The McKay Club Beacons are Officially Fun to Watch

Well then, back to business as usual. Memorial Day has come and gone. And what a Memorial Day it was. In Boston, we saw weather with timing as impeccable as the Boston Red Sox offense. And speaking of those Red Sox, they just keep sweeping right along as the New York Yankees keep getting swept away.

I’m sure that McKay Club outfielder Dana Levensaler won’t be too happy about the Yankees, but he has a team closer to his heart than those hapless Bronx Bombers. And that team would be our McKay Club Beacons. Dana has been a great example of how this team has already seemed to have come together more cohesively this season that at any point during all of last season.

This past Friday night proved to be a prime example of how this team sticks together and, above all else, just wants to win and have a great time doing it. I mean, how many times do you see a team get three runners gunned down, at home plate have you, and still end up pulling out the win, 8-4? If you were thinking ‘not too often,’ then you were right.

I digress. Dana is an old man. It had to be said. Now for the good part. He is an old man who can swing one hell of a bat, even under the weather. Suffering from a neck injury that, earlier in the day had limited him from scoping women on Newbury Street in Boston, came through with three hits in our 8-4 come-from-behind victory. Two of the three hits Dana delivered were a few of the hottest, hardest scorched balls I have seen in my two years in the Yawkey League.

That’s just one of the many finer points from Friday night that I believe solidified our team and put into our minds that, much like the 2007 Red Sox team, this team can come from behind, score runs and win games with ability and with timely hitting. This year, more hits seem to be falling and the stats are showing it.

Through six games, the Beacons’ offense has been putting out like a, um, well you guys know here I’m going with that one. I’ll just leave it at that. The team is currently ranked fifth or better in team batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, OPS (ob-base-plus-slugging for those of you who might not know) doubles, hits and runs scored. Now, some of these stats may have been inflated by the eight-run, 17 hit performance on Friday night at Towne Field, but I can say this much. This team, as constituted, is much more gifted offensively than last year, and I don’t mean gifted in a special-ed kind of way either.

Last season, I looked at Dan Ciocca as a pitcher first, and an offensive player second. This season, not so much. Ciocca has absolutely been hitting the cover off of the ball, spraying hits to all gaps and fields so far this season. His biggest hit of the young season by far occurred after an intentional walk of Chris Deane to load the bases. Fearing the Yawkey League power threat, Savin Hill chose to pitch to Dan Ciocca instead of Deane and he made them pay for it big time. That was the biggest hit of the season so far for the team, as it gave us a 5-4 lead that would not be relinquished.

What allowed us to come from behind, and what will allow us to come from behind again and again is the pitching. Adam Kuils, Friday’s starter, didn’t get the win that he deserved, but he pitched well enough for it and that’s what has happened for the most part this season. Good pitching performances by the group I am officially deeming The Four Horsemen have allowed us to rank seventh in the Yawkey League in ERA while allowing only 10 earned runs while striking out 40 in 41 innings. The Four Horseman are as follows: Sean Sullivan, Adam Kulis, Dan Ciocca and Ryan Thomas. With three consistent starters and one very reliable bullpen arm, this team is poised to shut down opposing offenses and win ball games.

The only troublesome area, the one that may have cost us a game or two already, is the defense. In particular the infield. Now i’m not pointing fingers, but the infielders have allowed all 11 errors so far this season, leading to our rank of 13^th in the Yawkey League in fielding percentage. What can be done to fix this? A longer infield practice before games, or games of pepper to strengthen muscle memory and reflexes? Sure, whatever works. Maybe the kinks are out and more ground balls will start finding gloves. I’m an optimist, what can I say?

With a 3-3 record, a top-five offense and solid pitching, I can’t bitch about much. Yes, the defense needs a little bit of work. That will come. The important part is that, as of now, we know how to win and we believe that we can win no matter what. Three run deficit in the seventh? Big deal. With Chris Deane, Rob Linn, Dana Levensaler and Dan Ciocca in the middle of the line-up, bring on your closer. Or your starter after six innings. I know we can win and my team mates know we can win. Come to the games and watch, drink with us afterwards at Tom English’s Pub and enjoy the ride.