Here is a running post of Giant things.
SJNABA Tidbits
Well, now that the regular season is over, I think I need to give a few high fives to my ball club. We finished the season 14-9-1, good for fifth place and a playoff spot, and if we were allowed to finish up ties, we could’ve been in fourth after taking the season series from the
‘Stros, but really it doesn’t make a difference. We’ll be playing them in two weeks anyway. We finished the season 8-7 against playoff teams, beating the Reds once, the Pirates and Astros twice, and the Mets all three times. Overall, a very successful season that can get better if we can play that underdog role like we did so well in the regular season.
I have a few tidbits on the
SJ NABA season overall.
- The Reds and Pirates combined hit over 130 HR’s this year prompting Eric “Bud Selig” McGhee to say he’d never heard of performance enhancers until 1998.
- Roy Mena finished the season at an over .600 clip which means that he basically went 3 for 5 every game. And Frank let us all know just about everytime Roy stepped to the plate.
- Hector Esparza hit a home run one out of every 5.6 at bats. Our own Frank Hernandez hit the ball out of the infield 1 out of every 9.2 at bats.
- Kris Hessenflow threw in 40% of all Astros innings. And this is in a league with double headers.
- The Giants and Pirates were the only teams to document fielding statistics and if I knew this, the Pirates would’ve been the only team documenting fielding statistics.
- #24 GM for the Reds claimed that he misquoted himself on his own team website.
- He also used every font and color in the HTML language.
- One of the umpires was overheard saying that Ben Raya was a very large catcher, possibly the largest man he’d ever have to stand before to call balls and strikes.
- The Mets finished the season on a tear willing themselves into the playoffs prompting Eric McGhee to say, “See, I told you the pride was back.”
See you in two weeks.
The Team To Take Home To Momma
We’ve won 8 of our last 10, we’ve won 4 in a row, and we’ve beat the Pirates, Reds, and Astros in 3 of our last 6 games. You could say that we’re on a little bit of a roll. Maybe we’re even a hot team. Could even call us a team of destiny. Ok, maybe I went too far with that last one. That is impressive and all, but the most impressive thing about this team to me, is the character of the players. It’s the most fun I’ve had in my many year
NABA career, and it’s with the youngest team in the league. Half of these guys weren’t even born when I first laced them up for farm ball. When I set out to build this team, I set out to find the highest quality guys I could find. We tried to put together a superstar team several years ago and it worked. We won a lot of games and came 2 runs away from winning it all. But the next year was the worst year I’ve ever had in baseball with all the mixed personalities. I didn’t want to go through that ever again. It took us two years, but we’re back and it’s because we have guys who like each other, playing for each other, wanting to see each other do well, and simply having fun with each other. Team chemistry is underrated, even in semi-pro ball.

Vincente “Long Ball” Cortinas

We knew we were better than our record said we were and we just needed a spark. In my opinion, that spark was
Mark Steeves. Mark doesn’t have gaudy statistical numbers, but he’s helped solidify the pitching staff, working behind the plate on some of the best pitched games of the season. As good as the pitching has been, the catching has been stellar as well, and Mark has been a big part of that.
Speaking of the pitching, Brent Nichols threw another huge game this weekend, beating the Astros pitching a complete game with 13 strikeouts, only giving up one earned run. “Big Game” Brent has beat the Reds, Pirates, and Astros (twice) this season. Those are three of our top four opponents this year. We’ll see if “Big Game” can pitch us to another victory this weekend and get a few “Big Game” playoff victories.
It’s tough enough to beat an average team three times in a row, so it’ll be doubly tough to beat at team like the Pirates this weekend. We’ve beat them twice in two tries and we’re going for the sweep. We’ll have to bring our best to do it. It’s a “Big Game”.
Deja Vu All Over Again
It seems like it was just yesterday when we said goodbye to our friend
Greg Reed. We thought he played his last game for the
SJNABA Giants. But he showed up this past weekend to finish out his stint. He even played defense which was a treat for everyone involved, including the other team’s catcher who seemed to have a problem with him. Don’t worry, we all have a problem with him. Except Javier. And maybe Vinnie.

