11/25/12- Big Rec

Satch was home, but not available for baseball duty.  Thankfully some heartier souls were, and here with the report is our own financial guru, Jonathan "JT" Tiemann.  And if you need sound advice on your portfolio (whatever that is) visit - http://www.tiemanninvestmentadvisors.com/

Turns out Sunday is far enough from Thursday that 21 of us were able to drag ourselves out of our post-Thanksgiving tryptophan stupor and make it out to Big Rec for a Mission Baseball classic.  That puddle was still there halfway to first base, and the infield grass was as slow as ever, but the weather was great, and we enjoyed a solid game.

Johnny started for the home side, and Sean took the bump for the visitors.  Johnny began with a nifty one-two-three first inning, and for a while it looked like the visitors' hurler and the homers' twirler would just swap zeroes.  The home side finally pushed across a Chris Powell special, so we went into the fourth up 1-0.  The visitors answered with three hits, including two doubles, in the top of that frame.  They were up 2-1, with Mitch on third and two out, but Johnny got Duane on a fly to right, ending the threat. 

The homers answered right away.  Johnny led off the home fourth with a clean single, and I forced him at second.  Two more grounders went for hits, and we had the bags juiced with one out and Chris at the plate.  Chris delivered the hit of the day, a double to right that cleared the bases.  I trotted home, picked up the bat, and held it up to signal the two trail runners to come in standing.  One more hit brought Chris in, and we were ahead 5-2.

In the later innings, Sean gave way to Tony, and Will Rockwell relieved Johnny.  The visitors added a late run, and the home side rallied for three more in the eighth, so we ended regulation with an 8-3 home win.  But we still had some sun left, so we played one extra.  Loren pitched for the visitors; he showed me a terrific curveball -- at least, I'm pretty sure I saw it, and I'm completely sure I didn't hit it.  After one extra, the light was fading, so we called it a very successful day.

Highlights -

* Mitch being Mitch, including a great over-the-shoulder catch on the dead run in short left while he was playing third.

* Daniel and Chris turned a pretty double play - Duane hit a grounder to second on that slow grass, but Daniel pounced on it a gave Chris a perfect feed.  Chris took the toss bare-handed, Omar Vizquel style, and fired the relay to first.  Close, but definitely out.

* Will went back to wearing his red shirt, so nobody mistook him for Carter

* Bob was down south watching John play f**tball, so he had to be beaned by proxy

* A couple of players that don't usually play outfield made a couple of nice catches out there

* Phelps and Presley each played at least one inning at short, and each threw somebody out.  Who says lefties can't play shortstop?

* I'll claim extra credit for coming in to catch a sinking liner in right, but only because Ed was in center yelling "Back! Back!" the whole time