VanillaAfro.com

[Smitty Humble]

Well team after a long weekend of highs and lows, playing morning to night, adjusting to each and every new teammate around you, we came up just that short. I feel quite a bit responsible for the loss in today's game, and would really like to send anapology to my team and most specifically Juddy for not coming through out there in the field. Much is talked (And I mean much) about my play in the field so I intently try to perform well and even find more gratification in making a nice scoop or completing a double play than possibly hitting a single. I will continue to make an effort at improving my defensive game so I can be considered worthy to be on the field in pressure defensive situations. I thought we had a great tournament all and all and I am really looking forward to the Freddy. I think our team can beat anybody at anytime, we just all need to show-up together in the big games and we'll grab one of these championships. On a positve note, this is really the first year that we have tried to capture a tournament championship while the teams that we played against have been at it for years. The moral of the story is that we just need to play together a little longer and keep gaining experience and keep getting better and better until a new team comes in the tournament and says "Ohh shit we gotta play those goddamn Longshot guys, they must be using illegal bats b/c they hit soo fuckin well!".......


See ya all out there soon.....

Sorry again Judd

[Smitty's Glove]

Sorry I called out of work today. I had the flu.

[Chris Collins' Black Eye]

Don't worry about it .... we have all fall to make it up .... and look on the bright side, nobody on the team woke up with black/bloody eyes

[Cagey Veteran]

Well stated young humble one...No one ever goes to the plate hoping to hit in a double play or steps on the field wishing to drop a routine throw...Its what we do after said miscues that define us..I know you personally give 110 % at all aspects of the game though the results vary from game to game the effort/will to win NEVER does..I never question your dedication to the team and its efforts to win...While attitude doesn't bat or play the field Im a firm believer in bad ,lazy we dont stand a chance attitudes kill a team...I dont mean rah-rah pat my ass like a cheerleader shit I mean going in positive,running out grounders,not throwing the bat on pop-ups and not even getting to 1st base stuff..the difference between the oh boo hoo we cant beat em in the playoffs and yesterdays FUCK them lets go give em all they can handle was night and day different as were the results....Its easier for a lazy half ass group of maliners to destroy good chemistry than for team players to keep the morale up...I guess what Im saying Schmitty is heads up get em next time...We lost as a TEAM ..And if your not gonna give 110% LIKE MATT STAY THE fUCK HOME..If they're arent 10-14 players with a great attitude dont waste the time of those of us who can and will give 110 % wether were playing Rhawnhurst or Penny's or Ashton....Its a hr. of your life and some people are making HUGE sacrifices to attend....

[J. Wolf]

I started out reading this post soooo fired up and proud because I thought FINALLY John G. was seeing the big picture. I thought he was actually thinking beyond his constant need to bust people’s balls & actually recognizing someone for their true will to win. Smitty makes mistakes just like all of us. I hit like shit most of this season & didn’t field the way I have easily done the last 3 years. But, what are ya gonna do. It wasn’t like I wasn’t trying (like Smitty & all of us) my absolute hardest to succeed! John G. & Glea hit the shit out of the ball all year but came up pathetically small in the biggest games of the year when we played those E-House guys in the Semi’s on Sunday. I’m 100% sure you guys wanted to succeed just like you did all year, but it just didn’t happen on that given day! And so Smitty made a couple mistakes in the field this Sunday (And this is not at all mentioning everyone else’s downfalls this season.) But, my point is, SO WHAT!! I was initially fired up by John G. reluctance to poke fun & instead inspired by his desire to complement Smitty on his never-ending will to win & improve his play. But, I guess he just used that platform as a way to kill others (including myself & my brother.) I know Matt loves Softball just as much and probably more than almost all of us. He isn’t perfect, but he really, really wants to be. He wants to win every game & approaches each & every game with that mentality. But, so do most of us (and most especially Kevin & me!!!!!!)

Even though Kevin drives me insane, I know for a million percent fact that he wants to win just as much as anyone on our team!! He might throw the bat OR fake as if he is gonna throw the bat. BUT, he does that because he is so pissed that he didn’t come through for his teammates. And….. that’s admirable & that’s a fucking fact!!!

“No one ever goes to the plate hoping to hit in a double play.” Well, NO ONE also ever goes to the plate hoping to hit a fly out!!! But, sometimes Kevin (and me, & everyone does.) And, Kevin doesn’t throw the bat because he is “oh boo hoo we cant beat em in the playoffs” type of guy!! He throws the bat because he is sick to his stomach that he didn’t hit the ball the way he is MORE than capable of hitting it!!! If he really thought “we can’t beat them,” he would just walk back to the dugout and not even care!!