Gregory “Ogre” Reed – Thanks For The Memories
It seems that Robert and Brent have a little competitiveness going. A game of one ups manship if you will. After Brent’s great game against the red guys, Robert followed it up with a 7 inning complete game with 12 strikeouts in the first game of our double header against the Orioles. Scotty “Too Hotty” Jaffa threw the second game instead of Brent because Brent had a sore ankle, but it didn’t stop him from going yard.
We have two big games left and they will really show where we are as a team. 2 games left. Astros. Pirates. Two teams that stand ahead of us in line.
Sexy
If you watched us play on Sunday, there was a specialness at that field that was unmistakable. Just being there, smelling the not so freshly cut grass of Silver Creek High, watching player after player nearly turn their ankle running down the first baseline, and seeing a huge crevice of a gopher hole dominate the third base area, you knew you were there to see something special. What might that be you might ask? That specialness was
Troy Kussmaul’s gold glove performance in right field. Rugged Troy told me before the game that he could play right field with no problem, but then told someone else on the team that he’d never played there before in his life. And he played out there fantastically, chasing down ball after ball after ball like he was a gazelle running in the wild. Oh yah, we also beat the 2004
MSBL Champions, the Reds 9-1.
It was a weird game because I wasn’t even sure if I was going to have 9 players and we had 4 guys playing out of position. Nak and I were able to go down memory lane and we actually played infield together for the first time since before
Robert Ramos had hair on his face. We hit three HR’s as Javier and I went back to back and then Mark Steeves who is world reknown for his warning track power, willed one over the fence for a Grand Slam. Just a good game overall for us as a team.
And no, I didn’t forget one Brent Nichols. Brent pitched so well that Javier, who is very heterosexual I might add, and who also has one child and one on the way, and also is married, was so turned on by Brent’s performance that he simply described it as sexy. Sexy Brent Nichols threw maybe the best pitched game in the entire
SJNABA this season limiting the Reds to 7 hits and one run in 9 innings. Just brilliant. And if Javier had written this instead of me, he would’ve described it as just brilliantly sexy.
Let’s see if we can use our newly gained momentum in our double header versus the orange and black birds this weekend. We owe them. Big time.
Playoffs Are A Comin’
Thanks to Big Dave from the Pirates for the new Giants logos.

