Time Well Spent

Five years ago, two life-altering ideas were hatched. The Cougars were formed and the iPhone was invented.  In the five years since, each of you has owned more iPhones than the Cougars have had wins over Chicken Shack.

Before last night, we had lost seven straight times to our mostly McKenzie brethren.  Our eighth meeting was our first playoff matchup.  Winner stays and plays.  Loser leaves and grieves.

Even with a championship trophy on our mantel, the Cougars were the underdogs.  With stellar defense and timely hitting, the Cougars came out on top 6-1.

In the top of the first inning, we went down 1-2-3 and it appeared that we were headed down an all-too-familiar path against Shack. But we held them scoreless in the bottom of the first, so no harm done.

In the second inning Martini started with a single followed by a Diddy one-bagger.  Presch moved both runners over. Then in his first at bat of the 2012 season, Li'l Rads hit a clutch single for 2 RBIs. 

Cougars up 2-0.

We added a third run in the fourth when Martini led off with a triple and Presch knocked him in.  

Cougars 3-0.

In the bottom of the fourth, a speedy Shacker was on first when the batter hit the ball to Rads at shortstop.  Rads made the throw to first to get the batter out and JD - seeing that the baserunner was rounding second and headed to third - lasered the ball to Bobi at third base, who laid down the tag for a double play that got us out of the inning.

In the top of the fifth, Philthy smashed a double and sacrificed a hamstring (and a would-be triple), but we could not get that run across the plate.  Seeing that Philthy's injury was even more severe than his own, a swollen-fingered Flandog laced up Philthy's spikes -and may have even donned Phil's sweaty socks- to help out his team.

In the bottom of the fifth, with a Shack runner on first, Boom grabbed a fly ball out of the air in centerfield and launched it to JD at first who put the tag on the runner trying to return to the bag.  Another crucial double play.

In the sixth, Rads and JD had back-to-back singles. Bobi moved the runners over and Martini knocked in Rads for an RBI.

4-0

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Shackers pushed a run across the plate.

4-1

In the seventh, Li'l Rads and Ski started us with hits, Diamond Dave moved them over and Rads knocked both in with a single.

6-1

In the bottom of the seventh the Shack went down and the Cougars were victorious and made it to the next round of the playoffs.  

But alas, with a loss to Timeless an hour later, the softball season was, in fact, not timeless.

As we look back on the 2012 softball season, permit Captain Cougar to become sentimental as I always do when our season ends. 

Fiscal responsibility tells us to save not spend.  When it comes to friendship and quality time, however, it is quite the opposite. We should spend all the time we can creating memories.

A decade of research by psychology and business professors has shown that when spending money on yourself, you should shift from buying material goods to buying experiences.  

Stuff depreciates.  Experiences appreciate.  

This year we competed in 18 games, celebrated  at 18 postgames, and created memories for ourselves, our families, and our friends.

Those of us who spend our summer Tuesdays at Howard Park would wholeheartedly admit that our league entry fee and our postgame refreshment costs have been a real bargain yielding immeasurable return on investment.

Looking back to when this Cougar team was born five seasons ago, the oldest Cougar children were entering eighth grade.  Now they are off to college.  We have more players near age 50 than we do near age 40. Some of the players are at risk of being replaced on the field by their offspring in a few years.

With this in mind and as we close out another blogging season, I share one of my favorite Shel Silverstein poems:

Team Chemistry

The Cougars played in two matches last night and were awarded silver medals in each.  You might assume the Cougars would be happy just to make the medal stand.  

Not so.

In a study completed in the 1990's, psychologists showed that athletes who won the bronze medal were much happier with their success than those athletes who won the silver medal.  The middle medalists were more frustrated because they had missed the gold while the winners of the bronze were just pleased to be honored.

Really?  Bronze isn't even on the element chart.  It is just a mixture of copper and tin.  The bronze medal is basically recycled tin cans and obsolete pennies.

Because there were only two teams on the field, it seems the psychologists' math would indicate that we would have been happier had we not played at all.  

Not true.  We love to compete and channel our inner Zeus.

In our doubleheader, we were competing against the teams with the two best records in the league.

The evening could have easily become the Laff-A-Lympics.  

Instead, the Cougars knew it would take a Herculean effort and we came out battling like Greek gods.  While we lost the opening contest 16-9 to Miller Time and we were defeated 16-12 by Timeless in the nightcap, what the final scores don't reflect is that in each game we kept it tight and even held the lead for an inning or two.

Like the current gymnastic Olympians, softball is a team sport that is performed individually.  A team sport that is won and lost together while individuals strive for their personal best.

The most important thing a team needs is chemistry.

In fact, with the playoffs starting next week our laboratory will be on the diamond.  We are going to make an electric charge up the periodic table and grab the AU once again.

The Brady Bunch and the Cougar Club

Here's the story, of Cougar teammates

Who were fielding ten very athletic guys

All of them had shirts of green, like their captain,

They came in every size.

Here's the story, of a team named Tappers,

Who were busy with ten boys of their own,

They were ten men, playing all together,

On the field they were at home.

Till the one day when the Cougars met the Tappers

And they knew it was much more than a game,

That this group would somehow form a matchup.

That's the way we all became a rivalry.

A Rivalry.

A Rivalry.

That's the way we all became a rivalry.

The Tappers stole our playbook last night and then bruised our nose by swinging their tiki bats to a 14-6 victory.   We should have taken Mrs. Brady's advice and not played ball in their house.

As I woke this morning, the loss was consuming me and I knew it was time to change my outlook.  A little Brady Bunch wisdom was needed.

