B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 7, Issue 34 – July 14, 2025
Games of Thursday July 10:
10:30 a.m., Red (2-4) at Orange (3-2):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Red 1 4 0 4 3 12 Orange 2 4 5 5 X 16 Pitchers: Red – Gil Delossantos; Orange – Ray Pilgrim. Mercenaries: Red – Tim Coles, Chris Waddell, and Scott Wrioght; Orange – George Brindley and Raul Deleon. Umpires: home – Jack Crosley; bases – Anthony Galindo. Perfect at the plate: Red – Tim Coles (3 for 3 with a double and a triple); Orange – Peter Atkins (4 for 4 with two doubles and a triple), George Brindley (2 for 2 with a walk), Daniel Carvajal (3 for 3), and Raul Deleon (1 for 1 with two walks).
Dave Berra’s weather report: 84 degrees, feels like 92. 77% humidity. Partly cloudy. Wind SSW 7 miles per hour. Houston weather!
Orange manager David Brown provides a terrific recap of this one:
The July 14 opener featured two near cycles (Tim Coles went single-double-triple as a mercenary for Red and Peter Atkins went single-double-double-triple for Orange) and the triumphant return of Gil De Los Santos who pitched and went 3-4 at the plate. Lots of scoring in this one as well as a surprising ending.
Jack McDermott opened the game with a screamer to left center field that Peter Atkins tracked down. Gary Coyle walked but was erased on a 6-4 fielder’s choice by Anthony Galindo. Gil De Los Santos followed with a single and Dale Fugate hit a liner to center field to plate Anthony. Jim McAnelly popped out to shortstop Terry O’Brien to end the inning. Orange scored two in the bottom of the first with a line drive triple to the fence by Peter Atkins, a line drive single to right field by Terry O’Brien, a Texas Leaguer by Daniel Carvajal, and a line drive to left center field by Ray Pilgrim. The inning ended with a pop up to SS Tim Coles.
In the second, Red scored four runs on three walks and three singles. Red probably would have scored five in the inning if not for an 8-6-2-5 put out at third on an Anthony Galindo line drive to center field. Terry O’Brien took the relay from Peter Atkins and threw home to Marvin Krabbenhoft. The throw was too late to get Jack McDermott, but Marvin threw to Clint Fletcher at 3B in time to get Gary Coyle who was attempting to take an extra base on the throw home. I think I saw Marvin give Gary the Dikembe Mutombo finger wag as Gary headed to the bench. Orange matched Red’s four runs in the inning with walks to mercenaries George Brindley and Raul DeLeon; singles by Clint Fowler, Peter Atkins, and Ray Pilgrim; and walks by Terry Thompson and Marvin Krabbenhoft. Orange would have likely scored five if the scorched line drive by Terry O’Brien had not been snagged by 1B Dale Fugate.
The game turned in the third inning as Ray Pilgrim induced a third-strike foul out, a fly out to left center, and a line-out to right center. For the third out, George Brindley made a running knee-high grab of a well-struck ball from Donald Drummer. Orange then scored five runs on a walk, four singles, and two doubles. Red was down 11-5 at the start of the fourth inning and closed the gap to two with four runs on five singles and a double. Orange extended the lead to seven with five runs in the bottom of the fourth with a walk, four singles, and a double.
The teams entered the buffet with Orange up 16-9, but Red refused to go quietly. Tim Coles opened the inning with a looong fly ball to the fence in left field. Mercenaries Scott Wright and Chris Waddell followed with a line drive single and double, respectively. Jack McDermott had another well-struck ball that was caught by Peter Atkins in left center for the first out of the inning. Gary Coyle followed with a ground ball to Clint Fletcher at 3B who made a nice throw to 1B just in time to record the second out. Anthony Galindo cut the lead to 16-12 with a line drive single up the middle. Gil De Los Santos was next up with a chance to extend the inning. Jack McDermott pinch ran from home on a ground ball that made it to the outfield. Anthony chose to run first-to-third on the hit and he was safe when the relay to 3B got past Clint Fowler. With the overthrow, Jack McDermott hustled to 2B to put himself in scoring position. But in the B-league, pinch runners from home are not allowed to advance past 1B no matter what. Home plate umpire/distinguished former league president Jack Crosley called distinguished former league president Jack McDermott out to end the game.
Final score: Orange 16, Red 12
11:30 a.m., Gray (3-2) at Blue (0-5):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Gray 1 0 2 0 0 7 10 Blue 2 0 3 4 2 X 11 Pitchers: Gray – Terry Thompson; Blue – Tommy Deleon. Mercenaries: Gray – Rick Jensen, Jack McDermott, and Terry Thompson. Umpires: home – David Brown; bases – Clint Fletcher. Perfect at the plate: Gray – Terry Thompson (2 for 2 with a walk); Blue – George Brindley (3 for 3 with a double) and Rip Wright (2 for 2 with a walk). Home run: Jimmy Sneed (inside the park) (2).
Dave Berra’s weather report: A couple degrees warmer – nice!
