9/25/11- Cop Field

It was another good turnout at the Cop field, not a great day, and thanks to John McG for doing the Recon on the post rain damage.  John called me and gave me a verbal recap of the game.  

It was a real blowout, the final score was somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-5.  Greg pitched and had zero defense helping him, John fessed up to at least 10 dropped ground balls, although he managed to turn a line out double play, he still felt like he let down the team.  These are the times when it is nice to know that these games don't mean anything.  From the sounds of it, everyone had the dropsies.    Adam lost a few and at first and quit to play catcher and even Rich had some throwing errors!  Oh well, it happens to everyone.

There was a 3 inning exhibition game at the end, and the team that got walloped managed to eke out a one run win, so nice to have some balance.  Paul made some amazing plays, Lattig robbed Rich of a sure fire home run, Tim came out looking svelte, Greg, a returning player pitched fire.

Here with some more recap highlights is Brian Phelps, who pitched for the winning team:

* Greg had a good 1st inning and that was about all. He was rocked for 17(?) runs, most unearned. 

* I gave up 2 in the 1st and was shaken early. But I composed myself and with Noah behind the dish held the visitors to 4 runs.

* Rich probably recorded the longest out in Mission history, thanks to Lattig playing 430 feet deep.

* Greg hit about everyone in sight. Tried to pick-off Duane at 2nd... hit him in the back. Hit Bob (to make the game official) at 3rd from left field. The other person Greg hit at second was Elvin... and then Tim got hit going into 3rd. I beaned Elvin's friend with a curve after getting him 0-2. 

* McGrath let about 10 ground ball get by him

* Dennis had a "Let Timmy Smoke" shirt on. I was going to bean him, but then saw his shirt.

* Noah, after catching 7 innnings, relieved me and had a good outing.

* Greg relieved Greg, the former being Elvin's friend, and pitched really good.

* I was 5 for 6 with 5 runs scored.

* Duane had a great day at the plate. Before his 1st AB, he asked if I wanted to go infront of him, I told him "No", as long as he gets a hit. He roped one and started a rally. He stayed in that mindset all game.

* Elvin, unsuccessfully, bunted with a 14 run lead and promptly got scolded. Karma got him to pop out. In another AB, he ran all the way to 1st base with the bat because he thought he was going to get out.

* Once again, Jay was baffled at my pitching success. Because all I do is throw "skittles".

* Chris dropped a routine fly ball in center, but recovered and threw a runner out at third, saying "don't test me".

And a final note from the man himself, Greg Snyder, recipient of the hard luck day:

That was one of the worst Missionings I've ever gotten. I think I kept my smile on, though.  For the record, I only hit base runners, no batters were harmed. The other runner I hit was Elvin early in the game,but he deserved it. 

9/18/11- Cop Field

Since I am out on the BL, I am throwing the reporting duties to the MBC'rs, en masse.  I will list every contributor and their review of the game.  Hope you enjoy!

The first contribution is Mike Gaspar, who took the bump to close the game.  

After Greg pitched six great innings and Lattig pitched two good ones, it was decided that I would come in and mop up the 9th.  With an 8 run lead, what could go wrong?  

I hit the first batter, Mitch, with a 40 mph fastball, no biggie.  And then the hit and error parade started.  A few balls were crushed, some runs scored, a sure fire double play was broken up a bad hop and we didn't get even one.  Duane made an amazing catch to rob Rick of an extra base hit, but had trouble with a ball that bounced off many body parts and fell in.  The visitors smelled blood in the water, and eventually took a one run lead.  I caught Rick's sky ball in the infield for the final out of the inning, after falling to the ground.

The homers tied up the game on a single by Richie and a triple by Carter, off his brother.  Greg chopped one to Tim, who threw home to kill the rally.  On to the 10th, Johnny came in, and gave it ol' 1-2-3, then I lead off the bottom of the 10th with a single up the middle, 2nd on a wild pitch, and then game hero Duane, who ripped one up the middle to score the winning run.  14-13!

Bring your sunglasses, its that time of year.

Next up is Jay Cellini's recap:

Sunday’s game was a classic.  The weather was actually baseball weather!   Balmy, warm,  relaxing.  What a day!  Unfortunately it seemed that none of my teammates were used to this weather as everyone seemed sluggish.   The game was relatively boring until about the 7th when what looked to be rout turned into a nail biter. 

Jay, naturally, continued his explosive hitting going 2 for 5 with a ripped single and towering double.  Oh yeah, baby.  On one at bat, I was called out on a close play at first, which I think I beat.  It was an excellent fielding play by the 1st baseman.

The game then settled down into a snore until about the 7th when the visitors caught fire and took batting practice for approximately 10 runs against some poor sucker named Mike (sorry Mike).   Score 13-12, visitors.  

