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Game Results: April 11, 2021

League Notes

By Marc Brafman

After a long winter (and a year off for some of you), it’s finally game week. Welcome back to all of you returning players and welcome to the rookies. After a long off-season, here are some league notes to get us ready for the season plus a quick recap of the draft and a preview of this upcoming season. 

Congrats to Mike “Flash” Creemer on 20 years of being “Mr.” Mike to thousands of kids while working and leading the Blue Jays program at the JCC.

 

Eric “Sabo” Zied will have to put his energy that he was going to take to Reds fantasy camp and channel it into his play with Team Brafman this year due to Reds fantasy camp being postponed again. No truth to the rumor that he was going to be co-captain of his team with Big Gig.

Kudos to former pitcher Barry Kaplan on being named 2020 circle of excellence winner for realtor of the year. 

Lots of guys became fathers for the first time or had another baby since last season: Zach Meyer, Micah Kamrass, Dan Grefer and I’m sure more but those are the three that I know.

Unfortunately, on the other side of things, the league lost parents and friends such as Oscar Jarnicki. Sorry for the loss of parents to Dee Harris and former player, Randy Sandow.

For those of us that are going out to dinner again please make sure you help out Jason Esterkamp by visiting O’Bryan’s Bar & Grill. Stop by after a game this year. Or visit one of Jeff Finkelstein’s restaurants, Basil’s on Market in Troy and Beavercreek. 

Who knew that Scott Friend’s son was an author? Yes, that’s right. He might be under the age of 12, but he has written a kid’s book. Scott can fill us in more once the season starts on how to get it. 

Finally, it won’t be a league notes without checking in on everyone’s favorite e-seller, Roger Rosenthal, who outdid himself this winter by selling 2008 Women’s NCAA tournament chair cushions. I have no idea why anyone had these, or why anyone would want them, but leave it to Roger to find them and sell them. Not sure what is worth more, that or his Homer Bailey combo bobble head.

To briefly recap the draft, or “Brad Wagner Christmas” as Commish Rick put it to start with, here are some notes from the draft held last Thursday night:

1) Captains debated about the merits of eating edibles before the draft and the effect it would have on their teams

2) On more than one occasion Stu Solomon was so involved with thinking (or overthinking) that Commish Rick had to make sure he heard that it was his pick

3) the most influential person in this year’s draft might have been Adam Cronstein’s dad, which was a running joke throughout the night.

4) Someone dubbed the Team Kamrass “Team Bachelor Party” until the later rounds when it became “Team Golden Girls”

5) For the third year in a row, Team Brafman drafted the first rookie and he (I) hope to continue the trend of getting the best ones of the bunch.

6) Team Schwartz, which has been in the league a very long time had no idea that Mike Rothstein and Corey Norris are BFF’s when he drafted them and seemed very pleased with himself that he made such a bold pick up

7) Jerry “Doc” Kirzner was delighted to be part of the Kirzner family picks this year when his grand nephew and rookie, Camden “The Bearcat” Kirzner ,went as a mid-round pick. Said Jerry, “I haven’t been picked this early since Gerry Ford was in office.”

8) When Team Grefer was on the clock and taking their time, this seemed to upset Team Schwartz, who claimed that he had to get home “For supper and to watch the Masters” thus becoming the oldest Capt. in the draft even though he might be the youngest.

9) Not to be outdone, Ken Groh tried picking Jeff Weisbrot twice, Jason Faust, Jake Taylor, and Brandon Larson before finally settling on Ryan “The Hebrew Hammer” Baum.

Last but not least a league preview:

Team Lefton looks to be strong as usual with the Harris family anchoring the middle of the outfield/infield. Rookie, Sebastian “The Cat” Kunkel could be the diamond in the rough for this team. A very impressive move late in the draft might put this team over the top. With a nice mix of younger guys and vets, the Leftons could make a nice push this season. “We are ready to make another run at the title,” Jimmy said.  Anytime you have Griff, Wags, Kunkel and Scott Friend in the middle of your order we should put a lot of runs on the board.” Interesting fact: Team Lefton should be called “We are Family” since it has three sets of different family members on the same team (Kunkel, Lefton and Margolis)

Team Brafman might be the most versatile in the league this year. “As the draft unfolded the guys who can play multiple spots on the field just fell to me,” Brafman said. I’m really excited to mix and match lineups and spots on the field. Two returning rookies who played in the league in years past make up a big part of Team Brafman’s roster. Andrew Gage and Ben Rosenberg will man SS and RC while Mark Tenenholtz will be the man in the middle in the outfield. With Fink taking his first full turn on the mound this year, Team Brafman is expected to keep teams at bay with defense and hustle. Interesting fact: If you are looking for any Jewish baked goods, stop by Team Brafman and hit up Sam “The Hitman” Hecht, as his wife (and my sister-in-law) is making the best Jewish baked goods in the city.

