LEAGUE CHAMPIONS – TEAM WAGNER
Word on the street is that our intrepid blogger, Marc Brafman, is working OT these days picking up dough from the current Hollywood writers’ strike. Marc will be back with an expanded double feature after Sunday’s games. In the meantime, the standings have been updated to reflect the May 17 games.
Games start at 9:30 AM on Sunday. See you all at the fields!
Another amazing night at Triple Creek on Wed. night. Ryan’s bribes to Mother Nature are finally paying off.
On field 1 we had Team Wagner vs. Team Wolf.
Wes for the winners:
Team Wolf continued its winning ways with a dominant run-rule performance over Team Wagner. After starting slow with a 1-2-3 first inning, Team Wolf’s bats heated up with 3 in the second, 3 in the third, then an explosion of 7 in the fifth, capped off by a three-run JCC Home Run by Tyler Wolf on his first ever hit down the left field line.
Mike Gray led the team on the defensive side with another stellar pitching performance. The right side of the infield was held down by the stylish tandem of Keith “Shin Guards” Kombrink at first and Dan “The Stache” LaCerva at second with some nice plays throughout the game.
After the game, the other captains were overheard at Silver Spring House hyping up Team Lefton ahead of their showdown with 4-0 Team Wolf next week. Jimmy and Ricky immediately got their gloves to practice their bunt defense and game-plan pitch selection in the parking lot.
On field two, it was the always exciting cage match between Team Kamrass and Team Solomon
Micah for the winners:
Team Kamrass stayed undefeated with a 9-4 win against bitter rival Team Solomon. The story of the night was lights out pitching from Fink and great team defense across the board. Super James Swan had the hit of the night with a three-run triple that almost made it to the fence. Jordan Skinner had a couple of nice plays at third base.
Tip of the cap to new guys, Adam Teitelbaum and Andrew Solomon, both of whom had nice hits over the heads of our outfield. Another tip of the cap to old guy Alan Lessure on a nice single to the outfield.
Bring on Team Z next week!
On field 3 Team Grefer vs. Team Z
Kyle for winners:
Team Grefer beat Team Zawatsky 9-5 in a game that was all about defense. The highlight of the game was a rare triple play by Dan Grefer at first base where he made a jumping catch on a missile from Z, stepped on first and threw to second for the third out.
Other defensive highlights were Dan with a diving stop at third; David Wertheim ran down balls in short center and turned a double play; Landon Krantz turned a double play at 2B, and in his first time playing catcher threw out a guy at second on a passed ball; and Adam Cronstein threw a runner out at third from right center.
Jon Ruben pitched another good game, and offensively the top of our order did the heavy lifting with David Wertheim, Adam Cronstein, and Landon Krantz with good games at the plate. Joey Hiudt also redeemed himself from his first at bat (got called out trying to bunt with two strikes) by blasting a triple in his next at bat.
Finally on field 4 Team Fogel vs. Team Lefton
Roger for the winners
TEAM LEFTON 4
at
TEAM FOGEL 9
After two close losses, TEAM FOGEL got back to their winning ways with an impressive 9-4 victory over undefeated TEAM LEFTON.
Defense and timely hitting were the keys to the victory as it was a total team effort.
After TEAM LEFTON went down in the top of the opening frame without scoring, the victors got ahead in the bottom of the inning and stayed ahead the entire game.
In a line-up change, Philadelphia native, DAN “DANNY” GREEN moved to the leadoff spot and got aboard with the first of his two bunt hits, to spark the offense
and ignite an early lead.
There were hitting stars aplenty including JOEL “SPARKY” FOGEL, father of captain JEREMY FOGEL, who moved down in the batting order and had four RBIs.
“I told my son he should move me down in the order. I knew what I was talking about. I’ve been in this game a long time and it worked out great,” the elder FOGEL said afterwards. He added, “If he didn’t obey his old man, I was going to dock his allowance for a month.”
The younger FOGEL added, “I didn’t want to, but I listen to my father all the time and it worked out great. I also need that allowance to supplement my expensive lifesytyle.”
GREEN added, “Hey, I’m a team player and I want to do what’s best for the team. If that’s leading off to start rallies or take the luggage to the motel rooms after a long bus ride, I’ll do it. Anything for the team.”
JASON “THE COWBOY” ESTERKAMP, SCOTT “PLEASE BE MY” FRIEND, and pitcher COREY “I CAN HIT LIKE ANYONE ELSE” NORRIS also supplied the big hits.
