Gold Country Buzzards

Gold Country Ol' Buzzards Game Report #2

Game: April 13, 2014

Buzzards stomp Yankees, 17-1

The Gold Country Buzzards home opener was a beautiful day in Auburn with temps in the mid 70's and a nice breeze. The game between the Ol' Buzzards and the Yankees was set for 2 o'clock at James Field. The Yankees brought 16 players, but the talent level was low plus several players were in their late 60's or older. So, the Buzzards with just 11 for the game (10 defensively) were still expecting an easy win.

The Buzzards' starting pitcher for this second game of the season was the tough right-hander, Gregg 'Surf Dawg' Novotny #1. Throwing for the Yankees was lefty Mike 'Rusty' Malloy #24, a recent addition to the Yanks out of retirement and rusty in his throwing mechanics.

The Yanks started the game with three runners in the top of the first, but no one scored. In the bottom of the inning the Buzzards proceeded on an offensive terror with 14 runs that lasted for 21 batters and took over an hour to complete. The record breaking dig was started by Tom 'Tomahawk' Keatley with a sharp single to left-field on a full-count. Next, Dan 'Wookie' Wukmir smashed a hot grounder into right-center field for a hit. Dave 'Evy' Everingham followed with a 3-2 pitch base-on-balls to load 'em up for Pete 'Baron' Von Zboray. The Baron then slapped the first pitch into left for a single that scored Tomahawk with the first run and kept the bases full.

Batting next, Norm 'Burner' Tucker walked in Wookie on five pitches. Jim 'Milli' Milligan followed with a long single to left-field that scored Evy and the Baron. With two runners on, Rick 'Salmo' Salmeri took the base-on-balls to re-load the bases. Up next, Dave 'Mumbles' Kelley hit a flare to short left-field for a run-scoring single to knock in Burner. After eight straight batters got aboard, an out was made to break-up the impressive streak.

The next batter, Mike 'Mickey' Wilson, started a new streak with a two-run single to the gap in left-center-field to plate Milli and Salmo for the sixth and seventh runs of the inning. Tomahawk, batting for the second time, got aboard via a throwing error by the third baseman to load up the bags again. Wookie then walked on a full-count to push Mumbles in for another run. Up next, Evy lined a single to center that drove in Mickey. The Baron followed with a smash down the left-field line to send Tomahawk home.

The Yankees then called time-out and changed pitchers. After a high pop-up for the second out, Milli was then hit in the back with a loud thump by a hard curveball on a 1-2 pitch. Batting next, Salmo launched a 2-1 pitch down the left-field line knocking in Wook and Evy with a long single. Up next, Mumbles singled to left-field to load 'em up for Barry 'Crush' Forman.

In his first game back since the finger-in-the-saw-blade incident in early March, Barry took a full cut at the 1-2 pitch and sent a bleeder to the right of the mound. The ball took a funny hop away from the pitcher while the speedy Barry took first base and the Baron scored from third. Mickey then followed with a looper into right field to score Milli with the 14th and last run of the inning. Tomahawk batted for a third time in the frame, but hit into a ground-out to end the inning. Wow, 14 runs on 12 hits, four walks and an error in a looong first inning.

After a 1-2-3 top half of the second inning for the Yanks, the Buzzards scored two runs in their half to make the score 16-0. With one out, Evy spanked the first pitch into left-field for a single. The Baron then looped a single into left and put runners at first and second. After a strike-out for the second out, Milli hit a screaming line drive into left field to load the bases. Salmo, batting next, walked on six pitches to force in Evy.

Up next, Mumbles hit a flare to left-center-field to score Pete before the inning ended. The Buzzards put one more on the score board in the third frame. With one out, Mickey sliced a looper near the foul line in right-field for a single. After two were out, Tomahawk got aboard via an error. Next, Wook hit a sky high pop-up that drifted from shortstop past second base and headed toward right field before it hit the dirt with a lunging shortstop nearby, while Wilson scored from third base making the score 17-0 at the end of three innings.

The Buzzies got three more hits and a walk in the remaining three offensive frames, but did not score. Yankees' pitching got a lot better after the first inning. The damned Yankees did not give up and scored a run in the six inning to make the final score 17-1 Buzzards.

Buzzard pitching was excellent again. The game plan was to have Surf Dawg pitch for three innings and then turn the game over to Salmo. Since Gregg was throwing a no-hitter through three digs, he was not pulled and pitched the fourth frame. However, he gave up a solid hit into left field with one-out in the fourth inning to end the no-hit streak. Surf Dawg faced 15 Yanks and threw 47 pitches (33 strikes & 14 balls) and gave up one hit with no walks and two strike 'em outs. Salmo threw 41 pitches (30 strikes & 11 balls) in facing 14 batters. Rick gave up one unearned run on three hits with no walks and three K's while pitching the last three innings.

The Buzzard offense eased off of the pedal with the big lead after scoring 17 early runs on 20 hits and six walks. The hit club for the game included: the Baron (4), Crush (2), Evy (2), Mickey (3), Milli (2), Mumbles (2), Salmo, Tomahawk, and Wookie (3). The RBI's were driven in by: the Baron (2), Burner, Crush, Evy, Mickey (3), Milli (3), Mumbles (2), Salmo (3), and Wook (2). The six walks were picked up by: Burner, Evy, Milli, Salmo (2), and Wookie. Milli earned the first bruise of the new season via hit-by-pitch when he was nailed on the back in the first inning.

The Buzzard defense played down to the opponent and netted five errors of rushed throws and sloppy glove work. No worries mate. It was those Yanks, but it is still not the typical solid Buzzard defense.

There was just one double play in the game with a Mumbles to Wookie to Baron (5-4-3) in the fourth frame. The good pitching limited the Yanks to four hits and made it difficult to get a rally going.

The defensive play of the day was in the final inning by the 'no mercy' Buzzards. With two on and one out, a hard hit ball sailed over the head of Mumbles in right field. Hustlin' after the ball, David threw to Pete in the relay. As the Baron caught the relay throw, Mumbles clearly yelled out "home plate" and Pete turned and fired to Milli to nail a sliding Yankee in a close play at the plate for the second out of the last inning.

Next, one quick pop-up out to Evy at shortstop and the game was over. The 2½ hour game ended after the seventh inning due to the 10-run mercy rule. Win number two is in the books. Lots of hits, good pitching, no one got hurt and a victory = good game.

Buzzard Note: No game on Easter Sunday. The following week, April 20th, the game is on the road at C-Bar-C Park in Citrus Heights again. The Astros are the home team for the 2 o'clock game. The team will probably go to Felipe's after the game. More info to come.

