Month: June 2021

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Game Results: June 24, 2021

 

June 23 Recap

By Marc Brafman

 

What a great night for our first double header of the year. All we need now is for Triple Creek to build a big tarp over field 1 so we can see the ball when we stare into the sun. Let’s get to the action on the field:

 

Over on field one it was Team Kamrass vs. Team Brafman

Team Kamrass continued its march for the second half title by sweeping a doubleheader against Team Brafman. The first game ended by mercy rule, and the second was a one-run margin. The team was led by the dynamic duo on the hill of Eppy and Keith Kombrinck. They pounded the strike zone and were supported by a strong defense. Key defensive plays came from Zach Mayer and Jared Kamrass.

The biggest hits of the night were a home run for David Solomon and a triple from Rafi Goldfarb. Adam Heldman also reached base in every one of his plate appearances in both games.

The MVP for Team Kamrass was Keith Kombrinck who did a little bit of everything to help the team win. He pitched, played great first base, and smoked a ball over the left fielder’s head that led to Keith tagging up to score the game winning run.

Kombrinck and Eppy also pulled off perhaps the most improbable double steal in JCC softball history.

“I wouldn’t want to face our team right now,” said captain Micah Kamrass. “We have two great pitchers and a great defense. We shook off the rust from a lot of guys taking a year off, and now we are dangerous. It feels good to see us at the top of the standings for the second half.”

 

Team Brafman chimes in. Not much went well for us last night but it should be noted that Mark “Big Blue” Tenenholtz hit a homer over the fence with some help from Adam Heldman (the ball hit his glove and went over the fence) and Fink continues his gold glove play at pitcher. “Tip of the cap to Team Kamrass as they kicked our butt from start to finish last night,” Brafman said. the less said about these two games the better…

 

On field two it was Team Solomon vs. Team Grefer:

Kyle reports in:

We beat Team Solomon 5-1 in the first game and 16-8 in the second. In the first game Howard Schwartz pitched a great game, only allowing 3 hits. He also had a great day at the plate, going 5 for 5 across both games. Scott Wolf played great as well, hitting 5 for 6 on the day and creating havoc on the basepaths. He had 3 total steals and stole home twice. Duff Wolf went a combined 4 for 5 including a triple to left field. Bob Pelberg had a nice game behind the plate and went 3 for 5 with some key hits. Sub Marc Simons also played a great left field running down everything that went his way and went 5 for 6 at the plate.

 

The team has shown incredible fight this year. After starting the season 1-2, we’ve rattled off 5 straight wins to turn our season around.

 

On field three it was a split as Team Taylor vs Team Lefton

Team Taylor reports from the first game winners: 

We creamed Lefton in the first game by scoring 9 runs in the first and 6 in the 3rd. This seemed to really upset both Jimmy and Ricky Lefton who had a brothers’ spat on the field. We need to check on Jimmy’s hand because Rick was zinging the ball back to him pretty hard. Eric “Jeter” Goldstein hit a triple, and B-Rod continues to hit the ball well for us. 

In game two using the new extra innings rule Team Lefton won the game by scoring the runner from 2nd base. From what we understand Sean Doolittle was brought in to pitch the 6th inning last night for Team Taylor which led to the loss. 

 

Finally on field 4 Team Weisser took on Team Loon

Roger with the update

GAME 1……

 

TEAM WEISSER…….10

TEAM LOON…………..5

 

 

GAME 2…..

 

TEAM LOON………….16

TEAM WEISSER…….20

 

 

After the worst game of the season, TEAM WEISSER could only get better, and they did in a big way!

 

They swept TEAM LOON in a pair of five inning games, winning the opener, 10-5, and the nightcap, 20-16.

 

The stars were plentiful in the doubleheader as everyone contributed in a total team effort. Whether it was on defense or offense or both, they set the tone early and never looked back.

 

Captain MARK WEISSER was back on the mound after a week in Nevada (ask him what he was doing there) and pitched and fielded his position well.

