Swag, baked goods and color-coordination secured the Best Team Spirit award for 2010.
Washington, D.C. | Despite last-minute roster changes, a malfunctioning oven, U.S. Postal Service troubles and maxed-out parking lots, Express managed to win the Best Team Spirit award in the ACLI Capital Challenge 5k for the second year in a row on April 28.
The teams of “Press, Passing You” and “Safest Thing on the Metro” dragged themselves out of bed at an unreasonable hour to get to West Potomac Park on time, only to discover all three parking lots had been filled by 7:30 a.m. The passengers of one car trekked nearly a mile to get to the starting line.
“At least we got in a good warm-up,” said team member Nathan Martin later that afternoon before dozing off into a page of Weekend Pass listings.
Before the race began, team captains Katie Aberbach and Aimee Goodwin bombarded the one race judge they could find with gifts of homemade cupcakes and cookies, a pint of milk and a bag of exclusive Express swag.
“I left a Tupperware container filled with cupcakes somewhere along the road near the race — a small price to pay for the victories our team experienced,” Aberbach said.
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New pitcher Mark Giannotto channels Arnie Applebaum.
Silver Spring, Md. | Plagued by sub-par fielding, weak hitting and other self-inflicted wounds, Express fell to National Press Club, 19-4, and was blanked by Gazette, 6-0, Saturday. The sweep effectively eliminates the 20-Minutemen from MMSL playoff contention.
The day’s game conditions affected play early and often. Sarah Joestl was forced to leave the first game after swallowing airborne dirt and all morning, sunglasses were a must to block debris. “Since when do we play in Oklahoma?” Aimee Goodwin said. “Those fields were ‘Grapes of Wrath’-worthy dust bowls! White T-shirts are the best.”
The highlight of the day came from Mark Giannotto, who pitched for the first time this season and displayed solid reflexes, snagging a line-drive shot up the middle against Gazette. “Considering the hurricane force winds, I thought Mark did heck of a job in his pitching debut,” Andy Bonior said.
In Game 1, after jumping out to a 1-0 lead, things crumbled for the 20-MM. NPC coupled smart baserunning with a steady diet of hard-hit balls to jump out to a 9-1 lead. Chip Porter’s 3-run homer in the 4th cut the deficit to five, but a 10-run Big Blue inning killed any chances for a comeback by Express.
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Scott McCarthy objects to a bat that fails to conform to Express’ color scheme.
After some confusion arose about which uniforms the 20-Minutemen will be sporting this weekend, we decided to sit down with Express Art Director Scott McCarthy to talk about the origin of Timekiller, the 20-MM logo.
With a name like 20-Minutemen, what was the design process in coming up with a clock? The “minutemen” mascot/logo is relatively popular in sports, so why did you move away from that?
We definitely wanted to come up with something unique, and the typical minuteman logo is pretty tired. Plus, I have a bit of an aversion to the minuteman, since it is the logo of UMass, and back when I went to school in Boston, those students would infiltrate the Boston bars on the weekends. They were jerks. They’d start fights. They’d woo our women with their thick Boston accents. We called them Massholes. And let’s be honest: guy in a hat on a horse? Pretty weak. Also, we also wanted no association with the Tea Party movement. But all in all, it was what we came up with in the five minutes after Holly’s “I have five minutes to order T-shirts” ultimatum.
In addition to sporting a rather obvious “sun-like” appearance, Timekiller also seems to have the worst teeth of any mascot in history. What is the meaning of this?
Well, I really wanted to capture the “just rolled out of bed and didn’t floss or brush or shower” look. Along with the sun, I think it really captures the essence of rolling out of bed hungover early on a Saturday morning to stand in an outfield surrounded by bugs.
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Balletic grace is a must to become a successful 20-Minuteperson.
It’s amazing how three years of long, thankless and forgettable toiling on a team Web site beating a regional TV station’s softball team can all pay off in the end. Our Webmaster is reporting a major traffic spike since the “Semi-Thrilla in Aspen Hilla,” so we figured it’s time to give the league (and the world) a proper introduction to 20minutemen.org.
Here are a few tips and tricks for navigating this comedic tour de force, starting with the Top 10 moments in 20-MM history.
10. Our inaugural weekend. Hats were mismatched, uniforms were ragtag, but we were there dammit — we were there!
9. The sad, pathetic outing known around the halls of Express as “WTF-day.” Those that were there still tell stories of the horror.
8. Babies, babies and more babies!
7. The animatronic chimp head. Nobody really knows how or why this thing ever made it to the bench with us, but thankfully, its day is over.
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Sliding: Such poor sportsmanship!
Silver Spring, Md. | Steadied by slick fielding and timely hitting, Express played to another split Saturday, losing to USA Today 8-6 and handling Comcast SportsNet, 7-4. The hot day made for a feisty environment on the diamond and the first scorcher of the season provided quite a bit of high-intensity media softball drama — if there is such a thing.
