Captain's Corner: 6/1 "A Tale of Two Games"

Each week, we will catch up with Team Captain Matt "Howitzer" Lungariello (pictured above) on his thoughts regarding the game of the week.

On June 1, it was certainly the tale of two games. In the first, the Orators' bats slumbered while sloppy defense left them in a hole they never climbed out of. The team rebounded in the second game of the doubleheader jumping out to an early lead and never looking back. The team scored over 20 runs in what was their best offensive game of the season. They managed to end their 6-game losing streak and get hitting displays from guys like Barkeep Donnelly and Ginger Kirkpatrick.

So let's see what El Capitan says:

KEEP IT VINTAGE: Let's be blunt - Ginger's been hot at the plate. Is he juicing?
HOWITZER: If you're not cheating, you're not trying. We aren't currently testing for steroids since they haven't been invented yet.

I just hope that he would share it with the other players on the team if he was getting some decent stuff.

KIV: The team's beaten Newtown before but this was the first official victory against them. How important is that?
H: It's very important. We have lost a few one run games to them, and I know that our guys really wanted to win and put it behind them. A good way to get that first win is by scoring 20+ runs. We really put game 1 behind us and hit the ball very well in game 2.

KIV: The team is still .500 at home. After just two wins, is it too early to say the team plays better at home?
H: There's no question that we play better at home. Most of the guys get to sleep a little longer, and spend a little less time driving before gametime. That works both ways also. The team that we are playing had to wake up a little earlier and drive a little extra. It messes up your body. No one likes to sit in the car too long.

KIV: After showing some life in game 2, I'm sure building on that momentum is important? What does the team have to work on to have more victories?
H: I hope we can carry it over. It would be nice if we were playing a 1860's game this weekend, we looked pretty sharp in game 2 last week.

This weekend we will be playing 80's rules, so it will come down to pitching. Hopefully, we get a few pitchers to show up on Sunday.

KIV: What's the status with Cap and the other injured guys how they coming along?
H: All our injuries are day to day at this point. We are going to keep a close watch on Paul's hammy. That will be a problem all year, we just have to be smart about it. Ginger always plays through it, and last week we had to remove GentleBen who had problems with both legs. Cap is just about healed, its really up to him when he feels comfortable playing again. Irish is ready to go, and Big Dawg has a cut on his hand but it wont effect his knuckleball.

Captain's Corner: Still no Base Ball, 5/10

Each week, we will catch up with Team Captain Matt "Howitzer" Lungariello (pictured above) on his thoughts regarding the game of the week. Of course, the team hasn't played in about a month, so we don't have much to talk to about that we haven't already covered in previous Captain's Corners. But heck, we'll do our weekly interview anyway whether it's necessary or not.

Last weekend on May 10, the Orators had an off week to spend time with their mommies on Mother's Day. Don't worry it's vintage to care about your mamma. OK then... So now, here is our interview:

KEEP IT VINTAGE: So it's been a while since we played, yet I keep interviewing you every week.
HOWITZER: Yeah, it feels like we haven't played in months. Yet, we have too many games scheduled for this season.

KIV: Do you think it's messed up that I only prepared two questions rather than the traditional five for today's interview?
H: Yes I do. I used to think you were pretty good at giving interviews. Not anymore though.

KIV: Fine then, I'll extend this interview out. But, forgive me I can't ask anything cool because I'm doing this on the fly. So, ummm how's this weekend looking?
H: I'm not sure to be honest. For a few upcoming games, its seems like we are having trouble fielding a full team. Kind of strange since we have enough players for two teams.

KIV: What else, what else? Yeah, here's something I often question - why do you think people on Joe's email list insist on replying to all?
H: I don't think they fully understand how to use e-mail. We are ballists, not computer techs. And besides, they didn't even have computers or email in 1864.

