Board Games

I liked Chutes & Ladders better than Candyland. Life will be much better/easier than Monopoly…I figured out a paperless monetary system to make the game go quicker. I would always list Will, Anna, and my scores and date on the game’s boxtop, as a record. I like Battleship, but hate to find the red and white pegs around after the game has been put up.

In college we loved RISK, though it took so long to play. Haven’t gotten the kids interested…that would be a good sleepover game for boys like Will in their early teens. I’m sure a PC version of RISK would be easier than moving around all those armies and rolling all those dice.

I only had one Strat-O-Matic type baseball game as a kid. I guess I never just played it by myself, so I never got into it.

Two good Good Eats episodes last night…waffles followed by pancakes. The two things I cook. Popcorn was another I related to.

The inventory at the vendor went well yesterday…I felt like I was keeping score, holding the clipboard all day and writing everything down. We’ll have a gain, since I’m always conservative with the numbers. No big surprises. Now for month end. How was the strategy meeting?

Several of my co-workers are having their time sucked away by Chicago bigwigs in conference calls. The bigwigs have hired analysts, and they all don’t understand the day to day machinations that go into our business…keeping current business and getting new business. In another month the sale will go through on our company, and we’ll no longer be public. Everyone’s happy because Sarbanes Oxley goes away.

Thursday afternoons are suddenly busy, since Anna has ballet, Will has a game, and Ceil has a knitting class. Looks like this week will be like last week…I’ll miss the beginning of the game. Last week I did good on time, and was able to run my scorebook by the field first. I’ve had two good fill-in scorekeepers, a Walton ballplayer and Preston’s dad, a middle school principal.

Rough Braves game last night. Take away the two fielding mishaps and we’re right there. Then the HR to the little guy…he and that catcher always seem to kill us. It’s made this week fun, and it seems like thousands of fans are hanging in there instead of complaining. Next will come the ‘keep Andruw’ bunch. I love the ones who don’t think we should trade him. Cox came out and said that if it came down to Sunday, Hudson would pitch on three days rest.

Sept. 27th Road Win

Will led his team to victory last night, going 3 – 3 with a triple, stolen base, and two RBIs and runs scored. He pitched two no-hit innings, facing the minimum six batters…striking out four of them. While catching he blocked several balls in the dirt, with runners on base.

Here’s the recap to be posted on the Mt. Paran website:

The Mt. Paran Pony Saints won on the road Thursday night, outscoring the Shaw Park MudCats 10 – 3 Thursday evening. The two teams traded runs the first two innings, then the Saints shut down the MudCats offense, while continuing to add to the lead.

Colin started things with two out in the first with a line drive single to center. He took second on a fielder’s choice and stole third base. Then as he had this past Saturday, with two out and two strikes on the batter he perfectly executed a delayed steal of home plate. Earlier in the inning Curtis collected his seventh straight hit in as many at-bats.

Shaw Park scored two runs to take the lead in the bottom of the first, but with one out and the bases loaded second-baseman Russell ended the rally by turning an unassisted double play. He fielded a one hopper, tagged the runner, and beat the batter in a race to first base. Russell has made many good defensive plays at Mt. Paran, but that was his best.

In the top of the second it was Patrick’s turn to lead off the inning with a walk. Will M reached on a Texas League single, and both runners advanced a base on an error. Patrick scored on a wild pitch, then Will scored on Tanner’s RBI groundout. But the MudCats tied the game at three in their half of the second, before pitcher Will G retired the side with a strikeout, grounder to Curtis at first, and a pop-out to shortstop Christian.

In the third the Saints went ahead to stay. Preston led off with a four-pitch walk and stole second base. Kevin walked on a full count. Russell then singled to right, to drive in Preston from second base. Curtis reached base for the eighth-straight time, walking to load the bases, before Kevin scored on a wild pitch.

From there the Saints pitching and defense took over, retiring 12 Shaw Park batters in a row. Will G struck out two in two innings and Will M struck out four, and Tanner struck out three. Jack caught a long fly ball in right field. Christian caught a sinking line drive at shortstop, then while catching threw to Colin to nail a base-stealer at second.

The Saints added five insurance runs. In the fourth Christian led off with a walk and stole second. Patrick sacrificed Christian to third with a nice bunt, then Will M lined a single to center to drive home Christian. Slugger Joey also put down a sacrifice bunt in the fifth inning to advance John Fulton to third. JF had beaten out an infield single and stolen second base.

In the sixth Mt. Paran broke thing open with four runs. Colin reached on an error, then stole both second and third. Will M drove him in when he pulled the ball into the left-field corner for an RBI triple, then Will scored when the shortstop’s relay throw was off the mark. Jack walked, then scored from first when Tanner’s single rolled under the center-fielder’s glove. Tanner took third on the play, and scored on Will G’s RBI single to left. Once again all 13 players contributed!

