7/11/09 (Wildcats @ Mayer)

The Wildcats p*ss pounded Mayer on Saturday (today) by a score of 24-4.

I ain't gonna lie to you...This one was friggin' brutal. It's an absolute miracle that this debacle didn't take 9 hours to complete. We seriously should still be playing this one as we speak. I honestly considered going home, taking my bat and glove with me, after the first two innings.  Some of the Wildcats players had 3 at-bats before Mayer even got through their line-up once. It was tough on the eyes, and I'll leave it at that.

Steve "Flu" Bisping took the mound for the Wildcats and threw 7 innings earning the win. Flu's pitch count for the game was 92 pitches, but in reality, he threw close to 180 if you tally all the pitches he had to throw between innings to stay loose due to the Wildcats scoring outburst.  Flu also made a few "snazzy" fielding plays as well, while out on the mound. It's a good thing Flu took it easy at the Twins game last night, because who knows what would have happened if he spent last night at the Blue Note and had to field that liner today. Something tells me that "smelling salts" would have definitely been in play. Regardless, chalk up another solid outing for Flu.

The Wildcats pounded out 12 hits today, including a Grand Slam by Greggy Kohler. Greggy's left field shot was about 25 feet up in the pine trees and ended up by the school. Only dudes that drink "Mac" hit it where he hit it. Joe Kley, Jake Prehn and Cullen Schultz also had a multi-hit game as well. Joe Kley managed to hit a foul-ball HR, which is cool when you're screwing around at the park after a game, but in game situations, all it does is slows play down. While I'm giving props to all of these other guys for hits, I'm also going to give myself a slight pat on the back.  Old #28 ripped one to left center field, allowing for an easy stand-up RBI double.  You know you hit the hell out of the ball when I'm getting a stand-up double.

Other than that, the only other thing that occurred during this game was walks, and more friggin walks. Oh yeah, and broken bats. The were as many broken bats as Chauncey had strikeouts! There were so many walks that I had time to play an entire game of Chess on my Blackberry while coaching 1st base. It was just a weird game.

Now down to business...The Game Awards...

The Victor Conte / Balco Labs Home Run of the Game Award...This prestigious award goes to Greggy Kohler, hands down.  When you're killing birds nesting high up in the trees on a HR, you're worthy of this award.

The Aaron Briesemeister Pop Fly Award goes to me, #28.... #28 attempted to catch a foul ball late in the game near 1st base, only to have the ball fall cleanly between my glove and my head. I have no idea how I missed that ball. All I know is, if that ball would have hit me in the head, I would have cried.....Hard....

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5/17/09 (Glencoe Brewers @ Wildcats)

The Wildcats sought a little "pay-back" Sunday,topping the Glencoe Brewers 9-4 @ Winsted. The Wildcats ended last season with bitter tastes in their mouths after being ousted from the playoffs early by the Brewers. Ok, not really, but making up a story about supposed "bad blood" between the two teams makes for better reading.

The Brewers threatened early, after loading the bases with nobody out in the 1st inning. Wildcats pitcher Tony Kley did his best Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn imitation in the first, but managed to get things back under control and miraculously get out of the inning without giving up any runs. I'm still not sure how he did it, but rumor has it, Tony has taken up the art of "magic" in the offseason and it appears to be paying dividends early in the season. 

The Wildcats struggled at the plate for much of the first half of the game. My personal opinion is, too many of our "ringers" had too much fun tossing "ringers" at the bean-bag tourney Saturday afternoon. After a couple at-bats, the team managed to shake the cob webs loose, and strike for 6 runs in 6th inning. We'd like to say all 6 runs were a result of great hitting, but the jist of it is, the 'Cats had a little help by some Brewer fielding mishaps and a few walks. See, I tell the truth in these entries once in a while!

Tony Kley pitched 6 innings, picking up the win. Baby bro Joe, fresh back from "the big time," finished off the final 3 innings in relief. Joe gave up a couple of runs late, but Wildcats management aren't placing the blame entirely on Joe. Instead, the Wildcats organization has initiated an investigation into an alleged altercation involving the two Kley brothers over the weekend. Neither Kley brother was available for comment or has returned calls, but whispers in the Wildcats organization say that Tony gave Joe a massive rug burn on his face this past weekend, that affected his "curve ball throwing eye." Stay tuned for further updates....

Speaking of Joe Kley....Joe tagged a couple of almost-home runs on Sunday. One long double was off of the centerfield fence and another off of the left field fence. The shot to left field would have been gone if he would have listened to his caddie and used a 52 degree lob-wedge instead of the 60 degree lob wedge. Joe, we never knew your golf swing was so sweet!

In summary, the game was not perfect by any means. But a win is a win and after suffering a couple of tough losses in our previous two games, we'll take it.

Next up: Minneapolis Cubs @ Winsted, Wednesday May 20th, @ 7:30pm.

Finally, the game awards......It has been mentioned to me, on more than one occasion, that many of you have been waiting for these updates this season. For that, I apologize. This thing called a "newborn baby" has cramped my style a bit, and has prevented me from attending the previous two Wildcats games. However, after looking at the outcomes of those two games, it appears I didn't miss much! Sorry, but I couldn't resist that cheap shot!

The first award of the 2009 season, and this is a new one, is the.......Wildcats Entomology Award. For those that don't know, "Entomology" is the scientific study of insects. This prestigious award goes to Ben Machemehl. Ben diligenty kept his eyes peeled for any unusual insects in the Wildcats dugout today, and noticed a "lady bug," or possibly an "Asian Beatle" on Wildcats coach/DH Aaron Schultz during today's pre-game activities. Ben, The Wildcats, AND Hammer, I'm sure, are grateful for your keen eye! There's so much more I would like to share here, but I am going to attempt, for the first time in 2009, to act my lofty age of 33.

The second award of the 2009 season, and also a new award, is the.... "Ringling Brothers Award." This award is presented to the Wildcats player who makes the biggest circus-like play in the field. Today's winner is Gregg Kohler. Greggy's incident occurred along the right field warning track late in the game. Although his miscue did not affect the play whatsoever, it's worth discussing his "fancy footwork" that kept him from falling face down (I've got the close-up photo to prove it).  Click Here For Pic. Because of those "fancy moves," it allowed Greggy to make a hard, 15 foot throw straight into the ground, 8-hopping it to second base. Great job, Greggy!

Lastly, the Longest Foul-Ball Home Run Award goes to catcher, Matt Wroge. Wroge "jacked" 2 consective foul ball home runs down the right field line. According to longtime Wroge teammates, those two foul balls were the longest balls Wroge has ever hit in his career. On Monday, 5/18/09, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, former Senator George Mitchell (Mitchell Report) and Crow River Valley Baseball Expert Gerald Ide, will begin investigations into Wroge's off-season training regimen. MLB has trouble in "Mannywood;" CRVL has trouble in "Wrogewood."