One thing to note about the Feeney division is that several Moran teams dropped down a level which makes this division even tougher to win than any previous seasons. Chemist Cocktail Club, the Shamrock Pub, Playwright, Ochoa Brew Crew, and the Big Ballers are now competing in the fourteen-team Feeney division.

Currently on top of the standings is the Chemist Cocktail Club (8-1) and they look to be the team to beat as of this writing. With a .528 team batting average, they are the best hitting team by far. The additions of Stephen Michienzi (.581), Scott Holzwasser (.579), and Matt Devlin (.407) have given this squad a much deeper lineup. On the mound they are getting solid outings from Miles Coe (5-1) and Jack Donius (3-0). However, they have a few difficult challenges ahead (Lincoln, Fat Baby, & Shannon) but their recent dismantling of Shea's Tavern proved that they are the creme of the crop in the Feeney.

Although their record doesn't impress, we have the Ochoa Brew Crew (4-6) as the second title contender. There's a decent chance that they will run the table and finish 9-6 which will put them among the top teams in the division. The arrival of longtime Baller's Jimmy Butler and Jimmy McGrath gives this team more depth in an already potent offense. Glenn Parsons (3-4) and Zach Stromberg (1-2) take care of the mound duties but both are more known for their bat than their pitching prowess. Parsons (.564) has 22 RBI while Stromberg (.686) has scored 20 runs - they are a force...at the plate. This team will slug it out with the best of them but will it be enough to edge out the better defensive teams to take the crown?

After these two teams it gets very difficult to put one in front of the other and it will often change on the results of nightly contests. Instead, we will group them into tiers.

Just under the two teams above is The Spot (6-4). It feels good to give this team their due as they were once a bottom dweller in the standings. This squad has a lot of pop and some serious star power - Matt Greeley (.647) is having a torrid season at the plate, even his outs are crushed. Brothers Joe Provenzano (.676 with 25 runs scored) and Sean Provenzano (.640) are a lethal 1-2 punch at the plate while Thomas Fitzpatrick (.474) is finding his comfort zone and making the plays in the field. Rookie Charlie Rouse (.435) has been a nice addition while Mike Capuzzo (6-3) gives them a steady night's work on the mound. Danny Lynch is the leader of this squad and is just coming back from a very serious injury he suffered in the very first game of the season. Lynch collected 3 hits and 7 RBI in his first game back which must have felt great. Looking ahead, the schedule isn't easy but then again, nothing has come easy for this team.

Shannon Tavern (6-4) has come on strong recently and picked up two impressive 19-18 wins over The Greatest Bar and Ochoa Brew Crew. The fact that they won a slugfest in both contests proves that they can score runs (126) with the best of them. Manager Ray Brewer has taken the reigns from Jake Brawley and was eating up the innings on the mound in the early going. Brewer (2-2, 11.20 ERA) experienced mixed results and it seems he has unselfishly handed the pitching duties over to Paul Chartier (4-2, 6.45 ERA). Regardless of who's on the mound it certainly hasn't effected either player at the plate. Brewer (.500, 6HR, 18 RBI) leads the team in power and Chartier has the second highest batting average (.630). VMT alumni, Sean Moran (.667), is enjoying his first campaign with the squad and is leading all batters with a .667 average. Ian Campbell (.619), Trent Sinatro (.615), Nick Venora (.600), and Ryan McDonald (.464) are also enjoying a fine season at the plate for Shannon. This squad will be in the running come August.

The Greatest Bar (7-3) checks in as the fifth contender which is already a tremendous accomplishment. In 2022 they were 1-15, 4-10 in 2023, 8-8 last season, and now here they are sitting at 7-3 and feeling very good about their chances. Manager Andrew Grinnell has done an excellent job at finding the correct pieces while sticking with the nucleus. Mike Denone (.565), Sean Gatsogiannis (.594), Devin Jensen (.565), and Christian Mackenzie (.500), are all hitting 100+ points above last season's average. The great thing about that is these players have been with the team since its inception. Patrick Silk (.613 21 RBI) and Jon Parsons are both new additions to the squad and are both providing punch at the plate. Silk could be the team's MVP - not a bad addition by Grinnell.

We previously had the Playwright (3-7) as the fifth contender but they just lost another game and might be out of runway room. Unfortunately, their remaining schedule isn't easy either as they will likely have to win four of their five games to qualify. They have talent and have the experience (2021 champs) but for one reason or another, it just hasn't come together for this group. Steve Folan (.643), Henry Mills (.556), Sean Higgins (.483 16 RBI), and Pete Franchi (.484) are leading the charge at the plate but will need more contributions from the others.

Just two weeks ago, Shea's Tavern (5-3) were undefeated and cruising at the top of the standings. However, they have since fallen on tough times and have lost three in a row. Before it corrects itself, that losing streak may extend to six games as they face three really tough opponents (Clock Tavern, Greatest Bar, Telegraph Hill). What they do over their last four games will likely be the key to this team's season. Scoring runs might be their achilles heal as they don't quite have the pop in the lineup to keep up with the higher scoring teams in the division. On the flip side, Ryan Wynns and teammates has two pitchers who keep their opponents in check, Will Murray (3-1, 5.32 ERA) and Tommy Fitzpatrick (2-2, 7.00 ERA) have split the duties on the mound. Avoiding slugfests will play into their strengths but that easier said than done as the Feeney division has quite a few contenders that can score runs. They're an interesting team that could be a dark horse when the playoffs roll around in August.

