July 29-31

Jenny was in town on Friday, we got together for lunch at the plaza. She once asked me if I don't ever get tired of her joining me for lunch, I said "no" because I don't ever get tired of her AT ALL. After supper I made my third trip of the month across the river. The Barnstormers started a twelve-day road trip on Thursday with the first stop being a four-game set in York against the Revolution. The Revs won the opener on Thursday in walkoff fashion, on this night the Stormers evened the series going away and decisively. The visitors scored eleven runs over the first five innings and won it 14-1. Sean Halton's three-run home run over the Arch Nemesis in the first got the ball rolling, a Kevin Ahrens solo shot in the second made it 4-0. An RBI double by Mike McDade and a K.C. Hobson solo blast in the third upped the lead to six. Josh Bell's two-run single in the fourth put the Stormers up 8-0. In the fifth three more crossed the plate on a Hobson two-RBI hit and a run-scoring single by former Seattle Mariner Trayvon Robinson. The Revs broke up the shutout in the sixth on Kevin Rivers' RBI single, in the seventh the Stormers replied with a Caleb Gindl RBI double and another "ribbie" hit by Hobson. The final run in the ninth scored on a Revs fielding error. The respective starting pitchers figured in the decision, Terry Doyle on the plus side for the Stormers and Tony Pena on the minus side for the Revolution. On Saturday we did lunch in Quarryville, there were thunderstorms in the forecast for most of the area and a heavy rain fell while we were eating. The rain continued into early evening, I saw on the 'net where the start of the game in York was delayed. It finally started at 8:15 and didn't end until 11:45, that made for a quick turnaround leading into the Sunday game at 1:00. The clubs ended up splitting the series 2-2, that gives the Barnstormers an 8-6 edge in the season series for the Community Cup. There are six games remaining in the season set (all in Lancaster), three in August and three more in September. Take care, thanks for reading

July 25-28

Monday lunch at the mall started the new week in the usual manner, in the evening I was at the ballpark. At 6:00 the sun was out and it was hot and steamy, by 6:30 there was heavy cloud cover and the grounds crew rolled out the infield tarp. The wind velocity picked up from the north and the rain followed in quick order, the start of the game was delayed until just after 9:00. I hung out for about two innings and elected to call it a night. In the morning I saw on the Internet where the Barnstormers lost 10-8 to the Sugar Land Skeeters, the game wasn't over until well after midnight (I know that feeling, as they say I've "been there, done that"). On Tuesday the series continued under ideal weather conditions, Sugar Land made it two in a row with an 8-4 win. The visiting Skeeters scored early and often, the Barnstormers never led at any point. Mike McDade had a big night with an RBI single and a two-run home run, Sean Halton contributed a solo homer but it wasn't enough. Mike Lee started on the mound and suffered the loss. On Wednesday the teams finished the series under the blazing sun at 11:00am, at that hour I was on my way to Jenny's house for our usual midweek lunch date. The Barnstormers won to avoid a second consecutive series-sweep, the next home date is not until August 9. On Thursday we were set to start the summer street hockey season but for a while in the afternoon things were doubtful. There were thunderstorms in the area, we had some mid-afternoon rain but by 5:00 it was gone and the pavements were drying. We got going on time at 7:00 and played two games, on this night the Green team met the Orange and the Blue played the Tan (we had planned on Tan being Gold but the t-shirt supplier Don ordered through did not have enough gold in stock). Both games were competitive (which is what the summer season is all about) but the results are not officially logged because there are no standings involved, the whole point is to play for fun and recreation. Each team plays nine games (three versus each opponent), this night's matchups occur again on August 9 and 18. We were done shortly before 9:00, as I was locking up some light rain began to fall. When I got home I showered, by then the rain was coming down steadily so all things considered we were very lucky. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 22-24

