Double Trouble

It's easy to write about a win, especially a tournament victory. Everyone is a hero, and contributed to the greatness that we all agree we are.

Not so much when we lose.

The Coneheads had an unprecedented August, losing both the Walnut Creek final to Advance Construction and in the Orinda semifinal game, and had to watch the Old Scouts and Cal Broncos battle it out, both teams decimated, perhaps by us pushing them both by losing our last games to them Sunday by one run each.

Yeah we were shorthanded and one of these years, I have a dream that we will be at full strength going into the Orinda playoffs in particular. You just don't lose the firepower of Bruce, Chopper, and then Mark and Reggie to injury without it diminishing the returns.

But I won't complain - we made it nearly to the end of each weekend, and most teams would take that. We just have higher standards.

I won't go into excruciating detail about the games and the weekends. You will just have to live in your own memories on that one. What I will do, though, is call out three players for being exceptional in the playoffs, not only as players but as men.

Second runner up is the Sting. He has had a serious illness for the last almost full year, and he did everything humanly possible and then more to get back on the field with us. He hasn't yet been given the OK to play outfield, but he managed to DH or catch for us in the last three games of the Orinda regular season. In his second game back, he only went 5-5 with two doubles, a homer and three RBIs. In the same game he made a tremendous catch playing catcher on a popup up the line, and on a putout at home from the outfield, he stretched full out and kept the plate to reward the strong throw I think from Bruce.

On playoff weekend he had to choose between us and making a mandatory appearance for his tournament team - he chose split the weekend but to be with us on Finals day. And then when the Doc said no, no, no you can't play both days, he chose us. Not easy for him. His reward for his giving 110% every time he takes the field was a pulled hammy in our last game Sunday. It was then that I knew we weren't going to prevail. But it was great to have his smiling face back with us.

Runner up was Pope, who locked down left field on the Coneheads as a 'kid' of about 27 many years ago. Seems like it was 27 years ago but I think it was only twelve or thirteen.

I also knew that it would be near impossible to win the Orinda finals without him since he had to leave at noon on Sunday. Somehow it made losing a little easier. He hit .700 in the Walnut Creek series with our team's only two home runs and both our game winning RBIs among the seven he collected. In Orinda, he hit .688 and a slugging percentage of 1.437. He hit three home runs in four games - including the first ever by a Conehead over the fence at Wilder. Thanks Dave for collecting that souvenir. And he started the greatest play of the weekend, a 7-5-4-5-4-6 rundown in the first scouts game. Things surely looked up when we routed them 14-4 in that one.

Pope's performance would have been epic, except that he was completely upstaged on the Orinda weekend. Ol' G just came out there on a mission, and if the rest of us played with half his heart and talent we would have swept through the weekend easily.

His line: 13 for 15, good for an .867 average. He knocked in 17 runs, and had the game winner in both games we won. His on base percentage was .813. The seventeen RBIs were fourth in Conehead Orinda playoff history and fifth overall - Pope had 20 once and 19 twice, but they were in seven and six game series, respectively, so G now has the most in a four game series. Second to him this year was Pope with ten. It seemed every time we needed a clutch hit, G was up and he came through.

The great thing about sports is that once it's over, it's over. At least for me. Time to start anew and we all start 0-0. Time for revenge on Cream and Clear, starting tomorrow!

Orinda Milestones:
7/24
None

7/27
Chopper        350 h (#16)
Haze             300 ab (#22)

7/31
D                  400 h (#14)
Ol' G            250 g (#13)
Mark            50 ab (#39)

8/7
Sting            60 hr (#2)
Heffe           1650 ab (#2)

8/12 Game 1
Larry            1400 ab (#3)
Ol' G            450 rbi (#6)

8/12 Game 2

Larry            80 2b (#7)
Gene            1050 ab (#7)
Ol' G            550 h (#8)

8/13 Game 1

Lefty            200 r (#18)

Haze            100 g (#20)

8/13 Game 2

Pope             150 2b (#2)

Ol' G            350 r (#12)

Walnut Creek Milestones:
7/30
Knight        150 g (#4)

8/5
Game 1:
None

Game 2:
Lefty       40 bb (#4)
Pope        50 rbi (#17)

8/6
Game 1:
Ol' G       400 ab (#8)
Pope        50 r (#19)
Pope        100 ab (#22)

Game 2:
Chopper 350 ab (#10)
D            150 h (#13)