Sunday, May 6, 2018

Tough Outing


Jax Warming Up
May 5, 2018
Entering the day as the only GORC Intramural Team with an unblemished record, the Dodgers faced a determined Orioles team.

The game started evenly, with both teams scoring single runs in the second inning. Then the Orioles scored two runs in the third. Things got away from the Dodgers sat that point. 

Jackson pitched the first three innings. His longest outing of the season. He was tough and had good control. 

The bats were mostly silent during the day. The boys could not seem to string hits together. There were some fantastic moments, to be sure. A bases loaded double in the bottom of the 5th scored two runs, but that was all the Dodgers would manage for the day in a disappointing 11-3 loss. 

The great thing about baseball is that there is another game coming where the team can get back onto its winning ways.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Saturday, May 5, 2018

Saturday Snippets -- May 5, 2018



Happy Cinco de Mayo! My favorite foreign holiday and a great day for celebration. We had a great kick-off party at the house last evening and the margaritas were flowing freely!

The green has returned and filled the blank spaces in the trees. I am concerned about some of the trees which have not yet begun to green. I hope that they have not been lost. 

The 90 degree temperatures of the past few days have been fantastic! I have really enjoyed the heat and the sun! I hope that it keeps coming. The weather for the week ahead will not be hot, but it will be very nice.

Pool opening day is drawing closer. Perhaps this week. 

One of my friends made an interesting observation last evening. He posited that people drive faster when the economy is doing well. He may be right.

It is a busy Saturday. Baseball is center stage again.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Friday, May 4, 2018

As the Games Go On


The Field
May 3, 2018

Jackson Pitching
May 3, 2018 
Last evening the GORC Intramural Dodgers continued their winning ways by defeating the Marlins in a hotly contested game.

It was great that the temperatures were in the high 80's at game time and that the boys of summer were truly experiencing summer.

The Dodgers built a 7-3 lead by the 4th inning and hung on to win 7-5 in a game that went only 5 innings due to the time limit. The Dodgers were blessed with great pitching and some timely fielding plays, including the play that ended the game. Jax pitched the 5th inning and turned in a solid performance. 

Here was the game ending play. With two outs and a runner on third, the Marlins batter hit a shot that got by both the third baseman and the left fielder. But the boys did not panic. The left fielder ran down the ball and threw it to the shortstop relay who fired it to the third baseman who tagged the batter who was trying to stretch a double into a triple. The umpire signaled out and the game was over!

Very exciting.

The boys hung tough.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Thursday, May 3, 2018

Orioles Thursday: How Much Worse?


With the arrival of May, my expectations for the Orioles soared.

My hopes have been dashed now that May has actually arrived and the Orioles look the same as they did during April and last September.

The Orioles are 0-2 on their current road trip and currently facing the Angels. Last night the final score was an apparently respectable 10-7 loss, until the truth of the scoring is known. The O's scored 5 runs during a futile comeback attempt in the 9th inning.

For the first 8 innings of the game they scored 2 runs on 5 hits. During the 9th inning, they scored 5 runs on 5 hits. 

It is hard to win games attempting late inning comebacks when down by 7 runs.

The night before, they managed to tie the game in the 9th at 2-2, only to see the bullpen surrender the walk-off run in the bottom of the 9th. 

New and creative ways to lose ballgames.

The operative word here is lose.

And there does not seem much hope for the future. The team batting average is .221 which is 15th among the 15v AL teams. The team ERA is 4.84 which is 12th among the 15 AL teams.

The outlook for the Orioles is gloomy!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Mid-week Arrives


The middle of the week, "hump" day, has arrived. 

It is exciting that the weather has improved corresponding to the workweek. I wish I was off to enjoy the day--one of the first days to possibly cross the 90 degree threshold.

It is exciting. 

Baseball practice with the GORC Pirates last evening was fun, it was warm baseball weather. It should be hot for our game tomorrow night. It was nice to be wearing shorts and not heavy coats while practicing. 

The trees are filling in the bare spaces and that is returning my yard to the private sanctuary that it becomes during the summer. 

Welcome Hump Day--let the summer fun begin!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Beginning of the Nice Days


I looked at the 10 day forecast.


Elkridge, MD, Forecast for May 1-10, 2018


Excitement abounds. I am seeing things in the weather forecast that have been missing since September. 

There is a projected high of 90!

No projected lows are below 55!

No snow, little rain and great weather for outside activity.

