New Lenox, IL - On a summer like evening with the temps and humidity high, the Gnaturals proved to be more pesty than the swarms of mosquitos buzzing the Lions Den on Tuesday night as Water Chasers became the latest victim of the Gnat fall campaign. The game started out with a bang as the Gnaturals put their first nine batters on base. Eight runs were scored before the first out was recorded in the game. Gnats pushed eleven runs across before Water Chasers could pick up a bat. The Chasers plated five runs of their own in the first inning to trail 11-5. The Gnats came back with five runs to lead 16-5 heading into the calamitous bottom of the second innings. The second inning featured many outfield miscues and calliope music as the Gnats allowed six runs in the frame to lead 16-11 after two inning. The Gnats have not seen a defensive lapse like that since the summer session. The highlight of the inning was a 7-6-2 putout at the plate of #1 Blaze Speed on a triple that Cap'n Jack ran down to the fence, relayed to Sutes who double clutched as Speed fell down and decided to try and score anyway, pegged to Pratl who caught the ball and waited just as long for the runner to be tagged out as the team waited for Sutor to show up to the game. That was the final out of the inning and final play the Water Chasers would score on for the remainder of the night. The Gnats tacked on runs in each of the next two innings to lead 21-11 until teams flipped sides and the Chasers went down 1-2-3 in the 5th inning to end the game. Zlogar was penciled in to start and moves his record to 2-0 on the Fall season. Next week is a pivotal 9:30 PM match against Ivy League that has first place implications. With the win, the Gnats remain in first place and their record moves to 5-1 while the Chasers fall to 2-4. Join the Gnaturals next week at the Lions Den for Bring Alcohol and a Cot night.
Noteables:
Anyone Got A Light? - Not so noticeable in the glow of the late summer sun, September nights expose the fact that the parking lot has zero lighting. Hey Balderman, you spent all that money on the outfield nets that don't do their job, start doing yours and build a couple of light standards in the parking lot so we don't run over our fellow men and women!
Play Ball - With Sutes pushing the envelope on the 8:30 start, the Gnats deployed every stall tactic known to man including, "my dog ate my homework". The loveable Gnat shortstop who bats third in the lineup walked up in plenty of time while the leadoff hitter was at the plate gouging up the batters box.
Shuffleboard - Zlogar got the spot start tonight when Stapes was a scratch due to a six day golf illness which necessitated the Gnats to go with starting pitcher Ryno at first base. Z took full advantage of the opportunity by posting his second win of the fall season with no losses. Ryno was able to catch a nap at first base as he made one putout on the evening. Notice Gale in the background. Probably is also looking for Sutor to show up.
Good Ju Ju - Gnats needed the sage tonight as Water Chasers put a spell on Mother Nature before the game. The day had previously been bright and sunny but then turned dark and ominous a couple of hours before game time. The rain never materialized and neither did the Water Chasers. Well done Sage.
Old School - No, not the Gnat third baseman (although he originally wired the scoreboard in 1930), the fact that the NLPD Lions Den scoreboard was a no-show Tuesday night. We thought this was a thing of the past and that the scoreboard would be functional for the thousands of spectators who showed up to watch the games. Balderman, have the boys take a look at the scoreboard too while they are there scoping the parking lot lighting project.
Kudos - The official scorers were spot on all night with the game score. Hats off to the young man in the air conditioned press box for a job well done!
Cash Flow - Although the Gnats put up three touchdowns on Tuesday, the team also broke a team record incurring nine fines.
Return of the Keystone Kops - The outfield had a tough time in the 2nd inning of the game, which has not been seen in quite a while. The best news is that even after what is considered the Gnats worst defensive inning of the year, the team still lead 16-11 when all the damage was done.
Breakdown - Every member of the team scored a run on Tuesday for the first time all season. Everyone but Dylan got a hit last night with Jamaica drawing two walks to make up for being hitless. Water Chasers scored 11 runs on 11 hits and a walk in the first two innings of the game. After the Gnats hosing of #1 at the plate to end the second inning, the Chasers in the next three innings scored zero runs on 1 hit with 1 walk. Gnats scored runs in all four of their at bats. Top four batters chipped in 12 RBIs. The bottom four batters in the order pitched in for 9 RBIs. The middle two batters scored 4 runs. Team effort!!!
