B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 8, Issue 38 – August 6, 2026
Department of Corrections: I wrote that Clint Fletcher made the initial throw that resulted in Joe Bernal being cut down trying for third in Monday’s Blue-Gray game, but Clint points out it was actually Paul Rubin who started the 8-6-5. And of course I also missed a perfect day at the plate Monday: Ken Brown, playing as a mercenary for Blue, was 2 for 2. The Picayune regrets the errors.
Games of Thursday August 6:
10:00 a.m.: Maroon (8-3) at Purple (2-9):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Maroon 0 2 0 5 2 4 13 Purple 1 3 0 0 1 0 5 Pitchers: Maroon – Jeff Stone; Purple – Ray Pilgrim. Mercenaries: Maroon – Tim Coles, Jim Foelker, and Anthony Galindo; Purple – Hal Darman, Trent Peacock, Adam Reddell, George Romo, Jack Spellman, and Ralph Villela; Daniel Baladez entered for Trent in the top of the third after Trent left to injury. Umpires: home – Jim McAnelly; bases – Mike Velaney and Paul Rubin. Perfect at the plate: Maroon – Tim Coles (3 for 3 with three doubles) and Scott Wright (4 for 4 with a home run); Purple – Daniel Baladez (1 for 1), Shane Hill (3 for 3 with a double), Trent Peacock (1 for 1 with a double), and Ralph Villela (2 for 2 with a double and a triple). Home run: Scott Wright (inside the park) (2).
Dave Berra’s weather report: 86 degrees, feels like 95; 70% humidity; partly cloudy; wind from the South at 10 MPH – sticky, the wind helps.
A lot of talk in the home dugout about the Purple Curse, and it’s understandable. They hung tough through the first three innings, but Maroon poured it on over the final three and came away with a convincing 13-5 victory, their eighth victory in their last nine games, Purple suffering its sixth straight loss.
Ray Pilgrim held Maroon scoreless in the first, working around Scott Wright’s two-out single. Shortstop Jimmy Sneed made nearly identical plays to put out the first two batters, Steve Browne and George Brindley, fielding grounders on the short hop and snapping off strong throws to beat speedy runners by about half a step. Third baseman George Romo snagged Jeff Stone’s liner to George’s left, inches above the ground, for the third out. Purple then won the inning by scoring one run in the home half: Rick Kahn tripled with one out and scored on Shane Hill’s two-out line double to right field.
Purple won the second inning by a run as well. Maroon got on the board in the top half, scoring two runs. David Pittard and Alan Phillips drew walks to start the frame. Steve Browne ran for David from first base. On Dale Fugate’s fly to Rick Kahn in right-center, Steve tagged up and took third; when Rick’s throw got past third baseman David Pittard, Steve raced home, but he’d neglected to return to tag the bag after running through, and was called out on appeal. Alan took second on the play, and then scored on Tim Coles’s double. Singles by Anthony Galindo and Jim Foelker brought Tim around to score. A base hit by Steve Browne loaded the bases, but George Romo again made a catch of a low liner to his left for the third out, this one hit by George Brindley.
Purple then scored three times in the bottom of the second. George Romo and Hal Darman drew consecutive one-out walks. George scored and Hal took third on Ralph Villela’s double. Trent Peacock laced a double to right field that drove in Hal and Ralph with the tying and go-ahead runs. Adam Reddell singled up the middle; the third base coach waved Trent home, and Trent made a tight turn, but two steps past third he popped a hammy and came up lame – he tried to hobble home, but the 8-6-2 relay, George Brindley to Tim Coles to Dale Fugate, beat him easily.
