The Stars Aligned, and There Was No Gold (Navy 17-9)

Sometimes the baseball gods are just too cruel. Twenty four hours before game time, we were supposed to have 13 players available. Yeah we would be without our power hitter Jim Alexander and also Andy Steinberg, who has been a tough out lately, but 13 was manageable.

Within those 24 hours, I heard from three players. One player informed me that he had had minor surgery in two places, and wasn't sure he would be able to run today, since one was on his foot. A second player's wife, returning from vacation had a medical emergency and was in the ER in Reno. At game time today he was on a train through the Sierra to go rescue her. Luckily it is not life threatening and she will be all right. And to top it off at 2:30 am I heard that our primary SS had the flu, He was going to try to gut it out but it was just not possible.

No excuses, even though I just named a few! And I won't even mention one aching hamstring and one Achilles and the player recovering from Covid.

No Excuses! Shut Up!

We decided we would just go out and have some fun. That's what senior softball is all about right?

And so we did. We started out close, but then gave up two five run innings, and fell behind 12-1. We came back a little and had it at 12-7 but then withered, and eventually went down 17-9 in a heat shortened seven inning affair.

Chuck Howlett manning the hot corner had one inning where he stopped three shots ticketed for the left field line. LF Dan DeClercq and LC Willie Hollis tracked down tough chances, but the play of the game was an all out dive by RC Dick Stanley, sore foot and all. The ball never touched the green grass.

Hollis was hot, going 5-5, Pitcher Steve Bedrick 4-4. The Coach, DeClercq, Stanley, and Dale Browne chipped in three hits each.

I am just left wondering what kind of damage this team could actually do if we all showed up in the same game. Hopefully in the playoffs.

Gold Sinks toward the Bottom, Falls 19-23 to Gray.

Gold made crucial mistakes at the important time in the game, and fell to Gray 23-19. It was close until Howard the Giant Killer put one over the outfield in the eighth to salt away a win for Gray.

There were seven lead changes through the first six innings, and we had every chance to add on after taking a 14-12 after five. Instead Gray got hot and we went cold despite the hot weather and they won going away.

There were, ahem, some questionable calls, as there always are, but we made two of them on our own base runners.

The lower middle of the order actually carried us along. Between Tom Sciarrino (3-3, with a booming double), Andy Steinberg (4-4 with 3 RBIs, Woody Whitlatch (3-3 plus a bases loaded walk for 3 RBIs), and Donn King (3-4 with the final team leading 3 RBIs) we had a solid 13-14 in that part of the order.

Dick Stanley had another great game, going 4-5 with two doubles, and Willie Hollis and the number two hitter hitter chipped in with three knocks. Everyone had at least one hit, and almost everyone had an RBI.

On defense, the only plays I can remember are a great catch of a sinking liner at second by Chuck Howlett, and a nifty 6-11-3 double play we turned. Perhaps that says it all, we made too many blunders on defense to win the game.

A TC Classic in Concord

I'll get to today's ND game in a bit, but I wanted to mention a classic comeback in yesterday's TC game at Baldwin Park. Pleasant Hill visited the Concord guys in this match-up. These two teams do not get much press here, but should as many of the players overlap into Creaker land.

Pleasant Hill gave it up last week to the Lamorinda Lasers, giving them their first win in a couple of years, in one of the poetic justice games of all time. It is noted elsewhere.

Yesterday it looked to be more of the same. Concord came out hitting and it was not because we were down to our fourth string pitcher or our defense - they were just crushing the ball. After five innings, the score was 16-8 and it seemed like a forgone conclusion who would win.

Then it happened. We just started unloading up and down the lineup. Before the Concord Blue could blink, we batted around and tied it at 16 by catch up rule, and then held them to zero in the bottom half.

All of the sudden we believed. It was now a three inning game. In those innings PH outscored Concord 19-8 (in all 27-8 the last four innings) and won going away, 35-24. They were shellshocked.

I won't go into who had the best games because it was truly up and down the lineup. The guilty were Tom Thares, Mike Byrnes, Paul Lisi, Terry Estrada, Art Estrada, Bob Eddy, Pete Cordova, Michael George Brown, Neal Popp, Nelson Low, Greg Ennis, Jim Heinrich (in his season debut off injured reserve) and yours truly. Tony Sherpa coached excellently. Art in particular had a great game in relief of Pete who was pressed into duty since our two other pitchers were missing, and Art cannot get to games until a couple of innings in.

