B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 6, Issue 54 – October 21, 2024
Games of Monday October 21:
10:30 a.m., Gray (4-7) at Green (5-6):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Gray 4 1 0 2 2 2 11 Green 1 1 4 1 0 5 12 Pitchers: Gray – Jack Kelly; Green – Tommy Deleon (innings 1, 2, 5, buffet) and David Pittard (innings 3 and 4). Mercenary: Gray – Rolando Rodriguez. Umpires: home – George Romo; bases – Richard Battle and Scott Wright. Perfect at the plate: Gray – Gary Coyle (3 for 3 with a double and a walk) and David Kruse (4 for 4); Green – Mike Garrison (3 for 3 with a triple).
Know Your B-Leaguer:
Rolando Rodriguez made his B League debut today, as a mercenary for Gray.
Dave Berra’s weather report (as dictated): 70 degrees, Heat Index the same, 68% humidity [seems high, felt drier than that], wind SSE at 3 MPH, mostly sunny – Austin autumn/New England summer.
Excellent battle. Gray jumped to an early lead with four runs in the top of the first inning, with long hits by Gary Coyle, who doubled in the first two runs, and Don Solberg, who whacked a triple to right field to drive in Gary, then scored the fourth run on Donnie Janac’s infield single, a grounder to shortstop Ralph Villela, who initially bobbled it, then threw home too late to catch Don.
Green got one back in the home half when Paul Rubin singled with one out, took second on Mike Hill’s grounder back to the box, and scored on Jack McDermott’s line single through the 5-6 hole (which over the weekend I saw referred to as the 5.5 hole – I’ll be stealing that). The inning ended with second baseman Mark Dolan ranging into short center field to run down David Pittard’s high pop, a really good play by Mark, who then led off the second inning with a single, took third on Ken Brown’s one-out double to left-center, and scored on David Kruse’s single through the 3.5 hole. Ken took third on that hit, but advanced no further. Tommy Gillis lined a ball to left field that Mike Garrison made a good catch on, moving in and preventing Ken from tagging up. Gary Coyle drew a bases-loading walk, but Tommy Deleon got Don Solberg skied a pop down the first-base side that Daniel Baladez gathered in, in foul territory.
Quote of the Day (I): Daniel Baladez: “That ball was high.”
Green got that run back in the bottom half. Tommy Deleon, with Ralph Villela running from home, and Mike Garrison both singled, putting runners on the corners to start the inning. Jack Crosley’s fly to Ken Brown in right-center brought in Ralph. Jack Kelly got Phil Stanch to hit a two-strike foul and Daniel Baladez to hit a hard grounder to third, Gary Coyle making an excellent stop and throwing to second for the inning-ending force.
David Pittard took over on the mound for Green in the third and worked a 1-2-3 inning, retiring the side on balls in the air: a fly to right-center by Donnie Janac, a liner to first baseman Daniel Baladez by Jack Kelly, and an infield pop by Chris Waddell that David fielded himself.
Green had the top of its order up to start the bottom of the inning, and took the lead by scoring four runs. Ralph Villela led off with a pop-fly double to right field and scored on Paul Rubin’s single up the middle. Mike Hill followed with a sinking line drive to right that Rolando Rodriguez made a really good play on, catching it on the short hop and making a quick, accurate throw in, holding Paul to a one-base advance. Jack McDermott flied out to Tommy Gillis in left-center, Paul tagging and taking third. David Pittard’s single brought Paul in. David was forced out at second on Tommy Deleon’s grounder to Mark Dolan; there was no chance of doubling up Ralph Villela running from home. Mike Garrison then ripped a line drive to left-center that gapped the outfielders, Ralph scoring from first and Mike winding up at third with a triple. Mike would have been the fifth run, but Rolando Rodriguez caught Jack Crosley’s fly to right to end the inning, Green now ahead 6-5.