Gold Country Ol' Buzzards Game Report #1

Game: April 6, 2014

Buzzards win season opener with Solons

The 2013 Buzzard team ended a terrific season with a NABA championship. The 2014 Buzzard team will attempt to do something no other Buzzard team has done - repeat as champions. Not an easy task, but with this strong team, this group of Ol' Buzzards appears up to the challenge. And with the new logo, the Ol' Buzzards come with an attitude and a swagger to match the fightin' spirit shown by the bat wielding, ball snatching new Buzzard mascot.

The 2014 Gold Country Buzzards gathered at C-Bar-C Park on a nice afternoon in Citrus Heights for the season opening game against the Sacramento Solons. After being rained-out the previous Sunday, the weather for this game was great with temps in the low 80's and a mild breeze. The infield was new this season at the ball field and the mound was in good shape for the game against two rival teams in the 52+ division.

The starting pitchers for the opening day affair were tough veterans of men's league play. On the mound for the visiting Buzzards was righty, Gregg 'Surf Dawg' Novotny #1. Throwing for the home team, Solons, was the lanky right-hander, Tim 'String Bean' Mosburger #3.

The Buzzards opened the top of the first with a six-pitch walk to Taylor 'Welzy' Welz. After stealing second base on the first pitch, Welzy moved to third on the first Buzzard base hit of the season, a liner up-the-middle by Dan 'Wookie' Wukmir. With Wookie a threat to steal at first, String Bean threw several times to the bag to hold him close. The last throw was wide of the base and skipped off of the dugout fence back to the first baseman, holding Wook at first, but allowing Welzy to score from third. So, no run-batted-in with the first run of the season.

After a double play, Pete 'Baron' Von Zboray singled sharply through the left-side of the infield. Up next, Tom 'Tomahawk' Keatley followed with his patented tomahawk swing at the high outside, first-pitch, fastball and laced it into right field, putting runners at first and third with two outs. Batting next was Norm 'Burner' Tucker. Before the 1-2 count pitch, the third base coach gave the steal sign to Tomahawk at first base. As the players know, the steal and bunt signs are just a joint away on the arm (wrist - elbow). The sneaky delivery of the signs on the play confused Burner, who subsequently bunted foul with two strikes to put a surprising ending to the inning.

The Solons fought back with two runs of their own to take a 2-1 lead after one inning of play. In the bottom of the first, the good hitting Solons started the inning with three straight singles, two with two-strike counts, to score their runs. A nice 4-6-3 double play helped extinguish an early Solons rally and limit their runs to two.

Jim 'Milli' Milligan led off the second frame with a flare to right-field for a single. Wookie then ran for Milli. Wook stole second before Dave 'Mumbles' Kelley singled to left-center putting runners at the corners. Batting next was Buzzard rookie, Mike 'Mickey' Wilson. Mickey hit a bouncer to the left side for a force-out at second, but it allowed Wookie to score from third to tie the game with Wilson's first Buzzard RBI. It was also the first Buzzard ribbie of the new season.

The Solons went ahead 3-2 in their half of the second inning with a hit, stolen base and two-out single to score their third run and re-take the lead.

The Fightin' Buzzards then broke through with four runs in the third dig to take the lead for good. Rick 'Salmo' Salmeri led-off with a six-pitch walk. Next, Welzy bunted on the first pitch for a single putting runners at first and second. With one out, Dave 'Evy' Everingham hit a shot to deep right-field for a long single scoring Salmo from second base. Evy then stole second putting runners at second and third. With the Baron at the plate, a wild pitch scored Welzy from third.

Batting next, Tomahawk smack a long liner, tomahawk-style, to right-center-field easily plating Evy with the double. Burner followed with a searing single to left on a 1-2 curve ball to score Tomahawk for the last run of the inning and make the score - Buzzards 6 and the Solons 3.

The pesky Solons scored again in the bottom half of the third. The first hitter, singled on a 3-2 pitch, but was quickly erased three pitches later on another smooth looking 4-6-3 double-play. After a walk, two hits to right scored their run. The score after three innings was 6-4 Buzzards.

The Buzzards pounded Solon pitching in the fourth frame. Mumbles led-off with a flare to right-field on a two-strike outside pitch for a nice single. Mickey then walked on a full-count. Up next, Paul 'General' Lee took the base on balls with a 3-2 count to fill the bases. The Solons then changed pitchers, bringing in the harder throwing righty, John 'Big Guns' Hagen #24.

The next Buzzard struck out, but Welzy came through with a double to the left-center-field gap to score Mumbles and Mickey. The General then scored alertly from third on a wild pitch with Welzy moving to third. Wookie walked, next, to put runners at the corners. After the steal of second by Wook, Evy hit a sharp grounder to the left side that trapped Welzy in a pickle between third and home. In the ensuing run-down, the other runners advanced to third and second while Taylor was tagged out.

With two outs, the Baron then launched a double to deep right-center-field that scored Wookie and Evy. Tom followed with his tomahawk-style blast, again at the first pitch, and sent it over the head of the center fielder for his second double of the game. Burner finished the scoring with a single to center-field to drive in Tomahawk for a 13-4 score.

The Buzzards changed pitchers in the fourth and brought in Salmo to face the middle of their order. After two singles and a stolen base put runners at second and third, an interesting 6-2, out at home plate, play occurred when a grounder was hit to Evy at short. He played the tough hop and threw home to the catcher, Norm, with the runner big Frank 'Bull' Smith coming down the line. The Bull stopped short of the plate and then backed up toward third in small lurches, to extend the play for the runners to advance, as Norm came near. Tucker then took a few more steps and placed a quick, firm tag on the chest of the Bull to end the play. Frank took instant offense to the hard tag and protested in vain to the female ump. A strike-out and a ground-out ended the fourth dig with no runs scored - after the first two Solons were in scoring position earlier with no outs.

In the sixth dig, the 'no mercy' Buzzards scored five more to put the game away. The Solons changed pitchers again. On the mound in the sixth was a hard throwing lefty, Tom 'Fazzio' DeFazio #31. After one out, Welzy got aboard via an infield error. After he stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch, Taylor scored when Evy singled to right-field with two outs. The Baron then doubled deep in the alley in right-center to score Evy. Tomahawk followed by crushing a two-strike pitch to deepest right-center for his third impressive double of the game and allowing the Baron to cruise in from second base. Tucker followed with a flare to left field for a single to knock in Keatley. Up next, Milli lined a shot to left for a base hit putting Buzzards at the corners. Mumbles then hit a line-drive single to right-center field to score Burner and make the score 18 to 4 Buzzards before the inning ended.

