Glen Lawrence Gets 1,000th Hit

A major SFL milestone occurred in the second inning of the November 10 game, when Glen Lawrence's single (off of Havelock) gave him 1,000 career hits.

Glen is the 8th player in SFL history to get to 1,000. The others are Havelock, Tony Connor, Gil Schmerler, Bill Vernick, Jose Balento, Bobby Naranjo, and Phil Kotik.

2013 Season, Second Half

Game 33: 7-4-13, DeWitt Clinton
Score: 5-3
WP-- J.Appell (4-1)
LP-- D.Martinez (0-2)
HR-- B.Hernandez (1)

Game 34: 7-4-13, DeWitt Clinton
Score: 7-6
WP-- I.Parfrey (3-1)
LP-- D.Rosengard (2-3)

Game 35: 7-7-13, Heckscher
Score: 11-10
WP-- H.Hewes (8-4)
LP-- Z.Nilva (2-4)

Game 36: 7-7-13, Heckscher
Score: 10-3
WP-- S.Melendez (6-1)
LP-- F.Melendez (6-5)

Game 37: 7-14-13, Heckscher
Score: 2-1
WP-- J.O'Connor (2-4)
LP-- H.Hewes (8-5)

Game 38: 7-14-13, Heckscher
Score: 7-3
WP-- S.Melendez (7-1)
LP-- F.Melendez (6-6)
HR-- E.Schulman (3)

Game 39: 7-21-13, Heckscher
Score: 6-2
WP-- F.Melendez (7-6)
LP-- H.Hewes (8-6)

Game 40: 7-21-13, Heckscher
Score: 6-0
WP-- I.Parfrey (4-1)
LP-- S.Melendez (7-2)
HR-- P.Ciccone (2)

Game 41: 7-28-13, Heckscher
Score: 8-1
WP-- F.Melendez (8-6)
LP-- D.Rosengard (2-4)

Game 42: 7-28-13, Heckscher
Score: 6-0
WP-- S.Melendez (8-2)
LP-- H.Hewes (8-7)

Game 43: 8-4-13, Heckscher
Score: 10-5
WP-- H.Hewes (9-7)
LP-- J.O'Connor (2-5)

Game 44: 8-4-13, Heckscher
Score: 7-6
WP-- S.Melendez (9-2)
LP-- I.Parfrey (4-2)

Game 45: 8-11-13, Heckscher
Score: 4-2
WP-- H.Hewes (10-7)
LP-- F.Melendez (8-7)

Game 46: 8-11-13, Heckscher
Score: 8-2
WP-- G.Schmerler (1-0)
LP-- S.Melendez (9-3)
HR-- C.Rivera (5)

Game 47: 8-18-13, Heckscher
Score: 8-2
WP-- I.Parfrey (5-2)
LP-- H.Hewes (10-8)

Game 48: 8-18-13, Heckscher
Score: 8-7, 8 innings
WP-- S.Melendez (10-3)
LP-- J.Appell (4-2)

Game 49: 8-18-13, Heckscher
Score: 6-0
WP-- F.Melendez (9-7)
LP-- H.Hewes (10-9)

Game 50: 8-25-13, Heckscher
Score: 6-4
WP-- J.O'Connor (3-5)
LP-- H.Hewes (10-10)
HR-- E.Schulman 2 (5)

Game 51: 8-25-13, Heckscher
Score: 9-8, 8 innings
WP-- F.Melendez (10-7)
LP-- S.Melendez (10-4)
HR-- E.Chayevsky (1)

Game 52: 9-1-13, Great Lawn
Score: 12-5
WP-- J.Appell (5-2)
LP-- H.Hewes (10-11)
HR-- C.Rivera (6)

Game 53: 9-1-13, Great Lawn
Score: 6-4, 13 innings
WP-- J.Appell (6-2)
LP-- I.Parfrey (5-3)

Game 54: 9-2-13, Great Lawn
Score: 5-4
WP-- S.Melendez (11-4)
LP-- A.Garcia (0-2)

Game 55: 9-2-13, Great Lawn
Score: 8-6
WP-- H.Hewes (11-11)
LP-- F.Melendez (10-8)
HR-- J.Davila (1)

Game 56: 9-8-13, Heckscher
Score: 9-8
WP-- D.Rosengard (3-4)
LP-- H.Hewes (11-12)

Game 57: 9-8-13, Heckscher
Score: 2-1
WP-- S.Melendez (12-4)
LP-- F.Melendez (10-9)

