Archive for the ‘Yves’ Category

Softening in My Old Age????

Posted: April 18, 2011 in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, Bir-Dawg, Calf, Chandler, Evan, Hack, McBride, Moreno, Sammy, Turner, Vic, Yves
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You know, I’ve had all kinds of people who have known me through the years say that to me….”You must be softening a little in your old age.”  OUCH!!  That hurts!  Well, maybe I am A LITTLE….but I’m STILL GEE!!!  I mean, even when my wife tells me “You swear too much”…..I always tell her “The HELL I do!!!!”

Even HACK noticed it in an email he sent me.  We were talking about airfare to the Reunion.  I said something like “we’ll find a way to get you there.”  What did HACK say?  “You must be softening a little in your old age.  A more typical Verdugo response would have been ‘We’ll hi-jack a plane for you.'”

Yeah…I guess he’s right.  Maybe I am.  And I’ll try to keep all the sentimentality out of this Blog……at least until AFTER this post!!!  This story is for those of you out there who haven’t said the magic words….”I’m IN!!!”  Maybe you’re thinking…”why are we doing this?” or “what’s the point?” ……..well…..read this story and tell me what you think…..

I will never forget the image in my head of Bir-Dawg rounding first base with a clenched fist in the air as he hit a TITANIC three-run shot on a Sunday night game at Stengel Field against Notre Dame in 1993.  We trailed 7-0 and Bir-Dawgs blast made it 7-6.  I had been thrown out of the game and got to watch most of this one from the stands.  Let me tell you something……..that was THE GREATEST GAME Verdugo Hills ever played.  And I can’t wait to TELL YOU WHY it was the GREATEST GAME WE EVER PLAYED in a later post!!!  But let me tell you….Bir-Dawgs SHOT….and the vivid images I can still see of EVERY SINGLE PLAYER coming out of the dugout to mob him at home plate still, to this very day, raise the hairs on the back of my neck every single time I think about it.

I will never forget Robb Turner at bat in the bottom of the seventh inning against Notre Dame in 1992.  A game that we were trailing 6-0.  There were couple of guys on base.  Turner came to the plate FURIOUS.  He had been called out on strikes twice in that game on horrible calls.  We were down…and still talking shit!!  Turner was like a Bull in a China Shop at the plate.  Snorting, digging in….fouling shit off.  The count was 3-2.  He swung at everything.  He was NOT gonna let anyone call him out on strikes again that night.  He waited…he waited…fouled everything off he could…and then on the 13th PITCH of the at-bat he JACKED a ball that went at least 450 feet.  Think about that…the THIRTEENTH PITCH of the at-bat.  And as Turner rounded the bases….he verbally unloaded on everyone on the Notre Dame squad within earshot of him.  Yeah, “The Reverend” was screaming from his pulpit that night!!!!!!!!!

I will never forget a game in 1990 we lost 10-9.  We only had NINE GUYS at the game.  VIC couldn’t make it.  He had been telling me ALL WEEK he wouldn’t be able to make the game.  I tried like hell to get him there…but what could I say when he said “Gee, I gotta study for finals.”  This is what a great kid he was.  Forget about all the heroics he pulled off on the field for us.  He, like ALL Verdugo players…was a fucking GREAT KID.  And he told me “Gee, I gotta study for finals.”  And I accepted it.  Let me tell you this ….I will NEVER FORGET that in the second or third inning I looked over towards our dugout and THERE HE WAS putting on his cleats.  All he said was “I couldn’t let you guys down.”………..Let me tell you something people……I WILL NEVER FORGET THAT.  Not only did he show up, he drove himself out to Woodland Hills that day and found the field on his own………..

I will never forget that very same day we lost 10-9 in Woodland Hills finishing the game with only EIGHT Guys on the field.  Well, actually SEVEN and a HALF.  Our second baseman, Sammy was injured.  He couldn’t move one of his wrists.  Yet he stayed on the field.  And he was hurting BAD.  Here was a guy who never complained about anything so I knew that if he told me he was hurt he wasn’t kidding.  Yet he stayed on the field.  And on the final pitch of the game….when we had no one in right field…there he was….laying it all out for us (just like he always did)….DIVING for that ball that fell in to defeat us…risking even further injury.  Yeah, I will NEVER FORGET the effort he gave for us that day……and the effort WE ALL GAVE…even though we came up short.  Sammy was a total Verdugo Warrior!

