Let it Rain in Monte Carlo

If you look up the early history of Major League baseball (OK I have too much time on my hands), you will see that some of the early franchises had multiple names, and changed them often.   For example, the Boston American League team in 1901-7 was known variously as the Boston Americans, Somersets, Pilgrims, and Puritans. In fact all the American league teams were called the Americans at the beginning. There was a team in Cleveland called the Forest Citys, but also known as the Blues or Spiders. They eventually became the Indians. My favorite was when the Reds team in Cincinnati joined the National league, the new Cincinnati entry in the American Association of Baseball was also called the Reds, so they started calling them in some places the Porkers or Kelly's Killers.

Such is the state of the fledgling MDSSL. The Creaker entry is called the Blues sometimes, or Walnut Creek Blue, or sometimes known as the Crackers. At any rate, in a very exciting game today we beat the Concord Red Menace on their home turf at Willow Pass Park 33-28.

If you see that score you assume it was won on offense and to be sure there was plenty. But the key plays of the game occurred during the late comebacks of the Menace. In the seventh, Mike Carlo ranged into shallow left to snare a popup, with an over the shoulder back handed miracle as the ball rattled around in his glove. In the eighth, Dan Rainwater went far to his right to backhand a sharp grounder headed to center field, and flipped it to Carlo at second for a force out. And in the ninth after the flip flop, when Red had the bases loaded with two outs and slugger Kelvin up and the tying run on deck, Kelvin hit a line drive smash high above the shortstop position. Not to be outdone by Rainwater, Carlo climbed the ladder, claimed the ball, and ended the game.

The game started out like a game in San Francisco, some clouds and a lot of wind. The wind was gusting all game long. One time I was watching the grass in right field to see where it was going. A gust came by going straight out, and then made a 90 degree turn to center field. Time after time I misjudged balls in right field; the Menace has a lot more power than the Crackers. And I was not alone. When the Red hitters hit the jet stream, there was no hope for those of us in the outfield.

We came up short of our five runs in the first; the Menace scored five in each of their first three frames. We matched them in the second, third, and fourth. It looked like the first team to blink would lose. When we put up five in the fourth and Red only two, it looked promising but we only had a a one run lead. Scott Starlin came in to pitch, and the game began to turn. We put up another five in the fifth, and then Red blinked with a zero in the bottom half. Due to our generosity, we matched their zero with our own in the next frame. It gave them hope as we only were up 23-17 at that point. But that (and Scott's pitching) only set up the game for the late inning defensive heroics.

Rainwater was amazing with five hits and his proxies scored five runs. He led off three innings with hits and we scored five each time. Brian Black was 6-6. Randy Kramasz had three hits but between them and some deep flies had 8 RBIs (including two on one sac fly). Ray was Ray: 5-5 with six RBIs and a bases loaded walk thrown in. The leadoff hitter and Tom Occhiogrosso were each 4-5 with two walks and five runs scored. Starlin was 4-5 with a sac fly, and the others in the lineup had three hits each (Clay and Carlo). Only one home run, by Occhiogrosso, and Concord must have had seven or so. It was a total team effort, with a lot of stringing together hits and moving players along.

Speaking of which it's time for Coach Banker to get back off the DL and into the lineup. With only 10 players and four outfielders it amounted to player abuse to call for the flip flop as we were only up nine runs going into the ninth. We were tired in the outfield chasing all those monster Red shots. I think he may have thought twice if it were he out there. As it is he showed us no mercy. And to think of what we did for him. I think I will talk to the union rep.