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Just two weeks ago, Fordham played a perfect defensive game on the field. 

On Wednesday night, they gave up 15 runs to a team that hit the ball out of the infield just a handful of  times, dropping their record to 2-5.  Clearly, this went awry in the field.  After the game, Fordham fired fielding coach Bill Buckner.

"I taught them everything I knew, and apparently it just wasn't good enough," Buckner told the press.

The bad fielding crushed an otherwise solid effort on the mound by Patty Dickerson, who proved to be quite durable, throwing 243 pitches in the losing effort. 

The team may have been feeling a bit pressured to turn in highlight film plays in the field, because the offence has been non existent.  The team has only averaged 4.57 runs a game, second worst in their division. 

Still, you have to give the team credit for having heart.  After the game, most of the players stayed for an extra 45 minutes of practice, in addition to the extra inning they played after the mercy rule kicked in. 

Also hurting the team were the departures of Alexis Kramer to Chicago and Kevin Rodricks to Boston.  Both players were traded for future considerations in cost cutting moves forced by the movement of University funding to scholarship students. 

"Apparently, academics, and not alumni softball, is the priority for this school," commented Manager Charlie O'Donnell after the game.  "You have to wonder whether or not the University is really thinking about the future if they're going to have these kinds of lopsided priorities."

Rainout, originally uploaded by ceonyc.

Doesn't look good...gametime in 20 minutes.

If anyone would have told manager Charlie O'Donnell that the anemic Fordham offense would only muster three runs against Megahurtz--a team that had not lost yet and had a record of 4-0-1, he probably would have thought yesterday's game was going to be a rerun of the team's previous efforts. 

And boy, would he have been wrong, because everyone knows that pitching and defense win games.

Patti Dickerson tossed 7 innings of one run ball, striking out four along the way, to get Fordham its first real win, 3-1.  She was backed up by errorless, yes errorless, as in, perfect, as in, every time the ball was hit to someone, they caught it, defense.  The play in the field was led by Jason  Giannitti, who also drove in the go ahead runs for Fordham in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run single that scored Ron Zapata and Samara Finn.  Giannitti vacuumed up flyout after flyout in leftfield.  The left side of the defense was also bolstered by the cleatless Kevin Rodricks, who, despite the lack of traction, managed a few circus catches for ESPN's Slowpitch Softball Tonight.

The win, combined with ABA's forfeit last week, gives Fordham a 2-4 record.   There is also a suspended game that Fordham leads 7-5 with two innings to go that needs to be completed later in the season.  If Fordham can pull that game out, they're actually not out of contention should this win spark any kind of streak.  One thing's for sure, they'll have to find a way to get the offense sparked, because three runs a game is going to be very little gas for a long road up the standings.

After the game, the team signed the game ball and gave it to Patti Dickerson for her efforts in the franchise's first actual win on the field.

I may need a ringer or two for kickball tomorrow...   e-mail me if you can be in Central Park right by Columbus Circle tomorrow (Tuesday) at 5:45PM and you're interested.

Yes, I play kickball.   ZogSports, the same league we all play dodgeball in, has a kickball league as well.  We won our first game 16-3, but that may have led to a little bit of overconfidence, because we didn't do as well last night.   We lost to the Ligers 14-7.   Plus, it didn't help that our ump what a very loose interpretation of where the foul lines were.  That puts "Those Punks Stole Our Name" at 1-1 for the season. (That's our team name, for obvious reasons.)  Still, we had a lot of fun and got pics and video thanks to my  hobbled buddy Marina, who sprained her ankle in the first game.

Randy Johnson and the exploding bird.

The pine tar incident.

The All Star Game tie.

Add Fordham's Friday night game against The Deal to your list of wacky incidents.  A scheduling error by the league left Fordham opponentless for 45 minutes until The Deal finally started showing up around 6:15--early as far as they knew.  Both teams scurried to start as time on the field permit ticked away, but in the end, since the game didn't go the full time, the league decided to suspend the game with Fordham up 7-5 after five, to be continued later in the season.

