It has long been rumored that JFT and the Coneheads are one and the same team. It is not quite true; there are at least a couple of players that are different. However, over the years we have merged into pretty much the same team, although (even though some players are still confused by this) there are two different coaches, ol' Stink Eye and yours truly, at least for the Summer Orinda league.
But - once the Head season starts, and we play back to back nights, what we do on Sunday as JFT and Monday as the Heads are inextricably linked.
Last Sunday, JFT had one of those Nightmare Games. We played our old arch-rivals Advance Construction. Advance has advanced in age faster than we have - they are not the same team they once were. We have dominated games recently. In fact Sunday we had the game in hand through four innings. Lefty returned to the team and stepped up and clobbered gappers to left center his first two times up - one for a triple and one for a double. These hits were largely responsible for inspiring two rallies in the first and third. In the fourth we loaded the bases with two outs, and up stepped Bruce, who was batting near the bottom because he arrived late. He promptly unloaded them with a bases clearing double, and the rout was on. Up 8-1 with nine outs to go.
Then the softball gods turned against us. In the top of the fifth, balls found holes under the gloves of normally extremely reliable infielders, and two balls found the sun in left field and were missed. Eleven runs poured in, and even the Stink Eye couldn't stop the deluge.
Normally a 12-9 deficit wouldn't make us blink. But the gods were not through with us. We acted as if we didn't know how to get out of the hole, and we hit into a double play to end the fifth, and when we loaded the bases in the sixth with no outs, on the verge of yet another epic comeback, we hit into another DP, and then took strike three looking and could only add one run. And then because of the length of the eleven run nightmare, time was out and the game ended with us down 12-10.
All is not lost; we are still in first place and we should be able to win out to stay in first place for the best seeding for the playoffs. Despite our defensive lapses, we did turn three double plays of our own, and perhaps we got the nightmare out of our system at the right time. But it is a wake-up call; we are not immune to the whims of the softball gods.
The next night we had to take on one of our arch-rivals in Orinda, the former Pennini's now called the DC's after their fallen leader Dave Caraska. It's been testy a few times between us, but it's always a good game and there is mutual respect between the teams.
But I think we had learned a lesson the night before. Even though the DC's took leads of 2-1 and 6-4 we kept putting on the pressure, scoring in every inning through the fifth. After the third we shut down the DC's until garbage time in the sixth and final inning when they scored two to make the game seem closer than it was (final score was 11-8).
The statement play came in the fourth. The DC's had a couple on with one out, and their next hitter hit a line drive out to Bruce in LF. The runner on second strayed only a few feet off - not even half way. But Bruce unleashed a fierce strike to G covering second, and the guy was toast. The old 50 year old legs don't react quick enough and Bruce simply nailed him. It shook up the DC's, and as I said didn't score again until the last inning.
In fact they shouldn't have scored then either. Mark Hayes of the DC's had the audacity to try to go first to third on Bruce's arm in that frame and he nailed a strike again - this time it even was down on the bag where Hayes was sliding head first and D took the throw and punched him out on the head. Alas the umpire, who initially called him out, changed his tune for some reason, and overruled himself. But we all know what truly happened, and the rest of the league better take note not to run again on Bruce.
The hitting was balanced as it often is when you score almost every inning. Bruce led the way at the plate too with two doubles among three hits. Gene and Chopper both went 3-3 with a double, and Haz had three RBIs on a two run single and a sac fly. A bunch of us had two hits, and I won the entertainment award with a slow motion slide into third that set up Haz' run scoring single. Perfect form, I might add, and my first ever on turf.
The fate of the two teams remains forever intertwined now - on the rare occasion when we go down on Sunday, it's important to make a statement the next night, and we did. Not so much to the other team, although it never hurts to hurt Pennini's, but for ourselves and to the softball gods too.
