Friday August 28, 2026 (Playoffs)

A&R 31 - J&N 19

Today at Whitesell A&R bested J&N in a hit fest 31-19. Even with missing 4 very productive players, A&R grouped together and led by Eddie Smilkstein and Mike Cring, A&R pounded out 40 hits in the victory. Stats for A&R: Eddie Smilkstein 6-6 (4rs6rbiHR), Mike Cring 5-5 (4rs5rbi HR WP), Joe Paolini 5-5 (2rs5rbi3B), Mike Healey 4-5 (3rs2rbiHR), Stan Smilkstein 4-5 (3rs2rbi), Frank McHugh 3-5 (2rs5rbi), John Pucylowswki 3-5 (2rs1rbi), Ed Bergamini 3-5 (3rs1rbi), Frank Navarra 3-5 (3rs2rbi), Lou Post 3-6 (3rs1rbi), Steve McGee 2-5 (2rs).

A&R 31-J&N 19. How come none of you told me that the road from awful fielder to a mediocre fielder would have so many potholes? Those lessons don’t always stay learned, unfortunately. I’m not talking Paul Blair quality here; I’ll settle for a tad over Dave Kingman. And I’m sorry to all of my teammates who had to suffer the consequences of my inadequacies. Anyway, A&R beat J&N in the play in game at Whitesell, today, by the score of 31-19. Things were pretty close until the end of the fourth inning. Dan Diesing hit a 2-run homerun. We were down 16-13 despite a couple misses by the right center fielder. And then A&R started scoring 3 straight frames of 5 spots and we just couldn’t keep up. We could have gone further into the playoffs if we had played the way that we did on Wednesday, our previous game. But, alas, we did not. It was a pleasure playing on J&N this year, as it has been for the last several years. There was never any undue pressure. The guys on the team were always lots of fun to play with and be with. Cooperative with playing time and helpful with tips and advice. George Hammer was a good manager, despite what he thinks. He made sure that everyone got fair playing time, even if he unselfishly sat out his own innings. 

We have had the pleasure of having Jaime as a great sponsor. He helped out as a third manager. Only when necessary! As well as being a great player. And of course we were blessed to have Nancy at the games. She was always fun, kept score legibly and provided some stability to the chaos of our games. She let us know who was up and on deck and she knew the correct score. And she didn’t get upset when some enthusiastic teammate uttered an expletive or off-color remark. Thank you. And of course, the shirts are really snazzy. I’ll be wearing mine to my 6-month-old grandson’s future Bar Mitzvah one day. It’s been a fun season, and I thank everyone for the opportunity to play with them. Have a great offseason and I look forward to seeing you all again, soon.