 

“I don’t know what the f— happened when I was gone, but I wasn’t going to put up with that kind of performance again. I’ve been in this league a long time and I just won’t tolerate another performance like last week,” he stated in the winner’s locker room afterward. “I made sure that was not going to happen again or else heads would roll.”

 

The million-dollar players stepped up in a big way as DAVID WERTHEIM, HARRY MEISNER, JOSH ROSEN and SAM CASTELLINI all contributed with big hits and stellar play in the field. It included a monster blast over the centerfield fence by MEISNER and some key run scoring hits.

 

“I had my Wheaties today and it paid off. I didn’t think it was going out, but I guess I’m more powerful than I thought,” the Wyoming graduate MEISNER said afterwards.

 

Kudos also go out to NORM FRANKEL….STEVE ZAWATSKY…..LARRY NEWMAN….HOWARD GOLDWASSER and ROGER ROSENTHAL who also contributed in the field and at the plate.

 

“I didn’t know what it felt like to get on multiple times in one game,” said the Indianapolis native GOLDWASSER said afterwards.

 

“I didn’t know how it felt to just get on base. I haven’t been doing much of that this year,” ROSENTHAL explained to reporters afterwards.

 

WERTHEIM played an unbelievable shortstop and made some great plays, however on the throws to first baseman ROSENTHAL, the sun was blinding and he couldn’t come up with the throws.

 

“I couldn’t see the damn ball and I felt bad for the team, but what was I to do?” he said.

 

In response, WEISSER said, “You’ve got the money. Don’t be so cheap and go buy yourself a pair of sunglasses.”

 

Finally, in the final frame in the second game, after another thrown ball to first base in which ROSENTHAL couldn’t see the ball, WEISSER moved him to second base and put NEWMAN at first base.

 

On the next hitter, a ball was hit to FRANKEL at third base, who fielded it, threw to ROSENTHAL at 2nd base for the force out and then he threw to first base to complete the 

double play.

 

“I’ll do anything to get back to my natural position, but really the sun did get in my eyes at first base.”

 

League Notes:

This is a super cool story: Griff Harris noticed on Instagram a couple of weeks back that Tejay Antone was doing a contest where you could design a pair of his cleats and if you won he would wear them in a game. Griff drew some up and sent it in. And he WON! So he got a pair of cleats from Antone that were signed and he is going to wear them in a game. Well done, Griff.

 

Also, congrats go out to Eric “Jeter” Goldstein whose daughter won the life guard of the week at the JCC. “Now that Handsome Sam is gone, I have this award in the bag every week,” she said.

 

Dr. Bob last night was telling us all about what a great wife he has (Wendy). In the past she has, in no particular order, shoveled the driveway while he was loafing in the shower one morning, cut the grass, and done work around the house all the while Dr. B is out you know saving lives and telling Eppy to stop eating so many wings. But by far the best Dr. Bob story involved a trip to Vegas where Dee Harris had to room with him. I guess Dr. B has a snoring problem and Dee had spent all night tossing shoes, pillows, his poker chips, the “Dancer” in their room and anything else he could think of to get him to stop. Finally, he texted Wendy to ask how she could sleep with him all these years. Wendy picked up the phone and called Bob who was still sleeping and woke him up to yell at him to quit snoring because he was keeping sweet Dee and the “Dancer” in their room awake. (Parts of this story were embellished…allegedly) 

 

Finally, not sure if you guys saw this story but a couple of weeks ago during the Euro Championships. Ronaldo was starting his press conference when he saw two bottles of Coke were on the table. (Coke is one of the title sponsors of the championships) and Ronaldo being a healthy guy asked for water and moved the Coke bottles out of TV range. This set off a storm for Coke who saw their stock prices fall simply because a guy moved the bottles over and asked for water. This got me thinking about our league and the different sponsorships our guys are into:

 

Jimmy Lefton would be a proud sponsor of Dollar Shave Club’s Swamp Stop Ball Spray (Have you seen that guy post game? He looks like he showered with his clothes on)

 

Roger Rosenthal who complained all night about not being able to see the ball in the sun would of course be a partner for Cool Dude Sunglasses (the same ones that Dave and Chainsaw wrote about in his favorite 80’s movie, Summer School. FYI Roger…sunglasses were invented in the 12th century by the Chinese so you might want to invest in some. 

