Mercifully, The Season Ends, 8-8-2

The thud hear round Eagan, was that 3-run walk-off homer that lifted the surging 6-10 Celts to a 15-13 win over the 8-8-2 Norms.

"That game was a microcosm of our entire season, we started out hot, then cooled off then laid a big fat donkey crap egg on our new cleats to end the season," commented a disgruntled 16-year Norm's veteran named Mookie, "Thunk. Peace Out, I am outta here."

It was the 3rd win in a row for the Celts, a team clearly on the rise.

"I like that team, they are pretty cool, their manager is named Mike (I think) and he told me after the game that it was the first homer they had hit all season, or maybe the first homer for that particular player or something."

The 2006 season for the Norms started with high hopes, signing a mix of World Champion veterans and young players from last year's 8-10 squad. A quick 5-0-1 start to the season proved to be fools gold as the once-proud franchise bogged down the stretch, going 3-8-1 to finish at .500.

"On paper our roster was solid, but paper don't win titles," stated Norms Manager Brent Anderson, "We must have had at least 30 guys shuffle in and out of line-up each week. It was confusing, mind boggling and frustrating, and the team played that way all season."

Headlines and Highlights for this year's team included:
Outfielder Derek Willis signed by the Saints, TJ's Norms Debute and clear Rookie of the Year Award, The Controversial Ump with a Napoleon Complex, MVP: Kelly Knudsen? The Lack of a Consistent Roster, The Complete and All-Out Bail-Out of Any Norm who had Ever won a Previous Title (SANS Mookie), Not Enough Interest/Spirit for a Fall Ball Squad, Smack talk, no back talk to answer for tower buzzes.

Recruiting forcecast for next year

Plain and simple, the Norms are looking for good players, who are willing to commit 1-2 hours a week to win some games. There is a core of players from this year's team who will be begged to return, and many prospects will be contacted from other organizations. This team is no longer a QWEST or West Pub team, it is an open team. There will be a sponsor, there will be monetary committment, and the goal will be to put a team together that can win a simple D League Open title, and maybe qualify for state by placing high at districts.

TJ, Kelly and Nellie have been offered full tenders, and their agents are consdidering the offers. Already under contract are Brent, Donny, Mookie, Jeffy J, Aaron Wright, and Bootie. The rest of the roster is up in the air right now. Donny has some guys who will be invited to camp next spring, and TJ might have some contacts, but he might be back in school, and looking to play some woodbat baseball, so his status is clearly up in the air. Quite frankly, We don't know who, from this year is interested in returning?. For those who think competition is fun, and would like to give it a shot, the first thing to do is let us know:

WANTED SOFTBALL PLAYERS

Beer Drinkers, hell raisers are welcome, but the bottom line, is that you gotta wanna win, and you gotta be willing to play hard.

Fill out the Prospective Norm Application.

Norms Championship Lineage Strikes YET Again!

The Norms struggled down the stretch this year, but 2 of it's minor league affiliates have hit gold in the playoffs. Earlier we noted that the Farmington 10AA squad, coached by Mike Eckert won their state title, now we are learning that teams with other former/current Norms involved are winning little league titles too.

A 13-14 year old travel squad from Lakeville, MN who list Marcus "Mookie" Anderson as one of their assistant coaches and head of communications won the South Metro Baseball League Championship. The squad will appear on the field at the Metrodome in August. From the Lakeville NoSox Website:

"Big win in a contentious championship game where the opposing parents and coaches were hot... One of their players was ejected... and one Inver Grove mom just about got tossed from the field. The NoSox players just seemed to enjoy all the commotion and played better and better.

Inver Grove scored 2 runs on us in the top of the first, and were very aggressive on the bases. Our crowd was quiet and clearly worried as we came off the field, as they could see that the Inver Grove pitcher was throwing smoke. Our guys rose to the challenge and hit him hard including a key triple by Erik and we doubled their runs and came off with a 4-2 lead. We never surrendered that lead, and every time they scored in the top, we scored double in the bottom except for the fourth. Our pitcher-catcher dynamic duo dug deep, with NoSox quality defense behind them, and blanked them in the 5th, 6th, and 7th, while facing the heart of their order in the 6th and 7th. In all, the Hanson battery racked up 9 Ks. In the bottom of the sixth, aggressive base running and a triple by Kyle added two insurance runs which held to beat them 10-5, and the NoSox earned the title of Champions."

Speaking of Inver Grove, Normsofball.com recently heard that Hall of Fame 2B Keith Willaert is coaching both his daughters travelling softball league teams. With a state AAU basketball Championship already under his belt, Keith is now closing in on some girl's fast pitch titles. His youngest daughter Jen, is playing on a team with a good shot of winning the state title in a few weekends, and Brittany's squad recently just fell short of that goal.

If you know of other team or individual athletic success from former Norm's players, pelase contact our alumni@normsoftball.com e-mail.

St. Paul Saint's Derek Willis Rumored to Appear Tonight

It has been reported to Normsoftball.com that former Norm and current St. Paul Saint, Derek Willis, may return to the ball park tonight to visit some of his old teammates in D League softball.

What Derek Has Been Doing Lately for the Saints

Hey Norms, soon we all have to get on Saints bandwagon and go see what our former outfielder, Derek Willis, has been up to this summer. I did a search for the kid on the Saints website, and this is what showed up.

07/05/2006- COMEBACK FALLS SHORT AT SC

06/20/2006- EXTRA INNING MISERY IN ST. JOE

06/13/2006- HEROES APLENTY IN 8-2 WIN

06/12/2006-NOT EVERY CAR IN THAT ERA RAN WELL