In Game 1, Express jumped out to an early lead with a 4-run first against the vaunted USA Today squad. Katie “I Got Engaged So My Boyfriend Could Play On the Team” Aberbach set the tone for the 20-MM in the field with a fantastic snag in left against to rob a likely triple, but in the end it wasn’t enough. The Gannetoids proved why they are a perennial MMSL contender with a strong showing of hitting fundamentals that powered them to eight runs and the victory.
In what was easily the most entertaining matchup of the year, Game 2 featured a few 20-MM webgems and absolutely no shade at all. The nattily attired and clearly overmatched Comcast SportsNuts couldn’t manage the moxie to handle the psychological juggernaut of Express.
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Sarah Joestl shows the savage spirit of Express women.
Silver Spring, Md. | Beset by absences and no-shows, a makeshift 20-Minutemen lineup managed to stay out the slaughter rule zone Saturday, falling to Fox 5, 14-8 and ABC News, 17-6. With only eight players to start with, Express displayed some major grit to make the day respectable.
“The women of Express were in a league of their own today: base knocks, solid D and super effort,” interim coach Chip Porter said. “Props to Darona [Williams] for not only making her Minutemen debut, but also for getting a single in her very first at bat.”
James “McCarthy Who?” Romoser handled left field effectively on his own, tracking down balls all over the outfield after biking eight miles to the field just to play. “In hindsight, I should have brought my bike with me [on the field], because it would have come in handy when chasing down line drives,” he said.
With an assist from Fox, Jen Sumnick volunteered to play with the 20-MM, filling in nicely at third base.
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Why is Chip Porter holding a pencil in his right hand when he bats left?
With head coach Matt Swenson off gallivanting in Canada, dad/right fielder/wrestling geek Chip Porter has stepped in as the 20-Minutemen manager for two weeks. We sat down with him this week to discuss the temporary arrangement.
Any opening thoughts on the gig?
It was a honor to wear the ill-fitting uniform of a manager, even if for just one day. I tried to model my dress on those elderly men dressed as children who have come before me. Super-fit men such as Whitey Herzog, Davey Johnson and anybody else who used his uniform shirt like a girdle.
If Express manages a sweep this week, that will put you at 3-1. Do you think it would be time for a legit change at the top at that point?
I don’t think so. I would never want to Wally Pipp our real coach just because he’s out buying flowers and taking dance classes when he should be on the field, leading the Minutemen like a Revolutionary War general — but that’s just me.
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James “Scott McCarthy” Romoser and Chip Porter share the secret Express handshake.
Silver Spring, Md. | With winds howling and temperatures dipping into the 50s, Express (2-2) earned a split in its first round of division games, beating National Press Club 7-3 and falling to Associated Press 6-5.
A tinkering of the lineup produced solid results in the heart of the order, while temporary coach Chip Porter led the 20-Minutemen with 5 RBI and 2 homers on the day. “I’m so glad I started him in my MMSL fantasy league today,” Nathan Martin said.
Newcomer James Romoser steadied the outfield with a strong performance in centerfield. “James’ outfield play saved us probably 4 or 5 runs alone,” Andy Bonior said. “The rest of the outfield came up huge as well in those insane winds.”
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Chip Porter practices being dissolute.
Washington | As a new season of MMSL nears its opening, the upstart 20-Minutemen have adopted a new motto for the 2010 campaign: No Practice, No Problem.
Since its inception in the league, Express‘ off-season training program has slowly tapered off, while its success has increased every year. In 2007, then-coach Chris Mincher put together two practices for the just-formed bunch to get to know each other more than anything. Result: 3 wins.
In 2008, after a spirited pre-season round of fielding practice, Minch even managed to get the team out to the batting cage for a session, too; 4 wins. In 2009, after rising through the managerial ranks, new skipper Ian Herbert decided on just one solid cage outing for all; two playoff wins.
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The sticker under the brim adds to the psychological battle.
Most people around the halls of Express and WhoRunsGov know Ian Herbert to be a pretty mild-mannered guy. Anyone who’s seen him on the softball field this season, however, has noticed a different side to the stalwart player/coach.
Herbert, is now officially a trash talker.
In an exclusive one-on-one interview, 20minutemen.org sat down with the Michigan alum to discuss the gift of gameday gab.
So, to start, you’re generally a pretty mild-mannered guy. At what point did you decide that being more vocal would be a part of your game?
I’m mild-mannered in the office and around the house, but I’ve never been mild-mannered on the sports field. Maybe I was a little bit that first year [on the mound], because I sucked.
Your method, which some would say speaks to your mild-mannered nature, is far different from say a Yates — which basically involves yelling pejorative comments at the other team. You tend to go for the legit psych job.
Yes, it’s a very different approach. I’m trying to make them second-guess themselves at the plate, because most people, if they’re not thinking too much, will hit the ball well.
It’s when they start wondering “should I take this pitch?” or something like that, it messes them up. I should be clear, not all of them [care.] A lot of batters couldn’t care less, but when it works, it is sooo sweet.
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