B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 8, Issue 40 – August 13, 2026
Games of Thursday August 13:
10:00 a.m.: Purple (3-10) at Green (10-3):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Purple 2 5 0 5 4 0 16 Green 0 3 2 5 2 0 12 Pitchers: Purple – Ray Pilgrim; Green – Trent Peacock. Mercenaries: Purple – George Brindley, Tim Coles, and Scott Wright; Green – Richard Battle, Trent Peacock, and Jack Spellman. Umpires: home – Ralph Villela; bases – Tommy Gillis. Perfect at the plate: Purple - George Brindley (3 for 3) and Rick Kahn (3 for 3 with a walk and a home run). Home runs, all inside the park: Richard Battle (2), Terry O'Brien (10), and Rick Kahn (2).
Dave Berra’s weather report: 87 degrees, feels like 95; humidity 65%; wind from the South 13 MPH; partly cloudy – thank God for the breeze.
A surging Purple team posted its second consecutive victory, knocking off first-place Green. They jumped to an early lead, scoring two runs on Rick Kahn’s lead-off walk and four singles in the top of the first, then blanking Green in the home half – Doc Hobar and Terry O’Brien singled, but Ray Pilgrim got Mike Garrison to ground into a 6-4 force to erase Doc, then got Rex Horvath to ground into a 6-4-3 double play, Rick Jensen to Scott Wright (nice turn) to Shane Hill.
Purple pushed across five runs in the top of the second on six singles, the last three coming after Rex Horvath turned a 6u., 6-3 double play on Rick Jensen’s grounder up the middle.
Green got on the board with three runs in the bottom half, which saw an only-in-B League base-running controversy. Gary Coyle and Ivan Budiselic both walked to start the inning. Boo Resnick hit a sharp grounder to third baseman Tim Coles, who stepped on third and then threw to first base, trying for the double play, but overthrew. Ivan had run through at second base and started for third base, got about halfway, then realized he’d never touched the second base bag, so he did a 180 and retreated to the base. Either first baseman Shane Hill or right fielder George Brindley – I think it was Shane, but wouldn’t bet a doughnut on it – retrieved the ball and threw to Scott covering second. The throw beat Ivan, but Ivan got his foot onto the bag before Scott applied the tag. The controversy was whether this was a tag play (because Ivan was returning to the base) or a force play (because he’d never tagged the bag), and the ruling on the field was that, because he passed the base and started for third, Ivan technically was in possession of second base (notwithstanding not having touched the bag), which made the play back at second a return and thus a tag play. (I was the on-deck hitter, and I can firmly state that I didn’t know (and still am not sure I know) the rule. I thought Ivan got his foot down before the tag, though, so that part of the ruling was definitely correct.) When play resumed I hit a hard grounder down the first-base side that Shane made a good play on, tagging first for the second out while the runners moved up.
Richard Battle then stepped up and socked a ball past the outfielders and to the fence in left field, circling the bases for his second home run of the season:
That cut Purple’s lead to 7-3. Trent Peacock then pitched an immaculate top of the third inning, three pitches to record three outs on grounders: Ray Pilgrim and Patrick Schmidt to shortstop Rex Horvath, Scott Wright to first baseman Ivan Budiselic. Green won the inning by scoring two runs in the bottom half: Mike Garrison led off with a single, and Terry O’Brien ripped his league-leading tenth home run of the season, a drive to right field:
Both teams scored five times in the fourth inning. Green’s first three in the top of the inning came on long hits: George Brindley drew a lead-off walk, then scored from first on Tim Coles’s double to the base of the fence in left field, a drive that off the bat I thought might leave the yard. Rick Kahn then lined a ball down the right-field side that pretend outfielder Jack Spellman brutally misplayed – I thought I could cut it off, but it sliced away and past me and rolled most of the way to the fence before I retrieved it, and Rick circled the bases with his second inside-the-park home run of the season, and the third in three innings in this game:
Four of the next five batters singled, the fourth and fifth runs coming around to score.