KIV: Also do you think you or any of the other team is interested in buying someone's used uniform? If they didn't want it, why not just give the uniform up? Isn't it kind of like if I buy it, I'd be donating the old uniform owner money? Let's face it there doesn't seem to be much of a market for used orators uniforms.
H: Yeah, it doesn't seem like anyone is buying them. I would be a little happier to see them at least offer to donate whatever money they make back to the team. I really don't understand this at all.

KIV: Are you as excited as I am for the new Indiana Jones movie?
H: Hell yeah. I don't have a good feeling about it being any good. And after reading some Lucas comments about it, I am almost positive that I wont like it. But i wont let a little thing like "100 percent letdown" get in the way of me having fun.

Captain's Corner: 5/4/2008

Each week, we will catch up with Team Captain Matt "Howitzer" Lungariello (pictured above) on his thoughts regarding the game of the week.

Last weekend on May 4, the Orators ended up idle when a trip to face the Hartford Dark Blues was cancelled due to rain. With a tough end to April for the Park City Nine, the rain week was a chance to put the first weeks of the season into perspective.

We got the chance to chat with Howitzer today and make sure all is still well on the Bridgeport scene:

KEEP IT VINTAGE: So the first rain out of the season - Is it a good thing or a bad thing to have two weeks off after the sweep at Waterbury?
HOWITZER: I think we all wanted to get back out there and put the three game sweep behind us. We were a little sloppy during the 60's games and it would have been nice to get a little more practice with the underhand game.

KIV: How are the injuries coming along?
H: It looks like only Cap is out at the moment. Everyone else would be clear to play at this point. Paul's hammy is not 100 percent, but we don't have a game this weekend anyway. I am not concerned about it at all.

KIV: Up next is two games of 1880's rules vs, Meddowe. This after the team struggled with several 1860's rules games to open up the season. Do you think the change to overhand pitching is going to be a welcomed change or cause problems?
H: I think we will be OK playing the 80's games. But, that is definitely not going to help us with the 60's. If anything, we will be more sloppy the next time we play the 60's games.

KIV: The overhand game can be offensive friendly if you don't have the pitching to stop hitters. Do you think the Orators have enough pieces to realistically be a competitive 1880's game?
H: We definitely have the pitching to do it. I think there will be a little pressure on Kurt since Cap won't be available. We have Gozer to close out the games, but the middle innings are what worries me. Now that I think about it, I don't know who is going to pitch the second game. I should look into that.

KIV: It's a month since Opening Day soon enough. There's been some up's and downs and even injuries. You said before you expected the team to win some this year. Has your thought process changed? Are you worried about the rest of the season or making any changes based on injuries?
H: My thought process is still the same. Like I said, I wish we played last weekend so that everyone could put last week's performance behind them but we still have a lot of talent. Once the season starts, it's nice to play a bunch of weeks in a row to gain a comfort level. But we cant make excuses, we are professionals (or at least we pretend we are) and we need to rise above it.

A few other things. Did you notice that Mike the ump is still on the e-mail list? You think he put Vintage's email addy into his spam folder? City is on there too. That must be annoying. And you didn't hear it from me, but don't be surprised to see a "Joe Louis like return"* from Khalid at some point this year.

* - Taking big bucks to make a comeback even though he is obviously past his prime.

Captain's Corner: 4/27/2008

Each week, we will catch up with Team Captain Matt "Howitzer" Lungariello (pictured above) on his thoughts regarding the game of the week.

Last weekend on April 27, the Park City Pow-wow's a.k.a. the Gray Guns a.k.a. the Seaside Slammers a.k.a. the just plain ol' Orators had their first road trip. Things didn't go well, with the Bport Boomboys losing three games in a row and being outscored by double digits for the day.

We got the chance to chat with Howitzer today and go over the tough weekend and look ahead to the team's pending trip to Hartford where they'll square off with the Dark Blues:

KEEP IT VINTAGE: Tough losses this weekend. What went wrong?
HOWITZER: We didn't play good team defense and we didn't hit. It's as simple as that. We put ourselves in a big hole in two of the three games, and in the other game a huge inning is what killed us.

