November 28, 2014 - Game Recap

Paul & Pace vs. A-Man & R. Paul
Score: 11-10
Location: Butler Holmes Park (Arlington, VA)

In the wake of the November 19th 90-minute moment of silence to remember the inauguration of Founding Fathers Field before it was brutally hacked to shreds, we figured it was time to come to grips with reality and get back on the field.  Due to some great reconnaissance work by Paul we discovered a most-adequate plot of land that we're hopeful will serve nicely for years to come, and will avoid the plague of trailers that seems to be going around.

The likely replacement field for the now deceased Founding Fathers Field.

With the rarely-used R. Paul getting called up for some last-minute action, it was Paul & Pace who looked to be the favorites on this chilly, windy day in Arlington.

The first inning started off with the pitchers having an upper hand, with both pitchers (A-Man and Pace) tossing perfect innings for their respective teams.

As the innings wore on and the layers (which included bike gloves, ski goggles, and a 'Beardo' attachment) came off, the bats started to come to life, though with a fair share of wind to contend with.

R. Paul showed some grit early on by showing a willingness to crowd the plate which resulted in several bean balls and got him a couple of walks.

By the end of the 2nd inning A-Man & R. Paul were up 4-1 thanks to some scrappy play.

In the 3rd Paul & Pace loaded the bases but managed to drive in only one run, while A-Man & R. Paul tacked on another 4 runs.  R. Paul had a hilarious streak of singles that came in just about every way imaginable (right- and left-field slow rollers, right- and left-field medium-strength grounders, up-the-middle grounders, halfway popups that were just beyond the pitcher's reach and just shallow enough that a diving outfielder couldn't get to it).  Witnessing the repeated combination of the tantalizingly slow wiffle ball juxtaposed with the chaotic flurry of the unsuccessful fielders was just too hilarious after about the 6th occurrence, and after Paul & I nearly dove into each other trying to catch one of these balls we both had a fit of laughter for about 10 seconds laying there on the ground, the innocent white ball there between us.

The 4th inning was a little more of the same; A-Man & R. Paul running their lead up to 10-3.

Paul & Pace decided to bear down in their final inning, and with the combination of some decent hitting, help from the wind (one pop-up was headed straight for the outfield and then lifted up and ended up landing about 2 feet away from the pitcher), and help from the blinding sun (a dinky foul pop-up managed to touch down without a play from A-Man), were able to put up 8 runs to take a 1-run lead and be in a position to close out the game.  With all the momentum now on their side, Pace & Paul were able to close out the game without much drama.

Game Highlights

• In convening on Veitch St. before the game Paul reported on the comical site of A-Man running down the street in only his gym shorts, flip-flops, and undershirt hauling his trashcan, hurrying to catch the garbage man on his Friday morning route. 
• This was the first game in a long time in which no extra base hits occurred.  It must have been fate too because A-Man had a good hit to straightaway center that had the triple bench in its cross-hairs but somehow managed to glide right through the narrow slits for a long single.
• Pace was able to frequently channel his inner Byun Hun Kim by dipping down on his pitching delivery for some good sidearm submariners but with only modest success.
• It took Paul until his 4th plate appearance before even making contact with a ball.

Game Report by Pace Barker