Author: The Commissioner

July 20 Recap

By Marc Brafman

I don’t know what Commish Ryan Hi Ho Silverman did to piss off Mother Nature (maybe leave the toilet seat up or call her fat?) but man when it’s not raining it’s hotter than hell on those fields. Ryan, do some sort of dance to get some nice 75-degree weather out there for us, will ya!! I think this might have been the first time since May that we played two weeks in a row, so we have that going for us, right?

The action on the field was as hot as the air. Let’s get right to it.

On Field one we had Team Lefton vs. Team Kamrass

Jimmy for the winners:

Lefton 13 Kamrass 2

 

Team Lefton beats Kamrass by run rule in the 5th, 13-2.   Team Lefton shuffled the time of the order and it seemed to help reignite an offense that was very hot at the start of the season and cooled off significantly during the run of double headers.  This was a total team effort both offensively and defensively.  Game ball was given to Zach Zakem who had some great at bats and an awesome catch on a ball hit a mile high by Mark Tenenholtz in right field.  Going into the game, Lefton was 4-1 in 7 inning games and 1-5 in 5 inning games…winning this game by run rule in 5 innings brought up a great question from Team Secretary Ryan “Hammer” Baum… “does this win count for our 7 inning record or our 5 inning record?”… Good stuff!

On Field two it was Team Brafman vs. Team Weisser

Marc B for the winners: Team Brafman finally got a win in the second half of the season, 15-5 over Weisser. As is usually the case when it comes to Team Brafman, it was a total team effort. From Todd “The Mayor” Wasserman’s 3 hits, to “Handsome” Sam Castellini continuing his torrid hitting, Team Brafman jumped on Weisser early and never looked back. Other hitting stars were David Snyder, Fink, who had a couple of RBI Doubles, Eric “The Mouth of the Midwest” Gruen, who had 2 doubles and could have had an inside-the-park homer had he not had base runners on in front of him. In his first game back from foot surgery, Jack Cohen had a couple of knocks as well. On defense Team Brafman played a near error-free game. Super Sub David “Slim Shady” Wertheim made all of the plays at SS, JZ showed off his cannon of an arm at 3rd and Dr. Bob Pelberg with a great smothering play at first off the bat of Tyler “Big Bad” Wolf. 

Not to be overlooked was an inside-the-park homer by Wes “Hungry Like a” Wolf and Scott “Dire” Wolf who added to his all-time JCC steals record. And Brad Wagner turned a nice 5-3 DP on a hot shot down the line. 

“I’m proud of my team,” Brafman said. It took us a couple of weeks to get back on the right track. Now we need to turn our attention to Team Stu on Sunday. Brafman hopes he can avoid being thrown out of this game.

On field 3, it was the game of the night as Team Solomon took on the revamped and recharged Team Rosenthal.

Stu for the winners.

We now go to our live man on the scene, Less Nessman, aka Gregg Harris:

“This is Les Nessman live at Triple Creek Park where the excitement is mounting. Team Solomon has narrowly defeated a much-improved Team Rosenthal 10-9. People familiar with the situation say this game was a back-and-forth affair with Team Solomon going down early. It has also been reported that Super Sub Yitz Creeger was everywhere defensively along with his subbing partner Harry Meisner. Is that a turkey falling from the sky?! No, it’s Ryan Marcus with another superb day at the plate. What really has this reporter buzzing is Matt “007” Wagner. Why are we calling him 007, you ask? Because he has a Golden Eye at the plate. Let me set the scene: Team Solomon had been chipping away all game after an early deficit . They load the bases in the bottom of 7 and up steps Matt (S)Wagner. On a 3-2 pitch he lays off on a ball to walk the winning run in! What a time to be alive for Team Solomon as they stay undefeated in the 2nd half. 

When asked if he was going to miss the game this weekend because his roommate was not playing, 007 said “Yup I’ll be there. I got a championship on my mind, unlike JZ.” Could there be trouble in paradise? Stay tuned next week to find out.

This is Les Nessman signing out.

and Roger for the losing team:

TEAM SOLOMON 9

TEAM ROSENTHAL 8

(might have been 10-9…..check with other team…..)

I owe it to you as a captain to report on the game………

We jumped out with an early lead and held it until the very end……a hit here or there and a defensive play here or there and we might have had our second straight win.

