The Score Was 23-NINE, Don

I don't know why the other teams are always taking away runs from us, even while they are destroying us. The score was 23-NINE, Don. Jeez.

I won't bore anyone with much of a write-up for such a blow out. Just mention one on the hill and one on defense and offense:

Mark Narciso pitched excellently in his four innings. White is fearsome and hit well, but we gave them about six or eight extra outs in Mark's four innings while they were building their 13-2 lead. In that time, Mark struck out three of White's best hitters, including inducing a swing and miss from one.

And Tony Gorgone - what a specimen of a softball and a team player. Tony contacted me Sunday and asked if he could sit this one out as his legs were acting up. At that point it looked like we would have eleven or at most twelve players including him. I said we night need him, and he said ok as long as he could play third base or catcher where he wouldn't have to move much. I said sure. He made a fine stop of a smash off Joe Peterson's bat with the bases loaded and got the force out at home. Then it turned out that the best defensive alignment would include moving him to second base, and I asked him to do it. He did it willingly and it did tighten up our infield. Team player.

In the mean time, he went 3-4. He hit a bases loaded bases clearing single (only because he was hobbling) over the right fielder's head. Later he nearly duplicated that with a towering smash down the left field line but it was just foul. I want to be Tony when I grow up, if I ever do.

There Aught-a Be a Law

Monday night, the Coneheads made perhaps the best case argument that there ought to be two divisions in the Orinda Senior softball league as we shut out the hapless Usual Suspects, 30-aught. And it wasn't that close as guys were batting from the opposite side of the plate and playing out of position by the fourth inning.

And then we unleashed Chopper (on the hill) on the suspect Suspects in the seventh inning, and he tried his best to give up the shutout, but in the end the opposing pitcher got so frustrated waiting for a decent pitch to hit, that he lunged for ball four and grounded out weakly to end the game.

Really the game was over when Pope got the third single in a row to start the game and it was 1-0. But then we poured on another 15 runs in the first inning, and the rout was on. Pope hit his first of his two home runs in his second time up in the inning. Hew totaled six RBIs for the game. It was one of those Pope games - he led the teams with five hits. 

Raul, Chopper, G, and Gene had four hits, and a bunch had three. Lefty had a nice line drive to left hitting righty for the prize of best hit from the opposite side.

Really, it was all great high jinx but next week we find out how we measure up - The Old Scouts are coming to town, and Scout Coach Steve wouldn't let us share Randy on his birthday Monday. What is he thinking? Bring your Monday best.

Milestones:

7/11:

Pope          1200 ab (#5)

7/18:

Pope          850 rbi (#1)

Heffe         1800 ab (#2)

Heffe         500 g (#3)

Gene         700 h (#7)

Hazel        450 ab (#20)

Hazel        10 3b (#22)

Randy       30 2b (#22)

Randy       300 ab (#24)

Green Wins! Green Wins!

April 26th. That was the last time Emerald Green sampled the taste of Victory Beer after a game. That's right, 0 for May, 0 for June and 0 for July until today.

Today's battle against Scarlet was a tale of three games - we won the first three innings 11-3, Scarlet roared back and took the middle innings 12-3 to take a lead, but then we took momentum, and the game back with a five run eighth and won that last third 11-4 for a final score of 25-19.

It was a complete team win. We hit .702 as a team, with everyone getting at least one hit We had but three extra base hits, but with that many dingers, we didn't need the power. We had many lucky bloopers and a few Scarlet wrapped gifts, but that evened out between both teams, and the difference was the late runs to win the game.

Greg Wilson and Ray Gerungan were 5-5, Angie Rizzato, Lamont Thompson and Mark Narciso each had four knocks, and Tim Orr, Darren Bobrosky, Tony Gorgone, and Paul Lisi each had three. Thompson and Narciso each had booming doubles. LT's was probably the hit of the day, as it provided two important insurance runs in the ninth. The measure of how balanced the lineup was, was that no one had more than three RBIs, and 10 of the 13 batters brought in two or three runs.

On defense there was one outstanding inning, the second. Kevin Fisher made a great running shoestring catch for one out. The first baseman robbed Clay Kallum on a hard liner rising and moving to his left. And for the final out Narciso, got two strikes on the hitter, and then made a brutal pitch tailing away, and all the hitter could manage was a weak one hopper back to the mound. Later in the game we turned a double play - Gorgone stopped a hard smash at third, and started a round the horn DP with Rover Rizzato the pivot man.

