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Fresh off the most lopsided finals defeat in TBL history, the boys from Birchcliff are back for 2018. First and foremost they will be looking to improve on last years regular season. The loss of the team’s MVP from 2016 certainly forecasted a very different looking team but 4 wins was still a big disappointment. The grizzled vets in both age in TBL tenure managed to pull it all together come September and it was an unexpected run to the finals that came up short. So, whats the plan for 2018?

 The team will be managed by Rob Scotland who took over duties during last season and Jeremy Parry, Mike Wesson and Art Stoner will return. In addition to the current roster, Scotland has been scouring all available sources to procure talent both old and new. For upgrades? No, not really.

 

The attendance and health was one of the bigger factors in 2017’s poor regular season so the squad needs another arm or two for depth and perhaps another bat, for the inevitable slugfests that will ensue.

 

 The Bears have signed estranged TBL veteran and former slugger of the year Nick Wadden to a 100% guaranteed 2-way contract. He is expected to be an emergency player but if he catches on with the big club out of spring he could shake the rust and be a strong addition.

                     Nick Wadden will look to emerge from the shadows of Burby this year.

 

 The Birchcliff beat writers have been spreading rumors of the Bears running an actual rotation this year to keep everyone fresh but Rob Scotland did not return any calls requesting comment on the matter. Former manager Parry did however return a text asking for comment on the upcoming season and it simply read “Get hype boy!”

Rob Scotland

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 BEARS ARE READY

 

What can we expect from Birchcliff in 2016? The first word that comes to mind is change; Rob “The Mad Bomber” Scotland is back in the fold as well as TBL newcomer Shawn Leah and the boys are looking to right the ship after a tumultuous 2015. Art Stoner is hungry and chomping at the bit, looking to continue his torrid pace from seasons’ end and he is going to have to with reliable lead off hitter and table setter Jason Darby potentially on the shelf for the season. Look for Mike Wesson to continue his mastery of hitters and after enduring the “Golombek curse” at the plate, he is now free of expectations and living Footloose and fancy free. Finally, fresh off his training mission to Florida where he took extra BP into the wee hours of the morning. Looking for THAT stroke…the Big Easy. Is a title in their future? That’s what the magic 8 ball said so you can take it to the bank!

 

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Despite the fact they lost the full time duties of Rob Scotland there is a renewed sense of promise for this team due to their All-Star aquisition of Mike Wesson. This team needed a bat and that's exactly what they got. Birch Cliff always had the best pitching staff with Scott Baker and Art Stoner and now the addition of the 2013 MVP of the World Championship of Fastball will solidify that roster.

                             
                                           Wesson played Leaside Sr. Baseball back in 1999

 

Jeremy Parry will surely get back to his 2012 MVP ways and Jason Darby will continue his superb hitting performance of last year. Birch Cliff are on cloud 9 before the season has even started! Manager Jason Darby has summed up his feelings on the team through a poignant poem.........
 
The winter wind is a bruin
Storming the field for blood
With a venomous stare, try if you dare
They'll take you down with a thud
Their arms are quite terrifying
Their bats can come through in a pinch
The memory won't die in the blink of an eye
They missed by barely an inch
They have a renewed hunger
And Wesson has joined this pack
They'll win this chase, no matter who they face
Yes they're taking their title back
The autumn wing comes from Birchcliff
With the ferocity of a Bear
They will move to the head of the table
And assume their rightful chair
 
Jason Darby  

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Bears dig their claws into the Masons

SCOTLAND YARD - Malik can only watch as Rob Scotland sealed the game with a homerun.

The Bears and Masons got together on a bright, sunny and extremely windy Sunday afternoon. The Bears were low-key about it but it was clear GM Jeremy Parry wanted some payback for the Masons ousting the Bears in round 1 last year.

 North York sent Tim Loat to the hill and he was greeted with the full 6 man lineup for Birchcliff. Early on, Loat was doing all the right things...mixing speeds, throwing tons of strikes and keeping hitters guessing. It didn't take long for the Bears to solve the puzzle as they stormed out to a 5-0 lead mostly on the strength of back to back to back triples from Scotland, Parry and Stoner.

