Dog Days?

The dog days of summer are around the corner, but it is plenty hot on the Winter Haven fields, right now. The phrase, "dog days of summer", usually refer to the extremely hot days of July and August. Here in Florida the dog days come much sooner, Friday the mercury hit 90 degrees.  The Romans referred to the dog days as diēs caniculārēs and associated the hot weather with the star Sirius. They considered Sirius to be the "Dog Star" because it is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (Large Dog). Sirius is also the brightest star in the night sky.

The Romans would be proud of our hitting stars today.

Herb O: 4/ 5 with a HR

Edwards: 3/ 4 with a double and a triple.

Bobby Z: 3/ 4 with a double.

Jacobs: 4/4 with a triple.

Lopez: 3/ 4.

Schapeler: 3/4.

Laffoon: 3/4 .

In keeping with this theme we had three dog teams take the field today, all chasing one bone. The winning team was the Fox Terriers. (Best in show at Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, 17 times).  Herb, S. Hill, Scarbrough, Edwards, Zelazny, Moots, D. Hill, Thompson and Merritt were the champs. Fox terriers originated in the British Isles in the 17th century and were bred to drive fox and other game from their dens. Despite their roots, they are not generally used for hunting these days. However, they are known as excellent watch dogs. The WHSS Fox Terriers came to hunt. They had three innings in which they scored three runs. They played excellent defense, turning a double play, getting runners out at 3^rd and home.

The silver medal was a two way tie. The Poodles, (Nine times a winner at Westminster) consisted of Coffman, Crest, Laffoon, Duff, Finnegen, Giordano, Reagen, Farwis, Wells and G. Baker.  Poodles come in three sizes - standard, miniature and toy - and all three compete separately at Westminster. It's also one of the most popular breeds in America. Of the group, the standard poodle, which is over 15 inches tall, has racked up the most Best in Show awards, with four. The miniature poodle, between 10 and 15 inches tall, has won three times and the toy poodle, which is 10 inches or less, has captured the title twice.

These canines knew how to use their gloves; they turned two double plays in the game. Trying to get a ball past Jimmy Laffoon, at shortstop, was like trying to throw a steak past a hungry dog.

The other silver medal went to the Scottish Terriers, (eight time, Best In Show, winner).   Gonzalez, Witmer, Jacobs, Lopez, Schapeler, Matta, JD, Marino and J. Smith all barked loud, just not loud enough to take first place. The Scottish terrier, or Scottie, not only holds eight Best in Show awards, it is also the only breed of dog that has lived in the White House three times. Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower and George W. Bush all owned Scotties during their time in office.

The game was close, at the end of six innings the score was Fox Terriers 9, Poodles 8 and Scottish Terriers 8. Every team had a chance to win it, in the 7^th inning. However, the only team that feasted on "Gravy Train" in the 7^th  was the Fox Terriers. They increased their lead, scoring two runs, when Rich Moots started the inning with a triple and Duff Hill then doubled him in. The bottom of the lineup continued to (bow) wow us, when John Merritt singled in Duff Hill.

The other two teams were caged, as they failed to score in the 7th.

Final score: Fox Terriers 11- Poodles 8 - Scottish Terriers 8.

Here are a few lessons that dogs can teach all of us:

Enjoy the simple pleasure of a walk.

Run and play daily.

Be loyal, faithful and quick to forgive.

Always drink plenty of water.

Keep digging until you find what you want.

Avoid biting when a growl will do.

Take naps.

When a loved one comes home, always greet them.

The there's this from YouTube dog-gone-it.

Submitted By Nick Matta

Strike Three

Found this picture of Richie the other day and thought you guys might like to see it.  Explains a lot.

Battle of the BoD

Umm... that's Battle of the Board of Directors.  The three teams in today's line-up were each managed by a member of your Board of Directors.  Bob Zelazny managed the Hit Team of Rivera, Dampier, Schapler, Alumbaugh, Zelazny, Hite, Wells, Simon and Fulton.  Ron Butler managed the Sit Squad of Chrest, Scarbrough, T. Smith, Edwards, Reagan, Jacobs, Butler, Thompson, Merritt and J.Smith. Freddy Gonzalez set the order for the Angels (Field team) with Coffman, Witmer, Gonzalez, Giordano, Lopez, Hill, Marino, Moots, and Baker.