Salmo shut down the Solons for three straight innings while the Buzzards kept scoring. In the top of the seventh inning, the Buzzards crossed the plate three more times. General Lee opened the inning with a walk. Surf Dawg hit a flare to right field on a full-count for a solid single. Welzy then singled to right to load the bases. With two outs, Evy smashed one up the left-field alley to drive in the General and Surf Dawg and moved Welzy to third. Next, the Baron's grounder allowed Welzy to cross home plate, and that ended the Buzzard score fest at 21.

Taylor then closed out the seventh and last inning from the mound on 10 pitches for a final score of 21-4 Buzzards. The game ended on the 10-run mercy rule, which kicks-in after the seventh inning. The game was nearly at the 3-hour time limit anyway. Game time was 2 hours and 53 minutes.

Buzzard pitching did an excellent job of holding down the high-octane Solons squad. The 32 Solon batters could only muster 10 hits and four walks in scoring their four runs. Surf Dawg threw the first three innings and faced 16 batters in throwing 58 pitches (37 strikes & 21 balls). The Solons got four runs on eight hits and one walk. Salmo faced 13 batters in pitching the fourth through the sixth digs with 47 pitches (26 strikes & 21 balls). The Solons got no runs on two hits and three walks with one strike-out. The Buzzard closer, Welzy, polished off the three batters he faced in the seventh frame on 10 pitches (7 strikes & 3 balls). Great job by the pitching corps.

The Buzzard offense was awesome. It was especially impressive considering it was the first game of the season and the Solons have a good group of hurlers. The 21-run offense consisted of 23 hits and six walks with three errors. The hit club for the game included: Baron (3), Burner (3), Evy (3), Milli (2), Mumbles (3), Surf Dawg, Tomahawk (4), Welzy (3) and Wookie. The critical ribbies were courtesy of: Baron (4), Burner (3), Evy (4), Mumbles, Mickey and Tomahawk (4). Every Buzzard scored at least one run. The scored 21 runs were credited to (in batting order): Welzy (4), Wookie, Evy (3), Baron (2), Tomahawk (3), Burner, Milli, Mumbles, Mickey, General (2), Salmo and Surf Dawg. The eagle-eyed walkers getting free passes to first base were: General (2), Mickey, Salmo, Welzy and Wook.

The Buzzard defense was equally impressive with no errors on a tough field. Of the 21 outs, there was only one fly ball out. A running catch by Tomahawk of a sinking drive in center-field to end the third inning with two runners moving on the hit. There were three strike-outs. So, 17 of the 21 outs were plays made in the infield with four of them nice catches of those dangerous pop-ups. There were Evy's two at shortstop in the game, one in the fifth and one to end the second; then Mumbles' catch at third in foul territory for the first out in the fifth; and the Baron's snag at first in the second inning. There were 13 assists for the defense: Evy (5), Welzy (4), Milli (2), Burner and Salmo.

The two double plays (first and third innings) were timely and well executed by Welzy to Evy to Baron. The defensive play of the day was Norm's 'reach out and snag' that grounder heading to left field, while playing third base, to open the sixth. The other great snag was Pete's glove work on Norm's tough one-hopper to first base on the play. The Baron looked smooth with that mid-hop catch at the waist in a close play at the bag for the out. Strong offense, excellent pitching and tough defense with no errors are a recipe for victory.

The game was tight for three innings with the Buzzards coming from behind twice before blowing it open in the fourth. What blew that inning up for the Solons was the four runs scored after two outs. There were nine runs scored in the game by the Fightin' Buzzards after there were two outs in an inning. Good job, Buzzards. 1-0 is a good way to start the season.

Buzzard Note #1: The new logo looks terrific on the hats and batting helmets. More decals and orange stick-on for the bill of the helmet are available. Thanks again to Barry 'Brooklyn' Forman for inspiring Kat to design and paint the great logo, and to Barry for making a well crafted mascot that hangs nicely in the dugout and even comes with a carrying case. Wow and thanks.

Buzzard Note #2: With the first game under our belts, we can now officially welcome the new guys: Buzzard rookie Mike Wilson and the return of Buzzard veteran Jim Milligan. Milli was on the gold medal winning Buzzard Masters' Games tournament in Sydney, Australia in 2009 and played with us until 2012.

Buzzard Note #3: The schedule is still in flux. The only for sure is that the Buzzards are playing at James Field at 2 pm. It looks like we'll see the lowly Yankees. Cold drinks and snacks will be provided after the game.

Gold Country Ol' Buzzards Game Report #20

Championship Game: September 15, 2013

Buzzards beat Reds in title game, 9-3

The Gold Country Buzzards are Champions of the World of Sacramento NABA men's baseball. By finally defeating the Reds in a NABA finals' game, the Ol' Buzzards captured the 2013 crown for the 55+ division. On a nice afternoon in a breezy Davis, the 90° temps made for an excellent day to play a championship game on one of the best baseball fields in the region at Playfields Park.

The pitching match-ups for the 20th and last game of the year had the Reds sending their shifty, right-handed ace, Robert 'Ponytail' Stormont #30 to the mound to take on the Buzzard righty, Dave 'Evy' Everingham #21. Evy had only pitched five innings for the Buzzards this season, so the start was a little surprising to the team. With the hurler-horses in the Buzzards' stable limited due to sore arms and car problems in Seattle, Evy was the skipper's pick to take-on the tough Red Legs.

The Reds are managed by Carlos Zamora and the team is mostly made-up of the best players, over 50 year olds, in and from the Sacramento Mexican leagues. Carlos recruits well and he usually has one of the top teams in whichever age division the Reds have played. The Reds were playing in their new, snazzy red jerseys with a white Cincinnati Reds' logo on the front, plus names and numbers on the back with gray pants for their second time. The new look for the playoffs was quite a contrast from their white pants and white vests with red pin-stripes and red sleeves for the last seven-plus years.

The title game started at 2:30. Both teams went 1-2-3 in the first inning, but the Reds did it in a different way. The first runner was aboard via an infield throwing error. After several close pick-off throws, the first-base umpire called-out Armando 'Rabbit' Hurtado on another nice pick-off move by Evy to Pete 'Baron' Von Zboray at first base with the quick slap tag on the diving-back runner.

The next batter struck out, before Steve 'Shortstop' Moreno scalded a liner down the left-field line for an apparent double. It appeared to a couple of Buzzards, especially to catcher, Rick 'Salmo' Salmeri, that Steve had missed first base on his race to second. Since time was called after the play, Evy waited until time was in, before stepping off of the rubber and throwing to first to appeal the missed bag on the hit. The umpire emphatically called the out to end the first inning in dramatic style and to the howls of the Reds' bench.