Team Weisser: Weisser went big early in the draft with some of the fastest and younger guys in the draft with David “Slim Shady” Wertheim and Harry “Hood” Meisner. “I wanted speed and quickness this year,” Weisser said “and along with those two, Josh Rosen and “Handsome” Sam Castellini, I have that in spades.” While this team might not win on the field, they will definitely win the St. Louis Cards bench jockeying award. “With Roger, Z and Wertheim we will win the talking award, for sure.” Interesting fact: Roger Rosenthal and Howard Goldwasser were once traded for each other in a draft and season many years ago. It’s nice to see them reunited on Team Weisser this year. 

Team Solomon: With the youngest overall team in the draft this year, Team Solomon is ready to pounce on the competition.  “Speed and power are the two things I look for in a player,” Stu said post draft and I think I found it with Stansbury, Danny Gilbert and Michael Askin. I’ve got two rookies this year in Alexander Wold and Mark “Bruiser” Wolfe (not to be confused with the other Mark Wolf), and along with my return to the diamond this year, we should be ready to wreak havoc on the league. One note on this team-the entire JCC league will be waiting with bated breath to find out what type of hat the always fashionable Evan Gildenblatt will be wearing this season.  Interesting Note: During the draft, Stu was commenting on how many guys in the league grew up on his street. While I can’t remember any of them, I do believe he said that Ickey Woods would come around and try to sell them all meat. 

Team Groh: It came as no surprise to any of the draftnicks in the room on Thursday that Groh picked Jeff Weisbrot, but what did surprise us all is that it lasted until the 3rd round. Team Groh might have the best defense in the league with the Fogels playing alongside Jeff and David “The Doctor of Style” Weil behind the plate. “I’ve tried to go the hitting way the last few years,” Groh said, “but this year I thought maybe I should try and draft for defense.” Getting big rookie, Zach “fluffhead” Michelson and cagey vet, Jim Beckett later in the draft might put Groh over the top. Interesting fact: Groh has the largest collection of baseball hats in the league and was trying to figure out which one he liked best to match his team color. Along with David Weil, look for Team Groh to be the “RuPaul” of the league this year

Team Grefer: this without a question is the most interesting team in the league this year. The Grefers returning from a year away took the Wolf pack along with the Living League Legend, Howie Schwartz, also coming back this season. “We put all our chips on the table early with our first couple of picks,” Danny and Kyle said post draft. “We know that Howie is like Nolan Ryan; he just keeps getting better with age.” Not since Ben met Jerry have two families merged to form a team quite like the Grefer-Wolf team. “It’s always been a dream of our dad, Gary, to play with the Wolfs,” the boys said. “We were happy to make his wish come true.” Interesting fact: Will Weston “Hungry like a” Wolf and Dr. Bob Pelberg be able to coexist on the same team? It was only two seasons ago that they looked like Yadi vs. BP on field three, so along with everything else it will be fun to watch them play together.

Team Kamrass: the Brothers Kamrass have an interesting team this year with two of the best SS in the league Zach Meyer and Rafi “Baby Beluga” Goldfarb on the same team. (It should be noted that Rafi’s hair was taken in the 11th round) Along with D-Sol and Flash Creemer the Kamrass’ have a glut of catchers and older cagey pitchers in Eppy and Keith Kombrink. “We figured that if having one old older pitcher was good, two were even better,” Micah said post draft. With more returning players (Meyer, Rafi, Ryan “Hi Ho” Silverman, Riley “The Big Man” Able and both Kamrass brothers) than any other team plus promising rookie, Scott Sadler, this team, once it knocks the rust off, could be an interesting team to watch. They also may take the title from Team Brafman last year of having the slowest bottom of the order in JCC history (thanks guys).  Interesting fact: Riley “The Big Man” Able might have had the busiest offseason of anyone. He passed the bar, got a job and got married. 

Team Loon: Anton, over the last few years, has taken the Reds of the mid-2000’s approach to softball. “We are going to mash the ball and try and beat teams by outscoring them.” Once again Loon is trying to prove that theory is a winner. With returning players such as Jason Esterkamp, Stu Weinstein, Matt Brodoff, Scott Berg, Gregg Harris and very promising rookie, Camden Kirzner, who I believe is the youngest player in the league, Team Loon might score 18+ runs a game. “I loved the Reds approach in the mid-2000’s with Griffey, Dunn, Kearns, Larkin, etc. They won a lot of NL Central titles so I’m trying my best to replicate it at the J.”  Interesting note: without sidekick and brother-in-law, Greg Leader, at the draft, Loon is much more relaxed and very fast when it comes to his picks. “Losing Greg with his computer, spreadsheets and Mel Kiper draft guide has really streamlined my approach,” Loon said. 

