Cougars Bag Two

Two games.

Two wins.

Two postgames.

The Cougars triumphed in a dual duel last night.

Hall of Famer Ernie Banks is well-known for his catch phrase, “It’s a beautiful day for a ballgame…Let’s play two!” Fittingly, we scored his jersey number in each game.

C’mon, 28 runs scored in a night? The Cougars needed Dramamine from spinning around the bases all night.

What gives?

Well, maybe it is because we played angrier than ever. Last week was a brutal one for the Cougars. First, we suffered a crushing defeat and then the Cougars Wives and Fan Club continue the postgame party and have more fun than the actual Cougars. Here they are at Bluestone where they are chatting up the resident jailbait. I think they are vying to be the next star of The Cougar.

Going into the night, with a doubleheader, we thought be would be dancing a two-step on the diamond.

On the front end of our double date, the Marauders had us tap dancing instead and put a scare into us in the top of the first inning when they dropped four runs on us. We got our bearings back, used some fancy footwork, scored two in the bottom of the inning and chipped away for the next four innings for a final score of 14-4.

After that game we took our annual team picture and hustled to my backyard garden and turned on the beer spigot in order to irrigate our throats for the first celebration of the night.




After watering our intestines, we mowed on back to the park.

The second game of the twin bill was a SLAM-dance. The Cougars brought tremors to Howard Park because of our Marauder momentum. By the end of the first inning the Wilmette Richter scale was dialed to ten. We came out with five quick ones in the top half of the inning. By the fifth inning we had ten runs and we stymied one of the league’s best teams to only one run over the same span. Later, we had one tough inning when the momentum started to shift and we almost dropped a deuce in our pants, but taking Joe D’s advice, I huddled at the mound with Melchiorre and used the ‘ol slowdown tactic. We added a few runs in the 6th and 7th innings and were 14-7 victors.

There were countless highlights – here are the best.

• Fortier was 7-7 for the night. He owned the bathpaths, played a killer shortstop and led the way to victory.
  
• Otsuka was a defensive marvel in left field. He made outstanding catches in his pasture highlighted by a running catch in foul territory with his back slamming against the fence.
  
• While in left field, Diddy fired a ball to Martin at third base to double up the runner, which got us out of a tight spot.
  
• Melchiorre was Sidd Finch last night. He was practically unhittable. For 9 of the 12 innings we played yesterday, Dave and our defense held our opponents scoreless. Dave also helped his cause with clutch hits and ran the bases like Oxer.
  
• Oxer punishes opponents with his baserunning. He is spraying shots at the plate and tearing around the bases. He took flight and landed on home plate for the winning run in game one. In the second game, when he was on bases we could not stop him from running around the bases to his assigned defensive position. Someone needs to tell him that just because he is the catcher does not mean he owns home plate.
  
• Flannery was our keystone pivot man. As the “4” position in the 6-4-3 double play, he coolly seized a throw from Fortier, elegantly swept his cleat across second base and chucked the ball to me at first base to end a SLAM rally and an inning. A double play is considered a pitcher’s best friend, but Flan-Dog wanted to be Dave's BFF on offense as well. Flannery had crucial hits to to gain some love from Melchiorre. This may or may not have something to do with Tim switching bats based on Coach’s suggestion (The Cougars are anxiously awaiting Tim’s analysis on this).
  
• Martin. Where do I begin? With his degenerating hips and knees, he walks down the sidewalk like Fred Sanford but if you put him in any sort of competition he turns into Usain Bolt. He has an innate ability to see things on the field that others don’t. From batting practice to the postgame, the guy is constantly chattering and helping the Cougars improve. He is our EF Hutton. He backs it up on the field too. He teases and challenges batters with his positioning and gets them to take the bait. He works the pitcher and turns singles into doubles. I may be the leader of the team but he is our field captain.

In the end, the Cougars were exhausted and exhilarated. The huge crowd emptied the stands, kept the momentum and packed the postgame party. Thanks again to so many family and friends that attend our games - we do appreciate it! We also thank the Hitmen, Hitwomen and the Marauders for cheering us on in left field!

Typically, sitting in one of Dr. McDonnell’s chairs is not a pleasant event. Last night, Phil and Meg served up an event that kept us in our seats well past midnight.

Here is Philthy feeding the hungry Cougars. We had loads of pizza and cheesy beef, chicken parm, and meatball sandwiches.




Thanks to Flannery and Fortier raiding their wine cellars, we enjoyed a few bottles of champagne. We skipped the appearance, bouquet, taste and aftertaste analysis. We simply raised our glass and cheered an exceptional team effort.




Then we drank more beer. Then we played bags. Then we finished off the celebration with shots of tequila (then we drank more beer).



Sober up boys!

Our back to back victories to end the regular season have put us in a round 1 playoffs rematch with SLAM.

Next Tuesday, the season starts over again.

Enthusiasm. Momentum. Celebration.

See you out there!