Late-Game Spin-Offs Rally Crushes Foe!
The Sun Sets On Another Spin-Offs Victory!
The Ellipse, Washington DC: Despite being ejected from their hard-earned field near the Washington Monument a mere handful of minutes before game-time, our valiant heroes were undaunted. They quickly relocated to a field across the street - on the Ellipse - and prepared to do battle with the foe-of-the-week, the nefarious Sopchoppy Choppers.
At first it seemed as if the softball gods were smiling upon our band of merry adventurers. Present was Team Mascot APOLLO NAVARRETE (the vicious, Cerberus-like beast that guards The Spin-Offs gear during games). Like the military chaplain of a WWII fighter squadron annointing his pilots with holy water before a dangerous mission, APOLLLO "annointed" the bag of MARQUIS BRANTLEY with doggy "holy water." And that seemed to do the trick: by the end of the second inning, our brave warriors were in the lead, 7-1! Yet Fortune is a fickle creature. A mere three innings later - at the bottom of the fifth - the score was 12-7, with the Nemesis in the lead! Things looked bleak indeed for our heroes...
But then second-baseman DURRE "BRUISER" ISASA caught a whiff of something in the air. "Is that what I think it is?" She asked with hope gleaming in her eyes. At first there was some confusion; the smell of dead fish had been wafting in off the Potomac all day. But victory sometimes smells like dead fish (or so I'm told) and BRUISER'S compatriots quickly took up the cry. "Rally!" They cried! "BRUISER smells a rally!!" And right she was.
With that burst of enthusiastic vigor, the bats of The Spin-Offs came alive. By the end of the inning our band of brave adventurers had turned the tables on their treacharous foes by racking up 11 runs to bring the score to 18-12! And the rally continued through the sixth inning, with the foe unable to score even a single run, while the Spin-Offs went on to bag an additional six!
Truth be told, the Choppers played a good game. But at the end of the day they were simply unable to withstand the dreadnought might of The Spin-Offs!
Final score: 24-13!
AWARDS & KUDOS:
JOHN GULISANO continues to contribute to the team both in terms of brawn and brains. Not only did he demonstrate skills both on the field and at the plate, but his batting line-up formula continues to be instrumental in The Spin-Offs march to victory! Big thanks are also due to John for playing despite a very painful knee injury. Thanks John!! And speaking of heroically playing through the pain...
ANDY MUIR shined at Short Stop, despite an injured knee of his own. Moreover, Andy wins the GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD for his call as the 1B Coach. It's always difficult to make a tough call against your team - especially when they're losing - and especially when you know that if you don't say anything, you can probably get away with it. Yet ANDY valiantly made the call, and in the process not only burnished his team's reputation for honesty and good sportsmanship - but his own as well! Thank you Andy!
JACQUELINE ("JP?") PINO also gets a GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD. At game-time, the Choppers were still waiting on one last player to arrive. JP magnaminously volunteered her services to the opponent - which she ended up providing for the entirety of the game. During which time her teammates were uncertain whether to be pleased or chagrined at how well JACQUELINE played! Well done Jacqueline - you are a credit to your team!
And speaking of people who are a credit to the team, OSCAR NAVARRETE (who prior to the last game hadn't played ball in a decade!) has quickly shaken off the rust to prove himself an able and valuable player, both on the field and at-bat. Well done OSCAR! (Now we just need to come up with a flashy nickname for him that will complement that of his wife, the ever-fabulous, always color-coordinated JESSICA "JNAV" NAVARRETE. How about "O-DOGG?" (The extra "G" is for GREAT! ;) O-Dogg & JNAV does have a nice ring to it... ;)
On a political note, SENATOR KRISTEN POWERS graced the team with her presence on Thursday night, but was unfortunately side-lined after being struck-down by a blinding headache. The team's team of medical experts suggest that this malady was the work of a witch-doctor in the employ of the Choppers - who fear THE SENATOR above all other Spin-Offs! (In fact our spies indicate that the Choppers went so far as to make a voo-doo doll of The Senator!) Alas for them however, a piddling headache is not hardly enough to keep KRISTEN down! She stayed and cheered her team on to victory despite the pain!
