B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 6, Issue 42 – for September 9, 2024
Games of Monday September 9:
10:00 a.m., Gray (0-1) at Orange (1-0):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Gray 2 5 2 0 2 0 11 Orange 2 1 2 3 5 X 13 Pitchers: Gray – Jack Kelly; Orange – Spike Davidson. Mercenaries: Gray – George Brindley and Bobby Miller. Umpires: home – Eddy Murillo; bases – Donald Drummer. Perfect at the plate: Gray – George Brindley (3 for 3 with a home run), Bobby Miller (3 for 3), and Don Solberg (4 for 4 with a double); Orange – Rex Horvath and Eddie Ortiz (both 4 for 4 with a double). Home run: Geoerge Brindley (inside the park).
Weather: an incredibly pleasant 65 degrees at the start of the game, with 50% humidity and not a cloud in the sky; breeze from the northeast at seven MPH.
Excellent contest. Both teams scored twice in the first inning, Gray’s first four batters hitting safely – Ken Brown led off with a double, and Tommy Gillis, David Kruse, and Don Solberg followed with singles, Ken scoring from second on Tommy’s single down the third-base side. With the bases loaded, none out, and one run in, Gray seemed poise for a big inning, but got got just one more run across, Tommy scoring on Donnie Janac’s grounder to shortstop, David forced out at third 6-5. Spike Davidson then retired Mike Mordecai to fly out to Peter Atkins in left-center and Jack Kelly on a pop to second baseman Doc Hobar.
Four of Orange’s first five hitters hit safely in the bottom half, but a baserunning goof limited the damage. Doc Hobar led off with a single to left-center and took center when the relay back to the infield was mishandled. Jack Kelly got Larry Fiorentino to hit a two-strike foul to the third-base side forr the first out. Eddie Ortiz doubled to left, driving in Doc, and then scored on Rex Horvath’s single to right field. Peter Atkins lined a ball up the middle that Jack deflected to second baseman George Brindley, but no play could be made. Ray Pilgrim flied out to Tommy Gillis in fairly deep left-center; Peter tagged up on and raced to second, not realizing that Rex had not tagged up; Peter ran through, leaving Rex no choice but to belatedly try for third, but he was easily thrown out, 8-6-5 (Tommy to David Kruse to Mike Mordecai), completing an inning-ending fly out double play.
Gray grabbed the lead in the second, scoring five times in the top half, on five singles and Don Solberg’s double to right, which drove in the fourth and fifth runs, and then holding Orange to a single run in the bottom of the inning. Fritz Hensel drew a lead-off walk, and pinch-runner Larry Fiorentino scored from first when Spike Davidson’s line drive to left landed just fair and rolled almost to the fence. Still wearing his shin pads, Spike lumbered to first and held there. Jack Kelly retired Matt Levitt on a pop to shortstop and Jim Maloy on a grounder to short, David Kruse getting the force at second. Doc Hobar singled, but Jack escaped the inning by again getting Larry Fiorentino to hit a two-strike foul to the left side.
Two runs for each team again in the third. Gray got theirs on two-out RBI singles by mercenaries George Brindley and Bobby Miller. Orange’s firsts five hitters reached base, but a fine defensive play denied them a big inning. Eddie Ortiz singled and Rex Horvath doubled to start the inning. Peter Atkins grounded back to the box, but Jack Kelly wasn’t able to find the handle, and Peter was safe, loading the bases as Eddie and Rex held. Ray Pilgrim grounded a single through the 5-6 hole, both Eddie and Rex scoring, Peter holding up at second. A walk to Fritz Hensel loaded the bases. Spike Davidson hit a sharp two-hop grounder to third base that Mike Mordecai fielded cleanly; Mike stepped on third for the force there, then threw home to catcher Mark Dolan to complete the 5u., 5-2 double play. Matt Levitt popped a ball into short left field, but David Kruse ranged back and to his right and tracked it down, making a bit of a snowcone catch for the third out.
