Nicole's Barbeque

“Season of Dreams...”

OK, yes, I know that’s very corny, but 2009 was an amazin’ year for us Dazzlers...!

With the greatest rookie crop since the ’75 Bosox, along with a strong crew of established veterans, we really “cleaned up” the division in the first half, blasting the Tornadoes (27-5 and 26-6), taming the Fat Cats (34-3 and 22-4), raiding Raiders Green (16-4 and 33-6) (sorry, there must be some stupid pun to go with green, but I can’t think of one!) and outsmarting Intellect (24-8). It was shock and awe, baby!



And along the way we also won an unbelievable thriller of an extra innings Final to take the trophy (and a bunch of free chairs) in the Superball tournament in Richmond at the end of May.




Nicole, our resident in-house fashion consultant, made sure that we weren’t just the top team in the division, but also the most super-stylish....first it was socks, with hats soon to follow...

But things got a little tense in the second half!

First it was the 11-10 dogfight against the Meteors, our first (and ultimately only) loss of the season, followed by a nail biting one-run victory over St Urbains’ Horsemen (16-15). The next couple of games were easier - a 17-6 win over Loan Wolves (spiced with a little Ginger...) and a forfeit win over the Base Jumpers - but we only just squeaked through on an excruciatingly tight 9-8 away win over old friends (and rivals) Tecumsehs in Clissold Park, and then battled bravely back for a hard-fought draw against Raiders Red (11-11) (after pulling off the same dramatic come-from-behind stuff all day the previous Saturday at the Last Ball tournament against Div 3 and 4 teams).




Ultimately, the wheels never came off the Dazzlers Express, and we finally coasted to a soft landing at season’s end, with a convincing 19-11 payback win over the Meteors. It was time to break out the bubbly, a really nice surprise from Rob and Jen...

For the friendly against the Meteors combined Div 4-5 team the following week, Tanya and Rob brought food, and JenO and Camille supplied some very special treats – plus there were some truly some inspired creations by Maggie. Unfortunately, however, some Dazzlers didn’t quite understand that it is not very nice to interfere with other Dazzlers’ cupcakes....

So, looking back, what was the turning point that took the Dazzlers from cellar dwellers to Champs? Was it that famous moment last winter when Jen stepped in to take over the reins? Was it that early Wings Night, the table buzzing with friendly banter and greasy handshakes, the first summit of Dazzlers old and new?

Well, yes, of course they were significant, but there was another not-so-well publicised incident in addition to those, which we can now reveal here for the first time...

The answer, my friends, lies in this mysterious, grainy photo, taken from Isaac’s mobile phone, and in the supremely innocent, blissed-out, other-worldly grin of the original Dazzler captain TonyD. He is gazing, mesmerised, already under the spell of the Thai wish lantern that he, Isaac and I are just about to release into the sky from my garden last September at my 40th, with our humble entreaties to the softball gods for divine redemption in 2009.

And today, if you stare long and hard enough into the dark sky over centerfield at Finsbury Park on a late summer night, you might still be able to see that lantern hovering there, blinking down on all Daztopia with its beatific sparkle...

Dazzlers' final friendly!

Dazzlers' final league game!

Richmond Tourney

Dazzlers win again!

Dazzlers win Richmond tournament!

Dazzlers win again!

Dazzler practice & Kev's birthday surprise from Jen.

Dazzlers win again!

Dazzlers win!

First Wings Night '09

This was the first night Nicole, Tony, Paul, Jen O., Kevin, and Maggie met the Dazzlers.

Flattered Swingers batter Dazzlers (Game 6)

A game that promised so much in the build up and 1st 4 innings went horribly wrong in the final 3 innings as the gloomy weather settled on a slippery pitch 2 at Finsbury [reports  a still-upbeat Rob]. Dazzlers looked in control at 8-4 up going in to the 5th with some clever hitting and walking, together with some canny fielding and pitching, but then the basics went out the window and the Swingers ran out very easy winners with a scoreline that really flattered them. Once again everybody got on base at least once but nobody really did much more than that to help lead a massive scoring charge. But we'll be back!


amy 1-2 2 BB, 2 RBI, catch
jack 1-4 RUN
heather 1-3 catch
simon 2-3 RBI, RUN, 2 catch
nicole 1-3
lance 2-3 RBI, RUN
maria 0-1 2 BB, RUN
isaac 2-3 RBI, RUN, 2 catch
karen 1-3
rob 1-2 BB, RBI, 2 RUNS
jen 1-3
tim 2-3 2 RBI, RUN

