It was a gloomy day in the beginning, all that 70+ weather had faded into a gray foggy cold afternoon. But like most things, you wait long enough and you get the pay off.
I saw the start of the game from the road, as I cruised back and forth trying to find a parking spot, or stalk someone who looked like they were headed towards a car. Mitch was the starting hurler for the homers, and he did a great job, mixed up his pitches, kept the runners close. He lasted 8 innings, I think?
Tony started for the visitors, and the very first pitch, Powell took him way deep to left field for a stand-up triple. The homers were hitting Tony square for the first few innings, and only because of some well-placed defense did we walk away relatively unscathed. But Tony kept battling.
We had 22 active players, which was nice, including James' brother,
Kevin. Baseball ability seems to run in the family. Instantly
recognized as Coney Island kin, when after a sac fly, he walked back to
the dugout saying, "Well, at least I moov-ed the run-nuh."
The sun came out and suddenly it was a beautiful day, the wind died down for a bit, and the game became a real treat. It was an evenly contested affair, and see-sawed in the middle innings, 2-1 3-2, 4-2, 4-3, 5-4.
I took over in the 6th, and everything felt good. It is amazing what rest does. Jimmy caught the entire game, and did a really good job at blocking the dish, and calling the right pitches. I have a witness in Adam, who saw from first base, a fastball I threw that came out of nowhere, and was easily the hardest ball I have thrown since 2004. I don't know what I did different, but my arm didn't explode the next pitch, so that was good.
The visitors took the lead in the middle innings, and held a 8-6 score going into the 9th inning. That was actually the 10th inning. We flim-flammed the box score since the game as already into the later innings and it wasn't even 3pm yet. But who wouldn't play extras on a beautiful day, with plenty of reserves?
Jordan, who has been coming regularly and proved himself a good guy, had asked to pitch last week, and this week got his shot. We threw him directly into the fire with a save situation. It took him a little while to find his delivery and location, but once he got it, he was great. The homers scored once, and were threatening, but we buckled down and took the game, 8-7.
Highlights:
* Kudos to Jimmy for catching the whole game
* Kevin and James connected for two of the closest plays at the plate that I have ever seen, and just missed the runner in both cases. Kevin's arm from center field is just as potent as James'.
* Bob didn't get hit, but he did get a hit.
* Elvin made a great running catch in left field, left handed.
* John McG and Aiden combined for some outs, father and son style, and Aiden had a legit hit to center field, off real pitching. He's practically a grizzled veteran now.
* I screwed up play at first, ball hit me right in the glove and fell out
* Adam had couple of key RBI knocks, and was told by an MBC'er that his at-bats are the best to watch, he appears totally relaxed until the moment of contact
* The dilemma continues: bases loaded, one out, do you play corners in, or infield in? I think the ethos of the MBC is more about getting outs than double plays. And we have fucked up so many easy chances at double plays up the middle that I don't think it is a reliable play to base a strategy on.
*Powell and I had a epic battle in the middle innings, I think he fouled off 6 balls in a row on a 2 strike count. I was scraping the barrel for pitches I hadn't already thrown multiple times
* My first at bat I tattooed a ball to left that happened to occur just as the wind died. Left fielder tracked it down on a dead sprint. It was a great play.
* Nick Smith, me and Jimmy combined for a 9-4-2 play at the plate, to nab Aiden as he came in hard. That's why we hit the cutoff!
* Many of the pitchers in the game had at least one inning with sub-7 pitches thrown.
* Helpful hint: When you are tall and fat, you don't need to slide or anything to break up the double play, just run straight at the second baseman. If it's Dennis, he can't see around you.
* Both teams hit the ball hard all day, but directly at someone for the most part. Tony caught a line drive at third that he never had to move for, it would have killed him if he hadn't caught it, it was smoked.
* Brian Phelps was later than me, so he gets to be the Late Asshole.
Severe drought in our futures, but for the time-being, the weather sure is nice for a ballgame.
S. Paige
Post-script: Get well soon Greg, it's not the same without you. And stop kicking cars.
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