Giants All Stars Play Big
Your Giants All-Stars all had good games at the
SJNABA All-Star Game at Municipal Stadium on July 27th. Playing on the National Team, they were a part of a 19-5 drubbing of the American Team. Javier Espinosa had two doubles, Brent Nichols had three hits and also pitched, while Mike Atilano and Vinnie also were positive in the box score. There was also an interesting discussion I had with National All Stars Head Coach Jose Medina Jr. It went a little something like this.
Jose: That third baseman of yours, Atilano, he’s smooth. Just the way he plays ball is smooth man. He’s just a tight ball player all around.
Me: As long as you don’t say that he’s handsome too.
Unfortunately we dropped another game, this time to the Colt 45’s. I think in the heat of the battle, teams will say things like, “we should’ve beat them”, or “they got lucky”, or “it was a fluke”. I’ve heard it so much from opposing teams when they are surprised when we beat them. But I can’t make any excuses for this past Sunday. Ryan’s team just outplayed us when it counted and that’s why they got the win.
This weekend, we get the Big Red Machine. They’re going to be a tough team to beat, and I just hope that we can play competitively and come late in the game, go for the victory. As long as Jose doesn’t call Mike handsome.
Baseball Is A Funny Game
If I told pretty much anyone who knew anything about our league that we split our double header this past weekend, they would’ve guessed that we beat the
Orioles and lost to the
Pirates. And they would’ve been wrong. The
Orioles scrapped harder than we did and beat us at our own ballgame. They really remind me a lot of our team. And we beat the
Pirates in the second game in a game that was very familiar to the first time we played them. They came back with 5 in the 9th to put a scare into us, but we pulled it out in the end. And I really have nothing more to say, so I’ll give you a treat, which is an interview I did with our own
Young Randall from last year.
Interview With Young Randall
Garrett Gonzales: I’m talking to Randy Bartholomew, starting left fielder of the San Jose
NABA Giants.
Randy Bartholomew: Please call me Young Randall.
GG: Young Randall?
YR: You better believe it.
GG: Ok, Young Randall. The reason we’re here today is talk about you. Since we’ve known each other, we’ve been playing baseball together. What do you love about the game?
YR: I love the admiration of all my fans. The groupies. How when I hit the ball, it’s like time stops.
GG: The groupies? I’ve never seen you with another woman other than your girlfriend.
YR: Well, I must do a good job of keeping the groupies on the DL then.
GG: I guess so. Ok, moving right along. Not only are you a player, but you’re also a coach. What do you enjoy about coaching?
YR: The groupies. I love it when kids ask me how to do things like I’m a freaking genius. I pity those kids.
GG: The groupies? High school JV coaches get groupies too?
YR: Again, it’s on the DL….
You can read more
by clicking here.
Giants All Stars And Big Double Dip
Here are your 2005
NABA Giants All-Stars.
Mike Atilano: “Big” Mike is having an exceptional season and is our
MVP thus far. He’s a scary hitter and an exceptional defensive player.
Javier Espinosa: Javier took a few years off from his
NABA career and has come back better than ever. He’s an all around hitter who has nestled himself into the 3 hole in our lineup and leads the team in overall batting average.
Vince Cortinas: Vince has been around the
NABA for many years and finally finds his way into the All-Star game as a player for the Giants. It’s well deserved as he’s having one of his best offensive seasons and has adjusted well in his move to first base.
Brent Nichols: Brent is one of our two aces and has pitched for us in most of our big games. He’s also a stellar shortstop and when he finds his stroke, will be huge for us in the last part of this season.
Congrats to those guys.
We have two big games this weekend in our goal to make the playoffs. We’re 1/2 game behind the Astros for the 4th slot in the playoffs. Our first game is against the Orioles who we haven’t played yet all season long. They are currently in the last playoff spot and are fighting off the A’s, Mets, and Colt 45’s. The second game is against those loving Pirates. In our last four games against each other, we’ve split them. They’re a talented team and for some reason, they bring out our best. Hopefully we can bring them our best again this weekend, as long as we don’t pass out in the heat. And if Joe Pelayo is up at the plate in a tie game in the last inning, we’re walking him.
All Stars
We took the third game of the series against the A’s this past weekend. It’s the first time we’ve swept them, let alone win more than one game against them in I’m not sure how long. Even though I’ve had my share of dust ups with some of the players no longer on that team, I get a kick out of playing against Jim, Max, Wojo, and both Bobby’s. I will miss playing against those guys.
The
All Star Game is right around the corner and I wanted to shout out several of my ball players who have really good chances of getting our slots in the game.
Mike Atilano is third in the league in HR’s and plays an excellent third base. He’s probably the best draft pick of the entire first round (thanks Greg), and we were able to snag him with the 4th selection.
Javier Espinosa is back after a long absense from the San Jose
NABA. But he’s come back as a man possessed. He leads our team in batting average and on base average and is second in home runs and
RBI’s.
Vinnie Cortinas is having a nice and consistent all around year and is trying to get back to the All Star game. Earlier this year, he hit his first home run and this was after one of the opposing managers had just said seconds before, “He can’t hit, put it in there”. Seconds later, over the fence, giggling with glee as he rounded the bases. But that’s all he’ll hit for the rest of the year. He has a one HR minimum and maximum.
