The Best of the Best

This week's post was by Dan "And Another Burger for my Friend" Ozzi. —The Editors.
 

For whatever reason, the Blues have never been invited to play in The Yorkville Sports Association’s All Star Game. Perhaps it’s because there has never before been one. Or perhaps there has been and the Blues’ record was not good enough to qualify. Kind of like when you were 9 and weren't invited to that awesome birthday party at Discovery Zone that all your friends went to. (By the way, if you’re reading this, Eugene Peleshi, I still have not forgiven you!)

But 2010 being the Year of the Blues (and according to the Chinese Zodiac, the Housecat), the All Star game had Oxford representation from 3B Joe C. and 2B Michelle. Under the sage guidance of the EBGBs’ coach, Lipinski and Joe batted back to back in the lineup, going a combined 4 for 4 and touching the plate each time.

Down a few runs in the last inning, Michelle and Joe brought the Blues’ can-drink attitude to their all star team which came back to gain the lead. Not wanting to take any chances on a blown save, this prompted the manager to call in the Mariano Rivera of 3B closers, Joe C., to close out the game at 3rd. With one out to go, a grounder down the line allowed Joe to use his gator-like gatoring to gator the ball and gator it down to first base, ending the game in a win. 

Their team was largely a sea of black and yellow, with players from EBGBs and Debevoise and Plimpton. But the Blues provided a much-needed touch of blue and white. All the league’s favorites were there, including… you know… That Large Guy on EBGBs, um… First Basewoman Repino Has A Crush On, uh… Big Calf Asian Guy. Well ok, we don’t know their names, but by the end of the game they knew ours! Several players even remarked at what an amazing rookie team the Blues are. After learning that we’ve been in the league for six seasons, there were awkward silences… and then fireworks. Maybe.

Blues: 17, Debevoise & Plimpton: 5

Back to back wins. As feelings go, it's a nice one to have, especially because it doesn't get old quickly. But the Blues, facing off against an old rival, did just that on a recent Wednesday in Morningside Park. In fact, after scoring eleven runs in the first inning, the team from Oxford continued to add to their lead until the umpire called the game early in their favor.

On the defensive side, Ebin made his inaugural appearance of the 2010 season by playing first base like Eddie Murray, while David managed to turn a double play at shortstop. Meanwhile, in the outfield, Elyse, Taylor, Ozzi, Brian, and Andy held big hitters to singles, when they got on base at all. It was a great effort from the whole dugout in spite of bad playing conditions.

As for the offense, it's worth noting that the plucky Blues ended up with one of the highest scoring innings in their relatively short history. Quite an accomplishment given the fact that their opponents have not been reluctant to pile on runs in the past. Taylor ultimately delivered the game-winning RBI—a hit heard round the league. The Blues did learn a valuable lesson that night, however: you can in fact wait too long for your pitch.

After the game most of the team headed to the Village Pourhouse (Uptown) for beer, food, and an enormous fishbowl full of rum. A few people even stuck around to take advantage of the $3 Natty Light can special. It was just like the good old days, only better. Rae kindly documented most of the proceedings, but be warned: some of the images are NSFW.