The Winds of Victory

Amidst at times a strong swirling wind, the WolfPack ultimately ran away with our third victory over the vintage Vintage team, 15-6.

Kudos to Al Oxley for throwing strikes in the howling wind - it takes a control artist to do that. His mix together with our increasingly good defense kept Vintage from being much of a threat all game.

Our bats were largely silent as well through the first seven innings. In the second, we managed to string together six of seven hitters with singles, and plated three to take a 3-2 lead. And after Vintage went a run ahead, in the fifth on a wild fielder's choice by Wilbur Williams, we scored two runs and never trailed again.

But the game remained close until the top of the eighth (6-5). Dave Rose and JP at the bottom of the lineup started things out with singles. Oxley and Doug Ichikura brought them home with base hits but the big blow was Mike Harris' ensuing triple on the gap. David Partridge brought him home and we had the first five run inning of the game.

Vintage was done at that point as the score was 11-5. They managed one in the eighth, but we weren't finished. In the ninth, Lee Hubbard smashed a two run homer and we added two more to get to the final score of 15-6.

Early on, there was a great catch in left in the twisting wind by Hubbard, and Frank Coppa pulled down a tough pop up at the fence by third base foul ground. Somehow I don't have notes of other great plays, but I do know that in one of my innings out, JP generously gave out loads of comic relief playing first base. I do believe he stumbled more than once fielding and catching the ball, and did his darndest to give away some free bases but managed to get the out each time.

We ended the first go-around 3-1-1, by far the best start in our short history. We are starting to gel. There are no superstars, and that's a good thing, I think.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and let's keep it going when we get back to it! We should all have more power with the added weight from the holiday, even if we are a step slower!

I Just Didn't Want to Kiss Ritt.

Wednesday's game could be looked at in about as many ways as there were at bats in the game.

On the one hand, we had so many chances to take over the momentum, and could have pulled off the upset. On the other hand so did the Hornets, and yet they never got that killer rally to put us away. They thought they did with a five run eighth for a 10-6 lead, but we roared back with four in the ninth and held them scoreless in the bottom half to preserve the 10-10 tie.

It's a testament to Billy's pitching and especially the defense up the middle - we turned numerous double plays either started by Doug at SS or Les at Rover. The Hornets are the powerhouse no matter how many times Leo's wins the league, and we kept them from winning in the bottom of the ninth in a tie game. We gifted them a lead off error base runner, and Doug promptly wiped him out with a double play. That's a win.

It also shows our new character - we weren't hitting a lick, and still managed to come away with the tie, and I didn't have to kiss Mike Rittenhouse, because lucky for me he is not my sister.

The sun was tough and Lee, and Paul and David all made nice catches staring up into it.

There were lots of o-fers and one-fers throughout the lineup but Doug also had a nice day at the plate. He hit a gap triple in the first (even though we stranded him). But the clutch hit was a thing of beauty in the ninth - a line drive into right center that plated our first run in the game tying rally in the open inning.

The others with three hits were Chris and Heffe. Paul had two and a walk, and David had an important two run single in the second to get our scoring started. Every run counted in this game. Billy had an RBI monster shot to right center, but he was hobbling, so he stopped at second.

A win next week against Vintage would mean a 3-1-1 start the first time around the league. That would be the best start by far for this team. Let's do it!

Cheaper By the Dozen

In a league wide season high for runs, the Wolfpack downed the Crows 28-20 in dramatic fashion, scoring twelve runs in the top of the ninth, and shutting out the Crows in the bottom half to seal the victory.

The game was actually a pitchers' duel through the fourth, and we trailed 3-1 at that point. But things changed in the fifth.

Paul Lisi's two run, two out triple in that frame gave us our first lead at 4-3, and we were to put up 14 runs in the next three innings. But the Crows kept battling back and they tallied 12 over the same time frame.

The next big hit was David Partridge's three run bomb to deep left in the sixth, the major run producer in that five run inning. David had been battling bad luck through the first two games, and he broke out of it in a big way with a team leading five RBIs.

The next turn was John Look's three run smash the next time we came up. John showed up despite feeling fluish, and he was sweating profusely. What is the expression, "starve a cold, feed a fever?" Well now it's "starve a cold, feed a fever a three run homer."

Among others, I had four hits, including a key two run double in our ninth inning rally that changed a three run lead to five with two outs. But I am most proud of coaxing a walk from Don Clay to start the ninth - a true "and that's how it started" moment.

Because the deluge was on. Everyone played within themselves at the plate that inning. We had nine straight hits with two outs including back to back doubles by Heffe and John, followed by a triple by Chris Nielsen.

Doug Ichikura and Billy Warren led the way with five hits. Followed by Lisi, Kravin, Look and Nielsen with four. Everyone had at least two hits, and everyone drove in at least one run, and all but one scored at least one.

Finally, Al Oxley was lights out pitching. He knows all the hitters except their big guy who produced a prodigious bomb to center, and if it weren't for some key drops by our fielders, the Crows would have been held to far fewer runs. But we also made some plays on defense, especially a grab in right by Look on a slicing liner to the right field line that saved a couple of runs. And we turned at least one, maybe a couple of double plays on the infield, and Wilbur Williams made a great shoestring catch on a low liner.

All in all, a very exciting game where it felt good to come out on top. We play like this, we can compete for a title this season!

All We Are Is Dust In The Wind, One 23 - Four 12

I have had the good fortune to manage two amazing teams this year. Lots of talent and team-made breaks and some luck, and had hardly lost a game.

But today it all came crashing down and Team One wiped us all over the New Dirt Field Five 23-12. Way too much Raul and his Crew, and our unbeaten streak was over.

I had been due for new cleats for over a year and finally received them this weekend after ordering them online. Salomon Speed Cross 4 - the latest rage in all weather all surface softball shoes. I put them on this morning, and they fit like a glove, except they were on my feet. I was all psyched. Power shmower, who needs power when you've got Creaker ball on a crisp Tuesday morning?

And then we went out there and stunk it up. Now, I told the team, I have to burn them, because obviously that is why we lost.

Team One struck early and often with hits and gifts from us, We were down 8-2 after two, and our MO all season was coming back from early deficits. But not today, as our bats went mostly silent, or hit line drives right at someone, and our defense was leaky all day. Give One the credit though, their entire order hit and they caught everything hit to them in the field.

Tim Orr had three hits including our one highlight, a home run blast to deep left. Joining him with three hits were Randy Crase, John Huzokowski, Dan DeClercq, JP Preston, and yours truly.

Randy and Tim made tough catches in LF, and LC, respectively,  Heffe made a nice stop on a smash to his right at 1B, JP had a K, and we turned one DP from Huzokowski to Steve Sloat to Bill Hoffman. That was about it.

It was good that we were out there though with all that's been going on with PG&E. Some of our players still had no power (and I am not talking about their bats), and so it was a pleasant diversion for all.

Special thanks to the field crew who showed up early to get some dirt spread around on Field 5. And especially Greg Slausson, manning the tractor as usual, despite being currently in rehab after his surgery.

Finally, the ritual burning of the cleats will occur at a time and place TBD. Stay tuned.

A Bittersweet End

I turned to Joe in the dugout, I think it was in the fourth inning, and I said "We're going to win this in the bottom of the last inning."

And then the Hawks immediately turned an 8-7 lead into 11-7.

Our answer: In the fifth, we scored one. But we also had two strikeouts, looking, and an out by Chauncey trying to steal second base on a single. I'm sure I have never seen two K's standing there in an inning, so it is at least a team record. Hell, it's probably never happened in the history of slow pitch softball. So we have that.

Then the Hawks added on, and it was 14-8. Time running out. The sixth would be the last.

And a funny thing happened. All the bad breaks and our failings in losing three games by two or less runs were swept aside. A Conehead hit (for Johnny) started it, of course. Then consecutive singles by the Kid, Heffe (old school blooper over the third baseman's head), Haze, Larry, Randy, a sac fly by Sting, and more hits by D and Chopper, and there was Sting, running for D standing on second as the winning run. Up strode Lefty, who took a couple of pitches, patiently waiting for the right one. He stroked a hit toward the gap in right center. Sting had to wait to make sure it fell in, and the hesitation made a play at the plate possible. But the second baseman bobbled the cut-off and Reg scored easily. Game over, 15-14. Vintage Coneheads.

It was bittersweet because this was the real Coneheads. We are actually pretty good when we have all our guys. Yes, it doesn't help losing McKnight, Pope and Bruce in one year, and Ol' G going down to knee surgery certainly hurt us as much as his knee pained him. But what really stops us is not knowing who is going to show up from week to week. How many games were we missing major parts of the heart of our order?

It was like eating dark chocolate. They tell you it's better for you, and you enjoy that bittersweet taste, but what you really wanted was the creaminess of good milk chocolate, with maybe some nougat on the inside. We wanted to make the playoffs, because if we had our guys, you never know what we are capable of. Not in the playoffs seems just foreign to us.

Derek and Chopper were on fire, going 4-4 each. D even got to second on one screamer. The youth, Chance and Chaunce, each went deep with a triple.

Oh, and it was Sting and Lefty who took called third strikes. Talk about rebounding, they won the game for us.

Oh well, just wait until next year. Hope springs eternal in this game. We have a good line on some 'young' new players (just 40, the new young). Maybe next year everyone will show up, and I fully expect G to come back as good as ever, which is pretty good. And at least for fall, we have the extreme youth, young Chance.

Have a good winter. See you at Masse's. I'll bring the chocolate.

Milestones:
10/7
Chopper        300 r (#15)

10/14
Sting             50 sf (#2)
Chopper       400 rbi (#9)
Sting             950 ab (#10)
Lefty            550 ab (#18)

10/21
None

Winter Ball Starts with a Bang

And the bang was John Look's smash over the left fielder's head for a two run homer to go up 15-10.

