the game all tied at 4 a piece. The Criminals struck quickly with a run in the top of the 8th however, a “clutch” sacrifice fly by WL Stud Hitter Anthony “AROD” sent the game to the 9th where a bases loaded infield in full count single propelled WL into the Finals. This fantastic finished capped a great classic Inwood series. Unfortunately only 1 team could win, but the Criminals and their classy/cool manager Rudy are to be commended and recognized by the league for their outstanding play.

Waiting for the WL were the Bizcocheros who quickly squashed any WL momentum the by scoring 4 quick runs right away off Mario. WL got excellent relief from Adam and came all the way back to take a 7-4 lead into the 7th, but in stunning fashion the Biz scored 4 runs to steal game one by a score of 8-7. Another classic Inwood game.

In Game 2, WL ace Fran took control and had a 6-0 lead heading into the 6th thanks to the bats of Hector, “AROD” and company. Both teams emptied their bench at that point b/c it looked like the last two innings were only a formality for the deciding game three. However, the Biz staged a furious comeback by scoring 2 in the 6th and 3 more in the 7th only to leave the tying run on 3rd and fall 6-5.

In Game three, WL seemed to handle the cold much better than the BIz and took advantage of numerous mistakes to win 6-3 and earn the CitySoftball 2008 Championship!!!

Congrats!

A word from Commissioner Juan..

Special thanks to the following for helping us get through a difficult season:

- Ric Ronda, who worked very hard this year making and re-making schedules, contacting teams, collecting fees, and as usual dealing the Parks Dept to get our permits. Ric also put alot of effort into the Knockout team which had a nice run and for the most part had alot of fun.

- Carlos “lootch” the umpire.  Lootch is always there for us and does his best to get us umpires who are at least reliable.  Switching to 1 umpire this year made his job of getting good umps harder.

- Chelo – he dissappeared for the semis but he came strong for the chip and turned field 2 into Yankee Stadium. He’s a pain in the ass, no doubt, but the league needs him.

- All the managers and teams who patiently dealt with all the rain, schedule changes, waiting for games, and fixed fields.

It was a difficult year for all of us, but in the end, we had a great playoff run and a worthy Champion. Hope to see you all back next year.

Down But Not Out!

Westlander’s fearless leader has been stricken with a bum appendix.  It’s been removed and he’s recovering fine. Hopefully, for his own good, he will not show up Sunday. Do you think he will? (see poll below picture) or Read Ric’s reason why he will…

Superbowl Sunday

OK, so its not the Superbowl, but its the next best thing – the Inwood Fall Championship is finally here.

Criminals and Westlanders split the first two games, then finished game 3 in a 4-4 tie after 7 innings.  Criminals fought back to tie that game after being down 4-0 in the top of the sixth.  They will continue their game this coming Sunday at 10am, the winner to face the Bizcocheros at 10:30am on field 2.

Knockout fought valiantly, but in the end, the Bizcocheros were the better team. The Biz beat KO 8-2 and 8-6 to make their first Inwood final.  Congratulations to Eddie and Elvis.

Adrenaline Rush

(picture courtesy of qbaseball.com)

A wise old man once told me, “90% of everything is bullshit.” I agree; stuff we buy is bullshit; stuff we see on TV is bullshit, politics is bullshit…I could go on. In that other 10% of the “REAL” stuff lies our playoffs. These games are simply the real deal. Its softball at its best. These guys are playing to win, playing for pride, it means something to win here. I got a rush watching the games this weekend.

Chaos gave the Westlanders all they could handle in two tough losses 7-6 and 6-4.

The Criminals upset the Twins 2-0, and 5 – 3.  We knew this was not a 7-5 team and would be very tough to beat in the playoffs.  They face the Westlanders next; that series will be bananas, I guarantee it. I predict 3  low scoring games and at least one with extra innings.

The Tainos suffered to very tough losses to the big hitting Bizcocheros. Holding a 1 run lead with two outs in the last inning; a walk and an error caused the Tainos the game and probably the series.

Knockout and Jicome were in a real battle. KO won the first game 2-1 after Jicome left the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the 7th. Once again, KO pitcher, Gil, took over the game and simply stopped the rally.  Game 2 was a back-and-forth battle which ended in a 7-7 tie to be continued this Sunday at 9am; the winner to face the Bizcocheros.