Gray did not score in the fourth, Matt Levitt in left field making a fine catch of David Kruse’s line drive for the second out. Orange then scored three times in the home half to draw within a run. Jim Maloy singled to left-center and Doc Hobar doubled to right, putting runners on second and third to start the inning. Larry Fiorentino fouled off Jack Kelly’s first pitch, sparking anticipation in the Beer Garden, but then smacked a single to left field, driving in both Jim and Doc. Eddie Ortiz singled to right center; Ken Brown charged the ball, but Larry tried for third anyway, and was thrown out 9-6-5, Ken to David Kruse to Mike Mordecai. Rex Horvath singled. Peter Atkins grounded a ball down the third-base side; Mike fielded it cleanly and stepped on the bag for the force. Ray Pilgrim then rifled a ball past third, just fair, for a run-scoring single.
Gray increased its lead to 11-8 with two runs in the top of the fifth. Mike Mordecai grounded to shortstop leading off, and Rex Horvath fielded the ball cleanly and made a good throw, but Ray Pilgrim wasn’t able to hold on, and Mike was safe. He took second on Jack Kelly’s ground out to second. Spike Davidson got Mark Dolan to hit a two-strike foul for the second out, but George Brindley ripped a line drive to the fence in center field and legged out an inside-the-park home run, Mike scoring ahead of him.
George Brindley receives a Pluckers coupon from Mike Mordecai after his two-run inside-the-park home run in the top of the fifth, which completed a 3-for-3 game. Mike scored ahead of George and had a great game in the field, collecting four putouts and an assist and turning a 5u., 5-2 double play.
Bobby Miller desires to know what a guy has to do to get his picture in the Picayune. Going 7 for 7 on the day is a start.
Gray’s advantage was short-lived, however, as Orange rallied for five runs in the home half, all the scoring taking place after two were out. Jack Kelly got Spike Davidson to hit a two-strike foul to start the inning. Matt Levitt and Jim Maloy both hit infield singles, Matt beating out a grounder to third, Jim and Matt both safe when Jim’s grounder to shortstop David Kruse took a bad hop. Jack got Doc Hobar to line out to second baseman George Brindley. Two out, but Gray never recorded the third, as Larry Fiorentino, Eddie Ortiz, Rex Horvath, Peter Atkins, and Ray Pilgrim hit consecutive singles, five runs coming across. Eddie and Rex completed 4-for-4 games. Ray’s hit, driving in Rex, came on a fly to left-center that was just out of the reach of Tommy Gillis, who got a great jump on the ball but just had too much ground to cover.
Entering the buffet, Gray needed two runs to tie. Tommy Gillis led off with a ground ball to third base – Eddie Ortiz fielded it cleanly, a good play, and then made a strong cross-diamond throw for the first out. David Kruse flied out to Larry Fiorentino in right-center. Don Solberg singled, completing a 4-for-4 game, but Spike Davidson got Donnie Janac to ground to second baseman Doc Hobar, who snapped a quick throw to first for the final out. Final score: Orange 13, Gray 11
11:00 a.m., Red (0-1) at Green (0-1):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Red 3 5 2 2 1 4 17 Green 5 3 0 5 1 0 14 Pitchers: Red – Eddy Murillo; Green – Tommy Deleon. Mercenaries: Red – Anthony Galindo and Donnie Janac. Umpires: home – Jack Kelly; bases – Mark Dolan. Perfect at the plate: Red – Tim Bruton (4 for 4 with a triple), Anthony Galindo (3 for 3), and Bobby Miller (4 for 4); Green – Daniel Baladez (3 for 3), Tommy Deleon (1 for 1 with two walks), and Ralph Villela (4 for 4 with a triple).
Weather: Temperature up to 77 degrees, with the humidity dropping to 36%. Sunny and beautiful.
Lots of scoring in this one, Red putting runs across in every inning, Green twice scoring five, and also a bunch of fine defensive plays. It was 8-8 through two, Red scoring three in the first and five in the second, Green scoring five in the first and three in the second. Red opened up the game with three runs on five singles, Tommy Deleon stranding two runners thanks to good plays by third baseman David Pittard, who made a strong cross-diamond throw to put out Eddy Murillo and then caught Hal Darman’s liner for the third out. Green took the lead with five runs in the home half on two walks and six singles, making only one out.