At the time the WolfPack had already come back from a 10-2 deficit (after 2 1/2 innings) to take a 13-10 lead. But somehow that two run blow was the statement we needed. This is a different WolfPack team, and it's a new year.

We ended up winning going away 23-13. I don't think we have ever beaten Mudcat Black - at most once. Everyone who was around last year remembers them shutting us out, not our finest moment.

So it's early and it's just one game but if you take out some early very shaky defense, we played a complete game. The D solidified and the bats came alive as it should be.

'Rookie' Paul Lisi led the way with a 5-5 day and team leading four RBIs. Mel and Al had four hits each, and eight others had three. All but two of us scored and all but two drove in a run or more. The bottom of the lineup (Les, John, Frank, Dave, Heffe (including a double, the only extra base hit besides John's HR), and JP) were 18-23. That's a good sign, and put it together with the top five going 19-24, and you might call it a good day at the plate.

And special note should be made of our new pitcher, Al Oxley. Not only does he throw strikes and mix up high and low and in and out, and make the plays up the middle, he is also a field general out there, and just knows the game. He's my hero!

Next week is the real test. We play Leo's, who also has owned us just forever. Let's see what we can do.

Four Outslugs One, 26-17

Team Four took a week off on defense but laid on the offense in defeating Team One, 26-17.

A double play took us out of our first inning rally and we came up with just one run. One soon was ahead 2-1, then 7-6, then 12-8, and it was the comeback trail once again for Four. We ended up scoring in every inning, at least three in every frame after the fourth.

There were a few great plays along the way. Randy Crase fired to Charlie Pastor to Steve Sloat to cut down Raul Delgado when he tried to stretch a shot down the left field line into a double in the first. Dave Rose threw to first to get a runner on a 'single' to right in the third, and the first baseman scooped the low throw. Later, Gary Namanny and Tim Orr made several good catches in the middle outfield.

The bottom four in the order scored 12 runs, once again proving that if the bottom hits, you win.

But the biggest hits came from the top. Al Munoz had a day: 5-5 and a key clutch three run bomb in the seventh with two outs. He had six RBIs altogether to lead the team. Steve Sloat recovered from a swing and miss to smash a two run homer in the fourth. Orr had a two out two run double in the fifth. Ray Aguilera (besides tossing key shutdown innings in the seventh and eighth) went 4-4 and had a run scoring triple in the sixth.

Kravin also had a perfect 4-4 day, setting up the top of the lineup for RBIs. Orr, Crase, Namanny, Sloat, and John Preston (who continues to rake and toss zeroes on the mound) had three hits.

Too bad - we have a bye next week and can't continue our hot streak!

Four Squeaks by Two 10-9

Dramatic ending: Top of the ninth, Four up one over Two, 10-9. Two on and two out. Tying and lead run.

Bob Muegge at the plate. He had already put a grounder on the line past the slow footed first baseman earlier in the game.

The first baseman had taken an inning at rover in the eighth. Two balls found their way past him.

He was determined nothing would get by him this time. He moved second baseman Steve Sloat over. "I have to cover the line."

Muegge took a mighty swing, and hit a line drive near the line. The first baseman went leaping (!) into foul ground, actually got off the ground and snagged it. Game over!

It was the second great leaping catch of the game, Charlie Pastor snared one destined for left field at SS in the fourth. The other great play was Gary Namanny slinging the ball to get a force out at second on a clean "single" to right center.

Team Four seems to thrive on catch up ball and this game was no different. In this one, we spotted them a 6-0 lead going into the bottom of the second. But we put up three, then four, and we had an 8-6 lead. The big blow was a two out smash down the left field line for a grand slam by Namanny. Never a better example of right man, right time!

From there it was a tightly pitched game, 8-6, 8-7, 8-8, 9-8, 9-9 and finally 10-9. Ray Aguilera and JP Preston for Four, and Muegge for Two were dealing. Aguilera even induced a swinging strike out. He had quite a game, also going 3-3.

A great game under perfect weather conditions. We can all dream about it when we are all sitting in the dark during the Great Wind Emergency tonight. 

Thee Olde Compleat Conehead Win

Sometimes it just clicks. Coneheads start hitting, making plays and it's over for the other team.

Monday it started out slow enough. We loaded the bases with one out, and Brandon hit a hard grounder. Unfortunately it was right to one of the middle infielders, who stepped on second, and threw to first and the rally was over.

But we held them to a single run over the first two innings and then the juggernaut bottom of the order came up in the third. Skip, Larry and Heffe went 8-8 plus a bases loaded walk in this game, once again proving the olde adage, "bottom of the order hits, we win." Three straight singles to start the third, and then Randy followed with a single, Sting with a double and a Lefty sac fly and another single, topped off by a Chauncey triple, and it was 7-1.

The Snorts responded but we won the inning 7-5. Importantly we kept adding on after that. In the fourth, Haze started it this time, followed by Skip and Larry singles, and a Heffe bases loaded walk. Another sac fly and run scoring singles by Sting and Lefty and we were in business again.

Again the Snorts responded, but this time we won the inning 4-3. Then in the fifth, Brandon got it going with a deep gap triple. Hits by Johnny, Mike, Skip, Larry, Heffe, and Randy added on five more. This time the Snorts had no answer and the game ended 16-9.

Besides the bottom of the order, Johnny was also 3-3 and Sting hit the ball hard four times. The only out he made was a screamer right at the SS.

The defense was mostly routine, but there were a couple of tough catches on pop ups to shallow left by Randy, and a snow cone catch running in by Brandon in left.

This leaves us in a six way tie for second place after four games. I have never seen that in any of my decades of softball. The league is wide open for the taking.

Milestone:
Larry        550 rbi (#4)

Take Down, Four 20-Five 15

Lee's team is pretty daunting  - Lee Namanny, Gary Tryhorn, James Little, Chip Sharpe, Paul Lisi, Tony Gorgone - just to name a few.

But yet another combination of great defense, pitching and timely hitting, and Four came away with another comeback win over Five, 20-15.

We started slow with only two runs over the first four innings, and Lee's Legends were up 7-2. We could have packed it in, again. Instead, we poured over 18 runs in the next four innings, and with no runs scored in the open inning, the game ended 20-15.

The biggest hit of the day was the new switch hitter Charlie Pastor, reverting to his natural rightie stance in the sixth, smashed a gapper to right center, and the three run homer broke a 7-7 tie, and put us up to stay.

Of special note, "JP" Preston pitched the middle three innings, and held Team Five to one run as we mounted the comeback. He even got two strike outs swinging!

Ray Aguilera was also very effective and if it weren't for a defensive lapse or five in the seventh, would have put up equally impressive numbers. As it was he shut down Five with a zero run ninth.

He was helped by a stellar play by Al Munoz. With no outs and two aboard, Munoz took a smash up the middle and made a rover unassisted to first double play look routine. Steve Sloat took credit though - he was supposed to be at rover in the ninth but deferred to Munoz. Whoever made the play, it took the final wind out of Five's sails, and a pop up to Aguilera later it was all she wrote.

Other defensive gems were turned in by Pastor at SS, when he ranged far to his left to grab a one hopper by one of the Five big boppers, and got a third out force at second. Bill Hoffman recovered from a bobble at second to toss out Little trying to sneak and streak home from third on the bobble. It ended the sixth.

Gary Namanny made his usual assortment of running catches in right center and Dan DeClerq and Tim Orr took turns making catches on long flies in deep left center.

DeClerq had a 4-4 day, and Munoz, Randy Crase, GNamanny, Pastor, Preston, and Ken Gurgone all had three knocks. All but one in the 15 player lineup had a hit and all but one had an RBI. Team effort at its best!

Fall Ball - A Non-competitive Win

I'm not sure we are supposed to write up the non-competitive Fall Ball games. After all, we aren't keeping standings, we are just out to have "fun", and we don't care who wins.

NOT.

Take a bunch of Creakers on two teams that were both missing key players, tell them not to care, and look what happens - one of the greatest games of the year.

I may be biased - my Team Four was the one who came back from 11-0 and 14-3 and 16-5 deficits to ultimately walk off with the 23-22 win on a single to right by Randy Crase that scored the tying and winning runs.

After gifting Three some runs early on, we were almost ready to pack it in in the heat after seven innings. But we scored five in the bottom of the sixth to change 16-5 to 16-10 and suddenly it seemed within reach. They added another five in the seventh but we matched that and then miraculously held them to one and zero runs in the last two frames. The zero we put up in the top of the ninth was the only inning Team Three did not score.

You look at the box score and see Gary Namanny with a 5-6, two double, TEN RBI day, and you think he was the hero (which, of course, he was - he also made two running catches to prevent extra base gap hits). But he was set up by the bottom of the lineup. 'JP' Preston, Ken Gurgone, Bill Hoffman, and yours truly scored 15 runs between them. The bottom of the lineup hits, you win. Al Munoz batting leadoff was also 5-6, and drove in a bunch while getting the lineup around to Gary in the three hole. John Huzokowski was the other hitter with 5 hits, all line drives to left.

The quirkiest thing about this game was that two batters hit the third base bag for hits - Mike Nichols on Three, and I think it was Hoffman on our team. The latter's ball came up and hit Clay Kallam in the nose and we had a Magic Johnson moment - I hope Clay is all right.

One additional note - JP pitched all nine innings since our other three potential hurlers were missing, and he was pretty lights out. No walks, and with better defense, we may have held Team Three to way fewer runs.

I hope the rest of our games are this non-competitive!

Attention Span

It has been called to my attention that after our brutal loss two weeks ago, I was quick to take up the virtual pen, but last week, when we played a nearly flawless game and drubbed the East Bay Long Strokers senseless to the tune of 16-1, I failed to get it down on paper.

Tom's feelings were hurt.

We don't want that!

In my defense, as a senior citizen, I actually thought I had already published the praise. Better get some of that memory improving medicine.

