Shankees vs. Los Cubanos!

Whadda day for baseball, fans!  After a lifetime of TV games and some hopelessly sterile stadiums, riding the Shankee Shuttle from Plaza Italia with your team ...and sitting in the dugout until the ref chases you out ...IS A BASEBALL LOVER'S TREAT!

And in case you got the wrong idea ...this is NO pick-up game.

Your beloved Shankees took the home field under sunny skies vs. the Velez B team, otherwise known as the Cubans, on the moundless field #3 at Ezeiza's Argentine National Baseball Stadium. 

Make no mistake, the Cubans played good hosts ...but sent the Shanks home early on a mercy rule. Not everything was as gloomy as the finale, though!  The Shankees were able to take a two-zip lead into the bottom of the first as Robert Sharp and Dave Beaton scored off the Cuban crew. Unfortunately, Velez scored 6 runs off errors, bad calls, and few Cuban bombs into the forest.

However, I must say that I personally witnessed some piss-poor officiating, ladies and germs, something that doesn't befit La Liga Metro.  (After the game, posing as a foreign cigar merchant, your faithful reporter dutifully smoked good habanos and quaffed bad rum with the opposing team ...AND THE CELEBRATORY REFEREE, HIMSELF!)  Some good fan-support could go a long way toward eliminating that in the future.  The bad officiating, that is.

Eh... it's all in a ballgame but in this case, it sparked a Cuban rally that winded up ending with our Shanks down by 8 runs in the bottom of the 2^nd.   Smokin' Dave Beaton took over for starter Bobby "Knuckles" Sharp who, despite keeping cool under pressure, had to give way to Beaton due to a sore shoulder.  Beaton came on strong but the Cuban bats were too hot handle. By the bottom of the fourth, Los Cubanos were up by a comfortable margin.

By the top of the third, The Shankees were able to knock off the mound their traitorous yanqui ex-pitcher who defected to Cuba at the end of last season ...and Walter Cabrales managed to score a few runs off some solid hits... and played exceptionably well in center.

Newcomer, Nick Taylor, who caught his first game in ten years, had a double and a single in two at bats, as Smokin' Dave hit a ground rule double over the fence and into the forest ...and later stole home to give the Shankees fans hope. 

Unfortunately, it was too little, too late, as the umpire called the game in the bottom of the fifth. When asked his thoughts on the game, Shankee Skipper, Paul Perry posited, “It’s a disappointing loss, not just because we drop another one to the Cubans, but rather cause we got some really good players on this team this year, and it sucks to see these guys lose.”

Loyal Shankee fans will just have to wait and see how our team bounces back after dropping their first two games. Next week they travel to Escobar to face the dangerous Tigre Club.   

The BGB (Buttermaker Game Ball) goes to Walter Cabrales, who played a flawless in center and showed that he’s got a rocket for an arm that can blow away greedy base runners!

Special thanks go out to all the new fans who attended this great day in the sun for all their support.

So make some plans to take you and yours OUT TO THE BALLGAME next Saturday!  

Convenient and FREE TRANSPORTATION in the friendly confines of the Shankee Shuttle leaves from Plaza Italia every game day!  See you this coming Saturday!

Turn off the TV... ride with your heroes ...and watch a baseball game up-close and personal.