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[J. Wolf]

Here ye! Here ye! I will now like to take this time to address the various issues facing the Longshot softball team as they enter their Fall seasons in the Bensalem Weekday & Sunday leagues. There has been much argument & debate concerning the following issues, and I would like to voice my opinions on the following topics:

First, I would like to address the addition of Freddy to our weekday team. Our team has a lot of very nice hitters. In fact, almost everyone looked fantastic hitting in the most recent tourney this weekend. We even have some guys (Kevin, Smitty, Glea, Juddy & myself) who can hit for power at times. But, we have been lacking a true softball cleanup power hitter for years. That guy who with one swing of the bat can hit a 3-run homer when our offense is in desperate need of a spark. Freddy is that guy! Not to mention that he is not taking anyone’s spot in the field because we didn’t have a 3rd baseman for our weekday team anyway. So, no one is affected & we add the one missing piece to our already very good team puzzle. I could see if we were trying to add him to our Sunday team & he was going to take DeNofa’s place in the field. But, we’re not! In fact, one person on our team is losing time in the field as a result of picking up Freddy… the man who actually picked him up for our weekday team: Keith! Keith is only going to pitch one game instead of both games of the weekday double-headers because Freddy’s dad (who was added so Freddy could make it to the games in Bensalem) will now pitch the other game. Again, no is affected except Keith. (Freddy’s dad will pitch one game & sit the other!) So, it’s my opinion that NO ONE should have any problem with these 2 additions.

With regards to picking up Jack & Steve (which isn’t a problem anymore being that they will not be playing for our weekday team), I would have had a small issue with these additions. Not so much with adding Jack, but with adding Steve. These additions would not have affected Smitty or Glea, who will continue to bat both games & split time at 1st base. It would not have affected John G. & Quinny, who will continue to do the same behind the plate. It would only have affected Kevin. I feel this would have caused Keith to not play my brother in the outfield as much, which would have not been fair. Kevin (when sober) plays a solid right-side of the outfield & has a much better arm than both Jack & Steve! And because of his arm, I feel Kevin is perfect in RF. And with me & Branny playing on the left side of the outfield, we really only could add 1 more outfielder. And since Jack has played with us before this last tourney, I would have been fine if Keith added him. Jack has a very nice power bat too, so he adds another missing ingredient to our team. But, I don’t think Steve would have. I think Steve is a fine softball player, but he does things that a lot of us already do. He’s a speedy singles hitter who plays a very good outfield. But, I KNOW he doesn’t track balls in the outfield like Braunny. He tracks them very well, but NO ONE goes back for a ball the way Mike does! Basically, he’s a slower version of Braunny with a little more patience at the plate, which is something that Bruanny can easily get better at (And I hope he does, because with his speed Mike could be a devastating leadoff hitter.) So, in my opinion, he would not of helped our team all that much & only be taking away time in the field from Kevin. But, we don’t have to worry about that now because neither of them is playing with us anyway!

Now, our Sunday team will remain (and should always remain ) the same: No additions! (Except I think Smitty’s brother-in-law) We should have won the championship in the Sunday league this spring with the talent we already have on the team, so there is no need to make any additions. And besides, our Sunday team is how almost all of us starting playing softball. Cassidy & Tony started the team as a way for us over-the-hill, fake-ass Rhawnhurst pretend “athletes” to stay active & have something to compete in. And, that’s the way it should remain! We added Glea, Greenwald, & Brauny, but they are basically part of us anyway. They were not just additions strictly to make our softball team better (even though they have.) They are guys that we all hang with & drink with. They are true members of our team. Sunday’s team will remain the same: a very good team of basically the same guys who have played from the beginning 3-4 years ago: Cassidy, Smitty, DeNofa, Quinny, myself, Sparks, Kevin, Keith, & Johnny Mac. Along with Glea, Johnny G., Braunny, & Mr. Rhawnhurst himself Juddy, our Sunday team will remain in tact for many years to come. I will never let Keith ruin it. Even though we continue to get better & better, and more serious about softball, we still need our Sunday team to remain pure & be more about having a good time & busting each other’s balls, than the win-loss record. I’m not saying that I don’t want to win every single game that we play on Sunday (because I do!) I’m just saying that we do it with the team we already have assembled without outsiders. And, by the way, the team we already have is the defending champs of this Fall Sunday League we are about to start! So, we are more than good enough already to make it back-to back!!

