Greenthumb takes thenight off!!

Greenthumb forfeited the Tuesday May 30th game...

Storm strong in second game!

 Storm started slowly giving up three runs in the top of the first, and then going down in order in the bottom of the first. They gave up another three in the top of the second, but this time responded with three of their own. Once they remembered it’s more fun to score than get out, they did just that. The next two innings, Storm mercied the Falcons to take a commanding lead. They finished strong and won 22-11.

Storm’s baserunning was still a little curious in the second game of the doubleheader. In the 5th, Jeff thought he was Mills and tried to get to 2nd on a ball that didn’t bounce nearly as far from the outfielder as he thought. Since he’s not Mills, the ball beat him by a country mile. However, a stupendous slide enabled him safely reach the base.

In the 6th, Mills thought he was Jeff and tried to stretch a triple into an inside the park home run. His speed was enough to get him there, but he didn’t have quite the running acumen to arrive safely as a long stride in the air meant his foot didn’t hit the ground until after the catcher caught the ball even though he crossed the plain before the ball had arrived.

DH now stands for Duran homers. Duran tweaked his back on a swing early in the game. He decided that he would sit out the rest of the game, and the only thing he would do was… hit. Strange since that;s how he hurt himself in the first place. However, he knocked one well over the fence for a grand slam, so… it worked. In his last at bat, the injury showed up as he hit a ball to the outfield and actually stopped at first.

Speaking of injuries, Storm has an awful lot of young players injured. Three of the four youngest players are either out injured or are constantly complaining about aches and pains. This is what happens when people grow up with terms like “load management” as an actual thing for athletes. 

 Storm    22   -   Falcons  11

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Falcons	3	3	0	2	0	3	0	11
Storm	0	3	6	6	5	2	x	22

Notable Boxscores: 

Duran - 3 for 4, HR, 5 RBI

Joey - 4 for 4, four runs

Mills - 4 for 4, 3 runs

Storm stumbles, but still wins

 Storm had a few issues with running throughout the game. Those issues would start in the bottom of the 1st. Sam didn't advance on an overthrow when they tried to get AL at 3rd, and even though the ball rolled through the infield. He didn’t score and the inning end. 

The fun running continued in the 2nd.  Mills being late meant he was running behind Brian. To help things out, Storm courtesied with… Brad. But Brad ran just fine. It was Duran and Lance who decided to attempt to run Storm out of the inning. After saying he was trying to break the doubles record, Duran decided to try to push for a triple only to discover Lance was still at third. They threw behind Duran, who then went towards third. When they threw to third he turned around. When they threw back to second, Lance decided to try to score, which was a good idea in theory, but Duran got out quickly and they threw home for the 7-4-5-6-2 double play. 

It wasn’t all bad. There was some good defense. In the top of the 5th, Brad made some nice "scoops" at 2nd base to record a couple of outs.

In the bottom of the inning, though, the running was interesting again.  Brad ran past 2nd and they threw behind him to get him out. He apparently wasn't paying attention to the earlier Duran debacle.

Running wasn’t just an issue on offence, in the top of the 6th it became an issue on defence as well. Jeff ran into Al charging in to field a ground ball. He lived up to the nickname tank engine by knocking Al over. Both players got up, but Jeff played the rest of the game as a reverse Zoolander. 

In the bottom of the 6th,. Duran wanted to avoid any more baserunning blunders by hitting a solo home run. 

The top of the 7th featured some eye-rony, as Brad, who had made some scoops the previous inning with one contact lens missed a grounder after the delivery of the second. It didn't matter, however, as Storm was able to shut the door and hold onto the victory. 

It wasn’t always pretty, but it was a win and that’s what matters!

Check out the Podcast of the game as reported by;

 Storm    11   -   Isotopes  5

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Isotopes	1	0	0	3	0	1	0	5
Storm	3	2	5	0	0	1	x	11

Storm comes out on top in seesaw game.

 Storm started slowly against Hanet. Unable to put up any runs in the first they trailed 2-0 heading into the second frame. They scored three to take the lead, but it would be short lived (like most of Scoops’s marriages). Hanet would tie it in the bottom of the inning. Storm would score two more to keep the seesaw moving, but would give up four to drop down to the bottom again. This inning was interesting, because it featured some different defence. On a ground ball to Jeff at pitcher he turned and threw the ball directly over second base. Joey and Brad each stopped a few feet from the base staring at the other one as they ball sailed into centre field allowing the runners to move up. 

Storm’s offence fully came to life in the fourth scoring six runs on solid offence. The only issue was Rene’s graceful trot from first to third kept Duran from getting a triple. Both runners would score anyway, so it didn’t matter. However, after Storm scored six and took what appeared to be a commanding lead… they turned around and gave six runs (and the lead) right back to Hanet.

Storm would once again take the lead in the top of the fifth with Sam coming up clutch like the mini Joey he is driving in two and helping Storm take a 14-13 lead. But Storm didn’t really want the lead, as they gave up two runs and the lead to Hanet.