Team Schwartz-Defending post season champ and league overall #1 player, Taylor Schwartz, returns with an interesting mix of players. “Now that I’m the champ, I feel I can manage anyone to a league title,” Schwartz said. “I’m really excited to have such laid-back guys on my team as Mike Rothstein, Adam Cronstein and Pete “the Straw that Stirs the Drink” Soltesz on my team. I’ll miss my brother when he moves to Washington but as a player well,” Schwartz said walking away.  Jamey Kurtzer mans the mound for this talented squad, which also features B-Rod, Corey Norris and rookie Dan Perlmutter. “Like last year, I know we will be the underdogs this year,” Schwartz said, “but that is just the way I like it.” Interesting note: the entire league will continue to monitor the mental health of Taylor this season. A year after losing his BFF and roomie Leon “The Bull” Seserman, now he will be without his brother. “It’s a very trying time for me but I know with the support of my team I can make it through this season.”

Good luck to all the teams this season. See you at the field on Wednesday!

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Game Results: September 30, 2020

Note from the Commissioner’s Office
By Rick Tenenholtz

We have come to a completion of the regular season and tournament in an unprecedented year for JCC Softball.  I want to thank everyone involved for their cooperation.  You will see below that I have a lot more to say about this year, but I want to give a special thank you to Marc Brafman.  Since Roger Rosenthal’s retirement from journalism and decision to focus on the used bobblehead market, Marc has taken on the role of coordinating the blog and he has done a fantastic job.  We all know that his posts take a lot of time to write, but he gets them done every week without fail.  I hear about the blog from a lot of people, so I know that he is entertaining many of you.  His efforts have contributed greatly to the engagement of everyone in the league and we all owe him a big thanks. Thanks for everything, Marc and PLEASE keep it up!


September 27 Recap
By Marc Brafman

On a picture-perfect Sunday morning, the final day of the 2020 softball season took place at Triple Creek Park. While this is one year to remember, let’s all take a second to once again say thanks to Rick, Mike, and the rest of the JCC staff (plus the umps and the staff at Triple Creek). We knew this was going to be a challenging year and we all met it head on with limited interruptions and problems. Thanks to all of the guys that played this year. Can’t wait till next season…

Now onto the games:
It was a final 4 that no one saw coming…
on Field 2 it was Schwartz vs. Brafman and on Field 4 it was Weisser vs. Loon:

Take it away Taylor:

Game 1:

Team Schwartz took on Team Brafman in the semifinals and jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the 1st before surrendering 9 runs due to some shaky defense. Schwartz continued their offensive output over the next few innings regaining the lead and extending it to 17-9. The offense was led by the Schwartz brothers, sub Ryan Baum, Eric Goldstein, and more. In the bottom of the 4th, Brafman rallied, led by a mammoth home run by Sam Hecht, cutting the score to 17-16. Brafman made the pitching change from Scott Wolf to Tyler Wolf, but the Schwartz offense couldn’t be slowed. Randy Broyles helped his cause with a big two-run double, adding a bit of cushion. Taking a 24-18 lead to the bottom of the 7th, Randy shut it down and the game ended with a catch by sub Steve Zawatsky against the fence in foul territory. Team Schwartz completed the 3-game season sweep of Team Brafman and went from last place in the regular season to advancing to the championship. Those with Schwartz to win it all future tickets at 25-1 were ecstatic and debating whether to hedge or ride the hottest team in the league.

Brafman would like to add the following: We had a great season and I really enjoyed coaching my guys. From the Wolf family, to cagey vets like Andy Heldman and Mike Creemer and the Natural Jeff Weisbrot to younger players like Zach Zakem and my two rookies Sam “The Hitman” Hecht and Joel “Hallelujah” Buckley.  We had a great time playing each week. We gave it our all every game which, as a captain, is all I can ask for. Thanks, guys for a great season. Can’t wait for next year. 

Weisser vs. Loon recap:

All we know is that Weisser laid the wood to the imposing Loon team winning 18-4. When asked for a comment post game, Rick Tenenholtz said, “We hit the ball hard but right at them and they hit the ball all over the place.” We just couldn’t keep up. 
 
Game 2: The Finals Team Schwartz vs. Team Weisser:

Team Weisser finished their game while Team Schwartz was still in the 4th inning. After an hour plus of sitting around, Team Weisser had tight legs. However, they jumped out to a 3-1 lead behind a lazy bloop double by “LVP” Griffin Harris, and an inside the park homer by David “Eminem” Wertheim. Mark Weisser had team Schwartz on their toes early, but Todd Wasserman started a big inning when he ran out an infield single. Big hits then came by the Schwartz brothers, Adam Cronstein, Harry Meisner, and more. Schwartz took a 7-3 lead. It didn’t last long as Team Weisser fought back plating 5 runs to retake the lead and go up 8-7. They later pushed the lead to 11-7 behind key hits from Brad Wagner, Scott Friend, and Dee Harris. Weisser had control until the top of 6 when David Solomon blasted a deep triple that landed right before the fence. The rest of the lineup followed David up with hits (except for the captain when he grounded out to the pitcher with bases loaded) but the team had his back and they scored 6 runs to take a 16-11 lead. Harry Meisner had a clutch catch in the outfield as he caught it while back tracking and falling to the ground and the top of Team Weisser’s lineup was held to two runs. Adam Cronstein hit a 2-out triple in the top of 7 and later scored, extending the Schwartz lead to 17-13. Evan Weisser hit a 2-out triple as well in the bottom of 7 and Weisser was one batter from flipping it back to the top of the order to put a real scare into Team Schwartz, but Randy Broyles got a big final out to end the game and complete an unforeseen, astonishing championship run. After the game, Team Schwartz popped champagne and dedicated the game to injured most improved player of the year nominee Ben Rodriguez. In a post-game interview, captain Taylor Schwartz said, “In my first two years as captain, my team came in last place in the regular season both times, so winning this COVID Championship is extra sweet. Tanking does work after all.” Now if you will excuse me, I have to hop on my hourly zoom call with Leon to catch him up on my life. He misses me…