I will never forget the charge we made in ’92 to finally clinch a playoff spot.  I think of TWO balls that were hit that final game where we clinched against Fat Bitch from Sun Valley…after he had vowed to dominate us the next time we played.  TWO balls that were hit that knocked him out of the game (in the third inning).  One was off the bat of CALF….and the other off the bat of YVES!!!!!  YVES hit one of the hardest balls we hit all-season off of that hard-throwing fatso.  I think that those TWO balls that were hit were the exclamation points that said “We’re IN” (the playoffs).   That’s right…I WILL NEVER FORGET.

I will never forget the game “White” Chandler threw against Burbank for our first win in 1990.  Chandler was emotional, hard-throwing and was coming off a not-so-great season at Burbank High.  But he did throw a gem in our season final at Burbank High…and I was wondering how long he could ride that wave.   As it turns out…he rode that wave quite a long time.  Because he was pretty much unbeatable the rest of his Legion/High School career.  Got drafted in the 49th round by the Royals.  I will never forget the front row seat I had to watch him develop into what he became.  I got to see him throw all of his emotions out the window and become one of the most poised pitchers I have ever seen……and “White”…if you’re out there reading this…..thanks.  I’ll NEVER forget.

I’ll never forget McBride.  How he lit a fire for our ballclub that will always burn with his profanity-laced tirade against Fat jody.  One of the defining moments of Verdugo-lore.  And by the way…he didn’t get thrown out of the game for all the four-letter words, either.  Throwing his glove into our dugout, kicking bats, batting helmets, waving his arms around and screaming.  We were lucky that day…the Ump was a reasonable guy….and he came to the conclusion that McBride was RIGHT.  Contrary to public opinion….it was VERDUGO who actually had the good kids…and we usually didn’t throw the first punch.  But if someone did, they found out in a hurry that getting into a game of BENCH JOCKEYING with us was not a very wise decision.  McBride wanted to wear number 14…..and so did “White” Chandler…so what did McBride do?  He wore number 14 and a HALF!!!  McBride…We’ll NEVER forget!!

I’ll never forget Yvan Moreno in the playoff game against Chatsworth in 1992.  The Umps had already thrown three guys out of the game.  Yet the Warriors from Verdugo stepped it up big time.  Lance Evans came off of the bench and PITCHED WITH A BROKEN ARM.  I will talk about that in greater detail in a later post.  But it was Moreno, the quiet kid, the guy who never said too much who came of age on this day.  We trailed 5-0…..then they threw three guys out of the game.  Yet in TRUE Verdugo-style..we rallied to take the lead 6-5.  When we took the lead…Moreno had made it to third base on a crazy play where he just flat-out took off on his own.  I was yelling “Get Back!!!”  but Moreno was possessed.  The throw beat him by ten feet and he just jarred the ball out of the third baseman’s glove when he came in HARD!!!!  Moreno was safe…the crowd was going wild and he was just feeding off of it.  I had never seen this kid show even a trace of emotion in two seasons with us.  Yet there he was …..standing on third base…staring down Chatsworth’s shit-talking POS third-baseman.  All of a sudden…the shit-talking third baseman didn’t have anything to say.  It was Moreno doing the talking….or the screaming I should say.  “Get the fuck away from Me!!!!!!  It’s 1-0 VERDUGO….get the fuck away from me I’m gonna stuff you in that trash can!!!!!!!!!!!”

That piece of shit third baseman didn’t just believe Moreno…he was CONVINCED.  He backed up close to the left field grass.  I will NEVER FORGET the way I felt at that exact moment.  Everything that I wanted to say myself was being said by my own players!!!!!!!  I didn’t have to say anything.  I will NEVER forget that moment……..and I just wanted to say to Yvan……Thanks!!!!!!!  And to all of you for the fight we gave them that day………….

Most of the guys I have mentioned here have not said the magic words “I’m IN”………

If what we did 20 years ago didn’t mean anything at the time I can see how it wouldn’t matter now.  But from the brief stories I have mentioned here (and I have plenty more) it is obvious that what we did way back then DID indeed mean something. 

I know this…I WILL NEVER FORGET.

And I know, you haven’t forgotten either……

I’ll see you guys at the Reunion.  And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to this BLOG!!!!!

Fat Bitch Gets His Bra Knocked Off…Twice!! (Part One)

Posted: February 10, 2011 in "B", 1992, BullOxen, Haggs, Rags/Trash Talk, Yves
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I never liked this kid the moment I first saw his fat lazy ass.  Of course I dislike anyone wearing a different uniform than ours, but there was a special annoyance I had with this overweight slob.  I REALLY became annoyed with him when he beat us in 1990 with a 75 mile an hour fastball.  In fact, ALL HE HAD was a “fastball.”   I couldn’t believe he beat us, and our guys couldn’t believe it either.  All I know is we wanted another shot at him.  We had to wait two long summers before we faced him again, but it was well worth the wait, and not only did we get another shot at him…we got TWO!!!