We even had a near brawl, which I will not go into. Fun Times!

Team Cuervo lays the Golden Egg, losing to Lt. Blue 20-13

These days, there is a trend toward very lengthy descriptions of our games.

Well, today, taking a suggestion from Helen Kostoff, Rover extraordinaire, I have but two words:

We sucked.

All right, as much as I would like to leave it at that, I will go on some. There were some highlights.

First of all the game was decided mainly because we just stopped hitting. We were ahead 10-7 after four, and only trailed 15-13 after seven. But you can't score one run in the last four innings and expect to win against a competitive team like Light Blue.

Some hitters had fine games. Leadoff Willie Hollis hit four line drive singles in four ABs. As did Dan DeClercq with his including two doubles, and Charlie Uhlman with one two bagger. Dick Stanley was 2-3 but led the way with 4 RBIs. The Manager and Andy Steinberg had three hits each. But outside of a four run third and a five run fourth, we just couldn't string together hits.

There were a few defensive highlights: In the first we recorded three outstanding putouts, DeClercq made a fine running catch for out number one. Pitcher Steve Bedrick snared a hot shot up the middle for out number two and Steinberg jumped sideways to snag the third out on another line drive. If you had asked me at that point I would have said this game is going to go our way.

In the third SS Tom Sciarrino took care of a line drive and then fired to third to nail a runner who had drifted off the bag. Kostoff made a nice over the shoulder catch of a popup in shallow left in the fourth. Following that Dale Browne knocked down a tough in between hop grounder and managed to scramble after it and fire to first to get the out.

But that was about it as the defense kind of fell apart along with the offense late. We will just have to regroup and come back strong after the break.

It's Not a Cuervo Game Until Chuck Gets Dirty, Cuervo Over B-Y, 20-18

My dirty co-manager-HOF announcer Chuck Howlett, subject of this article's title, dubbed our team Cuervo Gold at the beginning of the season. Around the sixth inning, our team realized we did not know the meaning of "Cuervo." Of course as good consumers of the liquor of Calisco, we all know the alcohol brand. But what does it mean?

Charlie Uhlman looked it up when we were in the dugout. As it turns out, it means large black bird, i.e. raven or crow (do NOT start with the Ravin Kravin jokes). We are the Golden Ravens as it turns out, which does not make much sense but there you have it (Note: According to the Internet, which never lies, ravens are known as extremely smart birds, on a par with chimpanzees and dolphins in the brains department. So you can think of us a smart as chimps).

There was a game in between looking up interesting facts on the internet. After blasting out of the gate with a five run first, we spent the rest of the game fending off the curse of the first. We had leads of 7-3, 12-7, 14-8, 17-13. We kept adding on, but B-Y refused to give in, and just kept coming back. After a scoreless sixth, they answered our three with five in the seventh, and it was 20-18. By this time, it was 11:34 and the eighth had to be the open inning.

As often happens, the game came down to the bottom of the order. In the fourth, for example our bottom started with three straight hits. Sadly, in that case the top did not capitalize and we only scored two. But both teams had the bottom half coming up in the open eighth.

B-Y second baseman Bob Vitro picked that time to keep up with our Dale Browne. Browne had made all three outs in the bottom of the sixth. Now Vitro returned the favor snagging three straight ground balls.

We were facing the very bottom of the B-Y lineup. Looming large was Greg Mathers, who by virtue of arriving late was batting last, or fourth that inning. If he came up with runner(s) on, we were in world of hurt. But Steve Bedrick, our bedrock, bore down and induced a pop fly to third, an easy grounder and a second pop fly to set them down in order and the 20-18 score stuck,

As noted, Howlett got dirty a few times. He grabbed a couple of grounders that no one else gets to. He corralled a smash to third, but couldn't quite get a speedy runner one inning.  He also leapt high to get a line drive out in his inning subbing for Helen Kostoff at SS in the fourth. He made a brilliant play in the first - Kostoff took a grounder to SS and flipped to him at second and he fired a throw to nail a runner trying to come home from third. Catcher Jay Edwards made a nice pickup of the one hopper.

