Stallions go down fighting in game 2.

First it was ugly on the diamond, then it got ugly in the dugout. The Stallions jumped out to a 2-0 lead after two innings before starter Michael Haas started laboring. He had trouble getting it over the plate, which eventually lead to a grand slam that put Farmington up 8-2. He was relieved by third baseman Michael Anderson, who only gave up five more runs in the next six innings. Haas's step backward was disappointing considering his past success against the Los Lobos.

"Not to make any excuses, but I couldn't feel my fingers. The mound was muddy and low. I don't think it was regulation. The ump was squeezing me," said Haas. "The ball hadn't been mudded up and I couldn't grip it well enough to throw my good breaking ball. My defense didn't do me any favors. And everyone knows that the universe doesn't let me pitch well on dates whose numbers add up to seven or five."

The ugliness extended to the dugout, where brothers Colin and Michael Anderson caused an AnderScene. The argument devolved into a shoving match, which was only broken up because their Mom and Dad stepped in. The rest of the Stallions were pretty bummed about the rift, but the other team thought it was hilarious.

"Yeah, that was ridiculous," said shortstop Andy Bresnahan.

Another AnderScene occurred when Colin slid into third, and his brother Michael came out to argue with his dad Marty, the umpire. No one knows what happened because it was too stupid to watch.

Despite the unhappiness, the Stallions battled back to make the game 8-7 in the 6th inning. They played relatively well in the field, not letting mistakes snowball or the swirling winds effect their game. They were also happy to move around defensively, giving players an opportunity to showcase their skills from unfamiliar parts of the field.

Overall, it was an unsatisfying game. The fight in the dugout and bad umpiring marred an otherwise honest effort. Still, the notoriously slow-starting Stallions are playing better baseball than their previous two April's, and look to be a tough team in July.

New look Stallions start season with loss.

The Stallions officially began their third season on April 17th with a loss to some team from Lakeville. The uniforms aren't the only thing about the squad that have changed for this season; there's been a lot of turnover in the player department as well. Just like everything else in the league, nothing is certain, so we can only speculate as to the losses and acquisitions for this season:

Retired:
Paul DeLong, 2b, RF.

Doing the Brett Favre dance:
Tim Taggart, SS, P (possible shoulder surgery, more info to come)
Nate Folcik, 2b, 1b (on the Disabled List, scheduled to come off on Sunday, April 25th)
Adam Lunemann, P, C (suffering from dead arm, scheduled for MRI on Friday, April 23rd)

Hasn't been to a game, but rumored to return:
Neil Klinger, OF
Mark Waters, 2b
Adam Morris, OF
Al Johnson, P

Returning:
Michael Anderson SS, P
Colin Anderson, OF, C
Michael Haas, P, 2b
Jake Rezac, 3b
Ben Hamborg, 1b
Josh Holm, P, OF
Kyle Fredrickson, P, OF
Marty Anderson, OF, C

New Faces:
Luke Neuville, C, OF

The hometown nine had just seven players show up for the season opener, forcing spectator Mara Appel DesLauriers and some random guy from the other team to fill in. With the depleted roster, the boys in blue were easily defeated. Josh Holm pitched admirably but was relieved by Michael Anderson at some point. Despite the loss and unsettled roster, the Stallions insist that they're still on track for a successful 2010 campaign.

"We always start slow. We don't have spring training, so many of us haven't even touched a baseball since last September," explained Anderson. "We'll settle into our positions and remember how to field. We know what we have to do to win. And the other teams aren't any good anyway."

Expectations are indeed high for the team that was eliminated in the league semi-final last year in heartbreaking fashion. However, the intensity of the series may have caused irreparable damage to some players bodies and the entire spirit of the organization. Besides injuries to pitchers Taggart and Lunemann, the unsatisfying end to last years season isn't sitting well with some players.

"The playoff series was great, but I think we were in a little over our heads. We like to have fun, and sometimes playing super intense baseball isn't fun; especially if you lose while making dumb mistakes," said Michael Haas. "For some guys, it's like, if we're going to get serious and win, we need to learn how to do things the right way, like a real team. If not, let's just have fun."

Manager Michael Anderson understands the feelings of his players. During the Stallions exhibition game, he announced to the dugout that, "we're just going to have fun this season." And he promised not to argue with umpires all the time, kick dirt, or toss his helmet.

Uniforms and everything

"Yup, we've got uniforms and everything. It's really great!"
- Jake Taylor, Major League

With no formal baseball training, and a severe hangover handicap, the Stallions still manage to trot out a determined, joyful team every Sunday afternoon. They're participating in something purely American: playing baseball on green grass under a blue sky - not for money or personal accolades, but for the love of the game. The members of this team are part of a growing number of twenty-something athletes who are rediscovering their love of baseball, while rejecting the idea of softball all together. "It seems like most guys our age just drink beer and play softball. I think if you're able to play hardball, you should," explains pitcher Mark Waters. The Stallions evolved from very informal sandlot games to a raggedy gang of rejects playing in the only organization that would accept them - the Northfield Latino Baseball League.

While the participants insist this is a far better option than beer-league softball, this form of baseball is not without it's faults. When the Stallions recently lost a game on a dropped (very) foul pop, it illustrated two problems that plague the NLBL - umpiring and facilities. First, the green diamonds on which the teams compete are often less than adequate. Two hours before the game, manager Michael Anderson can be found at the local grocery store buying chalk for the baselines: a bag of flour, which apparently is also a great alternative to diamond-dry. On his way to meet the rest of the team, he'll stop, begrudgingly, at a softball field. Throwing the softball bases into his truck, Anderson quips, "I had two stolen bases before the game even started."

Forever in the shadow of softball, the Stallions once had to play on an old softball field. With a sandy mound, an all skin infield and questionable dimensions, the Albert Lea field is far and away provides the worst facilities in the league. The infield was forced to play in all afternoon, because there was a lip where the dirt turned to grass, about 95 feet from home plate. The dandelions flew that day, but alas, the Stallions lost.

Then there are the umpires. The umpires in the NLBL aren't umpires until someone yells at them, "hey, wanna ump?" It is a rare occasion when the ump knows all the rules of the game. Of course, there is always a language barrier, as illustrated by right-fielder Kyle Fredrickson's mistaken belief that 'tiempo' meant 'strike'. Manager Anderson, who is particularly disgusted with the performance of the umpires, issued the following statement: "Hey look it's big foot. Or wait, it's the Loch Ness monster. Oh wait, it's a good ump in the Mexican League."

From the Majors to the NLBL, there are a set of unwritten rules and codes of conduct. They are enforced only by saying this magical phrase: "That's Bush League." This code of conduct is somewhat more flexible for the Stallions, for when a teammate does something deemed "bush" and is called out, he simply retorts, "This is the Bush League!"

Indeed, it is the Bush League, but it's better than softball.