League notes:

Get well soon Jerry “Doc” Kirzner who had back surgery this week. He reports that he is up and walking around and while a little sore is already getting ready to play next year. 

Congrats to Tyler “Big Bad” Wolf on his engagement after our game on Sunday. 

Now I will admit that I might take some liberties with the league notes each week but what you are about to read is word for word from this past week Adath Israel newsletter. Former Player and stepdad to David “8 Mile” Wertheim, Josh Lisman is our temple President. I will set it up this way. Josh was talking about how he had never met anyone who owned a Sukkah until he met David’s mom when they started dating.  She asked him to come over and help set up their family Sukkah back in 2007. This was the first time that David and his sister Sarah had dinner with Josh at their house. Here is where I will let Josh tell the story:

“After tucking them into bed for the first time I “left” promising to be back in the early morning. Before they (David and Sarah) were allowed out of their rooms I snuck downstairs gave the dog a treat and went out the front door. After about 90 seconds I knocked on the door and Marla let the kids open the door. They were over the moon that I got up so early to see them. Neither noticed the similarity in my outfit from the day before.” So, congrats to David “8 Mile” Wertheim for finding out what his mom and (now) stepdad were up to all those years ago while he slept in the Adath Israel newsletter. Maybe that explains his hair. Also, single guys – go to Temple and look for any single moms or ladies who own a Sukkah: it might be a way to get lucky…

Finally this week we are going to end with a quick interview with our esteemed Commish, Rick Tenenholtz, who I thought deserved the final note of the year (You’re safe this week, Roger). Rick’s answers are in red and I know I say it most weeks but thanks again to Rick and Brad for all the behind the scenes work you guys put in this year to make this season happen. For a couple of hours each week we could all forget about COVID, the election, work, what to do with our kids, etc. and have fun together. 
 
1. What have been the biggest challenges this year? 

Dealing with all of the impacts of COVID-19 has clearly taken this role to a new level.  We started with an incredibly fast registration in January.  The league was full in about 2 weeks.  We did all of the planning as we would for a regular season and then COVID hit.  For a couple of months, we were in limbo and nobody knew whether we would be able to play. Once we were given a green light to proceed, we had to rethink how the league would work…who was in and who was out, how many teams, who would be captains, what would the rules be, etc.  A lot of people who have been a part of this league for many years had to make a tough decision as to whether or not to play this year.  Once those decisions were made, we were able to move forward. 
 
I have been pleasantly surprised by the cooperation of everyone playing this year.  There were some less than desirable rules we thought were necessary to be able to make the league work, the most notable of which is the mask rule.  I don’t know anyone who enjoys wearing a mask, but the league was not going to work without them.  Too many people expressed a concern about playing, especially with the close contact at home plate.  Fortunately, we found a way to make it work with minimal disruption. 
               
Without question, the few COVID positive cases we had were the most difficult and frustrating part of the season.  Fortunately, everyone emerged healthy and we were able to finish the season.
 
I can’t end this answer without pointing out a few people who have been instrumental in making this season happen.  First, in addition to our prior-season captains, Anton Loon, Joel Fogel and Mark Weisser stepped up when this league needed them to captain teams this year.  Their contributions have been huge.  Second, Brad Wagner and I have each other on speed dial.  All I have to do is say, “Hey, Siri, call the Commissioner Emeritus.” In addition to Brad, Mike Creemer and Ricky Lefton have helped me to figure things out in this bizarre year.  Finally, I have had a lot of one-on-one discussions with the members of the commission (Brad, Ricky, Adam Cronstein, Anton, Marc Brafman, Gig Franklin and Mark Weisser).  We have all been working hard to get to the finish line.
 
2. What’s been your favorite part of being Commish?  

The pay and benefits!  Seriously, there are so many things I have enjoyed.  I love getting to know all the new players each year.  I love hearing from the many people who love playing in this league and do so much to support it.  Maybe most importantly, I love trying to do everything I can to make the league more fun for everyone.
 
