B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 5, Issue 48 – September 21, 2023
Weather: Very muggy today, 80% humidity at the start of the 10:00 game, going along with a temperature of 81 degrees. It warmed up to 90 degrees by the end of the noon game, the humidity ticking down a bit, to 52%, but still pretty sticky. A fair amount of cloud cover kept it from being too unpleasant.
Injured list:
Blue team: received word today that Eddy Murillo, in Vegas for the Worlds, suffered a burst artery in his leg, super painful and likely to have ended his season.
Maroon team: Ken Brown, torn hamstring, out for a number of weeks.
Games of Thursday September 21:
10:00 a.m., Blue (0-1) at Red:
1 2 3 4 5 6 BUFFET FINAL Blue 0 5 1 2 0 2 1 11 Red 5 0 2 0 2 0 1 10 Pitchers: Blue – Spike Davidson; Red – Jack Kelly. Mercenaries: Blue – Tommy Gillis, Pat Scott, and Scott Wright. Umpires: home plate – Tom Kelm; bases – Mike Velaney. Perfect at the plate: Blue – Tommy Gillis (3 for 3); Red – Gregory Bied (4 for 4 with a double) and Adam Reddell (4 for 4).
Hard-fought game, low scoring due to fine defensive play by both teams. Blue went out in order in the top of the first, and Red jumped to a quick lead with five runs in the bottom half, on six singles and David Ferley’s double, the only out coming on a nice catch by Pat Scott of Daniel Baladez’s fly to left-center. The advantage was short-lived, however, as Blue scored five times in the top of the second, on six singles and Larry Fioretino’s triple, then held Red scoreless in the home half, Spike Davidson, POSSIBLY THE BEST PITCHER IN B LEAGUE (there, are you happy, Spike?), working around a lead-off single by Hal Darman.
Blue went ahead briefly with a run on three singles in the top of the third; Red reclaimed the lead with two runs on three singles and Terry Thompson’s sacrifice fly to left field in the bottom half. Blue went back ahead with two runs on four singles in the top of the fourth, then held Red scoreless in the home half, Spike Davidson again working around a lead-off single, this one by Donald Drummer.
Jack Crosley led off the fifth with a single, but was erased on a 1-4-3 double play, nice turn by second baseman Donald Drummer. Mark Dolan singled/reached on shortstop error by Jack Spellman, but Jack Kelly got Larry Fiorentino to hit a two-strike foul. Red scored twice in the bottom half on three singles and a runner-advancing ground out to go ahead 9-8.
Blue once more went ahead in the top of the sixth, and looked poised for a big inning when the first four batters (the mercenaries and lead-off hitter Spike Davidson) singled to open the frame, Scott Wright and Tommy Gillis scoring, but Jack Kelly worked out of the jam. (I believe it was Tommy’s hit that was a pop to short left field that shortstop Jack Spellman could have and should have caught, but I veered away at the last moment, worried I might collide with left fielder Donald Drummer (and all too aware of who would get the worst of that run-in), and the ball fell in safely.) Jack got Fritz Hensel to hit a ball up the middle that he, Jack, got a piece of, deflecting it to second baseman Daniel Baladez, who got the force at second unassisted, then threw too late to double up Larry Fiorentino, running for Spike. Dale Fugate followed with a hard one-hopper back to the box that Jack fielded cleanly and started a 1-4-3 double play on, Daniel (killing it on defense lately) making an excellent pivot, ending the inning.
That made it 10-9 in Blue’s favor as Red came up in the bottom of the sixth. Daniel Baladez led off with a single, but was forced at second 5-4 on Donald Drummer’s grounder. Hal Darman also singled, but Spike Davidson (POSSIBLY, etc.) got Jack Kelly to pop out to short right field (nice catch by Scott Wright) and Sam Baker to hit into an inning-ending 1-6 force.
On to the buffet, Blue still leading by one run. Jack Crosley led off with his third single of the game. Phil Stanch squared up on a pitch and lined it a bit to the right of second base, but was robbed of a hit by Daniel Baladez, who made a terrific backhanded catch and then snapped a throw to first baseman Hal Darman to double up Jack. Mark Dolan singled, and Larry Fiorentino followed with a double that scored Mark from first. Scott Wright squared up on a pitch, but lined it to George Brindley in right-center for the third out.
Red was chasing two to tie in the bottom half. Phil Stanch gathered in George Brindley’s fly to right-center leading off. Gregory Bied completed a 4-for-4 day at the plate with a double. David Ferley walked, and Adam Reddell lined a single, Gregory scoring. Jack Spellman came up with the tying run in scoring position, but couldn’t find the green – Larry Fiorentino moved to his left to field my grounder up the middle, tagged second, and threw to first to easily complete a game-ending 6u., 6-3 double play.
