Ooohhhh-Keeeeeeeeeeeefe

Nick O'Keefe returned to action for the first time in over two weeks, and everything went well. Well, maybe not if you ask him.

Nick, being the young, over-zealous whacked-out left-handed pitcher that he is, wanted to continue pitching but after four innings of two-hit, four strikeout baseball and the Beacons having a sizable cushion in the run column, the youngster's evening was through.



O'Keefe then pined to get an at-bat, and after that proceeded to bother a teammate for sunflower seeds. What dude, you can't bring your own or something?

Well, O'Keefe is back, and ready to be the Beacons' token lefty. Way to be, youngster...

Oh, Those Savvy Vets

The old adage in Major League Baseball used to be that experience and service time were more valuable to a team than youth, potential and the exuberance that young (early 20s) players brought to their teams.

That may have been true at one point, even as recently as three or four years ago. But once drug testing became prevalent, MLB cracked down on the use of amphetamines by players and the Mitchell Report was released, a lot of things have changed in the game.

No longer are veteran players who may be on the down slope of their careers valued higher than young, healthy, prospects who can contribute at the Major League level. At the beginning of the season, the two may seem even, and maybe the veteran player would get the edge, because of his experience.

But wait until the dog days of summer, day games after night games and those grueling August and September tilts that either put veterans into slumps they can't ever seem to get out or land them on the DL.




Johnny Damon is the perfect example.

A guy with 14 years of Major League experience that can do many things for a ball club. But is contributing everyday at 100 percent in August and September one of them? Don;t think so.

On the other hand, someone like Jacoby Ellsbury is the exact opposite of a player like Damon. Ellsbury may not have the "seasoning" or the "experience" that Damon has, but managers, owners and fans can probably rest assured that 120+ games into the season, a 24-year-old Ellsbury will be in a much better position than Damon to run out an infield single, track a gap shot in the late-innings or steal a base when the team needs a runner in scoring position.

Damon, now a 34-year-old left fielder, will most likely be battling a calf pull, knee sprain, back spasm, sore elbow or a case of dyslexia at that point and won't be able to perform like Ellsbury would without the assistance of amphetamines or some other performance-enhancer.

The days of veterans in the latter halves of their careers being more valuable than rookies and young guys who may make a "rookie mistake" sometimes is over. Guys like Ellsbury, outfielder Jay Bruce and first baseman Joey Votto of the Reds and third baseman Evan Longoria of the Rays will replace the Damons, Scott Rolens, Juan Pierres and Adam Dunns of the world.

In this day and age, youth equals extended health and sustained energy. And without amphetamines and other "useful" substances, the old guys just won't be able to keep up in the latter third of the season.

Apparently this theory doesn't apply to the Yawkey League though, as the weekly awards are being dished out behind-the-back style to two Yawkey League pillars of longevity.



The slate of games for this past week was a small one because Mother Nature felt the need to soak New England in the middle of baseball season. What a crude bitch. To make matters worse, she then hit us with July's weather in the first week of June, officially confusing the hell out of everyone.

With Wednesday being a wash and only three games total between Thursday and Saturday, the sample size for the YBL's Pitcher and Hitter of the Week was reduced.

There were still some impressive numbers out there though, as the Brighton Brewers, Somerville Alibrandis and McKay Club Beacons all put up at least a dirty dozen in their Monday games.

The offensive Man of the Hour is someone who you could say earned himself a Kobe Byrant-like life-time achievement award this past week for his performance against the Brookline Dodgers. Ted Tracy, a 12-year Yawkey League veteran, hit his first ever YBL home run to propel his Brighton Braves to a 7-3 win last Tuesday.

Tracy finished the game 3-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBIs when his three-run shot cleared the fence in the fourth inning.

What a relief, huh Ted?

What took you so damn long?

Tracy, in 11 games so far this season, is hitting a rather robust .424 (14-33) with six extra-base hits and his OBP is a Barry Bonds-esque .545. His 14 hits are third behind Dave Scioli of Somerville and teammate Jeff Cashman, who both have 16.



