Week 2 Recap

After a week off to celebrate the Easter holiday most of us couldn't wait to get back to the fields and play kickball.

The Kickball Sacks were scheduled for a double-header tonight against My Favorite Color is Plaid and Aim For the Balls.  The Sacks arrived in a frenzy, pumped up like the weasel from the Foghorn Leghorn cartoons and eagerly awaiting the opportunity to throw a smackdown on a couple teams.   Unfortunately, either half their team forgot it was Sunday or failed to remember they joined a kickball league because only 7 players showed up, only one being a girl.  Not having the minimum amount of players to take the field, the Sacks regrettably had to forfeit both games.  Instead of taking a beat-down, Plaid and Aim For the Balls both take a 5-0 win.  And, for that we thank you!

On Field B, Going Balls Deep was trying to get on top of Duh, Winning for the 2nd week in a row by scoring 2 in the top of the 1st inning.  D, W denied their advances like they were wearing a pair of iron undershorts and retalliated with 3 of their own in the bottom of the frame.  Duh, Winning continued to pour on the offense in the 2nd and 3rd innings, sending Going Balls Deep off to the showers frustrated and unfulfilled.  Finally living up to their name, Duh, Winning wins this one 12-3.  Uncle Charlie would be proud!




In what turned out to be the most defensive and controversial battle of the night, Duh, Winning and My Favorite Color is Plaid squared off.  Duh, Winning jumped out to the early lead with a run in the bottom of the 1st, but Plaid was able to tack on one of their own in the top of the 2nd.  In the top of the 3rd, MFCIPs Frank P cleared the bases with a 3-run in the park home run to give them a commanding lead.  In the bottom of the 4th brought the game within one score, but Head Ref Jarrett called the game after the 4th due to extended time limit and it was "chilly".  MFCIP squeaks this one out 4-3.

Rules you should know!

During Week 1 there was a little confusion in regards to the rule of the extra base.

Here's my rule:

Let's see what WAKA's take on it is:

Rule 1.06 - Optional Extra Base – When the option of using this field setup is selected by the league coordinator for a season of play, this extra base must be used for all games of that league's regular season and league tournament games. If the extra base is used:

a. The Extra Base is only available for runners traveling from home plate (see Rule 10.06);

b. Fielders trying to make an out on first base must touch the base in fair territory (the First Base). Runners hindered by a fielder touching the base in foul territory (the Extra Base), will be safe; 

c. When a play is attempted at first base, a runner who touches the First Base prior to being called safe at the Extra Base shall be called out, except under the exception in Rules 1.06f and 1.06g; 

d. Once a runner has reached first base safely the runner must start the next play on the First Base. Any runner standing on or touching the Extra Base at the beginning of the next play will be out; 

e. No additional base may be used at any other base; 

f. The Runner is permitted to use the First Base if avoiding collision with a fielder in foul territory. In this event, the fielder in foul territory is permitted to tag the Extra Base (see Rule 14.02o); 

g. The runner may use First Base if attempting to advance to Second Base, or if there is no fielder on First Base. A runner (see Rule 1.06a) using or touching First Base in any other circumstance is out.

14.02 An out is:

o. a runner coming from home plate who steps on First Base when required to use the Extra Base (while an Extra Base is in use - see Rule 1.06).

In short, runners on the base path are required to use the extra base (foul territory)  if there looks like there will be a play at first base.  Fielders are to set up on the inside (fair territory) base when making a play at first.  If we follow these simple rules maybe we can avoid this:

Remember: the more time we spend playing Kickball and the less time we spend explaining what happened to medical personnel, the more fun we'll have!

Week 1 Recap

Week 1 is in the books!  Let's take a look back and see how everybody did:

The first game of the new season pitted My Favorite Color Is Plaid against newcomers Aim For The Balls, have you seen these guys?  They're huge, they look like the Texas Longhorns (I don't mean the football team).  Not to be discouraged, MFCIP put their all hands team in the outfield and took to the field.  MFCIP had the upper hand with Aim For the Balls not being too familiar with Kickball strategy and took full advantage of it.  MFCIP wins this one 6-0, but we'll have to wait to see when they re-match.  For now, let's leave them with a good Scottish War Cry:

OUR FAVORITE COLOR IS PLAID!!!

