B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 6, Issue 32 – for August 1, 2024
Weather: Hot (in the low to mid 90s) and sunny, moderately (around 38%) humid.
Request: You’ll see below that I never found out who umpired the 11:00 and noon games. If you know, especially if you were one of the umpires, please let me know so that I can credit you and keep my count of Session 3 umpires complete. I want everyone who pitches in to get as many chances in the HEB gift-card lottery as they deserve.
Games of Thursday August 1:
10:00 a.m., Orange (3-7) at Gray (6-2):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Orange 5 5 5 5 X 20 Gray 3 2 0 3 0 8 Pitchers: Orange – Spike Davidson; Gray – Gil Delossantos. Mercenaries: Gray – Gil Delossantos, Mike Garrison, and Alvin Gauna. Umpires: home plate – Jack Crosley and Jack McDermott; bases – Jeff Broussard. Perfect at the plate: Orange – Peter Atkins (4 for 4 with a home run), Tony Garcia (2 for 2 with two walks), Rex Horbath (2 for 2 with a walk), Jim Maloy (3 for 3 with a double), and Eddie Ortiz (4 for 4 with a triple); Gray – Ken Brown (4 for 4 with a home run and a triple) and Mike Garrison (3 for 3 with a double). Home runs: Peter Atkins and Ken Brown (both inside the park).
Hokey smokes, here’s the Orange team we’ve been waiting all season to see emerge: four consecutive five-run innings, 24 hits and five walks while making a total of six outs. Hitting highlights included a bases-loaded triple by Eddie Ortiz in the first, the first of his four hits; a three-run inside-the-park home run in the second by Peter Atkins (also 4 for 4); run-scoring doubles by Doc Hobar and Larry Fiorentino in the third (Larry drove in five runs all told); and six singles and two walks in the fourth (Tony Garcia drew two walks and reached and scored in each of his four plate appearances). Even when Gray made a good play in field, Green found a way to take advantage: third baseman Mike Garrison caught Spike Davidson’s liner for the second out in the top of the second, but his throw trying to double up a runner (either Eddie Ortiz at second or Rex Horvath at first) went wide, and the runners both advanced two bases, Eddie scoring on that play, Rex moments later on Jim Maloy’s double.
Peter Atkins, seen here in his throwback jersey, homered for Orange in the second inning,
Gray wasn’t helpless, putting up crooked numbers in three of the first four innings, but just couldn’t keep up with Orange’s onslaught. Ken Brown had a great day at the plate, going 4 for 4 with a two-run inside-the-park home run in the second and an RBI triple in the fourth. He came up in the buffet with runners on first and second ahead of him, and I’m guessing the only reason he didn’t go for a double to complete the cycle on his base hit to center field is that Alvin Gauna and Mike Garrison held up at third and second ahead of him.
Not to be outdone, Gray’s Ken Brown also legged out an inside-the-park home run, in the second inning, and likewise rocked a 19th-century uni.
Not a lot of opportunities for great defensive plays with all the hitting that was going on, but Orange did turn a pair of double plays, 1-6-3 (Spike Davidson to Rex Horvath to Doc Hobar) in the third, and 5-4-3 (Eddie Ortiz to Jim Maloy to Doc) in the fourth. Dave Berra notes that Gary Coyle made an excellent play on Doc Hobar’s grounder to shortstop in the second.
Final score: Orange 20, Gray 8, Orange defeating Gray for the first time this season.
11:00 a.m., Green (5-3) at Red (4-4):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Green 1 5 5 5 5 X 21 Red 4 0 0 5 0 4 13 Pitchers: Green – Tommy Deleon; Red – Gil Delossantos. Mercenary: Red – Joe Roche. Umpires: home – ?; bases – ?. Perfect at the plate: Green – Daniel Baladez (3 for 3 with a double), Jack Crosley (3 for 3 with a triple), Mike Hill, David Pittard, and Trey Wall (all 3 for 3), and Phil Stanch (1 for 1 with two walks); Red – Adam Reddell (4 for 4).
