B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 6, Issue 34 – for August 8, 2024
Stuff happens when I’m not present: B League president Anthony Galindo checks in:
Please note that smoking is no longer allowed anywhere in the complex, per city ordinance. In fact, I and other Board members were not aware that smoking was prohibited in city parks/athletic complexes before this issue came up. However, now that we know about the ordinance, we are obligated to enforce it since we are under contract with the city. Fines are levied by the city for smoking.
Attached is our Code of Conduct Policy which was recently written and implemented by the Board.
Weather: Dave Berra reports again, and I’m not gonna lie, I’m thinking this should just be Dave’s bailiwick going forward:
89 degrees, 62% humidity at game start; 93 at end. No breeze. Wicking shirts not wicking.
Wishing everyone rainbows, low humidity, and Kumbaya from Santa Fe.
Games of Thursday August 8:
10:00 a.m., Orange (5-7) at Blue (7-3):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Orange 4 2 0 3 0 11 20 Blue 2 0 5 3 0 0 10 Pitchers: Orange – Spike Davidson; Blue – Joe Bernal. Mercenaries: Blue – Gary Coyle and Donnie Janac. Umpires: home plate – Adam Reddell and Scott Wright; bases – Morgan Witthoft and Bobby Miller. Perfect at the plate: Orange – Larry Fiorentino (4 for 4 with a double) and Larry Shupe (4 for 4); Blue – Joe Bernal (3 for 3).
Close game through the first five innings, Blue taking a one-run lead into the buffet, and then…
Orange jumped to an early lead, scoring four times on six singles and Tony Garcia’s double in the top of the first and then holding Blue to two runs on Pat Scott’s lead-off double and three two-out singles in the bottom half. Orange added two more with two out in the top of the second, Larry Fiorentino doubling home Doc Hobar from first and scoring on Peter Atkins’s single. Spike Davidson worked a scoreless bottom half after allowing singles to Dale Fugate and Jerry Mylius leading off, by getting Gary Coyle to ground to third base, Peter Atkins tagging the bag for the force there, and then getting Donnie Janac to bounce one back to the box – Spike threw to second for the force there, and shortstop Rex Horvath threw to Peter to double up Jerry advancing to third.
Blue stormed back and took the lead in the third, Joe Bernal holding Orange scoreless in the top half, working around Fritz Hensel’s two-out single, his teammates then scoring five times in the home half to go ahead 7-6. Four of the first five batters singled, two runs scoring, Richard Battle ripped a two-run triple to left field, and, after Terry Thompson walked, Dale Fugate singled in Richard with the fifth run.
Both teams scored three times in the fourth. Orange got theirs on a two-run triple by Doc Hobar, driving in Matt Levitt and Larry Shupe following their lead-off singles, and Doc then scored on Tony Garcia’s fly to right-center. Spike Davidson retired both Jerry Mylius and Gary Coyle on grounders to third base to start the bottom half, but singles by Donnie Janac, Pat Scott, and Steve Sandall loaded the bases, and George Brindley cleared them with a three-run opposite-field double to right field.
Then neither team scored in the fifth, despite lead-off singles in each half. In fact, singles by Ray Pilgrim and Spike Davidson put runners on first and second to start the top half for Orange, but Joe Bernal got Fritz Hensel to ground into a 1-6-3 double play, George Romo on the pivot, and then retired Jim Maloy on a grounder to second baseman George Brindley. Joe then started the bottom of the frame with a hit, but Spike retired the next three batters.
So Orange was trailing by one entering the buffet. Matt Levitt and Larry Shupe opened the inning with singles. Doc Hobar flied out to Pat Scott in left-center, Matt and Larry holding. And then… bedlam. All 11 players in the Orange lineup proceeded to hit safely. Tony Garcia tripled to left field, driving in Matt and Larry with the tying and go-ahead runs. Larry Fiorentino, completing a 4-for-4 game, singled home Tony. Peter Atkins singled. Rex Horvath grounded a double past third base and into left field, Larry Fiorentino scoring, Orange now up 13-10. The next seven batters all singled, seven more runs coming across – Matt Levitt and Larry Shupe each collected his second hit of the inning, Larry completing a 4-for-4 game. Doc Hobar’s single, the lucky 13th hit of the frame, drove in Matt with the 11th run. With Orange now ahead by ten, 20-10, the teams flip-flopped.
