The 20-Minutemen aren’t afraid to leave some blood on the field.
I’m afraid a major fact has been lost as the 20-Minutemen have accused of being brash, nay, unsportsmanlike during Saturday’s victory over Comcast SportsNet: This is media softball.
And by definition, media softball shouldn’t be taken so seriously.
There’s no need to get bent out of shape if we lose, nor rub it in an opponent’s face if we happen to win.
If we’re not having fun, there’s really no reason to play.
One of the best traits of the Minutemen is that we have fun.
Because Express’ staff is so small, the softball roster truly represents the paper.
As a result, there is a camaraderie present that may not be possible for other teams in our league.
We express — sorry for the pun — ourselves in boisterous ways.
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It was not so long ago that the 20-Minutemen struggled to field a team, let alone be as competitive as we desired.
I’m proud to report those days seem long gone.
If the first week of the season is any indication, Express has a deep lineup that can compete with just about anybody.
Case in point: Nathan Martin hit a home run to spark the 20-Minutemen’s comeback victory over ABC News, and then took a seat on the bench.
In his place stepped in newcomer James Romoser, who delivered spectacular fielding and timely hitting.
Also making key contributions late in the opening victory were Rachel Kaufman, Darren Favello and Mark Giannotto, all of whom started on the bench.
Because Express has so much depth, some good players are going to have to sit for a while.
The team’s attitude has been terrific about this so far, and I expect to remain so throughout the season.
Who figured a company as small as Express would produce a team with such interchangeable parts?
It just shows how far we’ve come.
Weaver makes a one-legged catch.
Silver Spring, Md. | The Express 20 Minutemen cemented their place as one of the most improved teams in the Metropolitan Media Softball League Saturday, pulling off a stunning 9-8 upset of the Gazette in extra innings.
Sparked by Scott McCarthy’s two home runs, Express continued its strong hitting to knock off the Wheaton Forest division champions.
Clinton Yates, Dustin Weaver, Andy Bonior, Christopher Porter, Matt Swenson and Ian Herbert joined McCarthy in having multiple-hit games in what Yates referred to as a “franchise victory.”
The win, only slightly offset by a disappointing 9-8 loss to The Washington Post, meant the Minutemen finished with four victories, one more than a year ago. But player/manager Herbert said the team’s record only begins to tell the story of the drastic improvement.
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He Wore a Yellow Belt
Easily the most amusing element in Express’ opener was Clinton Yates’ mocking of the Washington Times’ pitcher’s yellow belt in the fifth inning. After Yates’ joke, Katie Aberbach drilled a two-run single that seemed to — combined with the remark — rattle the Times’ second hurler of the afternoon. Four straight batters then walked for Express, which also got key hits from Matt Swenson, Dustin Weaver and Scott McCarthy in the nine-run rally. “I think the joke was key,” said Aberbach. “It really loosened me up.” Only after a mid-inning pitching change did the Times close out the inning.
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In addition to Scott McCarthy, Dustin Weaver is also angry.
Rockville, Md. | Opponents won’t like Scott McCarthy when he’s angry.
After committing an error in the last inning of Express’ heartbreaking 15-14 loss to the Washington Times Saturday, McCarthy blasted two home runs in the Minutemen’s 14-3 rout over City Paper at Veirs Mill park.
“I was pissed,” McCarthy said. “I got up there and tried to kill it to work out some of my anger.”
McCarthy’s 5 RBI-game was the best in a group of excellent performances by the Minutemen, who snapped a seven-game losing streak in sweeping the City Paper.
Seven players had at least two hits — Dustin Weaver went an impressive 4-4 and scored three runs — and six players scored, with five driving in at least one run. The performances came on the heels of a breakout game for Express, whose offense snapped out of its slump against the Times. In the opener, eight batters had at least one hit and eight had one RBI or more.
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Dan Caccavaro defies AOL’s Jay Mullen at first base.
Silver Spring, Md. | Standing at 6 foot 4 inches tall and sporting big power and intimidating facial hair, Andy Bonior isn’t a typical leadoff hitter. Then again, Express has never been an organization to follow traditional models.
Batting first in both games of Saturday’s doubleheader — a 8-5 defeat to AOL and 14-8 loss vs. the Discovery Channel — at Wheaton Forest Park, Bonior reached base seven of eight at-bats and scored four runs — leading off four separate innings.
“I’m not trying to kill the ball as much,” said Bonior, who said he liked batting first, except “it makes it hard to get RBIs.”
And therein lies the central debate over manager Chris Mincher’s decision to overhaul the Minutemen’s lineup after the second week of the season. Mincher said he likes Bonior at the top of the order and feels the power is there if everything clicks as he hopes.
“I think a lot of people are curious about that,” Mincher said of moving Bonior up to first. “It used to be he was one of the only with home-run potential. We’ve got more people who can do that now.”
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A Rough Day at the Office
Dan Caccavaro learned first-hand why third base is called the hot corner Saturday. Having never played the infield before, Express’ Editor-in-Chief was thrown in at third against the Discovery Channel. In the climatic 7th inning, Caccavaro had five balls hit at him while regular third baseman Matt Swenson played right centerfield: “It’s a lot of fun … if you like to take a beating.” But Caccavaro said he’d like another crack at the infield, even though “the ball comes in a lot” faster than the outfield. Added shortstop Clinton Yates: “To be fair, Dan got eaten alive.”
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Alyce Jones forces out Allbritton’s loudmouth.
Rockville, Md. | Express, whose small staff necessitates versatility in the newsroom, translated that adaptability to the softball field Saturday at Veirs Mill Park.
Missing several key players, including pitcher Ian Herbert and shortstop Clinton Yates, the Minutemen were forced to alter their normal defensive alignment — resulting in several in-game adjustments during a 21-7 loss to ABC News and a 7-1 defeat against Allbritton.
Left fielder Scott McCarthy played three additional positions Saturday: pitcher, shortstop and shortfield, a newly-utilized position by the Minutemen in which McCarthy was in charge of fielding all short line drives just outside the reach of the infield.
“From now on, I’ll think you’ll see that,” said McCarthy of his new position. “The teams that had been killing us were ones who hit line drives. Rarely do teams just try to kill the ball to the outfield.”
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Jill Doesn’t Know Jack
One of the factors for the number of late arrivals to Saturday’s games was the field’s unusual location. Express, whose home field is Wheaton Forest, has not played at Veirs Mill — located at Garrett Park and Beach Drive — this season. In particular, the field played havoc with Alyce Jones’ GPS, which she calls Jill. Jones, a designer at the free commuter paper, was driving teammates Katie Aberbach and Emily Barton to the game from the Courthouse area in Arlington, Va. The trio left at 9:15 a.m. but didn’t arrive until close to 10 a.m on what should be a 25-minute drive. “If you had been in the car, you would have seen committed we were,” said Aberbach, noting that the players knew how important it was to have three women at the game in the co-ed league. “Jill gave all the wrong directions.”
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Turned Upside Down
The most noteworthy news from Saturday’s doubleheader was coach Chris Mincher’s decision to change the batting lineup. Clinton Yates, the leadoff hitter so far this season, was moved to 9th in hopes that spreading out the best hitters would lead to more offense. Perhaps due to the weather-induced moratorium this season, most batters struggled as Express managed only seven runs in two games. “Batting [Clinton] 9th is just asinine,” said Dustin Weaver. Yates simply said he “didn’t understand the total change.” Ian Herbert, who moved up to 2nd in the order, volunteered to slide back down the lineup. “I don’t like the pressure of batting second,” he said.
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