July 30-31

At the mall on Monday morning when I got a call on the cellphone from Don. We had planned on firming up the rosters for the Summer Season on Sunday night but it was postponed until Monday night, he was getting home from work early Monday afternoon and asked if I was available then instead of waiting until the evening. It worked beautifully for me, I was at his place by 2:00. As in past years the Summer teams are assembled from individual signups, we put together four teams as evenly as we can make them and hope for competitive balance. In 2017 we had one team finish 5-3-1, another was 5-4 and the last two were both 4-5. There are no playoffs or championship in the Summer Season, the sole purpose is fun and recreation. I was back in town around 4:00 and posted all the information online, after supper I went over to the ballpark. This was opening night for the annual midget baseball tournament, the Lancaster Jr. Tornado School Division team played at 5:15. The boys fell behind 4-0 in the first inning, get two back in the fourth but could come no closer in a 4-2 loss that eliminates them from the tournament and ends their season. There was a second game played but I didn't stay for very long after the first game ended. On Tuesday we were at the rink for the Summer Season's opening night, we had a 69% player turnout which is excellent considering that the rosters were only established the day before (although everyone who signed up knew we were starting on this night, the only question was whether their game was at 7:00 or 7:45). All players receive a team-color t-shirt as part of the registration fee, the games on this night featured "Tennessee Orange" versus "Sapphire Blue" and "Lime Green" versus "Daisy Gold" (according to Don those were the color descriptions in the catalog when he ordered the shirts). Games are on Tuesdays and Thursdays through August 28, the opening night matchups repeat on the 9th and 21st. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 27-29

The Barnstormers' homestand continued over the weekend, the New Britain Bees were the opposition. As I was arriving for the Friday night opener the skies were very dark to the west, when I walked into the ballpark the field tarpaulin had already been rolled out. A very strong wind from the southwest ushered in a downpour, by the time it passed gametime was pushed back to 8:35. The delay didn't hurt either team offensively, the Bees scored four in the first inning and the Stormers matched it in the bottom half. Ryan Casteel's two-home home run and a two-run double by Trayvon Robinson evened the score, in the second Tyler Bortnick was hit by the pitch and scored on Casteel's RBI hit to put the Stormers up 5-4. New Britain tied in the fourth before Vladimir Frias' solo home run in the home half restored the advantage, in the sixth the Bees once again pulled even at 6-6. By this time it was well past 10:00, as they used to say on the old TV westerns I saddled up and rode out. Saw on the Internet where New Britain finally prevailed 8-7, the game wasn't over until almost midnight. On Saturday we had the usual lunch visit with Jenny, in the evening she and her mother were at the ballpark for their customary Saturday night appearance. The Stormers' struggles continued on this night as the visiting Bees ran out to a 7-0 lead by the sixth inning and won easily 9-3. RBI hits by Blake Gailen and Ryan Casteel in the home sixth and an ninth-inning solo home run by recently-activated player/coach Josh Bell accounted for the Barnstormers scoring, Brooks Hall was the pitcher of record. The series ended in the afternoon heat on Sunday, the Stormers salvaged the finale 2-1. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 25-26

