Bloomberg is a busy news organization, and perhaps that explains why they were both late and short-handed against the DC Bullets on Thursday afternoon. The game wound up only going five and a half innings, and three Bullets had to play for Bloomberg to give the opposition a full line-up. Rookies Travis Hastback and John Choi, lacking seniority on the DC team, were optioned to Bloomberg, as was good-sport Jeff Boison. The trio proved very effective at run-stopping for the Bloomberg squad, but the Bullets eked out a 6-4 win.

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Softball’s always fun, but it’s most fun when your team plays a evenly matched foe. Two teams see-sawing the lead, each at-bat becoming magnified in the game’s final outcome, every out a tragically missed opportunity – it doesn’t get any better. In The Daily Show squad, the DC Bullets seem to have found an equally matched rival. Their first confrontation last summer is already part of Bullet lore.

Although their second game (thankfully) didn’t occur on the hottest weekend of the year, it matched the excitement of that initial game on every other level. In the end, as they did one year prior, The Daily Show emerged triumphant, walking off with a game-winning single in the bottom of the eighth inning to secure the 12-11 victory.

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On Thursday, April 28, the DC Bullets were supposed to match up against Archie Comics. It rained; the game was cancelled. This past Thursday, another match-up against a comics industry softball squad was missed when Wizard cancelled on the Bullets barely 24 hours before gametime. (If they weren’t already dead to me, they’d be dead to me now, I jested.) So the Bullets took the field anyway – those field permits are use ‘em or lose ‘em, after all.

After a productive practice, New York Community Bank showed up for a 7:00pm game on the same field. Except their opponent also stood them up. Rather than have both teams go home disappointed, the Bullets and NYCB opted to play a friendly few innings. In a lopsided four-inning affair, the Bullets emerged victorious, 23-10.

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New season, old story for the DC Bullets in the 2011 season opener. On a cold, blustering afternoon, the top of the first inning, always a thorn in the comic book makers’ sides, got the better of the team again, as the Bullets fell behind early and couldn’t rally back to make up the difference in a 6-5 loss against The Nation.

The Nation came out aggressive against DC’s pitcher Jeff Boison, driving a series of hard line singles over the infield to take a quick lead. DC had a chance to minimize the damage to one run when Mike Lorah fumbled a routine grounder at third base with two outs registered. Four successive hits followed, and the Nation tallied five runs for the early lead.

In the bottom of the first, second baseman Brian Walters flared a single into right field, but the momentum quickly turned when shortstop Nel Yomtov scorched one of the hardest hit balls of the evening – right to The Nation’s third baseman. Brian, moving on contact, was easily doubled off first base. Mike, looking to make up for his error, launched a solo home run into right center field to get the Bullets on the board, but right centerfielder Vince Letterio flew out to left, ending the first.

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The 2011 season stood out as the most successful summer in recent history for the DC Bullets. Despite a first round playoff loss against the eventual New York Media Softball League champions, Wall St. Journal (congrats to them on back-to-back championships!), the Bullets’ 8-2 mark in league play tied for the league’s best overall record. And the Bullets’ overall 16-5-1 mark is easily their best tally in memory.

Along the way, many highlights:

* Larry Ganem’s six innings of perfect pitching against Vanity Fair

* Allison Dugas’ two-out, game-tying hit in an extra-inning victory over Wall St. Journal

* a spectacular, Willie-Maysesque, over-the-shoulder catch by Nel Yomtov during a showdown with High Times

* an Independence Day-weekend showdown against the Daily Show that will go down in Bullet lore for the number of pounds every player sweated out during the game

* and a comeback-player-of-the-year performance by Joel Press, after surgery hobbled his previous summer.

But probably the biggest accomplishment was simply the team’s steady defense and offense, consistently limiting the opposition’s rallies while relentlessly keeping pressure on their defenses.

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After their 8-2 finish in the New York Media Softball League, the DC Bullets went into last Sunday’s playoffs as the #2 seed and matched up against #3 Wall St. Journal in the first round.  Despite taking the season series from WSJ (by 15-11 and 12-10 scores), the Bullets knew that Wall St. Journal, the defending 2009 champions, would be a big hurdle to overcome as several key members who’d missed the earlier games showed up for the playoff showdown.

The extra talent on the Journal’s bench proved too much for the comic book makers, who fell 21-5 and faced WNYC in the consolation game while WSJ went on to top High Times for their second consecutive league title. So congrats to Wall St. Journal on a well-earned championship.

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After coping with six rainouts and the headaches of rescheduling during the 2009 season, DC Bullet co-captains Sal Cipriano and Adam Schlagman kept two of the team’s precious field permits in reserve to cover any precipitation-based complications.  So of course, only one game – a non-New York Media Softball League game, which didn’t need to be made up anyway – was lost, and Sal and Adam found themselves racing to find an opponent to match up against the Bullets last Thursday.