Blue won or tied each of the first five innings, turning inning-ending double plays in the top of the first (5-4-3, David Pittard to George Brindley to Tom Brownfield) and third (6u., 6-3, Jimmy Sneed to Tom Brownfield) that limited the damage Gray was able to do. Tommy Deleon retired the side in order in both the second and fourth, and faced just four batters in the fifth, working around Terry Thompson’s one-out single. The fifth inning ended with catcher Joe Dayoc making a terrific catch of Jack McDermott’s foul pop, Joe twisting back and his right to make a backhanded grab*.
* Asterisk indicates that I’m reporting what I see in my mind’s eye, which may or may not have any relationship to reality. I was fully prepared to fictionalize the catch George Brindley made of Donald Drummer’s drive to right-center in the 10:30 game, but David Brown’s eyewitness account made my storytelling moot.
Meanwhile Blue scored twice in the first, Tom Bellavia’s one-out double setting up a sacrifice fly by Tom Brownfield and an RBI single by George Brindley, then three times in the third, on three singles and George Brindley’s two-run double. In the fourth Blue increased its lead to 9-3 with four runs, all scored with two out, the first two on an inside-the-park home run by Jimmy Sneed, then two more on four consecutive singles, the inning ending with Jim Foelker thrown out trying for second 8-6-4 (Tommy Gillis to George Romo to Mike Malay) on his RBI single.
In the bottom of the fifth the bottom four batters in Blue’s lineup pushed across two more runs. David Pittard and Tommy Deleon drew walks to start the inning. Rip Wright followed with a batted ball that was marked differently by Dave Berra and Terry Watts in their respective accounts – Dave indicates (E-1), Terry calls it a single. I’m guessing it was a ball hit back to the box that Terry Thompson was unable to make a play on, David scoring and Tommy’s pinch-runner winding up at third base. (That’s an RBI single in my book.) Joe Dayoc’s grounder to third base resulted in an around-the-horn double play, Rick Jensen to Mike Malay to Adam Reddell, Tommy’s runner scoring.
Blue led 11-3 entering the buffet, and Tommy Deleon got Jack Crosley to ground out 6-3 to Jimmy Sneed to open the inning. Adam Reddell followed with a double, and five of the six batters after Adam singled, resulting in three runs, a fourth scoring on Rick Jensen’s force-out grounder (6u.) to Jimmy. Down to its last out, Gray kept hitting: Terry Thompson singled in Morgan Witthoft. Jack McDermott ripped a double, two runs scoring and giving the top of the order a chance. Tommy Gillis walked. Jack Crosley, batting for the second time in the inning, lined a single to right field, Jack scoring to cut Blue’s lead to just one run. The inning and game ended with Adam Reddell getting under a pitch and lofting a fly to Tom Bellavia in left-center.
This isn’t quite the final play, but it’s a moment of Zen as the ball arcs toward Tom: July 15, 2025
Final score: Blue 11, Gray 10, Blue snapping its six-game losing streak and posting its first victory of Session 3.
12:30 p.m., Maroon (3-2) at Green (3-2):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Maroon 0 5 3 5 X 13 Green 3 1 0 0 3 7 Pitchers: Maroon – Tom Kelm; Green – Greg Lloyd (innings 1 and 2) and Chunky Wright (innings 3 and 4). Mercenaries: Green – Anthony Galindo, Tommy Gillis, Adam Reddell, and Terry Thompson. Umpires: home – Tommy Deleon and Marvin Krabbenhoft; bases – Steve Sandall. Perfect at the plate: Maroon – Ken Brown and Adam Reddell (both 3 for 3), Ivan Budiselic (2 for 2 with a walk), and Tommy Gillis (2 for 2 with a double); Green – Alvin Gauana (2 for 2) and Ralph Villela (3 for 3 with a double).
Dave Berra’s weather report: A couple more degrees – wonderful for July.
Six of Green’s first seven batters reached base in the bottom of the first, on four singles, Mike Garrison’s double, and Greg Lloyd’s walk, three runs scoring as Green established its only lead of the game, Greg Lloyd having thrown a scoreless top half of the inning, working around singles by Ken Brown and Don Solberg.
After that, though, Maroon’s batters went to town, scoring 13 of a possible 15 runs over the second, third, and fourth while Tom Kelm held Green to just a single run, on Ralph Villela’s RBI double in the bottom of the second. (Chunky Wright was thrown out 7-6-2, Don Solberg to Tony Garcia to Terry Thompson, trying to score from first, and from 2,057 miles away (says Google Maps), I can tell you it’s generally not a good idea to run on Don and Tony.) Maroon scored five runs on seven hits without making an out in the top of the third, Anthony Galindo and Tommy Gillis smacking doubles; three runs on Ivan Budiselic’s walk and four singles in the third; and five runs while making just one out in the fourth, on five singles and doubles by Tony Garcia and Don Solberg.
