B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 6, Issue 26 – July 8, 2024
Roster note: Jim McAnelly, returning from shoulder surgery, joined Green Team today.
Weather: The day started out cloudy, temperature around 80, humidity at 84%, fair amount of wind. I don’t know if it was the outer edge of Hurricane Beryl, but we got a few raindrops during the second game. Some of the cloud cover burned off during the 12:30 game and it warmed into the mid to upper 80s. Altogether not terrible.
Games of Monday July 8:
10:30 a.m., Purple (1-3) at Blue (2-1):
1 2 3 4 5 6 BUFFET FINAL Purple 2 1 2 0 2 2 0 9 Blue 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 4 Pitchers: Purple – Jeff Stone; Blue – Joe Bernal. Mercenary: Purple – Jack Spellman. Umpires: home plate – Eddy Murillo; bases – Gary Coyle. Perfect at the plate: Billy Hill (2 for 2 with a walk).
It’s a mark of how well pitched this contest was that neither team managed to get reach double digits in run scored over seven innings of play, and only one player was perfect at the plate. Purple’s Jeff Stone shut out Blue over the first five frames, Blue getting only one runner as far as the third base, when they loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the first. Purple’s defense was effective, but not spectacular – Peter Sundquist made a nice catch of David Brown’s liner to right-center in the fourth, was the only notably great play – really, Jeff was just super effective. When Jack Spellman at shortstop botched a one-hop grounder that should have been an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play in the fifth, Jeff shrugged it off and retired Blue’s 1-2 hitters, Pat Scott and Blue pitcher Joe Bernal, to get out of the jam.
Joe was sharp also, against a strong Purple lineup, never yielding more than two runs in a single inning. Peter Sundquist led off the game with a double to left and scored the first run on a single-plus-overthrow off Jeff Stone’s bat, Jeff winding up at second. Daniel Carvajal and Tim Coles followed with singles to bring Jeff in. An inning later, Tom Kelm drew a one-out walk, and his pinch-runner circled the bases on singles by Rip Wright and Jack Spellman. That inning ended with George Romo turning a 5u., 5-4 double play on Peter Sundquist’s hard grounder; it was a close play at second, but base umpire Gary Coyle got it right, the throw beat Spellman’s foot to the line.
Purple got two more in the third. Clint Fletcher led off with a single. Jeff Stone popped a ball to short right field, and second baseman Pat Scott made a nice play going back to haul it in – he looked like the excellent outfielder he is on the play. Daniel Carvajal singled. Tim Coles drove a ball to left field that off the bat I thought might leave the yard. But the wind knocked it down considerably, and it wound up falling in for a double, Clint scoring. Michael Velaney’s single brought Daniel in to make it 5-0 Purple.
After Joe Bernal retired the side in order in the fourth, Blue scored two more runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings, on four singles each time – nothing fancy, just meat-and-potatoes rallies.
That left the score 9-0 Purple entering the bottom of the final five-run inning. Blue finally broke through, five consecutive batters reaching base with one out, four scoring. George Romo drew a walk. David Brown caught Jack Spellman, now playing right field, shaded too far over toward center: David’s fly was pushed toward the line by the prevailing wind, and by the time I’d retrieved it and gotten it back to the infield, George had scored and David was on third. Steve Sandall’s single drove in David. Richard Battle also singled, and then he and Steve both scored when Dale Fugate drove a ball over the head of Peter Sundquist in right-center – Peter broke in a step, reversed, leaped for the ball, but did not come close and fell in a heap to the ground; after initially just witnessing all this gape-mouthed, I had to hustle back to retrieve the ball and hold Dale to a two-run triple. The fifth run of the inning was on third with one out, but Jeff Stone stranded it, retiring Terry Thompson on a short fly to Jim Foelker in left-center and Jerry Mylius on a two-strike foul.
Purple led by five entering the buffet. They got nothing in the top half, going out 1-2-3. (Steve Sandall made an excellent catch of Daniel Carvajal’s drive to left-center.)
Billy Hill, the only batter in the game who did not make an out, opened the bottom half with a sharp single to left field. Jeff Stone got the top of Blue’s lineup, Pat Scott and Joe Bernal, to each hit into force plays, 5-4 and 1-6. Jeff Fisher dropped a single into short right field and George Romo walked, loading the bases. David Brown hit a sharp grounder to second baseman Mike Velaney, who fielded it cleanly and snapped a throw to first to beat David by a step for the final out. (Mike had an exemplary day in the field, four assists and four putouts, and accepting with unjustifiably good humor his teammates’ “constructive criticism” of the one play he didn’t make, when he made a diving stop of a hard grounder, but hurriedly shanked the throw to second.) Final score: Purple 9, Blue 4
11:30 a.m., Gray (2-1) at Orange (2-2):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Gray 1 0 4 3 1 3 12 Orange 1 0 3 5 0 0 9 Pitchers: Gray – Jack Kelly; Orange – Spike Davidson. Umpires: home – Jeff Stone; bases – Larry Young. Perfect at the plate: Gray – Mike Mordecai (3 for 3); Orange – Dave Berra, Fritz Hensel, and Ray Pilgrim (each 3 for 3), and Larry Fiorentino and Eddie Ortiz (each 3 for 3). Home run: Ken Brown (inside the park).
