1/30/22 GGP

 

What a great time of year for baseball—winter in SF!  It borders on creepy how nice the weather can be.  The warm sun, the smell of the ocean, just fantastic.  We had 17 players out, almost a full squad. We learned later that Marcie had been unable to find parking, bummer!  Nick W. started for the homers, and Satch for the visitors, taking a page from unmentionables and being late, and then inserting himself in as the starter.  At least I didn't get my innings in and then leave.... 

The visitors struck for an early 2-0 lead, and that seemed ample for us through the bulk of the game.  We had a secret weapon, Urano, who was hoovering up the balls at SS, and making the outs.  Our defense was rock solid the whole game, and while we didn't ever complete a double play, we had many opportunities and always got one out.  I will take that any day.

Nick gave way to Sonny and we scored a few more and then a few more after that.  The homers were stymied a bit by the live movement I had on the ball.  I wish I could say how or why, but it was working for me.  Except the knuckleball, which was a disaster.  The curve, when thrown properly, had real bite and the changeup had some late movement as well.  Before I hurt my arm patting myself on the back, I will say that I only had one K, so it was my defense that was doing the hard work.

The homers got into the scoring in the middle innings with several loud hits in a row.  Mike Lynch in particular was hammering the ball, as well as fielding rockets at 3rd.  We managed to stem the tide of scoring, with the bases loaded, but the game was 5-3, which is nowhere near safe in the MBC.

Sean took over for me after 6 innings, and by all accounts, he has been lights out for the last couple of weeks.  This week proved no exception, he threw a first-pitch strike to every batter he faced, and all of his pitches were working.  He sealed the deal with a dominating strikeout to finish the game.  The homers did not have a chance.

Final Score: 7-3

Highlights

* James hit at least 3 line drives to left, one of which Mike caught, and one that would have taken his head off if he wasn't paying attention

* Bob made a nice catch in left, on the move

* Don made a catch in foul territory to get out a batter I really didn't want to face anymore, hooray!

* Urano hit a round tripper—the hard way—and was almost nabbed at the plate. Nick W would say it was not almost....

* Tony Rojas had a long RBI double to right field that James almost tracked down, covering for the other team

* Anna had a couple of hits, an RBI, and played a great 1st base

* New guy Zach is an outstanding fielder and a potent bat.

* Thanks to Bob, Nick W., and Greg for catching

* The try to throw out the runner at first from the outfield gambit failed twice, and both times not instigated by James!  He showed tremendous self control

* Mike Lynch made several showy plays at the hot corner

* Lattig and Zach collided in a weird ground ball play, that sort of looked a bit like this infamous play.  Luckily everyone was alright, and the collision was unintentional...

* Sean's pitching.  Wow.

* I think I had one hit the whole game, but it scored two runs so....

* Lynch with several smoked balls to the right side

* There may be a piece in 48 Hills soon on our little game, so keep your eyes open.

Entry #490- A Revisit/Update of our first player profile

We are nearing 500 posts for his ragtag little blog, and before we go any further, I wanted to correct a issue that many of you may not even realize was an issue.  Back in 2008, when I started this thing, I wrote the first player profile on Greg Snyder, the godfather of the MBC.  It was pointed out to me recently that the profile I wrote was *ahem* rather lean.  

In case you need to refresh your memories, it can be found here:

http://missionbaseball.blogspot.com/2008/11/player-profile-1-greg-snyder.html

Now, I could probably make a good argument that Greg is a no-nonsense, efficient kind of guy, and the original profile write up was sculpted to fit with that personality.  But I don't want to go that route, so instead, I will post this update with a few more of the many positive things that I can say about Greg.

Greg's pitching has become less frequent, but he still catches as much as possible, which I would think would be harder.  He calls a great game, he blocks pitches that any sane person would let go by, and he won't ever forget to remind me that I have to back up 3rd base.

While Greg's never been a power hitter, his line drives have increased recently, I think.  Greg suffers from the same slowness disease that has attacked many of us in the past decade, and as such, he has been a victim of the right field put-out to 1st.  But he refuses to make that play when he is playing right field, because he think that should be a hit and not a punishment for lack of speed, a choice I believe is very honorable.

Games are just better when Greg is there.  He is an awesome teammate, and he knows how to keep it light.  He also can mediate conflict—if it occurs—and no one will challenge it, because they know he's right.  If Bob is our little league team dad, then Greg is the best friend that you were lucky enough to get on the same team as—who makes every game fun.

The pandemic threw a weird wrench into our little game, and there were some who thought that we should challenge the lockdowns, and see what we could get away with.  Greg believes in science, and while he would probably break every law he could just to spite a badge-heavy police officer, he forced us all to look at the bigger picture of why we were in lockdown, and kept us from doing something stupid.  When we came back, Greg sent several emails asking for how people felt about playing, and at what comfort level of protection was needed.  Once again, no one really bucked against his suggestions, because we knew his suggestions were right.  Masks were worn, and no one made it a big deal.

One of the undervalued aspects of Greg's game is his defense, he can play anywhere, and for a guy nearing 60, he glides to the ball with the best of them, and he is always to be counted on to make the outs when they are needed.  He also knows that an out in the hand is worth a double play in the bush, to mix metaphors.

Greg whole-heartedly does not care if his team wins or loses, and I think sometimes is secretly pleased to be on the losing team.  That is the real MBC spirit.

Greg has been hauling the gear, collecting money, and dealing with Parks and Rec (with Bob) on behalf of us for the entirety of our club's existence.  Has anyone ever thought about how much effort and time that is?  Or another way of making that point: who of you is willing to take on all those jobs?

There have been moments in the last 13 years that we have tried to trim our email list and each time, we end up with the same engorged list because Greg doesn't want to cut any ties.  He knows that weekly email means a lot to some guys that haven't played in years.  He's all heart.

If you ever want to be thoroughly confused, ask Greg where he grew up.  Depending on the amount of time that you have, you may hear about Virginia, Maryland, Japan, Lafayette, or other places.  If you name a city, chances are Greg attended school there.

For those of the punk inclination, you may also be surprised to learn that Greg built the stage that is housed at 924 Gilman.  You could say he is responsible for "supporting" the entire Bay Area punk rock movement.

A Bruce Bochy-sized cap tip to our captain, Greg Snyder.

Don't look back, something might be gaining on you.

S. Paige

1/2/22 The 2022 Alpha Game- GGP

 We eked into 2022 with 15 players; better than it could have been, but not as good as it should have been.  I really hope that we are not losing players to that other game, with the oblong ball and the TV timeouts.  Marcella gets a pass since Sonny feloniously assaulted her on the diamond last game, seriously, get some Kevlar Sonny, cuz you just became the Bob of 2022.