Game 58: 9-8-13, Heckscher
Score: 8-3
WP-- I.Parfrey (6-3)
LP-- H.Hewes (11-13)
HR-- S.Melendez (3), F.Melendez (4)

Game 59: 9-15-13, Heckscher
Score: 11-2
WP-- F.Melendez (11-9)
LP-- D.Rosengard (3-5)

Game 60: 9-15-13, Heckscher
Score: 6-3
WP-- M.Beinhut (1-0)
LP-- H.Hewes (11-14)

Game 61: 9-15-13, Heckscher
Score: 2-1
WP-- S.Melendez (13-4)
LP-- I.Parfrey (6-4)

Game 62: 9-29-13, Heckscher
Score: 3-2
WP-- M.Beinhut (2-0)
LP-- F.Melendez (11-10)
HR-- M.Mishkin (4)

Game 63: 9-29-13, Heckscher
Score: 8-7
WP-- H.Hewes (12-14)
LP-- S.Melendez (13-5)
HR-- J.Escobar (1)

Game 64: 9-29-13, Heckscher
Score: 7-1
WP-- J.Sopiak (1-1)
LP-- M.Mishkin (0-2)

Game 65: 10-6-13, Heckscher
Score: 8-5
WP-- H.Hewes (13-14)
LP-- J.O'Connor (3-6)

Game 66: 10-6-13, Heckscher
Score: 11-4
WP-- I.Parfrey (7-4)
LP-- F.Melendez (11-11)
HR-- E.Schulman (6)

Game 67: 10-13-13, Heckscher
Score: 7-2
WP-- J.Appell (7-2)
LP-- M.Beinhut (2-1)

Game 68: 10-13-13, Heckscher
Score: 8-6
WP-- F.Melendez (12-11)
LP-- I.Parfrey (7-5)
HR-- I.Parfrey (2)

Game 69: 10-13-13, Heckscher
Score: 5-4
WP-- J.O'Connor (4-6)
LP-- H.Hewes (13-15)

Game 70: 10-20-13, Heckscher
Score: 5-4
WP-- F.Melendez (13-11)
LP-- J.Appell (7-3)

Game 71: 10-20-13, Heckscher
Score: 12-11
WP-- S.Melendez (14-5)
LP-- H.Hewes (13-16)

Game 72: 10-27-13, East River
Score: 15-11
WP-- H.Hewes (14-16)
LP-- T.Connor (1-1)

Game 73: 10-27-13, East River
Score: 6-2
WP-- F.Melendez (14-11)
LP-- S.Melendez (14-6)
HR-- I.Parfrey (3)

Game 74: 11-3-13, East River
Score: 7-4
WP-- F.Melendez (15-11)
LP-- S.Melendez (14-7)

Game 75: 11-3-13, East River
Score: 10-8
WP-- G.Schmerler (2-0)
LP-- H.Hewes (14-17)
HR-- S.Melendez 2 (5)

Game 76: 11-10-13, East River
Score: 24-14
WP-- H.Hewes (15-17)
LP-- G.Lawrence (0-6)
HR-- Z.Nilva (2), F.Lang (1)

Game 77: 11-17-13, East River
Score: 9-8
WP-- H.Hewes (16-17)
LP-- J.O'Connor (4-7)
HR-- B.McLaughlin (1), E.Schulman (7)

Game 78: 11-17-13, East River
Score: 17-7
WP-- F.Melendez (16-11)
LP-- I.Parfrey (7-6)
HR-- C.Rivera (7)

Game 79: 12-1-13, MS 141 Riverdale
Score: 13-12
WP-- H.Hewes (17-17)
LP-- J.O'Connor (4-8)
HR-- S.Magnus (1), F.Melendez (5)

Game 80: 12-1-13, MS 141 Riverdale
Score: 20-19
WP-- S.Melendez (15-7)
LP-- F.Melendez (16-12)
HR-- D.Patsalis 2 (3), F.Melendez (6), D.Martinez 3 (3)