Another hard-fought game, tied entering the buffet.
Each team’s leadoff hitter singled and scored in the first: Gray’s Ken Brown went to third on David Kruse’s single to right-center and scored on Don Solberg’s ground out to first baseman Ray Pilgrim; Orange’s Doc Hobar likewise went to third on Larry Fiorentino’s single to left-center, then scored on Rex Horvath’s sacrifice fly to right-center.
Neither team scored in the second. The top half ended on a lineout double play, Rex Horvath snagging Frank Delmonte’s liner and snapping a throw to first to double up Jack Kelly’s pinch-runner (Ken Brown, I think, but I’m not certain). Ray Pilgrim led off the home half with a single, but Jack Kelly got both Spike Davidson and Jim Maloy to hit into force outs – Spike’s grounder was deflected by third baseman Mike Mordecai to shortstop David Kruse, who threw to Ivan Budiselic for a 5-6-4 force; then Ivan made a nice play on Jim’s hard grounder to his right and flipped to David for a 4-6 force. Both were very good plays. Singles by Fritz Hensel and Mark Dolan loaded the bases, but Jack Kelly got Doc Hobar to fly out to Donnie Janac in right field.
Gray took the lead with four runs in the top of the third, on three singles, David Kruse’s sacrifice fly, and doubles by Tommy Gillis (driving in two runs) and Don Solberg (driving in Tommy). Orange got three back in the home half. Tony Garcia singled to start the frame and scored on Larry Fiorentino’s triple to the fence in right field. Larry scored on Rex Horvath’s sacrifice fly to Don Solberg in left. Eddie Ortiz singled to right. Paul Atkins flied out to right-center, Ken Brown making a fine running catch moving to his left. Singles by Ray Pilgrim and Spike Davidson brought Eddie around to score, cutting Gray’s lead to 5-4.
Gray’s first five batters singled to start the fourth, three coming around to score. Ivan Budiselic was the fourth batter, but his pinch-runner from home, Gary Coyle, was called out when he advanced to second on an overthrow. (Your more or less weekly reminder: RUNNERS FROM HOME CAN NEVER ADVANCE PAST FIRST.) Mike Mordecai singled, but the next two batters grounded out.
Orange then grabbed the lead with five runs in the home half. Fritz Hensel and Dave Berra, both perfect for the game at the bottom of Orange’s lineup, led off with singles. Fritz’s pinch-runner scored on Doc Hobar’s single. One out later, Larry Fiorentino’s single scored Dave and sent Doc to third. Rex Horvath hit his third sacrifice fly in as many plate appearances, to left-center, Doc scoring. Eddie Ortiz singled, putting runners at the corners. Paul Atkins ripped a double to center field, Larry scoring. Ray Pilgrim’s single brought in Eddie with the fifth run.
David Kruse led off the fifth inning with a hard ground ball that deflected off the third-base bag and into left field for a double. Tommy Gillis singled to left and David scored, knotting the score at 9-9. That was all Gray could manage, however. Don Solberg pulled a looping line drive that second baseman Doc Hobar made a good play to his left to grab for the first out. Johnny Lee grounded a single up the middle, but Spike Davidson got the next two batters to ground into force outs.
Jack Kelly maintained the tie through the home half, working around two-out singles by Fritz Hensel and Dave Berra.
Frank Delmonte led off the buffet with an infield single to third base, pinch-runner David Kruse beating Eddie Ortiz’s throw to first. David advanced to second on Ivan Budiselic’s ground out to second baseman Doc Hobar, and took third on Mike Mordecai’s Texas League single to left field, Mike completing a perfect day at the plate. Mark Dolan lofted a sacrifice fly to Tony Garcia in right-center, David easily scoring the go-ahead run. That was the second out, and it looked like Orange might get out of the inning without undue damage. But Ken Brown ripped a base hit to center field, and it got past the outfielders and rolled to the fence. Mike scored on the play, and Ken never hesitated rounding third and trying for home. A good relay might have caught him, but Orange didn’t make a good one, and Ken was safe with a two-run inside-the-park homerun to make it 12-9 Gray. Singles by David Kruse and Tommy Gillis gave Gray an opportunity to pile on, but Spike Davidson got Don Solberg to ground out to second for the third out.
