Hackers Clobber Monkeys

Shortstop Cy Garza Injured in 28-3 loss.

By: JMU, Staff Writer

August 24, 2010

Fullerton, California.

I don’t really want to write this one up. Cy injured his finger on a diving catch at shortstop half way through the game and could not continue. We then had to play 9 in the field against a Hackers team that can hit. The result was not pretty. Not pretty at all. Still, no matter how badly we got beat, it only counts as 1 in the loss column. We can bounce back.

Next Week: Bye. Next Game September 7 at 9:15 pm, Lemon Park. Monkeys at Slumpbusters.

Our Esteemed Mascot - Cooper

Wheelchair Bandits Roll Over Monkeys

Monkeys Suffer 21-5 Defeat In Listless Performance

By: JMU, Staff Writer

August 17, 2010

Fullerton, California.

The Monkeys came into Tuesday night’s game riding the wave of a four game winning streak, brimming with confidence and eager to avenge their opening day loss to the Wheelchair Bandits. They scored four quick runs in the top of the first inning, took the field in the bottom of the first, and then everything fell apart.

“Against a team like that, we don’t have much of a margin for error,” commented Manager John Upton. “We made a couple of key errors in the bottom of the first which lead to a bunch of unearned runs. When we finally recorded the third out in that inning we were just down by seven runs, but tonight, for whatever reason, we seemed to lack the spirit to bounce back.”

Lack of timely hitting resulted in the Monkeys putting runners on base, but failing to score them in the second, third and fourth innings. At times, they seemed on the verge of starting a rally only to have their hopes dashed by a line drive hit right at a defender or a ground ball into a double play. In all, they stranded 8 baserunners over five innings.

The Monkeys defense tightened up in the middle innings, but their lack of offense put the game out of reach, and by the end of 5, the Wheelchair Bandits plated enough runs to mercy the Monkeys.

“I hate to lose like that, but the way we played tonight, we would have had a hard time beating anyone,” said Upton. “ We got a but unlucky with the bats, but we have no excuses for how we played in the field. We need to get better as a team backing each other up on every play, hustling after every ball, and refusing to concede easy runs. We just didn’t execute well on defense, mentally and physically, and though the box score reads just four errors, I feel as if that was one of our poorer defensive efforts of the season.”

Left center fielder Matt Beighley should be back with the team for next week’s game, which will allow the Moneys outfielders to return to their natural positions and hopefully solidify the team’s outfield defense. They will need a strong effort from everyone as next week’s match-up with the second place Hackers carries major playoff implications.

Monkey Notes:

Shortstop Daniel Quinones’s recovery from his dislocated knee is ahead of schedule. Though he remains doubtful for a return this season, Monkeys management hopes to have him back in uniform for the start of the Fall, 2010 campaign.

Next Game: August 24 2010. 8:00 pm, Lemon Park. Hackers at Monkeys.

Wheelchair Bandits Roll Over Monkeys

Monkeys Suffer 21-5 Defeat In Listless Performance

By: JMU, Staff Writer

August 17, 2010

Fullerton, California.

The Monkeys came into Tuesday night’s game riding the wave of a four game winning streak, brimming with confidence and eager to avenge their opening day loss to the Wheelchair Bandits. They scored four quick runs in the top of the first inning, took the field in the bottom of the first, and then everything fell apart.

“Against a team like that, we don’t have much of a margin for error,” commented Manager John Upton. “We made a couple of key errors in the bottom of the first which lead to a bunch of unearned runs. When we finally recorded the third out in that inning we were just down by seven runs, but tonight, for whatever reason, we seemed to lack the spirit to bounce back.”

Lack of timely hitting resulted in the Monkeys putting runners on base, but failing to score them in the second, third and fourth innings. At times, they seemed on the verge of starting a rally only to have their hopes dashed by a line drive hit right at a defender or a ground ball into a double play. In all, they stranded 8 baserunners over five innings.

The Monkeys defense tightened up in the middle innings, but their lack of offense put the game out of reach, and by the end of 5, the Wheelchair Bandits plated enough runs to mercy the Monkeys.

“I hate to lose like that, but the way we played tonight, we would have had a hard time beating anyone,” said Upton. “ We got a but unlucky with the bats, but we have no excuses for how we played in the field. We need to get better as a team backing each other up on every play, hustling after every ball, and refusing to concede easy runs. We just didn’t execute well on defense, mentally and physically, and though the box score reads just four errors, I feel as if that was one of our poorer defensive efforts of the season.”

Left center fielder Matt Beighley should be back with the team for next week’s game, which will allow the Moneys outfielders to return to their natural positions and hopefully solidify the team’s outfield defense. They will need a strong effort from everyone as next week’s match-up with the second place Hackers carries major playoff implications.

Monkey Notes:

Shortstop Daniel Quinones’s recovery from his dislocated knee is ahead of schedule. Though he remains doubtful for a return this season, Monkeys management hopes to have him back in uniform for the start of the Fall, 2010 campaign.

