B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 6, Issue 43 – for September 12, 2024
Games of Thursday September 12:
10:00 a.m., Orange (2-0) at Purple (0-1):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Orange 5 0 5 0 5 7 22 Purple 4 5 0 2 2 1 14 Pitchers: Orange – Spike Davidson; Purple – Tom Kelm. Mercenaries: Orange – George Brindley; Purple – Donnie Janac, Jack McDermott, Bobby Miller, Eddy Murillo, David Pittard, Paul Rubin, Jack Spellman, and Scott Wright. Umpires: home – Richard Battle and Jeff Fisher; bases – Terry Thompson. Perfect at the plate: Orange – George Brindley (3 for 3 with a double), Larry Fiorentino (3 for 3 with a walk and three doubles), Fritz Hensel (2 for 2 with two walks), Rex Horvath (4 for 4 with two doubles), Gary Kubenka (3 for 3 with two homeruns), and Jimmy Maloy (3 for 3); Purple – Clinit Fletcher and Jim Foelker (both 4 for 4 with a triple) and David Pittard (3 for 3). Home runs: Gary Kubenka (two, both over the fence, his first two of the season)
Dave Berra’s weather report: 79 degrees (Heat Index 83), humidity 73%. No breeze, partly cloudy – decent!
Nine different batters were perfect at the plate in this game, six for Orange, making for a lot of scoring. The Orange crushed it in the first inning, not making an out and needing just five batters to score five runs: Doc Hobar singled and scored the game’s first run on Larry Fiorentino’s double to right field. Fritz Hensel walked and Rex Horvath singled, loading the bases. And then Gary Kubenka absolutely crushed a grand slam, over the fence to center field, a monster shot, high and deep, clearing the fence by about 20 feet. Yowza.
Gary Kubenka’s grand slam capped Orange’s five-run first inning. He also made a good play on Scott Wright’s grounder down the first-base side for the third out in the bottom of the inning.
Purple wasn’t too badly fazed, scoring four runs on five singles and Paul Rubin’s double in the bottom of the inning, holding Orange scoreless in the top of the second (third baseman David Pittard made a sensational backhanded grab, low to the ground, of Spike Davidson’s just-fair line drive, denying Spike extra bases, and Jim Foelker threw out Matt Levitt 8-4 when Matt tried to stretch his base hit to left-center into a double), and then scoring five times without making an out in the bottom of the second to take a 9-5 lead. That rally went: Donnie Janac single, Jack Spellman double to right, Clint Fletcher two-run triple to left, Jim Foelker RBI triple to left, Tom Kelm line RBI single to left-center, and Bobby Miller triple to center. (Bobby might have had an inside-the-park home run, but the fifth run scored ahead of him. Still, he deserves his picture to be in here:
Orange grabbed the lead right back in the third, scoring five times on five singles, Fritz Hensel’s second walk, and Larry Fiorentino’s second double. Gary Kubenka again drove in the fifth run, this time with a single. Spike Davidson kept Purple from scoring in the bottom half, allowing a two-out single to David Pittard, getting the third out on a 5-4 force, Ray Pilgrim making a terrific backhand play on Eddy Murillo’s hard grounder to third base.
Orange did not score in the top of the fourth, Tom Kelm working around singles by Spike Davidson and Jimmy Maloy. Purple reclaimed the lead with two runs on five singles in the bottom half, Spike Davidson escaping a bases-loaded, one-out jam by getting Bobby Miller to ground into a 1-6-3 double play, Rex Horvath turning an excellent pivot, his throw just beating Bobby to the bag.
Orange’s mercenary and top of the lineup then came through with more extra-base thunder in the fifth, once again putting across five runs. George Brindley led off with a double. Doc Hobar grounded out back to the box, the only out made in the game by Orange’s 10-through-five hitters. Larry Fiorentino hit his third double, George scoring. Fritz Hensel singled, Larry halting at third. Rex Horvath doubled them both in. And then Gary Kubenka clubbed his second home run of the game, this one to left-center, not quite as high and deep as his earlier shot, but over the fence in any case, Gary capping a five-run rally for the third time in as many at bats.
Gary Kubenka after the game, with Johnny Lee and Daniel Baladez in the background. Photo credit: Dave Berra.
