RCBA Media Center

Hi Champs,

Just a note to let you know that the season is fast approaching. The schedule has been released and can be found here. There is a downloadable version there as well.

The championship trophy has done its job during the offseason, so between that and our usual winter recruiting drive we are looking forward to another generation of Originals joining our hallowed team.

Highlights from the league meeting on April 7th … since no year would be complete without some rule changes there have been minor clarifications to the pinch hitter rule. There will again be a MVP named each game by the opposing team. The league is investigating using the newly re-opened Irish Rovers Pub near McCleary, but for the time being we will continue to frequent the Pilot. Lastly, the Beasties have been renamed the Burning Sensation, I guess in memory of their previous season's performance, or as John T said, "we could just call them B.S." (thanks John).

The league is being really strict this year in terms of entry fees, so I would ask you all to get your money in right away. The Originals fee will be the same as last year, i.e. $40 for veterans and $60 for rookies. As usual this covers league permits, liability insurance, uniforms, and year end party.

Finally I would like to announce that after guiding the team to an undefeated season and our first championship I have promoted myself to General Manager (answering directly to our spiritual advisor), in charge of new contracts and team administration. Shawn has been promoted to Coach, in charge of telling you people what to do during games. Here is a picture of him during our recruiting drive over the winter .

Looking forward to seeing you all on March the 5th at Riverdale West (the Cabbagetown side of the DVP) against the Burning Sensation.

The Originals (at least those who didn't count on the weather saving their sorry asses) started off the 2004 season last night against the newly minted Burning Sensation. Hopes were high, the rookie crop was a bumper one, the next generation was cooking in the oven, and the competition was lightly regarded. Things were looking good for the season's opening match.

Then they started the game … let's just say that while the promise was there, something was lacking in the execution.

After about the fifth inning some people were starting to wonder if they'd get a second chance at the plate. Due to our propensity to hit weak fly balls to the infield, the Burning Sensimillias were pretty much in control for most of the game, and had built a 6-0 lead on the Originals before their substances started to kick in.

We finally found a little of our lost stroke and managed to squeeze a few runs out towards the end of the game, overtaking the Bungled Senses in the last few innings and holding on for a 14-12 victory.

So the streak is still alive, and we move forward, knowing that the opposition is sharpening their knives and waiting to expose a chink in our armor.

Next week we are looking to shake off some more rust and start rounding into form as we meet our arch-rivals the Thunderdawgs at McCleary Park.

What a difference a week and change of batting order makes.

Rookie coach Van Hees, eager to put his stamp on the 2004 edition of the Originals tinkered with his batting lineup last night, adjusting some of his combinations in the hopes of putting some spark into the squad that struggled to squeak out runs last week against the Burning Sensation.

The results were quickly apparent as the Originals jumped all over the unprepared Thunderdawgs for 10 runs in the opening frame, and continued to pound out the hits in a emphatic 35-13 victory last night at McCleary Park.

The deafening noise of Lakeshore Boulevard was nothing in comparison to the rat-a-tat attack of the Originals as they strung together base hit after base hit. Relying for a change on the simple "hit 'em where they ain't" strategy, the Originals eschewed the 3 run home run philosophy of Earl Weaver and continually found the holes in the Thunderdawg's defense that kept the runners moving around the bases.

Defensively we were strong for the most part, although it must be noted the Thunderdawgs didn't give us too much of a test. The ultimate accolade was that there were no standouts, just a solid team effort.

Now that he has solved our offensive funk we are all anticipating what changes the coach has in mind next week to improve the kitchen service at the bar!

Next week we are at the south diamond of McCleary against the rejuvenated RE Sports. The consolation winners from last year have a good young team and will be looking to prove something against us. Hopefully they will give us a good test to see if our offensive outburst was just a one week occurrence or a sign of things to come.

On a memorable night in sports, when the Calgary Flames returned to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 15 years, and the Minnesota Timberwolves advanced to the NBA Western Conference Finals for the first time in their history, the Originals continued their, by now, usual ho-hum dismantling of the opposition enroute to their third consecutive victory of the season.

When informed of his team's win, Tyler Longo's response was, "this is getting kinda boring isn't it?".