Tom Kelm kept Green from scoring in both the bottom of the third and fourth. In the third, Mike Garrison walked and Chris Waddell singled to start the inning, but Greg Lloyd flied out to Ken Brown in right-center and Mike was doubled up off second when shortstop Tony Garcia ranged back and to his right into short left field to run down Phil Stanch’s pop fly*.
Tom retired the side in order in the fourth, and the teams flip-flopped for the buffet, Green chasing eight to tie. Its first four batters reached base, on three singles and Chunky Wright’s walk, Alvin Gauna coming around to score. Bases loaded, none out, and the heart of the order coming up was a promising scenario for Green, but Tom Kelm was unfazed. He got Mike Garrison to ground into a 6-4 force, Tony Garcia to Scott Wright, for the first out, Chunky Wright scoring, then got Chris Waddell to hit a two-strike foul for out number two. Greg Lloyd extended the inning with a base hit that drove in Ralph Villela, but the game ended on Phil Stanch’s 6-4 force-out grounder, Tony to Scott again.
Moments later, I was enjoying this sunset.
Final score: Maroon 13, Green 6
Session 3 standings:
| Session 3 | Games | Runs | Runs | Runs dif- | W/L | |||
| Wins | Losses | Win %: | behind: | for: | allowed: | ferential: | streak: | |
| Purple | 4 | 1 | .800 | 0 | 55 | 42 | 13 | W2 |
| Orange | 4 | 2 | .667 | 0.5 | 69 | 50 | 19 | W3 |
| Maroon | 4 | 2 | .667 | 0.5 | 67 | 64 | 3 | W2 |
| Gray | 3 | 3 | .500 | 1.5 | 73 | 62 | 11 | L3 |
| Green | 3 | 3 | .500 | 1.5 | 59 | 63 | -4 | L1 |
| Red | 2 | 5 | .286 | 3 | 70 | 96 | -26 | L3 |
| Blue | 1 | 5 | .167 | 3.5 | 53 | 69 | -16 | W1 |
| Home | Visitor | Walk-off | Extra-inning | Flip-flop | 1-run games | |||
| W-L: | W-L: | wins | W-L: | W-L: | W-L: | |||
| Purple | 3-0 | 1-1 | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | ||
| Orange | 2-1 | 2-1 | 0 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 0-2 | ||
| Maroon | 3-0 | 1-2 | 1 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 2-0 | ||
| Gray | 1-1 | 2-2 | 0 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 1-1 | ||
| Green | 2-2 | 1-1 | 1 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1-1 | ||
| Red | 0-3 | 2-2 | 0 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0-0 | ||
| Blue | 1-2 | 0-3 | 0 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 1-2 |
2025 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
| Blue | Gray | Green | Maroon | Orange | Purple | Red | TOTAL | |
| Blue | X | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 16 |
| Gray | 3 | X | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 12 |
| Green | 2 | 3 | X | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 15 |
| Maroon | 2 | 4 | 4 | X | 2 | 2 | 2 | 16 |
| Orange | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | X | 2 | 3 | 13 |
| Purple | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | X | 3 | 15 |
| Red | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | X | 12 |
| TOTAL: | 13 | 16 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 17 | 99 |
2025 season home run leaders:
Tim Coles – 4
Tommy Gillis – 4
Bobby Miller – 4
George Brindley – 3
Anthony Galindo – 3
Jack Spellman – 3
David Brown – 2
Tim Bruton – 2
Larry Fiorentino – 2
Mike Garrison – 2
Doc Hobar – 2
Rex Horvath – 2
Matt Levitt – 2
Terry O’Brien – 2
George Romo – 2
Pat Scott – 2
Jimmy Sneed – 2
Jim Aaron – 1
Peter Atkins – 1
Tom Bellavia – 1
Gary Coyle – 1
Donald Drummer – 1
Tony Garcia – 1
Buddy Gaswint – 1
Mike Malay – 1
Ken Mockler – 1
Ray Pilgrim – 1
Jeff Stone – 1
Mike Velaney – 1
Ralph Villela – 1
Chris Waddell – 1
Chunky Wright – 1
Scott Wright – 1
Hit for the cycle:
Scott Wright – June 5
Schedule for Thursday July 17:
10:30 a.m.: Green (3-3) at Red (2-5), Purple umpiring
11:30 a.m.: Purple (4-1) at Maroon (4-2), Red umpiring
12:30 p.m.: Orange (4-2) at Gray (3-3), Maroon umpiring
Blue has the bye, with priority for its players out of the bucket.
Preview: Battles for first place are in store for Thursday, with Purple, coming off the bye, challenged by Maroon at 11:30 and surging Orange (three-game winning streak) looking to keep pace against Gray at 12:30. Green meets Red in the opener, with Red looking to be less reliant on mercenaries – Mark Dolan is planning to return to action, and Rolando Rodriguez and Joe Bernal might be back as well. I’ll still be in New England. Will I get one or two more chances to swim in Maine’s pristine Great East Lake before Mrs. Keggy and I head to Porstmouth, New Hampshire? One thing is certain: only time will tell.
Keggy’s Korner:
Mike Velaney and Purple team had the bye today.