Defending 2007 champions Gensler will play FXFowle today in the start of the 2008 S.L.A.M. Finals.
According to the league website, the teams will attempt to play a Game 1/Game 2 double header today, meaning the hottest team may come away with the S.L.A.M. championship tonight. The games begin at 5:30 p.m. on Central Park's Great Lawn Field 4.
If necessary, the finals will be concluded using Hecksher Field 4 tomorrow (5:30 p.m.) and/or the same field and time on Thursday.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Great Monday Means Nothing on Tuesday
An inspiring two-thirds of Game 1 wasn't enough to keep FXFowle from sweeping Pei Cobb Freed/Hart Howerton in a best-of-three semifinal last week, advancing FXF to face the defending 2007 champs Gensler. The loss left the PCF/HH team with a bitter taste in their mouths.
PCF/HH mounted a solid 11-7 lead through four and a half innings on August 25 before a controversial call and game postponement took the wind out of the Black and Red's sails. The controversial call came when the head umpire postponed the game without allowing the home team to get the final at-bats of the night. With the sun setting, FXF (the visiting team in Game 1) was allowed to bat in dusk conditions and register their seventh run of the game. Rather than allow the home team to have the same advantage for the bottom half of the inning, the head ump made a judgment call by postponing the game, to be concluded before the start of Game 2 the following day.
August 25 had been a banner day for PCF/HH bats and the team was rollicking from their offensive showing. Every batter in the lineup reached base successfully at least once and scoring no fewer than 2 runs per inning during the four the team batted in. Three players — left fielder Doug Chu, pitcher Juan Monahan, and third baseman Ron Rainone — were a perfect 1.000 from the plate, each going 3-for-3, scoring a total of 3 runs and driving in a combined 5 runs. Eron Ashley was 2-for-3 with 2 runs and 1 RBI. Steven Peterson, Carl Pearson, and Carlos Sagastume went 2-for-4 with a combined 4 runs scored and 4 RBI. Jen Hagan was 1-for-3 with 1 run scored and Leslie Cacciapaglia remained hot, going 1-for-2 with a run scored and 1 RBI.
Picking up the conclusion of Game 1, and playing Game 2, couldn't have gone worse for the Black and Red. In addition to missing slugger J. Strong for both games, PCF/HH lost Chu and Ashley to availability conflicts. This forced manager Brian Ferry to press into service Dwidson Metayer and Mike Copeland — both were still recovering from injuries. To make matters worse, the ace pitcher and red-hot batter Monahan got a late jump on the afternoon because of deadlines, and the team was forced to finish Game 1 without him. Ferry was left to pitch in the wake of Monahan's absence, with occasional batting practice as the only experience under his belt. PCF/HH registered just 2 hits in the three innings remaining to be played in Game 1. While the defense got through six full innings with the score still to their advantage 11-7, Ferry experienced location issues with his pitching and the defense couldn't come up with the plays to bail him out. The manager took the loss, surrendering 8 hits and 5 runs while walking 2 in two innings pitched.
The shock of a 12-11 loss, in the face of such dominance the night before, did much to shake the confidence of the Red and Black. FXFowle jumped out to an early 5-1 lead after one inning and had mounted an 8-3 lead before the midpoint of the game. FXF's road to the finals appeared to be paved as they took a 10-3 lead in the fifth. But PCF/HH showed that they weren't just going to roll over when Peterson (2-for-4 in Game 2) singled in Ferry (1-for-1 in Game 2) for a run in the top of the seventh.
In spite of the scoring depression PCF/HH experienced in Game 2, there were still standout performances by individual players. Pearson was 3-for-4 batting from the No. 2 spot, contributing a double, a triple (that turned into a run-scored on a wild throw to third base), 2 runs scored and 1 RBI. Yusuke Okabayashi went 2-for-3 with 1 RBI and Copeland went 2-for-3. William Work and Hagan also contributed 1 hit apiece in the Game 2 loss.
When all the frustration settles, members of the 2008 PCF/HH team will look back upon a difficult season when a number of players learned to shoulder new burdens and a crop of S.L.A.M. sluggers honed their skills. Pearson led the team in batting average and on-base percentage for a regular starter, with and average an OBP of .682. With zero walks, Pearson was swinging whether he was coming or going. Sagastume produced the most extra-base hits with 7 on the regular season and, accordingly, led the team with a .957 slugging percentage.
Strong had a phenomenal season, driving in 12 runs in 10 games played. Copeland led the team with 17 base hits during the regular season and "The Hammer" Peterson lead off the batting order this season, en route to a team-high 13 runs scored.
