All Knotted Up at One

The Barbarians and the Knights heated rivalry stems from an ball throwing incident in 2007 when the Knights were birthed as the Kelly Green Sox.

These two teams have become regulars in the postseason since there budding rivalry was born that year. Arguably the two best teams have played two of their best-of-three semi-final series to a stalemate, at one game a piece.

In game one, after a two week layoff for both squads, the Barbarians came out on top of what was a sloppy game on the defensive side of the ball.

The Knights took the first swings of the night of B. Serino as the away team, and made all of them count, chalking the new scoreboard for six runs. The Barbarians would'nt go away easy, and put up three runs of their own in the bottom, cutting the Knights big lead in half.

Both teams showed some major diamond rust in this battle and errors came in bunches, leading to a high scoring affair. The Knights kept their heads above water, carrying a one-run lead into the fifth inning.

The Barbarians lineup finally came alive in the fifth, posting a four-run inning, capturing their first lead of the game. Carrying a 16-12 lead into the top of the seventh, the Barbarians defense tightened up and B. Serino, with help of a run saving diving stab by J. Capanigro in right, shut the door for a 16-13 win.

Beating the Barbarians is a feat in itself, the beast of the NSL has only lost four games in the last two seasons. Shutting them out in a game, nearly impossible. However; ask Kevin Garnett, and Adidas, the sponsor that lines his three-foot long, custom, silk suit-pant pockets with millions, "impossible is nothing". P. O'Leary and his pitching mentor, B. Serino faced off in a pivital gametwo in the best-of-three semi-final series. P. O'Leary struggled with his control in game one, but after meeting with his pitching coach, twiqued his delivery and gained both control and velocity on his legendary cutter.

The Knights would win every frame, dotting the scoreboard for eight runs on some timely hitting and good baserunning. The Barbarians would threaten to score, but every time would come up short on some quality plays by the Knights defense coupled with the pinpoint accuracy of the big righty on the Knights hill.

P. O'Leary carried a no-hitter into the third and a shutout throuhgout. In the fifth inning O'Leary backed up on a two-hopper up the middle and took the third hop to the left eye, breaking the lense on his glasses, leaving a large gouge in the pitcher's brow. A quick visit to the trainer and some tape, and O'Leary was hurling once again. O'Leary induced yet another grounder right back at him and made a shovel throw with his glove to get the third out and preserve the shutout win ala Curt Schilling and his bloody sock. Knights won in impressive fashion, 8-0, forcing a game three Tuesday 8-25-2009 at 6pm.

There's a New Sheriff in Town

Errors, piss-poor hitting, explosions, glove-throwing, and in-fighting?

Not what fans have come to expect from the two-time defending champion Brickyard.

Strikeouts, lights-out pitching, timely-hitting, and good defense?

Until now, these words weren't readily associated with the Galaxy of 2009. However, this Galaxy playoff squad is rejuvinated, and continue to ride the red-hot, right arm of R. Moleti and the veteran leadership of their future hall-of-famers.

Galaxy grabbed an early lead courtesy of a C. Howard tater in the top of the first inning, basically all they needed with the high arcing cheese whiz that Moleti was offering the Brickyard sluggers.

The Brickyard couldn't get anything going at the plate as Moleti painted the corners and mixed speeds brilliantly. Many of the Brickyard's normally potent hitters resorted to a chopping, defensive swing yet still came up with nothing but fresh, salty, Nahant air. When they did connect, the stout Galaxy defense made all the plays.

Once again, the flame-throwing rookie for the Brickyard came up short, but to his credit, got very little help from his defense, or his offense. The yard broke the shut-out with a single run in the sixth inning, but were unable to mount any comeback, falling short of a three-peat, cementing the fact that this year, there will be a new sherriff in town.

All Galaxy All Day

Galaxy, after facing a tough foe in the Gulls, moved on to face an equally tough opponent in the surging George's Expert Auto (GEA) team. GEA has played well of late and looked to live up to fans and media expaectations of the young club. They would have a stern test against the good pitching and good bats of the veteran Galaxy group in just a one game playoff.

The young southpaw, C. Pantano took on R. Moleti in what turned out to be a very close ballgame. However the veteran got the best of the young hurler, as C. Pantano let his emotions get the best of him as GEA lost a barn-burner. Galaxy, coming off an emotion-filled, extra-innings victory over the Gulls extended their season by playing some gritty softball. The veteran club has mede the necessary changes and is riding a wave of momentum that could carry them to yet another crown.

