B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 5, Issue 17 – May 8, 2023
Corrections:
- I misreported Anthony Galindo’s homerun in the 11:30 game on Thursday May 4, calling it an inside-the-parker; in fact, Anthony hit a rocket that easily cleared the fence in left-center. The Picayune genuinely regrets the error.
- I also managed to misspell Morgan Witthoft’s surname again. I’m sorry, Morgan.
League president Jack McDermott checks in/trolls us:
The pitching screen/net trial period was originally scheduled to last for two weeks, but because of the outpouring of comments and opinions from league members, the board feels that no further evaluation is needed and has ended the trial period effective immediately.
We will continue to enforce the pitching screen requirements per the 2023 ASSL-B-Division Policies Supplement.
Weather: Wicked humid today, well above 90% throughout the day’s action. When I checked during the 11:30 game, it was 75 degrees with the humidity at 94%. It was warmer than that by the end of the 12:30 game. Mostly sunny throughout.
Games of Monday May 8:
10:30 a.m., Gold (5-2) at Red (3-4):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Gold 4 5 1 0 5 0 15 Red 2 0 2 5 0 7 16 Pitchers: Gold – Jeff Stone; Red – Jack Kelly. Umpires: home plate – Rick Jensen; bases – Trey Wall. Perfect at the plate: Gold – Denny Malloy (4 for 4) and Jeff Stone (3 for 3 with a walk); Red – Gregory Bied (4 for 4).
Gold jumped to an early lead, scoring four times on seven hits (Tim Bruton’s lead-off double and six singles) in the first inning, and five times on seven more hits (six singles and Jack Spellman’s pop-fly triple down the right-field line) in the second, but it was a marker of trouble to come that Gold had the bases loaded, no out, and four runs in in the first inning and was unable to get the fifth, as Jack Kelly got Rip Wright on an infield fly and Larry Young on a 6-4-3 double play started by George Brindley. Red got two runs on four singles in the bottom of the first, then was blanked in the second by Jeff Stone, who worked around Scott Sovereen’s one-out single.
Rip Wright led off the third with a base on balls and came around to score on singles by Larry Young and Tim Bruton, but that was the only run Gold managed in the inning. Red scored two runs with two out in the bottom half, as Ken Mockler hammered an RBI double, then scored on George Brindley’s base hit. Jack Kelly threw a scoreless top of the fourth, working around a one-out walk to Jeff Stone and a two-out single by Denny Malloy, getting outs in the air off the bats of Joe Roche (pop to short left field that George Brindley ranged back to grab), Mike Garrison (fly to left), and Rip Wright (pop to shortstop). Red scored five times in the bottom of the inning to cut Gold’s lead to 10-9, amassing a walk and six singles.
Gold seemed to have matters well in hand when they scored five runs on seven hits, the last six hits and all five runs coming after two were out – Jack McDermott’s double was the key blow in the rally – and then held Red scoreless in the bottom half, the last two outs recorded by third baseman Joe Roche, who caught Hal Darman’s liner and, following a single by Jack Kelly that put runners on the corners, fielded Scott Sovereen’s grounder and threw to second for the inning-ending force.
Entering the buffet, Gold led 15-9, but was unable to add to the lead, Larry Young the only batter to reach base in the frame, on a single. Red then put together a rally for the ages in the bottom half. Donald Drummer singled and Sam Baker walked to start it, putting two runners on base for the top of the order. Gregory Bied, Terry Thompson, David Ferley, and Ken Mockler each singled, three runners scoring (I think). Gold seemingly caught a break when George Brindley’s swing resulted in a short foul pop just in back and to the right of catcher Joe Dayoc, who was able to grab it for the out. Daniel Baladez came up and singled to left field, David Ferley scoring.
With the tying run on second (Ken Mockler) and the winning run on first (Daniel’s pinch-runner, I think George Brindley), Hal Darman worked a base on balls. Hal actually initially refused the walk, and while I salute the self-confidence, this was a crazy inclination – for certain it was a smarter move to take the walk and move the runners up. Jeff Stone was absolutely trying to throw strikes, and we in the Gold infield were looking to turn a game-ending double play. Hal’s teammates convinced him to take the walk, however, loading the bases for Jack Kelly. Jack sliced a grounder toward the 5-6 hole – I was playing shortstop and thought I had it lined up on my backhand and was preparing to throw home for the force, but the ball had all sorts of spin on it, and hopped away from me, glancing off my mitt, and everyone was safe on the infield single, Ken scoring the tying run. Scott Sovereen then stepped up and lined a clean single to left field to drive in the winning run. Final score: Red 16, Gold 15
11:30 a.m., Gray (4-4) at Maroon (5-3):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Gray 1 3 0 0 2 0 6 Maroon 0 2 0 2 0 3 7 Pitchers: Gray – Jerry Mylius (first two innings) and Greg Lloyd (third inning on); Maroon – Chunky Wright. Floater: Carl Gallagher played for Maroon. Mercenary: Maroon – Chunky Wright. Umpires: home plate – Jack Kelly; bases – David Ferley. Perfect at the plate: Maroon – Carl Gallagher (3 for 3 with a double and a homerun). Homerun: Carl Gallagher (inside the park).