Frank Delmonte presents Ken Brown with an unwanted Pluckers coupon following Ken’s homerun in the top of the buffet.
Orange had the heart of its lineup due up in home half, but couldn’t get much going. Tony Garcia flied out to Ken Brown in right-center. Larry Fiorentino singled, completing a 4-for-4 day, but was forced out at second on Rex Horvath’s grounder to the 5-6 hole – David Kruse made a good play on a bad hop off the lip of the infield and snapped a throw to Ivan Budiselic at second for the force. Eddie Ortiz singled, his fourth hit in as many at bats, but the game ended when Jack Kelly snagged Peter Atkins’ liner back to the box. Final score: Gray 12, Orange 9
12:30 p.m., Red (2-1) at Green (2-1):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Red 1 0 2 0 2 9 14 Green 5 2 2 0 0 2 11 Pitchers: Red – Donald Drummer; Green – Tommy Deleon. Mercenaries: Red – Tommy Gillis; Green – Jeff Fisher. Umpires: home plate – Rex Horvath; bases – Jim Maloy. Perfect at the plate: Green – Mike Garrison and Mike Hill (each 4 for 4).
Green dominated early, but Red rallied with a big buffet to win, the visiting teams sweeping the day’s games.
Bobby Miller scored the game’s first run, knocking a lead-off single, taking second on Tim Bruton’s hit, then advancing to third and home on 6-4 force outs. Green grabbed the lead with five runs in the bottom half on five singles, Jack McDermott’s triple to left-center, and Daniel Baladez’s RBI ground out that brought in the fifth run.
Aided by some fine infield play, Tommy Deleon held Red scoreless in the second. Denny Malloy led off with a single. Hal Darman hit a hard grounder to third base tht Trey Wall fielded cleanly, throwing to second for the force. Boo Resnick squared up and lined a pitch, but shortstop Jack McDermott snagged it for the second out. Donald Drummer singled, but Trey made an excellent short-hop play on Tommy Gillis’s grounder and beat the runner to the third-base bag for the third out.
Green then scored twice in the home half, extending its lead to 7-1, on four singles, the first by Jim McAnelly in his first at bat after returning from shoulder surgery. (Hurrah!)
Each team scored twice in the third, Red on Tim Bruton’s walk, three singles, and Adam Reddell’s sacrifice fly, Green on four singles, the last two, by Jeff Fisher and Mike Garrison, with two out.
Neither team scored in the fourth. Boo Resnick led off the top of the inning with a single. Tommy Deleon got Donald Drummer on a pop to shortstop Jack McDermott, ranging behind third base to make the catch, and Tommy Gillis on a fly to Mike Garrison in left. Bobby Miller lined a single to right, and Boo tried for the third, but a perfect 10-4-5 relay, Jack Crosley to Mike Hill to Trey Wall, beat him by a step. When Mike came up to lead off the bottom of the inning, the Peanut Gallery/Beer Garden teased him that his throw was wind-aided.
Quote of the Day: Mike Hill: “I’m from Louisiana – I know how to play that hurricane wind.”
Mike singled, but, after Jack Crosley popped out, was forced at second 5-4, Adam Reddell making a good play on Jack McDermott’s hard one-hopper. Tommy Deleon’s single to right field put runners on the corners, but Donald Drummer got Trey Wall to pop out.
Red cut Green’s lead to 9-5 in the fifth, scoring twice in the top of the frame (on Tim Bruton’s lead-off double and three singles), Donald Drummer retiring the side in order in the home half.
Needing four to tie, Red hung nine runs on Green in the top of the buffet, pretty much everyone hitting. Donald Drummer and Tommy Gillis led off with Texas League bloop hits to center and left-center to start the inning, and Bobby Miller, Tim Bruton, and Rick Kahn followed with nearly identical line-drive singles to right field, Donald, Tommy, and Bobby scoring, drawing Red within a run. Tim scored the tying run on Adam Reddell’s second sacrifice fly of the game. Morgan Witthoft singled, another Texas Leaguer to left field.
