Fish Score Twice vs. HUP!

Dear Fish and Friends,

It was something of a brutal loss to Hup on Sunday. But we Fish have nothing to be ashamed of. We played our hearts out and we did it for Easter Seals, which is a very good cause.

Matt “The Baffler” Abbate was pitching some sneaky pitches for the full 7 innings; Erin “H-Bomb” Hasley caught behind home plate with aplomb; Eric “Lil Commish” Throop manned up at 1^st base; Christine “Savagely Savage” Savage made super plays at 2^nd; Nate “The Lawyerator” Band was sharp at shortstop; Rich “Richie Rich” Wladkowski and Mary “Sweet Sully” Sullivan covered 3^rd base with fire in their eyes; and the slippery, sloppy outfield was covered well by Yar “the Yaaarchitect” Laakso, Stephen “Do Believe the Hype” Hile, Marc “M Lo” Lowenthal, Mark “The Commish” Throop, Evan “Papa Beast” Mauser, and John “The Battler” Abbate. Singles by Papa Beast, The Commish, Lil Commish, Savagely Savage, Yaaarchitect, Richie Rich, The Baffler, and M Lo. Standouts included Lil Commish (for getting us on the board and his stupendous slides into 2^nd and home), and Savagely Savage (for scoring run number 2 and her snappy snags at 2^nd).

But in truth, all Fish were, as always, something to behold, and as Easter Seals says, every team playing for Easter Seals is a WINNER. I’d like to thank everyone for donating their time, money, efforts, and in some cases (viz. Lil Commish), some flesh and blood off their left leg. A huge thanks also to our fans for cheering us on through our darkest hours—thanks Ellen, Beth, Colleen, Sarah, John H, Eve, Minki, and especially young Edith, the littlest Fish and also the Fish who most closely resembles an adorable dumpling. I hope I am not missing anyone!

I know I’ve said this before, but I will say it again: There’s always next year, Fish! Thanks for a great season.

Koch Blockers 19, Catfish 5

Dear Catfish Nation,
 

We seem to be getting stuck on 5 runs a lot this year! We were a lean team again last night, the leanest ever, with just 9 of us taking the field: Kate “Give ’em Hell” Elwell was pitching, David “Weisenheimer” Weininger was at 3rd, Jon “Butters” Elwell at short, yours truly Captain Batty and Levi “Laser-Beam Leviathan” Rubeck trading off between 2nd and short field, and Rich “Richie Rich” Wladkowski at 1st; in the outfield we were most ably represented by Marc “M Lo” Lowenthal, Ryan “Pickles” Picazio, and Matt “The Baffler” Abbate. Truly amazing catches in the outfield by all three! At bat, we struggled, but we did have our shiny moments: a double and a homerun by Butters (natch), triples by M Lo and the Weisenheimer, and singles by Pickles, Richie Rich, and yours truly Cap’n Batty. And all the while we were cheered on by Tslammin’ Johnny Tsai! This truly lifted our spirits, as it has been a big loss to the Fish not to have him in our line-up this year.

 

We practiced our chops in the warm-up while the Koch Blockers battled the BE Natural Killers on field 2. They managed to tie the evil BENKs, 18 – 18,  and will face them in the playoffs next week. It’s no secret that we Catfish will be rooting for the Koch Blockers to take home the much-coveted prize of 2013 Kentucky Fried Champs.

This is the close of the Catfish season, but we do have one last hurrah: our match-up against Harvard University Press on August 10 at 1:30 pm, at Danehy Park in Cambridge. This could be the year that the underdog triumphs! If you would like to donate to support Easter Seals, you can do so at this link:

Click here to view the fund page for MIT Press Catfish

or just come on over and cheer us on.

Happy Friday to you all, and thanks for your support of the Fish.

Judy

 

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	total
KBs	5	3	2	2	7	X	X	19
Catfish	0	1	2	0	2	X	X	5

 

 

Catfish 9, Koch Blockers 16

Catfish Nation:

It was a slippery evening last night as we battled the Koch Blockers in 100% light rain mist. A difficult loss to our estimable foes, the Koch Blockers, our favorite team to play--because they DO play, and because they are not entirely a Wall of Beefcake.

Our bats were flourishing: Pickles Picazio had a single and a double; John “The Butchie-a-tor” Costello had a single and a triple;  Jon “Butters” Elwell had a triple and a double; Eric “Mini Commish” had a single and a triple, and at least one fancy slide; Nate “The Lawyerator” Band had a single; Greg “The Menace” Dokshin had a single; David “The Weisenheimer” Weininger had a double and a single; Karie “Ace of Brace” Kirkpatrick had a single; Erin “H Bomb” Hasley went 2 for 2, both singles; Marc “M Lo” Lowenthal had a double; and John “The Abbatoirist” Abbate had two doubles. Yar “The Yaaaarchitect” Laakso was robbed—of his plays both offensively and defensively, because, well, he got tied up at work and was a bit late.  I hope I am not missing any Fishes’ hits here—Fish, please enlighten me if I am! It was all a little foggy in that light rain mist.