Kudos to….. 

EVAN PIERSON……cranked a homerun over the LCF fence and came close a couple of other times……

MARC SIMONS……had his best offensive game of the year with at least three hits…..

JAMES SWAN……..had a couple of hits and played well in RCF……

DAVID SOLOMON……solid once again behind the plate and had a couple of hits…..

RAFI GOLDFARB…….solid at SS and had a couple of clutch hits……..

KEITH KOMBRINCK……had a good game pitching, but the third baseman (who would that be?) couldn’t move on a few grounders to him or they would have been outs……

MICHAEL ASKIN…..played a solid LF and got a couple of hits……

ROGER ROSENTHAL……MIA

Special thanks go out to subs, GARY ASKIN and MATT MILLER…….

QUOTES AFTER THE GAME……

“I think we’re getting it together. That was a good team we played this evening,” said SIMONS.

“I’m proud of the way we fought out there. We didn’t get the results we wanted, but we hung in there against a good team,” ROSENTHAL said.

It should be noted that afterwards, ROSENTHAL asked one JACOB BRAFMAN, son of MARK “MR. BLOG” BRAFMAN, if he could sub for him the rest of the year.” He can’t do any worse!?

Also, it should be noted that one of the bigger XAVIER fans, ROSENTHAL gave up the TBT game the XAVIER alumni were playing this evening to play softball……rumor had it that his team wished he would have gone to the basketball game….”I wish I would have too. I could have gotten a sub that wouldn’t have done any worse than I did. I stunk….again.”

Finally on field 4 it was Team Grefer vs. Team Fogel

Kyle for the winners:

Team Grefer beat Team Fogel 7-2 with Howie pitching a great game to earn his first win of the year! It was a total team effort with generally great defense and only a couple defensive miscues. AJ Goldhoff had a great game at shortstop and his flexibility has been invaluable moving from catcher to outfield to shortstop this season. Yair Richler also had a great game in right field making a couple huge catches on hard hit line drives. We did most of our damage in one inning scoring 5 runs, with Dan Grefer having a triple to right field, and Chris Kunkel, sub Ian Conwell, Josh Rosen, and myself all with base hits. Chris Kunkel also made a nice putout at second base to stop a potential rally.

League notes:

Happy birthday Evan Weisser. He celebrated by making a very nice shoestring catch to rob Fink last night

Israel reporter Ken “let it” Groh reports that Team USA is 3-0 in the fast pitch softball Maccabiah games. Jeff “The Natural” Weisbrot is more than holding his own and keeping his 5th round draft pick grudge going. It will be interesting to see which holds a grudge longer, Jeff or JaMarr Chase for his Madden ranking which means nothing to me but A LOT to Jacob.

Congrats are in order for Phil Ganson on the birth of his son, Emmett, last week.

Also, Brad “The Human Rain delay” Wagner and his wife Brooke are expecting their first kids any day now. 

Continuing a story that was reported on last week, The Wolf family was on the front page of the Israelite this past week. A great story and picture of all of them and showcasing how long the league has been around and what it means to all of them. I know I speak for a lot of guys who are jealous of the fact that Duffy is playing with his two sons while Scott has played with his sons in the past. Every week when I wake up on Thursday with a sore shoulder or knee I think I can do this for a few more years to play with Jacob, right? 

An interesting story that Dr. Bob told us last night. When he was in med school and doing his residency at Parkland Hospital in Dallas (Where JFK Was taken when he was shot) a very large women came into the ER complaining of stomach pain. As Bob was examining her, he realized that she had a rotten apple stuck in her let’s just say large folds of skin around her stomach. Not in her stomach but hidden in her skin. Reason number 465 that I could never be a doctor.

Did anyone find the ASG broadcasters incredibly boring? I have never been one to turn on a game because so and so is on the air. But man, the Fox team was awful. Micing up the players was fun but where was the excitement? 

This week’s Ron Rose Story comes from Gary Grefer.

Ron contributed to the league in many ways. While he was on the commission and served as Commissioner, Ron was able to navigate the JCC political landscape for the league’s benefit. He always had the ear of the Executive Director and President. Whether we needed new lights, various safety initiatives, or better staffing – Ron was often the guy who ran the point on these initiatives.