Storm once again took the lead in the top of the 6th. Four hits in a row followed by a sac then another hit helped Storm to storm back once again. This time Storm looked at itself in the mirror and had to decide… were they finally going to hold on to the lead? This time the answer was yes. They kept Hanet off the board in the bottom of the 6th. They added two more in the top of the 7th before the inning ended on a surprising strikeout, by none other than Duran, the double machine who ran out of steam, and struck out for the 15th time in Storm history (including playoffs and tournament play).  Storm gave up two runs in the bottom of the 7th, but with the bases loaded and Storm threatening to cough up yet another lead, they finally slammed the door holding on to a 20-17 victory. 

Storm    20   -    Hanet 17

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Storm	0	3	2	6	3	4	2	20
Hanet	2	1	4	6	2	0	2	17

Notable Boxscores:

Duran - 4 for 5, 3 runs, RBI, STRIKEOUT

Lance - 3 for 4, 5 RBI, 2 runs

Craig - 3 for 3, 2 runs, RBI

Mills - 3 for 4, 3 runs, RBI

Brian - 3 for 4, 2 runs, 2 RBI

Storm Exposes weaknesses and wins

Storm played another good game that was mostly solid all around. They blanked the Exp0s in the top of the first. Ken, playing his first game made a great play at second that made it seem he was in midseason form. Storm then exploded for five runs in the bottom of the inning. Jeff led off with a double off the wall which set up Duran for a home run. He had promised his son he would hit one, and was going to hit one no matter what, so it’s good there was a runner on. Rene and Joey both walked and Lance launched a three run homer. Momentum was Kompletely Killed when Brad MaKDougall strucK out for the second time this season. He made a liar of himself as he had previously proclaimed that his striKeout in an earlier game was his “strikeout for the season.” 

The second inning was more of the same. Storm blanked the Exp0s again and scored five again. Duran tripled to get the hard half of the cycle out of the way by the second inning on a play where Duran chased Jeff who chased Greg trying to get everyone where they needed (or in Duran’s case wanted) to be. 

The top of the 3rd was the first stumble for Storm. The Expos exposed some shaky defence as the infield sprung a leak when a few balls bounced off fielder’s and calliope music could be heard from over the hill as a monkey gathered its cymbals and started towards the diamond. Storm was mercied and it was a game again. 

Storm’s bats would quiet down a bit scoring only eight runs across the next four innings, but the Exp0s put up zeroes in the next three frames. The defensive highlight was a pop fly that fell between Brian and Al as neither of them really moved, but the ball bounced directly toward Brian who quickly tagged the runner who was tagging up figuring someone was actually going to move and catch the ball. Then Brian stepped on first to complete the unassisted double play. 

Just when it seemed the game was going to be a blowout, the Expos remembered it’s more fun when you score and scored more runs in the final frame than they had in the previous six. But they were so far behind by then it wasn’t enough, and Storm held on to win 18-13. 

Expos    13   -    Storm 18

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Expos	0	0	6	0	0	0	7	13
Storm	5	5	3	2	0	3	0	18

Cycle watch: Duran got the hard ones on his first two at bats and then… nothing

Notable Boxscores:

Rene - 3 for 3, 4 runs, RBI

Lance 2 for 3, 5RBI, HR, 2 runs

Jeff - 2 for 3, 2 runs, RBI, double

Joey - 2 for 3, 2 runs RBI, double

Sam 2 for 3, 2 runs, RBI

Greg - 2 for 3, 2 runs, RBI

 

Storm solid all around

Storm bounced back from their loss Sunday night and played a complete game with solid hitting, defence, and pitching to win convincingly against Surge 17-5. It started slowly, looking like a pitchers duel with 4 total runs scored during the first three innings, but Storm broke it open in the fourth and never looked back.

Highlights:

Whether Jeff was channeling Stanley Ipkiss or Hannibal Lecter, he definitely pitched like a different man and carried a shutout through 6 and ⅔ innings. Part of the reason Storm didn’t give up many runs was because they didn’t give away runs. All the plays that should have been made were made, and some plays were made that went above and beyond. Bob made a few really nice catches in the outfield. The infield played a solid game until the last inning when a couple of balls squeaked through, but there were no serious blunders and Storm shut the door on Surge until Surge surged with one out left. . 

Storm also hit well and spread out the runs across the order. Every player on the team scored at least one run. 

Lowlights:

Brad MaKDougall got his first strikeout of the year on a foul ball and proclaimed “that’s my strikeout for the year,” which has left some spectators skeptical. 

Joey was doubled off on an infield  fly. He didn’t hop back to the base fast enough and looked like a deer in the headlights when he realized the throw was coming. 

Surge    5   -    Storm 17

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Surge	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	5
Storm	1	1	2	6	4	3	x	17

Notable Boxscores:

Joey - 5 for 5, 4 runs, 2 RBI, and doubled off on an infield fly

Brad - 3 for 4, 2 runs, RBI, Strikeout

Brian - 3 for 3, RBI, run

On a separate note, Stormwatch is currently on hiatus because of the WGA work action. 

This is because:

• The writers of Stormwatch are members of the WGA and are part of the work action
• The writers are Canadian writers who are standing in solidarity with their WGA counterparts
• The writers are lazy and are using the WGA strike as an excuse