Did you think Spike might walk a bunch of guys in the home half? You would be mistaken. He pounded the strike zone, getting Jerry Mylius on a liner to third baseman Peter Atkins to open the inning. Gary Coyle and Donnie Janac followed with singles, but Spike fielded Pat Scott’s grounder back up the middle and started a game-ending 1-6-3 double play, Orange’s second twin killing of the game. Final score: Orange 20, Blue 10, Orange defeating Blue for the first time this season, and posting its tenth win of the year.
11:00 a.m., Red (4-6) at Purple (6-4):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Red 5 5 5 0 0 15 Purple 5 4 4 0 0 13 Pitchers: Red – Mike Malay and Rex Horvath (Rex took over for the final batter in the bottom of the first and went the rest of the way); Purple – Tom Kelm. Mercenaries: Red – Tommy Gillis, Rex Horvath, and Scott Wright; Purple – George Brindley, Anthony Galindo, and Mike Mordecai. Umpires: home – Terry Thompson; bases – David Brown. Perfect at the plate: Red – Tim Bruton (2 for 2 with a walk), Bobby Miller (3 for 3 with a triple and a home run), Adam Reddell (3 for 3), and Scott Wright (1 for 1 with two walks); Purple – Clint Fletcher (4 for 4 with a double) and Mike Mordecai (3 for 3). Home run: Bobby Miller (inside the park).
I can’t decide which is the better metaphor for this game, Dr. Jekyll (outstanding defense in the late innings) and Mr. Hyde (berserk offense in the early going), or two heavyweight boxers punching each other to exhaustion.
Red scored five times in each of its first three at bats, making two outs in the first inning (while knocking seven singles), no outs in the second (five singles, Scott Wright’s walk, and a two-run triple by Bobby Miller, held up at third by coach Boo Resnick – Bobby was pretty certain he could have made it home), and two outs in the third (four singles and an inside-the-park grand slam by Bobby Miller). (Bobby scored when the relay back to the infield was mishandled – by my lights, that’s an inside-the-park home run.
Bobby Miller (here in a file photo) nearly hit inside-the-park home runs in consecutive at bats.
Purple also scored five times on seven singles in the first inning, the first six of those coming off Mike Malay, making his B League pitching debut. With four runs in, two on, and George Brindley up, Mike had difficulty finding the plate, throwing about ten consecutive balls as George refused the walk, before home-plate umpire Terry Thompson called for a replacement pitcher. Rex Horvath took over and served up a hittable pitch that George whacked into center field for a single, driving in the fifth run.
Purple in each of the next two innings got five runners on base early on and scored four times, but couldn’t get the fifth run across. In the second, five of the first six batters reached, Peter Sundquist and Daniel Carvajal knocking doubles, before Rex Horvath got two ground-ball force outs. In the third, Purple’s first five batters reached, on two singles, Anthony Galindo’s walk, and back-to-back two-run doubles by Peter Sundquist and Clint Fletcher. Clint, representing the fifth run, was in scoring position with none out, but did not advance, as Rex retired Daniel Carvajal on a two-strike foul, Jim Foelker on a liner to shortstop Tim Bruton, and Mike Velaney on a grounder to third base (I think Adam Reddell would have been playing there, but I’m not certain).
I didn’t witness it, but I imagine this was what Tim Bruton looked like snagging Jim Foelker’s line drive.
After the two teams combined to score 28 of a possible 30 runs over the first three innings, somewhere a switch was flipped, and it was nothing doing for the rest of the game.
Tim Bruton walked to start the fourth. Rick Kahn popped out to second baseman Mike Velaney. Adam Reddell singled up the middle, and when shortstop Peter Sundquist bobbled Jim Foelker’s relay, Tim tried for third, only to be cut down, 8-6-5. Morgan Witthoft grounded into a 6-4 force to end the frame. In the bottom half, Tom Kelm walked and Mike Mordecai singled with one out, but Rex Horvath got George Brindley on a liner to Morgan Witthoft in right field and Anthony Galindo on a liner to Rick Kahn in left.