Meanwhile on the other field, Going Balls Deep was putting it to Duh, Winning.  DW had their game faces on and came out ready to play.  They were able to score in the first inning, but GBD Jarrett countered in the lower half of the frame.  In the top of the 2nd they put up another run and then again in the 3rd & 4th.  In the bottom of the 3rd GBD tied up the score and was able to move ahead in the 4th.  With Jarrett scoring 3 times in this game, GBD wins this one 6-4.

Going Balls Deep faced off against the Kickball Sacks for the second game of their double-header.  The Kickball Sacks jumped out to an early lead putting up 3 in the first inning and adding a 4th in the second.  GBD Jarrett once again proving that he's just out to score, was able to put one up in the 1st inning and then again in a 5-run 2nd inning that had GBD kicking around the order.  After that, the Kickball Sacks just couldn't recover.  GBD wins their 2nd game of the night 9-5.

Huh, Winning?

Another double-header put our new-comer Aim For The Balls against last years dominent force Duh, Winning.  After their first loss, they came up with a new gameplan, field alignment and kicking order, things were going to go well for the rookies and they took a commanding lead with 2 runs in the 1st inning and another in the 3rd, all while holding DW scoreless.  Then, in the top of the 4th DW got on their game and scored 3 quick runs to tie the game, only to have AFTB pick up another one in the bottom of the frame.  AFTB was able to hold on to the lead in the 5th and stun DW with a 4-3 victory.

New Season!

The first game of the Spring 2011 season is only a week out!  This year we have 5 teams, but there is still room for more, if you know anyone else that wants to play.  Let's take a little time to meet this seasons teams:

AIM FOR THE BALLS!




Not much is known of this relative newcomer.  They are comprised of several members of our sponser bar the Thomaston Fish & Game Club and are being captained by Tommy "I give new meaning to shooting the ball" R.  They are being joined by some veteran players such as Jerry "Cigarman" "I can weld anything together" B.  Let's see if the Cigarman can help merge these rookies with a winning season.








DUH, WINNING!

This team is the remnants of last seasons powerhouse PRAY FOR RAIN, which went undefeated during the regular season.  The team has been revamped under the leadership of Dave "I am the Mailman" B.  We should see pretty quickly if this team, unlike the U.S. Mail, can deliver in a timely manner.








GOING BALLS DEEP!


Renamed from ALCOBALLICS and co-captained by Bryan "why isn't camo a color option?" D and Jarrett "I'm all talk and no shut-up" J, this team is by far our youngest squad.  They've won it all in the past, though the last 2 seasons have been a little rough on them, they might just have what it takes this year to make a run at the title again.










KICKBALL SACKS



Sean "Go now, Do work" C, has had a busy off-season.  As well as, spear-heading his own league in Naugatuck, he has been busy along with his co-captain Ashley "don't piss me off" S, assembling a new team for the Spring 2011 season.  He has been keeping a lid on the squad that he has recruited, practicing only during the dark of night, but there have been many mutterings around the league of a "secret weapon."







MY FAVORITE COLOR IS PLAID

Our favorite monochromatically challenged team is back!  During the off-season captain Rick "this isn't a beer gut, it's a toolshed" D, has been on a recruiting tear, and its paid off for him in the lightning speed and cat-like reflexes of Brian and Justin C and Chris D.  These key acquistions added to PLAIDs already formidable defense makes them an instant contender, if they can get their offense going.

NOTE: The comments and opinions expressed above, are not the opinions of WAKA Kickball or CT Freedom.  They are just the opinions of one depraved blogger.

Please Keep the Fields Clean

I know how much fun everyone has out there on the
field but we have to remember to pick up all of our trash.
Before your team leaves the fields, please make sure
that all of your trash is picked up. In the past, we have
been lucky that some of your fellow kickballers have
stayed late to help pick up left over trash.

We've got a great relationship with the T/O Thomaston
 and we don't want some trash to ruin that. We
recommend that you keep a box of trash bags in the
trunk of your car. If your team consistently leaves trash
on the field, you will lose points in the standings and wemight put your team on
permanent clean up duty.

