June 15 2022 Recap
By Marc Brafman
Is anyone else still thirsty? I drink a lot of water during the day, and I had a lot last night and I’m still thirsty. The action was hot but not as hot as the air. Let’s get to the games.
On field 1 we had Team Stu vs. Team Micah
Stu chimes in:
Game 1:
A hard fought back and forth game. Team Kamrass had a big 2nd inning and continued to add on in the 3rd. Team Solomon had a big bottom 3rd, scoring 5 runs. Big hits by Ryan Marcus and Matt “Swagger” Wagner. The final score was 8-7
Game 2:
Team Solomon had a big 1st and 2nd inning. Stu “El Captain” Solomon went 3-3 with 4 RBIs. Evan “Fresh to death” Gildenblatt went 2-2 with two very hard hit balls.
Great Defensive in both games from Tyler Stansbury and Ryan Marcus. The final score was 8-4.
Big shout out to Tyler and his new fiancée! Team Solomon shared a little champagne between games for the happy couple.
On Field 2 it was Team Kyle vs. Team Jimmy
Kyle reports in:
We beat Team Lefton in both games of the double header. The first game started terribly in the first inning with shortstop Taylor Police feeling a pop in his hamstring in what could unfortunately be a season ending injury. After the 4th inning the game was tied at 5 and in the top of the 5th we were fortunate to limit them to two runs as I had a nice catch to rob Griff Harris of an opposite field shot over my head. In the bottom of the 5th we rallied and they elected to walk Ben Margolis with 2 outs to load the bases with us down one. Zach Michelson came up to the plate wide eyed and laced the first pitch he saw up the middle to score two and walk it off and win 8-7.
In the second game Mike Gray carried us with some great pitching and the defense was almost flawless to win 6-2. Michael Margolis and Josh Rosen each had nice catches late in the game in the outfield to stop some potential rallies. Offensively we were able to take advantage of some defensive miscues as both sides were getting exhausted late in the game.
Overall Zach Michelson played out of his mind with some huge hits and great defense in the infield. Ben Margolis is coming into his own at catcher, and AJ Goldhoff continues to get hits at the top of the order.
Side note: Congrats to Chris Kunkel on the birth of his daughter a few weeks ago and also to Mike Gray on getting married last week.
On field 3 we had Team Jeremy vs. Team Mark (with a K)
Jeremy for the victors:
Game 1 –
In a game that featured more defense than offense, Team Fogel struck early but not often. Going up 3-0 through 2 ½. Team Weisser responded with two of their own in the bottom of the third. The score stayed that way until the top of the fifth when, with two outs, Sparky Fogel got the Men in Navy Blue rolling with a two out base knock. It was followed by five consecutive hits and four runs to extend a lead that would not be erased by the opposition. 7-2 Fogel, game one.
Game 2 –
Continuing where they left off, the Men in Navy Blue jumped ahead in the bottom of the first with some contagious hitting and did not look back. Jamey continued to prove that you don’t need velocity to be effective and was backed by some masterful defense. A game that resembled the first, Team Fogel won by a score of 7-3, or something close to that.
Stat of the day:
No quantitative data to back this up, but a wonderful fielding performance from the Men in Navy Blue on a hot Wednesday night. Battling the sun through both games, there were web gems made all around the field. An infield containing three Feldman relatives is not one to mess with. Each making spectacular plays at their respective positions to capture momentum in both games.
Finally on Field 4 it was team Marc (with a C) vs. Team Steve
On his first time playing in what seems like 8 weeks Team Brafman welcomed back their wayward captain with a win in game 1 to remain in first place. Hitting stars were Fink with a couple of massive hits, And of course Anton and JZ. David “BP” Synder recovered from his broken face also reached base every time up. Team Brafman also flashed their usual leather with Joel “Hallelujah” Buckley turning a key 5-3 DP and “Handsome” Sam Castellini making a couple of tough catches into the wind. Dr. Bob at first and Alex Krause behind the plate also did a great job. The 11-7 win keeps Brafman one game up on Team Fogel with 2 to go. “I’d also like to thank sub, Jake Mackzum for toughing out last night,” Brafman said.
In the second game things did not go Team Brafman’s way. Credit to Team Z who I think batted around once if not twice in a 13-run second inning. A combo of hits from David “Slim Shady” Wertheim, Howard “Goldie” Goldwasser, Kenny Groh, Harry “India” Meisner and just about everyone else on Steve’s team did in Team Brafman in that inning. Not to be overlooked were a couple of long hits by Oren Shmoel and Phil Ganson who also played a very solid LF and 3rd base. While Team Brafman mounted a spirited comeback, they couldn’t overcome the big inning and lost 18-10.
Next week it’s once again going to be in the high 90’s so be prepared.
League Notes:
A HUGE thank you once again to Gig Franklin for sponsoring wing night at the Silver Spring house. A good time was had by all.
Big shout out to Alex Krause who is expecting a baby daughter early next year! Alex and his wife are very excited
Good luck and speedy recovery to Gary Grefer, who had hip surgery earlier this month. He reports he plans to get back and be ready to go for his Florida softball and shuffleboard league as soon as he can
Since we didn’t play last week, here’s a quick recap on Jewish Night at the Reds game last Tuesday. It never gets old listening to Albert Weisbrot sing the National Anthem. On a perfect night for baseball, it was great to see the Reds hit 4 or 5 homers and and have a rookie pitcher throw the ball well. Of course, the bullpen did all they could to blow it, but in the end it was a nice Reds win. Ricky Lefton got some selfies with Barry Larkin and Phil “Where else you gonna go” Castellini. By the way I also saw Phil when I walked in. I tried to get Jacob to walk up to him and kick him in the shin but he wouldn’t do it. Other highlights were: “Handsome” Sam Castellini living up to his nickname by sitting next to a number of women, one of whom may or may not have been his wife; Eddie Gallop holding court on the concourse not caring how the Reds did; and a special treat for David “D Sol” Solomon, who got to witness my Dad slipping down the stairs and then letting out a stream of curse words that would have had Richard Pryor blush. The only downside was it was the single worst Redszilla ball launch I’ve ever seen and that is saying something. Even as bad as the Reds are, it’s still fun to hang out with everyone at a game and you get a cool Reds/Jewish keepsake that Roger will be happy to sell for you post game.
Belated congrats goes out to Former JCC all star Weezy Lefton, whose son was a major player on Mason’s high school’s team run to the State Final 4. While they didn’t end up winning, still a great season.
Another shout out to former JCC player, Ben Sandor for getting engaged. After a tough couple of years, congrats!
Two alumni guys also celebrated birthdays over the last couple of weeks, Big “Al” Lefton and Randy “Tex” Broyles.
Today (June 16) is the anniversary of Tom Seaver’s only no hitter as he beat the Cards back in 1978. The interesting tidbit about that game is that Johnny Bench was not behind the plate but instead a guy named Don Werner. I have to admit as big a Reds fan as I am, I don’t know a darn thing about Don Werner but he will always be part of Reds history for that game.
I think this week is time for another Faust story. When he was pitching for me, and I’m sure for other teams, it didn’t matter if it was 50 outside or a game like last night, he sweated a lot. One time he went into his windup and launched a ball clear over the backstop. When we got back into the dugout, Mike “Flash” Creemer went up to him and said, “What happened?” Jason looked him straight into the face and said, “Sorry, ball slipped,” as if he had missed the plate by a foot and not FEET.
Drink a lot of water to prepare for next week.
Stay cool!