The Pecan Park Eagle

Bob Dorrill talks with the Babies prior to Game One as Mike McCroskey goes over the ground rules in the distance nearer one of the two George Ranch big houses.

George Ranch, Saturday, March 22, 2o14. They may only have been spring training games, but the Houston Babies still looked awful today at George Ranch against a younger and more fired up and ready to play nine from the Katy Combine. The Babies got bounced twice, by scores of 8-7 and 12-7, in games that both teams had to play with a minimum of nine players each. In fact, in the second game, Katy lost their catcher and had to borrow one of the Babies to fill that spot for them on defense. Babies manager Manager Bob Dorrill loaned Katy the defensive services of catcher Mike McCroskey  Dorrill figured, and wisely so, that the loan wouldn’t harm the Babies at all. (Just kidding, Mr. Iron Hands. You know I love you – and that the Babies wouldn’t be big babies without you.)

Houston Babies Batting – Both Games:

For the day, the Babies hit .343 (23/67). …. Bill Hale and Larry Hajduk both hit doubles today; Zach Hajduk hammered out a triple. … In Game One, the Babies scored 6 earned runs to the Combine’s 3, but sill lost 8-7. … In Game Two’s 12-7 loss, each club gave up 4 eared runs. …. Larry Hajduk’s team leading 5 hits and 7 RBI also make him a great candidate for MVP of the Day. … Maybe we should just name Larry Hajduk as the day’s offensive MVP for the Babies … and give the defensive MVP honors to Bob Stevens for his magnificent play in the field. … The big Babies choke today was errors. … They made 13 errors on the day! UGH!!!

Manager Bob Dorrill mused that the Babies may have been too busy thinking about their upcoming tryouts with the Sugar Land Skeeters later this same afternoon to focus on their games with the Katy Combine. (Hmmm! Maybe that’s where Bob Blair went today … to his Skeeters tryout.) All we can say, and we say it graciously with no denigration of Babies older talent, is this – if any of our older Babies players make the roster of the Skeeters, and as normally good as our guys are at vintage ball, that the Sugar Land club better have one heck of a marketing company alive and hustling 24/7 with their ticket sales plan.

“Remember the immortal words of sportsman Grantland Rice, Babies,” Manager Bob Dorrill told his team after the second loss. “It isn’t who wins or loses that truly matters. It’s how you play the game!”

What killed the Babies today was a combination of age, condition, a lack of range and speed, bad throws, and a general inability to catch the ball or throw it to the right base in time, a lack of baseball alertness on the base paths, and the overwhelming heat and humidity of a fast coming and going spring after a fairly recent exposure to a hard and cold (for Houston) winter. Our guys are all fine; they simply needed more than this one day to come out of that hibernating state of mind that most brought with them to the ballpark today.

Dave Flores (L) and George Tilson (C) of Katy and the Blind Tom (R) go over the rules with Mike McCroskey (back turned).

And that’s also not taking anything away from the Katy Combine. Dave Flores and his boys came to play and they brought some heavy bats and speedy runners with them. Hats off to Dave Flores and the Katy Combine for a job well done today. You guys gave the Houston Babies more than they could handle. Wish I had gotten all your players’ names. You guys deserve more credit than you are getting here. – Good Game, Katy!

Showing up to play for the Babies today were Mike McCroskey, who started the first game and caught the second  for both teams. Larry Hajduk played first in the opener and pitched the second. Larry worked well; he simply had no defense behind him on several occasions, but, let’s face it, he and Mac got hit hard today.

Phil Holland played a god game at 2nd base today, as is his style, and Bob Stephens made some stops in right field that would have been a credit to Captain America.

Play was intense, but the Combine did most of the hitting today.

Bill Hale was hobbling today from some mean leg muscle pains that pretty much slowed him to a McCroskey pace as a base runner. In fairness to Bill, he was sick most of this week and could have used a little more rest to get his strength back before taking on a double-header on the first and only day of spring training on our schedule. But Bill Hale is a trooper. He wouldn’t miss a Babies game he could crawl to it. – Thanks, Bill, but take care of yourself. And tell Jo to get well too. Jo Hale, Bill’s prettier face, wife, and active Babies player had to miss due to illness today too. – Get well, Jo. We need you.

Robbie Martin, the world’s fastest old man, held down 3rd base today and looked as though he will again have his speed and athleticism for another season. Keep it up, Robbie!

Only Mama is missing from this handsome photo of Alex, Larry, and Zach Hajduk.

Alex Hajduk was here to play shortstop today. This young man of 20-21 years old is nothing less than a “bad-to-the-bone” ballplayer and premier athlete. Alex came ready to play, as always,  and he really shored up the middle with Phil Holland at 2nd base and younger brother Zach Hajduk, now 18, I think, in center field. The two now young men children of Larry and Christi Hajduk have given their parents every reason to beam at the two fine gentlemen that are also their two very talented sons. – Keep it up, Hajduks. – You guys are America’s best hope.

Our last active Babies player today was Steve Ashy, a nice fellow who also works for the Sugar Land Skeeters. Welcome to our Houston version of the Elysian Fields, Steve. – We hope you will be back for more Houston Babies vintage baseball.

Missing today were Bob Blair, who came too early and then left. We could have used you today, Bob. Sorry you couldn’t get our help signals in time to find out how much we needed you. See you next time. OK?

Also missing today, in addition to Jo Hale, were: Mark Hudec, Jimmy Disch, Robert Pena, Kyle Burns, and Tom Murrah.

Hopefully, all of you missing guys will be back for the start of the season and the games that count. That happens April 12, 2014 in Sealy, Texas. The Houston Babies will travel there that morning to participate in two games, most probably against different teams. We shall also be greeted warmly and nicely fed by the planners of the Sealy Spring Festival. The event also usually includes a simulated bank robbery by Bonnie and Clyde characters driving an old Model T.  – I wonder if the bank robbery simulators realize that ATM cards and machines are sort f the banking system’s revenge for all the uninsured money they lost to bank robbers during the Great Depression?

Bob Stevens gets the Pecan Park Eagle vote as Babies’  MVP on Defense for his web-gem fielding on the day in RF.

Speaking of feasts, the George Ranch people rewarded the Combine and Babies players with a food spread that only working cowboys should eat on any regular basis. We had all we want of smoked sausage, sweet ham, mashed potatoes, potato salad, corn, beans. cole slaw, cornbread and biscuits, sweet tea with cream, blueberry pie, and peach cobbler.

It was yum-yum good!

Tags: 2014, Houston Babies Baseball, March 22

This entry was posted on March 23, 2014 at 2:43 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.