Corona Crushers indeed

Last week, I challenged JFT to come up with something dramatic so I would have an angle about which to write.

Chopper, really he shouldn't have - he went out in his Sunday morning game and took a ball off his left eye, requiring 17 stitches to close up just so he could see. With both eyes that is.

Personally I think that is taking things a little bit too much to heart, or face as the case may be. The power of the pen, or whatever this instrument is I am using. Please do not repeat this behavior - as I said, a good rumble would have sufficed:

This:

not this:

Of course that's not all. Chopper should have sat out, but between absent players and those MIA unexpectedly, we only had 11 including both Chopper and Joe, whose back went out on Saturday.

All this was made possible by JFT absentees: starting left fielder (vacation), left center fielder (MIA), and right center fielder (working?) (plus Sting on the DL for the year), the league's best schmiddler (hammy), and starting second baseman (vacation). Against the team Corona's Crushers, who have proclaimed more than once that they are our equals. I guess it's our head-to-head record against them: we are 18-3-1 against them in the last seven years, pretty close, really. And they blew their chance to make this game for possession of first place, as they lost last week, and came in trailing us by two games instead of one. Nonetheless, they appeared to be our biggest challengers.

So Joe and Chopper were pressed into action. All Chopper did was go 4-4 including a double and 3 RBIs. Joe the ageless wonder of a pitcher should have been in bed with his heating pad. Don't ask. But he went out and faced down Corona's and held them to three runs and added a couple of knocks. In fact the final score was the same as our record over them in the last few years: 18-3.

Joe the coach (who happens to be the very same person) also made some brilliant moves. Conventional wisdom would be to make as few changes as necessary on defense, so you would have Randy staying at 3B and you would put Derek at middle infielder. Especially D being left handed and all. But Joe places them the other way around. In the first inning Derek, using his advantage of being left handed snares a ball headed down the left field line for an out. Then cuts off a high hopper headed to Chuck playing deep in the 5-6 hole, (from where he would have had trouble getting a throw off fast enough to get the out), and nails the out.

In the second there is a double play grounder to Buddha at second, but it's hit a little slow. Buddha flips it to second, where Randy bare-hands it and fires to first to complete the DP on a bang bang play. Later, Randy uses his speed to track down a blooper into medium right center. That's at least three, maybe four outs we wouldn't have had with the other defensive alignment.

Randy continued to be the hottest hitter, going 3-3 plus a sac fly. D, showing up during the first inning, thus batting last, came up with the bases loaded three times. One time he cleared the bases with a smash to the right field fence. He had 4 RBIs altogether. His other time up, there were runners on second and third, and he received what suspiciously looked like an intentional walk. Joe would like to take credit for putting Derek in that spot in the lineup - we can let him have that.

GMAC made his yearly appearance and also was 4-4 and filled in well in LC. At noon we did not even know who would be in the lineup, so his appearance on short notice is greatly appreciated.

Overall, it's back to the drawing boards for the Corona's. This may have even cost them second place.

Our team should think about a more moderate amount of drama - for Joe's sake if not your own as in the case of Chopper. Let's try to keep it under twelve stitches, ok?

Milestone:
Chuck        300 h (#1)