 

Mark “Bruiser” Wolf along with many others would be a proud sponsor of Bulldog skin care for bald heads.

 

Keith Kombrinck uses body armor by Kevlar since he pitches in catchers gear and runs in shin guards. 

 

Alan Lessure who after making a throwing error last night and blamed his lack of grip due to yard work on his hands is of course the sponsor of Spider Tack grip that all of the MLB pitchers are getting dinged about currently. If only I had my tube of Spider Tack last night I would have made that throw to beat that speedster, Eppy.

 

Duffy “Clap for the Wolf(man),” who was seen sporting a little pony tail last night is a proud sponsor of Soul-vation hair clips for both men and women

 

Not to be outdone his brother Scott “Dire” Wolf, who added to his all-time JCC steal record last night, works with Tide cleaners since nothing gets dirt out of pants better than Tide.

 

Rafi Goldfarb, it comes to no surprise to anyone, is a proud partner of Afro Picks from neo curly products. “It’s the only brand I use,” Rafi said last night.

 

David “Slim Shady” Wertheim is known to use the same “energy” powder that turned Barry Bonds’ head three sizes too big. It was last seen on the bench last week on field 4 if anyone is looking for it.

 

Pete “The straw that stirs the drink” Soltesz has a deal with Half Price Books so he can read up on baseball 101, which states you walk the other team’s best hitter with an open base and a one run lead. 

 

And finally, 90% of us in the league today need some sort of sports cream since we are sore from playing 10 innings last night. 

 

See ya on the field next week!

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Game Results: June 18, 2021

June 16 Recap
by Marc Brafman
Put me in coach I’m ready to play today…Look at me I could be Centerfield (or Left or Right Center). If you were like me, the great tune by John Fogerty was bouncing around my head all night last night. We almost forgot what it was like to play after a month off. It was nice to be out playing again and seeing everyone. As Jacob said to me last night, “The last time you played, Dad, I was still in school….”
On Field One it was Team Solomon vs. Team Brafman (Brafman won 6-5)
Team Brafman jumped on Team Solomon early with 3 runs in the bottom of the first. Mark “Big Blue” Tenenholtz, Fink, “The Macho Man” Andrew Gage all had hits and Pat “Sunshine” Feldman drove in a run in his return to action after a year off. “It was nice to be back out playing again,” Feldman said. “This is the first time in 5+ years that I’ve had a hat on playing.” While most of us let our hair grow during COVID, Pat actually cut his hair, which resulted in him not losing his hat running a-la Johnathan India (Roger is very sad that Pat cut his hair for reasons that he’ll have to explain).  Led by the stellar pitching of Mike Gray, Team Solomon kept Brafman off the board while they chipped away at the lead. Some heads up baserunning by Stu and a timely two-out double by Danny Gilbert brought the tying run home for Solomon. With the score tied 5-5 in the bottom of the 7th, The “Spleen” of the order for team Brafman got the job done. Three straight singles by Sam “The Hitman” Hecht, Rick the Commish and Eric “the fastest player in the league” Zied brought up Zach “the Wildhorse” Zakem who’s hard-hit grounder was able to drive Hecht home with the winning run. The defense on both teams was outstanding all night. David BP Snyder made a nice throw for Solomon and Mike Gray fielded his position very well. For team Brafman Ben “Raindance” Rosenberg and Fink made the game saving play getting a force out at 3rd to end a Solomon threat. Alan “The Family Truckster” Lessure also made a nice catch moving all of 1 inch in short-short center. “The hardest part for me was waiting for the ball to come down,” Lessure said post game. “That ball was coming down slower than I run.”
A big tip of the JCC cap to prior league MVP Griff Harris who umped last night. Sure, he might have been seeing double or triple with his pre-game activities and the sun being in his face on field one, but in true JCC style he didn’t let it bother him. Good job, Griff, and thanks for the help. 
Team Brafman improves to 5-1 on the season. 
On field 2, we had Team Grefer vs. Team Loon. Grefer won 16-12.
Kyle checks in for the winning team: 
Team Grefer defeated Team Loon 16-12 in an offensive showdown. Tyler Wolf led the team offensively with 4 hits. Dan Grefer, Scott Wolf, and Eddie Gallop were each on base 3 times and Eddie had a picture-perfect bunt hit to first base. Bob Pelberg, Wes Wolf, and Duff Wolf also each had some clutch hits. Wes Wolf played a great defensive shortstop, highlighted by a barehanded double play at second base. Our team did a great job of keeping the foot on the gas, after we scored 4 runs in the first inning. Team Loon kept chipping away and brought the game within two, but we were able to add on some runs late in the game which proved to be the difference.
On field 3, we had Team Groh vs. Team Schwartz.
Taylor chimes in for the winners:
After 5 weeks off, Team Schwartz returned to action against the team they last faced, Team Groh.
 
