B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 5, Issue 37 – August 7ish, 2023
B League president Jack McDermott checks in on the topic “Lottery draw and fielding an 11th player”:
As you know, our rules allow drawing of players if a team has less than 10 of their own players available, and also allows drawing to 11 to provide relief for any injured players they might have, and up to 12 during extreme heat (I would say that we are there). It is up to each team to make their own decision on drawing up to the allowed amount, and there is no required agreement needed between teams. If one team only wants 10 and the other wants 12 that is within their right to do so.
With expansion of team rosters we have allowed for teams to field 11 players to provide for more playing time for players. There seemed to be about a 50/50 split on those in favor of and those opposed to the 11th player when we started this so the board made it optional and required agreement from both teams, either both teams play with 11 in the field or neither do. Since we have implemented this rule I would say that the majority of the games we have played, have been played without the 11th player (unofficial observation). We are not planning on making any changes to this rule, but we will evaluate it and make changes if necessary.
Thanks,
Jack McD
Weather: Monday at 10:00 in Santa Fe, New Mexico: 69 degrees with 52% humidity, overcast. Gray acting manager Rick Jensen reported that for the noon game, “didn’t take an official reading, but it felt like about 140 degrees in bright sun.”
Injured list:
Gray team: Doc Hobar
Green team: Jeff Broussard – recovering from heart surgery
Alvin Gauna – broken finger
Games of Monday August 7s:
10:00 a.m., Maroon (4-6) at Green (4-7):
FINAL Maroon 16 Green 4 Pitchers: Maroon – Tom Kelm (first inning) and Joe Bernal; Green – Tommy Deleon and Chunky Wright (I'm guessing). Mercenaries: Green – Rick Jensen and Howard Spates. Umpires: home plate – Jeff Stone. Bases - ?.
I didn’t receive much detail about game play, but I very clearly understand that Maroon manager Tom Kelm was not happy that Green declined to use the rover in this game.
Final score: Green 16, Maroon 4, Green snapping its five-game losing streak.
11:00 a.m., Red (4-7) at Gold (5-6):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Red 1 5 3 5 0 X 14 Gold 2 0 0 3 3 0 8 Pitchers: Red – Jack Kelly; Gold – Jeff Stone. Mercenary: Red – Tim Coles. Umpires: home plate – Rick Jensen and Tom Brownfield; bases – Tom Brownfield and Jim McAnelly. Perfect at the plate: Red – Tim Coles (2 for 2 with a double), Mike Mordecai (2 for 2 with a walk), Paul Rubin (3 for 3 with two doubles), and Terry Thompson (3 for 3).
Dave Berra’s summary: “Red was awesome hitting and fielding. Gold didn’t play that badly; our line drives found gloves; theirs found gaps.”
Fleshing it out a bit from Dave’s scorecard:
Gold led briefly, scoring twice on three hits by its first three batters in the bottom of the first, Jeff Stone doubling home Jack McDermott and Tim Bruton, after Jeff held Red to a single run in the top half (Gregory Bied led off the game with a single, took third on Paul Rubin’s double, and scored on Adam Reddell’s sacrifice fly to right-center field. Red took the lead in the top of the second by scoring five runs on eight consecutive singles without making an out – I’m guessing this is what Dave was thinking of when he referred to line drives finding gaps.
Jack Kelly put on a pitching clinic in the early going. After allowing those three hits to start the game, he retired three in a row in the bottom of the first, stranding Jeff Stone at second; gave up a lead-off single to Rip Wright to start the bottom of the second, then induced a 5-4-3 double play and a pop; gave up a double to Larry Young leading off the bottom of the third, then retired Gold’s 1-2-3 hitters on balls in the air; and retired the first two batters in the bottom of the fourth. Over that’s stretch of 12 batters Jack allowed two hits and recorded 11 outs.
Meanwhile Red had scored three more runs in the top of the third, on three singles and doubles by Paul Rubin (second of his two) and Howard Spates (first of his two), and then five runs on a walk, two singles, and doubles by Tim Coles, Adam Reddell, and Howard Spates in the top of the fourth. So Jack was working with a 14-2 lead with two out and none on in the bottom of the fourth.
Gold finally started hitting at that point, scoring three runs on four singles and Larry Young’s second double. Jeff Stone worked a scoreless top of the fifth, allowing a one-out walk to Mike Mordecai, then starting an inning-ending 1-4-3 double play. Gold then got three runs on four singles and doubles by Tim Bruton and Joe Roche in the bottom half, but still trailed 14-8. Given the heat, the team’s agreed to flip-flop. Tim Bruton knocked a double to left-center with one out in the buffet, but was thrown out 8-6-5 trying for a triple, Gregory Bied to Adam Reddell to Tim Coles. A walk to Jeff Stone and singles by Joe Roche and James Chavana loaded the bases, but Jack Kelly got Denny Malloy to ground into a game-ending 4-6 force out. Final score: Red 14, Gold 8
Noon, Gray (8-2) at Blue (8-3):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Gray 5 1 1 2 4 4 17 Blue 0 3 2 4 5 4 18 Pitchers: Gray – Jerry Mylius (1-5) and Rex Horvath (buffet); Blue – Jeff Stone. Mercenaries: Gray – Tim Coles and Rex Horvath; Blue – Jeff Stone. Umpires: home plate – Jack Kelly; bases – Mike Mordecai.
