Things to note but for the tree:
-Ding dong the Greek is dead. In a battle of defending captains, Mark's team of tree-huggers defeated Christos' team of homerun-hitting human rain delays by a score of 13 to 12.
-A loud argument occurred after the game, stemming from a disputed homerun hit by Wilson in the bottom of the 8th. Christos and Mike, unaware of the rule—in place and applied since 2007—vociferously argued to no avail because arguments are always won by the most vocal and well-liked (in this case, Wilson).
-The game ended on an excellent catch-throw-catch by first baseman Matero and catcher Mark. Alejandro popped up well into foul territory and the ball was caught by Matero who then fired, over the visiting team's dugout to home plate where Jaysian was tagged out attempting to score. Game ovah.
-Thomas, having to go to work, left the game in the 4th inning after only one at-bat. He's caught the last 3 weeks and in that stretch, his battery mates' stats are (Wilson/Christos/Cruzer/Kevin): 22 ip, 6 r, 4 er, 17 h, 28 k, 11 bb
-Reese is still very good. All three of his hits went for extra bases; he had 11 total bases on the day, driving in 5.
-After Thomas' departure, we had 20 players remaining. A whopping 25% of the group was either Wilson or related to Wilson.
-Wilson's brother, Rangel, and two of his cousins, Edwin and Edward, made their league debuts (though Rangel and Edwin played in the first and last End of Summer Classic Friends & Family Celebrity Softball Game in 2007).
-In the top of the 6th, in 90+ degree heat, Alejandro took an inordinate amount of time to get to the plate. In an admittedly bush/immature/dick move, Wilson fired the ball towards him, hitting the backstop a few inches above Ale's head. Giving absolutely zero fucks about this, Alejandro hit the first pitch he saw over the fence for a game-tying two-run homer.
-To his credit, Alejandro caught for the whole game.
-During one of John B's at-bats, Alejandro yelled out to Mike, "Tirale, este no corre, es gordo." This translates to "Come on, pitch, he can't run, he's fat". John B can speak and, more importantly, understand a great deal of Spanish so he understood every word. John B had a sad.
-John B's favorite Spanish word is "dibujo". This means "a drawing."
-Both teams played relatively good defense, as only five (5) of the game's runs were of the unearned variety.
-Everyone went to Wendy's after the game except for Christos and the scorecards.
-Wilson's vote for Stars of the Game: Kevin, Reese, Wilson.
-Sergio hit a GRAND SLAM OFF OF BRIAN MANGAN. This phrase is capitalized in all of Sergio's correspondence to the league and/or Brian.
-Brian pitched pretty well, allowing only two runs on five hits, before unraveling in the bottom of the 6th.
-People kept mentioning someone named Kroger or Dodger. Doesn't ring a bell.
-With the exception of Stephan's 4th inning solo-homerun, all of Tree-Huggers' runs were driven in by the 1-3 hitters (Kevin with 2 and Wilson/Sergio with 5 apiece).
-Prior to Stephan's homerun, Mark told Stephan to... hit a homerun. No word on whether Mark—in a Mr. Burns voice--said, "You see, I told him to do that!"
-In only his 2nd-ever plate appearance, Rangel hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Gabe. In eleven (11) seasons, Wilson has the same number of sacrifice flies—one.
-This game featured SIXTEEN (16!) extra-base hits; seven (7) doubles, three (3) triples and six (6) homeruns.
Notes courtesy of Mark:
- In the 2nd inning, Alejandro hit a high fly ball into foul territory in left. Left-fielder Mark couldn't see the ball at all and failed to make a play. Later in the 4th inning, Brian hit a foul ball into the top of the backstop/overhang. Assuming it was another foul he couldn't see, Mark ran into foul territory hoping to eventually see, and catch, the ball.
- Scumbag Sun also interfered with Reese making a catch on Mark's routine pop up in the 5th inning. We need bright neon pink baseballs.
Notes courtesy of Kevin:
-John B hit a foul ball to third base ON THE NEIGHBORING FIELD and Brian insisted on using the same ball and someone had to walk over to get it and relay it back before the next pitch was thrown.
-Mike came in to pitch with Mark batting with a full count then went back to the left field after Christos realized the at bat was not over. Then Mike came back from left field after the next pitch.
-Kevin stepped in a big hole in left field and fell down while running over to field Jay's flyball in the 9th. Brian thought it was adorable and puppy/Mike-esque. He sprained his thumb and may have fractured his foot on the play. However, he will not be getting it x-rayed so hopefully it's just a bad bruise and will feel better in a few days.
-We hired someone to mow the grass all over the field prior to the game so that Mike would not trip and swim through the high grass leading to more arguing between him and Brian.
Notes courtesy of Brian:
-Seriously Mark ran like fifty feet before he noticed the ball was laying motionless on the infield dirt. And it takes Mark like five minutes to run that far.
-Recorded 15 outs, nine by strikeout, one on a pop up I caught. Brian pitching ... Forever alone, as usual.
Also in an actual correction I believe Stephan's ground ball in the sixth was an error.
Also I wish that Kroger guy was around to check because there are not very often GRAND SLAMS hit off BRIAN MANGAN.
And my goodness, Kevin, please stop breaking yourself. We like you. We also need you to play.
-Away game next week!
Top 1
Pitching: Kevin Chau.
Alvin Law strikes out.
Christos Plakas walks.