It started out to be one of those slug-fest games with the Hit Team scoring 4 highlighted by Schapler and Alumbaugh going with back to back doubles. Then the Sit Squad posted 5 runs with a homer by Edwards and a Frank Jacobs triple. Freddy's Angels were not about to be left behind and posted 4 of their own off a raft of singles.

While it started out to be a batting contest only the Sit Team managed to sustain the pace and scored 5 runs in each of the first 3 innings to separate themselves from the pack. A homer by Terry Smith in the second and another by Bob Reagan in the third contributed to the high scorers lead. Meanwhile the Angels had nothing to celebrate over scoring 1 run in the same pair of innings and the Hit squad tried to hang in there as Brent Alumbaugh carried his team on the strength of his double and triple. In the fourth the sit team was the only team to score posting 2 runs.

After the 4th inning stretch the score was 9-17-5.

After the 4th inning the Sit Team pretty much cruised to 23 runs scoring in every remaining inning with Roger Edwards posting his second homer of the day in the 7th.  The Angels (Field) tried to make a game of it, putting up 5 runs in the 6th but could only manage 2 in the final frame as did the Hit men.

Final Score: Zelazny (Hit) 12, Butler(Sit) 23 and Gonzalez(Field) 14.

Key Hitters

Shapeler 5 for 5 2b
Scarbrough 5 for 5
T. Smith 4 for 5 HR
Edwards 4 for 5 2-HR
Gonzalez 4 for 5 2b
Alumbaugh 4 for 5 2-2b, 3b
Lopez 3 for 4 SAC

Battle of American League Managers

Thirty five players came out to play and to wish Ray Mills God Speed and Best Wishes as he heads north. He is selling his house here and his future with the league is in question. If this was his last game, we will remember him fondly for his unique style and dress , as well as his great pitching. And while continued his torrid hitting, he was not able to win his final game, settling for the silver medal.

 

Today's managers were selected because they all managed in the American League last season. Nick Matta lead the hitting team of Rivera, Zelazny, Scarbrough, Laffoon, TSmith, S Hill, Matta, Fulton, Mills, Barnes, Bowley, and Gibson. They looked pretty strong as they seemed to score at will in the early innings. They scored five,five, three, and four in the first four innings and built a lead. Unfortunately, they could not separate themselves from Don Witmer's sitting team.

 

Don's lineup was strong, top to bottom. The team consisted of M Gonzalez, Witmer, Duff, Butler, Coffman, Herbie, Reagan,Marino, Thompson, Wells, Merritt, and G Baker. They were the only team to score in every inning for the entire game and by the end of four had closed to within one run of Team Matta. M Gonazalez had the only extra base hits up to that point with a homer and double.

 

Freddy Gonzalez's fielding team had Dampier, Hamilton, Giordano, Freddy G, Schapler, D Hill, J.D. Davis, Hite, Simon, Bess, and L Baker. There run production was way down today and found themselves with a scant three runs at the end of four innings, Drilling down one would find that they only had six hits during that time with Bob Hite's double being the highlight.

 

In the fifth, the only Team to score was Team Witmer and they took the lead by scoring five runs as M Gonzalez hit his second home run of the day. The sixth was productive for all three teams as Team Matta scored three quick runs to retake the lead. Team Witmer responded by scoring five as Rich Marino had a double. Team Gonzalez' first four batters scored  as Freddy  had a double. Going into the last inning the score was Team Matta 20, Team Wimer 25, and Team Gonzales 7. The final inning was a repeat of the fifth inning as Team Witmer was the only team to score runs. BY scoring four they widened the margin of victory to nine over Team Matta and twenty-two over Team Gonzales.

 

Todays high scoring affair was interesting in that Team Matta scored twenty runs with only Jim Laffoon's double going for extra bases.  Meantime Team Witmer tallied twenty-nine on just seven extra base hits with three coming off the bat of M Gonzalez. Deano and Freddy hit the only extra base hits for Team Gonzalez.