P.S. I am really a big geek with my softball posts! I can’t believe how long-winded I am! I really should look into getting a life sometime soon!

[M. Smitty]

First and foremost I am very happy and very surprised to see the post I was basically going to write had already been written but I have to further exhaust this last post by Joe......

"Find your own fucking team then" and "I want to win a championship and that it".... These were the cold quotes I was met with during a conversation with our captain, Keith P. It was in reference to me contacting Kevin Wolf to get Johnny G's phone number and for Joe Wolf to contact me immediately, so I can properly pursue my inevitable conversation with Keith before days end. But as Keith understood it, I was on my way to going behind his back and trying to fuck his coaching up. In a very calm and collected manor (as witnessed by Mike Braun), I attempted to explain my very valid concerns for reasons other then what Keith thought. KP had presumed that I was concerned with my own personal playing time and that of some of my teammates. Although I must agree that my concern does factor this in but not to the selfish degree that KP might assume. Let me explain.... I plan on making every single game during the week and Sunday that is possible for me to attend. I have proven that I am a conistent and loyal teammate in that respect, so some concern does lie in that. If I am going to show up every game, I would like to play both games each and everytime b/c that is the point of playing softball for me (to actually play). Would I have a problem sitting a game maybe once or twice a season, absolutely not, but was very unsure and unclear about the state of the union. Upon reading Joe's post I found that this point was nothing that should be a concern for me. But my intentions weren't all that selfish b/c like Joe (which I was happy as hell to read by the way), I play softball for this team b/c it is fun as shit. I of course want to win a championship but not in the cold manor in which it was presented to me by Keith today. If it meant picking up strangers who were great at softball and sucked to grab a beer with or bullshit with or talk shit with, then you can fucking keep them. This was my number one CONCERN.... I want to keep the integrity of the team by keeping the core players we have playing and only pick-up players on a strictly needs basis. It appeared to me, which apparently was incorrect, that Keith was trying to pick anyone and everyone who was good to play on our team. I had assumed that he was not looking at postions on the field and picking up players basically at random. I agree with everyone of Joe's points. First, I think Fred is one of the best damn power hitters I have ever played with and a very likeable kid which is even more important to me, so to add him is a definite yes. Second, the weekday team does have a need to have way more guys on the roster then the Sunday b/c of incosistencies with people showing up all the time, so I am fine with that. Thirdly, positons were considered for both Sunday and weekday, as to not saturate the team with random people, but carefully select and contemplate the addition of teammates. Fourth, likeability is there amongst everyone on the weekday team so we can have fun and be ultra competitive at the same time. LASTLY, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, SUNDAYS ARE SACRED!!! Our Sunday, is the best thing a guy can hope for by week's end. It is comprised of a bunch of asshole guys that have a hard time being friends with one another without playing softball and breaking eachother's balls week in and week out. It is great!!! It is something that I would like to keep together for a long time. Here is the best part, we are actually good too. We won the damn championship last year and that was a bonus to me.... I guess what I'm saying after this long and drawn out post is that I was not concerned so much with not playing or some other selfish reasons or not having a winning team but I was concerned with having fun b/c at 28 years old and with all my athleticism behind me thats what its all about for me.