The Buzzards jumped on the scoreboard first in the second inning with a nice big crooked number - 5. With one out, Tom 'TK' Keatley beat out an infield single that included a loose ball rolling into the Buzzard dugout to put TK at second. Up next, the Baron hit a high bouncer for an infield single putting runners at the corners. 'Blue' Barry Forman followed with a fielder's choice to second that scored TK with the first run. Batting next, Norm 'Burner' Tucker slashed a single up-the-middle, putting runners at first and second.

Up next, Gregg 'Surf Dawg' Novotny slapped a 1-2 pitch on a line into center field for a single to load the bases for Taylor 'Welzy' Welz. The Baron ran for Surf Dawg at first base. With two outs, Welzy blasted the 2-0 delivery to the gap in left-center field to score Blue Barry and Burner, the recent Burning Man vets of 2013. Barry's hair still has a hue of blue.

The second inning, two-out rally continued with Dan 'Wookie' Wukmir at the plate after both runners moved-up on a wild pitch to put two runners in scoring position with the Buzzards up by just three runs. On a 1-2 pitch, and after fouling-off a couple of pitches to the left, Wookie lined a sharp single to the gap in left-center to drive in the Baron and Welzy and take a 5-zip lead. The first and third outs of the inning were by naughty Buzzards, caught stealing second base by the catcher, Gilberto Banuelos, throwing strikes to the second base bag.

The defenses held until the Reds battled back with three runs in the top of the fifth frame. Four straight hits to open the inning followed by a two-run(?) fielder's choice with an errant throw on a potential double-play. A good job by the Reds' player, that Gilberto again, to interfere with the play by getting in the way of the throw. As the runner from first base, Gil did not slide on the play, but turned into the infield grass, which was the same side of the bag the covering shortstop, Welzy, moved to make the throw. No interference call by any of the three umps, even on appeal, and no double-play. The score after 5½ innings was close at 5 to 3 in favor of the Buzzards with the Reds getting the calls after the first inning.

The Ol' Buzzards then added a quick run in the bottom half of the fifth. Evy doubled toward the right-field line with one out. After a strike-out, TK then ripped an 0-1 curveball to right field for a single to score Evy from second to make the score 6-3. In the sixth dig the Buzzards scored two runs to widen the lead to 8-3. Blue Barry led-off with an infield single. Burner followed with a flare to left for a base hit putting two runners on. Surf Dawg, batting next, singled sharply to right field to drive in Blue from second. Up next and with the fourth hit in a row, Welzy sliced a liner to right-center that knocked in Burner from third to end the scoring. The inning ended on a controversial trap-catch by the shortstop for an inning ending double-play.

With runners at first and third, Evy hit a sinking liner to the left-side of the infield. Moreno made a good play just to get in front of it and he appeared to trap the ball, not catch it. The sound of the ball hitting the ground and flying dust made the catch appear to be clearly a trap. After the catch(?), the throw to third base doubled-up the Baron as he was crossing home plate. After an appeal by Wookie, all three umps huddled for quite a while before calling the trap a catch to kill the big Buzzard rally.

While shutting out the Reds since the fifth, the Gold Country gang scored once more in the seventh inning. The third consecutive scoring inning started with an infield single by Charles 'CJ' Jackson. CJ was robbed earlier by an unbelievable diving catch in the third dig. Hugo 'Highlight Reel' Lopez playing a deep left field ran full-speed toward the fence as soon as the ball left CJ's bat. The screaming liner was headed to the fence when Hugo, running hard, leaped high with his back to the field and made a back-handed snag of the ball as it passed him before landing hard in the out-stretched dive position on the dirt warning track, next to the fence with the ball firmly in the glove. Wow. One of the best catches of the season for sure, and it took a double away from Charles.

After the infield hit, CJ then stole second base and moved to third on a ground-out. With the Baron at the plate, CJ scored on a wild pitch that caromed off of the short backstop and away from the catcher. Blue Barry later walked on a full-count, but the scoring ended with the one run. The score after seven was 9-3, Buzzards.

The pitching held up with Everingham going the distance and the defense did its job through the rest of the 2½ hour game to hold the Reds to no more runs. The Reds only threatened a couple of times and, except for the three runs in the fifth frame, got only two runners to second base and one to third during the rest of the game.

On the final out, a high pop-up to Welzy in short left field, the celebrating began with jumps, hugs and high-fives among the very happy Ol' Buzzards. With the final score: Buzzards 9 and the Reds 3, the 2013 baseball campaign ended on the highest note.

After the Buzzard-team congratulations in the infield concluded, the teams lined up to slap some skin and say - good game. Both teams then lined up on the foul lines for the individual plaques and team plaque awarded by the League Commissioner, Barry Spiller. Photos followed before the beer drinking began in the parking lot shade.

What a way to end a great season - by knocking off an old nemesis on the same field as the heart-breakers of 2009 and 10. Well done - 2013 Ol' Buzzards.

Buzzard pitching was fabulous. The El Dorado Hills battery of Evy on the mound and Salmo behind the plate paid golden dividends as Dave threw effectively, limiting the number of pitches to 106, for the nine-inning battle. That low pitch-count basically allowed him to finish the game with Welzy warmed-up, just in case, in the ninth.

The pitch count for each inning was: 1st-8, 2nd-12, 3rd-6, 4th-14, 5th-22, 6th-9, 7th-5, 8th-13 and 9th-17. Evy faced 35 batters in throwing the 106 pitches (75 strikes & 31 balls). Dave gave up three runs on eight hits with no walks and seven timely strike-outs. Everingham needed 28 outs to put away the Reds.

The extra out was necessary in the fourth dig when a strike-out of Moreno on an outside pitch, that he threw the bat at, bounced off of the backstop and rolled away from Salmo, to allow Steve to take first base without a throw. Gilberto then grounded-out to end that inning.

The Buzzard offense used 15 timely hits to score the nine runs. The hit club for the game included: the Baron-1, Blue Barry-1, Burner-2, CJ-1, Evy-1, Surf Dawg-3, TK-3, Welzy-2 and Wookie-1. The ribbies were courtesy of: Blue Barry-1, Surf Dawg-1, TK-1, Welzy-3 and Wookie-2. The runs scored were accounted to: Blue Barry-2, Burner-2, CJ-1, Evy-1, Surf Dawg-1, TK-1 and Welzy-1. The base stealers were CJ and Welzy, while the only walk of the game was issued to Blue Barry in the seventh inning.

