The Orange Streaks On, 15-11 over Scarlet

It was a key moment in the game. The opposing manager Dave Rose came up with a runner on and one out. He hit a pop up near the first base dugout. The slow footed first baseman pulled up his gut and got on his horse and got almost all the way to the dugout. And then - he reached out and got a glove on it, tried to catch it with his ample midsection, and then his arm, and then his mitt again. But alas, it popped out. Rose followed with a key hit and Scarlet was in business. But Howard Davis shut down the top of the Red lineup with minimal damage and Scarlet could only narrow the lead to 13-11. They tie us up there and it's game on. We got the two the first baseman let score back in the bottom of the eighth and it was 15-11 going into the ninth. And Davis induced three popups (two on the infield) and it was game over, home team wins.

A different tone was set in the first. Scarlet hit it where we wasn't and netted five. We answered with five of our own - seven straight hits after a flyout to open the inning. Greg Wilson had a two run double and Heffe hit the middle gap for the last run.

Pitching and defense took over for the next three innings, won by Big Red 3-2. We got one third out when Art Oller hustled in on a single, threw a strike to Ron Schwab, who replicated the perfect throw home to nail Rose by a half step, trying to score from second. In the third, the 3-1 putout of the year, that same first baseman leading pitcher Mark Narciso perfectly on a slow grounder, who neatly stabbed the edge of the bag just ahead of the runner. Except, the umpire ruled otherwise. C'est la vie, I guess there won't be an ESPN highlight on that one. Narciso made several other tough plays in his five innings on the bump - he stabbed one with the bases loaded and got the third out at third base, and on one play he slowed a hot shot ticketed for center field just enough that it went right to Wilson at rover who completed the double play.

That was one of three Orange double plays - the others being Narciso to Davis (rover) to Bob Carver at first and then in his one inning at SS. Mike Saindon took a grounder to second himself and fired to first to complete the twin killing.

The Orange offense shows how balanced our latest winning streak (three) is. Only Mark Edelstone had three hits. Nine others had two hits, and everyone had at least one. We did not hit long balls today - Greg Wilson had two doubles, and heffe had a third (Steve Sloat thinks I am still running to second), and that was it for extra base hits. But the consistency was there to get runs home when needed, and pitching and defense took care of the rest. A good win against a good team.

It was a fierce battle for playoff positioning - three teams were within a half game of third place, including these two. Orange leapfrogged both others - but wait - it's a round robin end of season tournament, no seeding. Oops - never mind - anyway well we now have bragging rights for third place with one week to go...

Orange White Washes White, 26-13

This is a story about loyalty.

All season, after Creaker Ball, I have gone to my favorite taco joint in Pleasant Hill for Taco Tuesday. I get enough tacos for lunch and dinner for me and my girlfriend. She is a teacher - she was home on Zoom through summer school but now is back in the classroom. But we have continued the tradition, except I just get her enough tacos for dinner only.

Well, my place in PH was slipping - they were slow to answer the phone (I always ordered ahead). And they were slow, slow slow to get the food out. I think they changed management. This coincided with my discovery of one of those Top Ten Tacos in the Bay area Chronicle lists, and there was one on it in Concord nearby on Monument Blvd. that was all rave reviews. I decided to try it today. After I collected my food, I drove out along the strip mall and pow! a truck just backs up right into my car, crushing the front right fender and wheel well and bumper and various other parts and pieces, and rendering my car un-drivable.  So I spent the whole afternoon, when I should have been celebrating the Orange victory over White today, dealing with insurance, the tow truck, the body shop, and car rental. All because I was not loyal to my taco shop. Live and Learn.

In the mean time, Lamont Thompson, who thought his softball days were over two months ago, tried to return to his Scarlet team (he played for them last week), but they had replaced him on the roster (as they should have), and we picked him up, since we were down to 13 bodies. All he did today was hit a single, double, and triple (the mini-cycle) for his new team, including the three run bases loaded double that put us ahead to stay in the fifth. So I am glad his loyalty went from Scarlet to Team Orange!

He was not the only one that hit. Greg Wilson hit another bomb - his ninth of the season (he must be the league leader?) and added a triple for a 4-4 day with four RBIs. Mark Edelstone was 5-5, and had two home runs taken away because the fifth run of the fourth and eighth innings scored on his hits ahead of him. He had seven RBIs. Recently anointed leadoff hitter Ron Schwab was 3-4 plus a walk setting the table every other inning. Brian Black continued his comeback from his recent slump with a 3-4 day. Bob Carver brought hits down from his vacation in Alaska, also going 3-4, as was Howard Davis.

The defense started and ended with pitching. We were shaky on defense the first few innings, and it cost starter Mark Narciso some unearned runs. Once we settled down, he held the tough White lineup to one run over his last two innings. And along the way he made several of the finest plays of the day on comebacker-smashes that he stabbed. Jay Chafetz made his usual assortment of great catches, whether in left field or right center. We turned at least two double plays - one started by Schwab at SS, and one started by Mike Saindon at 3B.

Finally, our new late inning specialist super-closer Davis came into the game in the sixth, and held White to one run over four innings while we added on 11 runs to salt away the game.