Holzwasser and Melendez's Win Two

  Both games were won in the final inning.
  Behind 4-3 entering the bottom of the seventh,  Tony Connor led off with a single,Bob  Holzwasser lined what seemed to be a hit to center, but turned into a  force-out at second.  Ray Hernandez followed with a hit, as did Glen Lawrence, plating the tying run.  Marvin Cohen grounded to first and Fred Lang threw a strike to the plate where Joe Escobar made the tag which stopped the winning run from scoring.   With two outs Alex Rivera (whose tardy arrival had placed him on the trailing team) came through with the walk-off hit.
   Freddy Melendez, the winning pitcher, had found himself  hole in the second inning after four errors led to four unearned runs.  Melendez gave up no earned runs on five hits and no walks.  His team scored three times in the second to stay close until the dramatic finish.
  In game two Sam Melendez, with ninth inning relief from his big brother, outlasted Havelock Hewes in a 12-11 slugfest.  Only 3 of the twelve runs which scored off Hewes were earned as his team committed at least 8 errors.  With the score tied in the top of the seventh and Alex Rivera (the tardy speedster) pinch-running on firstbase, Marvin Cohen hit a slow bouncer to Hewes who threw to Escobar at first for the out.  Rivera rounded second and headed for third, but Escobar sailed a throw over third baseman Jeff Appell's head which scored what turned out to be the winning run.
 

Learning the Game

One of the things I really appreciate about SFL is that you can learn a lot from watching the other players. I find that most of my attention is focused on hitting, and my hitting approach has changed drastically over the years. To my generation of players, Chris Hall is the pioneer of opposite field power hitting, and I decided to give that a try after watching Cid and Zach run down too many of my long flies to left center.

By late 2009, opposite field hitting had caught on everywhere. This is around when Freddie Melendez became a regular, and me & Zach both developed the ability to hit hard liners on the RF line. I should also mention Derek Martinez and Dave Sommers' ability to hit for power to both foul lines. When your team gets burned by something a couple of times, you look for a way to add it to your own bag of tricks.

Most of the other opposite field guys, while they're great hitters, aren't exactly patient. I watched Havelock and Gil and Don Weiss working deep counts, and I tried to do the same.

While Phil Ciccone is a great hitter, there wasn't much I could learn from him. I'm not that gifted a hitter. Not many folks are. Watching him field, I took away this: The most important thing a fielder can do is to be fundamentally sound. Always know where you're going with the ball. Never throw it before you catch it. That sort of thing. You lose games on the failure to make routine plays. Phil makes highlight plays, but he makes the routine ones too.

Of course, you learn from negative examples too. Best if I don't name names in this section, but there are batters who don't run out their hits, baserunners who make all sorts of easily avoidable mistakes, fielders who get tight on important plays. There are pitchers who try to dominate hitters instead of throwing strikes. I'm only learning how to pitch now. Once, a few years ago, I struck out Brian Hernandez swinging. I can't tell you how many times since then I walked him, or gave up a long home run on a 3-1 count, trying to strike him out again. Hard heat means nothing if you can't work ahead of the hitters.

It might have been our current rookie crop that made me think of this. Chris Pun is a guy who has impressive physical tools, though he has a tendency to play out of control sometimes. I played with him in Brooklyn for a few seasons before this, and SFL is an interesting test for him. There are a lot of guys here with great physical tools, and it can be hard to impact a game that way. Pun's a thinker, but also a cowboy. I guess that sounds a bit like Cid.

Greg Hilska already seems to be a much better player than the guy who started showing up in April. His outfield play is much more confident, and he's developed an interesting hitting style that consists mostly of bloops and liners to the exact same spot in shallow left center. He isn't letting Pun walk away with the award, and it will be interesting to see if Greg's game will continue to evolve.

I try to learn something every Sunday. I think I took away two things today. One, don't throw hanging changeups to Sam Magnus. Two, if you're hitless in five at bats, and you brought two bats with you, it's time to change to the other one.

Pinch Runners by Havelock Hewes

  Our rule for pinch runners is that a player may have a pinch-runner from home or after he reaches a base safely if he has an injury which prevents him from running or makes it dangerous for him to run.  A player may not request a runner in order to get a strategic advantage for his team.
  This season we have had a precipitous rise in the number of pinch runners requested.  Does this represent a reflection of our aging and ailing community?  Yes and no.  Marvin Cohen was told by his doctor that it would be dangerous for him to run the bases and Gil Schmerler's MD has advised that he have his knee replaced.  So, I think we can accept their requests as necessary.  Some others I'm not so sure about.  One player, who I will not name, reached first but did not request a runner until several members of his team suggested "don't you need a runner" and he asked for one.  You might think one solution to this would be to allow the opposing manager to pick among the available players a pinch runner.  However, we now have so many players who "require" pinch runners that only the relatively good runners are left.
   I have thought of two solutions.  1) We could require the pinch runner to wear ankle weights in order to slow him down enough so that he would not be an improvement on the original runner, 2) We could shame the player by referring to him with a colorful nickname, such as "Gimpy,""Peg" or  "Poke."