Rolando came up with one out in the top of the fourth and knocked his first B League hit, a single to left field. Here it is:
Rolando was forced out at second on Ken Brown’s grounder back to the box, but David Kruse, Tommy Gillis, and Gary Coyle followed with two-out singles, Ken and David scoring to put Gray back on top 7-6.
Jack Kelly got two quick outs to start the bottom of the fourth, but singles by Jim McAnelly and Ralph Vilella put runners on the corners. Paul Rubin grounded a ball to second baseman Mark Dolan, who elected to go to second for the force there, only to have Ralph beat the throw. Jim’s pinch-runner (Mike Garrison, I think) scored on the play, tying the score. Mike Hill hit a fly to right field that Rolando Rodriguez made a very good play on for the third out – the ball was sinking and tailing away from him, but Rolando stayed with it and made a nice grab.
Gray went back ahead with two runs in the top of the fifth off Tommy Deleon, back on the mound for Green. Donnie Janac, Jack Kelly, and Chris Waddell opened the frame with singles, loading the bases. Mark Dolan also knocked what would/should have been the fourth consecutive hit, a single up the midde, except Paul Rubin charged the ball, came up throwing, and beat Chris to second for the force there, Donnie scoring on the play. Tommy got the next two batters, Rolando Rodriguez and Ken Brown, to ground to third baseman David Pittard, who threw to second for force outs to end the inning. David’s play on Ken’s hard grounder was a notably fine one.
Jack Kelly got two outs to start the bottom of the fifth, allowed singles to Tommy Deleon and Mike Garrison, then retired Jack Crosley on another fly to Rolando Rodriguez, looking ever more comfortable in the field. (This probably was Jack’s last at bat of the 2024 season, as he’s off on an extended cruise – safe travels, Jack!)
Gray was leading by two runs entering the buffet, and added two more. David Kruse completed a 4-for-4 game with a single to right field, and Tommy Gillis drew a walk. Gary Coyle grounded a single through the 5.5 hole, David scoring from second and Tommy taking third. Don Solberg’s fly to right-center was deep enough to score Tommy. Donnie Janac followed with a single to center, but Tommy Deleon got Jack Kelly to hit into a 4-6 force and Chris Waddell to fly to Paul Rubin in left-center to end the inning.
Green was chasing four with the bottom third of its order due up. They came through in a big way. Phil Stanch led off with a line single through the 3.5 hole. Daniel Baladez knocked a bad-hop single that shortstop David Kruse couldn’t get a handle on, both Phil and Daniel safe. Jack McDermott ran for Daniel. Jim McAnelly, with Mike Garrison running from home, hit another grounder to shortstop; David fielded this one cleanly, about three steps from the bag, and then raced Jack for the base; it was close, but Jack won, and the bases were loaded.
Ralph Villela followed with a single to center field, Phil and Jack scoring, Gray’s lead cut in half, Mike advancing to third. Paul Rubin grounded back to the box; Jack Kelly fielded the ball and threw to Mark Dolan at second for the force, Mike scoring from third to make it a one-run game. Mike Hill singled to right field, Paul racing to third. Jack McDermott singled to center, Paul coming home with the tying run. Here’s Jack’s swing:
David Pittard followed with yet another grounder to shortstop that took yet another bad hop that prevented David Kruse from making a play. Instead, the bases were loaded with one out and Tommy Deleon up. Tommy hit a grounder to the 3.5 hole that Donnie Janac made a good play to knock down, but with Phil Stanch, pinch-running for Mike Hill, running hard from third, Donnie’s hurried throw home did not have a chance at keeping the winning run from scoring. Here’s video of the final play:
Green walks off the victory. Final score: Green 12, Gray 11
11:30 a.m., Blue (9-2) at Orange (5-6):
1 2 3 4 5 6 BUFFET FINAL Blue 1 5 3 4 0 0 X 13 Orange 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 4 Pitchers: Blue – Joe Bernal; Orange – Spike Davidson. No mercenaries. Umpires: home – Jack Crosley; bases – Mike Garrison. Perfect at the plate: Blue – Joe Bernal (3 for 3).
