The Lost Boxscores of SFL

Like The Lost Engines of Roanoke, the lost boxscores of SFL were eventually found. They were hidden in one of my books for my fall league, and here they finally are:

Hewes 10, Melendez 5
Ian Parfrey was 4-for-4 with 4 runs scored, a double, and 2 RBI, to lead Hewes's team. Bob Holzwasser had 3 hits for Melendez's squad.

Lawrence 8, Nilva 4
Cid Rivera's 3-run HR in the 5th inning broke a 4-4 tie.

Appell 9, Connor / Hewes 9 (5-inning tie)
Eric Schulman (3-for-4, 4 RBI) hit a 2-out, 2-run double to tie the game for Appell's team. Cid Rivera was 4-for-4 with a HR and 5 RBI for the Connor / Hewes team.

Games of Sept 2

Parfrey 7, Hewes 2
Parfrey's team struck for 6 first inning runs, capped by a 2-run HR by Sam Magnus. Cid Rivera also homered, and Ian Parfrey escaped 5 bases-loaded jams and scattered 14 hits for the win.

Melendez 9, Nilva 7
Again, Sam Magnus capped a first inning rally with a HR, this time a 3-run shot. Eric Schulman was 3-for-3 with 4 RBI, and Ian Parfrey also had 3 hits. Matt Mishkin homered and drove in 2 runs for Nilva's team.

Lawrence / O'Connor 7, Rosengard 6
Glen Lawrence pitched 4 scoreless innings of relief for the win in a back-and-forth battle. Freddie Melendez drove in Cid Rivera with a 2-out single in the 5th inning for the win. Victor Waldron hit a 3-run HR for Rosengard's team.

Games of August 26

Hewes 2, Appell 1
Havelock Hewes picked up his 500th win by pitching a 2-hitter. All he needed was a botched rundown involving Cid Rivera, and an outfield miscommunication that allowed Freddie Melendez's 6th inning 2-run single to drop in.

Melendez 3, Parfrey 1 (8 innings)
Sam Magnus's single tied the game in the bottom of the 7th, but an RBI single by Fred Lang and a sac fly by Glen Lawrence won it in the top of the 8th.

Lawrence 11, Rosengard 6
The bats finally woke up for the third game. Rosengard's team led 5-0 in the third inning, but Eric Schulman's 19th sac fly of the year was the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 5th. Schulman was 2-for-3 with 5 RBI, and Glen Lawrence was 2-for-3 with 3 RBI. Cid Rivera hit a 3-run HR for Rosengard's team.

Game of July 5

Lawrence 9, Appell 5
In a Great Lawn evening game, Eric Schulman's 3-run triple broke open a one-run game, and Mike Barbato was 3-for-4 to back Glen Lawrence (3-1). Freddie Melendez was 3-for-3 with an RBI for Appell's team.

Games of June 24

Hewes 11, Rosengard 8
Havelock Hewes's team tried to blow a 10-3 lead, but ran out of innings, and won the game.

Nilva 4, Appell 4 (7 inning tie)
Appell's team rallied for 3 runs in the 5th inning to tie, getting RBI hits from Glen Lawrence, Joe Geller, and Jim O'Connor.

Games of May 6

Hewes 8, Parfrey 5
Fred Lang and Sam Magnus each had 3 hits, as Hewes's team broke a 4-4 tie by scoring 4 runs in the 4th. Alex Rivera homered for Parfrey's team.

Lawrence 13, O'Connor 2
Glen Lawrence (2-0) scattered 8 hits and was backed by Alex Rivera (4-for-5, HR, 4 RBI). Sam Melendez homered for O'Connor's team.

Opening Day-- Games of 4/8

Parfrey 17, Hewes 4
Ian Parfrey backed his pitching with 4 hits, Don Weiss also had 4 hits, and Alex "Cid" Rivera drove in 5 runs. Parfrey's team scored 9 times in the 2nd inning to blow the doors off of this one.

Nilva 12, Melendez 4
Zach Nilva scattered 9 hits for the win, Sam Melendez was 3-for-4 with a grand slam, and Bob Holzwasser also homered in his return to SFL after missing all of 2011. Freddie Melendez was victimized by his defense-- only one of the 12 runs was earned. Eric Schulman was 3-for-3 with 2 RBI.

Lawrence 4, Connor 3
Glen Lawrence picked up the win and hit the winning sac fly to score Alex Rivera.

Games of Oct 2

Due to YET ANOTHER dry rainout at Heckscher, we played a tripleheader at West 28th Street & 10th Avenue, on a turf field with an enticingly short RF fence.

Lawrence 7, Hewes 2
Glen Lawrence, pitching for the first time since 1999, scattered 7 hits and easily beat Havelock Hewes. Matt Mishkin was 4-for-4 with 2 HR and 3 RBI, and Ian Parfrey hit a 3-run HR. Sam Melendez was 3-for-5 with an RBI for Havelock's team.