As an example of the effective offense, the Buzzies had four consecutive base hits for runs twice during the game, in the second and sixth innings. And seven out of the first eight got on base in the second inning to send a strong message to the Reds and to Ponytail on the mound. The Reds made numerous outstanding leaping and diving defensive plays to rob multiple Buzzards of hits during the game.

From the great catch of Welzy's rocket shot to deep center field to open the game, followed by Gilberto's laser arm display, and a mix of other defensive gems and traps, showed the Reds were fighting hard all game and conceding nothin' to the Buzzards even late in the game.

Ironically, Steve Moreno at shortstop got hurt on the second to the last play of the game and season. On a Baron hit flare to short left, Moreno ran back and then jumped back to make a twisty, remarkable back-handed catch. However, on the leap his right hamstring went 'boing' before he made the catch and then landed awkwardly in a heap on the grass while still hanging onto the ball. He needed help to leave the field.

The Buzzard defense was solid, minus some wild throws to first base. There was only one fly-ball out to the outfield. It was late in the game as the first out of the eighth to Keatley in center field. The rest of the outs were made in the infield. Welzy had a busy afternoon at short with five put-outs and three assists, Cookie, playing second base, came through with two put-outs and five nice assists, while the Baron at first had nine put-outs and two key assists.

Some defensive oddities in the game were: the missed base by Moreno in the first inning and subsequent appeal of the double resulted in a 7-4-1-3 play in the books for the third out. Blue Barry, Cookie and Evy got the assists, with an assisted assist to Salmo, who insisted on the appeal, as the defensive player with the best view of the play.

And with 16 assists and 20 put-outs made in the infield, surprisingly, not a single ball was hit to Wook at third. Paul 'Youngin' Lee in right field and Blue Barry in left also did not see much action in the field and had no put-outs. Everingham had six assists and four put-outs from the mound to continuously demoralize the Reds with his excellent glove work on hot smashes up-the-middle.

There was only one Buzzard double play, an Evy caught hot-liner to end the seventh, with an easy double-up of the runner at first. Clearly, Evy was the player of the game by combining the excellent pitching with spirited defense, to go along with the seven strike 'em outs. Super Dave also had the only extra-base hit of the game with his double to right field in the fifth. Just an awesome and necessary display of outstanding ol' baseball skills in the NABA championship game. Great game, Evy.

It was a good day and year to be a Buzzard. Thanks to all.

Buzzard Note #1: Late in the game, Barry Spiller attempted to place the box with the winner’s plaques next to the Buzzard dugout. Diane, keeping score, saw the box and told Barry to remove it until the game was over. No bad karma or ju-ju allowed. Many Buzzards remember the winner’s box showing up in the Reds dugout several years ago, while the Buzzards were down by five runs in the ninth inning of the second championship-series game in 2010. After the Buzzards saw that box delivered, the team scored six runs with two outs to take that game and send that series to its third game. After the game, the Reds performed prayers and other acts over the box to rid that cardboard container of any lingering curse before the next game.

Buzzard Note #2: A team party will be announced soon. In the celebratory haze at Davis, the announcement to turn in the orange jerseys for cleaning and repair was forgotten. Please bring the orange vests to the Buzzard gathering.

Buzzard Note #3: An interesting batting tip was in the Sac Bee on Monday from Hunter Pence after hitting his fourth homer in four days in LA. Brett Pill, the Giants rookie, said he asks for hitting advice from Posey and Pence. Pill said, “Buster gives me something (technical), but Hunter is all, 'Just try to kill the ball.”

 

Gold Country Ol' Buzzards Game Report #19

Game: September 8, 2013

Buzzards beat up Solons in playoff game, 14-6

The Ol' Buzzards earned a home game in the first round of the playoffs with a strong finish for first place. The Solons (4-14) were the fourth place team and had lost three times to the Buzzards (13-5) this season. The field was in good shape and the temps for the 2 o'clock game were in the mid-90s at the nearly 1,300 foot elevation of James Field in Auburn.  In this elimination playoff game, the Solons brought an improved team including three decent pitchers to try their damndest to beat the Buzzards.

The Sacramento Solons sent their big righty, Frank 'Italiano' Smith #10 to the mound. As the home team, the Gold Country Buzzards' starting pitcher, the hard throwing right-hander, Taylor 'Welzy' Welz #26, opened the game on the hill. The game opened with Welzy striking out the side on 14 pitches. The curve-ball was working well and it struck-out the last two looking.

The Buzzards then scored one run in their half of the first frame. Welzy led-off with a gift-single on a short infield pop-up. Taylor stole second base, while Dan 'Wookie' Wukmir walked on four pitches. With runners at first and second, Dave 'Evy' Everingham sliced his patented looping hit to the opposite field, however, the right-fielder was positioned well and caught the fly ball on the run toward the line. Wookie got a good jump toward second on the hit ball, but realized too late that the ball was going to be caught, and was doubled-up for two quick outs. The first base coach was yelling 'get back' right away, but Wook's hearing aid was turned-off.  Up next, clean-up hitter, Charles 'CJ' Jackson ripped a run-scoring single down the left field line to score Welzy from second for the lone run of the inning.

The Solons tied the game in the second inning. The first two batters got on with base hits. The second batter, big Frank, hit a short flare to the opposite field. In right field, Dave 'mMumbles' Kelley got a good jump on the ball, but his upper quad muscle in the right leg went 'boing' as he went for the ball. David did a series of one-leg jumps to the nearby ball and then went tumbling to the ground to retrieve it and painfully toss the ball back to the infield. Not a pretty scene to watch. mMumbles was able to leave the field under his own power, slowly, and then he soaked the leg with ice the remainder of the game.

After the delay and with runners at the corners, the next hitter smacked a 2-1 curve-ball toward the left-side hole. The high hard bouncer, on its way to left field, was intercepted by a hustling Wookie, playing third, with a running jump. Wook snagged the ball and threw to Steve 'Cookie' Cook at second base to start a good looking 5-4-3 double play. The runner from third scored on the play.

The Buzzards put up a nice big crooked number - 5 - on the board in the third inning for some breathing room. Welzy started it off by getting to first base via an infield error. Taylor stole second as the pitcher was startled by his early steal move, and while in motion toward home plate, stopped to throw to a bag for a balk. Wookie then hit a line-drive to center for a single putting runners at the corners. Wook stole second before Evy crushed a double over the head of the center-fielder to score Welzy and Wookie. CJ followed with his own double, deep in the left-center field gap to easily score Evy from second.