Anyway back to the action.  The bottom of the 9th saw a thundering triple by the Lowell player off this brother to tie the game, 13-13, with the winning run on third.  But professional fielding and throwing by the Tim, the third baseman to the catcher ended the threat with a tag at home.  

Johnny came in and pulled a 1-2-3 -- although Jay was very quizzical about the called third strike on a pitch as he watched the ball go two inches inside of the plate.  WTF?!   Jay supposes this made up for Greg’s giving Bob a non-called third strike earlier in the game to which Greg lamented about to Johnny as Jay listened while sitting out.  Note to the peanut gallery:  Be careful about arbitrary commentary.  Favoritism, Favoritism, can I get me some?  Yeah, I know, no rest for the wicked. 

Somehow the homers scored in the bottom of the 10th to win the game.  Go figure?  Evidence that God still loves knaves and fools? 

(Disclaimer:  This is what happens after 3 Bud's on a Monday night.)

Jay Cellini Pictures from West Sunset

Here's some great pics from the game two weeks ago.  Thanks to Jay for the snaps!

SQ Pics- No Write up just Photogs

Here are some pictures from the final SQ game of 2011.  Still haven't gotten a write up, but we all know that folks like the long ball, and that's all the info we need....

Congrats AOY 2011 and all the MBC'rs who played!

S. Paige

9/11/11- West Sunset

Probably the best weather day at West Sunset that has ever occurred.  Warm.  A little humid, the light breeze from the ocean.   A great way to celebrate America and freedom on the 10th anniversary of a tragic day in our country's history.  And what's more American than pick-up baseball?

I as lucky to be out there, as I have been for the last three weeks, but I swear this is the last time for a while, although its a fool who speaks in absolutes.  Mrs. Paige came out and watched the action, she pledged to walk some steps to shake the critter loose, but she ended up just sitting in her chair and enjoying the sun and the game.  Mr. Garcia, scourge of the SoCal little league and Richie's dad, also came out.  He seemed a lot more interested in his book, which looked like a good one (http://www.amazon.com/Satch-Dizzy-Rapid-Robert-Interracial/dp/1416547983).

We were 10-10, which became 12-11 by the end of the game.  Current AOY Brian Phelps started for the homers and had a great outing, his stuff was working, and everyone was mixed up by facing a lefty that wasn't Sean.  Dustin started for the visitors and had a good outing, but his lack of inebriation ultimately hindered his pitching.  The homers were graced with a very good defense that helped us to close out some quick innings.  Satch once again as in right field, which I like at West Sunset, 'cuz its basically like playing a deep first or second base.

The homers scored first and the visitors came back soon after and we had a game on our hands.  Brian cut to the bone on the visitors and didn't allow anything beyond the first run, Dustin was not so lucky.  We mounted a couple of rallies and by the time that Brian handed over the ball in the 6th, it was 9-1.  No one likes a blow out, however, and while I would like to say that I was trying to even the score up a bit, its just not true.  Basically,  the visitors smelled the fresh blood in the water and jumped all over me.  Sean took over for the visitors and pitched a few innings and then Noah came in a mopped it up.  Both of them did a great job of shutting down our offense, with a few exceptions.

Brian had to come out to the mound at one point and talk me down, which helped and we got out of the inning.  I never recorded a K in 6 innings of work, but I got the outs. You matha-magicians might notice that adds up to 12 innings, well, it does.  It was so nice that none of us wanted to leave, and we vowed to keep playing until the sun went down, the baby was born, or we all collapsed.

So play on we did, and while the visitors never did take the lead, they kept pounding away and the final score was somewhere in the region of 13-7.

Highlights:


* Richie put on a clinic at SS, and had at least 12 put outs

* Elvin and Tyler both covered the outfield with skill and had a couple of hits as well

* Thanks to Ed, Bob, Greg, Noah for catching, which was probably a little sweatier than usual

* Chris hit the hell out of a ball, and ended up with a home run the hard way

* The homers got out of a bases loaded jam at one point

* Sean was stymied all day by Brian, and I managed to escape his wrath, no home run for you!

* Jay and Paul on the other hand, hit the ball well all day.  I complimented Jay on his improved hitting.  He said it was all due to getting fat pitches to hit.  So that didn't go over like I planned it, basically, its not that he's any better at hitting, its that Brian and I suck at pitching.  I'll remember that.

* Dustin had a nice drive down the line, and then wore himself out having to score from second, maybe he was drunk after all....

* Duane also had a nice hit, and had a self-realized "Grouchy" moment (we all know who that is) when he couldn't let a strike out go

* Phelps put one to the wall in right center

* We made Elvin run all day, taking the extra base, you gots to use those fresh legs while you got them!