3. What rule changes if any would you like to see down the road?  

There aren’t many because we try to address rule changes each year.  The biggest area of concern for me is probably the sub rules.  They are somewhat arcane because we try to address so many issues.  We need to allow subs, but we want to prevent teams from gaining an advantage by using subs.  The obvious solution is that everyone needs to block off every Wednesday and Sunday from April 1 through September 30.  How hard is that?
 
4. What do you think the future of the league holds? How can we all do our part to continue to bring in new guys?  

I think the future of this league is very bright.  There is a reason people play in this league for 50+ years. We have a good group of guys who continue to bring in others. If you don’t believe me, ask our umpires.  They love being involved in our league because of the quality of the people.
 
Regarding new guys to the league, I would encourage the young guys to invite their friends.  Also, when you hear about someone new to the city, ask them to sign up for softball.
 
5. What are the biggest challenges we face as a league?  

I think the biggest challenge we face each year is creating as much parity as possible.  One of the best things about this year was the parity.  Every team could beat every other team.  The commission has tried many things over the years to create parity, some of which work better than others. I believe that two crucial elements for parity are quality captains and a level of pitching talent that is relatively consistent from team to team.  If you really want to make a mark in this league, learn to pitch.

6. How would you like your term as Commish to be remembered? 

I have the good fortune to have a lot of very good predecessors, so my goal in coming into this role was to not screw it up.  There are so many players in this league who are former commissioners.  They all do their best to be caretakers of the league, and they provide a lot of good advice.  When my term is up, I’d like the players to think the league is fun and well run.


Stay safe everyone. Keep those masks on and don’t worry, there will be some more league notes this off season. 

Marc
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Game Results: September 24, 2020

September 23 Recap

By Marc Brafman
What a night of softball last night on Triple Creek. We had an upset win, and two walk-off hits including one in extra innings. Let’s get to the action.
On Field 1 it was Team Weisser vs. Team Lefton: 
Mark Weisser reports in:
 
Team Weisser jumped out to a 5-1 lead as a result of stringing several hits together including a solo HR by rookie of the year candidate, Josh Rosen. Team Lefton, with Eppy on the mound, struck back to tie the game at 5-5 with timely hitting by Brandon Guttman, Jimmy Lefton and Michael Rothstein. In the top of the 6th Team Lefton took the lead with a big double by sub Jeff Finkelstein. The lead stayed at 8-5 due to tremendous catch in deep RC by Griffin Harris off of the bat of Jimmy Lefton.
 
In the bottom of the 6th, Team Weisser tied the game at 8-8 as a result of a two-out bases loaded double over the left fielder’s head by Evan Weisser. “I couldn’t be more proud of my son,” Mark said. It almost makes me feel bad for trying to trade him to Team Fogel for Brad Gallop earlier this year…almost. 
 
Team Lefton failed to score in the top of the 7th due to Weisser’s new hand sanitizer pitch. “Look, Eppy and I are older and we can’t have this ball being touched by all the young guys all game. So now instead of hiding it I just squirt some on my hands on the mound and boy does that make the ball dance.” In the bottom of the seventh David “8 Mile” Wertheim (3 for 3 last night) singled and was driven in by a GW triple by Griffin “Benedict Arnold” Harris to deep LCF for the 9-8 win. 
 
