A late inning change during the week due to the Bay Bridge closure brought us to Balboa park and a late start of 3 on the day that time changed. Needless to say we were a little worried about attendance and light for the game, but we were pleasantly surprised by a full squad with a couple of extras, and just enough light to finish a game (well, 8 innings). The mound was redone, with nice clay, which made for a nice change, and the grass while being hard and a little treacherous in the infield, was mushy and slow in the outfield. With the influx of new guys, the teams actually ended up being a pretty even split of the new guard versus the old. The exception being Stoner, who gets one week a month away from daddy duty and the pitching battery of Dustin and Noah who have been old guys for a while, but took the helm of the visiting squad. We traded away our new guy for Nick Smith just to make the teams right and got to work. We worked out a pitching rotation that favored everyone’s sore bodies and ensured that no one had to throw more than they needed to.
Sean, the intrepid lefty began and after his stated two innings of work, he wanted to keep going, since he hadn’t had a workout yet. We let him do it, cautiously though, capping his at 4 innings. The game started out low scoring, 1-0, 2-0, 2-1…. We old home guys (and I know some of you are thinking, Who does this young whippersnapper think he is) were just biding our time, waiting for the right moment to strike. And our moment came in the third, as we tacked on five runs, some through the bat of Chris (who I think had three doubles), some through great situational play like Brian Cagle’s bunt, and some through old fashioned shitty fielding like we have every week. Dustin took it on the chin (and took the Jameson to the gut), and if us veterans hadn’t seen it so many times before we might have had some pity. It’s tough to get the ground ball you want and watch it turn into an RBI double. Fundamentals… that is how you win games.
Noah took over the hurling duties in the 6th and settled into dead ball pitching, his specialty. Satch came in for the 5th, 6th and 7th, feeling better than last week, and used a lot of breaking balls and a few wicked knuckle balls to get out of some jams, the best being a bases loaded, no outs situation. The visitors scored a few more and (I think) so did we, but the decision was made that the score was 7-4, which gave the possibility of excitement and late inning heroics. Greg (our newly anointed bridegroom!) took the mound in the 8th to secure out victory, and while the visitors started to smell the blood in the water, the rally was stopped and ended with a pretty scoop from none other than featured player, Adam Pfhaler. The moon hung in the purple dusk; we gathered the gear, enjoyed the humid Indian summer and left the park, each knowing that few in the City had a better Sunday than us.
Highlights:
• Congratulations to Jen and Greg, I hope you know that marriage is a big commitment, and that you are ready for this:)
• The return of Bob, glad to hear that John won his early game, and made it possible to make an appearance. Bob’s got steaks for sale too, if you are interested, email him.
• Glad no one was injured by the bad hops, of which there were many
• Dustin got two really nasty knuckleballs, if only I could do it on a regular basis.
• All of the new guys that came out, thanks a bunch and keep on coming out!
• Catching foul balls is one of the biggest plays you can make!
• The double play that the homers made to get out of the bases loaded jam
• Tony, complaining about not getting any ground balls, promptly got one and it went right past him (ok, it was a bad hop, and we are glad you are alright)
• Nero, another recent profiled player, making some much needed plays in center field
• Stoner’s over exuberance and competitive spirit were in full effect, remember it still doesn’t matter who wins and loses, as long as we all have a good time….
• We should bunt more, as a rule, use the inside game, it is an important aspect
• We had a lot of loud hits as well as a lot of loud outs.
Enjoy the summer weather, we know it won’t be here for too long.
S. Paige
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