Defensively, the two defensive wizards of the game had to be SCOTT “PLEASE BE MY” FRIEND who played like a gold glover and had perhaps one of the best games of his career and captain FOGEL who made a few diving catches of his own and let his teammates know about it.
“Hey, GRIFF HARRIS is a great friend of mine, but I’m no slouch and I’m not sure he would have made those plays.”
It should be noted that an unusual play happened in the latter stages of the game, when perennial star ANTON LOON of TEAM LEFTON had a brain cramp. He was on first base and a runner was on third base with two outs and his team down six or seven runs at the time, when he attempted to get into a rundown to produce another run.
TEAM FOGEL should have conceded the run to get the third out, however they botched it and let the run score and LOON remained on base and they proceeded to make it a 9-4 lead.
First baseman, ROGER ROSENTHAL, who dropped the throw in the rundown to tag LOON said afterwards, “I was in a state of shock that we would just concede the run in that situation to get the final out of the inning. I’ll take the blame, but it shouldn’t have come down to that.”
LOON stated after the game, while eating his postgame meal, “I don’t know what I was thinking. It was stupid play on my part, but it turned out OK.”
OTHER QUOTES……
MATT “THE BEST BASKETBALL COACH ON OUR TEAM” MILLER said to ROSENTHAL, an avid XAVIER UNIVERSITY fan, “How about what former University of Cincinnati head coach BOB HUGGINS recently said about students at XAVIER UNIVERSITY. Are you one of those he was talking about?”
In response, ROSENTHAL said, “What an asshole. That’s typical Huggins. What an idiot!.”
SCOTT “SHORTY” ADAMS on walking out to his rightfield position in a slow walk said, “Hey. I played 18 holes of golf today and I was tired.” Nice that you played a good game!
Finally, BRANDON “GAMECOCK” WRONKER said, “Do you guys always go at it like this?”….the answer…….YES!
Tidbits at the dinner table after the game…..
LOON stated he didn’t like hockey and the response from ROSENTHAL, an avid hockey fan……..”You’d rather watch baseball than hockey?”…..the two had two be separated before a brawl broke out by peacemaker DAVID “MR. OPINION” WEIL who was just drinking his beer and minding his own business.
STAY TUNED……
Once again please sign up for Jewish Night at the Reds game on May 23.
Plan on coming out to the Silver Spring House on June 21 for League Wing Night sponsored by our guy, Big Gig Franklin.
Congrats to Handsome Sam Castellini. He and his wife are expecting their first baby.
A week late congrats to former All-Star pitcher, Randy “Tex” Broyles, on the graduation of his daughter from college.
And because it can’t be a week without a Lefton kid graduating from college, this week it’s former All Star Ben “Weezy” Lefton’s daughter, who not only scored her 200th goal in LaCrosse, but also is graduating. Congrats to them.
If you asked me which guy in the league would least likely be going to see Taylor Swift, my answer would be Alan Lessure. But if you asked me the second least likely guy to be going, I’d say Scott Wolf. Who knew that Scott was a Swifty? If you ask him nicely I bet he will sing Lavender Haze for us next game.
Congrats goes out the Half Man Gang Ryan Marcus on the bat mitzvah of his soon to be sister-in-law (Or is it your current sister in law?). Either way I know you are involved in the Burstein family, so congrats!
Rookie, Jon Spears, and I have been in a sports and music related text chain for years. One of the things that I point out each year is how often right after the Reds score a run they give it right back. We have named this a Brafy. From this point forward pay attention to how often this happens. I was at the game on Tuesday. The Reds got a run in the bottom of the first. Then, on the 1st pitch of the second inning, Hunter Green gives up a homer. That equals a Brafy. I’m telling you it happens at least two-three times a week (This, by the way, has replaced ESPN showing highlights of every NFL Team doing something good vs. the Bengals, which used to be a staple of their shows).
You have to give the NFL credit for always being in the news. First, the biggest waste of time in all of sports, the NFL draft. Then, last night, it was the release of the schedule. WLW had Mo, Tony Pike and Lance on the air for 3 hours talking about this! I get that it’s exciting to see how many prime time games the Bengals get and where the bye week is, etc. But to say well this game or that game is a hard game in May with all the injuries that can happen is just dumb.
And finally, in this week in Roger’s world, he told me earlier in the week that he hit the mother load at the flea market with a purchase of over 2,500 football cards. So if you are in the market for Aaron Rogers or Tom Brady or Stanley Wilson, Roger is your guy.