 

Key Performances

 

Jose Rivera    3 for 4

Bob Zelazny    3 for 3

Donnie Scarbrough    4 for 4

Jimmy Lafffoon    4 for 4 with a double

 

M Gonzalez    4 for 5 with two homers and a double

Don Witmer    4 for 5 with a double

Chuck Duff    4 for 5 with a homer

Kirk Coffman    5 for 5 with a double

Herbie O        4 for 5

Ron Thompson    5 for 5

John Merritt    3 for 4

 

Red, White and Whoa

We had a Red, White and Whoa game, as the players lined up on teams to represent the various branches of the military. Though we have players who served in all branches of the armed forces, we stayed with the Army, (Hitting team), the Marines, (Sitting team) and Navy, (Fielding team).

The Dog Faces consisted of: Zelazny, Gonzalez, Laffoon, Giordano, Alumbaugh JD, Herb O, Thompson, Moots and L. Baker.

By the way here is a little trivia from Wikipedia on the nickname, dog face, made popular in WW II.  Soliders lived in "pup tents" and foxholes. They were treated like dogs in training. They had dog tags for identification. The basic story is that wounded soldiers in the Civil War had tags tied to them with string indicating the nature of their wounds. The tags were like those put on a pet dog or horse, but I can't imagine anybody living in a horse tent or being called a horseface.  Correctly speaking, only Infantrymen are called dogfaces.  Much of the time they were filthy, cold and wet as a duck-hunting dog and they were ordered around sternly and loudly like a half-trained dog.

The Leathernecks consisted of Witmer, Edwards, Butler, Finnegen, Lopez, Schapler, Dampier, D. Hill, Wells, J. Smith and Restrepo.

 The term Leatherneck was derived from a leather stock once worn around the neck by both American and British marines—and soldiers also. Beginning in 1798, "one stock of black leather and clasp" was issued to each marine annually. The dress blue uniform still bears that stock collar today, while the service uniform's standing collar was changed to a rolled-flat type prior to World War II. Marines, in the days of Pirates, boarded ships and battled with sabers. A cut across the neck could be lethal. The leather stock offered protection.

The Squids consisted of Coffman, Hamilton, Scarbrough, T. Smith, Regan, Matta, Simon, Hite, Bess, Mills and G. Baker.

The term Squids is associated with the Navy because of the large amount of time the service men spend on the water.  The United States Navy recognizes October 13, 1775 as the date of its official establishment, when the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution creating the Continental Navy. With the end of the American Revolutionary War, the Continental Navy was disbanded. Under President George Washington threats to American merchant shipping by pirates in the Mediterranean led to the Naval Act of 1794, which created a permanent standing U.S. Navy. George Washington said “Without a decisive Naval force we can do nothing definitive - and with it, everything honorable and glorious.”

 All three teams played a close game throughout the 7 inning contest. After the first three innings the game was tied across the board 10-10-10. There is an old navy saying; “ loose lips, sink ships”, apparently so do dropped balls. All three teams had a difficult time hanging on to the leather sphere. For a while it looked like the team with the fewest errors would win the game. However, a few players did earn a salute because of their fielding. Don Scarbrough had a great over the shoulder catch in left center field, for the Navy team. JD turned a hot grounder into a DP that helped the Army team stay in the game. Starting pitchers Mills, Thompson and Wells all pitched strong games.

 As for the final results, like the 7^th Calvary, the Army team led the charge all the way until the last inning. That is when the Marines answered the call and tied the game, in the middle of the 7^thframe. The Navy team dropped anchor after the 3^rd inning, they were shut out the last 4 innings of the game. The final results were Army 13 – Marines 13 and Navy 10. More importantly, thanks to all our ballplayers who served their country.

 Top hitters:

Zelazny: 4 / 5 with a triple.

Laffoon: 4 / 4.

Alumbaugh: 3 / 4.

JD: 3 / 4.

Edwards : 4 / 4 with two doubles and a triple.

Finnegen: 3 /4 with two doubles.

Lopez: 3 / 4.

Hamilton 3 /4 with a triple and a double.

Scarbrough 2 /4 with a HR.

Submitted by Nick Matta

La Battala de PUERTO RICO

It looks like we are settling in to a pattern of three team games. Not that I am complaining because it gives everyone a chance to get out of the sun, get a drink of water, or just listen to the latest "true story" that our resident story teller is weaving. The name of the three team contest today is the 'Battle of Puerto Rico' in honor of our three managers, Freddy Gonzalez, Miguel Gonzalez, and Jose Rivera.