Green responded by scoring five times after two were out in the home half. Jack Spellman led off with a ground single to right field. Richard Battle and Trent Peacock both grounded into force outs, to third baseman Tim Coles and shortstop Rick Jensen, but Green’s 1-6 hitters came through with three singles, walks drawn by Mike Garrison and Gary Coyle, and a three-run double by Terry O’Brien, five runs scoring.
Purple won the final five-run inning, the fifth, extending its lead to four runs. They scored four times in the top half on six singles and Tim Coles’s second double, Rick Kahn completing a perfect day at the plate with his hit. Green got two back in the bottom half: Boo Resnick led off with a single, and Jack Spellman drove a pitch to right-center field that gapped the outfielders – Boo scored from first, after initially hesitating when rounding third, scoring when the relay flew wide to the third-base side of home, and Spellman wound up at third. Richard Battle’s base hit drove in Spellman, but Ray Pilgrim retired three of the next four hitters (force-outs hit into by Trent Peacock and Mike Garrison, and a fly to Jack McDermott in left-center by Terry O’Brien) to strand two runners.
Purple led 16-12 entering the buffet. Trent Peacock kept them from adding to their advantage, getting three outs on balls in the air: Patrick Schmidt on a pop to shortstop Rex Horvath, Scott Wright on a fly to Mike Garrison in left-center, and, after George Brindley singled to complete a perfect day at the plate, Tim Coles on a fly to Terry O’Brien in right-center.
Green came up needing four to tie, five to win, but Ray Pilgrim shut it down. He retired Rex Horvath on a high fly with crazy hang time to Patrick Schmidt in left field, then got Gary Coyle to ground out to shortstop Rick Jensen. Ivan Budiselic singled, extending the inning. Boo Resnick put a good swing on the ball, driving a pitch to left-center, but Jack McDermott was well positioned and hauled in the liner for the final out.
Final score: Purple 16, Green 12, Purple winning its second straight game and ending Green’s seven-game winning streak.
11:00 a.m.: Red (6-7) at Blue (5-7):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Red 3 0 5 0 0 8 Blue 2 5 0 0 2 9 Pitchers: Red – Trent Peacock; Blue – Joe Bernal. Mercenaries: Blue – Jim Foelker, Rex Horvath, and Jack McDermott. Perfect at the plate: Red – Anthony Galindo, Johnny Lee, and Trent Peacock (all 3 for 3) and Marvin Krabbenhoft (1 for 1 with a walk); Blue - Daniel Baladez (2 for 2 with a walk) and George Romo (3 for 3).
Weather update: 89 degrees, feels like 98; 57% humidity; wind from the South at 11 MPH; partly cloudy – very hot, but the breeze and occasional clouds kept it bearable.
An excellent, hard-fought game that saw five double plays get turned, two in the first inning. Red broke out on top, scoring three times as five of its first six batters hit safely: Ralph Villela opened the game with a double and, after Mark Dolan grounded out to shortstop David Brown, Anthony Galindo singled in Ralph, Tim Coles doubled to right field, and Johnny Lee drove in Anthony and Tim with a single to left. Ralph, running for Johnny Lee, took third on Trent Peacock’s line single to right field, but the inning ended with Joe Bernal fielding Tommy Gillis’s comebacker and starting a 1-6-3 double play, David on the pivot.
Six of Blue’s first seven batters of the game reached base in the bottom of the first, but they came away with only two runs. Daniel Baladez walked to start the inning, and David Brown pinch-ran for him. Tom Bellavia lined a double to left-center, David scoring from first. Joe Bernal’s single to left put runners on the corners. Lawrence Page lined a ball to the right side, but second baseman Candy Perez, moving to his right, snagged it and flipped to first baseman Johnny Lee to double Joe up – he’d only moved a step or so off first, but had no chance of reversing course in time. Trent Peacock almost escaped the inning, as he got George Romo to ground a playable ball to shortstop, but David Brown bobbled the ball and made a hurried throw to first that Johnny Lee wasn’t able to catch cleanly, George safe and Tom scoring. Singles by David Brown and Larry Young loaded the bases, but Trent fielded Jack McDermott’s comebacker and threw to first for the third out, leaving the bases loaded.