Brent Nichols and
Robert Ramos have been our horses this year and we go as far as they take us.
Joey Nuno leads our team in innings pitched and has seemingly done everything for us. He’s started, relieved, and has even saved two games for us. Mike Nuno’s baby brother has been a great addition.
Those aren’t the only deserving players on this team, but those are the ones that stand out in my eyes. We have other players like
Scotty Jaffa and
Young Randall who are having really good seasons too. And if
Danny Guevara and
Mike Nuno have some big games this weekend, they could jump right into it. Of course, we do a team vote, and this is only my opinion, so the results might actually be different from what I think. But the morale of this story is that while numbers are great to have, we win and lose as a team and our team chemistry is more important than any statistics that you can calculate.
Take Two
We’ve had three double headers back to back. And luckily, the results weren’t disasterous. In those 6 games, we went 3-2-1, and are back over .500.
Last weekend, we beat the A’s in the opener in a game where we took control early, but they continued to fight back. It was like we were the dumb blonde getting chased by Jason from Friday the 13th. I thought we were going to keep falling, but we didn’t and pulled it out in a game that was stopped in the 8th because of the time limit.
Game two was exactly the opposite. The Astros took control early and looked to be well on their way, but we were able to stay with them and tied it, and then scored the winning run on an errant throw that Mike Atilano took advantage of. We won 5-4.
We have three Mike’s on our team. Two of them are under 5’8 (Mike Nakamoto and Mike Nuno). So when I call out the lineup, Mike Atilano is Big Mike. Brent Nichols said that he’d one day love to have that nickname, because it just meant you were good. Well, after last week’s game against the Astros, Brent can now be Big Brent. He threw 9 innings without his best stuff and finished the game with the bases loaded and only one out, ending it with a strikeout and flyout. Here’s to Big Brent.
Douple Dip Loss
It was our second double header in a row, but this time, we took a field trip. We played at Hartnell College in Salinas, the home field of
Dem Bums. Actually, I’m joking. I like the
Dodgers squad very much. The drive up was worth it as long as we don’t have to do it more than once or twice a season as the field was in good shape and since it was a Junior College field, the dimensions were solid and there weren’t any cheap home runs.
I think we played good baseball, but when you play any of the top four teams in our league (Reds, Dodgers, Pirates, Astros), good is probably not good enough. We had chances to win both games, and I know we put some fear into them, but in the end, they just had too much offense for us. It can be something to build on as just a few weeks ago, they beat us wicked bad, and this time, we were in both games until the last inning.
When Daniel showed up late for the first game, I turned to
Scotty Too Hotty to pitch game one.
Scotty’s first ever
SJNABA game was a start three years ago against the old Knights (Astros) and he held them in check for 7 innings. We ended up losing the game on a grand slam off another pitcher who shall remain nameless, but only because
Scotty had to go to work. He was in control against one of the better teams in the league and from then on, I figured his pitching career in the
SJNABA could be hall of fame material. As it was, he didn’t have as great success last year, and his only start this year was a rough one. I’d been hearing rumors of his interest in throwing again from other team members and decided that this was his chance to throw again. And he was just short of magnificent in his 6 innings of work. Maybe that pitching career just might be there for young
Scottard.
Javier Espinosa is making an argument for his inclusion on the All Star team. He hit one on Sunday that still hasn’t landed.
Bats Out Of Slumber
It took 10 games, but finally our bats woke up. In our double header on Sunday, we scored 28 runs. In the previous 8 games, we’d only tallied 46 runs. Not sure why this is, but I’ll take it.
We went 1-0-1 in our games this weekend, beating the
Pirates (or was it
the that they beat themselves?) 16-4 and ending up with a tie against the
Colt 45’s.
The
Colt 45’s showed a ton of heart as they only had 8 players and they went on to plate 9 runs in the first two innings. We came back, but couldn’t finish the job and it’s a game we may have to finish at the end of the season. Because they only had 8 players, we incorporated a strategy I’m not proud of, but my job is to help our team win. And my job isn’t to make sure their number 8 hitter has a fun day.
Against your neighborhood friendly
Pirates we were for some reason just on fire. You can never count those guys out and I was aprehensive to even get excited until it was over. But they’ll be back. They always come back.
A few highlights from the weekend that was.
- We hit 4 HR’s this weekend, almost doubling our total the entire year
- Joey Nuno came in relief to throw 7 gutsy innings to keep us in game 1
- Scotty 2 Hotty used the 2 player outfield to his advantage and doubled twice and tripled in game 1
- Danny Guevara threw for the first time in a couple years to keep the game tied
- Mike Atilano added another HR to bring his totals to 5 HR’s and 14 RBI this season
- Mike Nuno resembled Mike Nuno for the first time this year
- Randy and Vinnie hit their 1 HR for the year
- Brent Nichols struck out 12 in 7 innings to get his first victory of the season in game 2
- Robert Ramos scored Wells Fargo 14 new Hispanic members
Next week, Salinas.

