Crows Muddied 19-12

If I close my eyes real tight, I can just wish away the last game and just write about the game I skipped journaling on January 3rd, when we smashed the Wolfpack 17-5. Homers by Lamont, Barry, and Mark, triples by Randy, Mark and Dave B, four RBIs by Lamont, good defense and pitching, solid game avenging our only blemish to that point, that tie the first time through the teams.

But then the nightmare begins. I see us scoring ten runs in the first two innings to take a 10-1 lead. And me coming up with Mark on first in the third inning, and hitting into the first of two double plays. I know it's not about me, win as a team lose as a team, but from that moment on, bad hitting spread like wildfire. They say hitting is contagious, and so is slumping. And slump we did the rest of the game - shut out in six of the last seven innings as we only scored two more runs the rest of the game. Even the DPs were contagious - we hit into four all together. In the end the Mudcats buried us 19-12.

There were bright spots. Randy started the game with a 'mini-cycle' his first three times up - a triple, single and a double. Dave B and Clay each had two run hits in our five run innings. Mark joined Randy and Clay with three hit games.

Mark also had an outstanding game in the field. He made a couple of nice stops at third base and then the good fielding followed him when he moved to shortstop the rest of the game. He snagged one ball deep in the 5-6 hole for one out and then leaped for a line shot for the third out in the sixth. Heffe did bail him out a couple of times picking low throws.

But the play of the game, and maybe the season, was when Anthony caught a fly to deep right center in the first. The runner on first dared to lumber toward second base thinking he could score if Anthony couldn't track it down. Off balance, not only did he catch it, but Anthony fired to the infield, and even though it was about a 19 hopper, it was perfectly on line, and the runner was out by a step trying to get back to first.

Now the rationalization begins. We probably weren't going to go undefeated - that is a tough task in any league. And let's face it - it's all about the remaining games against the Hornets. But the new winning streak begins next week against Leo's, who, incidentally were shut out by the Wolfpack this week.

Now Don't Go Contaminating The Field!

 They say things happen in threes (who says?). Sadly, there have been three things for the BS Team that have come together.

1. A month off due to a rainout, the holidays, a bye, and
2. Finally, when it’s time to play, another rainout, and
3. I have none of your antics, er I mean heroics to write about.

The upshot us you (voluntarily, up to you of course) may read on for yet another of my longwinded stories.

David inspired it with his tale of the City’s attitude toward the fields, so here goes:

In the ancient days of the last century, as I am sure I told many of you, my original team, the Lyons, practiced at Rudgear. We practiced every Thursday from about 1982-1997, from early spring to late September when it would get dark too early. We had a deal with the City of Walnut Creek, whereby we could reserve the field every week for free, but had to come to the office two weeks in advance to sign up in case they wanted to give it to the Little League or whatnot group that was more important than us (i.e. they paid). They gave us access to the water in the shed (although for some reason we had to supply the hose and the connector), and we built a drag out of two by fours and chicken wire which we scraped around the infield (it is still behind the third base dugout down the hill 40 years later). The field was pristine due to our efforts.

Along the way, each year we would like to have an early spring practice to start the year. But at times in non-drought years, the field was too wet. So, we made the practice earlier and earlier to make sure we got one in, until somehow, we started having practice on Super Bowl Sunday. This was of course during the Montana-Rice years, and it was all the better to then go to one of our houses after practice to watch the game. Fun times.

This one year, the field was in terrible shape. But by then we were experienced manicurists, and had our rakes and shovels and we got to work. There were great puddles at shortstop and on the first base side and it seemed hopeless but that didn’t stop us. We started to move the mud around and got out the drag, and then one of our guys had the brilliant idea to shovel off some dirt from against the fence on the third base side and dump it in the lake at SS. He had a lot of enthusiasm but didn’t really think things through necessarily and he went to work. It was seemingly successful and we had a great practice.

Well, a couple weeks passed and it was time to hold another practice, this time on our regular Thursday time slot. So, I called up Leo in the Rec Department to make sure we still had the deal. He said, “We can’t rent you the field.” I said, “Why not?” (curious because we technically weren’t renting the field). He said that we “contaminated” the field. Well, I had no memory of spraying any foreign substance on the field at Rudgear. And said so. We LOVED that field. I would not want to harm it. He said, “You spread weeds all over the infield.” So, Eric (who we called O.Z.) in his enthusiasm wasn’t all that careful about what he was digging along the side to put into Lake Shortstop.

Ironically, there were weeds all over the infield every year at the beginning and we were the ones that turned it over by spring time to get rid of them. It took some time but to the City’s credit, they eventually forgave us and let us continue to use the field for free for the remaining years we played together.

We still get together every year for the Super Bowl. I am the only one left still on the field, however. We used to gather for a toast at Rudgear before the game but that ritual has faded as the years pass by. But sometime during the day, someone will invariably say, “Now don’t go contaminating the field!”