Before I go any further though, I want to take a moment to talk about this guy right here:

It was brought to my attention that I have been somewhat remiss in cataloging the exploits of this fine young man over the last few months.  In looking back through posts, I agree, I have not given the shout outs that Tony probably deserved, and for that I apologize.  It is hard sometimes to remember everything, but that does not excuse that I should be able to call up such instances as 4-4 games, of which there have been a few, as well as the defensive plays.  I think it may be in part because Tony is like the weather -- you don't always notice it, but you know you can count on it to always be there, and be a factor.  If ever you were to question the heart of this particular player, just take a goddamn look at this photo, that is a brand new uniform that Tony crafted from scratch, ordering a blank grey jersey and then fashioning and adhering the star, letters and numbers.  He made the M for the hat by Xeroxing the logo of his other hat and then creating a fabric pattern.  And he manages to make it look professional, instead of a schizophrenic yard sale, which is what mine would have looked like, had I the initiative.  Mea culpa Tony, I promise to do better in 2022.

Our team had a sprinkling of the new, Mike Lynch, but leaned hard in old timer: Greg, Tony, Bob, John McG, Mitch, Lattig, Satch. The visitors had all the new MBC talent, Anna, Chris L, Dan, as well as old timers Nick S, cranky as ever, Don, who saved our bacon from 13s, Nick W. who was throwing rocks, and Chris P, the invariable x-factor.

I started the game, as I have not thrown in several weeks, and the soup bone felt good.  In the last few years, I have made a pretty conscious decision to not throw many warm ups and I feel like that has helped my game longevity.  Plus, it can get disheartening when you waste all these strikes before a batter steps in.  I quickly deduced the weakness of the other team, straight fastballs down the middle.  It started as a challenge and quickly became a vocalized strategy: Everyone got a first pitch fastball, right down the pipe.  They couldn't hit it, even more so when I told them it was coming.  Apologies to Powell, who is hard to pitch to, and got first pitch fastballs that were strike zone height but not over the plate, or over the plate, but 2 feet too high.

Nick started for the visitors, and he had a late break hook that was devastating.  We battled the first few innings, and I think it was 2-1 homers for most of that.  Very close.  Nick gave way to Powell and then to Dan, and somewhere in there our bats woke up, and the wheels came off a bit and our lead widened.  

I stayed on the bump, battling, and after 6 innings, I was ok to stop, but was emboldened by the encouragement of my team, Lynch and Tony in particular.  So I kept throwing, and ended up with 8 solid, with about 5Ks.  Greg, still giddy from the waning effects of the cortisone was able to come in a shut the door for the 9th with a 1-2-3 inning.  

First game of 2022 was in the books, with a solid 8-3 victory, homers.

Highlights:

* TONY!  He was 4-5 I believe and he made some great plays for our team, and some bad plays while covering for the other team.  He really can do it all!

* Thanks to John Mcg for showing up to give us a little breathing room, and for catching the final frames.

* Kudos to the visitors for not giving up, and making some dynamite plays of their own.

* Bob looked shaky in the outfield when we started the game, and then all of a sudden he was Willie Mays out there, long running catches, and resisting the urge to move on a few that were hit right to him.

* Chris Powell scored a Powell run.

* You wanna talk hungry batters, I saw Mitch go after two pitches that had to be a foot and high and outside and he almost crushed both of them

* I put one on Dan's back foot in the first inning, probably the best moving curve ball I had all game.

* That's not true, I threw a slider to Powell that was better.

* I hit a ball that I never did see where it went, I thought it was foul off the bat, but ran somewhat half heartedly and got to first.  I think it was a grounder to right, but the sun blinded me from the beginning.

* Small ball defense won that game, getting the sure outs.

* Aiden came out, but for some reason did not play?

* Chris L. did a great job behind the dish all game, and was blocking like a champ.

* I respect Greg's decision as a fill in outfielder not to opt for the San Quentin right field play to first.  As a fellow slow guy, it is a demoralizing play.

HAPPY 2022!  Let's play 2!

11/28/21- GGP

It's all feast or famine these days. We had 25 players out this glorious day, the best weather does seem to be the winter in SF.

The breakdown of the teams, I thought, was uneven from the beginning.  However, my suggestions fell on deaf ears, as plenty bought up times when the teams have seemed stacked one way or another, and the outcome has been completely out of the blue.  Not this time though.  If we had a voting block and an organized council, I would probably put forth a proposal that Chris P, Rich, Sean, and Mitch cannot all be on the same team.  That is too much speed and defense together.  We had Rich playing 2nd base, that is the flagrant defensive gluttony.

Sean started for the homers, and HR for the visitors.  It was a remarkably close game for a bit, the defense was the real gem for both teams all game.  Sean was a steady, as always, and HR has blossomed in his last few starts into a real game-time pitcher, with a sharp breaking ball and pinpoint accuracy.  He only went 2 innings though, and then turned the game to Lattig for the middle innings.  Sean stayed on the horse, with me waiting in the wings.  He threw 5, but looked so good that he did one more, and then handed the ball off.  I went the rest of the way, knowing that if I got into trouble, I had Liam as back up to mow down the late innings.  Luckily, I kept the pitch count down and cruised for most of the game.

With so many players, at-bats were a premium, and we ended the game with the homers in a comfortable lead.  The game had gone so quickly we decided to play an extra inning.  What we should have done is just give the visitors another at bat.  The bottom of the 9th turned into a cavalcade of hits, and the light was dying, as was the visitors will to keep playing.  When it finally got to the top of the 10th, they went down in order, and we all felt a little bad.

Final score: 15-3?

Highlights:

* Cap tip to Mike N. who caught the entire game for the visitors.

* Thanks to all those who came out

* Marcella had a hit up the middle and the first RBI for her team!

* Mike Lynch made some more great plays at 3rd, though he also suffered the indignity of the sniper play, fielding the ball and then going facedown on the transfer.

* Don was a late comer, but made a dazzling running catch in center

* Thanks to John McG for catching the later innings, and then a workout for Liam, who was left in the pen.

* Rich started slow, but had a walloping extra base hit in the later innings.

* Nick W. came into pitch and hit Adam about 3 times, not his best outing.

* The visitors had a couple of innings in a row where they failed to hit the ball out of the infield

* We have decided that the Nick Smith shift is a reverse Gaspar

* How about that Nick Smith, what is he 80 now?  And he's still got it!

* People named Mike, Nick, John, and Chris could have fielded a full team, plus reserves.

* John Carey, back from the wilds of Connecticut was resplendent in his old uni, and showing off that he is yet unhampered by age.

* Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

S. Paige

11/7/21 Cop Field

Great game, well staffed, Lattig reported that it was apparently 2 people at 12:40, and 16 people by 12:55.  Beautiful day, warm in the sun, but a brutal sunset for the left side of the field.

Sean and I had warmed up and discussed a head to head match up, but by the time we finished, Powell was on the mound ready to pitch.  Missed that window.  So we changed the plan, placed ourselves on the visitors, Sean started and I relieved.  

I have to say that the pitching was really good for the whole game, especially the homers. Powell kept us to 1 run for the first several innings, Dan came in and was also locked in, and HR has a great outing as the 2 inning closer.  Sean had some trouble keeping the ball down at the beginning of the game, but he worked it out and finished strong.  I was throwing batting practice fast balls that must have been looking like cut fastballs or something, because I was getting a lot of swing-throughs.  The change up was definitely working, and I think I finished the day with 4-5 Ks, much more than I have been averaging.  Short innings was the main goal of the day, as it seemed like the first 2 innings took forever! 

There was an abundance of lefties out, each team had them all bundled too.  Phelps, Dan, Mike Lynch, JT, Elon, and New Nick for the homers, Lattig, Gaspar, Sean for the visitors.  We think that we also had all the Mike's of the MBC.  Two new faces, Carlos and Armando played with the visitors, and were great.

There were two double plays I think, and we noticed that there was an upgrade at SS when Powell stopped pitching.  That being said, Dan did a great job tracking down some hard hits during his stint at SS.  A heads up play from Lattig at first managed to get us the elusive 3-6 "tag" double play, which I cannot remember the last time I saw out at our game. 

Cap tip to Marcie, who played her first game at 2nd base, and did great, including at least 2 put outs, and one hard hit ball that she was able to knock down and keep in front of her.  She also put up with the entire infield at various times trying to explain all the nuances of the position, and why we kept moving her around and why throwing to first (or second) was the right move in this particular situation...

The score was uneven for the first half, 3-1, then 4-1 homers.  Once we knocked Powell out (or he quit pitching) we started the long climb back.  We managed to take the lead 5-4 in the latter part of the game, and then the homers tied it up at 5.  

We finished the 9th that way, and had just enough daylight to squeeze one more in, but the tie remained and we all won.

Final score: 5-5.

Highlights

* A real even game, with solid defense on both sides.

* Catching, in particular, was awesome, Mike N. caught the whole game for homers and Nick W.,  Gaspar, Don for the visitors.

* Anna was back from her calf strain, and played a solid 1st base.

* Gaspar had a textbook Gaspar hit, and scored our first run

* We call shenanigans on Powell after he actually backtracked to impede Tony's view of a groundball at SS.  Tony still made the play.

* Marcie was cheated out of a hit, after Elon fell off the bag fielding a throw at 1st, we all called bullshit.

 * Armando had at least 2 very hart hit balls

* One inning of shadows between mound and plate.

* Don made a couple of nice, and needed catches in center.

* Powell almost broke me in my first inning of pitching, he fouled at least 7 pitches, before flying out to deep center.

* Tony pitched and rolled over first, and we all held our breath for a second.  He was fine.

* Mike N was blocking all day, and also made a great foul out catch on the run

* Mike Lynch was lights out at 3rd

* I think I fielded at least 3-4 comebackers

* No Greg,  he was on a boat.

* Alejandro showed up as we were pulling the bases, bummer.

Great game, thanks everyone who showed up!

S. Paige

10/17/21 Cop Field

Only 12 people,  but a great game.  

Havana 6's. 6 on six, borrow two, only two outfielders.  You would think that would make for a sloppy game, but it was tight through and through.

Nick W. for the visitors,  Satch for the homers.  And that's what it ended with.  I like a clean slate.  Nick had a great curveball working.

The rain was impending,  but it stayed cloudy and windy only for the 2 hours.  The drops started and we decided better to end first.  So the 7th inning became the 9th.

It was constant turnaround, no one sat much, it was cover and bat all day.  I made good plays on defense for other team, including a off balanced throw on the run, and Chris P. was doing the same.  It was close. 

Bob on the other hand.... no,  we all did our best. 

It was 1-0, then 3-0, then 4-1, then 4-3, and then it was tied 4-4, and we all realized it was getting dark and stormy.  We got Tony and HR on and I got a nice drive through the infield and everyone nodded that was probably it once the third out was recorded. It was. 

6-4, final, homers.

Highlights 

* Everyone who showed up, roll call: Greg, Tony, Chris P, Chris L, Adam, Alejandro, Lattig, HR, Nick S, Nick W, Bob, Satch

* A great many pop ups in the infield that I caught with confidence.

* I felt like I got a lot of 2-strike counts to batters but couldn't get that 3rd one in

* It's hard when you can't sit down for 2 hours

* Apologies to HR who wanted to pitch the last inning for us, I wanted to finish what I started, and I also knew that I could be ready to pitch in 15 seconds, no warm ups required.  An important point when the rain is impending.

* I feel like everyone had at least one good hit

* We hammered the right field/2 outfielders advantage pretty hard in one inning

* My stomach dropped in the last inning, after we had gone ahead, when the first batter Bob got to 2nd on a error, but he was stranded at 3rd.

* I don't think any one got hit by a pitch.

* The knuckleball was working in the humid wind

* Tony didn't swing while our runner was stealing, good job!

* Lattig got to chirp about the Dodgers win, however, they are not impressing thus far in the NLCS.

* Fuck the Dodgers.

* We need the rain, so I am torn between hoping for a better turn out next week and a week off to enjoy the wet weather.

S. Paige

10/3/21 Cop Field

What a day for a ballgame.  The warm has entered the City, as it usually does in October.  

Earthquake weather, the old timers will say.  

Non-frigid baseball without fog is an acceptable tradeoff for theoretical increased likelihood of a tremblor, says I.

Unfortunately, our rookie of the year went down with an injury before the game even started, Anna was fielding a throw at 1st during warm ups and felt something in her calf twinge up.  She stayed for the bulk of the game, but never got to the point that she could play.  Get well soon! Ice, Heat, Ibuprofen, Stretch, repeat.

Lattig started for the homers and Nick W for the visitors.  Nick was in the groove, although he kept complaining about how hot it was on the mound.  He controlled the homers well for 4 innings, giving way to Chris P and McG for the final inning.  

We ended up playing only 8 innings because the October light is not very forgiving.  Lattig pitched well for the homers, and kept the game close, and hit Bob in the neck, so a good outing all around.  Satch came in to relieve, and was subject to a brutal inning of dinks and drops, coupled with strong line drives.  By the time I left the game, and HR took over to mop up, it was fairly out of reach, though we did provide some semblance of a comeback.  