See everyone at the field Wednesday night
Marc
While the wind was blowing, at least it was dry for week three of the softball season. I don’t remember having three weeks in a row last year at any point so at least we’ve got that going for us, right?
Let’s get to the action
On field one it was Fogel vs. Kamrass
Micah for the winners:
Team Kamrass edged Team Fogel 12-11 in a hard fought and well played game by both teams. Inspired by the rousing pregame pep talk from their captain, Team Kamrass started off hot at the plate and in the field. For the second fame in a row, every member of the team contributed at the plate. Jordan Skinner hit a ball over the head of Jeremy Fogel. Michael Margolis had a big knock. And Super James Swan swiped home for a steal for the first time this season.
Fink pitched a great game and played strong defense as well. Team Fogel came back to make it a one run game with two outs and runners in scoring position, but Fink was able to get the final out to seal the game.
Team Kamrass remains undefeated and is ready for the biggest rivalry in sports with it’s upcoming game against Team Solomon.
and Roger for team Fogel:
TEAM KAMRASS 12
TEAM FOGEL 11
you might want to check the score with Micah’s report……
In a nip and tuck battle, TEAM KAMRASS withstood a bottom of the 7th inning rally, to leave the tying run on third base, and win 12-11.
Both teams had their chances and in the end, it was the victorious TEAM KAMRASS, that made one more play than TEAM FOGEL.
After the visitors took a 6-0 lead heading to the bottom of the 2nd inning, TEAM FOGEL kept coming back, but was never able to take the lead.
“Tough one to lose, ” said captain JEREMY FOGEL. “We left a lot of runs out there,” he added.
OTHER QUOTES AFTER THE GAME……
“Damn, I look like an old man out there. I’ve got to pick my game up if I can and try to help this team out,” ROGER ROSENTHAL said, nearly in tears afterward. “I need to focus more out there.”
COREY NORRIS, who settled down on the mound after the 2nd inning, added, “Roger, just go up there and hit the damn ball. You shouldn’t be thinking too much. Just hit the damn ball!”
MATT MILLER, resident basketball coach, gave some advice. “We’ll be ok. Look, I saw the UC basketball team have some bad times only to bounce back and I think we can do the same thing on this team.”
Finally, STEVE “SHORTY” ADAMS, promised the team that if they won their next game, he would take them out on the town. Wonder where he would take them?
On Field 2 Team Lefton vs. Team Wagner:
The Hebrew Hammer for the victors
“I’m Speechless. I am without speech.”
Anton Loon before the 1st inning kicked off “The wind is blowing in pretty hard. I think it’s going to be a low scoring game, like 4-3.”
Team Lefton got off to a slow start with the bats this time around, which is to be expected when facing Howie Schwartz. Team Wagner took an early 1st inning lead, 2-0, but Team Lefton was able to tie it up in the 2nd after a bloop triple by Ryan Baum and two consecutive RBI by Marc Simons and Matt Leader.
Team Wagner quickly got on the board again and held a 3-2 lead all the way until the bottom of the 6th. After the first two hitters grounded out, Peter Brownell doubled. Sam Castellini singled, and Anton Loon came up and laced a single past the 2nd basemen to tie the game at 3-3.
After holding Team Wagner scoreless again in the top of the 7th, Team Lefton had a chance for a walk off victory. Marc Simons hit a 1-out double and with 2 outs. Bob Pelberg came up huge with the game winning knock, scoring Simons from 2nd. The 4-3 final score proved that Anton Loon is indeed an oracle.
It was a great defensive effort by both clubs. For Team Lefton the play of the game was when Matt Leader fielded the ball, stepped on 3rd for the force out and threw across the diamond beating the runner at 1st for a nice double play.