R. Moleti was the story in this one, notching four strikeouts and carrying a shutout into the seventh and final inning.

In typical fashion, GEA waited until the latter innings to get their bats going, but Galaxy's defense shut the door on the young club's season with a 6-4 victory and move on to face the defending champ Brickyard.

In Another Galaxy, Far, Far, Away

The Galaxy vs. Gulls game got under way in the eighth inning tied at 16 on a beautiful sunny friday afternoon. The game was sold-out, an attendance record for just one-inning of play.

GEA, who was set to play the winner of the matchup, canceled, using their single "lifeline", a policy recently put in place by the league, due to their ability to hang around hot young women and obligations to attend a keg party.

Both teams mulled over the opportunity to play a full seven innings, rather than a continuation, but after a team vote, the Gulls decided it was best for their club to just play a single frame with the top of their order set to bat, much to the chagrin of the ruccus crowd.

Members of the Brickyard, NFL, Knights, and a lone Barbarian were in the seats to scope out some competition and wet their pallets with frosty beverages. I smelt fresh tomatoes, and it wasn't a home made Barbarian Lasagna, but Bloody Mary's, the drink of choice for the Knights franchise.

R. Moleti took the hill in the top of the eighth with the task of retiring the top of the Gulls very talented lineup. His first task, the speedy M. Kelleher. Kelleher had a terrific at-bat, running the count full before drawing a leadoff walk. A base hit moved Kelleher to third and he would eventually score the go-ahead run. Galaxy looked to be in trouble when the Gulls had two on with two out, down by one, but a diving back-hand stop in the hole by shortstop N. Liston ended the threat.

D. Barille was once again tossing the softie for the Gulls and was faced with the bottom of the Galaxy order to end the game and move on. He disposed of J. Fiore who hit a lazy fly ball on the first pitch he saw.

M. Sippeleti, a talented righty batsmen, smoked a tailing one-hopper down the first base line that got through into right. As he rounded first he made contact with J. Durgin who grew roots in the baseline, giving him second on an interference call. Max Casper would move him to third on a seeing-eye single with two down.

N. Liston dusted off his 1984 Nolan Ryan Replica Addidas cleats and plodded towards the box. Thoughts of walking this alien-like creature from another Galaxy were short-lived with C. Howard
swinging lumber in the on-deck circle.

Liston dug in, and Barille reared back and fired a hanging curve that Liston sent on a line to the deepest part of the park and over the center-fielders head for the walkoff home-run.

In a post game interview, Liston was asked how he felt after one of the best innings played in his borderline hall-of-fame career. Liston responded by saying simply, "pretty good".

Extra, Extra, Read All About It

The Gulls moved on from their thrashing of the Sand Bar Pirates to face an aging Galaxy team looking to make another run at a title. Galaxy has infused some young talent with their wiley veterans, to be competitive once again in the deep waters that is the NSL. The Gulls looked impressive in smashing the Pirates and appear to have enough momentum to go on an epic playoff run.

D. "El Rojo Totuga"Barile, coming off the first playoff win of his career, was pitted against perenial Cy Young candidate R. Moleti, in what was a contrast in styles. Moleti tends to rely on his split seamer to try and blow batters away, while Barille, lacking the velocity on his fast ball, utilizes accuracy, and can be good when he is locating well.

This game was a battle throughout, with both sides trading blows early via the homerun. The game was never really in anybody's hands, as both sides were helped out by some timely taters. The Gulls got dingers out of A. Zimbaldi and D. Barille, who had a career day at the plate. C. Howard and N. Carmalingo went yard for Galaxy to help keep the veteran club close in the end.

Clinging to a lead down the stretch, the Gulls had a chance to close Galaxy out and move on, but a botched play at third, and an errant throw by the Gulls big righty, helped Galaxy tie the game at eleven.

Darkness rolled in, halting the game in extra innings all knotted up at eleven.

The two clubs will resume the game on Friday at 6pm sharp (as early as possible) with the eventual winner taking on GEA directly after.

Playoffs?

Most certainly a pirate would get the better of a seagull in a physical fight, ninety-nine times out of a hundred. Twas' not the case on monday night, as a group Screamin Seagulls beaked the piss out of a group of pirates in route to a monster win.

The playoffs are under way, and game one went as planned, with the Gulls dismantling the lowly Sandbar Pirtates in a lopsided 30-3 win.

M. O'Brien took the hill for the Pirates, trying to notch his first win of the season. O'Brien has had a few games of playoff expirience as a reliever for the Greensox in 2007 when the Greenies Ace was caught in a honeymoon hurricane. O'Brien pitched valiantly in both the 2007 game and in monday night's contest, but unfortunetly for the veteran hurler, the results were much the same.

