Mojo KickBlog

Mojo Kickball XIX - Summary

info — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 22:14:16 +0000

Well it was going to be a good game. Thanks a lot to the new people who came out.

Unfortunately we were only able to play half a game. Let’s get there at 1pm folks and play more Mojo next time.

Scores:

Purple - “the Red Team” - 9
White - “Passion of the the Tidy Whities” - 5
* Green - Spring Green” - 12
Congrats green team. But next time look out. The other teams will have plenty of time to beat that score.

eric

Player’s perspective Part 1

andrea — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 22:50:42 +0000

We just finished Mojo Kickball 18. It was a super-fun game. We only had enough for 2 teams and just a few new people, so the game moved really quickly. I was glad to be back in the saddle after several games of reffing.

The main thing I noticed today was how well our team did when we were all focusing on the same concept. For example, when we were on offense, we decided to focus on using the chasers to run the runners all the way around the bases. An obvious concept to anyone who’s played the game, but sometimes its not well executed. Once we got on the same page with each other, we were able to score consistently and to flush out balls. Mojo’s like improv in that sense; there is so much to think about that if you try to do everything all at once, you tend to do worse. Better to work one skill set and then build on that next time you play.

I can’t wait for leagues when we can build upon our strategies from week to week.

Mojo KickBall XVII - “March Mojo Madness” - Summary

info — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 02:59:51 +0000

Well done! Mojo is coming back full strength! And we had our first tie-breaker.
Here are the final scores for the game.

The Violators - 18 (12,6)
Partially Hydrogentated - 20 (6,14)
Mighty Green Giants - 9 (1,8)
Well done teams.

Mojo Kickball XVI - “Mojo is Love” Summary

info — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 20:54:51 +0000

I need to remember not to put in these sappy titles. There was a surprisingly low turnout, which means we had a helluva workout. We played a game and a half. The first game was a pretty bad shutdown 17-16, with the second team scoring all their points in just one quarter. But the next half game was time for revenge, and our team wound up scoring 18 runs in one quarter! Hows that for pulling it out?!

Despite a sprained thumb, we’re on for a new game this next coming weekend. It’s gonna be beautiful so I am expecting a much bigger turnout.

See you there!

Mojo Kickball is on Myspace!

info — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 20:50:10 +0000

Oh yes. We caved. We caved. Evil evil myspace now has a mojo kickball presence. Everyone kept telling me that I needed to do it and so I did. But I’m not doing much with it at the moment. Presently, the very beautiful and very talented Andrea Young will be maintaining it.

Anyway, if you want to see this thing. Check out http://myspace.com/mojokickball

Mojo Kickball XV - “Long Time, No Mojo” Summary

info — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 00:01:03 +0000

Man! Its good to be back!

Despite a mixup in scheduling at the new fields at the Lorraine Camacho activity center, everything seemed to work out in the end and we were back and playing like we hadn’t had a break at all.

Way to go guys
“Shades” (White) - 19
Red - 18

Mojo Kickball XIV - “Ho! Ho! Mojo!” : Summary

info — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 02:42:31 +0000

What a great game! We were a little low on experienced players but our semi-experienced players stepped up and took charge., Congrats to all the new people. Hope to see you next time.

Anyway, here are the stats.

Bronchial Spasms (Red) : 22 [8,14]

T-Rex’s (White) 24 [17,7]

Evergreen (Green) 31 [15,16]

Lessons Learned:

Kickers: Look for holes to kick toward, especially when the fielders aren’t looking.

Pitchers - Get into the habit of Pitching as soon as your runner makes it to Second.

Runners - Run aggressively. Getting out is not bad as long as a ball becomes “dead” in the process. Taunt and lure Fielders with balls away from other Runners. Run BACK along the bases and NEVER toward someone with the ball if you don’t have a Chaser. But don’t be afraid to run with one Chaser.
Fielders - Form up into 3 or 4 person squads. Concentrate just on each other and not on the rest of the game.

REF NOTE: Ref = Field

ajitdsa — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 06:47:39 +0000

This doesn’t come into play often, but it should be noted that the ref is generally considered part of the field, especially in regards to a ball that hits a referee. So what impact does this have on the game?

If the ref is in the field of play and is hit with a kicked ball, then the ball is fair, even if it subsequently rolls foul. However, if the referee is in a foul area, and is hit with a kicked ball, the ball is foul, even if it subsequently rolls fair.

Similar rules apply for fielded balls. If a ball thrown by a fielder hits the ref and then hits the ground, it becomes a dead ball. But if it hits the ref and then is caught by a fielder, it remains fair. If a thrown ball hits a referee and then subsequently hits a runner, the runner is out.
It’s sad that I have to address the next paragraph, but I know how some of you think: Don’t get any ideas of using a referee to your strategic advantage by trying to ricochet a ball off him or her, as that then falls under the jurisdiction of General Jackassery, and will incur appropriate penalties.

REF NOTE: General Jackassery Causes Major Problems, Lieutenant

ajitdsa — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 06:47:25 +0000

One of the items discussed between referees is that of attempting to blatantly and unnessarily distract players or referees from their MojoKickball playing experience or duties. We’ve decided to refer to this as “general jackassery”, and we’ve decided that it will result in penalty.

General jackassery includes, but is not limited to, taunting a pitcher or kicker, making “boogety boogety” type noises in order to distract a fielder or runner, standing within a baseline without a ball in order to mess with a runner.

The basic rule of thumb is that general jackassery is a blatant attempt on a player’s part which includes interference of some sort. The general penalty will be a sit down, although a severe cases that border on or encompass poor sportsmanship may end up in a card or ejection.

REF NOTE: The Baseline and Runner Options

ajitdsa — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 06:20:42 +0000

Recently there was a baseline situation that came up in a game, so I thought I would take a minute to address the entire baseline situation in MojoKickball.

The runner must run within the baseline in order to maintain their “safe” status. The baseline is about a 3 or 4 foot wide strip of real estate that connects two consecutive bases.
If a runner voluntarily runs out of the baseline, then they are out.
The runner can only voluntarily run out of the baseline after kicking a fair ball.

Where it starts to get gray is when there is a lot of activity surrounding a runner. Chasers are trying to protect, fielders have or are throwing balls at the runner, and new balls are being kicked into the vicinity. It is very easy to become slightly discombobulated and run outside the baseline. So what is the rule here?

Basically, the responsibility of staying within the baseline is up to the runner. The only exception is when there is a member of the opposite team without a ball occupying that space. In that event, the runner can go around this fielder and continue within the baseline on the other side. Depending on the situation, the fielder may also incur a sit-down penalty.

So if runners are confined to such a strict area, what options are they presented with? After kicking a fair ball, a runner can travel via the baselines at any pace they would like. And any base is safe, including home plate. Therefore, kicking the ball, and waiting on home plate is a viable strategy. Also, runners can move bidirectionally along the baseline, meaning that they can run forward and backward along the baseline.

The final note is that the only person who can make a baseline call is a referee, based on what they see, and how important the baseline rule is within the context of the current play. Since the baseline is a gray area, varying referee styles may produce slightly different results (kinda like a strike zone in baseball.)