The first story of the game was classic Transdyn/Kapsch defense. In the first inning, Pauly tied a record with all three putouts: one was a pop up, one was a line shot, but it was the third that was outstanding. One of the speedy youngsters was trying to take an extra base on a hit to right center. But Bo was having none of that, and fired a one hopper all the way to third, and Pauly made a great catch and swipe tag to wipe the guy out. Set the tone for the game; they scored one in the second and that was it.

Along the way, Cage made two nearly identical diving catches in shallow left center that were classic Nick. Throwback stuff.

And Tom had the Strokers stroking their collective beards trying to figure out his mixture or pitches. He even had a K on a foul ball strike three.

The hitting was really very encouraging - we scored every inning and built up to a seven run fifth that gave us the 15 run slaughter. D had the walkoff single for our last run, and who knows how long it would have kept going?

Bert didn't hit it out but had four straight slashing line drive singles for a perfect game. Similarly Hama had one of those games where he put it wherever he wanted and was 3-3. D had three hits too including the one that put them away. Rusty had a towering blast to left, a two run homer that provided the power. Everyone in the lineup had at least one hit, and scored a run.

We clinched the playoffs with the win, and we still could finish third. Doesn't much matter, since all we have to do is win two games in the playoffs next week. But still, a win tomorrow would keep our momentum building to the playoffs.

Milestone:
B            10 sf (#16)

Tip Your Hat, Have a Taco

I can't decide if last night was a brutal loss, or just one of those to chalk up to the gods of softball, and move on to the next game.

You can't really feel bad about it. We hit .767 as a team. I don't think we made a single error. The only times balls went off our gloves were smashes, and they were hits. Yeah we blew a 14-1 lead, but when they came roaring back, we answered, twice, with six run and five run innings. We scored 5+ runs in four straight innings. The only thing that kept us from winning were two great catches basically at the fence on balls hit by Bo and Cage. who were 6-6 plus two walks up to that point. The score stuck at 25-26.

So, you have to tip your tipsy taco hat, and move on. They earned it.

The good news is that we are still in the driver's seat to make the playoffs - Tipsy Taco is a half game behind us and we own the tiebreaker since we beat them by 12 the first time around. We have the bottom two teams in our last two games; they face the hot SOP team in their remaining game.

Not that it is a given or will be easy. All the teams in this league can hit. M.A.R.A., who hadn't scored much all season, broke out for 24 last night. Maybe the ball is juiced. It sure was carrying out last night, even though there was only one home run as part of the 51 run outburst.

But I like our chances. We are like the Giants in the early decade - all we have to do is make the playoffs. I had forgotten - we've won cotton three straight seasons.

All but two of us had at least three hits. The middle of our lineup - Bert, D, and Hama - were 12-12 with 12 RBIs evenly split. Rusty had two doubles. B, Bo, Cage, Rusty, Coop, and JT all had three hits. Even though mostly the outfielders were chasing drives and the infielders were watching hot shots in the holes after the second inning, there were a few great plays. Bo ranged far on a couple of balls for outs, as did Cage, and Pauly made a stop of a smash to the hot corner in the first.

Milestone:
Pauly        850 ab (#8)

Sweep! A Scarlet Team for the Aged (I Mean Ages)

The Scarlet Creaker team finished the playoffs and year as we started, sweeping through the playoffs with an unblemished 5-0 record to win the post-season tournament. Today we beat Green 9-3 and Maroon 8-6 with a combination of great defense and timely hitting.

In the opener we jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first, the big blow a two run blast into the LC gap by Gary Namanny. Gary was hobbled by a pulled groin he sustained in a tennis tournament over the weekend and still managed to limp into second for a double. Note: Tennis is not in your Creaker contract, Gary.

After that the defense took over. We kept the big Green hitters in check for the most part. Ray Aguilera was dealing, he walked a few today, but we call it 'effectively wild' as he had hitters reaching all day. He added a triple on offense to jump start our three run fifth that put some distance between the teams at 7-2. Art Miner (triple), Gerry Dasey (double), Tony Gorgone (double), and Mike Nichols (SF) combined to make it 9-3 in the sixth, and that was the final score.

That set up the final game against Maroon, winner take all. They had come back to win a walkoff the last time we played and won the toss to be home team.

We didn't really hit the last few weeks, and the tough Maroon team jumped out to leads of 3-1, 5-1 and then 6-2 after four. They hadn't really hit yet either, and it wasn't looking good. But then a funny thing happened - we shut them out for the last three innings and we Chipped away to make it 6-3 and 6-6, before taking a meager 8-6 lead in the top of the open seventh. But we miraculously held the strong team through the top of their lineup in the sixth and then the middle in the seventh and victory and the Championship was ours.

Defense won the game as usual. There were lots of good plays but three stood out. Miner snared a line shot blast in the first game in left field. In the third inning of that game, Paul Lisi fired the ball to Gary Booth who threw a strike home to Bob Shipley for the third out.

And in the Championship Game Chip Sharpe tore in on a line drive hit by the speedy James Del Rio, and threw him out at second by a step. It kept Maroon scoreless in the third frame.

So here we are, and I am very proud of this team - we have had one of the, if not the very best year in Creaker history to date.

Meet Scarlet:

Chip Sharpe. Speedy leadoff hitter, perfect relief pitcher. Plays all over the outfield, and even had a great game at Rover one week. A line drive hitter, once in a while he even went over the outfield, and with his speed it's all over then.

Paul Lisi. One of the best outfielders in Creaker land. The best number two hitter, as his line drives to right almost guarantee first to third no matter who is on in front of him. And - no one scouts the other team better, and then overplays their tendencies. Pisses off his manager who then has to admit when Paul is right.

Art Miner. A very speedy outfielder who can hit in any direction and is always upbeat. He is so young (relatively) that he even still works when he is not playing softball.

Gary Namanny. Personally I always thought he was, how shall I say, in the shadow of his brother a little? But playing with him, I was constantly amazed at his power, grace, and speed at bat and in the field. Of course if I had his long stride I'd be fast too! But he has it and he is a cornerstone of any team he is on.

Gerry Dasey. Perhaps the most consistent hitter in Creaker Land. Has he ever hit below .800? And his strong arm is an asset from anywhere on the infield.

Tony Gorgone. Tony can pick ground balls in his sleep. you can put him anywhere on the infield as well, and everybody around him is better. And he slaps the ball all over the place at bat, with an occasional long ball.

Charlie Uhlman. One of our sleeper hitters. Don't ever cheat in on Charlie, he will burn you! Very powerful swing. Solid outfielder.

Mike Nichols. The second third of our sleeper trio (the quiet one) as I like to think of them. Mike hit about .700 most of the year, getting clutch hits time and time again. And behind the dish, he has tremendous reflexes on foul balls which also served him well in the outfield.

Gary Booth. The best kept secret in Creaker Land (it's out now I think). Not the quiet one of the sleeper trio. His gappers were legendary all summer. And when we lost Raul, we didn't miss a beat with Gary at SS. His throws are always on the money.

The pitcher.

Raymundo Aguilera. Ray started out the season not knowing you had to release the pitch from the rubber. Thought he just had to start there. He had a rough opener. Then he went out and practiced and practiced and practiced until throwing from farther away was second nature. And then he turned into one of the best pitchers in the league. He got great hitters out time and time again, or held powerful hitters to bloop singles. And he got the big hit when we needed it, a lot of times.

The pull the ball trio.

Roc Lumley, Bob Shipway, and Helen Kostoff. How the three of them ever got a hit with the shifts that were more and more extreme as the season went on amazes me. You'd think they would try to hit the wide open spaces in center and right fields, but no, they each got huge hits at various parts in the season by honing their craft so they could hit the holes no matter how small.

The first basemen.

Bob Carver. As Gerry said they gave us a 'rotund' first baseman for Raul, when we already had one of those! Bob came in and just dominated in a couple of our games late in the season, showing power and line drive hitting like you wouldn't believe. We really missed him in this last day, his absence and Charlie's injury went a long way to explaining why we only scored 17 runs on the day.

And finally, the Coach. I got a few good hits and made a few good plays, not my best season. But I had one thing no one else in the league had. I had a team to manage that had no egos, no fighting, all pulling one direction. No blame, and confidence that built and built over the year. I think we had a talented roster but no better if at all over at least a couple of the other teams. It was our chemistry (and lights out defense) that was the difference.

Greatest Creaker Team Ever!

Towed Away

It's not a good sign when you have almost as many walks as hits in a slow pitch softball game.

Granted, when Arroyo Tow brought in their backup (really?) pitcher, and he walked four in a row at one point, it showed our veteran nature and a desperate need to get base runners to start a short lived comeback. But, the walks stopped and the last desperate rally fizzled, and Kapsch came up short 12-7.

The game was a serious pitchers' duel through three innings. Gregg had the Towheads eating out of his hand, and they had only a 1-0 lead on an unearned run. We tied it in the fourth, but in Arroyo's second or third time around the lineup they started hitting line drives all over the place. Before we knew it, it was 10-1 and Gregg had taken himself out of the game. Hama calmed them down the rest of the way but we just could not generate enough offense to catch up.

On a personal note, I will apologize in advance to the team. I am having such an abysmal season and year (0-3 with a backward K last night), there is only one thing to do. You seem I always figured softball averages are about double MLB baseball averages: .250 = .500 = average, .300+ = .600+ = good. And the Mendoza line, which is .200 in baseball, is .400.

Well I am so bad this year, I can not only stay below the softball Mendoza line but I can maybe hit the actual baseball Mendoza line (at press time I am at .229 for the year). So, I am going to put my personal goals ahead of the team goals, and not get another hit the rest of the season. It will be up to the rest of you guys to make up for this. Good luck!

See how I did that? I am sure you all feel much better about yourselves!