Another Yawkey League veteran earned himself honors this past week for his performance against the Brighton Black Sox. Steve Szathmary of the juggernaut Alibrandis did his best Bob Gibson impression as he baffled the Black Sox for six innings last Monday, fanning 11, walking two while giving up five hits (all singles) in six innings.



The Alibrandis, who have won 812 of the last 815 Yawkey League Championships (or something like that), won the game 5-0. The win ran Szathmary's record to 2-1 on the season and he has 25 punchados (seventh in the league) in 23 innings.

Boy am I Lazy

Life is busy. We all work for a living, or at least for the summer, those of us in college. Mix work with playing baseball, enjoying life and acting like a college student, and you've got yourself a schedule busier than Bono's.

The point here is that I haven't been holding up my end of the bargain. How are you supposed to enjoy and laugh at my writing when it's not there? My point exactly.






Now that everything is relatively calm, I can dedicate some time to musing about the Yawkey League, our heart and soul (and cause of cerebral hemorrhaging sometimes, too). I mean, we're almost a month into the season and I have made an effort similar to that of Mark Blount after he signed his 6 year, $38.5 million contract a few years back. Kind of hard to do.

What's going to happen is that each week a Committee of One (me) will determine a hitter and pitcher of the week. These are stat-driven and win-related awards so don't expect one if you go 4.1 innings on a gimpy calf or you hit a home run with a sprained left pinky finger. And of course, if you help propel your team to victory, that's a plus.

Winning is the point, after all.

Awards for the week of May 26 - June 1.

The Yawkey League is now officially hot. As the temps creep, so do pitcher's ERAs. And that means offensive production. Seven different games this past week saw one team put up a baker's dozen or more, so that means lots of RBIs and extra-base hits for those of you holding the sticks.

It was a tightly contested race for Hitter of the Week this week, as multiple guys helped mash their respective teams to victory. But when it came down to it, I had to go with a certain high-number wearing New Hampshire-native from Dorchester's own McKay Club Beacons.

From one Beacons uniform (UMass Boston's) to another, Connor Reinfurt has been hitting the ball extremely hard since he came into the Yawkey League two weeks ago. The first baseman/DH had himself a week for the ages.

The majority of the damage off of Renifurt's absurdly large bat came against West Roxbury on May 28, when he launched a grand slam at Ronan Park that cleared the left-centerfield fence by a considerable margin to break open the game.

Renifurt finished the game with two singles, a double, the grand slam and five RBIs. He himself crossed the plate twice too. Number 99 finished the week going 7-for-11 in three games with three runs scored, three extra-base hits and 9 RBIs.

While at UMass Boston this past spring, the 6' 2" 215 pound Reinfurt hit only .206 in 30 games, but led his team with five home runs while driving in 15 runs.







Four starting pitchers eclipsed the 10 strikeout plateau this past week, but only one pitcher K'ed 12 hitters en route to a complete game shutout for his team.

Greg Potts, a rookie in the YBL and a freshman at Bridgewater State, went the distance for the Al Thomas Athletics against the Chelsea Cyclones. The win, his first ever as a Yawkey Leaguer, came at a perfect time, as the Athletics' offense (.247 BA) hasn't been able to pick up much of the slack.

Potts gave up hits over the seven innings, walked two and blew away 12 Cyclones to dominate in his team's 4-0 victory.

The start was important in the big picture too, because Al Thomas had allowed 30 runs the previous two games and the complete game (I'm guessing) gave the A's staff much needed rest.

Potts, a Milton resident, made eight starts for Bridgewater State this past spring, posting a 4-2 record and a 4.85 ERA.

Apparently, he also loves to smile




If you disagree with my assessments of players or teams, feel free to rant and rave below.

Bulldogs Squat on Rockies

And in the process, beat Revere, 12-3 behind a bevy of walks and a hefty nine-run first inning at Maplewood Park in Malden.