Gray’s Rick Jensen files this excellent report:
Noon game between Gray (visitor) and Blue (home). About what you would expect between the two first-place teams.
Mercenaries: even with a 14-man roster Gray still needed to draw two and got Rex Horvath and new guy Tim Coles. Should have been enough for a win.
Pitchers: Jerry Mylius and last inning (attempted) save by Rex Horvath
Umpires: Jack Kelly at plate and Mike Mordecai on the bases. Both did excellent job
Visitor Gray jumped out with 5 runs in the top of the first to Blue’s 0. Looking good for Gray. Next few innings Gray slowed down to 1,1,2, 4 while Blue went 3, 2, 4, 5 taking advantage of many walks for a Blue one-run lead going into buffet. End of Gray order got 7 straight hits for 4 runs and bases loaded no outs to seemingly take control in top of buffet. Very rare David Kruse foul out followed by bases loaded hot liner up the middle by Rick Kahn snagged by Blue pitcher Jeff Stone, who threw back to 2nd to double up Rex Horvath and end a very promising threat. Gray took a three-run lead into the bottom of the bottom, facing Blue top of order. Rex Horvath, brought in to pitch and shut things down for Gray, got leadoff Bobby Miller to pop up. Couple walks and long shot to LF by George Romo scored two, and a single scored George to tie the game. Another walk and a grounder up the middle made it two outs. Well-hit but catchable fly to CF dropped by Gray CF, scoring the winning run. Blue walks off with 18-17 victory. Pity from this reporter’s perspective.
Blue manager Anthony Galindo mentioned that Bobby Miller made a terrific running catch in center field to save runs, and George Romo grabbed a grounder deep in the 5-6 hole and made a great throw to get speedy David Kruse out at third base. (Anthony also passed along the Exchange of the Day, below.) Final score: Blue 18, Gold 17, Blue ending Gray’s four-game winning streak and reclaiming first place for the session by half a game.
Exchange of the day:
Johnny Lee, as Eddy Murillo came to the plate: “I’ve got $19 on you!”
Fritz Hensel: “Kiss it good-bye.”
Standings – Session Three:
Standings – Session Three:
Games Runs Runs Run W/L
W L Win %: behind: for: allowed: differential: streak:
Blue 9 3 .750 — 179 137 +42 W3
Gray 8 3 .727 .5 158 135 +23 L1
Red 5 7 .417 4 141 147 – 6 W1
Green 5 7 .417 4 143 154 -11 W1
Gold 5 7 .417 4 134 145 -11 L1
Purple 0 2 .000 4 29 33 – 4 L3
Maroon 4 7 .364 4.5 101 134 -33 L2
Home Visitor Walk-off Extra-inning Flip-flop 1-run games
W-L: W-L: Wins: W-L: W-L: W-L:
Blue 3-3 6-0 1 0-0 6-1 1-0
Gray 4-2 4-1 1 0-0 2-0 3-1
Red 2-4 3-3 0 0-0 1-3 0-2
Green 2-4 3-3 0 0-0 1-3 1-1
Gold 1-5 4-2 0 0-0 2-2 1-1
Purple 0-1 0-1 0 0-0 0-0 0-1
Maroon 2-3 2-4 0 0-0 1-4 0-0
2023 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
Blue Gold Gray Green Maroon Purple Red TOTAL
Blue X 4 4 3 2 2.5 2 17.5
Gold 2 X 2 6 2 1 3 16
Gray 2 3 X 3 3 2 5 18
Green 2 1 2 X 2 4 4 15
Maroon 3 4 1 4 X 3 2 17
Purple 1.5 1 2 0 1 X 1 6.5
Red 4 2 1 2 3 3 X 15
________________________________________________________________
TOTAL: 14.5 15 12 18 13 15.5 17 105
Schedule for Thursday August 10:
10:00 a.m.: Blue (9-3) at Maroon (4-7), Gray umpiring
11:00 a.m.: Gold (5-7) at Gray (8-3), Blue umpiring
Noon: Red (5-7) at Green (5-7), Gold umpiring
Preview: Ascending Blue (longest extant winning streak, three games, and best run differential for the session) faces descending Maroon (longest extant losing streak, albeit just two games, and the worst run differential for the session) at 10:00. Gold and Gray each lost their last game after winning the one before; one will win at 11:00. Red and Green are two of the three teams with 5-7 records entering the day’s play; the winner at noon will move into third place. Will Blue and Gray again swap places atop the session standings? Only one thing is certain: time will tell.