That made it 15-11. Purple’s first five batters reached in the bottom of the inning, on four singles and Scott Wright’s walk. Two runs were in and the bases loaded, but Spike Davidson pitched out of the jam masterfully. He got Donnie Janac to ground to shortstop Rex Horvath, who threw home for the force there, for the first out. Jack Spellman came up and put an atrocious swing on a hittable inside pitch, topping it down the third-base side: Ray Pilgrim fielded it on a big hop, tagged third for the force there, and threw home to complete the 5u., 5-2 double play.
Orange then put the game out of reach, scoring seven runs after two were out in the top of the buffet before the flip-flop was invoked. Spike Davidson singled with one out. Matt Levitt grounded into a 6-4 force for out number two. Tom Kelm wasn’t able to get the third. Jimmy Maloy singled to right. Larry Shupe lined a clutch and crucial single to left-center, loading the bases. George Brindley singled in Matt and Jimmy. Doc Hobar walked, re-loading the bases. Larry Fiorentino also walked, electing to take the forced-in run rather than risk making an out if he refused the walk. Fritz Hensel singled to left, George and Doc scoring. And Rex Horvath doubled to right, Larry and Fritz’s pinch-runner scoring. That made it 22-13 in Orange’s favor, and the flip-flop was called.
Purple had the top of its lineup due up in the bottom half, and Clint Fletcher and Jim Foelker opened the inning with singles, each completing a 4-for-4 game. Tom Kelm squared up on a pitch, but second baseman Doc Hobar made a leaping catch – impressive vertical – of his liner for the first out. Bobby Miller singled, Clint scoring. But Spike Davidson got both Paul Rubin, going the opposite way, and Jack McDermott to fly out to left fielder Jimmy Malloy to end the game. Final score: Orange 22, Purple 14
11:00 a.m., Blue (1-0) at Maroon (2-0):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Blue 1 0 0 5 1 7 Maroon 5 0 1 5 X 11 Pitchers: Blue – Jerry Mylius; Maroon – Chunky Wright. Mercenaries: Blue – Daniel Baladez, Clint Fletcher, and Johnny Lee; Maroon – Adam Reddell. Umpires: home – Rex Horvath; bases – Jimmy Maloy. Perfect at the plate: Blue – Clint Fletcher and Billy Hill (both 3 for 3); Maroon – James Chavana and Chunky Wright (both 2 for 2), Marvin Krabbenhofft (1 for 1 with a walk), Joe Roche (3 for 3), and Jack Spellman (3 for 3 with a triple).
Dave Berra’s weather report: 84 degrees (Heat Index 88), humidity 60%. Wind 4 MPH, partly cloudy – warming up!
Orange and Purple scored 36 runs and played six innings at 10:00. Blue and Maroon scored half as many at 11:00 but were barely able to get through five innings.
Blue got a single run in the top of the first, loading the bases on three singles, Terry Thompson scoring on Richard Battle’s sacrifice fly to left field. Maroon then took the lead with five runs on seven singles in the home half, making just a single out.
Neither team scored in the second. Billy Hill, who gave Chunky Wright fits, and Clint Fletcher led off the top half with singles, but Chunky got the next three batters on balls in the air, caught at shortstop, left field, and third base. Chunky led off the bottom half with a single, but Jerry Mylius retired the next three batters, also on balls in the air – pop to shortstop (good play going back by George Brindley), fly to left-center, and liner to second.
Blue didn’t score in the third, either, Chunky Wright working around Jeff Fisher’s one-out single. Maroon got one run in the home half: Jack Spellman hit a pop fly triple to right-center and scored on Anthony Galindo’s sacrifice fly to left-center.
Blue broke through and tied the game with five runs in the top of the fourth. Singles by Jerry Mylius, Billy Hill, and Clint Fletcher loaded the bases, and Johnny Lee cleared them with a drive to right field that was technically a three-run single because Johnny was taking a runner from home, to his vocalized regret. Singles by Terry Thompson, George Brindley, and Steve Sandall got the fourth and fifth runs across.
Maroon responded with five runs on seven singles in the home half – nothing fancy, just a keep-the-merry-go-round-moving rally. Chunky Wright got the first hit, on a grounder to shortstop – George Brindley fielded it cleanly, but his throw to first short-hopped Johnny Lee and actually clipped Johnny Lee above his left eye. (Quote of the Day I – Buddy Gaswint: “Make sure Johnny Lee knows it was George’s fault.”) There was a short delay while Johnny Lee was attended to, and only about 30 seconds left on the clock when the fifth run scored, so the game moved into the buffet with Maroon leading 11-6, and I guess that explains why we only got five innings in.
