B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 5, Issue 52 – October 12, 2023
Weather: Another pleasant day, though not quite so spectacular as Monday: 66 degrees with 92% humidity at the start of the 10:30 game, warming gradually and the humidity lessening over the course of play; overcast until the sun peeked through a bit toward the end of the 12:30 game.
New roster assignments:
Ralph Villela assigned to Gold
Carl Gallagher assigned to Gray
Games of Thursday October 12:
10:30 a.m., Blue (4-1) at Gold (2-3):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Blue 1 4 0 1 0 5 11 Gold 1 0 2 5 5 X 13 Pitchers: Blue – Terry Thompson; Gold – Tommy Deleon. Mercenaries: Blue – George Brindley and Terry Thompson; Gold – Tommy Deleon and Pat Scott. Umpires: home plate – Scott Wright and Rex Horvath; bases – Mike Velaney; scoreboard – Marvin Krabbenhoft. Perfect at the plate: Gold – Ralph Villela.
Hard-fought, low-scoring affair over the first three innings. Each team scored once and stranded two runners in the first inning, Blue on four singles, the inning ending with Jack Crosley thrown out at home 8-6-2, Jack McDermott to Tim Bruton to Joe Dayoc – it was a good send with two outs, but Gold executed the relay perfectly. Tim Bruton scored Gold’s run, knocking a one-out double to right and scoring on James Chavana’s single to right-center. Morgan Witthoft in left-center made two excellent catches for the first and third outs, barely avoiding colliding with left fielder Richard Battle and catching Jack McDermott’s long drive to start the inning, then corralling Mike Garrison’s fly to end it.
Blue took the lead with four runs on seven hits (five singles and doubles by Larry Fiorentino and George Brindley) in the top of the second, but had another run thrown out at home – Ralph Villela in left field fielded Fritz Hensel’s base hit and gunned down Mark Dolan trying to score, throwing directly and accurately to catcher Joe Dayoc, no relay necessary. Terry Thompson allowed a lead-off single to Rip Wright in the bottom half, then retired three straight batters, George Brindley in right-center making a fine running catch of Tommy Deleon’s fly for the third out.
Blue went out in order in the third. Tim Bruton made a nice catch of Morgan Witthoft’s short fly behind third base for the second out. Gold then cut Blue’s lead to 5-3 with two runs on two-out RBI singles in the home half by Ralph Villela and Mike Garrison.
George Brindley opened the fourth inning with a triple to center field, then scored on Terry Thompson’s single to left, but that was all Blue managed, Tommy Deleon retiring three of the next four hitters on balls in the air (line out to second baseman Pat Scott, pop out to shortstop Tim Bruton, and fly out to right-center fielder Mike Garrison). Gold then grabbed the lead by scoring five times in the bottom of the inning without making an out: two singles, Tommy Deleon’s walk, another single, then a two-run triple by Tim Bruton and a drive over the outfielders by James Chavana to score Tim with the fifth run.
Tommy Deleon worked a 1-2-3 top of the fifth, the first out coming on an excellent play by shortstop Tim Bruton on George Romo’s hard grounder – Tim made a clean grab on a short hop and snapped a throw to first for the out, making a tough chance look easy. Tommy got the next two batters on flies to right-center and left-center. Gold then added to its lead with another five-run, no-out inning: Joe Roche ground single to right, Ralph Villela single to third base (Ralph beat the throw to first), Mike Garrison RBI double off the fence in left, Rip Wright walk, Joe Dayoc two-run double to left-center, and Pat Scott’s single to left-center that brought in Joe’s pinch-runner with the fifth run.
Blue came up in the buffet chasing seven. They scored five, all with two out, five Blue batters knocking singles before George Romo came up and ripped a two-run double to left to make it a two-run game. Dale Fugate was next, representing the tying run. He drove a pitch to left, but Ralph Villela (game MVP) was perfectly positioned and made the catch for the final out.
Quote of the Day: Larry Fiorentino, after Terry Thompson singled in the buffet: “George, run for Terry.” [George Romo starts toward first.] “No, the fast George.” [George Brindley runs for Terry.]
Final score: Gold 13, Blue 11, Gold simultaneously ending both Blue’s four-game winning streak and its own three-game losing streak.