On field 3 we had Team Stu vs. Team Z
Ken Groh for Team Z
Game Update: Team Zawatsky 20 Team Solomon 10
The Sun Field made it a little tougher on the defense today. Ryan Marcus had a 2 RBI double to start the scoring in the 1st. Captain Steve drove him in and Eli Zawatsky hit his first triple of the year to knock in his father. Then Greg Harris capped off the five-run 1st with a nice hit. Solomon scored one in the 1st and two more in the second to cut the lead to 5-3 after 2. The Captain drove in a run to extend the lead but Solomon stormed back with 4 runs to take a 7-6 lead. Eric Zied led of the inning with a single and with two outs Mike Rothstein started the rally as Team Z had 5 straight hits that led to 5 runs scoring and an 11-7 lead. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 4th Harry Meisner hit a 400-foot bomb to dead center nearly clearing the parking lot. After the game, Ken Groh retrieved the homerun ball and Harry autographed it for him. With the score 11-9, Will “the Thrill” Coleman and Eric Zied had hits and scored on singles from Stu Solomon and Mike Rothstein. Mike had another nickname for Will as the Thrill is not only when he hits and fields but his baserunning is magical at times. In the 6th Ryan, Steve, Eli and Will all got hits to start the party and Greg Harris’s double cleared the bases to put the nail in the coffin. The final 20-10. My team needs lessons on how to keep the “book” but I believe the Captain Steve Zawatsky had 5 hits, Ken Groh had 4 hits and scored 4 runs. Rothstein, Pat Feldman, Ryan Marcus, Eli Zawatsky, Will and Greg all had 3 hits to pace the offense and the defense made enough plays to keep us in the game. Ken Groh wanted to point out after giving up the longest JCC Homerun of the year, he struck out Harry his next at bat with some help from his captain!
Finally on field 4 it was Brafman vs. Wolf
Marc and Wes with a joint recap. In a back and forth game Team Wolf won 9-8 on a walk off passed ball. In a very well played game with very few errors, this game ended in the most JCC-way possible. Tyler “Big Bad” Wolf scored when the ball got away from the catcher for the winning run in the bottom of the 7th. Captain Wes paced his team with a three-run RCF gap homer while Matt Brodof, Pete “The Straw that Stirs the Drink” Soltesz and Keith Kombrinck also helped out on offense. On defense for Team Wolf, Dan “The Stache” LaCerva made two very good plays at 2nd to keep Team Brafman off the bases. Kudos to Mike Gray for a very well pitched game for the victors.
For Team Brafman Joel “Hallelujah” Buckley had a triple as did Jamey “The Rookie” Drennan. The Mayor Todd Wasserman in his first game of the year had a double and maybe the worse slide in JCC softball history to go along with it. Big props to Eppy for pitching a complete game and for the most part controlling one of the best offenses in the league. On defense, the tag team of JZ and Griff in the outfield turned in their normal stellar play.
Team Wolf improves to 3-0 while Team Brafman is 0-3 having lost all three games by a combined 8 runs.
I had to leave right after the game to get a Wyoming Middle School music concert and because Marc was playing on Field 4, League notes are a little lite this week. He’ll try to do better next week.
Congrats to the Lefton triplets on graduation from UC and OSU this past weekend (or OSU is this weekend).
Same goes to our own JZ who graduated from UC on Friday.
I forgot to mention this last week but at the Spring House there was an older woman clearly flirting with all of the older guys in the league. (Howie, Jerry, Gary and Eppy). When she got around to Roger she smiled and turned around and walked away.
Happy four-year anniversary to Joel Buckley and his wife. With all that Cleveland love in the house, she must be a saint.
If you live in Sycamore, there is a fundraiser for new ball fields. The kids will be able to use them.
Reminder that Jewish night at the Reds game is coming up in a couple of weeks. The Reds play the Cards and maybe for the first time in years the Reds might be better.
Let’s all say a prayer for our guy, Rabbi Yitz, who is having surgery soon. Get better soon, Yitz.
Mark Newman’s son is off to USC in the fall. I guess he REALLY wanted to get away from home.
Congrats to Jason Esterkamp on the 5th anniversary of O’Bryan’s. Way to go, Jason.
One of the funniest parts of my team this year is when Jamey Kurtzer calls Eppy, Steve. I had to look around the first time and think who the heck is Steve? Keep it up, Jamey.
As usual, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame fumbled this year. I have no problem with the people that got in (except for Kate “No one knows who the heck I am if it weren’t for Stranger things” Bush, but how can someone like Kate Bush get in before Warren Zevon, the White Stripes, Bad Company, Soundgarden and Jessie and the Rippers? But this year can be salvaged if they play the classic George Michael song, “I Want Your Sex,” as the closer to the ceremony. I mean, just imagine Willie Nelson, The Spinners and Missy Elliot all trading verses of that song WHOOO SEX I’M NOT YOUR BROTHER!
The fact that the author of that song is in the Hall of Fame along with Lennon and McCartney, Bob Dylan and Chuck Berry…and yet the author of Werewolves of London, Hasten Down the Wind and Reconsider Me isn’t makes me upset, in case you didn’t pick up on that.
