B League Picayune
Often in error, never in doubt.
Volume 5, Issue 49 – September 28, 2023
Games of Monday September 25 were cancelled after overnight rain left the Krieg fields unplayable.
Scheduling change: We will return to 10:30/11:30/12:30 start times for games beginning this Monday October 2.
Weather: Very nice today – 86 degrees with 61% humidity at the start of the 10:00 game, warming a bit over the course of the day’s games. Very sunny throughout – I lost a ball in the sun during the noon game, hilarity ensued, see below.
Injured list:
Blue team: Eddy Murillo, burst artery in his leg.
Maroon team: Ken Brown, torn hamstring.
Games of Thursday September 28:
10:00 a.m., Maroon (1-1) at Gold (2-0):
1 2 3 4 5 6 BUFFET EXTRA FINAL Maroon 3 0 0 0 0 0 9 1 13 Gold 3 5 0 1 0 3 0 0 12 Pitchers: Maroon – Joe Bernal; Gold – Gil Delossantos. Umpires: home plate – Anthony Galindo and Larry Fiorentino; bases – Jack Crosley and Fritz Hensel. Perfect at the plate: Gold – Tim Bruton (4 fpr 4 with a triple) and Denny Malloy (4 for 4).
Both teams scored three runs on five singles in the first inning, and then Gold put across five on six singles and Jack McDermott’s double off the fence in left field in the second inning, all the scoring taking place with two out. But it became a defensive battle, with Maroon shut out for five consecutive innings and Gold scoring just a single run, in the bottom of the fourth, and then three in the sixth. Maroon hit into double plays in the third (6-rover-3-2: with runners on the corners, Johnny Lee grounded to shortstop Tim Coles, who threw to rover Larry Young for the force at second; Larry’s throw to first was too late to double up Peter Sundquist, running for Johnny Lee, but first baseman Joe Roche’s peg home beat Scott Wright trying to score) and fifth (5-rover-3, James Chavana to Larry Young to Joe Roche). From the end of the first inning through the sixth, Gil Delossantos faced 20 batters, two more than the minimum, and recorded 16 outs.
Gold didn’t have a whole lot more success versus Joe Bernal, who allowed three singles in the third, but no runs, helped by a double play on a liner to shortstop, James Chavana doubled off of second, for the first two outs. Gold got a single run with two out in the fourth, as Tim Bruton singled, then wound up at third when the relay to the infield on Jack McDermott’s single went into the visitors dugout. Larry Bunton’s grounder to third couldn’t be handled and went for a single, Tim scoring. In the bottom of the sixth, Gold scored three times as four of the first five batters singled and Larry Young lofted a sacrifice fly to left-center. The inning ended with Peter Atkins in left field making a terrific catch, moving to his right, of Larry Bunton’s fly hooking away from him.
Gold led 12-3 entering the buffet. Maroon commenced to put together a superb rally to tie the game. Maroon’s first six batters reached base, on five singles and walks drawn by Marvin Krabbenhoft, his second of the game. Tom Kelm’s sacrifice fly to left field brought in the fourth run of the inning. Gil Delossantos then walked both Mike Velaney and Larry Shupe, forcing the fifth run across and leaving the bases loaded for the top of the lineup. Gil got Peter Sundquist to hit a two-strike foul, but Scott Wright, Rex Horvath, Johnny Lee, and Pat Scott all knocked two-out singles, for four more runs, Scott Wright coming across to tie the game at 12-12. Gil finally got Joe Bernal to foul off a two-strike pitch for the third out.
Gold needed one run to win, but couldn’t get a runner past first in the bottom half. Tim Coles grounded up the middle, normally a single, but it went straight to rover Mike Velaney, who threw to first for the out. Joe Roche lined a single to right field, his third hit of the game. James Chavana lined out to left field. Gil Delossantos, looking for his fourth hit, also grounded a ball up the middle; Mike Velaney got to it and tossed to Rex Horvath at second for the inning-ending force.
On to the extra inning. Maroon started with Joe Bernal at second. Peter Atkins grounded out 3-1, Joe Roche to Gil Delossantos, Joe Bernal advancing to third. Marvin Krabbenhoft’s pop just beyond the infield on the right side fell in for a single, driving in Joe with the go-ahead run. Dave Jaffe flied out to left-center.
Gold came up trailing by one with Gil Delossantos on second. Mike Garrison flied out to Peter Atkins in left field, Gil holding at second. Denny Malloy smacked a single to right field, Gil advancing to third. (I think he would have had about a 10% chance of scoring if he’d tried to do so.) Rip Wright came up and popped a ball to the mound, just to the third-base side, in reach of Joe Bernal, who squeezed it for the final out. Final score: Maroon 13, Gold 12
11:00 a.m., Green (0-2) at Blue (1-1):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Green 5 0 1 5 0 0 11 Blue 0 5 5 2 3 X 15 Pitchers: Green – Tommy Deleon (1-2) and Chunky Wright (3-6); Blue – Greg Lloyd. Mercenaries: Green – Tim Bruton; Blue – George Brindley, David Kruse, Greg Lloyd, Jack Spellman, and Peter Sundquist. Umpires: home plate – Rick Jensen and Jim McAnelly; bases – Paul Rubin and Dave Berra. Perfect at the plate: Green - ? (no scorebook); Blue – George Brindley and Peter Sundquist (each 3 for 3), Anthony Galindo (4 for 4 with a double and a triple), and Jack Spellman (3 for 3 with a triple).
