Tottenham Oldtimers Slo-Pitch League

 

Intro

Many of you noticed that this week's update was late.  There was a reason for that. You see, I woke up to news on Thursday morning that Larry Apps had passed away overnight.  

You've seen reading these updates that there are serious conversations mixed in some fun.  This conversation is different.  

There are a number of you who lost a dear friend this week.  Others lost a former team mate.  Others still, lost an acquaintance.  But for a very large number of people in our league Larry Apps was the name of someone who used to play ball that you didn't really know.  

But it doesn't really matter the depth of your loss or engagement with Larry.  What matters is that Larry gave our community of baseball a wonderful gift this summer.  Larry's spirit drove us to action where virtually all of our 180 members came together with time, money and hammers to build ramps.  Those ramps would be symbolic for use; but for him, they allowed him to stay at home with tireless wife Brenda, with dignity and comfort until the last possible moments.  

Larry will be missed in different ways by many.  But I will always remember how he united our community for a brief moment in time.  How he showed us the shear jubilation of the human spirit.  I know now that there's nothing we can't do if we're in it together.  

Thank you Larry.  

The week that was in baseball.  

Oh lets start a little controversy, shall we?

We have three team that have been at the top of the standings for about a month or more.  The Draft Kings, Dusty Cleats and Rusty Rebels.  

Then we have 3 teams at the next tier, the Hurtin' Units, Grisslies and Sons Of Pitches.  

Then there's the rapidly climbing Master Batters and surging Beer Bros.  

Here's how I see it playing out.  I think its unlikely that all 3 of the top teams can possibly finish the season as hot as they are now.  One has to play at least average.  The Draft Kings play 3 over .500 hundred teams in their last six.  So do the Dusty Cleats.  The Rusty Rebels have the easiest pass with only 2.  

So if one of them fades a little, it stands to reason that one of the second tier will take their spot AND one of the that second group will not close terribly strong.  The Hurtin' Units have 7 games left and play a .500 or better team three times.  The Grisslies have 3 out of 6 against .500 squads and the Sons Of Pitches have 2 of 5.  

And you gotta figure that one of the Master Batters and Beer Bros. will move up to the top 6.  The Master Batters have 7 games left and a daunting 5 of them against + .500 teams including 2 head to head games with the Beer Bros.  And the Beer Bros. have 3 of 6.  If one of these teams can sweep the head to head they're likely to move up.  

There's going to be a lot of moving in the next couple of weeks.    

The Playoff Scenario.  

 Changes:

Dog Catchers can't finish in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th or 8th.  

Dodge City Rounders can't finish in 1st. 

Tap Masters can't finish in 1st, 2nd or 3rd. 

Gruesome Devils can't finish in 1st, 2nd or 3rd.

Hot Tub Woody's can't finish in 1st.

Inglorious Batsters can finish in every position

Sliders can't finish in 1st.

Beer Bros. can't finish in 15th.

Master Batters can't finish in 15th.

Grisslies can't finish in 15th

Sons Of Pitches can't finish in 15th. 

Hurtin' Units can't finish in 15th.

Dusty Cleats can't finish in 15th, 14th or 13th

Rusty Rebels can't finish in 15th, 14th or 13th

Draft Kings can't finish in 15th, 14th or 13th. 

 

The numbers in the yellow columns are rankings in the final standings.  The team abbreviations in blue show who can still finish in those positions.  Currently, positions 4-14 can have all 15 teams finish there.  (DCL = Dusty Cleats; DCA = Dog Catchers, DCR = Dodge City Rounders)

Snapshot

Rounding up the week, your teams that had a:

4 point week:  Beer Bros. (2-0), Master Batters (2-0)

3 point week:  None

2 point week:  Inglorious Batsters (1-0), Sons Of Pitches (1-1), Dusty Cleats (1-1), Hurtin' Units (1-1), Tap Masters (1-0), Grisslies (1-0)

1 point week: None

0 point week: Dog Catchers (0-1), Sliders (0-2), Draft Kings (0-1), Rusty Rebels (0-1), Dodge City Rounders (0-1), Gruesome Devils (0-1), Hot Tub Woody's (0-1)

Beer Cup..........

And guess what happened this week!  The Master Batters wrestled the Beer cup away from the Draft Kings.  In a 21-17 game that that had a little bit of everything, they upset the league's #1 team.  Well done!

This week they have back to back games against the Tap Masters and Beer Bros.  If they survive the Tap Masters, the Beer Bros. will play their first Beer Cup game of the season and will leave the Sliders as the only team without an opportunity to sip from the cup this season.  

Beer Cup Games Defended. 

1  Draft Kings

2  Master Batters

2  Rusty Rebels

6  Dusty Cleats

Beer Cup Games Played. 

1  Grisslies

1  Dog Catchers

1  Inglorious Batsters

2  Gruesome Devils

2  Sons Of Pitches

2 Dodge City Rounders

2 Hurtin' Units

3 Draft Kings

3 Hot Tub Woody's

3 Tap Masters

4 Master Batters

6 Rusty Rebels

8 Dusty Cleats