Red responded with five runs in the second, not making any outs at all. The first four batters singled, two runs scoring, and then Tim Bruton hit a pop-fly two-run triple down the right-field line. Tim scored the fifth run on Donald Drummer’s single to left.
Green got three back in the bottom half, tying the score. Jeff Broussard singled leading off. His pinch-runner was forced at second on Jim McAnelly’s grounder to short. Ralph Villela tripled to left field, Jim’s pinch-runner scoring, and Paul Rubin doubled to center to bring in Ralph. Paul took third on Mike Hill’s fly to right, then scored on David Pittard’s opposite-field single.
Red went ahead in the third, scoring twice in the top half and blanking Green in the bottom. Adam Reddell and Eddy Murillo led off with singles, advanced to second and third on Denny Malloy’s ground out to first base, and both scored on Mike Malay’s single through the 3-4 hole. Hal Darman followed with a deep line drive to left field, but Mike Garrison had him played perfectly and made the catch, and then caught Boo Resnick’s fly for the third out.
Tommy Deleon walked to start the bottom of the third, then his pinch-runner was forced at second on Mike Garrison’s grounder to short. Jack Crosley grounded back to the box and Eddy Murillo started a 1-4-3 double play, Boo Resnick on the pivot, Jack out on a bang-bang play at first.
Red extended its lead to 12-8 by scoring two more runs in the fourth, though a couple of good defensive plays by Green kept them from doing more damage. Mercenaries Anthny Galindo and Donnie Janac leld off with singles. Bobby Miller knocked a single to right, Anthony scoring. Tim Bruton grounded a single up the middle, Donnie scoring and Bobby racing to third. So two on, two in, runners on the corners, none out, and Red’s 3-4 hitters coming up. No problem for Tommy Deleon. He got Donald Drummer to ground to shortstop Ralph Villela’s left; Ralph fielded the grounder, stepped on second, and threw to first; Donald beat the relay, but Bobby, thinking he wasn’t being watched, broke for home, only to be cut down by first baseman Daniel Baladez’s strong throw to catcher Jim McAnelly, for a 6u., 6-3-2 double play. Adam Reddell then drove a deep fly down the left-field line, Mike Garrison ranging way to his right to run it down for the third out.
Green then scored five times in the home half on six singles and Jeff Broussard’s walk to take the lead, 13-12. It didn’t impact the action, really, but Jim McAnelly’s two-strike foul was a line drive that winged third-base coach Daniel Baladez right in the… how to put this… where the French pole vaulter lost the Gold last month, if you get my drift. Cheap laugh for the Beer Garden, anyway. Jack McDermott and Tommy Deleon completed the rally with two-out run-scoring singles.
Each team scored one run and turned a double play in the fifth. In the top half, Eddy Murillo and Denny Malloy led off with singles. Mike Malay hit into a 1-4-3 double play, Tommy Deleon to Mike Hill to Daniel Baladez, Eddy advancing to third. Hal Darman grounded a ball to third that David Pittard fielded cleanly; David probably could have thrown Hal out at first, but elected to throw for Eddy (or his pinch-runner, I can’t remember), who broke for home. The throw got past catcher Jim McAnelly, however, and both runners were safe. Boo Resnick knocked a ball into left field, but Mike Garrison charged it and threw to second in time to force Hal for the third out.
Mike then led off the bottom of the inning with a double to left field and scored on Jack Crosley’s single, Jack taking second on the throw home. Daniel Baladez singled through the 5-6 hole, putting runners on the corners. Jeff Broussard hit a short pop in front of second baseman Boo Resnick that froze the runners; Boo played the ball on the hop and tagged out Daniel’s pinch-runner, Jack holding at third. Jim McAnelly hit a fly to Anthony Galindo in left field, Anthony coming in a bit to make the catch; Jack tagged up and tried to score, but Anthony uncorked a great throw, hitting catcher Denny Malloy on one hop, waist-high, beating Jack by a step for an inning-ending F-7, 7-2 double play.
