League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 5, Issue 11 – April 13, 2023
Weather: Spectacularly beautiful day today. Pretty sure my weather app was lying to me, as it said that at the start of the 10:30 game it was 60 degrees (felt closer to 70) with 90% humidity (no way, it was pleasantly dry). A few high clouds. It got warmer over the course of the day’s play, but never uncomfortably hot.
Games of Thursday April 13:
10:30 a.m., Green (1-1) at Blue (1-2):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Green 3 2 0 2 4 4 15 Blue 2 0 5 0 2 0 9 Pitchers: Green – Chunky Wright; Blue – Gary Bowles. Mercenaries: Green – Jim Aaron, George Brindley, and Carl Gallagher. Umpires: home plate – Jack Kelly; bases – Paul Rubin. Perfect at the plate: Green – Jim Aaron (3 for 3 with a walk and three doubles); Blue – Larry Fiorentino (3 for 3 with a double).
The big news today was the return, in his distinctive blue jersey, of a much-missed veteran B Leaguer making his first 2023 appearance at Krieg. A difference maker with a sharp sense of humor and a handsome head of hair. A key defender who chips in at the plate. I speak, of course, of the great Gary Bowles, making his first game appearance since last fall.
Gary Bowles in his first plate appearance of 2023, flying out to right-center field in the bottom of the second.
Gary took the mound for Blue and demonstrated undiminished effectiveness, walking just one batter while recording three third-strike fouls and keeping Green from posting a single five-run inning. He might have come away with a victory, too, except that Green enjoyed the benefits of one of the greatest bucket-draws this reporter has ever witnessed. If you polled the league’s players, asking them to list the league’s top five most impactful players, I’m pretty sure most of those lists would include Jim Aaron, George Brindley, and Carl Gallagher – and that’s the trio Green picked up to fill out its lineup.
Oh, yeah, Carl’s back in town, for some number of weeks, during which he’ll be playing B League ball. He hasn’t yet been assigned to a team, which made him first out of the bucket, followed by Jim Aaron, who received preference by being from bye-team Purple, and George Brindley, who has a lucky chip.
Quote of the Day, by about a dozen different guys: “Hey, is that Carl?”
Notwithstanding Carl, George, and Jim going a combined 8 for 11 with a walk, five doubles, and a triple, and scored and drove in eight runs, the game was not any kind of a blowout, Blue actually leading 7-5 through three innings. Green scored three times in the top of the first on singles by the first five batters of the game, with an 8-6-5 relay (Anthony Galindo to Larry Fiorentino to Morgan Witthoft) taking out Ray Pilgrim trying for third on Buddy Gaswint’s single up the middle. Blue got two of those back on Larry Fiorentino’s two-run double to right field in the bottom half.
Carl Gallagher led off the second with an extra-base hit down the left-field line in his first B League at bat since last year. He stopped at second, but was awarded third on obstruction by second baseman Dale Fugate. Gary Bowles snagged George Brindley’s liner up the middle for the first out, but Jim Aaron followed with the first of his three doubles, Carl scoring. Jim scored on Donnie Janac’s single to right field.
Chunky Wright threw a scoreless bottom of the second, working around Don Roets’s two-out single. Gary Bowles allowed singles to two of the first three hitters in the third, but escaped the jam by retiring Boo Resnick on a third-strike foul and Carl Gallagher on a hard grounder to first, Spike Davidson making a clean grab and easily beating Carl to the bag. Blue then went ahead with five runs in the bottom of the third. Bobby Miller led off with a double to center, and six of the next seven batters singled. The inning’s only out came when George Brindley in right-center field robbed Fritz Hensel of a hit by making a shoetop catch of Fritz’s liner.
That was the high-water mark for Blue. Green tied the game with two runs in the top of the fourth on a walk and three singles. Chunky Wright allowed a single to Don Roets to start the bottom half, but then started a 1-6-3 double play, clearing the bases for Bobby Miller, who singled. Chunky then got Richard Battle on a fly to left field.
Green took control in the fifth and the buffet, scoring four times in each frame, Carl Gallagher and Jim Aaron each knocking a pair of doubles and scoring – in the buffet, they each drove balls that one-hopped the fence in right-center. Blue scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth, on three singles, that inning ending with Donnie Janac making an excellent running catch of Don Roets’s fly to left. Blue entered the bottom of the buffet chasing six runs. Bobby Miller singled with one out, his third hit of the game, but got no further, as Chunky Wright retired Richard Battle on a line drive to third baseman Gary Coyle and Anthony Galindo on a deep fly to Carl Gallagher in right-center. Final score: Green 15, Blue 9
11:30 a.m., Red (1-1) at Gold (2-0):
1 2 3 4 5 6 BUFFET FINAL Red 3 0 0 0 5 0 5 13 Gold 0 0 2 1 1 5 5 14 Pitchers: Red – Jack Kelly; Gold – Jeff Stone. Mercenaries: Red – Mick Parker; Gold – Don Solberg. Umpires: home plate – Scott Wright, Rex Horvath, and Tom Kelm; bases – Tom Brownfield, Jim Maloy, and Daniel Carvajal. Perfect at the plate: Red – George Brindley (hit for the cycle in four at bats), Mick Parker and Scott Sovereen (each 3 for 3 with a double), and Terry Thompson (4 for 4); Gold – Denny Malloy (4 for 4). Homerun: George Brindley (inside the park).
