New Team Joins ASL

Let's all make the new guys feel at home...

Mude 8.27.2008

To be continued...

I Have Seen The Future

Zaki posted some predictions for next season, so a timely Slogs response is in order... And speakin' about the All-Seeing Eye...

We at the Slogs are happy the Leech found a friend. Here's the first installment of The Adventures of Leechy and Sponge-O...

It's Off: JoSox Win

JoSox: ASL Summer 2008 Champions

Amman Softball League

Summer 2008 Season Tournament

Friday, August 15 Championship: Slackers 14 JoSox 22 Semis 2: Trojans 7 JoSox 10 Semis 1: Nomads 21 Slackers 26 Play-In Game: Bezzig & Lezzig 10 Trojans 15 Note: The All-Star Game for Saturday is cancelled due to APS.

It's On

Important Announcement From Ziggy & Schwa: The Tourney ends with the Championship Game (2:15 PM) this Friday, August 15. But the All-Star Game will be played the following day at 11:00 AM. We’re contacting players and captains today & tomorrow, but you have to be patient with us. Dialing a phone is kinda hard for us, because we’re cats and have no thumbs. In the meantime, please enjoy our cartoons making fun of Mude, and read the XL edition of the Summer 2008 Tournament Preview.

Ziggy & Schwa, Mude 8/14/2008

But seriously. Read the rules. This is neither the majors nor little league. Pitching, baserunning, substitutions and interference calls are all considerably different, and there are many incorrect assumptions about all of them. Don't get burned. If you know the rules by which we play, you'll have an edge in the Tournament. Here's some more epic posting...

ASL Summer 2008 Tournament Preview PLAY-IN GAME #5 Bezzig & Lezzig (0-8) @ #4 Trojans (3-5) Time: 9:15 AM Conditions: 76 F, WSW 8 MPH Umpires: 1 Slacker + 2 Nomads Kevin’s Take: B&L: This team just doesn't seem to put it all together for the whole game. I have seen them play just a couple times, and they seem to do ok for 2-3 innings and then the flood gates open. Keys to success: Cut down the errors, pitchers need to throw strikes, and of course scoring a lot of runs wouldn't hurt. Trojans: Probably the most dangerous team in the tournament. Everyone expects the JoSox, Slackers, and Nomads to be there but the Men in Black may surprise a few people. Keys to success: Pitching, fielding, and not letting other teams take extra bases on throws all over the field. Massarweh’s Take: B&L: Can't field. Can't hit. But love to play the game. I envy them. Trojans: Take out Aaron Bouchane, Saif Barhoum and Jeff Sillin’s bats, and the Trojans got nothing. Laith Barhoum does make a play, though, every once in a while. Their selectivity on swinging at pitches like women will get them nowhere. Ziggy Says: Massarweh is a chauvinist goat. He compares the Trojans’ selective swinging to feminine behavior, as if women can’t play, but his own team would be no better than 2-6 without their women. And he forgets about Ben Barrows, Tarek Jallad, Laura Alsenas and Mohamed Zalatimo (who is only one of the best pitchers in the league). Prediction: Bezzig will have a great party, regardless of the result. Schwa Says: With a full roster, the Trojans will make noise in this Tourney. The key to the Trojans going far in the playoffs will be their outfield defense and shortstop play, in addition to selecting the right batting order. Prediction: Trojans march on. SEMIS 1 #3 Nomads (5-3) @ #2 Slackers (6-2) Time: 10:45 AM Conditions: 81 F, WSW 9 MPH Umpires: 1 JoSox + 1 Bezzig + 1 Trojan Kevin’s Take: Nomads are the most trash-talking squad in the tournament, and they can never back it. I am sure they will come in brash and cocky after thrashing the JoSox 3 weeks ago but what's done is done. Keys to success: Hitting. Missing two of the better hitters in their lineup, the rest will have to produce. If not, fire up the grill. Slackers, as always, are strictly offensive. Defense is just a place to stand until it's their turn to bat. They were missing a couple of their best hitters in the tiebreaker game, one of which is their top outfielder, Nader Qushair. With Willy gone for the Tourney, it might be a silent Slacker team--unless Rocky Abushaar rejoins the team. Massarweh’s Take: Nomads truly are the most trash-talking team in the Tournament who can’t back it up. More than often than not, they fail to keep a huge lead, and break down in one inning and can’t bounce back. Their players try to do things they simply cannot do. Keys to success: Focus, hit and be mentally tough day in, day out. The skill is there. The mental power to get it done is lacking. Slackers are an offensive superpower, but a defensive dwarf. All you need to do to beat this team is to hit it hard and on the ground. The rest will happen easily. Schwa Says: Don’t you love it when people spout off without having all the facts? Kevin & Massarweh both ripped on the Orange D, but the Slackers were the second-best defensive team in the league this season. They allowed fewer runs per game than the Nomads, and only 5 more all season than the JoSox. On offense, they also finished 2nd to the JoSox, but ahead of the Nomads. Slackers get some key players back, including Nader, Rocky and Yazan Barghouti. The Orange will triumph in this game, and it’s not going to be as close as some may think (or hope) it would be. Ziggy Says: The Slackers are an absolute force. Like my Pops, Mude, has said before, the Orange Way is to keep it in the family and throw everything they have at their opponents. Their ability to score is obvious and their defense is underrated. That sounds like a dangerous combo to me. And the two missing Nomads make it a tough climb for the Sandwalkers. Prediction: Slackers win. SEMIS 2 Winner of #5/#4 @ #1 JoSox (6-2) Time: 12:15 PM Conditions: 84 F, WSW 10 MPH Umpires: 1 From Loser of #3/#2 + 2 From Loser of #5/#4 Kevin’s Take: JoSox: This team doesn't rebuild; it reloads. They seem to have shored up the defensive issues from earlier in the season, and the hitting appears to be peaking. By far the best OF and SS in the league, hands down. Keys to success: Focus. Massarweh’s Take: Most organized and focused team in the Tournament, but by far the most BORING team with no motivation whatsoever (except Kevin). When they reload, they reload, but somehow they manage to reload with players nobody wants. There is no continuity from season to season, which, in my opinion, is the reason behind their lethargic game face. Best SS? I have never seen him play, so I cannot answer. We all know who the best SS in this league is, don’t we, Nomads? (Mude: Why not have a vote, like you did with the Leach [sic]? That would be much more entertaining than Kevin’s hezz danab.) Schwa Says: I’m the Boycat, and I also have a mancrush on Doug “Hoover” Van Zandt. He has been playing shortstop in ASL for four-plus seasons, yet Omar Massarweh claims to have never seen him play. Maybe if CHOKEmar MassERRORweh stepped back from his full-length mirror once in a while, he’d actually catch a glimpse of the other players in this league. Ziggy Says: Easy on Omar, little Schwa. The man’s about to get engaged! About the game: If the JoSox take this game seriously, they’ll march on to the championship game, where the Slackers will be waiting for them. If they goof off and give away outs on defense and on the basepaths, then we’re in for the biggest shocker in our history—bigger than when the Trojans crushed the Nomads last Tourney. Prediction: JoSox remain focused, win the game and bring me meat-filled treats. CHAMPIONSHIP GAME Time: 2:15 PM Conditions: 89 F, WSW-W 10 MPH Umpires: 1 from each of the 3 eliminated teams Preview/Prediction: God only knows, right?

