The Pen & Pencil Club went from the highest highs to the lowest lows on Monday evening at the sloping slop of Edgeley 4. Starting out very well, the Red Inks had their knees taken out in the middle of the game against Bishop’s Collar and then limped to the finish.
The final score showed a 17-9 loss, even though the outcome felt as it if should have been even closer and more painful than that. It wasn’t just a loss. It was an annoying loss. We had control of the game, stoppe
d hitting, suffered death by a thousand paper cuts in the field and then got further annoyed when we didn’t get a couple of calls – which happens – and spoilsport Rob ran all the way from Diamond Street to get poor Kathy Matheson at first after she had fallen down. While holding an eight-run lead.
Ah, well. We’re probably pretty annoying when we win, too, although who really remembers? We like the Prelate’s Neckbands well enough, and none of the annoying stuff decided the outcome. We lost fair and square, so let’s try to figure out how the hell that happened.
The P&P opened with four runs in the top of the first on six straight leadoff hits and then did the same thing in the third, with five of six hits from the top of the order. Mark Nevins and Bria
n Donlen knocked in three runs each and Dan McElhatton and Marcus Hayes had the other two RBIs as we took an 8-1 lead heading into the bottom of the third.
That was when the rain should have come, but it started raining bloops, bleeders and bullshit instead. We got two quick outs in the bottom of the inning and then leadoff man Rob looped a single just over third base and and the deluge was on. With the exception of a home run by Jeff, which was legit, it was nothing special, with a heaping helping of hard grounders to the right side to pick on Sheila Ba
llen at second.
Ahead just 8-7 heading into the bottom of the fourth, we decided to quietly move Sheila to third, move Donlen to second and see if they noticed. They did, unfortunately, and knocked it around enough for another six spot, which would augmented by four more in the sixth. So, no excuses there. We gave up some runs.
On the other side, however, we scored just a single run in the sixth and totaled just 17 batters in the final four innings. For the game, our first six hitters were 13 for 17, and the bottom six positions in the batting order were 5 for 18. It happens. McElhatton was 2 for 2 with a sacrifice fly for his second RBI. Donlen was three for three. Russ Krause, George Miller, Nevins, Hayes and Chris Yasiejko were all 2 for 3. For their part, the Collar did what they always do, 23 of their 26 hits were singles. You'd think we'd have learned.
Now, a word about sportsmanship, a concept about which the general manager has always warned me. From the third base coaching spot, I called all the close ones in BC’s favor, mostly because that’s the way I saw them, but also because if they make a nice play – like Mike DiNardo’s charge at third and throw to second to force out Yaz – and the ball gets there cleanly, well, whatever. It’s an out. If Phyllis says she wasn’t juggling the ball, well, fine. We’re friends.
Which brings me to my good friend John Spencer, who was coaching third in the sixth when Dougie came sliding in – with a six-run lead at that point, zero outs, and the bottom of our batting order coming up in the seventh. The ball beat him, Donlen got th
e glove down and, sure, it was close. But he was out. As you can see from the photograph, Spence had great position to make the call. Perhaps he was distracted because he was also scratching his ass vigorously at that moment, and, in that instant, didn’t know his ass from third base. But, alas, Dougie was safe.
And I didn’t even bring up the takeout slide on Ballen at second early in the game. Which I simply am not going to mention. It would piss me off.
As Brennan would no doubt say, “That’ll teach you.”
Sigh. Art Museum next week. Lost in extra innings to the Arties last time. We can do better and so we shall.
[Photos by Jon Snyder (5), Dan Rubin (1, 3b slide)].
The final score showed a 17-9 loss, even though the outcome felt as it if should have been even closer and more painful than that. It wasn’t just a loss. It was an annoying loss. We had control of the game, stoppe
d hitting, suffered death by a thousand paper cuts in the field and then got further annoyed when we didn’t get a couple of calls – which happens – and spoilsport Rob ran all the way from Diamond Street to get poor Kathy Matheson at first after she had fallen down. While holding an eight-run lead.Ah, well. We’re probably pretty annoying when we win, too, although who really remembers? We like the Prelate’s Neckbands well enough, and none of the annoying stuff decided the outcome. We lost fair and square, so let’s try to figure out how the hell that happened.
The P&P opened with four runs in the top of the first on six straight leadoff hits and then did the same thing in the third, with five of six hits from the top of the order. Mark Nevins and Bria
n Donlen knocked in three runs each and Dan McElhatton and Marcus Hayes had the other two RBIs as we took an 8-1 lead heading into the bottom of the third.That was when the rain should have come, but it started raining bloops, bleeders and bullshit instead. We got two quick outs in the bottom of the inning and then leadoff man Rob looped a single just over third base and and the deluge was on. With the exception of a home run by Jeff, which was legit, it was nothing special, with a heaping helping of hard grounders to the right side to pick on Sheila Ba
llen at second.Ahead just 8-7 heading into the bottom of the fourth, we decided to quietly move Sheila to third, move Donlen to second and see if they noticed. They did, unfortunately, and knocked it around enough for another six spot, which would augmented by four more in the sixth. So, no excuses there. We gave up some runs.
On the other side, however, we scored just a single run in the sixth and totaled just 17 batters in the final four innings. For the game, our first six hitters were 13 for 17, and the bottom six positions in the batting order were 5 for 18. It happens. McElhatton was 2 for 2 with a sacrifice fly for his second RBI. Donlen was three for three. Russ Krause, George Miller, Nevins, Hayes and Chris Yasiejko were all 2 for 3. For their part, the Collar did what they always do, 23 of their 26 hits were singles. You'd think we'd have learned.
Now, a word about sportsmanship, a concept about which the general manager has always warned me. From the third base coaching spot, I called all the close ones in BC’s favor, mostly because that’s the way I saw them, but also because if they make a nice play – like Mike DiNardo’s charge at third and throw to second to force out Yaz – and the ball gets there cleanly, well, whatever. It’s an out. If Phyllis says she wasn’t juggling the ball, well, fine. We’re friends.
Which brings me to my good friend John Spencer, who was coaching third in the sixth when Dougie came sliding in – with a six-run lead at that point, zero outs, and the bottom of our batting order coming up in the seventh. The ball beat him, Donlen got th
e glove down and, sure, it was close. But he was out. As you can see from the photograph, Spence had great position to make the call. Perhaps he was distracted because he was also scratching his ass vigorously at that moment, and, in that instant, didn’t know his ass from third base. But, alas, Dougie was safe.And I didn’t even bring up the takeout slide on Ballen at second early in the game. Which I simply am not going to mention. It would piss me off.
As Brennan would no doubt say, “That’ll teach you.”
Sigh. Art Museum next week. Lost in extra innings to the Arties last time. We can do better and so we shall.
[Photos by Jon Snyder (5), Dan Rubin (1, 3b slide)]. 
No comments:
Post a Comment