Sept 20th Blowout

The Saints beat the Shaw Park Bulldogs 15 – 0 on Thursday, September 20th.

Christian threw 2-1/3 scoreless innings, striking out six, walking one, and giving up just one base hit. John Fulton came on in relief to get the last two outs in order in the third, and Will G finished the game by tossing a seven pitch, scoreless fourth inning.

Mt. Paran got all their runs in the first two innings, scoring seven in the first and eight in the second.

--Colin got things going in the 1st with a leadoff single, stole 2nd & scored on Curtis’ single.
--Curtis stole second and third before scoring on Will M’s triple.
--Russell singled to center to score Will, then stole second & took third on a wild pitch.
--Christian singled to LF to drive in Russell & took 2nd on the left-fielder’s error. Christian later scored on a wild pitch.
--Preston drew a walk, and advanced to third on Tanner’s double.
--After a pitching change Will G drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases.
--Then John Fulton had a big 2-out single up the middle, & both Preston & Tanner scored.
--Jack was hit by a pitch to load the bases again, & Will G scored on a wild pitch.

In the second Joe fouled off several pitches and battled for a walk. He advanced to third on two wild pitches, and scored on Curtis’ second RBI single of the evening.
--Josiah also walked on a full count, went 1st-to-3rd on Curtis’ single, & scored on Will M’s infield single.
--Curtis scored on a wild pitch, and Russell walked.
--With the lead now 10 – 0 Will could’ve scored on a wild pitch, but the coaches wisely held the boys back from scoring needless runs.
--Will scored anyway when Christian tripled to right-center, as did Russell.
--Patrick’s grounder to the right side of the infield scored Christian.
--Preston walked on a full count and stole second. Tanner also walked.
--Will G singled to right-center to drive in both runners…it was probably the first time in Tanner’s career that he scored all the way from first on a single!
--John Fulton walked, but Jack’s pop fly was caught to end the inning.

Long-time Mt. Paran standout Bradford Williams came on to pitch for Shaw Park in the bottom of the third, and he struck out the side on only ten pitches.

The Saints also made a few plays in the field...
--In the third Christian fielded a come-backer to the mound.
--third-baseman Kevin made a fine charging play on a grounder.
--First-baseman Josiah made both putouts at first.
--Russell also made a fine running backhand catch in centerfield.

In the top of the fourth pitcher Will G fielded a come-backer, tossing to first-baseman Tanner for the out. Will M also caught a popup at shortstop.

Hide & Seek

Last night we actually kept the TV off and I helped Anna and Matthew play hide & seek.

They’re putting the little league game recaps on the league website. That one I wrote yesterday was a little intense to be the first one, so I submitted a different one.

Leaving early today for a focus group, and tomorrow I’ll be gone most of the day taking inventory in Conyers.

Even some of the non-believers are starting to come around and note how the Braves didn’t give up (here in the office, even Kincaid). I’m tired of hearing Laurentino bemoan the Mets and Phils. Bill Sanks said he didn’t apply for a postseason press pass, so maybe that’s a good omen. He said the same thing…win Tuesday and then they’ve got Hudson and Smoltz the next two days.

Game Two: Tensions Rise, and a Scuffle at the Plate!

Will struck out number three hitter Corey Davis to end Game One. Corey and Will have been playing against each other for several seasons, and even though Powder Springs has won most of the time, individually Will had always seemed to outshine Corey. Corey had been on second base last fall when Will pulled off his unassisted triple play. In the top of the first inning of Game Two, Corey grounded out to Will at shortstop.

The Marlins started Corey at pitcher in Game Two. Both teams were beginning to tire in the heat. Corey was taking too much time between pitches and letting the baserunners distract him. He would throw one good pitch, wander around a while, then throw one that didn’t come close. The first three Saint hitters Russell, Curtis, and John Fulton all singled, then Tanner’s good hit was caught. Two runs had scored, and Corey seemed less interested and more tired and frustrated. On a full count Josiah fouled several off before walking. Then Corey threw the ball away, putting runners at second and third with Will up to bat. One out.

When Corey finally delivered his first pitch to Will, it came in hard, but not super fast. But the pitch was low and way inside. Will backed and turned away from the pitch, and it hit him in the calf. I wondered if it was deliberate, but quickly dispelled the notion, as Corey had been getting wilder and wilder.

Little Jack Baker batted next, and he hit a sharp grounder up the middle. Corey got a piece of the ball, slowing it down and redirecting it to the left side of second base. The shortstop scooped it up, stepped on the bag, and fired to first. An RBI single had turned into an inning-ending double play.