Fortunately, Bloomberg agreed to step up to the plate, giving the Bullets one last tune-up before the NYMSL playoffs begin on Sept. 12.  In the early going, the game remained tight, but then the comic book makers started to pull away, building confidence for the playoffs.

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The final playoff rankings haven’t been determined yet, but the DC Bullets will be there following Thursday’s 12-7 win over WNYC’s shock jocks. The win completes DC’s 2010 New York Media Softball League schedule, as the Bullets earned an 8-2 record and currently stand a full game ahead of the second-place tie, Wall St. Journal and High Times. The Journal and High Times,  both 6-2, have two games left to play (including the league’s season finale during which they go head-to-head), so the final playoff rankings won’t be determined for a few more weeks.  We do know that the Bullets are guaranteed at least second place, making this their strongest NYMSL showing ever.

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Too many offensive highlights in this one, as the DC Bullets handled The Daily Beast 35-10 in New York Media Softball League action on Thursday evening.

Believe it or not, the Bullets did trail at one time, as The Daily Beast scored three times in the top of the first to take an early lead and put pressure on the DC bats.  The bats responded in a big way.  Successive one-out singles by third baseman Mike Lorah, shortstop Adam Schlagman and leftfielder Andrew Arnold loaded the bases in bottom one.  Back-to-back walks to first baseman Brian Cunningham and second baseman Joel Press forced home two runs, and then SCF Lauren Fries lined a two-run single to left to take the lead.  Four batters later, second baseman Christine “CNap” Napolitano grounded into a fielder’s choice for the second out, and ten batters after that pitcher Larry Ganem lofted a soft popup to short to end the inning.  Twenty-one hitters came to the plate, totaling sixteen hits (including a homer by rightfielder Vince Letterio, a triple by 2B Joel Press and two triples by 3B Adam Staffaroni) and two walks en route to a seventeen run opening frame.

The Bullets batted around in the second again, tallying eight more runs.  Daily Beast added one in the third, and DC responded with five.  The comic book makers tacked on three more runs in the fourth, and two in the fifth.  The Daily Beast rallied to score six times in the seventh before the Bullets closed out the game.

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It was a summer Friday at the DC Comics offices, meaning everyone had the day off and most of the team scattered for extended weekend plans.  But due to a scheduling quirk, the softball team was also scheduled to play Archie Comics that day.  Only ten players said they’d be able to make the game, and three of those cancelled earlier in the day – and one Bullet just plain stood the team up.  With only six players in attendance, Adam Schlagman brought a friend to the field, and Archie lent two of their own to the DC squad.

Short-handed, without a fourth outfielder and with three of their nine players inexperienced softball players, the Bullets put forth their best effort, but came up on the short end of a 10-7 loss to Archie Comics.

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The DC Comics Bullets and the Marvel Comics Avengers softball teams went at one another Thursday afternoon in Central Park.  The injuries, one on each side of the field, were purely accidental, we promise.  And what more fitting way for a big game between the two biggest comic book publishers in the land to end than … in a tie?

Yep, DC’s field permit gives the Bullets North Meadow Field #2 in Central Park from 5:30-7:00pm, and if there’s another team waiting with their own permit at 7, the Bullets’ game had better be finished.  In this case, thanks to the 7pm team’s graciously allowing the comic book makers an extra ten minutes to finish the seventh inning, DC and Marvel finished regulation, but the limits of a standard seven-inning game didn’t allow time to determine a winner.

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Weather willing, this afternoon at 5:30pm in Central Park, on North Meadow #2, the DC Bullets softball team squares off against the Marvel Comics team.  Though the two squads play in different softball leagues, the annual summer showdown is obviously a season highlight on both sides.  In that spirit, here’s a team photo of the DC Comics Bullets taken earlier this season.

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The DC Bullets steamrolled through Newsweek Monday evening by the lopsided final 32-4.  Now, I know what you’re thinking.  Way to run up the score.  So I did some calculating – for the game, the Bullet team batted .571, which is a good, but hardly otherworldly batting average.  The primary reason the score went so far in Bullets favor had more to do with Newsweek missing their primary pitcher and auditioning four different hurlers during the course of the game.

Those auditions did not go particularly well, as the Bullets drew an astounding 22 walks.  Every hitter in the Bullet line-up except second baseman Christine “CNap” Napolitano (ironically, the smallest strike zone on the team) (1-3, R, RBI) drew at least one walk.  Inveterate free-swinger, third baseman Mike Lorah, with no walks in sixty 2010 plate appearances coming into the game, drew three free passes, and during the third walk fouled off a 3-0 pitch that nearly hit him in the chin while trying to find a pitch to put in play.