So Green led 14-13 entering the buffet. Anthony Galindo led off with a single literally off Tommy Deleon, the ball caroming to shortstop, no play possible, Anthony completing a 3-for-3 game. Donnie Janac popped out to second baseman Mike Hill. Bobby Miller singled through the 5-6 hole completing a 4-for-4 game. Tim Bruton singled to right field, also completing a 4-for-4 outing and driving in Anthony with the tying run, Bobby advancing to third. Donald Drummer lined a single to left-center, Bobby scoring to put Red in the lead. Adam Reddell flied out to right field, Tim tagging and taking third. Eddy Murillo singled to left, Tim scoring and Donald stopping at second. Tim ran for Eddy at first. Denny Malloy singled to right-center; Donald scored on the play while Tim raced to third and took a wide turn; when the relay home got past catcher Jim McAnelly, Tim started toward home, only to accidentally pass the commit line, at which point he had no choice but to continue for home; Jim easily threw to pitcher Tommy Deleon covering, for a 9-6-2-1 out to end the inning. Yowzer.
Red led by three entering the bottom of the buffet. Ralph Villela led off with a single, his fourth hit in as many at bats. Paul Rubin grounded a ball to shortstop, Tim Bruton tagging second base to force out Ralph. Mike Hill singled on a pop behind first base and David Pittard walked, loading the bases.
David Pittard lays off a short pitch (seen here on the bounce) for ball four, loading the bases with one out. Jack McDermott, representing the potential winning run, is on deck at left; Jack Kelly is umpiring; Hal Darman is catching.
Jack McDermott came up and swung at Eddy Murillo’s first pitch, grounding it to third baseman Adam Reddell. Adam fielded it cleanly and stepped on third for the force, then hurriedly threw home, trying for Paul Rubin. His throw short-hopped catcher Hal Darman, who kept it in front of him – Hal juggled it, then corralled it. Home plate umpire Jack Kelly initially called Paul safe, but consulted with base umpire Mark Dolan and reversed the call, declaring Paul out and the game over. From my angle, up the third base side, I couldn’t see Paul’s foot, so I don’t know, but a couple of Beer Garden denizens told me later they thought Hal had gotten control of the ball before Paul’s foot came down. It was a 5u., 5-2 double play, ending the game. Final score: Red 17, Green 14
The post-game handshake line, one of B League’s finest traditions.
Noon, Maroon (1-0) at Purple (–):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Maroon 2 5 0 0 2 5 14 Purple 4 0 0 0 2 2 8 Pitchers: Maroon – Chunky Wright; Purple – Tom Kelm. Mercenaries: Maroon – Adam Reddell and Terry Thompson; Purple – Daniel Baladez, George Brindley, Tim Bruton, Hal Darman, and Don Solberg. Umpires: home – Jack Crosley; bases – Mike Garrison. Perfect at the plate: Maroon – Terry Thompson (2 for 2 with a walk) and Scott Wright (4 for 4); Purple – George Brindley and Tim Bruton (both 3 for 3).
Dave Berra’s weather report: Weather: Beautiful day! 81 degrees (Heat Index also 81), 31% humidity, win NNE 10 MPH. High sky and wind made the outfield treacherous.
Purple won the first inning thanks to some shoddy Maroon defense, which effectively gave them six outs. Maroon had scored twice in the top half, on a walk and three singles, just barely avoiding making an out on the bases. Scott Wright singled and Jack Spellman walked to start the game, and Tom Brownfield singled to center, driving in Scott. Anthony Galindo flied to left fielder Don Solberg; I tagged up, but didn’t challenge Don’s arm, which was wise, as his throw to third would have beaten me by yards. But Tom thought I was going for it, so he tagged up and started for second, only to have to retreat. The throw from third to first beat Tom to the base, but there was no tag, so he was correctly ruled safe. I then took third on Joe Roche’s fly to left-center and then scored on Buddy Gaswint’s line single to right-center.
