23 July 1998: HOMERS 18, Devil Rays 6

From: KELVIN::BAALKE "Ron Baalke" 24-JUL-1998 17:49:08.31

In a surprisingly pleasant day at the Rose Bowl, the HOMERS gave the Devil Rays their due in a 18-6 win. The bedeviled Devil Rays showed up with only 6 players, so the game was technically forfeited to the HOMERS. However, the HOMERS graciously loaned them three players (Adrienne, Lisa, & Rich B.) so that the game could be played. Lisa later came back to the HOMERS as a couple of new Devil Rays arrived around the second inning. The HOMERS welcomes Cathy, who made her HOMERS debut. With their win, the HOMERS have now won six in a row and improve their season record to 11-1.

Defensive Line-up:

Sue       <----Field Manager------->
Scott     1b  of  of  of  ss  of  of
Jeff       c  of  1b  3b  of  2b  of
Sheila    of  3b  of   c  of  of  3b
Ron        p  1b   c  1b  1b  1b  1b
Richard   of  of  ss   p  of   p  ss
Tony      ss  ss   p  ss  3b  ss   p
Annette   3b   c  3b  of   c  3b  of
Jim       of   p  of  of   p  of  of
Lisa      2b  of  2b  of   c
Cathy     2b  2b  of  2b  of   c  2b
Adrienne  <-------Traded----------->
Rich B.   <-------Traded----------->
Tim       <-we are thinking of you->

As usual, Sue's field managing was flawless, and she gets full credit for the team's 29-3 record for the past year and a half.

Offensively, the HOMERS had one of their lower scoring games of the year, failing to score 20 runs for only the second time. However, six home runs were hammered out, including 2 by Ron (3 RBI & 2 RBI), 2 by Richard (2 RBI & solo shot), and 2 by Tony (2 RBI & solo shot). The HOMERS have now hit 69 home runs for the year, establishing a new season team record, and doing it in only 12 games! And speaking of home runs, move over Mark McGuire. The following HOMERS are challenging Roger Maris' record:

                        162 Game
             G    HR    Projection
   Ron      12    16      216
   Richard  12    15      203
   Tony     12    14      189
   Scott    12     8      108

Everyone got at least one base hit, and other notable contributions to the offense from the HOMERS regulars include Scott (4 for 4, triple), Sheila (2 for 4) and Jeff (3 for 4). Jim Shell was called in from the reserves, and went 3 for 4 including a triple, which probably would of been a home run if he wasn't held at third base by the third base coach (who shall remain namesless, but whose name rhymes with deaf). Cathy was impressive in her HOMERS debut by going 3 for 3.

Now here's a new treat, the first ever HOMERS boxscore. Relish it while you can, as I don't expect the next one to appear any time soon.

             AB  R  H RBI
   Scott      4  3  4  2
   Jeff       4  1  3  2
   Sheila     4  2  2  2
   Ron        4  3  3  5
   Richard    4  3  3  3
   Tony       4  2  4  3
   Annette    4  0  1  0
   Jim        4  2  3  0
   Lisa       4  0  1  0
   Cathy      3  2  3  1
   Adrienne   Traded
   Rich B.    Traded
   Totals    39 18 27 18

   Devil Rays        1   0   0   0   1   0   4    6
   HOMERS            3   3   0   7   1   4   x   18

   LOB - 6. 2B - Richard, Cathy. 3B - Scott, Ron, Tony 2, Jim.
   HR - Ron 2 (16), Richard 2 (15), Tony 2 (14).

           IP  R   ERA
   Ron, W   1  1   7.00
   Jim      2  1   3.50
   Tony     2  4  14.00
   Richard  2  0   0.00(!)

   T-2:02. A-24.

Defensively, the Homers played a solid game, but there were no Jim Edmonds over-the-shoulder catches or Ozzie Smith acrobatic backflips to report. Richard did not make any overthrows to first base (!). I'll repeat that again so the significance of it will sink in: Richard did not make overthrows to first base (!). Richard also threw out a hitter at first from the outfield, a feat that is near and dear to his heart. Scott made a catch of a deep fly ball hit by Rich B. that would normally would of been a home run (that's one of the disadvantages of being traded to the other team, we know how you hit, Rich). As a curiosity footnote, Jeff insisted on playing second base so that he can claim to have played all 10 positions at one time or another this season.

Pitching is not usually mentioned, but it should be noted the HOMERS held their opponents to a season low of 6 runs. Particular attention goes to Richard, who did not give up any runs (!), I repeat, did not give up any runs in the two innings he pitched.

There are three DOH! Player of the Week Awards for this week:

DOH #1 - Jeff - With Jeff on first in the second inning, Shelia hit a soft liner to short centerfield which was easily caught. For some reason, Jeff was running full steam on the play, and was easily doubled off of first to complete the double play. DOH!
DOH #2 - Ron - In the third inning, Ron was trying to stretch a triple to a home run, but listened to the HOLD sign from a nameless third base coach, which caused him to hesitate at 3rd base long enough to be thrown out at the plate. DOH!
DOH #3 - 5th Inning Base Running - With 2 runners on base, Scott hit a popup that fell into short center field. In the confusion that followed, three HOMERS base runners were milling around in the vicinity of second base, which was followed by a scramble to get to an open base. It ended up with one of the base runners being tagged out at second base. DOH!

Sideline particpants includes Kona, who still hasn't hanged herself from insistant pulling on her dogleash, and Daniel and his dog.

After the game the HOMERS dinner at Crown City Brewery was attended by Scott, Sue, Richard, Jeff, Jim, Ron, & Adrienne (names purposely arranged out of order to confuse Richard).

Next week's game is on Tuesday July 28 on H2 versus a yet to-be-determined team (not to be confused with the TBD team, whom we already played). We were originally scheduled to play against the Cassini Grounders, but that team has recently disappeared from the C League under mysterious circumstances. Richard is attempting to find a replacement team to play against. As usual let Richard or Jeff know if you can't make it.