Back with a vengance

The Crackmonkeys put one back in the win column in spite of torrential rain and some 6th inning violence. Everyone picked up their game and rallied to keep championship hopes alive. The game was highlighted by stellar defense and timely hitting (both the ball and the knee), which proved too much for the Underdogs with a final score of 11-9.

In true Crackmonkey fashion, here are some shout-outs:

• Special thanks to our cheering section of Julia and her family, Michelle's parents, and anyone else out there who bled Crackmonkey yellow.
• Also thanks to Rick who pitched a great game and was extremely solid with the bat.
• Great job by the infield (Bav, Glenn, A Voss, Jamie, Micki, Michelle R) catching some line drives and making big time plays to get some outs.
• The outfield (Webbie, Jamie, Cation, Scot, Little D) did an outstanding job getting to some balls and making plays.

Highlights:

• Cation's toss from RCF to 2nd, which would have been great if he hadn't thrown it at Alex's back.
• Scot's D Wise impression in the OF.
• Scot's T Harding impression on the base path.
• Michelle R's attempt to take out her Mom with a foul ball.
  
• Little D's performance at f***ing El Toro.

Let's get 'em again next week!

Happy Birthday to:

regular season ends

The crackmonkeys ended the regular season with an eventful two weeks. We played a heated, but well-played game hungover (see below) to win our 7/12 game. Some teams play well under stress and a good hangover, others don't. We do. Motion for monkey post-game drinking to be moved to monkey pre-game drinking starting saturday night. In our last game of the season (7/19) we faced a tough team that hit all the right places along with some great defensive plays. Some highlights below....


1. Completion of the "World Famous First Annual Chocolate Thunder All-Star Invitational Mid-Summer Classic, Charity Bar Crawl" - good times were had by all - including those around the world that received loving keepsake messages from Mr. Mike Cation. On Saturday July 11th the crackmonkeys invaded bars across the champaign-urbana area, including notables campus favorite Kam's, wet 'n wild day at Station, a pair of blind pigs, and a finale at C street. Time to start training for next year!

2. First ever crackmonkey ejection (see previous post for details). Hopefully first and last!

3. Four pitchers in one game...and a win.

4. Great hitting all around. Girls are forcing the outfield to recognize, and guys are hitting the gaps to get runs in. Great D in the outfield both weeks: Tony, little-D (that's official right?), Cation, Jamie, Voss, Glenn, D, and Webbie. Great pickups at first base by D. Second base matrix moves by Bav. Short-stop looks easy monkeystyle by Jamie, Scot, Cation, and Voss. Great job by Michelle to stay calm and keep game up during all the pitching drama. And holding down the hot corner Glenn, Micki, and Jamie.

On to the post season! See you saturday.

This is late, but here's a recap of a 15-8 win, with the first ever Crackmonkey ejection:

Mr. Whiteley,

I am emailing you regarding my ejection during the 7:00 pm Crackmonkey/Plastipak game and asking you to consider waiving the 1-game suspension based on the circumstances surrounding my ejection.

I replaced our starting pitcher in the 3rd inning of the game. After being called for illegal pitches that were too high I was becoming frustrated with myself as I wasn't throwing strikes. On one pitch that I felt was a strike which was called a ball, I asked our umpire where the pitch was and he informed me it was too high. I felt I asked calmly and was merely asking for direction on what I needed to do to throw strikes. During the first few batters I feel the only actions I made showing frustration were that I caught 2 balls thrown from the catcher with my throwing hand and not my glove and also bounced the ball off the field back to myself twice.

Facing the next batter or two after I asked about the pitch mentioned above, I threw 2 balls for a 3-1 count. The next pitch I threw I felt was the best pitch of the day, it landed and the umpire hesitated but called it a strike. After the catcher threw the ball back to me I spoke, to myself, "That better effing (I did use the word) be a strike, Jesus Christ." I felt it was a quiet comment to myself and didn't feel I was addressing the umpire whatsoever. After the game our catcher and first baseman both said they didn't hear what I said. At this point our umpire yelled at me "One more word about balls and strikes, and you might as well be talking to your centerfielder, because you'll be out of here." To cordially acknowledge that I got the point I raised my hand and calmly replied "Thank you." At this point I was thrown out of the game.

Upon leaving the field, because I had a sense the umpire was extremely annoyed with me and I'm not aware of the protocol on whether ejected players need to leave the field, I asked the umpire if he'd like me to leave. He then yelled back at me to get out of here. I admit once this was said, I did throw my glove into the dugout fence, but then calmly left the field and waited for the end of the game in the parking lot.

I truly feel once the warning was given after my comment to myself that I was as polite as I could be in addressing the umpire and was letting him know he wouldn't hear anything from me. Also, multiple members of the opposing team and other non-team affiliated spectators were shocked that I was in fact ejected. In light of this I feel the 1-game suspension outlined in the league rules is an unnecessary penalty in this situation.

I appreciate your consideration and am willing to discuss this matter further if you deem necessary.