As for last night, B did go 3-3 and Rusty had a double but that was about it for offense besides the 11 walks. But we are still in the thick of the race, and with one or two more wins, we will make the playoffs, and we showed last season we know how to make it happen in the playoffs.

Milestone:
Gregg        10 bb (#27)

Defense Keys Another Scarlet Win

Scarlet's trademark all year has been our defense. Today, in four straight innings, we made a great  play with two outs to keep Purple from getting closer. They could only score one run in those final four frames, and the result was a 15-9 win.

In the third it was Gary Namanny running in hard to take away a hit on a sinking line drive.

In the fourth Chip Sharpe ran in full speed and caught a ball with his arm and chest before it settled in his glove.

In the fifth it was Art Miner in left. In the sixth Gerry Dasey handled a sharp grounder up the middle and beat the runner from first to the second base bag.

Purple started off on fire, scoring three in the first. But we answered with consecutive singles by Sharpe, Paul Lisi, Miner, Namanny, Dasey and Tony Gorgone, and when Mike Nichols hit a grounder, Dasey scooted home with the fifth run. Purple rebounded with five and it was game on. We scored two to answer and it was 8-7 after two. And three. And four. In the fifth, Bob Carver had perhaps the biggest hit of the game - he tripled to open the frame. Helen Kostoff brought him home by beating the "Helen Shift" for a single, and up strode the shorter first baseman. He deposited a line drive in the right center gap, and Helen's courtesy runner scampered all the way home with what proved to be the winning run. Two more scored to get us our second five run inning.

In the bottom of the sixth, Dasey started a second consecutive inning with a triple. A walk, a hit, and a couple of ground outs later three had scored and time was out. The umps and the home team thought that the game was over at 75 minutes, and the correct rules were not well known; but even though Purple was denied their last chance to hit, Scarlet had momentum and the hammer. Of course we will never know for sure, but the game ended 15-9.

Dasey and Gary Booth were both 3-3 and Carver, Kostoff, and Kravin were each 2-2 at the bottom of the lineup. Everyone had a hit except Ray Aguilera but his pitching more than made up for it. Nichols made yet another great catch at catcher, taking the bat out of the hands of one of Purple's best hitters.

Livermore Barbers Clipped

Kapsch started this one out slow, but came on hard to prove to the Livermore Barber Shop that we own them, at least so far in the first year we have been playing each other. We are 3-0-1 against them.

In the top of the third LBS led 5-0. The game was teetering on the edge. One more scoreless inning, and a few more runs by LBS, and we could have real trouble. But the top of the lineup got unhinged the second time through, and consecutive singles by Bo, B (4-4), Cage (3-3, 4 RBIs), and Gregg followed a walk to lead off to JT, and we were in business. There was a little league triple or home run in there somewhere, and by the end of the inning we were tied at 5.

Then the key moment came in the top of the fourth. Dave dove to snare a line drive in the 3-4 hole, and fired quickly to B at second, and a first and second rally turned into a bases empty frame. No runs scored.

We followed that with perhaps the biggest rally of the year. We batted around plus five and plated 11 runs. The big hits were a Cage bases loaded triple, and Bert followed that with a bomb into the trees in left. We weren't done yet, and D started a new rally with a single and hits by DJ, JT, and Tom produced the final three runs.

Livermore didn't quit though and answered with nine runs. But our onslaught continued anew (we scored all 22 runs in three innings) and we answered back with another six. The highlight of this inning was one of the hardest balls D has hit all year. It was a line shot to the fence in RC and D actually made it to second base! We batted until time ran out - Tom actually had a walk-off walk to end the game. Final score 22-14.

Defensive highlights included a great catch at the fence by Cage on a twisting turning fly.

All the others involved Pauly. He backhanded a short hop to get an out in the second. He then took a hot shot off his body in the fourth - the ball skittered into foul ground, B hustled after it, and fired back to Pauly, who had the presence of mind to get back to the bag, and we had a runner out trying to take the extra base. Finally in the fifth, he made a Third base unassisted to home double play that stopped the bleeding. Who knows how many more Livermore would have scored?

Speaking of walk-off walks.

I didn't have a chance to note this because I have missed games and been out of town. But Tom made a note after one of our wins a couple weeks ago that I may have accomplished something no one else in the history of rec league softball has.

Let's face it - I have had one of the worst years ever this year. Who knows if I will regain my former weak-ass but consistent hitting - it may just be age catching up to me. Be that as it may, I came up with about thirty seconds left when we were up 20-11 against M.A.R.A. I was 0-3, a line out to first and two ground outs to the pitcher. He just knew I would take pitches to try to milk and possibly run out the clock. So he immediately pointed to first to walk me intentionally.

Now you could say that's respect. But if you look closely, what was he doing? He was walking me intentionally not because he was afraid I would get a hit, but that I would not swing. In other words he walked me to get me to not not swing.

It may have been a first. In all time. Thank you very much.

Milestones:

8/6:
Coop    1600 ab (#1)
Bert      10 gw (#9)
Bo        20 2b (#21)
JT         50 h (#40)

8/13:
Bert      250 rbi (#9)

8/27
Cage     130 bb (#3)
JT         10 bb (#27)

Mission Not Accomplished

An individual Conehead game for the ages was wasted Monday night as we fell to Mission Church I (where are II and III, etc.?), 17-16.

Chauncey hit a grand slam on his way to a 4-4 eight RBI night as he single-handedly tried to carry us to victory. He hit three slicing line drives to right center and a bomb nearly to field six in left center.

He had half of our RBIs. His slam narrowed the margin to 7-6 after we gifted the Church seven runs in the first on walks and errors. When we came through with a Conehead inning (the minimum ten run variety)in the fourth, we were looking pretty good with a 16-12 lead. But the Missionaries must have had god on their side. They answered with five to take the narrow one run lead. We loaded the bases with one out in the last inning, but on a fluky dribbler a double play ended our last chance.

Gene made a couple of nice grabs in LF on knuckle ball fly outs. Johnny made a great pickup of a ball in the 5-6 hole. Leadoff Lefty was the only Head with three hits besides Chauncey, although Heffe coaxed three walks and had a bloop hit to post a perfect 1.000 OBP.

Milestones:
8/26:
Heffe           120 bb (#3)

As far as the Orinda playoffs. We came, we routed the Warhogs twice as we should, but fell short twice to the Old Scouts mostly because we were missing several of our best players. One of these years we will go into the Orinda playoffs with our full squad, I hope. We would at least be more in the mix.

8-0 going into the last week was pretty sweet but left a bitter aftertaste after the playoffs.

Thanks to those who did show up and give their all. A special thanks to Chris for clearing his schedule for the weekend and giving us a shot.

Catchup Milestones:
8/5:
Joe               500 g (#2)
Sting            450 rbi (#7)
Haze            400 ab (#20)
Chauncey     50 ab (#41)

8/10 Game 1:
Gene            1152 ab (#6)
Haze            250 h (#19)
David          50 ab (#42)

8/10 Game 2:
Larry          150 bb (#2)
Joe              450 rbi (#8)
Sting           250 g (#11)

8/11:
Chopper     700 ab (#15)

Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun

The Scarlet Express didn't miss a beat, rolling to a twin killing today. In the Opener, we squeezed by Orange 9-8 in a thriller, and then ended the drama early in the second game, sinking the Navy 18-8.

If the games just had one inning, Chip Sharpe was hands down MVP. He started at Rover and made two fantastic plays to almost single handedly keep Orange off the board in the first. Then he led off the bottom of the first with a home run.

In the second, our defense once again rose to the occasion.  Mike Nichols made a great catch on a pop up in front of home plate. Then we nailed a runner at home for third out - RF Charlie Uhlman to P Ray Aguilera to C Nichols.

Defense and pitching won this game as Aguilera held Orange under 10 runs aided by our stout defense. Included was a swinging strikeout of one of the best Orange hitters.

The rest, on offense was largely provided by Bob Carver. Carver drove in nearly half our runs with a two run triple and a two run single. Gerry Dasey was a perfect 3-3, and that included a literal 'walk-off' walk as time ran out when he took ball four in the bottom of the sixth.

In the day cap, the game was close at 7-6 through three. But we broke it open with a five spot in the top of the fourth. Aguilera (3-3) had the big blow, a two run single to start the scoring that inning. In the sixth we again plated five and that put it away. Carver and Paul Lisi had two run singles in that frame.

For the day, Aguilera was 4-4, Carver was 5-5, and Dasey was 5-6. Gary Booth and Lisi had triples, and Aguilera and Gary Namanny had a pair of doubles each.

Who will be the hero next week?

Triples Allee, Scarlet 18-17 over Purple

There is a story that most of us know in the Lore of Baseball. It has the Babe, the one and only Babe Ruth, pointing out to center field and calling his own home run in Chicago in the 1932 World Series. Now, it may or may not be true, but our own Gerry Dasey today called his own number to end the game.

It was the bottom of the ninth. In a close battle with the undermanned Purple team we had finally taken a lead in the top of the ninth, but not a very safe one at 18-16. Purple had the hammer. They quickly loaded the bases and got the first run in on a ground out. With one out all they needed was a medium deep fly to tie, and a hit or two to win. Gerry called for a double play ball to him. Sure enough, the batter obliged and hit a two hopper right to him, and hard enough that all Gerry had to do was field it cleanly, step on second and take his time with a good throw to first. He turned it to perfection.

Purple deserved to win this game. They outhit us, and out-hustled us, and played better ball all around.

We started out hot, scoring five in the first before an out was tallied. Then we went cold and Purple scored the next nine runs. From there it was seesaw through the eighth, with five lead changes and four ties. Every time we scored, they pulled back into it. Finally it was 15-16 Purple going into the ninth. Hits by Paul Lisi and Gary Namanny, a triple by Dasey, and a ground out by Tony Gorgone gave us the two run lead that ultimately was all we needed.