Martinez 2, Mishkin 1
Alex Rivera's baserunning gave his team this win, as he singled to left to lead off the 4th, tried to take second, and came all the way around on a throwing error. Derek Martinez allowed 1 run on 9 hits, and Matt Mishkin was almost as good. Mishkin homered for his team's only run, and Ian Parfrey added 3 hits.

Melendez 7, Lawrence 5
Lawrence's second start of the day was spoiled by an Alex Rivera opposite-field grand slam, and the bats of the Melendez brothers-- Freddie had 4 hits and Sam had 3. Lawrence got yet another HR from Matt Mishkin, and Fred Lang busted out of a slump by going 4-for-5 with 2 RBI.

ZACH NILVA THROWS NO HITTER

Game 1
Hewes 7, O'Connor 5
Havelock Hewes (10-16) needed most of a 7-0 cushion to pick up the win. Sam Magnus was 2-for-4 with a double and 3 RBI for the winners. Ken Walker (3-for-4, 2 RBI) and Freddy Melendez (3-for-3) led O'Connor's team. Hewes stranded the tying runs on base.

Game 2
Parfrey 10, Stoeth 3
Ian Parfrey (11-7) battled control issues in the first, when he walked the bases loaded and then allowed Glen Lawrence's 3-run double. He settled down to throw 6 scoreless frames afterwards. Alex Rivera was the offensive star, going 3-for-3 with 2 doubles, 2 runs scored, and an RBI. Ian Lebowitz scored 3 runs, drove in 2, and participated in a bizarre play where his short fly ball to center fell just in front of Don Weiss, who recovered to force out Parfrey at second, and the throw on to third got Bill McLaughlin, while Alex Rivera scored from third.

Game 3
Nilva 1, Melendez 0, 5 innings
Zach Nilva allowed no hits and walked three, and a French tourist walk-on named Manu made three difficult catches in right-center to preserve the no-no. He then asked me if we play every day, and I told him only on Sundays. I hope not to see him unless he's on my team. Zach's defense turned two double plays behind him, and the game's only run came when Mike Palma hit a leadoff triple to right-center, and then came around on Ken Walker's sac fly to deep left. Freddy Melendez was the hard-luck loser, scattering 4 hits.

THE INDEPENDENCE DAY MARATHON

Thanks to everyone who braved the insane heat and made this weekend a success. By game 5, there was a cloud of flies circling me, which I took to mean it was probably time for a shower (or an embalming). Here are the recaps.

1. Melendez 6, Rosengard 4
Melendez's team took an early 4-2 lead, but it took RF Ian Parfrey throwing out Dave Sommers at first on an apparent bases-loaded single to keep the game from being tied in the 4th, and in the 6th inning, Bill McLaughlin did score the tying run on a botched rundown attempt on trail runner Derek Martinez. In the bottom of the inning, Fred Lang came up with the bases loaded and no outs, and lined the go-ahead single to center.

2. Martinez 7, Parfrey 6
Parfrey took a 4-2 lead into the 5th, but allowed 5 runs to score, keyed by Glen Lawrence's 2-run single. Furious comebacks in the 6th and 7th innings fell just short, as Martinez (3-5) struck out Fred Lang with two on in the 6th, turned an acrobatic 1-8-3 DP on Marvin Cohen's chopper down the first base line in the 7th, and then retired Zach Nilva with 2 on to end the inning. Brian Hernandez hit a monster HR into the trees in left for Martinez's team. Ben Indek had 3 hits in a losing cause.

3. Melendez 11, Hewes 0
Bill McLaughlin (3-for-4, 2B, 4 RBI) led the offensive attack against Havelock Hewes. Freddy Melendez backed his 5-inning shutout with 3 hits including a double and a triple. Ian Parfrey and a walk-on named Edward in a vintage Pirate jersey also had 3 hits each.

4. Parfrey 10, Hewes 7 (8 innings)
The action shifted to the Great Lawn on Monday, courtesy of Joe Gerber. Parfrey's "Paisans" battled back from a 5-2 deficit to score twice in the 6th on RBI doubles by Joe Gerber and Joe Geller, and once in the 7th as Bill McLaughlin tripled to lead off the inning and subsequently scored on an error. In the top of the 8th, Parfrey's team scored 5 times. McLaughlin drove in a run with a double, then Parfrey (4-for-5, 3 RBI) hit a 2-run single to right-center. Ross Barkan (3-for-5, 3 RBI) singled in another run, and then Parfrey "stole" home on an erroneous flip back to the pitcher. Hewes's team (aka Connor's Compadres) loaded the bases with one out, and did get 2 runs back on a groundout and a Chris Hall single, but Hewes grounded out as the tying run. For the winning team, Mike Palma added 3 hits, and Glen Lawrence (playing first base!) had a key assist, recovering an overthrow and gunning out a runner at third to snuff out a 6th inning rally. Hewes's team was paced by Rob Anapol (3-for-4, 3B, 2 RBI), and Zach Nilva and Bill Vernick (in his first at bats of 2010) also had 3 hits.