Another hard-fought contest. Jerry Mylius pitched the first two innings for Gray, blanking Maroon on one hit in the first inning and allowing two runs on four singles in the second. He handed off a 4-2 lead to Greg Lloyd, Gray having scored one run in the first (David Kruse led off the game with a single, took third on Rick Kahn’s single to right field, and scored on Tom Brownfield’s sacrifice fly to Larry Shupe in right; Daniel Carvajal followed with a single, but Paul Atkins started an around-the-horn double play, Mike Velaney pivoting, on Jim Maloy’s hard grounder to third) and three in the second, on five singles.
Neither team scored in the third. In the top half, Chunky Wright allowed singles to Tom Brownfield and Daniel Carvajal to open the inning, then got an infield pop and two grounders to shortstop Scott Wright to escape the jam – the first of those grounders, off the bat of Rick Jensen, was to the 5-6 hole, and Scott made an excellent play to his backhand and tossed to Peter Atkins at third for the force. Greg Lloyd took over on the mound for Gray in the bottom half and worked around Scott Wright’s two-out single.
Gray didn’t score in the fourth, either, the only runner coming on Jim McAnelly’s walk. Maroon tied the game with two runs in the home half. Tom Kelm led off with a single, advanced on a ground out, stayed put when Marvin Krabbenhoft lined out to left field, and scored on Carl Gallagher’s double. Chunky Wright walked, and Dave Jaffe knocked a single over third base to drive in Carl.
Gray tied the game with two runs in the top of the fifth. With one out, Rick Kahn doubled to right field, then scored on Tom Brownfield’s single to left. Daniel Carvajal flied out to Dave Jaffe in left for the second out, but singles by Jim Maloy and Rick Jensen brought Tom around to score the tying run. Jim tried for third on Rick’s single to right, but was out on a perfect 9-6-5 relay, Larry Shupe to Scott Wright to Peter Atkins. Peter then walked to start the bottom of the inning, but was erased on a nicely turned 1-4-3 double play, Greg Lloyd to Tom Brownfield to Daniel Carvajal. Peter Sundquist also grounded back to the pitcher, and the game moved on to the buffet with Gray leading 6-4.
They were unable to add to their lead. Frank Delmonte led off with a single, but Scott Wright started a 6-4-3 double play on Trey Wall’s grounder to shortstop, Mike Velaney on the pivot. Jerry Mylius followed with a single, but was forced at second on Jim McAnelly’s grounder to Scott.
That left Maroon needing two to tie, three to win in the bottom half. Tom Kelm grounded out to second baseman Tom Brownfield to start the inning. Larry Shupe hit a Texas League fly to short left-center – Rick Kahn charged and made a valiant, diving effort, but was unable to hold on to the ball, Larry safe with a single. Marvin Krabbenhoft lined a single to left field, putting the tying run aboard in Peter Sundquist, running for Marvin. That brought up Carl Gallagher. Run the tape! (Dave Berra and Jack Spellman provide the commentary.)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/HwiHqn5uWaLEDhtR8
Three-run walk-off inside-the-park homerun for a 7-6 Maroon victory. Final score: Maroon 7, Gray 6, Maroon with the victory moving into first place for the session, half a game ahead of Gold.
Carl Gallagher receives a Pluckers coupon from Maroon manager Tom Kelm.
12:30 p.m., Blue (3-5) at Green (4-4):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Blue 0 1 5 5 0 11 Green 4 1 2 1 0 8 Pitchers: Blue – Spike Davidson; Green – Chunky Wright. Mercenaries: Blue – George Brindley (entered in the fourth inning), Carl Gallagher, Don Solberg, and Jeff Stone; Green – Hal Darman, Jack Spellman, Peter Sundquist, and Scott Wright. Umpires: home plate – Tom Kelm; bases – Larry Shupe. Perfect at the plate: Blue – Carl Gallagher and Jeff Stone (each 3 for 3), and George Brindley (1 for 1); Green – Jeff Fisher (4 for 4 with a triple) and Donnie Janac (4 for 4).
Green led in the early going, after shutting out Blue in the top of the first. Bobby Miller led off the game with a double, but on Richard Battle’s grounder to shortstop Mike Hill took off for third when Mike threw to first; that throw beat Richard, for the first out, and then Reed Durant made a perfect peg to third baseman Clint Fletcher to beat Bobby to the bag for the 6-3-5 double play. Green then scored four runs on six singles in the bottom half. Blue got on the board with a run in the second owing to second baseman Jack Spellman’s mental error. Spike Davidson (Larry Fiorentino running from home) singled with one out. Fritz Hensel flied out to Donnie Janac in left. Carl Gallagher then grounded to shortstop Mike Hill, but I totally failed to cover second; Mike had to throw to first, Reed Durant scrambling to get to the bag, and Carl beat it out. Totally on me. Don Solberg and Jeff Stone followed with singles, and Larry scored. A pop to second ended the inning, the bases left loaded.