The triple by Dasey was one of eight we hit on the day, the highlight of our otherwise lower than usual output. Lisi, Art Miner, Namanny (2), Dasey (2), Charlie Uhlman, and Gary Booth formed the Triples Brigade and that pretty much carried us to victory.

The pitching and defense was solid as usual. Until Dasey's game ender, there were just a couple of highlights. Helen Kostoff took a bad hop sharp grounder and turned it into a force out at second. Likewise one of the first baseman took a similar bad hop grounder and actually threw accurately to second base to get the lead runner. Chip Sharpe came quickly off the mound to get an out on one of those impossible dribblers. Mike Nichols made a nice catch on one of those slicing knucklers in right field.

Namanny as usual led the way with four hits. Lisi, Miner, Dasey and Gorgone all had three.

It showed our character to win a game when we didn't hit our best and we were basically outplayed. A little luck never hurts. Here's to it continuing in the playoffs!

Different Strokes

In a game marked by key contributions, Kapsch prevailed over another team of youngsters for the second time in a row, 16-12 over the East Bay Long Strokers.

We didn't hit all that well, team average was only .419. But we got the key hits when we needed them and took advantage of everything the Strokers handed us.

It started out with a 10 run first as we batted around plus two. It was a bunch of singles and three walks including two with the bases full that fueled the rally. DJ finished it off with a two run triple for the only extra base hit of the inning. DJ was one of the key contributors - he added two doubles including a two out clutch hit in the last rally that put the game on ice. 

After the 10-0 lead, as we are want to do, we relaxed too much, and didn't score again until the fifth. In the mean time, there were some stellar defensive plays. Cage made one of his best catches ever, going to the fence in dead center, catching a deep shot after being twisted around twice by the swirling wind. Pauly followed that up with a great stop at third and when his throw pulled Bert off the bag at first, he made one of the quickest swipe tags I have ever seen.

In the second and third DJ made two stops backhanded in the 5-6 hole, and Monty made a great catch of a pop up behind the plate. In the fourth, Cage tossed home one of his patented long throws, and Monty made a nice pickup of the one hop laser to keep the runner from scoring. Tom followed that up with a strikeout to end the inning.

The last two plays were vital because the Strokers were in the middle of a rally that netted eight runs to take an 11-10 lead. We had blown another big lead, but this time it was different. In the next frame, after a one out single by Cage, Mr. Big Moment Bert put the ball in the trees in left and we had the lead back.

And then Big D came riding in on his white horse to the mound in the bottom of the fifth. He not only cooled down the Strokers, he shut them down completely. In the top of the sixth, the bottom of the order kicked in, and set the stage for a huge add on inning. Tom walked, Heffe followed suit, and Monty hit a blooper to shallow left. Once again DJ came through, and brought home two with his second double. Hama followed with a grounder to second but when the baseman airmailed the throw another two came in, and we had the insurance we needed. There were only two minutes left and even though D had some trouble in the bottom half, the Strokers could only manage one more run and fell short.

DJ led the team with the three extra base hits, and four RBIs. Tom gets the win and Big D the save. It was a good win.

Milestones:

Pauly         300 r (#8)

Rusty         20 2b (#23)

Scarlet Over the Machine, 32-16

I wish my team would give me something to write about. They barely cause any drama. Can't we have a little dissension or something?

Scarlet rampaged on today, even though Paul Lisi lost track of the time of the early game. By the time he arrived in the second inning, he had missed his first time up batting last, and we were up 10-1.

Sneering at the curse of the first, Scarlet scored the maximum of five runs in six of our eight innings batting, and ran away with the battle with Green 32-16. We got our share of luck - a lot of balls were just out of the reach of Green fielders; still, we hit a lot of balls hard, and put it in play.

Gary Namanny hit a three run bomb in the top of the first and it was off to the races. He ended the day 5-5 with six RBIs to lead the team. Poor Gerry Dasey - he also had five hits but only could show one RBI, because he has the mis (or good) fortune of batting behind Namanny. The other Gary, Booth, drove in five with a perfect 4-4 day with two doubles. Roc Lumley rounded out the perfect players also with a 4-4. Three times his hits came with two outs and they drove in runs; the other time he led off to spark a five run inning. Art Miner did his usual thing with four hits including a double and our other home run, a three run blast in the fourth. And Chip Sharpe was at his nuisance best with four singles.

Believe it or not, the prolific offense is not what won the game however. Our defense shined on this day. The Green team has a great offense, and we held them to nine runs through eight innings.

Defensive heroes abounded. In the first Lumley fielded a high hopper and fired to first to get a speedy runner. Tony Gorgone then made a tough play at rover and Booth backhanded a shot to the 5-6 hole for the third out. In the third, Namanny threw out a runner at second on a 'single' by Don Devencenzi. Dasey turned a grounder to rover, step on second and fire to first in the fourth. In the fifth, Booth started a double play and Dasey's throw was wide to first; but Bob Carver deftly came off the bag and swiped the runner out. In fact, he later had another swipe tag on a wide throw; after the game, he said he never had had that opportunity before and he had two of those this game. Carver also scooped a throw in the dirt later in the game.

In the sixth 'Psycho' Gorgone, playing second, positioned himself in short right field. The batter obliged by smoking a ball right to him that Gorgone turned into a force out for the third out. Finally, in the seventh, Lisi ran in on a ball and tumbled over and caught it and held on. He knocked the wind out of himself on that one. We all held our breath as he lay on the ground, but it turned out maybe Paul really wanted to just sleep in some more.

Next week we accept the next challenger, Navy.

Kapsch Gets Tipsy

It was just like we wrote it up. A couple of hits, a walk, and Bert goes yard. Grand, Slam, four zip, and we never looked back.

In the second, we got a walk and five straight hits, and suddenly it was 10-0. Game over. In the fifth, we had eight singles, and it was another six spot. Final score 19-7.

JT had a game in right center, tracking down a couple of deep flies in the second. Dave had a couple of great picks at third for force outs at second base.

Brian was a perfect 4-4 with a double. Hama went into auto Hama mode, flaring line drive singles to all fields four times. Bert led the way with five RBIs, and Cage followed him up with three on a 3-3 + Sac Fly night. Coop also had three hits. Dave had two of our four extra base hits, a double and a triple.

I don't know how those guys beat the first place defending East Bay team, but they did in the first game, and perhaps it bodes well for this week.

In the Big News, Tom was 2-2 and owned a backward K. However, that is not the Big News. In a milestone among milestones, he doubled his career doubles total to...2. Look out Nick, he is only 162 behind you. At this pace, if you retire tomorrow, he will catch you in roughly 12,150 games. I'm sure we will all live to see that. Should be in about the year 2500. AD. I hope Climate Change doesn't interfere.

Speaking of Milestones, I have neglected them all year but here they are, up to date. Don't let them overshadow Tom's great performance.

Milestones:
3/26:
Cage        600 r (#2)

Cage        650 h (#3)

Pauly       800 ab (#8)

Hama      10 sf (#15)

Bert         200 h (#16)

4/2:

None

4/9:

Coop        130 bb (#2)

Tom         30 bb (#12)

Hama       450 ab (#15)

4/16:

None

4/30:

Derek      400 h (#10)

Derek      200 g (#11)

Gregg      100 ab (#39)

5/7:

Pauly       40 bb (#9)

5/28:

Cage       70 sf (#1)

Bo           100 ab (#40)

6/4:

Heffe       1550 ab (#2)

6/11:

Monty      250 rbi (#8)

Pauly       50 2b (#8)

Hama       300 h (#12)

6/18:

Heffe       160 bb (#1)

Coop        350 rbi (#5)

Tom         450 ab (#14)

6/25 Game 1:
Derek      70 2b (#3)
Derek      650 ab (#11)
Bert         100 g (#17)

6/25 Game 2:

Cage        1150 ab (#4)

Tom         250 h (#14)

Brian       200 h (#17)

Fall Season:

7/16:

Coop       30 sf (#4)

Cage        350 g (#5)

Tom         150 g (#13)

Bert         350 ab (#16)

Bo           50 r (#35)

JT            100 ab (#41)

7/23:

Heffe        500 g (#1)

Derek       60 bb (#6)

Hama       200 r (#12)

Brian       350 ab (#17)

Coneheads Turn Red(s)

First we had the Bermudah Triangle (more on that later).

Now we have:

The Best Keystone Combination in All Recreational Softball.

That would be Sting at SS and Gene at 2B.

I think it was Bruce who said it, when he came into the dugout after he scored the game's first run: "Well this one is over". I am sure I have the facts wrong, but you get the gist. So by the sixth, up 14-0, the outfield was on the infield and vice versa. There was a ball to Gene where the two of them sort of just stared at each other, trying by mental telepathy to figure out who was actually going to go to the bag to get the force. Then on another play Sting made a great stop up the middle with a dive. And Gene was on the base! And then Sting decided to play in the sandbox, only there was no sand, just turf, and the ball to play pinball with, and he just could not pick it up to toss to Gene.

Let the record show that the overweight slow footed jet-lagged first baseman went to right field and on his only play ran (!) in and kept a dying pop fly to shallow right from hitting the ground. Out number one on the sixth.

Earlier I was playing first and a ball went up into the open spaces of the Berjudah Triangle, and in a rarity these days, it was the three Judahs at the mound and first and second. Joe didn't move. Larry didn't move. Damn lazy bastards, I have to get this one before it goes off the radar. Luckily it was high enough that I had time to get in the praying position to catch it on my knees.

Well, enough of the hilarity. There was one very legitimate ESPN moment, and perhaps the defensive highlight of Chopper's career. He also played some first, and chased a pop up down the first base line with his new found Weight Watcher speed. I don't remember if it was fair or foul but he somehow plucked it out of the air with his back to home plate, and all were in awe. Nice Play Chopper!