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Part 1.5: The Leech's Revenge

The trivia question was: Why should we have the After-Season Party as close to the Dead Sea as possible? Answer: Because all that salt will keep the Leech away. Kevin answered the question correctly, but Brooke was technically the first to get it (without a hint, even). They will share the prize of being featured in Amman Softball League's first ever Player Cards. (Sorry, no holograms.) The voting on whether or not to keep the Leech cartoons in the Slogs has been closer than expected. (Hurry and vote at the top of the green column on the right of the Slogs.) Our undercover detectives have unearthed the reason behind all those "No" votes...

And the Leech proves how socially ignorant and frustratingly resilient he is... Next up: Part 2 (The Tourney preview)

Stay tuned...

We're There: Tourney Time, Part 1

Here's an update (unrelated to the Slackers-JoSox game) for all the fans of the Leech. If you like it, I'll make it a regular Slogs feature. You can vote at the top of the column on the right side.

Slackers 7 JoSox 15 The tie is broken. There was much venom. Venomy, venomous venom. Slackers and JoSox finished the regular season tied for first place, and the tiebreaker was to determine Tournament seeding. (A best-of-three coin flip, as agreed on by the captains, determined the home team for this game.) The Tourney schedule is at the bottom. Here are your game notes for Slackers-JoSox: 1. Batting Out Of Order If an infraction is discovered immediately after a batter completes his appearance...any advances or scores due to his action are nullified, he is removed from the bases if he reached, and the proper batter is called out...and the batter that follows the proper batter who was declared out will come to the plate. If the infraction is discovered during a plate appearance (that is, a pitch has been thrown to the current batter)...there is no penalty, but the situation is rectified--the proper batter comes to bat and assumes the improper batter's current count. (LINK) 2. Leading Off A base runner may not leave the base until the bat makes contact with the ball. If the base runner leaves early (after the pitcher is on the rubber for one second but before contact is made), the umpire will declare "no pitch" and the base runner will be called out. If a runner leaves his base during a swing and the batter misses, that runner is out. (LINK) Tournament Schedule (Friday, August 15, 2008): 9:15 AM - Play-In (5) Bezzig & Lezzig @ (4) Trojans 10:45 AM - Semis 1 (3) Nomads @ (2) Slackers 12:15 PM - Semis 2 (5/4) Play-In Winner @ (1) JoSox 2:15 PM - Championship Semis Winners Play, Higher Seed Is Home Team