And, EJ saw a chance to go for the win & he took it! He gambled & he lost! But, again, SO WHAT!! I would be more than pissed if he had a chance to gamble & DIDN’T! But, he was more than willing to take that risk for the chance to win! It may not have been the logical baseball/ softball risk….. but he wasn’t thinking like that. He wasn’t thinking, “Does this make sense or should I just stop at 3rd?” He was just thinking …. WIN at all costs!!!! Almost everything was going right for us those last 3 innings & he was probably feeling that “We can’t do NO wrong energy!” And, even though he went for it at maybe the wrong time, I respect the hell out of him!! He saw a chance to do his part to win the game right there, and he went for it!! It didn’t work out, but I’m sure he has no regrets. (Even though you might think he should have a regret for going.) But, he would be kicking himself today if he didn’t go and the next hitter ended the game with a double play! Basically, how can you be mad at someone who “WENT FOR IT?????”

Also, Matt would admit that me & him have had a few verbal spats about softball. And everyone knows how I used to yell at Kevin over tons of mistakes. But, not this year!!!!! What I realized this year is that when Kevin or Smitty make a mistake, its not because of a lack of effort or desire. It only happened because they are not perfect. They want to succeed everytime, but sometimes don’t. And, neither am I (even though I look pretty close to perfect when I look in the mirror!) My point is I realized me throwing my hands in the air on a Smitty mistake & yelling at Kevin when he flyed out was counter-productive. All it did was make them more focused on their mistake instead of being focused on how they could reverse that mistake. When plenty of people were pissed about Smitty’s mistakes (John G. especially,) I was talking to Smitty every inning telling him who cares! I’TS OVER! You can’t change the past….. on the future! And… what did Matt do? Did he sulk like a defeated baby? NO!!!! He came to the plate & hit a beautiful live drive hit that he hustled into 2 big runs for us! And, he said he would have done it again if he got the chance & I believe him 100%!

In conclusion to my very long & drunk post is that you can offer praise to Smitty without insulting other people on the team who want to win just as much as you do! SIMPLE AS THAT! And, so….. we made some mistakes……. but we also stood toe to toe with one of the best teams in the city & ALMOST beat them! We have come a long way & as Smitty said in his post, there will be a day when other teams say “Those Longshot guys must have illegal bats because they hit the fuckin’ ball so good!” We are still a very young group of guys & as long as we stick together, we will easily be better than Penny’s & Ashton very soon!

[Smitty Beleives]

I love how softball talk has come back to its fired-up rap on the vanillaafro chat site. I appreciate everything Joe and Johnny had to say and I think frustration has gotten the better of all of us. We have a great team and we can/should and will win championships if this core group of guys stick together. I have played on some different teams over the past couple years but no team have I played on or against seems to have "unity" that we possess. I don't mean to be corny but the passion and the shit talking and the ball breaking make this team way more fun than any I have seen and winning more often than losing is a bonus to me. We are an extremely competitive team that is here to win. Look guys, we have a damn website dedicated to blogging our daily/weekly softball ventures and for most of us it is the first site we turn to for an updated comment, a top ten list, or some other ball breaking post that will fuel chat and debate for weeks. We have people that don't even play on our team that check this site and laugh at how funny this shit is .... Johnny and Joey are two people who are intricate to this teams current and future success.... Fuck all the drama let's play games, drink beer, and talk shit... but Johnny I will still ask you to not talk so loud.thanks

----Smith out

[JUD]

joe, that was one of the longest post i ever seen

smitty, i will continue to throw you low throws all fall and next spring up jardel

keith, go fuck yourself

[Mr.Opionion]

To make it plain and simple...There are different type errors,loses etc....Do people make errors ,Yes...Myself more than included...A pop-up is a batting error in my opionion again Ive hit tons of them myself...but...to throw the bat---not run it out--turn to sit down is a preventable error...We as a team miss pop-ups why would we just assume the other team will catch them all ? Pop-ups are inevitable ,done by all but to not leg em out to at least 1st base is a preventable error..Coming to the only game you HAVE TO win,an elimination game and putting a mish-mush line-up together is a preventable error...Going out there thinking the game is over B/4 a pitch is thrown again in my humble opionion is erroneous...I hear all the time"we had Penny's beat bah,blah,blah" then why the hell should I or anyone else take the field against ASHTON saying we dont stand a chance...This team is very good when we all play like are pants are on fire,but this season was a series of bad efforted loses to teams we should have blown out...Like Mr.Humble said our team should envoke fear/respect in opponents not a just keep it close they'll beat thereselves attitude...I will no longer bust the sensitive chops of my teammates as appearently some cannot take it...I know how the game is to be played and will continue to play it that way...No ill will to anyone intended I just always wish to have fun and to me nothing is more fun than winning....Peace to you Smitty I repeat you do indeed give 110% and if my ribbing went to far Sun..I apoligize it was in jest nothing personal it was afterall Keith's fault...