Weekly Report

Championship Game - August 6, 2009
After a rain-out postponed the championship showdown one week, Paid Attention was hit by the loss of starting shortstop Tim Gordon. Also missing from the title game was leftfielder Chris Maust and second basewoman Christin Chamberlain. Without three starters, it looked like it would be very difficult to knock off Moist Balls.

And early on it didn't look too good. With home field advantage based on a coin flip, Paid Attention let a couple of critical errors compound the early control problems and Moist Balls jumped out to a quick four run lead. When Paid failed to score in the bottom of the first, the game did not appear to be much of a match-up.

Then the Paid Attention defense and pitching rebounded. Leland settled in and retired Moist Balls in order in the top of the second. A series of walks was sandwiched around a single by Brittany Greenlaw and Paid managed to post two runs on the scoreboard. It was 4-2 after two complete innings and Paid Attention had a bit of life.

Another scoreless inning in the top of the third was keyed by Kevin Volk throwing out the leadoff batter as he tried to advance to second. In the bottom half, Paid continue to chip away in the bottom of the inning with an RBI double from Jason Terrell. The score was 4-3 after three full innings.

In the fourth Leland and his alert defense remained solid. Facing the heart of the order for Moist Balls, the Paid defense allowed only one hit and for the third straight inning kept Moist Balls from scoring. In the bottom of the inning Leland doubled to put runners on 2nd and 3rd and a walk to Kevin Volk with two outs tied the game. With the game tied Paid was unable to take the lead and left the bases loaded in the fourth. Half way through the game, the score was tied at 4.

In the fifth inning Moist Balls was finally able to break through again. After a leadoff double, two consecutive groundouts enabled Moist to score the go ahead run. This time Paid did not take long to get right back in the game, after a leadoff single by Tara Yaun, Jason Terrell followed with a line shot to right-centerfield. The fielder was unable to make a diving catch and Jason circled the bases for an inside the park two run homer and gave Paid it's first lead of the game. Three batters later Paid padded the lead. With runners on first and second, Leland singled to left, scoring Dan Gordon and giving Paid a 7-5 lead. A double play ended the inning with Paid holding a two run cushion.

That lead didn't last long. The leadoff batter for Moist Balls started the sixth inning with a sharp hit to rightfield, the ball took a hard bounce and went all the way to the fence for an inside the park homerun. Moist managed to tie the game with two outs and had runners on 1st and 2nd after a walk, but Dan (subbing for his brother Tim at shortstop) was able to flip the ball to Morgan Summers at second for an inning ending force out.

The game was tied entering the bottom of the sixth and with Morgan on third and Tara on first, Jason came through with his second RBI hit of the game. A single to right scored Morgan with the go ahead run and gave Paid Attention a lead entering the last inning.

In the seventh Moist Balls had the bottom of the order up. After retiring the leadoff hitter, a single put the tying run on base. With one out and the tying run on, Leland struck out the next batter and when he got the next batter to fly out harmlessly to Jason in left, the come from behind championship victory was complete. Led by Dan on defense with his two assists and four putouts and Jason on offense with three runs batted in, Paid Attention was carried by the ladies (all five women had base hits), who scored four of the teams eight runs.

Game 8 - [2nd half] - July 24, 2009
Paid had to win the last game of the season and hope that RLX Rebels win their game later by less than 113 runs. If that happened, Paid Attention would earn a spot in the league championship game next week against Moist Balls. Paid did their part, although it was pretty ugly. In by far the worst performance of the season, Full Throttle gave the depleted Friday squad all they could handle. Allowing nine runs in the top of the second, it took a big rally in that inning just to keep it close. Paid Attention trailed 10-9 at the end of two innings. The first time in 10 games they trailed at the end of an inning. A 1-2-3 top of the third seemed to do the trick, Paid scored four runs in the third to take the lead and never looked back. A 12 run fourth inning clinched the perfect second half (8-0). It was the 9th time Paid scored 10 or more runs in an inning. The final was 25-11 and Paid now waits to find out their fate.

Game 7 - [2nd half] - July 23, 2009
In a must game, Paid faced the undefeated RLX Rebels. After allowing three runs in the top of the first after a questionable call, Paid Attention rallied in the bottom of the first for six runs and took a lead they would never relinquish. For the ninth consecutive game, Paid Attention never trailed at the end of an inning. The defense tightened and even though RLX pulled within 10-8 going into the bottom of the fifth, the Paid Attention offense, which had been averaging 21 runs a game, busted out, scoring eight runs while recording only one out and ending the game by mercy rule, 18-8. The win clinched the second half division title for Paid.