Freddy G managed the hitting team of Zelazny, F. Gonzalez, Laffoon, King, Schapler, S. Hill, Herbie O, Reagan, Wells, Barnes, Moots, and Gibson. While they played solid defense against Miguels team, the bats were colder than cold. They failed to score until the sixth inning when the bottom of the lineup started a rally that produced four runs. Even with that they found themselves  twelve runs behind Jose's fielding Team. Steve Hill lead off the open inning and scored. Unfortunately that was the only run for a grand total of just six runs for the entire game.

Today was Miguel's managerial debut His sitting team roster read like an all star lineup...Dampier, Constantine, Witmer, M. Gonzalez. Butler. J.D., Hite, Simon, Leggett, Thompson, Merritt, and L. Baker. Unfortunately their bats were just as cold as Freddys team as they managed just three runs through six innings. They only had nine hits during that span with J,D, getting the only extra base hit, a double. Being solidly in last place they needed to score a bunch to pass Freddy G and Jose R teams. In the seventh they responded with eight hits and scored five. When the final out was made, they had two runners on base.

Jose and his team of Alumbaugh, Rivera, Coffman, Duff, Giardano, D Hill, Lopez, Matta, Marino, Powell, Mohan, Bess, and Mills came out with a take no prisoners attitude. They seemed to score at will in the early part of the game. They scored five runs in the first, third, and fifth innings. Home runs by Duff and  Giardano and doubles by Alumbaugh, D. Hill, and Duff provided all the power they needed. Ray Mills pitched four scoreless innings before moving to catcher. With Ray keeping the enemy in check, they built an insurmountable lead and coasted to victory. Final score Team Rivera 16, Team Miguel 8, and Team Freddie 5.

Key Performances

Bob Zelazny    3 for 3

Donnie Witmer    3 for 3

J.D. Davis     3 for 3 with a double

Jeff Simon    3 for 3

 

Jose Rivera    3 for 3

Kirk Coffman    3 for 3

Chuck Duff     3 for 3 with a double and a homer

Duff Hill     3 for 3

Nick Matta    3 for 3

A 25 Inning Game?

On this Day in 1984 the longest game in A.L. history (both in time and frames) ends in the 25th inning when Harold Baines homers off Chuck Porter to give the White Sox a 7-6 victory over the Brewers. The game falls one inning shy of the major league record, but takes the most time to play: eight hours and six minutes. The contest was suspended the previous day after 17 innings with the score tied 3-3 each team scores three more runs in the 21st. Tom Seaver pitches the final inning to earn the win, then wins the regularly scheduled game as well 5-4.

Our game today was billed as the battle of Ridgewood Lakes as the three managers all hail from communities  there.  The hit team, managed by Constantine scored four in the first and four more in the second inning for a strong start.  They featured a triple by Edwards in the first frame.  The hit team managed by Simon started poorly and failed to score in the first three innings.  The field  team, managed by Hite, scored one in the first on a Finnegan double and five times in the second on a Laffoon lead off homer and a Marino two bagger. They added one more run in the third on a Duff gapper for a HR the hard way.  In the fourth inning the sit team finally showed life and scored two runs on triples by Gonzalez and Witmer.  Hite's field team took the lead in the bottom of the inning with a five run outburst on five base hits.  After four the score stood 8-2-12.  

In the top of the fifth Constantine's hit team regained their bat speed and scored four times featuring doubles by Hamilton and Edwards.  The sit team put up a doughnut  and the Hite led field team responded with a five spot on five singles.   In senior softball it's not unusual to see contests tighten up later in the game and that's what happened.  

In the top of the sixth the hit team scored four times led by a Dampier double.  The middle of the sixth saw  Simon's sit team shake off the doldrums and put up seven runs on doubles by Gonzalez and their pitcher, J.D.  Zelazny hit a gapper for a triple and suddenly we have a tight game.  The field team added one on a Duff double.  With a chance to take the lead the hit team went four and out.  The sit team showed a never quit attitude and scored five times in the final frame on doubles by Giordano and Gonzalez.  The final tally was 16-14-18. 