Corey continued to weave in and out of trouble. In the second Patrick led off with a walk on four pitches, then Colin singled to left. But Will Gray popped out, then Corey struck out the next two. In the third Corey gave up four line drive and two runs. Then an interesting thing happened: Josiah was hit with the first pitch. Another accident?

A wild pitch allowed Josiah and Tanner to advance to third and second. With two out Coach Chris told Will he needed to put the ball in play as opposed to walking, so Will swung at 1 – 1 pitch that was high and outside. The high fly ball glanced off the right-fielder’s glove, allowing two runs to score. Will ran to second, and advanced to third when the throw in got away. Will then scored on a wild pitch, before Jack grounded out to end the inning.

With the score 7 – 2 and Tanner pitching, Corey led off the fourth by walking on four pitches. Josh was up next; he had singled in each of his previous at-bats. Corey stole second on the first pitch, a strike. Will’s throw was just late. Corey took third on the next pitch, which was also a strike. Tanner’s next pitch was on the outside corner, and the umpire called it strike three. For years umpires at Mt. Paran have consistently called that same pitch a strike, certainly as long as Powder Springs has been coming to play there. A Powder Springs parent standing behind the plate voiced his displeasure, hollering “It’s ok, son. Everyone misses one now and then.” Things were dead quiet, until Don tried to lighten the mood by saying “now that wasn’t pretty.”

Next Tanner came set to deliver his next pitch to the new batter, as Corey danced off third. Tanner threw over, but the ball glanced off third-baseman Kevin’s glove, rolling through the infield dirt to the edge of the outfield grass. The third-base coach hollered for Corey to score. Kevin recovered the ball and threw home. Will caught to ball on one hop, blocked the plate, and easily tagged out the sliding Corey. As Corey stood up he deliberately kicked sand in Will’s eyes, an act seen by most everyone. Will didn’t retaliate, he just stared at Corey.

Tanner’s dad Jay was umpiring the bases, and he calmly walked over and talked to Corey and his coach. The next batter hit a fly ball to center, and John Fulton made the inning-ending catch look routine. There was plenty of game left. With one out Colin doubled to right, and he took third on Will Grey’s groundout. Preston was up, and he had struck out the last two times up. After the pitcher had thrown two strikes, he took the return throw from the catcher and turned to walk back up the mound. Colin raced home on a steal to score an insurance run.

Tanner had only allowed one run in two innings, and the bottom half of the Marlins order was up. But the excitement wasn’t over. The first batter singled to right. Instead of throwing to the cut-off man or to second base, the rightfielder threw directly to Tanner, who caught the ball at his toes…narrowly avoiding the ball rolling to the third-base dugout. Stolen base…and Will’s throw got away from shortstop Colin and the second-baseman. Strikeout. RBI double to right. Strikeout. Two out…one to go to end the game.

Grounder to short. On the large dirt infield there are hard places where the ball bounces, and sandy places where the ball skips. The more bounces a ground ball takes, the more chances there are for a bad hop. The shortstop waited on the ball to come to him. The error allowed the runner to score. The shortstop took the throw back from the outfield near second base, and his return throw to Tanner bounced past and rolled into foul territory, allowing the batter to advance to third. The next batter walked. Next came a chopper to third, but the throw sailed past first. Runners second and third, tying run at the plate.

Another chopper to third, and again the throw was off base. On the next pitch the runner on first took second, but Will dared not throw to second. Runners second and third, go-ahead run at the plate. Pop to short…squeezed for the out. Ball game!

As we were leaving Will and I were stopped by Jim, our friend in charge of maintaining the fields. Jim told Will how proud he was for keeping his composure in a tough situation, for being a fine example of Mt. Paran baseball.

Doubleheader Game One: Will Shuts the Door

The Saints won both games of a Saturday doubleheader against the Powder Springs Marlins, the team who had recently snuck away with a win in the game called by lightning. My recap did not capture the bad feelings that came away from the game. Had the roles been reversed the Saints would’ve also taken their time and consulted with the umpire, but I’m hopeful that had this happened at Mt. Paran the outcome would’ve been more pleasant. It appeared that the umpire only called the game after the Powder Springs coach had told him to.

For the day Saturday Will reached base in all four of his plate appearances and scored three times. He had two doubles and two RBI in Game One.

Everyone was talking about Will’s second-inning play at shortstop. A fast runner hit a grounder in the hole between third and short. Will’s only play was to dive at catch the ball. Later Ceil told me it wasn’t an unnecessary dive like some players make, that the dive had to be made in order to make the play. Will then bolted to his knees and whipped a throw Curtis at first in time to nail the runner.