A defensive battle in the early going, tied 3-3 through four, and the game played quickly enough that it went a full seven innings. Red opened up with five consecutive hits in the top of the first, three runs scoring (the first two on George Brindley’s triple, George then scoring on Ken Mockler’s single. Paul Rubin’s single then put the fifth run on first, but Jeff Stone got out of the inning, getting a force out at third on Hal Darman’s hard grounder back to the box; the second on a 9-6-2 relay home, Mike Garrison to Jack Spellman to Joe Dayoc, that caught Ken Mockler trying to score on Scott Sovereen’s hit; and the third on a popup by Danny Baladez that Jeff caught to the third-base side of the mound.
Gold didn’t score in its first two at bats, stranding two runners in the first and going out in order in the bottom of the second, as Red had in the top of the frame. Terry Thompson and George Brindley each singled to open the third inning. Jeff Stone caught liners back at him by Ken Mockler and Paul Rubin. Hal Darman lined a single to left field, but Red got another big out on a relay, this one going 7-6-2, Don Solberg to Jack Spellman to Dave Berra. Gold finally got on the board in the bottom of the inning, scoring two runs on four consecutive two-out singles. Jeff Stone threw a scoreless top of the fourth, starting an inning-ending 1-6-3 double play, and Red tied the score at 3-3 with a run in the bottom half, on two singles and Rip Wright’s sacrifice fly to right-center.
Bats came alive in the fifth inning. Red scored five times in the top half without making an out, on walks to Jack Kelly and Donald Drummer, a double by Mick Parker, Terry Thompson’s single, and George Brindley’s three-run inside-the-park homerun to right-center.
Gary Coyle presents George Brindley with a Pluckers coupon for his inside-the-park homerun, the day’s only round-tripper. George hit for the season’s first cycle today. [Photo credit: Larry Young]
Gold got a run back in its half on Mike Garrison’s sacrifice fly, then held Red scoreless in the top of the sixth despite giving up two singles and a double. Ken Mockler led off with a hit, but was erased when first baseman Larry Young turned Paul Rubin’s grounder down the line into a 3u., 3-6 double play – Larry alertly stepped on first to retire Paul, then threw to second to put out Ken. Hal Darman, continuing to knock the snot out of the ball, lined a single, and Scott Sovereen followed with a double, but Jeff Stone got Daniel Baladez on a fly to left-center for the third out. Gold then grabbed the lead with five runs on seven singles in the bottom of the inning, making just one out, on grounder to shortstop George Brindley, who threw to third for a force.
Red trailed 9-8 entering the buffet. Jeff Stone retired Sam Baker on a grounder to shortstop to open the inning, but the next six batters reached, five scoring: Jack Kelly drew his second walk; Mick Parker, Donald Drummer, and Terry Thompson each singled; George Brindley doubled, completing what I’m pretty certain was the first cycle of the B League’s 2023 season; and Ken Mockler singled, George scoring the fifth run of the inning. Paul Rubin hit another grounder to Larry Young at first; Larry again tagged the base to put out Paul, but this time his throw to second for the attempted double play plunked Ken in the back, and Ken was safe. Hal Darman came up and again squared up on a pitch, but his liner to shortstop was low enough for Jack Spellman to catch.
Gold entered the bottom of the buffet needing four to tie, five to win. Mike Garrison led off with a single, but was forced out at second, 6-4, on Joe Roche’s grounder to shortstop George Brindley. Jack Spellman and Jeff Stone both singled, Joe coming around to score. James Chavana lofted a pop behind shortstop that George Brindley was able to chase down; with his momentum taking George away from home plate, I was able to tag up and score on the play, making it 13-11. Larry Young singled, a grounder up the middle that second baseman Danny Baladez couldn’t make a play on. Rip Wright lined a single to center field, Jeff Stone scoring to draw Gold to within a run. Joe Dayoc lined a single to left field, Larry Young’s pinch-runner scoring from second to tie the score. Gold manager Dave Berra came up and delivered the winning hit, on a grounder to third – Donald Drummer fielded the ball cleanly, but his hurried throw to second sailed into right field – I don’t think it would have beaten Joe’s pinch-runner, Jeff Stone (I think) to the base – and Rip Wright scampered home to score the winning run. Final score: Gold 14, Red 13, Gold’s third consecutive one-run victory.