Hite's team won the battle of Ridgewood Lakes with Mills the WP.  Leading batters for the hit squad were Hamiltom, Edwards, Dampier, D.Hill, Wells,  The leading hitters for the sit team were Gonzalez, Zelazny,  and Witmer.  The field team top hitters inc. Herbie O, J. Rivera, Butler, Finnegan, Duff, and Laffoon.

Jimmy

Many of you know Jimmy Lafoon as one of our most talented shortstops, best hitters, and all around nice guy.  Right now Jimmy's wife, Deanne, is going through chemo and radiation treatments for cancer. Such treatments are debilitating at least and cause some to question which is worse, the disease or the cure. It's a very tough time for them. Please keep Jimmy and Deanne in your thoughts and prayers as they work through that "in sickness or in health" clause.

Medical ID Cards

The Winter Haven Senior Softball Club Board of Directors recommends that everyone have their equipment bag identified with an obvious Medical Identification Card that could be used to obtain critical information in the event that you are injured or become ill while playing ball. 

In the past we have made our own but once again the internet provides an easier and perhaps more thorough version that you can print out for free.  Click on the link below and fill out the form provided. Then just print it out and attach it to your stuff.  

If you would like to have a laminated card, Joel Freedman has graciously volunteered to laminate your card for you with his machine. Just bring the printed card to the ball park and we'll get the card to Joel and returned to you laminated between layers of the ubiquitous clear plastic. 

https://www.medicalinfoproducts.com/free-med-wallet-card.php

Of course, if you have a serious health issue that may require immediate intervention should you become disabled, you probably ought to consider a medic alert bracelet or 'dog' tags as first responders are trained to look for them. 

3000 Hits

On this day in 1978, Pete Rose singles off Montreal's Steve Rogers for career hit 3,000. The Expos beat the Reds 4-3. 

As  it approached 0830 it didn't look like we would have enough for two teams, but then our usual late arrivals showed and by 0840 we had enough players to field three very competitive teams. I will take a lot of the credit for the great game by making up the teams, but in reality it was the manager's assignment of players to certain positions and making the line ups that resulted in one of the closest three team games in recent memory.

 

The hitting team was managed by Rich Moots. His supporting cast was Herbie O, Zelazny, Butler, Schapler, S. Hill,Wells, Ota, Mohan, Moots, Mills, and Holder. They started strong with five of their first six batters scoring, S Hill hit a homer to close out the inning. While their run production fell off sharply, they managed to hold the lead through four innings.

Curt Coffman managed the sitting team of himself, Shaffer, Constantine, M Gonzalez, J.D.,Matta, Marino, Lopez, Merritt, Barnes, and G Baker. They were the most consistent team all day and were the only team to score in every inning. Without any extra base hits they found themselves trailing by five in the fourth.

Donnie Witmer's fielding team should have been called the fielding and hitting teams as they did both to a high degree. They matched team Moots with five in the first and with two runs in the third, they found themselves trailing Team Moots by just two runs at the end of four.

In the fifth everything changed as the game tightened up considerably. Herbie scored the lone run for Team Moots, Team Coffman scored two, and Team Witmer took the lead by scoring five off back to back triples by Powell and D Hill, Behind by one in the sixth, Team Moots were unable to score. Team Coffman, however, had no problems scoring and put up five runs. Team Witmer managed only two as Giardano had a triple.

With the score 12-12-14 going into the last inning it still looked like a horse race. Team Moots was pumped as the top of their line up was due to hit. Unfortunately they went three and out and could hope for no better than a tie for second. They managed the tie for second as Team Coffman went four and out giving Team Witmer a well deserved victory.

Key Performances

 

Herbie O        3 for4
Ron Butler    4 for 4

Steve  Hill    3 for 3 with a homer

Ken Ota        3 for 3

Ray Mills       3 for 3

Donnie Witmer    3 for 4

Charlie Giordano    4 for4 with a double and triple

Fred Dampier        3 for 4 with  a homer

Kirk Coffman        3 for 4

Miguel Gonzalez    3 for 4

J.D. Davis                4 for 4

Nick Matta            3 for 4

Rich Marino            3 for 4

Submitted by Bob Zelazny