New Lenox, IL - Christmas came early on Tuesday night where a capacity crowd showed up to cheer on the hometown heroes take on Rhino Sealcoat and were treated to as compelling a game as seen here on a Tuesday night. The Gnaturals started out the game by holding Rhinos to one unearned run in the top of the first inning. The Gnats blitzed the Rhinos with five runs in the bottom of the inning to hold a 5-1 lead after one inning. The second inning continued on a winning track when the Rhinos insisted on placing the ball to right and right center field only to meet resistance of the Gnats outfielders. The Gnaturals tacked on another two runs to lead 7-1 after 2 innings. Rhinos popped for seven runs in the third inning while holding the Gnats scoreless to lead 8-7 after three innings. After Sealcoat scored three in the top half of the 4th inning, Mike Pratl started a rally with a one-out single. Seven hits and a walk later, the Gnats led the game 14-11 after 4 innings. The seesaw battle continued when Rhinos plated four runs in the top of the 5th inning to take a 15-14 lead. The Gnats fought back with a pair of runs to lead 16-15 heading into what would be the 6th and final inning. Rhino scored four runs, three of them unearned, to take a 19-16 lead heading to the bottom of the last frame. The Gnats put up two runs on a Matt Sutor home run to cut the deficit to 19-18 before Arik With An A was robbed on the final out of the game by Rhino center fielder Bryce Sharter on a diving catch. The loss is the first of the season for the Gnaturals and first win of the year for the ringer laden Rhino Sealcoat. The Gnaturals host Beggars next Tuesday at 7:30PM. That game will be followed by the ringer match where Rhino Sealcoat takes on The Brew Jays at 8:30PM.
Noteables:
The Other Gazette - Look what came in the mail the other day. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. We prefer our Gazette, as the Will County version is wrought with political nonsense. Our Gazette is wrought with a more entertaining nonsense and is more newsworthy than the divisiveness that the world of media and politics serves up all too often.
Intervention - Jack had the boys over at the house last weekend to discuss how to un-brainwash Zlogar after he spent three weeks at he Jeff Bezos compound in Virginia. Z came to Jack's house directly from the airport to find that he would be served an exorcism along with the food and beverages on tap. We will keep you posted on Z's condition if things should change but happy to report that he went 1 for 2 with two walks, a run scored, and an RBI in his return.
Arik With An A - What is so interesting on that wall you are staring at?
The Maestro (Season 7 Episode 3) - You Seinfeld fans should appreciate the stick that Koz is wielding in the photo above as it is reminiscent of the baton Kramer is using.
Jeremy Spoke - Clean up hitter for the Rhinos, #17 Jeremey, went yard twice on Tuesday night with his last effort a grand slam to put his team temporarily ahead 15-14 in the 5th inning. He flew out in each of his three other at bats.
IL REPORT -
Gnat’s place 2B Jeff on the 15-day IL. An MRI revealed a
partially torn labrum and a bone bruise in his right shoulder that will likely
need time to heal. Jeff will begin PT for a few weeks then continue rehabbing
at home.
If he experiences the necessary improvements, we could see
him back on the field in late September/early October.
Until then, he is the eyes and ears of the Gazette for all on the field and in the dugout bafoonery.
Abreu??? - Not a tribute to White Sox good old 79, Jose Abreu but the actual temperature in Jack's house at the Zlogar intervention. Somebody help Lauren out please! Things are going to change when you want to start having kids and Lauren is pregnant. That 79 is not going to fly and you will not ever win an argument any time, any era against an hotangry "hot-angry" pregnant woman.
- Yours truly started out the Miner 49 collection bucket o' cash with donation. I can in good conscience take part in the consumption of the end of year alcohol guilt free. On that note, let's publicly scorn the following for having delinquent accounts for the first two weeks of the season:
Stapes (2)
Arik (2)
Sutor (1)
G-Dog (1) - You may never see him again but our collections team will!
Shame Shame boys!!!
This weeks donors include:
Jack (3), Pratl (1), Ryno (1), Koz (1...paid), Stapes (1), Zlogar (1).
Secure Dugouts - The picture to the left is an Ivy League line up card found by Koz wedged in the dugout during the game on Tuesday. This was thought to have been left there on Tuesday the 30th until Ivy started showing up for their 9:30PM game. In other words, this lineup card remained safe and secure through a dozen softball games, umpteen random visitors, and several rain storms. We are not advocating you store your car title in there but the Lions Den dugouts may as well be called the Strong Boxes.
BTW... - How did Dave make it in the lineup ahead of Gary??? Dave is someone on the team's dad who was summons in that night to not forfeit the game.
Shift This - Koz did something in the 2nd inning of the game that we rarely if ever see during the countless shifts seen in MLB games, slap one to the other field. Koz slappy-pappy'd a ball to left field and cruised in for an easy double.
Z Formation - Zlogar, hot off the three week stint with Bezos, learned about how to become a more efficient operation and to work smarter, not harder. Seen here is the new efficient way to enter the field on defense led by Old School. The Gnats team met three hours before the game to rehearse this choreography that has not been seen since Guys and Dolls hit the local theater.
Slight Improvement - Things got "much cooler" at the house of Jack as the temperature plummeted to 76.
Joker - Was anyone else cackling when Jimmy Da Joker came in to pitch for Ump Ronnie in the 5th inning of last night's ball game? He instantly gave up two runs and the lead and almost blew the 6th inning three run lead. He was begging the ump to call his inside pitches strikes.
Where's the Safari? - Umpire Donnie Dreamsicle became the 17th umpire this summer/fall to call a game behind the plate at the Lions Den. D squared had some extra time between games to go to the car and puff on a heater. He came back eyes-a-glowin' to call a decent game between the Rhinos and Gnats.
Ronnie D - When Da Joker came in to pitch the 5th inning, he sent Ump Ronnie to short center field to take over his spot on defense. The move might have worked until the immobile Ronnie clogged the drain by getting in the way of what would surely have been a ground out to short to play it into a well blocked single.
"That's what cocaine will do for you" - Is what an anonymous fan said out loud as Bryce Sharter came out of nowhere like he was shot out of a cannon to rob Arik With An A of a base hit to end the game with a spectacular diving catch. Arik was perfect on the night before The Cocaine Kid laid out to make the final out of the game.
Turd of the Week - El Capitan himself, Jack. You probably are in line for turd of the week by leading off for your team and going 1 for 5. Was it bad enough that he recorded 67% of the outs in the 1st inning and left the bases loaded with Koz, Stapes, and Sutor coming up? Was it bad enough that he made the last out in the all important 5th inning with a runner on second and a 1-run lead with the powerhouses in the lineup coming to bat? Was it bad enough that Jack single-handed uplifted the fine jar with three pop outs? NO. Jack is actually getting turd of the week for having that egregious 79 degree reading with half the softball team showing up to exorcise Zlogar. Congratulations Jack!
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