It was a well-played game by both teams. Team Weisser moves on to play Team Loon on Sunday.
On Field 3 it was Team Schwartz vs. Team Groh
Pinch hitting for Taylor “May the” Schwartz be with you is Adam Cronstein:
In the top of the first Team Schwartz came out hot. The game started off with 5 straight reaching base including super subs Mitchell Evans and Mark Tenenholtz who went a combined 6 for 9 on the night. The rally was capped off by a 2-RBI double off the bat of pitcher, Randy Broyles. 
In the bottom of the inning Team Groh came out and scored 2 runs of their own but were stymied by solid defense highlighted by an excellent over the shoulder, running snow cone grab on a DEEP shot to left field by sub Dan Green making an appearance for team Groh. Cronstein remarked that he needed to remind the young outfielders that we middle aged guys can still chase down balls with the best of them, and that he was doing everything he could to maintain his status in the field since he was pushed out of his normal position by Mark T who was subbing for captain Taylor Schwartz who was enjoying a nice little vacation in the Arizona desert. Dan Green, who was making his first appearance of the season was heard saying that he just wasn’t interested in coming out to sub until the playoffs when the games actually mattered. 
In the top of the 2nd, Team Schwartz mashed another 6 runs starting off with hits by Eric Goldstein and Corey Schwartz along with Harry Meisner bashing a ball that almost left the park until the team batted around in the inning. Pitcher Randy Broyles kept team Groh off balance in the bottom half of the inning and holding them for no runs. 
Ken Groh held Schwartz scoreless in the next 2 frames and got off the mat scoring 1 in the 3rd before exploding for 7 runs in the bottom of the 4th.
Both teams were held scoreless in the 5th in part due to Corey Schwartz making a gutsy throw home to nail a runner at the plate with a great tag placed by catcher David Solomon.
Team Schwartz then plated 3 in the top of the 6th. Mark Tenenholtz and Randy had RBIs in the inning but the big hit in the inning came off the bat of Eric Zied to knock in a streaking Broyles who slid in just under the tag at home to give the team a much-needed insurance run putting them up 12-10.
Closing out the game in the 6th and 7th inning was no small feat. The play of the night came in the 6th inning by 1B Todd Wasserman, who had 2 huge hits himself on the evening including a smashed double that rolled to the wall in center field. On the play Wasserman made a back handed scoop that Joey Votto would have been proud of on a 1 hopper by Mitchell Evans to end the inning.
The victors held on in the 7th holding 2nd half champs Team Groh scoreless to earn a spot in the semifinals Sunday morning where they will meet Team Brafman. “I’m just glad that me not being there and having a “true” #1 like Mark Tenenholtz there helped us win,” Captain Schwartz said. I’ve been telling everyone for 3 years now that I’m not a 1, never mind that I’m hitting over .600 this season or playing an amazing SS week in and week out.”
Finally, in the game of the night on Field 4 Team Fogel and Team Brafman clashed
In a game that started late due to no umps (A huge shout out to Gary Grefer and the Commish for helping out), Team Brafman won on a walk-off single in the bottom of the 8th by Andy “Speedy” Heldman 10-9 or maybe 9-8 one of those two. 
In a pitchers’ duel from the first inning Mike “Go Cubs Go” Gray and Brandon “The Bird” Wolf kept both teams off the scoreboard. With some very good defense by the tag team of the Fogels (Jeremy who we come to expect each game and Joel who ran about 2 miles to make a great catch in the gap) and Weston “Hungry Like a” Wolf  who saved at least two runs with diving plays up the middle the score was close throughout the game. An opposite field home run by Chris Kunkel in the top of the 6th and a Triple by sub Matt Brodof in the top of the 7th gave Fogel a two-run lead heading into the bottom of the 7th. That is where team Brafman came off the mat for the first time. With two outs Jeff “The Natural” Weisbrot doubled. Tyler “Big Bad” Wolf singled him home to cut the lead to 1. After a Brandon Wolf single, Capt. Brafman blooped a single into short center to drive in the tying run but a very heads up play and throw by Rabbi Yitz who made a perfect throw to the plate to nab Wolf to keep the score tied. 
After a scoreless top of the 8th, Team Brafman was back up to the plate. As darkness started to fall Team Brafman started their second come back of the night. All season Mike “Flash” Creemer has called the bottom of the Brafman order the “Spleen” and they came up big tonight. With one out Sam “the Hitman” Hecht beat out an infield single. Duffy Wolf then moved him along to second with a clean single of his own. Zach “The Wild Horse” Zakem singled again to load the bases. Andy “Speedy” Heldman then singled up the middle (his second hit of the game) to drive in Hecht with the winning run. “I was just trying to help out my team,” Heldman said post game. I know I’m not Carl Lewis on the bases, but I was running as hard as I could to first and I was just glad that I was able to hit it hard.” This is the first post season win ever for Capt. Brafman and he thanked his team for removing the Marvin Lewis comparison to his coaching record. “Anytime you can remove yourself from being compared to Marvin Lewis that is a huge monkey off my back. I’d like to thank The Wolfs, Rookie of the Year Joel Buckley, and the rest of my team for a great win. As usual it was a total team effort.” In defeat Joel “Sparky” Fogel had this to say to his team: I had a great time being a captain for this group of guys. We had an impressive group of vets and rookies including my own Rookie of the Year candidate in Adam Knecht. We gave it our all every game, but we just came up short tonight. I’m looking forward to next season already.
Team Brafman looks to break their own two game losing streak to Team Schwartz on Sunday.
League Notes:
Once again a huge thank you to Gary Grefer and the Commish, Rick Tenenholtz for being the umps out on Field 4 for the Fogel/Brafman game. Thanks guys.
For the past couple of weeks Jeff “The Natural” Weisbrot has listened to music during warmups. While he claims it is the soundtrack to Rocky IV, I believe it is really a dentist’s podcast hosted by Tim Watley. 
I have no idea what type of car Joel “The Wrath of” Kahn drove up in last week but whatever it was it really impressed my 8-year-old son, Jacob. So, Joel if you are trying to impress little boys with your cool car, consider it done.
This has nothing to do with our league but how great was Trevor Bauer last night vs. the Brewers? When is the last time any Cincinnati athlete in any sport backed up his talk with a performance like that? Also, can someone look into the whereabouts of Taylor “Willie Mays Jr.” Trammel is these days? Thanks.
This has nothing do with our league, Part 2: On the flip side, are we seeing AJ Green turn into Joey Votto 2.0? I know he hasn’t played in 2 years but it sure didn’t look like AJ could get rid of his shadow on Thursday night, let alone the Browns. I sure hope I’m wrong about the Votto comparison (who, it should be noted, hit a huge homer last night) but so far not so good.
I Caught up with Dr. Bob this week for Where Are They Now. He told me he has taken up biking, that his favorite current athlete is Tadej Pogarcar and that he is really excited to get back into the league next year. He reminds everyone to keep their mask on and wash their hands. 
Finally, in What Roger has learned since he can’t play softball: While Roger grew up in Cincy, he somehow isn’t a huge Reds fan. That hasn’t stopped him from constantly calling the Reds Hall of Fame and the team to produce a line of bobbleheads of some of his favorite players from years past. “How many more Big Red Machine bobbleheads do we need? I’ve been actively trying to get the Reds to make bobbleheads of players the fans really want. So, if you’re with me please continue to call the Hall of Fame for these players:
Eddie Milner
Gary Redus
Brad “The Animal” Leslie
Paul Householder with his arm extended to give Johnny Bench the most awkward high 5 in history after Bench’s homer on JB night
Kal Daniels (with complete DL history included)
Bo Diaz (complete with detachable satellite dish) 
Chris Heisey sitting on the bench
Drew Stubbs trying to bunt with the pitch behind him
Jimmy Haynes (OK, no one wants his)
Co-Co Cordero 
David “Stormy” Weathers walking the bases loaded
The first 4-person bobblehead in history of a Private Eye, Dusty Baker, Corey Patterson and Willy Taveras, because the only way that those two guys should have been playing is because they had naked pictures of Dusty (or his daughter). 
A special Mother’s Day set since the only person that would want any of these guys is their moms: 
Chad Mottola
CJ Nitkowski
Brandon Larson
Ty Howington
David Espinosa
Dustin Mosely
Chris Gruler
Kyle Lotzkar
Nick Travieso
Nick Howard
Phil “Bust” Erwin
(Special bonus extra credit if you can name what all of these guys have in common)
And finally…
That Jewish catcher that had one great game last year and then was never heard from again. 
Hope to see everyone Sunday.
Stay safe Mask UP!
Posted on