Final score, 11-8.

The real news is that we had not one, but two notable first-time occurrences in the pantheon of MBC play (as far as any of us could remember, anyway):

1.  Runner on third, Adam hit a ball right back up the middle, so up the middle in fact that it hit one of the reserve balls behind the mound.  Baseballs go in two different directions.  Chris P picked up one and threw it to Bob at first, where it sailed over his head and into out of bounds territory.  The other ball was picked up by Nick W and thrown home to nab the runner trying to score.  

So either a.) fielders choice 3rd out at home, or b.) run scored, E-6, with an automatic free base.  We decided that the law of do-over was the most reasonable solution.  The next hit gets chopped down third baseline, Adam does not run because he thought it was foul, however, it is called fair and the force out at first negates our team from scoring at all.  

With a history of upwards of four reserve baseballs, rosin bags, sweatshirts, sunglasses, gloves, cigarettes, joints, and other smoking accessories all potentially being behind the mound during a game, this is the first time that anything has ever been an obstruction to a hit ball.

2.  It has long been discussed that a big hit--that would surely be a homerun in any ballpark with a fence-- might be considered an automatic round tripper, enabling the batter to run the bases without fear of being tagged out or of showboating reprisal.  How to do it without a donnybrook erupting was the sticking point.   Well, it happened, and a couple of variables made it an easier decision than expected.  

The hitter: Satch.  

The pitcher: Chris P.  

The hit, well, by all accounts landed here, about 383 feet, bounced and rolled to rest near the pitching mound, which is about 465 feet from home plate:

Things that helped this to happen:

• A very big bat. 
• A little league fall ball practice on the other field.  Luckily no kids were injured but the ball bounced into their infield practice.
• Mike Lattig, a homer, playing replacement left field retrieved the ball and signaled a four bagger, and no one really argued.
• General consensus of sympathy for Satch, who was already straining to make it to 2nd even on a hit that far, but then took third when it seemed that could be done safely 

I was willing to take a ground rule triple on the deal, but it was decided that it should be homerun, and who was I to argue?

The person I want to acknowledge here is Chris P, who was very decent about the whole thing.  No one wants to be the first MBC pitcher that gave up a no-fence, no-contest homerun.  The really painful part, though, is that Chris has probably hit balls that same distance several times and has never been granted the luxury of a trot.  He deserves it, and I hope that he gets one for himself soon. I will be the first in line to support it.

It was posited that in all those games at Potrero Rec, we never had anyone hit one out, Chris P. of course was one of the few that came close.  For posterity, here is what the middle of the roof past the fence is at that field, a mere 358ft:

Ok, I will stop now.

Highlights:

* Nick pitched a hell of game

* There were a couple of scorched line drives that were caught, Mike Lynch almost lost a hand on one, Adam turned another one into a double play

* We had a sure fire play at home, but the infield grass killed the throw

* I noted in real time that I did not swing while HR was stealing, a pet peeve of mine.

* Thanks to McG, Greg, Gaspar, Chris L for catching

* Thanks to Mike L for making the call and the team for supporting it

* Urano had some big hits, and big plays at SS

* McG came up big with the bat

* HR made some much needed catches in center

* There is no rubber on the mound right now, so it's like the Wild West pitching, its disconcerting.

* Gaspar has gone back to metal

* I got Bob to foul out on a knuckleball, haha.

* I want to acknowledge all the MBC hitters that odds are should have had their turn to trot: Chris, Rich, James, Rick K, Sean, Phelpsie, Dave, Duane, Loren, Carter, Elan, Kyle, Pete S, add your name here.

Beautiful day, great game, thanks everyone.

9/12/21 GGP *SHUTOUT*

 

So much for the end of our GGP run.  Back at the same field, the temperature slightly warmer for the first part of the game, and then the fog really rolled in and it was right back where it has been all summer, cold and miserable.  The game on the other hand, was great, if you were on the visitors team.

Sean Paul completed a 9-0 shutout, full stop.  It was a pleasure to watch a master craftsman at work, even though it was my team. 

We had our chances, and Satch threw 8 innings of decent ball, but it was not to be.  I don't feel like I was serving them up, with a few exceptions, but the runs were steady and regular as milking Bessie.  Sean was just not able to be touched, we went down in order at least 4 of 9 times, and a lot of what got us base runners was errors and hustle.  Sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear he eats you.

I will take this moment to highlight that our team turned 5 double plays!  Some the old fashioned way, some on line drives, either way, it is probably the only reason the score was not 16-0.  Cap tip to the homers.

In addition to his pitching performance, Sean also had a deep drive to right center, along with The Big Blue Bomber, and Mitch, who was trading doubles.

We could never really get anything started, our biggest threats were always with 2 outs, and that is no way to rally.  

Final score: 9-0, visitors.

Highlights:

* The battery of Sean and John McG, complete games for both of them, awesome day!

* Thanks to everyone that swung at the knuckelball

* Nick W. almost broke me with foul balls on his at bats

* Don made a long running catch in left that robbed us of a chance

* I had one hit I can be proud of and one that I got on base because the 3rd baseman tripped over the infield grass.

* I counted about 6 dink hits into left that all fell 3 feet in front of Bob, maddening

* Carter was out with Charlie, who I think we should have had pinch hit....

* Urano was our play starter for most of the DPs, and also threw a lights out 9th.

* With a few exceptions, every hard hit ball we had went directly to some one

* JT came within 6 inches of a great 2-out knock

* I almost lost a shin to Mike Lattig come backer, luckily I was able to dodge it

* Scoops from Nick S. and Adam at 1st were on display

Thanks to all that played, it was great to have 19!

S. Paige

8/29/21 GGP (Final Game)

 I didn't think there was anyway I was making it to the game.  Kids were equivocal when I asked if they wanted to play, as was Mrs. Paige.  However, there also didn't seem to be anything better to do, and we knew the air would at least be fresh.  And fresh it was, to the point that the family was freezing about 30 minutes after we go there.  Well, that is why you ar supposed to keep moving....

We arrived in the 4th inning, with the score 2-1 visitors, Nick W on the mound, and Lattig for the homers.  It seemed like a split of the old guard and the new guard with a few exceptions for fairness, at least Chris P and Urano were on different teams.

Phelps and I agreed that I would be squeezing if he got to third while I was up.  Well that didn't happen, but I managed to gork a ball to short right and outrun the throw to first (barely) for runners at 1st and 3rd with no outs.  Yes, a great opportunity for the ol' "get picked off and hope that the runner at third can score" play.  Nick did the best he could, but that play is a real bummer for the pitcher, the change in direction has to be perfect.  Brian scored easily, and I got to sit down.  Win-win, scored knotted at 2.