Friday night at the ballpark in Lancaster under sweltering conditions, the Somerset Patriots were in town for the opener of the weekend series. The Barnstormers' offensive woes continued on this night, Mike McDade's two-run home run in the fourth were the only runs in a 3-2 loss. The ballclub had its opportunities but could not get the key hit, the Patriots turned four double plays over the course of the evening. Kelvin De La Cruz started and suffered the loss, he was followed in relief by Pete Andrelczyk and newcomer R.J. Hively (from the Arizona Diamondbacks organization). On Saturday the series continued, for me it was a rare Saturday absence. Jenny and her mother were invited to a birthday party in the evening and their only way to attend was if I drove them. Since it was indoors in air-conditioned comfort I couldn't blame them for not wanting to sit outside in the heat at the ballpark. The party was for the daughter of one of Jenny's friends, the little girl turned two years of age. We were there from 5:00 to about 8:00, when we left we were almost sorry to have to step outside. On Sunday I ran a brief morning errand to get a copy of the Reading newspaper. Throughout the summer a series of articles have been spotlighting the greatest professional baseball players to come through Reading as Philadelphia Phillies properties, on this day a major article appeared featuring the top fifty all-time regardless of affiliation. It's all part of the project I was asked to be a part of during the winter, the members of the panel were acknowledged in the story and I was honored to be involved. It's always a pleasure to have your opinions valued, I can tell you from personal experience that it doesn't happen everywhere. After supper I went to the rink at Reservoir Park and did some preliminary work for the start of the summer season. Since we haven't been there for four weeks it needed to be done and I figured the early evening would be the best time given the uncomfortable temperatures. The summer season starts on Thursday the 28th. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 20-21

Wednesday morning lunch in Quarryville with Jenny, in the evening I headed west on route 30 for the first time in nineteen days. The York Revs were hosting Southern Maryland in the middle game of a three-game set. The Blue Crabs were fresh off the weekend series in Lancaster and had won the Tuesday opener, on this night the Revolution prevailed in a ballgame disguised as a roller-coaster ride. York went ahead 2-0 in the first on RBI hits from Bryan Pounds and former White Sox property Jared Mitchell, the Crabs replied quickly with two of their own in the second to tie the score. In the home third the Revs regained the lead on Kevin Rivers' RBI double but the Crabs tied it in the fifth and plated three in the sixth to go up 6-3. In their half of the inning the Revs loaded the bases with two out, Joel Guzman's double into the left-centerfield power alley chased home all three runners to square it at 6-6. The winning run scored in the bottom of the eighth. one-time Pittsburgh Pirate property Brandon Chaves walked and touched home on an RBI hit from Michael Rockett. The Revs' All-Star pitching connection figured in the decision, Ricardo Gomez got the final out in the eighth for the win with Mike DeMark working the ninth for the save. The weather had turned much warmer earlier in the week, on Thursday the blast furnace was open for business. I made the usual morning errand run, when I arrived home in the afternoon I was happy to call it a day. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 18-19

Monday lunch at the mall as usual, in the evening the Barnstormers hosted Southern Maryland in the final game of the weekend wraparound. The Stormers won on Sunday, on this night the Blue Crabs left town with a 7-3 decision and three wins in the series. The Barnstormers never led at any point, their three runs scored were all as a result of solo home runs. The Crabs led in the fifth before solo shots by Charlie Cutler and former big-leaguer Mike Jacobs tied the score (Jacobs began the year with the Stormers, left for a stint in Mexico and returned in early July). In the sixth SM put four on the board, in the bottom half Josh Bell went yard but that was the last run the Stormers would get. Bryan Evans started on the mound and took the loss. The ballclub plays a midweek series in New Britain, they are back home on the weekend against Somerset. Tuesday was uneventful except for afternoon lunch with Jenny and the fact that the day was my mother's birthday. She turned 82 (born on July 19, 1934) and she is still quite active, many people comment that she doesn't look her age. It must be the heredity because there are those who don't think I look 59 (although I feel every day of it when I get out of bed each morning). Take care, thanks for reading.