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Perhaps they hadn’t fully recovered from a game the previous evening; perhaps the speed of the turf field caught them flatfooted; perhaps they were simply getting too big for their britches and needed some humility.  Personally, I think LP’s right and the blame goes to Mike Lorah for forgetting his lucky Phillies hat (and by extension, blame to the Phillies for not playing better and reminding him to wear the hat).  Whatever the case, the DC Bullets fumbled and errored their way into an early hole, rallied back to tie the game, and then stumbled one last time during a 9-inning  12-11 loss against The Nation.

Now, the Bullets’ struggles – which included several errors at third base; a few tricklers lost in the Bermuda triangle between the pitcher’s mound, first base and the second baseman; a dropped fly ball; and two balls that bounced past outfielders for extra bases – should take nothing away from the solid softball played by The Nation.  In sharp contrast to the Bullet infield, The Nation took eight outs on fielder’s choices and threw out a runner attempting to go first-to-third on a base hit.  The Nation also came up with several clutch hits to take advantage of a DC mistake.

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The story of Tuesday’s game between the DC Bullets and Vanity Fair must unquestionably be the pitching of Larry Ganem.  Larry retired the first seventeen VF hitters in a row, and in the end, retired Vanity Fair in order in six of seven innings.  Mixing speeds and locations, Larry kept the opposition off balance all night, generating a series of routine groundballs and popups, many of which Larry fielded himself – a real indication of how effectively he pitched.

The Bullet hitters didn’t have one of their better games, but with Larry working his mojo from the mound, they didn’t have to.  They scored plenty to come away with an 8-3 win.

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Newsweek joined the New York Media Softball League for the 2010 season, and the new kids on the block have struggled in the early going.  But any new team needs time to gel and find their strengths, and Newsweek showed some early signs of coming together against the DC Bullets on Thursday afternoon.  In the end, it wasn’t quite enough to overcome the Bullets, who bounced back from an early 6-0 hole with seventeen unanswered runs.  Two home runs from Andrew Arnold and three extra-base hits from Pat Brosseau highlighted the offensive deluge. The 17-6 victory boosts the Bullets to 5-2 in NYMSL play, 11-3 overall.

For three innings, however, the outcome didn’t look as certain as the final score indicated.  Neither team scored until the third, when Newsweek took advantage of a few defensive miscues, scorched a few line drives, and blooped a few flares just out of reach.  It all added up to a six-run inning, giving Newsweek a 6-0 lead after three innings.

The Bullets, meanwhile, struggled to make solid contact against Newsweek’s quick-pitching ace.  Often barely settled into the box and unaccustomed to the pitcher’s speed, the Bullets managed only three hits through the first three frames.  Shortstop Adam Schlagman (3-4, 2 R) and left fielder Andrew Arnold grounded two-out singles through the infield in the first, and right fielder Vince Letterio (2-2, R, double) lined a hit to left in the third.  Except for one ground out, the rest of the team treated the Newsweek fielders to a succession of “can of corn” pop-ups.

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As if he doesn’t have enough to do with his editorial duties and co-captaining and playing shortstop for the DC Bullets, Adam Schlagman also plays softball occasionally with the crew at Seamless Web, and he arranged to pit his teams against one another Thursday afternoon in Central Park.  Schlagman, fortunately, remained loyal to the Bullets and was in his customary third spot in the line-up.  However, Seamless Web had trouble mustering enough players for the game, so four members of the DC squad played for the opposition, giving each team a complete ten-player roster.

Though the Bullet volunteers played well for Seamless Web, it wasn’t enough to overcome a Bullet team hungry to snap a two-game losing streak.  Scoring in five of their six innings at the plate, led by Adam “no sympathy even if they are my other team” Schlagman’s 4-4, two-homer day (plus he scored four times, drove in four, and doubled) the Bullets didn’t give their opponent a moment to breathe.  Even with a late-inning defensive meltdown to make the score look more presentable, DC came away with an 18-12 win.

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DC Bullet co-captains Adam Schlagman and Sal Cipriano were contacted last Thursday evening by representatives from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, looking for an opponent for an open date in their schedule.  The Bullets agreed to the game, to be played by Daily Show rules, which includes nine innings of softball rather than seven, but the late notice and holiday weekend conspired to deprive the team of several key players.  Sluggers Jay Kogan and LP Vollano, ace pitchers Larry Ganem and Joel Press, and five-tool stud Lauren Fries were among the missing players, as the DC Bullets fielded only nine of their twenty-person roster Monday evening.

With Mike Lorah filling in on the mound, the Bullets stifled the Daily Show sluggers early.  After a lead-off home run in the bottom of the first, a series of infield pop-ups and routine fly balls kept the Daily Show to a single run through four innings.  The Bullets, weighed down themselves by the mid-90s temperatures, struggled to sustain long rallies, but scored consistently to seize the early lead.