Big Mike Atilano
Forgetful Jones
You know, I know we played this weekend, but I can’t remember exactly what happened. I think we lost. Moving right along.
As the manager, I’m always the last guy (except my dad) to leave the field. That only means that I get to pick up after everyone who leaves their gear. How can you leave your gear? Isn’t it the only thing you are responsible for?
Here are some of the things I’ve picked up this year:
1. Cleats (Javier, Joey)
2. Glove (Travis)
3. Batting tee (Vinnie)
4. Jock strap (Greg)
5. Pants (Frank – he must’ve gone home bare a**ed naked or something)

Random Vinnie Glute Shot
This weekend is going to be interesting. We play the resurging Broncos in the first game of a double header. And in the second game, we play your neighborhood friendly Pirates in a game that is probably going to be the least hostile game of the year for the San Jose
NABA. With two teams that simply get along well, you can expect nothing but kindness and sportsmanship all around. Unless someone can find my old posts from last year. Those aren’t live anymore right? If they are, then all hell might break loose.
One last thing. I’m putting up 20 bucks for anyone who can hit a ball by Rocha.
Until next time …
Thanks Ron
Last week, I said we had to do a few things to beat the
Real Deal Reds.
1. We had to reverse the home run fortunes and we did that. They hit 2 (rather than 12), and we hit 1. Check!
2. The Reds had to bring their
F game. Considering they only scored 8 runs (rather than 37), I’d say we came pretty close. Check!
But two things that I said we needed to have happen didn’t.
3. Our “ace”, Vinnie “Pazienza” Cortinas wasn’t ready to throw his 65
MPH heat. Thus we had to go with Brent, who only threw just about the best game against the Reds this year.
4. That damn Ron Gonzales didn’t give the Reds the bad karma that I expected him too.
Since we have a week off because of Memorial Day, I don’t have much else here. Next week we face off against the Dodgers, and after their loss this past weekend, I know they’re going to come in fired up and pretend that we’re wearing Pirate yellow. Well, Troy did pitch for us a few years ago.
See you next week.
Fourth Straight
Most of the time when we win, it’s a close game to the end. But for once, we didn’t really have to worry much about the outcome. The bats were there, and thanks to one
Joseph Nuno, the pitching was there as well.

Joseph “Sleepy” Nuno
We play our second game against the
Real Deal Reds and I think it will be a decent litmus test for us. They’re still hitting the ball out of the park while scoring an average of something like 17 runs a game. And while they may have the umpire and the rulebook on their side (wink), it’s usually not enough to stop them. However, if we play our
“A” game, I think we can compete with them.
Here’s a few reasons why we can win this game:
- Even though Mayor Ron Gonzalez likes them better than us, that guy cheated on his wife and karma is a you know what.
- They have 23 homeruns while we have 5. There’s something called the law of averages that should even that out right?
- We have our ace Vinnie pitching this weekend. He’s untouchable and has the best 65 MPH fastball you’ll ever see.
- I’m expecting the Reds to bring their “F” game.
One more reason for us to play our best this weekend is because the leader of the kangaroo court is leaving us. Greg Reed keeps us all loose and makes sure no one thinks they are better than they really are, except maybe Mike Atilano. He’s a true “clubhouse” or “dugout” in our instance kind of guy and we’ll miss him. After this week, he’s done except for a few games he’ll make sure that he doesn’t miss (cough – Pirates – cough).

Probably Making Fun Of Travis
Three In A Row
After starting the season by being swept in a double header against the
Astros and
Reds we now find ourselves at 3-2 after yesterday’s victory over the
San Jose Mets. Another strong performance by
Robert Ramos who in his last two starts has gone 7 and 8 innings. He pitched into the 9th, but
Joseph Nuno came on for the save and got the three final outs.

Robert “Don’t Call Me Bob, Bobby, or Robby” Ramos
I’ve known Robert since he was two years old, and I would’ve never figured I was going to have the chance to play with him, considering when he was two, I was eleven. But, because of the never ending age limits in adult league baseball, it has happened. Now only if Carlos would get in shape and come out here. Then it would be the Cerrito crew.
Here’s a quick story about
Javier Espinosa. He was going to have to miss yesterday’s game because his future wife was sick and he needed to take care of his child. Low and behold his roomate saves the day and he shows up in the second inning and I immediately put him into the batting order in the third. I think he saw two pitches before he deposited the ball over the fence for a two run homer. He now is prohibited from showing up for a game before game time.
And we saw an old friend yesterday.