Green got off to a slow start, managing just a single run on three singles in the top of the first and allowing four runs on six singles and Boo Resnick’s sacrifice fly in the bottom half, but after that crushed the ball, scoring five runs in each of their next four innings while making a total of just six outs. Highlights included Jack Crosley’s bases-loaded triple to center in the third and Daniel Baladez’s lead-off double up the middle in the fourth. (Jack was 3 for 3 in the game, was about 49 for 50 in the month of July, and I’m not saying we should ask him to pee in a cup, but I’m also not not saying that.) All told, Green knocked 25 hits and drew four walks. Far be it from me to criticize a pitcher – it’s a skill set I could never master, and I have nothing but respect for those who have – but it has to have been a tough day for Gil Delossantos, who was the losing pitcher in each of the day’s first two games, allowing 41 runs on 49 hits and nine walks while recording a total of 15 outs. Like they said in Ball Four, that’ll fluff up your ERA.
As did Gray in the first game, Red had three good innings at the plate in which it posted crooked numbers, but just couldn’t keep pace. They scored five runs on five singles and Denny Malloy’s double in the fourth, and four runs on two walks and five singles in the buffet, after the teams flip-flopped at the end of the fifth. Adam Reddell went 4 for 4 for Red; six different hitters were perfect at the plate for Green, which tells you all you need to know about the final result. Green turned the game’s only double play, a 6-4-3 classic, Ralph Villela to Mike Hill to Daniel Baladez (I think), in the fifth.
Final score: Green 21, Red 13
Noon, Blue (6-2) at Purple (5-4):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Blue 2 0 1 3 2 1 9 Purple 5 1 5 4 4 X 19 Pitchers: Blue – Joe Bernal; Purple – Tom Kelm. Mercenaries: Blue – Tim Bruton, Don Solberg, and Scott Wright; Purple – Anthony Galindo, Rex Horvath, and Adam Reddell. Umpires: home – ?; bases – ?. Perfect at the plate: Purple – Adam Reddell and Larry Young (both 3 for 3).
Well, they didn’t flip-flop, but it was a decisive win for Purple, which outscored Blue in each of the first five innings and took an 11-run lead to the buffet. Blue did lead briefly, scoring two runs on Jeff Fisher’s walk and the singles in the top of the first, then recording two outs in the bottom of the frame on ground-ball forces by the second and third hitters following Peter Sundquist’s lead-off single. But then: Mike Velaney singled; Tim Coles tripled, tying the score; Rip Wright walked; Tom Kelm singled in Tim with the go-ahead run; and Larry Young doubled in the fourth and fifth runs of the inning.
Blue didn’t score in the second, while Purple got a singleton, as Rex Horvath singled leading off, took third on Adam Reddell’s single to right, and scored on Anthony Galindo’s sacrifice fly to right field. (Adam, it’s definitely worth noting, was 3 for 3 in this game, and 7 for 7 on the day.)
Blue loaded the bases with one out in the third, on two singles and George Brindley’s walk, but came away with just one run, on Dale Fugate’s single to the 3-4 hole, while leaving the bases loaded. Purple scored five in the home half, Tim Coles providing the big hit, an RBI triple to right, to drive in Mike Velaney with the first run. Anthony Galindo’s double capped the outburst, driving home the fifth run.
Five of Blue’s first six hitters reached in the fourth, on Scott Wright’s walk and four singles, three runs scoring, but the rally was brought to an end by a 5u., 5-3 double play turned by Tim Coles on George Romo’s grounder to third. Purple then scored four times in the bottom of the frame, on lead-off doubles by Peter Sundquist and Gregory Bied, four singles, and Tom Kelm’s sacrifice fly.
