YAWN... Gnus Lose a Thriller 1-0

Actually, I did think this game was exciting and it was certainly too quick for a nap. 35 minutes to play 8 innings! Sure, the Bad Gnus lost 1-0 in 8 innings. Not scoring yet making 24 outs against a 75 year old man who is throwing a ball underhand sounds a lot worse than it is. The Hanks have long been a powerhouse at Arden Park. And by long, I mean back when you had to take a ferry across the American River to shuttle your carriage to New Sutter Town south of the river. Nowadays, we can take our fancy motor cars on a bridge at 55 mph (or 10 mph depending on the time of day) but the Hanks still compete for the championship each year.

The Bad Gnus had several hits, they just were never in bunches. There was a runner every inning. The best chance was in the 7th. Teddy Ballgame took a walk! I couldn't believe it myself. When he was trotting down to first I didn't know if he was hit by the pitch or if there was catcher's interference. A walk didn't immediately compute. That was followed by a hit by Greg to put two runners on, no one out and the top of the order coming up. Unforturnately, The Gnus were not able to convert. Throughout the game, many balls were struck well but ended up in the leathery old mitts held by leathery old hands. I keed, I keed. Those guys can pick it!

On the other side of the ball, those Bad Gnus also put on an impressive display of fielding. The defensive lock down they put on was even more impressive considering three Gnus committed to play but didn't show. WTF?! Teen Sexy came off the bench and played catcher wearing tennis shoes and using Erik's son's old baseball glove. That left a three person outfield against a team that usually puts up 20 runs on the Gnus. I can't even remember all of the spectacular plays. The Pyramid Defense Play of the Day was John's super sliding catch in centerfield. It was beautiful. All three of the outfielders were chasing down balls all over the field. Adding to that was the double play combo of Kirk and Tuesday Ted. Both made slick plays all game long. It was the best D I've ever seen from the swirling blue of the Gnus.

The lone run of the game was the result of a triple that one of the older guys on the Hanks yanked over John's head for a one out triple. Dude was flying around the bases! Those couldn't have been his original hips. But holding the Hanks to one run with three outfielders was a very impressive feat. Good job, Bad Gnus!

Newcastle Player of the Game, goes to Ted. As mentioned, he took a walk for the team to try to ignite a rally and make several nice plays at shortstop. He also made a big heads up play. When Barry Bonds strode to the plate he went from Shortstop to the deepest of Right-Centerfield in an extreme shift. He had him played perfectly and turned his blast into a 300 foot out. He went on to make the next two outs in the inning as well. Excellent game Ted. Enjoy the rockin' taste of a smooth Newcastle on me.