In Reds news this week for those of you dumb enough, like me, to have stayed up on Tuesday night, we got to see something really cool. Alexis Diaz, the best young closer in baseball, had to protect a one-run lead vs. the Padres with Fernando Tatis Jr. Manny Machado and Juan Soto coming up. Not only did he do it and make it look easy but it was one of those moments in baseball that you sit up and pay attention to. Our best vs your best, come and get it. It’s why we all love baseball and for one night it didn’t matter that the Reds stink or that it was just one win in a season that was over before it started. Just a great moment if you like sports.
Finally, in Roger news, do you think he can become the “YOU CAN DO IT” guy from The Water Boy when XU Starts football again? I picture him in the stands as Xavier plays Butler in front of 10 people and yelling this every game over and over.
See everyone next week. Let’s keep this fine weather going.
Man, what a first night Commish Ryan dialed up for us on Wednesday as the 2023 JCC softball season got off to a great start. “Maybe all of my prayers to Mother Nature were answered after last season,” Ryan said. “She owes us one after all the rain.” After dusting off the rust from a long offseason let’s get down to the action.
On field one we had Team Solomon vs. Team Wolf
First Wes for the winners: (Congrats on your first team win, Wes)
The inaugural game for Team Wolf was a 14-8 win against Team Solomon! Starting with an inside-the-park home run from captain, Wes Wolf, in the 1st, a few more timely hits brought 4 runs in through 2. Mike Gray came out firing with only two runs allowed through 4, backed by a great stand-in catching performance from Duffy Wolf and Keith Kombrinck.
Tyler Wolf led the way at the plate going 4-4 with 4 RBI and Brian Goldberg followed with a bases-clearing double leading to 3 RBI in a 6-run fifth inning. Overall, a great showing from Team Wolf who will be even more potent when Matt Brodof makes his debut next week.
And Coach Stu for the losing team:
It was great being back on the diamond. While Team Solomon took the L last night, we had a great time together and I am optimistic for the season.
Some Highlights:
Harry “Hercules” Meisner only needed one pitch to hit an absolute BOMB to LCF. Then, he hit a ball to the wall and used that Black Sheep speed for an inside-the-park homer.
Stuart “Everyone’s Favorite Captain” Solomon went 3-4 and played a wonderful 3B. He had a diving catch to rob a sharp single, a nice barehanded play to throw out the runner, and another nice play on a slowly hit grounder to third.
Adam “Robert California” Teitlebaum had a great first game. One the first batter he saw, he made a sliding play in RF. Additionally, he was all over the basepaths. Additionally, he has a glorious mustache.
Oren “The Best Basketball Player in the League” Shmoel had several very nice defensive plays capped off by an unassisted DP at 2nd.
Lastly, Alan “The Salsa King of the Midwest” Lessure went 1-3 with an RBI to rub it in the face of all the captains. He is Him of the last round.
On field two we had Team Z taking on Team Fogel
Roger ghost writing for the winning Team Fogel:
TEAM FOGEL 19
TEAM ZAWATZKY 5
The season opener for TEAM FOGEL was a smashing success! They defeated TEAM ZAWATZKY, 19-5, in a shortened five inning game…..
The only mistake on the night was the fact that team captain and former MASON HIGH SCHOOL baseball star, JEREMY FOGEL, thought his team was the visiting team…..
After some dazzling defensive plays in the top of the opening frame, the victors exploded for a four spot and never looked back.
“It was a total team effort, and it was exactly what I had hoped for in the season opener,” Fogel said afterwards. “Everyone contributed at the plate and/or in the field. We played a great game.”
It started with pitching veteran, COREY NORRIS, who breezed through four innings before giving up a five spot in the top of the fifth inning. He didn’t walk a batter.
The hitting stars were numerous, with highly paid stars like former WYOMING HIGH SCHOOL great, JASON ESTERKAMP….SCOTT “Why Can’t we Be” FRIEND….rookie BRANDON “the gamecock” WRONKER…..and FOGEL doing their fair share…..but it was the others, ZACH MICHELSON…..SCOTT ADAMS…..NORRIS….and rookie MATT MILLER (NO RELATION TO WES OR SEAN).
Minus from this list is ROGER ROSENTHAL, the elder statesman, who fell down twice, once running to first base after a sacrifice bunt and the other time fielding a ball at second base. He made the play each time and didn’t collect a hit, but did produce a sacrifice bunt to help plate a run and played a stellar defense.