Joe Bernal threw a scoreless top of the second, working around Marvin Krabbenhoft’s one-out single, and Blue took the lead with five runs in the home half on seven consecutive one-out singles.
The opposite, or the converse, or the inverse, I don’t know what to call it, happened in the third inning: Red scored five times in the top half, Blue was blanked in the bottom half. Ralph Villela led off for Red with a single, but was erased on Mark Dolan’s grounder back to Joe Bernal, Joe starting another 1-6-3 double play. Red’s next eight batters reached base, on five singles, Candy Perez’s opposite-field double, Marvin Krabbenhoft’s walk, and Richard Battle’s bases-loaded single that drove in the fifth run. Trent Peacock then held Blue scoreless in the bottom half, working around a two-out walk to Rex Horvath.
Neither team scored in the fourth. Rip Wright led off the top half with a line single to left field, but was forced out at second on Ralph Villela’s grounder to shortstop David Brown. Mark Dolan swung through a two-strike pitch for out number two. Anthony Galindo’s single to left field, off third baseman George Romo’s glove, sent Ralph to third, but Joe Bernal got Tim Coles to ground out to David at short, Joe taking the throw at second for the inning-ending force.
Daniel Baladez led off the bottom of the fourth with a line single up the middle, but Tom Bellavia grounded into a 6u., 6-3 double play, nicely turned by Ralph Villela. Joe Bernal flied out to left fielder Richard Battle for the third out.
Red led 8-7 entering the buffet and looked poised to add to its lead when Johnny Lee led off with a single, completing a 3-for-3 day. Trent Peacock followed with a line single to right field, Johnny Lee’s pinch-runner, Ralph Villela, racing to third, but umpires Chunky Wright and Mike Garrison conferred and determined that the batted ball had clipped Ralph – Chunky (I think it was) said he heard the contact, and as Dave Berra pointed out, B League umpires have to be prepared to use all six senses. (In my case, seven, though I’ve never had to call on echolocation.) Ralph was called out, and instead of runners on the corners, no out, it was runner on first, one out. And then, very quickly, inning over, as David Brown converted Tommy Gillis’s ground ball into a 6-4-3 double play, the game’s fifth twin killing.
Blue came up needing one to tie, two to win. Lawrence Page flied out to Richard Battle in left to start the inning. George Romo singled to left, completing a 3-for-3 outing. David Brown tried to poke a two-strike pitch to right field, but was a little late, and the ball landed foul, for out number two. It’s clear to me now that David was just setting up his teammates to be the heroes, and so they were. Larry Young lined a single to right field, George taking third. Jack McDermott singled to center, George scoring the tying run and Tom Bellavia, running for Larry, advancing to third. Rex Horvath hit a pop fly to short left field, too deep for Ralph Villela to reach, but well in front of outfielders playing understandably deep – the ball fell in, and Tom scored the winning run.
Final score: Blue 9, Red 8
Trent Peacock went 3 for 3 at the plate and nearly pitched Red to victory, but had to settle for a No-Tahni Award.
Noon: Maroon (10-3) at Orange (6-7):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Maroon 5 3 0 0 1 9 Orange 3 5 3 0 X 11 Pitchers: Maroon – Jeff Stone; Orange – Tommy Deleon. Mercenaries: Maroon – Tommy Gillis and George Romo; Orange – Anthony Galindo, Ray Pilgrim, and Ralph Villela. Umpires: home – David Brown; bases – Lawrence Page. Perfect at the plate: Maroon – Alan Phillips and George Romo (both 2 for 2) and Scott Wright (3 for 3); Orange – Anthony Galindo and Ray Pilgrim (both 2 for 2), Mark Hernandez (3 for 3), and Ralph Villela (2 for 2 with a double).
Weather update: more of the same.