Bottom of the first was ugly. Jim Foelker singled and Clint Fletcher doubled Jim to third to start it. Jim scored on Daniel Carvajal’s sacrifice fly to right-center, and Clint came in on Rick Jensen’s single, also to right-center. Rip Wright grounded back to the box; Chunky Wright played the ball cleanly, but in his hurry to try for the inning-ending double play he hurried his throw second – it short-hopped shortstop Jack Spellman and got past me into center field, Rick taking third on the play. (Free out number one.) Then Tom Kelm lined a ball through the 5-6 hole that I should have caught – I mistimed my stretch to my right and the ball ticked off my glove. (Free out number two.) Rick scored on the hit. And then Tim Bruton hit a fly to left field that Scott Wright charged in and got a glove on, but could not hold for the out (free ou number three), Rip’s pinch-runner scoring on the play.
Momentum isn’t a thing. Maroon shook off the bad inning and scored five times on seven consecutive one-out singles in the top of the second. Chunky Wright allowed a lead-off single to George Brindley to start the bottom half, then retired the next three batters, getting Jim Foelker and Clint Fletcher on flies to Scott Wright in left field.
Neither team scored in the third and fourth innings. Jim Foelker made three catches over the two innings, making a notably good play on Joe Dayoc’s drive to left-center leading off the fourth. Tom Kelm retired the first two batters in each frame on fly balls, worked around a walk to Marvin Krabbenhoft in the third and singles by Terry Thompson and Scott Wright in the fourth. Chunky Wright worked around a two-out single to Rip Wright in the bottom of the third. Tim Bruton led off the bottom of the fourth with a single, but second baseman Tom Brownfield made an outstanding play on Don Solberg’s hard grounder to his right, getting down low and fielding it cleanly, then making a perfect set-up throw to Spellman covering second; my momentum-aided throw just beat Don to first for a 4-6-3 double play. Chunky then got Daniel Baladez to ground out to Tom for the third out.
Game MVP Tom then led off the fifth with a double to left-center. Spellman pinch-ran and took third on Anthony Galindo’s single to left (I probably should have scored, but again chose not to run on Don Solberg’s rifle of an arm). Joe Roche lined back to the box, good play by Tom Kelm to snag it. Buddy Gaswint singled to left, Spellman scoring. Marvin Krabbenhoft walked, loading the bases. Chunky Wright grounded to shortstop, Rick Jensen throwing to third for the force there, Anthony scoring.
Purple got those two runs back in the home half. George Brindley led off with a pop behind shortstop that fell for a single – I should have caught it, lost it in the high sun, not that that’s an excuse. Hal Darman, Jim Foelker, and Clint Fletcher followed with clean singles, George scoring on Jim’s. One run in, bases loaded, none out. Daniel Carvajal, a.k.a. Senor Sacrifice Fly, lofted a ball to Anthony Galindo in left-center; Anthony made the catch and let loose a really good throw home, though not good enough that it was going to catch Hal’s pinch-runner – Tim Bruton, I think. But the throw came in on one hop to catcher Marvin Krabbenhoft, who saw that Jim had set off for third on seeing the throw go home; Marvin snapped a throw to third baseman Adam Reddell that beat Jim to the bag. Terrific heads-up play by Marvin, for a key F-8, 8-2-5 double play. Rick Jensen followed with a single, but Chunky Wright escaped the inning by catching Rip Wright looking at a called strike three that clipped the front edge of the mat.
Maroon added five runs to its lead in the top of the buffet before the flip-flop was invoked. Adam Reddell singled and Terry Thompson, completing a perfect day at the plate, walked to start the inning. Scott Wright singled to load the bases, completing a 4-for-4 game. Jack Spellman singled up the middle, one run scoring. Tom Brownfield grounded to shortstop Rick Jensen, who threw to third for the force there, Terry scoring. Anthony Galindo singled, re-loading the bases. Joe Roche singled to center, two more runs coming across. And Buddy Gaswint singled to right-center, Anthony scoring. That made it 14-6, and home plate umpire Jack Crosley called for the flip-flop.