Speaking of defense, the winners had ZERO errors……
Other comments after the game……
ROSENTHAL…….”Hey I thought if we won the first game, the captain was going to buy us each a bobblehead of our choice.”
NORRIS……………”Can anyone shut Roger up. I’ll buy them a beer if they do.”
MILLER…………….”I work for the University of Cincinnati, but I have to give credit where credit is due. XAVIER has the better men’s basketball program in town.”
and finally, FRIEND…….”All I know is THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA has the best football program in the country.”
A special thanks goes out to RYAN “the Hebrew Hammer” BAUM who subbed and played a solid game…….
On Field 3 it was Team Wagner vs. Team Brafman
Brad for the winners:
Team Wagner took down Team Brafman 16-12 on Opening Night. Team Wagner took the lead in the top of the 1st with four tally marks, including a big hit by Cam Kirzner. Brafman chipped away throughout the game and eventually took the lead 7-5 on some solid hits by their entire line up. Captain Wagner tied the game with a 2-run single and held off a huge rally by Brafman with an amazing play by Kirzner at SS, by doubling off Steve Eppstein at 2nd base off a line shot by Griff Harris. The victors plated eight in the top of the 7th and were able to hold off a 7th inning Brafman rally.
Captain Wagner was interviewed by John London after the game and was asked how it felt to get his first win on opening night after taking a few years off from captaining. Wagner stated, “Coming out of the draft I knew we would be very competitive with a solid mix of young guys and seasoned veterans. I pulled three all-nighters prepping for this draft.”
Howie Schwartz pitched a solid game and Norm Frankel played well at 1B, including a nice catch in foul territory. Big hits came a plenty including off the bats of Ian Conwell, AJ Goldhoff, and Chris Kunkel.
At one time tonight, Jerry Kirzner, Norm Frankel, and Howie Schwartz were all on base together. That’s an approximate combined age of 220.
Next week Team Wagner takes on Team Zawatsky, which will be aired on bankrupt Bally Sports instead of showing the Reds.
And Captain Brafman for the losers:
It was a good first showing for Team Brafman. We just couldn’t quite get over the hump. Kudos to the Living Legend Howie Schwartz who continues to do his thing. Big hits for Team Brafman came from super Sub JZ with a homer, Eric “The Mouth of the Midwest” Gruen who went 3-4, Dee Harris and Alex Kraus.
On defense a big shout out to rookie Jamey Drennan, who was fantastic at third most of the game, and Joel Hallelujah Buckley at SS. Finally, Eppy pitched a great first 4 innings and kept Team Wagner in check. “I expect a lot of wins from my team,” Brafman said post game. We will rebound and attack next week.
And last but not least on field 4 we had Team Kamrass vs. Team Grefer
Micah for the winners:
On a beautiful night for softball, Team Kamrass out-dueled Team Grefer 18-13. Fink pitched a great game, and every player on the team delivered key hits. Dave Solomon connected with Scott Raskin to throw out a runner stealing at second. Bryce Anslinger had a few timely catches in right field. New guy Jordan Skinner had a great league debut at third base.
“There was definitely some rust on both sides, but our team fought hard and was in control the entire way,” said Captain Micah Kamrass.
Tip of the cap to new guys Krantz and Ruben on Team Grefer, who will both be great additions for the league.
And Kyle for the losing team:
We lost a tough game to team Kamrass 18-13. After going down early we did a good job of fighting back to keep it close, but it wasn’t enough. Our defense was struggling early shaking off the offseason rust but got better as the game continued and we only allowed one run in the final 4 innings. Jon Ruben’s debut at pitcher started with a strikeout to the first batter he faced (that ended up being a passed ball and the guy reaching first, but it still counts). Joey Huidt and Adam Cronstein had great games at the plate, with Mark Levine and Howard Goldwasser also coming up with some big hits. Rookie Landon Krantz had a nice game at third base making some great plays, and David Wertheim made all the plays at shortstop.
Please mark June 21 down on your calendar as that is wing night at the Silver Spring house sponsored by Big Gig Franklin (our corp sponsor) come out after the game
Also mark down Jewish Night at the Reds game on May 23. It’s a fun night for all even if the Reds will lose to the Cards.
Speaking of the Reds, a tip of the softball cap to our own Albert Weisbrot who sang the national anthem on Monday night. Of course, once the word got out, the Reds had their lowest attended game in the history of GABP.