We also need to make sure that when we are out on the fields that there are no
signs of adult beverages on the fields. If you have an exposed case of beer,
I will gladly confiscate it for later enjoyment. There should also never be any
glass bottles or anything with bottle caps on the field, cans only please.

BAD

GOOD

Rules

Kickball may be a kids game played by adults but we do have our rules and its good to know at least a good basic understanding of what they are. The good news is that the rules are easily downloadable on the kickball website at www.kickball.com/rules. It helps if your team has at least one person who knows the rules well and that person should probably be your captain or a co-captain. 

Our rules aren't perfect and we are always looking for examples where our rules can be clarified. If you ever have either a rules suggestion or a rules question you can always come up to ask me. 

At a few points during the season we will post a couple of items that may have come up in a game so that everyone can better understand the rules. If you have a suggestion for a rule that you want me to clarify, please just comment on a post or send me an email at my @kickball.com email address. 

This week we will cover just a couple of simple ones.

1.02 The strike zone is a three-dimensional irregular pentagon based on the shape of home plate and is one (1) foot in height. The front of the zone aligns with the front of home plate. The sides of the zone extend one (1) foot to either side of the plate. The back edges of the zone are one (1) foot from the back sides of the plate (see Diagram 4). The strike zone may not be marked by cones or other raised objects.

I will admit that this rule is maybe not as easy to follow as it could be, but the concept is simple. The strike zone is not just over home plate. It also extends 1 foot from home plate. In Rule 11.02a it is further stated that if any part of the ball comes within the strike zone, it can be a strike but it also needs to bounce less than a foot when it comes through the strike zone. Strikes and Fouls are counted seperately, 3 strikes you are out or 4 fouls you are out.

Another one that comes up from time to time and can cause some confusion is in relation to automatic foul balls and takes a bit of explanation.

13.02 A foul ball is:
g. a kicked ball kicked outside of the kicking box (see Rule 9.02) (see Diagram 3L, 3M)

According to WAKA's Rule's FAQ

Q: What kinds of Foul Balls can be caught for an Out? May runners tag up on such Outs?
A: All of them, except for when the ball touches a foreign object such as a batting cage or fence (13.02d). Other fouls, including kicks on or above the knee (13.02e), balls touched more than once by the kicker in the kicking box (13.02f), and balls kicked outside the kicking box (13.02g) MAY be caught for Outs, and runners may attempt to tag up and advance on them, provided the caught ball is not in the possession of the pitcher on the mound.

So basically, here is the situation that comes up from time to time. A kicker kicks the ball either in front of home plate or behind the rear cones of the kicking box. Its an automatic foul but if he kicks it in the air it may still be caught for an out (and any baserunners may tag up). If the ball hits the ground, or is dropped, its just a foul ball.

Make sense? Please let me know if you have any specific rules questions.

Vegas Anyone?

Part of the fun of playing WAKA Kickball is that you
are part of a national organization and can play for
the chance to become eligible to receive an
invitation to play in Las Vegas next Fall in the
Founders Cup to determine the best kickball team
in the nation.

Invitations first go out to the division champions
around the country with preference given to those
in the most competitive divisions. If all slots aren't
filled then invitations may be given to runners up.
The Founders Cup is pretty competitive and its
amazing how some of the teams play. In order
to play in the Founders Cup, teams must use their
rosters from their championship team.

There is an alternative to the competitive Founders Cup. The Kickball Games was
new this year and it should grow next year. This is a fun tournament where each
team will play 4 games in a round robin format and awards will be given for certain
superlatives. The fun part about the kickball games is that you do not have to have
people on your regular season roster to be able to play in the Kickball Games, in
fact they don't even have to have played in the same division. In order to play in
the Kickball Games, all you have to do is have been registered to play WAKA
Kickball sometime in 2011. How great would it be to have a team or two
representing the most fun people that Freedom has to offer in Vegas next year?

If you are interested, lets start figuring it out now and making plans. You can
comment on this post if you are interested in playing. Who's interested in putting
together a team of Elvis impersonators and show girls?