SADDLEBROOKE & RANCH SENIOR SOFTBALL ACTION!
All right softball fans of the Brooke (and beyond), it’s deadline time for the March issue of the Notes and your humble scribe is comin’ atcha with the latest and greatest (well, latest) in SaddleBrooke Senior softball action.
CORRECTION (from last issue)
Well, it was pointed out to me (ad nauseum, btw), that our softball (and that of the Chicago mushball 16 incher) does not have a RADIUS of 12 inches (or 16 in the case of the mushball), but a CIRCUMFERENCE of same. OK, OK, OK. Yes. Correction noted. Thank you. And get a life willya!
- PATRICK’S DAY TOURNAMENT
- This edition will be out around March 1 and our Memorial Day Tournament will be just around the corner on Saturday, March 14. Three or four games of action, free food (donations gratefully appreciated), fun, music, insightful commentary from yours truly, and a chance to hobnob with your neighbors and enjoy a soft beverage or two. I’m informed that Golf Cars of Arizona and Harn Legacy-Estate Planning have stepped up to sponsor our tournament. Good on ya, guys. Thanks. So put it on the calendar!!!!
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WINTER LEAGUE ACTION
Well we’re nearing the end of week 6 of our Winter season and all the birds (snowbirds, that is) are in town. So the leagues are chock-full and the action is hot n’ heavy (well, heavy, anyway).
In Monday Recreational, KJK Insurance Specialists have jumped out to a 4-2 league lead over Heredia’s Landscaping (who have now dropped 4 in a row! Yikes!) at 2-4. In Community a season-long brouhaha is developing as all three teams are now 4-4. How’d that happen!!! Yep, Ann Fraley-Long Realty, Barron Electric and Big Bear Garage Doors are all 4-4. Gonna be a barn burner right down to the wire????
On Tuesdays, in Competitive, another battle is developing as Bubb’s Grub and Catalina Family Dental are tied at 3-3 apiece. In Community, Anne Glenn-Long Realty at 5-1 is dragging the field with Brittni Guttman-AllState Insurance at 1-5. We’ll see if the Commissioner steps in for a trade, but sometimes it’s simply a matter of who’s injured, on a cruise, or otherwise traveling.
On to Wednesdays where in Community, Dominick’s Real Italian is throwing the pizza dough at Debra Miller-State Farm. Dom’s is 4-1 with Debra’s gang taking the beating so far at 1-4. In Sidewinder, ditto for Ambient Air Heating & Cooling at 3-2 and Absolutely Art at 2-3.
Thursday bring us Coyote (65+) and the Thursday Recreational league. In Coyote, Harn Legacy-Estate Planning is 3-2 with Hardin Brothers Automotive at 2-3. In Thursday Rec, Hughes Credit Union is 4-1 and Leah Kari Solutions is in the cellar at 1-4.
On Fridays, in Community, The Community Church at SaddleBrooke is holding a 3-1 lead over Concierge A/C at 1-3. In Competitive, Andy’s Irrigation is 2-2 and so is Cleere Law Office. So the battle is brewing there!
MEANTIME – THERE’S NO CRYING IN SOFTBALL (A fair amount of whining, tho) – BUT THERE IS COURTESY (Running, that is)!
Well, as Jimmie Dugan (A League of Their Own) said (to Evelyn after a fielding “mishap”), “there’s no crying in baseball!” Of course he also said (about getting her head in the game), “That’s the lump 3 feet above you’re a**!” So ….. Now Jimmie Dugan was loosely based on Jimmie Foxx, an all time great with several teams in major league baseball, and who was nicknamed, among others, ‘the Beast.” Foxx apparently had some of the same “liquid refreshment” failings as did the movie “Dugan.” Foxx did hit lifetime .324, had 534 taters in 2,646 hits before he went on to manage the Fort Worth Daisies of the Women’s Professional Baseball League in 1952.
COURTESY RUNNERS
But for those of you out there who might be thinking “but for my (fill in the blank – bad legs, bad knees, terminal slowness, etc.), there go I,” take heart. You just gotta get yourself to first – then a courtesy runner can take over. For example, yours truly (terminal slowness – “slower than molasses in wintertime”) hasn’t crossed home plate (the scoring line) in probably a coupla years; but in “da books” have scored many, many (OK, a few) runs. Why???? Courtesy runners.
Da Rules – Pretty Simple
Ok, you have to get yourself to first base-hit, walk, error, fielder’s choice. Then you can call for a courtesy runner and head back to the dugout for a cold one. You get to save your legs, knees, hammies, etc. And you can have a runner as many times in a game as you can get on base.
So … don’t let “bad wheels” keep you outta the game. SaddleBrooke softball is full of “bad wheels” players who otherwise can hit, catch, throw (kinda) and field.
ACTIVITY FAIR
Hey! A shout out to Chuck Kill, John Woolmington, Stacy Dawson, and Ryan Mitchell (see photo) for showcasing SaddleBrooke Softball at the Brooke’s recent Activity Fair. Thanks gals and guys for taking the time to tell the “fairgoers” about our softball organization.
THE BROOKE SOFTBALL PLAYERS TRAVEL FOR TOURNAMENT PLAY
That’s right. A number of SaddleBrooke softball players also play “outside” traveling for tournaments state-wide (mostly) and sometimes nation-wide. Recently Mark Hojnaki, Len Gann, Rick Loy, and Peter Romeo under the rubric “Tucson Bandits” traveled to Palm Creek up in the Phoenix area January 30-31 for the “Desert Dawgs - Men’s 70+ Tournament” and took the tourney title with four straight wins over the two days. I’d put the team picture in this article, but I’m not in it, so …….. Activity Fair gets the nod. Good pic, tho.
POST-GAME WRAP
Well I could go on as you know! But I’m at my limit so that’s a wrap. Winter League games are daily, Monday through Friday, starting at 9 a.m. Practices are on Saturday when you can tune the bat and glove. If you want more info, come on down to the field. Or you can surf the Association at saddlebrookesoftball.com.
- PARTICK’S DAY TOURNAMENT MARCH 14!
