Game Seven: Be there, or be square

McGillicutty comeback falls just short in loss to NumbNutz

SANTA CLARA -- It may have not been the slow rape last week's contest was, but there could have been no other result for Game Six of the McGillicuttys/NumbNutz series. Last week the Nutz were shorthanded and lost; this week the Cutz were shorthanded and lost. The only difference is the Cutz put up a fight.

Cav's McGillicuttys...13, NumbNutz 15    Series tied 3-3

Manning went into the game thinking he'd be down six guys and was fully prepared to forfeit--but even he was shocked to see Collins present, giving him his 5th player and a fighting chance to close out the series. For a while it looked as if the Nutz would only field six men of their own, but DaRosa rolled up at the last minute and Trinh arrived during the bottom of the first, after Stauffer had spent an inning at SS.

Scoring commenced in the bottom of the 1st when Collins' bobble and Simas' loss of a flyball in the sun helped the Nutz to a 3-spot. In the top of the 2nd, the Cutz plated one and had the bags full for Manning and Simas, but each flew out. With the score 6-2 in the 4th, Trinh demolished a pitch well over the left-centerfield fence near the backstop, and already the Nutz had matched their combined run total from Games 4 and 5.

In each inning, the Cutz threatened seriously, but Simas stranded two in the 3rd with a GO, and Yow lost track of the outs and was easily doubled off 2nd base in the 4th (moments after Kuzmiak missed a 3-run homer by two feet foul)

In the 6th Simas and Yow both reached to start the inning, but again the Cutz couldn't capitalize, going down 1-2-3. The Nutz reversed it--they put together a 3-run rally after the first two men were retired, getting help when Collins failed to cover 2nd to force out Davis for what would have been the 3rd out of a scoreless inning.

It was now 12-3 Nutz going into the 7th. This time, the Cutz did not fail to capitalize on their scoring op. The first 5 Cutz singled, and the team took advantage of subsequent errors by Lynas (throwing) and Flores (dropped popup) to exert damage and cut their deficit down to 12-9! It could have been worse for the Nutz--Kuzmiak again missed a HR by two feet foul during the rally. This contest was far from over; by the bottom of the 8th the Cutz' deficit was just 12-10, and the Nutz were feeling the pressure.

That inning, with Flores on and two out, Trinh came up. He fought his way through 5 less-than-ideal pitches, and the 6th pitch looked even worse than its predecessors. Trinh lunged and ended up poking one out to left-center field that Kuzmiak misplayed, allowing Flores to score. The next hitter, Bernal, exploded into a chest-high offering that landed well over the porch giving the Nutz insurance they desperately needed.

9th inning, 15-10 Cutz trail. They started with 3 straight knocks to plate run #11; then Kuzmiak roped a sinking liner that the sliding DaRosa couldn't catch...or trap!!! The ball rolled all the way to the fence as two more men scored and Kuzmiak chugged into 3rd! The Nutz' lead was down to two, and there were still no outs. Next, Manning grounded sharply to Lynas, who fired to Davis at home to retire Kuzmiak in a violent collision that left the BAB rook temporarily shaken up. That would be the last hurrah for the Cutz as Simas and Yow were both put away to send the league somewhere it has only been one other time: a Game 7 of a series.

GAME NOTES:

• In addition to being embarrassedly doubled of in the 4th, Yow was erased at 3rd base in the 7th during the Cutz rally. After Flores dropped Collins' popup, he fired to Bernal at home too late to get Simas. Bernal then gunned down Yow trying to take 3rd base on the play. The angry BAB vet slammed a clipboard to the ground so hard that it exploded into a dozen pieces. Overall, despite the baserunning mistakes and last out of the game, Leland played much better than his 0-for-6 Small Penis effort of last week.

• This week, though Davis tried to talk him out of it, Lynas decided to award the Small Penis to himself. In the words of one NumbNut, his team "didn't win. It scraped by" and Lynas blamed his own effort at the plate. It is his first-ever  legitimate SP.

• Collins (whose spectacular diving stab near 2B of a Stauffer liner in the 3rd won him a Gold Glove) helped a senior find Montague Park by basically instructing him to turn around. This is a far cry from the encounter he had with another senior who felt his music was too loud and raised a big stink two weeks ago.

• Quote of the day: When Trinh arrived late, DaRosa shouted at his teammate to "make a decision. Get drunk or play BAD ASS!"

• Runner up: Not really a quote, but in Trinh's last AB, Collins doggedly promised him a pack of cigarettes if he struck out. Close, but no cigar--and no pun intended.

• Trinh and Bernal each earned BAD ASS of the Game honors for their efforts in today's game.

• Today marked game #28 of the 2006 season. With the league not playing two for the 2nd straight week, there are now 4 Sundays left on the schedule to play 12 games. You do the math.

• As mentioned, next week will feature the 2nd Game 7 in league history, but it is universally agreed this series cannot carry the jockstrap of the Dirty Sanchez/Cleveland Steamers series of early 2005, the only other series to go 7.

• One reason Cutz/Nutz won't be viewed as a classic: attendance. The Cutz were down OF Torance Matsui, OF Ryan Ledee, UT Soonam Chowdhury, SS Bryan Bush and 1B Greg Sacramento. The Nutz were missing the Brandons Ridley and Hamilton. JD

* Players of the Week *

BAD ASS of the Day

Alvin Trinh, NumbNutz

4-6, HR, 4 RBI

Tito Bernal, NumbNutz

3-6, HR, 3 RBI

Gold Glove

Nick Collins, McGillicuttys

Diving catch in 3rd

Small Penis

Greg Lynas, NumbNutz

1-for-6, critical error