Fordham bats were quiet but effective during the game, with several "seeing eye" hits doing some major damage against The Deal.  Patti "Hit it where they ain't" Dickerson drove in four runs on two clutch floaters  just over the infield.  The game of inches also came back to hurt Fordham as well.  Pat "The Mighty" Quinn just missed a great stab at a liner over third and Larry Porco attempted a diving stop of a smash to first.  Both plays would have shut the door before The Deal put three on the board in the third, but as it was, luck wasn't much of a lady to either team on Central Park's Great Lawn that night.

Fordham sent Charlie O'Donnell to the mound in place of their absent ace Brian Cuthbert.  O'Donnell frustrated The Deal with his unwillingness/inability to keep the ball around the plate, causing some ugly and desperate swings.  He also walked three, but never game The Deal much of anything to hit.  He slipped several called strikes past the surprised Deal hitters, and while it might of been ugly, it kept Fordham in the game.

No word yet on when the remaining two innings will be played, but Fordham will look for their first win this week at Heckscher #1 this Thursday night at 6:45 in Central Park.

Do you want to play softball on Thursday?  Did you go to Fordham?  Well, come on down to Hecksher Field #1 on Thursday at 6:30PM and we'll do our best to accommodate you!  We're having an open practice and then we're going to the Young Alumni Happy Hour (as we do every 3rd Thursday of the month).  This month, we'll be going to T.G. Whitney's.

Here's the field map:

So, all of the sudden, the Mets have drawn even at 5-5, erasing their dismal 0-5 start.   They beat the Marlins 4-0.  In fact, the Mets have a better record than the Yanks right now.  Tonight, they did it on the back of...  Aaron Heilman??  I've panned this guy so many times before...  he's a career 3-11 in 20 starts.  People are saying "finally" because they've touted him so much, but I have to see another start.  I remember Dave Mlicki shutting out the Yanks one time and that was about it for his career.  At least with Mlicki, he had a 12-6 curve that made me think he had something.  I'm not getting on the Aaron Heilman bandwagon just yet, but I'll throw the guy a bone for a 1-hitter.  Impressive start.  Tomorrow, I'm going to see Pedro's home opener against Al Leiter.  Should be quite a game and the weather is supposed to be faaaantastic.

From Brian:

[10:19] cuth23b: Brian Roberts is on pace for 92 HRs, 218 RBI, and a .412 BA
[10:19] cuth23b: AND
[10:19] cuth23b: 46 steals

Tomorrow, at 6:15PM, the Fordham Young Alumni softball team plays its inaugural game at City College.  Spectators are encouraged!! 

Here's how to get to the field...

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Link: eBay item 5183660221 (Ends Apr-13-05 18:24:27 PDT) - FOR SALE NEW YORK YANKEES CLOSER MARIANO RIVERA.

You have to love the Yankee fans.  Rivera, probably more so than any other Yankee, is responsible for their current run, and these goofballs have him up on eBay.  Some of these idiots even booed him (not many, but a few) after yesterday's blown save.  This proves my theory...  Yankee fans have no capacity for human emotion.  Remember when the keys to Yankee success were Scott Brosious and Jimmy Leyritz?  Those days are gone.  Now, they have sold their soul and worship The Big Unit.

This is now the most exciting thing I've heard all day....

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Dear ZogSports Kickball Captains,

Kickball season is quickly approaching, and we wanted to welcome you to our spring/summer kickball league and provide you with some key dates for information regarding the season.

o Wednesday, April 13^th

§ Regular Season schedule will be posted on www.zogsports.org

o Thursday, April 14^th

§ Email will be sent allowing captains to add to or adjust their roster as well as change name or charity

o Monday, April 25^th

§ Regular season begins

o Shirt pickup Monday, April 18^th – Thursday, April 21^st Times TBD

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Cheers,

Christie

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WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

So, last night, our ZogSports dodgeball team, Dodge This!, got swept in the playoffs, losing all four of its games.  We were disappointed that we didn't even pull a game out, but in the end, we were all really happy about the season and this wacky sport that brought us all together.  One of the teams we lost to is also playing kickball, so we'll have to exact our revenge on the turf. 

