The revamped, much improved squad took the field under clear blue skies and a relatively mosquito free atmosphere. A hangover free, Smokin Dave Beaton, got the start at the mound and looked sharp as he kept the ball in the strike zone. Canadian Wonder Adam Webb, playing with a banged up wrist, took his well earned position at second and did well at the plate. However, he had to leave the game due to fatigue in the top sixth. He is expected back for next week’s game versus bitter rival Velez B; otherwise wise known as the Cubans. The Shankees took a three-zip lead into the top of the second, after a rocky pitching performance by the Ciudad Jardin team. CJ later tied the game at three after capitalizing on a couple Beaton walks.
On the defensive side, the Shankees were red hot. The outfield looked tremendous as Walter Cabrales, Dave Beaton, and Brent Biedel covered a lot of ground and came up with some spectacular catches. On the offensive department, Gabba Gabba Gabo Perdomo came back from Venezuela to rejoin the Shankee lineup. Gabba Gabo went 3-4 with 3 singles and 1 RBI. A much improved Cabrales, who struck out three times in his first Shankee appearance vs Velez C during preseason play, smashed a double into right-center for an RBI, and then later walked to bring in another run with the bases loaded.
The CJ pitching staff presented no real challenge to the Shankee offence and looked quite disappointing. Brent Biedel, who until last week was unable to get a hit, went 1-3 with 2 walks, with an RBI double in the 5th. Another up and coming star in the Shankee line-up, Robert “looking” Sharp, who played with 70% lung capacity, went 2-4 with a walk and 2 singles.
Unfortunately for the Shanks, the hot weather and depleted pitching staff turned into their worst enemy, as the CJ team was able to battle back and put the game out of reach in the seventh. Skipper Paul Perry had to take over as catcher for battled and bruised, Mike Lockridge, who also showed power at the plate by cracking a nice double. Perry caught the final three innings as several Shankees tried their luck on the mound. But there would be no beginner’s luck for neither Jesse Bradford nor Gabba Gabo, who could not locate the strike zone as the CJ batters sat back and waited for the base on balls.
Robert Sharp, who also took the mound for the first time, showed true potential, and will probably be bringing his heat once again this Saturday. All in all, it was a good outing for the Shankees, who showed that you don’t need to practice to compete against the A2’s best. Regardless, it seems the Shanks not only face the opposing nine players on the field, but also bias officiating from the umpire. “It’s funny how the strike zones shrinks when our pitchers toss the ball in there, and how it gets ridiculously big when our batters step up to the plate,” commented Skipper Perry during the game. “There were a lot of bad calls by the umpire, and calls that could have gone either way, always favored the local language team,” he added. We will have to wait and see which way the umps go when the Shankees face the always dangerous Cuban clan. – Final score unknown as the league president took possession of the official score sheet after the game, which ended in the bottom seventh due to a mercy rule…By then, CJ was up ten by the time the seventh inning ended.
New Shankee welcomes to: Robert Dana and Leo Miranda. Buttermaker gameball: BGB goes to Robert Sharp, who didn’t flake despite battling an upper respiratory infection. His performance on the field, at the plate, and on the mound is truly admirable.
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