Another close game. Tommy Deleon found his groove after a couple of difficult innings and held Maroon to just one run over the final three innings. Maroon had jumped off to early leads, scoring five times in the top of the first on game-opening doubles by Steve Browne (who is ridiculously fast) and George Brindley, followed by five singles. Orange matched the inning-opening with doubles by its first two batters, Matt Levitt and Jack Spellman, and wound up with three runs, as Mark Hernandez and Don Solberg followed with singles. Tommy Deleon came up after Jack Crosley grounded into a 4-6 force and knocked a ball into left-center, but a quick throw in by George Brindley forced Jack out at second, robbing Tommy of a hit (and an Ohtani Award). A single by Hal Darman loaded the bases, but Jeff Stone got Tom Langa to ground into a 6-4 force, George Romo to David Pittard.
Opposite/converse/inverse in the second inning, when Maroon scored three times in the top half and Orange tied with five in the bottom half. Steve Browne’s speed was key for Maroon. After Tommy Gillis walked and George Romo singled to start the frame, Steve legged out another double, Tommy scoring. Tommy Deleon got George Brindley to hit a two-strike foul for the first out. Ken Brown lofted a fly to right field, caught by Anthony Galindo moving to his right. George tagged up and scored from third; Steve tagged up and scored from second, never hesitating, easily beating the relay home, making for a rare two-RBI sacrifice fly for Ken. Orange tied the game with five runs on seven hits in the home half – a lead-off double by Ralph Villela and six singles.
Tommy Deleon held Maroon scoreless in the top of the third. He retired Fritz Hensel on a pop behind shortstop to start the inning. Dale Fugate followed with a single. David Pittard lined a ball toward right-center, but was robbed of a hit by second baseman Tom Langa, who made an outstanding leaping grab for the second out. Alan Phillips singled, but Tommy Deleon got Tommy Gillis to foul off a two-strike pitch to strand the runners.
Orange then took the lead with three runs in the home half. Tommy Deleon led off with a single, and his pinch-runner, Matt Levitt, scored from first on a double by Hal Darman, who dropped a ball into short right field and wound up on second when it spun away from Tommy Gillis and into foul territory. (I can tell you, the Orange dugout went berserk.) Three singles and Matt Levitt’s sacrifice fly brought in two more runs, Orange going up 11-8.
Tommy Deleon threw a second consecutive scoreless inning in the top of the fourth. George Romo singled leading off, but Tommy retired Maroon’s 1-3 hitters, getting Steve Browne to pop out to second baseman Tom Langa, snagging George Brindley’s liner back to the box (great play), and then getting a piece of Ken Brown’s hard grounder back through the middle, deflecting it to Tom, who flipped to shortstop Jack Spellman for the inning-ending force at second.
Orange wasn’t able to extend its lead in the bottom of the fourth. Mark Hernandez led off with a single, his third hit in as many trips to the plate, but Jeff Stone retired both Don Solberg and Jack Crosley on fly balls, to Tommy Gillis in right field and Ken Brown in right-center. Tommy Deleon drew a walk, but Jeff got Hal Darman to ground back to the box for the third out.
Orange led 11-8 entering the buffet. Scott Wright, completing a 3-for-3 game, and Jeff Stone singled to open the inning, Scott taking third on Jeff’s hit. Fritz Hensel flied out to Matt Levitt in left-center, Scott tagging and scoring. Tommy Deleon got Dale Fugate to hit a two-strike foul for the second out. David Pittard hit a sharp grounder to the right side; Tommy Langa fielded it cleanly and snapped a throw to first baseman Mark Hernandez, before Mark was fully set – Mark caught the throw while swiping one foot across the bag, then stepped on it with the other to be sure he’d recorded the final out, which he had.
Final score: Orange 11, Maroon 9 – Tom Langa’s perfect defense at second base – two putouts and five assists – was a key component of Orange’s victory.