There were no signs of rust as Team Schwartz scored 5 in the top of the 1st, started by a solo homer by sub, Dee Harris. Adding 3 more in the 2nd, they jumped out to an 8-1 lead. Team Groh settled in as sub, Jimmy Lefton kept batters in check over the next few innings. The bottom of the lineup for Groh came up clutch and led a 5-run rally to cut the lead to 8-6. In the bottom of 4 now trailing 9-6, the Fogel family made history. Joel hit an inside the parker, followed by son, Jeremy, hitting his first career over the fence home run. He skipped around the bases in joy, and while rounding 3rd, shouted to his girlfriend in the stands “I love you babe! Couldn’t have done this without you.” He then turned to his equally proud sister Brook and stuck his tongue out, saying “I told you Mom and Dad like me better.” To make this father/son feat even more impressive -Mallory Lefton who was in the stands as well cheering on her Dad said this post game, “I had a feeling Jeremy was going to go back to back. You just got the feeling that there was magic in the air similar to my favorite baseball moment ever from Sept. 14, 1990, when Griffey Sr. and Jr. went back-to-back.”  Jamey Kurtzer buckled down and pitched 3 scoreless innings to end the game. Team Schwartz scored 4 in the top of 6 to extend the lead to 12-8. Solid hitting, defense, and pitching throughout assisted them to a 12-9 final, leading the game wire to wire. One lesson to be learned: don’t intentionally walk Pete Soltesz.
Finally on Field 4, history was made for Team Kamrass as they played Team Weisser.
Micah reports the following:
Team Kamrass began its march to the second half title with an 11-0 win over Team Weisser. The game ball went to the wily veteran, Eppy, for pitching a shut out with no walks. After the game he said, “I had to adjust to the new ban on spider tack, but I was still able to command the ball well.”  (More on this below)
Jared Kamrass celebrated his 30th birthday with some key hits including one over the left fielder’s head. Everyone on the team had key hits, and the defense played error free ball. First Baseman, Keith Kombrinck, battled a difficult sun to lead the infield, and all four outfielders (M. Kamrass, Silverman, Heldman, and Able) made nice plays.
“It feels good to be in first place in the standings,” said team captain, Micah Kamrass. “The first half didn’t go our way, but we will be dangerous in the second half.”
Roger checks in from the losing side:
The stars were aligned and all was well as STEVE “EPPY” EPPSTEIN pitched perhaps the best game of his storied career……an 11-0 shutout of
 TEAM WEISSER….
He got ahead in the count, didn’t walk a batter and allowed a handful of hits. Add in the fact that his defense played flawlessly behind him in not committing an error the entire game…..a rare feat in this league.
“I don’t remember ever pitching a shutout in this league,” the veteran of many years (too many to count) said after the game.
“I credit the defense as they played great and DAVID SOLOMON who called a great game.” “I shook him off a few times. He wanted a change-up at times and I was fired up and thought my fastball was working too well,” EPPSTEIN added.
It should be noted his fastball reached DOUBLE digits on the radar gun.
“EPPY” also credited his workout regimen of five push-ups, six sit-ups and seven laps around his house as the reason for pitching such a gem. It should also be noted that David “Slim Shady” Wertheim ripped off his Mr. T gold necklaces after this game and tossed them into the woods by field 4. “These things bring me no luck,” he could be heard muttering post game.
So there you have it…….mark the date down…..JUNE 16, 2021…..STEVE EPPSTEIN SHOCKED THE WORLD by throwing a shutout!
League Notes: 