Scott Baker got the nod for the Bears and was very sharp throwing 3 scoreless frames to begin the game. Art Stoner was not feeling well to say the least so Jason Darby came in to the game and the Masons pounced. Darby was doing what you should with a 5-0 lead, throwing strikes and letting the stellar outfield of Lindsay and Scotland do it's thing but Muzafar Malik took them out of the picture. The Moose stepped up with 2 men on and hit a deep flyball that off the bat seemed playable but just kept going, going and it was GONE. All of a sudden the once comfy lead was a 5-3 game.

 

After another run scored and a deep drive banged off the small trees then the fence for a triple, Stoner was forced to come in and face one batter to escape trouble, and he recorded a strikeout. Baker would come back into the game nursing a 1 run lead and pitch a clean top 6th, things still didn't feel quite safe given the wild windy conditions. Joshua Shepard entered in relief and Darby would notch one of his 4 hits on the day followed by a 2 run shot to center by Scotland to bump the lead to 7-4 and Baker brought it home in the 7th.  Great game all around both teams pitched better then the score would indicate but it was just one of those days. Final 7-4 Bears and a small measure of revenge.

Notes

Muzafar Malik's HR was the first of his career
Rob Scotland hit for his 1st career cycle.
Joshua Shepard's sliding catch was one of 3 "Top Plays" on the day.

On Deck

North York will host Leaside @ Earl Haig

Birchcliff will make the short trip to Oakridge to battle Don Valley

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Birch Cliff Bears 2013 Season Preview

 

They said it in last year’s preview and they did it, now they have to defend it. The Bears are looking hungry this year as despite some early season struggles last season, they were able to climb to the top of the mountain in the TBL .

 

There are no major acquisitions as there were last year, so the Bears enter this year as a known entity with targets on their backs; can they handle being THAT team? Only time will tell.

Art Stoner will look to improve upon his stellar year on the mound last season while Jeremy Parry’s big bat and Paul Lindsay’s & Scott Baker’s stellar defense will certainly push the Bears towards the top of the pack. The wildcard is Jay Darby, who had a rough year at the plate and on the hill, but was able to return to form in the playoffs. Can he continue on that path or will the inconsistency return? If the Playoff Bears show up, the other TBLers are in for a tough ride to say the least.

Birch Cliff's Jason Darby is looking to be more consistent in 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Cloudy? Check. Chilly? Check. Swirling winds? Check! Sounds like the perfect setting for the TBL Championship game. The 1st place Leslieville Brickies and the Birchcliff Bears were squaring off at the hallowed grounds of Earl Haig in a one game, winner takes all showdown for the right to drink from the Burby Cup. You could see that both teams were ready and that this was going to be a tight game featuring two stifling pitching staffs (the teams had given up 1 run between them in the playoffs!).

 

Jeff Snow took the mound for the Brickies and despite a 1 out hit from Jason Darby, shut the Bears down. In the bottom of the first Darby yielded a lead off 4 pitch walk to Darren Osbourne, but settled down, striking out Snow and Rocky Parejo. The two exchanged scoreless 2nd innings with the help of great defense from Osbourne, Parejo, Paul Lindsay and Scott Baker. Rocky came on and pitch a solid third for the Brickies and in a surprise move Darby stayed in the game despite having one of the favourites for Pitcher of Year, Art Stoner waiting for his shot at the Brickies.

 

The scoreless tie continued as we entered the bottom if the 5th when Leslieville's Adrian Golombek, drew a key lead off walk and Osbourne singled knocking Darby out of the game. Stoner took the mound and Snow pounced on his first pitch for a hard single, but Stoner struck out Rocky on a high heater, setting the scene for Golombek, who hit a scorcher between the two Bears. As has been the case all year, Paul Lindsay came out of nowhere to make the tough grab and preserve the tie. 