Finally in this week in Roger land…

a 2014 NY Rangers Eastern Conf. Championship hat could be yours for the low, low price of $5. 

Reminder that we play Sunday at 9:30 AM

See everyone out at the fields

Marc

 

July 13 Recap

By Marc Brafman

 

What do you know…we got another week of games in! Of course, it still rained on Wednesday night and those of us at the Spring House had to dodge the monsoon that hit around 9:30. But that is better than 6:30, right?  

 

First, before we get to the action on the field. A tip of the JCC hat to Team Solomon who won the first half title last night. Well done guys…

 

Now on to the recaps:

 

Field 1

 

Game 1: 11-3 Team Solomon

 

It was a tight game through the first 2 innings. It was another great pitching and fielding game for Corey “Chuck” Norris. He got the outs when it counted. In both the 3rd and 4th, we scored 4 runs to break the game open. Super Sub, Zach Hiudt, had a double over 1B to score two. Ryan “ROY” Marcus, Tyler Stansbury, and Greg “Triple G” Harris led the offensive surge to bring home the first half championship. Other play of note: I, Stuart Solomon, tried to steal home on a passed ball and was easily tagged out by the spry Ben Margolis to end the inning. On defense, Dan “Why is everything so” Green (this is a History of the World Part 1 reference. It a hilarious Mel Brooks Movie), Stansbury, and Corey “Chuck” Norris turned several double plays and one to end the game. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fGkPp3t6y4

 

This championship is the first championship of any kind for 17-year vet Jeff ” 5th Rounder” Weisbrot.

 

Game 2: 12-9 Team Solomon

 

This one was a little more interesting. 

 

This was a back-and-forth battle. Team Solomon started slowly and was in an early hole. Our defense was a little shaky in the beginning of the game, but we found our groove in later innings. Offensively, we had big 3rd and 4th innings. It all started with Mark ” Mr. Kroger” Wolfe and Swagner getting back-to-back hits and both scoring. Ryan “ROY” Marcus went 3-3 with a walk and seemed to be on base all day. In the 4th inning, the top of the line-up went to work scoring 3 runs with 2 outs. Adam ” The Mean One” Cronstein rocketed a ball to the wall in RF for a HR scoring Dan “Why Is Everything So” Green to put us up 4. The following inning, we could not hold the lead and it was tied going into the 5th. Team Solomon was unable to score with another great hit by Mr. Kroger himself, Mark Wolfe, and a great walk by Swagner aka Swaggy aka MS Wagner aka Matt The Accountant. The defense shut the door in the bottom of 5 when Mark Wolfe threw out a runner at 2nd base on a very strange steal attempt. 

 

To Extras we go!

Adam and Tyler hit a single and double, respectively. We have runners on 2nd and 3rd and no outs. The team’s fearless leader and spiritual guru, Stuart Solomon, pops up weakly to SS. Sources close to Solomon say he was not very happy with himself. Grefer walks ROY Ryan Marcus to load the bases followed by a weak infield popup from Gregg Harris. Up steps the man of the hour, Corey Norris. With bases loaded and two outs Corey ropes a ball to left field getting past the Left Fielder for a bases clearing double. The defense slammed the door in the bottom of the inning and Team Solomon is 3-0 in the second half. 

 

When told about his first championship, Jeff Weisbrot had to hold back the tears. He was able to mutter out ” I’m so proud of this team, I couldn’t imagine being with a better group of guys.” The rest was too hard to understand due to the sobbing. 

 

Lastly, it’s Adam Cronstein’s birthday on Friday. He will be 15.

 

Field Two was Team Z vs. Team Fogel

Update pending…

 

Field 3

Team Brafman vs. Team Kamrass

 

The two teams split the doubleheader with Team Brafman winning the first game 12-5. A special note about our two games is that “Handsome” Sam Castellini for Team Brafman went at least 8-8 if not more in the two games and played a very, very good LCF. “The best two game performance I’ve seen,” said Capt. Brafman. “Sam says it’s all due to his pre-game meal of Triple Creek Hotdog and Bud Light. If that is his secret, count me on board for the next game.” Besides Sam, David BP Synder had a huge two out two run single, Dr. Bob Pelberg had a couple of hits as did Eric “The Mouth of the Midwest” Gruen and Joel Buckley. Team Brafman finished the 1st half of the season all alone in second place and would have beaten Team Solomon if Capt. Brafman hadn’t gotten tossed out of their game. 