Boring or not, the Originals continue to play solidly in the field, getting the outs that are handed to them and making the other team earn their runs the old fashioned way … not by errors but by hits. Offensively, coach Van Hees' squad seems to have bought into the base hit philosophy that they couldn't quite grasp last year, and seem intent on making the other team make some plays in the field.

The final score was Originals 26, RE Sports 6. So after 3 weeks in the schedule we find ourselves in first place, with a target on our backs. Since the following page of standings is published for the whole league you can bet that everyone is gunning for us, and for some of them it would make their season a success just to get a W against the Originals.

So we must continually guard against a let down and keep the momentum going next week against the Allsorts at Riverdale West.

The Originals fifth batter scores the game winning run … yada-yada-yada … the Originals score and easy 18-4 win over the Allsorts … yada-yada-yada … Britanny gets MVP honors with two nice defensive plays … yada-yada-yada … Alphonso's bad lower back starts to spread amongst the batting lineup … yada-yada-yada … next week at McCleary versus the Sultans in a reprise of last year's finals … yada-yada-yada … Originals take sole possession of first place … yada-yada-yada …

In a break from the weekly game report I am going to describe in detail the final half inning.

Following a pretty uneventful game against last years runner-ups, the Sultans, we found ourselves taking the field with a lead of six runs. Not a lot in this league, but I think we were pretty confident that the way this game had been going it would be enough. The score was 14-8 and the Sultans had shown nothing to make one think that they could actually score 6 or 7 runs in one inning.

In fact we were so confident that there weren't even enough fielders on the diamond. Since no one seemed too interested in going out to the outfield I dutifully trudged out to the field … not too concerned about where I would play. In heading towards the empty area in left field I met Alphonso and we negotiated that I would play deep and he would play shallow. So far so good.

The first batter hit a hot line drive towards third. One out.

They scored a couple of runs, we got another out … maybe missed one that should have been an out, they scored some more, got a few hits … all of a sudden someone said, "it's a three run lead" … and they had the bases loaded!

Some big tall guy at the plate. 2 out, bases loaded, top of the ninth. Every kid's dream scenario. I'm sure you've all played it hundreds of times in your imagination.

Now I'm going to tell you … I was born to play center field … well actually I started out as a first baseman, but finally talked my pee wee coaches into letting me play outfield, and it always suited my speed, and what until three years ago was a rocket for an arm, but left field … it feels so odd to me to be standing there, I don't really know how to play it. It seems foreign to me, being hemmed in by a foul line.

Anyway I backed up a bit and watched the big galoot foul one off. I kept looking over at Josh beside me in center field. Now Josh is young, he's more of an infield type. He's one of those people who doesn't have that outfielder's concept of "there is no one behind you, and in this case not even a fence". I kept trying to wave him back, but he was still too shallow. Anyway on the next pitch the guy blasted one about 100 feet over my head … luckily it went foul. As I watched it go onto the road, young Josh (being the eager young kind of guy we could use more of) ran after it. Since he went all that way I took the opportunity to move over to center and he stayed in left. Since he had seen how far the guy could hit it, he now played plenty deep.

Now I was at home. I located the tire ruts in the grass that I use both for positioning, and also so that in my travels I do not unexpectedly come across an adventure through parks and recreation landscaping hell when I am least prepared for it. I backed up a bit also and waited for the third pitch. Well that guy hit a line drive to my left, that I got a good jump on and was able to reach fairly easily (I've caught harder, and missed easier) … but I'm telling you the ball was still going up when it got to me. You don't see too many line drives still traveling that fast when they reach deep center field. Miss that one and it would roll to the brick fence near the smokestack. Game over.

Baseball is like that … things can just go along the way they are supposed to, and everything seems fine. Events can transpire that seem like luck but have a way of playing right into your hands … on the other hand, a gust of wind, a ball hit a couple of feet one way or the other, the sun in your eyes … and all your plans can very quickly come crashing down.

Anyway next week we play the hapless Thunderdawgs at Riverdale East. Now the Thunderdawgs, they are a lesson too. How you can be riding high in May, shot down in June. Champions two years running until it all fell apart. Let that be a lesson to us.