Green had the best of it in the early going, scoring five runs without making an out in the top of the first, a tripe by Jeff Fisher the big hit, then keeping the top of Blue’s lineup from scoring in the bottom half, Tommy Deleon working around Anthony Galindo’s two-out single. But Green did not score and left the bases loaded in the top of the second. The second out of that inning came when Larry Fiorentino threw Don Solberg out at home on a single when Don unknowingly passed the commit line and then started to retreat toward third; Larry saw this (as did both umpires) and took his time and threw home to catcher Fritz Hensel, completing an 8-4-2 relay. Greg Lloyd then caught a liner back to the box for the third out.
Blue tied the game with five runs in the bottom of the second, on five singles, Jack Spellman’s triple to left-center, and Larry Fiorentino’s gap extra-base hit that drove in the fifth run. Green scored once in the top of the third to reclaim the lead, but Blue got five more in the home half, this time without making an out, on Anthony Galindo’s lead-off double and six singles. Green went back ahead, 11-10, with five runs in the top of the fourth – sorry, no details, just a bunch of hits.
The inning ended with Blue back in the lead thanks to a pair of three-base hits. With Chunky Wright taking over on the mound for Green, Greg Lloyd led off with a triple that started as a grounder past the second baseman and was misplayed in the outfield. Greg held at third when Fritz Hensel lined a ball back to the pitcher; Chunky couldn’t hold on, but picked it up and easily threw out Fritz’s pinch-runner. Larry Fiorentino’s fly to right-center was deep enough to score Greg, tying the game. Anthony Galindo then walloped a triple to center field and scored on Jack Crosley’s base hit up the middle.
Greg Lloyd retired Green in order in the top of the fifth. Blue added to its lead with three runs in the home half, on five singles. A walk to Jack Crosley loaded the bases, but the runners were stranded when Chunky Wright got Dale Fugate, trying for his fourth hit, to ground into a 6-4 force.
Chasing four in the buffet, Green got a lead-off hit, but the next two batters hit into ground outs, and first baseman Dale Fugate fought off the high sun and caught a pop to the right side for the final out. Final score: Blue 15, Green 11
Noon, Gray (1-1) at Red (1-1):
1 2 3 4 5 BUFFET FINAL Gray 2 1 1 0 0 2 6 Red 0 2 1 0 2 2 7 Pitchers: Gray – Greg Lloyd; Red – Jack Kelly. Mercenaries: Gray – Anthony Galindo; Red – Johnny Lee, Larry Fiorentino, and Scott Wright. Umpires: home plate – Chunky Wright; bases – Mike Hill. Perfect at the plate: Gray - ?; Red – Jack Spellman (3 for 3 with a double).
Defensively, both teams played extremely well, which is why neither was able to get to double digits in runs scored, even without the rover being used. Gray scored twice in the top of the first, but cost themselves more. With David Kruse on first and Rick Jensen on second with one out and two runs in, the next batter – Doc Hobar, maybe? – hit a pop just behind second base. Shortstop Jack Spellman went after it, and didn’t have far to go, but lost it in the high sun. As I was moving back, I heard David at first base aspirationally call “Infield fly!” Not meaning to call it, I don’t think, but appealing for the umpires to do so. The ball fell untouched, about five five behind the dirt, for whatever that’s worth, but Rick didn’t try to advance, having heard “Infield fly!” but not realizing the call was by his teammate, not an umpire. The ball was relayed to second baseman Mike Mordecai, who first tagged out Rick (who was liable to being forced out), then stepped on second to retire David (also forced) to end the inning. Gray wasn’t happy, but the moral of the story is that high-society ladies miss going shopping when they move to the country. No, sorry, that’s the moral of Green Acres. The moral here is, Don’t call infield fly unless you’re an umpire.
Red didn’t score in the bottom of the first, Greg Lloyd working around a one-out single, and Gray got another run in the second, though they lost another runner to an out on the bases, when Anthony Galindo was thrown out 7-8-6-5 trying to stretch his double to left-center into a triple: Greg Brindley retrieved the ball at the fence and flipped to Paul Rubin, who relayed to shortstop Jack Spellman, whose throw to third baseman Scott Wright beat Anthony by a step.
Red got on the board with two runs in the bottom of the second, on a lead-off walk by Mike Mordecai and singles by Hal Darman, Sam Baker, and Jack Kelly. Larry Fiorentino grounded into a force, and then Greg Lloyd started an inning-ending 1-6-3 double play, David Kruse on the pivot, on Scott Wright’s grounder back to the box.