The Saints scored 3 runs in both the first two innings, and Will was brought in to pitch the last four innings. He struck out 9 of the 17 batters he faced, including three in each of the last two innings.

At the plate Will hit a first inning grounder past the third-baseman into left field for a double, driving home Curtis. He stole third base and scored on a wild pitch. In the third inning the same thing happened: Will doubled to right-center to drive home Curtis, and again took third and scored on a wild pitch. The Saints won 8 -2, so Will accounted for half his team’s runs.

The Saints won both games despite the absence of Christian, Coach Chris’ son, who plays pitcher/catcher/shortstop. The meant Will, Tanner, Colin, and Will Gray took turns at pitcher, catcher, infield, and sitting out…meaning the defense was always lacking one good fielder.

Adding to the Marlins frustration were two runners picked off base: In the third the Saints catcher whipped a throw to first to nail the runner. The next inning while pitching Will picked a runner off first.

Baseball Quiz

Two out, last inning. Runner on second, tying run at the plate. Bouncer to third. Third-baseman has to charge, and his throw pulls the first-baseman off the bag…the batter is safe. Runner rounds third and stops two steps off the bag. He looks at the first-baseman, who holds the ball, standing a couple of steps in foul territory, in front of the bag. The batter on first is an aggressive baserunner, but he too stands and closely watches the first-baseman (as does the umpire). The pitcher is on the first-base side of the mound, watching as well. You’re the first baseman. What do you do?

The play definitely wasn’t over. The first-baseman just was standing there, frozen. The runner on first could’ve broken for second, and we sure didn’t need to throw it there.

Call time! (while running toward the lead runner). You want to move toward the runner to lessen the distance of any throw. Standing stationary holding the ball is generally not a good thing to do anywhere on the field. We already had made two ill-advised throws in the inning, four errors, and three unearned runs had scored. Just before this play the shortstop had thrown back to the pitcher while standing next to second base. The throw wasn’t close, and the chucky pitcher didn’t catch it, and it rolled into foul territory…allowing runners to advance.

The ball was still in play, the umpire hadn’t called time. You want the play to be over!

Ceil Under Suspicion

Friday night Ceil and I went to Perimeter Mall. In Anthropologie Ceil browsed the store. She was carrying two pair of reading glasses…she hadn’t decided which one to buy. As she moved about the store she noticed to employees whispering and pointing to her, as if she might be planning to steal them. Ceil was hacked, but I told her it wasn’t her, that the employees had to be careful in general.

Saturday Ceil helped arrange flowers for a wedding way out past Social Circle, real big and real nice. Did it with a girl from small group and her sister. They were gone from 1 pm to 10 that night. They got to eat at some nice seafood buffet.

Saturday afternoon I cleaned out our master closet, so naturally I was sneezing and sick all Saturday night. Felt better Sunday. After church I took Will to get a haircut. Got there at 11:30, but it didn’t open til noon, so he and I ate at Moes next door. I had gotten coupons for both the Roswell haircut and Moes from the same Kroger receipt. At home I walked in the door just when Ceil was serving Matthew a turkey sandwich for lunch. Matthew saw the Moes leftovers and had a meltdown.

The older accountant from our small group had eaten oysters at Ray’s On The River several Friday nights ago and was real sick for several days, and didn’t fully recover for over 2 weeks. This was just before the lady died from eating oysters at that sports bar. Saw him yesterday for the first time…asked if he’d ever eat oysters again and he said probably not…it looked like he hadn’t thought of that before.

Civic in the shop. Check Engine light was a code for an Oxygen sensor, so I knew I needed to get it done before emissions time next year. But another light came on, also for emissions. The guy at the shop was good…said to make sure there wasn’t an extended warranty (I did, no luck). He also said I could wait, that it was just needed before I had my emissions done. Though it wasn’t the best time, since I had it in the shop, I’m having it done.

Lunch with the Ogre regarding Physical Inventory next week. He likes to eat, but so do I. Tomorrow a guy from Charlotte is in for training.

I’m not doing a good job of posting photos to my blog, though we have lots more pictures to choose from these days.

Will wants Guitar Hero…he’s getting into the stage where he wants to be in a band.

Andruw, Etc.

Andruw joined an elite club the other night…players who’ve hit 25 or more HRs in 10 straight seasons. They listed the members, and I was surprised that Hank Aaron wasn’t a member. For 9 straight years (55 – 63) Hank hit 26 or more homers. In 64 he hit 24 home runs. Then he had another 9 year stretch where he hit 29 or more homers. Hank hit 20 or more HRs in 20 straight seasons, which I think is a record. Barry Bonds hit 20 or more in 15 straight seasons…and had 25 or more in all of those years. Is Andruw doing so bad because he wants to re-sign? Such undiscipline. At least Frenchy is young…he appears to be learning and growing as a hitter.