5. Melendez 3, Nilva 2
Freddy Melendez (7-4) won his 3rd game of the weekend against SFLOI's unluckiest pitcher. Nilva pitched well, but Freddy singled in 2 runs in the 3rd inning for an insurmountable margin. Nilva's team scored twice in the 4th but Freddy retired Zach and Alex with the bases loaded to escape further damage, and then retired Josh Balsam with two men on in the 5th inning of a game shortened by darkness and extreme heat.

GAMES OF 6/20

Game 1:
Stoeth 5, Hewes 2
Laura Stoeth (4-0) tossed a 4-hitter backed by Ed O'Connor's batting (3-for-3, solo HR). Her team scored 3 times in the first and never looked back, capped by Paul Geoghan's 2-run single following a semi-intentional walk to Bill McLaughlin.

Game 2:
Melendez 6, Nilva 3
Freddy Melendez (4-4) scattered 11 hits and lowered his league-leading ERA to 3.43. Glen Lawrence had an excellent day at the plate (4-for-4, 2B, 3B, 3 runs, 2 RBI). Dave Sommers went 4-for-4 for Nilva's team, and Ed O'Connor was 2-for-4 with his second HR of the day, and 2 RBI. Nilva's hard-luck streak, temporarily broken with a win over Havelock, resumed today. He had pitched most of the way out of a 7th inning jam when Ian Parfrey hit a soft line drive to SS Phil Ciccone, who caught and then dropped the ball. It was ruled a catch, though in the resulting confusion, the defensive team 1) tried to double Glen Lawrence off of third, where he was safe; 2) tried to double Alex Rivera off of first, claiming he had never returned to the bag; 3) allowed Lawrence to sneak in with the 5th run in the ensuing argument; 4) allowed Alex Rivera to score all the way from first as the argument continued and home plate was left unguarded.

As this play, and a similar David Cone meltdown from the early 90s Mets both prove, it is best to call time out before arguing, or at least to guard the bases ahead of the runners.

GLEN LAWRENCE'S NEW BOOK!

Now available on Amazon.com from long-standing SFLOI outfielder Glen Lawrence, The Fats of Life! Excellent title to what I'm sure is an excellent book. Check out this flyer, and order the book today!

THE FUTURE SEASON FORECASTER

This is something I've been kicking around with Sal and Seung for awhile now-- trying to come up with our own predictive tool, like Baseball Prospectus's PECOTA, for softball. I've concluded that this is a basically useless endeavor-- incredibly difficult with little payoff besides finding out if I'm as smart as I think I am. We're not professionals; Havelock will not be considering this when deciding whether to sign Alex or Zach to a multi-million dollar deal to patrol centerfield. But the idea refuses to die.

We do have an incredible statistical database, with basic batting stats going back to 1983, and the full range of stats starting in 1985. Pitching was not always tracked diligently, until Joe Gerber came along, and fielding is impossible to track at this level. Gerber, by the way, left me a valuable statistical database consisting of-- I believe 9-- complete seasons from the 1990s and 2000s. For those seasons at least, I could (if I accept this mission) weed out the park effects from the different fields we've used. It's easier to hit in the winter games, for example. Hastings produces a lot of doubles. Dobbs produces cheap homers. When SFLOI used Dobbs as its primary field, there was a HR explosion of epic proportions, similar to what would happen if the Colorado Rockies moved to Mexico City with 275-foot fences and built eight clones of Ted Williams with DNA taken from his frozen head. When I was hitting at Dobbs in late 2008, I hit 7 of my 12 homers in a single month. Jeff Appell homered 19 times in a season, Glen Lawrence 17, Ian Lebowitz 16. Heckscher, with its spacious outfield (and some claim, its difficult hitting backdrop), took away everyone's "power", though they were really the same hitters. Look in the lifetime stats-- the HR explosion is 1998-2001, and 2002-2005 is the dead ball era.

So, obvious conclusion #1-- some ballparks make certain hitters look good. Singles hitters do not benefit from Dobbs Ferry. Big fly-ball hitters do, as do line-drive gap hitters.

In baseball predictions, age is a big factor, but I don't think that would be the case in softball. Most baseball players are finished by 35, and softball hitters are never "finished", and you could make a case that the decline phase only even begins somewhere between 40 and 60. I would guess that how often a player plays, and how good their conditioning is, has a greater effect. So, I might look at how players perform after 200-AB seasons. Do they improve, or at least decline more slowly? Complicating this-- many of our players get at bats elsewhere, with other teams and pickup games. How can we measure for that?

Well, that's all the stats I have in me for today, and my girlfriend will probably kill me if I don't get off her laptop soon. Nate Silver, one of the guys who designed PECOTA, later said that ballplayers perform pretty much like they did in past seasons. That's good enough for me. Maybe.