Flames Win B Division Championship - Dynasty?

The Trump Tower Flames defeated now bitter rivals, the George Bells, 10-4 in a thriller to complete what most will say was a perfect season with championship victories in both the C and B divisions.

The Flames were seeking to avenge a tough 30-20 loss earlier in the regular season to the George Bells.

The Flames played their best defensive game of both seasons, allowing only 4 runs and shutting out their opponents for the first 3 innings while allowing 1 run for each of the last 4 innings.

Defensive gems were provided by Wael (3 put outs - and presented with the game ball afterwards), Kris (with a great throw across his body to 1B), Mark (throwing out a runner on a grounder to shallow centre field) and finally Ted O. with a potentially game saving catch of a liner headed for the LF gap - with the bases loaded.

Controversy struck in the 4th inning when a female player on the George Bells slid under a tag at third base by player/manager Ho but vehemently denied sliding (which is banned) and was called safe. She went on to score on the next play but all this did was serve to fire up the Flames. (Note: Definition of sliding (baseball) from the dictionary - To drop down and skid into a base to avoid being put out)

The Flames juggernaut offense (averaging over 19 runs/game in the summer season) was held in check for most of the game but busted out for 3 runs in the top of the 7th inning to seal the deal - led by an inside the park home run (or 3 base error) by Ted O. (also the hero of the Spring championship game).

The Flames finished the summer season with a 7-2-1 record and the spring season 7-0, for a combined 14-2-1 record - a truly amazing feat for a team in its inaugural year. Talk of a potential dynasty has already surfaced but team officials just hope to be able to re-sign most of its players while remaining under the salary cap.

A parade for the victorious team was held today through the downtown streets of Toronto.

Final Summer Stats

Player	OB	AB	OBP
Teddy E.	33	37	0.892
Sean	21	24	0.875
Anthony	29	34	0.853
Irv	27	32	0.844
Kyla	5	6	0.833
Joseph	29	37	0.784
Kris	28	36	0.778
Mark	23	34	0.676
Ted O.	19	29	0.655
Wael	20	32	0.625
Tanya	26	44	0.591
AC	21	41	0.512
Derek	1	2	0.500
Mary	10	24	0.417
Kelly	10	31	0.323
Team	306	447	0.685

Player	Runs
Anthony	22
Kris	18
Joseph	17
Teddy E.	17
Sean	17
Mark	16
AC	14
Wael	13
Irv	12
Tanya	12
Ted O.	11
Mary	8
Kelly	5
Paul	2
Kyla	1
Derek	0
Total	185

Mais Non! Flames Advance to Championship Game

Moss Park (AP) - The Trump Tower Flames advanced to their 2nd straight championship game (first in the B league), by scrapping out a 26-22 victory over Mais Oui.

The Flames got off to a quick start by piling on the maximum 8 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning, led by a thundering grand slam home run by recent repatriate Kristian Borg-Olivier.

Mais Oui responded by pounding out 7 runs in the 3rd inning and 8 runs in the 4th to trail 19-18 at the end of 4 innings. Mais Oui added 4 runs in the top of the 5th inning but the Flames responded with 6 runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 25-22 lead, a lead which they would not relinquish the rest of the way.

The Flames shut out their opponents in the 6th and 7th innings, to reach the championship game for the 2nd consecutive season.

The game threatened to turn ugly on a controversial call at 1st base early in the game, where the runner was called safe but video replays clearly showed he was out. The play would have been the third out of the inning but instead Mais Oui scored an additional 2 runs.

The championship game pits the Flames against archrivals The George Bells, who defeated the Flames 30-20 earlier this season. Rumblings in the Flames locker room after the game, suggest that revenge is on the menu for this game.

Game Notes: Flames are now 1-2 when allowing more than 20 runs in a game and 4-1 when scoring 20 or more runs in a game. The Erclik duo of Teddy and Mary went 5 for 5 (5 runs) and 4 for 4 (3 runs) respectively.

Summer Stats (game 9)

OBP
Teddy E. 0.912
Sean 0.905
Anthony 0.871
Irv 0.862
Kyla 0.833
Kris 0.788
Joseph 0.765
Mark 0.645
Wael 0.633
Ted O. 0.615
Tanya 0.600
AC 0.553
Derek 0.500
Mary 0.476
Kelly 0.357
Team 0.696

Runs
Anthony 21
Kris 17
Joseph 16
Teddy E. 16
Sean 15
AC 14
Mark 14
Irv 12
Wael 12
Tanya 12
Ted O. 10
Mary 8
Kelly 5
Kyla 1
Derek 0
Total 175

Flames End Regular Season with Victory

Trinity Bellwoods Park (AP) - The Trump Tower Flames extended their winning streak to the 3 games with a 20-13 victory over The Softballs. The teams had tied at 15 a piece in game 1 of the summer season.