Almost There: Aug 8 Recap

We're almost done with the regular season. The JoSox win earned them a tiebreaker game against the Slackers to determine the #1 seed. The game will take place Saturday, August 9, at 1:30 PM. Come on out and watch the showdown. Friday, August 8: 10:00 AM: Slackers 0 (Forfeit) JoSox 6 11:30 AM: Trojans 8 JoSox 32 1:00 PM: Nomads 18 Bezzig & Lezzig 4 Standings after 8 games: 1. JoSox 6-2 1. Slackers 6-2 3. Nomads 5-3 4. Trojans 3-5 5. Bezzig & Lezzig 0-8 Tourney (Friday, August 15): 9:30 AM (Play-In Game) #5 Bezzig & Lezzig @ #4 Trojans 11:00 AM (Semis 1) #3 Nomads @ #2 (JoSox/Slackers, TBD) 12:30 PM (Semis 2) #5/#4 Winner @ #1* (JoSox/Slackers, TBD) 2:15 PM (Championship) Winners of Semis 1 & 2, with the higher seed home *Note: #1 seed may pick their Semis game time.

Preview: Regular Season Finale

As half-expected, the Slackers had to forfeit to the JoSox this week. This is why the potential tiebreaker game was set up for Saturday--so the Slackers could field a full team for the game that mattered. We will have one tiebreaker game. Your up-to-date Tournament scenarios: A: If JoSox win, they play Slackers on Saturday to determine the #1 Seed, leaving Nomads as #3 and Trojans #4 (regardless of what happens in the Nomads-Bezzig & Lezzig game). B: If Nomads lose and Trojans win, then Nomads-Trojans play a tiebreaker for #3/4. C: If Nomads & Trojans win, Nomads-JoSox play a tiebreaker for #2/3. 10:00 AM Slackers "0" @ "10" JoSox Forfeit Slackers finish 6-2 JoSox are 5-2 with one to play 11:30 AM Trojans @ JoSox (Umped by Bezzig & Lezzig) Trojans 3-4 JoSox 5-2 1:00 PM Nomads @ Bezzig & Lezzig (Umped by Trojans) Nomads 4-3 Bezzig 0-7 Note: We could not adjust the schedule, due to the late Slackers forfeit. The Tournament is next Friday, August 15, and the All-Star Game is on Saturday, August 16.

I Can See Clearly Now...Sorta

Week 6 Recap. Tighty Whitey to start, more details to follow. (If you have stats, pics or something else from your game that you'd like to have included, please email it to me & I'll work it in.) The Tourney picture is finally coming into focus. Friday, August 1: 10:00 AM: Bezzig & Lezzig 7 @ 11 Slackers 11:30 AM: Nomads 13 @ 12 Slackers (Jordan Cup Final) 1:00 PM: Trojans 10 @ 12 Nomads Standings with one week left in the regular season: 1. Slackers (6-1) Status: Cannot finish below 2nd. Best Case: If they beat JoSox next week, they're the #1 Seed. Worst Case: Lose to JoSox; play JoSox for a #1/2 tiebreaker. 2. JoSox (4-2) Status: Can still finish between #1 & #4. Best Case: Beat Slackers & Trojans next week, then play tiebreaker vs Slackers for #1. Worst Case: Lose to Slackers & Trojans (+Nomads loss); play tiebreaker vs Trojans and Nomads for #2/3/4.* 3. Nomads (4-3) Status: Can finish between #2 & #4. Best Case: #2 Seed with win vs Bezzig & Lezzig + JoSox losses to Slackers & Trojans. Worst Case: Lose to Bezzig + Trojans win, play Trojans for #3/4. 4. Trojans (3-4) Status: Can finish between #2 & #4. Best Case: Beat JoSox + Nomads loss + JoSox loss to Slackers; play Nomads and JoSox for #2/3/4.* Worst Case: Lose to JoSox, #4 Seed. 5. Bezzig & Lezzig (0-7) Status: Locked in at #5 Seed. 6. The Beats Status: Just seeing if you're paying attention. Still with me? * This is the Doomsday Scenario, a three-team mini-tourney. Nomads-Trojans would play on Friday at 2:30, with the winner playing the JoSox on Saturday, followed by the loser playing JoSox right after that. Repeat until a team wins two games (that team is #2). The two other teams play again, with the winner #3 and the loser #4. I don't even want to think about this.