Green got that run back with one in the bottom of the inning on three two-out singles, by Donnie Janac, Clint Fletcher, and Jeff Fisher. But Blue took control of the game with five-run innings in the third and fourth, in each instance completing the rally with a bunch of two-out hits. In the third, after Spike Davidson’s sacrifice fly (second out of the inning) to Jeff Fisher in left-center brought in the second run, Fritz Hensel and Carl Gallagher singled, Eddie Murillo’s pinch-runner scoring from second, and Don Solberg hammered a two-run triple to deep right field. In the fourth, with one run in, two on, and two out, Eddie Murillo walked, and Spike Davidson, Fritz Hensel, and Carl Gallagher all singled.
Quote of the Day: Chunky Wright, after taking a ball off his hand and walking around the mound for a bit, shaking it off, when asked if he was all right: “I’m milking it.”
Green managed just two runs in the third, on five singles, and one in the fourth, when Jeff Fisher led off with a triple and scored on Chunky Wright’s base hit. Singles by Peter Sundquist and Jack Spellman loaded the bases, but Spike Davidson got Hal Darman on a fly to left.
Blue led 11-8 entering the buffet, and got blanked in the top half, Chunky Wright escaping a two-on, one-out jam, possibly aided by an umpire’s call – Richard Battle grounded to third baseman Clint Fletcher, who threw to second baseman Jack Spellman for the force there. I didn’t catch the ball cleanly, but umpires Larry Shupe and Tom Kelm ruled that I had possession before George Brindley reached the base. I’m not sure that was the case, but I accepted the call. (Spoiler alert: It didn’t matter.) Chunky then got Larry Fiorentino to hit a two-strike foul down the first-base side, and Green, with the top of its order coming up, had a chance to pull off the day’s third walk-off victory.
It was not to be. Mike Hill popped a ball behind second base that was tracked down and caught by George Brindley, who’d entered in place of Bobby Miller in the fourth inning when Bobby had to leave for an appointment. Not sure Bobby makes that play. Donnie Janac singled, but was forced out at second 5-4 on Clint Fletcher’s grounder to Eddie Murillo. Jeff Fisher completed his perfect day at the plate with a single, bringing up Reed Durant representing the tying run, but George Brindley gobbled up Reed’s grounder to George’s right and stepped on second for the game-ending force. (Green left two runners on base in every inning of this game except the fourth, when they stranded three.) Final score: Blue 11, Green 8
“The Beebe Turf Shoe is what I’m wearing, and I love ’em.” – Jack Spellman
Standings – Session Two:
Games Runs Runs Run W/L
W L Win %: behind: for: allowed: differential: streak:
Maroon 6 3 .667 — 108 90 +18 W2
Gold 5 3 .625 .5 99 91 + 8 L3
Red 4 4 .500 1.5 96 100 – 4 W2
Gray 4 5 .444 2 115 104 +11 L2
Blue 4 5 .444 2 117 124 – 7 W2
Green 4 5 .444 2 102 113 -11 L3
Purple 3 5 .375 2.5 84 99 -15 W2
Home Visitor Walk-off Extra-inning Flip-flop 1-run games
W-L: W-L: Wins: W-L: W-L: W-L:
Maroon 3-1 3-2 1 0-0 2-1 1-1
Gold 2-1 3-2 2 2-0 1-0 3-1
Red 3-2 1-2 1 0-0 1-1 1-1
Gray 1-2 3-3 1 0-2 2-1 1-2
Blue 0-4 4-1 0 1-0 1-2 0-1
Green 2-4 2-1 1 0-1 1-2 1-0
Purple 2-3 1-2 0 0-0 0-1 0-1
2023 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
Blue Gold Gray Green Maroon Purple Red TOTAL
Blue X 2 2 1 0 2 0 7
Gold 1 X 1 2 1 0 1 6
Gray 1 1 X 1 1 0 2 6
Green 1 0 1 X 0 2 3 7
Maroon 1 1 1 3 X 2 0 8
Purple 0 1 2 0 1 X 1 5
Red 2 1 0 0 2 1 X 6
____________________________________________________________
TOTAL: 6 6 7 7 5 7 7 45
Schedule for Thursday May 11:
10:30 a.m.: Green (4-5) at Gold (5-2), Purple umpiring
11:30 a.m.: Purple (3-5) at Blue (4-5), Gold umpiring
12:30 p.m.: Red (4-4) at Gray (4-5), Blue umpiring
Maroon has the bye – players from that team will have priority out of the bucket.
Preview: Either Gold or Green will end their three-game losing streak at 10:30, with Gold looking for a win in order to tie idle Maroon for first place for the session. Purple and Blue, both with an active two-game winning streak but under .500 for the session, play at 11:30. Red is half a game ahead of Gray, whom they’l face at 12:30, but Gray has the better run differential (+11 to -4).
Keggy’s Korner:
Here’s Jack McDermott after Gold’s game, with his grandson. Fortunately for Gold, Jack is more sure-handed in the outfield.