Big Thanks too to MYRON GILMORE, the Team's Pitching Coach / Zen Master. His calm, soothing mantra of "Float The Ball In" - and his frequent advice to "Watch Out For The Bunt!" were of immeasurable value to the pitcher. Thanks too to his lovely wife GRETA GILMORE, who came out yet again to cheer on her favorite softball team!
Continued and everlasting thanks to CURTIS TROY, whose clever base-measuring tool continues to make life so much easier for everyone on the team. (Especially the coach!) On this particular evening, CURTIS played admirably - both at first base, and at-bat. And then he went back to the office! (Poor guy!) Thanks for coming out to support your team CURTIS!
And speaking of people who continue to make life so much easier for everyone on the team - especially the coach - much hearfelt gratitude to MARQUIS BRANTLEY who continues to leave the office before 4pm each and every game-day in order to secure a field for his Spin-Offs brethren. And not only is he good at finding a field, he is great at playing on it too! The secret of his success? Paparazzi following The Team whisper that MARQUIS takes a brief power-nap before each and every game - in a hyperbaric chamber just like Michael Jackson allegedly used! Is it time to implement a Spin-Offs nap-time with the obligatory milk and cookies? Perhaps we should ask...
... self-described "Team Mom" SHIRLEY GOODE(!) whose contributions to the team continue to grow! Not only has she created (and filled!) the role of Team Photographer - thus documenting the Spin-Offs in all their glory(!) - but she has also taken to bringing water and snacks for her team! Moreover, when SENATOR POWERS was struck down by the witch doctor's curse, SHIRLEY stepped in to fill the gap - and proved herself to be quite an able player! Is there anything she can't do?? (We doubt it!) Thanks for everything SHIRLEY! (And please let us know if we can chip in to cover the cost of the water and snacks, if you choose to keep bringing them!)
Finally, last but not least, thanks too to CLAUDIO BARTOLUCCI, who makes being a Spin-Off look ever so easy. Batting? No problem. Fielding? No problem. Deciding whether the opponent's female pitcher is cuter than their female second baseman? (Well ... that one actually did take a few minutes to decide... ;) Glad you could make it CLAUDIO!
Well Done Team!
See you at the next game.
And as always - Hail Cesar! (Collantes ;)
At first it seemed as if the softball gods were smiling upon our band of merry adventurers. Present was Team Mascot APOLLO NAVARRETE (the vicious, Cerberus-like beast that guards The Spin-Offs gear during games). Like the military chaplain of a WWII fighter squadron annointing his pilots with holy water before a dangerous mission, APOLLLO "annointed" the bag of MARQUIS BRANTLEY with doggy "holy water." And that seemed to do the trick: by the end of the second inning, our brave warriors were in the lead, 7-1! Yet Fortune is a fickle creature. A mere three innings later - at the bottom of the fifth - the score was 12-7, with the Nemesis in the lead! Things looked bleak indeed for our heroes...
But then second-baseman DURRE "BRUISER" ISASA caught a whiff of something in the air. "Is that what I think it is?" She asked with hope gleaming in her eyes. At first there was some confusion; the smell of dead fish had been wafting in off the Potomac all day. But victory sometimes smells like dead fish (or so I'm told) and BRUISER'S compatriots quickly took up the cry. "Rally!" They cried! "BRUISER smells a rally!!" And right she was.
With that burst of enthusiastic vigor, the bats of The Spin-Offs came alive. By the end of the inning our band of brave adventurers had turned the tables on their treacharous foes by racking up 11 runs to bring the score to 18-12! And the rally continued through the sixth inning, with the foe unable to score even a single run, while the Spin-Offs went on to bag an additional six!
Truth be told, the Choppers played a good game. But at the end of the day they were simply unable to withstand the dreadnought might of The Spin-Offs!
Final score: 24-13!
AWARDS & KUDOS:
JOHN GULISANO continues to contribute to the team both in terms of brawn and brains. Not only did he demonstrate skills both on the field and at the plate, but his batting line-up formula continues to be instrumental in The Spin-Offs march to victory! Big thanks are also due to John for playing despite a very painful knee injury. Thanks John!! And speaking of heroically playing through the pain...