Last evening it was a bit cool, but we had a large congregation outside around the fire pit. It was great, a couple bottles of wine were consumed, until the smoke from the fire became a problem. I'm thinking we are going to install a gas fired pit to solve the smoke problem. 

Cue summertime! I hear the sounds of children splashing in a pool!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD


Monday, April 30, 2018

Monday Musings - April 30, 2018



View from the 18th Tee Box
Timbers at Troy
April 29, 2018
1. It is the last day of April. May begins tomorrow.

2. It is hard to play golf when the temperature is falling from the 50's to the mid-40's.
Trees Rocking the Green in the Neighborhood
April 29, 2018

3. The Orioles managed a win yesterday! They have tied September 2017 for the number of wins during a month at 7. Ugh! They have won two of the last three, however!

4. The trees are finally rocking the green!

5. There are 80's in the forecast.

6. Don't forget Cinco de Mayo is Saturday. It is my favorite foreign holiday and there were direct implications for the United States.

7. Pool opening weekend is coming, I am deciding that it may be this weekend! I am feeling stirrings of summertime! I am tired of looking at images from Radio Flyer with the cover on the pool.

8. The Penguins stumbled yesterday in their quest for their third consecutive Stanley Cup losing to the Caps 4-1.


Headlines

Trump threatens government shutdown in September if no funding for wall - Reuters


‘Ready, shoot, aim’: President Trump’s loyalty tests cause hiring headaches - The Washington Post



Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

"We must be willing to pay for excellence in government or risk a government run only by people of wealth or by those beholden to special interests."

— Radio Address to the Nation on the Federal Budget and Executive Salaries,
January 1, 1989


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Sunday, April 29, 2018

Busy Beautiful Day


Springtime Scene Under the Weeping Cherry Tree
April 28, 2018
Yesterday was an exception to the spate of bad weather days.

The sky was blue during the morning and the temperatures were into the 70's and Chris and I got a lot of outdoors work done recovering from the winter.

The pool area is coming along, although I have not decided when to actually one the pool. I'm feeling like it may be next weekend, especially if the forecast 80 degree days actually show up. It is time to begin to celebrate the arrival of the outdoors season.

I wish that we had a longer outdoors season, but I need to enjoy what I actually can. 

The leaves are beginning to fill the blank spaces in the trees and return the scenery to green. That is encouraging. Flowers are blooming, finally, everywhere and my azaleas are about to burst forth as an added benefit.

It was a great and busy day!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Saturday, April 28, 2018

Saturday Snippets




After I wrote about how miserably the Orioles were playing, they shut out the Detroit Tigers 6-0 last evening. It qualifies as their first blow-out delivered of the season AND a shut out. They have now won 6 games during April and are posting an overall 7-19 (.269) record. 


The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Washington Capitals in game 1 of their second round series in pursuit of the Stanley Cup. The Pens have met the Caps 10 times in the playoffs and hold a 9-1 advantage in series won. The Pens are seeking their third consecutive Stanley Cup.

There are 80 degree temperatures in the forecast for next week! I am very excited!

Despite the warmer forecast, it looks as if we will be playing golf tomorrow in the cold, yet again. The forecast high for the day is 60 degrees!

Hopefully, the GORC Intramural Dodgers will be able to play their game today. It has been a rough week with one practice and two games canceled due to rain and poor field conditions.

Presidential Thought for the Day

Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom. - President Thomas Jefferson

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Friday, April 27, 2018

Orioles: Hoping April Ends Soon


The best thing that could happen to the Orioles is that April would end and a new month start. 

The Orioles have won 5 games during April and are finding new ways to lose. The sport the third worst record in the majors at 6-19. 


Hoping the Fortunes of the Orioles change
The season has rapidly gone downhill. It has become downright ugly and difficult to watch. It is as bad as they finished September 2017 when they went 7-20 suffering a total end of the year collapse. Since the beginning of September 2017 the Orioles are 13-40 (.245). There was one game in October last year which was also a loss to end the season.

Last evening was no exception to the terrible string. The Orioles gave up 6 runs in the first 3 innings before finally scoring en route to a 9-5 loss.

The statistics do not look good. They have been blown out 6 times already this season while issuing no blow-outs of their own. Blow-outs in baseball are defined as losing or winning by 5 runs or more. 

The team batting average is a dismal .213. Last night they got 16 hits, but committed 3 errors and could only manage 5 runs. 

Dismal is the worst that comes to mind. But if the bats keep swinging maybe they will string some hits together. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

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