11:30 a.m., Red (3-2) at Maroon (3-2):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Red 2 5 3 3 5 2 20 Maroon 5 0 5 5 1 5 21 Pitchers: Red – Terry Thompson; Maroon – Joe Bernal. Umpires: home plate – Chunky Wright; bases – Mike Hill and Gary Coyle. Perfect at the plate: Red – Gregory Bied (4 for 4 with a homerun) and Donald Drummer (2 for 2 with a double and two walks); Maroon – Joe Bernal (4 for 4 with a triple), Ken Brown and Rex Horvath (each 4 for 4), and Johnny Lee (3 for 3). Homerun: Gregory Bied (inside the park).
Another terrific, close game. Red scored twice in the top of the first on Paul Rubin’s two-out triple; Maroon responded with five runs on seven consecutive singles in the bottom half, not making an out. Red came back with five runs on two walks and five singles in the second, then held Maroon scoreless in the home half. Larry Shupe singled with two out, then ran hard and was safe at second when Mike Mordecai juggled shortstop Jack Spellman’s toss after Spellman fielded Mike Velaney’s grounder; Mike V., I think disgusted with himself, didn’t run his ball out, and Mike M. was able to throw to first for the out there.
Red put across three more in the third, on run-scoring doubles by Paul Rubin and Donald Drummer, but Maroon tied the game with five runs on seven singles in the home half. The story of the game, really, was Maroon’s 1-6 hitters, who went a combined 20 for 22 (.909 average) with a walk (.913 on-base percentage), four of the six – Ken Brown, Rex Horvath, Joe Bernal, and Johnny Lee – posting perfect days at the plate. Red just couldn’t get these guys out.
Still, Red battled and put up crooked numbers in every inning, scoring three in the fourth on Gregory Bied’s inside-the-park homerun. Maroon got five again in the bottom half, on seven more hits (six singles and Mike Velaney’s double), though Red did manage to record a couple of outs on infield force plays. Maroon led 15-13 through four. Red went ahead with a solid fifth inning, scoring five times on seven singles without making an out in the top half and holding Maroon to a single run on three singles and Chris Villareal’s sacrifice fly in the home half.
I failed to take any pictures today. This here is 128 Grazer, winner of Katmai National Park and Preserve’s annual Fat Bear Week contest. Pretty sure Gregory Bied could outrun her.
Red took an 18-16 lead to the buffet, then scored two runs on four consecutive one-out singles, Hal Darman starting the rally and Gregory Bied driving in the first run with his fourth hit in as many at bats. Joe Bernal escaped the jam without further damage, getting David Ferley to swing at and foul off a low-and-inside 3-2 pitch and finally retiring Paul Rubin on his fourth try, getting him to fly out to left-center.
Maroon came up needing four to tie, five to win. Billy Hill led off with a single, bringing up the top of the lineup – those guys Red couldn’t get out all day – with one on and none out. Ken Brown’s single and Pat Scott’s base on balls loaded the bases. Scott Wright rifled a single to right field. Rex Horvath lined his fourth straight hit, all of them frozen ropes, Pat scoring. Joe Bernal came up and lashed his fourth hit, a line drive down the right-field line and past the right fielder, Scott and Rex both scoring easily, Rex’s run the game-winner. Final score: Maroon 21, Red 20
12:30 p.m., Gray (1-4) at Green (2-3):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Gray 4 2 3 3 1 5 18 Green 5 0 0 3 1 4 13 Pitchers: Gray – Terry Thompson; Green – Tommy Deleon. Mercenaries: Gray – Rex Horvath, Pat Scott, Terry Thompson, and Scott Wright; Green – Johnny Lee and Jack Spellman. Umpires: home plate – Donald Drummer; bases – Daniel Baladez and Hal Darman. Perfect at the plate: Gray – Rick Kahn (4 for 4 with a double) and Jim McAnelly (4 or 4).
As has become something of a pattern for Green, they scored five runs in their first at bat, on four singles and doubles by Clint Fletcher, Tommy Gillis, and Jeff Fisher, and won the inning, as Gray scored four runs on five singles and Daniel Carvajal’s double in the top half. Green then was blanked in the second (out in order, shortstop Rex Horvath making a terrific play on Clint Fletcher’s grounder to his right for the third out) and third (Terry Thompson, pitching his third game of the day, got three ground ball outs, to second base, shortstop, and third base, the third for a 5-4 force following Don Solberg’s two-out single).
Meanwhile, Gray scored twice in the second (doubles by Rex Horvath and Carl Gallagher started and concluded the rally) and three times in the third (on five hits, including doubles by Rick Kahn, Jerry Mylius, and Rex Horvath again). (There were a lot of doubles in this game – 14 all told, ten by Gray.)