Swingers..... 1 2 1 0 7 0 14 - 25
Dazzlers..... 0 4 2 2 0 0 0 - 8
[Finsbury Park: 2-6-08]

Game 5 - Dazzlers 5 @ Raiders Blue 12

A much better fielding display from the Dazzlers, including some good catches and 3 shut-out innings, but the batting never really got going as a team (even though everybody got at least one hit) against a well-drilled Raiders side on a pudding of a pitch.

jack 2-4 RBI, 3 catches (looking very good at short stop now, 2 powerful hits)
amy 1-4 RUN, catch (got us off the mark with hit and run, solid at 1st again)
isaac 3-4 2 RBI, catch (continued great hitting form)
nicole 1-4 RBI (great RBI in the first, strong at catcher)
catt 1-4 catch (played well roving in the outfield)
rob 3-4 RUN, catch (quiet night, 3 singles)
tania 1-4 (making 2nd base her own)
lance 1-3 RUN (run started 2nd inning fightback, solid at 3rd)
karen 2-3 RBI, RUN (looking very strong now at the plate)
jen 1-3 RUN, catch (nice hit, got home, and a great catch in the outfield)

Dazzlers..... 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 - 5
Raiders Blue..... 5 0 3 4 0 0 x - 12
[Finsbury Park: 27-5-08]

Game 4 - Kamikazes 18 @ Dazzlers 18

Still not quite a win, but Rob was happier: A very enjoyable game between 2 evenly matched teams, and none of the edge of previous games, a real refreshing night of softball, and full attendance at the pub afterwards! The game see-sawed and the Dazzlers needed 3 to tie going in to our last at bat, and we came within a whisker of snatching victory with the closest of calls to end the match with Timmo stranded at 3rd. Draw was a fair result I think. Another 18 runs scored also a plus for us :)



jack 4-5 4 RBI, 3 RUNS, HR, 3 catches (great all-round display from pumped-up skipper)
heather 0-4 1 walk (important walk in 2nd but ball didnt come to her in the field)
simon 4-5 4 RBI, HR, 3 RUNS, catch (big batting, big fielding)
amy 4-5, 3 RUNS (impressive figures from 1st baser who took every out)
rob 3-4, walk, 2 RBI, 2 RUNS, catch (much better pitching display)
tania 1-5, 2 RBI, 1 RUN, catch (looking good at 2nd, plus a couple of RBI's)
tim 3-5, 3 RBI, 1 RUN, catch (got his batting rhythm back for 3 good hits)
nicole 2-5, 1 RBI, 1 RUN (couple of nice hits to lead girls charge)
tony 3-5, 1 RUN (back and still striking nicely, 3 hits for the original dazzler)
karen 2-4, 2 RBI, 3 RUNS (looked in great form at the plate, getting round 3 times)

Kamikazes..... 5 1 2 0 3 2 5 - 18
Dazzlers..... 0 7 0 4 3 1 3 - 18

[Finsbury Park: 19-5-08]

 

Ben erupts, Dazzlers stay cool: fun and always kissing

Dazzlers failed to hold on to a 3 run lead going in to the bottom of the 7th but another good night at the plate. An explosive night not just with the bat, as Ben ends his short-lived , and indeed short-fuse Dazzler career. But, enough of that: "despite the bitchin' and moanin', and comins' and goins' (and tantrum throwins'), and ups and downs, and occasional heavy frowns, of last night's three ring circus of a lollapalooza of a game, [a very excitable Simon] really enjoyed it (even at the end, squinting through the rapidly falling dusk, hundreds of miles from home plate, watching them round the bases and waiting for the next long distance missile to come off one of their bats....)"

The imperturbable Timmo adds sagely: "We are in the 4th division, aka the fun league and I'd like us to start living up to that.  Last night, members of Oblivion joined our table because they felt we were having more fun than their very quiet team (I blame Karen and all that kissing).  That's how I'd like the Dazzlers to be known, fun and always kissing!"


jack 4-5 2 RBI, 3 RUNS
tania 2-4 1 walk, 1 RBI, 2 RUNS
ben 2-4 1 walk, 3 RBI, 2 RUNS, catch
mara 1-3, 2 walks, 1 RBI, 2 RUNS
tim 2-4, 4 RBI, 1 RUN
nicole 0-2, 2 walks, 2 RUNS
simon 1-2, 2 walks, 2 RBI, 2 RUNS
karen 0-2, 2 walks, 1 RUN
rob 1-3, 1 walk, 4 RBI, 2 RUNS, catch
maria 1-3, 1 walk, 1 RBI, 1 RUN