Another big Monday for the Braves offensively. I’m starting to notice the runs the opponent scored in these blowouts, though I know Cox trots out different pitchers based on the score. Hopefully Kelly Johnson changing positions isn’t an option…we need to trade Edgar for a good pitcher. I saw Blanton pitch for the A’s this year in Houston…he did well. Bradley makes an obvious point regarding not relying on Hampton.

On another note, it was sweet when the Brewers were up by a run with 2 out in the bottom of the 10th, when Fox was announcing the player of the game: the Brewer who’d homered in the top of the inning. Thorman puts the first pitch in orbit. Nice wins on Saturday and Sunday. UGA win was also exciting...exciting finish. I was watching. Since it was late, as usual I had the sound off or low. With the college overtime rules and the momentum slightly in Bama’s favor, I expected them to go for the tie.

The announcer has to find stuff to talk about the entire game. You’d at least expect them to discuss the situation, especially since there was extra time to fill while the TD was being reviewed. I would’ve gone into detail about how since so much is on the line these days in college football with each win and loss (championship game slots, bowl games, rankings, recruiting, jobs, millions of dollars, etc), that more and more coaches are playing for the tie and hoping to win in OT. They did cover how UGA correctly won the OT toss and elected to play defense, and why.

Boston College always beats Tech. GT appeared outmanned, but the thought crossed my mind that the play calling could’ve been better…as a GT WR told an AJC reporter. Coming out passing was good, but I think they could’ve run better had they pounded away play after play, instead of calling so many sweeps, screens, and direct snaps…a play that’s taking too long to develop/hit the hole. We won't even talk about the UVA game.

My uniform favorites show I’m becoming more of an old fogey all the time (at least the term ‘old school’ is somewhat cool). Same story for Tech…they got all the narrow-minded alumni thinking championships and Heismans before getting into the meat of the schedule. I just hope they beat Clemson.

Leafed through a copy of Kicks the other day at Borders. Nice picture of Tony Parker. Eva’s dress the other night wasn’t too flashy…interesting that she says she wants to move to San Antonio. I just got some Puma ‘’driving” shoes that I didn’t need, but are fun. Also bought an old Lithuania Basketball tie-dyed T-shirt in Berkeley California, which seemed appropriate.

This weekend I found myself remembering Kincaid’s football picks. Every Friday he spouts off info from the betting services. He said Arkansas did poorly on the road against the spread in September…and they did. He got Chris Mortenson to change his pick from Seattle to Arizona, and Arizona won.

Last Friday I stopped at Goodwill and bought an authentic home Dodgers jersey, number one, with Mitchell on the back. Still had the tags on it. The back number and name were royal and trimmed in white, just like the big boys. Four bucks. Just what I needed…it’s now keeping my other jerseys company. I guess the jersey was a gift that the recipient didn’t like. A fantasy camp jersey usually isn’t this nice, and would’ve been worn. Still, it looks great. The jersey was next to a similarly sized Vick jersey, and a Reggie White Packer jersey (both replicas). Sometimes when they’re grouped together like that they were all donated at the same time…you never know.

Will's Thursday Win

Will’s team won a 15 – 0 one hitter last night. They scored 7 in the first and 8 in the second. I missed Will’s first-inning triple that one-hopped the fence. He also had an infield single, two RBIs, and scored 2 runs. Played shortstop two innings and caught one.

For the fall Will has 9 hits in 10 at-bats.

The Other James Brown

This morning I attended the “Buckhead Businessman’s Prayer Breakfast” put on by Church of the Apostles, at the Cobb Galleria. Saw pastor Michael Youssef, who’s older than I thought, and saw Eldrin Bell slip in by himself. Sat at a table with Bob Abernathy. There were 136 tables seating ten each, and most were full. Matthew’s baseball coach Tim had invited me.

Bob Volyes introduced the speaker, James Brown, “JB” – the host of the CBS NFL pregame show, formerly on the Fox NFL pregame. I knew he was an Ivy Leaguer…Harvard. He went there because he was impressed by Bill Bradley. Drafted by the Hawks in the Maravich era but cut by Cotton Fitzsimmons, who told him he knew he’d be a success. JB told just a few stories, but mainly stuck to a timeline of his life. Told why he switched back to CBS from Fox…partly because LA-based Fox dragged their feet, but at the same time got a nice offer from NYC-based CBS. Lives in DC…his mother was sick at the time. JB has recently lost 30 pounds, and looked good.

Voyles was reading a list of JB’s accomplishments, and stopped after noting that JB was a part-owner of the Washington Nationals…and Volyes asked how they were doing. Kind of a cheap shot. Later JB said the Nats were on the right track, and noted that he was a minority owner in more ways than one.