Gray got a single run in the third following two throws past first baseman Johnny Lee by third baseman Scott Wright after Scott made good glove plays on grounders down the third-base line. Johnny Lee’s left knee buckled as he reached for the first throw, but he was able to stay in the game. (Afterwards, Johnny Lee teased Scott that those were the plays that almost ended Johnny Lee’s season.) Taking a runner from home, Johnny Lee led off the bottom of the inning with a single to right field, that runner coming around to score on singles by George Brindley and Jack Spellman. That was all Red could get, as Gray shortstop David Kruse recorded three putouts: on a 1-6 force off David Ferley’s bat, Paul Rubin’s pop out, and a terrific leaping catch of Mike Mordecai’s liner.
Scott Wright switched positions with Larry Fiorentino to start the fourth inning, moving to right field while Larry took over at third base. The moved paid off immediately, as Larry recorded two of the inning’s three outs, on a grounder (5-3) and a liner (L-5), Gray held scoreless. Red did not score in the home half, Greg Lloyd working around a one-out walk to Sam Baker. And Gray did not score in the top of the fifth, leaving the bases loaded.
Greg Lloyd retired Red’s first two hitters to start the bottom of the fifth, getting Scott Wright to hit a two-strike foul, after which the normally mild-mannered league vice president disgustedy flung his bat up the first-base side (Scott subsequently apologized), and Johnny Lee on a grounder to shortstop David Kruse (close play at first on Larry Fiorentino, running for Johnny, but I think Mike Hill got it right). George Brindley and Jack Spellman followed with back-to-back doubles, George scoring to tie the game. Spellman then scored on David Ferley’s base hit, Red taking the lead for the first time. A walk to Paul Rubin and an infield single off third baseman Rick Jensen loaded the bases, but Greg Lloyd escaped the jam by getting Hal Darman to foul out to Rick.
The lead was short-lived, as Gray scored two runs in the top of the buffet to go ahead 6-5. (Apologies, again – I don’t recall how Gray scored or how Red recorded three outs.)
Needing one to tie and two to win, Red had Sam Baker leading off the bottom half. David Kruse stuck with Sam’s grounder and made a strong throw to first that beat Sam by half a step. Jack Kelly, with David Ferley running from home, grounded a single past second base. Larry Fiorentino drove a pitch to center field – left-center fielder Anthony Galindo tried for it, but couldn’t make a play, and David wound up scoring from first on the play, Larry holding at second with a double. That brought up Scott Wright, looking to redeem a not-so-great game (0 for 2 with a couple of throwing errors). Scott smacked a pitch into right-center for a clean single, Larry easily scoring the winning run, Red walking off the victory.
I believe I’ve managed to upload to YouTube a video of Scott’s hit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_KogGJVrrQ
The moral of the story is, it’s always funny when a major character flushes a toilet off screen. No, sorry, that’s the moral of All in the Family. The moral here is, in B League you always get another chance. Final score: Red 7, Gray 6
Standings – Session Four:
Games Runs Runs Run W/L
W L Win %: behind: for: allowed: differential: streak:
Gold 2 1 .667 — 47 35 +12 L1
Red 2 1 .667 — 33 26 + 7 W1
Blue 2 1 .667 — 37 33 + 4 W2
Maroon 2 1 .667 — 32 31 + 1 W1
Gray 1 2 .333 1 25 33 – 8 L1
Green 0 3 .000 2 31 47 -16 L3
Home Visitor Walk-off Extra-inning Flip-flop 1-run games
W-L: W-L: Wins: W-L: W-L: W-L:
Gold 1-1 1-0 0 0-0 1-0 0-1
Red 1-1 1-0 1 0-0 1-0 1-1
Blue 1-0 1-1 0 0-0 0-0 1-1
Maroon 1-1 1-0 1 0-0 0-0 2-1
Gray 0-1 1-1 0 0-0 0-1 1-1
Green 0-1 0-2 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 5 3 2.5 5 26.5
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 5 3 4 X 3 4 24
Purple 1.5 1 2 0 1 X 1 6.5
Red 4 2 3 5 3 3 X 20
______________________________________________________________
TOTAL: 17.5 22 20 24 18 15.5 24 141
Schedule for Monday October 2:
10:30 a.m.: Green (0-3) at Maroon (2-1), Red umpiring
11:30 a.m.: Gold (2-1) at Red (2-1), Blue umpiring
12:30 p.m.: Blue (2-1) at Gray (1-2), Gold umpiring
(Reminder that next week we return to 10:30/11:30/12:30 start times for games.)
Preview: Four teams ended today tied for first place, and no one is undefeated for the session. Either Gold or Red will be in first place by the end of day Monday, depending on who wins the 11:30 game, possibly alone, possibly tied by one or both of Blue (facing Gray at 12:30) and Maroon (taking on Green at 10:30).
Keggy’s Korner:
Three things:
1. Gil Delossantos reports he has lost his black and white Dudley 25-ounce bat. Let him know if you know its whereabouts.
2. Rick Jensen’s property wasn’t big enough for him and this ginormous rattler.
3. On this date in the year 935, Saint Wenceslas was murdered by his brother, Boleslaus I of Bohemia. Why isn’t this in the song?