The Bad Gnus are Back!!

This has been one of the rockier stretches in the 15 year history of the Bad Gnus. The softball complex ran us out after repeated drubbings to Floyd Landis' and Justin Gatlin's of the softball world. Actually, I'm not sure if the other teams were fueled by steriods, meth or satan. Either way, the Bad Gnus are fueled by mind-numbing, reaction-slowing, gut-expanding, and might I add delicious, beer.

The new field held promises of closer games, older competition and a shorter commute. We found out that, contrary to popular the saying, 2 out of 3 was indeed bad afterall. After 3 games, the Bad Gnus record stood at 0 - 3. Two of the teams were even older than the Gnus. I felt bad yelling at and threatening the AARP member during the third game of the slide. I believe the mounting frustration was getting to me. In three games, the Bad Gnus scored 6 runs! Sure, it would be at least 7 if Kevin would have run to the stupid line instead of the plate as he has done for nearly 40 years. Yup. I know this is a tangent, but Kev turns the big 4-0 on September 22!! I can't really blame Kev. Oh sure, there is plenty to blame him for in the grand scheme of things, but touching the plate to kill a rally when the plate is the universal baseball symbol for scoring a run can be forgiven. I know there are those out there that might say "but hasn't he been the catcher during all of these drubbings in which opponent after opponent has touched the line and not the plate". All I can really say to that is, "Leave Kevin alone, he's my buddy."

This night would be different. There was a different feeling from the get-go. Bill had brought a full ice chest of chilled Sam Adams Summer. (The early favorite for the prestigious Mike Maves Beer of the Year award!) We were matching our Sam Adams sponsorship against a team called the Silver Bullets, who were sponsored by some watered-down waste of aluminum. There were 11 Gnus before the game started and all had on the tye dye. The oppressive heat of the summer had momentarily cooled for the most pleasant evening in weeks. Yes, tonight would be different.

The lineup was completed on bright pink paper and would remain so until the Bad Gnus pushed across 10 runs in a game. Would this be the night that turns the lineup into the typical writing frantically on a scrap of paper 2 minutes before gametime? Or would pink be our new signature color? After a maddening (for the Silver Bullets) array of bloop hits actually dropped for the Bad Gnus for a change, the bats started to come alive. With the bases loaded and one run already in. Keith lofted a deep sacrifice fly to score Kevin. But wait. No he didn't! Kevin once again stepped on the plate for the third out and killing the rally. Keeping with his season-long vigilance of helping the umpires make the right call, Pete pointed out the transgression to the Blue. Pete's the most honest real estate agent in history. I have heard a lot of adjectives that people use when describing commercial real estate agents. Honest is usually the first one and it is one of the few clean ones.

After a quick inning of defense the Bad Gnus finally broke lose. 8 runs were plated in the 2nd inning. The inning was highlighted by Kevin scoring and actually running across the line and not touching the plate. Good job, Kev!

For the first time in a long time, the Bad Gnus had a solid lead and could coast the rest of the way. The shutout was lost, but the hitting continued. The Gnus rolled up 6 more runs on their way to a 15-3 beat down of the Silver Bullets. Most people had a very solid night with the bat. Don't think it is unrelated to everyone but Howard refusing to use his cursed bat. I'm not sure what witch doctor on e-bay Howard purchased that bat from, but it is not doing any favors to our best hitter. Howard did sneak a ball through the infield in the last inning to avoid the sombrero. He has one hit in a row! Howard took his slump so hard, he refused the post game victory beer afterward.

I can't recall all that many great defensive plays this week. I should mention the amazing running catch Erik Grotte made the previous week in right-center. That was an awesome catch! This week, the Bad Gnus played very solid defensive but nothing too spectacular. Doug showed off his cannon as he threw out a guy trying to stretch a single into a double to start off the game. Bill made a nice strectch to complete a line out double play that Mike tried to throw over his head. I will give the award this week to Pete. No, not for his defense that kept Kevin from scoring in the first inning. Pete made a nice running, shoe top catch on a sinking liner in centerfield. Nice play, Pete!

The Samuel Adams Player of the Game this week is a bit of a tough one. So many people played well. However, the award this week goes to Kirk Giberson! In only his fourth game with the Gnus, he collected three solid hits and looks oh so smooth at second base. In one inning he made a nice smooth pickup on a grounder to his left. Then played a back hand to his right on the next batter. He made each play look routine. This week he was even in uniform. He finally received his Gnus shirt and immediately it paid off. Also, he has ditched his golf shoes for some softball shoes. That has to help. He is stil sporting the golf glove, but whatever works for him is fine with us. Great game, Kirk!

Next week's game is at 7:00 (not 6:00) as I was spouting after the game. Let's keep the winning going. We are missing at least 4 people from last week's game, including our pitcher and back up pitcher. Be looking for fill-ins now!