Purple came out hitting in the home half. Tom Kelm singled to left leading off, and his pinch-runner scored from first on Tim Bruton’s perfectly placed double just over first base, Tim completing a 3-for-3 game, and a 7-for-7 day. Don Solberg singled to right, Tim scoring, making it 14-8. Daniel Baladez then rifled a one-hopper down the first-base side that Joe Roche made a tremendous play on, first with the glove, snagging the ball cleanly on a short hop, and then with a perfect chest-high throw to Spellman covering second; the throw led me across the bag and into a throw to first, where Chunky Wright alertly was covering – he caught the relay while jamming his right foot to the base, just ahead of Daniel’s pinch-runner, for a crucial 3-6-1 double play. George Brindley (completing his second 3-for-3 game of the day) and Hal Darman followed with singles, but the game ended with Jim Foelker popping a ball in front of shortstop, caught for the final out. Final score: Maroon 14, Purple 8, Maroon defeating Purple for the first time this season.
Standings – Session Four:
Games Runs Runs Run W/L
W L Win %: behind: for: allowed: differential: streak:
Maroon 2 0 1.000 — 26 19 + 7 W3
Orange 2 0 1.000 — 27 24 + 3 W4
Blue 1 0 1.000 .5 14 11 + 3 W1
Red 1 1 .500 1 30 28 + 2 W1
Purple 0 1 .000 1.5 8 14 – 6 L2
Green 0 2 .000 2 25 29 – 4 L3
Gray 0 2 .000 2 22 27 – 5 L4
Home Visitor Walk-off Extra-inning Flip-flop 1-run games
W-L: W-L: Wins: W-L: W-L: W-L:
Maroon 1-0 1-0 1 0-0 1-0 1-0
Orange 1-0 1-0 0 0-0 0-0 1-0
Blue 0-0 1-0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Red 0-1 1-0 0 0-0 0-0 0-1
Purple 0-1 0-0 0 0-0 0-1 0-0
Green 0-1 0-1 0 0-0 0-0 0-1
Gray 0-1 0-1 0 0-0 0-0 0-0
2024 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
Blue Gray Green Maroon Orange Purple Red TOTAL
Blue X 3 1 4 4 2 3 17
Gray 4 X 3 3 4 0 4 18
Green 3 2 X 4 2 4 4 19
Maroon 1 3 4 X 4 1 3 16
Orange 1 3 3 2 X 3 3 15
Purple 4 2 3 5 3 X 1 18
Red 4 2 3 1 4 4 X 18
____________________________________________________________
TOTAL: 17 15 17 19 21 14 18 121
Season home run leaders:
Tim Coles – 6
Ken Brown – 3
Tim Bruton – 3
David Kruse – 3
Gregory Bied – 2
Larry Fiorentino – 2
Clint Fletcher – 2
Pat Scott – 2
Jimmy Sneed – 2
Ralph Villela – 2
Peter Atkins – 1
George Brindley – 1
David Brown – 1
Jack Crosley – 1
Jeff Fisher – 1
Anthony Galindo – 1
Buddy Gaswint – 1
Tommy Gillis – 1
Doc Hobar – 1
Rex Horvath – 1
Denny Malloy – 1
Bobby Miller – 1
Eddie Ortiz -1
David Pittard – 1
Joe Roche – 1
Paul Rubin – 1
Morgan Witthoft – 1
Schedule for Thursday September 12:
10:00 a.m.: Orange (2-0) at Purple (0-1), Blue umpiring
11:00 a.m.: Blue (1-0) at Maroon (2-0), Orange umpiring
Noon: Gray (0-2) at Red (1-1), Maroon umpiring
Green has the bye, with priority for its players out of the bucket.
Preview: Gray Three teams are undefeated so far in Session 3; by the end of the Thursday’s 11:00 game no more than two, and maybe just one, will be. Purple tries to put an end to Orange’s four-game winning streak at 10:00; one of Blue and Maroon will be tagged with a loss at 11:00. Gray will try to put its four-game losing streak in the rear-view mirror versus Red at noon; Red can climb multiple slots in the standings with a victory. Will my strategy of emailing Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce every day with invitations to the end-of-season tourney prove to be brilliant or misguided? One thing is certain: Only time will tell.
Keggy’s Korner:
Thanks for the kind words, and the lack of unkind ones, for my review of The Oath of the Sword.