KIV: What positives can you take away from it?
H: We got some of the new guys more experience in actual game action. It's not the same as practice, there is a little more pressure during the real thing. Plays happen faster, everything speeds up.

It was fun to see Cap out there also. I think that everyone can learn something from him. I asked him to pitch, play second base, center field, and right field. He was punched in the face and he hit a home run. He did it all while having fun out there. Shame he broke his face though, we hope he has a speedy recovery.

Honorable mention goes out to Mike "Whit" who pitched very well for Newtown and kept us off balance all day.

KIV: What's the area - defense, offense, etc - that the team has to work on the most?
H: Defense, defense, defense. If you play solid defense, everything else falls into place.

Another area we have to work on is having fun. If you can't have fun playing this game, there is something wrong with you and you shouldn't even show up. Once we went down by a few runs, everyone tried to be a hero and bring the team back to life. Three singles is what scores a run in this game. An error here, a swinging bunt there. That's all it takes to get it going.

I am not too concerned about the hitting though. No, we didn't hit particularly well, but it was just one day. We will come back from that. Everyone needs to relax and let their talent take over. You see the ball, you hit the ball. You may see that right field is open and try to hit the ball between first and second. That sounds good in theory, but the pitcher doesn't allow you to go to right field. You have to hit the ball where it's pitched. If you try to hit it to right or left field and the ball is not pitched there, you can pop it up just as easily as if you are trying to hit a 10-run homer. Sometimes, you have to take what they are giving you. The biggest hole in the infield is always up the middle.

KIV: You and Paul are banged up and it's only the second week. Are injuries a big concern?
H: Well, I am going to be playing this weekend. It's not that big of a deal that I sat out three games last weekend. A lot of people complained to me that I wasn't playing them enough last year, so hopefully I got everyone into the games. I would rather take playing time away from myself, because I won't get too mad at me.

Paul, hopefully, will be back in two weeks. That's all part of the game. Ginger usually plays with one or more broken fingers at a time. Irish banged up his hand a little bit. We will work through it. We have enough guys to make it happen every week. We had a lot of injuries last year also.

KIV: Looking ahead, the team's heading back to Hartford for the first time since the very first game last season. What are you looking forward to?
H: They beat us up that first week. We were a scared bunch of rookies. We didn't know what we were supposed to do or how to do it. I am looking forward to it. It's been 12 months since we went out to that field, and we can really see how far we have come. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that I want to keep those games competitive after giving up 30+ runs last time. It was a blowout of biblical proportions. It's a long drive out there, I am sure the people that make the trip we will ready to play.

KIV: You think the O's can take the Blues?
H: We can beat anyone. We can also lose to anyone. We have a few different faces right now. We are still a very young team and we lack consistency to be a real force in this league. We need to avoid the big inning and when we are in a jam we need to try to limit the damage. "Damage control" is what i am always saying to the boys. If you load the bases with no outs, don't try to turn a triple play. Limit the team to one or two runs by getting the sure out, making the smart play, and not giving up by letting frustration take over. We have a tendency to lose focus and become unable to stop the bleeding. Then it snowballs on us. There have been a lot of games that we lost by having one bad inning.

The Broken People report

Two weeks in and the walking wounded are already piling up! This isn't even mentioning Pops and Barkeep's shoulder problems:

Paul, hamstring hamstrung, 2 weeks
Ginger - multiple finger(s) strains, breaks, etc. - day to day
Howitzer - ankle, day to day
Cap - broken face, 4 weeks
Irish - hand, day to day

Captain's Corner: Offweek and getting practicing on 4/20

Each week, we will catch up with Team Captain Matt "Howitzer" Lungariello (pictured above) on his thoughts regarding the game of the week.

Last weekend on April 9, the Park City Nine had the week off and so gathered for some practice at Seaside Park. On the agenda? Gearing up for a big round robin tournament up in Waterbury. The opponents - Waterbury Connors, Meddowe BBC, and Newtown Sandy Hook.