The news services were carrying reports of major flooding from the heavy rains, most of it within our area was in the northwestern part of the county. Visited with Jenny for lunch on Wednesday, even though I was going southeast I stuck to the main roads to be on the safe side and there were no driving issues at all. After supper I was at the ballpark, the Barnstormers hosted the Long Island Ducks for what was supposed to be a doubleheader. I was arriving just as the opener was starting at 5:00, I'm usually there well in advance of game time but with the unusually early start on this day it was almost unavoidable. It was cloudy and darker to the south, in the middle innings it got much darker and the winds began to pick up. The Stormers trailed 1-0 in the third when Darian Sandford singled and came home on Blake Gailen's RBI hit, Long Island replied with single runs in the fourth and seventh to lead 3-1. By this point the rain had arrived and had been falling for several minutes, as the Barnstormers were coming to bat in the seventh it was coming down hard and play was halted. After a wait of better than two hours the game was called official and the second game became a casualty as well. Overnight into Thursday the rain FINALLY moved on, the day was bright and sunny. At 5:00 the Ducks and Stormers reconvened for another doubledip and on this night both games were actually played although it wasn't easy. The Barnstormers won the opener 5-0 behind two two-run home runs from K.C. Hobson, Ryan Casteel added an RBI base hit in support of winning pitcher John Anderson. The game ended at ten minutes before 7:00, the nightcap started at 7:40 (which seemingly was a good sign but it proved not to be). Long Island took a 1-0 lead in the second, in the bottom half the Stormers put up a four-spot. Ryan Casteel's solo home run was followed by a Carlos Garcia RBI single and Darian Sandford's two-run double. The Ducks got one back in the third before Blake Gailen's solo shot in the home third made it 4-2. The game fell apart in the middle innings, Long Island batted around in the both the fourth and fifth scoring nine runs in total for an 11-5 lead. The Stormers got a cosmetic run in the ninth on a Vladimir Frias RBI hit but it was way too little as the Ducks salvaged a doubleheader split, Joe Gardner was the Stormers' starting pitcher and took the loss. The game finally wound down at 10:30 but I was gone by then. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 23-24

The rainy conditions from the weekend were still around at the start of the new week, I went to the mall in the morning and took my car to the dealership in New Holland from there. Along the way I drove through some heavy downpours, at one point I could actually see the rain approaching from less than a quarter-mile away. The dealership has a shuttle van service that brought me home, on Tuesday they called to tell me the car was done and ready to go. About an hour later they were able to spring the van loose to bring me there, it beats paying a twelve-mile cab fare. All of the repairs were covered by warranty so it didn't cost a cent, I wonder how much it would have been otherwise (they gave me a detailed invoice of the work done but there were no prices listed). It was still stormy on Tuesday, for a second straight night the Barnstormers were rained out. The Monday game was still on as of 6:00 despite all-day rains, since I had no car I had planned to walk over to the ballpark and bring a cab home. Just as I was preparing to leave the skies opened and it POURED, at that point I decided to bag it since I figured the game would be delayed if in fact it was played at all. I used to walk to the stadium on a regular basis, it's only about a mile and the exercise is good but the stormy conditions simply didn't make it worthwhile. I saw on the Internet where they were incredibly still planning to play but around round of rain finally killed it shortly after 8:00. The game on Tuesday night was called off five hours before it was scheduled to start, back-to-back doubleheaders were booked for Wednesday and Thursday (weather-permitting because there is more rain in the forecast for Wednesday). Take care, thanks for reading.

July 20-22

The weekend began in a fashion very different than what I would have liked. Out and about on Friday morning I stopped at a convenience store for a tea and newspaper, when I came out and started the car the warning bell started beeping and a warning message appeared reading "Transmission malfunction, service now". I immediately went to my service center because I do not fool with stuff like that, they put the car on its computers and discovered the problem. The bad news is I have to take the car to a service center that specializes in my make of vehicle, there are several in the area and my dealer recommended the location in New Holland. The good news is the repairs are covered under warranty so it won't cost. The car can still be driven but it's advisable to get the work done ASAP, I called the people in New Holland and got an appointment for Tuesday the 24th. I had planned to go to York on Friday night but decided to stay in because given the circumstances it was unessential, my main concern was to see Jenny on Saturday for lunch. Saturday was a dark and rainy day, we managed to get everything accomplished despite the miserable weather (it never stopped raining the whole time we were together, when I got home I was just as glad to be there). Ran a morning errand on Sunday in bright sunshine, in the afternoon and evening we had some intermittent thunderstorms. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 18-19