July 14-17

Thursday was a slow day except for the morning errand run, on Friday things were just a little bit busier. Back in May we announced plans for a summer street hockey season at Reservoir Park, it is an informal league played strictly for fun and recreation. There are no standings kept, no playoffs or championship awarded, the whole idea is to play for the enjoyment of the game. Individuals sign up to play, team captains are selected and rosters are assembled draft-style. We played summer seasons on a regular basis back in the '90s and early 2000s but this is the first time we've had one since 2008. On Friday morning Don and I finalized the rosters and schedule format, the four teams (Blue, Gold, Green and Orange) play a nine-game schedule beginning on Thursday the 28th. In the evening I was back at the ballpark as regular-season play continued, the Barnstormers hosted the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs for the opener of a four-game series. SM took a 2-0 second-inning lead, in the bottom of the third the Stormers put four on the board. One run scored on a double-play groundout, Kevin Ahrens' three-run home run put the home team ahead by two. In the fifth the Crabs tied the score at 4-4, that score held until the ninth when the Crabs pushed across the winner and took it 5-4. Tanner Peters started and worked five innings, Pete Andrelczyk suffered the tough-luck loss. On Saturday we had our usual lunch visit in Quarryville, in the evening Jenny and her mother made their regular weekend appearance on North Prince Street. The Barnstormers' offensive struggles continued on this night in another frustrating one-run defeat. The Blue Crabs led 3-0 early, in the home fourth Sean Halton went yard to get the Stormers on the board. Caleb Gindl's RBI hit in the fifth made it a one-run game but the Crabs bullpen shut it down from there for the 3-2 decision. Ex-Toronto property Mike Lee got the start for the Stormers and took the loss (from the Strange But True files: Lee has been on the club all season but this was my first time seeing him in a game, all of his appearances prior to this night were on occasions when I was not present). The series continued with a 2:00 Sunday game in ninety-degree heat but I was (of course) not there, it finishes up with the "wraparound" game on Monday night. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 13

Wednesday morning lunch with Jenny, in the evening I was at the ballpark. The Atlantic League began in 1998, it has held an All-Star Game each year of its existence. In 2007 the Barnstormers hosted the event, the York Revolution had the honor in 2011. On this night on North Prince Street it was Lancaster's turn once again, the theme for the evening was Lancaster County's farming/agriculture industry. A good number of companies had display tables on the concourse and several types of livestock were being exhibited on the hill behind left field. It was a well-conceived and well-done motif entirely appropriate for our area (unlike some others I'm familiar with that were completely contrived without public input and have no basis in reality whatsoever). Unfortunately the festivities began under less than ideal conditions, late afternoon thunderstorms forced the 7:00 game time to be pushed back (when I arrived at the ballpark it was pouring so hard I sat in my car for close to twenty minutes before I could get out). The scheduled pregame home run derby was a casualty to the weather but the rain finally moved on, the game itself started shortly before 8:30. The Liberty Division (Somerset, Long Island, Bridgeport and New Britain) played as the visitors, the Freedom Division (Lancaster, York, Southern Maryland and Sugar Land) was the home team. Both of the "local" clubs were well-represented, the Barnstormers by Kevin Ahrens, Josh Bell, Charlie Cutler, Caleb Gindl and Sean Halton plus pitchers Pete Andrelczyk, Cory Burns and Bryan Evans. Joel Guzman, Andres Perez and Travis Witherspoon were on the roster from York along with pitchers Mike DeMark and Ricardo Gomez. The Freedom Division won a low-scoring game with the Stormers and Revs playing key roles in the victory. The Liberty scored in the first to go up 1-0, in the home fourth Gindl went yard to tie the score. In the fifth inning the Freedom put two on the board, Halton singled and scored on an RBI hit by Cutler, Perez singled and scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-1. That would prove to be the final score, Gomez was the winning pitcher (he had worked the top of the fifth) with DeMark finishing it for the save. Every member of both teams got into the game, all position players had at least one at-bat and no pitcher worked more than one inning. The announced attendance of 8466 is the second-largest in stadium history, there were some empty seats thanks to the weather but all the tickets were sold so it counts just the same. Regular season play resumes on Friday the 15th, the Stormers host Southern Mayland over the weekend. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 7-12

There are times when it barely pays to come online and blog, the last few days were perhaps the classic example. There was no baseball anywhere, the Barnstormers were in Somerset County, New Jersey and the York Revs were in Texas for a series in Sugar Land. The only real note from the weekend was on Saturday, instead of a lunch visit in Quarryville Jenny, her mother and I did an early supper. At 5:00 we went to the local fairgrounds, the area community association was holding its annual (and somewhat belated) 4th of July celebration. Several merchants had displays set up and there were some rides for the kids, the evening wrapped up after dark with a fireworks show. We were long since gone by then, we were there just long enough to walk around, get some exercise and make it worthwhile. It was just something to do and an opportunity to get out of the house. On Monday the new week started as it usually does with lunch at the mall, on Tuesday Jenny was in town and we did lunch at the plaza. Most of pro baseball is in the respective league's all-star breaks, the big-league game was on TV from San Diego on Tuesday night. The Atlantic League's All-Star confab is on Wednesday night in Lancaster, I plan to be there if the weather is kind (there are thunderstorms in the forecast for the afternoon hours but you can never be sure). Take care, thanks for reading.