Game 6 - [2nd half] - July 9, 2009
The onslaught continued right where it left off. With 13 runs in the top of the first, Paid didn't have to worry about only having eight fielders. Taking advantage of at least 10 walks, the issue was never in doubt. 12 more runs in the third inning sealed another quick victory. It was the 8th time that Paid Attention scored 10 or more runs in an inning. Another shut-out win, 25-0, set up Paid to make a run at the 2nd half division title. In two games against Brew Crew, Paid outscored them 44-2.
The next game is against RLX Rebels, and as long as RLX doesn't lose any other games, a win gives Paid Attention an inside track to the championship game.

Game 5 - [2nd half] - July 2, 2009
Angry with the treatment received from the umpires the previous week, Paid Attention vowed to blow the doors off of every team they face the rest of the season. The only way to make the championship game is to win a three way tie for first place and then have the best run differential, no compassion will be spared. This started right away. It was 10-0 after two innings and Laseter's Lushes never had a chance. A 12 run fifth inning made the slaughter official, and Paid Attention won with a shutout, 26-0. In two games versus Laseter's Lushes, Paid scored 52 runs.

Game 4 - [2nd half] - June 25, 2009
The best match-up of the year was almost ruined by an officiating crew that can only be described as lazy. With a supervisor with no knowledge of the rules and umpires that had better things to do, Moist Balls and Paid Attention faced off without any umpires. It was the best officiated game of the year and Paid Attention took advantage of a distracted Moist Balls team with four first inning runs and hung on in a great defensive game, winning 6-4.

Game 3 - [2nd half] - June 18, 2009
Back to the old ways of Paid Attention, playing with only eight fielders. The final score didn't indicate how hard Paid had to work to get the win. The final was 18-7 and Paid never trailed. Four inside the park home runs by leadoff batter Chris Maust sparked the offense. Next week is the rematch with Moist Balls and both teams are tied at 3-0 and in first place.

Game 2 - [2nd half] - June 11, 2009
The game didn't start out looking like a mismatch, but in the end Paid Attention set team records for offense and had the most lopsided victory in team history. Facing Smokin Aces, Paid Attention fell behind 2-0 in the top of the first. The team responded in the bottom half of the inning with three runs to take the lead. Smokin tied the game in the top of the second after an error and it looked like Paid Attention was in for a tight defensive game. Then Paid batted for 34 minutes. The bottom of the second took over half an hour, Paid scored 26 runs (a team record for an inning), 30 batters came to the plate, 28 batters reached base and every player in the line-up had three at-bats. Every player scored at least one run, had at least two hits, and eight players (Tim, Lynette, Leland, Tara, Jason, Christin, Morgan, Kevin) had three hits. Leland had seven RBI's and Jason had 4 more. This was all in the second inning. The game ended by rule in the top of third. The 29 runs were the most ever for Paid Attention and the margin of victory (26) was also a team record.
And this was all done with only two players that were in the line-up the last time Paid Attention played Smokin Aces (Leland, Christin) [a 19-12 win]

Game 1 - [2nd half] - May 28, 2009
The second half started right away and first up was a team that played the defining game of the first half. Scared Hitless made one the most furious rallies ever seen in co-ed softball. Paid Attention turned a 23-3 demolition into a 23-21 nail biter. That was not going to be the case this time. Three newcomers were added to the squad and once again Paid Attention racked up the runs early. It was 6-0 after one inning and 9-1 after two. This time their was no let up. After holding Scared Hitless scoreless in the top of the third, Paid posted a ten spot and this time they didn't relax on defense. A 1-2-3 inning in the fourth made sure another miracle comeback wasn't going to happen.

Game 8 - May 21, 2009
Penny Pinchers didn't show up and Paid Attention finished the first half at 6-2 and two games out of first place

Game 7 - May 15, 2009

Playing a make-up game on a Friday night, Paid Attention was miraculously able to find enough bodies to field a full team and then went out and annihilated the opponent. For the fifth time this season, the dynamic offense was able to build a double digit lead after three or less innings. With the benefit of the odd "home run triple play" in the bottom of the first, Paid Attention was up 7-0 after one inning and never looked back. It was 12-0 entering the bottom of the third and the team would have scored 20 runs in a game for the third time if not for a ridiculous call by the home plate umpire in the top of the fifth that ultimately cost the team not one, but three runs. Using five substitute players, the team righted the ship with a commanding performance, moving to 5-2 with a 19-2 win over Brew Crew.