The nightcap at the ballpark on Tuesday wasn't over until almost 12:40 on Wednesday morning, the Revolution won 8-3 to earn a doubleheader split. Jenny and I had our usual midweek lunch date on Wednesday, in the evening I was back on North Prince Street for what would prove to be another long journey deep into the night. The Barnstormers scored first in the bottom of the third, Nate Coronado doubled and came home on a Tyler Bortnick RBI groundout. The Revs tied it in the fourth when Alexi Casilla walked and scored on Micheal Burgess' sacrifice fly, they took the lead in the sixth on an Isaias Tejeda RBI single scoring Melky Mesa (Tejeda played in York in 2016 and '17, he recently rejoined the Revs from a stint in the Mexican League). In the seventh the Coronado/Bortnick combo tied the game, Nate singled and scored on Tyler's sac fly to make it 2-2. At this point it was almost 10:00, I called personal curfew and headed home. The game continued in my absence and well past 11:00 as well, the marathon finally ended in the eleventh inning (and damn near midnight) on a home run by Nate Coronado giving the Stormers a 4-3 walkoff win. There was little rest for the weary, the series concluded with an 11:00 game on Thursday morning (I was, of course, not there), the Barnstormers won 8-6 to take three of four in the series. Four games in less than forty-eight hours including a doubleheader lasting in excess of six-and-a-half hours, a single game that took almost five and a morning game that started less than twelve hours later. Merely thinking about it gives me nightmare flashbacks because I've been there. After supper on Thursday I was at McCaskey for a County Midget League doubleheader, both the School and Community Division Jr. Tornado teams were in action. The School team won 7-0 in a regular season game, the Community team won 5-3 to clinch their division title. The top nine finishers in the School Division qualify for playoffs, the Community champ rounds out the field as the #10 seed. Both Tornado teams are in, there's a chance either or both could play in the big tournament at the ballpark at the end of the month. As they say on TV: stay tuned. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 16-17

Little going on Monday outside of the morning pilgrimage to the mall, on Tuesday the Barnstormers played at home for the first time in nine days. The Atlantic League's War Of The Roses continued on this night with a visit from our friends from west of the river AKA the York Revolution. This was a scheduled doubleheader (as opposed to a makeup), game #1 got started shortly after 6:00. The Stormers went up 1-0 in the second when Grant Desme singled and scored on an error, the Revs matched it in the fifth on ex-Stormer Tyler Clark's RBI hit scoring Zach Wilson. In the home fifth the Basrnstormers took a 2-1 advantage, Darian Sandford doubled and scored on Blake Gailen's RBI fielders choice. In the top of the seventh (the last inning of regulation) the Revolution went ahead in stunning fashion, back-to-back home runs by Melky Mesa and Michael Burgess made it 3-2 for the visitors. In the bottom half the Stormers replied to tie the score, Rico Noel singled and advanced to third on an error, Gailen's sacrifice fly plated Noel to force extra innings. In the bottom of the ninth the Barnstormers walked it off when Tyler Bortnick reached on an error and scored the winner on Ryan Casteel's RBI single. Both starting pitchers (Jonathan Albaladejo for the Stormers, ex-SF Giant Jonathan Sanchez for the Revs) were long gone by then, Kevin Munson got the win with Junior Rincon suffering the loss. The game wasn't over until almost 9:00, with an announced game time of 9:40 for the nightcap I decided to call curfew and head home (a definite feeling of deja vu, the ballclub had a makeup doubleheader on July 3 that played out much the same way). I lived that life for thirty-five years and there are parts of it I miss greatly, there are other parts I don't miss in the least. As the night wore I noted via the Internet that they were still playing as the midnight hour approached (and that's one of the parts I don't miss at all). Take care, thanks for reading.