JB also mentioned Tony Dungy’s book, which Ceil read while sitting around the hospital when her dad had surgery. She loved it. I saw Dungy on Letterman. People had wanted Dungy to write a book for year, but he never took the time until the Colts won the Super Bowl. The book people told him it would take 6 months to write and 3 to publicize. Dungy didn’t have that time, so he prayed. God told Tony to write the book and not worry about the rest. He wrote it (with help) in 2 weeks and traveled for 10 days in July to publicize it, including hitting all the Letterman & Leno type shows. The book people expected to sell 100,000 during the book’s life…instead it sold 400,000 copies in a month.

I’ll miss most of Will’s doubleheader tomorrow, as I have a meeting at Will’s school. Ceil is helping out with a wedding tomorrow afternoon/evening, with a friend who does flower arrangements.

Falcons Are Quick On The Trigger. A Good Thing?

I wonder if Petrino will turn out to be like his owner…quick to make a personnel decision that later turns out to be ill-advised.

Blank inherited Vick, but extended his contract big time after the Falcons advanced to the NFC championship game. Had he waited a year, he might not have made the same decision. Blank also quickly signed Warrick Dunn to a monster contract, soon after a dinner meeting. Dunn is a great citizen and has made a solid contribution, but it may not have been the biggest bang for the buck.

GM Rich McKay deserves some blame for many draft day failures, particularly receivers Jenkins and White. Injury-prone defensive lineman like John Abraham were given large contracts. The large payroll led to the loss of end Patrick Kearney.

At the end of training camp the Falcons cut kicker Billy Cundiff, who was more experienced than the stronger-legged Matt Prater. Prater was to relieve punter Michael Koenen of kickoff and long field goal duties, but washed out in two games. Ageless vet Morten Andersen was welcomed back, but now Koenen has his kicking duties back.

Now it appears Blank urged McKay to sign QB Byron Leftwich, who had lost his job in Jacksonville largely in part to not sharing his coach’s enthusiasm. While Leftwich was perhaps the best option available, the odds seem stacked against his success.

Leftwich Plusses:
1. Great arm
2. Tireless preparation & study of film
3. Plays hurt

Leftwich Minuses:
1. Immobile…joining a team with a weak defensive line. Joey Harrington has been sacked 13 times in two games, though in his career Harrington had one of the lowest sacks per game averages…notable considering he played for below-average teams.
2. Not the take charge type. Sounds like the guy we had last year.
3. Slow release. He winds up to throw.

FIVE Strikeouts in One Inning?

On Opening Day Will did something he’d never done before…he struck out four batters in one inning. Pretty rare. Going over the books from Saturday, I noticed that in the third inning of game two, Colin also struck out four batters.

He struck out the first batter, and had the second batter struck out, but the lousy first base umpire didn’t ring up strike three when the batter came close to checking his swing. That batter walked on a full count and later scored.

The third batter struck out but reached on the dropped third strike. Colin could’ve been out of the inning by striking out the side.

After a hit and a walk, Colin struck out the next two batters. So actually he struck out FIVE batters in one inning!

Weekend

Friday night was slow. Watched some of the Braves/Nats and Boston/NY while Ceil knitted. Tried to get my laptop on the internet at home, but I need to call a help line. Later I ran to pick Will up at the Normans, where a bunch of teens were hanging out.

Saturday morning I actually got some of the upstairs cleaned up before leaving for the ballfield at 9:30. That afternoon we took a quick nap before signing to get the house repaired and painted. Cleared out the garage so I could get my car in there…first time in months. I was proud.


Hopefully getting the house fixed up will spur us on to make more repairs. The inside of the garage needs painting, but so does the kitchen and dining room.

Watched most of the Tech game, unfortunately. The Alabama / Arkansas game was exciting. I hear Jerry Jones is going to stop at nothing to pick McFadden…it would be worth it for the Falcons to draft him instead of a QB (like they could’ve done by drafting Tomlinson). Or they could take Dallas’ 2 number one picks and their top RB Jones.

Saturday afternoon while Will cut grass, Anna and Matthew were playing at the neighbors. Anna went to see Hairspray with the girls. Matthew was invited to go eat Mexican with two others boys. First he ran home and put on a clean shirt and jeans. He was dressing up! Later we heard that not only did he eat his entire dinner (and chips and HOT sauce), but he also ate the plate that his friend didn’t touch. Afterwards the boys decided they wanted to sleep outside in a tent. Matthew was tired and grouchy on Sunday.

Louie’s sermon was good…one family’s wonderful and tragic story of looking for God.

Sunday afternoon I did laundry and cleaned house (and watched the Braves, Falcons, and golf). Ceil ran errands and did some schoolwork. Anna and Matthew played Battleship, which was funny.