Game 5 & 6 - May 14, 2009

Once again the team that can't field enough players couldn't field enough players. And the winning streak with only eight players came to an end in the first game of the twinbill. Although the loss had more to do with the disastrous play of the team captain than with the skeleton squad, the team was never able to fully overcome the obstacle and lost 18-11 against RLX Rebels. Paid Attention got as close as 11-10, but couldn't summon the dynamic offense to steal the game.

That offense showed up in the second game when the team was able to field a full complement of fielders. The revived attack was relentless, scoring 11 in the top of the first and nine more with two outs in the second to take a commanding lead over Scared Hitless. It was 23-3 entering the bottom of the third. Then Paid Attention self destructed and turned a rout into an embarassment. A pitching change and fielding re-alignment was just what the opponent needed. In the bottom of the third, without allowing anything more than a single, Paid Attention made nine errors and 13 runs scored. Then for the first time in the game the offense fell asleep, going down 1-2-3 in the top of the fourth. It was 23-16 in the bottom of the final inning. Once again a pitching change was made, and once again relying on nothing but non-descript hits and Paid Attention errors, Scared Hitless rallied for five runs. They had runners on first and second with two outs and the score 23-21. After leading by 20, Paid Attention had allowed the winning run to come to the plate for the other team. Fortunately a first pitch fly ball to right-centerfield was easily handled and Paid Attention avoided one of the worst losses in softball history and a three game losing streak.

Game 4 - April 30, 2009

A disastrous start was compounded by a lousy finish and Paid Attention suffered their first loss in six months. The 14 game winning streak was stopped and Paid Attention dropped out of first place with 17-2 beat down at the hands of Moist Balls.

Game 2 & 3 - April 16, 2009

Playing with a full squad has been the exception for the Paid Attention franchise, not the rule. Tonight the squad fielded a full 10 for each game. With a full field the Paid Attention franchise overwhelmed both opponents in a doubleheader sweep. Leland was off the mark to start the first game and allowed five runs in the top of the first to Laseter's Lushes. After that the defense settled in and only allowed four more runs the rest of the night.

In the bottom of the first Paid Attention posted 13 runs. With 12 more runs in the second, they had a 25-5 lead after two innings. At that point every player had scored at least two runs. The first game ended in the fourth inning 26-7. The second game wasn't much different.

This time the side was retired in order and Paid Attention continued the offensive onslaught. Six first inning runs were followed by seven more in the second and the score was 13-0 at the end of two. CSA - Paid Attention cruised home with another four inning mercy rule victory, 18-2, over Full Throttle.

The offense was once again led by leadoff batter Chris Maust, who scored six runs on the night and Lynette Mullan who reached base seven times, including a triple and a double.

In an unusual anomaly, not one of the 24 outs recorded was on a flyout. No Paid Attention outfielder had a putout in either game. Also, neither opponent recorded an extra base hit. Paid Attention had 20 extra base hits on the night.

Game 1 - April 9, 2009

The Paid Attention crew picked up right where they left off last season. The winning continued, and so did the playing shorthanded. For the first time in nine years, a CSA team played a league game under a different set of rules. Playing by Cobb County Parks & Recreation game rules, CSA - Paid Attention was limited to only eight fielders and batters.

That didn't seem to matter. For the eighth time Paid Attention played with only eight fielders and for the eighth time they won.

The new season started off strong. They blanked Smokin Aces in the top of the first and then stormed out to a lead that they would never relinquish. It was 7-0 at the end of the first inning and even after a mistake opened the door to a five run inning in the top of the third, the issue was never really in doubt. The offense scored six two out runs in the third inning to open up a sizable lead.

Led by leadoff batter Chris Maust who scored four times, every player in the line-up got at least one hit, including four from captain Leland Dombrowsky who had two triples, and three each from Monica Neuert and Christin Chamberlain.

When Kristin Andreano crossed the plate with her third run of the game in the bottom of the fifth, the score was 19-12 and time had expired on Team CSA's first ever win in another organizations league.