Cinderella is a Robot – June 17^th Game

The 1980 American Hockey Team vs. the Russians, David vs. Goliath, Inspector Gadget vs. Dr. Claw.  We all love the underdog.  When all they have is a dream and some moxie, we cheer all the more for them.  In his final words, Goliath was quoted as saying, “I have to admit, even I was rooting for that guy.  Instead of drinking last night, I should have been focusing on my A game.  Tell my mom I love her.”  Genesis Book B, verse 61.

That’s what we had here with Secret Robots.  They were 0 and 6 in the league, never tasting that celebratory Old Grand Dad.  Plus, they were cursed with being architects.  You have to feel for them.  The Goliath in this story was the B61 Bus Stops.  When they’re not beating themselves up, they’re a formidable team.  Strong bats, tight defense, and good team spirit.

The B61 Lineup

• Johanna “Still waiting for my foul tip”  as catcher
• Adam as pitcher
• “Rip It” Whipit at first base
• Alyce on second
• The Matt Daddy at shortstop
• “Grand Slammer” Jamie at third base
• “Superman” Steve in left field
• Dennis “The Father of Hoboken” in center
• JJ in right center field
• Tamara in right field
• Amy as backup second base
• “Desperado” Jonathan as backup pitcher

• Jeff as bench support

The Game

The game started out as expected.  Steve beat out a throw to first - “He’s fast, and he’s mine!”  JJ hit a sacrifice fly, and Steve makes it home.  Jamie christens one of the new thundersticks with a ground ball to third with no chance for them to make a play.  When Secret Robots hits, B61 quickly brings them down and then retires the side with a pretty toss from Matt to Alyce at second base.  2-0.

Top of the second, “This man personifies hustle” Whipit grabs a double with a dropped blooper in left field.  Tamara gets walked.  Johanna gets a base hit along third which leaves Whipit trapped in shortstop land, but that’s enough not only for Tamara to make it to second, but to round the bases after an overthrow to second.  RBI for Johanna, sacrifice run for Whipit? 3-0.

Bottom of the second is when the winds of change started blowing.  A prayer to the gods was answered.  It could have just been Johanna chatting up the batters, “Are you an architect?”  One of the female batters in return asked if we were all Red Hookers?  Pardon?  Is anyone else getting paid for that?  Sorry, I digress.  The Secret Robots were blessed, and B61 cursed.  It didn’t take much, just half an inning.  Pitches wouldn’t go over the plate, and when they did, the Robots hit them.  At one point, Jonathan was brought into pitch, but the spell was too great.  The Cinderella team scored 11 runs before B61 applied the tourniquet to its bleeding.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the Robots had never scored 11 runs before.  A shocked B61 returned to the dugout.   11-3?  How was that possible?  Could it have been Johanna’s thundersticks or perhaps the new bats were hexed?  Was Jon’s mind too warped by that other ump to pitch to a normal strike zone?  Hopefully, we’ll find out before the next game. 

Both teams were held from scoring until the top of the fourth when Matt confused the pitcher by switching bats.  The pitcher walked him with bases loaded to bring me home.  The pitcher then handed Jamie a pitch that he rocketed out of the ballpark for a grand slam homerun.  11-8. We had a ballgame again. 

Yet, it wasn’t enough.  Bottom of the sixth, Jamie sent Jonathan out to center right field and brought Matt in as relief.  Dennis filled in at shortstop.  Yet, the damage was already done.  They had three more runs and were on top of the world.  B61’s last two out rally failed them, and The Secret Robots filled their glass slipper with Old Grand Dad for a 14-8 win.  They were so happy.  I wish we had been better sports to congratulate them.

Memorable Moments

• A couple of good double plays
• Matt’s toss to Alyce at second to end the first inning
• Jamie’s grand slam homerun
• The new bats.  They didn’t seem to help – Is it wrong to be superstitious?
• Johanna’s thundersticks – How annoying were those?\
• Jonathan’s throw to Jamie from the outfield to get the runner out at third
• Secret Robot’s first baseman – She could really stretch to complete a play
• Steve’s comment – “Losing teaches humility.”  Painful but true.

Player of the Game

Jamie deserves the credit for this game.  It’s easy to forget that he has the additional job of managing the team, choosing the lineup, and making the tough calls when things like the pitching are just not working.  That’s a lot of responsibility to handle in addition to just playing his own game.  Throughout it all, he still makes us laugh, gives us good advice, and hits beautiful homeruns for us to watch as they sail over the confused left fielders’ heads.  His grand slam in this game put us back in the game and boosted our morale when we needed it the most.  Thanks.

My Soapbox

We’re a funny team.  We support each other, but when things go wrong, we seem to fall apart.  I feel like we need a group huddle or a talk on the mound to regain our focus sometimes.  We can’t let ourselves get so cranky and frustrated.  We’ll never be league champs.

Web Site

You can see all of the writeups at http://mysite.verizon.net/vze5b5g6/