The 38+ Mutts played Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in Day 1 of the Labor Day Tournament. In game one the Mutts looked like the team that made it to the Championship game of the Maine tournament, as we shutout the Manchester Eagles 9-0, behind the brilliant pitching of Phil "Mash" Gadomski. I don't have the book here, but I believe every Mutt hitter had at least one hit in the opener. It didn't take long to have the bubble burst in game two, as the Erie-Buffalo Indians roughed up John Kalinski for eight runs in the first inning. Erie-Buffalo advanced to the championship round by finishing the job by a total of 13(or 14) - 4. The Mutts get demoted to the American Division playoffs.
Speaking of that, where can we find the seedings and pairings for day two? Is there any place on this website to see complete day one results?
The Albany Marlins went 0-2 on Saturday. Tom Shepardson was the hard luck loser in the 5-3 second game. They won their quarterfinal game Sunday morning, 7-2, behind Jonny Martin. They had a semi-final game set for noon Sunday. Details to hopefully follow.
28 Marlins lost a tough semi-final game Sun. afternnon 5-4. Had bases loaded and 1 out in the seventh when a line drive was snared and the runner at second was doubled up to end the game.
Similar fortunes for the Mutts. Sunday started off as beautiful as the weather, with a 9-0 shutout of the Rockets. Randy Craft spun a gem (two or three hitter, I believe). Game two did not go as well. I'm not one to blame umpires for a loss, but an umpire's ego got in the way of this semi-final game "BIG TIME". In the third inning, Randy Craft was called out on a third strike that was questionable. If you have played with Randy, you know that he took that opportunity to question the call. This outburst was calm by Randy's standards. As he was done and returning to the dugout (walking away from the umpire) he exclaimed, "That was a bull**** call." Without warning, the umpire saw fit to eject Randy, claiming that it was his use of the term "bull****" that was too much to take. My God man this isn't a church league!!! As the on deck batter, I was close enough to intervene before Randy ate this guy for lunch. I tried to explain that Randy did not swear "at him", just at the call he made, the guy threatened to throw me out. This is out of control. This guy is an example of why we changed umpires this year. He was looking to assert his ego into our game. Well, he succeeded!! Randy was gone. I had to play short, where I made two errors that cost us two runs. Every time Randy's spot in the order came up, the opponents were awarded an out. Both times that this was done, it ended an inning with me coming to bat and runners in scoring position. Way to go UMP!
We eventually lost in the eighth inning by one run. TJ Scosone had deserved better, as he pitched a terrific game. The Mutts played well enough to advance to the championship game of the American Division, but an UMPIRES EGO got in the way. VERY DISAPPOINING. Note to league officials: I hope we don't see this guy at any more of our games