The latest victim of the Purple Curse, Trent left the game, with Daniel Baladez entering in his place. This is Trent’s first season in B League, so I think this event ticks off box B-3 on the 2026 B League Bingo card, “New guy pops a hammy”:
| B LEAGUE BINGO 2026 | ||||
| B | I | N | G | O |
| Hit for the cycle (Ralph Villela – May 26) | Mad beef re: infield fly rule (July 30) | Triple play | Ken Brown scores from first on single | Walk-off grand slam |
| Jim Aaron home run for last-place team | Acclaim and adoption of Johnny Lee-created nickname | Batter takes a runner from home, runs past the 1B commit line (April 6) | Both teams score 5 runs in each of the first 3 innings | Spellman plays 5 games (C and B) in one day (July 6) |
| New guy pops a hammy (Trent Peacock – August 6) | Double play, second out at home (March 12) | David Brown makes a great defensive play up the middle | 7-inning game | 3-pitch half-inning (Jeff Stone – April 23) |
| 3 Ohtani Awards in 1 day (July 6) | Over-the-fence home run at Krieg 2 (April 16) | Base runner hit by batted ball (March 23) | Don Solberg throws out a runner trying for an extra base | Rick Jensen delivers St. Crispin’s Day speech |
| Line drive hits Jack Kelly, he brushes it off (March 30) | Ralph Villela hits 2 inside-the-park home runs in one game | Team flip-flops opponent but loses game (July 20 – Red d. Blue ) | Inside-the-park home run at Krieg 3 | Shutout (Joe Bernal, Blue vs. Purple, July 27) |
Neither team scored in the third. Scott Wright singled to start the inning for Maroon, but was erased on a 1-6-3 double play on Jeff Stone’s comebacker to the mound, Ray Pilgrim to Jimmy Sneed to Shane Hill. David Pittard walked again, but Ray got Alan Phillips to ground into a 6-4 force. Jeff Stone got two quick outs to start the home half, allowed singles to Jimmy Sneed and Shane Hill, then got Peter Sundquist to ground into a 6-5 force.
Maroon’s offense came to life in the top of the fourth, and they grabbed the lead with a five-run outburst, on five singles, Steve Browne’s walk, Tim Coles’s second double, and George Brindley’s sacrifice fly to Ralph Villela in left-center field. Dale Fugate sparked the rally with a lead-off single, which I believe was his first hit since returning from injury.
Purple was unable to respond in the bottom half. Ray Pilgrim led off with a single, but Jim Foelker made a good play to run down George Romo’s drive to right field for the first out, and Tim Coles started a 6-4-3 double play, Scott Wright on the pivot, on Hal Darman’s grounder.
Tim Coles knocked his third double in as many at bats in the top of the fifth, driving in Alan Phillips and Dale Fugate’s pinch-runner after Alan singled and Dale walked with one out. Tim tried to score on Jim Foelker’s two-out single to left field, but was thrown out 7-6-2, Jack Spellman to Jimmy Sneed to Hal Darman, Jimmy making a long, accurate relay and Hal an outstanding catch to beat Tim by a step.
Maroon led 9-5 entering the buffet, and proceeded to score four runs without making an out, on a team cycle: Steve Browne led off with a single; George Brindley tripled Steve in, with a drive to left field just beyond the reach of (not a real outfielder) Jack Spellman; Scott Wright ripped an inside-the-park home run to right field, George scoring ahead of him; Jeff Stone singled; and David Pittard doubled in Jeff’s pinch-runner. That made it 13-5, and the flip-flop was called.
Scott Wright socked his second home run of the season in the top of the buffet, completing a 4-for-4 game at the plate.
Rick Kahn and Shane Hill singled for Purple in the bottom of the buffet, putting runners on the corners with one out, but Jeff Stone finished up Maroon’s victory by retiring Peter Sundquist and Ray Pilgrim on balls in the air – Peter flied out to Jim Foelker in right field, and Jeff caught Ray’s pop in front of the mound.
Final score: Maroon 13, Purple 5
11:00 a.m.: Gray (5-6) at Orange (5-6):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Gray 4 3 4 5 1 17 Orange 1 5 5 5 2 18 Pitchers: Gray – Luis Sanchez; Orange – Rex Horvath. Mercenaries: Gray – Richard Battle, Candy Perez, Alan Phillips, Ray Pilgrim, and David Pittard; Orange – Donald Drummer, Rex Horvath, and Jeff Stone. Umpires: home – Peter Sundquist; bases – Ralph Villela and Tommy Gillis. Perfect at the plate: Gray – Richard Battle (3 for 3), Daniel Carvajal (4 for 4 with a double), and Ray Pilgrim (2 for 2 with a walk); Orange – Mark Hernandez (4 for 4 with a double), Adam Reddell (3 for 3 with a walk), and Pat Scott (4 for 4). Home run: Jack Spellman (inside the park) (3).