After missing the playoffs by three points in 2007 (even though they won 9 out of their last 10 games), the Bulldogs are off to a quick 2-0 start in 2008, outscoring Revere and the Brighton Black Sox a combined 15-2.

"I think we have the best offense in the league," veteran outfielder Chris Deane said after his Bulldogs beat the Rockies, last season's number-two seed in the Yawkey League playoffs.

Malden worked eight walks in the victory, with second baseman Troy Ingemi leading the way with three while driving in two runs for the Bulldogs. Ingemi led Malden last season with a .473 on base percentage in 28 games.

Mike Barthel, a member of the McKay Club Beacons in 2007, pitched the final three innings of the game to pick up his first win of the season. Barthel allowed two hits, walked two and struck out two.

How important was this game to Malden? "It's huge," Deane said. "That's the kind of team that will be in our way in the end of the season."

Deane, who spent more than a dozen years with the McKay Club, has added leadership, some offensive pop and a good glove to an already deep Malden team this season.

Youth Movement, Anybody?

The Beacons started off 2008 with an under-aged Nick O'Keefe throwing slow curves, "nasty" knuckle balls, according to catcher Andy "Deuce" McAllister and a well-spotted fastball. The Anna Maria College freshman, who was 2-2 with a 4.33 ERA in six games this season for the AmCats, fanned 10 in his Yawkey League debut.

O'Keefe walked only one and scattered six hits over six innings before giving way to the cookie monster, Tom Prykucki. Prykucki allowed an unearned run and struck out one to end the game and give the Beacons their first win with their new, younger, more energetic nucleus of players in place.

The offense was led by Dan "I didn't get enough playing time at UMass Boston, so I'm gonna take it out on the Yawkey League" Ciocca. The third baseman had two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored to pace the offense.

"Swing and a pop up . . ."

I can hear Joe Castiglione's voice in my head.

That's how it ended for the McKay Club this season. On a pop up to the shortstop.

35 games, three-plus months, and a multitude of emotions later, I have to say with some gusto that I had fun this year. Sure, we didn't even make the playoffs. We went 19-16. Ask Rob Linn, Chris Deane, or anybody else on the team and they would have told you that we should have won five or six more games than that. I agree. I can't disagree so by elimination I have to agree. But that's not the point here. The point is that even though we lost the biggest game of our season 9-1 and didn't make the playoffs, the push for the playoffs was pretty sweet.

I should probably tell everyone right now what I've been thinking about for the past two or three weeks now (it might make the previous paragraph easier to absorb for some of the guys). All my life, through Little League, Babe Ruth, Senior League, and through High School ball and everywhere in between, I have never been on a good team. Little League might have been .500, but I think that's about as good as it got. Babe Ruth was bad, Senior League was worse and my high school didn't even have a baseball team until my sophomore year. I don't think I even need to tell you how bad those couple years were.

What I am trying to say is that, even though we missed the playoffs in 2007, I got a taste of what it means to be in the hunt. I smelled the blood, I was ready to face Somerville in the first round. Like Rob Linn said to me last night "St. Peter's Field baby." St. Peter's is right. He was still pissed about Tuesday's game, and I wasn't pissed, but it had been on my mind all that day, along with how shitty I felt.

I always loved playing baseball because even when I was losing, it was still fun. Now, no one wants to lose all the time, that just sucks. I never really knew what winning felt like on the baseball diamond because it happened to me once every five or six games most of my life.

Until this year.

This season was great. We were right in the middle of what was deemed "the most exciting Yawkey League playoff run in history" by David Treska and Dave McKay. I mean, we had playoff updates every single day in out inboxes. I have to be at work at 5:30 every morning, and I hate waking up, but I woke up extra early just to check my inbox, to see those updated playoff standings. Were we in, were we out, where were we, how many more points do we need, who owns the tie-breakers? The list went on and on, I was so excited.

