"Scylla and Chybrdris" or "It aint over till it's over"

The LI Athletics Nation began the day with a sense of hope and destiny much like that of early explorers of the New World. Facing the winless Pacifc Coast Giants in the first game of the day, the game was deemed a must win for the A's to continue in playoff contention. Jerry was nominated to start in a game played in Maryvale,Arizona the home of the Milwaukee Brewers. A's Nation was hoping Jerry could repeat his 5 inning starting performance last Monday against the Fresno Grizzlies. The A's started out with 4 runs in the first inning buoying the eternal hope beating within the breast of A's fans everywhere. But this elation was short lived and the P.C. Giants seemed determined to break their winless streak by taking the lead 7-4 in the second inning with the help of some timely hitting. The top of the third offered renewal for the A's as they rallied to catch up and take an 8-7 lead. But the Giants were not daunted and scored the tying run and had the go ahead run on third with no outs when your faitful correspondent was summoned to pitch in relief. Striking out the first hitter was a good first step and that was followed by 2 more strikpouts ending the threat and the Giants inning. The A's had the Mojo now! The A's did not score but in the fourth inning your correspondent started with 2 more strikeouts for 5 in row but the Giants ended the strikeout streak with a weak pop up and we went to the 5th. The good news from this point on is the A's scratched and clawed to grab a 3 run lead in the 6th and in the bottom of the eighth broke the game wide open with 10 runs. This win put the A's in good spirits as the "mojo" was expected to carry over to the next game against the Palladins.
The A's jumped out to a 4-2 lead and led after 4 innings. But the baseball gods frowned on our relief pitcher Riche walking the leadoff hitter ( we know the BG's are just manical about inflicting pain on that deed) and the lead was soon gone. A's nation witnessed a few chances but we did not get the big breakthrough hit. The game went to the Pallidins 6-4 leaving your LI A's at 2-2-1 and having to win tomorrow to make the playoffs. There are several combinations of actions that can help the A's make the playoffs but if we win tomorrow we are in by virtue of 3 wins and less than 3 losses. If the SD Cubs lose to the Pallidins ( who already beat the Cubs 23-2 earlier this week) we are also in the playoffs. This league has a very ursine quality to it as we read and see the Grizzlies and Bears and Cubs Oh My!

The team brainturst sees this current circumstance as being between Scylla and Chybrdis in trying not to use up pitchers but still make the playoffs. In the Pallidins game we did not use our top pitchers and it cost us. If we use them tomorrow to win and get in.. then we are light once we get in the playoffs. But normal rules of pitchers rest don't apply here in this tourney. For example, I expect to pitch tomorrow after throwing 7 innings today . My arm feels great and after a swim in the pool recovery comes quickly. so rest can come later. It seems though we might best be served by having Jimmy Scott start and I will follow him tomorrow. Jimmy has thrown well and never acts to annoy the BG's with lead off walks. Your A's are eagerly looking forward to tomorrow's game and will put forth their best effort. We have played all the teams except tomorrow's opponent the Chicago Bears and on any given day any of the teams can beat one another. It would have been nice to have an easy game tomorrow and prepare for the playoffs but as Oscar Wilde offered: "What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise”.
Some good will come of this game tomorrow and your faithful correspondent maintains the eagerness and dreams as did the explorers and believes this time tomorrow the writing will be about the upcoming playoffs.

"LI A's Nation" faces uphill climb to playoffs or "The ball always finds you"

Sisyphus shaped his struggle in philosophical terms but the LI A's struggles come down to hitting, fielding, running and pitching. A 10-5 loss today to the San Diego Cubs drops the A's to 1-1-1 and struggling in a battle for a playoff spot with several contenders. A slow start doomed the A's to their Sisyphean struggle today. Our starter,Jack, walked the leadoff hitter and the baseball gods may have well just said "ok we are make this hurt" and anything less than a Herculean effort would be doomed to failure. The Cubs got 4 runs in the opener which put the A's in a hole that would have the A's rolling rocks uphill all day. The A's chipped away with a run here and there but the Cubs also converted opportunities to add to their lead. The Cubs starter tantalized the A's hitters with slow breaking balls. A's hitters were lunging for balls and flailing away. Despite not having much of a fastball, the Cubs starter struck out 10 A's today ( including your faithful correspondent one time on a called third strike- it seems the ump and I differed on the what was deemed outside the strike zone and what constituted hitting the corner). The Cubs also got a break in the 5th when the A's loaded the bases with no outs -But the Cubs pulled the hidden ball play and took out our runner on third! This strategy was more Laertes than Sisyphus and gave the Cubs a break in subverting the threat. A bright spot today was the work of CT pitcher Steve Parsons who came on in relief and worked 5 solid innings. Steve,also known as "the Doctor" operated with precision in a fine outing keeping the A's in striking distance. In another highlight your correspondent had two doubles today! As many readers are aware foot speed has not been the strongest tool in the skill set so these balls were hit pretty good to have two doubles where I coasted ( which is pretty much the same speed as full out) into second. Neither had much impact on the game as the second one came with 2 out in the bottom of the ninth with two men on but only narrowed score to 10-5--but it was a nice shot to hit and frankly I was delighted to hit them . Batting now stands at 4 for 8 in the tourney with 3 RBI's)