Dazzlers..... 0 8 0 4 1 5 - 18
Oblivion..... 2 5 3 0 5 10 - 25
[Clapham Common: 15-5-08]

Titanic struggle, last-gasp tag

An excellent all-round Dazzlers performance in a titanic struggle [reports tight pitcher Rob] after we fell behind 10-1 after 2 innings. A brilliant 3rd inning with the bat brought us back in to the game, and from then on the game see-sawed with every split inning until Dazzlers hung on for a well-earned draw at the death with a last-gasp tag at home plate to deny The Mob the winning run. Huge figures at the plate for our batters (we went 26-47 .553 batting), and some exceptional fielding in pressure situations including a couple of tough catches by Ben, kept us in the game right to the end. This was a great confidence-boosting result - against a very strong side - that we worked very hard for as we continue our improvement. The teamwork was very good and we kept our heads all the way through. Onwards and upwards until we get that all-important first win!
 
Thanks to Claire and Manjiv for helping us out in our hour of need!


Jack 3-5; 2 RBI, 3 runs, 1 catch. (strong batting/running, started 3rd inning comeback and led team with positive captaincy)
Heather 3-5; RBI; 2 runs. (3 hits and 2 important runs)
Tim 4-5; 2 RBI; 4 runs. (super hitting, and made career-high 4 runs)
Amy 3-5; 3 RBI, 3 runs. (batted in 3 good runs including sac to open scoring; cool hands at 1st base)
Ben 4-5; 6 RBI, HR, 2 runs, 3 catches, 7 beers. (always involved in game, 3 important catches and 6 RBI, including a grand-slam in the 3rd)
Manjiv 0-5 (made the all-important tag at home plate to deny them winning run on final play of the game)
Frodo 2-5; 2 runs. (scampered round twice, including game-tieing run in 6th)
Catt 2-4; 2 RBI. (good debut with more to come for sure, couple of RBI's for her tally)
Rob 3-4; 2 RBI, 1 run. (tight pitching at the end, gave up 3 walks, on base 3 times with the bat)
Claire 2-4; 1 run. (2 important hits when the pressure was on, and got home for a score)


Dazzlers..... 1 0 8 4 3 1 1 - 18
The Mob.....  8 2 1 1 4 1 1 - 18
[Wandswoth Common: 8-5-08]

Tried to make us go to Rehab?

Not a bad 1st performance of the season as Dazzlers continue their rehabilitation [reports Rehab-maker Rob], and the 1st win is just around the corner now, and from there the confidence will return very quickly, I'm sure. Dazzlers actually led 8-7 following some good defence and an excellent 5th inning at the plate, but a strong Strays team, who are used to winning, edged the game. A few basic errors that will improve with more training was the difference between the sides, but once we start winning then watch out D4! A nice season opener played in a good spirit.

Lance 2-4; 1 catch. (natural lead-off man)
Amy 2-3; walk; 1 run. (another good day at the plate)
Simon 1-3; walk; 1 run; 2 catches. (always in the action, walk started 5th inning fightback)
Maria 3-4; 1 run. (3 nice hits for debut girl)
Tim 0-1; 1 catch (nice catch, didnt get a chance to show his batting prowess)
 Jack 2-3; 3 RBI; 2 runs; 1 catch (excellent 4 inning cameo including 3 RBI triple)
Nicole 1-4; RBI; 1 run. (went 1-1 sunday night, and added good RBI monday)
Isaac 4-4; 2 RBI, HR, 2 runs, 1 catch. (Big I is back, powerhouse display includind pitching)
Tania 1-4; RBI. (very tidy on 2nd base, brought home Jack to open scoring)
Frodo 1-4; RBI, 1 catch. (batting starting to return, big RBI count expected this year)
Heather 0-3. (solid display but no luck at the plate today against rule-bending pitcher)

Devil Strays 4 2 0 1 0 4 1 - 12
Dazzlers.....  0 0 0 2 6 0 0 - 8
[Finsbury Park: 28-4-08]

Pre-season form shaping well...