Best Looking College Football Uniforms

Most college football teams want to look like Miami or Oregon, who seem to get a Nike makeover every year. This is not a good thing. Stripes on pants now change direction and shape…as they do on jerseys, wandering across the back and front. Great traditions have been thrown out the window. Kids can like the look, but it’s hilarious to hear Coaches and AD’s loving the looks…sounds like the emperor has new clothes!

1. LSU: great stripes.

2. USC: simple & classic top to bottom.

3. Syracuse: they pull off the orange & navy.

4. Auburn: consistent, traditional stripe pattern.

5. Alabama: Great, all the way down to the white shoestrings.

6. Tennessee: They get it

7. Texas: simple, but the pants need stripes.

8. FSU: Love the white pants with 2 stripes.

9. Ohio State: Nike’s messing with a classic.

10. UCLA: but I hate the current numbers: busy!

11. Georgia: Nike hasn’t messed it up completely.

Honorable Mention: Hawaii, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Penn State (need grey facemasks!), Stanford.

Nike Ugly: Boise State, Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Maryland, Miami, Oregon, Oregon State, Pitt, Portland State, South Carolina, West Virginia, Wisconsin.

Georgia Tech’s Unis are outdated and way too busy. The stripes on the collar and pants don’t match the traditional stripes on the sleeves, and were trendy in the early 80’s. The jerseys have enough patches to make a NASCAR driver proud. The black facemasks are ugly. Suggestion: return to the mustard jerseys and white helmets worn in the throwback game last year.

Top Ten College Football Helmets

Helmets look best when they’re uncluttered, and a classic look is tops. Extra points for a grey facemask, but white is OK…especially with a white helmet.

1. Michigan: Classic

2. Texas: Clean

3. Ohio State: Unique

4. Miami

5. UCLA

6. Southern Cal

7. FSU: Points off for the burgundy mask.

8. Notre Dame: Simple in an era of clutter.

9. Georgia: Still too many stickers on the back.

10. Tennessee: Nice wide stripe.

Honorable Mention: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Cal, Clemson, Colorado, Iowa, LSU, Michigan State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Syracuse.

Note: Georgia Tech’s black facemasks don’t cut it…go back to grey. The white throwback helmets from last year were sweet!

Official Scorekeeping

Thursday night I researched the official scoring rules on MLB.com. Pretty interesting but mundane. Will has usually been the victim of hitting it right at someone who makes an error, so his average suffers. I try to be lenient if the entire rec team is weak-hitting…then I’d rule Will’s at-bats the same as the entire team. Christian, the 15-year old coaches son playing against 13 & 14 year olds, has hit two fly balls right at the centerfielder. Both times the centerfielder botched it. Another grounder hit directly at the shortstop was booted…the ball wasn’t hit that hard. Will hit one in the hole that the shortstop knocked down. Colin hit a fly in the gap that neither outfielder could run down. I just like to keep score…it beats just sitting there.

Had my eye on that Sunday Brewers game…Matthew had wanted to run the bases. Night games work out better, but since we went this past Sunday, that may be it for us. We also have the change to go to Six Flags twice…that would be a Sunday. Seeing Andruw’s last home game would be neat.

Coworker Randy just got back from almost 2 weeks in Seattle. Helped his daughter move, and visited the elderly in-laws for their 60th anniversary. At lunchtime I had to go to the bank and was stopped at a light. I was spaced out, then looked to my left and Randy was next to me in his car, spaced out. I waved him down and met him at Subway.

Meet the Saints

It’s early, but the Saints have at least four solid players and several more who should contribute regularly. I’m still getting to know the younger ones, but here’s a rundown in numerical order:

1. John Fulton (age 14) is starting to grow…Saturday he batted leadoff & played SS & 1B. Capable player…can pitch & play OF. Family is from SC, sis plays softball at Kell, dad helps out & is big into baseball. Saturday he walked, though he’s aggressive at the plate. Tuesday after a bunt he hit one over the left-fielder's head.

2. Jack (14) Curtis’s younger brother, a little lefty who’ll get to pitch once or twice. 2B & OF…can get the bat on the ball. After five games he's amoung the team leaders in RBIs.

3. Colin (14?) slight build, played with Will on the Titans in the spring. Can get the bat on the ball and does well in the field. Struggled pitching on Saturday. Dad coached Will years ago, looks like Bill Cowher…really into the games.

4. Preston (13) hasn’t played much baseball, but he's got ability…short & stout…2B & OF. Dad is a principal.

5. Will M (14) has been trying too hard, to hit HRs and throw pitches through walls.

6. Russell (15) does ok at most positions, though his arm is weak. Hits well when he’s practiced alot. Homeschooled, big into Boy Scouts.