Final score: Blue 11, Red 10
11:00 a.m., Gray (0-1) at Maroon (1-0):
1 2 3 4 BUFFET FINAL Gray 0 0 5 3 0 8 Maroon 0 0 3 4 0 7 Pitchers: Gray – Greg Lloyd; Maroon – Joe Bernal. Mercenaries: Gray – Larry Fiorentino, Adam Reddell, Jack Spellman, and Phil Stanch; Maroon – George Brindley, Jack Crosley, and David Ferley. Umpires: home plate – Jeff Fisher and Tommy Deleon; bases – Mike Hill and Clint Fletcher. Perfect at the plate: Gray – Daniel Carvajal and Rick Kahn (each 3 for 3) and Adam Reddell (3 for 3 with a double); Maroon – Pat Scott (3 for 3) and George Brindley (2 for 2). Homerun: Scott Wright (inside the park).
Another low-scoring game, even without the rover in play, scoreless through two as pitchers Greg Lloyd and (look away, Spike) Joe Bernal were both on their games. Joe worked around a pair of two-out singles in the top of the first, then worked out of a serious jam in the second. In that inning, singles by Jim McAnelly and Larry Fiorentino put runners on the corners with none out. Jack Spellman continued his wretched day at the plate by topping a ball between the pitcher and third base; it actually would have been a cheap-ass hit, except Greg Lloyd, running for Jim, tried for home and was thrown out 1-2. A single by Adam Reddell loaded the bases, but Joe got Phil Stanch to ground into a 6-4-3 double play, Scott Wright to Mike Velaney to Johnny Lee.
Greg did something similar in the bottom halves of the first two innings: he worked around singles by Pat Scott and Joe Bernal in the first, helped by a fine play first baseman Daniel Carvajal to take a hit away from Scott Wright, then escaped a jam in the second with the help of a double play despite allowing three hits. Tom Kelm and Mike Velaney led off with singles. Billy Hill hit a grounder to shortstop Larry Fiorentino, who threw to second baseman Jack Spellman to force Mike at second; I knew Billy’s pinch-runner, Scott Wright, would beat my relay to first, so I went to third, the throw there just beating Tom to the bag. George Brindley followed with a single, but Greg got David Ferley to foul off a two-strike pitch to end the threat.
Gray broke through in the top of the third, scoring five runs on seven singles, a standard B League rally. Maroon got three back in the home half, as Jack Crosley, Pat Scott, and Scott Wright opened the inning with singles, Jack scoring; Pat and Scott scored on hits by Johnny Lee and Tom Kelm, but Greg Lloyd got outs on a line drive to first by Joe Bernal (another nice grab by Daniel Carvajal) and a pair of 6-4 force outs.
Gray scored three times in the fourth on Adam Reddell’s lead-off double and four singles. Blue cut the deficit to 8-7 with four runs in the bottom half. Billy Hill walked leading off; his pinch-runner took third on George Brindley’s single and scored on David Ferley’s sacrifice fly to right fielder Jerry Mylius. Jack Crosley popped out (the only ball he did not square up in six plate appearances today) for the second out, but Pat Scott singled and Scott Wright scorched a ball to right-center that eluded the outfielders and rolled to the fence for a three-run inside-the-park homerun that made it a one-run game entering the buffet.
Scott Wright demonstrates his homerun celebration, which, along with the homerun itself, he dedicates to Eddy Murillo.
Gray was unable to add to its lead in the top half of the buffet, Joe Bernal working around singles by Larry Fiorentino (subsequently forced at second 1-6-4 on Jack Spellman’s grounder off Joe’s glove) and Adam Reddell that put runners on the corners with one out. Joe got Phil Stanch to pop out to third baseman Tom Kelm and Greg Lloyd to ground out to first baseman Johnny Lee.
Maroon needed a run to tie in the home half, but got nothing going: Greg Lloyd got Marvin Krabbenhoft to fly out to Rick Kahn in right-center field, Tom Kelm to ground back to the box, and then got Mike Velaney to hit a two-strike foul for the final out. Final score: Gray 8, Maroon 7, Gray snapping its four-game losing streak.
Noon, Green (0-1) at Gold (1-0):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Green 5 0 1 0 4 1 11 Gold 3 2 2 4 5 X 16 Pitchers: Green – Tommy Deleon; Gold – Tom Kelm. Mercenaries: Green – Daniel Baladez, Hal Darman, Carl Gallagher, and Johnny Lee; Gold – Tom Kelm, Adam Reddell, Jack Spellman, Phil Stanch, and Scott Wright (entered for Joe Roche in the second inning). Umpires: home plate – Terry Watts; bases – Jerry Mylius for the last few innings, after Terry umpired solo for the first portion of the game – thanks, Terry! Perfect at the plate: Gold – Tim Bruton (4 for 4 with two doubles), Joe Dayoc and Phil Stanch (each 3 for 3), Joe Roche (1 for 1), and Scott Wright (2 for 2). Homerun: Carl Gallagher (inside the park).
Green put together two big innings, scoring five times on a walk, four singles, and Carl Gallagher’s inside-the-park grand slam in the first, and four times on five singles and Tommy Gillis’s double in the fifth, but otherwise struggled to generate offense. Tom Kelm induced a 6-4-3 double play, Tim Bruton to Jack Spellman to Larry Bunton (great catch of a low throw) to end the top of the second; allowed a single run in the third when Clint Fletcher tripled leading off and scored on Mike Hill’s sacrifice fly to Rip Wright in right field; and held Green scoreless again in the fourth, the third out coming when Hal Darman’s seeming-RBI-single to left-center was turned into an 8-4 force at second by Mike Garrison’s quick, accurate throw to second baseman Scott Wright.
