September 17, 2005 proved to be a nostalgic day for most of BAD ASS Baseball’s members. Work schedules and reported I-don’t-feel-like-playingitis struck down half the league’s members, initially leaving the Testes Takers with just Torance Matsui, Cav Manning, Rob Flores, Tito Bernal, Ed DaRosa, Brandon Hamilton, and Skillz Epps. If that wasn’t depletion, the Orphans could only field three players—Greg Minor, Leland Yow and Alvin Trinh! After much debate—and BSing around—the league decided to obviously cancel the two scheduled series games and play two six-inning exhibition doubleheaders 5-on-5! For vets such as Minor, Yow and Flores, it was a bumpy ride down Memory Lane as they revisited the infant days of BAB. For newer members like Epps and Hamilton, they finally got a true chance to understand just how deep of an evolution BAB has undertaken.

11am proved that the more things change, however, the more they remain the same—the league’s first two choices of field were long gone. It came down to the just-vacated Gill and the forgotten Park Victoria diamond (Cardoza); ultimately the latter won out. The diamond was about the only uninhabited territory on the block; a class reunion situated in the foul territory along 3B provided BAB with an 80’s pop soundtrack, while a nearby JV football game and its loud-ass announcer served as another distraction. Some reunited students and game-goers even stopped to witness the magic that is BAB.

Anyway, onto the games.

Using the ball-roll tactic to select teams for Game One, it ended up as Minor, Yow, Matsui, Bernal and Epps (I’ll call them the Eagles) against Hamilton, Manning, Flores, Trinh and DaRosa (49ers). It seemed that if the teams were uneven, it was in Team 2’s favor. The game proved otherwise. Playing the first two innings with no buck shortstop or C (Al Padron and Bryan Bush were late arrivals and added to the 49ers and Eagles,  respectively; the buck was instituted from the 3rd inning on), the Eagles jumped to a 7-1 lead over the flat 49ers, and never led by less than four the rest of the way in a 30-8 thrashing. Yow had a monster 8 for 10 game to pace the Eagles. At a moment when the 49ers were using five players and desperate for outs Hamilton blew one of the easiest popups ever at 1B to help boost Bernal’s average and earn his teammates’ ire. Other highlights of that first game include first Epps, then Trinh launching high foul balls right into the teeth of the reunion crowd. Fortunately, no one was hurt or even annoyed. Epps also whiffed three times.

Game Two was far more competitive. Hamilton captained Matsui, Padron, Bernal, Bush and Trinh (Raiders) against Epps, who captained Manning, Flores, Yow, Minor and DaRosa (Chiefs).

The Chiefs took to a 2-0 lead that eventually crawled up to four, but the Raiders singled themselves into a four-spot in the third to knot it up. DaRosa, however, proved to be too much for the Raiders to handle. Whether it was at bat (3 singles and a late double) or at SS (a sweet tagout of Trinh on an attempted double and a stab of a Padron grounder for an inning-ending force), the Chiefs do not go into the bottom of the sixth tied at 8 without him. Epps, having one of his poorest days (four total K’s in the DH) led the inning off with a high popup down the line. Matsui raced in and dove last minute but the ball hit the ground! Epps was easily at 2nd—or was he? The Raiders argued the ball was foul, robbing the slumping BS of a double. On his next swing he made them pay by lacing a shot over Matsui’s head that went to the wall! Making it all the way to third with no out, the Chiefs could pick and choose who they wanted to drive Epps home. Minor hit next, and he lofted a weak liner to BS. But Padron couldn’t handle it cleanly—final of 9-8, Chiefs. Epps rewarded DaRosa’s efforts by stopping him before he left without his $15 BAB shirt.

GAME NOTES:

·        Trinh, for reasons known only to him, took a lefty AB during Game Two. He struck out badly.

·        Bernal hit right-handed in both games.

·        Hamilton started the fourth inning of Game Two by making a pretty sweet play at SS. Any thoughts of him having turned the corner defensively were erased on the very next play, and again two plays after that. (We love ya, B-Ham!)

·        For the second consecutive week, no homers were hit over the fence.

·        The DH proved to be one of the most trying days of Flores’ BAB career, in spite of a couple solid line drive hits. In Game one he completely missed two grounders hit to him at BS, and popped out to 1B, highly unlike him. The second game saw the vet botch a routine throw at first base, and a rundown throw at home. He also popped out to first again, and got his eye lit up by the ball while covering home. If all those moments weren’t bad enough for ol’ Robby, he was the last overall pick in Game Two as well.

·        CF Yow lost a ball in the sun in Game One that left his vision “jacked-up” for several minutes. (The sun got Padron in CF, as well.)

·        LF Minor came thisclose to gunning down the speedy Hamilton at the plate in Game One, but he collided with Epps just hard enough to keep him from catching the ball cleanly.

·        Absent from the Testes Takers was the same quartet from last week—Jason LaRose, Nick Collins, Justin Coutts and Ryan Ledee.

·        Absent from the Orphans were Greg Lynas, Soonam Chowdhury, Nick English, Rick Flores, B-Rid, Joel Stauffer, C.T., Greg Sacramento and Mondo. E