[Johnny G]

!st I d like to express my extreme pleasure with this weekends tourney..Ive rarely had as much fun playing ball with Joe Wolfs homerun being the top highlight hit in all my years of playing...That being said I couldn't agree LESS with the jumping on Keith for wanting to make his---our team better....To me it sounds like as long as its not the person being directly effected its ok...Why is it fine for Freddie as long as he's not taking innings away but hit homers but not Steve who while not hitting hrs..but easily the best leadoff hitter we've ever had not ok?If we had Steve for a couple tourney's before Jack would it be fuck Jack ,Steve's played with us longer? Though they will not be able to play due to other team committments on Sundays would a outfield with Jack--Steve --Joe--Braunny ---Jack---Cass--Kev have been a good problem ? How many Sundays did we have to play with Wade--Brian---me---Sparks last year due to no shows...There were games started with 9 people twice !!!! There are 14 innings and numerous at bats available and the dropoff is minuscule so I dont think you can have too many good players..Complacentcy is bad..Perhaps the lazy ways of this past Sunday season would not of happened had there been competion for playing time...I just dont get it if its ok to bring Freddie--Nick--me --Glea in where except for fear of replacement for some innings is this resentment from....This is not a poke at the players we already have in NO WAY everyone gets along great and we have lots of non-softball fun but when you can add to that nucleus with other talented players why not.... I miss games with my work schedule---Joe's new job has him miss games--Smitty /Braun Tues. meetings--Cass for whatever reason---Duane unrealible do we want to go in unloaded/deep....Again no slight intended to anyone just my opionion...I give up innings every game to Quinny/Brian whomever so Im not suggesting anything I wouldn't do myself...Sorry so long...Johnny G.

[M. Smitty]

Here is where I am at with Johnny's post. I agree and disagree to some extent. I am not so much concerned with picking up players but exactly how we do it is where my problems come in. I understand differently now that Keith isn't just picking up random players to just show up but rather taking a more calculated approach to what position they play and what our overall need may be. But I am in totally disagreement for having "to play for you position type mentality". I don't think you meant it as harsh the point can be taken, but I didn't think we were that kind of team just looking to put the absolute best out there all the time and not worry about overall team loyalty to the core guys. I mean this is still beer league softball, not professional (unlike some teams that just played in the tournament). This is not to say we can't be competitive b/c we can and we are!! I personally, should worry about anybody with a glove taking my spot (will this make more competitve then I already am?)..LOL... If this also really was the case Keith would never play a game ever, and I mean ever! I know pitchers that play on that Bensalem team that I played for that bat 4th and field unbelieavable (shall I bring him?).... Heres what I am really saying, I don't want a team comprised of random people without the people having some affiliation with the core guys. It appears that I misunderstood Keith's intentions and have NO PROBLEM at all with the roster moves/additions that were made b/c I do agree that attendance to games has been spotty both weekday and Sunday so you do have to have enough guys to play the games. I feel it is very necessary to call someone the day before at best and let them know you are not intending on making games, shit like that, but I don't want some random ass team that is good but has no fun and I find myself not even wanting to show-up. I played on boring teams before (Notice I made no mention of bad/good).... Look, I just would like a more diplomatic approach to adding guys by at least discussing it with parties that care or are interested. If we keep adding "good players" and "playing for postions" next thing you know we would be calling out, "REVERSE TRIANGLE 3 " to our outfielders and that would be a tragedy!!!!!!!!!!!

........At least consider some points before responding........


How good is it though that softball is back and people are fired up about it!

[J. Wolf]

This is the way I see it for our Bensalem Weekday League team. (Feel free to disagree or mention anybody that I forgot to mention)

1B- Smitty & Glea (This will not change for years on either team. 1st base is set. No additions necessary or acceptable. However, both guys have to deal with the fact that they will be splitting time at the position. It seems like one guy handles this situation a little better than the other guy, but I won’t name names! LOL. They will both bat EVERY game, but will have to work out the fielding duties. Whether that means playing an entire game & sitting the other OR alternating innings both games, whatever they are more comfortable with. But, there is NO OTHER SOLUTION to this issue. However, there will be plenty of games where Smitty will play both games at 1st when Glea is needed to fill in for a missing player in the OF or at 2nd base.)

2B – Juddy (No issue: When he is there, he is playing 2nd.)

SS- Johnny Mac (Same as Juddy)

3B – Freddy (We didn’t have a weekday 3rd baseman anyway, so this addition works out real nicely.)