The Solons then changed pitchers and brought in their fire plug-sized righty, Ken 'Wrong' Wright #1. Pete 'Baron' Von Zboray greeted him with a second-pitch double down the left-field line to score CJ. The Baron moved to third on a fly-out to right field by 'Blue' Barry Forman, fresh from Burning Man with his lingering blue-dyed hair. Who knows, the blue-hair look versus gray hair may become trendy for men ... someday. Batting next, Rick 'Salmo' Salmeri hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score the Baron for the final run of the third inning. The score after three was 6-1 in favor of the Buzzies.

The not-so-old Buzzards scored four more runs in the fifth dig to take control of the game. With one out, CJ doubled again, this time to deepest center field. The Baron knocked in CJ with a hard-hit single to left. One out later, Salmo took a base-on-balls. Blue Barry then ran for the catcher, Salmo. Up next, Norm 'Burner' Tucker dropped a single in to left field to load 'em up for Cookie.

Just before the single, Burner hit a foul pop-up that sneaked into the Buzzard dugout through a small gap in the roof area and nailed the clip board with a nice dent while sending the scorebook flying and scaring the scorekeeper, Diane. Missed her by that much.

The count to Steve was 2-1, when he was hit on the left side by a pitch, to push in Pete from third base for a run. With the bases still full, Welzy then lined a 2-1 pitch to left field for a single to score Blue and Burner, the 2013 Burning Man boys, to end the scoring.

Meanwhile, Welzy was mowing 'em down from the mound with good pitches and was supported by excellent defense. Through six innings, Taylor was throwing a four-hitter with 68 pitches.

In the bottom of the sixth the Solons changed hurlers and put the veteran righty, Tim 'Lanky' Mosbarber #3 on the bump. The Buzzards then scored another run to take a 10-run lead. Evy led-off by slamming his second double of the game, this one was down the left-field line. With one out, Gregg 'Surf Dawg' Novotny hit a flare to center for a single putting Buzzards on the corners. Blue Barry then knocked in Evy with a sacrifice ground-out to the right-side to make the score 11-1.

In the eighth inning, the Solons scored a run on a lead-off double, a single and sacrifice fly. After the sac fly was out number one, a single put runners at first and second. Up next, the Solons manager, John Mason, hit a short flare to left that looked like it was going to land between the shortstop, Evy, and the left fielder, Blue Barry. Aggressive Evy, not backing-off from a charging Blue Barry, made a spectacular over-the-shoulder (really over-the-head) basket catch on his chest. The runner at second was a long way from the bag when Dave made the 'espn-tune' catch. Evy then spun around after the catch and threw a strike to Cookie at second base to nail the runner in a force-out to end the inning with just one run scored.

The Buzzards added three runs in the last half of the eighth dig. Evy started it off with a sharp single to left. CJ followed with a base hit to left. With the outfielders playing near the fences, CJ was jammed on the pitch and hit a floater off of the bat handle into short left field. With runners now at second and first, Surf Dawg lined a run-scoring single to right field to knock in Evy on a close play at the plate. The lefty pull-hitter, Blue Barry, then surprisingly, ripped a shot to left field to score CJ. Salmo then walked for the third time in the game to load the bases.

In a close play at the plate, Surf Dawg was thrown out trying to take home plate on a wild pitch. With one out, Tucker hit a frozen-rope single to center field on a 2-1 fastball to drive in Forman for the last Buzzard run of the game. The score after eight innings was 14-2 Buzzards.

With no 10-run mercy-rule during the playoffs, the game continued on to the ninth inning. While the Buzzards were thinking about cold beers in a few minutes, the Solons were serious about scoring runs, and did just that, with four runs on one walk and four singles and a double. With the four runs scored, no outs and two runners on, the Buzzards recorded their first out on a pop-up caught by a determined Welzy.

The next two batters hit tough bouncers to Evy at shortstop. Both were fielded cleanly but the developing plays did not allow for a simple force-out at second. The throws on the move were good to Jim 'Kuchie' Kuchar at first for easy looking 6-3 outs to end the game. The final score was: Buzzards 14 and the Solons 6.

Buzzard pitching was excellent. Welzy was in command most of the way. There were only two extra-base hits and not many solid line drives by the good hitting Solons. The four runs scored in the last inning were more a result of infield hits to 'no-man's land' after an opening walk that set the stage for a two-run double and then run-scoring singles before the Buzzards got serious.

In the win, Welz (3-1) threw a complete nine-inning game. Taylor faced 39 Solons in throwing 125 pitches (78 strikes & 47 balls). Welzy gave up six runs on 12 hits and three walks with seven key strike 'em outs.

The Buzzard offense of 18 hits, five walks and a hit batter efficiently scored the 14 runs. The hit club for this first-round playoff game included: the Baron-3, Blue Barry-1, Burner-2, CJ-4, Evy-3, Surf Dawg-2, Welzy-2 and Wookie-1. The ribbies were knocked in courtesy of: the Baron-2, Blue Barry-2, Burner-1, Cookie-1, CJ-2, Evy-2, Salmo-1, Surf Dawg-1 and Welzy-2. The runs were accounted to: the Baron-2, Blue Barry-1, Burner-1, CJ-3, Evy-3, Salmo-1, Welzy-2 and Wook-1. The three Buzzards using their eagle-eyes to take five base-on-balls were: Kuchie-1, Salmo-3 and Wookie-1. Cookie took one for the team in the fifth inning to force in a run and has a bruise the shape of Australia to show for it, plus the key RBI at the time.

The Buzzard defense came through with no errors in this playoff match. Taylor's ground ball strategy worked. The Solons hit into 18 infield outs, 15 were groundouts with one double play. There were three pop-ups including Evy's wow double play in the eighth inning. The fly-out to Paul 'Youngin' Lee, sliding on his knees in center field to make the catch, ended the fourth frame. The other fly-out, for the first out of the eighth inning, was a nice running catch, looking into the sun, by Blue Barry with blue sun glasses sitting on the visor of his cap.

The infield was solid with 17 assists. Welzy defended his position well with five assists and two put-outs to go with the seven strike-outs. Evy, playing shortstop this game, was outstanding with six assists and one fabulous put-out to start a double play. Wookie had four tough assists at third base to end the second inning and start the third. The double play snag in the second inning to shut down an early Solon rally was impressive. And an almost double play in the fourth on a quickly fielded long bunt and a throw to Cookie at second, but with the runner going-in standing up to interfere, but no call from the field ump. The Baron's assist ended the third dig with a hot grounder wide of the bag, T-Welz covered the bag for the easy looking out.