Ah, if only we played this way in the middle of the season. Oh well - there are the playoffs coming up, and everyone has a chance in that 'season',

There Was No Joy in Greenland

 Sometimes you don't have to think of the story - it just writes itself.

Team Green was having another of those days. In the first and the third we scored five runs each, and in the eighth down seven, we came within the tying run on second to make it a one run game going into the open ninth. That's right, sixteen runs in three innings and one in the other five.

We held the top of the Royal lineup to just two runs and it was all set up for someone to be a walkoff hero. And lo and behold, after four of the first five hitters got on, it was 19-18, bases loaded, one out, Darren Bobrosky was on third with the tying run, and Angie Rizzato was on second with the game winner. And up strode to the plate, Casey...er Greg Wilson. This is just what you wanted - a fly ball ties it, a deep fly, which is Greg's specialty, probably wins it, as does a routine single.

I don't know what Bill Eppinga threw him, but next thing we know, Greg pops up, then there's a ground out, and game over.

Now I broke the rule about singling out Greg for the missed opportunity, and let me set the record straight - I have been fortunate to play with Greg the last two years and he is one of the best, if not the best power and overall hitters in Creakerdom. Everyone fears him. And way more often than not, he comes through. Coming into this game he was hitting .767 with nine doubles, four home runs, and 31 RBIs (Lamont Thompson was second on the team with 22). He leads the team in ABs, hits, doubles, home runs, RBIs, and slugging percentage. And he is a gentle giant of a man to boot. So I don't know what kind of magic Billy was throwing up there, but it worked and Royal walked away with the 19-18 win,

On offense it was a tale of two teams - the top seven were 24-33. Rizzato was 5-5, and Tim Orr, Bobrosky, and (LT) Thompson had four hits. David Partridge and LT had the big 2 RBI hits ending the five run first and third innings respectively, and LT drove in the fifth and sixth runs with a double in the six run eighth.

In an unbelievable turn of events, Green turned double plays twice on Gerry Dasey - I don't think he has hit into two double plays in his whole life. and we turned a third DP in the late innings to keep it close.

We may not be the top teams in the league, but these are two teams very close in talent, and our games have shown this. The last two games have been decided by one run, total. I am hoping we meet in the playoffs.

Walk Off the Walk-Ons

The season is half over. The Coneheads were cruising through the first half, not having to face any of the tough teams through four games (although * for Bushwood who forfeited due to the Warriors game five win).

What to do when you are facing yet another weak team while you are on a roll.

Of course, lay an egg, and then have every 50-50 chance go the other way. Like Chauncey's deep gapper running through the fence for a 400 foot ground rule double and their similar ball staying in play for a homer.

Like the fact that the damn soccer people actually managed to remove all the goals from the field of play except one that was tethered to the fence beyond first base, and an errant through lodged up there and took away a force play situation and probably cost us a run or two.

Or the Walk-Ons playing a shmiddler in no man's land in shallow center and about three of us hitting it right to him while trying to hit it anywhere else.

Well life's a bitch and what did we do? We played through the adversity and came out on top with a three run top of the seventh and held on in the home half to walk off the Walk-Ons, 10-7.

The defensive (and entertainment) star of the game was the man on the mound, Doc Sarver. He must have made about eight putouts and assists on pop outs and comebackers he induced, which belies his great pitching, and even covered first on a grounder to first that the baseman tossed low when he was about two feet away and should have stepped on the bag himself.

Pope requested that I only spend about five lines of this post on Chauncey's smash that was the bomb of the game. And then shut it down. He should have known I am way too wordy for that but I appreciate the sentiment. As it was Chauncey got robbed and had to settle for a ground rule double as stated above - it cost him an easy home run trot and cost the team two runs in a tight game.

The other offensive heroics of note included Haze, who was 2-2 including a triple to right. And the capper was Bruce hitting a seventh inning low liner that eluded first the second baseman and then the two right side outfielders and was hit so hard it rolled all the way to the fence (without going under). The two run round tripper proved to be the game winner as Larry walked off the Walk-Ons in the bottom of the seventh.

Next week we are off for the Fourth and then the real season begins with a game against Cal Bronco.

Milestones:

Ol'G         400 r (#9)

Bruce       150 r (#21)

Chauncey 50 rbi (#32)

Who Are The True Gangsters?

