We played better than the results, and I can honestly say I've never had that much fun losing three straight. Great bunch of guys, and hopefully most will be back next year. The tourney was well-run, and may add an extra "consolation" game for those that didn't make the semi-finals. We played three complete games in just over 8 hours - 9 a.m., noon, & 3 p.m.
Game 1 - we played well but could have used some Pledge to get the dust off our bats. Jim Bonaparte threw his patented sleeping pills and kept them drowsy for five solid innings surrendering one run. We managed to manufacture a run in the bottom of the sixth to tie it. Didn't last long...top 7 they got a runner on 2 with no out. Two quick pop outs coaxed by the lefty Jim Dalton (no leg kick or Tiant though) Kevin Baver (a local product) and the sun came back out. We blinked and they were able to plate 2. We had no answer in the bottom of the 7th. Lost 3-1.
Game 2 - My old buddy from MN (Bobby Janoski) made quite the trek to the ballpark in time to take the seed. Kept them off balance, but since they were the home team they were able to supply balls with eyes. 4 gorks, 3 dinks, and 2 dunks led to 5 runs. Our bags became infested with termites between games as we only managed one hit (insert Uecker quote here). According to their 2B, this guy tossed 7 shutouts this year - now they tell us. Good mix of off speed pitches, sliders and keeping the ball down had us hitting at-'em balls all game long. Fred McIntosh was the only one of us to correctly solve the riddle, and that was in the 7th. Staying with the Polish Pride Pitching Parade, I brought in Andy Kowalski (Bintz's cousin) to toss the last two innings. Andy threw well except for the belt-high fastball that a former major leaguer put a dent in for a triple. Lost 7-0.
Game 3 - We played the eventual tourney champs and we could see why. The bats woke up, but we took the field with a couple too many capes in the first inning and gave up a 4 spot. Defense came around and we kept it competitive, losing 8-2. We definitely could have used some more clutch hitting, but then again, who couldn't? Their other results were 4-0 & 18-0 (round robin), then 10-0 in the semis. A 5-4 win brought them the trophy and $750 cash. Thanks go out to Mike Diodati from Philly for tossing a complete game to keep us in it.
The squad consisted of me, Bonaparte, Mike Bintz, Tony Parella, Fred McIntosh, Fred Phillips, Andy Kowalski, Bob Janoski (MN), Rico Nieves (L.I./Westchester), Mike Becker (Queens), Steve Tichy (Philly), Kevin Baver (Philly), and Mike Diodati (Philly). We anticipate some of these guys coming up here next LD tourney.
"lefty Jim Dalton''????? Didn't see Dalton in the credits. Did he go?
Regardless, thanx Tommy for taking a team to that tournament. That just helps CDMSBL. Like you said, they might come here for our LD event next year. As more guys from CDMSBL play in these tournament, the stronger and more experienced we will become in tournament play. Plus, our own players will get to appreciate just how good the talent is here in lil ol' Albany.
I hope your opponents might consider the LD tourney as well. Could you let us know what teams (MSBL affiliates) you faced in the tournament? If we can get contact info, we could invite them up here.
Again, nice job. Sounds like you were competitive. JimK
