If the weather forecast were correct, the Evergreen Park Diamondbacks would have been looking at a rain out for opening day, and the only fan in the stands would have been left packing. Instead, the clouds provided the Windy City Devils with little cover from the Diamondback pitching staff.

With 10 minutes before the start of the game, the Diamondbacks shuffled their lineup around like a willow tree blowing in the wind – with a makeshift defense that resembled rejected roadies from a Winger concert. Several key players from the team had thought the game would be rained out and failed to make the trip, while another was missing in action after attending prom night with a (apparent) minor.

Despite the challenges and missing equipment, the Diamondbacks managed to field a team of nine players to take on the Windy City Devils.

Game One opened with veteran RHP Ed Sochacki taking the mound for the Diamondbacks, pitching a strong 3.1 innings with 6 K’s without allowing an earned run. He exited in the 4th inning, trailing 3-2, yielding to Nate (we don’t have his last name just yet), who was noticeably beefier coming into this season from his rookie season with the D-Backs in 2008. Nate picked up the win when the Diamondbacks rallied, scoring 4 runs over the last three innings. The Devils didn’t go quietly though and made a comeback in the bottom of the 7th, but fell short by a run. The Diamondbacks won, 7-6.

Fresh off the heels of their victory in the first game, Don Mycek took the hill in Game 2. Picking of where he left off at the end of last season, Mycek made short work of the first three Devils hitters, retiring them on back-to-back strikeouts and a fly-out.

The Diamondbacks came to the plate for their first at-bats in Game 2, but had to wait 13 pitches, and four batters later to see their first hittable pitch of the inning. After plating three runs in the first, the Diamondbacks added another four runs in the second inning.

Matt Flavin came on in the 5th inning in relief of Mycek and did an exceptional job, closing out the game.

The Devils threatened several times throughout the course of the game and managed to score five runs of their own, but ultimately came up short, losing the second game, 7-5.

The sweep by the Diamondbacks on opening day is their first since 2006, and should pave the way to another winning season. Reinforcements should arrive next week for the D-Backs as Thad Sochacki will make his comeback after season-ending surgery on his ACL, and Eddie Milas doesn’t have a prom to attend. Also expected back are Ronnie “Boo-boo” Coleman and Luis Ramirez, both of which now possess manager Senese’s cell phone number and can call in to verify their availability for the games.

Evergreen Park Diamondback veteran pitcher Ed Sochacki was looking forward to reporting to the team’s Spring Training facilities at the beginning of March but rather than heading south, he’s heading north two weeks earlier to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota for a comprehensive health evaluation.

Sochacki cut his 2009 baseball season short, foregoing Lombard’s Fall Ball league due to an undisclosed medical ailment that had been ailing him since September 2008, despite going 8-0 with a 2.43 ERA over 11 appearances with the D-Backs last summer.

According to team sources who asked to be unnamed, Sochacki’s announcement of his four-day trip comes at a surprise and at an interesting time in the franchise’s history as their core group of players are aging/retiring and there’s little progress in signing younger talent because of the team’s financial situation. Sochacki said that on numerous occasions, his agent attempted to contact manager Sergio Senese to apprise him of the situation, but that none of the calls were returned. Said Sochacki “if (Senese) cares about my status, he can pick up the phone and call me, or my agent. He has the number.”

This situation isn’t the first time something like this has been seen on Chicago’s southside. In 2005, after spending eight seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Maggilo Ordóñez signed with the Detroit Tigers after the Sox were unable to reach his agent for a report on the extent of a knee injury suffered when colliding with infielder Willie Harris.

Former Diamondback manager Joe Cipolla weighed in on the situation from his home in Lombard. Said Cipolla, “If Senese remembers history correctly, he might want to contact his player, or risk losing him to free agency. Maybe he should ask Ozzie Guillen if he regrets any of his decisions in ’04,” he said.

According to several Diamondback players, the relationship between Sochacki and Senese could be described as “tepid” at best. The two exchanged words via their respective websites last year; Sochacki authoring the now-famous video “Argentina Not Crying for Senese” (in response to Senese’s tyraid against his players last June), Senese rebutting (July ’09) by removing Sochacki’s 2008 pitching stats from the team’s website – in addition to removing the link to TomJalana.com, and finally this past fall, with Sochacki modifying a scene from Tom Cruise’s “Valkyrie” poking fun at the lack of current information on the team’s website.

With the team’s annual candlelight bowling fundraiser coming up on February 27, Sochacki’s attendance, or lack there of it, will give Senese, other teams in the league, and the public a good indication on what jersey, if any, he will be wearing at the start of the 2010 season.

Tomjalana.com will be sending a reporter to the Mayo Clinic to provide coverage on the situation surrounding Sochacki’s health and any breaking news on his future with the team. For the most up-to-the-moment coverage, fans are encouraged to follow @tomjalana on Twitter or Tom Jalana on Facebook.

Overall, only two members of the 22-person crew escaped without being infected by the virus. Actress Jesse Moorsey and Executive Producer Tom Jalana managed to collect all of their belonging Saturday morning, moments before the CDC and Fema came to quarantine the building.