Game Results: September 24, 2020

Tournament update

by Rick Tenenholtz

The tournament semifinals and finals will be held on Sunday, September 27 at Triple Creek Park.

The semifinals will start at 9:30 AM.  On Field 2, Team Brafman will host Team Schwartz.  On Field 4, Team Loon will host Team Weisser.

The finals will be played on Field 4 about 15 minutes after the completion of the first games.

Good luck to everyone!

Posted on

Game Results: September 17, 2020

 

September 16 Recap

By Marc Brafman

 

A great weather evening for softball last night as we finally got the last week of the 2nd half of the season finished. 

 

Brad “The Human Rain Delay” Wagner leads off for Team Weisser:

 

Weisser beat Schwartz 12-6 or 12-7.  Brad Wagner came in like Michael Lorenzen in a spot start and took care of Team Schwartz allowing only one walk over 7 innings.  Great defensive plays by Scott Friend, David Wertheim, Evan Weisser, the father/son combo of Griff/Dee Harris, and Ben Margolis.  Big hits by Team Weisser came from Mike Margolis who crushed a 2-out, 50 ft blooper to start a big rally late in the game, the Harris Family, James “Not Worthy” Swan, Wagner, Brian “opposite field” Goldberg, and David “8-Mile Reject” Wertheim.  Commissioner Tenenholtz is checking the record books as his predecessor may be setting a record for triples in a season like his Great, Great Uncle Honus.  The Commissioner Emeritus was asked after the game about it and said, “My ass is too slow and those should be homers. The off-season will be spent doing speed drills with parachutes, ankle weights, and verbal motivation from Scott Wolf.”   

 

Team Weisser is trying some new superstitions heading into the tournament as David Wertheim is sporting a Marshall Mathers’ hairstyle and Griff Harris is now a preferred customer at Shlomo’s Fool’s Gold and Pawn with his recent purchases hanging from his neck.  

 

Team Schwartz had big hits from their usual suspects of Adam Cronstein, Randy “Tex” Broyles, Captain Schwartz, and Harry “Hood” Meisner(s).  Team Schwartz’s key defensive play was a fantastic throw by the Captain to nail a tagging Ben Margolis out at the plate.  The league wishes B-Rod a speedy recovery after a shoulder injury.   

 

Great to see some legendary fans at the game last night.  Dave “Mays & McCovey” Wernick, Steve “We’re done using that ball” Ostrow, and Mark “Boychick” Gordon.

 

Over on Field 4 it was a battle royal between Lefton and Loon. Jimmy picks up the action for us:

 

Just a typical JCC game on Field 4 last night. Team Lefton led 20-5 in the 5th and then held on to win 24-14…yes, held on as Loon came off the mat and scored 9 in the fifth causing a brief meltdown for team Lefton, which regrouped and scored 4 in the next inning off Fink pitching in relief. “Fink has a future on the mound similar to Jose DeLeon,” Jimmy said after the game. Anton reports that had Rick Lefton been able to lift it he would have chucked the big gatorade jug onto the field like Sweet Lou during his 5th inning Lefton meltdown. Luckily cooler heads prevailed because we needed to continue the game and a game called on account of a puddle of gatorade would not have gone over well with Commish Rick.