 

In Game Two, Team Kamrass led by pretty much their entire lineup and some AMAZING catches by Adam Heldman in RC and Mark “Big Blue” Tenenholtz in LC kept Team Brafman off the board. “The sun hurt us in the second game,” Brafman said but kudos to Team Kamrass who really put the ball in play. And man, their defense was really good. It should be noted that both Danny Gilbert and Mark Tenenholtz played in this game just to stick it to Team Brafman as they are moving after the season. (Thanks guys and good luck in Denver (Gilbert) and Austin (Mark))

 

Finally on Field 4 after an eventful week Team Roger vs. Team Jimmy

 

After losing for the 9th straight time in the first game of the twin bill vs TEAM LEFTON, TEAM ROSENTHAL gutted out a one run victory to finally see the other side of the scoreboard….

 

It has been a crazy last few days for captain ROGER ROSENTHAL in trying to pull off a trade to help better the team. 

 

KYLE GREFER, captain of TEAM GREFER, was looking for a pitcher after MIKE GRAY went down for the season with an injury and approached ROSENTHAL about a trade involving pitching legend, HOWARD SCHWARTZ. 

 

To make a long story short, a deal was made…..SCHWARTZ for first round pick TAYLOR POLICE. 

 

POLICE is also out for the season with an injury, so ROSENTHAL had a choice to either get a temporary sub each week or a pemanent sub and he elected to get EVAN PIERSON on a regular basis.

 

“I wish HOWIE the best, but I think we needed a spark, and a change was the best for both parties, ” ROSENTHAL said.

 

 

Now to last night’s games…..

 

The first game was a pitcher’s duel between STU WEINSTEIN (LEFTON), who was filling in for regular pitcher and captain JIMMY LEFTON, and KEITH KOMBRINCK, the new pitcher for TEAM ROSENTHAL……

 

TEAM LEFTON won the game 5-2? and the losing streak continued, but in the second game, it was a different story……..

 

“It was a total team effort from top to bottom as we finally found a way to win and lift that load off our backs. It feels great,” ROSENTHAL said afterwards.

 

“I’m proud of the way the guys hung in there. I never doubted the effort. We just had some bad breaks along the way and couldn’t overcome them. I couldn’t be happier for the team to finally get that first victory,” he added.

 

Kudos go out to the entire team…….

 

KOMBRINCK….for pitching two great games!

 

SIMONS…………for throwing out a runner trying to score in the last inning that was huge!

 

GOLDFARB…….for hitting like a monster and making every play at SS!

 

PIERSON………..for providing a much-needed spark on offense and playing a solid LCF!

 

ASKIN…………….for coming up with a huge two out RBI hit that proved to be the difference in the game!

 

GOLDBERG……for playing a solid infield, both at 1B and 2B and executing a perfect bunt!

 

SOLOMON…….for keeping the energy level high and once again, being solid behind the plate!

 

FRANKEL………for playing a solid 2B and 3B!

 

SWAN……………for getting on base in the leadoff spot a few times to set the pace!

 

 

The game ball went to KOMBRINCK, who pitched two great games and to my knowledge didn’t walk anyone………..

 

League notes:

 

A very nice article on the First Family of JCC softball, The Wolfs, from the JCC newsletter. It was a great history and shows why our league is so special. 

 

Let’s all wish Jeff “The Natural” Weisbrot good luck as he takes on the world once again in Israel for Team USA in the fast pitch Maccabiah games. Bring home that gold Jeff. Use your draft slot as motivation. 

 

Some Reds news to brighten your day: This week Jason Stark, the HOF writer for the Athletic, had his mid-season awards/non awards. Cy Young, ROY etc. Here is what he wrote about the Reds as an offense which he voted as the anti-MVP of the entire National League. Other words he gave the ENTIRE Reds team the un-MVP

Going into last Thursday’s game: They had been outhomered 115-73, outslugged 451-375 and outscored by 105 runs. 