The new regime at the Dazzlers is taking it seriously this year with pe-season training, proper drills, batting cages, and [co-supremo Rob Tona reports:], "an excellent all-round performance last night @Clapham South as the Dazzlers opened up their pre-season campaign with a victory against D4 Kamikazes. Decision-making was very good from everyone, and the result provides a nice spring-board for the play-off this weekend. Encouraging to see us score in every inning with some competent intelligent batting (22 hits from 39 AB), and we kept a shut-out for 4 straight innings with some excellent pitching and good defense from everyone :)"

Dazzlers 1 2 1 4 4 3 - 15
Kamikazes 0 0 0 0 2 4 - 6Simon (LF/SS) 3-4, 2 R, 5 RBI, HR [Solid performance, 2 big hits for 5 RBI]
Maria (C/2B) 0-4 [Connecting well with bat, good positioning]
Isaac (P/3B) 3-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR {IP 4, 6 R} [Big hitting, good pitching]
Tania (2B/C) 1-4, RBI [Good sacrifice RBI when game was tight]
Jack (SS/RF) 1-4, R [Good debut win for captain, added insurance run]
Amy (1B/LCF) 4-4, 3 R [Great hitting, good fielding]
Lance (RF/P) 3-4, 3 R, RBI {IP 2, 0 R} [Good batting, good pitching]
Frodo (3B/1B) 3-4, 2 R, RBI [3 good hits on return to action]
Rob (LCF/RCF) 4-4, 2 R, 5 RBI [RBIs on every at bat, misread high ball]
Ed (RCF/LF) 0-3 [Will be a powerhouse hitter]



 

Few fireworks July 4th

Defeat in the tube-free wilds of Hackney takes our losing streak to 6 and bottom of the League. Gotta change soon... We did make it through the local graveyard to the pub all right (see pic), and that may have been our main achievement on a night when the shorthanded home side weren't taken too close by a Dazzler team with 3 debutants. I could have said 'rookies' but Frank clearly knows what he's doing, as a nice RBI line drive in the 5th, launching another of our not-quite-rallies, showed. Now, the Tecumsehs do have a nice pub, and were very friendly once there; but were sticklers out on the pitch, appealing for an out on debutant Mick's chest-height edge through to the catcher, finding one more run than our scorers noted, and not keen to play on when a dog roamed into the outfield. No problem for Nicole though, who fielded the dog confidently.

'Fraid the rest of our fielding wasn't so hot, and although Lance pitched neatly, a questionable strike zone from the umpire delivered walks 2 or 3 times to their weaker hitters when it might have been 'side away'. Karen took a good catch behind the plate, and Tony held on to a big one in the outfield, but then failed to get a glove on 2 more at LF as the Tecumsehs pulled away with big runscoring swipes in the 5th and 6th....

New captain Amy, having toiled over the roster and her motivational speech, was mighty unlucky to see a series of well-struck fly balls go straight into Tecumseh gloves. Scrambled singles and walks to Dazzlers kept bringing stand-ins Mick (who's pretty at home on a cricket pitch these days) and Steph to the plate in clutch situations. They strove gamely, but couldn't repeat Rob's 2-out bases-loaded hitting that had put us briefly ahead in the first. Jack did have one good hit, Shannon an RBI, but no real fireworks from the Dazzlers this July 4th...

Dazzlers 2 0 0 1 2 1 0 - 6
Tecumsehs 3 0 7 0 4 4 x - 18
[Clissold Park: 4-7-07]

Anyone want fries with that?

Another week, another new Dazzler shirt design, and this time with a flash of yellow bordering the red, giving a fast food-y feel to the logo.

And a new bat from Simon, modelling a Donnie Baseball look for the occasion:



And, Mattingly-like, we were swinging our bats well enough, with some big shots through the order. Here Heather lets fly:


A power night at the plate for Rob brought a home run in 5th, but also a strange running error, a flashback to our early days, as he powered on through third base instead of tagging up back at first. Not swinging worked too as Tony eked out a two-out walk in the 4th, putting Karen on base and bringing up the top of the order, for Isaac to swipe a mighty score-levelling, lip-smackin', thirst-quenchin' Grand Slam.

But it ended in another defeat for the McDazzlers, and this time a
painful one, snatched away from us at the death 17-16 having done the hard work and hauled back a 5-run deficit to draw level again. Lance's huge 2-run shot to LF in the 6th tied the scores, and, with two fine catches at shortstop from Simon holding the Tecumsehs to a single run in the top of the 7th, it only needed one good swing to bring us home. But a Nicole fly unluckily dropping into a fielder's mitt, an only-just-held bootstrap catch off Tim's tieing-run-on-base liner at the death, and a brave final flourish from rookie Clare left us rueing some very tight plays (not to mention the umpiring call that deprived Amy of a surely-there base an inning before...)