On offense, just another Wilder night at the office. Sting, Lefty and Chauncey went Wilder hops and gappers for home runs. Gene is quietly having a career season, and he had two doubles and a triple. Joining him with three hits were Randy, Sting, Bruce, Larry and Chuck. You can take away Chuck's legs but the man can still hit.

A win this week against the Areolas and it sets up a battle for the regular season bragging rights and an undefeated regular season against the Cal Broncos in the last game. Let's take care of business.

Milestones:
7/8:
Haze        20 bb (#21)

7/15:
Gerry       250 g (#10)
Bruce       200 h (#23)

7/22:
Stink Eye 1350 ab (#4)
Lefty        250 rbi (#17)

Double the Misery

Subtitle: Who are these guys and where have they been all season?

The Coneheads set two team marks this season at least for the Modern Era (the years I have been chronicling the JFT/Coneheads, since 2006).

Both a little dubious. The first is that it was the first season in the last 14 we finished under .500 at 6-7-1.

The second is that we set a team record for the number of players used, 23. Since it isn't a real database, my Stats program only can handle 23 as it turns out, so I had to put Dr. Larry into the 'Others' bucket. Poor Larry, that's what he gets for not making a game this year.

Related? Hmmm.

Well many of the 'regulars' (not sure who they are) returned for the season finale, and it showed. Nothing against the Skips and Charlies and Chaunceys we added this season, they are all fine players. But the old guys returned and the result was we doubled the Pit of Misery to death. As in, 12 of our 26 hits were doubles, and that doesn't count late in the game when many players were just taking first on a hit because we were so far up. D had three, and Sting, Chopper and Gene all had two. D's, Chopper's, and Gene's produced four RBIs to co-lead the team.

Final score was 21-5, and it wasn't that close.

The defense was solid. Johnny made a nice stop up the middle for an out, and Gene made a fine catch coming in on a blooper in the second. But the play of the day had already happened. In the first with a runner on first and one out, there was the first blooper to right, in front of Gene. He looked startled and called out, "I can't see it", and the runner on first took off. Gene then caught the ball and fired to first for the double play. They say it's the Okey Dokey play, and I guess Gene Okeyed that Dokey pretty good.

Nice game to build up momentum for the playoffs, which will be killed by having a bye the last week of the season. But luckily most of us will be playing together in Orinda, so there's that. In the mean time, don't get yourself Okeyed, and stay safe.

Milestones:
6/30:
Randy        200 h (#11)

7/7 G1:
Haze          250 h (#9)
Gene          150 r (#10)

7/7 G2:
Lefty          600 ab (#3)
Gene          450 ab (#8)

7/14:
Lefty          200 g (#3)

Johnny       100 h (#16)

7/21:

D                 150 rbi (#9)

Randy         20 bb (#13)

D                 300 ab (#13)

Scarlet and the Roc'n Bobs over Orange 20-18

The Roc 'n Bobs. That would be second baseman Roc Lumley, Rover-2B Bob Shipley, and 1B-Rover Bob Carver.

One of the stories of the day was more great defense by Scarlet. Second baseman Lumley made several tough stops at second base, Shipley did likewise in his inning at 2B late in the game as well as vacuuming up several balls up the middle at Rover earlier. But perhaps the play of the game came with two outs late when Carver snared a line shot off the bat of Brian Black that killed a comeback rally. It also meant the dangerous James Little led off the next inning with no one on base. The ball rattled around in Bob's glove for a bit but he held on for the third out that inning.

Raymond Aquilera performed a rare Creaker feat - a complete game victory on the mound. That is because we were missing three of our stalwart players and only had 12 so a few players had to stay in the heat for nine innings. Ray hit corners most of the time and the front edge, forcing a lot of Orange players off balance. He had a flareup of wildness in the ninth - I guess he had trouble because we had given him a six run lead, the game's largest, heading into the ninth. But he settled down and got the last three outs before Orange could get the tying run across.

Paul Lisi had a monster game with four hits including a double and two triples. Chip Sharpe was his usual nuisance self with four knocks and a walk in the leadoff spot. Art Miner, Charlie Uhlman, Mike Nichols, and Helen Kostoff all contributed three. Gary Booth also had three and his included two triples. He called his first one in the dugout before he was even on deck. Yours truly woke himself up from jet lag (finally) in the eighth and hit a two run double to extend our lead and increase the pressure on Orange going into the open inning.

We have won a lot of close games and it is a testament to the character of every player on our roster.

Magic Number

Seventeen runs allowed in the fourth. That's all I got.

The Coneheads, Walnut Creek Division, gave that up to the Big Feet, and squandered a chanced to move up in the standings Sunday, losing 20-10. We won the rest of the game 10-4.

There were some hitting heroes. D, Ol' G, Chopper, Lefty, and Haze did not make an out between them. But it was not enough to overcome the Big (Feet) Inning. And that's all she wrote.

Doubleheader coming up to atone.

See you in a few.

Milestone:
Randy        200 h (#11)

Waitlisters Waitlisted

Playing shorthanded and with a lot of power missing, the Coneheads took care of business with great defense and pitching and relentless and timely line drive hitting and beat the hated Waitlisters 15-7. The official score was 16-7 as even the umpire generously gave us an extra run.

The Waitlisters may have been a player or two short, but we were missing Derek, Chopper, Sting, and Charlie and that's a lot of power. The rest just stepped up, and the game was not even as close in the end as the score.

We shut down the top of their order in the first. Bruce made one of his patented over the shoulder catches on a deep ball to left center. The other dugout couldn't believe it but I just had to laugh because we are so used to it. Then after an ahem, error at first, David made a great diving stop of a hard grounder up the middle and flipped it to G for the final out.

Then we answered by scoring four in the bottom half, stringing together a bunch of hits. The inning could have gone longer but Skip got forced at second on a 'single' to right by Haze; she shouldn'ta oughtn'ta done that, because Karma got him when the same thing happened to him twice later in the game.

Nonetheless, we built an 8-1 lead by the fourth. The Waitlister finally answered in the top of the fifth with three to make it a game and then shut us down in our half. Again the top of the lineup came up (actually 2-3-4 hitters) and Larry got them to make three easy outs, a comebacker and a couple of easy flies.

In the bottom of the sixth, we put them away. Lefty led off with a gapper homer. After we scored a couple of times, Larry came up with the bases loaded and hit a two run single. But the next hit was the killer - Chauncey gapped them with two on and lumbered all the way to third on his surgically repaired knee. It made it 15 or 16-4 and that turned out the lights. The three they got in the top of the seventh were of no consequence.

Ol' G was relentless: 4-4 with an RBI each time he batted. Gene, installed in the two spot, was a menace and also 4-4 with three runs scored. Bruce had three hits and even drove in a run on his nineteen hop fielder's choice with the bases loaded. Chauncey and Haze also had three knocks.

All in all a great win against the very solid and much hated Waitlisters. They've been waitlisted until the playoffs.

Milestones:
Gene        500 r (#6)
Lefty        350 h (#17)

Cooled the Gang

Monday night the Coneheads took care of business with very little drama, and cooled the Gang, 18-8. Johnny's Gang, and I am not talking about our Walnut Creek teammate Johnny.

In fact Former and Future Old Scout (he defected for one game, that is my story and I am sticking with it) Randy carried us with his defense at SS, making play after play on the turf field. And Joe was dealing - he had three Ks, one foul out, one swinging K and one backward K. He likes variety. The other webgem worthy highlight was a great catch in LC by Sting.

We started the game with a run scoring double by D, followed quickly by an Ol' G turf gap home run. All in all we had 8 hits and a walk after two lead off outs, and it was quickly 6-0. We added five in the second, punctuated by Chopper's two run triple, and four in the third, starring a solo homer by Sting. That gave us a 17-6 lead and we were on cruise control the rest of the way.

I neglected Milestones up to now so here you go:

6/10:
Heffe        700 r (#2)
Gene         350 g (#5)
Bruce        300 ab (#23)

6/17:
Chopper    50 hr (#3)

6/24:
Chuck        500 g (#1)
Heffe         1750 ab (#2)
Heffe         1100 h (#2)
Larry         1500 ab (#3)
Joe             90 bb (#6)
Chopper    30 3b (#12)
Chopper    60 2b (#14)

Retro Heads

The Coneheads took a page out of past history, playing excellent defense to overcome a sluggish offense and beat the Masterbatters 5-1. On a night when (in our league) the losing team scored three or fewer and two won with five runs including us, we held the line at the fewest, one.

The game's defensive highlight was a sharp grounder to Randy, who tagged a runner going from second to third and flipped the ball to Skip covering second for a double play. I was begging Skip to send it my way at first base to try for the triple play, but he decided to play it safe. Other highlights included Randy going out for a shallow outfield pop up, and in the 5th, Gene, Sting and Lefty took turns making good catches to retire the side.

We incrementally built a massive 5-0 lead, and even though the Masterbatters got one to avoid the shutout, we were never under any serious threat.

Ol' G was hot, going 3-3 and a bunch of us had a pair of hits. But we left two on in five of the six innings, and that kept us from blowing them away. Still, a win is a win.

I realized I have neglected to send out the milestones this season, so here we go:

3/31:
None

4/7:
Heffe        60 bb (#1)

4/14:
None

5/5:
Joe            150 r (#6)
Bruce        150 ab (#19)

6/2:
Chopper    250 h (#6)
Sting         201 h  (#10)
Sting         350 ab (#11)
Johnny      50 rbi (#18)
Bruce        50 g (#20)

6/9 Game 1:
Chuck       400 h  (#1)
Chopper   200 rbi  (#3)
Ol' G        450 ab (#7)

6/9 Game 2:

Joe            40 bb (#6)

Haze         40 bb (#7)

Sting         10 bb (#15)

Chris         50 ab (#25)

6/16:

Heffe             350 h (#2)

Haze              500 ab (#5)

Haze              150 rbi (#7)

D                   10 3b (#9)

Haze             20 2b (#13)

Chauncey     50 ab (#26)

6/23:

Lefty             350 h (#3)

Ol' G             250 h (#7)

Randy           150 r (#9)

Underdog!