Richard Battle led off for Blue and grounded out 5-3, Adam Reddell making a strong, on-the-money, cross-diamond throw. Jerry Mylius flied out to James Chavana in left. Billy Hill grounded to the 5-6 hole; Spellman played the ball on the backhand, but had no hope of throwing out George Brindley from home, so I held the ball and Billy completed a 3-for-3 game. Clint Fletcher singled, also completing a perfect day at the plate, and Johnny Lee delivered a single to right to drive in George. Daniel Baladez hit a sharp grounder to the 3-4 hole, but Tom Brownfield made a terrific play on the ball and threw to second for the game-ending force. Final score: Maroon 11, Blue 7
Noon, Gray (0-2) at Red (1-1):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Gray 5 5 5 4 4 X 23 Red 1 0 2 4 5 1 13 Pitchers: Gray – Jack Kelly; Red – Donald Drummer. No mercenaries. Umpires: home – Scott Wright; bases – Jack Spellman. Perfect at the plate: Gray – Ken Brown and Gary Coyle (both 4 for 4 with a double), Donnie Janac (3 for 3), David Kruse (4 for 4 with a home run), and Johnny Lee (4 for 4); Red – Adam Reddell (4 for 4 with a double). Home run: David Kruse (inside the park).
Weather: Temperature still 84 at the start of the game, though it certainly felt warmer than that by the end. Humidity 57%. Clouds mostly cleared, and it became a really tough high sun for shortstops and left fielders.
Here’s the Gray team we’ve all been waiting on: five runs on six hits in each of the first three innings, four runs on six hits in the fourth, and four runs on five hits when they finally started slacking off in the fifth. They also played solid defense behind Jack Kelly, allowing Red only three runs over the first three innings, Gary Coyle and David Kruse on the right side of the infield making a couple of excellent plays each as Gray built a 15-3 lead through three.
Not going to get into a play-by-play of it, I’ll just mention the highlights. Gray didn’t make an out in the first, Don Solberg’s triple knocking in the fourth and fifth runs. In the bottom half Gary Coyle made a terrific play on Eddy Murillo’s hard grounder down the third-base side, getting a force at second.
In the second: Ivan Budiselic doubled to start Gray’s rally in the top half, after Boo Resnick ran down Jack Kelly’s pop behind second base for the first out. (Everyone in attendance: “BOOOOO!”) The fifth run scored on a single by Gary Coyle on a pop behind shortstop that Tim Bruton lost in the sun, which by that point was brutal. In the bottom half, after making a nice backhanded stop deep in the hole on Boo Resnick’s grounder to the 5-6 hole, throwing to second for the force, David Kruse similarly lost Tommy Langa’s pop to short left field in the high sun, and it fell in for a single. Jack Kelly got Donald Drummer and Bobby Miller to fly out to escape the jam.
Third inning: Gray scored five on five singles and Ken Brown’s bloop double over first base. Red got two runs in the home half on one-out hits by Rick Kahn (pop fly double to right), Adam Reddell (single to center), and Eddy Murillo (double to the fence in center). The first out of the inning was on Tim Bruton’s 5-3 grounder, a great throw across the diamond by Gary Coyle. The second out was on Denny Malloy’s pop fly into short left field, David Kruse ranging back and to his right to run it down.
Exchange of the Day:
Donald Drummer, trying to buck up his squad after they found themselves trailing by 14 runs in the third inning: “We’re playing all the way to November, Red.”
Rick Kahn: “Stop threatening us!”
Fourth inning: Gray scores four runs on six singles, but Red finally manages to record three outs in an inning. The second comes when David Kruse, running for Jack Kelly, heads for third on Donnie Janac’s single to right-center, not realizing that Don Solberg had held up at third in front of him; Don scored on the ensuing rundown, David out 8-6-5-6 (Bobby Miller to Tim Bruton to Adam Reddell, back to Tim to tag out David trying to make it back to second). Red then scored four runs in the home half, the last three on back-to-back two-out doubles by Rick Kahn and Adam Reddell.