Still leading by two, Red got singles by Boo Resnick and Denny Malloy to start the buffet, but Tom Kelm retired the next three batters: Mike Malay hit into a 6-5 force, Tommy Gillis lined out to Jim Foelker in left-center, and Rex Horvath popped out to shortstop Peter Sundquist.
Purple seemed poised for a come-from-behind victory, the more so when Peter Sundquist doubled and Clint Fletcher singled to start the bottom of the buffet, putting the potential tying runs on base with none out. But Rex Horvath escaped the jam. First he got Daniel Carvajal to hit a two-strike foul. Jim Foelker grounded to second baseman Boo Resnick, who threw to second for the force there; Peter Sundquist, running conservatively, held at third on the play. Then Mike Velaney flied out to Rick Kahn in left field to end the game. Final score: Red 15, Purple 13
Noon, Green (6-4) at Maroon (1-9):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Green 4 0 5 4 1 2 16 Maroon 4 3 0 0 5 2 14 Pitchers: Green – Tommy Deleon; Maroon – Rex Horvath. Mercenaries: Maroon – George Brindley, Tommy Gillis, Rex Horvath, and Peter Sundquist. Umpires: home – Rick Jensen; bases – Larry Young and Tom Kelm. Perfect at the plate: Green – Jack Crosley, Tommy Deleon, and Jack McDermott (all 3 for 3); Maroon – James Chavana (4 for 4), Anthony Galindo (2 for 2), and George Brindley (walked in his only plate appearance).
Mr. Glass-Half-Full is here to tell you Maroon made a game of this, battling Green to the final out.
Both teams scored four times on five singles in the first inning, all of Green’s runs coming with two out.
In the second, Rex Horvath allowed a lead-off single to Phil Stanch, then got Daniel Baladez to hit into a 6-4-3 double play (I think it was), Jimmy Sneed to Tom Brownfield to Joe Roche. Maroon then took the lead, albeit briefly, scoring three times in the home half. Rex Horvath and Peter Sundquist led off with singles, and Rex scored on Tommy Gillis’s sacrifice fly to Paul Rubin in left-center. James Chavana singled, Peter halting at second, and Marvin Krabbenhoft popped out. Anthony Galindo singled in Peter, and Jimmy Sneed’s hit loaded the bases. Joe Roche came through with a single to right-center, James scoring, but Anthony was thrown out 9-6-2 on a fine relay, Jack McDermott to Ralph Villela to Jim McAnelly.
Green then took control of the game, scoring nine unanswered runs over the third and fourth innings – five in the third, on six singles and David Pittard’s walk, while making just one out; and four in the fourth, all with two out, Paul Rubin ripping a three-run opposite-field double to left field and then scoring on Mike Hill’s single to right. Meanwhile Tommy Deleon retired the side in order in the bottom of the third, then got the first two batters to start the bottom of the fourth. Tommy Gillis doubled and took third on James Chavana’s single, but Tommy got Marvin Krabbenhoft to ground into a 5-4 force, David Pittard to Mike Hill, to escape the jam.
Green led 13-7 entering the final five-run inning, and added one more run when the first three batters singled, Tommy Deleon, Jack McDermott, and Jack Crosley all completing 3-for-3 games. But Rex Horvath got Trey Wall to ground into a 4-6-3 double play (Tom Brownfield to Jimmy Sneed to Joe Roche), then retired Phil Stanch on a fly to James Chavana in left to keep Maroon within striking distance. And strike Maroon did, scoring five runs on six singles and Scott Wright’s walk while making just one out in the bottom of the inning.
Going into the buffet, Green’s lead was down to 14-12. Rex Horvath retired two of the first three batters, Daniel Baladez on a pop to second to start the inning, and Ralph Villela on a 5-4 grounder, Scott Wright to Tom Brownfield for the force at second following Jim McAnelly’s single. But Paul Rubin, Mike Hill, and Mike Garrison all came through with two-out singles, Ralph and Paul scoring, extending Green’s lead to 16-12. Rex stranded the two Mikes by getting David Pittard to ground out to second baseman Tom Brownfield.