“We were all here to make a film, and suddenly, 18 hours into the 48-hour film, people were like zombies – their brains weren’t functioning,” said Jalana.

Fortunately for Flying-J Studios, Jalana and Moorsey fled as far as possible from the infected studio, to Palos Heights where they regrouped and schemed, determined to do what they set out to do: make an award-winning movie.

Said Moorsey, “After all the driving, the wasted time from Friday to Saturday, and the fact that 20 people from our crew were hit with the noncreativity virus and quit, we were just happy to pull something off other than my clothes.”

In the early morning hours prior to the virus hitting the team, stuntman Jimmy Klatt and Special Assistant to the Director Joe Kessen were outside with Moorsey shooting promotional images for the movie’s posters. When Moorsey emerged from her trailer and disrobed for her final shot with the studio’s 2007 BMW, Kessen remembered something not feeling quite right.

“It was as if whatever the virus was, it descended on everyone right at the end of the photoshoot,” he said. “We all started feeling funny.”

Although the team continued to work diligently throughout the night and morning, finally settling on three steamy poster designs, work began to quickly come to a halt when veteran staff writer Nate Winter started experiencing cramps in his writing hand, which rapidly developed into a full-blown case of writer’s block.

As Kessen finished uploading the free, downloadable posters to the web, Winter had collapsed on the ground, moments after calling it quits.

Chaos ensued as crew members frantically panicked about the office, searching for the nearest exit.

“Jesse and I were coming upstairs from the set, and all we could see was people running about the office with looks of despair and desparation on their faces,” said Jalana. “We just knew something was wrong – and that’s when we heard the sirens.”

Seven unmarked, black GMC Tahoes poured into the parking lot, followed by 3 white conversion vans. According to Jalana, at least three dozen men, dressed in quarantine uniforms ran into the building from the front entrance, the final person in locking the door to the studio.

“It was a pandemic, an outbreak the likes of which we haven’t seen in this lifetime,” said Moorsey. “The creativity was just sucked right out of the entire crew, and they just couldn’t fight it anymore and they gave in. It was just so sad to see.”

Fortunately for Moorsey and Jalana, they were able to flee out the back door before the CDC closed off all exits.

“We got out of there as fast as we could. We were determined to make this movie for our fallen companions,” Jalana said.

So to the southside the pair headed, eventually settling at Palos Heights, IL.

“Tom had a few connections with the townfolk and he thought we could get something done out there with the short amount of time we had left,” said Moorsey.

With 26 hours remaining on the clock, the tandem went through the available wardrobe for Moorsey that they managed to swipe from the set. The one wardrobe box Jalana managed to grab happened to have just returned from the recent Brittany Spears World Concert Tour. “I guess I wasn’t looking at what I grabbed,” he said with a wink.

With the stage set for Moorsey to play a new mother with a husband deployed in Afghanistan, Jalana quickly went to work on filling in the holes to the story. “Ideas were coming fast and furious, and we just had to shoot and go, shoot and go,” he said.

Finally, the two came up with the perfect scenario to showcase the prop (an apple) that needed to be featured in the film.

“Tom asked what we can do to really draw attention to the apple, and I thought to myself, ‘what if I eat it?’” said Moorsey. “The scene really worked out well. I don’t think an apple has ever looked that good in hi-definition.”

“Moorsey was right. How about them apples?” said Director of Photography Taras Zharov, from his hospital room where he was recovering with the rest of the members from the crew. “It was a great shot, as I’m sure all of you will agree.”

Zharov went on to says that he was proud that both Jalana and Moorsey managed to do what they said they would do despite the lack of the film crew, additional actors/actress, writers, sound and audio engineering. “I’m particularly proud of Tom for sticking it out and representing Flying –J Studios as well as he did, despite only having 24 hours left to pull something off,” he said.

Moorsey pulled a few things off as well, the most major being her first film in which she starred. “It was such a rewarding experience, despite the fact I didn’t get paid,” she said. “Perhaps I should have stayed in character and kept all the money Katelyn earned during the movie,” Moorsey said with a laugh.

After meeting with editor Augie Augenstein and producing the final cut, Jalana raced to Capitol Bar and Grill on Chicago’s North Side, getting the final paperwork and movie in just two minutes before the 7:30pm cut-off on Sunday.

“It just doesn’t get any tighter than that,” he said. “There were some flaws in the picture, which we would have liked to have corrected, but all-in-all, we were proud of the story we were able to tell, despite this being a last-resort effort.”

“Last Resort” will be premiering Sunday, August 2nd at 5:30pm at Portage Theatre (4050 N. Milwaukee, Chicago, IL 60641). Tickets are $10 at the door, with a post-movie awards celebration at Capitol Bar and Grill.

Movie posters and wallpapers, including the three planned sequels to “Last Resort” are no longer available for download.

Evergreen Park Diamondback Ted Andrysiak earned the SSWBL Player of the Week award on May 20th.

On Wednesday the Evergreen Park Diamondbacks announced to the media that Teddy Andrysiak was named their player of the week.