I don't want to get ahead of myself here with analogies. The Coneheads, despite another Heady win, 24-7 over Johnny's Gang, haven't really beaten any of the tougher teams in the league, or won anything.

Yet I remember another Bay Area team that started out 18-2 in the fall and ended up winning it all after a couple years off, why when was it, just last Thursday, Dub Nation!

So while we haven't been tested yet, I will take a 4-0 start any time, especially with the way we are pounding the opposition.

Welcome back Chopper! Merely a 4-4 night with the only Conehead yarder and tied with Bruce with four RBIs. And the Chop Swing was in fine form - on one he twisted himself into a pretzel like Popeye in the cartoons and then unleashed the power like he just downed a can of spinach.

He wasn't alone with four hits. Chauncey and Bruce were also perfect 4-4s, the former with two doubles and the latter with a two and a three bagger. Pope also had four hits - and three were extra base knocks. By the way, in case anyone notices, Pope will be sitting on the bench the rest of the season - his last double brought him within one of me on the career list. It's the last and only category I lead this team in and even though you all know how unimportant I think stats are, I just won't have him catching me. Greg - talk to me about always stopping at first or always making it to third - and no getting thrown out trying for a triple.

Randy added to the barrage with the mini-cycle, a single, double and a triple and G matched his three hits. Everyone scored at least once, and everyone had at least one RBI except Charlie, and that was just because they did not want to pitch to him and he walked his last three times up.

Some of it was Johnny's Gang only having three outfielders, and some of it was that they were, well, Johnny's Gang, but most of our hits were drives, and not too many were Coneheads hits.

Bruce and Greg made some nice running catches, but the two best defensive plays did not result in outs. David made a great stop on a smash to third but unfortunately couldn't get a good throw off. Heffe made a great back handed pickup in the dirt but the umpire ruled the runner beat the throw.

Speaking of which -  the ump was so bad that he ended up being possibly the best entertainment in the lopsided game. I can't even go into all the bad calls - but the best line of the night was when he told me, after mixing up the scores in our innings with theirs (right after the JG coach and I agreed on the score right in front of him, I think it was 13-6 at that point), he told me "I'm good at math". In the double header the first week, that ump missed seven calls but they were equally against both teams. If we were not blowing JG out Monday night, it might have been a different headline in this game.

It's just too much fun winning laughers so let's just run the table. OK?

Milestones (I forgot I did this!):

Game 1:
Pope         150 hr (#1)
Pope         160 2b (#2)

Larry        1550 ab (#3)

Larry        900 h (#3)

Ol' G        500 rbi (#6)

Game 2:

Chauncey  50 h (#35)

Game 4:

Heffe        650 rbi (#3)

Pope         800 h (#4)

Bruce       40 2b (#19)

Bruce       100 g (#22)

Chauncey 10 2b (#31)

Chauncey 100 ab (#33)

Dr. StrangeGreenGlove: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Tie

The good news: The losing streak is over (five games) Yay!

The bad news: there is no winning streak, as we blew a 12-4 lead and tied Royal 12-12.

So I guess I should be happy and learn to love the tie.

Why is it the team that comes back from a large deficit to tie a game rejoices and the team that blows a lead feels like they were sledge hammered to death?

But a tie is a tie. We started off really well, with a five spot in the top of the first (Oh that was it, the Curse of the First!)

All singles, line drives here and there, a balanced attack - just what you want. Royal scored in each of the first five innings but when we put up four more in the top of the fourth, it was looking good at 12-4. Big hits included a triple to right by Tony Gorgone, doubles by Phil Tucker (2 RBIs) and Greg Wilson in the fourth.

But then the magic of Bill Eppinga shut us down in the next three frames. We only managed to get two runners in scoring position in the last three innings. In the mean time, Royal was creeping, and creeping back, but we were still looking pretty good at 12-7 or 8 going into the agreed upon last inning, the seventh.

We then gave it away, spotting Royal five outs (including one egregious error by yours truly) and a free pass, thus giving up the lead. We were lucky to get away with a tie as the bases were left loaded by the Royalty.

Our hitting wasn't too bad - Tim Orr, Kevin Fisher, Mike Nagy, and David Partridge all had three hits, Wilson had two doubles. and five others had a couple of hits. Just not enough in the late innings.

There was no joy in Greenville, to blatantly mix cliched metaphors.