Now the team has decisions in trying to win or play guys who may not be able to contribute much to the win but give them their chance to play. Not easy to balance and requires some clever juggling because in baseball .. the ball always finds you.... The baseball gods are very astute and really relish their entertainment so the ball always seems to be hit to any weakness that may be hiding in a defense..

We have 2 games tomorrow and we hear the second game is against a team that is "loaded" ok ... maybe loaded is a bit ambitious a description but they (the Palladins-- ( Have Bat,Will Travel is their theme- only readers who lived thru 60's TV will understand that reference) have won big in all three games and may prove to be the top seed. So Game # 1 tomorrow is very important to us and we plan to go with the formula we used in the season opener against the Grizzlies. Jerry will start with the expectation of him getting us to a lead mid way through the game. And then the Papelbon of the A's will come in to finish. We shall see if that works out or if agressive action for the Visigoths ( or the Pacific Coast Giants our game 1 opponet) modify those strategies. But we need another win badly and the A's braintrust is hard at work making adjustments. (without the help of George's kids in Tampa-speaking of which don't you think Hank Steinbrenner has a very dark side to him?? just askin')

Meanwhile players are dropping like flies. Our outfielder Steve, the Monterrey guy, has about 5 things hobbling him and sees a trainer between innings for rubdowns and seems to be done for the season ( 2 more days). If he is not done, then only Frankenstein would have had more work done on him than this guy. Another guy, Glenn, who plays first and third has numerous physical issues and ends up with numerous ice packs all over his body after the game. The Titantic navigated through less ice than Glenn "wears" after the game. We will have to check in the morning on Glenn's status and he did have a hit today and we can use all the help on offense we can get.

So we conclude tonight with a look to near future and like Sisyphus look to put forth the effort. Lets hope that effort can give the "LI A's Nation" a reward with a win or two tomorrow!

It is a Round ball and Round bat and you Gotta Hit it Square

The Long Island Athletics met for practice on Sunday night at Tempe Diablo field --where the Angels have their spring training facilities. Pliny the Elder wrote about the Roman Empire as being a collection of disparate cultures and languages. So too, are the LI Athletics composed of players from Long Island, Connecticut, St Louis, Monterrey California and one stray from Hawaii. Unlike Pliny's Rome however, the players on the Athletics do not qualify as a "gladiator class" of society. This is easily noted when the "modern" gladiators need to hand eyeglasses around in a restaurant to allow everyone to read menus ,otherwise the whole team has to order The Special.
Anyway, the Sunday night practice evolved into an event like we see on a nature show where players are strutting around to assert their skills and eligibilities and hierarchies. 22 guys on the team and pockets of guys know each other but have not seen the other players. And no one has seen any of the opponents so there is a lot of guessing going on.

But practice ends with a wish for solidarity and root for each other and players scoot to the hotel to ponder the next days festivites and wonder about the week.

Monday morning soon arrives and Jerry ( who was not even there Sunday night) is slated to pitch. The Fresno Grizzlies ( from California), our opponent, starts fast with a base hit to left on the first pitch. The second hitter follows with another hit to left which gets misplayed and guys are running everywhere. A run scores and the hitter ends on third. The next pitch we get an out on a ground ball but the run scores and we trail 2-0. But the Jerry manages to get of the inning without further damage. The A's come back and get two runners on but fail to score in the bottom of the first. The game progresses quickly to the fourth when your vaunted A's rally to score three and take the lead the help of one Grizzly error. When hitting, I learned the catcher went to school with Tom's Seaver's wife and Tom himself was a Fresno high grad in the class of '62. Helpful information, I am sure, but I grounded to second . After 5 innings,we hold 3-2 lead when your faithful correspondent is summoned into pitch. A 1-2-3 inning gives the boys some confidence that they are in good hands but we fail to score in the 6th. In the 7th ,I lead off with a single to right, over the second baseman's head and advance to second on a single by fellow CT player Jeff Carroll ( 3 hits on the day) but the ensuing hitter grounded into a double play to end the inning. This does make we wonder why we do not use the word ensuing in more circumstances. We do not say the "ensuing course" when referring to a serving within a 5 course dinner. We dont say "the ensuing class" when referring to a school schedule. But anyway , your correspondent continues his fun with another quick inning and they are down to six outs. Soon ,we take the game to the ninth where I now get a quick start by striking out the leadoff hitter. The next hitter lofts a popup and the Grizzlies are down to their last out. I get the strike out on a high fastball( swinging) and we conclude the game as 3-2 winners! A good start and the boys feel some momentum going into the second game.