So I went for a walk outside because the summer sun knows me by name.

While on my walk, I realized that there's no sense in walking around with my feet stuck to the ground.  It would be much better to put myself together and create a lot of love and good vibes for humanity.  I had plenty of blues and now I needed to buy some cheer and listen to some good time music.

There is no need for the Cougars to go on a game show to win a contest and get a silver platter.  We have one championship and we plan to earn our second golden challis on the field.  We will then keep on moving, singing and dancing all thru the night.

Hot Streak

After his minty green Izod showing last week, the Cougars submitted Preschlack's new outfit to the website hotornot.com. 

With almost full attendance, we also decided to turn in our team picture from last night.

The pretty play of the Cougars was the big winner last night.  We were so hot we could have beat Robert Bunsen's team.

We won 4-0 on solid defense by the entire team.  Shutouts don't happen very often around here.  Of the 60 total games played in the league this season, there have been only seven shutouts.  We have two of them.

On the offensive front, we torched our opponent in the third inning. 

Lipinski led off with a blazing single followed by a Flannery fielder's choice.  Hoglund smoked a single to place runners on first and second.  Melchiorre hit a sizzling grounder and moved the runners to second and third.  Next up was Fortier, who blistered a hard shot to left field, which scored our first two runs.  Then, back to back scorching singles by Boomgaarden and Radtke gave us a 4-0 lead.

Of course, the Cougars had to give our wonderful fans in the stands some drama. 

In the bottom of the seventh, Gulliver's first hitter had an infield single to the hole between second base and short center.  After receiving the throw at first base, Danielsen smartly tagged the runner after he jerked towards second base.  Crucial first out. 

The next batter hit a ball to deep left field.  That was not a smart move.  Otsuka doesn't miss.  Two outs.

The next three batters for Gulliver's all singled but were unable to score because our outfielders had laser throws back to the infield. 

Bases loaded.  Two outs.  Tying run at the plate.  Heat index 104 degrees.  Martin rocked his arm and placed a sweet arc on the ball to McDonnell behind the plate.  The batter scalded it to Bobis at second base, who threw it with heat to first base to put out the fire. 

Cougars win!

If our fiery play continues in this sweltering weather, the Cougars may shed some clothes next week and give a whole new meaning to hot streak.

Achy Breaky

Rather than writing the Cougar blog, much of the morning was spent on WebMD discovering cures for our aliments after we got beat up last night by Chicken Shack 11-8.   It turns out that ACHE is an acronym for A Cougar Heartbreaking Event.

The Cougars had the following painful aches after last night's game:

Headache:  From reliving the game all last night and today.

Bellyache:  After the umpire's lousy calls, the Cougars were bellyaching.

Earache:  From the deafening screams on the Shacker bench in the first half of the game and the same from the Cougar bench in the second half of the game.

Heartache:  Our hearts are heavy as our man Stabber moves out to California to conquer Silicon Valley.  We will miss him and his wonderful family.

Stomachache:  We can't beat Chicken Shack so we eat Chicken Shack.  Here is a picture of Preschlack gobbling up some chicken soon after his first home run.  Presch was certainly not lacking in his debut.

We all know the best cure for our aches is a good postgame.  Thanks to Flandog for hosting a pain-free party for both the Cougars and the Shackers.

Our only incurable ache is our backache from carrying last year's championship trophy all over town.

Timeless Regression

Two doubles.  Two Triples.

Cougars 2012.

That's how the ballgame began.

One rough inning.

Cougars 2008.

That's how the ballgame ended.

Timeless 11.  Cougars 9.

Sadly, the transcript to last night's phone call to 1-800-SOFTBALL is filled with expletives and can not be printed. 

Thankfully, our postgame gatherings are timeless.

Phifty. Philthy. Phriends.

Two score and ten years ago, a father and mother brought forth on this continent a new son, conceived in Victory, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are not created equal on the diamond.

The Gettysburg Address is one of the greatest speeches in American history and celebrated the birth of freedom and was given by one of our greatest presidents.  The Spencer Address is one of the greatest streets in America and last night we celebrated the birth of Phillip C. McDonnell, one of its greatest residents.

It cannot go unmentioned that Philthy joined an elite group yesterday, the Cougars Half-Century Club.  Diamond Dave scoped out that territory a few years ago making sure it was safe for Lipsey and McDonnell to navigate these new waters.

We were playing fellow McKenzie team Slaughter House 9 last night, which meant what else but a civil war?  The battle was highlighted by a Cougar defensive blockade and closing our breaches.  Our offensive front fortified our position with some of our oldest Cougars ramrodding the ball.   The history books recorded these key plays from last night's battle:

• Bobi recovering a line shot and throwing the runner out at first.
• Diddy making two spectacular diving catches in left field. 
• Hogs catching a line shot and making a heads-up crucial double play.
• Boom ripping the ball and smoking the bases.
• Ski rocketing the ball to deep left center for a key triple.
• JD making scoop after scoop at first base.
• Martini striking bombs to the plate.
• Flandog shooting the balls to the gaps with a broken finger.
• But what truly set us free last night were clutch RBIs by the two newest members of the 5-0 club; Philthy was on base every time and Thejokewriter used his strength and speed to maintain his team lead in triples.  
• We won the war 8-0.

Philthy and his first lady, Meg, hosted us in presidential style last night with Smoque BBQ and Homer's ice cream pies among the offerings at McDonnell Manor.

 

The phestivities were phascinating.  The pheast was phlavorful.   The phriends were phantastic.

Phancy the photos of Philthy's phiftieth.