We ended up losing, like I said. But we worked our asses off to make it to that single-elimination playoff game. Silver lining? Maybe. But I'll take it.

After losing four consecutive in the middle of July, it was finally time to make our playoff push apparently. We reeled off six out of seven to finish tied with the Devils of West Roxbury. During that stretch, I yelled louder, clapped more and high-fived more than I ever have in my entire baseball career. It was a great feeling. Winning, that is.

You've all said it before to me. I'm always positive. it may be sickening to you sometimes. You probably don't want to hear it after you just struck out with two men in scoring position or after you just gave up three hits and two runs, but that's just how I operate. This is me being positive again. If you don't want to hear about it, just stop reading.

If you're still with me, hear me out. If you want to win as bad as I do, you'll think about this season. Think about all the ups we had, but think about the downs too. The one-run losses, the games we pissed away and the games where we just didn't show up to play. Remember those good feelings, but remember the bad ones too. Channel all that into a small section of your brain and store it away for the 2008 season. When we get together again and we start playing games, remember everything.

22 years later, I finally have a taste for winning. But I want more than a taste. Help me get that meal in 2008.

Playoff Spot, Here We Come

“That’s how NOT to give up.”

Rob Linn said it best after Tuesday night’s battle in Brighton with the Braves.

For anyone who watched the first five innings of last night’s game, I’m sorry you saw the worst of it. The McKay Club was seemingly down and out, falling into a 6-1 hole fueled by bloops, errors, bad base running and a lack of energetic, inspired play in the field. After I exited during the fourth inning, my head was low, I’ll admit to it. At the time, we were chasing four runs and it looked like another abysmal night under the lights at spacious Rogers Park.

But in some odd reoccurrence of events, we managed to rally back for yet another come-from-behind-win up in the airy, affluent City of Brighton. Almost two weeks to the day, our very own McKay Club watched a lead ebb away like the outgoing tide to the Black Sox of Brighton, only to come back to win it in the seventh. And much like last night, a late surge was necessary to fuel a must-need win, a win that keeps us in the center of that playoff picture.

It reminds me of Back to the Future II, where Marty is looking at the picture of himself and his family fading quick but he saves the day, watches them reappear on the photograph again and everything is good once again in The Future. We were that family fading away quick, almost totally invisible. Maybe we had an arm or a leg left. That was it. That was until we got saved and reappeared. What a relief…

There were so many heroes last night, I really don’t know where to start. It was a team effort to bring us back into the picture, that’s for damn sure. We were all but off the photo for good after our captain got ejected for, what do you call it exactly, yelling at the umpire? Whatever it was, he was tossed and the game seemed to be going down hill faster than the Jamaican bob sled team. Our boy Nando Trindade wasn’t feeling the bad vibes though, as he launched a liner down the left field line. It rolled, skipped, rolled some more and by the time it stopped, our faux first baseman had himself a three run homerun which cut the lead to 6-4.

It was at that point precisely when our bench got up to congratulate Nando, looked at each other and thought collectively “hey, this game isn’t over, let’s go!” Nando’s first career Yawkey League homerun couldn’t have come at a better time. That awoke the sleeping giant known as the McKay Club. In the blink of an eye, the game was a game again, not just us pretending and going through the motions.

Now I can’t write anymore until I mention the total wildcard of this game, Joe Ceurvels. I don’t know what to say really. Here’s a guy who before last night had thrown one inning all season. One inning. Warming up the other pitchers became a regular activity until last night when Joe came in to get the final two outs of the fourth inning and then proceeded to pitch two hitless innings that we needed more than anything. It takes a lot of patience and dedication to wait 27 games to get a chance to pitch meaningful innings, but Joe did it and last night it was a Godsend.