The second game against the San Antonio Rangers slowly for us as our pitcher Bob has a 10 pitch at bat with the lead off hitters and walks him. This event rattled him a bit and he walks the next hitter as well. The baseball gods,a notoriously mean spirited bunch, prepare to make us pay for the walks and as an added bonus , we commit 2 errors under the gods' "guidance". Then with 1 out, their guy on third starts for home and the pitch come in ...Safe!! A steal of home on top of all this and we trail 4-0 . In the second inning , another walk and hit batsman leads to another run and your team of gladiators in a deep hole. Bob is replaced by Jimmy Scott, a tall engineer from Guiford, Ct. Jim played for Cornell back in the days when they had a team and the guys played in 25 degree weather. It is a tad warmer than that when Jim takes the mound as it is about 93. Jim proceeds to run off 5 great innings and wriggles out of a bases loaded jam while we chip away with a run here and a run there creeping to within 5-3. We get the bottom of the 8th and score one and have runners at second and third and one out but don't score. Jim is replaced by Hal,an older player, and is this the 55 and over bracket we know he is a bit of a risky option but Ed the manager has to weave in 22 guys and he tries to get an inning in . But Hal walks guy and the runner steals second. Hal goes 2-0 on the next guy and Ed calls for your faithful correspondent to come in and shut this down. A strike out a fly pop and then with a 3-2 count on a hitter the fastball on the corner was a called strike three ending the threat. I walk off hoping we can scratch out a run and tie the game as I feel great and excited and frankly enjoyed being in the tight spot. We go out meekly for out number 1, but Ed lines a solid drive to left for base hit. The next hitter bangs the ball back to the pitcher who catches and wheels to second --but no one has gotten to the bag yet an the ball goes thru to center and we have runners at second and third with one out. At this point, I should be coming up but as Ed weaves in 22 guys i have been replaced by a guy named Jack. I had a hit and RBI earlier ( 2 for 5 on the day) but Ed has to play guys and I understand. He had made the substitution a couple innings earlier along with a bunch of other players but Jack pops up and we are down to our last out. The count works to 2-2 on Richie and he hits a ground ball to the hole at shortstop. No play can be made and we tie it up!. Our next hitter Johnny Mac hits a hard ball to shortstop and the play is made, ending the inning. The tourney has a time of game ( 2:45) rule and the game is deemed a tie. But a fine comeback from a slow start buoys our spirits. Back at the hotel we get in the pool and commiserate with a bunch of Aussies who are out here with 3 teams and about 40 people. They are enjoying some beer while hanging in the hottub and seem to be shaking of their 13-11 loss on the day. The also mention that the Crocodile Hunter was more popular over here than in Austraila and apart from Steve Irwin , the Americans seemed to enjoy making a lot of fuss over just a silly old crocs! I gave them my view about how amazing mother kangaroos are with their eligibility to postpone the growth of a baby until the time was more opportune. My new found Aussie friends were not aware of this talent of but did offer that they found kangaroos could interfere with golfing as they seem to hang around golf courses. It took me a moment to realize they did not mean the clubhouse and arguing about tee times but just the vicinity of the clubs instead of playing. They seem like a lot of fun and we plan to exchange hats and jerseys at the end of the tournament and i hope to return with an Aussie Redback shirt-- ( Redbacks seem to be pretty nasty spiders)


Anyway, 10 of us on the team had dinner tonight and enjoyed getting to know each other --the dinner was much more pleasant after winning.

Tomorrow we have the San Diego Cubs to face. It feels better going into the game with a win and good comeback under out belts. Maybe we will give Pliny the Elder something to write about as the team gets confidence and progresses to the playoffs.