Anyway if anyone cares to contribute anything to the weekly Originals' communications, it seems as if this year's contests have so far failed to generate much to write about … so any poetry or literature or news that anyone has … feel free to send it to me and we can look at expanding our literary horizons.

Wednesday night saw the debut of the Thunderdawgs new t-shirts. Bright yellow, with personalized doggy names on the back. It looks like they are reaching back in RCBA history for the Sheriffs look. Well I knew the Sheriffs, the Sheriffs were friends of mine, and you Thunderdoggies are no Sheriffs.

The weather was hot, the wind was blowing out towards the outfield in the bowl of Riverdale Park and the Originals were hitting the ball further than they have in a while. There were a couple of monster shots tonight by the usual suspects, I particularly remember GREG's drive that nearly cleared the track in right field. Honorable mention goes to Sean and Pat for some moonshots, and Ian for his first homerun.

I take cash or cheque Greg.

We piled on the runs in all but two innings and ended up kickin' the little pooches by a score of 31-8. At this point in the season we are in first place with a record of 6-0 and an average score of 23-9 for all our games.

Next week we play the Gorillas, one of the teams right behind us in second place. They are usually a good team, so we shouldn't get overly confident or complacent. We will be playing in the south eastern corner of McCleary.

It was a week of stunning upsets.

In the NBA, against all odds, the Detroit Pistons defeated the star-studded Los Angeles Lakers in a series in which they had been given little chance.

Meanwhile down near the city garbage incinerator the heavily favored Originals lost a game for the first time since August 25th 2002.

Just like Smarty Jones in the Belmont, the Originals lost the game in the final strides, with the finish line in sight. We spit the bit. With 2 out in the top of the ninth we were up by 2 runs. Then somehow the Gorillas strung together 4 runs to quiet the otherwise rowdy Originals fan club and totally deflate the team, which then went silently in order in the bottom of the ninth.

Final score 14-12.

Anyway, you can't win 'em all. The Originals having dropped their first game this year are now tied in first place with the Gorillas and the Burning Sensation. Next week we are playing the Burning Sensation, once again at McCleary South.

Time to start a new streak.

We pretty much sucked last night. We were soundly beat 29-16 by the Burning Sensation. I seem to remember Tyler reminding me about something I'm supposed to say, but for the life of me I can't remember anything significant.

Things were so bad, that at the bar I started to sense dissension amongst even our most diehard fans … both of them.

I hear that next week our opponents are going to forfeit the game, so we may not be playing. Perhaps they haven't yet heard that they could probably pick up an easy win against us. I'll keep you informed about next week. In the meantime, "shake it off"!

Game cancelled because of lack of interest on the part of our opponent.

Writeup cancelled on account of the reporter wasn't there.

with apologies to Gene Autrey and the Sons of the Pioneers …

I'm back in the saddle again
The bat once again is a friend
Where the rcba teams
Cower like lowly gypsum weeds
Cause the Originals are in the saddle again

Ridin' the outfield once more
Looking to keep them from scorin'
Where you win near every night
And the final score is right
I'm Back in the saddle again

Whoopi-ty-aye-oh
Scorin' runs to and fro
Back in the saddle again
Whoopi-ty-aye-yay
It all goes our way
Back in the saddle again

I'm back in the saddle again
The bat once again is a friend
Where the rcba teams
Cower like lowly gypsum weeds
Cause the Originals are in the saddle again

Last night was notable for two things that brought much amusement to the assembled throng … Mitch "Shoeless" Gold rounding the bases on creaky wheels, and Jim "Say Hey" Longo having his third real bad game in 25 years in the outfield.

(It just crossed my mind that since so many of you didn't get the cultural reference in last weeks release, you probably didn't get those two either.)

Anyway it never ceases to amaze me how the younger generation gets such a kick out of seeing the foibles of their elders. Ha Ha Ha!

As for my performance, to quote my ex-friend Shaquille O'Neill "I'll make 'em when they count". And for Mitch, "they don't give out extra style points for how you run the bases"

Anyway we managed to win again against some pretty weak competition, the final score was 26-9 over the Sultans, who despite being competitive finalists last year have really fallen off in terms of attendance and consistency.