It’s very impressive that Eppy tossed a 4-hit shutout but had history not intervened, it might have been a different story. Around 50 years ago, young Eppy was a traveling door to door salesman for the Encyclopedia Britannica and was trying to get people in Greenville, Mississippi to not only buy these but read them. To make matters more complicated he was being helped by a young Black man who Eppy was teaching how to sell these. After stopping at one house where they had a shot gun pulled on them and told to leave the house quickly, Eppy and friend were running away when the police showed up. Expecting to be helped and protected from the Jethro with the gun, instead Eppy was tossed into the slammer because he didn’t have his license to sell encyclopedias in the state of Mississippi. After a quick call to his lawyer, F. Lee Bailey, Eppy was released with the warning not to sell any books about learning in the fine state of Mississippi, thus relegating that state to last place year after year in the rankings of smartest states. So had Eppy not been released from jail for selling the encyclopedias, his shut out last night wouldn’t have happened (I believe Arlo Guthrie once sang about this as well).
It’s good to know that the IOC is thinking with their proper heads as the Summer Olympics start next month. 160,000, yes 160,000 condoms will be handed out to the athletes once they get to Japan. Interestingly, that is the same amount the Lefton brothers used during their college days at OSU.
It’s been so long since we all played. It’s nice to see all of you guys who have seniors that graduated from high school in the last month. Congrats to all of the kids and parents.
Speaking of parents, pretty Greg Leader’s son hit a homer in an important game for Mason. Like father like son, right?
I’m glad I was out of town for Jewish night at the Reds game. 17-3…ouch!  What’s more impressive than the Phillies offense is that Sam “The Hitman” Hecht stayed for the entire game because, and I quote, “I thought the Reds had a comeback in them.” 
Equally as impressive is how they have played since then. Although their bullpen still can’t find the strike zone half the time.
Speaking of Sam Hecht, it’s a shame that our games were rained out last week. Team Brafman was on a bye last week, but Sam didn’t realize that and would have shown up the field ready to play in full uniform with no team. Man, I wish I could have seen that. 
For those of you that missed the Women’s College Softball World Series this year I highly recommend you catch it next year. We can all only hope to be half as good as those young ladies. 
Big shout out to David D-Sol Solomon for becoming the new director at Rockdale Temple. He had a very nice write up in the Israelite, which had a slight profile on him: “David enjoys spending time with his family, donating blood, playing softball and making lanyards.” It got me thinking of this classic scene from Tommy Boy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWrjBBXjjhM.  Start at the 28 second mark. 
Remember, even though the event is this week, to donate to the Adams Classic. It’s a great event that helps the JCC all year.
Sweet Butter Bakery continues to churn out great products all week. Be sure to order it here: https://sweetbuttercincy.com/order-online
I think all captains next year need to head out to the over-65 year old softball league that Gary Grefer and Jerry Kirzner are playing in. Gary said there is a lot of untapped talent out there playing. 
Finally, in Roger world-he reports that someone bought most of his “caps” and that he is dropping his new Shogo Bobbleheads price to the low, low price of $5. If this guy can’t get on the field for the Reds, he can’t sell for more than 5 bucks for me. But in a story that says a lot about Roger, he told us last night that one time he invited his entire softball team to come over for a post-game party and to look at and play with his electric train set. This was before Roger was married and when he was a captain in the league. The sad truth is that only one guy showed up.
Drink plenty of water next week boys..the double headers await. 
See you on the field next week