On offense it was the middle of the order that carried us. Jim Alexander completed his coming out as a force to be reckoned with. He hit three bombs - a triple in the first, a double in the second. The third time up as soon as I saw the hit, I realized he needed to be urged on to go all the way. I started yelling "Run, Jim, Run" and he hustled all the way around the diamond. Dick Stanley (who had his usual 4-4 day) was running in front of him. "Run, Dick, Run! Run, Jim, Run! See Dick Run! See Jim Run." it was like a first grade reader.

Alexander had six RBis all told. Not to be outdone, Uhlman was also 4-4, with two doubles and a triple, and managed to get three RBIs despite the fact that Alexander mostly cleared the bases in front of him. Of course, Charlie leads the league in 'stolen' bases, as he took extra bases on three of his hits. The coach could not scold him this game because he got away with it every time. You can't coach speed, and daring.

Edwards went 3-4, and Donn King, Bedrock, and Howlett were a combined 6-8, proving my mantra, the bottom of the order hits, we win.

It was a fun competitive game, even though they say the the ND is not about competition. Two evenly matched teams, in a close game. There's nothing better in softball than that.

A Day Late, A Wilbur Leap Short, Orange Over Gold, 20-16

Today, I woke up and the internet was out and my laptop was nowhere to be found. It was a 2020s cultural crisis! The laptop was actually missing because, wait for it, I got a new laptop! It was busy getting a data dump from my old laptop, and I was forced to actually read a book today.

My old one was almost as old as my Creaker career is long. From now on, my articles will be faster, smarter, and streamlined, And I will also run faster, jump higher, and hit the ball harder! And I will be able to bend over to get those grounders I used to get to with no problem (unlike in Thursday's loss to Orange). I will play like it's 2011!

Yes, dreams and fantasies are good.

But the reality is that Team Cuervo coughed it up to the tough Orange Crush with some dubious defense in the middle innings and let them get away with a four run win.

Elsewhere, the esteemed Clay Kallam documented the crucial play of the game - a leaping Wilbur catch/robbery on Steve Bedrick's no out, bases loaded line shot seemingly destined for the right field line to score two to bring the tying run to first and the leading run to the plate in the last inning. Sure we will never know if we would actually have caught Orange, or if we would have gotten them out in the home half of the inning. But we know that the DP burst the balloon and we went down 20-16.

I am here mostly to recognize the players who made the Cuervo Highlight reel. Chuck Howlett and Helen Kostoff had stellar defensive games, Howlett had his usual dives at second base for outs a couple of times. Kostoff, who was playing out of position at SS on a strained Achilles, and had played a doubleheader until 10 pm Wednesday night, went deep into the hole and backhanded a grounder, fired to Howlett who relayed to first for a DP in the sixth.

Woody Whitlatch made a fine running catch in left in the seventh, and Charlie Uhlman had one likewise earlier in the game in right.

We gave it our best shot - yes missing some key players, but there are no excuses in softball. We scored 15 runs in the first four innings, but ran out of gas and could never get the big hit in the last four frames.

Uhlman led the offense with a 4-4, two double game. Kostoff, Heffe, and Dan DeClercq all had three hits and three RBIs at the top of the lineup. Jay Edwards joined them with three hits. Everyone in the lineup had at least one hit.

This week we should be at full strength and we'll see how much that helps.

Fool's Gold, Purple over Team Cuervo, 21-14

I take the blame for this one. I texted Helen Kostoff that I would not be bringing the bacon Thursday for her fabulous 'shots' (for the uninitiated it's Irish Whiskey/Butterscotch Schnapps with a chaser of OJ and a chaser chaser of a piece of bacon). I bring the bacon (so to speak). The ultimate post-game celebratory pickup.

This left Team Cuervo with no postgame incentive and after taking a 14-9 lead in the sixth inning we were outscored 10-0 the rest of the way to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory. It was rumored that several teammates were wandering about between innings looking under the bleachers and searching all the way to the Dog Park for said comestibles. 

We had some defensive highlights - Charlie Uhlman making a great catch on a hot drive to left in the first, turning a SS Jim Alexander - to R Kostoff to 1B the bacon whiffer double play in the second, and 2B Chuck Howlett diving to his left to rob a Purpler on a line drive in the eighth (one of several great Howlett plays as usual).

Alexander (4-4, 2 doubles) and Howlett had great games at the plate (3-3). Uhlman was right behind them with a 3-4 day. Everyone had at least one knock and nearly everyone drove in a run.

But too many hitters were 2-4 and TC could only muster five hits in the last three innings. Could it have anything to do with the fact the Mike Howard came in to ice the game?