Star Spangled Banner - Is that Dylan standing at first base coaches position with his arms resting like the band is ready to play the National Anthem?
Don't Let Jeff Keep Score - Don't let Jeff keep score! The Gnat scorekeeper left for a total of four batters and asked Jeff to keep score. Besides putting two players in the same box twice, Jeff wasn't sure what any batter did other than the leadoff hitter. Apologies to the team defense that it took another Water Chaser cycle through the batting order to provide accurate intel. Jeff was quoted as saying "you would have been better off handing me a blank piece of paper". Point taken. The Gazette will also shop for Tempera Paints too!
Pulling a Rabbit - It is always nice to go to a wedding. Other than the event itself, one of the most fun parts of the day is when you put on your sport coat and discover what is in your pocket from the last wedding. Had the pleasure this past Friday attending the wedding of Uncle Gary's son Nate and his bride Megan. The pocket square is good. Normal enough. The two business cards from Jeff Enterprises was a lovely piece of nostalgia from the Jack/Lauren wedding in June. Truth be told, a ten spot would have been as exciting.
Hurler - This is Uncle Gary's lovely tie and super cool clip "Father of the groom". Not sure if many people know this but the affable Ivy League pitcher is actually Mrs. Gazette's NEPHEW. Grab a scorecard and a lot of alcohol for that story. Btw, that would make Mr. Gazette, wait for it, Gary's Uncle Al. WTF?
Huh??? - Take a closer look at this picture. When you spot the man in the dress, know that it is someone that some of you have played softball with and currently play against. Seemed like the couple thought it was a good idea to do their wedding reception walk-up wearing each others clothes. Our Gazette staff photographer thought it was a great idea to catch the shot. You come out wearing each other clothes, you really don't mind being a "noteable". Thank you to staff photographer Snapp E. Shuster for the dedication of taking this pic on his day off.
Pssssst - Hey Lauren II. Looks like Jack is going to be out of town this weekend on Arik With An A's bachelor ending golf trip. Go ahead and adjust the thermostat accordingly. The boys will delete the Nest app on Jack's phone. Feel free to whack some ping pong balls with his paddle too!!!
By George - The Gazette picked up a couple of new readers this week. This empty bucket and apple were lying on the ground just feet from the Enterprise Center (formerly Scottrade Center, formerly Kiel Center) this past Sunday evening. Nobody likely reached for the apple in fear that it was a booby trap. Personally think it was a street performers drum kit and dinner.
Scooby Doo and Shaggy- Kids, print this picture and hang it on your walls. You would think that this is a jubilant Matt Sutor jumping into the arms of Jake Koz because of the big win Tuesday. No. This is why none of you should gamble. Sutes Yankee team pulled off a miracle comeback in the 9th inning against the mighty Pittsburgh Pirates to pull Matt from the fire and on to easy street.
Top Turd of the Night - The Gnats outfield for the horrendous second inning. Misplays, dropped balls, missed cutoffs, it was hard to watch for five minutes. Jeff gets honorable mention for butchering the scorecard.
Two Face - At first glance, the man on the right showed up on the team group chat as Reverend Dave. Independent of anything, many of you may have thought it was Dave but after a side-by-side comparison, Ernie Cairo is not THEE REVEREND DAVE. WooooooWoooooo.
Kangaroo Court - Joey ended up paying for G-Dog so all is square there. Delinquents go out to Pratl and Ken. This week's totals are as follows, which reflect the Pratl/Ken IOU's:
Jack 1
Koz 2 (1 pop out 1 missed cutoff man) PAID
Pratl 2+1=3
Jamaica 1
Arik 1
Zlogar 2
Ken 0+2=2
Standings - Take a good look, the Gnaturals are still in first place while owning the head-to-head tiebreaker against Brew Jays as well as a 21 run better runs allowed. The Ivy League game is important to both teams as the Gnats can remain in first place while Ivy plays their final game of the season against the Brew Jays. The Gnaturals are the only team in control of their own destiny as two more wins would seal regular season first place honors heading into the playoffs.
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