Gray got three more in the top of the fourth, Carl Gallagher’s double the key hit. (Carl, making his debut as a permanent member of Gray team, hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the first – Donnie Janac made a terrific catch in right field, moving toward the foul line – and then doubled in each of his next three at bats.) Carl scored on Rick Kahn’s base hit to right, though Green very nearly cut him down at home – the relay from second baseman Jack Spellman was in time, but catcher Boo Resnick couldn’t hold on for the out. Green started scoring again in the home half, putting up three runs, all scoring with two out. Gary Coyle led off with a single, then tagged and took second when Jeff Fisher’s fly to right field was caught in foul territory by Pat Cook, a terrific play. (Much discussion on the Green bench of how greatly improved B League’s right-field play is, compared to five or ten years ago.) Boo Resnick walked. Tommy Deleon hit into a 6-4 force, Gary moving to third. The next four batters singled, three runs scoring. That cut Gray’s lead to 12-8.
Both teams scored once in the fifth. Carl Gallgher, running from home for Jim McAnelly, beat out Jim’s grounder to shortstop. Jerry Mylius grounded to second baseman Jack Spellman, who took the sure out at first – pretty certain I would not have gotten the ball to second in time to put out Carl. Rex Horvath flied out to Don Solberg in left field, and Carl wound up scoring on the play, briefly hesitating at third base and then racing home for the run. Green’s run in the home half was much more pedestrian – Tommy Gillis singled with one out and came around on two-out singles by Jeff Fisher and Boo Resnick.
Gray put the game out of reach with five runs in the top of the buffet on seven consecutive one-out hits, three of them two-baggers (by Carl Gallagher, Daniel Carvajal, and Greg Lloyd). That left Green chasing nine runs in the home half. Jack Spellman led off with a triple to left-center, and three one-out singles brought two runs in. Don Solberg lined out to second baseman Doc Hobar for the second out. Tommy Gillis hammered a double that drove in the final two runs before Doc gathered in Gary Coyle’s pop for the final out. Final score: Gray 18, Green 13
Standings – Session Four:
Games Runs Runs Run W/L
W L Win %: behind: for: allowed: differential: streak:
Blue 4 2 .667 — 81 68 +13 L1
Maroon 4 2 .667 — 81 73 + 8 W2
Red 3 3 .500 1 85 80 + 5 L2
Gold 3 3 .500 1 84 81 + 3 W1
Green 2 4 .333 2 73 82 – 9 L1
Gray 2 4 .333 2 61 81 -20 W1
Home Visitor Walk-off Extra-inning Flip-flop 1-run games
W-L: W-L: Wins: W-L: W-L: W-L:
Blue 2-0 2-2 0 0-0 1-0 1-1
Maroon 2-2 2-0 2 0-1 1-0 3-1
Red 2-1 1-2 2 0-0 1-0 2-2
Gold 2-1 1-2 0 0-0 1-0 0-2
Green 1-2 1-2 0 1-0 0-1 0-0
Gray 0-3 2-1 0 0-0 0-3 1-1
2023 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
Blue Gold Gray Green Maroon Purple Red TOTAL
Blue X 6 6 5 3 2.5 6 28.5
Gold 3 X 3 7 4 1 4 22
Gray 2 5 X 4 4 2 6 23
Green 3 4 4 X 4 4 4 23
Maroon 5 5 4 4 X 3 5 26
Purple 1.5 1 2 0 1 X 1 6.5
Red 4 3 3 5 3 3 X 21
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TOTAL: 18.5 24 22 25 19 15.5 26 150
Schedule for Monday October 16:
10:30 a.m.: Red (3-3) at Gray (2-4), Green umpiring
11:30 a.m.: Blue (4-2) at Green (2-4), Gold umpiring
12:30 p.m.: Gold (3-3) at Maroon (4-2), Blue umpiring
Preview: Gold and Gray, revitalized by the additions of Ralph Villela and Carl Gallagher, respectively, will look to continue their newfound winning ways, Gray at 10:30 versus Red, Gold versus tied-for-first Maroon at 12:30. The other first-place team, Blue, is the visitor versus Green at 11:30. There’s a path for three teams being 4-3 and the other three 3-4 at the end of the day Monday. But will 128 Grazer successfully defend her title in 2024? Only one thing is certain: Time will tell.
Keggy’s Korner:
Plugging Our Own, again: Johnny Lee and the Arctic Blues Band will be playing at Mr. Catfish, at (note the address!) 1144 Airport Boulevard, this Monday night, October 16, from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.