Another team win for the Orange Crush! We stayed loyal through our losing streak!

I guess I will return to my old Taco place. Never mind the wait - it was a lot faster than what I went through today!

(Although I have to say the burrito I had while I waited for the tow truck was really really good).

Orange gets a Royal Flush, 23-13

Apologies to Clay Kallum for stealing your style last week in my frustration at Orange's six game losing streak. I was at the end of my rope, as much as you can be in rec league softball.

But it worked! Thanks Clay, but I won't do it again.

I won't be holding a press conference to announce that our lineup came crashing out of the gate with six straight hits and Jay Chafetz drove in the fifth run as we jumped to a 5-0 lead and 9-0 after three and a half and never looked back. In fact, the top five in our lineup, Ron Schwab, Mark Edelstone, Mike Saindon, Greg Wilson, and Mark Narciso accounted for 16 of our 23 runs. Schwab had three hits, Edelstone two and a walk and four runs scored, Saindon had three hits (also four runs) including a booming triple and a walk, Wilson had three hits and seven RBIs including a Grand Slam - Royal played him deep in right and he still clobbered the ball  20 feet over the right fielder's head. Narciso had a great game at the plate too - three hits and a walk including the 'mini-cycle', single double and triple - but couldn't buy an RBI because Wilson knocked everyone in. His grousing about that made for some good laughs.

But the rally and hit of the game may well have been Gabe Tanaka's shot to center that split two of the best fielders in the league in Gary Namanny and Rich Brown. The three run homer in the top of the seventh put us up 19-8 and pretty much dashed Royal's hopes of a late inning comeback.

Speaking of laughs, Orange played loose like the team that had won six of seven early in the year, not the one that was riding a six game losing streak. It's a testament to the team that we stayed on a level plane throughout the streak. And it's humbling, and it's why we play the game - you just never know until you take the field how it's going to go. And no one can explain why we went into a collective hitting slump, including scoring only 13 runs total the last two weeks, and then matching that today by the sixth inning.

It also helped that Orange played excellent defense today. Third base had several great plays made from all three who manned the hot corner - Saindon, Howard Davis and Art Oller. Chafetz was a Royal wrecking crew in left, making several tough catches over his head and diving for one about to fall in front of him.

And a little luck combined with the good defense helped - Namanny and Brown hit into many outs that were either right at someone or we made a great play on.

Tanaka at 2B and starting pitcher Narciso also added some highlight plays to our reel. And Davis came in to pitch from the sixth on, and even though he allowed one five spot (with many of those runs unearned), he set Royal back to the dugout in three of his four innings with a zero.  That iced the game and we won 23-13.

Orange Juiced Again, Falls to Green 16-7

Orange Manager Heffe Kravin walked into the post game interview room. He sat down, and tapped on the microphone to make sure it was on. It was.

When everyone settled down, but before Kallam could ask his usual softball question, he quickly stood up and flipped over the table.

The room was shocked. As he walked out, someone heard him muttering, “Worked for Rose!”

No Respect But We Don't Care - Coneheads Champs Again!

This is what the Playoff Results Page says on the WCASI web site:

So we are now the AIR COMEHEADS!

And indeed, we did COME again!

It was a remarkable weekend. I think the only real (uninjured) runners we had by the end were Pope and Darren and possibly Gene and Charlie. And Chop and me of course but do we count?

A truism - being the home team is overrated unless there are 40,000 cheering fans in the stands. Jumping on the team in the first is a much larger advantage. We were up on the Elite 9-2 in both games that we came out on top. They never recovered in the Saturday game, and even though they were relentless in the Championship game we were able to add on to stay ahead, if not completely comfortably.

The other truism is the ability to add on - in the championship game the eight run fifth inning when we batted around as the best inning of the year, and loomed even larger when they answered with seven.

There were too many highlights to list them all in (much less I can remember) but the one that is burned into my brain actually occurred in the last inning of the game against Advance Construction. It was in the last inning when Advance wanted to make a last run at us. There was a dribbler to short that James barehanded and slung to first on a bang bang play - no way he gets the out if he doesn't bare hand it. We go on to win the tight game to advance (sorry for the pun).

James was all over the place, diving this way and that, and never made a throw that wasn't right in the first baseman's glove whether it was D, Haze or me. And his hitting - he drove in seven of our dozen runs in the first game against the Elite, outscoring them by himself. He added six in the championship game. All told he drove in 16 over the weekend - all with a hobbled leg. Second on that list was Darren (who had clutch hit after clutch hit) with 6. All of James' doubles deep in the center field gap would have been homers undoubtedly if he were 100%.

Next up is Joe. Joe had batters reaching all weekend long. I think he walked one the whole weekend. And I have never seen anyone defend the middle like Joe. The last play summed up his whole defensive game - he had to reach down in a split second to nab the smash, and the Championship was ours. His defense allowed us to put Rover Randy in the shallow outfield. Normally I am not a fan, I'd rather have five infielders, but with Joe on the mound you already have the middle covered. Against the Elite this was particularly effective because they hit a lot of liners in front of the outfielders, who have to respect their power potential. With Randy's range, it gives us another powerful defensive weapon.