2026 standings:
| Session 3 standings: | ||||||||
| Games | Runs | Runs | Runs dif- | W/L | ||||
| Wins | Losses | Win %: | behind: | for: | allowed: | ferential: | streak: | |
| Green | 10 | 4 | .714 | 0 | 210 | 192 | 18 | L1 |
| Maroon | 10 | 4 | .714 | 0 | 180 | 154 | 26 | L1 |
| Orange | 7 | 7 | .500 | 3 | 179 | 180 | -1 | W1 |
| Blue | 6 | 7 | .462 | 3.5 | 133 | 124 | 9 | W1 |
| Red | 6 | 8 | .429 | 4 | 171 | 178 | -7 | L1 |
| Gray | 5 | 8 | .385 | 4.5 | 140 | 149 | -9 | L2 |
| Purple | 4 | 10 | .286 | 6 | 155 | 191 | -36 | W2 |
| 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 | 4-4 | 6-0 | 1 | 1-0 | 4-1 | 3-1 | WWWWL | |
| Maroon | 5-2 | 5-2 | 3 | 0-0 | 3-1 | 5-1 | WLWWL | |
| Orange | 5-2 | 2-5 | 3 | 0-2 | 1-1 | 3-3 | WLWLW | |
| Blue | 3-3 | 3-4 | 2 | 1-1 | 4-2 | 2-2 | WLLLW | |
| Red | 4-3 | 2-5 | 0 | 1-0 | 2-4 | 2-2 | WWLWL | |
| Gray | 3-2 | 2-6 | 0 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 1-5 | LLWLL | |
| Purple | 1-7 | 3-3 | 1 | 0-0 | 1-5 | 1-3 | LLLWW | |
2026 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
| Blue | Gray | Green | Maroon | Orange | Purple | Red | TOTAL | |
| Blue | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 23 | |
| Gray | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 13 | |
| Green | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 19 | |
| Maroon | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 22 | |
| Orange | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 17 | |
| Purple | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 11 | |
| Red | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 15 | |
| TOTAL: | 11 | 20 | 16 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 19 | 120 |
2026 season home run leaders:
Terry O’Brien – 10
Ralph Villela – 8
Steve Browne – 4
Tony Garcia – 4
Trent Peacock – 4
David Brown – 3
Tim Coles – 3
Mike Garrison – 3
Jack Spellman – 3
Richard Battle – 2
Larry Fiorentino – 2
Rick Kahn – 2
Allen Phillips – 2
Scott Rokita – 2
Paul Rubin – 2
Pat Scott – 2
Jimmy Sneed – 2
Scott Wright – 2
Peter Atkins – 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
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 17:
10:00 a.m.: Red (6-8) at Maroon (10-4), Blue umpiring
11:00 a.m.: Blue (6-7) at Green (10-4), Maroon umpiring
Noon: Gray (5-8) at Purple (4-10), Green umpiring
Orange has the bye, with priority for its players out of the bucket.
Preview: With the two first-place teams both defeated today, the Session 3 standings have tightened up with just four dates left, though only Blue has a chance of overtaking Maroon and Green for first place. If Blue runs the table while both Maroon (three games left) and Green (four remaining) lose all their games, Blue would tie Maroon at 10-7 for the session. (By a scheduling quirk, Orange has the bye in two of the next four dates, so at best can finish 9-7 for the session and is already mathematically eliminated.) Green can eliminate Blue from contention with a win at 11:00 on Monday. Red can play spoiler at 10:00 versus Maroon; if Maroon prevails, they’ll maintain at least a tie for first, and will eliminate Blue. At noon, Gray returns from its off day today to face a suddenly hot Purple team. Monday is National I Love My Feet Day – will B League’s plantar fasciitis miraculously disappear? One thing is certain: Only time will tell.
Keggy’s Korner:
Today was Goku’s first day of Pre-K – we miss him, but I’m betting he had a blast with a somewhat younger crowd.
Podcast review: Slow Burn
Each season, one per calendar year going back to 2017, of Slate’s narrative-history podcast revisits a major political or cultural story with the benefit of hindsight, emphasizing details and people who were unrecognized or overshadowed in the original coverage. Basically, they take a story, the ending of which everybody knows, and do an eight-episode deep dive to reconstruct what it felt like when nobody knew what was going to happen. I’ve enjoyed their looks at stories I know – Watergate, the Rodney King riots, the rise of Fox News – but I’ve gotten more out of the retelling of stories I didn’t have much of a fix on – the Tupac–Biggie feud, the rise of David Duke, the AIDS crisis. New England content: Incidental, if that. Canadian content: None yet. Listening speed: 1X. Rating: 🎧 🎧 🎧 🎧