Fifth inning: Gray’s first five batters hit safely, four scoring, the first two on David Kruse’s inside-the-park home run to right-center, which capped his 4-for-4 game, Ken Brown (also 4 for 4) scoring ahead of him. Gary Coyle (double) and Johnny Lee (his fourth single) also completed 4-for-4 days. With Ken Brown on first, running for Johnny Lee, and one out, the inning ended when Jack Kelly hit a short pop in front of second baseman Boo Resnick – Ken thought it was going to fall in, so he broke for second, but Boo raced in and made a basket catch, then threw over Ken’s head back to first for the F-4, 4-3 double play, and my favorite thing that happened all day today was that Ken jumped up to try (unsuccessfully) to knock the throw down. Jack Kelly got two quick outs to start the bottom half, but the next seven Red batters singled, five runs scoring. Boo Resnick got the first of those hits, and the second-funniest thing I heard Rick Kahn say today was this base-running advice: “Boo, we’re down 16, don’t fuck up.” (Boo did not.)
David Kruse and B League’s favorite Golden, Kayla, after the game. David was 4 for 4 with an inside-the-park home run and five RBI today.
Gray still led by 11 runs, so the teams flip-flopped for the buffet. Red pushed across one more run on three singles before Jack Kelly got outs on a liner to Don Solberg in left and two flies to left-center fielder Tommy Gillis to end the game. Final score: Gray 23, Red 13, Gray snapping its four-game losing streak.
Standings – Session Four:
Games Runs Runs Run W/L
W L Win %: behind: for: allowed: differential: streak:
Orange 3 0 1.000 — 49 38 +11 W5
Maroon 3 0 1.000 — 37 26 +11 W4
Blue 1 1 .500 1.5 21 22 – 1 L1
Gray 1 2 .333 2 45 40 + 5 W1
Red 1 2 .333 2 43 51 – 8 L1
Green 0 2 .000 2.5 25 29 – 4 L3
Purple 0 2 .000 2.5 22 36 -14 L3
Home Visitor Walk-off Extra-inning Flip-flop 1-run games
W-L: W-L: Wins: W-L: W-L: W-L:
Orange 1-0 2-0 0 0-0 1-0 1-0
Maroon 2-0 1-0 1 0-0 1-0 1-0
Blue 0-0 1-1 0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Gray 0-1 1-1 0 0-0 1-0 0-0
Red 0-2 1-0 0 0-0 0-1 0-1
Green 0-1 0-1 0 0-0 0-0 0-1
Purple 0-2 0-0 0 0-0 0-2 0-0
2024 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
Blue Gray Green Maroon Orange Purple Red TOTAL
Blue X 3 1 4 4 2 3 17
Gray 4 X 3 3 4 0 5 19
Green 3 2 X 4 2 4 4 19
Maroon 2 3 4 X 4 1 3 17
Orange 1 3 3 2 X 4 3 16
Purple 4 2 3 5 3 X 1 18
Red 4 2 3 1 4 4 X 18
_____________________________________________________________
TOTAL: 18 15 17 19 21 15 19 124
Season home run leaders:
Tim Coles – 6
David Kruse – 4
Ken Brown – 3
Tim Bruton – 3
Gregory Bied – 2
Larry Fiorentino – 2
Clint Fletcher – 2
Gary Kubenka – 2
Pat Scott – 2
Jimmy Sneed – 2
Ralph Villela – 2
Peter Atkins – 1
George Brindley – 1
David Brown – 1
Jack Crosley – 1
Jeff Fisher – 1
Anthony Galindo – 1
Buddy Gaswint – 1
Tommy Gillis – 1
Doc Hobar – 1
Rex Horvath – 1
Denny Malloy – 1
Bobby Miller – 1
Eddie Ortiz -1
David Pittard – 1
Joe Roche – 1
Paul Rubin – 1
Morgan Witthoft – 1
Schedule for Monday September 16:
10:00 a.m.: Red (1-2) at Blue (1-1), Maroon umpiring
11:00 a.m.: Maroon (3-0) at Orange (3-0), Red umpiring
Noon: Purple (0-2) at Green (0-2), Orange umpiring
Gray has the bye, with priority for its players out of the bucket.
Preview: It’s going to be a Manic Monday, as the two undefeated teams meet at 11:00 and the two winless teams at noon, guaranteeing that there will be only one team left in each category at day’s end. An additional chaos agent is that a bunch of B League players will have decamped for Worlds in Vegas, leaving their weekday teams scouring the bucket for fill-ins. Big chance to play extra games and affect the session race! Purple picked up eight mercenaries today. Will they or some other team match or exceed that number Monday? One thing is certain: It all comes down to turnout.
Keggy’s Korner:
Johnny Lee (left) and Arctic Blues Band will be performing this Monday night, September 16, at Mr. Catfish, 1144 Airport Boulevard. I’m not sure of the time, but 7:00 p.m. is probably a good time to get there.