ANDY MUIR shined at Short Stop, despite an injured knee of his own. Moreover, Andy wins the GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD for his call as the 1B Coach. It's always difficult to make a tough call against your team - especially when they're losing - and especially when you know that if you don't say anything, you can probably get away with it. Yet ANDY valiantly made the call, and in the process not only burnished his team's reputation for honesty and good sportsmanship - but his own as well! Thank you Andy!
JACQUELINE ("JP?") PINO also gets a GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD. At game-time, the Choppers were still waiting on one last player to arrive. JP magnaminously volunteered her services to the opponent - which she ended up providing for the entirety of the game. During which time her teammates were uncertain whether to be pleased or chagrined at how well JACQUELINE played! Well done Jacqueline - you are a credit to your team!
And speaking of people who are a credit to the team, OSCAR NAVARRETE (who prior to the last game hadn't played ball in a decade!) has quickly shaken off the rust to prove himself an able and valuable player, both on the field and at-bat. Well done OSCAR! (Now we just need to come up with a flashy nickname for him that will complement that of his wife, the ever-fabulous, always color-coordinated JESSICA "JNAV" NAVARRETE. How about "O-DOGG?" (The extra "G" is for GREAT! ;) O-Dogg & JNAV does have a nice ring to it... ;)
On a political note, SENATOR KRISTEN POWERS graced the team with her presence on Thursday night, but was unfortunately side-lined after being struck-down by a blinding headache. The team's team of medical experts suggest that this malady was the work of a witch-doctor in the employ of the Choppers - who fear THE SENATOR above all other Spin-Offs! (In fact our spies indicate that the Choppers went so far as to make a voo-doo doll of The Senator!) Alas for them however, a piddling headache is not hardly enough to keep KRISTEN down! She stayed and cheered her team on to victory despite the pain!
Big Thanks too to MYRON GILMORE, the Team's Pitching Coach / Zen Master. His calm, soothing mantra of "Float The Ball In" - and his frequent advice to "Watch Out For The Bunt!" were of immeasurable value to the pitcher. Thanks too to his lovely wife GRETA GILMORE, who came out yet again to cheer on her favorite softball team!
Continued and everlasting thanks to CURTIS TROY, whose clever base-measuring tool continues to make life so much easier for everyone on the team. (Especially the coach!) On this particular evening, CURTIS played admirably - both at first base, and at-bat. And then he went back to the office! (Poor guy!) Thanks for coming out to support your team CURTIS!
And speaking of people who continue to make life so much easier for everyone on the team - especially the coach - much hearfelt gratitude to MARQUIS BRANTLEY who continues to leave the office before 4pm each and every game-day in order to secure a field for his Spin-Offs brethren. And not only is he good at finding a field, he is great at playing on it too! The secret of his success? Paparazzi following The Team whisper that MARQUIS takes a brief power-nap before each and every game - in a hyperbaric chamber just like Michael Jackson allegedly used! Is it time to implement a Spin-Offs nap-time with the obligatory milk and cookies? Perhaps we should ask...
... self-described "Team Mom" SHIRLEY GOODE(!) whose contributions to the team continue to grow! Not only has she created (and filled!) the role of Team Photographer - thus documenting the Spin-Offs in all their glory(!) - but she has also taken to bringing water and snacks for her team! Moreover, when SENATOR POWERS was struck down by the witch doctor's curse, SHIRLEY stepped in to fill the gap - and proved herself to be quite an able player! Is there anything she can't do?? (We doubt it!) Thanks for everything SHIRLEY! (And please let us know if we can chip in to cover the cost of the water and snacks, if you choose to keep bringing them!)
Finally, last but not least, thanks too to CLAUDIO BARTOLUCCI, who makes being a Spin-Off look ever so easy. Batting? No problem. Fielding? No problem. Deciding whether the opponent's female pitcher is cuter than their female second baseman? (Well ... that one actually did take a few minutes to decide... ;) Glad you could make it CLAUDIO!
Well Done Team!
See you at the next game.
And as always - Hail Cesar! (Collantes ;)