Originally, we had the Silkworms (3-5) as the eighth contender but then they went out and handed Fat Baby their second loss of the season and for that alone, they have to move up the ladder...but how far? Until they prove otherwise, one win isn't enough to make us believers just yet. They do have a manageable schedule the rest of the way so finishing with a winning record (8-7?) is very possible. For them to get there, manager Austin Fanning will need to continue giving them strong starts (4-3, 6.85 ERA) on the mound. Like some of the other names mentioned above, this pitcher (Fanning) can hit. In fact, he leads the team in batting average (.583) and hits (14). Behind Fanning is a very productive hitting lineup with very little, if any, easy outs. Jared Bacon (.520), Seth Goldfarb (.524), Greg Laubenstein (.476), Connor Whooley (.500), and Kevin Terban (.440) are all enjoying success for the Worms.

The next tier of teams will have to quickly get it going to qualify and even so, will likely be thrown into the single elimination round. They are the Seapoint Slammers, Shamrock Pub, and last year's champion, Roza Lyons.

Seapoint Slammers (4-4) having three key wins (against Roza, Lincoln, & The Spot) on their resume helps their cause but they also have a couple of losses where they weren't very competitive. They score just about as many runs (84) as they give up (81) which should translate to a 7-8 or 8-7 record. Which will it be? Colby Fortin (.643), Billy O'Neill (.625), Patrick King (.591), Ryan Pfeffer (.517), and Mark Lavalley (.440) will need to be the driving force for this team to squeak out the close wins down the stretch and make it into the field of ten playoff teams. Anything can happen once they qualify.

The Shamrock Pub (4-5) squad is very similar to the Slammers as they score just about the same number of runs (110) as they allow (104). Bobby Mastrogiacomo has done a nice job as a first year manager and has put this team in position to make a run. However, with very little room for error they have some work to do to get there. Nic Barrett (.667), Nate Ingalls (.536), James Welch (.632), and Jack Santilli (.500 4HR) lead the way at the plate while rookie Jason Marino (3-4) has done a nice job on the mound.

Roza Lyons (4-5), the defending champs haven't been able to tap into last season's magic so far. A difficult schedule and a three-game losing streak put them in a hole and deep down in the standings but they are digging themselves out as they have now won three in a row. During their rough patch, they brought back veteran pitcher Jim McNiff with hopes of him being able to find his old form. After taking several seasons off, McNiff experienced two rough outings on back-to-back nights that might have been enough to send our friend back into permanent softball retirement (let's hope not). Their offense is led by Mike Cahill (.656 21 hits, 11 RBI) who is among the league's best hitters. Roza has a handful of other run producers including Nick Hicks (.636), Anthony O'Leary (.560), Bob Chmiel (.500), Matt Prokop (.483), and James McNiff (.444). They'll get in but how far will they go in a very crowded field?

The final tier of teams include the L Street Tavern, Local 149ers, and the Big Ballers which will all likely miss the playoffs this season unless something drastic turns around.

L Street Tavern (2-6) might be underachieving a bit here. They have two impressive victories (over Chemist and Roza) this season so they proved that they can beat good teams. Still, their W-L record isn't great, the remaining games will not be chalk wins, and they have the lowest team batting average (.405) in the Feeney division. On a positive note, manager John Walsh does have some pieces here to work with and they will only get better over time. The Cully brothers, Harry (.406) and Kevin (.500) are solid contributors while Mike Nikiciuk (.632) is amongst the league leaders in batting average. For this squad to really turn it around though it must get better at reducing the numbers of runs allowed. Whether that comes in the form of improved fielding, pitching, or a combo of both, wins will follow when the runs allowed drops.

Local 149ers (2-7) this is an all-rookie team that is experiencing the same rough road that many teams take before becoming contenders here in the M Street Softball League. The Greatest Bar and The Spot are two teams that are a perfect example of how things can get turned around over the course of a few seasons. Austin Prendergast is at the controls and will have to take a close look at his roster at season's end. He may have found a pitcher in Mike Pitocchelli (2-3) as he has already won two games but will need to reduce his walks (28) to be effective moving forward. Connor Gill (.640) is their best player and is the leader on this squad in most offensive categories. With some tweaks here and there, the 149ers will be an improved team closing out this season and in the future.

Big Ballers (0-8) used to be a very game worthy opponent but they have undergone a major roster overhaul and haven't hit on many of the new additions. Prior to the start of the season, manager Ryan McGloin was just about to throw in the towel when several free agents became available. The league dropped them down into the Feeney division and McGloin rolled the dice on their abilities with hopes that they could hold their own. In their first eight games played, they have only been competitive in just three of them. They have scored the least amount of runs (58) by far and have given up the second most runs (139) in the league. It hasn't been pretty, folks. On the bright side, Matt Demers (.667, 19 RBI) and Stephen Flynn (.545) have been offensive stars for the Ballers. I'm sure the future of this team will be discussed at season's end but take note, this author pitched a game for them and can tell you they all tried hard, encouraged each other, and were very good softball citizens. It's not always about winning - just being a member of a team and getting out a couple of nights a week to compete can also have its rewards.

For those unsure of the playoff configuration for the Feeney division it will be the following: teams that finish 1-6 will not participate in the elimination round. Teams 7-10 will play a single elimination game (7vs10, 8vs9) with the winners joining the top six teams. Those remaining eight teams will then pair off with the highest seed playing the lowest seed in a best of three quarter final series. The semi-final will be a best of three and the finals will be a best of five series. Lots of softball to be played for the teams that can pull it together and make a deep run in the playoffs. There's no doubt that the team that is left standing will have earned their championship in this very competitive division. Best of luck to all our players and teams.

M Street games are played Monday through Friday starting at 6pm, 730, & 9pm. Grab a cold drink and head to the park to catch the action. Keep swinging!