The outfield put on a show, Each one of them, Pope, Gene, Lefty and Darren made numerous running catches. Luckily their legs held out, and I am sure they all took it easy today. Pope and Randy in the leadoff spots were running all over the place and scored nineteen of our 51 runs over the weekend. And that doesn't include when they ran for others, so I'm sure they scored half the team's runs. Darren was 5-6 with two outs in the four games. And he's never seen a shallow fly where he didn't want to make a sliding catch.

Haze gets the all around play any and everywhere award. He made plays at first, second, and rover before settling into third base for the Sunday games. He handled everything flawlessly.

Chopper as usual was a gnat in the opposition's ears behind the plate. And he rediscovered his stroke during the weekend, after struggling for a long time. His shot to left center, a two run triple put the stamp on our biggest inning of the year in the penultimate game that put us up 22-7. Even though they gave us a little scare and narrowed it to five runs, they were really through after that.

Charlie showed up just in time and made a few plays at second including starting a double play on a hot shot, and had a few clutch hits. The first baseman doinked a couple but also made a few plays. His play of the weekend was stretching to his full full 5'7" on the ground while holding the bag on an errant throw from third. Unfortunately, when the call was protested, the field ump realized he was so focused looking to see if he held the bag, he forgot to look at the runner and then decided he had already reached the bag and reversed the call.

Obviously Derek played a huge role in the season and on the first day of Playoffs. Larry stepped in when G went down and anchored 2B all season. Chauncey and super sub Rob and Rich before he was hurt all contributed. The team had to get to know each other this season - between the year off and all the new players. But we got it together and in the end the rag tag team came through. It was sweet.

And last but not least - Chuck wins a Championship in his first year as Manager! There was a learning curve but he made all the right moves. And filled in when necessary, and the man can still hit!

It may be our swan song, and/or it may be the last hurrah for some of us oldsters. If so, it is great to go out on top. But if we can recruit a few more Joes and Jameses and Darrens, maybe the Coneheads can come back and defend our crown. It's hard to believe since we don't routinely go 13-1 in the regular season like we used to, but this is our fourth Cotton year in the last six years the league has played. No one else can say that.

Have a great off season and see you at Masse's!

Milestones:

Game 1:

Chopper      20 bb (#14)

Game2:

Haze            550 ab (#4)

James          10 2b (#20)

Game 3:

None

Game 4:

Lefty            650 ab (#3)

Orange Slush loses to Purple 17-6

The game could be summed up in one at bat - our nominally best hitter, Greg Wilson took a called third strike his last time up.

Team Orange had finally started a too little too late rally in the ninth, scoring four, but that K did us in.

No one knows the mystery of why teams can slump as a whole at times. If you do, please get in touch. The Orange Crush-turned-Slush has just collectively forgotten how to hit and it has turned as viral as the Covid Delta variant.

Lost three, won six of seven, and now lost five. No we're not streaky.
Purple was kind enough to keep us in the game. After streaking to a 10-2 lead after two, we kept them from scoring for three straight innings. But since we didn't take advantage offensively, and then they turned it back on and put the game away with a five run eighth.
At least we had some defensive highlights. Howard Davis was a one man wrecking crew at Rover, and turned two 11U-3 double plays. Mark Narciso swiveled around at the mound and snared a hot shot to start a 1-11-3 double play. Jay Chafetz made tough catches on a couple of bombs to left. Ron Schwab scooped up a few hard grounders and turned them into outs. The first baseman took a hit away from Mark Pitzlin, snagging a nasty one hopper and getting the led runner at second.
Wilson and Heffe led the team with three hits, Mike Saindon and Schwab hit gappers for triples, and that's about all there is to tell about our offense.
I will say that as confused as we are at the plate, we still are having fun out there. Maybe we will even win another game sometime.

Advance to the Playoffs

Sunday we (re-)learned one of the truisms in softball. In a close game, it is better to be the home team.

Yesterday, we parlayed a few dropped balls and lack of hitting to trail most of the game, yet somehow produce a rally in the top of the sixth to take a one run lead going into the bottom half.

But a 6-5 lead in softball, even in a pitcher's duel, is not safe. A couple of hits tied it, and despite a great relay throw from Lefty home, the winning run scored in a 7-6 walk off to Advance Construction.

The defensive play of the game came early - an out at home on a hit to Gene in left center. Randy made a tremendous throw home on that one and we kept them to one run in the first.

We gave away a three run inning in the third and the score held at 5-1 until the sixth and last inning. Finally we strung together a few hits - Gene, Charlie, Heffe, Larry, Pope, Randy, and D made it seven of eight and a sac around a couple of flyouts to give us the 6-5 lead.

Pope had a great game - two doubles including one half way up the fence in deepest right field in that last rally. We all thought it was out. Randy, Darren, Gene and Larry also had two hits. Most of us only got two ABs in the pitchers' duel.

All we proved was that we are very even with Advance, and the good news is that we will have home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs Saturday. I sense another walk-off coming.

Milestones:

7/25:

None

8/1:

None