 

In the 6th, Darby and Stoner drew back to back walks setting the stage for the X Factor, Jeremy Parry. Leslieville responded with a pitching change bringing Snow back in to shut it down. Unlike the regular season however, Snow left one over the plate and Parry jumped on it, knocking a double over the right field porch to give Birchcliff a 1-0 lead.  Stoner took over and put an end to the season with two quick innings, and that was that. The winners and new champions, the Birchcliff Bears!

 

Hats off to Leslieville for a great season and a tough final game. It could have gone either way, but winning close and late is always the Birchcliff way. Congrats to everyone for making this a tremendous season and judging by how many guys stuck around for hours after the game, playing, drinking beers and hanging out, the TBL has taken that next step.

 

Every one of us owes Adrian a big thank you for bringing it all together. Hope everyone has a great winter and we look forward to wearing the target on our backs as we try to defend the Burby Cup.  

 

rd time at the Haig…Age vs. youth, East vs. more East, kind of like Rocky IV, minus the cold war, severe beat down and Carl Weathers.

 

In the top of the 1^st, Darby and Stoner drew walks off  EY starter Rob Scotland and slugger Jeremy Parry promptly knocked an RBI double to stake the Bears to a 1-0 lead before Kevin Leach came on to shut down the rally. Bears starter Jason Darby quietly shut down East York in the bottom of the first with some well spotted pitches and a quick glove.

 

In the 5^th it looked like East York started their comeback with back to back doubles by Scotland and Wadden to cut the lead to 2-1. After recording his 10^th out of the game Leach yielded back to Scotland who made the decision to walk the hot hitting Parry to face the struggling Paul Lindsay, only to have Lindsay’s bat wake up with a solid RBI single to increase the Bears lead to 3-1. Just to show it wasn’t a lucky swing, Lindsay took Scotland out of the yard in the 7^th to put the nail in EY’s coffin, increasing the lead to 5-1.

 

Hats off to East York as anyone will tell you beating a team 3 times is next to impossible and they nearly pulled it out. This crew has a lot to look forward to next year as with each year they creep closer to the prize. For the Bears it is the rubber match with Leslieville as each team owns a victory over the other in the regular season. The Bears are firing on all cylinders (finally) so it should be an epic tilt for the Burby Cup, next Saturday at the Haig…2PM,

 

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Birch Cliff Moves Back to 500

 

 

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It was a muddy and foggy Saturday morning as The Bears and Brickies descended upon Earl Haig, and both teams came out swinging. Unfortunately for both crews, solid pitching and great defense were the order of the day. The Bears Jason Darby kept Leslieville hitters off balance all morning as Birchliff jumped out to a 1-0 lead after four. Adrian Golombek's acrobatic heroics in the outfield kept the Bears off the board time and time again and Mark Kennedy employed the bend but don't break pitching style through his four innings. Birchcliff was not silent forever though, jumping on Golombek for 3 runs in the 5th inning to stretch the lead to 4-0. That was short lived as "King" Kennedy pounced on a mistake by Paul Lindsay to drive one over the fence into the street to bring the Brickies to within 1 heading to the 7th. In the final frame Lindsay shut the door with a backdoor curveball that caught "The Grinder" looking to end the tight matchup. Bears win 4-3! Birchcliff will travel west next to face Dufferin, while Leslieville will tango with North York.

--Jason Darby

 

 

BATTING

#	PLAYER	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	AVG	SLG
11	Jeremy	6	34	15	7	4	0	3	9	.441	882
34	Chris	1	5	3	1	1	0	3	0	.600	1,200
35	Jason	7	51	21	3	4	7	17	8	.412	1,039
19	A.J.	5	25	3	0	0	1	5	5	.120	240
3	Paul	6	41	16	1	3	5	16	11	.390	927
	TOTALS	7	156	58	12	12	13	44	33	.372	.853

 

PITCHING

PLAYER	G	GS	W	L	SV	IP	K	BB	HR	ER	ERA
Jeremy	0
Chris	0
Jason	7	1	2	1	0	31.5	37	17	0	7	1.56
A.J.	1		0	0	0	2	3	8	0	5	17.50
Paul	6	1	1	3	1	19	21	16	3	22	8.11
TOTALS			3	4	1	52.5	61	41	3	34	4.53