Tecumsehs 1 0 8 0 3 4 1 - 17
Dazzlers 5 0 0 4 2 5 0 - 16
[Finsbury Park: 18-6-07]

No face-painting, but Shelagh Alam stood in for a poorly Nicole, giving us the most Canadian content ever in a Dazzler lineup; what next, a Molsons sponsorship? Our Canucks got us going nicely with a confident catch from Heather at 2B, and two shut-out innings from "Torontonian" Isaac (yeah, right) followed by his hard-run triple putting us 1-0 up after two. And with shorthanded opponents hampered by an automatic out, it should have been home and (Canada?) dry.

But we couldn't build on it: a great play from his knees by the Suede 2B to throw out Tania made clear we were up against a flawless defence; and some, well, flawful Dazzler fielding left us trailing from the third inning on. Big hits from Sam and Jack gave us hope, but not enough. Maybe we should have warmed up and taken all that Batting Practice before the match; or even used those two 'sitting-out' guys, watching from the sidelines...

Talking of sponsors, biggest surprise of the night came after Simon and Tim's latest unrequited wooing of the new landlords at the Finsbury Arms, when a well-sozzled local wandered over to ramble amiably about Dazzler days gone by; are we really so familiar a part of the North London scene that even half-decayed drunkards recognize us? Does a mention in Nick Hornby's next saga of Holloway life beckon...?

Italian Suede 0 0 3 3 3 1 2 - 12
Dazzlers 0 1 0 2 0 2 0 - 5
[Finsbury Park: 11-6-07]

Brew in a teapot

A muted Dazzler showing in South London, against capable and very appealing opponents. Could it be the Private Is' very niceness was what made it so hard for us to get into gear, and challenge them? Whatever: we all gave due attention when they explained which distant hedges would be ground-rule doubles and which remote, barely-visible, features home runs – and then slapped grounder after grounder tamely to 3B/SS, whose sharp throws were held with ease by their superb first basewoman.

Baseball (or softball) is the game where the defence always has the ball; and we did indeed see plenty of it. New pitcher Lance Nelson stuck in there, but the windy Wandsworth night and tight umpiring calls made it hard to throw strikes, so a succession of walks allowed Private Is to get runners on ready for their big hitters. When our defence settled down a bit, fine catches from Heather at short RF, from Karen and Amy at the plate, and Rob steaming in from the deep outfield, kept us within touch. Encouraging too were some tight tags and outs around 2nd base, as Amy, Tania, and Jack worked closely together, showing the benefit of all those training drills.

But, once Tania’s first inning run had been countered, we were always trailing: 10-3 after 3, and increasing. Rob Tona dug deep for a two-out three-run shot in the top of the fifth, and then Lance shut the I’s out in the bottom of that inning (overcoming me bundling into him on the mound as he held on to the ball for the third out) but it wasn’t quite the rally we needed….

Most dazzling moment was undoubtedly captain Tim Jaffier’s single-handed double play in the 4th, when juggling an easy infield blooper to bobble in, out, in again, fumbling, bobbling - then at last, the catch finally held, stretching out to tag a baserunner, who, mesmerised (weren’t we all?) by Tim’s antics, forgot to dart away. Tim also turned the final out in that inning (OK, on a different play, this time), and claimed runs both on a neat sliding double in the third, and after some devil-may-care hustle, breezing straight past the third baseman, and no doubt spurning base-coach warnings, in the 5th. And he was captain for the night. So where was the poor guy’s JD and Coke, when the teapot of beer was served up?

(Not sure why a teapot. Is this a South London thing?)

Finsbury Dazzlers 1 1 1 0 3 0 3 - 9
Private I's 3 3 4 3 0 5 x - 18

Weird evening: high-score tie

Dazzlers 30
Kamikazes 30 [Regents Park: 22-5-07]

Our captain confesses: it was a weird evening, with ups and
downs, including thinking we had lost the game, but we showed a lot of spirit
and determination to dig out a deserved tie against the Kamikazes.

There were a few errors all around (including from myself) and sometimes we made life harder for ourselves, by not looking at the easiest plays and outs, and having a mad 3rd base coach (Simon!!) waving people round like a crazy man, but I guess it was only our second game of the season and we hadn’t played for 2 weeks. Also the Umpire didn’t help with some funny calls and a very “random” strike zone. But the most important think to take from yesterday was the great team spirit we showed in the last two innings.

Very nice to welcome Heather and Lance to the team, I think they played great and they will be a great addition to our roster. Also great hitting from Amy, the usual “major league” plays from Slammy Sam, and a very safe glove from our first baseman Tania.