July 13-15

The Atlantic League season resumed on Friday evening, I was west of the mighty Susquehanna in York. The Revolution was represented at the All-Star confab by pitchers Robert Carson, Mitch Atkins and Grant Sides, outfielders Jared Mitchell and Wellington Dotel plus manager Mark Mason and coaches Enohel Polanco and Sandy DeLeon. The Long Island Ducks (fresh from hosting the midweek festivities) were the opponent on this night, since it was Friday the 13th the game-night theme was built around a popular television series dealing with "stranger things" and that is exactly what we saw. The visiting Ducks took a 1-0 lead in the first but never touched home again, through three innings the Revs had only one baserunner which came on a walk. In the bottom of the fourth the game turned on a dime as the Revs scored five runs, they added four more in the fifth and continued the onslaught with a seven-run sixth. Every man in the batting order had at least one hit, Ryan Dent led the way with two hits and four RBI. Luis Cruz had two hits and three ribbies, Jared Mitchell and Wellington Dotel had two-and-two each. Zach Wilson had two hits and an RBI with Melky Mesa, Michael Burgess and Travis Witherspoon picking up one of each. Alexi Casilla had two hits and was the only man without an RBI, Witherspoon was the only Rev who didn't score a run. The final score was 16-1 (neither team scored after the sixth inning), Robert Carson started and worked five innings for the win. Three relative newcomers pitched in relief with ex-Arizona Diamondback Jailen Peguero working two innings, Devan Watts (from the Atlanta organization) and James Pugliese (ex-Cubs property) pitched an inning each. On Saturday Jenny and I had lunch, at the afternoon we were at a birthday party. One of her friends has two daughters, the older turns four later in July and the younger was one year old in June. The party was outside in a small county park just south of the city, it was a warm day but we had a lot of tree shade which helped to make it tolerable. Sunday dawned with cloudy skies, we had some strong rain in the morning but by afternoon it was gone. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 9-12

The early part of the new week was largely uneventful, on Monday I picked up my car from the service center. I had taken it there on Sunday afternoon so they would have it when they opened on Monday morning, for me it's better than sitting around in the office waiting for it to be done. If I have to sit around I'd rather be at home where there are things I can do. I took a cab home on Sunday and again on Monday to the garage, I can't remember the last time I used a cab before this but to me it was worth it. The car was due for its annual state inspection, they also did some work on the shocks and struts. The only other noteworthy activity was my midweek lunch with Jenny which happened on Thursday instead of Wednesday, she was in town for an appointment and I took her home from there. There was no baseball anywhere because the Atlantic League was in its All-Star break, on Wednesday night on Long Island the Liberty Division (Long Island, New Britain, Somerset and the Road Warriors) won the game 4-3. The Barnstormers were well-represented on the Freedom Division roster with pitchers Nate Reed, Garrett Granitz and Scott Shuman, catcher Ryan Casteel, infielder Vladimir Frias and outfielders Darian Sandford and Blake Gailen, infielder Rico Noel was also selected but did not play due to injury. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 6-8

Friday night at the ballpark under clear skies and lower temperatures, after a week in the oven it felt good to not sweat involuntarily. The New Britain Bees were in town for the start of the season's second half where every team's record reverts back to 0-0, on this night the Stormers stumbled out of the gate and lost 5-1. Steve Johnson started on the mound and took the loss. The lone score for the home team came in the ninth, Ryan Casteel singled and scored on Grant Desme's RBI double. Desme is a great story, in 2010 he was a top prospect in the Oakland A's organization when he elected to retire from baseball with the intention of joining the priesthood. He eventually left the seminary before becoming a priest because he wished to marry and start a family. He was coaching at a small Catholic college in Florida when the Stormers called in June with an opportunity to get back into pro ball. On Saturday the clubs met for game #2, the Stormers evened the series with a 6-2 verdict. In the home third Tyler Bortnick singled and Darian Sandford walked, Rico Noel's infield hit loaded the bases. Bortnick and Sandford came home on a New Britain fielding error, Trayvon Robinson's RBI hit scored Noel to give the Stormers a 3-0 lead. The Bees got two back in the fifth, in their half the Stormers replied accordingly. Noel walked and scored on another RBI hit by Robinson, he would score on Desme's RBI double to restore the three-run advantage. K.C. Hobson's solo home run in the eighth capped the scoring, Brooks Hall went six innings as the starter for the decision. I was absent as usual from the heat of Sunday afternoon, the Bees won the rubber game of the series 6-3. The Atlantic League enters its All-Star break with the game itself on Wednesday the 11th on Long Island. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 4-5