Another good ball game by the Ol' Buzzards. It seems hard to believe, but just one game left in the 2013 Buzzard baseball season. Let's end it on a high note with a big victory, and get rid of this Reds' curse in the finals.

The Gold Country Buzzards' record in the 45/48+ NABA finals is: beat Free Agents in 2008, lost to Reds in 2009, lost to Reds in 2010, lost to Valley Cats in 2011. The Buzzards lost to the Valley Cats in the playoffs in 2012. Beware the 55+ Buzzards in 2013.

Buzzard Note #1: The championship game will be played at Playfields Park in Davis against the second-place Reds. The game will start no sooner than 2:30. The championship game for the 18+ division will take place prior to our game at 10 am. An extra-inning game or a slow game with pitching changes, injury, etc., could push the start time back further. There will be an hour between the two games for field prep and warm-ups. The game for the Sacramento NABA crown will have an announcer. There is no game after our 55+ title game.

Buzzard Note #2: Take a shower and comb your hair, a shave would be nice for the team photo before the game. Blue hair is optional, sleeves are not. Buzzard Note #3: The Gold Country Miners were defeated by the Dodgers in 10-innings 9-8 on Sunday evening in Davis after leading early in the 45+ championship game.

Gold Country Ol' Buzzards Game Report #18 Game: August 25, 2013 Buzzards prevail over Solons 16-10, end season in first place On a pleasant morning in Galt with temps in the low 80s, the Ol' Buzzards were playing the last game of the regular season. The Buzzards, as a species, are not known as early birds, however, a truck load containing half of the team and a car pool arrived before 9 am for the 10 o'clock game at the Galt Community Park baseball field. The Gold Country Buzzards (12-5) were facing the Sacramento Solons (4-13) for the third time this year. In April the Buzzards won 12-0 in Davis and 17-10 at James Field in June. The pitching match-ups for the game pitted two veteran hurlers, meaning lots of experience and over a million throws on those right arms. The Solons' starting pitcher was the stocky, Ken 'Wrong' Wright #1. For the Ol' Buzzards, the always tough, Mike 'Big Mac' Mc Cabe #15 was on the mound. The schedule showed the Buzzards as the home team. The Solons scored first by opening the inning with three singles, a walk, and a single to score two runs and load the bases with no outs. A tough pop-up caught by shortstop Taylor 'Welzy' Welz in short right-center field was the first out of the inning. Two clutch strike-outs followed to end the inning without further damage. In the bottom half of the dig, the Buzzards matched the two runs to tie the game at 2-2. Welzy led-off with a sharp single down the left field line. After stealing second, he advanced to third on a groundout. Dave 'Evy' Everingham then ripped a base hit to left to score Welzy. Evy stole second before Charles 'CJ' Jackson was walked on five pitches. After a fielder's choice put runners at first and second with two outs, Tom 'TK' Keatley nailed a full-count fastball for a single down the left field line to score CJ from second base to tie the score. The Solons re-took the lead with a run in the second inning on two hits and an infield error. The Solon rally was cut short with a terrific running, back-hand catch in right field by Ray 'Bull Dog' Henry, before tumbling to the ground and hanging on to the ball with both hands. The Buzzards put a three-spot on the board in the third inning to re-take the lead. Rick 'Salmo' Salmeri, the catcher all game, opened the frame with a single to left. Two outs later, Welzy ran for Salmo at first. Taylor then stole second and third before Dan 'Wookie' Wukmir walked. With Evy batting next, Wookie stole second before Evy crushed a double over the head of the left fielder driving in Welzy and Wook. CJ then launched a fastball into low-earth orbit and way over the center fielder's head for a long double that knocked in Evy for the third run of the inning. CJ was slowed by sore legs and butt from over-extending himself during his first game of the season, last Sunday. The score after three frames was 5-3, Buzzards. In the fifth inning, the Solons fought for a run to close the gap to 5-4. The run scored on two hits, a wild pitch and a fielder's choice. In the last half of the fifth, the Ol' Buzzards added the crooked number, three, to the scorebook for an 8-4 lead. Gregg 'Surf Dawg' Novotny started it off with a single up the middle. Ray 'Bull Dog' Henry ran for Surf Dawg at first. Batting next, Steve 'Cookie' Cook walked on a full-count to put two runners on. Up next, Salmo hit a flare to left field for a single to load the bases for Paul 'Youngin' Lee. Youngin' then slapped a single to center field to score Bull Dog. Welzy followed with a line-drive single to left-center to knock in Cookie and Salmo. With one out and one on, Wookie hit a long liner into right-center for a single. On the play, Bill Holland in center, running hard for a catch, tried to stop as the ball hit the ground. As the ball bounced away and he was still moving toward right field, he planted his right foot to turn to his left and get the ball. That is when the knee buckled and Bill went down in a awkward and painful heap, as play stopped. After a long delay, Bill was helped to the dugout and the game resumed. One pitch later, a 6-4-3 double play ended the inning with a four-run Buzzard lead. John Mason, the manager of the Solons, reported that Bill hobbled to his car and went to emergency. Nothing was broken, but lots of swelling. He was released with a sprained right knee a few hours later. More tests are planned by his own doctor later. In the sixth inning, the Buzzards added a quick run. CJ smashed the first pitch down the left field line for a base hit. Batting next, Pete 'Baron' Von Zboray was robbed by the third baseman, big and lucky John Hagen, for the third time on a hard hit ball leading to a fielder's choice. With one out, TK laced the first pitch to right field for a single to put runners at the corners. Big Mac followed with a sacrifice fly to left driving in the Baron. After six digs, the score was 9-4 with the Buzzards on top. Entering the seventh, Big Mac had thrown 102 pitches, but the last four frames had gone well, so the skipper sent Mike to the mound for one more inning. A full-count walk and two hit batters later, Wook was changing pitchers. Veteran, righty Gregg 'Surf Dawg' Novotny #1 was warmed up and took the hill with the bases loaded. It took eight more batters to end the inning including four hits and a walk before the Solons scored five runs to tie the game, 9-9. The Ol' Buzzards responded with four runs to regain the lead in the bottom half of the inning. Surf Dawg led-off with a flare to right for a single on the first pitch. Cookie surprised the infield with a 2-1 count bunt for a base hit. Up next, Salmo slapped a single through the left side to load the bases. Youngin' then hit a squibber, off the end of the bat, toward first for an RBI ground-out sending Bull Dog home on the play. Batting next, Welzy singled to left to score Cookie and put Buzzards on the corners. Taylor then took second base, putting both runners