Speaking of the Reds part 2. While I give them credit for signing Hunter Green and hopefully a couple more of the young guys that does nothing to change my mind that this will be the worst Reds team of all time. They will blow past 100 losses. (I do like Spencer Steer, though)
Last week I mentioned that Gary Grefer plays in an over-55 league in Florida AKA the Mexican league in the offseason. Big congrats to Gary’s team for winning it this year. He said while the average age guys are in their 50’s there are guys over 70 playing. As someone who was sore from playing LF on Wed. that is pretty amazing. Nice job, Gary.
I know what most of you younger guys were doing the past 9-12 months and it wasn’t taking batting practice. There were more babies and young kids at the game on Wednesday than I can ever remember. Congrats to Alex Kraus, AJ and Jamey (the rookie) for having their kids out. And Rabbi Yitz for bringing his own team.
I can’t wait to talk to Ricky Lefton after he comes back from his trip during the March of the Living. While not a fun trip by any stretch it’s so important that Rick and Ann (Eric Goldstein’s wife) are leading the Cincy youth on this important trip.
And finally in our new segment we are calling “This week in the world of Roger Rosenthal.”
Roger informed me last night that he likes to go out and sing Karaoke in his down time. To me the worst singers in the history of music is a tie between Yoko Ono and Bjork. I somehow believe Roger singing Tiptoe Through the Tulips (one of his go to songs) might be worse. (but if you like music I encourage all of you to watch the doc on Jason Isbell currently showing on HBO. Very interesting)
See everyone Wednesday
Marc
After a long dark offseason, it’s finally time for softball. Of course, the weather gods are smiling on us this Wednesday (A day we can’t play), so be prepared to bring your wet suit next Saturday since I’m sure it will rain.
It’s that time of year when hope springs eternal for all nine teams and we are ready to get back onto the field and play some ball. With the draft over, here are some news and notes from the off-season.
Congrats go out to David “D-Sol” Solomon for his new job at the Holocaust Center.
Congrats to Scott “Dire” Wolf on the wedding of his son, Freddie.
Keeping it in the Wolf Family, a big shout out to Duffy Wolf on his amazing pictures that were on display at HUC this winter. Keep up the great work, Duff.
When we all see Fink this year, remember to give him a pat on the back as his dad (a former pitcher in the league) died this offseason.
Did you know that Reds farm hand Evan Kravetz pitched for team Israel in the WBC, and our own, Kevin Youkilis, was the teams hitting coach?
At each UC basketball game, we pick a lucky student who gets to shoot for loot and at one game our own, Cam Kirzner, was picked. Needless to say, Cam is a much better shortstop than a three-point shooter. (But he is still the best Skyline Chili man at games).
And finally, if you are ever fortunate enough to get a phone message from our own Roger Rosenthal, be prepared to sit and sit and sit and sit to listen to it. This offseason he has left me messages up to two minutes long! Who has time to talk to Roger for that long, let alone sit and listen to a two-minute message? How about, “Mr. Brafman, it’s Roger, call me back.”
And now, onto the draft and the pre-season preview.
The draft, as usual, was a fun evening of laughter, arguing and of course good-hearted ribbing as the 9 captains got together for their annual soiree.
You can tell which captains prepared for the draft by what they brought with them. Marc Brafman and Stu Solomon had notebooks, Wes Wolf had a laptop computer (and Scott Wolf), Brad “The Human Rain Delay” Wagner had 15 mock drafts, a big board like Mel Kiper and three cell phones to keep tabs on all the players and the Lefton’s had a player ranking for all 100+ guys. The Grefer brothers brought beer.
It was good to see former captain, Mark Weisser, still at the draft this time as sergeant-at-arms. He oversaw moving the draft along while also quelling any in-fighting about what color shirt each team got this season.
You know it’s softball season when Mike “The Special One” Rothstein is complaining about the umps before the season even starts.
A big shout out to Mike Creemer for coming through. Unlike recent seasons, scorebooks and concessions cards were handed out before the season. Well done, Mike.
And now onto the team previews:
Team Brafman:
Team Brafman picked the tag team of Griff and Dee Harris. “The call was simple,” Brafman said post draft. “I’ve never played with them and one of my favorite things about this league is playing with new guys every year (except me picking Eric Gruen… that happens every year).” Team Brafman’s top of the order seems to be built for speed with Griff, Joel Buckley and Gruen. Newcomer and Cincy native, Jamey Drennan, rounds out that speed as Brafman expects big things from his rookie infielder. With cagey vets like Jeff Weisbrot, Steve Eppstein and Todd Wasserman filling out the rest of the lineup, Team Brafman looks to make life tough on the rest of the league.