With Joe Bernal turning in another outstanding pitching performance, Blue continued to roll, building a 9-1 lead through the top of the third, blanking Orange over the final four innings, and posting its tenth win of the session, 13-4.
Each team scored a single run in the first. Three of Blue’s first four batters singled, Pat Scott coming around to score. Larry Shupe made a nice running catch of Steve Sandall’s fly to right for the first out, and Spike Davidson got out of the inning by getting George Brindley to ground a ball just to the left of second base that Larry Fiorentino turned into a 6u., 6-3 double play. In the home half Orange also got its run on three singles, Peter Atkins’ two-out hit to right field scoring Matt Levitt, running for Fritz Hensel. With runners on the corners and two out, Ray Pilgrim grounded a ball to the 3.5 hole – first baseman Dale Fugate initially moved to his right, then scrambled back to cover first, leaving the ball for George Brindley to field and throw over; Dale took the throw while falling backwards onto the base, making contact with his back after making the catch for an unconventional (but effective) 4-3 out.
Blue took control with five runs in the top of the second. Third baseman Eddie Ortiz made a nice cross-diamond throw following Jeff Fisher’s lead-off opposite-way grounder. Joe Bernal, Richard Battle, and Terry Thompson followed with singles, Joe coming around to score. Spike Davidson got Dale Fugate to pop out to second baseman Doc Hobar, ranging out into short right field behind first base, for the second out. But Jerry Mylius singled, Pat Scott doubled, and Steve Sandall singled, each driving in a run to complete the rally.
Spike Davidson led off the bottom of the second with a single, but pinch-runner Larry Fiorentino was doubled up when he took off on contact on Jim Maloy’s short pop to first base – Dale Fugate made the catch, then AGAIN fell backward onto the bag ahead of the returning runner for the double play. Unconventional (but effective). Matt Levitt followed with a single, but was stranded.
Dale Fugate, feeling it. (“It” being “unconventional but effective.”)
Blue increased its lead 9-1 with three runs on five consecutive one-out hits in the top of the third, Joe Bernal’s double to right the key knock. Orange had its biggest inning of the game in the home half, scoring three runs on four singles and Larry Fiorentino’s sacrifice fly to right field, Terry Thompson making a good catch on a ball tailing away from him, keeping it from being a bigger inning than it was.
Blue kept hitting in the fourth, seven consecutive one-out singles resulting in four runs. They had the bases loaded, four runs in, and one out, but Spike Davidson got Richard Battle and Terry Thompson to hit liners right at third baseman Eddie Ortiz and shortstop Larry Fiorentino to keep the fifth run from scoring.
That turned out to be the end of the scoring, as both pitchers were extremely effective over the final innings. Spike Davidson retired eight of the last ten batters he faced, and Joe Bernal from the third through the buffet retired 13 of 19 batters, getting 15 outs thanks to double plays in the sixth (1-6-3) and buffet (6u., 6-3), for which the teams flip-flopped. Joe faced the minimum number of batters over the final three innings. Final score: Blue 13, Orange 4
12:30 p.m., Red (5-6) at Purple (4-7):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Red 1 0 0 4 0 5 Purple 0 1 3 3 X 7 Pitchers: Red – Eddy Murillo; Purple – Jeff Stone. Mercenaries: Red – Anthony Galindo and Joe Roche; Purple – Jim Maloy, Jack Spellman, and Scott Wright. Umpires: home – Dave Berra; bases – Larry Shupe. Perfect at the plate: Red – Denny Malloy (2 for 2) and Eddy Murillo (3 for 3); Purple – Jim Maloy and Jack Spellman (both 2 for 2), Peter Sundquist (3 for 3 with a triple), and Mike Velaney (2 for 2 with a walk).