The Reds position players are minus, let me repeat, minus 8.4 WAR

14 players have a negative WAR

And finally, my favorite stat the legendary Mike “I look more like a Moose” Moustakas has a whopping 7 home runs at home in 3 years. One of which was Sunday, when he finally hit his 200th homer. 

 

Where does Howie getting traded rank as far as Hall of Famers getting traded? Behind Frank Robinson but ahead of Tom Seaver? Or Ken Griffey Jr? Either way it was a wild week in JCC softball when the living legend switches teams.

 

I bust Roger’s chops all the time for the weird things he sells (read below) but did you know that Mark “Little Gig” Franklin sells high-end Pokemon cards? He showed me last night and is doing really well for himself. 

 

Riley “The Big Man” Able informed me last night that for a cool $400 or so dollars you too can sit center stage or center pit for the Bruce Springsteen tour starting this fall. You can catch Riley and I going to see The Boss in the last row of an arena near you.

 

Anton, Sam “The Hitman” Hecht, Eric “Jeter” Goldstein and Greg “Follow the” Leader all have family members in Israel right now through Camp Livingston. Oh, to be 16 again and on that trip. We think we are living large? Ah no, those kids are.

 

Next time you see Alan Lessure at the field please make sure you stop by and ask him to tell you his Beastie Boy joke. Trust me, it’s a real winner.

 

And finally, as promised Roger today posted that he is selling a Mark Jackson NBA “Chips” poker chip from 2005-06. Roger, please update me next week if anyone buys that. 

 

Let’s hope we are done with the doubleheaders. See everyone next week

 

Marc

 

 

 

June 29 Recap

By Marc Brafman

 

Wait…what was that you say? An actual nice, normal weather night at softball? I thought Mother Nature had it in for us this year. Let’s hope that is a sign of things to come for the rest of the season. 

 

Let’s get to the action:

On field one it was a battle for First place (in the first half) as team Fogel took on Team Brafman. 

Jeremy for the winners:

 

On a humid June night, Team Fogel swept the doubleheader against Brafman, giving the Men in Navy Blue control of their own destiny as it relates to becoming first half champions. Jamey set down the first ten batters in order in the first game in large part due to the vacuum of an infield positioned behind him. Tait Cunningham continued to do his best Nolan Arenado impression, and Pat Feldman and Andrew Gage held down the fort up the middle. Sparky Fogel showed that there is a little bit of zip left in his right arm after 10 years of throwing batting practice as a coach, throwing behind a runner to nab the leadoff man and start things off on a high note. Bryce Anslinger leads the league in tag plays at home, and honestly might be going for the all-time record in just one season of play. I have never seen a team execute as many relay throws as this one, a testament to the hustle and effort of the Men in Navy Blue.

 

A lot of positive takeaways, but the overarching one is that this team just keeps on winning. Team Fogel took both games tonight by scores of 6-3 and 4-2.

 

And Marc for the losers:

 

I can’t remember two cleaner games being played. With the exception of a couple of balls that might have been caught by the Reds in the outfield there were maybe a combined 2 errors all night. For Team Brafman, Todd “The Mayor” Wasserman had a couple of hits as did Eric “The Mouth of the Midwest” Gruen and of course Anton who might have made his first out of the entire season in the first but then went 3-3 the rest of the night with his usual assortment of line drives. Props to JZ who made a play and throw at SS that would have made Kyle Farmer proud. Team Brafman looks to rebound and get back on the winning side next week.

 

On field two it was Team Weisser vs. Team Roger

 

Mark for the winners:

 

We won two against Team Rosenthal by scores of 4-2 and 9-0.

 

We played error free ball for both games. The defensive gem of the night was a 4-6-3 double play which went Wolf-Wolf-Wolf off the bat of Raffi Goldfarb.

 

We had solid hitting including a bases clearing double by David Weil. A great catch in RF by Brad Gallop in game 1. Also timely hitting by Tyler Wolf (yet to show up less than one minute before a game) as well as big hits by Duffy Wolf and Eddie Gallop.