You guys on the 1990 Team know who I’m talking about.  The fat slob from the Sun Valley team with the crewcut.  If you would have put a set of white and red checkered overalls on this guy…the Bob’s Big Boy mascot would have been out of a job.  What a sweathog!!  This may be the first guy I’ve seen who sweated from his eyes and ears and fingernails!! (maybe even his teeth, too).   And to top it all off…he actually thought he was good.  I don’t know how the hell this slovenly mongrel beat us that year in 1990…but he did.  I’m still fucking pissed that cheesedick beat us………

The problem was when we faced him two seasons later he had gained about 60 more pounds.  And he was throwing about 94 mph.  He now actually had a “fastball.”  And he had just finished a season of Junior College ball where he actually did pretty well.  I mean this Fat Bitch was bringing’ it.  I saw him in the bullpen throwing peas….he was all geared up.  I didn’t care how fucking hard he was throwing…I knew we were ready for whatever he came at us with.  I mean, this guy had like TWO pitches he threw…hard and HARDER.  Looking back, I thank God they didn’t sell Red Bull back in 1992, cause this guy was ready to blow a frickin’ head gasket.   And since he beat us in 1990…he figured this game was going to be just a walk in the park.   

This was a big game.  The playoff picture was starting to emerge and we were right in the thick of it.  We came into that game 12-2 and had just SWEPT the Glendale team on 4th of July, effectively knocking them out of the playoff picture.  So it was basically down to us and Sun Valley for a playoff spot.  Some of the other coaches around the league (including Fat Jody) had come to watch the game that Sunday night.   When Sun Valley opened up a 5-0 lead…I guess all of the coaches had seen enough.  They all went home.  It was the top of the second inning and once again….everybody wrote us off.  I guess they thought that all this early-season hype about that team from Verdugo Hills was just a bunch of B.S………well, I would have PAID good money to see the look on the faces of all of those bitches when they opened up the L.A  Times Sports section Monday morning and learned we had come back to win 11-10.  Not only did we win…but ANOTHER rivalry had started.  

Fat Bitch was bringin’ it pretty good that night.  But BullOxen hit a seed in the bottom of the first that the left fielder somehow grabbed to end the inning.  Fat Bitch did a little double-take after that bullet…and I heard one of the guys in our dugout say something like “there’s gonna be plenty of that tonight fat ass” as he was walking back to his dugout.  We rolled a five on him the next inning.  Now guys in our dugout were starting to say to him stuff like “nice tits.”   Hagee hit a frickin’ seed that whistled past his little crew-cut.  Then he DOSED Yves with a pitch…trying to instill a little fear in us.  It didn’t matter….we hit bullets off of him all night.  He was getting a whiplashed out there.  Finally someone said…”pick up your bra, bitch.”……..we were calling him “Chuck and duck”……….it was brutal the shit we said.  And we were lovin’ every minute of it…..

Cowsill lead off the seventh with another shot up the left-center gap…and Hagee knocked ‘ol fat-ass out of the game with another screaming whistler right past his fat noggin.  As their manager went out to pull his beat-like-a-dog-ass out of the game we were all (except me of course) just jawing at their coach who looked like a fat walrus himself.  He was so pissed that right there in front of about 300 people he looks into our dugout from the mound and acts like he’s holding it and jacking-off as if to say to us…”fuck you.”

Wiley Jackson was quick to say to him after his little gesture……….”Hey two-five need some soap?”

That comment brought the house down. They were done. We were totally in all of their heads.  Fat Bitch had to make the walk of shame into right field after we had totally lit him up and walrus had pulled him from the game.  He had to walk right past Hagee who was standing on first.  And Hagge was jawing at him all the way.  The ump had to intervene.  That may have been the hardest that fat-bitch had been hit his whole life…………at least until about 10 days later, when we hit him even HARDER and knocked him out again.

They kept trying to come at us but ran themselves out of both the eight and ninth innings….and we held on to win.  All in all….we torched him for 10 runs in six innings.  And he only struck out one guy.  But the damage was done when we kept hitting shot after shot RIGHT AT one of their guys on defense……..that was what had really demoralized him.  Of course…….after the game he was already saying shit like “we’ll see you in 10 days.”  And sure enough……..he did.  This was only the first time he got his bra knocked off………….I can’t wait to tell you about the SECOND time we did it to him.