Carl Gallagher left before I could get a post-homerun picture of him today. Here he is earlier this season, receiving a Plucker’s coupon from Tom Kelm for similar heroics.
Gold, meanwhile, steadily put up crooked numbers in each of its at bats. Tim Bruton led off the first inning with a double and scored the first of three Gold runs on four subsequent singles, one by Joe Roche, who subsequently left the game due to pain in his left heel. (Scott Wright took his place.) Tim doubled again in the second inning, driving in Phil Stanch, who’d singled, and setting up a sacrifice fly to right field by Larry Bunton. Gold got two more in the third (Scott Wright single, Mike Garrison double, Joe Dayoc single, and Jack Spellman sacrifice fly to Carl Gallagher in right field), taking the lead 7-6.
The first six Gold batters in the bottom of the fourth singled, and four scored, the last on Mike Garrison’s sacrifice fly to Jeff Fisher in left-center. The inning ended on a double play: Rip Wright flied out to right fielder Boo Resnick (I think); Denny Malloy didn’t think Boo could get to it and took off from second, only to be doubled up.
Gold finally got all five possible runs in the fifth, on four singles, a sacrifice fly by Tom Kelm to Tommy Gillis in left (Gold’s fourth sac fly of the game), and doubles by Adam Reddell and Larry Bunton, Larry’s driving in the fifth run.
Green was chasing six entering the buffet, got just one: Clint Fletcher singled with one out and scored from first on Tommy Gillis’s two-out double. Tom Kelm then got Jeff Fisher on a pop to short right field, Scott Wright ranging far to his left to haul in the final out. Final score: Gold 16, Green 11 – suddenly looking like a B League power, Gold extends its winning streak to three games.
Standings – Session Four:
Games Runs Runs Run W/L
W L Win %: behind: for: allowed: differential: streak:
Gold 2 0 1.000 — 35 22 +13 W3
Red 1 1 .500 1 26 20 + 6 L1
Blue 1 1 .500 1 22 22 0 W1
Maroon 1 1 .500 1 19 19 0 L1
Gray 1 1 .500 1 19 26 – 7 W1
Green 0 2 .000 2 20 32 -12 L2
Home Visitor Walk-off Extra-inning Flip-flop 1-run games
W-L: W-L: Wins: W-L: W-L: W-L:
Gold 1-0 1-0 0 0-0 1-0 0-0
Red 0-1 1-0 0 0-0 1-0 0-1
Blue 0-0 1-1 0 0-0 0-0 1-1
Maroon 1-1 0-0 1 0-0 0-0 1-1
Gray 0-1 1-0 0 0-0 0-1 1-0
Green 0-1 0-1 0 0-0 0-1 0-0
2023 total victories (read across) and losses (read down):
Blue Gold Gray Green Maroon Purple Red TOTAL
Blue X 6 5 4 3 2.5 5 25.5
Gold 2 X 3 7 4 1 4 21
Gray 2 5 X 3 4 2 6 22
Green 3 3 4 X 3 4 4 21
Maroon 5 4 3 4 X 3 4 23
Purple 1.5 1 2 0 1 X 1 6.5
Red 4 2 2 5 3 3 X 19
______________________________________________________________
TOTAL: 17.5 21 19 23 18 15.5 24 138
Schedule for Monday September 25:
10:00 a.m.: Green (0-2) at Gray (1-1), Red umpiring
11:00 a.m.: Maroon (1-1) at Red (1-1), Blue umpiring
Noon: Gold (2-0) at Blue (1-1), Maroon umpiring
Preview: Green looks to get back on the winning track against Gray, which has the worst run differential of the four 1-1 teams. At noon, Gold tests its mettle against Blue, which has pretty much owned the season series, 6-2 so far over the four sessions, and is coming off a big one-run victory. If Blue prevails, there will be at least a three-way and possibly a four-way tie for first at the end of the day Monday. How will the return of the tournament players from Las Vegas affect the league’s balance of power, if at all? Only one thing is certain: time will tell.
Keggy’s Korner:
Three things:
1. Ralph Villela checks in with good news about his wife Irene’s course of treatment:
We had the surgery last Tuesday and met with the surgeon yesterday. He told us the cancer is gone, we still need to do radiation and additional treatments, but no more chemotherapy.
Hope to see everyone soon, I just need to see what the radiation schedule will be.
2. I’d like to thank everyone who responded to my texted and emailed queries, helping me get my facts more or less right. Also, huge thanks to Dave Berra, who kept a scorebook record of all three games today, which made it possible for me to not just half-ass the recaps. Any errors of commission or omission are totally mine, though.
3. It’s the 21st night of September.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs069dndIYk
Say, do you remember dancin’ in September? Golden dreams were shiny days.