 

On Field three, Team Kamrass and Team Z split the games that is all the reporting I got from them

 

Finally on Field 4, it was Team Stu vs. Team Jimmy

 

Stu for the winners:

Game 1: 12-7

 

Team Solomon was in a hole early, down 5-1 after 2. In the 3rd, Jeff “Mr. 5th Rounder” Weisbrot, hit an inside the park homer to plate 2. After the next man popped out for the 2nd out, Team Solomon had 6 straight hits, plating 3 more. The next inning, Team Lefton walked team captain Stuart Solomon to bring up Ryan “ROY” Marcus who launched a bases clearing triple. Team Solomon outscored Team Lefton 11-2 in the final 3 innings. A great defensive play by Jeff to rob Griffin on a nice running catch. 

 

Game 2: 5-2

Not as much action in the 2nd game. Team Solomon controlled the whole game. The scoring started on Ryan “ROY” Marcus’ towering home run. It may have been the highest HR I have seen in the league. Matt S. Wagner aka Swagner aka Ms. Wagner had a great catch on a hard-hit ball by Griffin Harris. 

 

In both games Gregg “Triple G” Harris, aka The Fastest Exit Velocity, went 5-6. Big thank you to Mike Gray, Ben Margolis, and Zach Michelson for subbing and playing great.

 

Next week, Team Fogel plays for the first half title. 

 

League Notes 

 

Since we were rained out last week, I didn’t get a chance to mention the great work Rick Lefton and the JCC staff do each year for the Adams Classic. Well done, guys!

Speaking of which, kudos to the pickleball doubles team winner, Ryan “Hi-Ho” Silverman and Anton Loon. When asked to comment on their big win they said, “Well, we were playing guys who were 60+, so if we didn’t win, we would both retire on the spot.” 

 

Final note from the Adams Classic…sort of. Shorty’s son is a camp counselor at Camp Kawaga where several softball players and/or their kids went to camp. I took Jacob up for father-son weekend last week and Jay (Scott’s son) was the camp DJ. It is a safe bet to say that if he had put on the Grateful Dead live in Europe 72 or any live Phish album the dads would have been happy. But no, he was actively mixing music which prompted the question: If you are a DJ at an all-boys camp and they are there with their dads, is a mix of ABBA “Dancing Queen” into “I will Survive” really the best music?

 

If you haven’t already check out the artwork of Brandon “Lone” Wolf on his Facebook page, it’s interesting. I like it.

 

If you missed him and Jodi this weekend let’s all hope Corey Norris is having a great time in Israel. The pictures look amazing.

 

I’m not here to spread any rumors, but Eric “Jeter” Goldstein and Sam “The Hitman” Hecht’s daughter and son are on the same Israel trip through Livingston. Crazier things have happened than kids getting cozy in Israel, right?

 

Big time congrats go out to Kyle Grefer on the birth of his daughter and Ryan Small on the birth of his son, Barrett.  Rumor has it that Barrett Small’s nickname is Biggie.

 

While I tease him about this a lot, it’s a shame that Doc is retiring from the Enquirer since David “Slim Shady” Wertheim can’t write for The Morning Line anymore. Make sure you keep up with everything going on in Cincy on Cincyfest.com.

 

As the summer rolls on make sure you hit up Sweet Butter Bakery for all your summer pool party baked goods.

 

This has nothing to do with softball, but I thought it was interesting. A guy in Indiana last week bowled 3 straight perfect games. He became only the 46th person in HISTORY To do that. This isn’t some PBA mainstay, this is a guy like us who happened to have an amazing night. 

 

Roger is selling a New York Rangers hat if anyone is interested.

 

And finally, while we were at the Spring House on Wednesday night toasting the good news about Kyle Grefer, Brad Wagner commented that when Ron Rose was playing, he always told guys that they had to vacation between Thursday to Tuesday to get back in time for the game. Brad is also convinced that Ron planned his kids’ birthdays (meaning the day they were born) around softball. He’d get a calendar out and say, “OK, we can’t go tonight, honey because softball starts in 9 and a half months. We have to wait till we are out of the softball window.” We miss ya, Ronnie! 

 

See ya next week!

 

 

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!

June 1 Recap

By Marc Brafman

If games happen on Wednesday night but the blog doesn’t go up till Friday (Editor’s note:  Or Saturday?) does it still count?

