New Fissionairies snatch defeat from the jaws of Victory!
For 9 years, the Lords and Ladies have come close but never achieved victory in the final game of the season. That all changed yesterday with a 15-13 Win over the New Fissionairies. The game started poorly for the Lords and Ladies, going down 11-3 after 4 innings. The momentum was clearly not favouring the big Purple Machine...so for the bottom of the 5th a pitching change was made, to somehow change the mood of the game. The bottom of the fifth was a 1-2-3 inning. The smallest, faintest, absolutely infinitesimally small light appeared at the end of the tunnel, still Purple needed the bats to come alive as it was already the top of the 6th.
The Epic Comeback - Top of the 6th
In an inning that shall long be remembered in Lords and Ladies lore, the top of the 6th inning in the championship game vs. the New Fissionairies played in PARC West Field on the 17th of September in the year 2013, the big Purple Machine made their Epic Comeback.
Brian, the eternal optimist, opined that all that was needed was a simple 10 run inning. The Lords and Ladies did not believe it possible as they had been shut out for four consecutive innings.. 1st up to bat was Kate...no dice...she was out via a caught line drive to the shortstop. It did not look good. 1 out...
Then good ole Moe came up to the plate, and hit one that managed to drop in for a single. Next up, Tim, could Mr. Flying Unicorn start the magic. It is a well known fact that Flying Unicorns are magic creatures.
So with the count full (added for dramatic effect), Tim channeling the inner unicorn, hit one hard, landing safely in the outfield. Pete was safe at 2nd. Two On, one out. Next up, was the infamous Brian, whom was by now sporting a wicked bruise on his left ankle (although he could have always used his glove instead of his foot to catch the ball). 1st pitch, wasn't his...strike! 2nd and 3rd pitch were balls. Brian looking a bit fatigued and a bit in pain, but never more focused. Finally, his pitch. Wham! He hit it so hard, it went past the pitcher (in the air!), and bounced between the shortstop and 2nd baseman and into the field, quickly picked up by the rover and tossed to 2nd.
SAFE! came the call as Tim made it in time to the base. Up next, Mike...could he deliver under pressure. 1 out, bases loaded. He had been struggling at the plate all game as his timing was thrown off by the stutter step of the pitcher. He ditched the tried and trusted 28oz Miken Freak Bat for the lighter more explosive Combat.
1st pitch strike, it's not looking good. 2nd pitch ball, wait for his...then on the 3rd and ultimate pitch...Mike hits a hard and long line drive. Over the heads of the outfielders and reaching the fence. Yelling at Brian all the way to move his a$$, the Lords and Ladies counted 3 runs on Mike's 3-RBI triple. The score 11-6.
With Mike on 3rd, and one out. Denise was up to bat, and come through she did. She hit a deep sacrifice fly on which Mike easily scored. it was now 11-7 with 2 outs and the top of the order up.
Now it was time for Charlie Hustle, needed to get on base to keep the inning alive. And sure enough, even though fatigued by travel, he made it safe at first with a gutsy hit. Now Paul, fingers crossed...1st pitch BALL! 2nd pitch BALL! 3rd pitch BALL! 4th pitch STRIKE! but then finally the 5th pitch BALL! Paul took a walk, for the first time in his Lords and Ladies career, he took a walk. That was what it was all about when the trusty GM Tim Collier, called him up as a free agent and negotiated a deal. Making the smart choices at the plate, delivering in clutch situations. Lords and Ladies have 2 on, and 2 out. Shawn up at the plate.
Shawn, picked up at the trade deadline due to the "immense puddle" incident, had been solid all season. Could he deliver the 2 out base hit that would bring the L&L closer to achieving victory? The park was quiet, all the fans were hushed. The Nuclear Fissionairies still had a commanding lead at 11-7 and had been sharp all game. The big Purple Machine needed four more just to tie. Shawn with sweat coming down his brow, looked focused and determined. Staring down the pitcher, and looking directly at the unfortunate fielder in right field...Shawn swung and hit a high fly ball down the right field line...was it going to land fair? All those in attendance collectively head their breath as the ball hung in the air for what seemed at least 3 to 4 seconds, which is a moderate amount of time for a collective group to simulataneously hold their breath.
Finally, after those 4 seconds...the ball touched the grass, or perhaps some goose $hit as Goose was telling us, there was plenty of out in the field today. Well regardless of what it landed on, it landed fair and went to the fence past the unlucky fielder.
Running with determination Charlie Hustle crossed the plate, then Paul, with Shawn coming in safe at 3rd. A 2-RBI triple, bringing the Lords and Ladies that much closer. The score 11-9 with 2 outs and Shawn on 3rd.
Batting clean-up and also struggling was Goose. The field was littered with Goose's Green Power Pellets...heck, I was even leaving food on the field between games to ensure Geese would leave their powerful droppings...With first inspection in the bottom of the first, Goose seemed pleased with the amount of Goose $hit on the field. This should have meant a repeat performance of his 2-HR performance from last week. But after a strike-out and two horrible fly outs, he was without a hit after 3 at-bats. Perhaps it was the Goose-step of the pitcher, that weakened his superpowers, but he needed to find a way to struggle through without his ability.
So with a 2-1 count, Goose finally broke through in a big way, crushing the ball to the fence and running faster than ever, Shawn comes into score 11-10 and Goose is on 3rd with a clutch 2 out - stand-up triple!