* Brian had pinpoint accuracy, except when Dustin and Noah were up, and then he tried to hit them about 4 times

* I was 0-5, with three ground outs to Richie, in which he never had to move, one strikeout and a 4-6-3 double play.  I was DFA'd after the game

* Greg tried the subterfuge first and third throw back to the pitcher.  Didn't work, but nice to know it exists

* A lot of hidden ball play attempts

* Ed made a nice grab on a short right field gork to end an inning

* Adam made a couple of really nice plays at 1st including one that he threw dirt in his own face but still made the play, and wants everyone to know he hasn't been around the last few weeks because he was in LA, being filmed for a documentary (and yes, he is bragging).

* Bob survived his high highfalutin' polo match in Atherton and came and played ball to get back to his working class roots.

* Johnny had a couple of great classic line drives

* Rick came out with a rehabbed leg, and was looking downright sprightly, complete with a moonshot to left

*  Q?  came out late and hit the hell out of the ball

* Thanks for all the well wishes and advice on the impending fatherhood, I hope everyone understands that when the baby comes out with me, we all take turns monitoring and/or protecting it during the game....

S. Paige

9/3/11- West Sunset

Another week, I couldn't believe it! But I'll take it! It was a real nice day, except in the West Sunset, of course. Since it was a bonus day for me anyway, I decided not to start on the bump and give someone else a chance to eat some innings. And I got to be on the same team as Sean, which rarely happens. And lucky for me I did. But more on that later.

 Sean started for the home team, and was his usual dominating self, Johnny started for the visitors and had his slurvy action working. We again were overstaffed and had 12-12. The homers started with an infield that was less than stellar, and the visitors jumped out to an early lead. In the future, usually we shouldn't have the new guys jump right in to the high pressure positions. In any case, the homers were able to score back a few runs, and we settled into a game.

 We battled back and forth for an inning or two, and then Sean broke out for his first of two home runs. Yes, that's right, Sean, jealous of the press that Rich got last week, did some sky balling of his own. His first homer was a strong liner that cleared the fence but not the trees, and fell back in. His second was commanding, majestic, deep, proud, and all together amazing. By that time Noah had come into the game, in fact it was the first batter that Noah faced, but he probably didn't want anyone to know that....

 We tried to switch out enough to make sure that every one got equal playing time, and that included the pitchers, Sean bowed out and gave me the sphere and Noah took over for Johnny. I was feeling good and the fog had lifted a bit, or maybe just a little warm had crept in. The score by that time had gotten a little out of hand, and we homers had taken a commanding lead. I finished the 7th in five pitches and I struck out the side in the 8th. Felt real good.

 We coerced the visitors into playing an extra inning and then immediately felt bad, as we had a huge inning. I didn't think I was going to get up, but by the time I did, we had already score 4 runs. I asked if I should fall on my sword, but no one seemed to think that was worth it, so I hammered one up the middle instead, almost taking off Noah's leg. Sorry about that. So, when the visitors took their 10th inning at bats, I made sure they got their hacks and the runs started to pile up. Everyone on the visiting team who stuck around got another at bat, and the final score was 17-15. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday.

Highlights


* Thanks to everyone who came out!

* The game seemed like it went on forever, we didn't finish until almost 7

* Greg wanted to send a special apology out to anyone that he offended at the game, for one reason or another.  Please know that he had no intention of pissing anyone off, he and I were having our own conversation

* Elvin's buddy came out again, and while his throwing arm was a little wild, his bat was lethal

* My first hit was a double that I tried to stretch to a triple, and was thrown out by a perfect throw from Brian Cagle, and as my teammates pointed out, if I hadn't taken the time to take off my helmet while running to first, I might have beaten the throw.  At least I am trying to wear the helmet

* There were about 6 overthrows at first that went out of play

* First time in MBC history that I got to start in right field.  Didn't matter, I didn't make a non-pitching play the whole game.

* Bob was frozen by a knuckleball for a third strike, which he hated.  He got me back by hitting the knuckle the next time

* Thanks to Ed, Greg, Gaspar and Noah for catching

* We almost had a great play at home, almost....

* Greg did the right thing and didn't swing when I stole 3rd.  Thank you!  I don't have many of those in me

* JT played the whole game despite 3 injuries in the first inning

* Liam had some great hits

* We lost a number of balls in the street and in the backstop

* There were some great catches made by new guys, defense is always welcome

* Dennis had some trouble on a play at second, where he fell down while holding the ball, while a runner scored, he said he was his ankle and he was "in agonizing pain" and that's why he couldn't make the play.  If that was the case, we wondered why he would play and put himself in that position?

* Nick Smith played the grumpy old man part real well.  He didn't have fun at all.

* Stoner came out and had a good game in the outfield and a frustrating game at the plate.  I felt bad when he struck out, after being distracted by all the jokes and chatter that we were throwing at him

* Well, I hope to see everyone soon.  Keep it fun.

S. Paige

Olde Tyme Baseball as seen by Conan O'Brian

Our AOY Brian Phelps shared this with us last week, it's pretty much the best thing I have ever seen, so I wanted to always have it available. Thanks Brian...and Conan. S. Paige