Next Game: August 24 2010. 8:00 pm, Lemon Park. Hackers at Monkeys.

Monkeys Pummel That Team, Win Streak at 4

Flores Hurls 5 Hitter as Monkey Bats Come Alive in 19-3 Victory

By: JMU, Staff Writer

August 10, 2010

Fullerton, California.

The Monkeys came out firing Tuesday Night at Lemon Park, leaving few in attendance in doubt of their playoff intentions, but with many questions as to what their playoff lineup might look like.

In a pattern that developed at the beginning of the season, the Monkeys used their sixth different lineup in as many games. With starter Daniel Quinoes on the injured list and backup Cy Garza out of town, manager John Upton moved left-centerfielder Matt Beighley into the infield vacancy.

“I normally don’t like making moves like that because it I basically have to re-set most of the outfield as well, but by now, with as many roster moves as we’ve made this season, they guys are used to it,” said Upton. With Beighley at shortstop, Upton moved Curtis Brown from right center to left center, started rookie Ryan Dorigan in right center, and utility man Brian Castaneda into right. The re-alignment worked. The Monkeys as a whole looked exceptionally sharp in the filed, with Beighley playing error-free at shortstop and the team committing just two errors all night.

Pitcher Frank Flores kept That Team off balance most of the night, holding them to a mere five singles over seven innings of play. Mixing in a wicked combination of lobs and short balls, Flores surrendered just one earned run, walking none, and striking out one.

Offensively, the Monkeys played an uncharacteristic yet effective game of small ball. Just two of their twenty-one hits went for extra bases (a double and triple by Castaneda), but they managed to plate 19 runs. “I think tonight’s performance at the plate may have surprised a few people,” remarked Upton. “Though we usually rely on the long ball for our runs, tonight we adopted a mostly patient approach at the plate, took our walks, and basically put the ball in play. With speedsters like Ryan Dorigan and Matt Beighley on the base paths all night, we are a tough team to defend against.”

Once again, Frank Flores led the Monkey attack with a 5 for 5 performance. In all, six Monkeys managed multi-hit performance and the team got offensive contributions throughout the lineup.

“If we continue to play like we played tonight, I like our chances against anyone,” said daytime first baseman John Maresca after the game. With league leaders Wheelchair Bandits up next for the Monkeys, the team will face their toughest task of the season.

Monkey Notes:

Shortstop Daniel Quinones’s knee continues to heal on schedule. The Monkeys hope to have him back in uniform for the Fall 2010 campaign.

Next Game: August 17 2010. 6:45 pm, Lemon Park.. Monkeys at Wheelchair Bandits.

** Pictures from the game can be found here. **

Misc Pictures from "That Team" Game 8.10.2010

Monkeys Flatten Yokohamas, Win 3rd Straight

Team Yokohama No Match for Monkeys in 18-5 Drubbing

By: JMU, Staff Writer

August 3, 2010

Fullerton, California.

In the end, the only drama in Tuesday’s game between the Monkeys and Team Yokohama was whether or not the Monkeys would mercy them. The Monkeys, using their fifth different lineup in as many games, jumped out to an early 15-1 lead and cruised the rest of the way to an 18-5 win in seven innings.

“We’ve had our share of injuries and personnel issues this season, so when Daniel Quinones injured his knee late last week, we had to dip into the free agent pool yet again,” stated Monkeys manager John Upton. The Monkeys announced before the game that they had signed Cy Garza to fill in at shortstop until Quinones could return. They also signed catcher Merry Arrogante to a one game contract to back up starter Darren Valen. Garza went 3 for 4 with a grand slam in a sparkling Moneys debut, and Arrogante went one for three, scoring two runs.

Pitcher Frank Flores scattered 10 hits over 7 innings, allowing just one earned run and striking out 6.

Defensively, the Monkeys did not appear as sharp as they had in previous games, but John Upton allowed his players to play a variety of different positions and did not appeared concerned about the performance of the team. “Tonight we had some fun out there,” he remarked after the game. “The Yokohamas have good team spirit and are improving, so we were happy that we were able to give them seven innings of competitive softball.”

Brian Castaneda led the way offensively for the Monkeys with a four-for-four performance. Frank Flores contributed three hits and picked up another five rbi’s. Catcher Darren Valen, who has been working hard in the batting cages, broke out his hitting slump with a sharp single up the middle.

Monkey Notes:

The team announced that it placed shortstop Daniel Quinones on the 30 day disabled list effective July 30. Quinones had dislocated his kneecap in a co-ed game. The kneecap was popped back into place the next day and he is expected to make a full recovery.

Pitcher Frank Flores leads the league in fielding and slugging percentage. He is also in the top 10 in batting average, home runs, and rbi’s. The only other Monkey on the leader board is left center fielder Matthew Beighley (10^th in average, 7th in slugging).

Next Game: August 10 2010. 6:45 pm, Lemon Park.. Monkeys at That Team.