July 4-6

Monday the 4th was the nation's 240th birthday, I celebrated in the usual Monday manner with lunch at the mall. The Barnstormers were scheduled to open a series against Long Island, around 5:30 or so it began to rain. By 6:00 it was coming down hard and steady, I elected to stay in on the assumption that the game would be delayed if in fact it was played at all. Later in the evening I saw online that they not only were playing but the game had started right on time even though the rain had not ever completely stopped. Shortly before 9:00 I heard the scheduled fireworks going up, on Tuesday morning I read that the game had gone into a rain delay after four innings so they shot the fireworks and since it was still raining the game was called at that point. Since it was not an official game it will be redone as part of a doubleheader in August. On Tuesday the rain had moved on, the sun was out and it was a perfect night for baseball. On this night the teams met for a previously-scheduled doubleheader, I rode with Marty to the ballpark for the 6:00 start. In the opener the visiting Ducks took a 1-0 lead in the third, in their half the Stormers tied it on a Kevin Ahrens RBI double. Ahrens would later score on a sac fly by Caleb Gindl to put the home team up by one. In the fourth Long Island replied with two of their own, they carried that 3-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh (the last regulation inning of a doubleheader game). Sean Halton was hit by the pitch to start the inning, Lance Zawadzki followed with a hit to put runners at first and third. Mike McDade's sac fly scored Halton to make it 3-3, with two out Ahrens singled off the second baseman's glove to score Zawadzki with the game-winner. Pete Andrelczyk pitched a scoreless inning picking up the win in relief of starter Kelvin De La Cruz. The nightcap started shortly before 9:00, since Marty had a 4:00am wakeup call for work we called curfew at that point. Saw on Wednesday morning where Long Island won the nightcap 7-2, they weren't done until well after 11:00 (five-plus hours for a doubleheader is about par for the course). Jenny and I had our usual lunch visit on Wednesday, that was the extent of the day's activity. Over the next little while things figure to be slow, both the Barnstormers and the York ballclub are away until Friday the 15th. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 1-3

The last half of 2016 began on a Friday, Jenny was in town on business and we had lunch together at the plaza. There were showers and thunderstorms in the forecast, in mid-afternoon a torrential downpour passed through for about fifteen or twenty minutes. After the system moved on the sun came back out and the streets dried quickly, within a half-hour there was little to suggest there had been any rain at all. After supper I made my way west across the river for the evening's game in York. The Revolution and the Barnstormers met in the opener of a three-game series marking the end of the Atlantic League's first-half schedule. The Revs clinched the first-half division title earlier in the week, they are qualified for the postseason playoffs in September. On this night they played at home for the first time since the clinching and celebrated with a 4-3 win. A pair of ex-Barnstormers figured prominently in the offensive highlights for the Revs. In the third inning York took a 1-0 lead, Michael Rockett singled and scored on an RBI triple by Kevin Rivers (a 2015 Stormer recently acquired by the Revs from the New Britain Bees). In the sixth Michael Burgess doubled and scored on an RBI two-base hit by Keith Castillo (he played in Lancaster in late 2014 and early '15), Castillo scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-0. In the seventh Rockett reached on an error and scored on Rivers' RBI double to extend the lead to four. The Stormers rallied for three in the eighth on a Kevin Ahrens RBI groundout and a two-run home run by Josh Bell but the Revolution held on for the win. Matt Neil was the winning pitcher in relief of Micah Owings, Scott Rice (ex-New York Met) earned the save. Tanner Peters worked into the sixth inning for the Stormers and suffered the loss. On Saturday I had my usual lunch visit with Jenny in Quarryville, the rest of the weekend was spent in the coolness of my AC at home. The series in York continued in my absence, the clubs split the final two games with the Stormers winning on Saturday night and the Revs victorious on Sunday afternoon. The final first-half record for the Revs is 40-30, the Stormers are 34-35 with one makeup game yet to be played (which won't happen until August). The second half starts on Monday the 4th, the Barnstormers are at home against Long Island. Take care, thanks for reading.