Defensively we were focused as well: Many great catches in the outfield and infield, by Pickles, The Lawyerator, Kate” The Scalding Elwell neé Caldwell” Elwell, and Butters. Matthew “The Baffler” Abbate baffled and confused them with his pitching, and The Scalding Elwell neé Caldwell was in fine form as well. Christine “The Savagely Savage” Savage was, dare I say, ruthless in manning 2nd base.  

Highlights include the crazy pickle that blossomed in the bottom of the 4th, when a Koch Blocker got a little greedy and went for home. Sadly the outcome of the pickle did not go our way and he ended up scoring. But it was a sight to see the quick pickled thinking by Rich “Vladkoffskee” Wladkowski, Ariel “Bake-Me-a-Cake” Baker-Gibbs, and Butters. M Lo got us started on what we hoped would be a 9-run rally in the top of the 7th with his solid double. (Sadly, as the scoreboard shows, the prophesied rally would not come to pass.) Throughout we were cheered faithfully on by our biggest fan, Phil "The Laughing Man" Laughlin, which always makes our fishy spirits soar. But the greatest highlight was perhaps The Butchie’s making a crucial out at home, at which he caught a rocket that was aimed somewhere we cannot mention in mixed company. Let’s just say, thanks for taking one for the team, Mr. Butchie. For this you have earned the honor of MVF, Most Valuable Fish, of the game.

Please join us in two weeks on July 11, 5:30, when we hope to play a double header against the Killer Bs on the “BB” field (in the outfield of the men’s baseball diamond).

 

6/27/13	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	total
Catfish	3	1	0	3	0	0	2	9
KBs	4	3	1	1	4	3	X	16

Fish Pix!

Fish, some great pix (thanks to Greg Dokshin) here!

Fish Score Five More Runs Against Wall of Beefcake!

Dear Catfish Nation,

Though the scoreboard belies it, our bats were veritably ON FIRE last night. Let me first note that each and every Fish got on base last night against the BE Natural Killers! We began strong, with Eric “Li’l Commish” Throop hitting yet another homerun to bring home Rich “It’s Pronounced ‘Vlad-koff-skee’” Wladkowski and the Mighty Jon “Butters” Elwell. Vlad-koff-skee would go on to get a double later in the game, and everyone else got singles—Nathan “The Lawyerator” Band, Kate “The Scalding Caldwell” Elwell, Beth “The Mórrígan” Moore (who has in fact earned herself another nickname, “Bat of Death Beth,” courtesy of M Lo), Matthew “The Baffler” Abbate, Levi “The Leviathanator” Rubeck, Marc “M Lo” Lowenthal, John “The Battler” Abbate, José “Hot Stuff” Herrero, and even yours truly, Captain Batty. And there was some very fierce and aggressive base running, most notably by Li’l Commish and The Scalding Caldwell.

As you can see from this list, we were a leaner, meaner team of Fish last night, only 12 of us to face this Wall of Beefcake. And no one can deny that we Fish rose and floated up to the occasion. Our fielding, though again the scoreboard belies it, was veritably ON FIRE. Butters and The Leviathanator turned a neat double play just for kicks, because they could. Scalding Caldwell and The Baffler were stellar as usual on the mound. The Lawyerator, Hot Stuff, Li’l Commish, and M Lo all had fine catches in the outfield—as did, surprisingly enough, shortstop Butters, who halfway through the game started pulling a sneaky shift on the Beefcakers to rob them of even more of their beefy hits.

In sum: each and every Fish is a rare and glowing prize, a bit of twinkling pirate’s gold in the sparkling green sea that is Barry Astroturf Field 2. For this game, however, the MVF (Most Valuable Fish) Award goes to M Lo, who caught no fewer than four (FOUR!) of the Beefcakes’ hits in the outfield. Huzzah M Lo, and huzzah to All Fish!

Please join us next week, June 27, when we face the Koch Blockers at 5:30 on Astroturf field 2.

 

6/20/13	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	total
BENKs	10	2	2	6	6	4	5	35
Catfish	3	0	0	0	0	1	1	5

 

 

 

Killer B Double Header canceled/postponed

Catfish: Double-header tonight vs. Killer Bs is canceled/postponed. It seems Bain & Co. is frightened of raindrops. As Karie "knee of steel" Kirkpatrick put it: "my neutered cat has more cajones than they do." Indeed. Next game: Thursday 6/20, field 2 (astroturf), vs. the BE[efcake] Natural Killers.

Fish Blocked by Koch Blockers but Improve in a Sense

Dear Catfish Nation:

It was another tough loss for the Fish last night as we fell to the Koch Blockers. As you can see from the scoreboard, though, it began as a very close game, and the KBs just continued to chip away at things in the later innings.

Still, the Fish sparkled as usual! We welcomed rookies Ariel “Bake-Me-A-Cake-As-Fast-As-You-Can” Baker-Gibbs, Nathan “The Lawyerator” Band, and Gabrielle “The Jolly” Joffe, all of whom played with fierce Fishy fire. We also welcomed back after a long hiatus José “Hot Stuff” Herrero, who has had some surgery on his right knee and is now bionic and better than ever. 