Low-scoring game over the early going. Red got a run on three singles in the top of the first, then Jeff Stone blanked them in the second (working around Denny Malloy’s one-out single) and third (Bobby Miller drew a lead-off walk but was doubled up when first baseman Mark Hernandez snagged Tim Bruton’s liner and was between Bobby and the base – Mark just backed up and tagged the bag). Purple didn’t have much success, either, wasting Peter Sundquist’s lead-off single in the bottom of the first and coming away with just one run on four singles in the second when Jack Spellman was thrown out trying to score from second on Jim Maloy’s two-out single to left-center – a terrific relay, from Bobby Miller to shortstop Tim Bruton to catcher Hal Darman, just beat me – my foot was about two inches off the ground when I heard the ball hit Hal’s mitt.
Purple took the lead with three runs on five singles, Mike Velaney’s walk, and Tom Kelm’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third, though they did leave the bases loaded.
Red took the lead with four runs in the top of the next inning, which was a little crazy. Eddy Murillo singled and Morgan Witthoft walked to start it. Mike Malay singled to center, and Tim Bruton (I believe), running for Eddy, scored, Morgan stopping at second. Hal Darman hit a grounder to second baseman Mike Velaney, who threw to shortstop Tim Coles for the force at second; Tim then turned and threw to third baseman Jack Spellman. The throw was good, but my view was partially blocked by Morgan oncoming, and I dropped the ball just as Morgan ran into me; I picked up the ball after he’d passed me, and I tagged him before he returned to the base – I think Morgan stepped on the bag as he passed by. But that didn’t really matter, as home-plate umpire called Morgan out for making contact with the fielder. So it was a 4-6-5 double play after all, and Purple left the field, thinking the inning was over.
Except it wasn’t – that was only two outs. So Purple returned to their positions, and Red resumed hitting, and they put across three more runs, a single by Denny Malloy setting up Anthony Galindo’s two-run double, and Joe Roche knocking a single to center to drive in Anthony. That put Red ahead by one.
But only briefly, as Purple scored three times in the home half. Jim Maloy led off with a single and Peter Sundquist, completing a 3-for-3 game, followed with a triple to left field that gapped the outfielders, Jim scoring. Peter came in on Clint Fletcher’s sacrifice fly to left field. Tim Coles singled with two out and took second on Tom Kelm’s hit. Scott Wright ran for Tom. Mike Velaney lined a hit to left-center. Tim scored on it, and, with two out, third-base coach Jack Spellman waved Scott home (because why should I be the only Maroon mercenary to get thrown out at home?). But Bobby Miller, Tim Bruton, and Hal Darman combined on another perfect 8-6-2 relay, and Scott was out by, let’s say, a country kilometer, which is just three-fifths of a country mile. (I later consulted with Mike Velaney, asking if he thought the hit would have been a double for him in the absence of runners ahead of him. He said definitely not. Which confirms that my send was a truly terrible decision.)
Between all the delays, time ran out during the fourth inning and the game proceeded to the buffet, Red chasing two runs. They immediately loaded the bases on singles by Tim Bruton, Rick Kahn, and Eddy Murillo, Eddy completing a 3-for-3 day. Morgan Witthoft grounded to shortstop Tim Coles; Tim knew he probably didn’t have a shot at a double play, so he threw home for the lead runner, his throw reaching catcher Larry Young (in for Tom Kelm, who’d earlier gotten a mote in his eye) just ahead of Tim Bruton’s foot coming down – Tim thought he’d beaten the throw, but plate umpire Dave Berra had a good angle and made a decisive call. Mike Malay grounded back to the box; Jeff Stone made a good play on the ball and also elected to throw home for the lead runner – he said later that he didn’t think a 1-5-2 double play was possible, given Rick Kahn’s speed, and I think that’s right. I called for Larry Young to throw to third, but he wisely held onto the ball, not wanting to risk an overthrow tht would let the runners advance.