In the weekend double-header against the Devils, Andrysiak went a combined 5 for 6 with 4 RBI, 1 run scored and a sacrifice fly. In addition to Andrysiak’s offensive explosion at the plate, his defense was Gold Glove material, scooping throws out of the dirt like it was Ben and Jerry’s Colorado Mudslide ice cream.

Said Andrysiak of the honor, “This is a simple game. You catch the ball. You throw the ball. You hit the ball. On Sunday, I was not a lolly-gagger – I was a contributing member of the Diamondback team.”

Evergreen Park Diamondback Pitcher Ed Sochacki may missed his next scheduled start due to an injury sustained in last week's game.

The Evergreen Park Diamondbacks upgraded starting pitcher Ed Sochacki from doubtful to questionable for this Sunday’s game against the Chicago Shamrocks. Sochacki, who underwent surgery Thursday for permanent removal of his left Hallux nail, reinjured the toe in the seventh inning of last Sunday’s game.

“We treated Mr. Sochacki yesterday. Unfortunately, the trauma sustained to his nail in 2003 lead to onychomycosis. Removal was the only option available for treatment.” said Dr. Brian French, DPM. “There was substantial degeneration and damage to the nail bed – something very common to athletes.”

Sochacki will evaluate his situation tomorrow afternoon on the golf course. “I won’t know anything until I remove the protective bandages in the morning. If I can get my foot into my shoe, it will be a major step forward,” he said. With the surgery taking place on Sochacki’s left foot, it is unclear how it will affect his mechanics and stride.

“There will be tremendous pain,” said Dr. French, “and there’s a high probability that the new tissue under the nail is soft, so the epidermis could break open if any amount of pressure is applied. It could be a bloody mess.”

Sochacki disagrees with that assessment. “It may be bloody but if Curt Schilling can pitch in the World Series with screws in his foot, I can go out there and tough it out.” he said. Schilling, who pitched for the World Champion Boston Red Sox, has the bloody sox that he wore currently on display in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

Team officials are skeptical if Sochacki will make his scheduled start, but Manager Joe Cipolla said the decision ultimately will be his pitcher’s. “We’ll see how he feels come Sunday but a contingency plan is already in place if the worse-case scenario happens.”

Updated information on Sochacki’s status will be posted on the team’s web site at http://www.evergreenparkdiamondbacks.com.

Diamondback pitcher Ed Sochacki took the mound in 90-degree heat and threw a gem of a game and the team’s solid defensive play contributed to a 2-1 victory over the A’s. The A’s threatened three times during the game but failed to score a run until the 5th inning. Sochacki (5-2) scattered six hits and a walk over 6.2 innings while striking out nine and allowing one unearned run. It was his highest strikeout total since opening day, 2003.

With the D-backs up 2-1 with two outs in the bottom of the 7th, confusion beset both home plate and field umpires. With the count 2-2, Sochacki missed with a slider on the outer portion of the plate. The home plate umpire called ball four and awarded first base to the batter. Sochacki immediately ran to the home plate umpire to dispute the balls and strike count but was overruled by the field umpire.

“We were tracking his pitches,” said Manager Joe Cipolla, “and in our books, the count was two-and-two before the fifth pitch was thrown to the batter. The umpire blew the call.”

Sochacki opted to remove himself from the game with the runner on first and Pete Gubricky came in relief for the save opportunity.

“It was really hot out there and I lost my focus when the umpire lost track of the count,” Sochacki said. “I didn’t want to make a mistake to the next hitter by leaving a fastball down the center of the plate, so it was best that I pulled myself out of the game.”

Gubricky, who came on for his second save opportunity of the season, gave up a duck-snort to left field but induced the next batter to ground out to short. As the ball was hit, the base runner from second interfered with third baseman Brett Flood on the play and was called out for the third out of the game.

“It certainly got exciting,” said Gubricky “but the bottom line is that we won 2-1.”

In game two of the double header, Thad Sochacki took the mound in search of his fifth victory of the season but was rudely greeted by the A’s bats as they came out swinging, looking to avenge the morning loss.

The A’s scored 10 times over the course of 6 innings while the Diamondback offense failed to get on track. Sochacki allowed 7 earned runs along with a tape-measure 3-run homer to deep left-center field to the A’s clean-up batter. The homer was the first walk-off slaughter rule homer allowed by Diamondback pitchers in the team’s history. The shutout was also the first time this season that the D-backs failed to score a run and by far was the worst pitching performance for the younger Sochacki this season.

Things got so bad for Sochacki that his father, who was in attendance, left the game in the fourth inning to go home and watch the Cross-town Sox-Cubs game on WGN. When asked to comment, Mr Sochacki said that “Thad should not have been watering the infield between games and he should have been resting on the bench because he knew he was pitching the second game.”

Thad Sochacki closed his locker room door and refused to comment to the media.

Said Cipolla, “I thought we got great pitching in game one and that we would be in a good position to sweep but it’s hard to win in this league when you spot 10 runs to the opposing team and your offense fails to score. We’ll just learn from our mistakes and come out fighting our next game.”

And so the story goes…