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For the second time this season, the High Times Bonghitters benefited from one run-packed inning and an inconsistent Bullet offense to upend the DC Bullets, trumping the comic book makers Monday evening 10-7 in Central Park.  The Bullets’ 9-2 record includes a 4-2 standing in the New York Media Softball League, and even in a loss, the comic book makers enjoyed wily Larry Ganem’s stunning strikeout of an opposing slugger and Nel Yomtov’s outstanding defense.

DC got off to a quick start, as they’ve done most of the 2010 summer.  Centerfielder Neil Hiremath (1-1, 2 R, BB) led off with a single, and third baseman Mike Lorah (2-3, R, 4 RBI, 2B, HR) followed with a drive to center, splitting the left- and right-centerfielders for a home run and a quick 2-0 lead.  Adam Schlagman, shortstop and co-captain, singled as part of a strong 3-3 day that included a run scored, an RBI and a walk, and leftfielder Andrew Arnold (2-4, RBI) doubled to put two more runners in scoring position with nobody out.  LF Jay Kogan (1-2, RBI) beat out an infield single, scoring Adam for a third run, but Andrew was caught in a rundown and tagged for the first out.  Back-to-back fly outs gave High Times a chance to get back into it, and the Bonghitters tallied a single run. (more…)

The DC Bullets softball team warmed up for Monday’s rematch against the High Times Bonghitters – the only team to defeat the Bullets in 2010 – with a friendly game against Abrams Books Thursday evening.  After jumping out to a quick lead, the Bullet defense seemed to get a little lackadaisical, but the comic book makers held on for a 16-9 victory to run their record to 9-1.

After Abrams staged a two-out rally, scoring once and leaving the bases loaded in the first, the Bullets charged out of the gate. Centerfielder Neil Hiremath (1-2, R) lined a single to left and immediately came around to score on third baseman Mike Lorah’s (2-2, 2 R, RBI, 2 triples) triple to center.  Shortstop and co-captain Adam Schlagman (2-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, triple) scored Mike with an infield single, and Andrew Arnold (2-2, 2 R, RBI), the left fielder, collected the first of two singles on the day.  With still nobody out, LF Jay “J-Koges” Kogan (1-2, R, 3 RBI, HR) crushed a three-run homer to left.

After successive groundouts, RCF Pat Brosseau (1-2, R, RBI, HR) and CF Vince Letterio (2-2, 2 R, RBI, HR) smacked back-to-back long balls, with Pat going opposite field beyond the reach of the right centerfielder, and Vince pulling one over the left centerfielder.  Right fielder and co-captain Sal Cipriano (2-2, R, double, triple) nearly made it three long balls in a row, with a long drive down the left field line, but a quick relay held him to a triple, and he came home on 3B Nel Yomtov’s (1-2, 2 RBI) line single.

The Bullets followed their eight run first with four more in the second. Brian Walters (1-2), playing right field, and first baseman Jerry Cerza (1-2, R) singled, and Brian was erased on C Katie Kubert’s (0-2) fielder’s choice.  Pitcher Larry Ganem (2-2, R), who held the Abrams squad to a single run through three innings until his defense stumbled, singled to centerfield, loading the bases with one away.  After 1B Laura Demoreuille (1-2, R, RBI) scored Jerry and erased Katie with a fielder’s choice grounder, second baseman Joel Press (1-2, R, 3 RBI, HR) belted a three-run homer to left to cap the frame.

Lorah and Schlagman led off the third with consecutive triples, and Arnold doubled, as the DC team put two more quick runs on the board.  Andrew took third on Jay’s fly out to deep left field, and scored on RCF Adam Staffaroni’s (1-2, RBI) opposite field single to right.

In the fourth, Abrams plated two runs, and the Bullets answered with Vince’s single, Sal’s double and Nel’s RBI groundout.  The team wasn’t able to put Sal across, however, as a line out and grounder ended the inning.    Despite two baserunners, the Bullets didn’t score in the bottom of the fifth.

For Abrams, DC’s defensive collapse in the fifth opened the door and they scored five times, and later tacked on one more run in the top of the sixth.  With time running out on the field permit and the Bullets up by seven runs, both teams chose to skip over the Bullet’s at-bats in the bottom of the sixth and let Abrams take one last shot in the seventh.  Larry Ganem induced a couple routine ground balls and a pop out, and the Bullets claimed their ninth win of the summer.

The 16-9 win pushes the Bullets record to 9-1, including a 4-1 mark in the New York Media Softball League.  The Bullets look to avenge their only loss in a rematch against High Times on Monday at 7pm, on Hecksher Field #2 in Central Park.

Game Notes:

Defensive struggles in successive games does not bode well for the Bullets.  Keep your heads (and yes, that includes the third baseman) in the game, gang!

Four home runs in the game is a single-game season high for the Bullets.