Our next game is at 8 p.m. Tuesday vs. Fire Escape. It is NOT at 9 p.m. as I might have said once. It is at 8 p.m. We probably need to tie or win this game to clinch our number-one position in the Pac-Man Division and home-field advantage for the playoffs (unlike the Twins).
Fire Escape is a new team that has quickly sunk to last place in the Pac-Man Divison, losing their first four games. We would have played them on Sept. 14 but it was rained out. Scotty and/or Geoff and I umped for their first two games. They are nice kids; they remind me of our early days of not quite knowing how to win yet. Someday they might be good, but right now they play kind of meekly and foul a lot, and I don't think they usually have a full 11-person team on the field. Their typical game is a 6-3 loss.
So we're in first place, they're in last place, and we can take a win for granted, right? Nah. When I previewed the Sept. 14 game I set a goal of beating them by at least 10-2. But they do have some upsides. Their pitcher throws pretty hard and bouncy, which can induce fouls if you're not careful. They have hit a home run (unlike us), but that's because Blue Balls barely defended it. And they have had five weeks to get better and they might be hungry to win.
So stay the course, Muskies. I believe that we can overpower this team, but you should also read my new treatise A Philosophy of Bunting on what we should do to get on base more, get out less, and break out of our little scoring slump.
We might need to shuffle the positions a little. I might need Dave in center field, Scotty at pitcher and Geoff at shortstop and relief pitcher. At catcher, I am thinking of trying Jenny or Katie to see if they can stab some bunts (see "Defending the Bunt," below). If you have any ideas or desires, let me know.
And I'd still like to see someone on this team hit a home run. In fact, here: I will give one of my Twins playoff tickets to the first Muskie who homers. Caveats: 1) Don't do anything stupid to win this; 2) Two homers in the same inning will be a tie, settled by a coin toss; 2) Void if the Twins are eliminated before I have an available ticket; 3) You may or may not have to sit with me.
P.S. Sunday practice was fun -- Scott hit a jillion homers and I sustained a head injury (elbow to the temple).
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