C – Johnny G. & Quinny (These guys already have their playing rotation worked out, so… if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. However, I do worry somewhat about having Freddy’s dad on the team with regards to this position. Keith has to make it CLEAR to Freddy’s dad that he will pitch 1 game & SIT the other game. Basically, let him know the TRUTH: That he was ONLY added so his bomb-hitting, 18-year old son could catch a ride from piece-of-shit Port Richmond to beautiful Bensalem.)

LF – Braun (No issue: The fastest guy on the team goes back for the ball better than anyone I have ever seen play softball! He would have played here EVERY game whether or not we added Jack/Steve.)

LCF – Me (I would have had NO PROBLEM playing RCF if we felt it was best for the team to let Steve play LCF. However, I would have had a problem if this caused us to consistently have an outfield of Braun/Steve/Me/Jack. I feel Kevin is perfect for RF & he comes to every game & is one of our best hitters (when he is sober & not thinking about hitting HR’s) So, the addition of Steve would have caused Keith to bench Kevin when all of us showed up for the game, which would NOT have been right!! We could add 1 OF, but there would have been NO NEED to add 2 OF’s!! And, as Johnny G. mentioned, “If we had Steve for a couple tourney's before Jack would it be fuck Jack ,Steve's played with us longer?” YES!!!!!!!!!! It would be fuck Jack! But, the fact of the matter is, Jack has played with us plenty of times before! So, if we needed to add 1 OF… he would be the guy over Steve! That seems very simple to me.

RCF - ?????? (I don’t know who will play here! I don’t know if Cass is playing on our weekday team & even if he does, he is the most unreliable player on the team attendance –wise. I guess Kevin would be OK here, but I think he is much better suited with his big arm to play RF. This spot would have been perfect for either Jack or Steve. However, it would have caused problems to add BOTH of them!!! But, one of them would have fit real nicely here! So, if you are reading this Keith (and that’s assuming he can even read), you still may have to make one more addition for the position.)

RF – Kevin (Seems to me like this is his natural softball position. And Kev, don’t think negatively about this. Grant it, shitty softball teams put absolute retards in RF. But, that’s because they are terrible. Good softball teams have good players playing everywhere on the field. And, Kevin seems like the perfect fit in RF.

P- Keith & Freddy’s dad (Simple enough. Keith pitches 1 game & Freddy’s dad pitches the other.)

Sunday’s Starting Lineup

P- Keith
1B- Smitty
Glea
2B- Juddy
SS- Johnny Mac
3B- DeNofa
LF- Braun
LCF- Me
RCF- Cassidy
RF- Kevin
Utility- D. Sparks
C- Greenwald
Quinny

** Honestly (when everyone shows up), I don’t know where Smitty’s brother-in-law will play in the field.

[johnny g]

I am perhaps the wrong person to be commenting on this subject but I will...

I see 3 names not listed on the Bens.Roster...Dougie--Iggy---2nd baseman from Oasis..I hope this is just an oversight...In my opionion a outfield with Braun-Joe-Doug-Cass(when he shows up)Iggy -Kevin is pretty good....Great speed ---some pop---good ground coverage on a BIG OF....

A inf..of Glea-Juddy-Johnny-Freddie-Oasis-Smitty is a deep-good hitting power filled unit with a good double play combo...

Fred Sr.-Keith is a upgrade just by having a legitamate 2nd option...
Me and Quinny have never had a problem sharing time I m sure its a honor for him to squat in the same dirt as me...

This team has depht enough to withstand the missing of games by those who have to miss games from time to time...



In regaurds to Sun..team I fail to see how the problems of last year have been addressed...We struggled to field a team most weeks and added one player....I can only hope not knowing where Nick would even play was in jest..He is a upgrade to our inf.."D" and appeared to be a good hitter with some pop...The constant unavailability of Cass isn't addressed or the firey person to prevent lapses against inferior opponents...Its my interpertation of what Ive read that Sun.is not about winning as just hanging with friends which I suppose is fine and knowing as much makes decisions on my part on making and not making games a easier decision...

Good Luck to both teams hopefully both approaches to playing are mutually rewarding...