Micah Kamrass went against his normal “Team Bachelor Party” mode with guys like Zach “Mr. Mellow” Mayer, Jeff Finkelstein, Adam Heldman and the Margolis package (Michael and Ben) on his team. “I wanted a wide net of guys for this season, and I think I got that. What should be a good middle of our order with David Solomon, Bryce Anslinger, and the newcomer, Jordan Skinner, I am confident that we can win this year. I know I’ve got one of the best pitcher/catcher tandems in the league and I’m excited to get out on the field and prove it.”
Defending league champ, Stu Solomon, already complaining about the makeup of his team before the draft, started hopes to pick up where he left off last night. With some serious lumber in the order (Tyler Stansbury, Harry Meisner, Stu and Ryan Silverman), this team follows the pattern Stu started last season. “I plan on beating teams by hitting and hitting and hitting. Plus I’m playing with my bro who I hope is more Brett to my Aaron Boone than Mike to my Barry Larkin. And since I picked the Commish he gets to hear me whine about my team all season which really is a double win for me.”
Team Lefton drafted well. The Loon package, with Anton and his nephews, Peter Brownell and Matt Leader, give Lefton youth and huge upsides. “We love to draft families,” Jimmy said post draft. “When Anton and his crew were on the board, I had to take a shot with them. ‘The Hebrew Hammer’ Ryan Baum, Handsome Sam Castellini and Dr. Bob Pelberg give us some leadership and pop at the bottom of the order. Plus, we get the ‘Dr. of Style’ David Weil, who will add some levity to the team.”
Team Grefer drafted some of the best value picks of the draft. A very fast top of the order with David “Slim Shady” Wertheim and Adam “Never met a shirt with sleeves that I liked” Cronstein at the top of the order will set the table for the big bats of the Grefer’s and some big rookies like Landon Krantz and Jon Ruben. “It’s not often we get a rookie pitcher in this league and Danny and I are excited for the chance to showcase Jon Ruben as he comes in with a lot of experience in the Frontier league. Of course, having the cagey vet, Rick Tenenholtz, behind the plate will help us this season.”
Team Zawatsky lived up to his name of Team Z by drafting every player whose last name starts with or has a Z in it. “Just because we were always last in line at school doesn’t mean we are going to be last in line this year in softball. With guys like Pat ‘Sunshine’ Feldman, Ryan ‘the half man gang’ Marcus (he’s lost weight) and great pitching by Ken Groh I know we are going to be there at the end of the season. Gregg Harris will keep us all loose and it’s not often I get to play with three other guys whose last name is Z (son Eli, Eric Zied and Zach Zakem), we will be ready to take on the rest of the alphabet this year.”
The Wolf family was back this year with captain Wes taking over. If nothing else this will be an interesting bench with guys such as Pete “The Straw that Stirs the drink” Soltesz, Mr. Talkative, Mike Askin, and Mike Gray all on the same team. “We plan on being combative both on the bench and on the field,” Wes said. “Hopefully, the 20 Creeger kids on the bench will make our guys behave themselves. Not to mention, we have the best moustache in the league in rookie, Dan LaCerva. That has to count for something, right?”
Brad Wagner comes back as a captain after a few years off. “I liked running the draft instead of being on this side of things,” Wagner said during the draft. But you won’t know it by his team. From Josh Rosen and Cam Kirzner, he has speed and very good defense. Taking the living legend, Howie Schwartz, as his pitcher will only add to this powerful team. Rookies John Spears and Ian Conwell round out this team that will be a tough out all up and down the order. “I’m pleased with my team Brad said afterwards. While I might get 3-4 strikes called on me in MLB, I’m glad that there is no pitch clock in JCC softball. I need all the strikes I can get,” Wagner said.
Finally, Team Fogel took rookie, Brandon Wronker and then took some power with Scott “Why can’t we be” Friend, and Jason Esterkamp. Then they went with the “we are family” approach with the picks of rookie, Matt Miller, and Shorty Adams, who aren’t related but in the Jewish world are uncle and nephew. “Why not draft my roommate and his uncle? We can talk UC basketball while we play each week. What’s wrong with that? If nothing else, it will drive Roger crazy.”
See everyone next week. Let’s hope for nice weather.