So far I've played dodgeball this year, and kickball last year, and I have to say, this league is really something special.  The quality of people that it brings together is amazing, but I guess "people who play charity dodgeball or kickball" is as good a social screen as you can get.  Plus, playing in the league gives you an automatic connection to all of the other Zoggers as well.  Anytime I see one of those colored t-shirts with the ZogSports logo, I always ask what sport the person played and how they got involved, and they're always very receptive. 

Another thing that was nice last night was an appearence by "the Zog Guy"--founder and new dad Robert Herzog.  I pointed out to some of the people on the team who he was and some of them were curious about what his story was.  I really didn't know too much about the guy, but when I Googled him and Zogsports, I learned just how special this whole thing was.  You see, Robert Herzog worked for Marsh McLennan on the 96th Floor of the World Trade Center's North Tower.  Two hundred and ninety seven people from Marsh died that morning, but Rob, miraculously, was later to work than usual.  His story was detailed in a great Tampa Tribune article a few years ago.

So now, ZogSports is up to 11,000 participants.  Zog encourages "New Yorkers to maintain perspective and a more balanced lifestyle by having fun while also giving something back to the community." Its really something amazing to be a part of and I really have to tip my hat (and no, I'm not suddenly wearing hats because I shaved my head) to Rob.

Former Mets GM Steve Phillips is speaking at the Buyouts Symposium.

WTF?

What does he have to do with buyouts?  He wasn't even a good GM...   the Mets fired him.  Plus... its the Mets.  I mean, I'm a Met fan, but its not like the team has done anything to warrent their fired GM speaking anywhere.  To be honest, I think I'd rather see Bobby Valentine speak.  Maybe he could wear a moustache, too.   That would be hilarious. 

There are speakers that, if you can get them, apply anywhere...   Rudy Guiliani, Bill Clinton.   Steve Phillips is not one of these people.   He wouldn't even be welcome at a Mets Fans Symposium.  I don't get it.

Last night, the team dropped three games and tied one as the snow fell outside PS 191.  They weren't blowouts, but now next week's game becomes even more important.  Dodge This! will be fighting for our lives (or running for them)!  And, if that doesn't work out... we always have kickball, which we just signed up for.

The team name?  "Kick this!" of course.   I took a few pictures at Lincoln Park, a proud sponsor of the Zog Sports league and on my way there, I snapped off this pic on Broadway looking down from 49th street.

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Here's the mid-season update...   We're in 6th place out of 12 teams in our division.  Dodge This! is holding its own at .500.

Lazer/Blazer Division

Name                                                        W            L           T            Pts
Dodgy McShady KG                     10         1         1         21
Balls of Furry PR                            9         3         0         18
First Picks GO                               9         3         0         18
Moral Victory RB                            8         3         1         17
Get Outta Dodge IV                        5         4         3         13
Dodge This! HG                              6         6         0         12
Jajballers CH                                  5         7         0         10
Orange Crush OR                           5         7         0         10
Blue Evaders BL                             4         8         0          8
Special Olympics BK                      3         8         1          7
Snoop Dawgs From LIC OL              3         9         0          6
Team Voltron LG                             2        10        0          4

Link: ESPN.com - MLB - Seeking relief, Astros add 44-year-old Franco.

Thank God...   Its OVER.  I was going to write something about how many blown saves he had for the Mets, so I went to his page on Baseball-reference.com.  Someone had sponsored the page and summed up my feelings on John Franco perfectly...

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        Mr. Wilpon, I sponsored this page so you wouldn't waste another penny on this guy.

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Dave Alexandro...  You're hilarious.

For the record, with the Mets, Franco had 276 Saves and 64 Blown Saves... 81.1%.  So, one out of five times he went out there, he blew it.   In 1998, the Mets finished 2 games shy of the wild card and Franco went 0-8 with 8 blown saves.  Good riddence.

Dodge This! proved that last week wasn't a fluke when they split their 1st regular season matchup, 2-2.   They came out a little bit stiff, but 4 dodgeball games and a post game visit to Blondie's loosened up our heros in grey.

So we've been debating team gear for next game...  sweatbands?  Tube socks?  We're a wacky bunch.

Pics from Blondies:

Nice article in the Daily News about Fordham basketball.