17 people showed up to chalk talk on a night when only 12 people played in the game. They were there to celebrate a 11 to 7 victory over the Money Shots. Linda Wareham anchored the defense with a solid complete game at first base. Johnny Rothman contributed four hits and ended the game with a spectacular play at short.  Molly Bloom nearly took the head off a trash-talking third baseman, and Audrey had a fine time at the bar, refusing to nap.

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Twin Cities Public Television President Jim Pagliarini was on hand to photograph the action as MPR crushed TPT 17 to 3 in the Battle of Public Broadcasting. Despite the drubbing, the folks from public television invited us to join them in a delicious postgame feast.

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MPR repeats as league tournament champs in a dominating performance on Saturday. A perfect combination of steady defense and strong offense kept the tension to a minimum.

Here are a quick dozen photos capturing some of the action:

(You can get the fullscreen version here.)

I’ll post more once I work through the several hundred I shot.

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The bats never got going in the first game and the gloves let us down in the second as we were swept in a doubleheader on the hottest day of the year. Had Our Shots (a team Tom Scheck describes as his favorite opponent) beat us 12-7 in the opener. B-Dubs thrashed us 36 to 19 in the nightcap which we called off after six innings. Only one more regular season game to go.

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We scored a season-high 30 runs and posted a 30 to 13 victory over The Who. Ben Wareham had two home runs and 7 RBIs and his mother inspired an opposing player to comment “nice wheels” as she beat out a play at first. There were 15 non-players in attendance at the game (a high for the year) and 25 people at the chalk talk. Plus $213 was won at pull tabs. A good night all around.

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Tuesday’s game was marked by our relentless offense which produced just enough runs to stay ahead of the pesky Probation punks. With that 27-23 victory, the team is now 10 and 10 on the season, a perfect balance of joy and agony. Next week, we have a double-header on Tuesday and another game on Thursday to wrap up the regular season. The Eichtens will be there again, so of course, chalk talk attendance is mandatory.

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…is French for pretty. That’s the name of Kate and Joshua’s new dog, not a description of Thursday’s game. Money Shot scored early and often enroute to a 27 to 14 victory. On the positive side no one was struck by lightning. The loss broke MPR’s four game winning streak.

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It was slow going in the first innings against Explosive D. It wasn’t until the 5th inning when Tom Rothman sacrificed his body for the team, pulling himself from the game after a wicked line drive took his finger in a direction fingers shouldn’t go. In true MPR form, the team rallied behind Rothman and pounded the heck out of the ball, scoring 11 runs that inning, highlighted by Jill Riley’s towering triple. The team’s integrity was challenged (“How many men do you have playing?”) but we went on to win handily, 14-5 MPR went into game two of it’s double header with momentum on it’s side.

Buoyed by a case of Coors Light on the sidelines, we led from the start and never looked back. Acting manager Linda W encouraged not only the spectators but the players to keep hydrated. Tom Scheck, replacing Ben W in a last minute substitution, took her advice to heart and may be the first person on the MPR team to play the outfield with a beer at his side. Even with the obligatory “inning from hell” we managed to pull out a 25-22 victory over Catch and Release.

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After getting pounded by Mother Goose two weeks ago, we evened the score with an 18 to 12 victory Tuesday night. Coach Bickal was overly intense during the ground rule discussions and in the early innings, but followed the new Tom Scheck’s advice and achieved an inner calm. Suds was a stalwart at first base, teaming with Scheck on a key double play. Mason made an outstanding grab in left to stifle another rally.

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…how we lost that game. In a close game marked by several lead changes, Doc’s Landing came out on top 18 to 15 after scoring four runs in the top of the 7th. The big blow in that inning was a three-run homer by the Doc’s centerfielder, a leading candidate for the 2008 Air-Wick Award. His testosterone-fueled performance was exemplified by a play in which he slid headfirst into home and then leap up beating on his chest with both hands.

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