Milestones:
(JFT)
Knight 30 2b (#2)
(Coneheads)
Doc Larry 1250 ab (#3)
Doc Larry 750 h (#3)
Bruce 10 2b (#29)
Bruce 50 h (#33)
But - once the Head season starts, and we play back to back nights, what we do on Sunday as JFT and Monday as the Heads are inextricably linked.
Last Sunday, JFT had one of those Nightmare Games. We played our old arch-rivals Advance Construction. Advance has advanced in age faster than we have - they are not the same team they once were. We have dominated games recently. In fact Sunday we had the game in hand through four innings. Lefty returned to the team and stepped up and clobbered gappers to left center his first two times up - one for a triple and one for a double. These hits were largely responsible for inspiring two rallies in the first and third. In the fourth we loaded the bases with two outs, and up stepped Bruce, who was batting near the bottom because he arrived late. He promptly unloaded them with a bases clearing double, and the rout was on. Up 8-1 with nine outs to go.
Then the softball gods turned against us. In the top of the fifth, balls found holes under the gloves of normally extremely reliable infielders, and two balls found the sun in left field and were missed. Eleven runs poured in, and even the Stink Eye couldn't stop the deluge.
Normally a 12-9 deficit wouldn't make us blink. But the gods were not through with us. We acted as if we didn't know how to get out of the hole, and we hit into a double play to end the fifth, and when we loaded the bases in the sixth with no outs, on the verge of yet another epic comeback, we hit into another DP, and then took strike three looking and could only add one run. And then because of the length of the eleven run nightmare, time was out and the game ended with us down 12-10.
All is not lost; we are still in first place and we should be able to win out to stay in first place for the best seeding for the playoffs. Despite our defensive lapses, we did turn three double plays of our own, and perhaps we got the nightmare out of our system at the right time. But it is a wake-up call; we are not immune to the whims of the softball gods.
The next night we had to take on one of our arch-rivals in Orinda, the former Pennini's now called the DC's after their fallen leader Dave Caraska. It's been testy a few times between us, but it's always a good game and there is mutual respect between the teams.
But I think we had learned a lesson the night before. Even though the DC's took leads of 2-1 and 6-4 we kept putting on the pressure, scoring in every inning through the fifth. After the third we shut down the DC's until garbage time in the sixth and final inning when they scored two to make the game seem closer than it was (final score was 11-8).
The statement play came in the fourth. The DC's had a couple on with one out, and their next hitter hit a line drive out to Bruce in LF. The runner on second strayed only a few feet off - not even half way. But Bruce unleashed a fierce strike to G covering second, and the guy was toast. The old 50 year old legs don't react quick enough and Bruce simply nailed him. It shook up the DC's, and as I said didn't score again until the last inning.
In fact they shouldn't have scored then either. Mark Hayes of the DC's had the audacity to try to go first to third on Bruce's arm in that frame and he nailed a strike again - this time it even was down on the bag where Hayes was sliding head first and D took the throw and punched him out on the head. Alas the umpire, who initially called him out, changed his tune for some reason, and overruled himself. But we all know what truly happened, and the rest of the league better take note not to run again on Bruce.
The hitting was balanced as it often is when you score almost every inning. Bruce led the way at the plate too with two doubles among three hits. Gene and Chopper both went 3-3 with a double, and Haz had three RBIs on a two run single and a sac fly. A bunch of us had two hits, and I won the entertainment award with a slow motion slide into third that set up Haz' run scoring single. Perfect form, I might add, and my first ever on turf.
The fate of the two teams remains forever intertwined now - on the rare occasion when we go down on Sunday, it's important to make a statement the next night, and we did. Not so much to the other team, although it never hurts to hurt Pennini's, but for ourselves and to the softball gods too.
Milestones:
(JFT)
Knight 30 2b (#2)
(Coneheads)
Doc Larry 1250 ab (#3)
Doc Larry 750 h (#3)
Bruce 10 2b (#29)
Bruce 50 h (#33)
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