Hits were had by Evan “The Maus Beast” Mauser, Jon “Buttery Goodness” Elwell (a single AND a double), John “Birthday Butchie Boy” Costello (a single), Ryan “The Pickler” Picazio (a double), David “The Weisenheimer” Weininger (a single), Andrew “Sweetie Pie” Sweet (a perfectly placed hit to left field earning him a single), Hot Stuff Herrero (a single), The Lawyerator Band (a single), Erin “H Bomb” Hasley (a double!), Yar “The Yaaarchitect” Laakso (a single), and Eric “Mini-Commish” Throop (HOMERUN!).

Highlights were Mini-Commish’s out-of-the-park homerun (of course), which got us on the board at last, bringing home The Yaarchitect in the bottom of the 5th. Believe me, Fish Fans, when I say the ball sailed off his bat like it had a mission, was on a journey to a better land, determined to make the world a better place. Further shining moments included Katie “Mama Hellie Dawg” Helke Dokshin’s sweet play at 3rd base, Buttery Goodness’s double play with the Weisenheimer, and The Yaaarchitect’s perfect catch in short field. 

And perhaps the sweetest moment of all: enjoying the company of Li’l Gena “The Genasaurus” Dokshin, come to cheer on his mom and chillax with his dad, The Menace Dokshin, who was recently awarded his Ph.D. Kudos and Huzzah to you, sir! 

We capped off our night at the Muddy Charles Pub, singing Happy Birthday to Butchie Costello, and belting out everyone’s favorite show tune, “Cheese Tomorrow, Guaranteed (Cheese! Cheese! Cheese!)!”

We hope you’ll join us next Thursday, June 13, on field 9, when we will kick the butts of the Killer Bs.

(Oh yes, and how did we "improve in a sense"? Well, as The Sweetie Pie Sweet pointed out, last week we lost by 11 runs, this week by a mere 7—you do the math, Catfish Nation!)
 
 

6/6/2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	total
Koch Blockers	2	0	0	3	1	2	2	10
Catfish	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	3

Fish Score 5 Runs against Wall of Beefcake on Opening Night

Dear Catfish Nation,

It was a warm and windy evening on the Jack Barry Astroturf last night, where we faced the BE Natural Killers. “BE” stands for Biological Engineering, and it’s pretty clear that they’ve biologically engineered themselves into a Wall of Beefcake. Still, the Fish would not go gentle into that good night! We fought hard and proud, and as Erin “The H Bomb” put it so well at the Muddy Charles Pub afterward: “There was no shame in that game!”

Our rookies stood out and shone fiercely, just as we knew they would: Yar “The Yaaarchitect” Laakso, and Beth “The Mórrígan” Moore (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morr%C3%ADgan), Levi “Laser-Beam Leviathan” Rubeck, and Andrew “Sweetie Pie” Sweet all did us proud on the field; tragically, all were robbed of mighty hits by the Wall of BEefcake.

The game also marked the triumphant return of Karie “Knee of Steel” Kirkpatrick, whom we’ve been sorely missing ever since a dreadful mishap on the Whiffle Ball field several years ago. The Fish felt just a bit more complete having her back, especially as we’re missing the likes of Tslammy John Tsai. We can only hope that one day he shall Tslam again.

Monster hits were had by Greg “Menacing Papa Bear” Dokshin, Eric “Mini Commish” Throop, Ryan “Pickles” Picazio, Jon “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butters” Elwell, Savagely Savage Christine Savage, and Rich “Is That Nathan Fillion???” Wladkowski. (I hope I’m not missing anyone there, feel free to pipe up if you got on base, Fish.) Even yours truly, Cap’n Batty, got on base owing to a fielder’s choice. I can only hope this offers some small compensation for my mini-meltdown-on-the-mound in the bottom of the 6th.

Our fielding was top shelf. Outfielders Papa Bear, Pickles, Nathan Fillion???, Sweetie Pie, Mini Commish, and the Yaaarchitect were quite slammed out there and made many superb catches. Perfect Pitcher Scalding Kate Elwell neé Caldwell was truly on fire, confusing them at every turn. Our infielders included Papa Bear (again), Katie The Personable Persons, Can’t Believe It’s Not Butters, Savagely Savage, Knee of Steel, The Mórrígan, H Bomb, and Laser-Beam Leviathan—all of us gave it our all. But one of us gave a little bit extra, that 110%, and that is David “Dances with the Wind” Weininger. He made all 3 outs in one inning himself—leaving the rest of us saying, Hey Dances, save a little for us!—including a sliding-on-the-astroturf snag. For this he has earned himself the title of MVF of the game—Most Valuable Fish.

Final score was was Fish 5, BE Natural Killers 16, but really, 11 runs is just a drop in the ocean. We Fish know the tides will turn and those Beefcakes shall feel terror rain down upon them the next time we meet.

Next game is Thursday, June 6, vs. the Koch Blockers, on the Women’s Softball Diamond, at 5:30.

Hold your heads high, Fish Nation, and keep swimming for the stars.

5/30/13	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	total
Catfish	3	0	0	2	0	0	0	5
BENKs	5	0	4	3	2	2	X	16