Wednesday was of course a national holiday, I marked the occasion by having my usual midweek visit for lunch with Jenny. There was a chance of rain in the forecast for the evening hours, in late afternoon it began to get very dark to the south and west. At 6:30 the Barnstormers continued their series with the Road Warriors, after sweeping the doubleheader on Tuesday (game #2 didn't end until almost 11:15) the Stormers on this night suffered a shutout loss the hard way. Shortly after the game started the rain began, by the middle innings it was coming down hard and field conditions were deteriorating. The Warriors scored two in the second and two more in the fourth, at the seventh-inning stretch the umpires halted play and had the field covered. The scheduled holiday fireworks show took place at that point, when they were over the game was called official with Nate Reed taking the tough-luck 4-0 loss. The game is noteworthy because the Barnstormers were held without a hit through the six innings they batted, the club only had three baserunners all coming on walks. Perhaps it has an asterisk next to it because it was abbreviated by rain but it still counts, the only other time the Stormers have been no-hit was in a regulation nine-inning game in 2006 at home (and I was there that night as well). On Thursday the weather was much more conducive to playing baseball, the clubs played the last game of the series and the season's first half. The league usually plays a 140-game schedule, when the Road Warriors are involved the slate is reduced to 126 giving each of the seven other clubs a 72-54 home-road split instead of the usual 70-70. On this night the Warriors took a 1-0 lead in the first, the Stormers matched it in the third when Ryan Casteel walked and scored on Trayvon Robinson's RBI triple. The deadlock continued into the eighth inning where the Barnstormers put together a three-run uprising. Blake Gailen homered onto the picnic deck in right field to put the Stormers ahead, Anderson De La Rosa's two-run double scored Casteel and K.C. Hobson to make it 4-1. Matt Reynolds gave up a run in the ninth but was able to nail down the save for winning pitcher Garrett Granitz, John Anderson came out of the bullpen for the spot start and went the first four innings. The Barnstormers finish the first half at 38-25 and just for the record the Road Warriors finish at 17-46. Say what you will about their won/lost record but the fact is the Warriors are an underrated opponent. The team is not built to be a contender and it exists only out of necessity but the guys on that roster battle every night, if they had the chance to play half their games at home like every other team it could well be a very different story. The Stormers continue their homestand with the start of the second half on Friday the 6th. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 1-3

The second half of 2018 started on a Sunday, with temperatures in the mid-90s and the heat index in triple digits there was absolutely no reason to leave the house. On Monday I had an afternoon dental appointment of my own, just the usual periodic checkup and cleaning (there are better ways to spend an hour). On Tuesday there was baseball on North Prince Street, the Barnstormers were at home for the first time in nine days. The Stormers were eliminated from first-half playoff contention during the road trip, on this night the Road Warriors were the opponent for a makeup doubleheader. This was a twinbill necessitated by a rainout on June 10, the first game got underway at 6:00 in 95-degree heat. The Barnstormers took a 1-0 lead in the fourth, Rico Noel doubled and scored on Ryan Casteel's RBI two-bagger. The Warriors (who are not based in a city called Road) scored two in the fifth, in the bottom half the Stormers matched it on Noel's two-out single scoring Tyler Bortnick and Darian Sandford. In the top of the seventh (the last inning of regulation in a doubleheader game) the Road Warriors tied it setting the stage for extra innings. In the ninth the Stormers loaded the bases with one out, K.C. Hobson's RBI single to right field plated Noel with the winning run as the Home Team prevailed 4-3. Kevin Munson worked the ninth inning and picked up the win in relief of starting pitcher Joe Gardner. I had planned on staying for part of the second game but since extra innings had forced the second game back to a 9:25 start and it was still ridiculously warm I decided to bag it and head home to the air conditioning. In a way I felt badly for those who were required to stay, I lived that life for thirty-five years and I can definitely relate. Take care, thanks for reading.