Dave Berra’s weather update: Ditto.
Terrific game between two well-matched teams that came in with identical 5-6 records and near-identical run differentials for the session, Gray at -1, Orange at -3.
Gray jumped off to an early lead, as its first four batters hit safely and scored in the top of the first, Gray knocking five singles plus a double by Daniel Carvajal. Orange got one run back in the home half, on three consecutive one-out singles by Pat Scott, Adam Reddell, and Mark Hernandez.
Gray increased its lead to 7-1 with three runs in the top of the second. Its first four batters singled, one run scoring. Luis drove in the second with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to Pat Scott in right-center. Jim Foelker hit a short pop behind first base that tailed away from second baseman Jeff Stone and fell in for a single, driving in the third run, but Jim was thrown out 4-6, a strong throw by Jeff to Jack Spellman, trying to stretch the hit into a double. Jim McAnelly grounded out to third baseman Adam Reddell to end the inning.
Orange scored five times in the bottom of the second to win the inning and cut Gray’s lead to one run. Hal Darman singled and Rex Horvath tripled to open the inning. Luis Sanchez made a terrific play on Jeff Stone’s hard one-hopper up the middle, throwing to first for the first out. Donald Drummer’s single drove in Rex. Jack Spellman flied out to Alan Phillips in right field for the second out, but the next four batters singled, three runs coming across.
Gray scored four times in the top of the third on four singles and walks to David Pittard and Ray Pilgrim, Ray’s coming with the bases loaded. Daniel Carvajal drove in the third and fourth runs with a sharp single to center (as I recall).
But Orange won the inning, scoring five times in the home half, four runs coming across after two were out. Matt Levitt led off with a single. Luis Sanchez got Hal Darman to hit a two-strike foul for the first out. Rex Horvath singled to left-center; when the ball wasn’t handled cleanly, Matt tore around third for home and beat the relay home, while Rex took second. Jeff Stone’s single put runners on the corners for Donald Drummer, who delivered Rex with a sacrifice fly to Paul Rubin in left field. Orange 1-4 hitters Jack Spellman, Pat Scott, Adam Reddell, and Mark Hernandez followed with clean singles to push across the third, fourth, and fifth runs, tying the score at 11-11 entering the final five-run inning.
Gray surged ahead in the top of the fifth, scoring five times. Jim Foelker led off with a single. Jim McAnelly lined out to shortstop, but the next five batters hit safely – a double by Mike Velaney followed by four singles, a couple of them well-placed, uncatchable short fly balls, and Gray was up 16-11.
Orange mounted another two-out rally in the bottom half of the frame. Peter Atkins struck out swinging to start the inning, but Matt Levitt and Hal Darman’s runner from home (Pat Scott, I believe) beat out infield singles. Rex Horvath flied out to left fielder Paul Rubin, the runners holding. Jeff Stone singled, Matt scoring, and Donald Drummer ripped a two-base hit, Pat coming across. Jack Spellman came up, saw that Ray Pilgrim was squeezing him in right-center field, and drove a pitch directly over Ray’s head. It rolled most of the way to the fence for a game-tying three-run inside-the-park home run.
Jack Spellman, not missing meals, managed to leg out his third home run of the season.
So it was still tied, 16 apiece, entering the buffet. Gray scored one run in the top half, on consecutive one-out singles by its 1-3 hitters, Paul Rubin, Daniel Carvajal (4 for 4, all well struck), and Luis Sanchez. But Rex Horvath was able to retire Jim Foelker on a fly to Matt Levitt in left-center (the first out Jim made today, in his fourth game, including C League), then fielded Jim McAnelly’s comebacker and threw to first for the third out.
