Stars 6 Eagles 2

Stars best the Eagles  6 to 2 to go 7 and 0 for 2016 last Saturday at George Pinter field. I miss George. 

 

The win was due in large part to Stars pitching staff as the Stars offense was offensive, in the bad way, not the good way, collecting a grand total of just 6 hits. Speaking of pitching staffs, the Mariners of Seattle came to their senses and recalled Ladners own James Paxton from AAA Tacoma. The big lefty had a grand return allowing 9 runs in the first inning of his first outing. Yikes! That never happened when Big Lefty and I were his coaches. I blame the Mariner coaches. Of course we coached him  when he was 13, but baseball is baseball. If the Mariners are reading and need our advice they can reach us at the SGR mailbag, under the mat behind the Landing. Interestingly Paxton rebounded after that and had several strong innings the next game against Cleveland even hitting 99 mph a few times. Now he didn't do that when we coached him. 

 

This is the point in the SGR where I'm sure you're asking yourself what does this have to do with our game against the Eagles? Well, grab a chair and let me tell you. I mean I went to all the trouble to come up with that piece about Paxton as a set up, so of course I'm going to move to the finish. That's what the SGR is about after all. Well, that and double entendres, rumours, innuendo and deflating egos. But mostly deflating egos. And baseball. Can't forget the baseball. Anywho,  during the game I heard someone say something that may not have ever been said in a dugout during a game in the history of baseball. I sat down next to VanDor after we came off the field in the middle of the 4th inning. VanDor had just retired the side on all of but 10 pitches inducing two fly ball outs to left that bookended a strikeout. As we sat down VanDor says 'I feel good. I may even throw a fastball today.' There you have it. Paxton flirts with pitches at triple digit speeds and gets rocked, and other pitchers like VanDor are wily enough to view a fastball as almost a second thought. Then of course other pitchers can't put their jock on straight if someone does something to screw up their routine, like say, taking their regular parking space. Or if they misplace their car keys before the game. They get all discombobulated, start shaking and spitting when they talk, kinda like they're having a stroke or something. Pitchers. Can't live without them. Can't take them out in public. 

 

Great pitching performance by the Stars(see what I did there? While they are still trying to figure out if they were just insulted or not, you throw up a quick compliment.) TrainRick allowed two runs in the first 3 innings, followed by VanDors 3 shutout innings and Simpy closing out with 2 shutout innings. Hitting was, well, poor.  Only 6 hits by the Stars, 2 each by Simpy and IKat who apparently don't know how to share. OCon broke out of a slump with a hard hit double down the left field line. Interestingly run production is down throughout the league this year. Some blame it on the new balls. Others blame climate change. I blame the coaches. 

 

I almost forgot to mention the big news. At practice last week during BP I sees Crash start chasing Simpy around the outfield finally catching him and giving him a big bear hug. Obviously something good had happened to Simpy. No, not the hug from Crash, the thing for which Crash was hugging him. Originally I assumed that Simpy must have finally got his adult teeth. Although Crashs response did seem a bit over dramatic for such an event, but then again Crash is the sentimental type. Anyways it turns out that Mr. Simp 'Simpy' Simpson is betrothed to be married. All the Stars join together to wish Simpy and the future Mrs. Mail Order Bride a long and happy marriage! (when I asked Crash who Simpy was marrying, that's what he told me. Seems like an odd name, but these days seems like anything goes. I'm sitting on a plane right now next to a guy with a little boy named 'Kingsley.' Now there's a name that wouldagot  you a few black eyes on the playground back in my day. )

 

Last but least(now that was a Fruedian slip, but I liked it, so left it in), thanks to OCon for hosting the post game BBq and to Physio for the great burgers. Special shout out to TrainRick who went to all the trouble of making us an awesome Mexican dip, then froze it solid to make sure it didn't develop botulism while sitting in his hot car during the game. Yes I do suppose that if the dip is frozen solid so you can't eat it no one is going to get botulism from it. That in a nutshell, or in this case in a chip dip, is pitcher logic. 

 

Your humble scribe is travelling eastward back to the old country and so will miss the next few games. I also won't be at the games, so someone else will have to do the lineup, paint the foul lines, play first, bring the game balls, bring the waffle balls, and write the SGRs. Look forward to following the Stars antics over the internetting.

 

Go Stars!!!