Now, Kate was up to the plate. And she hit the ball hard into the ground. I think it made about 6 feet, possibly 5. But Kate was able to perform the difficult to defend against Slap Bunt! She insured that the contact placed a spin on the ball that caused it to stop immediately upon contact with the ground. Tim being the 3rd base coach already knew the squeeze play was on! Sending Goose immediately upon contact. Could Kate make it to first in time? Could she be the Munenori Kawasaki of the L&L? A person whom was not depended on to make the big plays, but always seemed to be there when it counted...So the pitcher fielded it cleanly. Throw to first...it's in time...but dropped by the 1st baseman. This is a play that is likely to become as infamous as the Bill Buckner error in the Game 6 of the 1986 World Series (see YouTube Link below for video of the Bill Buckner play).
Bill Buckner's Error
Next up Moe! Can he continue the 2-out surge? With Kate's incessant complaining on first about how much she hates being on 1st base when Moe is up (he bats left), Moe seemed a bit distracted. Not able to focus over the constant chatter from his wife, he took a first pitch strike. Still the nattering continued. Moe...2 words...selective hearing! You've been married for 18-years now, you should have it by now. Still it is pretty hard to hit a ball when you have to safely guide it past your vocal wife.
So on the second pitch, the Nuclear Fissionairies got Moe out on a checked-swing grounder to second, which was scored as Kate - 4 -3. The top of the 6th was over, but the big Purple Machine had clawed back to tie it 11-11.
Lords and Ladies set down the side in Order (OK it was 4 up, 3 down)
With Mike on the mound, and the top of order up to bat. The Lords and Ladies came up with some big catches to ensure the game remained tied through the bottom of the sixth! It was a second consecutive inning in which big Purple shutdown their opponents. Could the L&L find it in them to get the hits to put them over the top. Even the Geese in attendance where crapping their proverbial pants!
Flying Unicorn (aka Wildman) gets Bloody in USC (Ultimate Sliding Competition)!
First up, yes, our resident Flying Unicorn, the magical creature. But with the game on the line, he shed his gentle nature, becoming the aggressive base-running Wildman! On what surely should have only been a single, Wildman made it a double, with his "cleats up", knees down slide into 2nd. Text book Colby Rasmus slide. Safe at 2nd. Tim showing the team, that he lost a few inches of skin in his battle with the ground, seemed exuberant. Lords and Ladies had the go-ahead run at 2nd with none out.
Next up, Acu-Poke. And he poked one to shallow center field, caught by the rover. Tim (aka Wildman) aggressively tagged up and started to run towards third. Would he make it? With the ball coming in fast, The Wildman's wheels were moving quickly and creating an immense dust-cloud behind him. With another massive slide and his hands protecting his head from a fast & low throw to third base, The Wildman was safe at third, minus a few chunks of skin left on the field. Go-ahead run now at 3rd! One out.
Mike up to the plate. Can he repeat his clutch 3-RBI triple? first pitch BALL, second pitch swung on, hard grounder to 3rd base, past the third baseman, but the shortstop showing incredible foot speed manages to get a hold of it. Throw to first...not in time. Channeling his inner Charlie Hustle, Mike made it safely to 1st for an RBI infield single. L&L are now in the lead for the first time since the top of the 1st! Score 12-11.
Denise was now batting. Looking comfortable as ever, she rocks one deep into the outfield. Knowing it's going to drop in safely, Mike takes off, seeing the ball land safely and no one covering third, he turns the corner and makes it safely to the bag. One out, 2 on. Top of the order.
Charlie Hustle, at the plate delivered a clutch Sacrifice Fly! Scoring Mike. 2 out. 13-11.
Paul, at the plate. was he going to swing the bat or take another walk. The pitches once again, not good. Count went to 3-1 when WHACK! Paul crushes one done the line, past the fielders. Denise hustling all the way from 1st, makes it into score! Paul gets a clutch 2-out RBI triple! Lords and Ladies are now up 14-11....
Of all the acquisitions made during the season, none was more important than the trading of Chris' PARC rights for Restricted Free Agent Shawn. There were numerous times the L&L were in talks to obtain this hitting and pitching dynamo, sensing that the big Purple machine could final attain their goal of being a championship team. And today, was the day that those long hours of discussion and negotiation paid off.
Shawn, up at the plate, immediately delivered a 2-out, RBI triple scoring Paul easily from 3rd. That completed the scoring for the Lords and Ladies in the top half of the inning. Lords and Ladies go into the bottom half of the final inning up 15-11! They are three outs away from the championship!
Nuclear Fissionairies comeback falls short
Making it tense but truly never in doubt, the Lords and Ladies gave back 2 runs, but Mike finished them off with a clutch strikeout to end the game! Bring out the champagne! The Lords and Ladies have won their first championship ever! The crowd went wild, and Brian did his best Jumping Joe Carter impersonation.
Big Purple Machine - Paints the town Purple...
The championship party for the Big Purple Machine went into the wee hours of the evening, maybe 8:30 or 9:00 pm a team record this year! But the party was awesome. The mayor of Pickering phoned the team from city hall to congratulate them on the hard fought victory. This author expects this L&L team to be inducted into the PARC Baseball Hall of Fame one day, and sooner rather than later. With no injuries, and all players locked up to one year contracts, it looks like the big Purple Machine is going to be a likely candidate for repeat next season.
I would like to thank all those for playing this year and look forward to seeing everyone next year!