Phelps came into throw and Dan came in for the visitors.  The wheels came off quickly, and we pounced on the errors and new pitching to the tune of 5 runs.  Phelps held the visitors, looking nothing like a guy who hadn't pitched in 2 months.

The play of the day was an almost... Dan hit a monster to right center, and was off to the races.  JT was running it down, and he and Urano got to it, and Urano threw a laser to home on one hop just as Dan was bearing down.  In the park homerun for Dan.  Almost the most amazing MBC defensive play ever.  No one thought it would be close, including Bob who was just trying to stop the ball rather than thinking about applying the tag.  A great hit, a great throw, and an almost great play.

Satch took over in the 8th for a two run "save", almost overturning the boat.  The visitors came back and scored 3 runs before I was able to secure the final out for a 9-5 victory.

Highlights:

* Thanks to everyone that came out and made it a real game, with sitting and everything.

* Lil Satch and lil Josh Gibson were in the mix, playing outfield, and running for JT and Bob who were nice enough to give them a chance.  And Lil Satch scored a run, basecoached by his dad, what a treat!

* Mike Lynch's expensive $198 bat was the casualty.  Let's remember not to use others bats without permission.

* Also that one should never spend more than $50 on a bat (West Coast Sports in San Leandro has a lot of quality $40 bats).

* Someone hit a triple, but I don't remember who it was.

* Thanks to Chris L, John McG, Don, Bob for catching.

* Also a great catch from Chris L on a difficult foul ball behind the dish

* Adam had a whole cheering section out

* No sight of the band, hopefully they have not given up on us

* Our team had the record for left handed infielders in non-1st base positions

* I somehow managed to be 3-3 with a run scored.

* I apologize for any action or great plays that I didn't cover before I got there.

8/8/21 GGP

 

Finally a game with enough players so we weren't running back and forth covering the defense the whole game.  17 players, that is like a plethora of players these days!

I showed up late due to bridge traffic, and they were still in the top of the first, so I hadn't missed much.  Sonny was on the hill, but he wasn't happy about it.  His arm was feeling pretty off, and I promised to take over for him once I had a chance to warm up.  Carter was throwing for the other team, after appearing out of the blue.  He brought one of his kids with him, so hopefully this is a good sign for the future, though we have been fooled by the Rockwell's before.

The game was sort of close for a bit, surprising given that Chris P was on the other team, and he is usually good for a run an inning, as well as some good pitching.  That being said, I don't know if the visitors ever had the lead, but I do know that we tacked on runs at a pretty good clip.  The game wasn't slow, per se, but I think it started late, and we all had a case of the fog drowsies.  

We decided to end the game after 7 innings, Sonny threw 2 and I threw 5.  Catchers were a premium, especially after Chris L took a foul ball in the twig and berries.

What we did have was a lot of new guys, recruited by HR, and Carter: Tyler (?), Eduardo, the Blue Bomber (bedecked in Dodgers gear, and swinging from the heels like a madman), and a bearded guy whose name I didn't get, but who was an interesting final out of the game.  Nick W had taken over for Don behind the dish after a quad injury seized him running to first.  I threw a pretty perfect fastball to the outside corner, and Nick shrugged and called it strike 3.  The batter disagreed, and Nick felt bad for ending it that way, and I figured it wasn't that big of a deal, so we kept going.  Suddenly I couldn't throw strike three (four) and then he hit a double to left to score two runs.  

Mercy is for the weak.  

Soon after, it ended for real, the final score a soft 11-8.

Highlights:

* Thank you to everyone that came out, and for the new blood!

* No band this week, hopefully they have not given up on us

* New guy dove in center for a ball, we explained to him soon after that sort of thing tends to injure more than help, and he would soon lower his standards if he came out more

* Anna had a great rope to left

*Don and I managed to communicate for an entire game with him calling signs for what he thought was sliders and me throwing changeups.

* Adam had some real nice digs at first, but we also had a lot of passed balls at first

* Don kept playing after he hurt himself, thanks for the guts!

* Marcie had a nice situational at bat and netted herself a RBI

* Chris P laid off all the cheese I was serving him, to my surprise.

* Carter ran out of gas on a particularly frustrating inning that his team could not get a out.  He was shotputting the ball by the end.  I promised that I would get that 3rd out, and I did.

* He also played me at 380ft in left to catch my hardest hit of the day

* We successfully made a "check the runner, go one" play.

7/25/21 GGP

 Well of all our games that was by far the most recent.....

The summer doldrums continue,  though unlike last week there was no saving have of late comers,  and we ended up with 10 players.  10! 

Once again we ask why we have 102 people on the email chain and can't field a game.  I'm part of the problem but dammit I wanted a game.  What we got was 3 batters and 7 fielders,  pitchers and catchers playing 6 outs. It was something. 

I can't say who won,  but Urano and Mike N were the big hitters, but everyone got at least one good smack I think. 

 James made a couple of great running catches after he muffed one.  

JT almost had a great catch and then made up for it later in the inning.  

I caught 3 line drive comebackers that seemed to each be harder than the last. 

HR had the dirtiest opposite field hit, followed by me. 

The score was not outlandish and the defense held up pretty well considering.  The band was out and entertained us.  The 7th inning stretch was whenever they wanted it to be. 

I managed to catch a pop fly in front of the pitchers mound,  barely. 

There was a double play. 

I think we had fun. 

There was an honest discussion as to could you tag a ghost runner to start a double play....

I challenged James with 2 change ups and a slider for my only K of the day. 

Hopefully more will come out soon. 

7/18/21 GGP

 Satch was off in the West, enjoying a relaxing long drive with the family.  There is a real slice of heaven in Westcliffe, CO, I can tell you... Mike Lattig was at the game, in fact, he was the game as it turns out, and he filed this report.

When Greg hadn’t heard back from the ‘usual suspects’ who take the gear when he can’t, it was pretty obvious that we were going to be shorthanded this weekend. Add to that the knowledge that Satch is up in the Rockies, having Bob teach his boys to hunt squirrel for dinner. And Anna has joined Nick and his family at their estate (or some such) in Maine. And Urano has disappeared. And… well, you get the picture. 

And it was pretty bleak as 3pm approached. At first, it was me, Mitch, and a bunch of gear. Then Adam and Mike N trickled in. Then, John and Arson after a long absence. And HR after time away in the mountains… things were getting intriguing. But we still didn’t have a solid 9, let alone enough for a game.