The game lacked the typical intensity and spirit as both teams had already clinched spots in the top tier playoffs (top 4 teams). With the victory, the Flames finished 2nd in the regular season standings and are positioned to challenge for their second championship banner.

The Flames busted out with 5 runs in the 1st inning to take a quick 5-1 lead and held on to a slim 1 run lead at the end of 4 innings (12-11). In the bottom of the 5th inning, the Flames displayed their trademark offense with an 8 run inning to blow open the flood gates.

The Flames now prepare to do battle with vaunted Mais Oui in the first round of the playoffs, who they beat 21-8 in the regular season in unbearable conditions (33C with extreme humidity).

Game Notes: Anthony was hobbled by a sore elbow and minor leg injury but remained in the game and is expected to be 100% for the playoffs.

Summer Stats (game 8)

OBP
Sean 0.905
Teddy E. 0.897
Anthony 0.885
Irv 0.840
Kyla 0.833
Kris 0.821
Joseph 0.724
Mark 0.667
Wael 0.615
Ted O. 0.591
Tanya 0.571
AC 0.559
Derek 0.500
Mary 0.353
Kelly 0.333
Team 0.685

Runs
Anthony 18
Kris 15
Sean 15
AC 13
Joseph 13
Mark 12
Irv 11
Teddy E. 11
Wael 11
Tanya 10
Ted O. 8
Mary 5
Kelly 4
Paul 2
Kyla 1
Derek 0
Total 149

Flames Claim Spot in Top Tier Playoffs

AP (Pelmo Park) - Revisiting the breeding ground of the young Rasos (Pelmo Park), the Flames won their 2nd straight game, 23-10 over the Ninja Blacksox. With the victory, the Flames clinched a spot in the top 4 of the division and the top tier playoffs.

The game began with back to back home runs by Teddy Erclik and Sean, a sign of things to come. Ted O. also added his own HR blast as the Flames scored 7 runs in the 1st inning.

The Flames added another 2 runs in the 2nd inning and the maximum 8 runs in the 3rd to take a 17-7 lead after 3 innings.

While the dangerous bats for the Flames came to life, the solid defence stole the show. The Flames shut out the Blacksox in 3 innings and never allowed more than 4 runs in one inning.

Other highlights were 4 for 4 days by Teddy Erclik, Mark, Ted O. and Kris, each adding a Home Run.

Game Notes: Anthony was struck in the right forearm by a line drive in the field but remained in the game. X-ray and MRI results were pending and his status remains day to day.

Summer Stats (after game 7)

OBP
Teddy E. 0.923
Sean 0.889
Anthony 0.870
Kris 0.840
Kyla 0.833
Irv 0.818
Joseph 0.692
Mark 0.667
Wael 0.609
Ted O. 0.579
AC 0.567
Tanya 0.533
Kelly 0.400
Mary 0.353
Team 0.683

Runs
Anthony 15
Kris 13
Sean 12
AC 12
Joseph 11
Mark 11
Irv 10
Teddy E. 10
Wael 9
Tanya 8
Ted O. 6
Mary 5
Kelly 4
Paul 2
Kyla 1
Derek 0
Total 129

Flames End Slump

AP (Moss Park) - The Trump Tower Flames won a seven inning thriller 15-14, ending their 2 game losing streak.


A walk off blast into the right field gap by MVP Anthony scored speed demons (and future life long partners) Teddy Erclik and Anne-Claude Bedard in the bottom of the 7th inning - snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.

The Flames led throughout the game but gave up the lead in the top of the 7th, to trail for the first time 14-13. Busting out with 8 runs in the 1st inning and shutting out the Indy Team in the first 2 innings, the Flames appeared to cruising to an easy victory. The Flames added 1 run in the 3rd and 4 runs in the 4th to take a 13-6 lead before their opponents scored 6 runs in the 5th inning to make it a 1 run ball game.

Indy team scored 2 runs in the top of the 7th inning to take their first lead of the game, setting the stage for the never say die Flames to mount a comeback of their own.

Game Notes: First baseman Bedard remained in the game after suffering a bruise on her right hand while taking an accurate throw to first base. X-ray results were pending.

Summer Stats (after game 6)

OBP
Paul 1.000
Sean 0.929
Teddy E. 0.909
Anthony 0.895
Kyla 0.833
Kris 0.810
Irv 0.789
Joseph 0.727
Wael 0.600
Mark 0.600
AC 0.560
Derek 0.500
Tanya 0.500
Ted O. 0.467
Kelly 0.467
Mary 0.353
Team 0.672

Runs
Anthony 13
Kris 11
Sean 10
AC 10
Irv 9
Joseph 9
Teddy E. 9
Mark 8
Wael 7
Tanya 6
Mary 5
Kelly 3
Ted O. 3
Paul 2
Kyla 1
Derek 0
Total 106