Orange came up needing one to tie, two to win, with its 2-3-4 hitters, Pat Scott, Adam Reddell, and Mark Hernandez, due up and not having made an out in the game. They kept that streak intact. Pat singled to start the inning, his fourth hit in as many at bats. Adam, 3 for his first 3, accepted a base on balls. Jack Spellman ran for Adam. Mark lined a hit to center field; Pat raced for home; a strong relay home might have beaten him, but catcher Jim McAnelly couldn’t find the handle on the throw in, and the ball got past him, Pat safe with the tying run; rounding third, Spellman broke for home – I knew I had to beat Daniel Carvajal, coming in from third base to cover the mat, before Jim could recover and flip the ball over, and I thought I had at least a 51% chance of doing so. And I did.
Final score: Orange 18, Gray 17
Noon: Red (5-6) at Green (9-3):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Red 1 0 2 3 5 3 14 Green 5 5 0 3 5 X 18 Pitchers: Red – Trent Peacock; Green – Spike Davidson. Mercenaries: Red – George Brindley; Green – Mark Hernandez and Matt Levitt. Umpires: home – Adam Reddell; bases – Dave Berra. Perfect at the plate: Red – Tim Coles and Ralph Villela (both 4 for 4 with a double) and Tommy Gillis (4 for 4); Green – Spike Davidson (3 for 3 with a walk – Ohtani Award), Mike Garrison and Rex Horvath (both 3 for 3 with a double and a walk), and Doc Hobar (4 for 4). Home run: Terry O'Brien (inside the park) (9).
Weather update: 95 degrees, feels like 104; 45% humidity (actually not that bad); wind from the South at 8 MPH; partly cloudy, which was a bit of a relief.
Another high-scoring game. Green jumped off to a quick lead, scoring five runs in each of its first two at bats, making just one out along the way, while Spike Davidson held Red to one run in the top of the first. Ralph Villela led off the game with a single, then was forced at second on Mark Dolan’s grounder to shortstop Rex Horvath. Anthony Galindo flied out to Steve Sandall in short center field – Mark was almost doubled up on the play, but got back to the bag before first baseman Mark Hernandez could wrangle the throw. Tim Coles singled through the 5-6 hole, Mark taking third, and then, when the ball was mishandled in the outfield, scoring.
Green came roaring out of the gate in the bottom of the first: Steve Sandall singled, Mike Garrison singled, Terry O’Brien and Rex Horvath both doubled (Terry on a liner to right field, Rex on a fly down the left-field line), and Doc Hobar, Ivan Budiselic, and Spike Davidson singled, Spike on a drive to center that glanced off Tommy Gillis’s glove.
I’m pretty certain Tommy’s difficulty was due to the plantar fasciitis he’s (reportedly – I haven’t spoken with Tommy about it) dealing with. That caused him an issue in the top of the second as well: he led off with a line single to right-center, but, not used to taking a runner from home (Mark Dolan), he ran toward the first, crossed the commit line, and was called out. Trent Peacock – a gamer if ever there was one, pitching this game and taking his at bats despite suffering a severe hamstring pull in the day’s first game – lined a single to right. But SpikeDavidson retired the next two batters, Richard Battle on a fly to Steve Sandall in left-center, Donald Drummer on a two-strike foul fly down the left-field side.
Green then increased its lead to nine runs with another five-run outburst in the bottom of the second, on six singles and Steve Sandall’s double. Red finally recorded an out, on Terry O’Brien’s grounder up the middle, converted by Ralph Villela into a 6u. force out at second. Doc Hobar drove in the fifth run with a single on a liner to center, another ball that Tommy Gillis reached but was unable to hold onto. (Understand that I note this because Tommy is an excellent outfielder and this is so unusual.)
Red outscored Green 13-8 the rest of the way, but wasn’t able to erase the deficit. They scored two runs on Tim Coles’s two-out double in the top of the third, then held Green scoreless in the home half – Ivan Budiselic doubled and Spike Davidson walked to start the inning, but Trent Peacock retired the next three batters.