Next week we are at the same park against the Thunderdawgs, who haven't won yet this year. So let's not let up now. We need to start gearing up for our upcoming rematches the following couple of weeks against the Sensation and the Gorillas, the two teams that have bested us this season.

Not much to report since the Thunderdawgs had only two sorry folks show up. Hope the concert and camping were more exciting. Played a pickup game against the insurance company team who played before us.

We have managed to squeak back into second place against this coming weeks opponent, the Gorillas. Let's not forget they broke our streak and beat us last time when we made that monumental collapse in the last inning.

Only three games to get ready for the playoffs!

[Gail] Well Mitch, what can I say about last night versus the Gorilla's.

[Mitch] It was a game of egos - our's over achieved.

[Gail] True, it was a very close game, too close at one point but the Originals managed to rally back to a 25-12 win.

[Mitch] A case of the Originals' youth overpowering the Gorrillas. The "g's" attempted to stay in the game until it was 12 - 11 in the fifth or so, at which point they took a coffee break (not healthy coffee either) or something. Our youth just kept hitting the big one - Tim, Dan, Pat and Greg (whose son joined our world renowned cheering section - doubling it in size).

[Jim] You mean GREG Brown? (ka-ching!)

[Gail] Yes Jim. Tim, Alfie, Greg and Shawn all launched a few really good hits for home runs! Jonathan used his quick thinking and turned a single into a home run as the Gorillas were practicing their juggling act!

[Mitch] Alfie hit a ball so hard it went through the glove of the fielder who thought he caught it. The next time up Alfie hit it again - for another fly out - only to have the fielder drop the ball. As good as Alfie was - he was overshadowed by his wife and son/daughter - who hit, ran and altogether proved that the family that plays ball together - stays together.

[Gail] Lorna obviously intimidated the opposition as they quickly requested a pinch runner!! Man she can hit tho! We missed Alice last night but still managed to get 3 1/2 girls show up! I was the 1/2 … with my sudden agonizing back problems. I managed to be a pylon in right field for a while until Brittany showed up half way through the second inning (Thank goodness!) Brittany had a couple of really good plays and even decided to slide into 3rd at one point giving herself a colourful hip and leg! Sure hope it gets better quickly.

[Mitch] That's right Gail, our female crew continues to be the best in the league - a reason for our successes no doubt! You deserved a night off, but it was okay as Brittany, Bobby and Lorna "shocked" the other team with their consistent great play.

[Gail] Our Coach stepped it up during the 8th inning, bases loaded, one out and caught a fly ball in shallow centre field, immediately rocketing the ball home. Bobbi, playing catcher, made a fantastic catch at the plate to complete the double play and get the Originals out of the inning. That play kinda took the wind out of the Gorilla sails!

[Jim] "Whew! Glad it wasn't my arm we were depending on."

[Mitch] and oh yes - the old guy was there too. Memories of when he used to know how to play.

[Gail] Don't be so hard on yourself Mitch. All in all it was a very good, close game. The Gorilla's always come out to play!

[Mitch] Peace - great game team

[Tyler] Just wanna add, next week is a big game against the league leading Burning Sensation. Cya there." Peace

Big game last night against the league leading Burning Sensation. We must have had a case of the jitters, because by the end of the first we had gone 1-2-3 in the top of the inning and outmistaked them by 7 in the field, quickly falling behind by a score of 4-0. As I passed their coach at the end of the first I sardonically said, "maybe we should just call the game and go to the bar".

He then proceeded to make their first mistake as he laughingly told the rest of his team, "it's over … they want to give up and call the game".

Final score, Originals 17, Burnt to Ashes 6.

Great testament to sticking with the plan, and not panicking.

Later at the bar, a few stragglers were honored by a visit from one of our founding fathers, Kent Anthony. He was pleased to hear how successful we have become, both in record and membership. Another testament to not giving up when things are down!

Next week we close out the regular season on the southern diamond of McCleary Park against the Toronto Athletic Club. Let's keep the ball rolling with a good tuneup for the playoffs which start the following week.

Big tuneup against the Toronto Athletic Club, who weren't too athletic last night. The final score was 29 -1 and I can't seem to remember how they got the one run . . . although you should ask Alfie and GREG (ka-ching!) about it cause I know they were both standing and watching the ball on that play.