Red took the lead when both Rick and Morgan scored on Denny Malloy’s extra-base hit, swing pictured above. Denny tried for third on the play, but was cut down on a strong 7-6-5 relay, Mike Garrison to Jack McDermott to Trey Wall. That was the second out of the inning, but Red kept hitting: Hal Darman singled to third base. Boo Resnick dropped a hit just fair to right field, Hal’s pinch-runner taking third, Boo taking second on the throw. Donald Drummer singled to left-center, his second hit of the inning, both runners scoring. Tommy Gillis hit a high fly to left field that Mike Garrison couldn’t get to, Donald taking third on the single – also Tommy’s second hit of the inning. Bobby Miller singled to the 5/6 hole, his second hit of the inning, Donald scoring. Finally, Tim Bruton grounded into a 6-4 force to end the inning, but Red had scored nine times and now led 14-9.
Green didn’t quit. Mike Garrison led off with a single, completing a 4-for-4 day. Donald Drummer got Paul Rubin to hit a two-strike foul for the first out. Mike Hill singled to right-center, his fourth hit in as many at bats. Jack Crosley lined out to Tommy Gillis in right-center. Jack McDermott singled, Mike Garrison scoring. Tommy Deleon singled to right, loading the bases. Trey Wall also singled to right, Mike Hill scoring, the bases remaining loaded, Red’s lead down to 14-11, the tying run on base, Daniel Baladez representing the winning run at the plate.
Setup line of the day: Teresa Lozano to Daniel Baladez: “Steak dinner’s riding on this.”
Daniel grounded Donald Drummer’s first pitch foul down the third-base side. The next one he hit into the dirt at his feet, and it bounced back foul for strike three, ending the game.
Punchline of the day: Teresa Lozano to Daniel Baladez: “Guess we’re doing McDonald’s.”
Final score: Red 14, Green 11
Standings – Session Three:
Games Runs Runs Run W/L
W L Win %: behind: for: allowed: differential: streak:
Red 3 1 .750 — 54 46 + 8 W2
Gray 3 1 .750 — 48 49 – 1 W3
Blue 2 2 .500 1 49 43 + 6 L2
Green 2 2 .500 1 52 48 + 4 L1
Orange 2 3 .400 1.5 59 52 + 7 L2
Purple 2 3 .400 1.5 41 56 -15 W2
Maroon 1 3 .250 2 39 48 – 9 L3
Home Visitor Walk-off Extra-inning Flip-flop 1-run games
W-L: W-L: Wins: W-L: W-L: W-L:
Red 1-1 2-0 1 0-0 1-0 1-0
Gray 1-1 2-0 1 0-0 0-1 1-0
Blue 1-1 1-1 0 0-0 0-0 0-1
Green 1-1 1-1 1 0-0 1-0 1-0
Orange 1-1 1-2 0 0-0 1-0 0-1
Purple 1-2 1-1 1 0-0 0-2 1-1
Maroon 1-1 0-2 0 0-0 0-0 0-1
2024 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
Blue Gray Green Maroon Orange Purple Red TOTAL
Blue X 1 1 2 3 1 1 9
Gray 3 X 2 1 4 0 3 13
Green 2 1 X 2 1 3 2 11
Maroon 1 2 3 X 3 0 2 11
Orange 0 0 1 1 X 2 2 6
Purple 3 1 2 3 2 X 0 11
Red 3 1 2 1 2 3 X 12
_____________________________________________________________
TOTAL: 12 6 11 10 15 9 10 73
Season home run leaders:
Tim Coles – 5
Gregory Bied – 2
Ken Brown – 2
Jimmy Sneed – 2
David Brown – 1
Tim Bruton – 1
Jack Crosley – 1
Larry Fiorentino – 1
Jeff Fisher – 1
Clint Fletcher – 1
Anthony Galindo – 1
Buddy Gaswint – 1
Rex Horvath – 1
David Kruse – 1
Denny Malloy – 1
Eddie Ortiz -1
David Pittard – 1
Paul Rubin – 1
Pat Scott – 1
Ralph Villela – 1
Morgan Witthoft – 1
Schedule for Thursday July 11:
10:30 a.m.: Gray (3-1) at Maroon (1-3), Red umpiring
11:30 a.m.: Red (3-1) at Blue (2-2), Gray umpiring
12:30 p.m.: Green (2-2) at Orange (2-3), Blue umpiring
Purple has the bye, with priority for its players out of the bucket.
Schedule note for next week: Game times will be 30 minutes earlier – 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and noon – effective next Monday July 15. The schedule on the web site has been updated to reflect the new starting times.
Preview: Victories by Maroon, Blue, and Green on Monday would result in four teams being tied for first at 3-2 each. With a number of players absent due to the Waco tourney and summer travels, it’s likely all six teams will rely heavily on mercenaries. How many B Leaguers will play all three games? One thing is certain: only time will tell.
Keggy’s Korner:
Mike Mordecai emcees and plays at the Elephant Room (https://elephantroom.com/calendar) Mondays from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.