Spring training was a lot of fun, but nothing whets the appetite for playing ball like watching ball! The good news is that I waved at Will Clark, and HE WAVED BACK! Then he gave me the Nuschler point! Man, that was awesome. Here's Jon Spack with a short recap, anybody else who wants to, feel free to write me highlights:
Returned after a few months away (got married + got hurt....not because of marriage though)....here is what I can muster:
Mike Lattig was throwing mean hooks all game as he led the home team to victory on the mound and at the plate. I do not remember the final score but it was double digits in the teens to single digits and it was not close. The home team played "Oakland A's" baseball early as someone described it as they had some station to station hits off of Noah with runs coming off of singles. Extra base hits were tough due to the high and wet outfield grass - even the hardest hit balls just halted in the gaps. Both Noah and Greg pitched and caught for each team - a yeoman's effort as always by them.
Our very own Babe Ruth (He hits, He pitches, he looks great in Wool), Mike Lattig, wrote this dazzler, worthy of a Pulitzer for Olde Tyme Sports Writing:
A glorious day foretold another monster turn out. But for some reason, perhaps scared off by the scarcity of at bats the previous week, the ballplayers never materialized.
We sat at unlucky 13, and were tempted by an offer to add 7 league guys (on hand for tryouts on an adjoining field) for a full game. But our collective desire for ABs convinced us otherwise, and we forged on 7 x 6, only to become 7x7 thanks to Mitch’s late arrival. (Which was the result of a fabulous new haircut. Looking sharp!)
On the bump were two classic soft ballers. Noah with his dazzling array of late movement for the visitors, and for the home squad none other than the resurgent shoulder of M. Lattig. It’s been a LONG time since he saw a start, but he found the zone early and often, with Greg putting down the fingers to keep the opposing squad guessing: Will it be straight and soft, or looping and soft?
The only run the visitors managed over 6 innings was a 2-out liner up the middle from Gaspar to score lefty Brian. Who had led off with a triple and was still on third because… well, just because apparently. It made no sense, as the score at the time was 6-0 and the home side was clearly ceding the run…
Greg took over and closed out with three scoreless to seal the deal (that fastball must have looked 90 in comparison…), with another shoulder success story – Adam – closing it out behind the dish.
On the other side of things, Noah worked in and out of trouble over the first few innings – including a bases loaded double play ball to end the second. But he couldn’t completely stem the tide, and he departed on the losing end, giving way to Mike Gaspar in the late innings. Yes, you read that right.
Our favorite opposite field hitter changed things up completely and went to the mound, doing a great job of keeping the ball over the plate and the hitters off balance.
As for hitting… Well, I don’t remember many details there. Tony was giving the ball a good whack all day, so much so that he broke Greg’s unbreakable bamboo bat… Nick too was lining them all over the place and I managed to mix in 4 hits. There was a nice clout from Mitch over the left fielder’s head…
But really it was about stringing hits together rather than heroics. The decisive inning, in fact, started with five straight singles. All clean. Might be a Mission baseball record…
Let’s hope the sun keeps shining and we play as clean a 9 this coming week. See you all on the base paths…
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