But there were major contributions by players who saw limited actions too. Cacciapaglia and Chu are two of the most significant. In four games played, including the playoffs, Cacciapaglia finished 5-for-9 with 4 runs scored and 3 RBI. In the same number of total games, Chu was a nearly-perfect 7-for-8 with 2 walks, 6 runs, and 1 RBI.
It all means that PCF/HH is set up for a big 2009 season.
PCF/HH mounted a solid 11-7 lead through four and a half innings on August 25 before a controversial call and game postponement took the wind out of the Black and Red's sails. The controversial call came when the head umpire postponed the game without allowing the home team to get the final at-bats of the night. With the sun setting, FXF (the visiting team in Game 1) was allowed to bat in dusk conditions and register their seventh run of the game. Rather than allow the home team to have the same advantage for the bottom half of the inning, the head ump made a judgment call by postponing the game, to be concluded before the start of Game 2 the following day.
August 25 had been a banner day for PCF/HH bats and the team was rollicking from their offensive showing. Every batter in the lineup reached base successfully at least once and scoring no fewer than 2 runs per inning during the four the team batted in. Three players — left fielder Doug Chu, pitcher Juan Monahan, and third baseman Ron Rainone — were a perfect 1.000 from the plate, each going 3-for-3, scoring a total of 3 runs and driving in a combined 5 runs. Eron Ashley was 2-for-3 with 2 runs and 1 RBI. Steven Peterson, Carl Pearson, and Carlos Sagastume went 2-for-4 with a combined 4 runs scored and 4 RBI. Jen Hagan was 1-for-3 with 1 run scored and Leslie Cacciapaglia remained hot, going 1-for-2 with a run scored and 1 RBI.
Picking up the conclusion of Game 1, and playing Game 2, couldn't have gone worse for the Black and Red. In addition to missing slugger J. Strong for both games, PCF/HH lost Chu and Ashley to availability conflicts. This forced manager Brian Ferry to press into service Dwidson Metayer and Mike Copeland — both were still recovering from injuries. To make matters worse, the ace pitcher and red-hot batter Monahan got a late jump on the afternoon because of deadlines, and the team was forced to finish Game 1 without him. Ferry was left to pitch in the wake of Monahan's absence, with occasional batting practice as the only experience under his belt. PCF/HH registered just 2 hits in the three innings remaining to be played in Game 1. While the defense got through six full innings with the score still to their advantage 11-7, Ferry experienced location issues with his pitching and the defense couldn't come up with the plays to bail him out. The manager took the loss, surrendering 8 hits and 5 runs while walking 2 in two innings pitched.
The shock of a 12-11 loss, in the face of such dominance the night before, did much to shake the confidence of the Red and Black. FXFowle jumped out to an early 5-1 lead after one inning and had mounted an 8-3 lead before the midpoint of the game. FXF's road to the finals appeared to be paved as they took a 10-3 lead in the fifth. But PCF/HH showed that they weren't just going to roll over when Peterson (2-for-4 in Game 2) singled in Ferry (1-for-1 in Game 2) for a run in the top of the seventh.
In spite of the scoring depression PCF/HH experienced in Game 2, there were still standout performances by individual players. Pearson was 3-for-4 batting from the No. 2 spot, contributing a double, a triple (that turned into a run-scored on a wild throw to third base), 2 runs scored and 1 RBI. Yusuke Okabayashi went 2-for-3 with 1 RBI and Copeland went 2-for-3. William Work and Hagan also contributed 1 hit apiece in the Game 2 loss.
When all the frustration settles, members of the 2008 PCF/HH team will look back upon a difficult season when a number of players learned to shoulder new burdens and a crop of S.L.A.M. sluggers honed their skills. Pearson led the team in batting average and on-base percentage for a regular starter, with and average an OBP of .682. With zero walks, Pearson was swinging whether he was coming or going. Sagastume produced the most extra-base hits with 7 on the regular season and, accordingly, led the team with a .957 slugging percentage.
Strong had a phenomenal season, driving in 12 runs in 10 games played. Copeland led the team with 17 base hits during the regular season and "The Hammer" Peterson lead off the batting order this season, en route to a team-high 13 runs scored.
But there were major contributions by players who saw limited actions too. Cacciapaglia and Chu are two of the most significant. In four games played, including the playoffs, Cacciapaglia finished 5-for-9 with 4 runs scored and 3 RBI. In the same number of total games, Chu was a nearly-perfect 7-for-8 with 2 walks, 6 runs, and 1 RBI.
It all means that PCF/HH is set up for a big 2009 season.
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