D. Barille, after spending almost all of 2008 in the bullpen for the Gulls, got called as the starter in 2009 and has pitched an average season at best. The Gulls' middle of the order and defense has been key in all of the teams regular season wins.

The game remained surprisingly close through three innings, until the flood gates burst open, and the result was a sixteen run inning, putting the Gulls on top for good. The two teams looked like they were in different leagues, as the Gulls earned a confidence boosting win heading through a tough traverse that is the round robin playoff in the NSL, where the winner makes the final four. The Gulls move on to face Galaxy.

And Here We Go

Congratulations to Nahant Fish and Lobster, AKA NFL for hoisting their first regular season NSL pennant.

Final Regular Season Standings

1. NFL 11-3

2. Barbarians 10-4

3. Knights 10-4

4. Brickyard 9-5

5. GEA 9-5

6. Galaxy 5-9

7. Gulls 4-10

8. Sandbar Pirates 0-14

Monday: 8.Pirates vs. 7.Gulls

Tuesday : No Games

Wednesday : Winner of game 1 vs. 6.Galaxy

Thursday : Winner of Wednesday's Game vs. 5.GEA

Friday : Winner of Thursday's Game vs. 4. Brickyard

Monday : Best of Three Semifinal Game 1, 2. Barbarians vs. 3. Knights

Tuesday : Winner of Friday's Game vs. 1. NFL (best of Three)

Sloppy Mess

I've said it time and time again, the NSL is a mixing pot of different folks of different strokes, all with one common goal, have fun, and be messy from the hours of 6pm-8pm on weeknights during the summer months.

By messy, I don't mean getting dirt on your pants and hands, I mean forgetting things, like stressful bullshit, losing yourself in the moment, and losing control over things like bodily function and decision making. Normally the latter would cause you to make a life-altering mistake or end up in jail; however, in the shelter that is the NSL, these activities are practiced and promoted as a way of coping with reality. Winning a championship is just icing on the cake, it also makes an end-of-the-year open bar and lobster buffet taste that much sweeter.

There have been a few weeks of games, so a short synopsis will have to do to catch you up on what has become a heated race for both the top three spots, as well as the middle of the pack, in terms of playoff position.

On Monday, the two-time defending champion Brickyard took on a surging GEA club in a closely contested mathcup between two evenly matched, middle-of-the-pack teams. The Brickyard had been playing well as of late and looked to make a much needed late season run, and more importantly get the swagger back that they had in 07 and 08.

The Brickyard came out of the gate swinging, and put up three runs on some good hitting against GEA's quality southpaw, C. Pantano. The two teams would trade blows in the remaining innings and GEA got help from some poor baserunning by Brickyard, and a two-run tater from their mountain of a second baseman to tie the game at four. The game remained tied until the bottom of the seventh, when a line drive to the right-center gap resulted in a double with a two-base error, giving GEA the win.

Two games were played on Tuesday, The Knights vs. the Gulls, and The Brickyard vs. The Barbarians. The Barbarians were shorthanded against the defending champs, and could only field a team of nine. In a cheeky move, the Barbarians decided to dismiss the use of a second baseman in favor of four outfielders against the power-hitting Brickyard. Another game that came down to the last out, the Brickyard prevailed after the Barbarians decided to walk two batters to face D. Malloy who came through with the game winning single.

The Gulls, riding a two-game win streak over The Pirates and Galaxy, came into the game against the Knights looking to make a statement before the playoffs. Batting first, the Gulls hit the ball all over the field en-route to six runs. The Knights who are no strangers to come-backs, had dug themselves a deep hole against the talented Gulls. D. Barille kept the Knights offense silent until the bottom of the fifth inning where consecutive three-run home runs by D. O'Connor and C. Doucette tied the game with no outs. The Knights would rattle off another five runs for an eleven run inning. P. O'Leary closed the door in the latter innings for the Knights, completing the monumental come-back, all but securing a much-anticipated first round matchup with the Barbarians.

Standings

1. NFL 10-3

2. Barbarians 9-4

3. Knights 9-4

4. Brickyard 8-6

5. GEA 8-6

6. Galaxy 5-7

7. Gulls 4-10

8. Sandbar Pirates 0-13

Regular Season Remaining Games:

Tonight : Barbarians vs. Pirates

Tommorow : Knights vs. Galaxy

Friday: NFL vs. Galaxy

Playoffs: Monday August 6th, Gulls vs. Pirates.