Both teams scored three runs in the fourth. Red got their runs on five singles, with the inning ending on a running catch, back and to his right, by Steve Sandall to take extra bases away from Mark Dolan. Steve then walked to start the bottom half and scored the first of three runs on the four singles and Terry O’Brien sacrifice fly, to George Brindley in right field, that followed.
Both teams scored five times in the fifth inning, the energy of the fielders clearly flagging. Red scored theirs on six singles, Candy Perez’s double, and George Brindley’s sacrifice fly to Steve Sandall in left-center. Anthony Galindo, running for Alan Peacock, scored the fifth run on that fly, though there was a brief dispute on the play. Richard Battle, running at second, hadn’t tagged up on the ball, and was called out on appeal. The question was whether this meant that Anthony’s run did not count. There was uncertainty in the absence of rules mavens Terry Watts (in Waxahatchie) and Jeff Stone (departed earlier in the game), but consultations by phone with Jeff and interwebz with Google produced the correct ruling: Richard was out on a timed play, not a force, and thus the fifth run counted.
That got Red to within two runs, trailing 13-11, but Green scored five times in the home half, on two walks, three singles, Mike Garrison’s double, and Terry O’Brien’s inside-the-park home run, a surprising drive down the left-field line that landed a couple feet fair and rolled to the corner, as definitely seen here:
It was Terry’s ninth of the season, as he took the league lead.
Red was chasing seven runs entering the buffet. Ralph Villela led off with a double, his fourth hit in as many at bats, and his teammates added four singles, three runs coming across, before they ran out of outs.
Final score: Green 18, Red 14
Spike Davidson earned his fourth Ohtani Award of the season, going 3 for 3 with a walk at the plate while pitching Green to victory. The composer Keiichiro Shbuya makes the presentation.
2026 standings:
| Session 3 standings: | ||||||||
| Games | Runs | Runs | Runs dif- | W/L | ||||
| Wins | Losses | Win %: | behind: | for: | allowed: | ferential: | streak: | |
| Green | 10 | 3 | .769 | 0 | 198 | 176 | 22 | W7 |
| Maroon | 9 | 3 | .750 | 0.5 | 158 | 137 | 21 | W1 |
| Orange | 6 | 6 | .500 | 3.5 | 159 | 161 | -2 | W1 |
| Blue | 5 | 6 | .455 | 4 | 118 | 103 | 15 | L2 |
| Gray | 5 | 7 | .417 | 4.5 | 135 | 137 | -2 | L1 |
| Red | 5 | 7 | .417 | 4.5 | 151 | 164 | -13 | L1 |
| Purple | 2 | 10 | .167 | 7.5 | 129 | 170 | -41 | L6 |
| Home | Visitor | Walk-off | Extra-inning | Flip-flop | 1-run games | Last 5 | ||
| W-L: | W-L: | wins | W-L: | W-L: | W-L: | games: | ||
| Green | 4-3 | 6-0 | 1 | 1-0 | 4-1 | 3-1 | WWWWW | |
| Maroon | 4-2 | 5-1 | 3 | 0-0 | 3-1 | 5-1 | WWWLW | |
| Orange | 4-2 | 2-4 | 3 | 0-2 | 1-1 | 3-2 | LLWLW | |
| Blue | 2-3 | 3-3 | 1 | 1-1 | 4-2 | 1-2 | LLWLL | |
| Gray | 3-2 | 2-5 | 0 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 1-5 | WLLWL | |
| Red | 3-3 | 2-4 | 0 | 1-0 | 2-4 | 2-1 | WLWWL | |
| Purple | 0-7 | 2-3 | 0 | 0-0 | 1-5 | 0-3 | LLLLL | |
2026 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
| Blue | Gray | Green | Maroon | Orange | Purple | Red | TOTAL | |
| Blue | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 22 | |
| Gray | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 13 | |
| Green | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 19 | |
| Maroon | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 21 | |
| Orange | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 16 | |
