Sad Day In Sports For Suldogs

As I write this, it is Saturday afternoon. Tomorrow morning, I get to find out if the Bombers – my team for the past 15 years – will get an early leg up on the rest of the league. We sit at 2 and 0, and so do our opponents for the day, the Titans. If one of these teams sweeps the scheduled doubleheader, it should go a long way towards deciding who sits in the winner’s circle at season’s end.

(Speaking of the winner’s circle, you heard it here first: Mine That Bird will win The Belmont. Rachel Alexandra is a fine filly, and a deserving winner of The Preakness, but if Mine That Bird doesn’t have to go wide, she gets caught. And, with the extra ¼ mile in New York, she’ll get beaten by three lengths.

Of course, I predicted that Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle would win the Oscar for best picture, so don’t bet the mortgage money.)

For the 15 seasons previous to this one, the Titans have won the league title 11 or 12 times. My squad, the Bombers, have never won it.

Our overall record, versus the Titans, is 3 wins, 32 losses, and 2 ties.

(Yes, ties. League rules and city regulations being what they are, the second game of a doubleheader is sometimes unable to run into extra innings. Other leagues have permits for the field and we have to vacate at the end of regulation. That sucks. There should never be a tie in baseball or softball.)

The Titans are, by far, the team to beat if your team has any notion concerning a championship run. And, looking at it honestly, we’ve been outmanned most other years. I have rarely had reason to question the heart of my Bomber’s teammates, but we’ve also rarely had the talent to go along with that heart. This year, I think we might.

I’ll see whether that‘s true tomorrow morning - if it doesn’t rain.

Right now, the weather forecast calls for heavy rain overnight. If it stops before game time, we should get them in. If not, our series against the Titans will wait until the tail end of the season to be made up.

Signing off now. Back with the rest of the story after it happens.

***************************************************************

So, from the title of this post, you probably know the outcomes.

Titans - 16 BOMBERS - 7
Titans - 10 BOMBERS - 4

And not only that, the Celtics lost to Orlando in game seven. I'm a sad Suldog, indeed.

The games versus the Titans were closer than the scores would indicate. Game one was 8 - 7 going into the final inning. In game two, our first three batters singled, but the leadoff man was thrown out at the plate and a double play ended the inning without a run being scored. That set the pace for the remainder of the game. We had chances, both offensively and defensively, to do much better. We didn't, though.

The good thing - if there is a good thing about dropping two games - is that I know we can play with that team this year. We really aren't that far off. If we meet them again in the playoffs, I like our chances. We'll have gelled more as a unit by then, tightened up whatever shaky spots we had defensively, and be ready for them.

BOMBERS STATS

As for the Celtics, they went as far as could be expected with the personnel available. With Garnett and Powe out for the playoffs, they gutted it into game seven. I'm sad that they lost, but not disappointed in the overall effort. They showed heart all year. And they'll come back strong and healthy next year.

So, that's all for today. I'm not a cheerful and happy Suldog, but I know better times are ahead. As I usually say...

Soon, with more better stuff.