So the bases were still loaded, Purple still leading by two, Hal Darman up, taking a runner from home (Tim Bruton, I think). Hal hit a sharp one-hopper back to the box that Jeff Stone snagged and had plenty of time to throw to first for the third ahead the runner, for the final out. Final score: Purple 7, Red 5
Standings – Session Four:
Games Runs Runs Run W/L
W L Win %: behind: for: allowed: differential: streak:
Blue 10 2 .833 — 166 115 +51 W3
Maroon 7 5 .583 3 155 137 +18 W3
Green 6 6 .500 4 167 164 + 3 W1
Purple 5 7 .417 5 135 145 -10 W1
Orange 5 7 .417 5 144 158 -14 L1
Red 5 7 .417 5 146 166 -20 L2
Gray 4 8 .333 6 146 174 -28 L4
Home Visitor Walk-off Extra-inning Flip-flop 1-run games
W-L: W-L: Wins: W-L: W-L: W-L:
Blue 7-0 3-2 1 0-0 5-0 1-0
Maroon 4-2 3-3 2 0-0 3-2 2-2
Green 2-3 4-3 2 0-0 1-3 2-2
Purple 1-4 4-3 0 0-0 2-3 0-0
Orange 2-3 3-4 0 0-1 2-3 1-2
Red 1-6 4-1 0 1-0 2-4 1-1
Gray 3-4 1-4 1 0-0 2-2 2-2
2024 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
Blue Gray Green Maroon Orange Purple Red TOTAL
Blue X 4 3 5 6 4 4 26
Gray 4 X 4 4 5 0 5 22
Green 3 3 X 5 3 6 5 25
Maroon 2 4 4 X 6 1 4 21
Orange 1 3 4 2 X 5 3 18
Purple 4 4 3 6 3 X 3 23
Red 5 3 3 2 5 4 X 22
______________________________________________________________
TOTAL: 19 21 21 24 28 20 24 157
Quote of the Day (II): Tim Coles, concerning the difference between inside-the-park and over-the-fence home runs : “You need to make a distinction on that.”
Season home run leaders:
David Kruse – 7
Tim Coles – 6
Ken Brown – 4
Peter Atkins – 3
Gregory Bied – 3
Tim Bruton – 3
Larry Fiorentino – 3
Pat Scott – 3
George Brindley – 2
Clint Fletcher – 2
Doc Hobar – 2
Gary Kubenka – 2
Paul Rubin – 2
Jimmy Sneed – 2
Ralph Villela – 2
David Brown – 1
Jack Crosley – 1
Jeff Fisher – 1
Anthony Galindo – 1
Buddy Gaswint – 1
Tommy Gillis – 1
Rex Horvath – 1
Rick Kahn – 1
Denny Malloy – 1
Bobby Miller – 1
Eddie Ortiz -1
David Pittard – 1
Joe Roche – 1
Steve Sandall – 1
Morgan Witthoft – 1
Schedule for Thursday October 24:
10:00 a.m.: Blue (10-2) at Gray (4-8), Green umpiring
10:45 a.m.: Green (6-6) at Maroon (7-5), Gray umpiring
11:30 a.m.: Orange (5-7) at Red (5-7), Maroon umpiring
Purple has the bye, with priority for its players out of the bucket.
Preview: Our end-of-season luncheon is Thursday – note the early start times and shorter time frames. We’ll be playing one-pitch rules with a 40-minute clock, maximum of five innings, no extra innings if we have ties. Blue leads the session by three games with six to play, which means Gray has to beat Blue in Thursday’s first game to avoid being mathematically eliminated for the session title. Second-place Maroon takes on third-place Green at 10:45 – this one could be a walk-fest. One of Orange and Red will snap its losing streak at 11:30. And then we’ll stuff our faces. Will anyone have a chance to get seconds? One thing is certain: It all comes down to turnout.