| Purple | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | |
| Red | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 14 | |
| TOTAL: | 10 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 17 | 24 | 18 | 114 |
2026 season home run leaders:
Terry O’Brien – 9
Ralph Villela – 8
Steve Browne – 4
Tony Garcia – 4
Trent Peacock – 4
David Brown – 3
Tim Coles – 3
Mike Garrison – 3
Jack Spellman – 3
Larry Fiorentino – 2
Allen Phillips – 2
Scott Rokita – 2
Paul Rubin – 2
Pat Scott – 2
Jimmy Sneed – 2
Scott Wright – 2
Peter Atkins – 1
Richard Battle – 1
Tom Bellavia – 1
Joe Bernal – 1
George Brindley – 1
Ivan Budiselic – 1
Mark Dolan – 1
Jim Foelker – 1
Anthony Galindo – 1
Tommy Gillis – 1
Doc Hobar – 1
Rick Kahn – 1
Mike Malay – 1
Jack McDermott – 1
Bobby Miller – 1
David Pittard – 1
George Romo – 1
Luis Sanchez – 1
Steve Sandall – 1
Patrick Schmidt – 1
Hit for the cycle:
Ralph Villela – May 26
Ohtani Awards (winning pitcher + perfect at the plate):
Joe Bernal: 8 (March 2, March 19, March 30, April 16, June 22, June 25, June 29, July 9)
Ray Pilgrim: 6 (March 5, March 23, March 26, June 1, July 2, July 9)
Tommy Deleon: 5 (April 6, April 30, June 11, July 6, July 30)
Spike Davidson: 4 (May 4, July 2, July 20, August 6)
Trent Peacock: 2 (March 9, August 3)
Jeff Stone: 2 (March 2, July 9)
Rex Horvath: 1 (March 30)
Jack Kelly: 1 (August 3)
Lawrence Page: 1 (March 26)
Schedule for Monday August 10:
10:00 a.m.: Gray (5-7) at Red (5-7), Orange umpiring
11:00 a.m.: Orange (6-6) at Purple (2-10), Red umpiring
Noon: Blue (5-6) at Maroon (9-3), Purple umpiring
Green has the bye, with priority for its players out of the bucket.
Preview: Blue has fallen back to the middle of the pack in Session 3, as it deals with summer absences and strong play by surging Green and Maroon teams. Coming off the bye, Blue faces Maroon at noon. A Maroon victory would tie them with Green, which has the bye, for first place. They’ve won nine of their last ten games, but are just 1-4 in their season series with Blue. At 10:00, Gray and Red, both 5-7 and coming off a loss today, will vie to get back on the winning track. Red leads the season series 3-2. Orange is at Purple at 11:00, Purple looking to end its six-game losing streak, on top of which they are 0-7 as the home team in Session 3. Orange leads the season series 3-2. Will anyone bring their pooch to Krieg 2 on National Spoil Your Dog Day? One thing is certain: Only time will tell.
Keggy’s Korner:
Podcast review: Sea Control
Hosted by history, policy, and war-gaming nerds from the Center for International Maritime Security (CIMSEC), SeaCon puts out around 40 episodes a year, over 600 so far, that delve into issues in global maritime security, naval affairs, defense policy, and history, generally through the perspective of authors plugging their books. Lots of geopolitics (with a particular emphasis on the rise of China as a naval power), discussion of technological innovations in modern warfare, shipbuilding, and leadership. There’s no no advertising and no fluff, just a lot of interesting conversation, often on offbeat topics (African coast guards, the Indian navy, the history of Indonesian anti-piracy efforts – all great episodes). If I have a beef, it’s with how seriously they take Tom Clancy – fun author, but a bit of a hack, if you’re being truthful. New England content: Fair amount – you’ve got the fisheries, U.S. Coast Guard, lots of historians working out of the Naval War College in Newport. Canadian content: Likewise, a fair amount – the Canadian Navy kicked Nazi ass, always worth revisiting. Listening speed: 1X. Rating: 🎧 🎧 🎧 🎧