So we bided our time with some infield. Then started into batting practice when, voila, out of the cornfield came the cavalry. Dan, Don, James, Stoner, and Marcy all made the scene. Giving us an excuse to put the bag of balls away and call it an even 6 on 6. Even better, Marcy got on the horn to secure a couple more participants, who arrived just in time for the 2nd inning.

We decided to keep the outfield to 2 so as to reduce the amount of switching and such, which was about the spirit of the game. Really, not one I was going to write up except for… the no hitter.

Sure, it was just six innings. And sure, we were all in a pretty lackadaisical mood considering the turnout and the encroaching fog. But, as I had told Adam when we were warming up, my arm was feeling good. And boy if that didn’t turn out to be true. The slider had a little extra tilt. The curveball tighter and later breaking than usual. And one by one, the week grounders and pop ups piled up.

I didn’t even know it was happening until we came off the field in the fifth and I was planning to hand the ball over to HR. But once we figured out that, indeed, there had not been a hit - just two base runners from errant throws on cleanly fielded ground balls - I had to go out for the sixth.

And right out of the gate, Marcy smacked a line drive up the middle. I thought the fun was over, but Dan had her shaded, fielded it on one hop, and made the throw. Then Marcy’s friend (sorry to forget her name, it was her first time swinging a bat and she made contact both times up!) came up and knocked one right back to me for out number two.

Up came Mike N, who had the only really hard hit ball of the game leading off. But it was a liner to left, where Mitch was waiting. For the first time all game my command faltered, and Mike had to wait out the first two walks of the game before grounding one to short - which hopped up on dan and went off his glove then chest. A ‘hit or error’ debate ensued. And two pitches later, after another week groundball out by John, we decided it must have been an error. The no hitter was complete!

• Shoutout to John for towing the rubber for the other team and consistently throwing strikes. We were pretty light on pitching, and Mike N had to catch. So in lieu of sending Adam, Stone, Marcy, or James to the mound, the game was his from start to finish…
• Mitch continued to rake, getting us off to a quick start that we never looked back from. Maybe it ended 8-0 or so? 
• Don was a vacuum at third for our side, contributing greatly to the no hitter
• Arson called a great game, really understanding when the curve and slider would best be deployed
• I’ve apparently developed a bad habit of not running out groundballs. I’ll have to rectify that…

Same time and place next week. Hope to see more of you there!

7/4/21 GGP DoubleHeader

I feel like we really deserved this game, last year's 4th of July came a and went with very little fanfare.  No BBQ, no beer, Don just walked away with another year of the AOY trophy.  So this year was nice to have something familiar, and a great game to boot.  

Yes, I said game.  We ended up playing one long game with an intermission.  Or maybe we didn't.  It was a fluid kind of thing.

Greg started for the visitors, and Sonny for the homers.  Greg had his 17 Reasons shirt on for good luck, and Tony had his custom made MBC uniform.  In general, the visitors had a lot the more mature players of the MBC, but also a smattering of the new crew.  The homers definitely had the advantage on paper, and it turns out, in reality too.  They scored first and often.  they also had every lefty just about, and they seemed to hit in bunches.  The visitors was more of a happy go lucky kind of thing, we scored our runs the old fashioned way, by hoping the other team made errors.  Tony followed Greg, and I think Phelps and McG and Mike N. followed Sonny

I won't attempt to recap the whole thing, mostly because a week has gone by now and it is hard to remember, but I can say that it was a great first 9 innings, and we managed to the tie the game up in the 9th, only to let it slip away in the bottom of the ninth thanks to a long drive, a fast runner, and a veteran player in left field.  First pitch, Sean blasted to left, over Bob's head, and enough away that he had a triple for sure, and a homerun once we realized that it was going to have to be a 3-man relay to get it home.  He deserved it.

BBQ was off the hizzy this year, thanks to lots of healthy side salads, Anna's cornbread, which was used to bribe a park official who had a beef about our charcoal grills, a tri-tip from Grass Valley Will, and lots of good times sharing laughs and food with friends.  I know I wasn't the only one that was grateful that we are able to start getting life back to normal-ish.  I hope things continue to go in that direction.

Awards for this year: Anna Marjavi was our walkaway Rookie of the Year, as she comprises all that we value in the game, drive, spunk, good sense of humor, regular attendance, and the ability to reliably catch, throw, and hit the ball.  And as usual, she also suffered from a frustrating game of defense and offense all day.  It never fails, win an award for great play, have a not-so-great-play day.  Happens all the time, but no matter, big congrats and thanks to Anna for her spirit and play over the last year plus.

The Asshole of the Year has been wrested away from Don, who didn't even have the guts to show up this year.  The AOY trophy went to a man who has personally contributed to the degradation and ruination of the great game of baseball, our own pitcher's cheat wholesaler,  Pelican pine tar stick producer Dave Phillips.

The 2nd game got a little sloppy as it usually does, and we lost a few players without a 2nd game reinforcement that we usually have in years past.  I started for the visitors, and Sean for the homers.  Sean was pitching his ass off, and we were not able to do much.  I had to leave in the middle of the game, and I don't know if they played the full 9, or stopped at 7.  The game was suffering from severe torpor at that point.  And still the most fun that anyone can have.  

Happy Birthday America!

Highlights

* Big hitters for the day: Will, Dan, Sean, Chris P., Mike L  All of these guys hit the piss out of the ball, I think Will had about 5 doubles.  Dan might have had the longest drive to right center.

* Double plays helped both teams out of jams

* John McG had the hardest line drive of the day

* More than one pop foul to the catcher was caught, a difficult play

* WE had a lots of fans, mostly to do with Adam's daughter

* RBI Ed was on the scene and even managed to wash his uniform some time in the last 12 months.

* The game was changed by a suspect fair ball call down the left field line.

* I managed to throw out a runner at first from right field, all while being trucked by Adam who was playing second 

* Doc came out and umpired a spell, and then faded back into the corn field

* Knuckleball was working pretty good at one point

* The weather was the usual mixture of heavy fog, wind, 10s of sun, etc.

* Daniel D. drove up from Monterey, and got his doubleheader fix

* Dennis saw the panic of the week before when no one showed up and decided to bolster our numbers.  He is post-back surgery, so thanks to him for his willingness to sacrifice himself

* Nick Smith saw the old 2018 sign up sheet that still listed him as bringing a Weber and was guilted into coming.  By any means necessary.

* At one point we had a little league style play where everyone ran after the ball, abandoned their bases, allowing the runners to advance.

* Mental note, maybe we need to bring either exclusively propane from now on, or a metal bucket to assure any rangers that we will be disposing of coals properly.