[Smitty Champ]

These have been the most meaningful posts to ever hit this site..lol... I think Nicky could really help us out on Sunday and is willing to play his role. However, I would be willing to relay the information that his services are not necessary if thats what we decided but Johnny's right b/c last year we did have some attendance issues and I would like to see a more consistent showing on Sundays. Even my very good buddy D. Sparks has been sparatic as Kev Mckeever in showing up and not caring about softball sundays instead he plays his faggot ass golf tournaments/leagues.

All in all good stuff though!!!

Let's get back to talking shit and making fun of Keith!!!

[Jud]

the only problem i have with the pick ups is that guy mark .... just because he plays with the cheating enemy .... he doesn't have a life ... and the last time he got laid, 1.5 arms had two full ones

when we are talking about hair, gambling losses, drunken nights, rhawnhurst boobs, etc. ... this guy is going to strike up a conversation of what is the best batting glove

p.s. keith, that phone call to me yesterday might have been the gayest phone call i ever experienced in my life .... and you will hear about it at the next sunday game

[J. Wolf]

"Its my interpertation of what Ive read that Sun.is not about winning as just hanging with friends which I suppose is fine and knowing as much makes decisions on my part on making and not making games a easier decision."

This quote is very, very funny to me! OH JOHNNY G!! We are all soooooo sorry that we want to have some fun on Sundays. We all promise to stop being "friends" on Sunday & instead focus on adding 3 players from Oasis, 4 players from Ashton, & even steal 2 guys from Penny's in order to make sure that YOU MAKE EVERY EFFORT YOU CAN TO MAKE IT TO THE GAMES on SUNDAYS!!!!!! What a joke!

Let me say this very straight-forward: We already have a good enough team to win the inferior Sunday league. In case you don't remember, we won it last fall. So, we are not just there to "hang out with friends." We are there to win. We just want to keep one team pure with the guys we have played with for the last 3-4 years. WE DON'T WANT TO BECOME LIKE PENNY'S. That doesn't mean we don't want to win. We have our weekday team which we can add different players to & take very, very seriously.... like a Penny's or Ashton. And then we can have our Sunday team, which is still very good, remain the same bunch of guys that started this softball team. It's really the best of both worlds. We can be softball geeks during the week & still remain somewhat cool on the weekends. So, that being said, I really, really, really hope you still decide to make the games on Sunday!! LOL

[Smitty Socrates]

First of all for whatever reason I found Juddy's post to be funny as hell b/c I know Keith must of called saying some dumb shit to him..lol...

I thought I might share some genuine inside information to the team that should shed some light on to what we have been discussing/arguing.... I am going to give a direct quote from Jack Hoffman as told to his brother and friends (not said to me) but I believe I should give some background on who Jack Hoffman actually is... He is guy whose nickname is Babe Ruth b/c all he does is eat hot dogs and play softball. He is on a million different teams and plays pretty much every day and has played softball for many years.... now taking all that in to consideration, please take a moment to ponder his quote:


from Jack "This past weekend was the most fun and excitement I have ever had playing softball."


Thats what I don't want to lose!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[johnny g]

Ive never found winning softball and FUN softball to be different entities...Personally I have had as much fun playing on a 1-34 team at Pleasant Hill as a title winning Jewish YMCA team...Ive been the NEW guy/pick-up on many good teams and never felt or was made to feel like I was breaking up Spanky and "OUR GANG" or Tony and "The Sopranos".I wouldn't have minded 1 bit adding character guys like Jack and or Steve No one said Jack your in Sparks your out or Steve your in Quinny your through.(Just using names insert anyone,me-Juddy whoever).If your goal is to win merely "INFERIOR SUNDAY" so be it..I realize its about fun---friends commraderie etc..but I was ill aware that Jack/Steve/Nick were Hitler/Idi Amin/Saddam Hussein just good players who were upgrades to a already good team...I also know wether I make a game or not doesn't mean shit,anymore than anyone else I was refering to the fact MY Sundays are 2x days at work which I throw away gladly for the fun of the Sun.team but it isn't enjoyable to be there with 9 guys watching a parking lot to see who's gonna show up or have a half-assed "INFERIOR TEAM" beat our JUGGERNAUT is all.

