In any team athletic competition, there is an ebb and flow to a game, it turns this way and that until the final push...sometimes great drama at the end, sometimes not. But it seems that at some point in the game, there is that one moment, when some play happens and you just know by the result of that play how this game is going to go. Especially in the playoffs.
It happened yesterday while we watched Advance Construction take on Pinky's (note - sipping our beers after winning our two games). Advance, a heavy underdog, was in the game, and had it tied up in something like the fifth inning. One of Pinky's slashers was up with a couple of guys on base and I think there were two outs - and the shortstop went out and played short left field. His gambit worked perfectly as the hitter smashed the ball right to him - granted it was hard hit - but it went off his glove, a run or two scored, it opened the floodgates, and Advance never recovered.
Likewise in our game, the was a Moment in our game against Pinky's. In a surprising low scoring game, we had gone up 2-0, and then the umps killed our rally with a bad call when Chopper ran into Knight rounding second. Pinky's wasn't exactly tearing the cover off the ball, but crept back to 3-1 then 3-2 and took a lead in the bottom of the fifth 4-3. Between the bad call on Chopper (which nullified a run in addition to killing the rally) and the bad 'no-tag' on Greg in the fourth, we were beginning to wonder what do we have to overcome to beat these guys? It's bad enough that we have to shut them down, but we must overcome every bad call too?
At any rate it came to be that in the top of the sixth, we tied it on hits by Randy, Haz, and Timmy, but had the bases loaded and two outs. Up strode Chuck, our defensive whiz and heart of the team. Chuck has been struggling, at least in his mind, which means his average is in the same realm as the rest of us. But on this pitch, trying to hit a line drive to just give us a run to take the lead, he caught one and froze Mark Hayes in center field and before he could do anything about it, it was over his head and the double plated three runs.
There was still the matter of getting six outs from Pinky's to make sure there was no comeback, but at that moment you just knew this game was over. As it turned out it ended emphatically with a G to Chuck to D double play.
It sets us up with the advantage of winning just one of two, and we can end the tournament by winning the first game today. Most of you won't read this until after the game or games today - I don't know what will happen. But I do know that after we have drubbed Pinky's two straight, and Advance taking them to the limit yesterday in the elimination game, doubt has crept in, and the swagger is gone. David is gonna take down Goliath!
See you in an hour.
At any rate it came to be that in the top of the sixth, we tied it on hits by Randy, Haz, and Timmy, but had the bases loaded and two outs. Up strode Chuck, our defensive whiz and heart of the team. Chuck has been struggling, at least in his mind, which means his average is in the same realm as the rest of us. But on this pitch, trying to hit a line drive to just give us a run to take the lead, he caught one and froze Mark Hayes in center field and before he could do anything about it, it was over his head and the double plated three runs.
There was still the matter of getting six outs from Pinky's to make sure there was no comeback, but at that moment you just knew this game was over. As it turned out it ended emphatically with a G to Chuck to D double play.
It sets us up with the advantage of winning just one of two, and we can end the tournament by winning the first game today. Most of you won't read this until after the game or games today - I don't know what will happen. But I do know that after we have drubbed Pinky's two straight, and Advance taking them to the limit yesterday in the elimination game, doubt has crept in, and the swagger is gone. David is gonna take down Goliath!
See you in an hour.
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