12:30 p.m., Maroon (3-0) at Gray (0-3):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Maroon 5 0 3 4 1 2 15 Gray 4 3 0 2 4 3 16 Pitchers: Maroon – Joe Bernal; Gray – Greg Lloyd. Mercenaries: Gray – Jack Spellman. Umpires: home plate – Dave Berra and Jeff Stone; bases – Mike Garrison. Perfect at the plate: Maroon – Peter Sundquist, I'm pretty certain, and maybe others, but I don't have any way to confirm; Gray – Jack Spellman (4 for 4).
Another close game ending in a walk-off victory, a heretofore winless Gray squad taking down undefeated-for-the-session Maroon. I don’t have a scorecard for Maroon, so my details for the visitors scoring will be sketchy. They scored five times in the top of the first without making an out, on seven consecutive hits. That set the tone for the game, with Gray constantly playing catch-up. Gray got four runs back in the bottom of the first, on seven singles, with Maroon recording one out at third (6-5 on Jim Maloy’s grounder after Mick Parker and Greg Lloyd led off with singles) and two at home. After Tom Brownfield singled home Greg, Jim taking third, Rick Kahn grounded a ball to third baseman Scott Wright; Jim ran up to the commit line, trying to draw a throw home, but Scott smartly held the ball and started running toward Jim, forcing him to cross the commit line; Scott then made a good throw to catcher Larry Shupe, who held on for the second out; on the play, Tom took third and Rick second – smart play all around, by both teams. The next four hitters singled, three runs scoring; on the fourth single, by Jim McAnelly to center field, Jerry Mylius was waved home, but a strong 8-6-2 relay, Ken Brown to Rex Horvath to Larry Shupe, beat Jerry to the plate. With two out, it was a good send.
Maroon did not score in the second, and Gray briefly took the lead with three runs in the bottom half, on five singles and Greg Lloyd’s double. Maroon reclaimed the lead with three runs in the third and four more in the fourth while blanking Gray in the bottom of the third. It was 12-7 at that point. Gray scored twice on three singles in the fourth, then limited Maroon to a single run in the top of the fifth. As time expired, Gray tied the score at 13 apiece with four runs in the bottom of the fifth, the rally capped by Rick Kahn’s double down the right-field line.
Maroon went ahead again with two runs in the top of the buffet, but a 6-4-3 double play, Tom Brownfield making a picture-perfect pivot, ended the inning. Gray came up needing two to tie, three to win. Joe Bernal got Jerry Mylius to ground to shortstop Rex Horvath to start the inning, but that was the only out Gray would make. Alex Valles grounded a single to the 5-6 hole. Jim McAnelly worked a base on balls, ball four outside by just an inch or so. Jack Spellman lined a single to right field, Alex scoring. Mick Parker scorched a two-base hit, Jim’s pinch-runner (Jerry Mylius, maybe?) scoring the tying run. And Greg Lloyd lined a clean single to right-center to bring home my pinch-runner (Alex, I think) with the winning run. Final score: Gray 16, Maroon 15
www.beebesports.com
Standings – Session Two:
Games Runs Runs Run W/L
W L Win %: behind: for: allowed: differential: streak:
Gold 3 0 1.000 — 39 36 + 3 W3
Maroon 3 1 .750 .5 63 48 +15 L1
Green 2 1 .667 1 41 35 + 6 W1
Red 1 2 .333 2 39 43 – 4 L1
Purple 1 2 .333 2 26 34 – 8 W1
Blue 1 3 .250 2.5 58 63 – 5 L3
Gray 1 3 .250 2.5 52 59 – 7 W1
Home Visitor Walk-off Extra-inning Flip-flop 1-run games
W-L: W-L: Wins: W-L: W-L: W-L:
Gold 2-0 1-0 2 1-0 0-0 3-0
Maroon 1-0 2-1 0 0-0 1-0 0-1
Green 0-1 2-0 0 0-0 1-1 0-0
Red 0-1 1-1 0 0-0 0-1 0-1
Purple 1-1 0-1 0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Blue 0-3 1-0 0 1-0 1-0 0-1
Gray 1-1 0-2 1 0-2 0-1 1-1
2023 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
Blue Gold Gray Green Maroon Purple Red TOTAL
Blue X 1 2 0 0 1 0 4
Gold 1 X 1 1 0 0 1 4
Gray 0 1 X 0 1 0 1 3
Green 1 0 1 X 0 1 2 5
Maroon 1 1 0 2 X 1 0 5
Purple 0 0 1 0 1 X 1 3
Red 1 0 0 0 1 1 X 3
____________________________________________________________
TOTAL: 4 3 5 3 3 4 5 27
Schedule for Monday April 17:
10:30 a.m.: Gray (1-3) at Red (1-2), Gold umpiring
11:30 a.m.: Gold (3-0) at Green (2-1), Gray umpiring
12:30 p.m.: Blue (1-3) at Purple (1-2), Green umpiring
Maroon has the bye – players from that team will have priority out of the bucket.
Preview: If Green defeats Gold at 11:30, there will be a three-way tie for first place, those teams plus idle Maroon. The sub-.500 teams face off at 10:30 and 12:30, all trying to climb back into the session race.