[johnny g]

just a brief departure from add-ons debate..I want to congradulate Matt,Kevin on incredible weekends with their bats in the tourney this weekend..Whether by design or not they're approach to hitting(LINE-DRIVES) was a sight to see...Fri.and Sat. especially Im not sure if they made an out between them...Though it was a top to bottom hitting assault all weekend those 2 lads really stepped it up thru-out.....And Id like to thank the woman who allowed Quinny to release his post handi-capped girl tension...That ass must have been all that based on that 300 ft.bomb AFROBOY crushed Sat.night...Go on wit your bad self TQ......Black man hair,white man's body,Asian's penis you are the poster boy for United Nations Fuck Machines....

[Wolf]

I think this debate has become a touch ambiguous. Let me be very, very clear: I am all for loading up the weekday team! We are in a league with Penny’s & other very good teams. So, lets add as many guys as we can. My only SLIGHT concern was adding Steve would take time away from my brother. I DON’T have selfish reasons at all. I don’t care if we added 50 new guys. I am confident in myself that when presented with a competition for playing time, I would just raise my level of play to keep my spot. Simple as that! But, you make a decent point: We have people, including myself, who CAN’T make every game. Also, we play double-headers now during the week, so we do have 14 innings to get everyone plenty of playing time. So, we would have been just fine with an outfield rotation of Braun/Myself/Steve/Jack/Kevin rotating over 4 outfield spots. I agree with you on this one & admit that I was somewhat wrong. However, I never said I had a problem with adding Steve, just a small concern that his addition may cause our softball mastermind manager Keith to sit Kevin more than he should. I’m a good & loyal older brother (even though I don’t really like any of my younger brothers except Brian!) So, let’s add some more guys for the weekday team!

WEEKDAY TEAM: Make every addition we can to give us the best chance of winning! Add 18 year olds from Port Richmond & cheating, softball geeks from Oasis. Add whomever we can to give us the best chance of beating Penny’s & the other good Bensalem teams. This should be our WIN-AT-ALL-COSTS team!

SUNDAY TEAM: Keep the same core guys together. Do whatever we can to win with these core guys. Make an occasional addition that doesn’t force core guys to not play as much. This should be our WIN-WITHOUT-WHORING team! Take every game very seriously & try to win every inning. But, do so with the guys we already have & do so WITHOUT whoring up our whole team with outsiders.

[mckeever]

stop using my name on this stupid ass website! im the best 3rd base coach/score book keeper/ show up at your games at 9:30 am with a cooler of beer for myself player u guys have. what bar should i show up to after your games on sundays? keith u better get me a shirt too. im still on the team i just cant make it there til bout 2:30 pm on sundays.

[Johnny G]

Agree 100% on your post JW...I think that a major reason for some of the perceived too many good player semi- squabble is a lack of line-up ingenuity by KP...Granted its excepted he is no genius but there is and should be more use of lge.rules/loopholes...When there is a abundance of OFer's or Inf.'s there should be liberal use of the re-entry rule..This rule allows ALL players the oppertunity to play/bat/field every game thus keeping each person more intune with the games ebb and flow...A switching of say Duane for Denofa (again just names not a finger pt. at anyone insert me-glea whoever) is no dropoff at all and with the re-entry through the game both are used and made to feel a viable contributer...I dont ever want to sit or not bat but do every game as to keep Quinny or others into the game..we know who should be out there come crunch time and can/will do so...Lets just make the best of each inning/at-bat we get and maximize our efforts and the wins will take care of themselves...I firmly believe competion for playing time is the best motivater ...A team of 12-14 men who all invision themselves starters is a team that will win.....

[Young Fred]

Hey Guys, I just found this site.... it was a real pleasure playing with you guys especially keith .... thank you so much for showing me how to masterbate. We have to do it again.

[Freddie]

thanks coach for helping me with my hand eye coorination...Your right if I close my eyes and think of Cassidy while pulling my pud I can actually invision turning on the inside pitch...Thanks coach....