The Ibuprofen Invitational or "Hips don't Lie"

We are fast approaching the tournament start on Monday. Even though I don't know the other guys or even the manager I am eager to begin. We fly to Phoenix Saturday and have a practice on Sunday where we will all meet. When I moved to NYC in 1974 I played in a summer league in Queens. That was a fun team and included a very funny guy from Queens named Dick Mondello. Dick referred to himself as Teddy (as in Teddy Ballgame-from Ted Williams book on hitting) and Teddy called everyone else "Ralph" as if he were being interviewed by Ralph Kiner the Mets post game show Kiner's Corner. A typical greeting from Teddy upon arriving was Hey Ralph you know I am seeing the ball real well in here... and then begin to offer to provide hitting tips in case anyone was interested in improving his game..

anyway , I left that team around 1979 or so which coincided with my concluding playing baseball until I started up again around 2001. In 2005, I was playing in Arizona . A team was playing on an adjacent field and the third baseman looked familiar so i took a closer look and sure enough it was Teddy Ballgame. We chatted after the game and in fact my Rhode Island team played them next and beat them and we caught up between games. We kept in touch and discussed coming out again and he suggested his team would be a good one to play with so here we are--except Teddy chose to go with the 45's and is playing this week. But anyway, he assured me these guys are great guys and can play so we are eager to join them.
Playing 6 games in 4 days is harder on one's body that you may imagine. Guys tire get sore twist ankles hurt achillies and all sorts of injuries occur. I doubt any of the 55;s are taking HGH or steroids but plenty will be gobbling advil or ibuprofen to help the sore muscles. for me I take 2 Ibuprofen before I play and swim after I play. The swimming works the same muscles and pumps blood into the sore muscles and helps recovery. So I pack my swimsuit and plan to get in the pool after each game to stay fresh for the playoffs. I am not looking to go 3-3 out here but to get into the finals. There are 6 teams in the bracket and we are going to win- There I have thrown down the gauntlet and set the expectations bar up high--
We open Monday with a doubleheader and I will have more to report after those games. By then we will have learned a lot about our opponents and each other and perhaps in a few ways ourselves.

Getting Ready for Z0NA in 2007

A huge baseball tournament in Arizona brings 400 teams to compete in various brackets defined by ages and type of bat -wood or metal. As I just turned 55 in August, I decided to compete with my age group-- the 55 and over group. While mulling the choice of 45 and over vs 55 and over, I found my self referring the 45's a "young guys" . In my regular season league -a 28 and over league -the difference is speed of the game and players. A team with average age in the 40's just does not run anywhere near as much as a 30 year old team. I felt my preference would be for a game determined less by speed than by hitting and pitching and defense. Plus speed is not one of the tools I bring to the game. So a game with a diminished emphasis on speed and I figured we had a shot to win in the 55's bracket while I suspected winning the 45's would be very tough. My previous experience in 2005 was with a 48 and over team that was 6-0 in the "season" and won the first playoff game. But that team, a great group from Rhode Island,gave up 4 in the first inning of the semi's and went on to lose 13-4 to a team from Sacramento.

This season I will be playing with the Long Island Athletics. I have never seen the LI guys play but there are 5 guys in my group, 3 other CT players; Jeff Carroll, Steve (Doc) Parsons and Jimmy Scott. Jeff is an infielder and the other 2 are pitchers as am I. Additionally , Bruce Butterfield, Amherst '71, with whom i played as a freshman will be joining us. Bruce came to Wilton last fall while bring his daughter to college ( yes she is now a sophomore at Amherst) and saw my team play. We have corresponded over time and Bruce plays in St Louis and played in Arizona last year with guys from St Louis. In 1971, Bruce was 8-0 and All New England and a delight to catch. Now he plays infield and we are all hoping for a great week of play out there.

Now to the games: Here is the link that displays the teams in our bracket:

http://www.scorebook.com/msblws55am

Reading that we are in 6 team bracket and 4 make the playoffs . The playoffs are Friday and Saturday

Here is our schedule:

http://www.scorebook.com/CGI-BIN/LANSAWEB?WEBEVENT+L0D9B593148346100CEFF071+PRD+ENG

or just click the LI Athletics from the previous link.


At this point , we are in hope mode--we hope our other players are good--and they hope the ct guys can play and we hope we have a path to the finals and a chance to play for a championship

But , 6 games in 4 days is tougher than it sounds and guys get hurt or tired or struggle. It is a medieval game--baseball --commit errors, allow walks and you are doomed to pay. so the focus will be to throw strikes . Best pitch in any league is strike 1.