We got the chance to chat with Howitzer today and go over practice and look to the big tourney for April 27:

KEEP IT VINTAGE: So, the turnout for practice was pretty weak?
HOWITZER: It is very important to notify Vintage Joe when you can't make it to practice. I know he sends about 14 e-mails a day, but sometimes he has some important info in them... SOMETIMES.

Last week's practice could have been cancelled or moved to a much warmer indoor batting cage. Joe and I factor in attendance to help us decide playing time.

KIV: It was frigid and you guys had field issues?
H: It was cold and it looked like rain all morning. I think 21 fields were all being used when we got there, so we had to practice on a field we have never seen before. But the guys who were there were real troopers and roughed it. There is nothing quite as vintage as hypothermia.

KIV: Big weekend, first road game, multiple team tournament. You hoping to announce the team's improved presence this season?
H: In some ways, yes. Really, I am looking forward to the Newtown game. I thought we matched up pretty well against them last year, but we were never able to beat them. I can specifically remember blowing a three run lead in the bottom of the ninth on a walk-off homer by Pops. Heartbreaker.

We actually did beat them one Sunday but I think three of their starting nine were Orators filling in, due to the Hooks being short a few guys. Last season, we took any win we could get, but I don't really count that particular game. But any time we played each other, it was very competitive and a lot of fun.

KIV: What team are you most looking forward to seeing get vintage this weekend?
H: Like I said, it has to be Newtown, though I am excited for every matchup that comes our way. We are linked to Newtown like Siamese Twins. Very good looking Siamese Twins I might add. Those guys were at our field at our very first practice, teaching us the rules of the game, mentoring us. We always look out for each other in an emergency - if we're short a guy, the Hooks are always ready to gear up in the gray and blue. Same for us - a lot us O's have filled in when Newtown needed us.

KIV: Do you consider Newtown a rival?
H: Based on location, I would. We want to win every game we play, but because we are so close them distance wise and as vintage gentleman, I think you always want to have bragging rights.

KIV: It's an 1861 tourney this weekend. What do you think Bridgeport's forte is in terms of which rules?
H: I think that the '61 game is the easiest for us to play at the moment. So I would say we have the best chance in those rules as far as the underhand games go.

But if Cap, Kurt, and Goz are rested, we have shown we can be a great 80's team as well.

Captain's Corner: Home opener vs. Atlantics 4/13

Each week, we will catch up with Team Captain Matt "Howitzer" Lungariello (pictured above) on his thoughts regarding the game of the week. Last weekend, at the 2008 Seaside Park home opener, the Orators split a double-header with the visiting Brooklyn Atlantics.

Captain Howitzer wasn't at the game. But, I figured I'd break him for the season ahead and test him on his media skills:

KEEP IT VINTAGE: How about a few questions on the game this last weekend?

HOWITZER: I wasn't there maybe you should talk to the other captains...

KIV: What are your thoughts on the split?

HOWITZER (takes sophisticated tone): It was a good start to the year. This team beat us up early last year and handed us one of our most lopsided losses of the season. We have made huge steps in the last 12 months.

KIV: How did the new guys look to you?

HOWITZER: Mark, you know I wasn't there, remember you and me were both at a christening...

KIV: I SAID HOW DID THE NEW GUYS LOOK?

HOWITZER (clears throat): The new guys look great. They need some more time playing the game of "base ball," but you can see that they have skills in baseball. The only way to improve and adjust to the vintage game is to show up every weekend.

KIV: Would you categorize this as a good start to the season?

HOWITZER: Yeah, I would. Taking one is huge for us, and it's great to give a win on Opening Day to the home town fan. For the first time in our team's short history, we can say that we are a .500 ball club.

KIV: Predictions for the year?

HOWITZER: I think if we can play solid defense, we will be in a position to win every game. We can hit with any team out there, but what separates teams in this league is being able to field your positions. You won't win many games if you can't stop the other guys from scoring.

KIV: I was wondering - Could you name me a coach? I was thinking I could be the beer conditioning coach if there's an opening.

HOWITZER: No.