7. Christian (15) Coach Chris’ 15 year old son, playing down a level, so he should excel. Missed spring ball due to a broken ankle. P, C, SS.

8. Curtis (15) loves CF but continues to struggle throwing strikes…also SS & 1B. Quiet. Will’s long-time teammate, agressive at the plate.

9. Kevin (13) hasn’t played much but has ability…his throws have movement. Had a big RBI single last Tuesday night. Runs fast, with long strides.

10. Patrick (13) young lefty hitter up from Bronco with talent…can hit and play the infield once he adjusts to the bigger field/opposition.

11. Joey (14) grew over the summer, lost some baby fat…could contribute this fall at the plate…singled on Saturday. Batted .400 the second half of the spring season. Dad quite knowledgeable about baseball.

12. Will G (15) another 15 year-old playing down…slow, but hopefully he’ll contribute…P, C, 1B…likes to talk. Glares at the pitcher when he gets hit, provoking laughter from all. Dad is a lot of fun.

13. Josiah (14) Saturday he lined on over LF’s head and made it to third…a clean triple! Likes to walk but sometimes watches strike three. Pitches have velocity but not movement, which is OK if he throws strikes…P, 1B, 3B. Quiet demeanor, alert/aggresive baserunner. Dad was a missionary, is fun to watch with.

14. Tanner (14) longtime teammate/opponent of Will’s, chunky…P, C, 3B, 1B…played on a competitive spring team. His dad is a great umpire…was behind the plate Saturday when Tanner was pitching.

Sept 15 Game One Win

Will’s fall baseball team won both games of their Saturday doubleheader.

Will went 3 – 3 with a walk, and scored all four times. He had a single, triple, and an inside-the-park Home Run, and had 4 RBIs. Will retired all six batters he faced, striking out the first five, then caught a line drive back up the middle.

The Saints had 13 players Saturday, so each player only got two plate appearances in each game.

In the first game Will game up to bat in the second inning with the Saints trailing three to nothing. With one out and a runner on second, Will lined a 3 – 1 pitch through the gap in right-center, past the outfielders, for an easy RBI triple. He then scored an a passed ball.

In the fourth inning Will came up with the score tied and a runner on base. On a full count Will walked. Ball four was a wild pitch, and the runner was able to score from third. When West Cobb tried to get the out at home, Will hustled to first and kept going, making it to second base on the play. Will stole third base on the first pitch, then the pitcher attempted a pickoff throw to third. When the ball got away Will was able to score. He advanced four bases on two pitches!

The inning ended with the Saints ahead 6 – 4. West Cobb was retired in order in the top of the fifth to end the game. Will caught two innings and played shortstop two innings. At short he took the throw from a catcher and tagged out a baserunner.

Game Two Victory

The Saints had an easier time in Game Two, winning 8 – 2.

Tanner’s dad Jay drafted me to umpire the bases in this second game. In the first inning I realized I might have to call whether a batter swung, and sure enough, in the top of the third the West Cobb leadoff batter tried to hold up. Tanner was catching, and he pointed to me. I waited until umpire Jay asked for help. As soon as he pointed to me I signals safe, though it was close. That batter wound up walking and scoring, but West Cobb still trailed 4 – 2 at that point. A real umpire showed up to call the last two innings.

In the bottom of the first Will came up with two out and a runner on second. He lined the 3 – 1 pitch over the centerfielder’s head. The ball rolled to the left-centerfield fence. Will had eased up just a little as he approached third, but turned on the speed when the third-base coach waved him home, and Will had an inside-the-park Home Run and two RBIs.

West Cobb played the second game with only eight players, so the Saints supplied a rightfielder. For the last three innings, instead of giving the time to one of the 13 Saints, Coach Chris sent out his son Michael, an Bronco all-star travel-ball player. When Will came up to bat in the fourth with a runner on third, Chris hollered out to Michael, positioning him defensively. Will lined a 2 – 1 pitch to right for an RBI single, but Michael almost made a diving catch on the play.

On the first pitch Will took off on a steal of second base. John Fulton hit a grounder to the shortstop. When the shortstop threw to first, Will continued on to third base. Tanner grounded out to second, and Will scored. The next inning Michael’s brother Christian came up and hit a line drive past Michael for an inside-the-parker.

Will played shortstop and caught an inning each. He came in to pitch the fourth inning, and struck out all three batters. Facing the meat of the order in the fifth, Will struck out the first two batters. The cleanup hitter then lined the ball right back at Will’s head. Will instinctively raised his glove, just in time to catch the drive in the heel of his glove.

For the fall season Will has struck out 15 of the 25 batters he’s faced. He’s allowed only one hit.