Too bad we didn't have a better contest so as not to get overconfident going into the playoffs next Wednesday.

There was a short discussion at the Captains' meeting that we introduce a mercy rule next year. A maximum of 7 runs an inning, clearly a rule designed to hurt the leading run producing team in the league.

We are playing the Sultans. The same team we edged out in last year's finals. They have had a tough year, but they are looking pretty dangerous for the playoffs. They asked permission last night to have someone play in the playoffs who hadn't made the 50% requirement, and being the good sports that we are I agreed to let him play . . . then I found out it is Alfie's friend, the guy we didn't quite have room for . . . I think we may have to have tryouts next year so we don't give away any more stellar players!

Let's not take them too lightly. The game is at McCleary and we are supposed to start at 6:30 SHARP, so try to be there early (and in RED) if you can.

It was a real nail biter at McCleary last night as the Originals started their quest to repeat as champions of the Royal Canadian Baseball Association.

The mighty bats of the Originals fell silent for a night, but thanks to our usual defensive prowess we were able to hold the Sultans to a handful of runs.

Nevertheless we headed into the bottom of the ninth tied at 7 runs each. Our fearless coach (the only person who seemed to get the message about hitting to get on base) started out the inning with his third hit of the night, a triple, presenting Alphonso a glorious chance to win the game with a fly ball. But Alfy got the message mixed up … he hit the fly balls when we needed base hits, and hit for the base hit when we needed a fly ball. Anyway thanks to the next batter John we managed to end the inning quickly … 3 batters, 1 run, 1 slightly chastened team eager to get to Sunday and forget about this night.

So we barely make it through to the second round. Our next big test is against the Gorillas. Sunday at 1PM. McCleary. The Gorillas were the team to break our long winning streak, and even though we handled them quite easily in our rematch this is not a team to take lightly. Don't look past this game to the Finals, we haven't got to the Finals yet.

The day started out with a steady torrential downpour of rain. I was sure we wouldn't be playing ball on a day like this. Around 2pm I decided to drive to the park to see if the commissioner was there, thinking that we would have to reschedule the games.

Lo and behold and much to my surprise and chagrin we were in the second inning against the Gorillas as I drove up. The field was somewhat slick as the few who wiped out rounding second base can attest, but the game went on under cloudy skies anyway.

For the second game in a row it was a tight defensive game. We had the game pretty well in hand with a six run lead going into the last few innings. But in the top of the eighth inning the Gorillas started to awake and posted enough runs to tie the score. Thankfully we were able to get one across in the bottom of the inning and hold them scoreless in the ninth to seal the victory. Finals score 9-8.

Beside the mud and the grey skies the most notable play was the tremendous back-to-the-plate catch of a monster blast by Tim Gorman in center field. The kind of catch I always hoped to get the opportunity to make. He caught what might have proved to be the game winner had things not ended the way they did.

So we moved into the final against what we would expect to be the Burning Sensation, but would surprisingly turn out to be the Allsorts.

Just like the year before we fell behind quickly in the championship match. After two shaky innings in the field we were down 11-2 after two innings and feeling pretty glum about our chances. But we recovered our composure, and started to peck away at the lead, narrowning it to 2 runs, then 1 run by the eighth inning. We could feel the victory, it was within our grasp, but at that moment things just fell apart … they put a few hits on the board, brought some runners around the bases and put up a lead that we were unable to overcome in the last two at bats. The final score was 16-11 in favor of the Allsorts, who fielded a much improved team this day from the one that went 5-11 during the regular season.

Everyone had a great time afterward at the Keating Channel Pub. The disappointment was soon washed away and plans were already being put in place for next years campaign. Coach was taking it pretty hard at one point, even hinting at retirement, but we informed him that his contract stipulates that you can't step down until you have actually won the championship, so he got out his mental pencil and started re-jigging his lineup, and rehearsing his "sermon under the trees" for next year.

Gail made a presentation from the team to Lorna and Alphonso with best wishes for the soon coming "original" Original. The league trophies were presented to the winners, and congratulations were spread all around.

Next date on tap is the annual Winter get together. Planning is already underway for the beginning of December and we will contact you with details when they are finalized.