Let’s hope so as for a change it was a nice night for softball

On Field 1 in a battle for first place it was Team Lefton vs. Team Brafman:

Fink reports for the winners: Brafman won 12-7

After a shaky first inning where Team Brafman gave up three runs on some shaky defense, they responded in the bottom half by batting around and scoring 9 runs. “What a total team effort in that inning,” JZ said post game. “We got contributions up and down the line.  After that inning we buckled down on defense and kept Lefton off the board, for the most part,” Fink said post game. The play of the game was a great relay throw from “the Hitman,” Sam Hecht to JZ to the plate to nail “The Special One,” Mike Rothstein, trying to score from first. Rothstein was heard saying post game, “As we get older, why are you sending me from first?” which to be honest is every Reds fan reaction any time Joey Votto is on the bases. “I’m super proud of my team,” Capt. Brafman said post game during the set break at the Phish show he was attending in Charleston on Wednesday night. “I think it says a lot about my leadership (and skill) that my team is 2-0 when I’m not playing.”

On field two it was Team Roger vs. Team Z

With nothing coming in from the winning team Team, Roger reports the following:

We lost 14-4 and the beat goes on…..

On field 3 It was Team Solomon vs. Team Weisser:

Mark chimes in for the winners:

We defeated Team Solomon 10-8. We were behind 8-7 after 5 and got 1 in the sixth to tie and 2 in top of seventh to take the lead. We held on against the top of their order for the win.

 

Alexander Wold–nice hits and nice defense in RF. Scott Wolf played a great 2b. Two big hits by Tyler Wolf and Pete Soltesz and three hits and RBIs by yours truly which was nice since I did not know if I would ever hit again.

Finally on field 4 it was Team Grefer vs Team Kamrass

Kyle reports in for the winners:

Team Grefer had another come from behind win this week against Team Kamrass. Down 5-1, the bats woke up for a 7-run inning to take an 8-5 lead. In the bottom of 7 with one out, runners on first and second, and Mark Tenenholtz up, Ben Margolis recovered on a passed ball to throw out the runner at third. Mark proceeded to hit one 20 feet over the fence, and we were able to get one more out to end the game for a final score of 8-7.

Yair Richler had his best game of the season with 3 hits and a diving stop at second base. Ben Margolis also had a nice game behind the plate and a couple big hits for us. In our 7-run inning Zach Michelson and Yair set the table for Josh Rosen who hit a three-run inside the park homer to right field which was the big spark we needed.

REMINDER:

Next week starts our double header weeks. Games start at 6, not 6:15 (it was the 5th wettest month of May in the history of the city. Lucky us!)

League notes

I knew there was a reason I liked James Swan. While going on a campus visit to OSU he was asked to take part in the O-H-I-O cheer. He refused, which I guess upset the tour guide. Lucky for him he ended up at a school where you only have to spell UC.

Reminder that this Tuesday (7th) is Jewish night at the Reds game. They are playing better and you do get a ball written in Hebrew.

Happy birthday over the last couple of weeks to Jeremy “Hamilton” Fogel and Wes “Hungry Like a” Wolf.

Am I the only one confused by why the Bengals are picked to finish 3rd in the AFC north? I was just reading that after OTA practices this week. Joe Burrow stuck around on his own with the trainer to run wind sprints at full speed for 10 minutes. He didn’t have to, nor did Coach ask him. He did it to get more work in. Does anyone think that DeShawn Watson or LaMar Jackson are doing this?

It’s easy to dog Joey Votto, but don’t blame him for the Reds wasting his prime. Just this week here is where he ranks among the all-time Reds players.

2nd in career extra bases (behind Pete)

2nd in doubles, but will catch Larkin next time he doubles

2nd in homers (behind JB) and he has a real shot at passing him

4th in hits (only Pete, Lark and Davey have more)

45th in baseball history in walks 

What is not to like about this guy? I’m looking at you Joel Kahn.

This week in what does Roger have..He for some reason is selling a 1997 Florida Marlins World Series can of something or other with cards included. I’m sure that is going to be a hot seller in the Cincy market.

Our Ron Rose story of the week comes from former Commish Brad Wagner:

Former Commish Brad Wagner has many, MANY Ron stories but since this is a family blog we will leave it at this:

He once told Brian “Jeter” Monk to F’ himself while he was batting and in front of the umpire. (The thought of Ronnie saying that makes me laugh) Brad echoed what many of us know. Ron loved the JCC softball league more than anything. 

See ya Wednesday