There's no need to fear, Underdog is here!

Sing with me...Ooh ah Ooh ah Ooh ah Ooh ah Ooh ah Ooh ah

Speed of Lightning! Roar of Thunder!

Well we certainly Kapsched off a challenging season last night. On April 30th we stood at 0-3-2, the arguably worst start in the 20 years we have played in Pleasanton. Then we totally screwed the pooch - and I am not talking about Underdog yet - by winning three of the last four to greatly reduce the odds of moving down for fall season.

There was only one thing to do. Blow a 13 run lead in our last game, sneak into the last playoff spot (and only by tiebreaker), and then take out the first place and second place teams. And get Cotton, or whatever Polyester they are passing for Cotton these days.

And so it came to pass. Never fear, Underdog is here.

In the first game, we were playing ho-hum, looking like a fourth place team just happy to be here. But the East Bay Long Strokers never took advantage and were only up 7-3 after four innings. And then - The Spark Plug came into the game. Yours truly got a hit! to start the top of the fifth and then eight more guys got singles sandwiched around a Gregg Sac fly and a walk to Rusty and a pop-up, and before you knew it I was up again, and this time I took a bases loaded walk. The other RBIs went to Bert, Pauly, JT, and two to Hama. B followed my walk with a two run single and we were in double digits for the inning. When the smoke cleared we were up 13-8 and never looked back. Up two in the bottom of the seventh, Tom induced a bases loaded pop up to the catcher to end the game.

The defensive highlight of the game was Coop laying out to take away a hit in the first. It held them to one run and kept it from getting away early.

In the Championship round. Tom owned SOP. He was squeezed by ump Ron all night long - the strike zone was about 8-10 feet. Very dangerous with a team like SOP, but somehow Tom kept them from scoring until the fifth inning.

He was greatly aided by our defense, which found its way to reverting to our former stellar defense. B was a vacuum, including ranging far to get three assists in the bottom of the second - he might deserve 'Finals MVP' even without consideration of his 7-8 hitting performance.

Cage turned a potential tag up and go to third fly out into a double play, throwing behind the indecisive runner, and Hama got a quick tag on him. JT turned one way and then adjusted to turn the other way on a twisting blast to right to end the fourth. Tom even got Donny M to strike out when he induced him to yank strike three foul by a mile.

We knew SOP would eventually score, and they put up five in the sixth to make it a one run game. It is our usual nightmare with those guys - they come storming back late and rally fiercely to smother us.

But not last night. Coop started the seventh with a ten foot 'bunt' hit - Donny tried to pounce in it from behind the plate but he had no chance to get the speedy Coop. And then up strode our secret weapon, JT. He blasted a gapper to left center, and Coop flew around the bases and JT ended up on third. The the top of the lineup took over and we added four more runs on hits by B, Gregg and a two run single by Rusty.

In the bottom of the seventh now down six again, SOP had no answer. Tom got a comebacker for out number one, Gregg came in hard to catch a pop fly to shallow left. And even though Donny got on when his ball took a no-hop on Hama, the next batter obliged by giving Hama a do over. This time he fielded it and fire to D at first and it was ballgame, season and thank you for the Maroon shirts!

There were two other keys to success. Albert took over the catching chores in the last inning and was a calming influence on Tom after he had had a wild streak (mostly due to the fucked up strike zone) in the sixth.

The other was Rusty - he came riding in on his white horse and saved the day (night) with his solid defense in right center and outstanding hitting. He only had five official times at bat, but he added two walks and a sac fly, and two of his hits were a double and a triple at key times. The triple led off the second and when he scored it provided the only run in the first three innings by either team. The  double kicked off scoring in the five run fourth that allowed us to take control of the game. Without him, missing Bo in the playoffs would have been a much larger burden.

And special thanks to Hama and Pauly - Hama wanted to bag it because of his "KD" calf injury but allowed me to guilt him into playing, and played great defense and hit like, well like Hama. Pauly had a pretty severe limp from a base running injury but gutted it out to the end.

Very rewarding to win like this - I don't think we ever have before as the four seed, and it was totally unexpected, which makes it twice as sweet. And we sent SOP off into oblivion as they are expected to fold up their tent after this season.

See you in a few weeks. Maybe our next uniforms should be a cape with a "U" on it!

Red Hot Scarlet over Navy 40-20 (!)

Believe it or not, this game was close until the last inning.

There were six lead changes through the first six innings, and Scarlet was up 17-15. We scored five to take a decent lead and shut down Navy in the bottom of the seventh. So, 22-15. We agreed that the eighth would be the open inning.

And then.

In the eighth, we batted around, TWICE. Eighteen runs. With one out on a fielder's choice, our second run scored. Then we scored sixteen more runs with two outs. And Navy didn't really play bad defense, almost every hit was clean and only a few were pop ups. We were just Scarlet-hot. When the smoke cleared, we were at an even 40 runs in eight innings, and each player had six plate appearances. We hit .779 as a team.

I thought I had a pretty good game. 4-5 with a bases loaded triple (should have been a grand slam, this runner is just too slow), a double and a walk, and five RBIs.

But look at this:

Paul Lisi, 6-6, six runs, five RBIs
Ray Aguilera, 6-6, four RBIs
Gary Namanny, 4-4, two HRs, seven RBIs, two sac flies
Gerry Dasey, 5-6, hit for the CYCLE
Chip Sharpe, 4-6, two doubles and a triple while jetlagged
And it goes on: Art Miner, Charlie Uhlman, Helen Kostoff all 5-6.
Mike Nichols, 4-6, triple
Bob Shipway, 3-6 including a clutch two out two run triple early when it was close
Tony Gorgone was the only player who had a bad (for him) game and he still was 2-5 plus a sac fly. And one of his outs was a line shot right at the left fielder.

I'm still out of breath, so I will leave the defense out this game. We had a few good plays and a few bad ones, as usual.

Backing In

The ultimate backing into the playoffs. We blew a 13 run lead, made a comeback, and then allowed them to make a final comeback. Then watched as Sons of Pitches took Livermore out of the last playoff spot.

Just like we drew it up!

Well the way we look at it, we probably have to beat first place East Bay Long Strokers anyway, so it might as well be in the first game. It life imitated art, we would beat them and SOP would beat the Ultimate Warriors to set up a final playoff battle with SOP (rumor is they are folding). We'll see.

Hopefully we have enough bats. The lowlight of the game was the all powerful Heffe striking a blow for all 64 year old weak ass hitters by hitting the pitcher and losing my bat for the rest of my Pleasanton career, however long that lasts. I must say that it looked to me like the guy was trying to make a play on it, but they are changing the definition of 'helpless pitcher' by the hour, so how can you argue with the call?

And Tom lost his bat but at least he recovered it. The guy is getting old.

The best moments of the game came in our seven run rally in the top of the fifth that turned a 6-0 lead into 13-0. Starting with Gregg, we had eight straight singles and then a walk, and when Bo drove in the last run with a sac fly, we were sitting pretty.

Then came the bottom half and entering the Twilight Zone. The Warriors, who had hit seemingly nothing but fly ball outs to that point, adjusted and started hitting line drive singles here there and everywhere, and before we could blink or the manager yanked Tom, they roared all the way back to take a one run lead 14-13. We weren't done; we showed some grit and again stringing a bunch of hits, took back a four run lead. But the Warriors continued their onslaught in the last inning, Ultimately walking off with the 19-18 win.

Bo, Bert, Rusty (two doubles), Paul, and Rene led the way with three hits apiece. Gregg had the only home run, a well timed two run blast in the third.

We will miss our lead off hitter, the youth movement of Bo, but most everyone else will be in, and we can compete with all these teams. Time for a Cotton drive!

Archrival Week

It was arch-rival week for the Coneheads. First there was Advance Construction in a game for the ages Sunday, then an early season match-up with the Old Scouts in Orinda Monday.

After the heartbreak Sunday, the Heads were vulnerable but instead turned in a classic Conehead win.: Stay close early, then have a big inning and blow it open. The score was only 17-10, but the eight run top of the sixth assured the win and that time would run out on the Old Scouts.

We scored four off the bat, but the Scouts countered with four in the first. Charley had a two run double. In the third Chopper hit yet another bomb for three runs and a 7-5 lead. Then the Scouts crept back and by the sixth they had a 10-9 lead.

But in the sixth, pinch hitter Chauncey, Heffe, and Gene loaded the bases at the bottom of the order with singles, and the table was set. Six hits sandwiched around a sac fly and the damage was done. Chauncey got his hit with sandals on - I made him put on shoes when he came up a second time in the inning and he proved he could hit with or without shoes on.

Bruce plead that he isn't a three hitter, and then went out and went 4-4 with two doubles. Sorry dude, looks like you might be stuck there. Charley was also 4-4 with three RBIs batting behind him. And Lefty ("I'm not a leadoff hitter") joined the 4-4 club. Chopper was the bomber with 3-4 and a homer and a double and five RBIs to lead the team. Haze continued his hot year with three hits, and late arriving Gene was also perfect at 3-3 and the perfect 'second leadoff' batting last.

We were lucky Randy was missing from the Scouts lineup, and we know it really only matters in the playoffs against those guys but it still feels good to get a rival game win.

Red Tide Washes Over Green, 20-12

A close battle between Scarlet and Green turned in our favor due to great defense and timely hitting late as Scarlet beat Green 20-12.

Good things seemed to come our way when we got the tough top of the Green line up out with no runs. The play of the game occurred with two outs. The Green hitter got just a piece and the ball went rising straight back. Catcher Mike Nichols managed to bat the ball in the air, juggle it and finally put it away in his glove for out number three.

