RED SOX OR ATHLETICS

   What a great game baseball is. Something you may never have seen before ALWAYS seems to happen. It did on December 11 at Dyer Park in Riviera Beach.

  The 18AAA division All Star game, rained out on Dec. 5, was rescheduled for Dec. 11, but had to overcome some problems to play the game. Due to a scheduling miscommunication, no umpires were assigned to the game. While the field, apparently, had been dragged, there was a huge puddle behind home plate, making it difficult for catchers. Thirdly, both teams had problems getting pitchers to participate, and some rule changes involving innings limitations had to be invoked. One by one, the problems were worked out. Veteran umpire Hector Cruz was contacted and after he tried, unsuccessfully, to get other umpires to the game, he decided to make the trip from his home in Boynton Beach to suburban Riviera Beach.

     Meanwhile, Dave Salley of the winning American Division and the South Florida Beach Bums, agreed to work as a lone umpire behind the pitching mound and did a fine job for almost three complete innings until Cruz arrived and took the standard position behind the plate. One of the fans brought a rake along and by the third inning, catchers Ryan Togher (Beach Bums) and Jose Chinea (Manatees, Nationals) smoothened things out behind the plate to make it playable. Umpire Cruz also picked up the rake to help out.

     As for pitching, Manatees' ace Danny LaPerna, the only regular pitcher assigned to either team, pitched the first three innings and held the Americans to one unearned run and finished his tour with the game tied ast 1-1. On the other side, John Dolan (Thunder) pitched three hitless innings for the Americans, but allowed a run on two walks, a stolen base and a double play grounder that brought Justin Irby (Bandits) across the plate. 

  The Americans posted two runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth as Nationals manager Brian Fitzsimmons was forced to the mound due a pitcher shortage was touched for the five runs on seven hits. The Americans brought in Christian Cancio, who doesn't pitch regularly with his league team, the Senators. He did a nice job for five innings, limiting the Nationals to three runs on five hits. Coupled with an RBI double and a fielder's choice RBI, Cancio was chosen as the game's Most Valuable Player.

  With a 6-4 lead, the Americans scored a run in the 7th on three walks, a hit batter and a wild pitch, all by the Tigres' Martin Suarez, then exploded for five in the 8th inning and three walks, and four hits. Suarez gave up three more walks, and a two run single to Dolan. Tigres' teammate, Nick Adames, gave up a run scoring double to Eric Morales (Thunder), an RBI hit by BJ Smith (Thunder), a single to Charlie Pacheco (Beach Bums) and Cancio's run scoring grounder.

  The game had to be halted by a local 10PM curfew, resulting in the field lights having to be turned off before the 9th inning could start.  That's another thing, lights are turned on and off on Palm Beach County fields by a national lighting company in IOWA.   

  Who says baseball isn't fun?