Interrupting this narrative to note that Anthony Galindo took himself out of the game in the top of the buffet, feeling overheated after playing two games in a row in the extreme heat, with George Brindley entering in his place. I can’t praise this decision enough – it is so easy to overdo it in the triple-digit heat and extreme humidity of Austin in August, and a very smart move to recognize that you don’t feel right. Kudos to Anthony, and thanks to George for stepping in. And while I’m at it, hat tips to the game umpires, Rick Jensen behind home plate, and Larry Young and Tom Kelm on the bases.
Okay, Maroon was chasing four in its final at bat. Tommy Gillis and James Chavana singled to open the inning, James completing a perfect 4-for-4 day at the plate. Marvin Krabbenhoft grounded a ball to the 5-6 hole, and Ralph Villela turned it into a 6-5 force of Tommy at third for the first out. George Brindley, batting in Anthony Galindo’s spot in the order, walked to load the bases. Jimmy Sneed lofted a sacrifice fly to Paul Rubin in left-center, James scoring and Marvin’s pinch-runner advancing to third. Joe Roche singled that runner in, cutting Green’s advantage to two runs, with the tying runs on base and Tom Brownfield coming up. Tom took a big cut, but got just a bit under the ball, and Jack McDermott in right-center was able to haul it in for the final out. Final score: Green 16, Maroon 13
Standings – Session Three:
Games Runs Runs Run W/L
W L Win %: behind: for: allowed: differential: streak:
Gray 7 3 .700 — 122 120 + 2 W1
Green 7 4 .636 .5 147 122 +25 W1
Blue 7 4 .636 .5 135 125 +10 L1
Purple 6 5 .545 1.5 118 121 – 3 L1
Orange 6 7 .462 2.5 160 155 + 5 W3
Red 5 6 .455 2.5 144 146 – 2 W1
Maroon 1 10 .091 6.5 108 145 -37 L10
Home Visitor Walk-off Extra-inning Flip-flop 1-run games
W-L: W-L: Wins: W-L: W-L: W-L:
Gray 3-2 4-1 1 0-0 1-2 1-0
Green 2-3 5-1 1 0-0 4-0 1-0
Blue 4-2 3-2 1 0-0 0-1 1-1
Purple 2-4 4-1 1 0-0 0-3 1-1
Orange 1-5 5-2 0 0-0 3-2 1-1
Red 1-4 4-2 1 0-0 2-1 1-1
Maroon 1-5 0-5 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 3 14
Gray 3 X 3 3 4 0 4 17
Green 2 1 X 4 2 4 3 16
Maroon 1 2 3 X 3 0 2 11
Orange 1 1 2 2 X 2 2 10
Purple 4 1 2 4 3 X 1 15
Red 3 1 2 1 3 4 X 14
_________________________________________________________________
TOTAL: 14 8 13 17 19 11 15 97
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
Bobby Miller – 1
Eddie Ortiz -1
David Pittard – 1
Paul Rubin – 1
Ralph Villela – 1
Morgan Witthoft – 1
Schedule for Monday August 12:
10:00 a.m.: Purple (6-5) at Gray (7-3), Blue umpiring
11:00 a.m.: Blue (7-4) at Green (7-4), Gray umpiring
Noon: Maroon (1-10) at Red (5-6), Green umpiring
Orange has the bye, with priority for its players out of the bucket.
Preview: Only six dates remain in the session, and Monday’s games will be crucial to determining who’ll finish first, as the four teams above .500 face one another in the first two games. Purple and Gray finally meet again, for just the second time this season (unless they get rained out yet again). Gray remains in first place with a win, but falls to second with a loss, the winner of the Blue-Green contest at 11:00 moving ahead. Maroon looks to end its double-digit, White Sox-esque losing skein versus Red at noon. Will the Boeing Starliner astronauts who were only supposed to be aboard the International Space Station for nine days really not return to Earth until February? One thing is certain: Only time will tell.
Keggy’s Korner:
Keggy and his krew are enjoying Santa Fe, but I miss seeing the B League action in person. Many thanks to Terry Watts and Dave Berra, whose scoresheets make the recaps possible, and to all who responded to my blizzard of texts and emails seeking clarification and explanation. Stay cool, in every sense of the word.