Then in the bottom Scarlet crushed four extra base hits (Paul Lisi, Gary Namanny, Tony Gorgone, and Charlie Uhlman) to score five with no outs. Things looked good.

Then of course the Green Machine got five right back, and when we didn't answer they tacked on five more. Things were looking good for them now.

Uhlman came in to pitch the fourth, and retired Green on five pitches. The man knows how to seize the moment.We did answer after that and took advantage of some gifts, and it stood at 15-12 after five.

Then a funny thing happened - both teams stopped hitting for 2 1/2 innings. We tacked on three in the eighth and that was all she wrote.

Much of why Green stopped scoring had to do with some great defense. SS Gary Booth had a great game. Early he caught a tough pop up in no man's land in shallow left. In the seventh, he took a relay from Lisi, and fired home to get the first out. Then he started a SS-R-1B double play to end the inning. In the eighth, Lisi again got a runner trying to test his arm - this time he fired a one hop bullet to third and Gorgone made a great catch while hanging on to the base. Bob Shipway at 2B and the first baseman made some good stops too. On one, I showed my great range (not one but TWO steps) and fielded a grounder hit by Wilbur Williams. Then I looked to Raymond Aguilera to see if he was going to cover first, then I made and drank a cup of coffee, and then when I decided neither Ray nor Wilbur were going to get to first, I figured I might as well get the out myself. The other one ended the game.

Hitting was pretty spread out. Namanny, Lisi and Gorgone were all 3-3 with various walks and sac flies thrown in. Art Miner and Nichols joined the three hit club. Eleven of the thirteen players scored at least one run, and eleven also drove in at least one. A true team win.

Last One Batting Wins!

I hate losing. The only thing that keeps me from going overboard on it is that I play so many games, it's always time to move on the the next one, so there is no sulking.

But once in a while you play in a game so great, and so much fun, that if you lose by a run or so, you don't mind. Yeah you could second guess all you want but in the end in a great competitive game it doesn't matter so much in the big picture.

Such was the game yesterday against arch-rival Advance Construction. They overcame a 14-2 early hole with a 22 run onslaught over two innings, but we buckled down and came back from eight down to take a precarious one run lead going into the bottom of the last inning (fourth!). When Charley snagged the hard grounder up the middle with a man on first and no outs, and turned it into a double play, it looked like we just might pull it off. But Advance proved to be resilient as well and pushed across two more with two outs to win it 26-25.

One of their hits was a line drive just over Chris' outstretched glove at SS - that proved the cliche that it truly is a game of inches - a couple of inches lower and it's game over we win. Another was a blooper in shallow center between four guys trying their upmost to get to it.

Chris, D and Chopper had the big blows of the day. Chris hit two monster home runs, which accounted for four if his game high five RBIs. D turned his gappers into two triples - his last one was a beautiful shot to the opposite field to score two. Chopper like Chris was perfect 4-4 including a double and he was good for three RBIs. Gene, Haze and Heffe stayed hot with 3-3 days, the former two included a double three RBIs each as well. Skip joined them in the three hit club. Chauncey managed to go 2-3 on one leg. Chuck had his usual clutch pinch hit in the late rally - he is 3-3 in the last three games pinch hitting for Joe in the late innings.

There wasn't much defense this game - about the only play I remember (besides Charley's last inning heroics) is I dug one out of the dirt early on. We made a couple of unusual mistakes on defense, and they didn't, and ultimately that was the difference.

The good news is we are still only a game and a half out of first and everyone makes the playoffs. This year is lining up to be exciting.

Bo Owns Livermore

Have a game Bo. Bo went 4-5 with two triples and a double to lead the way past Livermore again, putting us in a position to make the playoffs anywhere from a two to four seed. He roamed left field making great catches as well.

He then got greedy to hit for the cycle trying to blast one over the right center fence that fell a little short. But that came in the seventh when we were enjoying our comfortable 16-6 lead which ended up being the final score.

We turned two double plays (started by Pauly and B) including in the seventh to stifle any thought of a comeback by the Livermore guys.

The rest of the hitting was spread around. Tom and JT had perfect 3-3 days plus a walk and a sac fly, respectively. Hama joined them in the three hit club, lacing line drives to all fields. B had RBIs his first three times up to lead the team in that category. Heffe provided the comic relief when he lined a ball right at the pitcher, who then got out two more balls and performed a juggling act before roping it in. Although Coop might have won that prize by hitting a dribbler five feet that ended up bringing home two runs.

This sets up the season finale - we can end up anywhere from second to out of the playoffs, so we might as well win to assure ourselves a spot.

Dear Old Dad

It was Father's Day. It was also move in day, my Dad was moving in with us in his dotage.

Julia and I had bought a huge house on a good sized lot. There was a ton of room, plenty for us all to have space. The only thing was, it didn't have a garage. Instead, it had this humongous carport area, big enough to have like half a basketball court on it, and that was besides a covered area where we could park our cars. On the outside edge of the three lane driveway, there was a two story concrete wall, and in fact it was pointed in the middle so it was pretty tall.

Well, Dad shows up and he has a moving crew, and they start constructing a huge piece of plastic shelving, like we had in the basement of our house when I was growing up. When they are done we find out why - he has like tens of old beat up suitcases, the kind they had in the '50s all the way up to the more modern rolling ones. All different kinds. And the thing is, they are all empty.

We start to object. This is a hideous display, and we try to explain to him they are ugly and useless and will get destroyed anyway in the weather, so now we are going to have to cover the whole area. He gets agitated and upset. "It's all I have of her (my mom). Each of those suitcases is from a trip I took with her, and those memories are what I have."

We calmed down and let the crew pile all those pieces up high. You just can't sweat the small (well, large) things.

This is the dream I just had, so I guess my Dad visited me on Fathers' Day.

Miss you Dad,

Happy Fathers' Day all.

Modern Technology

I'm driving delivering food for Doordash yesterday, my 'retirement' job where I still don't know if I make any money, and I get an idea for the blog for the Conehead game.

Now, being old I am likely to forget the idea before I get home, so I want to save it while it is fresh, at least enough to jog my memory when I get back to it.

The light bulb goes off - I can voice text it in an email to myself, and then it will be close enough that I can refresh my memory later! Modern technology at its best!

So I perform the modern form of dictation. Here is what I meant to record:

"Wilder gap used to be a pristine part of the country between the Oakland hills and Orinda. Now it’s filled with luxury homes which (not sure, block the view?). But, to the Coneheads' benefit, Orinda got two beautiful softball fields, that is, beautiful when not full of young soccer players.

Paragraph

Well, I dedicate this post to the Wilder gap because we used it X times Monday to defeat the dangerous St. Mo's who always give us a good game. Chopper lead the way with two gap home runs although one of them was a squiggly turf hop over the right fielder's head but he had two (not sure) and one by Reggie and I forget who else."

Here is how it came out:

"Wilder gap used to be a pristine of the country between the Oakland hills and Orinda. Now it’s filled with luxury home which from my bank blotches of you. But, to the coneheads benefit, Orinda got two beautiful softball field, that is beautiful Wayne not Paul young soccer players. Paragraph well, I dedicate this post to the wilder gap because we used it X time Monday to defeat the dangerous Moz game. Chopper lead the way with two gap homerun although one of them what is a squigglyTurf cock over the right fielders head but he had to and drove in at the man of Ron would you mind by Reggie and I forget who else."

I can only say two things:

1) They want to have driverless cars?
2) Chopper's got to leave those squiggly turf cocks alone. And Beautiful Wayne the young soccer player.

The Gap

At the top of the Oakland hills in Sibley Regional Park lies Round Top, the volcano that spewed out the material that forms the East Bay Hills. If you hike to the top and look northeast, you get a view that used to be a pristine valley that I called the Wilder Gap. It was EBMUD watershed or something, that somehow was connected to the San Pablo and Upper San Leandro and Chabot and Lafayette reservoirs and drainage, beautiful open land.

Now of course there is a subdivision of upscale houses littering the Gap. Maybe someone thought this was a good idea, and after all, development is progress.

The good news for the Coneheads is that the City of Orinda, in order to appease whomever needed to be appeased for approving this project, had to build sports fields so we can think of this as a community asset. And now we get to play most of our games on these beautiful turf fields tucked in along the freeway.

In Monday night's game we redefined the Wilder Gap and that won the game over St. Mo's 18-14. Because if you hit a gap on those fields, the ball rolls forever and it is pretty much an automatic home run. Chopper led the way with two shots, although truth be told one of them was a springy bounce that went over the head of the right fielder, same effect. He was joined by Sting (solo shot) and Charley who brought in three runs with his. Sting's was a hard shot that was really a line drive that was hit so hard the outfielders had no chance of cutting it off. Charley's was more of a classic majestic gap fly over everyone.

Even though these hits accounted for only seven of our 18 runs, they came at key moments that propelled us to victory. Charley's and Chopper's first one came in the third inning and turned a 3-0 deficit into a 5-3 lead from which we never looked back. Sting's started off the fifth inning, and sparked us to a nine run Conehead inning that pretty much salted the victory; Even though St. Mo's rallied late to make the final score seem close, there was never really a threat that they would overtake us.

That was because every time they thought they had the monster shot themselves, they would hit a drive into left center and somehow Bruce would track it down and make one of his patented basket catches. There were some other highlights - Joe got a backward K, and Ol' G and Heffe made some nice grabs of popups behind the infield - but none compared with Bruce's rangy tracking.

Bruce and Sting led the way with four hits each, and Chopper, Haze, Gene and Heffe pitched in three apiece. The three big boppers (Sting, Chopper, and Charley) accounted for 11 RBIs altogether.

Good start to the season against a team that usually gives us fits. Think I'll go up to Round Top and cogitate on that.