Fifth inning, more of the same: Blue scored two runs when Tim Bruton tripled in Dale Fugate and Billy Hill (or pinch-runners), but Purple responded with four in what turned out to be their final at bat, on three singles and doubles by Anthony Galindo and Gregory Bied.
Chasing 11, Blue started the buffet promisingly, with the top of the order up. Terry Thompson knocked a single to right-center and scored from first on Jeff Fisher’s opposite-field double to left-center. But Tom Kelm retired three of the next four batters to end the game. Final score: Purple 19, Blue 9
Standings – Session Three:
Games Runs Runs Run W/L
W L Win %: behind: for: allowed: differential: streak:
Green 6 3 .667 — 126 99 +27 W2
Blue 6 3 .667 — 113 98 +15 L1
Gray 6 3 .667 — 106 109 – 3 L2
Purple 6 4 .600 .5 105 106 – 1 W2
Red 4 5 .444 2 122 121 + 1 L1
Orange 4 7 .364 3 130 140 -10 W1
Maroon 1 8 .111 5 84 113 -29 L8
Home Visitor Walk-off Extra-inning Flip-flop 1-run games
W-L: W-L: Wins: W-L: W-L: W-L:
Green 2-2 4-1 1 0-0 4-0 1-0
Blue 4-1 2-2 1 0-0 0-0 1-1
Gray 2-2 4-1 1 0-0 1-2 1-0
Purple 2-3 4-1 1 0-0 0-3 1-1
Red 1-3 3-2 1 0-0 2-1 1-1
Orange 1-5 3-2 0 0-0 2-2 1-1
Maroon 1-4 0-4 0 0-0 0-1 0-2
2024 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
Blue Gray Green Maroon Orange Purple Red TOTAL
Blue X 2 1 3 4 1 2 13
Gray 3 X 3 2 4 0 4 16
Green 2 1 X 3 2 4 3 15
Maroon 1 2 3 X 3 0 2 11
Orange 0 1 1 2 X 2 2 8
Purple 4 1 2 4 3 X 1 15
Red 3 1 2 1 3 3 X 13
_____________________________________________________________
TOTAL: 13 8 12 15 19 10 14 91
Season home run leaders:
Tim Coles – 5
Ken Brown – 3
Gregory Bied – 2
Tim Bruton – 2
Larry Fiorentino – 2
David Kruse – 2
Pat Scott – 2
Jimmy Sneed – 2
Peter Atkins – 1
David Brown – 1
Jack Crosley – 1
Jeff Fisher – 1
Clint Fletcher – 1
Anthony Galindo – 1
Buddy Gaswint – 1
Rex Horvath – 1
Denny Malloy – 1
Eddie Ortiz -1
David Pittard – 1
Paul Rubin – 1
Ralph Villela – 1
Morgan Witthoft – 1
Schedule for Monday August 5:
10:00 a.m.: Blue (6-3) at Red (4-5), Orange umpiring
11:00 a.m.: Orange (4-7) at Green (6-3), Red umpiring
Noon: Maroon (1-8) at Gray (6-3), Green umpiring
Purple has the bye, with priority for its players out of the bucket.
Preview: Thursday will be an interesting testing ground for B League parity, as each of the teams tied for first at 6-3 will play teams under .500. Purple, just half a game out of first, has the bye, and could back into a first-place tie if there are upsets in all three of Thursday’s games. It’s crazy to me that Gray is 6-3 but has a negative run differential and a two-game losing streak that could become the league’s longest extant streak if Maroon can find a way to win. Will I keep posting public-domain images to illustrate the goings-on? One thing is certain: Only time will tell.
Keggy’s Korner:
Keggy is vacationing in and reporting out of Santa Fe, New Mexico, for most of this month, which is why the Picayune is arriving later and shorter than usual.
I missed telling you that Johnny Lee and Arctic Blues played at Mr. Catfish on Airport Boulevard last night.
Mike Mordecai emcees and plays at the Elephant Room (https://elephantroom.com/calendar) Mondays from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.