Mike Fusilli strikes out.
Reese Pereyra strikes out.
Bottom 1
Pitching: Brian Mangan.
Wilson De La Cruz pops out (P-1).
Kevin Chau walks.
Sergio Herrera walks, Kevin Chau to second.
Mark Rubin strikes out.
Joe Materrorist strikes out.
Top 2
Pitching: Kevin Chau.
HJ Kwon pops out (P-1).
Brian Mangan strikes out.
Alejandro Sierra singles.
Gabe Edelman strikes out.
Bottom 2
Pitching: Brian Mangan.
John B. strikes out.
Stephan Fenty walks.
Thomas Meade lines out (L-5).
Omar Liriano strikes out.
Top 3
Pitching: Kevin Chau.
Chris Coleman doubles.
Edwin Liriano strikes out.
Alvin Law flies out (F-8).
Christos Plakas reaches first on an error (E4), Chris Coleman scores (unearned).
Mike Fusilli flies out (F-7).
Bottom 3
Pitching: Brian Mangan.
Wilson De La Cruz flies out (F-8).
Kevin Chau singles.
Sergio Herrera strikes out.
Mark Rubin singles, Kevin Chau to third.
- Mark Rubin to second on the throw.
Joe Materrorist strikes out.
Top 4
Pitching: Kevin Chau.
Reese Pereyra homers.
HJ Kwon strikes out.
Brian Mangan grounds out (5-3).
Alejandro Sierra grounds out (6-3).
Bottom 4
Pitching: Brian Mangan.
John B. flies out (F-7).
Stephan Fenty homers.
Edward Liriano strikes out.
Omar Liriano doubles.
Wilson De La Cruz grounds out (6-3).
Top 5
Pitching: Kevin Chau.
Gabe Edelman triples.
Chris Coleman walks.
Rangel Nuñez strikes out.
Alvin Law doubles, Chris Coleman to third, Gabe Edelman scores.
Christos Plakas walks.
Mike Fusilli hits a sacrifice fly (F-9), Chris Coleman scores.
Reese Pereyra pops out (P-1).
Bottom 5
Pitching: Brian Mangan.
Kevin Chau singles.
- Kevin Chau to third (E9).
Sergio Herrera hits a sacrifice fly (F-9), Kevin Chau scores (unearned).
Mark Rubin reaches first on an error (E5).
Joe Materrorist strikes out.
John B. strikes out.
Top 6
Pitching: Wilson De La Cruz relieves Kevin Chau.
HJ Kwon grounds out (6-3).
Brian Mangan walks.
Alejandro Sierra homers, Brian Mangan scores.
Gabe Edelman doubles.
Chris Coleman strikes out.
Edwin Liriano strikes out.
Bottom 6
Pitching: Brian Mangan.
Stephan Fenty reaches second on an error (E6).
Edward Liriano singles, Stephan Fenty to third.
Omar Liriano walks, Edward Liriano to second.
Wilson De La Cruz doubles, Omar Liriano to third, Edward Liriano scores, Stephan Fenty scores (unearned).
Kevin Chau walks.
Sergio Herrera homers, Kevin Chau scores, Wilson De La Cruz scores, Omar Liriano scores.
Mark Rubin walks.
Pitching: Mike Fusilli relieves Brian Mangan.
Joe Materrorist grounds into a fielder's choice, Mark Rubin out at second (5-4).
John B. singles, Joe Materrorist to second.
Stephan Fenty grounds into a fielder's choice, John B. to second, Joe Materrorist out at third (1-5).
Edward Liriano walks, Stephan Fenty to second, John B. to third.
Omar Liriano strikes out.
Top 7
Pitching: Wilson De La Cruz.
Alvin Law singles.
Christos Plakas strikes out.
Mike Fusilli triples, Alvin Law scores.
Reese Pereyra triples, Mike Fusilli scores.
HJ Kwon grounds into a fielder's choice, Reese Pereyra out at home (6-2).
Brian Mangan strikes out.
Bottom 7
Pitching: Mike Fusilli.
Wilson De La Cruz walks.
Kevin Chau homers, Wilson De La Cruz scores.
Sergio Herrera grounds out (5-3).
Mark Rubin pops out (P-5).
Joe Materrorist hit by pitch.
John B. grounds out (6-3).
Top 8
Pitching: Wilson De La Cruz.
Alejandro Sierra flies out (F-7).
Gabe Edelman doubles.
Chris Coleman singles, Gabe Edelman to third.
Rangel Nuñez hits a sacrifice fly (F-8), Gabe Edelman scores.
Alvin Law flies out (F-7).
Bottom 8
Pitching: Mike Fusilli.
Stephan Fenty singles.
Edward Liriano reaches first on an error (E4), Stephan Fenty to second.
Omar Liriano strikes out.
Wilson De La Cruz homers, Edward Liriano scores (unearned), Stephan Fenty scores.
Kevin Chau strikes out.
Sergio Herrera pops out (P-5).
Top 9
Pitching: Wilson De La Cruz.
Christos Plakas walks.
Mike Fusilli reaches first on an error (E5), Christos Plakas to third.
Reese Pereyra homers, Mike Fusilli scores (unearned), Christos Plakas scores.
HJ Kwon doubles.
Brian Mangan grounds out (5-3), HJ Kwon to third.
Alejandro Sierra pops out (P-3), HJ Kwon out at home (3-2).