Last night was a show-me game, and we showed last night. We showed it to our selves once again how to come back and win a game. Dan Ciooca -- who is a bulldog by the way -- showed us all how to tie a game in the top of the seventh inning with a 2 RBI single through the left side of the infield. That gave Ciocca 24 RBI on the season and about 700 clutch hits so far this year. What a beast. Jackie Owens showed us how to win a game, smacking an 0-2 pitch up the middle to drive in the game-winning run in the eighth inning (his biggest hit of the season in my books). And Adam Kulis showed us how to close out a game, going two scoreless innings of relief to get us one win closer to a spot in the playoffs.

What a night at the ball park. Just when you think we’re out of it, we pull you back in. It’s like one of those movies with a stellar cast but a soggy plot. You’re about to shut it off and go watch ESPN News, but then the movie takes a turn for the better and all the sudden your eyes are glued. That’s the McKay Club in a nutshell. We’ll make you cringe sometimes, and maybe once in a while you’ll want to walk away but when it comes down to it, we fight ‘til the end.

And besides, with loud obnoxious individuals like Rob Linn and Chris Deane, why wouldn’t you want to watch us? Tune in next time, Friday night, Ronan Park, 7:30. You just never know what you’re going to see happen.

Two Firsts in One Game For Young Sox Pitchers

It was last night at Jacobs Field in Cleveland that marked the return of Jon Lester. We all know and will always remember his heroic story, his battle with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and his victory over it.

I am fairly certain in my statement when I say that everyone reading this right now has heard all the details about the disease and how Lester was treated successfully and has made a full recovery. And most of you watched the Red Sox-Indians game last night – maybe not with as much emotion as Jon Lester’s mom – and saw what most Sox fans had been waiting for since spring training: a chance to see Jon Lester pitch in the big leagues again.

Well, there he was last night, the center of attention atop the loneliest circle a baseball field has to offer, surrounded by almost as many Red Sox fans as Indians fans. Lester came through with the win, his first in the Major Leagues since he was diagnosed with Aniplastic Large Cell Lymphoma.

Here was his pitching line: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 1 HR. 96 pitches, 55 strikes.

Lester got the win, and all the publicity. Of course he did, and it was well deserved publicity. What he has accomplished was extremely courageous and there will probably be a five minute long, ear-ringing, foot-stomping standing ovation for him when he takes the mound at Fenway Park for the first time since his return. There’s actually a good chance that Fenway will collapse from all the excitement.

But what got lost in the shuffle of Jon Lester’s return in my vision was a 25 year-old fire-baller from right around the corner. West Roxbury, actually.

After logging 79.2 innings of relief for the Boston Red Sox over parts of three seasons, Manny Delcarmen got his first career major league save. Usually this would just be a nice story about the local kid who grew up a Red Sox fan, had talent, got drafted and pitched for the home town team. A dream come true of course.

But for me, my teammates, the other teams and all the alumni of the Yawkey Baseball League, we’re collectively proud of Manny Delcarmen for putting us on the map for future talents that happen to swim through the kettle known as the Yawkey League.

The next time someone happens to ask me or anyone else who happens to play in the Yawkey League, how the talent is, we can say to them:

“You know who Manny Delcarmen is?”

“Yea, the set-up man for the Sox.”

“Well, he played in the Yawkey League when he was 18 years old.”

Now, I wasn’t there to face him, and I’m glad I wasn’t because I may have soiled myself in the process. He was an elite Yawkey League player, but nonetheless, there are still a few guys on my team that can say that they played against him before the spot light shone bright on him.

The key to Delcarmen’s successes this year has been simple. He’s throwing first pitch strikes on a consistent basis and he’s locating his pitches. That’s really all you have to do to be successful at the Major League level. And throwing 95 miles and hour seems to help too.

The point of this is to be proud that you have a chance to play in the Yawkey League. Whether you’re a potential Yawkey league HOF’er, a middle of the road guy or you’re just sitting on the bench waiting for your chance to play, think about who sat down on that very same bench at one point in the past.

And you never know when another Manny Delcarmen or Rich Hill is going to appear in the Yawkey League, leave his impression and give you another name to drop on your friends in the future.