* I apologize if I missed any other plays, email me and I will add

Thanks everyone for showing up, and staying safe.  I love this game so much, it's great to see if survive and thrive.

S. Paige.

6/20/21 GGP #3

Roundabout game-time I was torturing the kids in the car about having to come play baseball with me for Father's Day after we got back from our camping trip....but of course, I knew that was a pipe dream, because at 3pm we were somewhere around Rio Vista, stuck in the 4-way intersection.  Still better than 80 any day of the week.  Mike L was there, and he filed this report:

Week 3 in Golden Gate Park, and while the weather looked more like Week 2 (a bit gray, but not too windy), the game itself shaped up to be a cleaner affair with more than full sides on each bench. 

It started as a matchup of veteran right handers, with Sonny spinning balls off the mound for the visitors while yours truly (Mike L) took the bump for the home team. All in all, a solid start for both of us. I was able to hold the visitors mostly in check through four innings, exiting down 2-0 on the strength of a fourth inning that saw Urano and Adam both do what they should have done with pitches right down the pipe - smoke them up the middle for a hit. Those hits plus some stolen bases and a couple of errant throws erased my attempt at four clean innings but left us in good condition overall. 

That’s because once I was out of the game our offense got to work, stacking up four runs in the bottom of the fifth to give us a lead with Mitch, Greg, Marcy, and Me all reaching base before an out was recorded, and reaching home safely before the third out was made. 

The beneficiary of those runs was Sean, who followed me on the hill and quickly claimed the title ‘King of the Comebacker’, as hitter after hitter knocked one back at him (including a life-threatening line drive from Bob), and as expected Sean handled them all with ease. I think there were 5 (could have been 6) comebackers over Sean’s four innings. Including one where he caught Liam (how had arrived late from high up in the mountains) leaning off third to help erase a threat. 

Sonny bowed to Phelps after 5 solid innings, turning it into a battle of the lefties as we headed late into the game. We were able to tack on a run against Phelps (Greg driving in Mitch) which proved handy as ultimately the visitors were able to scratch 3 runs across against Sean to tighten things up. 

But that is as tight as they would get, as Chris came in looking sharp to get the last three outs - a single the only blemish on the back of his baseball card for the day. All in all, a fun day at the yard, a nice sub-3-hour game, and plenty of good spirits as we all enjoy the post-pandemic life. 

Highlights: 

·       We would have had a runner thrown out at the plate for the second straight week, as Mitch came charging hard on a liner to left as Urano charged hard around third. Sadly, the relay was not to be, as Tony started to throw before he ever had the ball fully in his glove. Probably could have stopped, looked at it, added some Pelican Grip, then thrown and still gotten the out…. 
·         James hit a prodigious blast just foul down the left field line that came up about three feet short of landing in the middle of a family picnic….
     The McGrath boys both banged doubles deep into the gap for a nice Father/Son Father’s Day combo 
·         Marcy had a solid day at the plate, roping a line drive to third that unfortunately was right into Bob’s glove (6 inches either way it’s a hit!) 
·         Adam continued to square the ball up, and this week he actually got rewarded with hits. 
·         T-shirt Mike was a vacuum at third, which was much appreciated by his fellow shorts-wearing pitcher… 
·         We had a few groups of family and friends as spectators which is always nice and is a perfect lead in reminder to bring the family out for the 4th of July. The doubleheader and BBQ are a GO and we will be circulating the sign-up sheet soon!

6/13/21 GGP- Game 2

From what I understand, not quite the same affair as last week, but I think we had a good game.  The fog was thick, yet it was warm-ish.  We had 15 at our high water mark, and there were some excellent plays.  Most of which were at home, in an amazing twist.  Seriously, I think we set a record for MBC outs at home.  

Tony started for the homers, and Nick W. for the visitors.  The first 3 innings seemed to take a very long time, but I wouldn't know because I showed up late.  After dropping off lil" Satch and lil' Josh Gibson at sleepaway camp, I worked my way home and then raced across the bridge.  I was glad I did.

Doc!  The old man makes another appearance and umpires most of the game....

Setting up the controversy, what do you do when one team gets the umpire for half an inning, and the other gets their own catcher calling the balls and strikes.  Good thing we are all honest people, I suppose.

Double plays!  We each had those too, the defense was really locked in for most of the game as well.  Fly balls were a little tougher, with the fog and the wind, but ground balls were in good supply.  We almost had another double play, but Anna legged it out and beat the throw.

Dan took the ball from Tony, and then I took the ball from Dan.  It was nice to play on a field with a mound, and everything was working pretty good.  Knuckleball had a little extra mess on it from the moisture, which also helped with the other stuff, what with wet air raising the seams on the ball.  John McG came in for 2 and then Mike N after that.  

The game had spiraled out of control for our team by that time, and the score was 10-5.  We had calculated that the game would be around 18-7 by the end.  The visitors were stacked with a real Murderer's Row, every hitter a danger.  And they proved it, I saw hard hit balls from everyone: Bob, Anna, Urano, James, Mike N, John McGrath, and Nick W.

We tried for a comeback, and made it about half way, the ending was eventful enough for us to have fun, but we didn't tie the game and force us all to try and finish.  We called the 8th inning the 9th, since we were all ready to go, and the game had dragged on into 6pm.  The band was out and they played through their whole set about 4 times, much to their credit they sounded awesome, and they waiting a long time to get to the 7th inning stretch.  They had also played the Bye Bye Baby song in honor of Urano that has hit an in the parker the inning before.

A great game, in a beautiful setting, with good people.

Highlights:

* The plays at home!  Amazing throws from Urano, Nick W., and James.

* James also hit a rocket to the moon in left

* Ed Sidawi in the flesh!  Apparently he has a reprieve from shuttling his kid around.

* The Mike L's were a great power back-to-back lefty combination all day

* Greg had a nice poke up the middle and almost got thrown out again by James from deep center field.  

* Anna continued her hitting tear

* Doc did a good job of umpiring, though he got overruled by Greg a few times

* A lot of our rally was thanks to throwing errors by the other team, in other words, a real MBC rally.

* I somehow managed to strike out more than a few, and even got Mike N and James on nasty change ups.  That felt good.

* There was a pretty good average on pop flies which I thought were usually trouble.

* RBI Ed must be out of practice

* Tony took his bat all the way down the line, and was almost was safe as the ball was bobbled, he eventually tripping over the bat and falling past the base.  Luckily he was alright....

* There was another play at home, involving Satch of all people.  I had started at first after another droopy single, and that was no place to be scoring from.  But Dan scorched the ball and as I came around third, Dan was being waved on (I think) by our team past second.  So I had nowhere to go but home.  The throw beat me by a wide margin, from James again I think, and John McG was ready for me, except he didn't think I would slide.  And so I did, though I thought it was going to end like this:

But I managed to slide at a 45 down angle towards the plate, and got my big ass foot on the plate before John could reach down to tag me.  It was a good feeling.

