Game 1 - Shit, They Were Hittin' Peas

There are many words that can describe a well hit baseball or softball. A scorcher refers to a sharply hit top spin grounder, a bomb, a towering deep home-run. The term rope would be synonymous to a hard line drive. A pea; that would describe a ball that was hit so incredibly fucking hard, that it looked like a pea to the naked human eye. A pea; the smallest of all vegetables, shot out of a canon.

In game 1 of the finals, the Galaxy lineup from top to bottom hit peas, to all fields, all-night, and caught a Barbarians squad with a hefty hangover still lingering from their epic semi-final series with the Knights of Columbus.

Galaxy cruised to an easy victory behind their solid hitting to take the all important game 1. The media and fans alike had been firmly on the Galaxy band wagon and the big win in the opening tilt, confirmed any speculation that Galaxy was going to be tired from taking the scenic route to the final series.

R. Moleti was his normal self on the mound, pitching out of some jams to get the win. P. Mignone got the start for the Barbarians, and struggled to get into a groove. B. Serino, the Barbarian's ace, showed up late due to a second gig as a fish thrower in Seattle. His flight was delayed. Roster issues marred the start of the finals, as K. Howard suited up for Galaxy after spending most of the year in Triple A honing his swing. In response, The Barbarians optioned J. Tracy off the 45-day Disabled List, where he spent most of the season. It was unclear whether or not either stand-out was eligible for the playoffs; however, both were granted eligibility by both league officials and the acting umpiring staff. K. Howard's presence was felt early with a tape-measure,two run home-run to the gap in right center that found Sandlot pitcher M. O'Briens makeshift residential dwelling on Short Beach. J. Tracy added some depth to the already stacked Barbarian outfield.

ASA 2004.

Words that will be remembered in 2010, as officiating dropped the ball on a bat rule put into place in the this past off season.

Fans and players heard murmurs of an illegal bat being utilized by Galaxy. Galaxy management claimed to have no knowledge of a bat rule or the origin of the so-called illegal bat. A Miken, that had not made the cut as a ASA 2004 certified bat, that would have made it legal for usage in the NSL.

The uproar was meek, as teams who had fallen to Galaxy knew all was lost for their season, regardless of how much they pissed, moaned, and whined.

Galaxy captured home field advantage with a game 1 win, the Barbarians did what any franchise would do in the situation, and had UPS overnight the same bat to Barbarian headquarters. Word on the street is that a former Barbarian was in close with UPS and pulled some strings(broke a leg) to get the bat on time.

Game 2 and three later this week............

Rainbow Snowcone Please

On a sunny, calm day, The Barbarians made there way down to the Lowlands Field to take on The Knights of Columbus in game three of the Semifinals, backpacked on their first ever, shut-out loss.

The Knights and P. O'Leary were riding high, after the Cy Young candidate blanked the best lineup in the league. B. Serino looked focused during pre-game, sticking to his game plan of mixing pitches and locations and letting his field play behind him.

The game got under way with the Knights in the top of the first, putting up a heart-renching, shut-out-thought-provoking-run via a J. Ragusa double and a A. Uzcetegui RBI single.

After a one-two-three inning which saw the Barbarians vaunted top-three go down on a line-out and a couple of hard hit grounders, visions of the trophy danced in the heads of Knights Nation.

However, the Barbarians had a bull on the mound, and B. Serino pitched through his own scoreless top inning.

The Barbarians finally came through with the game tying run, their first in nine innings. After a short huddle, some chest bumping, and some go-knad punches, The Barbarians put their stank faces on.

The Knights would score a pair to take a two run lead, only to see the bottom of the Barbarians lineup done do it to em' again. A momentum-killing four run inning would put the Barbarians out in front with J. Capiningro, D. Johnson, A. Bissenti, P. Harmon, I. Amar., and a one-legged, P. Mignone doing the killing for a change.