in scoring position, before Wookie drove a 2-2 pitch through the drawn-in infield for a two-run single scoring Salmo and Welzy. The score after seven innings was Buzzards 13 and Solons 9. In the eighth dig, the Gold Country gang scored three more to take a 16-9 lead. Jackson started it off with a deep-deep double to left field. Von Zboray singled up the middle putting runners at first and third. Keatley then blasted an 0-1 pitch for a two-run double to deep center field to score CJ from third and the Baron all-the-way from first base with good hustle, huffing and puffing, while rounding third base. Up next, Mc Cabe singled to center to score TK from second base for the last run of the game and the 2013 regular season for the Ol' Buzzards. The Solons scored once more in their last at-bats in the top of the ninth, on four base hits, to make the final score 16-10, Buzzards. The game was tighter than anticipated and it ran for a little more than three hours. Evy and Welzy had to leave the game at the end of the seventh inning, as they turned into Pumpkins, no ... umm, Pirates an hour later. Pete was able to stay behind for this game. The Ol' Buzzards finished the regular season with a 13-5 record. Shortly after the game was over, the team got the word that the Miners had defeated the Reds at C-Bar-C Park to push the Reds into second place with a 12-6 record. There were high-fives all around with cold beers in hand to celebrate. Wookie had an especially big smile on his face. After trailing the Reds all season, starting with the 2-1 loss on opening day to them, the Buzzards finally passed the Reds on the last day of the season to move into first place and the number one seed in the NABA playoffs. Congrats to everyone. Another good day to be a Buzzard. The Solons are a good hitting team (18 hits) and the mound was an uneven, worn bump with a deep hole for the landing spot, making it tough on the hurlers. Big Mac faced 34 batters and threw 109 pitches (70 strikes & 39 balls) in six plus innings of work. The Solons scored seven runs (five earned) on nine hits with three walks and three hit batters against Mike. Mc Cabe struck-out three. Surf Dawg threw the last three frames and faced 18 batters in throwing 60 pitches (34 strikes & 26 balls). Novotny (3-1) got the win and gave up three runs on nine hits with two walks and one strikeout. The Buzzard offense was strong with 23 hits including four extra-base hits. The hit club for the game includes: the Baron-1, Big Mac-1, CJ-3, Cookie-1, Evy-2, Salmo-3, Surf Dawg-2, TK-4, Welzy-3, Wookie-2 and Youngin'-1. Salmo and CJ were 3 for 3, while TK was 4 for 4. A good day with the bats. The always important RBIs were knocked in by: Charles-2, Dan-2, Dave-2, Mike-2, Paul-2, Taylor-3, and Tom-3. The runs were scored in the book by: the Baron-2, CJ-2, Cookie-2, Evy-1, Salmo-3, Surf Dawg-2, TK-1, Welzy-2 and Wookie-1. With courtesy runners, one of Salmo's runs was scored by Welzy and Bull Dog ran the bases and crossed the plate, both times, for Surf Dawg. The three eagle-eyed Buzzards walking to first base for some offense without using a bat were: CJ, Cookie and Wook. And base thievery was successfully used by: Evy-1, Wookie-2 and Welzy with four. The Solons defense stopped Buzzard rallies with four double-plays to end the 4th, 5th, 7th and 8th innings, while the Buzzards managed to get one double-play in the fifth. The Buzzards' defense was good with some dazzling plays to get outs. Evy showed off his fabulous glove work four times at third base with rocket shots and tough hops, all scooped up and all for tough outs. In the eighth inning after a single put two runners on with two outs, Cookie, playing second base, got the throw from the outfield. Without calling timeout, Steve walked over to Gregg near the mound and pretended to put the ball into his glove. Surf Dawg then slowly bent over and rubbed his ankle, while Cookie walked over to Wookie playing shortstop and standing near the bag. After a quick pep-talk with his throwing-arm around Wook's shoulders, Cookie went behind second base. With Surf Dawg still on the grass and moving toward the mound, the runner took a couple of steps off of the bag. Steve slapped the tag on the surprised runner, and the surprised umpire called him out for an inning ending, defensive gem, play of the day. In the top of the ninth inning, Surf Dawg picked-off the runner trying to steal third base, at third base, in a nice heads-up play. The Solons argued, balk, that a pitcher can't throw to an unoccupied base from the rubber, even though the runner was heading there. The Baron, playing third, got the ball just before the charging and standing-up runner, big John Hagen, arrived. The same guy that robbed the Baron three times during the game at the hot-corner was now dancing in the third base area trying to avoid Pete's tag and get to the bag. The Baron Von Zboray danced the pirouette just for a moment, then bull-rushed the dude and performed the body-bounce tag for the out. There were just three outfield fly-ball outs in the game and four infield pop-ups for outs. The infield was busy with 12 ground balls for assisted put-outs plus two unassisted outs. With five strikeouts and one hidden ball trick, that was the defense that defeated the Solons. Another good Buzzard victory, especially after the Solons caught up in the seventh inning with five runs. Good job. The playoffs are now next. Buzzard Note #1: Since the Buzzards are seeded number one for the playoffs, the first round game against the Solons will now be played at James Field on September 8th at 2 o'clock. Buzzard Note #2: The championship game is still scheduled for September 15th at 2 o'clock at Playfields Park in Davis. Buzzard Note #3: Diane took 53 photos of mostly swinging Buzzards during the Red Sox game on August 18th. Those are available at: wukmir.com/photos/ Buzzard Note #4: The web site shows the team batting average at the end of the season is an awesome .407. Other team and individual stats are at: eteamz.com/gcbuzzards/ Buzzard Note #5: In the Aug 26th issue of Sports Illustrated there is a six-page article entitled, The Swing. It is an article about the current 'best swing' in baseball, Chris 'Crush' Davis of the Orioles. The six-page story is about Davis' swing, but it also has a couple of interesting tid-bits about hitting a baseball. Like, a 90-mph fastball will get to home plate in 400 milliseconds, but the eye needs 200 of those to see the ball, send the image to the brain and process its speed, spin and location. The swing takes about 150 milliseconds - literally, the blink of an eye. That leaves 50 scant milliseconds to decide whether to swing and, if so, on what path. The goal is to connect a 2¼-inch-diameter bat barrel squarely with a three-inch-diameter baseball - without actually being able to see the ball right before contact. The eye can't follow an object moving that fast that close, so a hitter cannot track the pitch in its last five feet before it reaches the plate. The batter loses sight of the baseball just when the pitcher wants the pitch to break off its path. So, a 60+ mph NABA pitch in perspective gives you nearly 550 milli-seconds to make that swing count. That does sound hard and fun.