 

Finally, in the game of the night on Field 1 first place in the 2nd half was on the line as Team Groh battled Team Brafman:

 

Ken reports first: 

 

In the top of the 1st, Sam Castellini and Tyler Stansbury scored on a 2-out single by Groh. In the bottom of the 1st, Joel Buckley hit a lead-off homer on a liner to right field and after a few hits Brafman’s single up the middle put his squad up 3-2. After hits by Ryan Baum and Bryce Anslinger and a walk to David Snyder, Mark Franklin, who had his best career game, drove in 2 runs with a big hit to give Groh a 4-3 lead which they took to the 3rd inning. After a Adam Knecht’s RBI grounder Groh, Joel Kahn, Baum and Anslinger had consecutive hits to push the lead to 7-3. Brafman scored two to make it 7-5 which held until the top of the 5th. Team Groh batted around for the 1st time all season and when the dust settled led 13-5. Joel Kahn’s 3rd hit and 4th RBI gave Groh a 14-5 lead heading into the bottom of the 6th. Team Brafman plated 3 in the frame and Groh got two back in the top of the 7th after an Anslinger walk and a Snyder single batting left handed. Mark Franklin drove in his 4th run of the game after hitting a line drive off the pitcher and Anslinger diving into home. Marc Simons’ sac fly made it 16-8. After the 1st 2 guys scored in the bottom of the 7th, Team Groh recorded the win and the 2nd half title. Great defensive plays were made by Kahn snagging a short hop (#6 on top 10), Weisbrot who made a great catch to end an inning with the bases loaded (#4 on top 10) and Tyler Stansbury had his own diving catch that hit #2 on ESPN list but #1 came in the bottom of the 1st with Marc Simons going over the fence in foul territory to snag a ball! My team always gets after me for my lack of pregame speeches to psych them up so I gave them 4 words before and throughout the game…”Don’t Ring the Bell”!  

 

Brafman chimes in that he was proud of his team’s effort and wishes that we could have fielded a little better during the game. Big hits by Sam “The hitman” Hecht, Duffy Wolf, and a stolen base by the always fleet of foot Mike “Flash” Creemer helped us stay in the game. A tip of the Yarmulke to Team Groh for winning the 2nd half. 

 

The post season is here, and this is who everyone is playing next Wednesday, September 23 at 5:45 PM (home team listed first):

 

Team Loon (1) is on a bye for the first round:

 

Groh (2) vs Schwartz (7) on Field 3

 

Brafman (3) vs Fogel (6) on Field 4

 

Weisser (4) vs Lefton (5) on Field 1

 

 

 

Brad mentioned it above, but it needs a second mention that David “8 Mile” Wertheim does look like a reject from the Slim Shady music videos.

 

As most of us know baseball legend Tom Seaver passed away last week. Scott Wolf has one of the coolest memories of Seaver as he was at his no-hitter vs. the Cards, kept score, kept his ticket stub and his game program all framed around a Hall of Fame autographed picture of Seaver. A very cool piece that Roger has been trying to buy off him for years. 

 

For those of you looking for a good place to eat during the week check out the new BBQ outdoor menu from the J-Cafe. Chef Drew “Cobra Kai” Brown will serve you up some nice kosher meats and teach you how to crane kick your neighbor all at once. (Editor’s note…for those of you with Netflix check out the show Cobra Kai. It’s really good) NO MERCY

 

Our thoughts are with Mike Rothstein and his family this week as his mom passed away last week. May her memory be a blessing, Mike. 

 

We have a special 2nd time catching up with this week with Dave “The Minister of Fun” Cohen telling me he is pulling a Frank Costanza and moving into Del Boca Vista, Florida. “I’ve traded in my P&G gear for the latest in the Jimmy Buffett line of clothing and I plan on making my way in the canasta tournaments and those guys better watch out on the shuffleboard courts. Without playing this year my arm is ready to push those round tiles down the court.” We wish Dave well this upcoming Nov. when the Rummikub world finals hits Del Boca Vista.

 

Finally, in what’s Roger been up to this week: It’s a very exciting week for Roger as the Reds have teamed with Kroger for fan appreciation week. At select Kroger locations starting this weekend you can get a Sonny Gray or Trevor Bauer bobble head. Roger will be camped outside each of these Kroger locations with his local girl scout troop asking people to go in and buy a bobblehead for him. People are used to seeing girl scouts outside of Kroger selling cookies. Well I figured I could use them to help me get people to buy bobbleheads at the same time. No one wants to buy anything from me. They just look at me, but cute little girls they can sell ice to an Eskimo.

 

Have a happy and safe new year’s everyone (And thanks for Rabbi Yitz for blowing the Shofar last night)

 

Stay safe. Mask UP.