Thanks to all that showed up, it was a great game to be a part of.

S. Paige

  

6/6/21 Report from the Salt Mines (GGP)

 I was not able to make it to the game, but the first of our residency at GGP was a good one, and here with the recap is Ol' Reliable himself, Mike Lattig:

It was a beautiful day to be back in GG Park. Not just because the wind was still howling and St Marys would have been unbearable. But because the sun was shining, the hawks were flying, the old-timey game was happening - with all the fans and beer drinking that that entails - and the promise of a better field brought out a number of our old timers who we haven’t seen as much of lately. 

Namely James (kid), Rich (kids), Don (baby - as in he is one, not has one), Ben (kids - but because he’s a teacher, not a father), and Stone (kids). Also making his first appearance in forever was our once and future umpire, Doc. It was great to see him, and he didn’t look a day over however old he is. 

Sean and Sonny did the pitching honors to inaugurate our three-month run in the park, though with the sides at 12 v 12 it was clear they weren’t going to get to run the length of the game. And it looked at the outset like Sonny’s day might be more dictated by effectiveness than numbers, as the home team struck for one in the first and two in the second. But after that, our bats got awfully quiet. 

Meanwhile, Sean had it all going - stymieing the visitors with his varied arsenal and fantastic movement. Along with a complete layout grab in CF by Rich to end a threat early in the game. As Sean said coming off the mound - It took a former minor leaguer to maintain the shutout. But maintain it we did, as Sean wrapped up 5 innings of shutout ball and handed the ball to McGrath. 

This is where my details get fuzzy, but needless to say a comeback was afoot. And after two innings pitched by John, HR came in for the 8th. By the time the third out was made, we were tied up 3-3. Chris P gets the credit for holding the home team in check, with some nice defense behind him. In fact, defense was solid for a good portion of the game with a couple perfectly mission-style exception innings. (Though a quick note to James - go with a full throw on the infield rather than trying to lob it.)

I think we had a relay throw to the plate for an out at one point (Maybe Greg from LF to someone to home…), we had Urano making leaping catches and running over the shoulder grabs out into CF (shoutout to Stone for not plowing him down), as well as taking a DP himself to end an inning… Just a solid defensive day all around. 

So, we head to the bottom of the 8th all knotted. Yours truly started things and jumped into the wayback machine with a long drive into left center for a double. Sean followed with a line drive back up the box that somehow skipped by Don in CF, allowing me to score and (because he hustles) Sean to get all the way to third. After a comebacker left him still at 3rd with one out, Sean put the contact play on for himself. Only he stopped and admired the high chopper hit to Sonny at third before remembering that he’d done so… 

What ensued was the best rundown in a long time. I’m guessing it took at least 6 throws to get him Sonny to Mike to Sonny to Mike to Chris to Someone to Chris…. All that effort allowed Virgil to scoot his way to second, which we ultimately cashed in with another base hit (sorry, forgetting who got it - maybe JT?) to make it 5-3. 

That extra run would prove necessary as HR went for the 2-inning save, giving up a couple of hits to make it a one run game before stranding the tying run at 3rd with a nasty strikeout of Dan. 

All in all, an exciting and fun way to kick off our run in the park. A few other notes:

• In addition to Rich’s impossible catch in the OF, Adam smoked one to left that HR somehow ran down. Greg went a LONG way in left to corral a drive from… I think Chris P? And Don got a great jump to snag a shot I hit into CF. All in all a great day for outfielders, who were clearly thankful to be done with Saint Marys

• Anna’s bat has been coming around lately, and she had at least one hit, plus hard contact just about every time. 

• As mentioned above, Urano gets a gold star on defense for multiple tough plays

• Mike N seemed to hit a line drive every time up. Which wasn’t that surprising… 

• Greg was looking spry in LF and at the plate, including a nice line drive to center that we’re calling a hit - even if JT got forced out at 2nd

• Rich’s kids continue to show us that genetics definitely play a big role in athletic ability… 

• No band this week due to a previous engagement, but hopefully we’ll see them out there next week!
  

5/30/21 St Mary's

One final time at the old wind tunnel before we move to our new residency in the park.  IT was a great game, the sun made the wind less of a freezing affair, and we had 17 players.  I had some weird elbow tweak that I was nursing, so I told Greg that I had decided not to throw many/any breaking balls.  He liked the challenge.  Sean started for the other team, and that is how it began and how it ended.  

Yep, Sean and I each pitched complete games, like a real ball game.  

There had been concern at the beginning that the teams were mismatched, and they might have been, but in the opposite direction.  Our team seemed to not be able to hit its way out of a paper bag, and Sean's team was crushing the ball.  Our defense held up pretty well, especially under the adverse wind conditions, but still they were averaging a run or two an inning.  We only scored 2 the whole game.  The other team had lefty after lefty, and they made JT run all over right field the entire game.

With neither of us bowing out, the game moved along quickly, and there were some gems made in the field.  Chris P made several catches in short left, as well as an amazing diving catch while covering left for the other team.  Mitch played 2nd, and caught pop ups as well as made the turns on some great plays.  I think we turned 2 at least once, and had opportunities a couple other times. Anna played 1st and made some strong plays, including a perfect toss to me covering the bag on a ground ball.  

We could do everything except score runs.

Final Score: 8-2.  

Highlights:

*  Mike N was at least 4-5, maybe 5-6 on the day

* Anna had a great hit late in the game, and made it count, coming around to score one of our two runs

* T-Shirt Mike also had a great day at the plate, bashing doubles and triples

* Pitching without a curve was good, but not having a 2-strike go to pitch was tough.  I had so many lost 2-strike counts

* I did manage to K about 5 though

* Every bad hop=our team, every good hop=their team

* We had discussed stealing, and how we have not thrown anyone out in a long time, but I think we will keep it, if not just to keep the pitchers on their toes

* Dan may have to go back to baserunning camp, caught twice at first on a day we needed baserunners

*  Tony was back, thumb protected

* Marcie also got a hit, and everyone celebrated, it was great to see 

* No band this week which was disappointing

* The mound at St Mary's officially sucks.  There was a rebar sticking up in front of the rubber, so you had to put your foot to one side or the other, and try not to catch your spike and break your ankle.  And don't get me started on the hole.

* Cap tip to Sean for an impressive day on the mound, a big bat all day with an almost homerun, and for striking me out with a nasty dropball.

See you at Hippy Hill.

S. Paige