Brent Nichols is on his way …
It’s Been A Long Time …:
Since I took over the
Giants from the infamous and heinous George Kleidon, (the man who coined the phrase it’s a battle of nutrition) the one team that you could call our “rival” was the A’s (Reds). And it wasn’t because of the quality of our games. It was simply because no matter what, we couldn’t beat them. And then in 2002, we played them in the
NABA Championship, and again, they beat us. It was a pretty one sided rivalry to say the least. That brings us to yesterday.
I overheard, and had other players tell me that they heard some of the A’s players use the fact that they never lose to us as motivation to come back and beat us. At first, I reacted a little negatively internally, but then thought, well hell, they are right and that’s exactly how I’d try to pump up my team if the shoe was on the other foot. And though it’s only week 4, we finally have beat them, but we will see them again a couple more times.
Kudos to
Robert Ramos for getting his first win in the
SJNABA going 7 innings against a lineup of heavy hitters. Non-kudos for him missing last weekend’s game meeting an Aunt who he’ll probably never see again. Actually, we were ok with it. But next time, just bring her to the game.
Actually, George is doing quite well as he’s now married with two kids and is coaching Varsity baseball at Andrew Hill.

Sweeeeet
!:
Having a 9-0 lead and nearly losing it all isn’t my idea of fun. But for one member of the
Giants, it was. That team member’s name is
Travis McDonald. See, young Travis is a former
San Jose Met and more than anything else, couldn’t wait to play them in the regular season. In my post game interview with Travis, I learned that he had a sugary satisfaction in beating his former team.
Me: So, how was getting your first
NABA save?
Trav: It was
sweeeeet
!!
Me: So was there extra satisfaction based on beating the Mets, your former team?
Trav: Definitely, that was some
sweeeeet satisfaction.
Me: Anything else you wanted to say about this game?
Travis: Nothing, other than it was
sweeeeet victory.

Sweeeeet

I never actually interviewed Travis, so I’m not sure if he really said or was thinking those things, but the smile on his face told me that I wasn’t that far off.
Opening Week Update:
Ok, so that wasn’t much fun. Actually, it was, if you are into watching balls fly over the fence. I knew the
San Jose Reds were good, but who knew they were the second coming of the ‘27 Yankees?

Homered Twice Yesterday
Overall, it was a rough Sunday, but my team is young, and plus we have Serious Young Randall back this weekend.
On a personal note, it was nice seeing Jeremy Bruce on the field again. He played one year ahead of me at Mt. Pleasant and as a junior was one of the key players in the 1992
CCS Championship for MP. While I learned from him afar, he was not only a damn good player on the field, but a good person off as well.
Next week, we get the
SJ Mets. Time for revenge.
Opening Day Weekend:
Anyone who might’ve read this page before today saw that we were originally scheduled to play the Mets on opening day. That has changed. We don’t play them until the second week. However, rather than one game, we have two games to play this weekend. Yep, we open with the vaunted double dip. One would think that a double dip on opening day is tough, but when you have
Young Randall on your team, it’s a different story. The man doesn’t cringe at the thought of a double dip. He tells double headers to “bring it on”.

Bring It On
Click on Young Randall to see the bigger, and even more serious Randall.
Other things going on this weekend. Robert Ramos will get his first start as a Giant in his first season in the
SJNABA this weekend. Though I’m not sure if it will be for the first game against the newly named Astros, or the new
SJNABA team, the Reds. Also, it will be the first games for Vinnie Cortinas and Mike Nakamoto as assistant coaches. We’ll see who has a runner thrown out at home first.
Things To Look For This Weekend:
- Greg Reed will try to add to his hit by pitched total and set a new
NABA record.
- “Longball” Cortinas will try to not wait until the end of the season to hit a longball this year.
- “Scotty Too Hotty” will try to keep his fingers callused and strong, without urinating on them like his hero, Moises Alou.
- By stepping on the field “Nak” inherits the title as oldest active
SJNABA player, at least I think.
- Randall Bartholomew simply hopes the weather won’t be nippy on Sunday.