The Barbarians would rattle of three more insurance runs, a rally that was helped by a routine flare that scooted the boot on the Knight's short fielder.

O'Leary kept the Knights in the ballgame by starching the Barbarians all-stars who were quiet all series.

The Knights came up in the top of the seventh chasing four. P. Stubblefield started the inning with a seeing-eye single and was moved along by another Uzcetegui double. A. Merenghi, the saw-chopping first baseman of the Knights, drove in the two runs to creep back into the fire-fight.
After C. Carpenter legged out a double to sneak into scoring potion, Z. Taylor was poised to create a name for himself with the press and fans alike.

Taylor took a good look at B. Serino, taking a strike whilst knowing the emencity of the situation. Serino hung a curve and Taylor put a strike into it, sending a pea out to the gap in right-center. The crowd erupted as the Barbarian's outfielder W. Geraci looked to have misplayed the tailing liner. Geraci recovered in time to make a leap at the ball, partially knocking it into the air, before snagging it in the tip of his glove.

The play was an epic end to an epic series, clinching a Finals appearance for the Barbarians against the red-hot Galaxy. The Barbarians, after finishing a calm-collected second in the regular season see themselves where they thought they would be. Galaxy, after a roller-coaster season, buckled down in the playoffs to run the table, after a sixth place finish.

Old-Man Strength

Old-Man Strength, words that describe the second puberty that certain individuals experience, is an Incredible Hulk-like metamorphosis that some men go through in their late twenties or early thirties, where their strength miraculously increases, without any lifting, or outside stimulus.

Nature has created this phenomenon and it is known by many. Strangely enough, doctors and scientists have yet to come up with a explanation for the anomaly.

It is clear, that in the Nahant Softball League, a bounty of old-man strength is key to both long term success and winning championships. Younger teams that lack the proper mix of speed, athleticism, and old-man strength haven't been regulars atop the podium as the Trophy's mix of names from past champions can attest.

Unfortunately for the young NFL ballclub, youth, coupled with a long layoff, caught up to them, and their lack of old-man strength led to their demise.

Galaxy was riding a wave of momentum coming off upset wins against The Gulls, GEA, and the Brickyard consecutively. NFL on the other hand had laid dormant for two weeks while Galaxy laid the rest of the competition to rest, in their beds, with their boy size diapers on.

Old-man strength is a strange animal, it is a double edge sword in the fact that with it comes horrible side effects that are not all pretty.

Back pain, baldness, body hair, dick shrinkage, not necessarily things a man looks forward to in life.

However, the ability to protect your young, move furniture, rake leaves, and most importantly, smash the ever-living-shit out of a Thunder Heat standard NSL issue softball, are among very attractive consequences of your second puberty.

Galaxy molded a group of young athletes with enough man strength to sneak by NFL. By playing quality defense behind R. Moleti who has been lights out in 09' Galaxy put themselves into position to win another title for the long-time franchise.

In a closely contested game one, NFL showed some diamond rust making some key errors that led to much needed runs for Galaxy.

Moleti kept the speedy, potent top of the NFL order off the base baths to help Galaxy earn a win in a barn-burner, 4-3.

Game two was much the same with some good defense by Galaxy. The veteran bunch got key hits with runners in scoring position to vault them into the lead. With Moleti on the mound the small lead would hold up, as the bottom of NFL's order again struggled to get anything going against the classic Moleti cheese that had been gaining height with each additional contest. Galaxy put up eight runs, just enough to eek out another big win in their amazing playoff run.

Galaxy moves on to the final with a quarterfinal sweep of the penant winning NFL to face the winner of the Knighs vs. Barbarians Game 3.

Fortunately for the Galaxy squad they ate spinach at a young age, gaining enough man strength to tip the boat in their favor during their ride the the final. Unfortunately for the rest of the world, nature created old-man strength for a small group of females as well. Take it all in, and don't even question it, she'll destroy you.